Program Notes The Year of the Rabbit – Daniel Dorff Daniel Dorff (1956-) is an American composer, saxophonist, and bass clarinetist born in New Rochelle, New York. His first major success as a composer came at the age of 18, where he won First Prize at the Aspen Music Festival’s annual composers’ competition. With degrees in composition from Cornell and University of Pennsylvania, as well as the opportunities to work with teachers such as George Crumb and Karel Husa, Dorff has contributed greatly to the solo and chamber woodwind repertoire, writing works for acclaimed musicians including the South Dakota Symphony, Ithaca College School of Music, as well as piccoloists Walfrid Kujala and Sarah Jackson. Dorff’s The Year of The Rabbit was written in 1999 for composer and flutist Alexandra Molnar-Suhajda and to premiere at the Mid-Atlantic Flute Fair in Bethesda, Maryland by the Columbia Flute Choir. Dorff took inspiration from his trip to Taiwan in 1997, as much of the ancient artwork is centered around the Chinese Zodiac. Hence, this piece, in addition to actual rabbits, is inspired by the characteristics and sayings about those born in the year of the rabbit, including those of Dorff’s family and Molnar-Suhajda herself (which he discovered later).
Trio Op.63 for Flute, Cello, and Piano – Carl Maria von Weber Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826) was a German composer who was a major influence in music going into the German Romantic era. He was born in Eutin, Bishopric of Lübeck as part of the Holy Roman Empire (this part is considered modern-day northern Germany) into a musical family and, being particularly prodigious at voice and piano, he learned music under his violinist father. His life beyond his music was filled with disease and tragedy, but his impact as a composer is undeniable, especially with his contributions to opera, as he took inspiration from Viennese, German, French, and Italian styles combined with his acute understanding of bringing out dramatic effect. Weber’s Trio Op. 63 is a four-movement chamber work written in 1819 for flute, cello, and piano. It also breaks from the typical structure of the classical symphony, showing aspects of change into the romantic era while still maintaining some classical outlines. The first movement “Allegro Moderato” is a moderately-paced movement in sonata form, in which each instrument passes around melodic ideas. The second movement “Scherzo” is a fast movement, in which the flute primarily takes the leading role with the cello and piano serving as accompaniment roles. The third movement “Schäfers Klage” (Shepard’s Lament) is a very slow and melodic movement, which is out of place for classical music, as it has “switched places” with the second movement, as it was typical for the slow movement to be second and the third movement to be the scherzo. The fourth movement “Finale” returns to a faster pace in sonata form, once again passing around melodic concepts between each of the voices, which were also inspired by Weber's opera Der Freischütz.
Entr’acte – Jacques Ibert Jacques Ibert (1890-1962) was a French composer who studied composition at the Paris Conservatoire from 1910 to 1914. Following his studies, World War I started, where he would then serve as a nurse and stretcher-bearer. After which, he would win first prize at the Prix de Rome in 1919, which was especially impressive, having put off his focus on music during the war. Afterwards, he would become renowned in France and abroad for composition in addition to his administrative roles in education, notably serving as the director of the Académie de France at the Villa Medici from 1937 to 1960, interrupted by World War II. In terms of his writing, Ibert had a vast list of compositions, including numerous dramatic, orchestral, chamber, and solo works. He preferred to maintain a sense of the French style in many of his works, but he allowed his creativity to shine brightest in his orchestral works, with three concertos, two symphonies, and eight symphonic movements, that showcase his complexity, precision, and balance in orchestration. Ibert’s Entr’acte is a chamber piece written in 1935 for either flute or violin and guitar or harp. Originally, the piece was from the opera Le médecin de son honneur, in which music was also written by Ibert, but was extracted and adapted to the pairings two years later. The music itself takes after concepts of Spanish and flamenco, resonant of