OvergrownPath.com: 'It's Gershwin! It's Glorious! It's Ghettoization!'

[TOP: Porgy and Bess Film Poster BOTTOM: Neger Production, Chocolate Kiddies]

Bob Shingleton sends this post:

On An Overgrown Path

Wednesday, November 09, 2011

John McLaughlin Williams sent the following email about yesterday's post Do I need to spell 'Neger Production'?

Great picture [BOTTOM Photo]. Are things much different now? At that time they had Chocolate Kiddies; now they have the hilariously over-exposed Porgy and Bess. Examining the largely negative roles in that opera (cocaine dealer, disabled, uneducated pauper, drug-addled woman of compromised virtue and slack loyalty) makes one wonder if we've come very far since then. Porgy and Bess usually sports an all-black cast, and touring productions have become the primary source of income for many singers of African descent. Could that be seen as a kind of ghettoization? Or worse?

Porgy and Bess does make a great contrast to William Grant Still's opera Troubled Island, which also utilizes an all-black cast to portray a drama about the fight for the independence of Haiti. These roles are positive. Could that be why it's only been staged once, and even though it was wildly cheered by the audiences at its premiere performances, the critics (ah, the conscience of the elite) unanimously patronized and panned it?

“* William Grant Still's Afro-American Symphony was performed at the historic 1945 concert when Rudolph Dunbar became the Berlin Philharmonic's first black conductor...”

John McLaughlin Williams on Violin with Ypsilanti Symphony in Coleridge-Taylor's 'Keep Me From Sinking Down' Dec. 4

[TOP: Samuel Coleridge-Taylor BOTTOM: John McLaughlin Williams]

John McLaughlin Williams has won a Grammy Award as a conductor, and has performed as a violinist, harpsichordist and pianist with violist Eliesha Nelson on her highly-acclaimed CD, Quincy Porter, Complete Viola Works, Dorian Recordings DSL 90911 (2009). John has a strong background in neglected classical repertoire, including the works of the Afro-British composer and conductor Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912), featured at AfriClassical.com and at the website of the Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Foundation, http://www.SCTF.org.uk.

On December 4, 2011 John McLaughlin Williams will perform on violin with the Ypsilanti Symphony Orchestra. He tells AfriClassical that Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's Keep Me From Sinking down, Negro Spiritual for Violin & Orchestra, has not been published, and is only known to have been performed once:

“The program includes Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's "Keep Me From Sinking Down", Negro Spiritual for Violin & Orchestra, and Joseph Joachim's Finale from Violin Concerto (In the Hungarian Style) Op.11.

“The Coleridge-Taylor work was initially written by him as a slow movement for his Violin Concerto. Though considered extremely beautiful by the concerto's commissioners, the composer thought it unsuitable for use in the concerto and subsequently removed it from consideration as such. This work was apparently performed only once (in 1911), and it has never been published. Performing materials were created by me from a copyist's manuscript.”

'On An Overgrown Path': Role of John McLaughlin Williams 'is to selflessly champion little known and deserving music.'

[TOP: John McLaughlin Williams BOTTOM: Quincy Porter, Complete Viola Works; Eliesha Nelson, viola; John McLaughlin Williams, violin, piano, harpsichord; Douglas Rioth, harp; Northwest Sinfonia, John McLaughlin Williams, conductor; Dorian Recordings DSL 90911 (73:47) (2009)]

On An Overgrown Path currently displays a cover photo of the above CD under the headline Crying Out For Rediscovery. Clicking on the cover photo takes one to this post:

Sunday, May 02, 2010

“If you like Korngold try this

The programming of Erich Wolfgang Korngold's lyrical Violin Concerto at a BBC Prom on August 10 is confirmation that Korngold is getting the recognition he rightly deserves. But there is still an awful lot of deserving music that is crying out for rediscovery, including that on the newly released CD seen above.

“Quincy Porter (1897-1966) was born in New Haven, Connecticut. He studied at Yale and in Paris and then held a series of high ranking academic positions in America after founding the American Music Centre in 1939 with Aaron Copland and Howard Hanson. His Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra (now known as the Concerto Concertante) won a Pullitzer Prize in 1954. Quincy Porter was an early advocate of hi-fi sound, and all the rooms of his retirement home in Bethany, Connecticut were networked for audiophile sound.

