Armidale Piano Duo
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ADELAIDE IN ARMIDALE
THE FIRST-EVER
ARMIDALE BEETHOVEN FESTIVAL
Saturday 16 June 2012
Armidale Uniting Church
The Armidale Beethoven Festival is an initiative of Jan-Piet
Knijff and the Armidale Piano Duo to celebrate one year of
Jan-Piet’s Choice, Jan-Piet’s ongoing weekly musical outreach
series — Wednesdays at noon at the Uniting Church.
Beethoven was a political composer if ever there was one. Jan-
Piet dedicates his playing today to all those whose intellectual or
spiritual freedom is threatened, everywhere in our world.
Welcome to the First-Ever Armidale Beethoven Festival!
It is a cliché that Beethoven is the greatest composer of all time.
Leipzig has its Bach, the Viennese their Mozart, and the French
Debussy. Even Amsterdam has Sweelinck! But surely no other
composer in history has stood so firmly and yet freely on the
shoulders of his great predecessors—Mozart, Haydn, Handel,
Bach and Bach—, no-one has been able to let music soar to
such completely new and utterly unexpected heights as did our
Beethoven.
One of the many wonderful things that I’ve been so lucky to find
in Armidale has been the many, many hours I have played piano
duet with Lena. For much of that time, we played Beethoven
symphonies and concertos in exquisitely beautiful transcriptions
by Hugo Ulrich, who deserves a special place in the musical
pantheon for bringing Beethoven’s masterpieces within the reach
of two pianists’ four hands.
The idea for this Beethoven Festival was born while we were
piano together (although to be perfectly frank, I think we were
playing Brahms!). I am grateful for the Uniting Church to host the
Festival and to the many musicians from the Armidale community
who enthusiastically volunteered to be a part of it.
Some colleagues have told me that they always wanted to learn
a particular Beethoven piece, and now, especially for the
Armidale Beethoven Festival, they finally have. Teachers have
told me how even their youngest students know about
Beethoven—and love him!
I hope Beethoven makes you laugh, love and cry today. Most of
all, I hope we will all be even more in awe of the composer who
summed up the essence of true Music in just a few words:
From the heart—to the heart may it go!
Dr Jan-Piet Knijff
PROGRAMME
10:00 But First…
Symphony No. 1 op. 21 (arr. Ulrich)
Armidale Piano Duo
11:00 Opus One? Opus 1!
Variations on ‘Se vuol ballare’ from Mozart’s
The Marriage of Figaro for piano and violin, ‘op. 1’
Piano Trio in E-flat op. 1 no. 1
Piano Trio Opus One
Jan-Piet Knijff, Jodie Ostenfeld, Xenia Schmalz
12:00 Spring Romances and Other Variations
Romance No. 2 in F, op. 50
April Kelson, violin; Deirdre Waters, piano
Variations on a theme by Paisiello
Deirdre Waters, piano
Variations on a theme by Handel, WoO 45
Georgie Ostenfeld, cello; Jan-Piet Knijff, piano
Violin Sonata No. 5, op. 24 ‘Spring’: Allegro
Sofia Debus, violin; Jan-Piet Knijff, piano
1:30 Für Elise: Young Musicians Play Beethoven
Six German Dances, WoO 42*
Brandon Sullivan4, Beatrix3 & Camilla3 Thomson,
Jamilla Hill, Johnny Schmalz5, Jessica Tan2,
Isla Biffin2, violin; Camille Guyot, cello4
Country Dance (C.M. von Weber)*
Jamilla Hill4, violin
Minuet in G, WoO 10 no. 2*
Sinead4 and Veronica4 Borchard,
Jamilla Hill, Brandon Sullivan, violin
Für Elise, WoO 59
