Upcoming Events of the SeventyFifth Season of The William

Nelson Cromwell and F. Lammot

Belin Concerts

Sound Impact

"Washingtonians on Wednesdays"

Music by Polina Nazaykinskaya,

Sergei Prokofiev, and Dmitri Shostakovich 

April 19,12:10

West Building, East Garden Court

East Coast Chamber Orchestra

Music by Caplet, Lutostawski, Suk,

and Theofanidis

April 23, 3:30

West Building, East Garden Court

West Garden Trio

"Washingtonians on Wednesdays"

Music by Kenji Bunch, Charles Ives,

and Paul Schoenfield 

April 26,12:10

West Building, East Garden Court

Matt Haimovitz and Christopher O'Riley 

All-Russian program

April 30, 3:30

West Building, East Garden Court

Tonality of Culture

Multidisciplinary Estonian concert

Presented as part of the

European Month of Culture

May 3,12:10

East Building Auditorium

General Information

Admission to the National Gallery of Art

and all of its programs is free of charge,

except as noted.

The use of cameras or recording equipment

during the performance is not allowed. 

Please be sure that all portable electronic

devices are turned off.

Concerts are made possible in part

through the generosity of donors to the

National Gallery of Art through The Circle.

Reserved seating is available in recognition

of their support. Please contact the

development office at (202) 842-6450 or

circle@nga.gov for more information.

www.nga.gov

www.instagram.com/ngadc

www.twitter.com/ngadc

www.facebook.com/nationalgalleryofart

The department of music produced these

program notes. Copyright© 201/ Board of

Trustees, National Gallery ofArt, Washington

Cover Martiros Sarian, Ararat and St. Hripsime

(detail), 1945,© Sarian House-Museum, Yerevan,

Armenia

Margaret Leng Tan

The Three Cs: Cage, Cowell, Crumb

Metamorphoses, world premiere of 

new work by George Crumb

May 7, 3:30

East Building Auditorium

APRIL 16, 2017• NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART

JBHL
PROGRAM

3:00 • West Building, East Garden Court

Mariam Kharatyan, piano

Adema Pljevljak-Krehic, soprano

Maja Ackar Zlatarevic, piano

Vincent Kok, flute

Adam Gruchot, violin

Randi Margrethe Eidsaa and Jorn E. Schau, presenters

Musical Dialogues

Milan Prebanda (1907-1979)

Four songs

"Put"

"Romanca"

"U suton"

"U buri"

Adema Pljevljak-Krehic, soprano

Maja Ackar Zlatarevic, piano

Julius Fucik (1872-1916)

The Bosnian Rhapsody

Ljubomir Baja (1890-1951)

Pale node (Fallen Hopes)

Maja Ackar Zlatarevic, piano

Ned Rorem (b. 1923)

Four Prayers for flute and piano

Vincent Kok, flute

Mariam Kharatyan, piano

Stig Nordhagen (b. 1966)

"On Another's Sorrow"

(lyrics William Blake)

Dedicated to Bodil Catharina Biorn

(1871-1960)

Cvjetko Rihtman (1902-1989)

Okreni se niz djul bascu

Adema Pljevljak-Krehic, soprano

Maja Ackar Zlatarevic, piano

Komitas (1869-1935)

"Shushiki," from Folk Dances for Piano

"It's Spring"

Arr. Villi Sargsyan

"Crane" for violin and piano

Arr. by S. Aslamazyan

Adam Gruchot, violin

Mariam Kharatyan, piano

Aram Khachaturian (1903-1978)

"Girl's Dance with Tamburines,"

from Gayaneh, ballet

Adagio from Spartacus, ballet

Arr. Villi Sargsyan

Mariam Kharatyan, piano

Song-Poem and Dance for violin and piano

Adam Gruchot, violin

Mariam Kharatyan, piano

Konrad 0hrn (b. 1950)

Nansen Suite

Dedicated to Fridtjof Nansen

Allegro

Andante moderato

Andante

Allegro scherzando

Adam Gruchot, violin

Vincent Kok, flute

Mariam Kharatyan, piano

The Musicians

Adema Pljevljak-Krehic is a soloist with the Sarajevo Opera. She was born in Sarajevo and

graduated from the Academy of Music Sarajevo, where she teaches today. She was a

student at the academy during the Siege of Sarajevo from 1992 to 1996. She finished her

postgraduate studies at the Univarsitat fur Musik und Darstellende Kunst Graz in Austria

and has also studied in Italy. At the Sarajevo Opera, Pljevljak-Krehic has sung leading

soprano roles in a number of well-known operas by Mozart, Verdi, Puccini, Tchaikovsky, and

Bizet, as well as oratorios and recitals. Pljevljak-Krehic's has performed throughout Bosnia

and Herzegovina and internationally.

