OF WISDOM – Lauren Greenberg – Odin Quartet 

Odin Quartet perform "Of Wisdom" by Lauren Greenberg

Composed by Lauren Greenberg.

Performed by Odin Quartet (Alex Toskov, violin; Tanya Charles Iveniuk, violin; Rae Gallimore, viola; Samuel Bisson, cello.

Audio recorded by Desert Fish Studios (Toronto, Ontario, Canada). Audio mixed and mastered by Brandon Walker. Video edited and produced by Devin Scott.

ABOUT THE COMPOSER: Lauren Greenberg was born in 2001 and is from Toronto, Canada. She began piano lessons at the age of 5, and has completed her Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) Level 9 Piano, RCM Level 9 Harmony, and RCM Level 8 Theory. Lauren began her musical composition studies in 2014. Most recently she was a student of the eminent Canadian composer Kevin Lau. During the summer of 2018, Lauren attended the High School Composition Intensive Program at Boston Conservatory at Berklee and is currently enrolled in the Bachelor of Music in Composition Degree Program at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee. Lauren has composed a variety of musical pieces across classical and modern genres, and her works have been performed in Toronto, Ottawa, and Boston. She studied the flute and vocals at her high school where she was a member of the Junior, Senior, and Jazz Bands. Lauren was also a member of the school choirs in both high school and in grade school. She played the piano for her high school musicals, vocal performances, and assemblies. In 2019, Lauren was the recipient of the Music Award – Lisa-Ann Lauren Posluns Memorial Endowment Fund, for her exemplary contribution to the school’s music program during her four years of study.

ABOUT THE PERFORMERS: Odin Quartet has become one of Canada’s most popular and sought-after string quartets. The Odins have been the ensemble-in-residence of the SPO since 2017. There’s so much more to learn and appreciate about the Odins, so visit their links below.

PROGRAM NOTES FROM LAUREN GREENBERG: This music is inspired by the Odin Quartet (Odin, known as the god of wisdom). I adopted that name as the title. Learn more about Lauren Greenberg: https://laurengreenbergmusic.com/ | https://acwc.ca/auren-greenberg |    / @laurengreenbergm…  . Learn more about Odin Quartet: http://odinquartet.com/.

MUTABILITY – Elizabeth Raum – Alexander Panizza

Composed by Elizabeth Raum; Performed by Alexander Panizza, piano Video and audio recording and editing by Alexander Panizza. Post-Porduction video editing by Eero Daniel-Raum

Programme notes from the composer: Jane Gordon, the lady for whom Mutability was written, commissioned this piece as a present to herself for her 60th birthday. The reason for the commission is best described in her own words. The following is a letter I received from Jane on July 2, 2002: “In my non-musical life I am a professor of Sociology and Women’s Studies at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax. Although I had piano lessons as a child, I gave it up as soon as I could. However, I kept the piano and the books and at age 55 (after I’d finished years of paying for my children’s lessons, from the cultural to the athletic) I decided it was my turn and I started piano again. In my scholarly work, I have spent most of my academic career looking at issues around women’s lives, particularly the paid and unpaid work women do, in the academy and in the home and my research is tied to my teaching areas, primarily the family and work. …as a tie in with my academic interests, I began to learn what I could by Canadian women composers. Last year, as part of the Mount’s celebration of International Women’s Week, I arranged a short performance and lecture called “Canadian Women of Note”. In my recent Grade 7 exam I did (from the old Royal Conservatory syllabus) a study by Nancy Telfer and “Sparks” by Barbara Pentland. In my observation, the experience of women composers parallels that of women in other professional areas: less visible, less valued. I try to use my music (and I am really just an intermediate level student) to share the work of contemporary Canadian women composers, though most of the ‘sharing’ is recitals organized by my teacher and university based opportunities, such as the community hobby and talent show.” Before I began working on this piece for Jane, I found myself drawn to a book of poems by Shelley and upon opening it, the first poem that caught my eye was Mutability. This poem became the inspiration for Jane’s new work for piano.

