DANIELLE DESWERT HAHN: Hello,
everyone.
I'm Danielle DeSwert Hahn.
I'm the head of music programs
at the National Gallery.
I am here today to tell you all
about the music department
at the National Gallery of Art.
And if you came hoping
for a little musical
performance, well, today is
your lucky day, because I'm
really not a lecturer,
I'm a performer.
So the concerts at the National
Gallery started almost
from the very beginning.
It's the very first
public program that happened
at the Gallery.
The Gallery opened its doors
in March of 1941.
You may know that we recently
celebrated our 75th anniversary,
and around that time,
David Finley,
the original director
of the Gallery,
noticed that at the National
Gallery in London Dame
Myra Hess, who was
a renowned pianist,
classical pianist,
had started a series
of public concerts
at the National Gallery
in London
while their collection was
off the walls during the war
and during the blitz.
And she felt that there needed
to be a place for people to come
and experience culture
in a time and a place like that.
So that's what she did.
And David Finley modeled
our first concerts after that.
And I actually have here
from the archives
of the National Gallery
the very first press release
for the very, very first
concert.
Through the generosity of Mrs.
Matthew John Whittall,
the National Gallery of Art
will present in the lecture hall
on the ground floor--
this is before this building
existed--
a concert by the Budapest String
Quartet at 3:30
PM on Sunday, May 31, 1942.
This concert has been planned
for men in the service
and their friends.
The program will last
approximately one hour.
The selections to be played
have been popular
on other programs
given by this internationally
famous quartet.
Servicemen attending
this concert
are urged to be prompt,
since the doors of the lecture
hall
will be closed as soon
as the concert begins.
Members of the public
will be permitted to take
all unoccupied seats
after the performance
of the first number.
So the concerts were begun
for service men who were
stationed in Washington.
And shortly after David Finley
started doing these concerts,
he felt that with all
of his other activities
as the director of the museum
that he really couldn't continue
to plan concerts.
So I have another article here.
He found a young man by the name
of Richard Bales.
And Richard Bales
was a conductor and a composer.
And he was actually
a colleague-- or a classmate,
really--
of Leonard Bernstein
at Tanglewood in the summer
of 1941.
And so around that time,
David Finley asked Richard Bales
to come and be the director
of music here at the Gallery.
And so I have here a New York
Times article on the eve
of Richard Bales' retirement
in 1984, 42 years later.
"It was the early summer
of 1943, and the nation was
at war.
As men and women in uniform
scrambled for seats
in the serenely beautiful East
Garden Court
of the National Gallery of Art,
28-year-old Richard Bales raised
his baton, and a Washington
institution was born.
The uniforms have long since
been packed away,
but Sunday night
another audience will be on hand
in the East Garden Court
when 69-year-old Richard Bales
begins his 42nd year as maestro
of the Gallery's free Sunday
evening concerts.
I guess I'm like the man who
came to dinner, Mr. Bales said
recently, as he sat
near the fountain
in the palm-studded East Garden
Court.
The idea was that when the war
was over, the music would stop.
But it's just gone on and on.
I'm the luckiest man alive."
So for 42 years, Richard Bales
programmed a 10-month series
of concerts.
And the first concert
of every month was an orchestra
concert.
And the orchestra was usually
comprised of what would become
the National Symphony Orchestra.
But now I'm going to take
a little break
for a musical interlude,
because Bales was,
as I mentioned, a friend
of Leonard Bernstein.
And over the next two years,
they're going to be
in an international celebration
of Bernstein's centennial.
So I thought that my colleague
and friend over here, Ben
Wensel, and I
would give you a little bit
of Bernstein.
This is the first meditation
from Bernstein's Mass.
[MUSIC - LEONARD BERSTEIN,
"MASS"]
AUDIENCE: [APPLAUDING]
DANIELLE DESWERT HAHN:
So Richard Bales began
an American music festival here
which was something that was
continued annually.
In the last couple of years,
we haven't done it so much
anymore because American music
has really become part
of our regular repertoire here,
I guess.
We don't really need to focus so
much on it.
But at the time, 75 years ago,
it was really rare for there
to be a lot of American music
performed.
Richard Bales had
the opportunity to premier
Charles Ives' first symphony
here in 1953.
