Concert IV

Sunday, June 26, 2011, 7:00 p.m.

Rolling Hills Covenant Church 2222 Palos Verdes Drive North

Rolling Hills Estates

The Norris Foundation Concert

PROGRAM

Celebrating Youth

Rossini Overture to Il signorBruschino

Rachmaninoff Rhapsody on a Theme ofPaganini

Stephanie Ng, Knox Competition Winner, Piano

Schubert Symphony No. 4 in CMinor, “Tragic”

CONCERT DETAILS

Symphony Association members admitted at6:00. Center-section priority seating is reservedfor members at the Patron level and above.

Concert Preview by Maestro Berkson at 6:15.

General public admitted at approximately 6:50.

After the concert, the audience is invited toCarlson Hall for a reception for the KnoxCompetition and Rips Scholarship winners. Gary Berkson will also be there and you willhave an opportunity to ask him questionsand provide comments.

Symphony S ound sJune 2011June 2011June 2011June 2011 44 44 44 44thththth Season, Number 4 Editor: Kenneth Gash Season, Number 4 Editor: Kenneth Gash Season, Number 4 Editor: Kenneth Gash Season, Number 4 Editor: Kenneth Gash

Dear Members of the PeninsulaSymphony Association:

We are deeplysaddened and regretto announce that ourF o u n d e r a n dConductor EmeritusJoseph Va len t ip a s s e d a w a ypeacefully Monday,May 23rd, at 5:15p.m. after a briefi l l n e s s . ACelebration of his life

will be held at a future date. In lieu of flowers, the family has requesteddonations be made to the Joseph ValentiMemorial Fund through the PeninsulaSymphony in the hopes of continuing Joe'sdream well into the future.

The eighteenth variation of theRhapsody on a Theme of Paganini willbe dedicated to Maestro Valenti at theJune concert.

Please call the Symphony office at (310) 544-0320 for further information or

visit our Website: www.pensym.org

Y outh, in this case, is represented bytwo composers who were childprodigies and composed all their

music when they were relatively youngmen. One of them, Rossini, stoppedcomposing voluntarily in the first half of hislife and the other, Schubert, lived only tothe age of 31. The other celebration ofyouth is represented by this evening’ssoloist, this year’s winner of the Edith KnoxPerformance Competition, which is onlyopen to young musicians.

There are three pieces to be performed atthis concert. The Rossini overture wascomposed when Rossini was twenty-one,and the Schubert symphony wascomposed when Schubert was nineteen.The Rachmaninoff rhapsody was writtenwhen the composer was sixty-one but it willbe played by a twenty-one year old soloist.

Music Preview

Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868)

From an early age,Rossini was ana c c o m p l i s h e dperformer on theharpsichord, violin,and piano, as wellas being a boysoprano in the

opera. He composed his first opera at theage of fourteen, but it was not performeduntil years later. During his relatively shortcareer as a composer, Rossini producedthirty-eight highly successful operas.

It is well known that in 1829, at the age ofthirty-seven and at the height of hispopularity, Rossini retired from composing.The only works he produced thereafterwere for his own enjoyment, including tworeligious pieces, the Stabat Mater (1842)and the Petite Messe Solonnelle (1864).

Rossini, now a wealthy man, had no needto continue accepting commissions. A lifeof self-indulgent leisure had always greatlyappealed to him. Furthermore, he didn’tlike the new directions in which singing --and music in general -- were heading; hefelt that his style of opera belonged to apast generation. For his remainingthirty-nine years, Rossini lived a life ofindolence and pleasure.

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943)

Un l i k e S c h u b e r t ,Rachmaninoff lived tothe ripe old age ofseventy and unlikeRoss in i , he kep tc o m p o s i n g a n dperforming throughouthis life. He gave his lastp e r f o r m a n c e o nValentine’s day in 1943

and died exactly six weeks later on March28.

Rachmaninoff was born into a family of theRussian aristocracy and his parents wereboth amateur piano players. He took hisfirst lessons from his mother at the age offour and when he was nine his grandfatherhired a professional teacher who remainedin their home for almost three years.

When he was thirteen he wrote a numberof pieces for piano and the Scherzo in Dminor is Rachmaninoff's earliest survivingcomposition for orchestra -- composedwhen he was fourteen and a student atthe Moscow Conservatory.

Rachmaninoff was considered one of thefinest pianists of his day and perhaps of alltime. In his piano compositions he made apoint of writing music that would clearlydemonstrate his own skills as a performer.Rachmaninoff possessed extremely largehands with a gigantic finger stretch which

allowed him to compose and play hugechord structures -- much to the chagrin ofthose who play his music.

The Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganiniwas written in 1934. It is a set of 24variations on the twenty-fourth and last ofNiccolò Paganini's Caprices for solo violin,which has inspired works by severalcomposers. You won’t hear the theme atonce because the piece opens with the firstvariation and Paganini's theme is stated onstrings with the piano picking out salientnotes, after the first variation. From herethe piece moves forward without pausethrough the remaining 23 variations. Theseare brilliant and at the same time, difficult,going from deceptively simple beginningsand growing steadily more complex andingenious.

In the seventh variation, a new themeintrudes, the Dies Irae, the "day of wrath"plainchant from the medieval Mass of theDead. Rachmaninoff was very preoccupiedwith the idea of mortality and used the DiesIrae theme in one-third of his numberedworks. This theme continues to be heardthroughout many of the remainingvariations.

In variation 18, Rachmaninoff createdsomething magical. He took the originalPaganini theme and turned it upside downand changed it from minor to major. Theresult is perhaps the most cherishedRomant ic melody ever penned.Rachmaninoff, who absolutely lived andbreathed melody, wrote his most famousmelody using somebody else's tune.

From this point on the music proceedsswiftly to its conclusion, each variationmore scintillating than the last. Thegathering momentum and dazzlingpassage work for the soloist lead one toexpect a conclusion of overwhelmingbravura and force but at the last moment,Rachmaninoff pulls back and, with a

chuckle, ends his Rhapsody quietly with alast fragment of the memorable theme.

I have listened to the Rhapsody on aTheme by Paganini countless times andnever tire of it. I envy anyone hearing it forthe first time.

Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

T h e S c h u b e r tThematic Catalogby Otto Er ichD e u t s c h l i s t sa l m o s t o n ethousand workswritten by Schubertover a period ofabout seventeeny e a r s . E v e naccounting for thef a c t t h a t t he

majority of these works are songs andsome of them are fragments andincomplete works, this would be anamazing output for someone activelycomposing for fifty years!

He composed his first complete song in1811 when he was fourteen and by 1813(when the picture above was sketched) heactively composed on a daily basis. Nearlyhalf of the works in the Deutsch catalogwere written in the three years from 1813to 1816 and they included fivesymphonies, four masses, six operas, fourstring quartets, and 270 songs.

His first two symphonies were written forhis school orchestra and the next four(written in his teens) for an amateur grouphe was able to assemble, all intended tobe heard once and then forever forgotten.Schubert never tasted even a hint of hiscurrent fame and died an abject failure.During his lifetime, there had been only asingle public concert of his works, and onlya few songs had been published.

Stephanie Ng

The soloist for this evening’s performanceof the Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganiniis Stephanie Ng, the winner of this year’sEdith Knox Performance Competition.

A native of the San Francisco Bay area,Stephanie Ng is currently a third-year pianoperformance scholarship student ofProfessor Walter Ponce at UCLA. She beganher piano studies at age five and herprevious teachers have included AidaChanco and Mark Anderson. In addition towinning the Edith Knox PerformanceCompetition, she has been the top prizewinner of UCLA Benno Rubinyi PianoCompetition, Pacific Musical Society PianoCompetition, UCLA Atwater Kent PianoConcerto Competition, Brentwood-WestwoodSymphony “Young Artists of Tomorrow”Concerto Competition, Pleasanton CulturalArts Council Music Competition and theSylvia M. Ghighlieri Piano Competition. Shemade her orchestral debut at age seventeenwith the Saratoga Symphony performingKabalevsky’s Piano Concerto No. 3, and willbe performing in 2011 with the Brentwood-Westwood Symphony, Peninsula Symphony,and UCLA Philharmonia.

Stephanie is also an avid chamber musician,and participates in the UCLA “Camarades”

chamber music concerts and Gluck MusicPerformance Program. She is a recipient ofthe Sophia Guzik Foundation MusicScholarship and the Benno RubinyiScholarship.

After completing her baccalaureate,Stephanie plans to pursue a Master's degreein piano performance, performing - both soloand chamber music

Past Events Third Concert

The third concert of the forty-fourth seasonwas presented on Sunday, May 8(Mother’s Day). The program, entitled Once Upon a Time, included the Preludeto Hansel and Gretel by Humperdinck,Peter and the Wolf by Prokofiev, FuneralMarch of a Marionette by Gounod andSelections from Sleeping Beauty Ballet byTchaikovsky.

Gail Eichenthal Rehearsing Peter and the Wolf

According to Kari Sayers, who reviewedthe concert for the Daily Breeze, “The

highlight of the concert was SergeiProkofiev's beloved Peter and the Wolf,narrated with great dramatic effect by GailEichenthal, program director at radiostation KUSC (91.5 FM) and former anchorand reporter at KNX (1070 AM).”

The Funeral March of a Marionette broughtchuckles of familiarity when the orchestraplayed the tune of the Alfred HitchcockPresents program. The selections from theSleeping Beauty Ballet were chosen fromthe complete score and included some verybeautiful pieces not normally in the suitesderived from the ballet.