MUTABILITY — by Percy Bysshe Shelley

We are as clouds that veil the midnight moon;

How restlessly they speed, and gleam, and quiver,

Streaking the darkness radiantly! -yet soon

Night closes round, and they are lost for ever:

Or like forgotten lyres, whose dissonant strings

Give various response to each varying blast,

To whose frail frame no second motion brings

One mood or modulation like the last.

We rest. A dream has power to poison sleep;

We rise. One wandering thought pollutes the day;

We feel, conceive or reason, laugh or weep;

Embrace fond woe, or cast our cares away:

It is the same! For, be it joy or sorrow,

The path of its departure still is free:

Man’s yesterday may ne’er be like his morrow;

Nought may endure but Mutablilty.

For more information on the composer, Elizabeth Raum: https://elizabethraum.com/.

For more information on the pianist, Alexander Panizza: http://alexanderpanizza.com/.

Trio for 2 Clarinets and Bassoon, Op. 54 – Swan Hennessy – Royer/Newman/Royer 

Composed by Swan Hennessy; Performed by Kaye Royer, clarinet / Barbara Newman, clarinet / Ronald Royer, cello Video and audio edited and produced by Devin Scott.

In this performance, the Bassoon part is played by celloist and SPO Music Director, Mr. Ronald Royer. Edward Swan Hennessy (24 November 1866 – 26 October 1929) was an Irish-American composer and pianist who lived much of his life in Paris. In his pre-War piano music, he excelled as a miniaturist in descriptive, programmatic music. After joining a group of Breton composers, he developed a reputation as a “Celtic” composer, drawing on his Irish heritage, writing in a style that was unique in a French as well as an Irish context. Even though he has been almost forgotten after 1950, his music was applauded by contemporary French music critics including Henri Collet, Louis Vuillemin, Émile Vuillermoz and Lucien Chevaillier. In some works, he used jazz elements and took inspiration from funfairs and industrial noise, anticipating trends associated with the group of “Les Six”. [Source: Wikipedia]

To learn more about the composer, Swan Hennessy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swan_He…

VEDRO CON MIO DILETTO from Il Guistino – Antonio Vivaldi – Odin Quartet

Composed by Antonio Vivaldi; Performed by Odin Quartet (Alex Toskov, violin / Tanya Charles Iveniuk, violin / Esme Allen-Creighton*, viola / Samuel Bisson, cello) with Angela Gibbon, soprano / Ronald Greidanus, harpsichord

Recorded at Forest Grove United Church in Toronto August 2021 Audio engineer/sound editing by Marty Smyth and Kye Andrews Special thanks to the sponsor: Shining Waters Regional Council https://shiningwatersregionalcouncil.ca/

Learn more about the Odin Quartet: http://www.odinquartet.com

MILONGA EN RE – Astor Piazzolla – Maximos Farmakidis with Dr. Cecilia Lee

Astor Piazzolla, composer; Performed by Maximos Farmakidis, flute, and Dr. Cecilia Lee, piano. —————-

A message from Maximos: I am a contrabassist. When I work on a new solo piece on my contrabass, at the same time I like to study the piece on my flute. This gives me a multidimensional understanding of the music. The objective is to perform and to record the music on the contrabass, but this time I did it differently, I made a home recording on the flute instead. (A distance recording with the piano). —————-

Learn more about Astor Piazzolla here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astor_P… Check out more performances from Maximos on his YouTube channel:    • Koussevitzky conc…  

TIME TO TANGO – LA PALOMA – Sebastián Iradier – Odin Quartet 

Composer: Sebastián Iradier; Performed by Odin Quartet (Alex Toskov, violin; Tanya Charles Iveniuk, violin; Laurence Schaufele*, viola; Samuel Bisson, cello)

The “Time To Tango” video series was created and performed by the Odin Quartet earlier in 2021. This series was produced in conjuction with our SPO Community Partners, the Brantford Symphony Orchestra, and presented digitally at senior living centres in Brantford. The SPO appreciates being able to share these fantastic performances as part of our new 2021/2022 SPOGreatMusic Performance Series.

