2 | For Tickets and More: sfperformances.org | 415.392.2545

present…

ELIOT FISK | Guitar ANGEL ROMERO | Guitar  

Saturday, March 10, 2018 | 7:30pmHerbst Theatre

Viva EspañaVIVALDI Concerto in D Major Allegro Largo Allegro

Originally for lute and strings; version for two guitars by Fisk/Romero

RODRIGO Adagio from the Concierto de Aranjuez

Version for two guitars by Fisk/Romero

DE FALLA From Siete Canciones Populares El Paño Moruno Asturiana Jota Nana Canción Polo

Version for two guitars by Fisk/Romero

SOLOS FOR GUITAR (ELIOT FISK)*

ALARD Estudio Brillantearr. Francisco Tarrega PONCE Estrellita ALBÉNIZ Torre Bermeja HALFFTER Habanera ALBÉNIZ Sevilla

*All works except Alard/Tarrega transcribed for guitar by Eliot Fisk

INTERMISSION

+

For Tickets and More: sfperformances.org | 415.392.2545 | 3

SOLOS FOR GUITAR  (ANGEL ROMERO)

CELEDONIO Malagueña ROMERO Fantasia

FEDERICO From Canciones PopularesGARCÍA LORCA Anda, jaleo Los cuatro muleros Nana de Sevilla Los reyes de la baraja Las morillas de Jaén Sevillanas del siglo XVIII

Version for two guitars by Fisk/Romero

ARTIST PROFILES

San Francisco Performances presents Eliot Fisk for the fourth time; he made his SF Perfor-mances debut in 1997. Angel Romero returns for a second time; he first appeared with SF Performances in 2008.

Guitarist Eliot Fisk is known worldwide as a charismatic performer famed for his adventurous and virtuosic repertoire. He is also celebrated for his willingness to take art music into unusual venues (schools, senior centers, and even logging camps and prisons!). After nearly 50 years before the public he remains, as his mentor Andres Segovia once wrote, “at the top line of our artistic world.”

In the 2017–18 season Fisk continues to break new ground for the guitar with mara-thon performances of his transcriptions of all six Bach solo cello suites, duo performances with guitar legend Angel Romero, and with a new trio formed with virtuoso guitarists Joa-quin Clerch and Aniello Desiderio.

The long awaited release of Robert Beas-er’s monumental Guitar Concerto (dedicat-ed to Fisk) on LINN records in 2017 elicited rave reviews online and in print. In spring 2017, Fisk premiered Son Dementes Cuerdas with the famed Arditti String Quartet with performances on two continents culmi-nating in a performance at London’s Wig-more Hall in a concert also featuring the Sequenza XI for solo guitar composed for and dedicated to Fisk by Luciano Berio.

Fisk has performed as soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Houston Sympho-

4 | For Tickets and More: sfperformances.org | 415.392.2545

415-242-4500 omniconcerts.com236 West Portal Ave. #1, San Francisco, CA 94127

The Omni Foundation Guitar Series is made possible in part by generous grants from the D’Addario MusicFoundation and Grants for the Arts/S.F. Hotel Tax Fund.

YAMANDU COSTAOctober 18, 2017 7:30 pm

Herbst Theatre

JASON VIEAUX – guitarJULIEN LABRO – bandoneonOctober 20, 2017 7:30 pm Herbst Theatre *

IRINA KULIKOVANovember 11, 2017 7:30 pm

St. Mark’s Lutheran Church *

ALVARO PIERRIDecember 1, 2017 7:30 pm

Herbst Theatre *

LEO KOTTKEFebruary 2, 2018 7:30 pm

Herbst Theatre

ELIOT FISK andANGEL ROMEROMarch 10, 2018 7:30 pm

Herbst Theatre * * In association with San Francisco Performances

Alvaro Pierri

Yamandu Costa Shin-ichi FukudaEliot Fisk Badi Assad Andrea De Vitis

GRISHA GORYACHEV& ANDREA DE VITIS

D’ADDARIO PERFORMANCE SERIESMarch 24, 2018 7:30 pm

Green Room

SHIN-ICHI FUKUDAApril 7, 2018 7:30 pm

St. Mark’s Lutheran Church

DYNAMITE GUITARS2nd Edition

April 21, 2018 7:30 pm

Herbst Theatre

PAUL O’DETTEApril 28, 2018 7:30 pm

St. Mark’s Lutheran Church *

For Tickets and More: sfperformances.org | 415.392.2545 | 5

ist Zaira Meneses, and the couple’s young daughter, pianist Raquel Fisk.

Hailed for his superior artistry as the Spanish maestro of the guitar, Angel Romero’s eminence in the music world as soloist and conductor is heralded by au-diences and critics alike. One of the most sought-after musicians of his generation, Angel Romero has appeared in the ma-jor cultural centers throughout the world including London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Madrid, Munich, Zurich, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York. He has appeared as soloist with such leading orchestras as the New York Philharmonic, the Cleve-land Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic, the New World Symphony, and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. As conductor, he has led numerous orchestras world-wide including the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, the Royal Philharmonic, Germany’s NDR Symphony Orchestra and the Berlin Sym-phoniker, the Beijing Philharmonic, the Euro-Asia Philharmonic, the Shanghai Symphony, the Bogotá Philharmonic, the Chicago Sinfonietta, the Orquesta de Baja California, the Santa Barbara Symphony, the San Diego Symphony, and the San Di-ego Chamber Orchestra. Regardless of his role on stage, his driving intensity and flawless control mark him as a true master of the arts.

