Stephen Jaffe, Composer

The 2004-5 concert season marked the introduction of two milestones for composer Stephen Jaffe: the world premiere of the Concerto for Cello and Orchestra by the National Symphony Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin conducting, with David Hardy, cello soloist (at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.); and the premiere recording of the Concerto for Violin and Orchestra with the Odense Symphony of Denmark, Gregory Fulkerson, violin, and Donald Palma conducting. Both have met with warm acclaim. STEPHEN JAFFE's music has been featured at major concerts and festivals including the Nottingham, Tanglewood, and Oregon Bach Festivals, and performed throughout the U.S., Europe, and China by ensembles including the R.A.I. of Rome, the San Francisco and New Jersey Symphonies, Berlin's Spectrum Concerts, and many others. In addition to the concertos for cello and orchestra (2004) and violin and orchestra (2000), recent premieres have included Designs for flute, guitar and percussion, introduced at the National Arts Center of Taiwan, 2002, and Homage to the Breath: Instrumental and Vocal Meditations for Mezzo-soprano and Ten Instruments, with a text by Thich Nhat Hanh, introduced at the Hirschorn Museum, Washington.

Jaffe has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Rome Prize, the Kennedy Center Friedheim Award, the American Academy of Arts and Letters Prize, Brandeis Creative Arts Citation, and fellowships from Tanglewood, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Guggenheim Foundation. Jaffe studied composition at the Conservatoire de Musique in Geneva, and continued his studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He is Mary D.B.T. and James H. Semans Professor of Music at Duke University, where he has taught since 1981. Together with Scott Lindroth, Jaffe directs Duke's contemporary music concert series Encounters: with the Music of Our Time, and works with a inventive and gifted group of young composers.

See also:  http://www.presser.com/jaffe.html

What's new?

• News and Upcoming Performances of Special Note

  FOUR PIECES QUASI SONATA (2006)
  Fromm Foundation Commission
  Recitals by Jonathan Bagg, viola and Donald Berman, piano

  Friday November 3 at 8:00 pm
  "Bluthner" house concert series, Winston Salem, NC
  Program also includes Takemitsu, Ives, Levering, Ligeti

  Sunday November 5, 2006 at 4 pm
  Mallarmé Chamber Players, Nelson Music Room, Duke University
  Program includes Schumann Trio (Arturo Ciompi, clarinet)

  Monday, November 6, 2006, University of North Carolina, Greensboro
  March 1, 2007, New Music @ East Carolina New Music festival
  March 4, 2007, Southern Pines, NC, Weymouth Center Concert Series

  A NONESUCH SERENADE (1984)
  Da Capo Chamber Players
  November 21, 2006
  Merkin Hall, New York
  http://www.k-c-p.com/dacapo/

CONCERTO for Cello and Orchestra (2004)
National Symphony Commission
Slovenska Filharmonija (Slovenian Philharmonic); David Hardy, cello solo; George Pehlivanian, conducting
Friday, January 12, Slovenian Philharmonic, Great Hall, Kongresni trg 10, SI-1000 Ljubljiana, Slovenia.

POETRY OF THE PIEDMONT (2006)
North Carolina Symphony Commission
Grant Llewellen, conducting
Thursday, January 25, 2007 at 7:30 pm, Memorial Hall, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Friday/Saturday, January 26-27 2007 at 8 pm, Meymandi Hall, Raleigh
Thursday, February 1, 2007, Carolina Theater, Durham
http://www.ncsymphony.org/events/index

SONGS OF TURNING (1996)
Cantata for Soprano and Baritone Soloists, Chorus and Chamber Orchestra
Oregon Bach Festival Commission
Terry Rhodes, soprano; Susan Klebanow, conducting
Tuesday, March 6, 2007 at 7:30 pm, Memorial Hall, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
http://www.carolinaperforming arts.org/performances/event

CONCERTO for Cello and Orchestra (2004)
National Symphony Commission
Peabody Symphony Orchestra; David Hardy, cello; Hajime Teri Murai, conducting
Saturday, April 28 at 8:00, Friedberg Concert Hall, Peabody Institute of Music, Baltimore
http://peabdoy.jhu.edu/1343

Residency at Atlantic Center for the Arts, Florida
May 14- June 3
http://www.atlanticcenterforthearts.org

November 22, 2005.  Composer of the Year, Classical Recording Foundation Fourth Annual Award Ceremony.  Weill Hall, New York.  Performances include Concerto for Violin and the premiere of Adagio Con Sordino (with Gregory Fulkerson, violin, and the composer, piano).  For information: http://www.classicalrecordingfoundation.org/crf/index.asp

Thanks to all who participated in Harmonies for Habitat, a musical celebration of Steve's 50th birthday at Beth El Synagogue in Durham.  The event, which featured, art, food and music, including performances of Offering and the First Quartet; and raised over $11,000 for Habitat for Humanity of Durham. The contribution, joined with those of other organizations, was used to build a house.

