New Odyssey 3 explores beautiful compositions for flute, cello and piano featuring works by Weber, Gaubert and Gardel. Romantic writing at its best, from the dawn of the Romantic period to the 20th century. Celestial Sounds, As Europe Goes Romantic!
The programme opens with a trio by German composer Carl Maria von Weber, one of the first composers of the Romantic school. Written in 1819 while Weber was serving as music director in Dresden, the Op. 63 Trio is in four movements. The opening Allegro Moderato is melancholic and contemplative in character, and is followed by a short and march-like Scherzo. The third movement, The Shepherd’s Lament is evocative of a pastoral scene, while the closing Allegro displays Weber’s gift for melody and invention.
One of the most prominent French musicians between the two World Wars was composer, conductor and flutist Philippe Gaubert. Closely associated with the Conservatoire de Paris. As one might expect, Gaubert wrote many works for flute, solo and chamber, one of them being Trois Aquarelles (Three Watercolours) in which Gaubert tried to translate into sound the visual effect of watercolour technique. Written in 1915, this evocative composition is in three movements. In the first movement, the flute opens with a spirited wakeup call, while the arpeggios in the piano part might suggest the rays of the morning sun. The second movement has a subdued quality while the last movement is in a Spanish style with imitations of the sounds of castanets.
Carlos Gardel moved to Argentina where he remained for most of his life. Por una Cabeza is a tango song with music and lyrics written in 1935 by Carlos Gardel and Alfredo la Pera respectively. The name is a spanish horse-racing phrase meaning “by a head”, which refers to a horse winning a race by the length of one head. The lyrics speak of a compulsive horse track gambler who compares his addictionfor horses with his attraction to women.
Born in Calgary, German-Canadian pianist Julia Haager was a student of the late Janice Waite in the MRU’s Academy Program. She later studied at the Conservatorium Maastricht (Netherlands) with Avi Schönfeld and the Cleveland Institute of Music with Antonio Pompa-Baldi and Sergei Babayan, is a recipient of the CBC Rising Stars Galaxy Award, Louise McKinney and RBC Youth Excellence scholarships, and has performed in Europe, the US, and throughout Western Canada. Ms. Haager is a member of the Calgary-based Duo Polaris, together with her husband Kirill Kalmykov, is much in demand as a free-lance pianist, and on the Piano and Accompanying faculty at the Mount Royal University Conservatory. Ms. Haager is grateful to the Alberta Foundation for the Arts for its generous support of her career.
A former member of Symphony Nova Scotia, Lucie Jones is principal flute with the Red Deer Symphony Orchestra, an extra player with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and a regular solo and chamber performer. Lucie was a winner of the 2008 and 2010 National Flute Association International Performer’s Competitions and the University of Calgary Concerto Competition in 2005/06 for which she performed as soloist with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. Ms. Jones is on faculty at MRU Conservatory where she runs a flute studio and directs the Mount Royal Chamber Flutes. Lucie is the President of Calgary Pro Musica, an active clinician and adjudicator. During her hiatus from music, Lucie received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Science and worked as a Software Developer.
Born in St. Petersburg, Russian-Canadian cellist Kirill Kalmykov was trained in Russia, the United States and Canada and has appeared in concerts throughout the former USSR, Europe, Latin America, Canada and the United States. Mr. Kalmykov has worked with renowned musicians such as Colin Carr, Henk Guittart, Rudolf Jansen, Anton Kuerti, Menahem Pressler, Jean-Paul Sevilla and Olivier Thouin, has been featured on CBC Radio and performed at music festivals in Davos, Beauvais and Calgary. A former cellist with the Calgary Philharmonic, he now teaches cello and chamber music at the Mount Royal University Conservatory and performs with his wife Julia Haager in Calgary-based Duo Polaris. Kirill Kalmykov is grateful to the Alberta Foundation for the Arts for its generous support of his career.
