April 30 - Sum Up

41st day of summer, which by now has included 11 days in the 80's and 3 in the 90's,

off to second day of

Diablo Valley College Music Theory review,

catching up on quizzes amongst other issues,

returning

to grade papers and compose a third page for the fourth movement of Six Enneads. 

Buzz

back

to

the schule for the

Literature class, the last regular one, with music from John Adams, Sting, Mark Alburger, Tan Dun, Prince, and Erling Wold -- looking ahead to the Exam, Part I...

Write 8 Bars of Music

Short Essay
Where Has Music Been? (5+ sentences)
(i.e. your thoughts on the history of music... what have you learned?)

Listening
Bono - With or Without You
Osvaldo Golijov - Oceana
Kurt Cobain - Heart-Shaped Box
Steven Clark - Amok Time
Thom York - Morning Bell
Michael Cooke - Ha Meaggel

***

Out with

Doug

and

Owen thereafter,

encountering clarinetist / composer / electronic musician Chris Knight and his beautiful beloved.

April 29 - Plus sa Change

Despite that it's the first day of review, back in front of the Theoreticians for Howard Shore's The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring: Shire Theme for Dictation and Board Harmony.

Before this,

the morning commute is as

beautiful as ever.

After,

lunch at Mimi's

and

homeward again on the scenic 680 /

80 corridor,

past the Poverties

and

Lagoons (on the 40th day of summer -- again the warmest of the year -- 93) to compose page 2 fourth movement for Six Enneads.

April 28 - Without Stopping

Second

rehearsal

for  

Moving 

Day (8pm, Saturday, May 4) with San Francisco Composers Chamber Orchestra in the evening at Lick-Wilmerding,

and all proceeds apace.

Before this, essential errands and an

enlightening video, the latter while beginning composition re fourth movement of Six Enneads,

then (on the 39th day of summer -- the warmest of the year thus far -- 91)

proceeding

down

80 through the

Sulfur Springs,

detouring on 580,

over the Bay Bridge,

along

280

to

the

space.

April 27 - Opus 4

THE OPUS PROJECT

Opus 4

8pm, Saturday, April 27, 2013
Berkeley Arts Festival
2133 University Avenue, Berkeley, CA


Op. 4, No. 1

Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951)         
Transfigured Night, Op. 4 (1899) (Dehmel)
     Introduction

The Opus Project Strings
                    

        
Bela Bartok (1881-1945)            
Orchestral Suite No. 2, Op. 4 (1907)
     II.  Allegro scherzando (diabolico): Dance
                       
     The Opus Project Orchestra

Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)       
Fireworks, Op. 4 (1908)
     Introduction

     The Opus Project Orchestra

Anton Webern (1883-1945)       
Five Songs on Poems by Stefan George, Op. 4 (1909)
     II.  Noch zwingt mich Treue

     Kate Bautch, Soprano
     Feona Lee Jones, Piano

Alban Berg (1885-1935)       
Five Orchestral Songs on Postcard Texts by Peter Altenberg, Op. 4 (1912)
     I.  Seele, wie bist du schöner, tiefer, nach Schneestürmen
                           
      Kate Bautch, Soprano
      The Opus Project Orchestra

Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953)       
Four Pieces for Piano, Op. 4 (1908)
      IV.  Suggestion Diabolique

                        Feona Lee Jones, Piano           

Darius Milhaud (1892-1974)           
La Brebis Egaree (The Lost Sheep), Op. 4 (1914) (Francis Jammes)
                        Act I, Scene I, Tres modere: Pierre

                        Mark Alburger, Tenor
                        Melissa Smith, Piano

Paul Hindemith (1895-1963)            Lustige (Funny) Sinfonietta, Op. 4 (1916)
                        I.  Die Galgenbrüder (The Gallows Brothers):
                            Fugato - Das Grosse Lalula (The Big Lalula)
                                (after Morgenstern)
                       
                        The Opus Project Orchestra


Op. 4, No. 2 (52')

Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975)
Two Fables of Krylov, Op. 4 (1922)
      I.  The Dragonfly and the Ant
                           
      Sarita Cannon, Soprano
      The Opus Project Orchestra
       

John Cage (1912-1992)           

