UW Symphony with Concerto, Composition Competition Winners

David Alexander Rahbee conducts the University of Washington Symphony and winners of the UW Concerto Competition—Kai-En Cheng, violin; Rachel Reyes, flute; and Ella Kalinichenko, piano—in a program including winning concerto excerpts, a UW student composition by graduate student Yonatan Ron, Silvestre Revueltas's Sensemayá, and Overture to Le roi d'Ys, by Éduard Lalo.   

Program

Flute Concerto, op. 30a: Hisatada Otaka (1911-1951)
Allegro con spirito–Lento–Molto vivace
Rachel Reyes, flute

What Stood Still Goes Down Hill: Yonatan Ron (b. 1992)
Ryan Farris, conductor

The Butterfly Lovers’ Violin Concerto (abridged): Chen Gang (b. 1935) & He Zhanhao (b. 1933) 
Kai-En Cheng, violin

-Intermission-

Ella Kalinichenko, piano

 Ryan Farris, conductor

Program Notes

Hisatada Otaka (1911-1951) was a highly respected Japanese conductor and composer credited with composing the first Japanese flute concerto and cello concerto. Otaka spent his early years  studying composition, conducting, and piano between Vienna and Japan then officially returned to conduct the Japan Symphony Orchestra in 1940. From his long lasting personal relationships with excellent flutists, he developed an affinity for the flute and saw his Concerto for Flute and Orchestra, Op. 30b (1948/51) as inevitable. Otaka’s works blend German Romanticism and Japanese aesthetics. The lively first movement of the concerto explores the “beauty of sound structure” and begins with an improvisatory theme that diverges into impressive virtuosity. The lyrical second movement contemplates a “nostalgia for nature” and the energetic final movement boasts a “natural flow of sounds and lets every consecutively emerging sound presage the next element of the flow.” After Otaka’s sudden passing in 1951, his student Hikaru Hayashi completed orchestrating the final movement. Hayashi also consulted flutist Masao Yoshida who premiered the work for revisions to the flute solo part. The piano reduction is arranged by his son, Atsutada Otaka.
–Rachel Reyes

What Stood Still Goes Down Hill is a reflection on an experience I often had during my youth – where I would quietly practice scales in my room on a poor-sounding, cheap classical guitar, while noises from the rest of the house would intervene and blend with it. These external sounds came from various sources, ranging from the music-records my father would change compulsively in the neighboring room, through early 2000s TV shows my mom would watch in the living room, to the Videogame-sounds that popped out from my older brother’s room next door. As the piece unfolds, what initially presented itself as familiar, gradually becomes more difficult to recognize and distinguish as an independent sound unit — given that it fuses and blends with the surrounding sounds, as if melting into the ever-transforming textural masses carried by the rest of the orchestra. The piece involves immediate imitations of rapidly cascading passages among the strings, where descending scales are set to play a 1/3, 1/5 or 1/7 of a second apart, making it difficult to grasp the independence of each individual desk, resulting in a perplexing effect.
–Yonatan Ron

The Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto, composed in 1959 by Chen Gang and He Zhanhao at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, merges traditional Chinese melodies with Western orchestration. Inspired by the legendary tale of doomed lovers transformed into butterflies, this piece is renowned for its emotional depth, conveyed through the violin's portrayal of the main characters, Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai. This concerto is a masterpiece of cultural fusion, incorporating pentatonic scales and imitating Chinese folk instruments within a Western symphonic framework. It follows a single movement divided into sections that reflect the narrative's emotional spectrum, from joy to despair, culminating in a poignant finale. The Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto has achieved global acclaim, becoming a symbol of East-West musical integration and a beloved piece in the violin repertoire for its storytelling prowess and innovative composition.
– Kai-En Cheng

Beethoven began contemplating ideas for the Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor as early as 1796, but he only began the composition process in earnest during autumn of 1799. By April 2, 1800, the first movement had essentially reached completion, yet the rest of the concerto movements would not be completed until 1803! Despite the prolonged compositional process, Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 exhibits a remarkably cohesive vocabulary and a tightly structured form. The first movement, marked "Allegro con brio" (fast with spirit), introduces the pervasive influence of C minor, a key Beethoven associated with pathos and a sense of dramatic, even desperate, struggle. The orchestral introduction begins gently, yet swiftly transitions into a powerful contrast with a second theme: a melodious tune in the relative major key. Once the stage is set, the soloist enters with impetuous scales that introduce the statement of the main theme. From here the music goes on a journey of main themes adorned with virtuosic flourishes, and captivating exchanges between soloist and orchestra. After the first orchestral tutti, the main theme is reintroduced in the sunny key of D major. However, this doesn't last for long as the music quickly drives towards the commanding C minor entrance of the cadenza. The cadenza further expands the dramatic character of the concerto with powerful octaves and exhilarating arpeggio runs, highlighting Beethoven’s virtuosic nature. Following the customary trills concluding the cadenza, the orchestra re-enters and, together with the pianist, drives the first movement to a powerful end!
–Ella Kalinichenko

Inspired by a 1934 poem by the Cuban poet Nicolás Guillén, Sensemayá is perhaps the most famous work by Mexican composer Silvestre Revueltas. The full title of Guillén’s poem translates to “Chant for Killing a Snake” and depicts a folkloric Afro-Cuban ritual of killing and sacrificing a snake with glass-like eyes. The essence of the poem, which pits life against death, and the snake against its executioners, is ideally captured by Revueltas, particularly in the version for full orchestra premiered by the composer at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City on Dec. 15, 1938. “The obsessive rhythms [the work is in 7/8 and occasionally 7/16 time], the slithering, pictorial wind writing, and the threatening brass all combine to create a raw evocation of the ceremony,” wrote one critic, “comparable to what Stravinsky did for pagan Russia in The Rite of Spring.”
-Ryan Farris 

