Program Notes by Lorne Tepperman

Divertimento K. 138                         Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

Mozart composed this Salzburg Symphony or Divertimento and its two companions K. 136 and K. 137 in 1772, when he was just 16. Young Wolfgang was already an accomplished virtuoso performer, and his set of three Divertimenti K. 136-138, also known affectionately as the “Salzburg Symphonies,” show creative finesse far beyond his years. Scholars are not sure whether Mozart himself called this delightful work and its two companions divertimentos, in view of the fact that works identified that way in Mozart’s time normally possessed more than the three movements in this group.  However during the 18th Century the terms divertimento, serenade, notturno and cassation were all used rather loosely, and a work such as this might be given any one of these titles, all meant to indicate a light diversion for an evening at court.

Mozart was about to travel from Salzburg to Milan with his father for a production of his opera Lucio Silla and may have written K. 136-138 to have some music ready to show potential patrons there. Or they may have been written as background music for evenings at the Archbishop of Salzburg’s court. Mozart’s letters do not make his intentions for these three delightful pieces clear, but in any event they have claimed their place among his most popular works.

Fantaisie brilliante for Violin on Gounod’s Faust      Henryk Wieniawski (1835-1880)

String Orchestra version by Nurhan Arman                                           

During his lifetime Wieniawski was much more famous as a violin virtuoso than as a composer, though his composing ability actually helped him early in his career to win his wife. His future parents-in-law opposed the marriage, but after Wieniawski composed his Légende for them in 1859 they softened and gave their consent.

Wieniawski invented a style of bowing later known as the “Russian bow grip.” It allows the violinist to play the so-called “devil’s staccato” more easily than discovered previously, and it particularly important for performing this extremely challenging work. Written to display Wieniawski’s own virtuoso prowess, the Fantaisie brilliante contains astonishingly difficult effects throughout, including the devil’s staccato. Wieniawski uses extreme techniques as well as extended lyrical passages to project the heart-stopping beauty and drama captured in the melodies of Gounod’s opera about Faust’s deal with the devil and consequent apotheosis of his lost love. 

Lacrymae Rerum - Tears of Things                                              Norbert Palej (1977 -     )

World premiere                                                                                          

Sunt lacrimae rerum et mentem mortalia tangent. There are tears of things and mortal thoughts touch the mind. Book I, line 462 of the Aeneid by the Roman poet Virgil (70-19 BCE)

This work is an inspiration across countries and many centuries.  In November 2022, the Polish accordionist Maciej Frackiewicz was Maestro Arman’s soloist during a guest-conducting engagement in Germany. Wowed by Frackiewicz’s tremendous artistry and virtuosity, Maestro Arman connected him with Toronto composer Norbert Palej, who had been in touch about writing a new piece for Sinfonia Toronto. Lacrimae rerum and Frackiewicz’s Canadian debut are the result.

Originally from Cracow, Palej has had works premiered three times at Carnegie Hall and his music has been heard in Canada, the US, Thailand, Poland, Chile, Norway, Germany, Italy, Brazil, Austria, Hungary, Great Britain, Costa Rica, and across China. His 2021 project "Return from the Stars" was developed in collaboration with the European Space Agency, introduced from aboard the International Space Station orbiting Earth, and presented at the Expo 2020 Dubai. He is Associate Professor of Composition and the artistic director of the annual New Music Festival at the University of Toronto, and also an active concert pianist and conductor. He is a recipient of the Toru Takemitsu Award from the Japan Society in Boston, the ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award, the Robbins Family Prize in Music Composition, the Benjamin Britten Memorial Fellowship and Ontario and Toronto Arts Council Recording and Commissioning grants. 

The passage from Virgil, relevant today as it was two millennia ago, is Aeneas’ exclamation upon seeing murals on a temple in Carthage, where he has landed as refugee. Gazing at a mural depicting Trojan War battles and the deaths of his friends and comrades, he weeps and says "sunt lacrimae rerum et mentem mortalia tangent" - "there are tears of things and mortal thoughts touch the mind.”

This famous phrase is occasionally re-contextualized as a sad comment about life's inevitable sorrows, but in the epic poem it is, rather, Aeneas’ emotion on realizing his has found a haven where others may understand his travails and sorrow.

The Trojan War, Aeneas’ plight and the power of the Aeneid have resonated for centuries. Franz Liszt used Sunt lacrimae rerum as the title of the fifth piece in the last volume of his Années de pèlerinage - Years of Pilgrimage; W. H. Auden used the phrase in his poem 'A Walk after Dark'.  Pope Francis cited it in his 2020 Encyclical Fratelli tutti, "On fraternity and social friendship," while referring to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Five Tango Sensations                               Astor Pantaleón Piazzolla  (1921- 1992)

Piazzolla composed this suite of five works for bandoneon and string quartet in 1989. It is a later work which highlights his unique incorporation of jazz elements and classical music into traditional tango rhythms, a style often referred to as nuevo tango. These pieces are a fine example of the Argentine maestro's innovative approach to tango. In five short movements, he offers us a profound expression of diverse human emotions, each piece or movement presenting a distinct musical narrative.