The Seasons, Part I (1947)
     Prelude 1
     Winter
     Prelude 2
     Spring

     Patti Deuter, Piano

Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
A Simple Symphony, Op. 4 (1933)
     II.  Playful Pizzicato
                       
     The Opus Project Strings

Jim Ryan (b. 1932)
       

Improvisation on "Danny Boy" (2013)

     Jim Ryan, Tenor Sax

                

Arvo Part (b. 1935)           
Fratres, for Cello and Piano (1989)

     Crystal Pascucci, Cello
     Shani Aviram, Piano

David Gilmour (b. 1946)           
Richard Wright (b. 1943)
Breathe (Roger Waters) (1973)                   

Mark Alburger (b. 1957)       
Poems on Crane, Op. 4 (1975)
     II.  The Wayfarer
                       
     The Opus Project Orchestra

Rachel Condry (b. 1975)        

Brass Quintet (2011)

       The Opus Project Brass

       Quintet

Feona Lee Jones (b. 1985)       
Morning Mist / You (2013)

     Feona Lee Jones, Piano

Michael Stubblefield (b. 1989)   
Overworld (2012)

     The Opus Project End-of-Time Quartet*
                       

THE OPUS PROJECT ORCHESTRA

Mark Alburger                   
Music Director and Conductor

Flute       
Alan Kingsley
Cory Wright

Clarinet
Rachel Condry
Cory Wright

Bassoon
Michael Garvey

Trumpet
Michael Beveridge
Cindy Collins

Horn
Sally Johnson

Trombone
Zack Newbegin

Tuba
Amy Chinn

Soprano
Kate Bautch
Sarita Cannon

Mezzo-Soprano
Harriet March Page

Tenor
Mark Alburger

Guitar
Michael Stubblefield

Piano
Shani Aviram
Patti Deuter
Feona Lee Jones
Melissa Smith*

Violin I
Laura Shifley

Violin II
Laurence Huang*

Viola
Christian Bamala
Christina Lesicko

Cello
Heidi Jones
Jen Adler Mathers*
Crystal Pascucci

Bass
Amy Chinn


THE OPUS PROJECT presents

OPUS 5 - 8pm, Saturday, May 25, 2013,
Berkeley Arts Festival, 2133 University Avenue, Berkeley, CA
A Multi-Media Event,
with Kris Palmer, Michael Kimbell, Allan Crossman, Patti Deuter, Elizabeth Lee, and
The Opus Project Quartet and Orchestra

Charles Ives (1874-1954)        From "114 Songs" (1922)
Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951)        Peleas und Melisande, Op. 5 (1903)*
Leonardo de Lorenzo (1875-1962)        Appassionata Fantasia Sentimentale, Op. 5 (1904)
Bela Bartok (1881-1945)            Portrait, Op. 5, No. 2 (1908)
Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)            The Rite of Spring (1913)*
Anton Webern (1883-1945)*            Piece for String Quartet, Op. 5, No. 1 (1909)
Alban Berg (1885-1935)        Four Pieces for Clarinet and Piano, Op. 5 (1913)
Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953)            Sinfonietta, Op. 5, No. 4 (1909)
Darius Milhaud (1892-1975)            String Quartet No. 1, Op. 5, No. 1 (1912)
Paul Hindemith (1895-1963)            Funny Song in Swiss-German Dialect, Op. 5, No. 1 (1917)
Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975)        Three Fantastic Dances, Op. 5 (1920)
Samuel Barber (1910-1981)            Overture to "The School for Scandal", Op. 5 (1931)
John Cage (1912-1992)        The Seasons, Part II (1947)
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)*        Holiday Diary, Op. 5 (1934)
Witold Lutoslawski (1913-1994)*        Venetian Games (1961)
John Bilotta (b. 1948)        Prelude and Dance, Op. 5 (1977)
Mark Alburger (b. 1957)        The Lord's Prayer, Op. 5 (1975)

* 130th-, 110th, and 100th-anniversary celebrations


Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951)    Transfigured Night, Op. 4 (1899) (after Richard Dehmel)

Zwei Menschen gehn durch kahlen, kalten Hain;
der Mond läuft mit, sie schaun hinein.
Der Mond läuft über hohe Eichen;
kein Wölkchen trübt das Himmelslicht,
in das die schwarzen Zacken reichen.
Die Stimme eines Weibes spricht:

 „Ich trag ein Kind, und nit von Dir . . .      