Angel Romero’s extensive discography includes highly acclaimed recordings for Delos International, RCA Victor Red Seal and RCA Victor Worldwide, Telarc and

Angel/EMI. In 2001, Delos released Bella, which includes monumental pieces such as Bach’s Air on the G String to Romero’s own father’s Tango Angelita—a composition ded-icated to his late mother. In 1999, Romero Plays Rodrigo was released featuring works written for and dedicated to Angel Romero through his long and close relationship with the Spanish composer. In 1998, he was featured as soloist and conductor in an acclaimed recording of Vivaldi’s guitar concertos with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. In 1995, RCA released a cross-over recording of flamenco and pop music, featuring Angel Romero playing a diverse repertoire spanning works from Pachelbel to Bill Conti. This particular recording fea-tures Mr. Romero’s world-premiere tran-scriptions for one guitar. 

In February 2000 he was presented with the highest honor that the country of Spain has to offer, the Grand Cross of Isabel la Católica, and was knighted Sir Angel Romero in reverence of his astound-ing musical accomplishments. In 2007, Angel Romero was honored by the Record-ing Academy, producer of the Grammy® Awards, with the Recording Academy President’s Merit Award for his significant contributions to the music world and for his professional career achievements.

PROGRAM NOTES

Concerto in D Major

ANTONIO VIVALDIBorn March 4, 1678, VeniceDied July 28, 1741, Vienna

Antonio Vivaldi was the most eminent musician in 18th-century Venice, a city which attracted visitors with the glamor of its colorful, exuberant life, set to music like a perpetual opera. People sang on the streets and on the lagoons; gondoliers had their own repertory of songs; and even the orphanage, Venice’s Conservatory of Mu-sic of the Pietà, emphasized high quality musical training and featured Vivaldi as composer, conductor, teacher and musical director. The Concerto in D Major features an opening Allegro with a distinctive first theme, first grand then playful, which de-fines the key with precision and moves with an exuberant vitality. The Largo is a tender cantabile melody embellished like a Baroque operatic aria. The closing Allegro is similar in form to the opening movement and features some striking modulations.

ny, Rochester Symphony, Stuttgart Cham-ber Orchestra, American Composers Or-chestra, Boston Modern Orchestra Project and many others. He returns regularly to major concert series such as San Francisco Performances, Stanford Lively Arts, Spivey Hall, Duke University Performances, Lin-coln Center, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the 92nd Street Y, Da Camera Society of Houston, Da Camera Society of Los Ange-les, Chamber Music SF, and Segovia Series at Northwestern University; Brahms, Mo-zart and Schubert Saal (Vienna); Mozarte-um Grosser Saal (Salzburg); Wigmore Hall and Queen Elizabeth Hall (London).

Fisk has performed with a dizzying ar-ray of chamber music colleagues including flutist Paula Robison; clarinetist Richard Stoltzman; cellist Yehuda Hanani; vio-linists Ruggiero Ricci, Gidon Kremer and Joshua Bell, the Shanghai, Juilliard, Miro, Borromeo and Arditti String Quartets.

The repertoire of the classical guitar has been transformed through Fisk’s innumer-able transcriptions. In addition, numerous new works have been dedicated to him by composers as varied as Leonardo Balada, Robert Beaser, Luciano Berio, Ralf Gawl-ick, Nicholas Maw, George Rochberg, Dan-iel Bernard Roumain and Kurt Schwertsik.

Fisk remains a prolific recording art-ist. Recent releases include Ralf Gawlick’s Kollwitz-Konnex for soprano and guitar (Musica Omnia), Anthony Paul de Ritis’s Pop Concerto with the Boston Modern Or-chestra Project, and a pair of CDs of new music dedicated to and transcribed by Fisk of works by Beaser, Corigliano, Schwert-sik, and Rochberg (Wildner Records).

Fisk was the last direct pupil of Segovia and also studied interpretation with the legendary harpsichordist Ralph Kirkpat-rick at Yale University, from which he grad-uated “summa cum laude” in 1976, and where he founded the guitar department at the Yale School of Music in 1977. Fisk is Professor at the Universität Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, and in Boston at the New England Conservatory.

In June 2006, King Juan Carlos of Spain, awarded Fisk the “Cruz de Isabel la Católica” for his service to the cause of Spanish music.

Fisk is Founder and Artistic Director of Boston GuitarFest, co-sponsored by the New England Conservatory and Northeast-ern University, now entering its 13th con-secutive year. In 2017 he created and served as Artistic Director of the first Salzburg Guitar Fest at the Universität Mozarteum.

