Compact Discoveries™
a series of one-hour radio programs produced, written, hosted, recorded and edited by Fred Flaxman
©2004 and 2006 by Compact Discoveries, Inc.
Program 53
"Chamber Music Palm Beach"
MUSIC: Muczynski, opening of Fragments [Klavier K-11105, track 11] [under the following] [0:52]
You are listening to the opening of Fragments by the
American composer Robert Muczynski. It is being performed by Chamber
Music Palm Beach, our featured performers on this hour of Compact Discoveries. I’m your guide, Fred Flaxman.
MUSIC: ends
Chamber Music Palm Beach is the ensemble of highly professional
musicians who founded the Palm Beach Chamber Music Festival in 1992.
From its beginning as a summer festival with three performances, the
Palm Beach Chamber Music Festival’s impact and following have
grown to such an extent that Chamber Music Palm Beach now presents nine
festival concerts during the months of July and August to large and
enthusiastic audiences, they started winter concerts in 2004, and they
have made several recordings for the Klavier label, which we are going
to sample now. Here’s the group’s recording of Francis
Poulenc’s Mouvements Perpétuels, the opening selection on their “Buried Treasure” album.
MUSIC: Poulenc: Mouvements Perpétuels [Klavier K-11105, tracks 1-3] [5:26]
Mouvements Perpétuels by Francis Poulenc as performed by
Chamber Music Palm Beach, from their “Buried Treasure”
compact disc on the Klavier label. That piece featured flutist Karen
Fuller Dixon, oboist Kelly Peterson Peral, clarinetist Michael Forte,
bassoonist Michael Ellert, Dwayne Dixon on French horn, violinist Bruce
Wethey, violist Elizabeth Derderian-Wood, cellist Elaine Boda, and
Janet Clippard on double bass.
Let’s hear another beautiful piece performed by this superb group
now. Here’s Chamber Music Palm Beach playing Joaquin
Turina’s beautiful 1926 composition La Oración del Torero (The Toreador’s Prayer).
MUSIC: Turina: La Oración del Torero [Klavier K-11105, track 10] [7:57]
Joaquin Turina’s La Oración del Torero (The Toreador’s Prayer) performed by our featured artists on this hour of Compact Discoveries,
Chamber Music Palm Beach. That was scored for two violins, viola and
cello. The violinists were Bruce Wethey and Jephta Bernstein. The
violist was Elizabeth Derderian-Wood. The cellist was Elaine Boda.
They’re all members of Chamber Music Palm Beach.
Let’s listen to another cut from this Chamber Music Palm Beach
“Buried Treasure” CD. This is the second of two Aubades
for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, two violins, viola, cello and
double bass by French composer Edouard Lalo, who lived from 1823 until
1892. The word aubade comes from the French aube, meaning “dawn,” and implies early morning music.
MUSIC: Lalo: Aubade No. 2 [Klavier K-11105, track 17] [3:47]
The second of two Aubades by Edouard Lalo for flute, oboe,
clarinet, bassoon, horn, two violins, viola, cello and double bass,
performed by Chamber Music Palm Beach. You heard Karen Fuller Dixon on
flute, Kelly Peterson Peral on oboe, Michael Forte on clarinet, Michael
Ellert on bassoon, Dwayne Dixon on horn, David Mastrangelo and Jephta
Bernstein on violins, James Griffith on viola, Susan Moyer on cello,
and Jason Lindsay on double bass.
You are listening to Compact Discoveries. I’m your guide, Fred Flaxman, and this hour we are exploring compact discs by Chamber Music Palm Beach.
O.K. More Chamber Music Palm Beach now from their “Buried
Treasure” album. Here’s the final movement of South Florida
contemporary composer Clark McAlister’s Lou’s Mountain Bread. The name is derived from some of the folk tunes he incorporates into this piece.
MUSIC: McAlister: Lou’s Mountain Bread, third movement [Klavier K-11105, track 13] [3:03]
The final movement of Clark McAlister’s playful composition, Lou’s Mountain Bread.
The title comes from the folk music he incorporated throughout this
piece, including “Skip to My Lou.” The Chamber Music Palm
Beach performers were Karen Fuller Dixon on flute, Kelly Peterson Peral
on oboe, Michael Forte on clarinet, Michael Ellert on bassoon, David
Mastrangelo and Jephta Bernstein on violins, James Griffith on viola,
Susan Moyer on cello, and Jason Lindsay on double bass.
Next we turn to another CD by Chamber Music Palm Beach. It’s
called “Illuminations.” First we’ll hear the opening
movement of British composer Malcolm Arnold’s Trio for flute, bassoon and viola.
MUSIC: Arnold: opening movement from Trio, Op. 6 with Chamber Music Palm Beach [Klavier K 11135, track 6] [3:25]
The opening movement of Malcolm Arnold’s Trio, Opus 6.
