(1872-1936), an American composer and teacher. Gershwin

’s real music

education came from music halls and jazz palaces in which he played the

piano. He collaborated with many lyricists, but the teamwork with his

brother, Ira (1896-1983), was uniquely symbiotic. Except for Swanee

(written by Irving Caesar when George Gershwin was twenty years old),

each song on tonight’s program hasa text by Ira Gershwin. Ironically, 

Swanee was the song that launched George Gershwin

’s fame. It

capitalized on the public taste for ragtime and quoted Stephen Foster’s

universally known melody, Way down upon the Swanee River.

Program notes by Ruthanne Schempf

edited and adapted by Elmer Booze

The use ofcameras or recording equipment during

the performance is not allowed.

For the convenience ofconcert goers

the Garden Cafe remains open until 6:30 p.m.

Selectionsfrom concerts at the Gallery

can be heard on the second Sunday ofeach month

at 9:00p.m. on WGMS, 103.5 FM.

Concerts in December 2000 and January 2001

Under the Direction of George Manos

Sundays at 7:00 p.m. in the West Building, West Garden Court

PERFORMERS

December 2000

10 Shauna Rolston, cellist

Bemadene Blaha, pianist

17 Columbia Collegiate Chorale 

James Bingham, conductor

24 No concert

31 No concert

January 2001 7 National Gallery Orchestra

George Manos, conductor

14 Borromeo String Quartet 

with Gary Graffman, pianist

PROGRAMS

Debussy: Sonatafor Cello and

Piano

Messaien: Louange

a

I’eternite de Jesus

Barber: Sonata inC Minor

Richard Strauss: Sonata in F Major

David Popper: Hungarian

Rhapsody

Christmas Concert

Gala Viennese New Year

Concert

Schnittke: Piano Quintet

Beethoven: Quartet, Opus 95

Bach/Brahms: Chaconne

Komgold: Suitefor Piano, Left

Hand, and Strings

The Fifty-ninth Season of

THE WILLIAM NELSON CROMWELL and

F. LAMMOT BELIN CONCERTS

National Gallery of Art

1

2364th Concert

MELANIE SONNENBERG, mezzo soprano

ETERI ANDJAPARIDZE, pianist

Sunday Evening,3 December 2000

Seven O'clock

West Building, West Garden Court 

Admission free
PROGRAM

“THEY GOT MUSIC:” RACHMANINOFF AND GERSHWIN

I. Music ofSergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943)

1. Musical Moment in C Major, Op. 16, No. 6

2.1 Fell in Fove, to My Sorrow, Op. 8, No. 4

3. Musical Moment in E-flat Minor, Op. 16, No. 2

4. Music, Op. 34, No. 8

5. Musical Moment in D-flat Major, Op. 16, No. 5

6. The Ring, Op. 26, No. 14

7. Musical Moment in B Minor, Op. 16, No. 3

8. Do You Remember the Evening, WoO, No. 8

9. Musical Moment in E Minor, Op. 16, No. 4

10. Brooding, Op. 8, No. 3

11. Musical Moment in B-flat Minor, Op. 16, No. 1

12. Oh, Do Not Grieve, Op. 14, No. 8

INTERMISSION

II. Music ofGeorge Gershwin (1898-1937)

1. Sweet and low down (1925)

2. Fascinating Rhythm (1924)

3. Looking for a Boy (1925

4. Embraceable You (1930

5. I Got Rhythm (1930)

6. Love Is Here to Stay (1928)

7. Swanee (1919)

8. That Certain Feeling (1925)

9. The Man I Love (1924)

Melanie Sonnenberg is well known for her versatility as an actress, as

well as for her impressive vocal interpretations in a wide variety of

styles, ranging from the bel canto coloratura repertoire to the mezzosoprano heroines of Russian opera. She was born in Minneapolis, 

Minnesota, and undertook vocal and theatrical studies at the University 

of Minnesota. She has received grants from the William Matheus 

Sullivan Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation, among others. She

has appeared with the New York City Opera as Kontchakova in

Borodin’s Prince Igor, as Marie de Pays in the American premiere of

Jost Meier’s The Dreyfus Affair, and in the “Live from Lincoln Center”

telecast of Cavalleria Rusticana on PBS. She has sung with many opera 

companies across the United States, including the Dallas, Seattle,

Washington, and Saint Louis operas. In Europe, Melanie Sonnenberg has

appeared with the Hamburg Staatsoper (Carmen), the Teatro San Carlo 

in Lisbon (L'italiana in Algeri), and the opera festivals of Salzburg and

Graz, Austria. At the invitation of Newport Festival director Mark P.

Malkovich III, she has sung in many of that festival’s last fifteen 

seasons. She recently performed and recorded on CD Brahms’ Alto

Rhapsody and Schubert’s Stdndchen with the Turtle Creek Chorale and

the Fort Worth Symphony. Melanie Sonnenberg is under the personal

management of Elly Miller, in association with Trawick Artists 

Management of New York City.

“Eteri Andjaparidze, an amazing pianist, sounds like she has either 

two extra fingers or wings attached to her digits” (Seattle Weekly). “Eteri

Andjaparidze displayed total mastery of the keyboard, finesse of touch,

and facility of movement which few pianists can match” (The Times

Herald-Record, New York). These are two of the many accolades 

bestowed upon pianist Andjaparidze, whose repertoire embraces all

genres of piano playing. Born into a family of prominent musicians in

Tbilisi, the capital of the Republic of Georgia, she studied at the Moscow 

Conservatory under the guidance of Vera Gornostayeva, a student of the

legendary Heinrich Neuhaus. A winner of the Montreal and Tchaikovsky 

International Competitions and a People’s Artist of the Republic of

Georgia, Eteri Andjaparidze has appeared worldwide on the most

prestigious concert series and international festivals as recitalist and

guest soloist with major orchestras. Among the renowned conductors 

with whom she has performed are James DePriest, Vladimir Spivakov,

and Yuri Temarkanov. Now a resident of New York City, she teaches at

the State University of New York and gives master classes throughout 

the world. Her discography, which includes albums nominated for

Grammy and Deutsche Schallplatten awards, is released on the Naxos,

Marco Polo, and Melodiya labels.

All of the music by Sergei Rachmaninoff on tonight’s program was

created when the composer was still living in Russia. The songs of Opus

4 and Opus 8 were composed during the summer and fall of 1892, as was

the song, Do You Remember the Evening, published without an opus

number (WoO). Rachmaninoff chose poetry from various sources,

including the German poets Heinrich Heine and Johann Wolfgang von

Goethe, and Russians Tara Shevchenko, Yakov Polonski, Alexei

Koltsov, and Lev Tolstoy.

The six pieces of Moments musicaux (Musical Moments), Op. 16, were

completed in 1896, the same year in which the Opus 14 songs were

written and a year in which Rachmaninoff was full of confidence and

energy. As the last great exponent of Russian romanticism, 

Rachmaninoff imbued his music with an emotional quality that makes it

irresistible to this day. Listeners rarely have the opportunity to hear 

direct comparisons between his piano and vocal music. Both were deeply

influenced by the long, sinuous, and melancholic lines of Russian chant.

George Gershwin, who was born 102 years ago in Brooklyn to Russian

Jewish immigrants, studied piano with the highly respected Australian 

pianist, teacher, and composer Ernest Hutcheson (1871-1951), who was

living in America at the turn of the century. The rest of his formal music

training consisted of three harmony lessons from Rubin Goldmark