“The 1948 Concerto for Viola and Orchestra is the main work on this invaluable new CD. Comparisons between it and Korngold's Violin Concerto written just three years earlier are inevitable but a little unfair. Quincy Porter's own instrument was the viola and he made an important but now overlooked contribution to the viola repertoire. The Concerto is dedicated to William Primrose and the first performance was given by Paul Doktor with the CBS Orchestra conducted by Dean Dixon, the African-American conductor who featured here in October 2008.

“Dorian's disc of Quincy Porter's Complete Viol;a Works maintains the musicians of color connection as the quite superb soloist is Alaskan born Eliesha Nelson and her accompanist, on piano, harpsichord and the podium with the Northwest Sinfonia, is Grammy winner John McLaughlin Williams.”

“An enlighted one is a bodhisattva, described by Jeff Greenwald as 'the mindful and mysterious men, women and children who seem to recognize, almost from Day One, their peculiar function on this planet'. John McLaughlin William is a veritable bodhisattva. His peculiar function on the planet is to selflessly champion little known and deserving music. In his view everything in the music market is the best, from Messiaen (which he won a Grammy for) to Quincy Porter.

“Thankfully the pursuit of musical fashions and playing the anniversary game is not what John McLaughlin Williams is about. As well as Quincy Porter's Complete Viola Works he has just recorded a much-needed disc of music by another American composer, Deon Nielsen Price (if you like Alan Hovhaness try this), conducting this time the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine. There are much easier ways to earn a living and you are not likely to find either of these discs in BBC Radio 3's classical chart. But that is not what being a bodhisattva is about.”

Recordings of Music of Philippa Duke Schuyler by John McLaughlin Williams to Air on BBC-Radio 3 on Oct. 14

[Philippa Duke Schuyler; John McLaughlin Williams]

Bob Shingleton of the classical music blog On An Overgrown Path, based in the U.K. has long been an intrepid explorer of neglected music history of composers and musicians of African descent. Today he sends exciting news on this year's recordings of piano music of Philippa Duke Schuyler by the conductor and pianist John McLaughlin Williams:

"Bill, good news - BBC Radio 3 is broadcasting a profile of the black American composer and pianist Philippa Schuyler."

Monday, October 03, 2011

Young, gifted, black and now on the BBC

Surprising where these paths lead. A fascination with Philippa Schuyler led to John McLaughlin Williams' priceless recordings and analysis of her early piano music. And now that path leads to a BBC Radio 3 programme.

My two paths in August celebrating the 80th anniversary of the birth of the black American musician sparked an email from BBC producer Michael Surcombe asking if I would have any objections to a radio feature on Philippa Schuyler being developed using John McLaughlin Williams as a contributor. To which my immediate response was, of course there would be no objections.

The BBC programme has been made with my agreement, but I have no other involvement in it. It will be broadcast on Radio 3 at 8.25pm on October 14 during the interval of a concert of American music. The 20 minute feature is titled The Colour of Genius and the presenter is the composer Ella Spira who has worked with Ladysmith Black Mambazo, the Ministry of Sound and the Royal Ballet. John McLaughlin Williams' contribution was recorded in WRCJ-FM in Detroit, Michigan and the recordings of Philippa's piano music made by him for An Overgrown Path are being used by the BBC.

Kathryn Talalay, who wrote the definitive life of Philippa, is also a contributor and a rare copy of the pianist's quasi-autobiography Adventures in Black and White has been found by BBC researchers. I know that John has tracked down a copy of Philippa's only commercial recording; this is of music by Turina, Mussorgsky, Liszt and Copland and has been out of the catalogue for decades, but I do not know if it features in the programme.

I have invited the BBC to contribute a guest post on the making of the programme and hope that this will be written by Ella Spira - more details when they are available from the BBC. For my part it is very rewarding to see the diabolus in musica again refreshing the parts other media cannot reach.

John McLaughlin Williams Plays Piano Music of Philippa Duke Schuyler for 80th Anniversary of Her Birth on Aug. 2, 1931

[Philippa Duke Schuyler (Photo: Wikipedia)]

Bob Shingleton of On An Overgrown Path writes today about his collaboration with John McLaughlin Williams to honor the 80th Anniversary of the birth of Philippa Duke Schuyler (1931-1967) with a special recording of piano music composed by her:

“The first part of my celebration of the 80th anniversary of Philippa Schuyler's birth on August 2 has been published today -

http://www.overgrownpath.com/2011/08/philippa-schuyler-genius-or-genetic.html

“Part two tomorrow will feature an exclusive recording of her piano music made specially for my birthday tribute by John McLaughlin Williams. There are no catalogue CDs of her as performer or composer and John's performance will be the first opportunity to hear her music for decades.

