January 13, 2005

Date: January 13, 2005

Time: 4:00 pm

Location: Jerusalem, Israel

The Music of Daniel Asia
Kol Yisrael
(National Radio of Israel)

A broadcast of the CD “Trilogy”
(Brass Quintet, Woodwind Quintet, String Quartet No. 2)
and other recent music

Woodwind Quintet (1998)

commissioned by the Dorian Woodwind Quintet and the National Endowment of the Arts

Brass Quintet (2001)

commissioned by the Fromm Foundation, for the American Brass Quintet

String Quartet (1976)

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Woodwind Quintet (1998)

Scoring

flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, bassoon

Duration 14 Minutes

Movements

1. Lively

2. Moderately

3. Fiery

4. Ruminative

5. Impetuous, darting

6. Fast and mercurial

Recordings

Album Title

Trilogy: Chamber Music of Daniel Asia

Label

Summit Records [product id: DCD385]

Sound Files

Impetuous, darting

Fast and mercurial

Commissioned by

the Dorian Woodwind Quintet and the National Endowment of the Arts

Performances

JANUARY 13, 2005, 4 TO 6 PM
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL
The Music of Daniel Asia
Kol Yisrael
(National Radio of Israel)

A broadcast of the CD “Trilogy”
(Brass Quintet, Woodwind Quintet, String Quartet No. 2)
and other recent music

APRIL 2000
NEW YORK, NY
Dorian Woodwind Quintet
broadcast by WQXR-FM

Kosciusko Foundation
15 East 65th St.
New York, NY

(212) 734-2130

Program Notes

Woodwind Quintet is a set of six short movements. Each is relatively brief and straightforward, and for the most part, presenting one idea and its development.

The first is rather jaunty, its main motive being a quick ascent, a hesitant wavering on a plateau, followed by a quick descent. It is developed with an alteration of meter that groups eighth notes in twos and threes.

The second piece, marked moderately, and inward, is relatively quiescent. Mantra-like, it declaims a gentle melodic phrase over a constantly changing harmonic landscape.

The third movement, marked presto, is all about speed. Daring quicksilver changes occur in all spheres, registral, dynamic, and textural.

The fourth piece is a formed of a long, ruminative, melody repeated a number of times. On each repetition slight embellishments are added, as are additional contrapuntal, or supporting lines.

The fifth movement is the only one that could perhaps be viewed as presenting more than one idea; or maybe they are two halves of one idea. In any event, one is heard as rapid fire single note triplets, followed immediately by a two or three part texture, played in eighth notes. Part of the playfulness of the piece is the seeming opposition of these materials, and their ultimate reconciliation.

The sixth piece is certainly the most difficult and daring. Marked lively, it is a continuous development of a short phrase formed of asymmetrical groups of eighth and sixteenth notes. Each development becomes more elaborate, harmonically and registrally. However, all is brought aright at the end, as what has been a constantly shifting universe is brought to a state of hard-won repose.

This work was commissioned by the Dorian Woodwind Quintet with generous funding provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and Charlene Sampson.

________________________

Brass Quintet (2001)

Duration 18 Minutes

Movements

1. Moderato

2. Tranquil and elegiac

3. Fast and lively

Recording

Album Title

Trilogy: Chamber Music of Daniel Asia

Label

Summit Records [product id: DCD385]

Sound File

Fast and lively

Commissioned by

the Fromm Foundation, for the American Brass Quintet

JANUARY 13, 2005, 4 TO 6 PM
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL
The Music of Daniel Asia
Kol Yisrael
(National Radio of Israel)

A broadcast of the CD “Trilogy”
(Brass Quintet, Woodwind Quintet, String Quartet No. 2)
and other recent music

THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2002
ASPEN, CO
Aspen Music Festival

American Brass Quintet
Harris Concert Hall
Aspen, CO

________________________

String Quartet (1976)

Scoring: violin, viola, cello, piano

Duration 25 Minutes

Movements

1. Tranquillo

2. Adagio/Allegro

3. DancelikeRecording

Album Title - Daniel Asia: Ivory

LabelSummit Records [product id: DCD286]

Sound File

Adagio/Allegro

Commissioned by the Koussevitsky Foundation

Performances

NOVEMBER 1991
INDIANAPOLIS, IN
AMERICAN PREMIERE
Scott Chamber Players
Indianapolis Museum of Art
Indianapolis, IN

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 1989
LONDON, ENGLAND
Domus Piano Quartet
Wigmore Hall
London, England

Program NotesP

iano Quartet is a work in three movements. Each has its own distinct shape, materials, and atmosphere, yet various motives, as well as textural ideas, create interlocking relationships between the movements.The first movement, which is marked “moderately”, is lyrical, yet sedate, and incantatory in mood. Its structure is formed from the simple alternation of two basic materials. The first is improvisatory in character, the second a simple melody that is accompanied by repeated motives and a countermelody. On repetition of these sections the parts are exchanged between the various instruments. A brief coda brings the movement to a close.The second movement develops motivic ideas found in the first and the last movements, and presents and develops its own range of new materials. By its placement, duration (it is the longest of the three movements), and range of materials, it is the centerpiece of the work. Tempi range from slow to very quick. Whereas in the outer movements the full ensemble is frequently heard in unified textures, here the strings and piano are often presented as antagonists in the musical drama. Only in climactic sections is a unity of statement and resolution expressed by all instruments joining in the same gestures.The third movement is almost a dance in quick tempo. One hears the presence of verse and refrain structure, with the melody emanating from the viola. Eighth-notes are almost always present, and the sound is bright. The work is brought to a close with the motive that has appeared in various guises in all of the movements.

Reviews

J. SUTHERLAND, THE SEATTLE TIMES
The three-movement piece is a wonder of textures, mixing fingered and open-string timbres with extensive use of string harmonics.

P. KIRALY, SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
It’s a beautifully constructed, substantive work with supported lyrical melodies wrapped in light, airy fragments.

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