Maja Ackar Zlatarevic completed her studies in piano at the Academy of Music

Sarajevo and her master's in early music at the Royal Music Academy in Stockholm,

majoring in harpsichord. Zlatarevic has won several national and international competitions

and received national scholarships from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Sweden. She also won

a prestigious prize for her contribution to cultural life in Sarajevo and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Zlatarevic has performed in her home country and in Croatia, Egypt, Germany, Italy, Norway,

Poland, Serbia, Slovenia, Sweden, and Turkey. She currently works as an associate professor in

the piano department of the Academy of Music Sarajevo and as vice dean for international cooperation. Through her academic network in Europe and in collaboration with the academy's dean 

and other colleagues, she has contributed to promoting the Academy of Music Sarajevo abroad.

Armenian concert pianist Mariam Kharatyan is among the versatile artists of her generation, pursuing a musical career in Norway and abroad. In 2011, she completed her master's

degree in piano performance under Areg Sargsyan at the Komitas State Conservatory in 

Yerevan, Armenia. In 2012, she moved to Norway and studied at Agder Music Conservatory,

in the master's program under Tellef Juva and Sveinung Bjelland. Currently, she is assistant

professor at the University of Agder, working as an accompanist and research fellow and

actively involved in various projects related to Norway's cultural life. She continues to

perform internationally and has been a prizewinner in international competitions, including

the 2016 Grieg International Piano Competition in Norway (semifinalist); the Giovanni

Musicisti in Italy (first prize, 2013); and the Renaissance International Festival in Armenia

(prizewinner, 2010). Throughout her musical career, she has performed numerous recitals in

Armenia, as well as in Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Italy, Hungary, Romania, Belarus, Poland, 

and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Adam Gruchot is originally from Poland. His greatest inspiration for the violin came

from his mentors — P. Radzinski, Viktor Pikaizen, and Piotr Janowski. Gruchot was concertmaster for the Alesund String Quartet from 1992 to 1999. Since then, he has been first

concertmaster of Norway's Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra. He has held a number of

solo and chamber music concerts in Poland, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Belgium, China,

South America, and the United States. Gruchot teaches violin at the University of Agder,

Norway, and is founder and conductor of the Agder University String Ensemble.

75th Season • 3
Vincent Kok was born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He started playing the

flute at the age of thirteen and soon became one of the pioneer members of the Malaysian

Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, with frequent appearances as the principal flutist. In 2009,

he was awarded a full scholarship to further his undergraduate studies with Jin Ta, principal

flute of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. Since his graduation, he has worked with some 

of the world's finest conductors and musicians, including Paul Anka, Eiji Oue, and Tan Dun.

Currently, Kok is pursuing postgraduate studies in music management and performance at 

the University of Adger, Norway. He studies flute with Jorn Eivind Schau and his research is

on revenue streams in the digital market. Kok has taken part in numerous local concerts at

the university and recently presented a Rorem repertoire with Mariam Kharatyan at Kilden

Concert Hall in Kristiansand, Norway.

Randi Margrethe Eidsaa holds a bachelor's degree in music education from the

University of Agder, a master's degree from the University of Oslo, and a doctoral degree

from the Danish School of Education at Aarhus University, Copenhagen. Her research field

is composition, music aesthetics, and creative processes in music performance. Her doctoral

project was a study of the Cultural Rucksack, a national Norwegian program for art and music 

in schools. She has organized a number of performances for professional musicians and

children and was a member of the national committee that revised the Norwegian National

Music Curriculum in 2006. She is involved in the interdisciplinary research program Art in

Context at the University of Agder and is in charge of the long-term collaborative performance project, Musical Dialogues.

Jorn Schau is a flutist and a lecturer in flute performance. He is the founder of the

Norwegian Flute Ensemble and has worked closely with composers to expand the flute ensemble repertoire. Schau has been a frequent guest at festivals and flute conventions in Europe.

Program Notes

Musical Dialogues

The performance project Musical Dialogues mirrors the idea that music represents hope

under challenging circumstances. We present music by composers who worked under 

difficult circumstances, and composers who have created new music in remembrance of 

historical events or to remind us about those who pursue humanitarian work. The questions

that are raised in Musical Dialogues are what happens with music, cultural establishments,

and music education in areas of conflict, and what role does music play for individuals and

societies during political conflict.

Today's performance will highlight two great Norwegian humanitarians who played

important roles in both political and cultural life in Armenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina: 

the explorer, diplomat, scientist, and Nobel Prize-winner Fridtjof Nansen (1861-1930) and

the lesser-known Norwegian missionary Bodil Catharina Biorn (1871-1960). Thanks to

Nansen and the League of Nations, the Nansen Passport made it possibible for more than

320,000 Armenians to move freely to their preferred country in the post-World War I period. 

