"Art is the creative custodian of the truth"...Heidegger
"There is no true Art without secrecy"...Camus
Jack Reilly is a pianist, composer, and author whose work has achieved a remarkable synthesis of traditional classical music with jazz. His compositions and performances reflect his solid musicianship, intelligence and sophistication. The enthusiastic response his European tour with George Russell's New York Band and his subsequent performance with the band at the Village Vanguard in New York City; his concert at Jordan Hall in Boston with the Jack Reilly Trio, where he was given a standing ovation; his recordings and books --- three volumes on jazz improvisation entitled Species Blues, nine folios of his compositions and the acclaimed book The Harmony of Bill Evans confirms the scope of Reilly's talents and versatility.
Reilly has also presented lecture/recitals at numerous schools in North America and in Europe including presentations at the prestigious International Piano Festival and Competition at the University of Maryland. Formerly chairman of the Department of Jazz Studies at the New England Conservatory of Music, he has served on the faculties of the Mannes College of Music, New York University, The New School, The Berklee School of Music, and as chairman of the Jazz Program at La Musica A Villa Scarsella in Diano Marina, Italy.
His recordings include include albums of original material: Blue Sean Green, Tributes, The Brinksman, Masks, Here's What I Like, Tzu-Jan Volume 1 and 2, and two new releases, Pure Passion and Live in Poland, all on the Unichrom label.
His compositions include Jazz Requiem (1968), an Oratorio comissioned by the NEA (1974), Chuang-Tzu - Theme and Eight Variations for Orchestra (1993), Concertina for Jazz Piano and Strings(dedicated to Bill Evans), Lullabys for Orchestra, Fantasy for Piano and Wind Quintet(dedicated to George Russell), Piano Sonata in D Minor, and Concerto for Harmonica and Strings.
In 2001 his first Piano Concerto for jazz trio and orchestra, titled, Orbitals was premiered in Houghton Michigan,with the composer as soloist, with the Keweenaw Symphony, Jeff Bell-Hanson, conducting.
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Monday, June 19, 2006
Ludmila Ulehla Tribute Conert--Program and Notes
Below is a copy of the program/tribute I attended on March 1st at the Manahattan School of Music. It inspired me to write my own personal accoumt of my studies with Ludmila Ulehla.
The concert was not well attended. Perhaps the noon day hour presented a problem. Ms. Ulehla deserved a more appropriate celebration; perhaps a Saturday evening concert or a Sunday afternoon. Be that as it may, the performers were excellent and the music of the highest caliber. Ms. Ulehla's new work "Two Thousand One" was a powerful, emotional musical comment on the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The Gianninni solo violin piece is a conservative, tonal and lyrical work. Daniel Khalikov, the soloist manuvered the extremely virtuosic elements with ease.
The reception that followed gave everyone a chance to meet the President, several chairpersons and other alumni but for me, the chat with my former teacher and having a photo taken with her was the highlight of the day. I hadn't seen her since 2000 when she was assisting me in the orchestration of my Piano Concerto Nr 1. ( Read more below)>
March 1, 2006
12:00 Noon
THE MUSIC OF LUDMILA ULEHLA & VITTORIO GIANNINI
A concert honoring the music and teaching of Ludmila Ulehla and Vittorio Giannini.
PRESIDENT ROBERT SIROTA Welcoming Remarks
PROGRAM
LUDMILA ULEHLA Inspirations from Nature
1. Glaciers, Thawing (2003)
2. Butterflies (1981)
Marc Peloquin, piano
VITTORIO GIANNINI Sonata for Unaccompanied Violin (1945)
Preludium - con bravura
Cantabile
Allegro
Daniel Khalikov, violin
LUDMILA ULEHLA Two Thousand One (2002)
Blossom Magnolia
Withering Flowers
Ground Zero
Peace
Monique Buzzarté, trombone
Mary Mackenzie, soprano
Marc Peloquin, piano
GREENFIELD HALL
120 Claremont Avenue (Broadway & 122nd Street) New York, New York 10027-4698
Concert Information: 917.493.4428 • concertinfo@msmnyc.edu • www.msmnyc.edu
PROGRAM NOTES
LUDMILA ULEHLA Inspirations from Nature
1. Glaciers, Thawing (2003)
2. Butterflies (1981)
Inspirations from Nature is an ongoing collection of short
pieces for piano, selected by choice in any order.
“Glaciers, Thawing” was inspired by my trip to Alaska in
August 2003. “Butterflies” was written for Isabel Byman, a
fomer Manhattan School of Music colleague in the piano
department.
LUDMILA ULEHLA Two Thousand One (2002)
Blossom Magnolia
Withering Flowers
Ground Zero
Peace
I was planning to write a work for trombone for my friend Monique
Buzzarté, and as the anniversary of 9/11 was approaching, I thought
of putting the whole year into perspective. The work is in four
continuous sections starting with the innocence and joy of springtime.
Choice of text became increasingly difficult, as words just can’t
express the horror that took place. I chose simply to spell out
“Ground Zero” and in the last section, my student Tobias Wagner
suggested the use of different languages for “hope for peace,” implying
a worldwide tragedy. I found some quotations that are appropriate, and
just before the end there is a section of improvisation, a dialogue for
voice and trombone heard against a constant, running, soft repetitive
phrase in the piano. Everyone coordinates with hozhuh, Navajo for “harmony.
