Music at The Lace Mill – Pauline Mancuso, flute, Peter J. Mancuso ,piano
Music at Lace Mill
Saturday, June 8, 2024 2:00pm – 3:00 pm
Pauline Mancuso, flute, Peter J. Mancuso, piano
Program
Sonata in Eb, K. 123 – Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757)
Intermezzo in A, op. 76, no.6 – Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Capriccio in g, op. 116, no.3 – Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Sweet Simplicity – Rhonda Larson
Etude in c#, op. 25, no. 7 – Frederic Chopin (1809 – 1849)
Etude no. 1 in C (1915) – Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Piece for solo flute (1936) – Jacques Ibert (1890-1962)
Fantasy for flute and piano (2017) – Debra Kaye
From Thirteen Anniversaries: Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)
1. For Shirley Pearle (1981)
2. In Memoriam William Kapell (1989)
3. For Stephen Sondheim (1965)
4. For Craig Urquhart (1986)
5. For Leo Smit (1988)
8. In Memoriam Goddard Lieberson (1964)
11. For Felicia (1974)
7. In Memorial Helen Coates (1970)
Sonata for Flute and Piano, (1970) – Francis Poulenc (1899 – 1963)
1. Allegretto malincolico
2. Cantilena : Assez lent
3. Presto giocoso
Program Notes
Domenico Scarlatti composed over 500 keyboard sonatas, beginning with works for a young
princess who would become the Queen of Spain. Most were written in his older years, and
display a constantly developing style, and brilliant technique.
Johannes Brahms composed many short piano pieces. His 30 Klavierstucke span the period
1879 –1893. The titles are Intermezzi, capriccios, rhapsodies, a ballade, and a romanze. All
are considered to be masterpieces.
Rhonda Larson is an active and creative flutist and composer, winner of the National Flute
Association solo competition when only 22, Grammy winner, and also known for her former
membership in the Paul winter Consort and its Solstice Concerts every year at the Cathedral of
St. John the Divine in NYC.
Frederic Chopin composed two sets of etudes, Op. 10 and Op. 25. They are a brilliant
treatment of 24 difference technical problems. The Etude in c# minor, from op.25 (1832 –
1836)is similar to a nocturne. It features a duet between a lefthand melody and a supporting
melody in the right hand. It is nicknamed “The Cello” etude by some.
Claude Debussy composed 12 Etudes late in his career. They feature varied technical and
musical problems. The Etude #1 in C is titled “Pour les cinq doits d’apres Monsieur Czerny”. A
5-finger exercise is transformed into a gigue. The piece is mainly played on the white keys.
Jacques Ibert had a successful career writing operas, ballets, and chamber music, as well as
orchestral works. During WW2, he was “dismissed” by the pro-Nazi supporters, and went into
exile for a time in Switzerland. His chamber works make frequent use of the flute. His most
famous – and challenging! – work is the Flute Concerto (1934).
Debra Kaye’s Suite “Call to the Dance” had its origin in the Fantasy for Flute and Piano (2017)
commissioned by the flutist Carl Gutowski. She later added two more movements. Fantasy
evolves as a series of variations at times, but are always linked to one another in harmonious
partnership.
Leonard Bernstein composed five sets of “Anniversaries” between 1942 and 1988. They were
dedicated to friends and family. They commemorate birthdays, and some memorials. The
memorials for Helen Coates was used as the basis of Bernstein’s Meditation 1 and 2 in the
Mass (1971).
Francis Poulenc was an accomplished pianist and a member of “Les Six”, a collective of young
composers of the 1920s and 1930s era. He composed for every genre of music. The Sonata
for Flute and Piano is one of three late sonatas for woodwinds and piano. According to the
opinions of Groves, they have become fixtures in their repertoire because of their expertise
and their profound beauty.
Artist Biographies
PAULINE MANCUSO, flute, holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Theory and a Bachelor
of Music Education degree, cum laude, from Hartt College of Music, University of Hartford, and
a Master of Music degree in Music Theory and Music Education from Boston University School
for the Arts. Her principal flute study was with Stanley Aronson, and studied piano with
Herbert Chatzky and Fredryk Wanger. Her teachers of Theory and Composition were Arnold
Franchetti, John Goodman, Edward Miller, and Edward Diemente. Mrs. Mancuso is a member
of Mu Phi Epsilon and Pi Kappa Lambda, the National Flute Association, the Ulster County
Music Educators Association, the New York State School Music Association (former
adjudicator), and the National Association for Music Education (NAfME). Co-founder and
Managing Director of the former Cambiata Chamber Players founded in 1984, she retired in
2008 from her position as teacher of music and a choral director at J. W. Bailey Middle School
in Kingston and is the honored recipient of the first Lifetime Achievement Award, given to her
by the Kingston City Schools Music Department. She teaches flute in her studio in Kingston.
PETER J. MANCUSO, piano, holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree, magna cum laude,
from Hartt College of Music, University of Hartford and a Master of Music degree in Piano
Performance from Boston University School for the Arts, where he was inducted into Pi Kappa
Lambda professional music fraternity. He has studied piano with Daniel Pollack, Raymond
Hanson, Fredryk Wanger, Edgar Roberts, and Vera Wills. Mr. Mancuso has been selected
twice as a soloist in master classes of the International Bach Society, Rosalyn Tureck, director,
held at Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts, Bruno Walter Auditorium. He has also
done extensive professional accompanying under world-famous choral conductors. A life-long
resident of Kingston, he is co-founder, with his flutist wife Pauline, of the former Cambiata
Chamber Players. A teacher of voice and choral music at Saugerties Junior-Senior High School
from 1972 to 2005, Mr. Mancuso has previously conducted the Junior High School All-County
Chorus in 1978, 1981 and 2004. He is also a former NYSSMA adjudicator of piano, and
currently teaches piano privately in Kingston.
