Christopher Stanichar (born 1969)

• Stanichar was born in Manassas, Virginia and grew up in the state of Washington. He attended Central Washington University where he studied music and French, and he also had the opportunity to study in Europe on a Fulbright Scholarship.
• He began studying piano at age 5 by taking lessons from his mother. His father, a violinist, insisted that he should know something about string instruments, so Stanichar began playing the viola in high school.
• Already at the age of 8, Stanichar knew that he wanted to be a composer. The John Williams soundtrack to Star Wars inspired him to pursue composing, and he started composing little waltzes and simple pieces while still in elementary school.
• Stanichar studied composition in college and played viola in orchestra. Learning these skills, he liked the idea of many people playing music together, influencing him to also become a conductor.

Sunflowers

• This piece is a tone poem composed in variation form. It was first performed in 2003 by the Omaha Municipal Orchestra.
• Stanichar composed Sunflowers after experiencing a personal tragedy, the main melody coming to him in a dream and sounding like a message saying, "Everything is going to get better."
• One September evening, while riding his bike along Keystone Trail in Omaha, Stanichar noticed the beauty of the wild sunflowers growing along the trail, reminding him how the beautiful things in life are simple and unplanned.
• The gentle motion of the music reflects the sunflowers along the path, rippling in the breeze, reminding Stanichar that "everything is going to get better."
  

  Excerpt from Sunflowers

Uriel Tsachor (born 1958) -- Guest Artist

• Uriel Tsachor was born in India while his parents worked for the Israeli government, then moved to Tel Aviv, Israel where he grew up and went to school.
• Tsachor started playing piano at age 7, first on his own by imitating tunes that his older brother was playing, and then his parents enrolled him at the local conservatory.
• At age 16, Tsachor made the decision to become a concert pianist, something he has never regretted. Currently he is a professor of piano at the University of Iowa.
• Tsachor has other varied hobbies, including photography, electronics, and building gadgets with old vacuum tubes. He even built his own stereo system from scratch.

Frederic Chopin (1810-1849)

• He was born near Warsaw, Poland to a French father and Polish mother. Chopin was the only boy in the famiy, and he had three sisters.
  
• All of Chopin's family was musical; his father played the flute and the violin, and his mother played the piano and gave piano lessons.
  
• Chopin's musical talent was obvious at an early age, and it was compared to the childhood genius of Mozart. By the age of 7, Chopin had already composed two polonaises for the piano.
  
• While in school Chopin developed a deep interest in the folk music of Poland, which influenced his later piano compositions such as mazurkas and polonaises.
  
• Chopin moved to Paris, France in 1831 and remained there for the rest of his life. In Paris he formed friendships with important composers of the Romantic era like Hector Berlioz, Franz Liszt, and Felix Mendelssohn.
• Although Chopin was considered one of the greatest pianists of his time, he disliked performing for large audiences and preferred to play for small groups of friends. He performed in only 30-40 concerts in his lifetime.
  
  

Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Minor

• Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1 was composed in 1830 with its first performance on October 11 of that year during one of his "farewell" concerts before leaving Poland.
  
• Though Chopin's Concerto No. 1 was published first, he actually composed it immediately after he had written what later because known as his Concerto No. 2.
• Typical of a majority of instrumental concertos, Chopin followed the model of a three-movement work with the tempo pattern of fast movement - slow movement - fast movement.
  • The first movement comes to life with the entrance of the piano following the lengthy introduction by the orchestra.

  Excerpt from Piano Concerto No. 1, Movement 1

  • Movement two features muted strings and is one of Chopin's early nocturnes, creating a peaceful and tranquil mood without any dramatic outbursts.

  Excerpt from Piano Concerto No. 1, Movement 2

  • The third movement is a lively dance, full of robust rhythms and spirited exchanges between the pianist and the orchestra.

Excerpt from Piano Concerto No. 1, Movement 3

Alexander Borodin (1833-1887)

• As a boy in Saint Petersburg, Russia, he received an excellent education, including piano lessons and later cello lessons as well.
  
• Borodin went on to earn a doctorate in medicine and made his living as a chemist, gaining respect for his research and his publications.
  
• In 1862 Borodin began taking lessons in composition from the great Russian pianist and composer, Mily Balakariev, while serving as professor of chemistry at the Academy of Medicine.
  
• Borodin worked hard at composing music but it wasn't his main occupation; for Borodin, music was a secondary avocation outside of his work as a chemist.
  
• Borodin was a member of "The Mighty Handful," a group of five Russian composers who championed nationalism in their music.

Symphony No. 2 in B Minor

• Borodin began composing his second symphony in 1869 and didn't finish the piano score until 1875.
  
• The first performance of the work was in 1877, though because it was not well received, Borodin revised the symphony in 1879.
  
• The first movement opens with a strong, noble theme played on unison strings with dark color added by the brass and woodwinds. This has been said to represent the assembly of Russian knights and the preparation for war.

  Excerpt from Symphony No. 2, Movement 1

• The second movement is a scherzo that begins with quick, bright melodies, suggesting knights on horseback in a headlong chase or full gallop.

  Excerpt from Symphony No. 2, Movement 2

• Movement three is labeled Andante, and in the opening measures it evokes the sound of a legendary minstrel named Bayan playing zither, represented by the harp.

  Excerpt from Symphony No. 2, Movement 3

• The fourth movement begins jubilantly with a celebrative main theme decorated with lots of percussion, signifying the knights' feast of celebration.

Excerpt from Symphony No. 2, Movement 4