The performance was from the Chamber Music Palm Beach
“Illuminations” CD. The flutist, once again, was Karen
Fuller Dixon. Bassoonist was Michael Ellert. The violist was James
Griffith.
You are listening to Chamber Music Palm Beach recordings on this hour of Compact Discoveries.
[optional one-minute break not included in total timing of the program]
Back to the interesting recordings of unusual works by
Chamber Music Palm Beach now and a delightful piece by a French
composer I had never heard of before: Emile Paladilhe, who lived from
1844 until 1926. We’ll hear his Danse noble for violin, viola and cello.
MUSIC: Paladilhe: Danse noble with Chamber Music Palm Beach [Klavier K11135, track 10] [3:35]
Danse noble by Emile Paladilhe performed by Chamber Music Palm Beach: Mei Mei Luo, violin; James Griffith, viola; and Susan Moyer, cello.
This was from a Klavier CD called “Illuminations.”
Our next selection is from the same CD. It is the final movement of the Nonet
for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, violin, viola, cello and
double bass by Bohuslav Martinu. Once again, Chamber Music Palm Beach.
MUSIC: Martinu: Nonet: Allegretto with Chamber Music Palm Beach [Klavier K11135, track 13] [5:14]
The final movement from Martinu’s Nonet as performed by Chamber Music Palm Beach on a Klavier compact disc.
Next, an excerpt from another Klavier recording with Chamber Music Palm
Beach: The album is called “Prisms,” and it features music
by Irving Fine, Amy Beach, Darius Milhaud, Charles Tomlinson Griffes,
Clark McAlister, Albert Roussel and Garbriel Pierné.
I’d like to devote an entire Compact Discoveries hour
to Pierné some time. He is a delightful French composer who has
been unjustly neglected. This Chamber Music Palm Beach CD includes a
performance of his Ballet de Cour, which I would translate as
“Royal Court Ballet,” even though the French word for royal
isn’t in the title. But that makes it clear that Pierné
isn’t writing music for a criminal or civil court, after all.
The reason that it is called the Royal Court Ballet is because it uses dances that were popular in the royal courts of France: the rigaudon, the passepied, the canarie and the menuet. The ballet was written in 1901 as a set of piano pieces, many years before Ravel wrote his Tombeau de Couperin and Respighi created his Ancient Dances and Airs, using the same idea for a suite based on dances from the past.
We hear two movements from this ballet suite: The first is called Pavane et Saltarelle; the second, Passamezzo.
MUSIC: Pierné: “Pavane et Saltarelle” and “Passamezzo” from Ballet de Cour, performed by Chamber Music Palm Beach [Klavier K11142, tracks 19 and 21]
Two movements from Gabriel Pierné’s Ballet de Cour. First you heard “Pavane et Saltarelle;” then “Passamezzo.”
We’ll conclude this hour with a couple of more pieces by French
composers from a another Chamber Music Palm Beach recording on the
Klavier label. The CD is called “True Colors.” We’ll
hear a first recording of the Divertissement from Divertissement et Musette
written in 1902 by Gustave Samazeuilh, who lived from 1877 until 1967.
Samazeuilh wasn’t very well known even when he was alive, and he
is even less well-known today. But this little piece, I think
you’ll agree, is a compact discovery.
MUSIC: Samazeuilh: Divertissement from Divertissement et Musette performed by Chamber Music Palm Beach [Klavier 11120, track 1] [3:25]
Gustave Samazeuilh’s Divertissement performed by
Chamber Music Palm Beach. Our final work on this hour devoted to the
CDs of Chamber Music Palm Beach is the second movement of Jacques
Ibert’s Deux Mouvements (Two Movements) for two
flutes, clarinet and bassoon. The flutists are Karen Fuller Dixon and
Beth Larsen. The clarinetist, once again, is Michael Forte; the
bassoonist, once again, is Michael Ellert.
MUSIC: Ibert: Deux Mouvements: Assez vif et rhythmé performed by Chamber Music Palm Beach [Klavier K11120, track 5] [2:40]
A short piece by Jacques Ibert: the second of two movements for two
flutes, clarinet and bassoon performed by Chamber Music Palm Beach.
MUSIC: same as opening
This is Fred Flaxman hoping that you have enjoyed our selections
during the past hour and that you’ll let me hear from you. You
can reach me in care of the Compact Discoveries website at
www.compactdiscoveries.com. You can also use the website to view
complete scripts for these programs, including information on every CD
used. And you can stream this and other Compact Discoveries programs on demand at the Public Radio Exchange website, www.prx.org.
Compact Discoveries is distributed via the Public Radio Exchange.
MUSIC: ends at 56:45
ANNOUNCER: Compact Discoveries is made possible in part by Story Books, publishers of The Timeless Tales of Reginald Bretnor, selected and edited by Fred Flaxman. Samples and ordering available at bretnor.com, b-r-e-t-n-o-r dot com. [0:15]
RECORDING ENDS at 57:00