In summer 2014 he toured China per-forming with his wife, classical guitar-

6 | For Tickets and More: sfperformances.org | 415.392.2545

Adagio from the Concierto de Aranjuez JOAQUÍN RODRIGOBorn November 22, 1901, Sagunto, SpainDied July 6, 1999, Madrid, Spain

Joaquín Rodrigo was born on the Feast Day of Saint Cecilia, the patron saint of music and lost his sight at the age of three during an epi-demic of diptheria. No other Spanish compos-er has drawn on so many different aspects of his country’s spirit as sources of inspiration, from the history of Roman Spain to the work of contemporary poets. His music is refined, luminous, and fundamentally optimistic, with a particular gift for melody, and original harmonies. The Concierto de Aranjuez for gui-tar and orchestra is the definitive example of his musical personality and the work which brought him worldwide fame. Written in three movements, the slow, elegiac Adagio is a passionate evocation.

From Siete Canciones  Populares MANUEL DE FALLABorn November 23, 1876, Cádiz, SpainDied NoVember 14, 1946, Alta Gracia, Argentina

Manuel de Falla was, with Rodrigo, one of the most important Spanish musicians of the 20th century. Originally inspired by Spanish folk music he went on to write music influenced by Stravinsky’s neoclas-sicism. His Siete  Canciones  Populares is

based on folk songs from widely diverse parts of Spain and deal with courtship, love, jealousy and maternal love for a new-born infant.

Estudio Brillante

JEAN-DELPHIN ALARD Born March 8, 1815, BayonneDied February 22, 1888, Paris

arranged by FRANCISCO TÁRREGABorn November 21, 1852, Villarreal, SpainDied December 15, 1909, Barcelona, Spain

Francisco Tárrega was the most influen-tial guitarist of the late 19th century and his arrangement of the Estudio Brilliante by the French violinist Jean-Delphin Alard has challenged and delighted guitarists for over a century.

Estrellita

MANUEL PONCEBorn December 8, 1882, FresnilloDied April 24, 1948, Mexico City, Mexico

Manuel Ponce was a Mexican composer just as influenced by European neoclassicism as by Mexican folklore and popular song. Estrellita, composed in 1912, is his most popu-lar composition. A tender love song, full of yearning, the lyrics portray a young woman telling a little star about her otherwise unde-clared love. It was made world famous when the violinist Jascha Heifetz performed it in the motion picture They Shall Have Music.

Torre Bermeja and Sevilla

ISAAC ALBÉNIZBorn May 29, 1860, Camprodón, SpainDied May 18, 1909, Cambo-les-Bains, France

Isaac Albéniz was one of the most sig-nificant figures in Spanish cultural circles at the close of the 19th century. Francisco Tárrega made transcriptions of Albéniz’s piano music, and an appealing though undocumented tale says that Albéniz, on hearing Tárrega’s performance of his transcriptions, declared the music had found its rightful home. Tárrega’s practice of performing Albéniz’s music has been enthusiastically followed by guitarists to this day. Torre Bermeja (“The Red Tower”) is a passionate portrait of a Moorish prison located in the city of Granada. Sevilla, re-lated to the joyfully exuberant flamenco

sevillanas, gives a captivating impression of a holiday in the Spanish city of Seville.

Habanera

ERNESTO HALFFTERBorn January 16, 1905, MadridDied July 5, 1989, Madrid

Ernesto Halffter was a Spanish compos-er and part of a group of young composers who wanted to combine Spanish popular culture and folklore with the European avant-garde. Habanera is his version of a dance very popular in Havana, Cuba in the late 19th century.

Malagueña and Fantasia

CELEDONIO ROMEROBorn March 2, 1913, Cienfuegos, CubaDied May 8, 1996, San Diego

Celedonio Romero was a guitarist, com-poser, founder of Los Romeros Quartet, and father of Celin, Pepe and Angel Rome-ro. Forbidden to give concerts abroad by the Fascist government of Francisco Fran-co, Romero secretly obtained an American visa and emigrated with his family to Cali-fornia where he successfully launched an international performing career. Malague-ña is his arrangement of the well known Spanish theme, and Fantasia is an original composition influenced by Romero’s love of traditional Spanish music.

Canciones Populares

FEDERICO GARCÍA LORCABorn June 5, 1898, Fuente VaquerosDied August 18 or 19, 1936, Granada province

Federico García Lorca was a Spanish poet, profoundly inspired by music, who introduced modernism into Spanish lit-erature. Under the influence of his mentor, Manuel de Falla, Lorca became interested in traditional Spanish music and flamen-co. In 1931 he made arrangements of ten traditional Spanish songs, which were made phenomenally popular by the singer Encarnación López known to the public as “La Argentinita.” The original piano ac-companiment imitated the flamenco gui-tar and is very suitable for performance by guitarists. Maestros Fisk and Romero perform duo arrangements of six of these pieces this evening.

—Program notes by Scott Cmiel

PAUL O’DETTE Lute

Sat Apr 28 | 7:30pm St. Mark’s Lutheran Church

415.392.2545sfperformances.org