Asleep is characterized by a dreamy, serene quality, and evokes a sense of calm introspection. The music is gentle and soothing with a slow, steady pace that mirrors the feeling of drifting into sleep. Loving captures the essence of affection and warmth. Expressive and tender, its melodic lines intertwine and embrace, reflecting the intimacy and closeness of love. Anxiety contrasts sharply with the previous sensations. It is intense and unsettling; it conveys a sense of restlessness and turmoil, with dissonant harmonies and abrupt changes in dynamics and tempo. Awakening represents a transition from sleep to consciousness, starting with slow lines that gradually gain momentum and intensity, depicting the process of awakening and the surge of energy that comes with it. Fear is the final sensation, characterized by its dramatic and powerful expression, conveying a sense of impending danger. This music is dynamic and forceful, with a strong rhythmic drive and sharp, piercing dissonances, creating an atmosphere of tension and suspense.

Together, these five pieces form a compelling and deeply emotive suite that reflects the complexity of human emotions and experiences, perhaps reflecting Piazzolla’s sense of impending mortality; he composed the suite just after a significant health scare. Premiered and recorded in New York by the Kronos Quartet with Piazzolla on the bandoneon, "Five Tango Sensations" was part of Piazzolla's final studio session and marked a poignant capstone to his remarkable career.

Piazzolla consistently experimented with other musical forms and instrumental combinations. In 1965 he collaborated on an album with Jorge Luis Borges, where Borges's poetry was narrated over avant-garde music Piazzolla composed, including the use of twelve-tone techniques, free non-melodic improvisation and modal harmonies.   In 1968 he wrote and produced an operetta for a large ensemble including flute, percussion, multiple strings and three vocalists, combining sections in Piazzolla's own style with numbers ranging from waltz and hurdy-gurdy to a piano/narrator bar-room scene you might imagine having seen in the movie Casablanca.

BIOGRAPHIES

Maciej Frąckiewicz, accordionist - Winner of the 20th ‘Arrasate Hiria’ International Accordion Competition in Spain (2012), one of the most prestigious competitions in this category. In 2013 he received the “Polityka” magazine “Passport” award for “very mature and diverse interpretations of contemporary music and other music genres. For courage, daring and consistency. For enriching the musical repertoire. For his concert creations and stimulating our imagination, as well as his persuasive strength”.

He is also a laureate of prestigious international accordion competitions in Poland, Germany, Slovakia, Italy and Spain – he won Deutscher Musikwettbewerb in Bonn (2018), Folkwang Preis in Essen (2017), GWK Competition in Münster (2015), he received 2nd prize at the 42nd International Accordion Competition in Klingenthal, Germany (2008).

He has performed with symphony orchestras such as Warsaw Philharmonic, the Polish Radio National Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Mainz, Beethoven Ochester Bonn, Bochumer Symphoniker under the baton of Łukasz Borowicz, José Maria Florêncio, Jacek Kaspszyk, Krzysztof Penderecki, Rasmus Baumann, Bassem Akiki, Fuad Ibrahimov and others.

He appeared in festivals in Poland and abroad, including the Warsaw Autumn, La Folle Journée (Warszawa), Festiwal Muzyki Polskiej (Kraków), Musica Polonica Nova (Wrocław), Muzyczny Festiwal w Łańcucie, Neue Horizonten, Klangbrücke (Hanower), Odessa Classics, Contrasts (Lviv), Farinelli Festival di Musica Classica (Andria), Krzysztof Penderecki Days (Yerevan), Musique au Leman (Thonon-les-Bains), Latvian New Music Days (Riga), Folefest (Lisbon), Daegu International Contemporary Music Festival (S. Korea), Moscow Autumn (Russia), Gubaidulina’s Days in Katowice (Poland), Cleveland Classical (USA). Recently he has performed recitals during Niedersächsische Musiktage, Chapeau Classique, Ludwigsburgschlossfestspiele, Gezeitenkonzerte (Germany).He regularly tours USA and China.

Maciej Frąckiewicz premiered over 100 new pieces for accordion – most of them were dedicated to him. In November 2016 he recorded Gubaidulina!s Under the Sign of Scorpio, in Januar 2018 he premiered Penderecki!s Accordion Concerto, which was recorded in December 2018 under the baton of the composer with Polish Orchestra Sinfonia Iuventus. This recorded was honored with the Fryderyk polish music industry preis for the Best Concerto Album. Until now he recorded 7 albums (nominated to the Opus Klassik - german musik industry prize), on over 10 albums he appeared as a guest. He recorded for polish radio and polish tv, LR3 Latvijas Radio, Radio de Portugal, WDR3 und Deutschlandfunk Kultur.

