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Simone Dinnerstein: Hello. I'm Simone Dinnerstein. Tonight we are featuring chamber music performances by the talented young musicians from Greenwood Music Camp here on the Young Artists Showcase.
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Simone Dinnerstein: I'm so happy to welcome my dear friend the violinist Rebecca Fischer to the Young Artist Showcase, which has been generously underwritten since 1978 by the Harold W. McGraw Jr. Family Foundation. Becca is the executive director of Greenwood Music Camp and will be guiding us through the selections for today's program. Becca, welcome to the studio.
Rebecca Fischer: Thanks so much for having me. It's great to be here.
Simone Dinnerstein: So we've known each other for a long time. I was trying to think-- I think it was 1997 that we met as fellows at the Tanglewood Music Center, and I fell in love with your playing, um--
Rebecca Fischer: I fell in love with your playing.
[laughter]
Simone Dinnerstein: Um, and then we became friends after we started playing together there. And I think it was really pretty recently that you had attended Greenwood Music Camp yourself because you started going there, uh, when you were 10 and you went-
Rebecca Fischer: Mm-Hmm.
Simone Dinnerstein: -till you were about 15. And I remember you used to describe it as being this kind of Shangri La, you know, with,-
Rebecca Fischer: [chuckles]
Simone Dinnerstein: -um, this beautiful, uh, bucolic setting of the Berkshire Mountains. It's in Cummington, Massachusetts. And-and then also this-- It seemed like a totally non-competitive, like loving atmosphere about chamber music. It was all about collaboration. Am I- am I right about that?
Rebecca Fischer: You are very right. Um, yes, Greenwood is a very-very special place. It's been around for 92 years, and it does really do all the things you were just talking about [chuckles] in terms of creating a non-competitive environment for people to, um, play chamber music all day. There's also choir, there's also orchestra, but really it's-it's mainly a place for people to play chamber music, fall in love with music, run around without shoes on if they choose- [chuckles]
Simone Dinnerstein: [laughs]
Rebecca Fischer: and make these really lifelong friendships.
Simone Dinnerstein: Yeah. And there's a certain kind of aesthetic-
Rebecca Fischer: Mm-Hmm.
Simone Dinnerstein: -I think that-that is connected with this type of music making. And I-I was wondering if you could articulate it because to me it's I can recognize when I hear somebody who's been through that process-
Rebecca Fischer: Mm-Hmm.
Simone Dinnerstein: -as opposed to somebody who, um, whose main focus is on the instrument itself that they're playing.
Rebecca Fischer: Right.
Simone Dinnerstein: Like it's kind of getting beyond an instrument, isn't it?
Rebecca Fischer: There's something very special about Greenwood in the sense that there's actually a pretty structured environment there. So you receive your music assignment on Monday, and then you play the-the piece or the movement or whatever's been selected on Saturday.
Simone Dinnerstein: You mean you perform it?
Rebecca Fischer: Yeah, you perform it.
Simone Dinnerstein: Oh, wow.
Rebecca Fischer: And everybody performs on every Saturday evening concert and there are these epically long concerts. And it's this kind of wonderful schedule that requires everybody to put the piece together. And-and they're really-- there's a lot of autonomy at Greenwood.
Simone Dinnerstein: Mm.
Rebecca Fischer: There's a lot of freedom. They're free to make their own rehearsal schedules. If they decide they wanna rehearse two hours a day on their piece, that's fine. If they decide they wanna rehearse, you know, hopefully not more than [chuckles] six hours or something like, but they could.
Simone Dinnerstein: Mm-hmm.
Rebecca Fischer: And so it's just-- it's kind of the-the magic of each group is created within those first couple of days.
Simone Dinnerstein: Oh.
Rebecca Fischer: And it's sort of like you-you learn how to- you learn how to get along, you learn how to be flexible. And so, in a sense, you asked about the-the-the special part of this chamber of music, and I guess I'm getting to that point because this is sort of the process that you go through to get there.
Simone Dinnerstein: That's great. Well, let's-let's have a taste of, um, some of these Greenwood students. We're gonna start with a string quartet by the composer Fanny Hensel, uh, who some of you may know as Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel. We're gonna hear the first movement of the quartet. Right now, it's the Adagio ma non troppo.
[MUSIC - Hensel: String Quartet in E flat major: I Adagio ma non troppo - Natasha Wipfler-Kim, violin; Kai Waynen, violin; Jesse Schopflocher, viola; Maurice Neuman, cello]
[applause]
Simone Dinnerstein: That was the first movement of Fanny Hensel's string quartet played here by violinists Natasha Wipfler-Kim and Kai Waynen, violist Jesse Schopflocher and cellist Maurice Neuman. I know that choosing the repertoire is a huge part of the teaching process at Greenwood, and you always wanna stretch the students, exposing them to lesser-known composers and different styles of composition. So I'm curious about how you select the music that the students play. Do the students-- Um, do they make suggestions? Are you, as the executive director, do you have veto power?
[laughter]
Simone Dinnerstein: I mean, how-how does that work?
