Heifetz on Air

Episode 6: A Little Romance

A Little Romance is in the air in this episode as Cupid’s arrow shoots its way onto the stages of the Heifetz Institute. We’ll hear a Vivaldi concerto made famous in a Laurence Olivier romcom; songs, sonatas and string quartets in the key of love; and a wedding gift from another Olivier – Messaien, in this case, played by a real-life husband and wife.
This Episode’s Playlist
Edward Elgar (1857 – 1934): Salut D’Amour, Op. 12Julia Angelov, violin | Zhenni Li-Cohen, pianoKreeger Museum of Art, Washington, DCHeifetz Institute Recording | 12.19.2019
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741): Guitar Concerto in D Major, RV 93Robby Brown, guitar | Yehun Danny Jin, violin; Kiarra Saito-Beckman, violin | Matt Cohen, viola | Zhihao Wu, celloLinehan Concert Hall, UMBC, Baltimore, MDHeifetz Institute Recording | 12. 16.2018
Wolgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 – 1791): Duo in B-flat Major for Violin & Viola, K. 424III. Andante grazioso con variazioniRachell Ellen Wong, violin | Andrew Gonazalez, violaBlackfriars Playhouse, American Shakespeare Center, Staunton, VAHeifetz Institute Recording | 05.21.2020
Alexander Borodin (1833 – 1887): String Quartet No. 2 – III. NotturnoLiana Branscome, violin; Strauss Shi, violin | Steven Baloue, viola | Ben Fried, celloSouth Market Stage, Grace Christian School, Staunton, VAHeifetz Institute Recording | 03.11.2022
Paul Coletti (B. 1959): From My HeartMatt Cohen, viola | Zhenni Li-Cohen, pianoKreeger Museum of Art, Washington, DCHeifetz Institute Recording | 12.16.2019
Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992): Thème et variationsKristopher Tong, violin | Miki Sawada, pianoFirst Presbyterian Church, Staunton, VAHeifetz Institute Recording | 07.16.2021
 
Go Deeper
Discover the Elizabethan theatre in the heart of downtown Staunton, Virginia (and hear its fine acoustics for Mozartian music-making in this episode)…the American Shakespeare Center’s Blackfriars Playhouse!
When not playing with Heifetz students (and, occasionally, her husband Kristopher Tong, as you’ll hear on this episode), pianist Miki Sawada is on an epic and inspiring state-by-state piano odyssey with her Gather Hear tour. 
See the trailer and the backstory to the 1979 movie A Little Romance starring Diane Lane (in her first film role) and Sir Laurence Olivier (in one of his final films).  The George Roy HIll-directed rom com won an Oscar for film composer George Delarue, that maybe should have gone to Antonio Vivaldi.

Episode 5: Strum, Shimmer, & Shine

We mark African-American History Month with works by Black composers ranging from the Roaring 1920s to our roiling 2020s. Featuring great Heifetz Institute performances of works by Clarence Cameron White, Jessie Montgomery, Florence Price, George Walker, and 19-year-old Jaylin Vinson.
This Episode’s Playlist
Clarence Cameron White (1880 – 1960): Bandana Sketches, Op. 12II. Lament: I’m Troubled in MindZachary Mowitz, cello | Miki Sawada, pianoVirtual Performance, Heifetz Rubato Digital Concert Hall |  07.29.2020
Jessie Montgomery (b. 1981): Strum (2006) Borromeo String Quartet: Nicholas Kitchen, violin | Kristopher Tong, violin | Mai Motobuchi, viola | Yeesun Kim, celloFirst Presbyterian Church, Staunton, VA | 07.16.2021
Jessie Montgomery: Peace (2020) Steven Baloue, viola | Michel-Alexandre Broekaert, pianoSouth Market Stage, Grace Christian School, Staunton, VA | 03.25.2022
Florence Price (1887 – 1953): Fantasie Nègre No. 1 (1929) Jessica X. Osborne, pianoVirtual Performance, Heifetz Rubato Digital Concert Hall  | 08.01.2020
Florence Price: Piano Quintet in A minor (1937) IV. Scherzo. AllegoElena Urioste, violin; Melissa White, violin | Paul Neubauer, viola | Rosemary Elliott, cello | Tom Poster, pianoFrancis Auditorium, Mary Baldwin University, Staunton, VA | 07.29.2022
Jaylin Vinson: Shimmer! (2021) Claire Druffner, Boubacar Diallo, Michael Zyzak, Nicholas Tsang, cellosFrancis Auditorium, Mary Baldwin University, Staunton, VA | 07.22.2022
George Walker (1922 – 2018): Lyric for Strings (1946)Borromeo String Quartet: Nicholas Kitchen, violin | Kristopher Tong, violin | Mai Motobuchi, viola | Yeesun Kim, celloWith Samuel Suggs, bassThe Heifetz Band – Young Artists of the Heifetz InstituteGreat Hall, Blackburn Inn & Conference Center, Staunton, VA | 08.06.2021
Go Deeper
Suddenly, Jessie Montgomery’s music is everywhere. Orchestras in the U.S. and overseas are opening their programs with Strum, Starburst, and Banner, vivacious pieces that incorporate vernacular and improvisatory elements while manipulating familiar textures and sonorities into something fresh and new.” Check out this profile of Musical America’s 2023 Composer of the Year.
Check out the playlist put together by Nashville Classical Radio about Clarksville, TN native Clarence Cameron White, whose 1918 “Bandana Sketches” are featured in this episode, in an arrangement for cello and piano made by Heifetz alum Zachary Mowitz.
WQXR announcer James Bennett has thoughts on Florence Price‘s Fantasie Nègre (performed in this episode by our Heifetz faculty pianist Jessica Osborne), not to mention mac’n’cheese.