Allegretto, from Symphony No. 7, op. 92 (arr. Reinecke)*
Jacqueline Battin8
Ich liebe dich (Zärtliche Liebe), WoO 123*
Oliver Bruhl, treble7
Piano Sonata No. 6, op. 10 no. 2: Allegro molto e con brio
Jol Choct, piano1
* with Jan-Piet Knijff, piano
The performers are students of:
1
Julee Andrews
2
Marian Barford
3
Zana Clarke
4
Sofia Debus
5
Errol Russell
6
Deirdre Waters
7
Inge Southcott
8
Robyn Driscoll
2:30 Concerto 4 4 4 Hands
Piano Concerto in G, op. 58 (arr. Ulrich):
Allegro moderato
Armidale Piano Duo
3:00 Saint Ludwig
God’s Praise in Nature, from Gellert Lieder op. 48
*Kyrie from Mass in C, op. 86
Beethoven Song (Peter Cornelius)
Armidale Choral Society
*Jenny Hebblewhite, soprano; *Jenny Warnock, alto;
*Tom Fittler, tenor; *Will Smidt, bass;
Jan-Piet Knijff, pianist and conductor
3:30 His Teacher, and Other Organ Music
Introduction and Fugue for Organ Duet
(Johann Georg Albrechtsberger)2,3
Fugue in D2
Adagio cantabile from op. 1 no. 1 (arr. André)1
Prelude through all the major keys, op. 39 no. 23
Elevation from Missa Solemnis (arr. Benedikt), op. 1233
Fugue in E (Simon Sechter, dedicated to Beethoven)3
1
Megan Ainsworth 2 Lena Schmalz 3 Jan-Piet Knijff
4:00 A Little Chamber Music
String Quartet op. 18 no. 1: Allegro con brio
PLC String Quartet:
Eliza Scott, Jessica Wright, Sophia Dillon, Isabella Emanuel
Serenade for String Trio, op. 8
Errol Russell, Jodie Ostenfeld, Georgie Ostenfeld
Air with Six Variations op. 105 no. 3
Gerard Larkins, flute; Julee Andrews, piano
String Quartet op. 74 ‘Harp’: Poco adagio, Allegro
Communal Mind:
Alex Hiew, Margaret Butcher, April Kelson, Sofia Debus
5:00 Adelaide in Armidale
‘O wär ich schon mit dir vereint’ from Fidelio, op. 72
Constance Rolfe
Mit einem gemalten Band (from Drei Gesänge, op. 83)
Jenny Hebblewhite
Mignon, op. 75 no. 1
Adelaide, op. 46
Inge Southcott
From Gellert Lieder, op. 48:
Bittern
Busslied
Jenny Warnock
Four folksongs*:
Constancy
Womankind
Wife, Children and Friends
Charlie is my darling
Quartet from Fidelio*
Liz Ellis, Inge Southcott, Phil Oxley, Jan-Piet Knijff;
Ben Thorn, flute; Jodie Ostenfeld, violin; Sofia Debus, cello
* Robyn Bradley & Jan-Piet Knijff, piano
_________________________________________________________________
MEET THE MUSICIANS!
Megan Ainsworth likes to play the organ for worship at St Peter's
Cathedral. She enjoys the strength and dignity of the organ, despite the
challenge of reading the music, playing with hands and feet, and
choosing stops—all at once! She studies organ and theory with Dr Knijff.
Julee Andrews began piano lessons at the age of five. When she was
in her early twenties she studied with a pupil of Alfred Brendel; in 1978
she obtained a Fellowship in performance through the Trinity College of
London. Julee has been teaching piano in Armidale for over forty years.
Jacqueline Battin is a pianist and flautist, having had piano tuition since
2008. She is currently studying Music 2 at O’Connor Catholic College.
Isla Biffin is in fifth grade at PLC Armidale. She studies violin with
Marian Barford and orchestral harp with Sebastien Lipman.
Robyn Bradley is an accompanist and piano teacher in Armidale. She
has acted as repetiteur for an eclectic mix of musical events and sings in
chamber choir Fiori Musicali. Robyn studied piano performance at the
University of Southern Queensland with Wendy Lorenz.
