The Presence of Jazz
in 20th Century Violin Music
A Musical Evening with Eva Piontkowski
Part 1:
Suite for Violin and Piano
By William Grant Still
1. African Dancer
2. Mother and Child
3. Gamin
Piano: Jin Qui Huang
Suite No. 2 for Violin Solo
By Ernest Bloch
Libertango
Astor Piazzolla
Violin: Camila Casaw, Mac Folger
Viola: Eva Piontkowski
Cello: Joshua Sierra
Intermission
Part 2:
Violin and viola: Eva Piontkowski
Piano: Matt Lemmler
Bass: Thomas Durnford
Oblivion
By Astor Piazzolla
My Heart Belongs to Daddy
Cole Porter, as performed by Stephanne Grappelli
Accentuate the Positive
Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer, as performed by Joe Kennedy, Jr.
Softly as in a Morning Sunrise
Sigmund Romberg and Oscar Hammerstein II, as performed by Regina Carter
Armando’s Rhumba
Chick Corea, as performed by Jean Luc Ponty
Program Notes
William Grant Still’s Suite for Violin and Piano was written in three movements, each inspired by the following works of art: Richmond Barthe’s “African Dancer”, Sargent Johnson’s “Mother and Child”, and Augusta Savage’s “Gamin”.
Born in Mississippi in 1895, Still attended prominent universities of music and went on to become the first African-American composer to have a symphony performed by a leading orchestra (his Symphony No. I). Still is said to be influenced heavily by the African spirituals sung to him by his grandmother.
Suite No. 2 for Violin Solo Ernest Bloch, was born in Geneva in 1880. After studying music in Europe, Bloch immigrated to the United States in 1916. Bloch moved around extensively, holding teaching positions in cities from New York City to Cleveland to San Francisco. Bloch pulls from Bach, contemporary American tonality, as well as his Jewish heritage to create music that defies genre classification.
Famous neuvo tango composer and bandoneonist Astor Piazzolla was born in Argentina, but grew up for the most part in New York City. Nuevo tango was initially controversial, then extremely popular, for it’s unique blend of traditional orchestra típica with jazz harmony and improvisation.
Stephanne Grappelli was orphaned in early childhood, then survived by busking in the streets of Paris in the 1920s. His improvisations are a combination of early jazz, French folk tunes, and the Romani influence of his longtime partner Django Reinhardt.
Joe Kennedy, Jr., Regina Carter, and Jean Luc Ponty are all conservatory trained classical violinists who achieved fine technique and proceeded to translate it into amazing jazz expressions. These pioneers are not widely known, but all created distinct and vibrant subcultures in the world of jazz violin.
Dedication
A heartfelt thanks to my parents and teachers, and in memory of my dear friend Sam Austin.
