Event Detail

Trio, Op. 274 (1905) - Carl Reinecke (1873-1916)
for piano, clarinet and horn
Allegro | Ein Märchen | Scherzo | Finale

Quintet in D Major, Op. 42 (1893) - Zden?k Fibich (1850-1900)                             
for violin, clarinet, horn, cello and piano
Allegro non tanto | Largo | Scherzo | Finale

Mari Kawamura, piano
Cecilia Kim, cello
Päivikki Nykter, violin
Robert Zelickman, clarinet
Jane Zwerneman, French horn                                                     

Program notes

Born in Hamburg but living most of his life in Leipzig, Carl Reinecke was one of the most versatile musicians in 19th century Germany, recognized as a conductor, pianist and teacher as well as a composer. In 1860, he was appointed director of Leipzig’s great Gewandhaus orchestra, a position he held for more than 30 years. There he led the premier performance of Brahms’s German Requiem and joined the Gewandhaus Quartet in the premier performance of Brahms’s great Piano Quintet. He served as a teacher for 35 years, first as a professor at the Cologne Conservatory and then at the Leipzig Conservatory. Students came from all over Europe to study with him, and included composers Edvard Grieg, Leoš Janá?ek, Isaac Albeniz, Max Bruch and Frederick Delius. As a pianist, he toured Western Europe as a concert artist, probably unrivaled as a performer of Mozart. Known for his legato style in a time of keyboard brainstorming, Liszt picked him as the teacher for his own two daughters. Near the end of his life, at the age of 80, he recorded piano rolls, making him the earliest-born pianist to have his playing preserved in any format. As a composer, he first wrote music for his own performance – four piano concertos and cadenzas for concertos by other composers. After his retirement from teaching, he devoted his time for composing, resulting in a life-time output of nearly 300 published works. At a time of great changes in music, he was basically a conservative, producing music of classical design, proportion and restraint.

This Trio was one of three, composed in his mature years, for unusual combinations of instruments; Op. 188 for oboe, horn and piano; Op. 264 for viola, clarinet and piano, and Op. 274 for clarinet, horn and piano. He produced them to perform with Leipzig friends who played instruments then with limited roles in the chamber music repertory.

The Op. 274 Trio, which we hear today, was composed in 1905, five years before Reinecke’s death, and is the work of a superior craftsman writing in the harmonic language and spirit of the late Romantic period just coming to an end. Indeed, the first movement, Allegro, is in conventional sonata form and could well have written by Brahms. It begins with a six-measure horn call repeated by the clarinet and blended with a third theme led by the piano and culminating in a long crescendo to a climax. The second movement is titled Ein Märchen (a German fairytale) – a caption used previously by Schumann for music depicting a somewhat sinister world of fairies. There is a touch of that element here in an otherwise restful mood picture. In the third movement, a Scherzo, Reinecke again follows Schumann’s lead in providing two contrasting trios. Note the vigor and bravura writing for the horn. The Finale, is launched with the clarinet’s statement of the main theme. This is followed by a series of sections giving all three instruments a chance to shine and ending with a formal announcement of the starting theme.  -Willard J. Hertz

Zden?k Fibich is the third of the so-called Big Three of 19th century Czech composers, the other two being Smetana and Dvo?ák. That Fibich is not as well known as the other two is not because his music was in any way inferior, but simply because he lived during a time of extreme national consciousness and unlike Dvorak and Smetana, he did not choose only to write in a purely Czech idiom. Rather, his music, though exhibiting Slavic elements, is more typically Central European in sound. This reflects his background. One of his parents was Czech, the other an Austrian German. His education was at both Czech and German schools. He studied at the famous Leipzig Conservatory then spent a year in Paris. Hence Fibich, in contrast to either Dvorak or Smetana, was the product of two cultures, German and Czech. His instrumental works are generally in the vein of the German romantics such as Mendelssohn, Schumann and Wagner.