Margaret Butcher completed a Bachelor of Music (Hons) at the
University of Sydney and postgraduate studies in Graz, Austria. She
performs on both modern and Baroque violin and teaches violin, viola
and string ensembles. She is currently studying for a Master of Teaching
at the University of New England.
Jol Choct is a Year-9 student at Duval High School and a member of
the Duval Soul Band. He is preparing for his AMusA with Julee Andrews.
Zana Clarke, BA (classics); BMus (Hons, performance); Dip.Ed;
Dip.SteinerEd has taught violin and recorder since her late teens. She
has performed extensively throughout Australia and New Zealand,
recorded eight CDs, organized festivals and courses in a wide range of
musical genres; her teaching has been featured in international journals.
Sofia Debus won the National Youth Concerto Competition at age 16
playing Bartók’s 2nd Concerto. She holds the BMus (Distinction) from
Lucerne Conservatorium and a Postgraduate Certificate from the
Guildhall School in London. Sofia is sought-after as the only certified
Suzuki teacher in the region. She performs on both cello and violin.
Soprano Liz Ellis studied at the Conservatoria at Wollongong and
Armidale and in Granada, Spain. She has performed in concerts such as
‘Another Night at the Opera’ and ‘Mozart to Mahler’ and sung solos in
Rutter's Mass of the Children, Mozart's Requiem, with Fiori Musicali and
the Armidale Drama and Musical Society.
Tom Fittler is a Year 10 student at O'Connor High School. A member of
the New England Singers and the New England Chamber Choir, he
looks back on many successes in the Armidale Eisteddfod.
Camille Guyot started playing the violin but switched to cello with Sofia
Debus. She likes playing fast, particularly when her dog sings along.
Jenny Hebblewhite has sung since 1995. She has a professional
performance diploma from the Victorian Guild of Singers and competed
successfully in the Eisteddfod. A member of the Armidale Choral
Society, she has given many performances in Armidale under the
tutelage of Jenny Warnock. She is also a doctor.
Alexandra Hiew (BMus, MMus, University of Cincinnati) studied violin
with Kurt Sassmannshaus, Won-Bin Yim and Emin Tagiev. She has
performed solo and chamber recitals throughout Australia, Germany,
Italy and America. Most recently, she performed works by Mozart and
Prokofiev with pianist Emin Mammadov at Schloss Britz in Berlin.
Jamilla Hill (7) studies with Sofia Debus. Jamilla entered her first
Eisteddfod when she was 4 and has been performing ever since.
April Kelson is a violinist, violist and first-time mum to four-month old
Archer. April and her husband Craig arrived in Armidale from Newcastle
in 2009 for April to take up a position at the New England
Conservatorium of Music. April holds a MA in Violin Performance from
Truman State University, Missouri, USA.
Jan-Piet Knijff, MMus, DMA, FAGO has been a professional musician
for 30 years and taught in higher education for twelve, mostly around
New York City. He teaches piano, organ, harpsichord, theory, history,
chamber music, Latin and ancient Greek in Armidale. His recording of
Edward Smaldone’s A Certain Slant of Light just came out on Naxos.
Gerard Larkins learned to play the flute with Margaret Hawkins. In 1986
he commenced tertiary studies at the Canberra School of Music under
Vernon Hill. Gerard has a select clientele of woodwind students and
plays with the Armidale Symphony Orchestra, the Armidale Drama and
Musical Society and other local musicians.
Georgie Ostenfeld started cello when she was 12 and studied with
Eleanor Streatfeild when she came to Armidale in 2008. She hopes to
study cello next year at university in Brisbane, Melbourne or Sydney.
Jodie Ostenfeld, AMusA, studies violin and viola with Errol Russell and
theory and chamber music with Jan-Piet Knijff. She was a member of the
Armidale Youth Orchestra for six years and its concertmaster for one
season. She performs with Collegium Musicum Armidalense and sings
in the Armidale Choral Society.
