Last updated: November 21, 2019
This is the first time Ren Martin-Doiké and Marc-André Riberdy, the NAC Orchestra’s newest members, are performing in a Music for a Sunday Afternoon concert.
Repertoire
Trio No. 2 for oboe, clarinet and bassoon
Born in Bandung, Java, January 17, 1907
Died in Maarheeze, Netherlands, June 26, 1987
One of the major figures of Dutch musical life during the 20th century, Henk Badings was an enormously prolific composer, his total output consisting of over 600 works in virtually all genres, including electronic music. Among his 140 chamber works are 12 trios, which he composed between 1934 and 1986, for various instrumental combinations. He wrote Trio No. 2 for oboe, clarinet, and bassoon early in his compositional career – the piece received its premiere in 1934 in Brussels, although it was not published until 1943.
Although he studied briefly with the eminent Dutch composer Willem Pijper, Badings was otherwise largely self-taught (he had originally trained and worked as a geological mining engineer), and his compositions do not adhere to any specific aesthetic direction. The Second Trio exhibits many hallmarks of his early style: the use of counterpoint (in the manner of Paul Hindemith), traditional forms (sonata, rondo, etc.), and complex harmonies based on combining major and minor scales with other modes including those of Badings’s own invention. The general character of his music tends to be dark and rather serious, with sharp rhythmic details.
The Trio’s first movement is rich in counterpoint and imitation between the instruments. It opens with a rhythmically incisive theme; later, after a pause, a second theme with a searching, sighing quality provides tender contrast. The main motifs of these themes are then developed, combined and recombined, before being recapitulated in full. More counterpoint features in the mercurial Scherzo; highlighting the delicate timbres of the woodwinds, it frames a lyrical, waltz-like middle section.
In the third movement, the oboe takes the lead with an elegiac theme, the basis of three variations. The instruments first muse, in turn, on a decorated version; the second variation incorporates florid scales; the third is an elegant dance, hearkening back to the 18th-century minuet. At last the mood lightens in the finale – a jocular Rondo of contrapuntal sophistication.
– Program note by Hannah Chan-Hartley
Trio in A minor, Op. 114
Born in Hamburg, May 7, 1833
Died in Vienna, April 3, 1897
How lucky we are that Brahms made the acquaintance of a man named Richard Mühlfeld, principal clarinettist in the court orchestra at Meiningen. Directly because of Mühlfeld, Brahms wrote four additional pieces of chamber music after having declared, at the age of 57, that he intended to write no more music. Brahms probably first met Mühlfeld in 1885, when the Meiningen orchestra gave the premiere of his Fourth Symphony. Then, in March 1891, Brahms accepted an invitation from the duke and duchess of the court at Meiningen for a week-long stay. This time Brahms took serious interest in Mühlfeld. Eight months later, Brahms returned to Meiningen with two masterpieces under his arm for Mühlfeld, the Trio Op. 114 and the Quintet Op. 115, both composed during his summer sojourn at Ischl. Mühlfeld, Brahms and cellist Robert Hausmann held private performances of the Trio on November 21 and 24, and the official premiere took place in Berlin on December 12, 1891. The Clarinet Quintet was also premiered at this Berlin concert.
As was common up until the twentieth century, chamber music compositions were often published with alternate scoring. In this case, when the Trio was published in 1892, it came in two versions, one with clarinet, the other with viola (hence ensuring wider interest and more performances, though those with viola remain infrequent today). Commenting on the use of the viola, Brahms scholar Malcolm MacDonald writes that “the viola seems less a natural leader in ensemble chamber music than the clarinet: its darker, huskier timbre does not stand out in such sharp relief from the other string instruments, but it imparts a greater intimacy which renders some passages more atmospheric and subtilizes the play of light and shade that is already part of the expressive essence of these works.”
We casually refer to this work as the “Clarinet Trio” (or “Viola Trio”), but the cello is every bit as prominent (indeed, it introduces more themes than does the clarinet or viola), and the two interact so harmoniously that Brahms’s friend Eusebius Mandyczewski told him that “it is as though the instruments were in love with each other.”