Episode 4: Schubertiade!

From the composer’s time to our own, a “Schubertiade” is shorthand for a magical night of friendship and music-making, all revolving around the sparkling creations of Franz Schubert.  A contemporary called him “a heaven-inspired clairvoyant who, as it were, simply shook his most glorious things out of his sleeve.” On this episode,, we’ll share with you our own “Schubertiade” – featuring some of the composer’s most glorious confections from the stages of the Heifetz International Music Institute.
This Episode’s Playlist
Franz Schubert: Grand Duo in A Major, D. 574II. Scherzo. PrestoChloé Kiffer, violin | Hsin-Chiao Liao, pianoFrancis Auditorium, Mary Baldwin University, Staunton, VA | 07.51.2015
Schubert: Piano Trio No. 1 in B-flat Major, D. 898 III. Scherzo: AllegroErda Trio: Carlos Arroyo, violín | Nicco Mazziotto, cello | Seth Schultheis, pianoFirst Presbyterian Church, Staunton, VA | 07.01.2021
Schubert: Piano Quintet in A Major, D. 667 (“Trout”)IV. Andantino. Allegretto (Tema con variazioni )Brian Lewis, violin; | Barbara Westphal, viola | Colin Carr, cello | Sam Suggs, bass | Rohan DeSilva, pianoFrancis Auditorium, Mary Baldwin University, Staunton, VA | 08.02.2019
Schubert: Rondo Brillant in B Minor, D. 895Itamar Zorman, violin | Alexander Tentser, pianoFrancis Auditorium, Mary Baldwin University, Staunton, VA | 07.17.2016
Schubert: String Quartet No. 14 in D minor, D. 810 “Death & the Maiden” Borromeo Quartet: Nicholas Kitchen, violin | Kristopher Tong, violin | Mai Motobuchi, viola | Yeesun Kim, celloSamuel Suggs, bassThe Heifetz Band: All 85 students of the 2019 Heifetz International Music InstituteFirst Presbyterian Church, Staunton, VA | 08.09.2019
Go Deeper
You can count on Britain’s Classic FM to weigh in with Twenty Facts about Franz Schubert. (Schubertiades come in at No. 7).
How did a tiny trout (the original Schubert song clocks in at just over two minutes) become such a tall fish tale? Read the backstory over how the beloved Trout Quintet came to be!
“Franz Schubert’s Death and the Maiden sears a haunting image on my psyche that has few equals in music,” writes essayist Terez Rose.  Read the full story here…including the shout-out to our resident Borromeo Quartet  “in a fabulous rendition I recommend watching several times in a row.”

Episode 3: Only at Heifetz

A showcase for some of the inventive premieres, custom arrangements, and other one-of-a-kind performances that routinely happen in HeifetzLand! Featuring works by Bach, Haydn, Mozart, and Ralph Vaughan Williams as you’ve never heard them before, and all played on the stages of the Heifetz International Music Institute.
This Episode’s Playlist
J.S. Bach arr. Nicholas Kitchen: Prelude in B Major, fr. Book II of the Well-Tempered Clavier, BWV 892Borromeo Quartet - Nicholas Kitchen, violin | Kristopher Tong, violin | Mai Motobuchi, viola | Yeesun Kim, cello“The Kitchen Studio,” Boston MA | 05.21.2021
Mozart: Adagio F-Sharp Major, K. 404aBach, arr. Mozart: Fugue in F-Sharp Major fr. Book II of the Well-Tempered Clavier, BWV 882Heifetz Ensemble in Residence: Yezu Woo, violin | Matt Cohen, viola | Noémie Raymond-Friset, celloGreat Hall, Blackburn Inn & Conference Center, Staunton, VA | 02.28.2021
Haydn, recreated by Suggs: Contrabass Concerto in D MajorI. AllegroSamuel Suggs, doublebass | Jessica Osborne, pianoFirst Presbyterian Church, Staunton, VA | 08.02.2021
Mozart, arr. Mamiko Kobayakawa: Sinfonia Concertante in E-flat, K. 364II. AndanteShmuel Ashkenasi, violin solo | Kunbo Xu, viola solo | Rachell Wong, Strauss Shi, violins |Andrew Gonzalez, viola | Coleman Itzkoff, celloFrancis Auditorium, Mary Baldwin University, Staunton, VA | 07.10.2016
Haydn: Cello Concerto in C MajorIII. Allegro MoltoAmit Peled, cello soloDmitry Volkov, Antoinette Gan, Andrea Cassarubios, Tony Rymer, Yunjin Ro, Colin Stokes, cellosAnderson Hall, Brewster Academy, Wolfeboro, NH | 07.02.2009
Ralph Vaughan Williams, arr. Marin Gerigk: The Lark AscendingEric Silberger, violin soloVon Quartet: Jisun Lee, Guðbjartur Hákonarson, violins | Ursula Steele, viola | Joanne Yesol Choi, cello | Matt Sorrentino, bassFrancis Auditorium, Mary Baldwin College, Staunton, VA | 07.24.2016
Go Deeper
What is it about The Lark Ascending that makes it so perenially popular in Britain?  Violinist Jennifer Pike attempts to explain.
Follow along in the score to bassist / composer Samuel Suggs‘ inventive re-creation of the lost Haydn Contrabass Concerto in D major
Speaking of inventive re-arrangements, we have a whole playlist of Borromeo Quartet leader and Heifetz Artistic Director Nicholas Kitchen‘s reworking of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier for string quartet

