Concert 1 – “Regenlieder”
Saturday, October 5, 2024 @ 7:30 PM
Michelle Elliott, violin | Mary Ellen Haupert, piano
Thomas Hunt, horn | Ann Schoenecker, soprano
Nola Starling Recital Hall
PROGRAM
Chamber Music by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Regenlied, Op. 59, No. 3
Nachklang, Op. 59, No. 4
Ann Schoenecker, soprano | Mary Ellen Haupert, piano
Notes:
Brahms Eight Songs, Op. 59 were published in 1873 and are best known is probably best known for the Regenlieder (Rain Songs) that share thematic and accompanimental material in the final movement of the Sonata for Violin and Piano, Op. 78. for their common subject and shared musical content. These were the songs Brahms used as the melodic material for the final movement of his Violin Sonata, Opus78. The protagonist in the third song, Regenlied (Rain Song) dreams of happier times of the past. The incessant rain is depicted in the repeated notes of the piano's accompaniment, while the voice sings its plaintive melody above. A chorale-like central section expresses a childlike belief in the soul and creation that is in stark contrast to the gloomy melancholy of the outer sections. The fourth song in the set, Nachklang (Lingering Sound), is constructed from material from Regenlied. As such, the text must be read as an ironic commentary, or afterword, which likens the raindrops to tears, expressing grief for the lost innocence of childhood.
Sonata for Violin and Piano in G Major, Op. 78 (1879)
I. Vivace ma non troppo
II. Adagio
III. Allegro molto moderato
Michelle Lee Elliott, violin | Mary Ellen Haupert, piano
Notes:
Written during the summers of 1878 and 1879, Brahms' Op. 78 is the first of his three sonatas for violin and piano. Composed in a cyclical fashion, the dotted rhythm on D, introduced by the violin at the opening of the first movement, links directly to the start of the third and final movement. The middle movement embodies the height of the Romantic era with breathless gestures and sequences ascending by half-step. Brahms' passion for absolute music (as opposed to program music) allowed him to leave open to the listener the true intention behind his musical words. This piece was immediately beloved by audiences and musicians alike; the revered Clara Schumann once wrote to the composer: “I played it at once, and could not help bursting into tears of joy over it.” Nicknamed the "Rain Sonata" because of the final movement's incorporation of a theme from Brahms' earlier work, Regenlied ("Rain Song"), Clara said of it: “I wish the last movement could accompany me…to the next world.”
BRIEF INTERMISSION
Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano, Op. 40 (1865)
I. Andante - Poco più animato
II. Scherzo. Allegro - Molto meno allegro - Allegro
III. Adagio mesto
IV. Finale. Allegro con brio
Michelle Lee Elliott, violin | Thomas Hunt, horn | Mary Ellen Haupert, piano
Notes:
The opening movement is as novel as the instrumentation: rather than a full, fast paced "sonata form" strain and development, Brahms begins with a leisurely andante that oscillates between two themes (that apparently came to his mind while walking through the forest) (descriptor is redundant). Rich and emotional, this fresh "outdoor" music flows easily while pursuing subtle thematic variations in his finest manner. Lively, pert and galloping, the second movement is a sparkling scherzo with a bounty of themes engaging all three players in dialog. But its contrasting trio slows and darkens into a minor key with a distant, cold lament. Though the romping scherzo returns, the sorrow broached in the trio must find its full expression in the third, slow movement that Brahms labeled "Adagio mesto" (the somewhat rare Italian word "mesto" meaning truly sad). Many regard this spare, haunting movement as Brahms's elegy for his recently deceased mother. It aches with despair - somber bass notes from the horn, ominous rumblings in the piano, deafening silence. Briefly, a distant horn calls out a hopeful hymn, a German folk melody titled "In the Meadow Stands a House" as an ephemeral light in the darkness. Brahms releases us from one of his most intense, entrancing musical creations with a rousing finale to the charge of the galloping horn. It uses as the main theme "In the Meadow Stands a House" again, foreshadowed in the previous movement. Here it is transformed from celestial grace to earthy vitality. - Notes by Kai Christiansen
ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES
ANN ELISE SCHOENECKER, soprano, has performed multiple genres of music from music theatre to opera to oratorio throughout the United States and Europe. She has appeared in over 30 theatrical roles, most recently at the famed Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, CA. Prior to her current position at Viterbo University in La Crosse, WI, Dr. Schoenecker has held teaching positions at The Performing Arts Studios, Vienna, in Vienna, Austria, Luther College, University of Minnesota and the University of Missouri-Columbia. Dr. Schoenecker is a former Regional Metropolitan Opera Finalist, Finalist in the Jenny Lind National Competition for Sopranos and has sung many roles with Opera Boston among others. Dr. Schoenecker is a graduate of Luther College, the University of Missouri-Columbia under the tutelage of Costanza Cuccaro, the University of Minnesota where she received her DMA in vocal performance and pedagogy under Lawrence Weller and Dr. Clifton Ware, with additional certifications in Contemporary and Commercial Vocal Pedagogy from Shenandoah University under the guidance of Matt Edwards. Dr. Schoenecker is a sought-after clinician and singer and has been blessed to share her experiences with people from all parts of the world. Her students have successfully performed on international and national stages in music theatre and opera. Dr. Schoenecker currently resides in Onalaska, WI with her husband and four daughters, where she is a tenured, full Professor of Theatre and Music Theatre at Viterbo University teaching vocal pedagogy and applied voice lessons.
MICHELLE LEE ELLIOTT, violin, was a founding member of the Vinca Quartet from 2003-2008, during which time the quartet was awarded a string quartet residency with the Tákacs Quartet at the University of Colorado. The Vincas were prizewinners of the Fischoff, Chesapeake, Plowman, and Premio Paolo Borciani Competition and they were selected to participate in the Banff Summer Music Festival, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, International Musicians Seminar at Prussia Cove, Juilliard String Quartet Seminar, Jeunesses Musicales Deutschland, and the Emerson Quartet’s Carnegie Hall Training Workshop. Michelle has performed as concertmaster for the Elgin and Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestras as well as the Yale Philharmonia. Summer programs include a fellowship at the Aspen Music Festival, the International Masterclasses at Kloster Schontal, Meadowmount, Austin Chamber Music Festival, and Manchester Music Festival in Vermont. Michelle received her BM degree from the University of Illinois, as well as MM and AD degrees from Yale University. She also received her DMA at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Michelle’s primary teachers include Edward Dusinberre, Syoko Aki, Danwen Jiang, Sherban Lupu, Dr. Myron Kartman, Zenaida Gilels, Terrine Gomez, and Mary Nagy. Michelle currently resides in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and teaches privately in her home studio and in the La Crosse Symphony Orchestra’s lessons program at the Erickson Boys and Girls Club. She is associate concertmaster of the LSO and a founding member of Ensemble Druzhba. She joined the faculty at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in the fall of 2022.
THOMAS ALLEN HUNT’s musical career spans many years in Germany, Austria, and the USA. He won full time orchestral positions in Innsbruck, Wiesbaden, and the prestigious Essen Philharmonic Orchestra, and performed with them for many years. As a freelance musician he has performed with the Camerata Academica Salzburg, Amati Ensemble Berlin, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Radio Symphony Orchestra Berlin, the West German Radio Orchestra Cologne, the Jacksonville Symphony, the Savannah Symphony, the Gainesville Chamber Orchestra, the Wisconsin Wind Symphony, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and the La Crosse Wind Symphony. As a chamber music specialist he has performed the gamut of works for horn, from woodwind and brass quintet to works such the Brahms Trio on tonight’s program. Dr. Hunt has recorded many chamber works for the Austrian National Radio (ÖRF) and for the Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg including the Brahms Trio. He has appeared as the featured soloist with the Orchester der Salzburger Sommerakademie, the University of Florida Orchestra, the Fort Dodge Symphony, and the Toledo Symphony. He retired as full professor from Ohio Northern University in 2019 where he had served as department chair, wind orchestra director, and horn instructor. At that time he moved, with his wife Angelika, to La Crosse, where he is active as a private lessons teacher and free lance musician.