To learn more about the composer, Sebastián Iradier, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sebasti….

For more information on the Odin Quartet, visit http://www.odinquartet.com.

TIME TO TANGO – TANGO – Kevin Pang

Composer: Kevin Pang; Performed by Odin Quartet (Alex Toskov, violin; Tanya Charles Iveniuk, violin; Laurence Schaufele*, viola; Samuel Bisson, cello)

The “Time To Tango” video series was created and performed by the Odin Quartet earlier in 2021. This series was produced in conjuction with our SPO Community Partners, the Brantford Symphony Orchestra, and presented digitally at senior living centres in Brantford. This piece was originally created, with its World Premiere, as part of the “Lockdown Lullabies” with concerts conducted in Toronto. The SPO appreciates being able to share these fantastic performances as part of our new 2021/2022 SPOGreatMusic Performance Series. T

o hear more from the composer, Kevin Pang, visit    / @kevinpang_music  .

Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 26 in E♭ major, Op. 81a, “Les Adieux”

Ludwig van Beethoven, composer; Performed by Alexander Panizza, piano

Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 26 in E♭ major, Op. 81a, known as Les Adieux (“The Farewell”), was written during the years 1809 and 1810. The title Les Adieux implies a programmatic nature. The French attack on Vienna, led by Napoléon Bonaparte in 1809, forced Beethoven’s patron, Archduke Rudolph, to leave the city. Yet, there is some uncertainty about this nature of the piece — or at least, about the degree to which Beethoven wished this programmatic nature would be known. He titled the three movements “Lebewohl”, “Abwesenheit”, and “Wiedersehen” (‘farewell’, ‘absence’, and ‘reunion’), and reportedly regarded the French “Adieux” (said to whole assemblies or cities) as a poor translation of the feeling of the German “Lebewohl” (said heartfully to a single person). Indeed, Beethoven wrote the syllables “Le-be-wohl” over the first three chords. On the first 1811 publication, a dedication was added reading “On the departure of his Imperial Highness, for the Archduke Rudolph in admiration”. An average performance of the piece lasts about 17 minutes. The sonata is one of Beethoven’s most challenging sonatas because of the mature emotions that must be conveyed throughout as well as the technical difficulties involved. It is also the bridge between his middle period and his later period and is considered the third great sonata of the middle period. [Source: Wikipedia] ————– Software and plugins used: Recorded on a Yamaha N3 Soundest: Vienna Instruments Bösendorfer Imperial Sound: Studio One v5 Video: Premiere Pro with Red Giant software ————–

You can find many more amazing video performances from Alexander on his YouTube channel —    / pianopanizza  .

You can find more about Alexander on these platforms: Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/AlexanderPan… Spotify | https://open.spotify.com/artist/0LxBG… Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/alexanderpa… Sound Cloud | https://soundcloud.com/alexander-panizza

TIME TO TANGO – OBLIVION – Astor Piazzolla – Odin Quartet 

Composer: Astor Piazzolla; Arranged by P. Treszczotka; Performed by Odin Quartet (Alex Toskov, violin; Tanya Charles Iveniuk, violin; Laurence Schaufele*, viola; Samuel Bisson, cello)

The “Time To Tango” video series was created and performed by the Odin Quartet earlier in 2021. This series was produced in conjuction with our SPO Community Partners, the Brantford Symphony Orchestra, and presented digitally at senior living centres in Brantford. The SPO appreciates being able to share these fantastic performances as part of our new 2021/2022 SPOGreatMusic Performance Series. To learn more about the composer, Astor Piazzolla, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astor_P….

For more information on the Odin Quartet, visit http://www.odinquartet.com.

For more information on the Brantford Symphony Orchestra, visit https://www.brantfordsymphony.ca.

For more information on the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra, visit https://www.spo.ca. #SPOGreatMusic#OdinQuartet#Oblivion