Regards,

Bob”

Comment by email:

Thanks Bill. I hope your readers will find this of interest. As always, thanks to you for your great support. JMW [John McLaughlin Williams]

'2+2=8': John McLaughlin Williams, Wayne Marshall & Micallef-Inanga Duo in 2-Piano 8-Hand Ensemble in Malta

[From TOP: John McLaughlin Williams, Wayne Marshall, Glen Inanga and Jennifer Micallef]

John McLaughlin Williams tells us he will participate in a repeat of the “2+2=8” concert. It will take place in Malta, the home country of Jennifer Micallef of the Micallef-Inanga Duo, which pairs her with the Nigerian pianist Glen Inanga. British keyboard virtuoso Wayne Marshall will also perform:

Hi Bill,

The Inanga-Micallef Duo with Wayne Marshall and me are doing another concert as 2+2=8, which is our two piano eight hand ensemble. We are in Malta next week playing many of the same fantastic arrangements of works now considered classics, such as 1812 Overture, Danse Macabre, Espana, etc. These arrangements were created at the time of each work's composition, and they are marvelously evocative settings of the original works. Glen, Jen and Wayne are all fantastic, international level pianists - and then there's me! I feel like Ringo in the Beatles. Nonetheless, a fine time should be had by all.

http://www.teatrumanoel.com.mt/default.asp?m=shows&id=90

Thanks and best regards,

JMW

Plain Dealer: 'With bow in one hand, pacifier in another, Cleveland Orchestra violist stands out as both artist, mother'

[ABOVE: Eliesha Nelson with her son, William, and husband, Jon Cline, at the family's Cleveland home. Cline works at the University of Arizona in Tucson. BELOW: Violist Eliesha Nelson is already doing more than most people do in a lifetime. In addition to playing and touring with the Cleveland Orchestra, she's raising a toddler largely single-handedly and making recordings, the first of which just won a Grammy. (Scott Shaw, The Plain Dealer)]

Published: Tuesday, February 22, 2011

By Zachary Lewis, The Plain Dealer

“CLEVELAND, Ohio -- As a black woman from North Pole, Alaska, violist Eliesha Nelson is by default one of the most distinctive members of the Cleveland Orchestra. She's also one of the busiest -- and one of the most extraordinary. Recently, Nelson set herself apart even further by making a Grammy Award-winning recording of Quincy Porter's viola music. Her debut album was nominated in four categories and won for its engineering. And if that weren't enough to make you feel like a slacker, consider this: Nelson is also what she calls a 'married single mother,' with a toddler at home and a husband working in Arizona. What's more, she just recorded a new disc.

"'Between my parents, I'm fairly disciplined,' said Nelson, the daughter of a teacher and an Air Force sergeant. 'That's how I got this project done.' Nelson may be a musical performer, but her life is an amazing balancing act. Even without her recording work, her juggling of orchestral and domestic duties would be remarkable. Most working parents can relate to parts of Nelson's life -- caring for a 16-month-old (William) while holding down a job entailing private practice, daytime rehearsals and evening performances. Also likely to be familiar is the environment at Nelson's Cleveland home, where stuffed animals and children's books occupy as much space as history texts and classical CDs.

“Far fewer have any notion of traveling the world with a toddler in tow, as Nelson, 37, does on a surprisingly regular basis. Like every member of the Cleveland Orchestra, Nelson spends a large part of her life in hotels, airplanes and buses. Thus has young William become a jet-setter. Already, he's visited Miami, New York, Japan, South Korea and a broad swath of Europe. He took his first steps last year in Lucerne, Switzerland. A full-time au pair and helpful relatives are her lifelines, and her husband, Jon Cline, comes to the rescue whenever he's home from his job as a research specialist at the University of Arizona in Tucson. Cline is a trained musician whose mother is a former dean of the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore (she was the first black dean at Peabody and, at the time, the only female dean of a major U.S. conservatory).