MARY ELLEN HAUPERT is a tenured Professor of Music at Viterbo University, and holds a B.A. in music education with emphases in piano/flute performance from the College of St. Scholastica, as well as M.M. and Ph.D. degrees in Piano Performance Practice from Washington University in St. Louis, MO. She also holds certificates from the Diocesan School of Biblical Studies and St. Mary’s University (Pastoral Ministries). In addition to teaching, Mary Ellen was Director of Music and Liturgy at Roncalli Newman Parish from 1998-2023. Her performing interests are almost exclusively in the realm of chamber music. In the four-hand world, her collaborations with Timothy Schorr have included appearances at Washington University in St. Louis, The University of St. Francis in Joliet, Illinois, Winona State University, the Edinburgh Society of Musicians, and Wisconsin Public Radio’s Live from the Chazen. Haupert was artistic director and founder of the One-of-a-Kind Chamber Music Series (2008-2018) and the Bonfire Summer Chamber Music Series (2018-2022); she currently directs and performs on Viterbo University’s Out-of-Our-Minds Chamber Music Series (2018-present). She has recorded Louise Farrenc’s Sonata for Piano and Cello in B-flat Major, Op. 46 (comp. 1857-1858) and the Sonata for Piano and Violin in A Major, Op. 39 (comp. 1850-1855) with violinist Nancy Oliveros and cellist Kirsten Whitson in July, 2012, as well as (2014) Farrenc’s two piano trios, Opus 33 and 34 with Nancy Oliveros and cellist Laura Sewell, both on the CENTAUR LABEL.
FREE ADMISSION | DONATIONS WELCOME
Saturday, October 5, 2024 @ 7:30 PM
Michelle Elliott, violin | Mary Ellen Haupert, piano
Thomas Hunt, horn | Ann Schoenecker, soprano
Nola Starling Recital Hall
PROGRAM
Chamber Music by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Regenlied, Op. 59, No. 3
Nachklang, Op. 59, No. 4
Ann Schoenecker, soprano | Mary Ellen Haupert, piano
Notes:
Brahms Eight Songs, Op. 59 were published in 1873 and are best known is probably best known for the Regenlieder (Rain Songs) that share thematic and accompanimental material in the final movement of the Sonata for Violin and Piano, Op. 78. for their common subject and shared musical content. These were the songs Brahms used as the melodic material for the final movement of his Violin Sonata, Opus78. The protagonist in the third song, Regenlied (Rain Song) dreams of happier times of the past. The incessant rain is depicted in the repeated notes of the piano's accompaniment, while the voice sings its plaintive melody above. A chorale-like central section expresses a childlike belief in the soul and creation that is in stark contrast to the gloomy melancholy of the outer sections. The fourth song in the set, Nachklang (Lingering Sound), is constructed from material from Regenlied. As such, the text must be read as an ironic commentary, or afterword, which likens the raindrops to tears, expressing grief for the lost innocence of childhood.
Sonata for Violin and Piano in G Major, Op. 78 (1879)
I. Vivace ma non troppo
II. Adagio
III. Allegro molto moderato
Michelle Lee Elliott, violin | Mary Ellen Haupert, piano
Notes:
Written during the summers of 1878 and 1879, Brahms' Op. 78 is the first of his three sonatas for violin and piano. Composed in a cyclical fashion, the dotted rhythm on D, introduced by the violin at the opening of the first movement, links directly to the start of the third and final movement. The middle movement embodies the height of the Romantic era with breathless gestures and sequences ascending by half-step. Brahms' passion for absolute music (as opposed to program music) allowed him to leave open to the listener the true intention behind his musical words. This piece was immediately beloved by audiences and musicians alike; the revered Clara Schumann once wrote to the composer: “I played it at once, and could not help bursting into tears of joy over it.” Nicknamed the "Rain Sonata" because of the final movement's incorporation of a theme from Brahms' earlier work, Regenlied ("Rain Song"), Clara said of it: “I wish the last movement could accompany me…to the next world.”