The cello introduces two of the three themes of the first movement. The nostalgic yearning of the first theme belies the fact that it consists essentially of just the rising arpeggio of A minor followed by the descending A‑minor scale. The second theme too is imbued with autumnal melancholy (a favourite phrase used in discussion of all of Brahms’s late music), while the third theme, this time given to the viola, has a gentle lilt to it.
The intimate, elegiac Adagio exploits the full ranges of both viola and cello. This movement has inspired writers to heights of eloquent praise: “the locus classicus of the combination of fantasy and passion within a coherent whole of only 54 bars,” writes Ivor Keys. Malcolm MacDonald calls it “a pearl even among Brahms’s slow movements.”
The next movement has a definite waltz-like flavour, and it is relevant to note that Brahms wrote it while fraternizing with Johann Strauss, a composer for whom he had endless admiration. The Trio section, with its feeling of a Ländler (a close relation of the waltz but more rustic), conjures up in some minds the sounds of yodeling.
In the sonata-form finale, unexpectedly urgent and feverish after three relatively melancholic or sedate movements, Brahms explores the relationships between two themes (both announced by the cello), of which the first eventually claims dominance. The Trio sweeps forward relentlessly to a thrilling close, the final chord taking the piano down to its very bottom note.
– Program note by Robert Markow
Piano Quartet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 15
Born in Pamiers, France, May 12, 1845
Died in Paris, November 14, 1924
Fauré specialized in small, intimate forms of music, mostly piano pieces, songs, works for small chorus, and short pieces for violin and piano or cello and piano. He left no published symphonies, concertos or symphonic poems. Aside from two works for the lyric stage (Prométhée and Pénélope), his large-scale works include a Requiem, incidental music for Pelléas et Mélisande, two sonatas each for violin and cello, and a half dozen chamber music compositions: a string quartet, a piano trio, two piano quartets and two piano quintets. The earlier of the piano quartets, Fauré’s best-known chamber music work, dates from 1879, the later one from 1886.
Fauré himself said that his music exemplified “the eminently French qualities of taste, clarity and sense of proportion.” He hoped to express “the taste for clear thought, purity of form and sobriety.” To these qualities we might add meticulous workmanship, elegance and refinement. Most of these are in evidence in the C‑minor Piano Quartet, although not to the extent we find in his later music. This Quartet was among Fauré’s earlier works, and was written in the wake of the composer’s broken engagement to Marianne Viardot (sister of the celebrated mezzo-soprano Pauline). Thus, we find in the Quartet considerable influence from Brahms and Schumann, and passages here and there reminiscent of Mendelssohn and even Liszt (the latter in the difficult piano writing). There is surging romanticism, a fullness of texture and rich sonorities in this Quartet, aspects that have largely disappeared by the time Fauré wrote his more characteristic works of later years.
In the opening movement, two themes are extensively explored and developed, the first played by unison strings in the opening bars in C minor, the second, in E‑flat major, introduced by each string player in turn in overlapping lines. One theme or the other (and, in one passage, both together) is in evidence at almost every moment. The piano plays constantly, with not a single bar of rest.
The Scherzo is in E‑flat major, and the only movement not in C minor. It is characterized by an airy lightness that recalls Mendelssohn. The metre is 6/8, but every so often Fauré interpolates a few bars of 2/4, which do not disturb the tempo or pulse, but alter the flow of triplets to duplets. In the central Trio section the strings play with mutes while the piano writing displays a Schubertian sparkle and lilt.
The sombre and deeply moving third movement is the emotional heart of the work. Two themes, each with an ascending melodic profile, form the lyrical material from which Fauré leisurely unfolds one of his finest movements. The final pages are music of poignant sweetness and ravishing beauty.
The finale is built on an exceptionally broad scale amounting to 450 bars of music. More so than in any of the previous movements, the four parts maintain their independent status, each in turn presenting melodic ideas or fragments thereof in a solo capacity. The Quartet ends exultantly in C major.
– Program note by Robert Markow
Artists
Vadim Serebryany has been acclaimed by audiences and critics on five continents for his sensitive and intelligent music making.
Serebryany has been highly sought after as a recitalist, concerto soloist, and chamber musician. He has performed in Europe, South America, Australia, and throughout North America, and in 2008 completed his eighth consecutive recital tour of Japan. In recent seasons he has been a guest soloist with the NAC Orchestra, the Kingston Symphony, the Osaka Century Orchestra, and Montgomery Symphony Orchestra.
In 2005, Vadim founded Trio Ink, with violinist Yosuke Kawasaki and cellist Wolfram Koessel. The ensemble is known for its creative programs that explore a large portion of the chamber repertoire, including duos, trios, and larger ensembles in which they frequently collaborate with guest artists. The trio has performed to critical acclaim throughout North America and Japan.
An Honours graduate with Distinction from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, where he was a student of Marina Geringas, Vadim went on to complete his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at The Juilliard School in New York City, under the tutelages of the legendary Russian pianist Oxana Yablonskaya and the esteemed American pianist Jacob Lateiner. The final leg of Serebryany’s formal education took him to Yale University, where he completed his studies in the prestigious Doctor of Musical Arts program under the brilliant Russian pianist and teacher Boris Berman.
Vadim Serebryany joined the piano faculty at the renowned School of Music at Ithaca College in 2016.
Anna Petersen joined the NAC Orchestra as Second Oboe and English Horn in 2013. She has performed orchestral and chamber concerts throughout Canada and the United States, and internationally in China, Hong Kong, New Zealand, and throughout Europe.
Prior to joining the NAC Orchestra, she held positions as Principal Oboe of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra and as a member of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. She has enjoyed guest appearances as Principal Oboe with the Pittsburgh, Detroit, Vancouver, and Wichita Symphony Orchestras, The Florida Orchestra, the Lake Placid Sinfonietta, and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, with whom she made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2013. She has also recently performed with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra in Auckland, New Zealand.
In addition to her orchestral career, Anna is an active soloist and chamber musician. She has been a soloist with the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, Symphoria, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Thirteen Strings Chamber Orchestra, the Lake Placid Sinfonietta, and the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra, and has performed as a finalist in the Coleman Chamber Music Competition in Pasadena, California. Anna has been a featured performer at Ottawa Chamberfest, a fellow at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, a participant at the Masterclass Program at the Banff Centre for the Arts, and a performer at the Skaneateles and Bravo! Vail Valley Music festivals.
Also an experienced teacher, Anna is currently on faculty at the University of Ottawa and previously was the Adjunct Professor of Oboe at Syracuse University’s Setnor School of Music and SUNY Geneseo. She was a guest member of the Prairie Winds at Madeline Island Chamber Music in 2018, and during the summers of 2012 and 2015 she was a coach at the Bennington Chamber Music Conference in Bennington, Vermont.
Anna earned her Bachelor of Music Degree and Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music. Her primary teachers include Richard Killmer and Suzanne Geoffrey.
In addition to her musical life, Anna is also an internationally certified yoga teacher with Yoga Alliance, having completed 300 hours of training in Bali, Indonesia.
Originally from St. John’s, Newfoundland, Sean Rice has performed extensively throughout North America and around the world. His broadcasts include recitals with CBC National Radio, performances for Swiss Radio DRS, and Lucerne Festival live streams for the 2016 New York Philharmonic Biennial and 2019 Lucerne Festival Alumni Orchestra.
Recognized as an exciting interpreter of contemporary music, The New York Times has described Sean as a “technically precise, exuberant protagonist” in performance. Sean has performed at festivals such as Lucerne Festival, Ottawa Chamberfest, New York City’s Museum of Modern Art Summergarden Series, Toronto Summer Music Festival, and Banff Music Festival. In addition to numerous New York Times reviews, Sean’s performances have received high praise from the Ottawa Citizen, Musical Toronto, and Artsfile. For a recent performance of Golijov’s Ayre at Ottawa Chamberfest, Musical Toronto wrote: “The performers were strong, especially NACO clarinetist Sean Rice, who unloaded a wailing solo that rivalled even the best Klezmer effort by Giora Feidman.”
