WALL TO WALL BEHIND THE WALL: An Eastern European Musical Marathon at Symphony Space
From George Enescu to Maria Raducanu’s Ethno Jazz

The Wall to Wall free concert marathon, organized yearly since 1978, has been called, “Symphony Space’s annual gift to New York,” by The New York Times . In addition to a selection of contemporary music, this year’s edition will explore the wealth of great music emanating from Eastern Europe from the end of World War I, through the Cold War, to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Works by composers as diverse as Enescu, Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Khatchaturian, Lutoslawski, Schnittke, Ligeti, Penderecki, Mansurian, Shafaryan, Bardanashvili, Gorecki, Kancheli, Panufnik, Gubaidulina, Part, Usltvolskaya, Kurtag and others will be heard, as well as music by younger composers who came of age during the communist regimes, and who are now creating music in a changed world. This year’s Wall to Wall Behind the Wall is organized in conjunction with many cultural institutions and consulates, including RCINY.

The Jazz Then and Now segment of the festival will feature the Romanian jazz singer Maria R?ducanu (b. 1967 in Hu?i). She is an autodidact, distinguished by her modern interpretations of traditional Romanian folk themes. She has toured worldwide, holds a discography of seven single albums and has collaborated with numerous, international jazz musicians.

Also part of the program is George Enescu’s Piano Quintet, performed by the US-based musicians, the Colorado Quartet and pianist Emma Tahmizian.

[Image: Romanian Jazz singer Maria Raducanu. Photo credits: Adrian Piclisan.]

Listen to Maria Raducanu's music

WALL TO WALL SCHEDULE

OPEN REHEARSALS

Wednesday, May 12: Silesian String Quartet Open Rehearsal
5:45-6:45 pm the quartet rehearses one or more works by Penderecki, Gorecki, Tansman, Bacewicz, or Lax
6:45-7:05 pm discussion moderated by Laura Kaminsky

Thursday, May 13: St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic Open Rehearsal
5:30-6:15 pm St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic rehearses Lutoslawski’s “Dance Preludes”
6:16-7:15 pm discussion moderated by Laura Kaminsky

Please note that these are working rehearsals; times are approximate and repertoire is subject to change.

SATURDAY, MAY 15 WALL TO WALL PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

Please note that all times are approximate and pieces are subject to change

11:00 am - 2:00 pm

Bela Bartok, Contrasts for Violin, Clarinet and Piano (Israeli Chamber Project)

Gyorgy Kurtag, Hommage to Robert Schumann, Op. 15d (Israeli Chamber Project)

Alexander Krein, Esquisses Hebraiques, Op. 12 ( JoAnn Sternberg, clarinet; Colorado Quartet)

Sergei Prokofiev, Overture on Hebrew Themes, Op. 34 (JoAnn Sternberg, clarinet; Colorado Quartet; Margaret Kampmeier, piano)

Tigran Mansurian, Agnus Dei (JoAnn Sternberg, clarinet; Julie Rosenfeld, violin; Katie Schlaikjer, cello; Artur Avanesov, piano)

Zurab Nadareshvili, Dialogue with Urban Songs (Poulenc Trio)

Nataliya Medvedovskaya, First Snow (Poulenc Trio; Anton Lande, violin)

Arno Babajanyan,  Poem , (Artur Avanesov, piano)

P?teris Vasks, Sonata (for solo flute) ( Paul Taub, flute)

Artur Avanesov, Namu Amida Butsu , (Paul Taub, flute; Artur Avanesov, piano)

Various, Russian Propaganda Songs (Lisa Flanagan, soprano; Lanny Meyers, piano)

Franghiz Ali-Zadeh, Ashk Havasi , (Paul Taub, flute; Artur Avanesov, piano)

Andre Boucourechliev, From: Etudes D'Apres Piranesi (Emma Tahmizian, piano)

Igor Rogalev, Piano Sonata No. 2 , (Emma Tahmizian, piano)

2:00-5:15 pm

George Enescu, Piano Quintet in A minor, Op. 29 (Emma Tahmizian and Colorado Quartet)

Erwin Schulhoff, Sextet for 2 violins, 2 violas, & 2 cellos (Colorado Quartet; Elizabeth Weisser, viola; Nicole Johnson, cello)

A Russian Jazz Set (Lanny Meyers, piano; Claire Daly, alto sax & clarinet; Mary Ann McSweeney, bass; Greg Joseph; drums) 