Once again, Gary’s pre-concert talk wasinformative, detailed and also humorous.The audience was much better prepared toenjoy the nuances of the performance afterhearing it.

After the concert, members of the audienceremained behind to participate in a livelyand informative question-and-answersession.

Dress Rehearsal

Elementary school students from SanPedro were able once again to attend thedress rehearsal preceding the concert.There were also a few adults in attendancebut there were still plenty of seats left. Theinformal setting and the opportunity to askquestions when the orchestra takes a breakprovides a relaxed atmosphere to hearsome great music and see how anorchestra prepares to perform it.

The dress rehearsals are held in the sameauditorium as the concert. They start at2:00 p.m. and are open to the public.Please join us at the next one on June 26.

Thanks to our Supporters

At the end of each season, we take theopportunity to express our appreciation to allof the organizations and individuals whodonated their time and money, without whichwe would not be able to provide ourexhilarating concerts. I have tried, in thefollowing lists, to thank every person andorganization, and I apologize in advance forany error or omission.

The primary group of supporters are ouralmost 500 members of the PeninsulaSymphony Association whose donations(in the form of Symphony Associationmemberships) provide the majority of thefunds needed for operations. In addition,many of our members belong to the Friendsof the Peninsula Symphony. Thesevolunteers have annually raised up to$20,000 to augment the membershipdonations!

Our beautiful Program Book containsadvertisements from over eighty localorganizations and businesses who providemuch-needed support. You can find theirnames listed on page 50, and we encourageyou to patronize these supporters.

There are a large number of organizationsand individuals that have provided servicesor donated money:

Opus Bank, Boeing, City of Rolling Hills,City of Torrance, CMS Design Portraiture,County of Los Angeles Supervisor DonKnabe, Daily Breeze, Morgan StanleySmith Barney, Edler Realty Center,Harbor College, Malaga Bank, HeleneMirich-Spear, Kenneth T. and Eileen L.Norris Foundation, Law Offices ofConover and Grebe LLP, Palos VerdesPeninsula News, Peninsula People,Peninsula Seniors (Karen Goularte),

Recording Industries’ Music PerformingTrust Funds, Marshall and David RipsFund.

This year’s Edith Knox PerformanceCompetition had the largest audience ever.If you were not there, please plan to attendnext year. The prize money for the finalistswas provided by the generous donations ofthe Competition Angels: Duane Conover,Dr. and Mrs. William Horowitz, BettyBelsky, Bob Coffey, Larry and RobertaDumas, Jackie Crowley, Midge and JackTrost, Lee Dorsey, Dwight and KayYamada, Pearl Kim, Lester and Pearl Kim,Robert and Helene Reid, and Carol andRoger Schamp. Thie year’s first prize wasgiven in honor of Helene Reid for all ofher efforts over the years in support ofthe competition.

Duane Conover, the PerformanceCompetition Chair also thanks the dedicatedvolunteers who helped him this year. Theyare: Ken Gash (MC), Kay Yamada (Artists’Coordinator), Helene Reid (OfficeCoordinator), Carol Schamp (Publicity),Ben Loughrin and June Schwarzmann(Publications), Jeffrey Yakubik (StaffAsst.), Jackie Crowley, (Receptions),Charles Kraus, Marion Ruth, RogerSchamp, and Jack Trost.

Finally, we thank everyone who madedonations to one of the designated accountsthat were created to fund specific activitiesmanaged by the Peninsula SymphonyAssociation. These include: the J. WilliamFinkel Concert Quality Endowment (helpsfund extra rehearsals and other qualityimprovements), the Elizabeth HolbornChair (helps pay the cost of theconcertmaster), the Julian Spear Chair(helps pay the cost of the principalclarinetist), the Marshall and David RipsFund (helps pay for the Rips scholarship),the Edith Knox Fund and the MimiHorowitz Fund (both of these help covercosts of running the PerformanceCompetition). Everyone is encouraged tocontribute to these accounts to both honorthe named individuals and help us continue –and eventually expand - these activities.

Thanks to Our Volunteers

Time is a precious commodity, and dozensof individuals in our community donate largeportions of their time as volunteers to enablethe Peninsula Symphony to operate.

The Peninsula Symphony Board ofDirectors, listed on Page 51 of the ProgramBook, are a group of multi-tasking volunteerswho, in addition to managing the operationaland fiscal affairs of the organization also domany of the tasks that might be done bypaid employees. As you read the names ofvolunteers below, note how many of themare on the Board.

Thanks to those who served as ushers atthe concerts: Elsa and Bert Wertz, JimJones, Corwin White, Jackie Crowley,Dick Chaussee, Mary Graff,f Ginny Bleier,Wally Christmas, Roger Schamp andCarole Low.