• New recordings announced:

  The Music of Stephen Jaffe, Volume 3. Early spring 2007 release, including Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, Cut Time Shout, and Homage to the Breath: Instrumental and Vocal Meditations for mezzo soprano and ten players. Performers include: David Hardy, violin; Odense Symphony Orchestra of Denmark (Paul Mann, conducting); Quattro Mani (Susan Grace and Alice Rybak, pianos); Milagro Vargas, mezzo-soprano); and the 21st Century Consort (Christopher Kendall, conducting).
  
  The Music of Stephen Jaffe, Volume 2, including Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, and Chamber Concerto (“Singing Figures”) for Oboe and Ensemble. Bridge Records 9141. Performers include: Gregory Fulkerson, violin; Stephen Taylor, oboe; the Odense Symphony Orchestra of Denmark; and Speculum Musicae.

  See http://www.bridgerecords.com/sj_artist.htm

  Designs (2002) for flute, guitar and  percussion; Three Figures and a Ground (1989) for flute and piano. Arizona University Recordings (AUR) Featuring Christine Gustafson, flute; William Anderson, guitar; Christopher Dean, percussion; and Lisa  Emmenheiser, piano. Forthcoming 2004-05.

• New compositions

  Four Pieces Quasi Sonata for viola and piano. Commissioned by the Fromm Foundation. Jonathan Bagg, viola, and Donald Berman, piano. Premiere: November 3, 2006. "Bluthner" house concert series.
  
  Poetry of the Piedmont for orchestra. Commissioned by the North Carolina Symphony. Premiere: January 25, 2007. Memorial Hall, UNC-Chapel Hill, NC.
  
  String Quartet No. 2 (Sylvan and Aeolian Figures), for the Miami String Quartet, commissioned by the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society.  Premiere: March 5, 2006. Pennsylvania Convention Center Auditorium, Philadelphia, PA.

  Adagio Con Sordino for violin and piano.  Dedicated to the Classical Recording Society.  Gregory Fulkerson, violin, and the composer, piano. Premiere: November 22, 2005.  Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY.

   

• Recent Publications at Theodore Presser Company (Merion Music, Inc.) (610) 592-1222

  Spinoff, for guitar 19406, $5.95 (Recording: Bridge 9084)
  Impromptu, for piano 140-4077, $8.00 (Recording: Albany/Troy 231)
  Offering, for flute, harp & viola (special order)
  Concerto, for violin and orchestra (rental)

     Concerto for Cello and Orchestra (2004) (rental)

• Interviews

  New online interviews with Stephen Jaffe discussing
  1) what it's like the first time a new piece is played
  2) how form affects a piece
  3) how pieces evolve over time
  can be found at the Kennedy Center website:
  http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/index.cfm?fuseaction=showIndividual&entity_id=5718&source_type=A

  Into the Millennium: The "Best of the New". The New York Flute Club selected eight pieces written since 1980 which they think might become mainstays of the repertoire. Read interviews by Cathie Comrie with Stephen Jaffe on Three Figures and a Ground, and with Milton Babbitt, Shulamit Ran, Robert Dick, and others in the NYFC Newsletter, December 2000.  A concert was held, December 10, 2000, in CAMI Hall, New York.
  