Nansen has been a source of inspiration for the Nansen Dialogue Center, a Norwegian cultural

organization established in Bosnia and Herzegovina following the wars in the Western Balkans

in the 1990s. Biorn became famous for her work as a missionary in Armenia, saving the lives

4 • National Gallery of Art

of thousands of women and children during the Armenian Genocide. In this concert, we aim 

to reflect the two humanitarians' different contributions to resolving political conflicts.

Music is meaningful, and in this project we explore how music functions as an expression of hope. The topic is well-expressed in Adema Pljevljak-Krehic's narrative on being a

student at Academy of Music Sarajevo during the siege of the city from 1992 to 1996:

Studying and singing in war was a true salvation and escape to a better 

world. In the morning, when I opened my eyes, instead of hearing the

birds sing from my home, in a beautiful part of Sarajevo full of greenery, I

heard grenades banging under the windows of the apartment where I was

a refugee. I was a refugee in my own hometown, because my house had

burned down and it remained on the front line, in no man’s land. And

instead of shivering from shells crashing and snipers whistling, instead of

thinking about whether we will all die of hunger in the city under siege, with 

no electricity or water, I chose to study and enjoy music — not only I, but

all the other students at my school, and thousands of students on other 

faculties, too. And I was happy. I was not in Sarajevo in war, but on a world

stage, which I would later actually experience. I remember it like it was

yesterday. I sang Mozart, Schubert, accompanied by piano, our audience

conscious of the fact that when they came outside after the concert, they

could be killed. And if I didn't have a concert, I went to listen to others.

Culture has been our salvation. And if you ask me today, I think music

saved me. The song was all we had.

Armenian Music: Komitas and Aram Khachaturian

History is full of political and social triumphs, violent conflicts, and human tragedies. We 

have developed the concept of this concert to mirror historical turning points, to pay homage

to those who dedicated their lives to helping people, and to standing strong together in

demanding situations.

The beginning of the twentieth century was a critical time for the Armenian people.

The Armenian Genocide —a crime against humanity— reached a critical point on April 24,

1915, when the Ottoman Empire arrested and massacred about 250 artists, scientists, community leaders, and other representatives of the Armenian intellectuals in Constantinople

(Istanbul). Armenian folklorist and composer Komitas (1869-1935) was among those arrested

but who managed to escape the massacre. He is considered a true phenomenon in Armenian

music and is the founder of the Armenian National School of Composition. Following his

arrest and after witnessing the horrors of the Genocide, he did not compose for twenty years.

Music has been Armenians' natural way of expressing feelings and thoughts and has

accompanied all their joyful or sad life events. Over the centuries, the Armenian nation has

created folk songs, and, thanks to Komitas, thousands of these melodies were saved. In today's 

concert, the unique character of Armenian peasant folklore will be represented through

"Shushiki" from his Folk Dances, the instrumental song "It's Spring,” and "Crane.” The crane is a

symbol in Armenian folk music, expressing a person's longing for the homeland and loved ones.

In 1920, the Soviet Union gained control of Eastern Armenia (the present Republic of 

Armenia) and established the Armenian Soviet Socialistic Republic (ASSR), which lasted until

the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. All of these catastrophic historical events in the first

decades of the twentieth century endangered Armenia's musical heritage. It was of vital

75th Season • 5
importance that a distinguished name in music —Aram Khachaturian— continued the

mission of bringing Armenia's rich musical traditions to the world. Khachaturian composed

Armenia's first concertos for piano, violin, and cello, its first symphony and ballet, as well as

many other works.

As an active performer, my interpretations aim to convey how Khachaturian's musical

idiom is deeply rooted in Armenian folklore music, inspired by the rich traditions of folk musicians, namely those referred to as Ashughs. Two significant perspectives firmly connect the

music of Khachaturian and Komitas: the imitation of the sound and sonority of Armenian

folk instruments, such as the kamancha, tar, kanon, dhol, and duduk, and folk dance elements.

In today's concert, I will perform Khachaturian's "Girl's Dance with Tambourine” from

the ballet Gayaneh, Adagio from Spartacus, another ballet, Song-Poem, dedicated to Ashughs,

and Dance for violin and piano. These compositions are vivid examples of the organic synthesis of the classical genres and free improvisational style, dancing rhythms, and freely developed

melodic lines inspired from Armenian folk music. Program note by Mariam Kharatyan

Bosnian Vocal Music: Milan Prebanda and Cvjetko Rihtman

Milan Prebanda (1907-1979) and Cvjetko Rihtman (1902-1989) represent a generation of

native Bosnian composers whose musical identities were shaped by Bosnian folk music.

