Carnegie Hall to Present The Sphinx Virtuosi In American Form/s

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The self-conducted string orchestra Sphinx Virtuosi will return to Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage on October 16, 2024 at 7:00 PM in a program titled American Form/s. The concert features Curtis Stewart as Composer-in-Residence, including the New York Premiere of his new drum set concerto, Drill; the New York premieres of Carnegie Hall co-commissions by composers Jannina Norpoth and Derrick Skye; and performances by violinists Njioma Chinyere Grevious, Tai Murray, and percussionist Britton-René Collins.

Sphinx Virtuosi's American Form/s program is a musical tapestry depicting the many sounds of American classical music, including classically-framed infusions of soul, bluegrass, jazz, blues, and elements of rag. The program opens with a riveting movement by 19th-century pianist, composer, singer, and conductor Teresa Carreño. Additional concepts of American music are explored in Derrick Skye's multifaceted and optimistic American Mirror, Part One; renowned violinist-composer Curtis Stewart's Drill, whose work for prepared drumset and strings is his "summer music," "hunter's call," and "field recording"; the Overture from Treemonisha, written by foundational ragtime composer Scott Joplin and newly arranged by Jannina Norpoth; and an imaginative nod to Joplin by celebrated film composer, educator and advocate Levi Taylor that is meant to embody the bold, ambitious, and authentic expression in Joplin's music. The American Form/s tour also includes Juantio Becenti's Hané for String Quartet and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's Novelletten for strings.

Nicknamed the "Valkyrie of the Piano," Venezuelan pianist, soprano, composer, and conductor Teresa Carreño earned her hard-fought reputation throughout her 54-year concert career. Over her illustrious career, she performed with prestigious ensembles, including the Berlin Philharmonic, and composed over 80 works, significantly contributing to the musical landscape alongside contemporaries like Fanny Mendelssohn and Clara Schumann. Composed in 1895 while residing in the idyllic Austrian village of Pertisau, Carreño's Serenade for Strings reflects her deep emotional expression and compositional skill. The fourth movement, a vibrant and joyful march, transports listeners to the lush, mountainous landscapes of the Tyrol region. The movement's rhythmic vigor and bright melodies evoke the spirit of a festive procession, perhaps symbolizing a connection between the vibrant life of her Venezuelan homeland and the serene Austrian setting. Despite its brilliance, this work remains underrepresented in the canon.

Jannina Norpoth's new arrangement of Scott Joplin's Overture from Treemonisha, co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall and New World Symphony, has its NY Premiere the same night. In 1911, Joplin used his life savings to register a copy of his beloved opera Treemonisha with the Library of Congress. Ahead of its time, the work combined classical form and operatic vocal stylings with the genre he is notably famous for, Ragtime. Despite several revivals many decades after his death and a 1976 Pulitzer Prize, Joplin never saw the work published or performed during his lifetime. The Overture performed by Sphinx Virtuosi is an excerpt from a contemporary re-imagining commissioned by Toronto-based experimental theater company Volcano, with Jessie Montgomery as part of the original arrangement. This newly realized adaptation brought together an international creative team of Black women in homage to the opera's namesake and protagonist, Treemonisha-a young Black woman who leads her community through conflict and turmoil.

Los Angeles-based composer, conductor, and musician known for his transcultural approach to music, Derrick Skye's American Mirror, Part One, arranged for string orchestra and co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall and New World Symphony, also sees its New York Premiere. American Mirror reflects on the coming together of cultures in our society, which consists of many generations and descendants of refugees, immigrants, and slaves, and how intercultural collaborations are essential to the well-being of American society. Melodically, the piece draws from West African, North African, and Eastern European vocal techniques and ornamentations, in addition to modal scales. Underneath these melodies, American Mirror uses open harmonies commonly found in Appalachian folk music, and also includes drones, an accompaniment practice found in many musical cultures. Part One asks for drone singing in two sections. Skye notes, "This singing symbolizes the support we could give to one another, encouraging every individual to reach their full potential."

Four-time GRAMMY-nominated violinist and composer Curtis Stewart serves as Sphinx Virtuosi's 2024-2025 Composer-in-Residence, with compositions featured on their nationwide tour, including the New York premiere of Stewart's Drill, a new work for string orchestra and drum set soloist, co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall and New World Symphony. About Drill, Stewart says, "During the pandemic, the phenomenon of outside dining swept New York. Being outside was much respite from being stuck in our crowded Inwood apartment. We would sit on Broadway and let the chaos of the outside world soothe our restless souls, including the muscular roars of passing motorcycles and the wide cadence of 'Drill music' up and down Broadway. I associate this music with outside, and with release, despite its intricate, violent, and chaotic outer layer."

Also on the program is the world premiere of Stewart's Double Down, commissioned with a gift from the Aronson Family Foundation, a scherzo moving between colorful chromatic runs and gospel riffs, wild bariolage and songful passage work, funk grooves, and thrown bow strokes. Commissioned by the Sphinx Organization for Tai Murray and Njioma Grevious, the two violinists will be featured during this performance.

The final performance on the program is Levi Taylor's Daydreaming, commissioned with a gift from the Keith and Renata Ward Emerging Composer Fund, a fantasy on Scott Joplin. Right away the listener will notice nods towards Joplin's music: The opening brings a glimpse of The Entertainer, followed by light rhythmic movements inspired by Joplin's fun and syncopated rhythms. Included are also a few "odd" notes here and there along with energetic countermelodies that aim to bring the listener closer to Joplin's style. Taylor states, "Throughout all of the various moments of 'daydreaming' in this piece, there remained one consistent ambition: To embody the bold, ambitious, and authentic expression that I find in all of Joplin's music."

Program

Sphinx Virtuosi in American Form/s
Wednesday, October 16, 2024 at 7:00pm
Carnegie Hall Presents Sphinx Virtuosi
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall | New York, NY
Link: www.carnegiehall.org/calendar/2024/10/16/sphinx-virtuosi-0700pm

Program:
Teresa Carreño - "Tempo di Marcia" from Serenade for Strings
Joplin arr. Jannina Norpoth - Overture from Treemonisha (co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall and New World Symphony) [NY Premiere]
Derrick Skye - American Mirror, Part One (arr. for string orchestra; co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall and New World Symphony) [NY Premiere]
Curtis Stewart - Drill (co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall and New World Symphony) [NY Premiere]
Britton-René Collins, Percussion
Curtis Stewart - Double Down, Invention #1 for Two Violins [World Premiere]
Njioma Chinyere Grevious, Violin
Tai Murray, Violin
Levi Taylor - Daydreaming (A Fantasy on Scott Joplin) [Commissioned with a gift from the Keith and Renata Ward Emerging Composer Fund]