Episode 2: Life’s Piano

His mother was a choir director; his wife was a conservatory-trained singer, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s speeches were peppered with musical cadences and images. Coming up on the next Heifetz On Air, a tribute in music to Dr. King, featuring works by Antonin Dvorak, Florence Price, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, and Virginia’s own Adolphus Hailstork.
This Episode’s Playlist
Florence Price: Piano Quintet in A minor: III. JubaElena Urioste, violin; Melissa White, violinPaul Neubauer, viola | Rosemary Elliott, cello | Tom Poster, pianoFrancis Auditorium, Mary Baldwin University, Staunton, VA | 07.29.2022
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: Deep River, Op. 59, No. 10 from 24 Negro Spirituals (1904)Wynton Grant, violin | Stefan Petrov, pianoMonroe’s Highland, Charlottesville, VA | 07.04.2016
Antonin Dvořák: String Quartet No. 12 in F, Op. 96 “American:”I. Allegro non troppoII. LentoJulia Angelov, violin; Yezu Woo, violin | Matt Cohen, viola |  Coleman Itzkoff, celloGreat Hall, Blackburn Inn & Conference Center, Stauton, VA | 03.14.2021
Florence Price: Piano Sonata in E minor (1932)II. AndanteAndrew Rosenblum, pianoFirst Presbyterian Church, Staunton, VA | 07.19.2021
Adolphus Hailstork: String Quartet No. 2, “Variations on Swing Low Sweet Chariot”Borromeo String Quartet - Nicholas Kitchen, violin | Kristopher Tong, violin | Mai Motobuchi, viola | Yeesun Kim, celloFrancis Auditorium, Mary Baldwin University, Staunton, VA | 07.29.2022
Go Deeper
Read about Coretta Scott King’s career as a violinist and singer – including clips of her performances!
Music in the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. went far beyond We Shall Overcome. You can find the earliest evidence in his boyhood home on Auburn Avenue in Atlanta, steps away from the celebrated Ebenezer Baptist Church, pastored by his father, Daddy King. Host Benjamin K. Roe explores the musical roots of MLK.
Enjoy this wide-ranging interview with Adolphus Hailstork, the Heifetz Institute’s 2022 Composer-in-Residence. Hailstork’s Epitaph for a Man Who Dreamed is one of the best-known pieces written in MLK’s memory.

Episode 1: New Beginnings & Old Friends

We kick off 2023 with a debut program that looks ahead to some milestones and new arrivals to the Heifetz Institute in the New Year, as well as celebrating the artistry of the students, alumni, and outstanding faculty who visit the Heifetz International Music Institute year after year.  You’ll hear performances of works by Rachmaninoff (whose 150th birth anniversary is coming up in 2023), Vivaldi, Beethoven, and the Scottish duo of Fraser & Haas, tapped to be resident artists at Heifetz 2023.
This Episode’s Playlist
 
Go Deeper
Learn why Alasdair Fraser has been called “The Michael Jordan of Scottish Fiddling,” and how the Scottish fiddler came to team up with the California cellist Natalie Haas. The groundbreaking duo will be  in residence at the 2023 Heifetz Festival of Concert
Marking the 150th anniversary of Rachmaninoff’s birthday is the Philadelphia Orchestra’s own kind of Super Bowl.  Find out about the composer’s unique Philly connection.
The renowned Heifetz faculty violinist Ilya Kaler joins our Heifetz Ensemble in Residence in our inagural season of the Heifetz Hear & Now series.  Tickets and information.