Cellist Joel Krosnick and Pianist Gilbert Kalish present "American Milestones of the Last 100 Years" on Tuesday, November 13 at 8 PM in Paul Hall

Cellist Joel Krosnick and pianist Gilbert Kalish present the first of two recitals this season as part of the Daniel Saidenberg Faculty Recital Series on Tuesday, November 13 at 8 PM in Paul Hall. (Enter at 144 West 66th Street.) The program, entitled "American Milestones of the Last 100 Years," features the world premiere of Richard Wernick’s Double Duo for Two Cellos and Two Pianos (2004) with cellist Darrett Adkins and pianist Christina Dahl; Henry Cowell’s Sonata (1915); Ralph Shapey’s Prelude and Scherzando (2001); Donald Martino’s Rhapsody for violoncello, vibraphone, and piano accompaniment (2003) with Daniel Druckman on vibraphone; and Elliott Carter’s Sonata (1948).
       
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Mr. Krosnick and Mr. Kalish return on Thursday, December 6 at 8 PM in Paul Hall, where their program features the world premiere of Robert Stern’s Tekiah G’Dolah, reflections on Shofar (2007); Ernst Bacon’s A Life (1946/1970); Ralph Shapey’s Sonata Appassionata; and Richard Wernick’s Duo for cello and piano (2002). 
       
Joel Krosnick has been a member of the Juilliard String Quartet since 1974. With his sonata partner of more than twenty years, pianist Gilbert Kalish, he has performed recitals throughout the United States and Europe. Since 1976, they have given an annual series of recitals at Weill and Merkin halls, as well as at the Miller Theatre at Columbia University and at Juilliard. In 1984, Mr. Krosnick and Mr. Kalish gave a six-concert retrospective of 20th-century music for cello and piano at Juilliard and at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. They returned for duo performances at Juilliard in 2002-03 and 2005-06. Mr. Krosnick and Mr. Kalish have recorded on the Arabesque label.

Richard Wernick’s Double Duo for Two Cellos and Two Pianos (2004) has its world premiere on this concert. Composer Richard Wernick, longtime professor of composition at the University of Pennsylvania, says of the work: “Writing the Double Duo occurred to me only because two different cello and piano duos played my Duo (2002) almost at the same time….There are dialogues between the two cellos, between the pianos, between the two sets of duos – you can do the arithmetic.” Boston-born Richard Wernick received a Pulitzer Prize in 1977 for his vocal work, Visions of Terror and Wonder. He was a member of the University of Pennsylvania faculty from 1968 to 1996, and has been commissioned by many of the world’s leading performers and ensembles, including The Philadelphia Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Juilliard String Quartet, and Emerson String Quartet.

Henry Cowell’s Sonata (1915) was never published in his lifetime. The work languished in an attic for nearly two decades after his death in 1965. Cellist Joel Krosnick discovered and premiered it. Born to two Bohemian writers, Henry Cowell preferred the sound of his father’s Irish folk songs and the Asian music of his hometown San Francisco to the violin lessons he began at an early age. He experimented boldly with dissonance in his mid-teens. He entered the University of California at Berkeley as a harmony student of Charles Seeger. The Sonata is surprisingly conservative for Mr. Cowell; his subsequent work was largely avant-garde, though he did return to a more conservative idiom late in life.

Ralph Shapey’s short work, Prelude and Scherzando (2001), is a burst of energy, composed for cellist Gwen Krosnick, Joel Krosnick’s daughter. Mr. Shapey served for many years on the faculty of the University of Chicago. He composed scores for The Philadelphia Orchestra amd the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, among many others. 

Donald Martino’s Rhapsody for violoncello with vibraphone and piano accompaniment was composed in 2003 and given its premiere by the American Contemporary Music Ensemble in 2005. The single-movement work is a study in contrasting sonorities and timbres. The scores divides neatly in half: the first half is an energetic allegro, preceded by a slow introduction; the second half is a molto adagio of restraint and measured beauty. Mr. Martino received a Pulitzer Prize in 1974 for his chamber score Notturno. He has served on the faculty of the New England Conservatory, Harvard University, and Brandeis, and his works have been commissioned by the Chicago, Boston, and San Francisco symphony orchestras. He passed away in 2005.

Elliott Carter’s Sonata (1948) is a groundbreaking work by one of America’s most important composers. It is the last Carter score to use key signatures, and the first to employ metric modulation. The Carter cello sonata has become a staple of the repertoire and been recorded several times, including a recording by Mr. Krosnick and Mr. Kalish.

Juilliard presents more than 700 dance, drama, and music events annually. During ongoing renovations, a full calendar of events is scheduled. For a complete listing of events, as well as construction updates, go to www.juilliard.edu.