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Three Etudes
My Three Etudes are "concert" etudes modeled somewhat in the tradition of the genre established by Chopin, Debussy, and more recently, Ligeti. The first is an abstraction based on corrente ("current," that is, flowing). The second is somewhat folk-like in places, although there are no actual quotations of folk music. The almost constant sound of fifths was inspired by the timbre of the organ stop quintadena, which has a very prominent twelfth above the fundamental. This organ stop seemed intriguing and appropriate to me in this context since the clarinet also has this prominent third partial that defines its distinctive timbre. The last etude is an obsession comprised of a few short motives that suggest a jazz improvisation.
Program Notes by: Robert Gibson
Composer...
Robert Gibson
Robert Gibson's compositions have been performed throughout the United States and
in Europe, China, and South America. His music has also been presented on National Public Radio and by noted performers and ensembles, including
bassists Bertram Turetzky and David Walter, clarinetist Esther Lamneck, the Clarion Wind Quintet, Prism Brass Quintet, the Contemporary Music
Forum, the 21st Century Consort, the Meridian String Quartet, The National Symphony Bass Quartet, and the Stern/Andrist Duo.
Since 1985 he has worked with computer music systems, and his electronic works have been performed at national and international conferences and festivals, including The Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States national conferences and the Sonic Circuits Electronic Music Festival. As a jazz bassist he has appeared leading his own groups and, during the early 80s, as a sideman with internationally recognized artists including Mose Allison, Bob Berg, Marc Copland, Tom Harrell, Eddie Harris, and Barney Kessel.
Chamber Music (1996), a Capstone compact disc of chamber works, appears on Fanfare magazine's Want List as a notable recording of the year. Dr. Gibson is professor of music at the University of Maryland, College Park.
Performers...
Nathan Williams & Audrey Andrist
Clarinetist Nathan Williams is an internationally celebrated soloist and chamber musician. He
has been hailed by critics as "outstanding for his musicality, breath control, robust, and brilliant tone, and flawless technique" (El Nuevo Dia Domingo, San
Juan), "a highly effective soloist" (The New York Times), and "a stellar musician, capable of the most exquisite and expressive playing" (The Winston-Salem
Journal). He has given recitals and chamber music performances at Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Hall, and Kaufmann Hall at the 92nd St. Y, as well as throughout
the United States, and in Austria, Canada, China, Hungary, Germany, the Netherlands, Taiwan, Japan, and the Czech Republic.
His enthusiasm for new music has led to several commissioned works, and world premiere recordings and performances for Albany Records, CBC Radio, National Public Radio, Composers Recordings, Inc., Naxos, Arizona University Recordings, the New York Guild of Composers, the Austrian Composers Foundation, the Focus! Festival at New York's Lincoln Center, and San Francisco's Composers, Inc. He earned the Artist's Diploma from the Academy of Music and Fine Arts in Vienna, Austria, and graduate degress from Eastman (MM) and Juilliard (DMA). Since 2001, he has been the Instructor of Clarinet at the Interlochen Arts Academy.
Canadian pianist Audrey Andrist has performed throughout North America and in Europe and Asia. A graduate of the Juilliard School's doctoral program, she is the first prize winner of numerous competitions, including the San Antonio International, Eckhardt-Gramatté, and Juilliard Concerto Competition. She has appeared as soloist with the National Arts Center and CBC Orchestras in Canada, and has performed on some of America's most prestigious recital series, including the People's Symphony Concerts in New York, the Ravinia Festival in Chicago, and the Discovery Series in La Jolla.
She is a member of the Stern/Andrist Duo with her husband, violinist James Stern, and Strata, a trio with Stern and clarinetist Nathan Williams. She has recorded for Albany, Summit, CRI, AUR and Capstone, and for national CBC radio and television. Her recent CD with Canadian violinist Jasper Wood has earned Classical Album of the Year awards from two Canadian organizations. Ms. Andrist currently resides in the Washington, DC, area with her husband and their son, Kenneth. In Washington, she has performed with the Theater Chamber Players, Kennedy Center Chamber Players, 21st Century Consort, and the Left Bank Concert Society.