I wish to thank my many firends who contributed to the “peace” translations.
PROGRAM TEXT
Two Thousand One
by Ludmila Ulehla
Blossom, magnolia; Azalea, bloom!
Spring Walter Engel
A season to blossom by,
Holy times for miracles, Easter blossoms abound.
Sunlight and colors mix. Rebirth brings hope.
Leaves sprout seemingly overnight to renew our faith.
Shadows all around from regrowth blend in well with
Sunshine. It’s spring!
Withering flowers, acorns dropping.
William Cullen Bryant
Heaped in the hollows of the grove
The autumn leaves lie dead.
They rustle to the eddying gust and to the rabbit’s tread
Wailing winds, naked woods, meadows brown and sere,
The melancholy days are come, the saddest of the year.
Ground Zero
A kaleidoscope of cultures,
Nations must learn to leave in peace.
Pace per la nostra terra; Pace per tutto il mondo (Italian)
John Foster Dulles
A peaceful world is a world in which differences are tolerated
and not eliminated by violence.
Heiwa, Sekai no heiwa (Japanese)
Haw pee ping, See jya hawpeeping. (Mandarin)
Prière pour la paix. (French)
Sulh, jurtta suhl, cihanda sulh. (Turkish)
Ralph Waldo Emerson
The real lasting victories are those of peace and not of war.
Paz para nuestro país, paz para el mundo entero. (Spanish)
Friedensgebet, Friede auf Erden. (German)
Maluhia noka aina, Maluhia noka honua. (Hawaiian)
Solh, Omeed bar ai ea sohl. (Iranian)
Improvisation: Soprano sings more translations of “peace” with
trombone improvisation. Piano plays soft 16th background.
Improvisation ends with “hozhuh,” Navajo meaning “harmony.”
George Washington (In a letter to Rev. Jonathan Boucher):
Peace with all the world is my sincere wish.
(All quotations are taken from American Quotations, edited by
Carruth and Ehrlich, Pub. Wings Books.
LUDMILA ULEHLA’s long association with Manhattan School of Music
began with her studies in 1944 with Vittorio Giannini. She earned
her bachelor of music (1947) and master of music (1948) degrees
from Manhattan School of Music and immediately became a member
of the faculty upon graduation. She served as composition
department chair from 1972 to 1989. Her commissions include a
work for the Stony Brook Contemporary Chamber Players that was
premiered in 1998, as well as such past works as Gargoyles for Hindell,
Michelangelo for Orchestral Society of Westchester, Remembrances for
Heifetz, and Unrolling a Chinese Scroll for Schefflien. Ms. Ulehla has
been named Outstanding Educator in Who’s Who of American Women and also
named in the New Grove Dictionary of Women Composers. She has received
ASCAP awards. Her chamber opera, Sybil of the American Revolution, was
premiered in 1993, and in 1999, Undersea Fantasy for Orchestra was
premiered by the Manhattan School of Music Philharmonia under the direction
of David Gilbert. Her publications, printed by Advance Music, include the
books Contemporary Harmony and Sonata for Improvisation for clarinet,
soprano saxophone, and piano. Ludmila Ulehla has been honored for her
valuable half-century devotion and contribution to Manhattan School of
Music through the awarding of the School’s first Presidential Award for
Distinguished Service in 1998.
VITTORIO GIANNINI was a member of the Manhattan School of Music composition
faculty from 1944 until 1965. Born into a musical family in Philadelphia,
he began learning the violin at an early age and soon won a scholarship to
attend the Milan Conservatory (1913–17), later attending the Juilliard
School. In 1932 he won the first of three consecutive Prix de Rome. Major
European premieres during the 1930s (Lucedia, The Scarlet Letter, Requiem)
were critical and popular triumphs. His works for symphonic band were
considered staples of the repertoire for decades. Returning to the United
States, he joined the teaching staff at Juilliard, Manhattan School, and
later Curtis Institute. In 1965 he became the first director of the North
Carolina School of the Arts, where he served until his death in 1966.
Giannini’s influence through his students at Manhattan School of Music reach
to Ludmila Ulehla, Nicolas Flagello, John Corigliano, and Ursula Mamlok.
Giannini’s musical style has been characterized by Grove in the following
excerpt: “Giannini quickly absorbed the techniques, as well as the ethos,
of late Romanticism, and his early works reveal thorough mastery of a
relaxed, Italianate vocal style, enriched by Wagnerian chromaticism. In
the late 1940s he began to shed excessive sentimentality, moving towards
a lighter, neo-classical style. From this period came The Taming of the
Shrew, his most popular opera, produced at Manhattan School of Music in 1991.
During his last years, he turned to a darker, more intense Romanticism,
marked by greater dissonance and tonal freedom. Although mid-century arbiters
of taste rejected Giannini’s conservative style, his best works—The Medead,
Antigone, Psalm CXXX, and several of the operas—are fine examples of the
modern Romantic tradition. A number of his songs hold an enduring place on
recital programmes.”
posted by Jack Reilly
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