Rebecca Fischer: Sure. Well, um, you know, the students obviously are excited about playing certain pieces, and over the years, we've had different policies on having them request what they'd like to play. But generally, that doesn't always end up so well,-
[chuckling]
Rebecca Fischer: -uh, going so well. Um, but actually, the faculty works very hard together. And by the way, this is part of the senior camp process. Um, there's also a junior camp run by my very dear friend and colleague, Debbie Greenbaum. And I believe that the selection of repertoire in that case is very similar. We do it very collaboratively. And one of the things that I think is very special about Greenwood is that every week we spend many hours putting together a program that is, um, very-- that's diverse, that's, you know, exciting.
Simone Dinnerstein: You mean the concert program?
Rebecca Fischer: Co-concert program-
Simone Dinnerstein: Uh-huh.
Rebecca Fischer: -on-on Saturday. And we-- also we go through every single student every single week and talk about what we think would be a good challenge for them, you know, what would be maybe a good role in the group. We really do take our time and-and try to consider each student's needs and-
Simone Dinnerstein: Mm.
Rebecca Fischer: -how, you know, okay, well, last week they were playing, you know, this huge, huge new work, and maybe this week let's put them on something that's a little bit more standard repertoire.
Simone Dinnerstein: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Rebecca Fischer: Maybe they haven't played in a, you know, Mozart Quartet.
Simone Dinnerstein: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Rebecca Fischer: And let's-- You know, we-we gave them, uh, a really different kind of a challenge this past week. So we-we really try to balance as much as possible-
Simone Dinnerstein: Mm-hmm.
Rebecca Fischer: -their, um, their experiences at Greenwood so that they're not just playing one comp-- music by one composer or one-
Simone Dinnerstein: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Rebecca Fischer: -era of music.
Simone Dinnerstein: Mm-hmm. So this next piece that we're gonna listen to, which is the Piano Quintet by Mieczyslaw Weinberg, is a piece that I wasn't really familiar with. And tell us a little bit about it. Like when was it composed?
Rebecca Fischer: Sure. Well, it was written-- He's a-- He was a Polish composer and was written in, um, 1944, so very much in the Second World War era. And it's a huge work. And I-I'm really glad that his music is actually becoming a little bit more well-known-
Simone Dinnerstein: Mm-hmm.
Rebecca Fischer: -these days. And he's a composer that-that actually I believe it was a camper who, um, requested to have this.
Simone Dinnerstein: One of the Greenwood Music campers.
Rebecca Fischer: Yes. To have the-- to-to perform this piece. And this is the first time this past summer that we did the Piano Quintet.
Simone Dinnerstein: Oh, wow.
Rebecca Fischer: So this is--
Simone Dinnerstein: That's so- that's so interesting.
Rebecca Fischer: Yeah. And-and it's-it's always exciting. You know, we have so many great piano quintets that a lot of people know. There's, you know, written by Johannes Brahms and, you know, Schumann and all these works, but then there's also Amy Beach,-
Simone Dinnerstein: Mm-hmm.
Rebecca Fischer: -there's also Grażyna Bacewicz.
Simone Dinnerstein: Mm-hmm.
Rebecca Fischer: There's-- you know, there-there are a lot of works that maybe are not quite as well-known that are becoming more well-known.
Simone Dinnerstein: Mm-hmm.
Rebecca Fischer: And I think this piece is one that-that really deserves to be heard.
Simone Dinnerstein: Great. Okay. Well, let-let's listen to it.
[MUSIC - Weinberg: Piano Quintet, op. 18: I. Moderato con moto - Anna Sykes, violin; Christina Monroe, violin; Jesse Schopflocher, viola; Alma Wosner, cello; Harrison Benford, piano]
[applause]
Simone Dinnerstein: That was the first movement of Mieczysław Weinberg's piano quintet Opus 18 played here by violinists Anna Sykes and Christina Monroe with violist Jesse Schopflocher and cellist Alma Wosner and pianist Harrison Benford. The next selection is by American composer Amy Beach. She's recently been, uh, receiving a lot more interest from the musical community, and, uh, this is the theme and variation one from her Theme and Variations for Flute and String Quartet Opus 80.
[MUSIC - Beach: Theme and Variations for Flute and String Quartet, Op. 80, Theme and Variation 1 - Ilaria Hawley, flute; Amica Lansigan, violin; Caroline Ladendorf, violin; Nolan An, viola; Mason Cianfrani-Shin, cello]
[applause]
Simone Dinnerstein: That was the Theme and Variation One from Amy Beach's Theme and Variations for Flute and String Quartet Opus 80. That was flutist Ilaria Hawley with violinist Amica Lansigan and Caroline Ladendorf, violist Nolan An and cellist Mason Cianfrani-Shin. It's time for a quick break now, then I'll be back with more performances by these old souls here on the McGraw Family's Young Artists Showcase.
Welcome back. We are listening to music students from Greenwood Music Camp and speaking with their executive director Rebecca Fischer. Rebecca, I know that working with living composers is an important part of the curriculum at Greenwood, and you have a whole commissioning program. Tell us a little bit about that and the next composer that we're going to hear.