Prebanda graduated in singing from the Academy of Music in Zagreb. He also attended composition classes, in 1945, he moved to Sarajevo, where he worked as a conductor at the National

Theatre Sarajevo for years. Prebanda mostly composed small vocal and vocal-instrumental

forms. His twenty-two solo songs are often performed and are mostly love songs inspired

by sevdalinka (sevdah music); however, he did not use folk references.

Rihtman was one of the initiators and founders of the State School of Music (1945),

the State Opera (1946), and the Academy of Music Sarajevo (1955). Rihtman mostly

composed vocal music based on idioms of the traditional musical practice. He was one of

the most prominent ethnomusicologists in former Yugoslavia and published many papers

about new approaches to research on the national Bosnian tradition of polyphonic singing.

Program note by Adema Pljevijak-Krehic

Bosnian Piano Music: Julius Fucik and Ljubomir Bajac

Julius Fucik (1872-1916) was born in Prague and was a student of Antonin Dvorak in composition and instrumentation. Fucik started his career as a military musician and became a member

of the Austro-Hungarian Army. With his band, he traveled to Sarajevo in 1897 and became

one of the most important military bandmasters in Bosnia and Herzegovina. During his time

there, he composed music inspired by the Bosnian landscape. These compositions were

mostly piano miniatures or military marches.

Ljubomir Bajac (1890-1951) was born in Mostar and finished his elementary and 

higher education in Sarajevo. In 1910, he attended the Acadmy of Music in Vienna, and from

1911 to 1913, he became a student of composition at the Imperial Academy in Budapest. Bajac

was the conductor of the SOCSS ensemble in Sarajevo from 1914 to 1932' and between the

two World Wars he worked as a teacher and composer, becoming one of the leading figures

in Bosnia and Herzegovina's musical life. One of Bajac's preserved compositions is Pale nade

(Fallen Hopes) for piano solo, was written in 1914, during the chaos caused by the Great War.

6 • National Gallery of Art

Ned Rorem

The American composer Ned Rorem (b. 1923) has published more than five hundred songs, as

well as operas, symphonies, and works for the piano, chamber ensembles, and solo instruments.

Rorem is inspired by French impressionists and influenced by jazz and traditions in Western

classical music. He regards Aaron Copland as a master of American classical composers,

but he also refers to performers of popular music in the 1950s and 60s with great respect.

Today, we present Rorem's Four Prayers. The suite was composed in 2006 as part of a commission project initiated by flutist Myra Martin. The four movements mirror Rorem's musical

style: First Prayer is lyrical and reflective, while Second Prayer is introduced with a vivid motif

that changes into a dissonant and modernistic musical language in the second part of the

piece. The Third Prayer is technically challenging and aggressive in style. In the final movement,

Fourth Prayer, Rorem once more presents lyrical motifs that he elaborates into dissonant

melodic lines before peaceful and straightforward last bars.

Stig Nordhagen

Stig Nordhagen (b. 1966) studied musical performance in Norway and the Netherlands. In

2003, he became clarinet soloist in Kristiansand Symfoniorkester, and in addition to performing

and composing, he also teaches at the University of Agder. Nordhagen has published extensively for well-known Norwegian performers and orchestras. He often serves as a judge in Brass

Band Championships and in 2015 was appointed to the jury for the European Championship

for Brass Bands.

Konrad 0hrn

Konrad 0hrn is a professor of composition. He studied piano at the Oslo Academy of Music

and was educated as a music teacher at the University Teacher College in Bergen, Norway.

He then studied composition with Johan Kvandal and Egil Hovland, Norwegian composers

who became well-known for their use of techniques in twentieth-century classical music.

0hrn teaches composition classes at the University of Agder and publishes for a wide range

of ensembles. Program notes by Randi Margrethe Eidsaa

Maja Ackar Zlaterevic’s Note

During my piano studies at the Academy of Music Sarajevo, I realized there were practically

no scores by Bosnian composers for the piano. After attaining my bachelor's and master's

degrees at the academy, I started to perform in Europe. Wherever I went, audiences asked

about Bosnian composers, and it became clear to me that people wanted to hear something

different — music they'd never heard before. So, I began to promote Bosnia's music for the

piano and was lucky to have the strong support of our academy's dean, Ivan Cavlovic. The

Academy of Music then published the first and second anthology of piano music by Bosnian

composers in 2013 and the third edition in 2016. All of the compositions were created during

the Austro-Hungarian period. The credit for collecting all the scores goes to Lana Pacuka, a

young musicologist who completed her PhD in this field. All of the pieces are composed in

the style that was popular in Europe at the time. The goal of publishing these three anthologies was to make Bosnian music for piano available to the world. The works can also be

used for teaching purposes at all levels. We certainly have much to be proud of.

75th Season • 7