The members of the PLC String Quartet have had extensive
performance opportunities and have variously attended workshops with
Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra,
Australian Chamber Orchestra and a variety of professional string
quartets. The quartet studies with Charlotte Hayes. Sophia Dillon is in
Year 12, majoring in music composition for the HSC. Eliza Scott and
Jessica Wright are in Year 11 and both studying music for the HSC next
year, majoring in performance. Isabella Emanuel is in Year 8.
Constance Rolfe, a third-year music student at the University of New
England, studies voice with Stephen Tall. In 2011, she won the Open
Vocal Championship at the Armidale Eisteddfod. Recently, Constance
has performed with Collegium Musicum Armidalense in cantatas by
Bach and Buxtehude, including at the New England Bach Festival.
Errol Russell studied the violin with his father and later with Jascha
Gopinko and Ernest Llewellyn. He was a member of the Sydney
Symphony Orchestra, the Hoffman String Quartet and the Adel Trio. He
has recorded extensively for ABC Radio. Since 1983 he has taught
many young players who have since become professional violinists.
Johnny Schmalz, the Webmaster of the Armidale Piano Duo, studies
violin (E. Russell), organ (J-P Knijff) and also attends Duval High School.
Lena Schmalz studied piano in Russia, organ in Germany, and currently
studies harpsichord in Australia (with Jan-Piet Knijff). Very active in the
Armidale music community as an organist and chamber musician, she is
a founding member of the Armidale Piano Duo, which specializes in
Beethoven symphonies arranged for piano duet.
Xenia Schmalz is currently a PhD student in Cognitive Science at
Macquarie University. She has been playing the cello for over ten years
and has had lessons with David Pereira at the Australian National
University as part of her undergraduate studies there.
Will Smidt is a student in the BMus program at the University of New
England. He studies voice with Stephen Tall. He has performed with the
Armidale Drama and Musical Society in The Producers and The Hatpin.
Upcoming engagements include Tiger Brown in the Three-Penny Opera.
Inge Southcott is a qualified voice teacher (BMus performance, MMus
vocal pedagogy) and regular alto soloist with the Armidale Symphony
Orchestra, the Armidale Drama and Musical Society and Fiori Musicali.
She was a minor principal artist with Opera Australia in the 1990s and
has given many lieder recitals in Sydney and Melbourne.
Brandon Sullivan studies piano (D. Griffith), violin (S. Debus) and organ
(J-P Knijff) and is a member of the Armidale Youth String Orchestra.
Jessica Tan is 13 years old and has been playing violin for seven years.
She plays with her PLC string group and with Seirra Quartet and sings in
the New England Singers and the PLC Choir.
Beatrix Thomson is in fifth grade at PLC Armidale. She studies violin
with Zana Clarke and loves Bernstein’s ‘I like to be in America’.
Camilla Thomson is in fourth grade at PLC Armidale. She studies violin
with Zana Clarke, but really wishes she were playing the double bass!
Benjamin Thorn Is a composer, recorder player, flautist and harpist. His
music has been published in Germany, USA, Canada and Australia and
is played around the world. His work Bell Play is part of this year’s World
Music Days in Belgium. He has performed in Australia and in Europe.
Jenny Warnock majored in piano and voice at the New South Wales
Conservatorium of Music, continuing her study in singing whilst a high
school music teacher and later in the opera course at Leeds College of
Music, UK. She teaches piano and voice and performs as a mezzo
soprano soloist.
Deirdre Waters began piano lessons at 6½. She gained a BSc from
UNE, married and had four children. Resuming music in 1972, exams
and study followed, with lessons with Wendy Lorenz (piano), Helen
Lancaster (harmony), and Robyn Driscoll (T.Mus.A). Deirdre teaches
piano and history, harmony and aural skills.
The Kawai grand piano of the Armidale Uniting Church has
been tuned by Mr. John Hatfield for this Beethoven Festival.