Two people are walking through a bare, cold wood;
the moon keeps pace with them and draws their gaze.
The moon moves along above tall oak trees,
there is no wisp of cloud to obscure the radiance
to which the black, jagged tips reach up.
A woman’s voice speaks:

"I am carrying a child, and not by you . . . 


Anton Webern (1883-1945)        Five Songs on Poems by Stefan George, Op. 4 (1909): II
                       
Noch zwingt mich treue über dir zu wachen
Und deines duldens schönheit dass ich weile,
Mein heilig streben ist mich traurig machen
Damit ich wahrer deine trauer teile.

Nie wird ein warmer anruf mich empfangen,
Bis in die späten stunden unsres bundes
Muss ich erkennen mit ergebnem bangen
Das herbe schicksal winterlichen fundes.

In faithfulness I watch still over you
and linger over the beauty of your patience,
my sacred striving is to make myself sad
to share more truly yours.

Never will a warm appeal take hold of me,
until in the late hours of our union
I must realise with devoted anxiety
the bitter fate of the traces of winter.


Alban Berg (1885-1935)     
Five Orchestral Songs on Postcard Texts by Peter Altenberg, Op. 4 (1912): I

Seele, wie bist du schöner, tiefer, nach    Schneestürmen.
Auch du hast sie, gleich der Natur.
Und über beiden liegt noch ein trüber Hauch,
eh' das Gewölk sich verzog!

Soul, you're more beautiful, deeper, after snowstorms.
Like Nature, you have storms, too. 
And over both still lie a melancholy air
like clouds that disperse but slowly.


Darius Milhaud (1892-1974)   
La Brebis Egaree (The Lost Sheep), Op. 4 (1914) (Francis Jammes):                            
Act I, Scene I, Tres modere: Pierre

Cette table est gaie a cause des fleurs qui y sont peintes.
Paul est mon ami.
Ces fleurs qui y sont peintes font vivre la tasse.
On dirait des campanules des mauves et des roses.
Francoise est la femme de Paul.

This table is delightful because of the painted flowers.
Paul is my friend.
These painted flowers make the cup live.
One would say bellflowers of mauves and pinks.
Francoise is Paul's wife.


Paul Hindemith (1895-1963)   
Lustige (Funny) Sinfonietta, Op. 4: I. Die Galgenbrüder (The Gallows Brothers):
Fugato - Das Grosse Lalula (The Big Lalula)  (after Christian Morgenstern)

Kroklokwafzi? Semememi!
Seiokrontro - prafriplo:
Bifzi, bafzi; hulalemi:
quasti basti bo...
Lalu lalu lalu lalu la!

Hontraruru miromente
zasku zes rü rü?
Entepente, Leiolente
klekwapufzi lü?
Lalu lalu lalu lalu la!

Simarar kos malzipempu
silzuzankunkrei (;)!
Marjomar dos: Quempu Lempu
Siri Suri Sei []
Lalu lalu lalu lalu la!


Mark Alburger (b. 1957)   
Poems on [Stephen] Crane, Op. 4 (1975): II.  The Wayfarer

 The wayfarer,
Perceiving the pathway to truth,
Was struck with astonishment:
It was thickly grown with weeds.
And he said,

"I see that no one has passed this way
For a long time."
Later he saw that each weed was a
Singular knife.
"Well," he mumbled at last,
"Doubtless there are other paths"

***

Compose a second-and-final page Six Enneads, produce and print out the Opus 4 program

before

heading

down

the

freeways,

in

sight of

Diablo,

beyond Concord Ridge,

near

the

Pittsburg

Foothills

to rehearse Opus 4 music with violinist Lawrence Hwang,

then migrate over plains

and

range,

ascending,

and

descending

descending

into the valley of CyberCopy,

swing by DVC

(where the Blue Devils are still at it)

to practice the Milhaud

and

get

organized,

and

proceed,

via

Orinda Canyon,

to

Berkeley,

rendezvous'ing 

with

Harriet, hitting a Chinese spot, meeting up with Jerry Kuderna and one of his students,

greeting Patti Deuter,

and

proceeding

through

a

semi-feverish

hour+

of

soundcheck.

Afterwards, linger with many, then hie for home with Harriet.