Cavatina Duo
Program
Marin Marais (1656-1728)
Folias d'Espagne (selection)
Alan Thomas (1968-)
Two Balkan Folk Songs:
The Shepherd's Dream
Sivi Grivi
Commissioned by and dedicated to the Cavatina Duo
David Leisner (1952-)
Dances in the Madhouse
Tango Solitaire
Waltz for the Old Folks
Ballad for the Lonely
Samba!
Intermission
Francisco Tárrega (1852-1909)
Capricho Arabe (for solo guitar)
Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992)
Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas (The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires)
(Arranged for the Cavatina Duo by Sérgio Assad)
Verano porteño
Otoño porteño
Invierno porteño
Primavera porteña
Georges Bizet (1838-1875) / François Borne (1840-1920) (arr. Joseph Zsapka)
Fantaisie brillante on themes from Bizet's "Carmen"
The Cavatina Duo appears by arrangement with Lisa Sapinkopf Artists, www.chambermuse.com
Program
Marin Marais (1656-1728)
Folias d'Espagne (selection)
Alan Thomas (1968-)
Two Balkan Folk Songs:
The Shepherd's Dream
Sivi Grivi
Commissioned by and dedicated to the Cavatina Duo
David Leisner (1952-)
Dances in the Madhouse
Tango Solitaire
Waltz for the Old Folks
Ballad for the Lonely
Samba!
Intermission
Francisco Tárrega (1852-1909)
Capricho Arabe (for solo guitar)
Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992)
Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas (The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires)
(Arranged for the Cavatina Duo by Sérgio Assad)
Verano porteño
Otoño porteño
Invierno porteño
Primavera porteña
Georges Bizet (1838-1875) / François Borne (1840-1920) (arr. Joseph Zsapka)
Fantaisie brillante on themes from Bizet's "Carmen"
The Cavatina Duo appears by arrangement with Lisa Sapinkopf Artists, www.chambermuse.com
ABOUT THE CAVATINA DUO
“Style, sympathy, and technical aplomb . . . it's doubtful that the Cavatina's sophisticated and artistic playing could be surpassed.” —Fanfare
The Cavatina Duo—Eugenia Moliner, flute (Spain) and Denis Azabagić, guitar (Bosnia)—has become one of the most impressive combinations of its kind in the world. The first guitar and flute duo to be featured on the covers of both Classical Guitar Magazine (UK) and Flute Talk (USA), the husband-and-wife Cavatina Duo breaks convention with their combination of instruments.
The duo's electrifying performances have captivated audiences worldwide in such major venues and festivals as Ravinia (Chicago), Da Camera Society (Los Angeles), Aix-en-Provence Summer Festival (France), the National Concert Hall of Taipei (Taiwan), National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing, National Flute Convention Gala Concert (USA), Kolkata International Guitar Festival (India), as well as in Spain, The Netherlands, South Korea, and many other countries.
Eugenia Moliner has been acclaimed as “brilliant” by the British Flute Society magazine. She has performed with principal musicians from the Chicago Symphony, Rotterdam Philharmonic and Toronto Symphony orchestras as well with many chamber ensembles, including the Chicago Chamber Musicians, Civitas Ensemble and the Aspen String Trio. Her discography includes ten CDs.
A prize-winner in twenty-four international competitions, Denis Azabagić has been described as a “virtuoso with flawless technique” by Soundboard Magazine. He has appeared as soloist with orchestras such as the Chicago and Madrid Symphonies, among many others. Azabagić has collaborated with the Chicago Chamber Musicians, the Civitas Ensemble and the Quartet Casals. His discography includes fourteen CDs, two DVDs and the book “On Competitions—Dealing with Performance Stress.”
The Cavatina Duo's discography includes:
River of Fire—Romani-insired commissioned works (with the Pacifica Quartet)
Folias and Fantasias—Music of Marais and Telemann. Critics' Choice, American Record Guide.
The Balkan Project— music from Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Macedonia.
