Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023 • 7:30 p.m.
Timashev Recital Hall
Columbus, OH
CON FUOCO DUO
Robert Walzel, clarinet
Steven Michael Glaser, piano
PROGRAM
Sonata for Clarinet and Piano (1941–42)
Leonard Bernstein (1918–1990)
I. Grazioso
II. Andantino – Vivace e leggiero
Peace (2020)
Jessie Montgomery (b. 1981)
A Morricone Reflection
Ennio Morricone (1928–2020)
transcription: Michele Mangani
Characteristic Dance Suite (1999)
Robert Nelson (b. 1941)
I. Tempo di valse
III. Adagietto – Tempo di Tango
II. À la Marcia – Presto – Grandioso (à la Cakewalk)
— BRIEF PAUSE —
Benniana (2007)
Steven Harlos (b. 1953)
I. Benny’s Dream
II. Blues Nocturne
III. Jazz Rondo
Ballad in Memory of Shirley Horn (2005)
Richard Rodney Bennett (1936–2012)
KlezMuzik (1995)
Simon A. Sargon (1938–2022)
Con Fuoco Duo
Con fuoco translated from Italian means "with fire." It was during their first rehearsal that Bob and Steve realized that "Con Fuoco" perfectly described the chemistry engendered when playing together. Since 1989, the Con Fuoco Duo has performed regularly including concerts in Great Britain, France, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, the Baltics, Mexico, West Africa, and throughout the United States. The Duo has toured as Artistic Ambassadors for the United States Information Agency, previously the cultural branch of the U.S. Department of State. They have released two commercial compact discs — Con Fuoco: Duos for Clarinet and Piano, featuring the works of Weiner, Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Reinecke and Ireland; and Wild and Exotic Dances, featuring the music of James Scott Balentine.
Professor of music at the University of Kansas, Robert Walzel previously served as the founding dean of the KU School of Music from 2010–2022. Performing extensively in essentially all mediums featuring clarinet and saxophone, he is hailed by critics as a “remarkable clarinet virtuoso” possessing “great finesse” and “effortless technique.” Walzel has performed in 30 countries, and presented master classes and lectures at several of the world’s leading music schools. He is featured on multiple recording labels including Albany, Navona, Con Fuoco Digital, and Mark Records. For eleven years Walzel served on the faculty at Texas Tech University and as principal clarinetist of the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra. Previous administrative leadership positions include those at Sam Houston State University (Texas) and at the University of Utah. A past president of the International Clarinet Association, he also served two full terms on the Commission on Accreditation for the National Association of Schools of Music. Walzel is a graduate of the University of Houston and holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of North Texas.
Steven Michael Glaser has concertized widely in the United States, including acclaimed debut recitals in Orchestra Hall (Chicago) on the prestigious Allied Arts Series, Merkin Concert Hall (New York City), and abroad in Canada, Mexico, Europe, Israel, New Zealand and East Asia. He has performed in Poland including concerts with the Łódź and Poznań Philharmonic Orchestras, recitals as solo artist sponsored by the United States Information Agency, and for the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw commemorating the joint birthdays of Frederic Chopin and George Washington. In the Far East, he has toured throughout Taiwan and China performing solo recitals and teaching master classes, including a recital in Beijing at the invitation of the U. S. Ambassador to China. He has traveled to New Zealand for recitals and master classes in Auckland, Wellington and Hamilton; and performed and taught as guest artist at the Corfu (Greece) International Music Festival; the Beethoven Festival in Jerusalem (Israel), and festivals in the United States. The winner of such prestigious piano competitions as the New York Chopin International Competition and the Society of American Musicians Competition, Glaser also received First Prize in the Liederkranz Foundation Competition which included an appearance in Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall as well as solo and orchestral engagements. A graduate of The Juilliard School and the University of Michigan, Glaser is a professor of piano at The Ohio State University School of Music and is a member of the Melton Center for Jewish Studies at Ohio State. He has served as visiting professor of piano at the Buchman–Mehta School of Music at Tel-Aviv University (Israel) and at Capital University (Columbus, Ohio).
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