The use of cameras or recording equipment during the 

performance is not allowed. Please be sure that cell phones,

pagers, and other electronic devices are turned off.

Music Department

National Gallery ofArt

Sixth Street and Constitution Avenue nw

Washington, DC

www.nga.gov

COVER: Paul Stevenson Oles, Sketch ofthe East Building Exterior, 1971,

National Gallery ofArt Archives, Gift of I. M. Pei and Partners

The Sixty-ninth Season of

The William Nelson Cromwell and F. Lammot Belin

Concerts

National Gallery ofArt

2,827th Concert

Sara Stern, flute

Lisa Emenheiser, piano

February 23, 2011

Wednesday, 12:10 pm

East Building Auditorium

Admissionfree
Program

Joseph Jongen (1873-1953)

Sonatafor Flute and Piano, op. 77 (1924)

Prelude: Modere

Tres Anime

Modere

Gigue: Allegro

Paul Schoenfield (b. 1947)

Four Souvenirs (1989)

Samba

Tango

Tin Pan Alley

Square Dance

Lowell Liebermann (b. 1961)

Sonatafor Flute and Piano, op. 23 (1987)

Lento

Presto energico

The Musicians

SARA STERN

Nationally acclaimed as one ofthe most talented and versatile flutists of

her generation, Sara Stem began to study the flute at age eight and counts

among her teachers Julius Baker, Merrill Jordan, Marcel Moyse, and Richard 

Townsend. Rather than pursuing a degree from a conservatory or college,

Stern chose a less conventional approach to education by moving to California 

and playing informally with a diverse assortment ofmusicians and musical

groups. She also formed Arcangelo, a trio that arranged classical favorites and

performed them on the streets of San Francisco. When the group disbanded,

she returned to the East Coast and accepted the position ofprincipal flutist

with the National Ballet Orchestra, with which she toured extensively. She

has since been principal or solo flutist with many ballet, opera, and symphony

orchestras as well as chamber groups, including the American Chamber

Players, the Emerson String Quartet, and the Eastwind Consort, which

she cofounded. Stem joined the 21st-Century Consort when it was still the

20th-Century Consort, and continues to enjoy premiering many works 

with that ensemble. She has presented solo recitals at Carnegie Recital Hall

and the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater and has performed in many

venues throughout the United States as duo partner with Dotian Levalier,

principal harpist ofthe National Symphony Orchestra.

LISA EMENHEISER

One ofWashington dc’s most recognized performing artists, pianist Lisa

Emenheiser has been acting principal keyboardist and “pops” pianist of

the National Symphony Orchestra for the past twenty years. A graduate of

the Juilliard School of Music, Emenheiser has performed in recital at New

York’s Alice Tully Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, and Carnegie Recital Hall. In

addition to several recitals at the National Gallery, she has appeared at the

Kennedy Center, the National Gallery ofArt, the Phillips Collection, and

the Smithsonian Institution. A favorite soloist with the symphony orchestras of Baltimore, Fairfax, McLean, and Richmond, as well as the Kennedy

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Center Opera House Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, and

Virginia Chamber Orchestra, Emenheiser was one ofthe featured soloists

at the Kennedy Center’s Piano 2000 Festival and its Journey to America 

Festival. A veteran ofmany recording sessions for the Arabesque, aur,

Cascades, Centaur, Delos, Pro Arte, and vai Audio labels, she has appeared

on national television as a performer and commentator in the pbs documentary titled Exploring Your Brain. An avid performer of contemporary

music, she is pianist for the 21st-Century Consort and the Opus 3 Trio. A

committed teacher, Lisa Emenheiser maintains a private studio in her home.

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Program Notes

Among Belgian composers, Joseph Jongen is recognized by students of

twentieth century music as second only to Cesar Franck. Born in Liege,

Jongen showed an early precocity for music, was admitted to the conservatory there at age seven, and began composing at age thirteen. His output

of compositions ranges from solo and chamber works to symphonies and

concertos, including his Symphonic concertante, considered by many to be

the greatest work ever written for organ and orchestra. His eclectic style

is evident in early works that are richly romantic and heavily influenced

by Wagner and Franck. His later compositions contain strong tones of

impressionism and some hints of Stravinsky’s style. The Sonatafor Flute

and Piano, op. 77, cast in the traditional four movements with a slow-fastslow-fast tempo relationship, avoids academic constraints and combines

impressionistic thematic elements with sonata form.

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Paul Schoenfield moves with ease among

jazz and popular styles, vaudeville, and klezmer. He imbues an infectious 

sense of humor, wit, and sparkling energy into all ofhis music. His compositions, like those of George Gershwin to whom he has been compared, are

seamlessly crafted, even when they enter the world of “crossover” art music. 

His knowledge ofmusic history, combined with his grasp on the popular

and folk traditions ofAmerica and those of his Jewish roots, creates a

distinct voice. In his dance suite Four Souvenirs, Schoenfield gives four 

twentieth-century dances the same treatment that Bach would have given to

a gavotte or a minuet, extending and elaborating the form while retaining

the basic gesture. The energetic “Samba” opens the suite, followed by a slow

and sultry “Tango.” Tin Pan Alley is remembered in an eponymous softshoe number, and the raucous “Square Dance” finishes the set. Originally

composed for violin and piano, it was arranged for flute by Stephanie Jutt.

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One ofAmerica’s most frequently performed and recorded contemporary

composers, Lowell Liebermann has been described by the New York Times as

“as much of a traditionalist as an innovator.” Known for its technical sophistication and audience appeal, his music has gained substantial international

recognition, and several works, among them his Sonatafor Flute and Piano,

have become standard repertoire for their instruments. Recorded more than

twenty times to date, the sonata was composed for flutist Paula Robison as a

result of a commission from the Spoleto Festival Chamber Music Series. It

was premiered at the festival in 1988 by Robison and pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet. The following year it was chosen by the National Flute Association as one

ofthe best newly published flute works of1989. Set in two movements, the

sonata begins with a tightly structured Lento that contains much contrasting

material. The second movement, a rondo-like Presto energico, requires the

utmost in virtuosity from both flutist and pianist.

Program notes by Danielle DeSwert Hahn

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Next Week at the National Gallery ofArt

Red Priest

Music by Vivaldi and other composers

Presented in honor of Venice: Canaletto and His Rivals

February 27, 2011

Sunday Evening, 6:30 pm

West Building, West Garden court

Wilhem Latchoumia, pianist

Music by Debussy and other French composers

Presented in honor of Gauguin: Maker ofMyth

March 2, 2011

Wednesday, 12:10 pm

East Building Auditorium