BRIEF INTERMISSION
Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano, Op. 40 (1865)
I. Andante - Poco più animato
II. Scherzo. Allegro - Molto meno allegro - Allegro
III. Adagio mesto
IV. Finale. Allegro con brio
Michelle Lee Elliott, violin | Thomas Hunt, horn | Mary Ellen Haupert, piano
Notes:
The opening movement is as novel as the instrumentation: rather than a full, fast paced "sonata form" strain and development, Brahms begins with a leisurely andante that oscillates between two themes (that apparently came to his mind while walking through the forest) (descriptor is redundant). Rich and emotional, this fresh "outdoor" music flows easily while pursuing subtle thematic variations in his finest manner. Lively, pert and galloping, the second movement is a sparkling scherzo with a bounty of themes engaging all three players in dialog. But its contrasting trio slows and darkens into a minor key with a distant, cold lament. Though the romping scherzo returns, the sorrow broached in the trio must find its full expression in the third, slow movement that Brahms labeled "Adagio mesto" (the somewhat rare Italian word "mesto" meaning truly sad). Many regard this spare, haunting movement as Brahms's elegy for his recently deceased mother. It aches with despair - somber bass notes from the horn, ominous rumblings in the piano, deafening silence. Briefly, a distant horn calls out a hopeful hymn, a German folk melody titled "In the Meadow Stands a House" as an ephemeral light in the darkness. Brahms releases us from one of his most intense, entrancing musical creations with a rousing finale to the charge of the galloping horn. It uses as the main theme "In the Meadow Stands a House" again, foreshadowed in the previous movement. Here it is transformed from celestial grace to earthy vitality. - Notes by Kai Christiansen
ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES
ANN ELISE SCHOENECKER, soprano, has performed multiple genres of music from music theatre to opera to oratorio throughout the United States and Europe. She has appeared in over 30 theatrical roles, most recently at the famed Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, CA. Prior to her current position at Viterbo University in La Crosse, WI, Dr. Schoenecker has held teaching positions at The Performing Arts Studios, Vienna, in Vienna, Austria, Luther College, University of Minnesota and the University of Missouri-Columbia. Dr. Schoenecker is a former Regional Metropolitan Opera Finalist, Finalist in the Jenny Lind National Competition for Sopranos and has sung many roles with Opera Boston among others. Dr. Schoenecker is a graduate of Luther College, the University of Missouri-Columbia under the tutelage of Costanza Cuccaro, the University of Minnesota where she received her DMA in vocal performance and pedagogy under Lawrence Weller and Dr. Clifton Ware, with additional certifications in Contemporary and Commercial Vocal Pedagogy from Shenandoah University under the guidance of Matt Edwards. Dr. Schoenecker is a sought-after clinician and singer and has been blessed to share her experiences with people from all parts of the world. Her students have successfully performed on international and national stages in music theatre and opera. Dr. Schoenecker currently resides in Onalaska, WI with her husband and four daughters, where she is a tenured, full Professor of Theatre and Music Theatre at Viterbo University teaching vocal pedagogy and applied voice lessons.