Fibich’s Quintet is one of the most original sounding chamber music works because of the unusual tone color effects that Fibich creates. Clearly, in its original version for piano, winds and strings, the nature of the instruments, by themselves alone, creates the stunning and rich effects. However, the version for standard piano quintet benefited immeasurably because Fibich strove hard to maintain the wonderful tone color of the original. The Quintet dates from 1893. Because of the unusual combination of instruments Fibich selected for the original version, his publisher, knowing not many copies would be sold, asked for a version for standard piano quintet. This he produced and yet, such was Fibich's genius, that it in no way sounds like an arrangement and often even gives the feeling of being an altogether separate composition. The main theme to first movement, Allegro non tanto, is warm-hearted and presents a colorful reflection on the peacefulness of nature with a somewhat rustling quality in the background. There is a brief orchestral call to attention before the music seamlessly drifts away. The second movement, Largo, has for its main subject a melody which is serene and dignified but also capable of tremendous passion. A Schubertian Scherzo, with two trios comes next. Fibich gives the instruction "to be played with wild humor." The finale, Allegro con spirito, is bright, joyous and festive.  -Edition Silvertrust

Biographies for performers

Robert Zelickman, clarinetist, has been teaching and performing in San Diego since 1982.  He is a member of the bass clarinet quartet JAMB and co-director of Second Avenue Klezmer Ensemble.  Robert was a member of Orchestra Nova for 23 seasons and has performed with the San Diego Symphony and the San Diego Opera. Recently, Robert retired from UC San Diego (1983-2015) where he lectured on Jewish Music, conducted the Wind Ensemble and performed regularly, premiering many new compositions.  He currently performs in recitals and chamber music concerts throughout San Diego. Zelickman earned his BA at UCLA and a MFA at Cal Arts. He studied with Hugo Raimondi, Michele Zukovsky and Ronald Rueben. 

Jane Zwerneman has been an active recitalist, freelance musician and teacher in the San Diego area since 1987, performing regularly in productions at the La Jolla Playhouse and the Old Globe Theater, and with the Gilbert Castellanos Jazz Orchestra, Joe Garrison and Night People, Orchestra Nova and the San Diego Symphony. As horn soloist with the Orquesta de Baja California from 1992-2000 she performed and recorded extensively throughout Mexico and the United States. She earned her MM and DMA degrees from the Eastman School of Music where she studied horn with Verne Reynolds and composition with Samuel Adler and Joseph Schwantner. Dr. Zwerneman was a member of the faculty at Grossmont College from 1989 to 2009. In her spare time she works as Assistant Director of the Stuart Collection at UC San Diego, commissioning new public art for the campus.

A versatile recitalist and chamber musician, violinist Päivikki Nykter, is equally at home with standard repertoire as well as contemporary music. A native of Finland, she is a graduate of the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. Ms. Nykter served as an Artist-in-Residence at the University of California San Diego Music Department from 1994 to 2006. She is now a freelance violinist maintaining a busy concert schedule as well as teaching the Alexander Technique both in the US and Europe. Ms. Nykter is an artistic director of a Chamber Music Concert Series in Lappeenranta, Finland. She has recorded on Neuma, Aucourant Records, CRI, Old King Cole, Omega Editions and mode labels.

Cellist Cecilia Kim, a native of Korea, where she began her music career at a young age. She received a Bachelor and a Master’s degree at the Daegu Catholic University as a full scholarship recipient and earned another Master degree at San Diego State University. She has held positions in many orchestras including the Daegu Symphony Orchestra and the Daegu Chamber Ensemble. Simultaneously, she made highly acclaimed solo appearances with the Daegu Symphony Orchestra, the Daegu Philharmonic Orchestra, the Daegu Catholic University Orchestra and the University of San Diego Orchestra. Also, she held a faculty position at the Daegu Catholic University and the University of San Diego. Currently, she has been giving many performances around San Diego County.

Mari Kawamura is a concert pianist whose curiosity and wide-ranging interests have taken her in many directions. Her repertoire includes pieces by William Byrd, late Scriabin, Xenakis, Cage and several contemporary Japanese composers. She has been collaborating with composers for many years and has premiered many works by young composers. She has appeared in the major festivals, such as Tanglewood Music Center, Spoleto Festival USA and the Darmstadt International Summer Course and has given both solo and chamber music concerts in various venues, including Jordan Hall (Boston), Regent Hall (London) and Kirsten Kjær Museum (Denmark). Her 2013 performance of Xenakis’s Dikthas at the SICPP in Boston was described as "an unrelenting volcanic eruption" by NEWMUSICBOX. Kawamura holds a Master’s degree from the Royal Academy of Music, where she achieved the DipRAM prize for her outstanding final recital. Her teachers included Vadim Sakharov and Tatiana Sarkissova. After studying with Stephen Drury at the

New England Conservatory in the Graduate Degree Program, Kawamura is now pursuing her DMA degree under Aleck Karis at the University of California San Diego.