“Still, a nursing mother can stray only so far from her child. Then there's the sleep factor. Last month, on tour in Miami, the free time her colleagues in the orchestra had for running, playing golf and boating, Nelson used to take naps. When others were packing up clothes and instruments, she was reloading diaper bags and making sure not to leave behind any toys, supplies or bedtime stories. I can't believe I'm still alive,' Nelson said. 'Everything is about child care and work. There's no shopping or sightseeing. I don't have the time or energy to do anything else. It's more difficult than most people realize. It's hard on the body.'

“How Nelson arrived at this point, and a seat at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, is no less incredible. Most musicians in the Cleveland Orchestra have a story to tell, but none has one like hers. 'I'm just so proud of what she's done,' said principal violist Robert Vernon, Nelson's former teacher at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she earned both undergraduate and graduate degrees. 'She was educated here and continues to give back and represent everything that's great about Cleveland.'

“Viola entered her life almost by chance, during a performance at CIM's Encore School for Strings. Vernon heard Nelson play and suggested she reconsider the viola she'd sampled in Texas. Many young artists would have shrugged off the idea, but Nelson took him up on it, re-enrolling at CIM and entering Vernon's studio for a master's degree in viola. 'She entrusted her talent to me and followed through,' Vernon said. 'It's a credit to her that she was able to stand out. She didn't take anything for granted.' Astoundingly, two years later, on a viola borrowed from CIM, Nelson took an audition to be acting principal violist of the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra and won the job. Within a year, dying in Florida's heat, she went on to win positions with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Cleveland Orchestra. She joined the latter in 2000 and quickly proved a valuable addition.”

“Fast-forward to 2007, when John McLaughlin Williams, a multitalented musician and friend from school, finally persuaded Nelson to make a recording. She'd held out because recordings are expensive, time-consuming ventures, and the subject has to be just right.” “Months of research later, Nelson and Williams settled on Quincy Porter, a Pulitzer Prize-winning former teacher at CIM whose music for the viola was both compelling and little-known. Funding for the $75,000 project came mostly from their own pockets but also from a pool of Cleveland donors.”

“Life took another dramatic turn in January 2009. Just when it seemed her days couldn't get any fuller, Nelson learned she was pregnant. This would be her greatest project yet. Weight-lifting, reading and sewing, her nonmusical hobbies, would have to drop off her list of priorities.” “Luckily, the bulk of the work on Porter was already finished. She'd even posed for the album's cover photo, in Lake Erie, wearing a dress made by local designer Inda Blatch-Geib.”

“A big hit from the start

Then things really took off. Upon its release in September 2009, the Porter disc was an immediate success. Critics loved it, colleagues praised it, and it soon became one of the most popular recordings in the Luminus catalog.” “The four Grammy nominations -- for best chamber music performance, best instrumental soloist performance with orchestra, best engineered classical album and classical producer of the year -- came as the icing on an already rich cake.” “But her life isn't going back to normal. Not completely. Now she's putting the finishing touches on a second disc due out in the fall, an album of Russian viola sonatas with pianist Glen Inanga.”

Tribune: 'Is Williams the next leader of the Chicago Sinfonietta?'; Sun-Times: 'Williams exudes Sinfonietta cred'

[John McLaughlin Williams with 2007 Grammy Award]

ChicagoTribune.com

May 18, 2010

Is Williams the next leader of the Chicago Sinfonietta?

John von Rhein

“The most prominent podium up for grabs in the area at the moment is the Chicago Sinfonietta's. A search for a new music director has been underway since last year when Paul Freeman, the orchestra's founder and chief conductor since 1987, announced he will step down for health reasons at the close of the 2010-11 season. The field has since been narrowed to eight candidates, five of whom have directed the ensemble this season. The latest contender, John McLaughlin Williams, made his Sinfonietta conducting debut at Orchestra Hall on Monday night, when he shared the program with Freeman. His strong showing suggested the board may have found Mr. Right Fit.

The 52-year-old North Carolina native, who lives in Ann Arbor with his wife and young daughter, has paid his professional dues. He is an accomplished violinist and pianist. Most crucially, he's a gifted conductor who shares the sinfonietta's commitment to advancing diversity. Although Williams has recorded 10 CDs (one of which, an Olivier Messiaen disc, won a Grammy in 2007) and has garnered widespread praise from musicians and critics, he has been repeatedly frustrated in his attempts to land an orchestra of his own. 'I've had a bit of difficulty gaining access to the higher-level auditions,' he said recently. 'It's really been a guerilla campaign.' Part of the problem, he explained, was that he got a late start on his career and missed out on professional contacts that could have helped him to the next level.”

