Month: January 2018

Bernstein: An Indefinable Relationship

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In October 1939, just as 11-year-old Seymour Lipkin was beginning his second year studying piano at Curtis, Leonard Bernstein passed a late audition and was accepted as a conducting student under Fritz Reiner. Bernstein, at 21 years old, was significantly older than Lipkin, so each had nothing more than a passing awareness of the other before Bernstein’s graduation in 1941. However, subsequent years would bring these two Curtis alumni together, forging a collaborative association that, although it spanned nearly four decades, was always, for Lipkin, difficult to define.

Lipkin left Curtis an accomplished pianist, and won the prestigious and highly competitive Rachmaninoff Piano Competition in 1948. But his first love was, and remained, conducting. Said Lipkin in 1974: “I always wanted to be a conductor rather than a pianist, ever since I was a small boy. But when I graduated [from Curtis], at about 20 or so, it wasn’t yet the day of the wunderkind conductor.”  Fortunately, Lipkin ultimately found a way to successfully balance performing as a pianist with leading an orchestra, and it was in this dual capacity that his collaboration with Bernstein began.

Although in previous years Lipkin had encountered Bernstein in passing at the Berkshire Music Center at Tanglewood, it was not until the summer of 1951 that the two first worked together.  Earlier that year Serge Koussevitzky, the center’s founder, had asked Lipkin to act as his conducting assistant but, sadly, passed away before the season began. Thus, when Bernstein, who had long been “Koussy’s” protégé and friend, took over the direction of Tanglewood, Lipkin served as his assistant instead.

This initial reunion led to an ongoing professional relationship that culminated in Lipkin making his conducting debut leading the New York City Opera’s performance of Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti in 1958. The following year Lipkin accompanied Bernstein on a major tour with the New York Philharmonic where, with two other assistant conductors (including fellow Curtis alumnus Thomas Schippers), he took turns leading the orchestra in cities across Europe, the Soviet Union, and the Middle East.

 After the triumphant 1959 tour, Bernstein and Lipkin continued to work together periodically for  another 30 years, until Bernstein’s death in 1990. The following year, in 1991, Lipkin gave an interview reflecting on the complex relationship with his former Curtis classmate and longtime collaborator. “Lenny was nine years older than I was, and it was sort of betwixt and between. We were neither contemporaries nor master and pupil. We were too close to be master and pupil. I was very shy and he was a figure of awe from when I was a little boy, so I fell between the cracks. I was always very nervous.” But then he paused before finally concluding: “[But] it was all right. What the hell, Lenny was Lenny.”     

Kristina Wilson / archivist / Curtis Archives
For more information on Curtis history, visit the Curtis Archives.

                                                                                                        

Curtis Summerfest Partners with the Sphinx Performance Academy in Summer 2018

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PHILADELPHIA—January 29, 2018—The Curtis Institute of Music and the Sphinx Organization will partner in 2018 to bring the Sphinx Performance Academy (SPA), a full-scholarship summer program designed for young Black and Latino string players, to Curtis Summerfest. This new collaborative model includes Curtis alumni as faculty and reflects a special commitment to including musical talent from the Philadelphia area.

The Sphinx Performance Academy at Curtis Summerfest will take place June 10–24, 2018 and is designed for 32 violin, viola, and cello students ages 11 through 17. Curtis will assist in identifying promising Philadelphia musicians in addition to reinforcing Sphinx’s recruiting efforts nationwide.

“This partnership allows us to support the critically important work Sphinx is doing nationally to increase diversity in the arts, work which aligns with Curtis’s mission to engage a local and global community,” said Curtis President Roberto Díaz. “Many of our students and alumni have participated in various programs of the Sphinx Organization throughout the years, and this program gives them the opportunity to mentor the next generation of talented young Black and Latino musicians in Philadelphia and nationwide.”

The Sphinx Performance Academy will be added to the existing offerings of Curtis Summerfest, which include programs for a range of skill levels and ages. These include a conservatory-style program for high school-aged musicians, chamber music for adults, and intensive programs for harp, flute, and voice. Faculty from the Sphinx Performance Academy will also be featured on the popular Summerfest faculty recital series presented by Curtis.