Recordings

	The Music of Stephen Jaffe, Volume 2, including Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, and Chamber Concerto (“Singing Figures”) for Oboe and Ensemble. Bridge Records 9141. Performers include: Gregory Fulkerson, violin; Stephen Taylor, oboe; the Odense Symphony Orchestra of Denmark; and Speculum Musicae. See http://www.bridgerecords.com/sj_artist.htm
	Designs (2002) for flute, guitar and percussion; Three Figures and a Ground (1989) for flute and piano. Arizona University Recordings, AUR CD 3123. Featuring Christine Gustafson, flute; William Anderson, guitar; Christopher Dean, percussion; and Lisa Emmenheiser, piano.
	Spinoff for guitar on New Dance David Starobin, guitar. Bridge 9084 (1998). (Grammy Award Nominee, Best Instrumental soloist, 1999)
	Impromptu for piano, on Strange Attractors: New American Music for Piano, Albany CD (Troy 231). Patricia Goodson, piano (1997)
	Fort Juniper Songs for soprano, mezzo-soprano and piano, on To Sun, To Feast & To Converse: New American Music for Vocal Duet. Albany CD (Troy 172). Terry Rhodes, soprano, Ellen Williams, mezzo-soprano, Stephen Jaffe, piano (1995)
	Stephen Jaffe : The Rhythm of the Running Plough, Double Sonata, and Four Songs with Ensemble, Bridge CD BCD 9047. Speculum Musicae, D'Anna Fortunato, Anton Nel, Barry Snyder, Prism Orchestra (1994)
	Three Figures and a Ground on The Now and Present Flute, Neuma 450-88. Patricia Spencer, flute, Linda Hall, piano (1994)
	First Quartet for string quartet, Ciompi Quartet, Albany Records, Troy CD 073 (1993)
	Centering for two violins, Linda Quan, Curtis Macomber, violins. C.R.I. 513 (1983)

Note: Bridge 9141, 9084 and 9047 are also available through the iTune Music Store.
See also: http://www.bridgerecords.com/

Selected Large Ensemble Works

Cut time for Orchestra (2004) 2’
Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra (2003) 28’
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra  (1997-99) 35'
       Violin and Orchestra: 1, 2, 3
       Violin and Piano: 1, 2, 3
Songs of Turning (1996) for Chorus and Orchestra 25'
Four Images (1983; rev. 1987) for Orchestra 21'
Autumnal (1986) for Orchestra 24'
The Rhythm of the Running Plough (1988) for chamber orchestra 14'
Three Yiddish Songs (1978) for soprano and orchestra 23'
Three Images (1979) for chorus and chamber orchestra 15'
Rega Raga (1975) for Jazz Ensemble 16-20'

Selected Vocal and Chamber Works

For complete information, including performance materials, contact Theodore Presser Co. at (610) 592-1222, or see their web pages at http://www.presser.com/Composers/info.cfm?Name=STEPHENJAFFE

E-mail: sjaffe@duke.edu

Encounters with the Music of Our Time - Duke University

Saturday, October 21, 8 pm, Baldwin Auditorium
New chamber works by Duke graduate composers. John Bower, The Echo Over the Voice; Arístides Llaneza Sandoval, Bóveda Celeste, desierto en mi imaginación; John Mayrose, String Theory. Ensembles conducted by Michael Votta.

March 2-7, 2007: MILESTONES FESTIVAL OF NEW MUSIC

Friday, March 2, 8 pm, Nasher Museum Auditorium
Pamela Z presents Metal/Vox/Water
*Cosponsored by Duke Performances

Sunday, March 4, 4 pm, Baldwin Auditorium
The Red Clay Saxophone Quartet: Performing four premieres of new works by Duke graduate composers George Lam, Kathleen Bader, Paul Leary, and Ben Crawford, as well as other works to be announced.

Sunday March 4, 7:30 pm Memorial Hall, UNC-Chapel Hill
William S. Newman Series and Milestones Festival, Brentano Quartet. Featuring featuring Steve Mackey's Ludus and Bela Bartok's pathbreaking String Quartet No. 2, as well as works by Mario Davidovsky and the U.K.'s Nick Horne. Admission: $15 general public, $10 faculty, staff, and students. Information: www.music.unc.edu.

Tuesday, March 6, 7:30 pm, Memorial Hall, UNC-Chapel Hill
Milestones Gala Concert, featuring soloists Terry Rhodes, soprano and Frank Gratowski, alto saxophone, are joined by UNC Wind, Percussion, Choral and Orchestral Ensembles, and the North Carolina Jazz Repertory Orchestra in Stephen Jaffe's cantata Songs Of Turning, Blue Cathedral by Jennifer Higdon, and the world premiere of Todd Hershberger's new concerto for saxophone and jazz orchestra. Admission: $15 General public, $10 faculty, staff, and students, $10.
Tickets available on line through http://www.carolinaperformingarts.org; by phone (919)-843-3333 or in person at Memorial Hall's Box Office.

Wednesday, March 7, 8 pm, Location TBA, Duke
The Zeitgeist ensemble of Minneapolis and Susan Narucki, soprano, in Scott Lindroth and Anya Belkina's film-music collaboration on Rumi, Nasuh. Pre-concert commentary by the composer and artist tba.

For further information, call the Duke University Department of Music at (919) 660-3300, or consult our web pages at http://music.duke.edu/.