“The deciding factor must be leadership ability. Certainly the fusion of Williams' abilities with those of the dynamic young Harlem Quartet at Monday's event lifted the music-making...” “His portion of the program focused on lighter Americana – Michael Abels' 'Delights and Dances' and George Frederick McKay's 'Variants on a Texas Tune.'"

SunTimes.com

Williams exudes Sinfonietta cred

REVIEW | States case with 'Renaissance'

May 19, 2010

BY Bryant Manning

“The Chicago Sinfonietta delivered more than just a memorable season finale in its 'Harlem Renaissance' concert Monday night. Was there also, perhaps, a sign of promising things to come?Since the announcement in early 2009 of music director Paul Freeman's decision to retire, the Sinfonietta has been on the march to find a successor to its venerable founder. The current season has featured five guest conductors in a sort of public audition role, and the last of these contenders, John McLaughlin Williams, might have the strongest case after an impressive showing Monday night at Orchestra Hall.

“For an orchestra that actively promotes diversity, it is hard to ignore the only African-American conductor to win a Grammy. Williams has been an enterprising recording artist, piling up several noteworthy American premieres on the Naxos label. He's a gifted violinist as well, and his musical interests extend beyond the European tradition into jazz and world music. He can conduct a live orchestra, too. He communicated a heartfelt spirit in George Frederick McKay's Coplandesque 'Variants on a Texas Tune' (1937), based on the folk song 'Mustang Gray.' Testing out a rapport with the audience, he spent a considerable -- if lengthy -- time breaking down the variations in a pre-performance 'CliffsNotes,' where he even burst into song to illustrate the tunes. 'I won't quit my day job,' he joked.

“In more familiar repertoire, he brought the Sinfonietta to maximum potential in Zoltan Kodaly's propulsive 'Dances of Galanta.' High-level solos abounded in this gypsy music feast, most notably from principal horn John Fairfield, and others were alertly responsive to Williams' command. Sinfonietta executive director Jim Hirsch urged concertgoers to return their surveys and weigh in on a new director; did the choice just get a little easier?

“The convivial Harlem Quartet joined Williams' company onstage. The quartet consists of four first place winners from the Sphinx Competition for young black and Latino string players. (Local cellist Russell Rolen filled in wonderfully for an ailing Desmond Neysmith.) Their chemistry in Michael Abel's 'Delights and Dances' was a sight and sound to behold: Violinists Melissa White, Ilmar Gavilan and violist Juan-Miguel fleshed out an absorbing, personal exchange through a bluesy prism. Even more moving was their encore of Billy Strayhorn's 'Take the “A” Train.' It is a real pleasure to see young classical artists whose musical instincts run deeper than the printed note. [Maestro Paul Freeman (b. 1936) is profiled at AfriClassical.com]

Videos of 'Harlem Renaissance': Chicago Sinfonietta, Harlem Quartet & John McLaughlin Williams, May 16 & 17

The Guides page for the May 16 & 17 Program “Harlem Renaissance” at ChicagoSinfonietta.org features three Videos of Performances, The Artists in Their Own Words, and Download the Harlem Renaissance Program Book.

Videos
Harlem Quartet play Ravel

An excerpt from Michael Abels' Delights and Dances

The lighter side of HQ: Duke Ellington's Take the 'A' Train.

Prof. Dominique-René de Lerma of Lawrence University Conservatory says: “Everyone should hear this Quartet!” [Duke Ellington (1899-1974) is profiled at AfriClassical.com]

Eliesha Nelson and John McLaughlin Williams Perform 'Blues Lointains' on Video

AfriClassical has received this word from violist Eliesha Nelson regarding a Sono Luminus video of “Blues Lointains” (6:46) a work on the CD “Quincy Porter, Complete Viola Works"; Dorian Recordings DSL 90911 (2009):

“The video of me and John M. Williams performing the Blues Lointains is finally available! I have a link to it on my blog at http://www.elieshanelson.com/blog. Hope you enjoy! Eliesha”

Those who follow the link to Eliesha Nelson's website will also find a photo of her newborn son!