He studied at the Frederic Chopin University of Music (UMFC) in Warsaw (Poland)with Prof. Klaudiusz Baran, HfM in Detmold (Germany) with prof. Grzegorz Stopa, ESMUC

in Barcelona with Inaki Alberdi, FUdK in Essen with Prof. Mie Miki. He has attended master courses at the MUK in Vienna (with Teodoro Anzellotti), Landesakademie in Ottweiler. He has participated ino masterclasses with Paolo Pandolfo and Krystian Bezuidenhout, as well as numerous classes with Yuri Shishkin and Claudio Jacomucci.

He served as a jury member during accordion competition in Castelfidardo (Italy), Klingenthal (Germany), Lissabon and Loule (Portugal) and in Harbin (China).

Dr. Maciej Frąckiewicz since October 2018 leads the accordion class at Hochschule für Musik Detmold, regularly teaches during master courses in Europe and in Asia.

He plays on a Pigini Nova and he is the chairman of Foundation Armonia dell’arte, where he manages cultural projects with cooperation with leading polish cultural institutions.

David Baik, Violinist - Featured on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s “30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians Under 30", South Korean-born violinist David Baik is noted for his powerful yet sincere sound. Baik is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2023 Peter-Mendell Award from the Jeunesses Musicales Canada Foundation, Grand Prize at the 2021 NAC Bursary Competition, consecutive First Prizes at the 2016 and 2017 Canadian Music Competition, Sturdevant Prize, Gerhard Kander Graduating Award, Dorothy Richard Starling Foundation Fellowship, and the Gabriella Dory Prize. Recently, Baik was named a winner of the 2023 Canada Council Musical Instrument Bank competition.

He participated in lessons and masterclasses with many internationally renowned musicians, including James Ehnes, Midori Goto, Mathieu Herzog, Ani Kavafian, Paul Kantor, Martin Beaver, Alexander Kerr, and Kathleen Winkler, as well as the New Orford String Quartet, Dover Quartet, Tokyo String Quartet, Quatuor Diotima, St. Lawrence String Quartet, and the Alban Berg Quartet. Baik obtained his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Toronto, where he was mentored by Jonathan Crow. In 2022, he was awarded a fellowship at the Schulich School of Music, where he continued his studies under the guidance of Andrew Wan.

As an avid chamber musician, Baik has engaged in notable collaborations with esteemed artists such as Camden Shaw, Charles Richard Hamelin, Jennifer Koh, Andrew Wan, Desmond Hoebig, Jonathan Crow, and Philip Chiu. Additionally, his string quartet, the Stelios Quartet, has garnered acclaim, earning multiple awards, including the 2024 Schiermonnikoog Festival Audience Award and the Grand Prize at the 2023 McGill Chamber Music Competition. Their upcoming schedule features a notable lineup of concerts throughout the Netherlands, with performances scheduled in Eelde, Rhenen, Dalfsen, and Schiermonnikoog. Also an active soloist, Baik has performed with the Durham Chamber Orchestra, North York Symphony Orchestra, and the Ottawa Youth Orchestra.

Baik has made appearances at the Toronto Summer Music festival, Schiermonnikoog Festival, Aspen Music Festival, Netherlands String Quartet Academy, McGill International String Quartet Academy, Orford Music Festival, and the Meadowmount School of Music. For the 2024/25 season, David Baik will be a resident of the Rebanks Family Fellowship and International Residency Program at the Royal Conservatory of Music. He performs on the 1871 J.B. Vuillaume violin, generously on loan from the Canada Council for the Arts.

Sinfonia Toronto now in its 26th season, has toured twice in Europe, in the US, South America and China, receiving glowing reviews. It has released six CD’s, including a JUNO Award winner, and performs in many Ontario cities. Its extensive repertoire includes all the major string orchestra works of the 18th through 21st centuries, and it has premiered many new works. Under the baton of Nurhan Arman the orchestra’s performances present outstanding international guest artists and prominent Canadian musicians.

Maestro Nurhan Arman has conducted throughout Europe, Asia, South America, Canada and the US, returning regularly to many orchestras in Europe. Among the orchestras Maestro Arman has conducted are the Moscow Philharmonic, Deutsches Kammerorchester Frankfurt, Filarmonica Italiana, St. Petersburg State Hermitage Orchestra, Orchestre Regional d’Ile de France, Hungarian Symphony, Arpeggione Kammerorchester, Milano Classica and Belgrade Philharmonic.