Cavatina Duo Plays Piazzolla—arrangements by Sérgio Assad and Clarice Assad, commissioned by the Cavatina Duo.
Cavatina at the Opera—virtuosic arrangements of melodies from Carmen, La Traviata, Carnival of Venice, and more. Critics' Choice, American Record Guide.
Acrobats—Music of David Leisner
Sephardic Journey—commissioned works based on Sephardic melodies by five leading composers.
Program Notes
MARAIS:
The Parisian composer Marin Marais was a master of the viol (viola da gamba), and the leading French composer of music for the instrument. His Folies d'Espagne is a set of thirty-two variations on "La Folia," a popular theme which was also employed for variations by composers from Corelli through Liszt and Rachmaninoff. Although the title of the piece, Les Folies d'Espagne, references Spain, the theme was actually a lively Portuguese dance from the late 15th century. Marais said that he tried to make sure that the work was suitable for various kinds of instruments.
THOMAS:
While perusing a folksong collection, I came across a little tune labelled as "Croatian Lovesong." Though only eight bars long and extremely simple in its rhythmic and melodic construction, I became somewhat obsessed by the haunting beauty of this melody. I am often troubled by these "earworms," which in many cases I can only expel by writing a piece using the tune. In any case, as I sang the melody over and over in my mind, an image began to form of a shepherd on a hillside in the still evening air, playing variations on the melody as he drifted off to sleep. The score is headed with an excerpt from a poem by W.B. Yeats: "And I dreamed my lost love came stealthily out of the wood with her cloud-pale eyelids falling on dream-dimmed eyes."
Sivi grivi is based on a dance from the Pirin region of Bulgaria. Typical of the region, the piece employs an asymmetrical meter (7/8 in this case), and has a largely stepwise diatonic melody featuring the exotic sounding augmented 2nd interval. The piece is dedicated, with great admiration, to the Cavatina Duo. —Allan Thomas
LEISNER:
David Leisner (www.davidleisner.com) enjoys a multi-faceted career as a classical guitarist, a distinguished composer, and a master teacher. As a composer, Mr. Leisner is noted for the emotional and dramatic power of his music. Fanfare magazine described it as “rich in invention and melody, emotionally direct, and beautiful.” South Florida Classical Review called him “an original and arresting compositional voice.” The Cavatina Duo’s recording of his complete works for flute and guitar, Acrobats (Cedille) was released to exceptionally strong reviews. Leisner wrote, “In many cases, [the Cavatina Duo] play my music more beautifully than I imagined could be done. They are a composer’s dream.”
The composer writes: "Dances in the Madhouse was written in 1982. Originally for violin and guitar, it was composed with the flute in mind as an alternative. I also arranged it for orchestra in 1989. The inspiration for this piece was a lithograph by the early 20th-century American, George Bellows, called 'Dance in a Madhouse.' In it, four groups of asylum inmates are highlighted, and I wrote a dance for each of them. ‘Tango Solitaire’ is for the woman dancing a stylish dance, alone. 'Waltz for the Old Folks' is for a happy couple who seem perfectly comfortable with their insanity. A forlorn, despairing couple of women, sitting on the sidelines, prompted 'Ballad for the Lonely.' And ‘samba!’ is for the middle-aged couple performing a wild, dizzy dance."
TARREGA:
Capricho Árabe is the most popular work of the iconic Spanish guitarist Francisco Tárrega, who initiated the revival of interest in the classical guitar that had fallen out of fashion during the Romantic period. He traveled extensively throughout the country, exploring the folk traditions of different regions in order to create new aesthetics for the guitar music that remains relevant to this day.
Tárrega wrote his Capricho Árabe in 1888 while staying in Valencia. The following year, the piece was printed in Barcelona, becoming his first published composition. Tarrega had recently explored northern Africa and the Andalusia region of Spain, where Muslim and Christian cultures historically mixed. These travels strongly influenced Tarrega as he wrote this piece.