Comment by email
Thanks for the notice Bill! JMW

Detroit Free Press: 'Conductor John McLaughlin Williams is a man without an orchestra'

[Conductor John McLaughlin Williams usually keeps his 2007 Grammy tucked away; he was nominated for another one this year, but lost.]

Freep.com

BY MARK STRYKER • FREE PRESS MUSIC WRITER • February 10, 2009

“A conductor and recent local transplant was up for a Grammy Award on Sunday. It was Leonard Slatkin, the high-powered new music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, right? Wrong.

It was John McLaughlin Williams, a 51-year-old native of North Carolina, who lives in Livonia with his wife and daughter. Don't feel bad about not recognizing him. He's also unknown among the classical music elite -- in spite of recording 10 CDs, winning a Grammy in 2007 for a performance by French modernist Olivier Messiaen and earning ringing endorsements from producers, musicians and critics.”

“Williams studied violin at Boston University and the New England Conservatory, but spent nearly 20 years freelancing, working with the Boston Symphony, Boston Pops and even soloing with the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra. He spent a season with the Houston Symphony and a season as concertmaster (first violinist) with the Virginia Symphony. But he finally realized that the only way he could play the music that most excited him would be if he could call the tune: He had to conduct. So he enrolled at the Cleveland Institute of Music to study the craft. He launched his postgraduate career by conducting music by the pioneering 20th-Century African-American composer William Grant Still at a conference. A label owner heard Williams and recommended him to the Ledins -- who were producing the burgeoning American Classics series on the Naxos label. 'I was invited to pitch projects, and here's where “Baker's” came into play,' says Williams. 'I could look at what had been recorded and see the holes.' As traditional major labels curtailed activities in the late '90s, Naxos was making hay by releasing inexpensive CDs of fresh repertoire and keeping costs low by avoiding star performers. That's how Williams got paired with a Ukrainian orchestra and why, once he proved his mettle, he keeps getting called for recordings.”  [Full Post]

'Bloch/Lees Violin Concertos' Earns Maestro John McLaughlin Williams A Grammy Nomination

[Ernest Bloch and Benjamin Lees: Violin Concertos; Elmar Oliveira, violin; National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine; John McLaughlin Williams, conductor; Artek AR-0042-2 (2008)]

On May 21, 2008 AfriClassical posted “'Grade A' Review of 'Bloch and Lees: Violin Concertos', Conducted by John McLaughlin Williams”. Maestro Williams sends us this news, which earns him our hearty congratulations: “Hello Bill, Just wanted to let you know that I've received another Grammy nomination. It's for the Bloch/Lees Violin Concertos recording, with Elmar Oliveira. Look in Category 102 http://content.grammy.com/grammy_awards/51st_show/list.aspx#30 Thanks. I still check your site every day. It's a terrific source. All best, JMW” The nomination reads: “Category 102 Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with Orchestra) (Award to the Instrumental Soloist(s) and to the Conductor.)”

Since our prior post, this CD has been reviewed by Rob Barnett of MusicWeb-International.com:

“Right from track 1 – the first movement of the Ernest Bloch Concerto – it becomes apparent that these sessions were captured in a really resonant acoustic. It’s a deeply impressive hall conveyed through a warm yet unclouded and analytical sound-image. This suits well the hoarse primitive fanfares that launch the Bloch Concerto in what is a very likeable and strong performance. The conductor tells me that rather than attempt a martial sound in the beginning fanfare he thought he would try to make it sound more like a shofar: “for me it is more a call to worship or ritual than to arms”.  [Full Post] 

Eliesha Nelson, African American Violist, To Record Complete Viola Works of Quincy Porter

John McLaughlin Williams tells AfriClassical: "Please take a look at Eliesha Nelson's website. She's a violist in the Cleveland Orchestra, one of only two black members there and one of the few African-American musicians who are members of a major orchestra. Eliesha is making a world premiere recording of the complete viola music of Quincy Porter, a member of the generation of great composers active during that golden age of American composition in the 1930's to 1950's. The cd has all of the viola chamber music with harp, violin, piano and harpsichord, a solo viola work, and it is capped by the Viola Concerto, which will be recorded next week in Seattle. The Concerto is one of the very best written for the instrument, highly virtuosic and philosophical in tenor. I'm conducting the orchestra and also playing violin, piano and harpsichord on this recording. In the Duo for Viola and Harp the harpist is Douglas Rioth, principal harp of the San Francisco Symphony. Douglas is yet another absolutely great harpist who studied under Alice Chalifoux. http://www.elieshanelson.com/ There are some sound files there too. The producers are the multiple Grammy-nominated Marina and Victor Ledin of Encore Consultants." http://www.encoreconsultantsllc.com/

