Upcoming Events of the SeventyFifth Season of The William

Nelson Cromwell and F. Lammot

Belin Concerts

Winners of the 2017 Joseph and Goldie 

Feder Memorial String Competition

Presented in cooperation with

Washington Performing Arts

May 13,12:00

West Building, East Garden Court

Winners of the 2017 Misbin Family

Memorial Chamber Music Competition

Presented in cooperation with Washington

Performing Arts

May 13, 2:00

West Building, East Garden Court

Boreal Trio

Music by Max Bruch, Jean Francaix,

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and

Uriel Vanchestein

May 14, 3:30

West Building, East Garden Court

United States Marine Chamber Orchestra

Program in honor of America Collects

Eighteenth-Century French Painting

May 21, 2:00

West Building, East Garden Court

Poulenc Trio

Music by Francaix, Saint-Saens, Rossini,

Viet Cuong, Schnittke, and Shostakovich 

May 21, 4:00

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 © 2ory Board of

Trustees, National Gallery of Art, Washington

Cover Anonymous, Concert of Birds (detail),

1660/1670, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 

Gift of John Dimick

Eclipse Chamber Orchestra

Music by Piazzolla and Vivaldi

June 4, 4:00

East Building Auditorium

75TH SEASON

OF CONCERTS

MAY 3, 10, AND 17, 2017 • NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART
WELCOME

The European Month of Culture, an initiative of the Delegation of the European Union 

to the United States that began in 2013, highlights the diverse cultures of the twentyeight European Union member states. Musical performances, art exhibits and tours, film

screenings, and lectures take place at various institutions and embassies around Washington, DC. These events radiate out from Europe Day (May 9), which commemorates the

historic declaration that led to the formation of the European Union. "United in Diversity," 

the motto of the European Union, is exemplified beautifully by the talents of the many 

artists who offer their gifts to the Washington community and visitors.

The National Gallery of Art has been a partner presenter from the beginning of the

European Month of Culture and is pleased to continue as a participant this year. Concerts

brought to the Gallery by the embassies of Estonia, Malta, and the Czech Republic are

featured in three Wednesday noontime concerts, in collaboration with the Delegation to

the European Union to the United States.

2 • National Gallery of Art

MAY 3

12:10 • East Building Auditorium

Tonality of Culture

Valev Laube, violin

Evan Basta, viola

Reid Zuckerman, guitar

Diina Tamm and James Koroni, dancers

Curated by Diina Tamm and Valev Laube

In 2018, the Republic of Estonia celebrates its 100th anniversary. As part of this milestone,

the country has begun its celebrations across the globe to showcase the treasures of 

Estonian culture. In the second half of 2017, Estonia will be holding the presidency of the

European Union Council, focusing attention on cultural preservation and economic issues

within the EU.

As part of the multidisciplinary concert Tonality of Culture, two Estonian-born artists

present various dance and musical interpretations of archival Estonian recordings that date

back to the turn of the twentieth century. Using these recordings, young Estonian artists

reconnect to their country's pre-Soviet musical traditions and find ways to continue this

heritage through the incorporation of new interpretations. The concert is presented in four,

ten-minute chapters, each revealing a different tradition and how it resonates with the new

Estonian identity. The interpretations take a closer look at how archival recordings from the 

past century resonate with the folk-inspired instrumental music of today. These performances 

reveal sides of Estonian culture that were suppressed during the Soviet occupation, and

how today's artists reinterpret them to complement a more interconnected, global setting.

Supported by the Estonian Embassy

75th Season • 3
The Performers

Valev Laube

Valev Laube is an Estonian-born graphic designer, digital artist, and musician currently

based in New York. He is an alumnus of the United World College of the Adriatic, Italy, and

a current student at the University of Rochester, New York. His most recent projects include

a music video for the Estonian-Finnish indie-pop band Popidiot and promotional designs for

Kenneth Cole, Steve Madden, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, and Wilsonart. In 2016, he was the 

creative director of the Estonian Cultural Days in New York and collaborated as video artist

on an Estonian performance-art piece, Reflection Spectrum. As a musician, he has performed

throughout Europe and North America, mainly promoting and presenting contemporary

Northern European and Estonian original, folk-inspired music.

Evan Basta

Evan Basta is a violist from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. Born deaf,

Basta learned to communicate through the expression of music, creating a truly unique 

relationship to it. Although he regained his hearing through surgery at the age of six, Basta's

first language is music. It was through years of preparatory school and collaborating with

musicians that he became fluent in the styles of rock, jazz, and country. With a deep understanding of the relationship between emotion, movement, and music, Basta strives to personally

communicate with the listener through the language of music.

Reid Zuckerman

Reid Zuckerman is a guitarist residing in New York and pursuing studies in economics and

jazz guitar at the University of Rochester and the Eastman School of Music. He is also a

licensed real estate agent in the State of New York. He performs a wide variety of musical 

genres, including classical, jazz, folk, and rock. His self-titled projects bring in a variety of 

instruments and sounds that reflect his ancestry, most prominently the Armenian Duduk.

Diina Tamm

Diina Tamm is a professional dancer, choreographer, and dance teacher originally from

Tallinn, Estonia. She has been part of various dance shows in the United States, Estonia,

Canada, Sweden, and Finland. She has also choreographed and danced on cruise ships and

in musicals, TV shows, and music videos by such artists as Icona Pop and Misterwives.

She has performed on Good Morning America and worked as a dancer and choreographer's

assistant for a live broadcast on ABC.

James Koroni

James Koroni is an actor, dancer, and improv comedian and has completed twelve original

multimedia works. According to WILD Magazine, he has "exceptional and distinctive talent.”

