Iskandar Widjaja. Photograph by Hendra Kusuma
Explore an intriguing mix of classical and non-traditional music played by international violin sensation Iskandar Widjaja in his New York debut at the historic Bohemian National Hall. Moving from Dvorak to contemporary works, the Indonesian-German violin virtuoso provides a new vibe, capturing meditative sounds that have a transcendental quality and focus. The stellar young musician demonstrates his charisma and talent in this memorable performance.'
This is a recording of an event originally performed at Bohemian National Hall in 2019 in collaboration with Groupmuse, Iskandar Widjaja, violin, Miki Aoki, piano.
Iskandar Widjaja will revisit the magic in a special opening conversation with the Dvorak American Heritage Association music advisor, Laura Goldberg.
PROGRAM
Antonin Dvorak
Sonatina for violin and piano, op. 100 B. 183
Allegro risoluto
Larghetto
Scherzo
Finale
Max Richter
On the nature of daylight
Mercy
November
Concert Fantasy on Themes from George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess arr. by Igor Frolov
PROGRAM NOTES
Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904) spent the better part of three years in America, from 1892 to 1895, as the director of the National Conservatory of Music of America, influencing American music and musicians and generating widespread news coverage on both sides of the Atlantic with his prophetic statements regarding the significance of African American and Native American musical sources. Included among his "American" works are his best known and loved Symphony in E minor ("From the New World"), the String Quartet in F, String Quintet in E flat, the most famous of the "Humoresque's,” and the Cello Concerto, as well as his Sonatina for violin and piano. Numbered opus 100, the piece was dedicated to his children and premiered in his New York apartment on East 17th Street – with his eldest daughter and son as pianist and violinist. It is a four-movement work marked Allegro risoluto, Larghetto, Scherzo, and Finale. Some of the harmonic colors and melodic shapes in this work may have been inspired by the music of the Native Americans.
Max Richter, Three pieces: On the nature of daylight; Mercy; November
Max Richter was born in Germany in 1966 and grew up in Great Britain. A classically trained pianist-composer, he is one of the foremost representatives of contemporary minimalism in Europe today. His music represents an interface between contemporary classical and alternative pop genres. Richter studied composition at the Royal Academy of Music, and pursued advanced studies with the renowned composer Luciano Berio in Italy. In addition to his output for the concert stage, Richter has composed music for the theatre, opera, and ballet as well as for the screen. He has collaborated successfully with performance artists as well as with installation and media artists.
Concert Fantasy on Themes from George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess arr. by Igor Frolov
George Gershwin was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1898 and died tragically young in Los Angeles in 1937. The son of Russian-Jewish immigrants, he became a quintessentially American pianist-composer who expressed the life and the spirit of our national melting pot during the first decades of the twentieth century. Gershwin is of special interest to DAHA because of his direct connection to Dvorak: he studied composition with Rubin Goldmark – a student of Antonin Dvorak at the National Conservatory of Music of America – as well as with Henry Cowell and Joseph Brody. His songs such as "Fascinating Rhythm” (1924) and “I Got Rhythm" (1930), and the opera Porgy and Bess (1935) that gave birth to the all-time hit “Summertime" are perennial American classics.
Gershwin first made his mark as a popular songwriter, but his immense talent led him into the field of contemporary classical composition. Unencumbered by the dogmas of academia, he brought the idioms of popular music into the concert hall. This earned him both the acclaim of the larger public and the skepticism of some of the academicians. In his iconic compositions, such as Rhapsody in Blue (1924) and An American in Paris (1928), Gershwin created the symphonic jazz genre. The fact that no composer since has been able to duplicate, or even convincingly imitate his style, is testimony to his genius. The Concert Fantasy heard in today’s program was arranged by Igor Frolov, a Russian virtuoso violinist and composer.
Iskandar Widjaja Labeled both as “Worldclass-Violinist” (Stuttgarter Zeitung) and “Rockstar” (The Jakarta Post), Iskandar connects worlds. The son of Arabic-Dutch and Chinese-Indonesian parents grew up with classical music and has performed as a soloist with internationally renowned ensembles such as the Deutsche Symphonie-Orchester and Konzerthaus Orchestra Berlin; the Munich, Warsaw and Shanghai Philharmonics; Sydney Symphony; Orchestre de la Suisse Romande; Radio Symphony Orchestra Vienna, and the Hong Kong Sinfonietta. Simultaneously, he has developed a parallel showbiz career in East Asia, with regular TV appearances and many related activities.
He entered the Berlin “Hanns Eisler” conservatoire as an extraordinary student at the age of eleven. Awarded many international prizes even as a teenager and while studying, he has worked with the great names of classical music such as Zubin Mehta, Christoph Eschenbach, Rolando Villazón, Cameron Carpenter, David Foster, Anggun, Itamar Golan and Fazil Say in halls such as the Elbphilharmonie; Philharmonie and Konzerthaus Berlin; Tonhalle Zurich; Shanghai Cultural Arts Center; Hong Kong City Hall; or the Tel Aviv Opera House. He is also often to be seen at mass-media events ranging from the Davis Cup, EXPO Milan, and Fashion Week in Paris to the world premiere in Vienna’s Konzerthaus of the suite for violin and orchestra “Across the Stars” from Star Wars. In addition to the traditional repertoire, he created the concept-concert “Bach&ZEN” in collaboration with a ZEN-Master and also works as a composer and songwriter. His compositions cannot be narrowed down to one genre, but combine influences of film music, baroque, pop and hiphop.
Iskandar is strongly committed to educational projects for children in the Asian Pacific region, typically in collaboration with UNICEF or the WWF. Supported by KOMPAS Gramedia, Indonesia’s biggest media group, and the “besharp foundation” he organizes charity events to finance musical instruments and instruction for orphans, street-, and schoolchildren. His personality and energy are aptly summed up by the string players’ house magazine The Strad, in the following words: “Iskandar Widjaja, a true force of nature.” He plays the “Stephens” 1690 Stradivari and an 1875 JB Vuillaume.
Iskandar Widjaja, Photo by Silke Woweries.
This event is brought to you by the Dvorak American Heritage Association with support of BBLA.