Abgang and Kaddish for Clarinet, Violin, Cello, and Piano had its New York premiere performance on Sunday, April 2, on a Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center program titled “Celebrating Joseph Kalichstein and the KLR Trio.” David Shifrin, Jaime Laredo, Sharon Robinson, and Shai Wosner performed the work.
The program was originally to have featured the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio, longtime friends and collaborators of Ellen’s. Joseph Kalichstein passed away in 2022.
Ellen’s program note for the piece said, “My first movement, Abgang, is based on two musical fragments. It begins with a quote of a Hebraic melody that Viktor Ullmann used as a basis for variations in his Piano Sonata No. 7 that he was working on while in Theresienstadt. Next is a short quote of a fox trot that was arranged by a composer (only identified by his prisoner-number) for performance in Auschwitz. What follows is a purely musical, but deeply personal exploration.
“After finishing the movement I felt it necessary to add a second movement, Kaddish, which is a prayer recited in mourning, without a single mention of death, but celebrating God, peace, and life. The Kaddish appears in the score and parts in an English translation (along with some Aramaic). It is not meant to be spoken or sung, but to guide the performers in giving meaning to the musical phrases.”
A video of the concert is available here for purchase until April 28, 2023, at 12:00 PM ET. Once purchased, the event will remain on demand until May 5, 2023, at 11:59 AM ET.