Thanks to the volunteers who helped us withintermission refreshments at the concerts:Jane Jones, Joan Ballreich, VirginiaButler, Jackie Crowley, Les Fishman,Nancy Mahr, Hugh Pendleton, MarionRuth, Anita Gash, Lilli Tom, Midge andJack Trost, Sue Williams, Kay and PaulNibarger, Faye Schwartz, George Camisa,Mary Chunko, Marilyn Camisa, FloraHummel and Jean Shriver.

Our Program Book is created through theefforts of the following: Nancy (Editor) andJackie Crowley (Advertising), SteveOzawa, Design EDGE (the Program BookArt Director, who provided design andprinting assistance), Helene Reid (whohandled Symphony Association officesupport), Chris Stillians, CMS DesignPortraiture (who did the cover photography –and some of the interior photos too), Sueand Larry Andrews, Ken Gash (who alsoprovided photography), and CaroleWestberg (who continues her many-yeareffort of writing our program notes).

Summer Pops ConcertJuly 24, 2011, 4:30 p.m.

An afternoon of familiar (and not so familiar)music by Duke Ellington, Leroy Anderson,Richard Rodgers, Max Steiner, AlfredNewman, and Morton Gould.

Rolling Hills Covenant Church 2222 Palos Verdes Drive North

Rolling Hills Estates

For each concert, publicity flyers must beprinted and distributed, detailed inserts areprinted and inserted in the program booksand the books must be stored andretrieved. We thank the volunteers who dothese tasks: Ken Gash, Helene Mirich-Spear, Helene Reid, Jack and MidgeTrost, James and Margaret Vuncanon,Neville Howarth, Jane Copper, CharlieShriver, Eugene McAdoo, Carol andRoger Schamp, George Bender, BenPogorelsky, Bruce Erickson, BrendonBond, Bert Wertz and Chuck Klaus.

We also thank the organizations that eitherallow us to place flyers at their facilities orhelp us distribute flyers to the community. These include: Amuse Music, TheCanterbury, Harbor College, MarshallMusic, Palos Verdes Estates City Hall,Peninsula Seniors, Rancho PalosVerdes City Hall, Rolling Hills City Hall,Rolling Hills Covenant Church, RollingHills Estates City Hall, Palos VerdesLibrary, St. Luke’s Presbyterian Church,Torrance City Hall, Torrance Library,San Pedro Library, First PresbyterianChurch of San Pedro and 15th StreetElementary School in San Pedro.

This year we had a grant from theCalifornia Arts Council which supported thebringing of children from the Lomita Mathand Science school to enjoy the orchestra’smusic at dress rehearsals. Among themany volunteers who helped with this were:Jane and John Copper, Ken Gash,Rebecca Rutkowski, David Nicholson,Sophia Momand-Bunker, and TerryZinkiewicz (both from the orchestra) andprincipals Louie Mardesich, JenniferMak, Sandy Du (Principal) and HeleneWebster.

There are many others who provide timeand expertise, among whom is BruceErickson who maintains www.pensym.orgWebsite (which you should visit often), andthe staff at Rolling Hills Covenant Church,

especially Ellynn-Marie Artuccio and Kenand Diana Bauma.

Finally, I thank those people without whomI could not have done this job - my proofreaders, contributors, folders and mailers,and critics: Helene Reid, Faye Schwartz,Jane Jones, Anita Gash, John Copper,Jim Vuncanon, Harriet Servis, GeorgeBender, Brendon Bond, Roger andCarol Schamp, and Charlie and JeanShriver.

2011 - 2012 Concert Schedule

A full schedule for the exciting ThirdSeason of the orchestra under thedirection of Maestro Gary Berkson willbe available at the Membership Deskat the June 26 concert. Gary hasprepared a wonderful program withsoloists at all four concerts. Be sureto get one, read it and then renew orupgrade your membership.

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Contact InformationAny questions or requests about the Peninsula Symphony, the Peninsula Symphony Association, Symphony Sounds, or the Friends of the Peninsula Symphony should be sent tothe Peninsula Symphony Association office. We will route your message to the appropriateperson.

The Peninsula Symphony Association Post Office Box 2602 Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA 90274

The office is normally staffed from 9:00 a.m. to noon on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Youmay call at any time (310-544-0320) and leave a message on our answering machine, but phone replies will usually be made only during normal staffing hours. You can e-mail us atmusic.pensym@verizon.net. General information about the Symphony (current seasonschedule, etc.) can be found on our website (www.pensym.org).

Other Contacts are:

Peninsula Symphony Association President, Kenneth B. Gash 310-541-3516 kgash@cox.net Friends of the Peninsula Symphony, Anita Gash

310-541-3516 anitag1@cox.net

Music Director/Conductor, Gary Berkson conductor.pensym@verizon.net

Post Office Box 2602

Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA 90274RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED