Event Details
Sunday, October 14, 2018 | 7:00 p.m.
2018 Paderewski Lecture-Recital: “Sounds of Independence”
Alfred Newman Recital Hall, USC (see AHF on campus map)
3616 Trousdale Pkwy, Los Angeles, CA
Reception following the concert
Admission is FREE and open to the public (no RSVP needed)
Campus Parking: $12 – enter USC at McCarthy Way Gate, off of Figueroa St. just South of Jefferson Blvd. (Parking Structure X)
2018 Paderewski Lecture-Recital
On October 14, the Polish Music Center’s flagship Paderewski Lecture-Recital series celebrates 100 years of Polish independence with a collaborative lecture and performance of music composed between World War I and II. Performers include the USC Thornton Chamber Singers conducted by Dr. Jo-Michael Scheibe and Doctoral candidate Andrew Schultz, the Quadrophonic String Quartet and other student artists from the Thornton School of Music, as well as a guest lecture by Thornton musicology professor Dr. Lisa Cooper Vest (pictured at right).
Including works by Paderewski, Tansman, Koffler, Bacewicz and more, the evening’s colorful program will explore how Poland’s return to the map of Europe in 1918 opened the doors for a period of intense cultural flourishing.
Program
“Composing the Nation: Intersections of Modernity and Tradition in Interwar Poland”
Lecture by Dr. Lisa Cooper Vest, USC Thornton School of Music
* * *
Ignacy Jan Paderewski (1860-1941) HEJ, ORLE BIAŁY (1917)
USC Chamber Singers
Andrew Schultz, conductor | So-Mang Jeagal, piano
Ludomir Różycki (1883-1953) KRAKOWIAK FROM THE BALLET PAN
TWARDOWSKI (1920)
ARR. MAREK ZEBROWSKI
Bradley Bascon & Leonard Chong, violin
Yun-Chieh (Jenny) Sung, viola | Allan Hon, cello
Sergio Coelho, clarinet | So-Mang Jeagal, piano
Aleksander Tansman (1897-1986) CINQ MÉLODIES (1927)
Dans le secret de mon âme
Hélas
Sommeil
Chats de gouttière
Bonheur
Stephanie Jones, soprano | So-Mang Jeagal, piano
Józef Koffler (1896-1944) DIE LIEBE (1931)
Adagio
Andante tranquillo
Allegro moderato
Tempo I
Stephanie Jones, soprano | Sergio Coelho, clarinet
Yun-Chieh (Jenny) Sung, viola | Allan Hon, cello
Grażyna Bacewicz (1909-1969) STRING QUARTET NO. 1 (1938)
Moderato
Tema con variazioni
Vivo
Bradley Bascon & Leonard Chong, violin
Yun-Chieh (Jenny) Sung, viola | Allan Hon, cello
Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937) KURPIE SONGS OP. 58 (1929)
Bzicem kunia [Whip the Horse On]
Hej, wółki moje [Hey, My Oxen]
Panie muzykancie, prosim zagrać walca [Mister Musician, Please Play Us a Waltz]
USC Chamber Singers
Dr. Jo-Michael Scheibe and Andrew Schultz, conductors
View Full Program and Program Notes
Event Partners
Thoughts on the 2018 Paderewski Lecture-Recital
Below is a reflection on this year’s Paderewski Lecture-Recital from one event attendee, high school senior and musician Brittany Weinstock:
A resounding chord swells up from the choir, and suddenly I am transported into a beautiful world of culture, heritage and ancestry. At the Polish Music Center’s concert “Sounds of Independence”, I was utterly enthralled with the beautiful melodies of Polish composers and even more proud of my Polish heritage.
This past summer, I was lucky to have been able to travel to Poland with my choir, where we did homestays and joint concerts with another choir from Poniatowa. It was a very meaningful trip for me, as my brother and I were the first generation of my family to return to Poland after our family came to America in the 1920s. The sights I saw, the people I met, and the music I heard there was something I will never forget.
The PMC concert brought back so many wonderful memories of Poland and its fascinating history, reflecting the strength of a people who have been so resilient all these years. The music I heard has inspired me to research even more into Polish music and pursue my passion for this beautiful country. The music of the interwar years presented at the concert was of extreme interest to a music/history buff like me. Seeing how composers wrote to the tune of Polish independence for the first time in centuries inspired me and showed me how music can reach across the boundaries of both time and struggle and ultimately end up in a resounding victory. Dr. Vest’s lecture set the tone for the evening as she gave a lecture about the pieces we were about to hear. Knowing the history of the music and its composers fully fleshed out the program even more. The beautiful voices of the USC Chamber Choir and Stephanie Jones gave life and meaning to the music, and the string quartet gave it a lively vibe.
Poland will always hold a special place in my heart, and I am so glad to be able to continue my connection with it through the Polish Music Center.