There was really quite
a long tradition of bringing
American music,
lots of commissions,
lots of world premiers.
And Bales himself composed music
as well.
He was a revolutionary war
aficionado.
So he wrote cantatas.
And those were performed
frequently.
This is Richard Bales conducting
for an opening of an exhibition.
And that's actually
in a gallery.
So the Sunday concerts,
by and large, they used to take
place in the East Garden Court
and the West Garden Court.
As many of you may know,
we occasionally present in here.
When Richard Bales retired
after 42 years, the next person
who was appointed
by then director Carter Brown
was George Manos.
George Manos was
similar to his predecessor,
a conductor, a composer,
and a very well-known pianist
around the area.
He had been the President's
pianist.
He wrote a book, My Term
with Truman
and My Life in Music,
in which there was a chapter
about his work
here at the Gallery.
George Manos expanded a lot
of programming here.
He formed resident ensembles,
including a Gallery string
quartet, a Gallery
vocal ensemble.
And that gave them
the opportunity to produce more
things that were
unique to the Gallery.
Occasionally, there would be
things in honor of exhibitions.
But by and large, it was a very
traditional classical concert
series.
They took place at 7 o'clock
on Sunday evenings.
And George Manos was here
until 2004.
During that time, George Manos
also brought jazz
to the Gallery.
So he started to incorporate
jazz programming, largely
in the American music festivals,
but also a lot of times
at the holidays.
This is the McCoy Tyner Trio.
And you may recognize Stephen
Ackert, who was the person who
took over after George Manos
retired in 2004.
Stephen, unlike Mr. Manos
and Mr. Bales,
was not a conductor
and a composer.
And during Stephen's tenure here
as head of the department,
he really shifted a lot of what
happened in the concerts
at the Gallery.
While we still have the National
Gallery of Art Orchestra,
we always had to have
a guest conductor.
As Mr. Manos mentioned
in his chapter on his book here,
the price of a union orchestra
about quadrupled in the 20 years
that he was in charge
of the orchestra.
So during the '90s
and the early 2000s,
the orchestra would be presented
about four times
a season, and always
with a guest conductor.
Stephen kept up some
of the traditions that had
previously been done here,
like the traditional Viennese
New Year concert But he really
brought in a lot more
programming
that tied in with what else
was going on around the Gallery.
He organized a lot more concerts
in honor of exhibitions.
He began midweek concert series,
which was a great way
to be able to have staff who's
not usually here on Sunday,
so their staff would come
to the concerts.
People are on the Mall.
Stephen started collaborating
a lot more
with other organizations
around town, with embassies,
and a lot more
with the Gallery's
educational programs.
So that was really something
that expanded the programming
here during Stephen's period.
Actually, this was
during the period
in between when George Manos
left and Stephen took over--
the 2,500th concert took place
at the National Gallery of Art.
So that was in 2004.
Stephen stayed at the Gallery
until 2014, which also happened
to be the year that Richard
Bales would have turned 100.
So one of the last concerts
that Stephen programmed here
was a concert in honor
of Richard Bales, where we
brought in an orchestra
and a choir
to perform Bale's cantatas,
"The Union and the Confederacy."
And they were performed
by the orchestra.
The new mission of the music
department here is to serve
the Gallery's mission
by presenting
innovative and diverse
public performances that build
community,
and also maintaining
the standard of excellence
upon which the Gallery is
founded.
So while we still have a very
high level of standards
of the performances that take
place here, there is more
to the story now.
We're telling other people's
stories.
We're telling the stories
of people who weren't around
75 years ago.
We have a new community.
We no longer have servicemen
in uniform.
But we have a completely
different community who we
serve.
And we're right here
on the Mall.
And all of our programs
are free.
And we want to represent a lot
of different voices
and a lot of different styles.
And we want to bring a lot
of people here
to help them foster
understanding of the art
through public performances.
So now I'm going to move
into the next portion, which is
a sneak preview
of our 2017-'18 season here
of concerts.
Our very first opening concert
of the season--
I'm going to introduce my friend
and colleague here, Jennifer
Cho, who's
the executive director
of the New York Opera Society.
During Stephen's tenure
we did premiere several operas
in collaboration with the New
York Opera Society
by this composer, Gisle
Kverndokk, who's
a Norwegian composer.