A Contemporary Romanian Jazz Set (Maria Raducanu, voice; Kirster Jonsson, guitar; Chris Dahlgren, bass)

Sergei Prokofiev, Piano Sonata No. 6 in A major,"War Sonata", Op. 82 (Igal Kesselman, piano)

Gyorgy Ligeti, Six Bagatelles for Wind Quintet (Quintet of the Americas)

Gyorgy Ligeti, Piano Etudes # 5 & # 6 (Emma Tahmizian, piano)

Unknown, Yiddish Songs from Teresienstadt, etc. (Western Wind Vocal Ensemble)

Josef Bardanashvili, Metamorphoses (Continuum)

Faragj Karayev,  Postludio (Continuum)

Galina Ustvolskaya, Piano Sonata No. 6 (Continuum)

Galina Ustvolskaya, Symphony No. 4 "Prayer" ( Lucy Shelton, soprano; Continuum)

5:15 - 8:15 pm

Dmitri Shostakovich, Two Pieces for String Octet, Op. 11 (St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic; Jeffery Meyer, Artistic Director)

Alfred Schnittke, Concerto for Piano and Strings (Margaret Kampmeier, piano; Scott Thornton, bass; St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic)

Arvo Part, Collage over B-A-C-H, for strings, oboe, harpsichord, and piano (Matt Sullivan, oboe; Steven Lubin, harpsichord; Idith Meshulam, piano; Scott Thornton, bass; St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic)

Witold Lutoslawski, Five Dance Preludes (Tibi Cziger, clarinet; Bridget Kibbey, harp; Iktus Percussion Quartet; St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic)

Alexandre Tansman, Mazurkas, Vol. 1 (Nurit Tilles, piano)

Alexandre Tansman, Musica a cinque - Piano Quintet (Nurit Tilles, piano; Silesian Quartet)

Andrzej Krzanowski, String Quartet No. 2 (Silesian Quartet)

Gra?yna Bacewicz, String Quartet No. 3 (Silesian Quartet)

Dmitri Shostakovich, Seven Romances on Poems of Aleksandr Blok (Lucy Shelton, soprano; Rosenfeld, violin; Julia Lichten, cello; Gilbert Kalish, piano)

8:15-11:00 pm

Szymon Laks, String Quartet No. 5 (Silesian Quartet)

Henryk Gorecki, Already It Is Dusk (Silesian Quartet)

Krzysztof Penderecki, String Quartet No. 2 (Silesian Quartet)

Sergei Slonimsky, Sonata for Violin and Piano (Laurie Smukler, violin; Margaret Kampmeier, piano)

Timofey Buzina, Rocking Shadows Overture for Strings and Percussion (Iktus Percussion Quartet; St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic)

Sofia Gubaidulina, Concordanza (Quintet of the Americas; St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic)

Dmitri Shostakovich, Chamber Symphony in C-, Op.110a (arr. of String Quartet No.8) (St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic)

style="text-align: left">Dmitri Shostakovich, Front Ways Songs (compositions by various authors arranged for voice, violin and cello) (Sasha Cooke, soprano; Kelly Markgraf, baritone; Laurie Smukler, violin; Julia Lichten, cello)

Gra?yna Bacewicz, Concerto for String Orchestra (St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic)

Sergei Slonimsky, Jewish Rhapsody for Piano, Strings, Flute and Percussion (Gilbert Kalish, piano; Eugenia Zukerman, flute; Iktus Percussion; St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic) 

-----------------------------------------------------

Wall to Wall Behind the Wall is made possible by major support from the Trust for Mutual Understanding, with additional support from Edith Blum Foundation; CEC ArtsLink; Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation; Herman Goldman Foundation; Merrill G. and Emita E. Hastings Foundation; Robert Sterling Clark Foundation; Extell Development Company; Office of Cultural Affairs, Consulate General of Israel in New York; Likhachev Foundation; New York Foundation for the Arts; New York State Department of Parks and Recreation, courtesy of Senator Eric Schneiderman; New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency; Polish Cultural Institute; Romanian Cultural Institute New York; The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation; and the Patrons of Wall to Wall Behind the Wall: The Family and Friends of Anna Elman; Dr. Coco Lazaroff, Judith O. and Robert Rubin, William Schwartz, Joan Warburg, and George Zeltzer.