After the fast introduction designed to evoke associations with the Maqam melodic system, Capricho Árabe compositionally revolves around a single theme that softly develops in the key of D minor and then varies by turning to D major. This rather unusual modulation helps to create a distinctive contrast within the same work without making serious alterations to the performing style. At the end of the piece, the melodic passages return to their original forms and help re-establish the minor key.
Capricho Árabe, marked by the composer in the manuscript as a serenata, is dedicated to his fellow countryman Tomás Bretón, whose contribution to the establishment of Spanish folk traditions in classical music Tárrega considered to be vital.
Capricho Árabe was performed by several groups of musicians at the composer's funeral in 1909.
PIAZZOLLA:
Tango was the rage of Europe and America soon after World War I and was undistinguishable from the popular dance of the same name. This aggressive yet passionate tango, begotten in the brothels of turn-of-the-century Argentina and raised in the dance halls of Paris, became a quick, easy victim of parody. Tango became passé. In the mid-1950's, however, Argentine composer Astor Piazzolla began revolutionizing the tango. He created the Nuevo Tango by adding elements of dissonance, chromaticism, rhythmic complexity, and jazz. Piazzolla received death threats from Argentine "nationalists" and tango purists in response to his radical treatment of the tango. Only recently has his music become accepted, both in Argentina and also in concert halls throughout much of the world.
Piazzolla began writing Las Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas (The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires) in 1965 and finished the suite in 1970. Originally written for his own quintet of violin, bandoneon, electric guitar, piano, and double bass, Las Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas have become one of his best-known works. Piazzolla pays homage to the tango of Buenos Aires as well as the "serious" music of the great Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi. Vivaldian traces are most obvious in the closing bars of "Invierno porteño" (Winter), and a fugue-like section begins "Otoño porteño" (Autumn). With a breath of Nuevo Tango, Piazzolla gives new life to traditional classical forms.
BIZET/BORNE:
Since its premiere in 1875, Bizet’s Carmen has surely taken the lead as a subject for virtuosic showpieces by other composers. The opera’s color and passion have given rise to spectacular arrangements for piano, full orchestra, and–in the case of François Borne–flute.
Born in 1840, Borne was a flutist with the principal opera company in Bordeaux as well as a composer and professor at the conservatory in Toulouse. Expert in both instrumental technique and in the development of the flute as an instrument, he is still recognized for his technical contributions to the Böhm flute. The Fantaisie Brillante on Themes from Bizet’s Carmen is his only surviving work.
Borne fills his setting with spectacular arpeggios that require fleet fingering and consummate breath control. Carmen’s brilliant Habanera, a traditional dance that she performs with castanets (and with abundant flirting), anchors the work. But the mood of Borne’s Carmen is far brighter than that of the fatalistic Gypsy girl of Bizet’s opera. In Borne’s showpiece, a set of brilliant variations on her showy Habanera leads to a triumphant close–in marked contrast with the opera’s violent, tragic ending.
“Style, sympathy, and technical aplomb . . . it's doubtful that the Cavatina's sophisticated and artistic playing could be surpassed.” —Fanfare
The Cavatina Duo—Eugenia Moliner, flute (Spain) and Denis Azabagić, guitar (Bosnia)—has become one of the most impressive combinations of its kind in the world. The first guitar and flute duo to be featured on the covers of both Classical Guitar Magazine (UK) and Flute Talk (USA), the husband-and-wife Cavatina Duo breaks convention with their combination of instruments.
The duo's electrifying performances have captivated audiences worldwide in such major venues and festivals as Ravinia (Chicago), Da Camera Society (Los Angeles), Aix-en-Provence Summer Festival (France), the National Concert Hall of Taipei (Taiwan), National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing, National Flute Convention Gala Concert (USA), Kolkata International Guitar Festival (India), as well as in Spain, The Netherlands, South Korea, and many other countries.
Eugenia Moliner has been acclaimed as “brilliant” by the British Flute Society magazine. She has performed with principal musicians from the Chicago Symphony, Rotterdam Philharmonic and Toronto Symphony orchestras as well with many chamber ensembles, including the Chicago Chamber Musicians, Civitas Ensemble and the Aspen String Trio. Her discography includes ten CDs.
A prize-winner in twenty-four international competitions, Denis Azabagić has been described as a “virtuoso with flawless technique” by Soundboard Magazine. He has appeared as soloist with orchestras such as the Chicago and Madrid Symphonies, among many others. Azabagić has collaborated with the Chicago Chamber Musicians, the Civitas Ensemble and the Quartet Casals. His discography includes fourteen CDs, two DVDs and the book “On Competitions—Dealing with Performance Stress.”
The Cavatina Duo's discography includes:
River of Fire—Romani-insired commissioned works (with the Pacifica Quartet)
Folias and Fantasias—Music of Marais and Telemann. Critics' Choice, American Record Guide.
The Balkan Project— music from Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Macedonia.
Cavatina Duo Plays Piazzolla—arrangements by Sérgio Assad and Clarice Assad, commissioned by the Cavatina Duo.
Cavatina at the Opera—virtuosic arrangements of melodies from Carmen, La Traviata, Carnival of Venice, and more. Critics' Choice, American Record Guide.
Acrobats—Music of David Leisner
Sephardic Journey—commissioned works based on Sephardic melodies by five leading composers.
Program Notes
MARAIS:
The Parisian composer Marin Marais was a master of the viol (viola da gamba), and the leading French composer of music for the instrument. His Folies d'Espagne is a set of thirty-two variations on "La Folia," a popular theme which was also employed for variations by composers from Corelli through Liszt and Rachmaninoff. Although the title of the piece, Les Folies d'Espagne, references Spain, the theme was actually a lively Portuguese dance from the late 15th century. Marais said that he tried to make sure that the work was suitable for various kinds of instruments.
THOMAS:
While perusing a folksong collection, I came across a little tune labelled as "Croatian Lovesong." Though only eight bars long and extremely simple in its rhythmic and melodic construction, I became somewhat obsessed by the haunting beauty of this melody. I am often troubled by these "earworms," which in many cases I can only expel by writing a piece using the tune. In any case, as I sang the melody over and over in my mind, an image began to form of a shepherd on a hillside in the still evening air, playing variations on the melody as he drifted off to sleep. The score is headed with an excerpt from a poem by W.B. Yeats: "And I dreamed my lost love came stealthily out of the wood with her cloud-pale eyelids falling on dream-dimmed eyes."
Sivi grivi is based on a dance from the Pirin region of Bulgaria. Typical of the region, the piece employs an asymmetrical meter (7/8 in this case), and has a largely stepwise diatonic melody featuring the exotic sounding augmented 2nd interval. The piece is dedicated, with great admiration, to the Cavatina Duo. —Allan Thomas
LEISNER:
David Leisner (www.davidleisner.com) enjoys a multi-faceted career as a classical guitarist, a distinguished composer, and a master teacher. As a composer, Mr. Leisner is noted for the emotional and dramatic power of his music. Fanfare magazine described it as “rich in invention and melody, emotionally direct, and beautiful.” South Florida Classical Review called him “an original and arresting compositional voice.” The Cavatina Duo’s recording of his complete works for flute and guitar, Acrobats (Cedille) was released to exceptionally strong reviews. Leisner wrote, “In many cases, [the Cavatina Duo] play my music more beautifully than I imagined could be done. They are a composer’s dream.”
The composer writes: "Dances in the Madhouse was written in 1982. Originally for violin and guitar, it was composed with the flute in mind as an alternative. I also arranged it for orchestra in 1989. The inspiration for this piece was a lithograph by the early 20th-century American, George Bellows, called 'Dance in a Madhouse.' In it, four groups of asylum inmates are highlighted, and I wrote a dance for each of them. ‘Tango Solitaire’ is for the woman dancing a stylish dance, alone. 'Waltz for the Old Folks' is for a happy couple who seem perfectly comfortable with their insanity. A forlorn, despairing couple of women, sitting on the sidelines, prompted 'Ballad for the Lonely.' And ‘samba!’ is for the middle-aged couple performing a wild, dizzy dance."