MICHELLE LEE ELLIOTT, violin, was a founding member of the Vinca Quartet from 2003-2008, during which time the quartet was awarded a string quartet residency with the Tákacs Quartet at the University of Colorado. The Vincas were prizewinners of the Fischoff, Chesapeake, Plowman, and Premio Paolo Borciani Competition and they were selected to participate in the Banff Summer Music Festival, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, International Musicians Seminar at Prussia Cove, Juilliard String Quartet Seminar, Jeunesses Musicales Deutschland, and the Emerson Quartet’s Carnegie Hall Training Workshop. Michelle has performed as concertmaster for the Elgin and Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestras as well as the Yale Philharmonia. Summer programs include a fellowship at the Aspen Music Festival, the International Masterclasses at Kloster Schontal, Meadowmount, Austin Chamber Music Festival, and Manchester Music Festival in Vermont. Michelle received her BM degree from the University of Illinois, as well as MM and AD degrees from Yale University. She also received her DMA at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Michelle’s primary teachers include Edward Dusinberre, Syoko Aki, Danwen Jiang, Sherban Lupu, Dr. Myron Kartman, Zenaida Gilels, Terrine Gomez, and Mary Nagy. Michelle currently resides in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and teaches privately in her home studio and in the La Crosse Symphony Orchestra’s lessons program at the Erickson Boys and Girls Club. She is associate concertmaster of the LSO and a founding member of Ensemble Druzhba. She joined the faculty at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in the fall of 2022.
THOMAS ALLEN HUNT’s musical career spans many years in Germany, Austria, and the USA. He won full time orchestral positions in Innsbruck, Wiesbaden, and the prestigious Essen Philharmonic Orchestra, and performed with them for many years. As a freelance musician he has performed with the Camerata Academica Salzburg, Amati Ensemble Berlin, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Radio Symphony Orchestra Berlin, the West German Radio Orchestra Cologne, the Jacksonville Symphony, the Savannah Symphony, the Gainesville Chamber Orchestra, the Wisconsin Wind Symphony, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and the La Crosse Wind Symphony. As a chamber music specialist he has performed the gamut of works for horn, from woodwind and brass quintet to works such the Brahms Trio on tonight’s program. Dr. Hunt has recorded many chamber works for the Austrian National Radio (ÖRF) and for the Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg including the Brahms Trio. He has appeared as the featured soloist with the Orchester der Salzburger Sommerakademie, the University of Florida Orchestra, the Fort Dodge Symphony, and the Toledo Symphony. He retired as full professor from Ohio Northern University in 2019 where he had served as department chair, wind orchestra director, and horn instructor. At that time he moved, with his wife Angelika, to La Crosse, where he is active as a private lessons teacher and free lance musician.
MARY ELLEN HAUPERT is a tenured Professor of Music at Viterbo University, and holds a B.A. in music education with emphases in piano/flute performance from the College of St. Scholastica, as well as M.M. and Ph.D. degrees in Piano Performance Practice from Washington University in St. Louis, MO. She also holds certificates from the Diocesan School of Biblical Studies and St. Mary’s University (Pastoral Ministries). In addition to teaching, Mary Ellen was Director of Music and Liturgy at Roncalli Newman Parish from 1998-2023. Her performing interests are almost exclusively in the realm of chamber music. In the four-hand world, her collaborations with Timothy Schorr have included appearances at Washington University in St. Louis, The University of St. Francis in Joliet, Illinois, Winona State University, the Edinburgh Society of Musicians, and Wisconsin Public Radio’s Live from the Chazen. Haupert was artistic director and founder of the One-of-a-Kind Chamber Music Series (2008-2018) and the Bonfire Summer Chamber Music Series (2018-2022); she currently directs and performs on Viterbo University’s Out-of-Our-Minds Chamber Music Series (2018-present). She has recorded Louise Farrenc’s Sonata for Piano and Cello in B-flat Major, Op. 46 (comp. 1857-1858) and the Sonata for Piano and Violin in A Major, Op. 39 (comp. 1850-1855) with violinist Nancy Oliveros and cellist Kirsten Whitson in July, 2012, as well as (2014) Farrenc’s two piano trios, Opus 33 and 34 with Nancy Oliveros and cellist Laura Sewell, both on the CENTAUR LABEL.
FREE ADMISSION | DONATIONS WELCOME
