Rawlins Piano Trio presents commission by James Lentini!
During the winter of 2010, the Trio is performing the world premiere of James Lentini's Opposites Attract. The first performance is at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion on January 28th. Additional scheduled performances are in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Orange City, Iowa and in Ohio at Miami University, Cedarville University and Ohio Northern. Please see our calendar page for dates and times.
|
James Lentini and The Rawlins Piano Trio |
Award-winning composer and guitarist James Lentini is a recipient of the Segovia International Composition Prize, the McHugh Composition Prize, and the Bluffton University Choral Competition (first prize), in addition to awards from Meet the Composer and the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP). A new CD of his works entitled Orchestra Hall Suite has recently been released on the Naxos American Classics Series, and his music also appears on the Capstone, MMC, and CRS recording labels. His composition entitled The Four Seasons for classical guitar was recently published by Mel Bay in their Contemporary Anthology of Solo Guitar Music for Five Fingers of the Right Hand. Lentini’s works have been performed by distinguished solo artists such as guitarist William Kanengiser and recorded by ensembles that include the Krakow Philharmonic Orchestra, Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic Orchestra, and the St. Clair Trio. Members of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra have regularly performed his works, and commissions include those for the Hanson Institute for American Music and the Plymouth Symphony. He has participated as a juror in the Segovia International Guitar Competition in La Herradura, Spain, and he has been a Visiting Artist at the American Academy in Rome. In 2007, Dr. Lentini accepted an appointment as Dean and Professor of Music of the School of Fine Arts at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
Dr. Lentini describes his work:
In Opposites Attract, contrasting forces serve as the framework for the musical ideas and style of the composition. In the first movement, entitled Alpha Meets Omega, musical lines moving in opposite directions (contrary motion) open the piece in the right and left hands of the piano, beginning at a relatively close interval and then expanding. This is followed by the violin and cello playing pizzicato motives, again in contrary motion, beginning with a wide interval and then contracting. Musical motives and lines that move in opposite directions, while eventually coming together (attracting), become identifiable structural elements in the work. Another important opposite at play in the piece is the juxtaposition of dissonance and consonance that form harmonic and melodic structures. The first five bars, for example, present pitch material based on three or four-note pitch cells, with the interval of a major and minor second appearing frequently. In bar six, rhythmic and motivic ideas remain similar to the opening, but now the pitch center is more identifiable with the harmonic language increasingly diatonic. The contrasting ideas from the beginning of the work reappear in varied presentations throughout the movement, while lyrical melodic passages and interplay between the violin, cello, and piano elicit an overall expressive and reflective musical landscape.
The second movement, entitled Dance of the Yin-Yang, employs many of the elements of "opposing" and "attracting" musical ideas that appear in the first movement, but within a more forceful aggressive, and playful structure. There is a rhythmic sense of forward motion that permeates the movement, with lines bouncing in contrary motion that are often interrupted by sharp accented chords from the piano. A center section of the piece offers a more lyrical excursion to contrast the fast-moving opening, eventually leading to a syncopated dance-like motive that appears in various rhythmic formations, often alternating with a musical idea similar to the opening of the piece.
Opposites Attract displays my varied musical influences and interests, including a fascination with both tonal and non-tonal music, lyrical melodies, rhythmic vitality, and blended characteristics of classical, jazz, and other idioms. In my mind, many different styles of well-crafted music share a core quality when performed with commensurate musicality, passion, and care.
The Rawlins Piano Trio welcomes violinist Eunho Kim!
Originally from Seoul, South Korea, Eunho Kim earned her Bachelor of Music degree in Violin Performance from the Seoul National University and Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), University of Cincinnati, where she also earned a Master of Music degree in Music Theory. She primarily studied violin with Sunshee Kim and Piotr Milewski; chamber music with Peter Oundjian, Lee Fiser, and the Tokyo String Quartet; and orchestral music with Constantine Kiradjieff (Former principal, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra) and Anna Vayman (Former concertmaster, Kirov Orchestra).
As a devoted orchestra player, she started her professional career in orchestra playing when she was still a student in Cincinnati, playing in the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, Sorg Opera Orchestra, and Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra. Dr. Kim has appeared in orchestra festivals under the direction of Maestros Myung-hun Chung, Michael-Tilson Thomas, Charles Dutoit, and was chosen to be the only student principal (Vn II) at Pacific Music Festival (2000) to play along with Wiener Philharmoniker’s Concertmaster and Principals.
As an active chamber player, she was a prize-winner in the CCM Chamber Competition in 2001 and has given numerous chamber recitals in Korea, Japan, and the U.S. She also played in the Morningside College (Sioux City, IA) faculty piano trio in 2007-08. Dr. Kim’s other previous engagements include the Associate Concertmaster of the South Dakota Symphony, Guest Concertmaster of Northern Iowa Symphony, and teaching at Morningside College, Northwestern College, and Dordt College. She has served as the Concertmaster of the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra since 2005, and joined the faculty of the University of the South Dakota in 2009.
Fourth CD of American Music released July 14, 2009!
The Rawlins Piano Trios fourth CD of American music--American Discoveries--was released by Albany Records on July 14, 2009. It is available at www.albanyrecords.com as well as at a number of online and other vendors. The CD introduces the Trio's first commissioned composition, Volvic Maritim by Daniel Bernard Roumain--as well as American works by Edwin Grasse, Mortimer Wilson, Anna Priscilla Risher and Henry Cowell.
The Rawlins Piano Trio is known for ground-breaking performances of American works from the 19th and early 20th centuries as well as for our extensive repertoire of standard works. The Trio is indebted to colleague Dr. Richard Rognstad for his terrific research, making this specialty and the ensuing recording possible. Please see the Recordings page for the contents of the other three CDs by the Rawlins Piano Trio.
 |
