Prelude, Danse Bizarre and Nocturne: Rebecca Clarke’s early pieces for two Violins and Piano
A Lecture Recital – Feminist Theory and Music 12 – Hamilton College — August 3, 2013
Liane Curtis, with David Brickman and Patricia Sunwoo, Violins, and Steven Heyman, piano.
info@rebeccaclarke.org www.rebeccaclarke.org
Rebecca Clarke (1886-1979), British composer and violist of U.S. and German heritage. 20 pieces published in her lifetime; 80 works left unpublished.
Backstory on Clarke Estate issues:
Article in the Chronicle of Higher Education about Clarke’s estate forcing the withdrawal of the Reader (2004). http://chronicle.com/article/Silent-Treatment/36247
2009 article by Liane Curtis details issues with estate, and reprinting of the Reader by the Rebecca Clarke Society. http://www.fepproject.org/commentaries/rebeccaclarke.curtis.html
A Rebecca Clarke Reader (2004, reprinted 2005) available on Google Books
http://tinyurl.com/2p37sf (or for sale at www.rebeccaclarke.org)
Danse Bizarre mentioned in Clarke’s memoir (written 1967-1970).
Prelude, Danse Bizarre and Nocturne discovered in her estate late in 2000. Premiered in London in March 2003, and recorded and released later that year.
CD: Dutton Laboratories #7132, 2003. Rebecca Clarke: Chamber Music. Flesch Quartet. Ian Jones, Piano. Lorraine McAslan and David Juritz, violins.
Published by Prairie Dawg Press in 2012.
The Clarke Society’s critique/ suggested revisions of the Prairie Dawg Press edition: https://www.rebeccaclarke.org/neweditions/ (so far only Prelude and Nocturne)
Examples
- Danse Bizarre, beginning
- [2nd audio of Gamelan]
- Danse Bizarre (beginning of B section)
- Nocturne, mm. 8 – 14
Fourth movement – Finale, survives incomplete (8 pages)
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ABOUT THE PERFORMERS
Violinist David Brickman is known for his versatility and for his highly personal interpretations of the solo and chamber music repertoire. In 2001, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra commissioned composer Marek Harris to write a work for solo violin and orchestra for Mr. Brickman; New Angels was premiered in May of 2002 to an enthusiastic and sold-out house. Brickman has performed with violinist Hilary Hahn, pianist Diane Walsh, guitarist Eliot Fisk, members of the Emerson String Quartet, pianist Jon Nakamatsu, and led the Skaneateles Festival Orchestra. He has recorded contemporary American chamber music for the Milken Foundation and is a soloist on the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra’s 75th Anniversary CD. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music and Indiana University, Brickman is Associate Professor at the Eastman School of Music, and Concertmaster of the Rochester Chamber Orchestra.
Patricia Sunwoo (violin), winner of the 1998 Naumburg Award as a member of the Whitman String Quartet, has performed across the United States and Europe to critical acclaim. For five years she was on the faculty at Binghamton University. Ms. Sunwoo currently is a member of the Amenda String Quartet (dedicated to the performance of Beethoven String Quartets), and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2007 she founded the company www.PlayMyPiece.com for which she recorded and produced several albums of student violin music. She has also performed as a member of the Bard Festival String Quartet and new music groups Continuum, Sequitur and Da Capo Players. She received her DMA from The Juilliard School in 2001 under the tutelage of Sally Thomas.
David and Pattie are the owners of a new business, BodyMind Float Center, which offers Floatation Therapy and Salt Therapy in Rochester, NY.
Pianist Steven Heyman is an Associate Professor at Syracuse University where he is currently the Chair of the Department of Applied Music and Performance. He also serves as the Artist-in-Residence at Colgate University. He has appeared in solo recitals, chamber music concerts, and as concerto soloist in cities including London, Paris, Prague, Munich, Beijing, Shenyang, Vienna, Salzburg, Oslo, Montreal, Quebec, Los Angeles, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Washington, Salt Lake City, Juneau, Philadelphia, and New York (Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center). A graduate of the Juilliard School, he also attended the Hochschule in Vienna. Active in new music, he has CD recordings on the Opus One, Leonarda, Renegade Classics, Innova, Centaur, Black Box and Squires labels. He recently won a SAMMY award (CNY award for outstanding CD) and has been nominated for a Grammy Award in chamber music. After a residency at the Shenyang Conservatory, he was appointed a Visiting Professor. Heyman is a former faculty member of Hamilton College.
This event is sponsored by The Rebecca Clarke Society. The RCS is incorporated as a 501-c-3 non-profit organization, EIN 04-3532546, founded in 2000 and based in Massachusetts. Our goal is to honor the life and work of composer and violist Rebecca Clarke (1886-1979) by promoting interest in her and her music. We encourage and support performances, recordings and publication of her music, and scholarship concerning Clarke and her music. www.rebeccaclarke.org info@rebeccaclarke.org