He has worked with Madonna, Misterwives, Son of Kick, and Icona Pop and has appeared 

in numerous productions under such directors as Celia Rowlson-Hall, James Manzello,

Ariel Danziger, Charles Whitcher, and Daniel Armando. He is the founder and editor of

EnforcedArch.com. He is currently a media studies major at the New School in New York

City and tours internationally with Rules of the Game, a new work by Pharrell Williams,

Jonah Bokaer, and Daniel Arsham.

4 • National Gallery of Art

MAY 10

12:10 • West Building, East Garden Court

Laura Falzon, flute

Rupert Boyd, guitar

Toward the Sea

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Sonata in C Major, BWV 1033

Celso Machado (b. 1953)

Quebra Queixo and Pacoca (choro)

Toru Takemitsu (1930-1996)

Toward the Sea

Osvaldo Golijov (b. 1960)

Fish Tale

Veronique Vella (b. 1964)

Bidla

Astor Piazzolla (1921 -1992)

Histoire du tango

Bordel

Cafe

Today's program derives its title from one of the works in the program — Japanese

composer Toru Takemitsu's work for alto flute and guitar, commissioned by Greenpeace

for the Save the Whales campaign in 1981. Takemitsu's Toward the Sea pays homage 

to the sea, while Osvaldo Golijov's Fish Taie presents a sonic surrealistic tale of a fish's 

journey in the ocean. Veronique Vella is a composer from Malta — an island that stands

exactly in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea and separates Europe from Africa. Bidla

(composed in 2011) means "change" in Maltese.

Supported by the Embassy of Malta

75th Season • 5
The Performers

Laura Falzon

Maltese-American flutist Laura Falzon has performed concertos with orchestras and in solo

recitals, and also chamber music throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. In New 

York, she has performed in Carnegie Hall, the Lincoln Center, Symphony Space, the 92nd

Street Y, the Baryshnikov Arts Center, (Le) Poisson Rouge, Spectrum, the Tank, Tenri,

Engelman Recital Hall, and the Allen Room at Frederick Rose Hall. She has appeared as a

soloist with orchestras and ensembles including London's Spectrum Ensemble, St Martinin-the-Fields Sinfonia, Rasumovsky Quartet, Mimesis Ensemble, Random Access Music,

the National Orchestra of Malta, Stockholm's Curious Chamber Players, Bleecker STQ,

and Elekoto Ensemble. Falzon has worked with numerous composers and premiered many 

works by living composers. She has received grants and awards from the British Arts Council,

the Rockefeller Foundation, New York Women Composers, the Rotary Foundation, Hope

Scot Trust, the Scottish Arts Council, West Midlands Arts, and the Sparkplug Foundation.

A founding member and artistic director of ISSA Sonus Ensemble, she is a graduate of

Columbia University, where she completed her doctorate. She is on the music faculty at

Columbia University's Teachers College and New York University.

Rupert Boyd

New York-based Australian classical guitarist Rupert Boyd is acclaimed as one of the most

talented guitarists of his generation. He has been described by the Washington Post as "truly

evocative,'' and by Classical Guitar Magazine as "a player who deserves to be heard." He has

performed across four continents, from New York's Carnegie Hall, to festivals in Europe,

China, India, Nepal, the Philippines, and Australia. Active as both a soloist and a chamber

musician, Boyd regularly performs throughout the world as part of the Australian Guitar

Duo, with guitarist Jacob Cordover, and with cellist Laura Metcalf in Boyd Meets Girl.

Rupert Boyd has three commercially released albums. Fantasias, his most recent solo CD,

was selected by American Record Guide as Critic's Choice of 2016 and described by Classical

Guitar Magazine as "a triumph of brilliant, assured playing." His debut album Vaises Poeticos

received the following review in Soundboard, the quarterly publication of the Guitar Foundation of America: "Boyd’s playing is beautifully refined, with gorgeous tone... musically and

technically flawless.... [The Granados is] one of the best-recorded performances of this

work on guitar.”

6 • National Gallery of Art

MAY 17

12:10 • West Building, East Garden Court

Tomas Kaco, pianist

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Prelude in C Minor

Frederic Chopin (1810-1849)

Nocturne in E Major op. 9, no. 2

Revolutionary Etude op. 10, no. 12

Nicolo Paganini (1782-1840)

Caprice no. 24

John Lennon (1940-1980) and

Paul McCartney (b. 1942)

"Yesterday"

Supported by the Embassy of the Czech Republic

The Performer

Tomas Kaco

Tomas Kaco is a talented pianist, composer, and singer. He received a master's degree in

classical piano at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague in 2015. On a scholarship to the 

Berklee College of Music in Boston, he earned a diploma in contemporary writing and music

in 2017. His objective in life is to compose, produce, and arrange music of all styles. He says,

"I hope one day my music will help make peace in the world and erase color lines." Kaco has

made arrangements of songs for the Pardubice Philharmonic, the Philharmonic of Hradec 

Kralove, and the Janacek Philharmonic in Ostrava. As a highlight of his career, he performed

for former Czech President Vaclav Havel, as well as at the renowned Vienna Opera Ball in

Austria. His achievements include receiving the Piano Department Achievement Award for

Outstanding Musicianship. As a pianist, he has performed in Germany, Austria, Switzerland,

Belgium, Hungary, Slovakia, and Israel.

George Gershwin (1898-1937)

"Summertime"

Keith Jarrett (b. 1945)

"Memories of Tomorrow"

Tomas Kaco (b. 1987)

"Gipsy Soul"

"My Home"

75th Season • 7