“This new collaboration with Curtis comes at a meaningful and exciting time in Sphinx’s history,” said Sphinx President and Artistic Director Afa Dworkin. “Having just celebrated our 20th anniversary in 2017, we are kicking off the next two decades with many grand charges, including helping to prepare the most talented and deserving of the next generation of classical artists. We could not be more grateful and excited to partner with such a remarkable institution as we work toward this aim.”

The Sphinx Performance Academy curriculum includes an intensive schedule of private lessons and chamber music in addition to master classes, recitals, career enrichment sessions, and mentorship specific to navigating the classical music world as a person of color. Faculty include distinguished Curtis alumni and Sphinx Competition laureates Elena Urioste (Violin ’08) and Melissa White (Violin ’07), Astrid Schween of the Juilliard String Quartet, and members of the Catalyst Quartet.

Full scholarships for all students include tuition as well as housing and dining in Curtis’s Lenfest Hall. Sphinx Performance Academy faculty and staff will also stay in Lenfest Hall, allowing for additional mentorship time alongside students. Applications are available online at www.curtis.edu/Sphinx and are due April 11, 2018.

The Sphinx Organization is the Detroit-based national organization dedicated to transforming lives through the power of diversity in the arts. Led by Afa S. Dworkin, its president and artistic director, Sphinx programs reach over 100,000 students, as well as live and broadcast audiences of over two million annually.

The organization’s founding and mission were informed by the life experiences of Aaron Dworkin, who, as a young Black violinist, was acutely aware of the lack of diversity both on stage and in the audience in concert halls. He founded Sphinx while an undergraduate student at the University of Michigan, to address the stark under-representation of people of color in classical music.

Sphinx works to create positive change in the arts field and in communities across the country through a variety of programs organized into four main principles: Education and Access, Artist Development, Performing Artists, and Arts Leadership.

To learn more about the Sphinx Organization and the Sphinx Performance Academy, visit www.sphinxmusic.org or www.sphinxmusic.org/sphinx-performance-academy.

The Curtis Institute of Music educates and trains exceptionally gifted young musicians to engage a local and global community through the highest level of artistry. One of the most selective schools in the United States, Curtis accepts four percent of applicants each year on average, and a tuition-free policy ensures that talent and artistic promise are the only considerations for admission. With a small student body of about 175, Curtis provides each young musician with an education of unparalleled quality, distinguished by a “learn by doing” philosophy and personalized attention from a faculty that includes a high proportion of actively performing musicians.

Curtis students hone their craft through more than 200 orchestra, opera, and solo and chamber music offerings each year and programs that bring arts access and education to the community. This real-world training allows these extraordinary young musicians to join the front rank of performers, composers, conductors, and musical leaders, making a profound impact on music onstage and in their communities. To learn more, visit www.curtis.edu.

 

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Curtis in the News: Grammy Wins for the Higdon Viola Concerto

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On Sunday, January 28, the Grammy for Best Contemporary Classical Composition went to Jennifer Higdon’s Viola Concerto, performed by Curtis President Roberto Díaz (Viola ’84) with the Nashville Symphony and conductor Giancarlo Guerrero.

Co-commissioned by the Curtis Institute of Music, the Library of Congress, the Aspen Music Festival and School, and the Nashville Symphony, the Higdon Viola Concerto was also featured on the album that won the Grammy for Best Classical Compendium.

The Higdon Viola Concerto was premiered in 2015 by Roberto Díaz and the Curtis Chamber Orchestra with conductor Robert Spano (’85) at the Library of Congress and was performed across the United States as part of Curtis on Tour.

Commenting on the work, Roberto Díaz said “You can hear the influences of American composers from the past—there is jazz, there are beautiful lyrical sections. You can tell that it’s a very American and very Curtis-sounding piece.” Jennifer Higdon graduated from Curtis in 1988. 

Watch the world premiere performance at the Library of Congress (Viola Concerto begins at 24:47).