Rebecca Fischer: Sure. I'm always very excited to talk about Greenwood's work commissioning, um, living composers. Uh, we have a composer in residence, Rodney Lister, and we also have a number of commissioning programs that have been developed over time. The most recent executive director, Deborah Sherr, who served the Greenwood Senior Camp community and the entire community of Greenwood for 40 years, we just honored her with a special commissioning project, commissioning 20 composers and 20 works of chamber music, uh, over 40 years.
Simone Dinnerstein: Wow.
Rebecca Fischer: And we are in our second iteration of that cycle. And this time around, we commissioned, uh, the really extraordinary composer, Reena Esmail. Um, and so this past summer, Reena came to camp and worked with the campers, um, on the premiere of her string quartet called This Is It, which you'll hear, um, tonight. And, um, she also led the students in composition workshop, in a classical Hindustani, um, singing workshop. And it was just fantastic to have around camp. So there's-there's a lot of interest and love for work just happening today.
Simone Dinnerstein: Wonderful. Let's listen to Reena Esmail's This Is It from the world premiere performance at Greenwood Music Camp.
[MUSIC - Esmail: This Is It (world premiere), I. expand/connect; II. billow/recede; III. yearn/release; IV. leap/soar - Carina Bagdasarian, violin; Coda Scheuer, violin; Eli Mamuya, viola; Ari Freed, celloThis Is It: Reena Esmail]
[applause]
Simone Dinnerstein: That was This Is It by Reena Esmail. Uh, you heard the first movement expand/connect, second movement was billow/recede, third movement yearn/release, and fourth movement leap/soar. And it was performed by Carina Bagdasarian and Coda Scheuer on violin, Eli Mamuya on viola, and Ari Freed on cello. Becca, I know that the string quartet literature has been your bread and butter since infancy or pre-birth, I would say.
Rebecca Fischer: [chuckles] Yes.
Simone Dinnerstein: Um, I-I'm curious about what the biggest challenge is of teaching young players, teenagers how to- how to work on string quartet. Like how-- what-what is the hardest part about that?
Rebecca Fischer: That's a good question. I think, um, there's obviously a lot of discipline involved in just putting together a piece like the one you're about to hear, the Beethoven Grosse Fuge.
Simone Dinnerstein: Mm-hmm.
Rebecca Fischer: Like anybody looking at that piece would say at any age like this is impossibly complex, but I do think sharing the stage in an-- like an intimate like family way-
Simone Dinnerstein: Mm-hmm.
Rebecca Fischer: -is a- is a really challenging thing to do. It's-it's-it's a lot to-- as a teenager to take your part and try to figure out how it's gonna fit in with somebody else's.
Simone Dinnerstein: Mm-hmm.
Rebecca Fischer: And so in the case of this piece coming up, as musicians, they have to be able to make these very, very loud sounds [chuckles] and-and to-to reach across the group-
Simone Dinnerstein: Mm-hmm.
Rebecca Fischer: -to communicate. And then they have to play a pianissimo dynamic and-and have this group texture that is just one voice.
Simone Dinnerstein: Mm-hmm.
Rebecca Fischer: And so I think that what is so special about learning chamber music at this age in this very intensive environment, it's being part of a team-
Simone Dinnerstein: Mm-hmm.
Rebecca Fischer: -it's-it's doing things together, it's-it's reaching out across outside of yourself-
Simone Dinnerstein: Mm-hmm.
Rebecca Fischer: -to not just play your own part, but to be part of a unified voice. And that is- that is in a way the most challenging part and also the most fulfilling.
Simone Dinnerstein: That's wonderful. Well, let's listen to it now.
[MUSIC - Beethoven: Op. 133 Grosse Fuge - Jessica Kartawidjaja, Jake Winneg, violins; Eli Mamuya, viola; Maurice Neuman, cello] [applause]
Rebecca Fischer: That was Beethoven's Groose Fuge played by four teenagers who learned it in one week. You heard Jessica Kartawidjaja and Jake Winneg on violin, Eli Mamuya on violin, and Maurice Neuman on cello.
Simone Dinnerstein: Becca, thanks so much for coming in to speak with me and share this wonderful music. We really appreciated it.
Rebecca Fischer: Thank you so much for having me. It's been-- It's always a pleasure to speak to you, but also a pleasure to share the music and the passion of these wonderful young people at Greenwood.
Simone Dinnerstein: That completes this week's edition of the McGraw Family's Young Artists Showcase, which is generously underwritten on WQXR by The Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Family Foundation. Here's Terry McGraw with more.
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Terry McGraw: Good evening, everyone. It's great to be with you, and it's always great being with the Young Artist Showcase and to hear these really wonderful and inspiring musicians as they continue to share their incredible gifts with us every week. I can't wait to hear the fabulous talent coming up on the showcase, and I am so pleased to be able to support the series all through. Its well over four decades on WQXR, and there's so much more to come.
Simone Dinnerstein: Thank you, Terry, and special thanks to our WQXR program producers Laura Boyman and Max Fine. Our generous program underwriter is The Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Family Foundation. I'm Simone Dinnerstein. Goodnight.
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