And our opening event
of the '17-'18 season is
the weekend of September 23
and 24, in which we're going
to host the New York Opera
Society in a presentation
of a new opera by him called
"Letters from Ruth."
And as you can see,
it's based on Ruth Maier's
diary, a young Jewish girl's
life under Nazism.
And so we're going have
a two-day forum on Saturday.
The composer and librettist will
talk.
And then on Sunday we'll present
in the West Garden Court
that story.
And it's going to be really
excellent.
So that starts in September.
October, once again,
the only presenter in Washington
who will have Curtis on Tour.
We have them twice
in the season.
So our October 1 performance
is with Curtis on Tour.
We're collaborating
with TEDxMidAtlantic
and the Canales Project
to tell the stories of three
artists who are featured here--
Lara Downes, Sandeep Das,
and Kaoru Watanabe.
And that'll be on October 8.
We have the Dali Quartet
with a percussionist doing
a Latin program.
And Voices of the Ocean
features Cellist Matt Haimovitz
and Violinist Lina Bahn
with stories about water
conservation
with some new commissions.
And it's going to also
be with electronics.
And then we have Pomerium
on October 29.
And they're going to do
a concert in honor
of an exhibition Bosch
to Bloemaert.
In November, we bring
the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.
They're playing two string
octets.
And the Crossing
is a contemporary choir
from Philadelphia.
And they're bringing a program
called National Anthems.
And it features David Lang's
"National Anthems"
and some works by Caroline Shaw
and Ted Hearne,
some contemporary composers.
And Mantra Percussion is going
to bring a piece called
"Timber."
That's going to celebrate
the opening of the Jackson
Pollock mural.
On Thanksgiving weekend,
for all of your guests in town,
we have programs on Friday,
Saturday, and Sunday
that are all in celebration
of the exhibition Fragonard's
Fantasy Figures.
And again on Sunday
we'll feature the New York Opera
Society.
And on the Friday and Saturday,
we're going to do
some pop-up concerts that will
be a lot of songs that would
have been had in Paris
during the period when Fragonard
was painting his Fantasy
Figures.
Fragonard had relationships
with Beaumarchais, who wrote
the plays A Marriage of Figaro,
Barber of Seville.
And there were a lot
of connections with costumes.
So we're going have a lot of fun
that weekend doing some excerpts
from all those operas.
And today, I have some friends
with me who are going to sing
a song.
This is from the Marriage
of Figaro.
JENNIFER CHO: Thank you,
Danielle, for having us.
We're thrilled to be here.
I'm just a little introduction
about what we're going to do.
I'm sure it'll be familiar
to many of you,
perhaps from Shawshank
Redemption.
It's featured in the prison yard
scene where Morgan Freeman
broadcasts it.
But it actually is a duettino
from the "nozze di Figaro,"
which is the second
in Beaumarchais's Figaro
trilogy, The Marriage of Figaro.
And in this the contessa, played
by Michelle,
is going to actually dictate
to her servant, Susanna, a love
letter
to the contessa's husband.
She knows that the count has
been unfortunately trying
to seduce her maid.
And so she's going to trick him
by having her maid write
a letter to her husband to meet
her in the garden.
Of course, it won't come to pass
that way.
[MUSIC - WOLFGANG AMADEUS
MOZART, "THE MARRIAGE OF
FIGARO"]
AUDIENCE: [APPLAUDING]
DANIELLE DESWERT HAHN: So I'm
not a conductor or a composer.
But before I started working
here at the Gallery,
I was an opera pianist.
So I have a lot
of famous friends.
And I don't think I introduced
Michele Cober.
So please come on that weekend.
Bring your family who are
visiting.
I'm sure lots of people
have visitors on Thanksgiving
weekend.
And you'll get a lot more.
And there will be costumes
and it will be very fancy.
In December, we open December
with Inna Faliks and Daniel
Schlosberg playing "Four-Hand
Mahler."
On December 10,
we have
the Swiss-American Musical
Society.
They are going to do
Stravinsky's "L'Histoire du
Soldat" with Robert Baker
narrating.
And they're also going to play
a composition
for the same instrumentation
by Christophe Sturzenegger, also
called "The Snow Queen."