TARREGA:
Capricho Árabe is the most popular work of the iconic Spanish guitarist Francisco Tárrega, who initiated the revival of interest in the classical guitar that had fallen out of fashion during the Romantic period. He traveled extensively throughout the country, exploring the folk traditions of different regions in order to create new aesthetics for the guitar music that remains relevant to this day.
Tárrega wrote his Capricho Árabe in 1888 while staying in Valencia. The following year, the piece was printed in Barcelona, becoming his first published composition. Tarrega had recently explored northern Africa and the Andalusia region of Spain, where Muslim and Christian cultures historically mixed. These travels strongly influenced Tarrega as he wrote this piece.
After the fast introduction designed to evoke associations with the Maqam melodic system, Capricho Árabe compositionally revolves around a single theme that softly develops in the key of D minor and then varies by turning to D major. This rather unusual modulation helps to create a distinctive contrast within the same work without making serious alterations to the performing style. At the end of the piece, the melodic passages return to their original forms and help re-establish the minor key.
Capricho Árabe, marked by the composer in the manuscript as a serenata, is dedicated to his fellow countryman Tomás Bretón, whose contribution to the establishment of Spanish folk traditions in classical music Tárrega considered to be vital.
Capricho Árabe was performed by several groups of musicians at the composer's funeral in 1909.
PIAZZOLLA:
Tango was the rage of Europe and America soon after World War I and was undistinguishable from the popular dance of the same name. This aggressive yet passionate tango, begotten in the brothels of turn-of-the-century Argentina and raised in the dance halls of Paris, became a quick, easy victim of parody. Tango became passé. In the mid-1950's, however, Argentine composer Astor Piazzolla began revolutionizing the tango. He created the Nuevo Tango by adding elements of dissonance, chromaticism, rhythmic complexity, and jazz. Piazzolla received death threats from Argentine "nationalists" and tango purists in response to his radical treatment of the tango. Only recently has his music become accepted, both in Argentina and also in concert halls throughout much of the world.
Piazzolla began writing Las Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas (The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires) in 1965 and finished the suite in 1970. Originally written for his own quintet of violin, bandoneon, electric guitar, piano, and double bass, Las Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas have become one of his best-known works. Piazzolla pays homage to the tango of Buenos Aires as well as the "serious" music of the great Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi. Vivaldian traces are most obvious in the closing bars of "Invierno porteño" (Winter), and a fugue-like section begins "Otoño porteño" (Autumn). With a breath of Nuevo Tango, Piazzolla gives new life to traditional classical forms.
BIZET/BORNE:
Since its premiere in 1875, Bizet’s Carmen has surely taken the lead as a subject for virtuosic showpieces by other composers. The opera’s color and passion have given rise to spectacular arrangements for piano, full orchestra, and–in the case of François Borne–flute.
Born in 1840, Borne was a flutist with the principal opera company in Bordeaux as well as a composer and professor at the conservatory in Toulouse. Expert in both instrumental technique and in the development of the flute as an instrument, he is still recognized for his technical contributions to the Böhm flute. The Fantaisie Brillante on Themes from Bizet’s Carmen is his only surviving work.
Borne fills his setting with spectacular arpeggios that require fleet fingering and consummate breath control. Carmen’s brilliant Habanera, a traditional dance that she performs with castanets (and with abundant flirting), anchors the work. But the mood of Borne’s Carmen is far brighter than that of the fatalistic Gypsy girl of Bizet’s opera. In Borne’s showpiece, a set of brilliant variations on her showy Habanera leads to a triumphant close–in marked contrast with the opera’s violent, tragic ending.