Édouard-Victoire-Antoine Lalo completed his education at the Paris Conservatoire before working as a violinist, teacher, and later composer. In 1865 he married contralto Julie Besnier de Maligny, who encouraged his interest in opera and inspired him to write Le roi d’Ys. The plot revolves around the King of Y’s, an ancient mythical city submerged off the coast of Brittany. The overture was completed in 1888. The opening statement revolves around a regal theme, painting a picture of the grand hall of the submerged palace. Several themes from the opera are heard, featuring woodwind solos, brass fanfares, an extended cello solo, all suggesting the emotions of love, longing, betrayal, and fate that all unfold during the opera. The music then builds in intensity with renewed vigor, creating a sense of drama and anticipation, bringing the work to a rousing conclusion.
-Mica Weiland

 Biographies

Rachel Reyes is a performer and teacher from Snohomish, WA. Recently, Reyes won the 2024 UW Concerto Competition and 2023 National Flute Association (NFA) Masterclass Competition. She performed at the NFA convention in Phoenix, AZ and was a fellow at the 2023 Imani Winds Chamber Music Festival. Other winnings include the 2023 Jacqueline Avent Concerto Competition, 2022 Arizona Flute Society (AFS) Graduate Competition, and 2021 AFS Collegiate Competition. She serves as a Teaching Assistant and studies with Donna Shin in pursuit of a DMA at the University of Washington (UW). She currently performs with the UW Symphony Orchestra and Modern Music Ensemble. Rachel received her MM from Arizona State University (ASU) where she studied with Dr. Elizabeth Buck. At ASU, Reyes performed with the Symphony Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, Studio Orchestra, and 5quint Wind Quintet. She also completed her undergraduate studies at UW. In addition to national performances, Reyes has performed in the Philippines and in China. In 2019, she went on a performance tour and taught in China with the UW Wind Ensemble. She has spent summers at the Sewanee Summer Music Festival, Brevard Summer Music Institute, and ARIA International Summer Academy.

Born in Montclair, NJ, (1992) and raised in Israel, Yonatan Ron began his musical journey at age 10, learning classical guitar and music theory. He studied independently under composer and guitarist Ruben Seroussi, head of the composition department and Guitar performance at Tel-Aviv University. Ron participated in the CEME festival held by ‘Meitar Ensemble’, hosting figures such as G.F Haas & Philippe Leroux, among others. He was among the first young composers accepted into Meitar Ensemble’s “Tedarim program” from 2015 to 2016. Ron obtained his B.A. in 2021 from The Koninklijk Conservatorium, The Hague, NL. Currently pursuing his M.M. in Composition at The University of Washington under the guidance of Prof. Huck Hodge and Prof. Yigit Kolat. Ron’s works are published in the ‘Israeli Composers League’ and are frequently commissioned by The Israeli Music Festiva. Yonatan received several awards, including: ‘CCC’ (Calefax Composition Contest) 1st Prize award - 2018. The ‘The Israeli Prime Minister Award for Music Composition’ - 2019. The ‘Abraham and Felicija Klohn Prize’ - 2019, and the ‘Siday Fellowship for Musical Creativity’ in 2018 and 2019. Ron’s music involves seemingly ordinary materials that follow gradational transformations, often until a point of unrecognizability. He employs techniques associated with early music, and is inspired by fields ranging from painting, through meteorology, to mathematics and psychology.

Kai-En Cheng is a senior pursuing a double major in Economics and Political Economics, with a minor in Data Science. Born into a family deeply immersed in music—his mother a pianist and his brother, I-Hao Cheng, a violinist studying at the Curtis Institute of Music, Kai-En's passion for music was nurtured from a very young age. He spent the majority of his elementary years under the guidance of Prof. Mikhail Kopelman at Eastman, a crucial period in his early development as a violinist. Upon returning to Taiwan after his elementary education, Kai-En made his mark in the competitive scene, securing numerous awards in both municipal and national violin competitions, a testament to his skill and dedication. Currently, he is a student of Prof. Ronald Patterson. Kai-En's journey showcases not only his exceptional musical talent but also his strong academic aspirations. After graduation, he plans to pursue a master’s degree in Data Science, while continuing to advance his violin studies.

Ella Kalinichenko is a rising pianist from the state of Washington, whose musical journey is defined by dedication, talent, and a deep-seated love for the art of music. Ella earned her Bachelor's degree in Piano Performance from Pacific Lutheran University, guided by Dr. Oksana Ejokina, and is now pursuing her Masters at the University of Washington under the tutelage of Dr. Christina Valdes. In addition to performing solo, Ella discovered a passion for collaborative piano, becoming a trusted collaborator among her peers. Regularly assisting fellow students in audition preparations and recitals, she has also plugged herself to school and community choirs, contributing to the local musical landscape. Within her local church, Ella assumes a vital role in the school of music offering her skills as an accompanist for choirs and soloists. Her commitment to fostering musical unity and inspiration has made her an integral part of the congregation. Ella’s outstanding performances, whether solo or as collaborative pianist, have been raved about by faculty, students, donors, and community members. Ella has had multiple opportunities to perform as a soloist with orchestra as well as participate in masterclasses throughout Washington and Oregon. Beyond academic pursuits, Ella's recent professional engagements include performing in Benaroya Hall in Seattle, working with Tacoma Symphony, taking part in the music organizations of many local festivals and conferences, and teaching piano privately from her music studio at home.