At an early age, Rice was invited to perform a concert with the National Arts Centre Orchestra during their 2002 Atlantic Tour and subsequently, he has appeared as a soloist with ensembles including the Orchestre symphonique de Québec, Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, Axiom, The New Juilliard Ensemble, and Symphony Nova Scotia. The recipient of numerous awards, Sean received first prize at the 2006 Canadian Concerto Competition hosted by the Orchestre symphonique de Québec. Following his 2007 Montréal debut at Jeunesses Musicales, La Presse wrote: “…clarinettiste canadien Sean Rice y révéla une technique impeccable, une authentique musicalité, une sonorité tour à tour éclatante et chaleureuse, et un vrai talent de chambriste.” Continuing the 2007–2008 season, Sean performed his first national tour with pianist Jean-Philippe Sylvestre for Jeunesses Musicales’ touring series. Since then, he has toured frequently throughout major cities across the United States, Europe, Malaysia, Brazil, and Japan.
As an educator, Rice has served as Visiting Professor at Memorial University (2017–2018) and Director of the Contemporary Music Ensemble at the University of Ottawa (2012–2017). He has been invited to give masterclasses at institutions such as the Royal College of Music, Beijing Central Conservatory, University of British Columbia, and the University of West England. Additionally, Sean has adjudicated numerous competitions, including the National Music Festival Competition held by the Canadian Association of Music Festivals. In the fall of 2021, Rice joined the clarinet faculty at the University of Ottawa.
As a conductor, Rice made his debut in 2012 as the Director of the Contemporary Music Ensemble at the University of Ottawa. In 2017, he led an ensemble of musicians from the National Arts Centre Orchestra and made his international conducting debut at the International Society for Contemporary Music Festival in Vancouver. Recently, Sean conducted the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra for their 2021–2022 season opener—their first performance since the pandemic.
Outside the concert hall, Rice has developed a significant profile as a classical music podcaster and host. Under his tenure, the National Arts Centre NACOcast has enjoyed great success and international recognition, with Classic FM continuing to list his podcasts among the Top 10 in the world for classical music. Sean also hosts the NAC Wolfgang Sessions—a contemporary music series that he helped design and curate for the National Arts Centre.
Sean Rice is a graduate of Memorial University of Newfoundland, where he received his Bachelor of Music while studying with Paul Bendzsa. Continuing his studies under the tutelage of Charles Neidich, Rice graduated with both a Master of Music and Doctorate of Musical Arts from The Juilliard School. Currently residing in Ottawa, audiences can hear him perform regularly as a recitalist and chamber musician and as Second Clarinet / Bass Clarinet of the National Arts Centre Orchestra.
Born in Honolulu, Hawaii to a Canadian father and American mother, Ren Martin-Doïké is a versatile performer on a mission to share music with diverse audiences around the world. Ms. Martin-Doïké has performed throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas as a soloist and member of a diverse range of ensembles including Duo RenJi, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and as a hand picked member of Carlos Santana Band bassist and music director Benny Rietveld’s personal jazz quintet. Often heard on the radio, Ms. Martin-Doïké has performed for broadcasts on Radio France, American Public Radio, National Public Radio, as well as RTHK television in Hong Kong. More recently, she appeared in Death in Montmartre, an RTHK film production for which she also recorded original arrangements.
Named a 2015-16 Harriet Hale Woolley Scholar and Artist in Residence at the Fondation des États-Unis in Paris, Ms. Martin-Doïké is also the recepient of the Fontys prize from the Rubinstein International Viola Competition in Germany. Ms. Martin-Doïké is also an award winning chamber musician, taking home First Prize in the string quartet division at the Fondation Maurice Ravel Competition and the Prix de musique de chambre at the Conservatoire américain de Fontainebleau (France).