And he's a Swiss composer.
And then we have our holiday
concert as the Turtle Island
String Quartet with Liz Caroll.
It's going to be
a Celtic holiday.
And of course, we keep
the tradition of the caroling
in the Rotunda
the two middle weekends
of December on Saturday
and Sunday.
So you can come and sing
Christmas carols
with the National Presbyterian
School Chorus, the Army Chorus,
the Metropolitan Church Singers
and Ringers, and the Centennial
High School Madrigals.
Then we take a break
because Christmas Eve and New
Year's Eve are Sundays.
So we're not going to work
on those days.
In January, we are bringing back
the Viennese New Year tradition
with the Eclipse Chamber
Orchestra.
That's going to be on Friday
afternoon, January 5,
at 3 o'clock.
And then on that Sunday, we have
the Harlem Symphony Orchestra
coming all the way from Harlem.
Finnish Pianist Juho Pohjonen
is going to play
a traditional piano recital.
It's going to be fantastic.
Piffaro, the Renaissance Band,
that's going to be the closing
day of the Vermeer exhibition.
And so they're going to do
a concert.
The Vermeer exhibition has
many pieces in it that feature
instruments and people playing
instruments and people singing
and performing.
So there's a lot
of great connections
there with the art.
And then on January 28,
Sybarite5, which is a string
quintet that plays
contemporary music, they're
going to play on opening day
of the show Outliers, which
opens for three months,
I believe.
In February, we've got Daniel
Bernard Roumain, also known
as DBR.
He's playing with a pianist.
They're doing a concert called
Redemption Songs and Sonatas.
And then we have Curtis on Tour
again in a Bernstein concert.
Trio con Brio Copenhagen
is going to play
some Danish pieces.
And Cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan
will play a recital.
In March, we've got ETHEL doing
a piece called "The Blue Dress."
It's some contemporary string
quartets.
Janoska Ensemble, they are
a quartet of performers
from the Vienna Philharmonic
who play this crazy, gypsy,
Czardas, fun music.
So that's going to be really
great.
And then Benedetta Lupo is going
to play a concert.
It's actually
the 100th anniversary
of Debussy's death.
Also, we have
a French exhibition opening
on that day.
And he's going to play
an all-Debussy concert.
April, we have Richard and Mika
Stoltzman.
Richard is a famous clarinetist.
And his wife is a marimba
player.
And they have a new thing
that they're doing with a lot
of duos.
It's really fun.
The Heinavanker Ensemble
from Estonia
will do
some ancient Estonian runic
tunes in honor of the Michael
Sittow exhibition
that is open at that time.
Fretwork, the viol ensemble
from England,
is going to play Bach's "Art
of the Fugue."
On April 22, we have Inscape
Chamber Orchestra.
They're going to play "Carnival
of the Animals. " And
I've commissioned new verses
by spoken word artist Marc
Bamuthi Joseph.
So that's going to be something
really unique and fun.
And on the second half, they're
going to play "Mahler 4, Chamber
Version."
And in honor of Saint-Saens'
"Carnival of the Animals,"
we're going to play a piece
that you might recognize.
[MUSIC - CAMILLE SAINT SAENS,
"CARNIVAL OF THE ANIMALS"]
AUDIENCE: [APPLAUDING]
DANIELLE DESWERT HAHN: That
brings us to our last month
of the season, which is May.
And we have just three concerts
in May.
Julia Bullock, who's very,
very up and coming, very hard to
get.
It's taken me a few years to get
her.
So that will be worth the wait.
She's going to come on May 6.
And on May 13, we have the Ranky
Tanky Band, which is a Gullah
band.
They will be playing in honor
also of Outliers, which features
some Gullah artists.
And on May 20, Christina
and Michelle Naughton, they're
a piano duo.
They're twins, if you couldn't
tell.
And that is our season.
Since I have two
fabulous singers here.
And since we have
a nice French show going
on right now over in the West
Building, my friends have very
kindly agreed to grace us
with one more song apiece each.
[MUSIC - GUSTAVE CHARPENTIER,
"LOUISE"]
AUDIENCE: [APPLAUDING]
[MUSIC - "LA VIE EN ROSE"]
AUDIENCE: [APPLAUDING]