Pictured: Jennifer Higdon and Roberto Díaz at the 2015 premiere (photo: Shawn Miller)

Curtis Mourns the Loss of Milton L. Rock, Longtime Board Member and Supporter

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Curtis learned on Saturday, January 27 that Milton L. Rock, an important member of the Curtis family, has passed away.

Milt, shown here with his wife Connie in 2016, leaves behind evidence of his devotion to the arts across Philadelphia, and Curtis is profoundly grateful for his deep, decades-long commitment to Curtis. Most recently, he was a member of the Mary Louise Curtis Bok Foundation Board of Directors, on which he served on for the past 11 years.

However he also played a pivotal role as chairman of the Board of Trustees from 1989–2002. Under his leadership, and working closely with his dear friend and Curtis president Gary Graffman, the school received its accreditation from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, began a reciprocal relationship with the University of Pennsylvania which students still enjoy today, established the Friends of Curtis, and began a careful effort to grow the endowment that included the Sound for the Century Campaign.

Milt’s support over the years shows his commitment not only to the arts, but to the students themselves. Curtis students benefit every time they enter the Rock Resource Center at 1720 Locust Street and use the ROC Online Catalog, which Milt played an essential role in bringing to fruition. Students also benefit from the Gary and Naomi Graffman Scholarship Fund, which he helped create, providing need-based student financial assistance. His generosity made possible not only the Rock Chair in Composition, which is held by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Jennifer Higdon, but a student composition fellowship, which includes a commissioning opportunity to write a dance work to be performed by students of the Rock School for Dance Education.

This is just one example of how his impact expanded far beyond Curtis to affect all of Philadelphia. An emeritus member of the Philadelphia Orchestra Board of Trustees and former chairman of the Pennsylvania Ballet, Milt also served many years as a director of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. He was a trustee of Temple University, which dedicated Rock Hall in recognition of his support.

Milt Rock will be missed profoundly by all who had the good fortune of knowing him during his life. Curtis extends its most heartfelt condolences to Connie, Bob, Caro, his grandchildren, and all other family and friends who are mourning his loss.

Find a full obituary from the Philadelphia Inquirer here.

Now available: Part 3 of Exploring Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas with Jonathan Biss

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PHILADELPHIA—January 24, 2018—The Curtis Institute of Music and Jonathan Biss have launched Part 3 of the popular online course Exploring Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas, available now on Coursera. Free and available on demand, the new lectures are the latest in a series offering an in-depth look into the Beethoven piano sonatas from a performer’s point of view. Jonathan Biss is an alumnus and a member of the piano faculty at Curtis, where he holds the Neubauer Family Chair in Piano Studies.

Curtis was the first conservatory to offer a massive open online course (MOOC) on Coursera. Since the course launched in 2013, it has reached a global music community of more than 150,000 people in 185 countries. 

What began as a broad overview of all the sonatas and their place in musical history has evolved into a closer look at each individual sonata. In Part 3, Jonathan Biss addresses piano sonatas No. 5 in C minor, Op. 10, No. 1; No. 11 in B-flat major, Op. 22; No. 17 in D minor, Op. 31, No. 2 (“The Tempest”); No. 24 in F-sharp major, Op. 78; No. 25 in G major, Op. 79, and No. 26 in E-flat major, Op. 81a (“Les Adieux” or “Lebewohl”). Each lecture includes examples on the keyboard and in-depth historical and theoretical analysis of the major musical developments represented by each sonata. The new additions to the Exploring Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas series in Part 3 are made possible by the Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation.

 

Access the courses: 
Exploring Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

 

The Curtis Institute of Music educates and trains exceptionally gifted young musicians to engage a local and global community through the highest level of artistry. One of the most selective schools in the United States, Curtis accepts four percent of applicants each year on average. A tuition-free policy ensures that talent and artistic promise are the only considerations for admission. With a small student body of about 175, Curtis provides each young musician with an education of unparalleled quality, distinguished by personalized attention from a celebrated faculty and a “learn by doing” philosophy. Curtis students hone their craft through than 200 orchestra, opera, and solo and chamber music offerings each year in Philadelphia and around the world.

 

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