Ms. Martin-Doïké has enjoyed musical collaborations with Hilary Hahn and Joshua Bell, as well as members of the Johannes and Dover String Quartets, among others. Ms. Martin-Doïké plays regularly with the Philadelphia Orchestra, and has also served as principal viola of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, New York String Orchestra, and Hyogo Performing Arts Center Orchestra (Japan). As principal viola of the Curtis 20/21 Chamber Orchestra, she went on tour with Jennifer Koh and Jaime Laredo as a part of their Two x Four Project, which resulted in a Grammy Award nominated album on the Cedille label.
Notable performances this past season include solo recitals at the Festival des Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad (Switzerland) and Fondation des États-Unis (France), concerts with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and the premier of Archipelago for solo viola by John B Hedges, specially commissioned for her by the Curtis Institute of Music in honour of Laura and Kenneth Mitchell. A former fellow at the Bang on a Can summer music festival, Ms. Martin-Doïké has also premiered numerous other works, including Toccatina à la Turk by Atar Arad, Unusta IV by Riho Esko Maimets, and the Sonate pour deux altos by Alain Louvier.
A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, Ms. Martin-Doïké earned her master’s degree from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, receiving a unanimous first prize from the jury, along with top marks for her world premier recording and thesis “Sonate pour deux altos d’Alain Louvier: Analyse, poétique, et guide pour l’interprète”. She joined the viola section of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in 2019.
Though Marc-André Riberdy’s musical education began with the violin, he later changed his allegiance to the cello. He first studied with Father Rolland Brunelle and Sophie Coderre at the École de musique de Lanaudière, and then with Elizabeth Dolin at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal. He did further studies in Jean-Guihen Queyras’s class at the Hochschule für Musik in Freiburg, Germany.
Riberdy made a name for himself in numerous music competitions, including the Lanaudière classical music festival and competition, the Canadian Music Competition and the Hélène-Roberge Music Competition. He was also awarded a special prize at the 2016 Domnick cello competion in Stuttgart, Germany.
During his studies, Riberdy performed as a soloist with various orchestras, including the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal’s string orchestra, its symphony orchestra and the Joliette Youth Orchestra. He became the Orchestre Métropolitain’s associate solo cello in 2016 before before joining the NAC Orchestra’s cello section in 2018. He plays a Giovanni Gagliano 1790–1800 cello with a Karl Hans Schmidt bow, both generously made available to him by Canimex.
Canadian violinist of German and Lebanese ancestry, Jessica Linnebach has established herself as an accomplished artist with a thriving multi-faceted career encompassing solo, chamber, and orchestral performances.
Known for her “burnt caramel sound, utterly fearless virtuosity...and romantic lyricism” (Artsfile), Jessica has performed as soloist with orchestras around the world. A passionate chamber musician, Jessica is a member of the Ironwood String Quartet along with her NAC Orchestra colleagues Emily Kruspe, Carissa Klopoushak, and Rachel Mercer. They are frequent performers at various chamber music series and festivals, including the WolfGANG and the NAC’s Music for a Sunday Afternoon series, as well as Ottawa ChamberFest, Pontiac Enchanté, Ritornello, and Classical Unbound festivals. As part of a commitment to reaching broader audiences, Jessica is one of the Artistic Directors of the Classical Unbound Festival, a chamber music festival in Prince Edward County, Ontario.
Accepted to the world-renowned Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia at age 10, Jessica remains one of the youngest-ever Bachelor of Music graduates in the history of the school. While there, Jessica’s primary teachers were Aaron Rosand, Jaime Laredo, and Ida Kavafian. At 18, she received her Master of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music in New York City where she studied with Pinchas Zukerman and Patinka Kopec.
Jessica resides in Ottawa where she has held the position of Associate Concertmaster with the NAC Orchestra since 2010. A natural leader, Jessica has performed numerous times as guest Concertmaster with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.
Jessica plays a circa 1840 Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume (Guarnerius del Gésu 1737) violin. Her bows are crafted by Ron Forrester and Michael Vann.