Eliesha Nelson
African American Violist
Cleveland Orchestra Violist
Marina and Victor Ledin
Viola Works of Quincy Porter
John McLaughlin Williams

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: Chamber Music

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: Chamber Music is a world premiere recording of three works of the composer by The Coleridge Ensemble on AFKA SK-543 (1998). They are Fantasiestücke (Fantasy Pieces) for String Quartet, Op. 5 (20:55); Five Negro Melodies for Piano Trio, Op. 59, No. 1 (18:10); and Nonet in f minor, Op. 2 (26:40). The members of the ensemble are John McLaughlin Williams, violin; Hilary Walther, violin (Quartet); Lisa Sustowicz, viola; William E. Thomas, cello; Pascale Delache-Feldman, bass; Jane Harrison, oboe; Eric Thomas, clarinet; Ronald Haroutunian, bassoon; Robin Cavalear, horn; Fredricka King, piano (Trio); and Christopher Walter, piano (Nonet).

Rob Barnett has reviewed the CD for MusicWeb International. William E. Thomas has written a liner note on the chamber music of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor:

It is clear that the period of time Coleridge-Taylor spent as a student at the Royal College (1890-1897) from age 15 to 22 was the period when he turned his attention to chamber music. There are many reasons one might think to explain this: personal interest and knowledge; requirements of his teacher, Sir Charles Stanford; the greater possibility of performance; i.e., the economy of smaller instrumental forces; and the models presented by other great composers like Brahms and Dvorak.

Whatever the reasons Coleridge-Taylor chose the idioms of the trio, quartet, quintet and nonet, we who love chamber music are the beneficiaries. In choosing these structures Coleridge-Taylor found and developed for himself a form that was receptive for a type of profound musical expression that suited both himself and the structures.

Performances of most of his early works took place at the Royal College. Sir George Grove, who was then director of the College, was present at the premiere of the Nonet on July 5, 1895. In his book Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Musician, His Life and Letters, W.C.B. Sayers records the following incident:

At the conclusion of the piece, the applause was very great, and there were demands for the composer. He, however, was not forthcoming, and, the applause continuing, Sir George himself went n search of Coleridge-Taylor. Although he (Coleridge-Taylor) had found the courage to face an audience in his own town, at college so great had been his dread... he had fled upstairs and hidden himself in the organ room, whence Grove dragged him forth.

John McLaughlin Williams writes of the Fantasiestücke for String Quartet, Op. 5:

Coleridge-Taylor's Fantasiestücke (Fantasy Pieces) were composed in 1895, while he was still a student at the Royal College. This work was dedicated by Coleridge-Taylor to his composition teacher, Charles Villiers Stanford, Esq. The work is breathtakingly assured technically, the composer employing some cyclic elements and generally showing great understanding of the textural problems of quartet writing. Each movement creates a character unto its own, all the while retaining a palpable freshness that remains to this day. The Fantasiestücke were published posthumously in 1921.

William E. Thomas comments on Five Negro Melodies for Piano Trio, Op. 59, No. 1:

This work is an arrangement for piano trio of five of the compositions for solo piano taken from his Twenty-four Negro Melodies.

The songs are: "Sometimes I feel like a motherless child" (Audio sample of complete track) (4:55); "I was way down a-yonder" (4:20); "Didn't my Lord deliver Daniel" (1:25); "They will not lend me a child" (5:20); and "My Lord delivered Daniel" (2:00).

Thomas says of the Nonet in f minor, Op.2:

This recording of chamber music by the Africa-English composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor is the first recording made of the works presented here. The task of presenting "new" works to the repertoire is both challenging and rewarding. In the case of the Nonet the ensemble was working from copies of the original manuscript. The process of collecting and editing has been interesting and deeply satisfying. The thought of bringing to life a major piece of chamber music that has been neglected for over 100 years is enormously exciting and bears a considerable responsibility.

The Nonet, written for oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, violin, viola, cello, string bass, and piano, was first performed on July 5, 1895.