University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Published: August 28, 2003

By SUE WUETCHER
Reporter Editor

Swedish music and musicians will be in the spotlight at UB on Sept. 24 as the Swedish chamber orchestra Musica Vitae, composer Thomas Liljeholm and guest pianist Per Tengstrand, take to the Slee Hall stage.

The Department of Music's concert schedule for September also includes faculty recitals by pianist Stephen Manes on Sept. 6 and percussionist Anthony Miranda on Sept. 12, and a program by the Slee Sinfonietta, UB's professional chamber orchestra-in-residence, on Sept. 16.

BJÖRN ARNHOLDT-OLSSON

A performance at 8 p.m. tomorrow in Slee by organist Roland E. Martin, who will be joined by a string quintet for a program of concertos for organ, will open the 2003-04 Department of Music concert season. See http://www.slee.buffalo.edu for details.

Dubbed by many music experts as one of Sweden's finest string chamber orchestras, Musica Vitae is firmly rooted in the classical string tradition and has a wide repertoire ranging from baroque, Vienna classical and romantic music to contemporary experimental music. Led by conductor Petter Sundqvist, the ensemble will perform at 8 p.m. on Sept. 24 in Slee.

A pre-concert talk at 7:15 p.m. will feature Sundqvist and Liljeholm, whose work "Tetrachordon for 15 solostrakar" is included in the concert program. Tengstrand, who played to a packed Slee Hall two seasons ago, will perform Chopin's "Piano Concerto in E minor" with the orchestra.

Musica Vitae works hard to promote Swedish music, giving many performances of commissions by Swedish composers, and each year inviting composition students attending the country's major university colleges of music to write music directly for Musica Vitae.

Working with artists representing other art forms—dance and light design, for example—they have expanded considerably the artistic domains of a classical chamber ensemble. In 1995, the orchestra was awarded the music prize Spelmannen (The Fiddler) by one of Sweden's largest evening papers.

Music department Chair Stephen Manes, who twice has presented the complete cycle of Beethoven piano sonatas in a series of eight recitals at UB, will revisit the composer's final three sonatas during his recital at 8 p.m. Sept. 6 in Slee.

Manes will perform "Sonata No. 30 in E Major, Op. 109;" "Sonata No. 31 in A-flat Major, Op. 110," and "Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111."

Equally distinguished for his formidable technique and interpretive refinement, Manes has appeared with orchestras across the country under such renowned conductors as Michael Tilson Thomas, Neville Marriner, Arthur Fiedler, Semyon Bychkov and Alan Heatherington, as well as performing in many major European cities. His affinity for chamber music has led to performances with leading string quartets, such as Cleveland and Kronos, and at major music festivals, among them Marlboro and Chautauqua.

He also is a member of the Baird Trio—UB artists-in-residence—along with violinist Movses Pogossian and cellist Jonathan Golove, and serves on the faculty of the Chamber Music Conference and Composers Forum of the East, held each summer on the campus of Bennington College. In addition, he is resident pianist at the Sebago-Long Lake Region Chamber Music Festival in Maine.

He also performs regularly with his wife, pianist Frieda Manes, in programs of four-hand and two-piano music, and has recorded the complete piano, four-hand music of Beethoven for Spectrum Records.

Percussionist Anthony Miranda, an associate professor in the UB Department of Music, is recognized as one of America's foremost exponents of the drum set as a multiple percussion solo instrument. He will perform a world premiere program of entirely self-composed pieces at 8 p.m. Sept. 12 in Slee that, he says "expand the possibilities of percussion literature and push the boundaries of instrumental and rhythmic expression."

The UB Percussion Ensemble, the student group that Miranda directs and coordinates, will assist him in this program.

The 1998 International Percussionist of the Year, Miranda has enjoyed a variety of professional opportunities. He has performed concerts with Madonna, Johnny Mathis and Tom Jones, as well as theatre productions with Yul Brenner ("The King and I") and Robert Goulet ('The Man of La Mancha"). His active recording career includes appearances in hundreds of films, albums, TV shows and commercials, as well as live performances, tours, studio recordings and master classes.

In addition to his busy life outside the university, Miranda is an active member of the Slee Sinfonietta, where he holds the position of principal percussionist.

The Slee Sinfonietta will perform a program at 8 p.m. on Sept. 16 in Slee that is comprised of pieces that are entirely 20th century and beyond, including a new work by the ensemble's conductor, Magnus Mårtensson, entitled "Kvasir for Strings." Joining the Sinfonietta and performing Perderecki's 'Viola Concerto" of 1983 will be guest violist Björn Arnholdt-Olsson. Also slated for the concert is a performance of the string orchestra version of Arnold Schöenberg's classic "Verklärte Nacht."

The Slee Sinfonietta was formed in 1997 by Mårtensson and composer David Felder. As the professional chamber orchestra in residence at UB, it performs a series of concerts each year devoted to lesser-known repertoire, particularly that of the pre-classic era and recent contemporary music.

Tickets for the Manes and Miranda concerts are $5; UB students showing a valid ID are admitted free of charge. Tickets for Music Vitae and the Slee Sinfonietta are $12 for the general public; $9 for UB faculty, staff and alumni, senior citizens and WNED members with card, and $5 for students.

Tickets to all concerts may be obtained at the Slee Hall box office from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, at the UB Center for the Arts box office from noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and at all Ticketmaster outlets. Tickets also may be obtained on the Internet at Ticketmaster.com.

For updated Department of Music concert information, visit the Slee Hall Web site at http://www.slee.buffalo.edu.