CH-Wetzikon, Schoolhouse "Lendenbach"
CH-Uster, Musikcontainer
"Classical Musik meets Jazz"
Our concerts of the 31 May/1 June 2008 brought action into the music life as we performed with the Jazz Trio Udo Fink:
World premiere:
Rhapsody in F
for Jazz Trio and Orchestra
Concert with action
"Brook Green Suite" for string orchestra
I. Prelude (Allegretto)
II. Air (Andante)
III. Dance (Allegro)
Classical Jazz for Jazz-Trio
3 original compositions and
2 Jazz standards
"Rhapsody in F" (F Major)
for Jazz Trio and Orchestra
World premiere
The bandleader Udo Fink (°1936) has had an impressively varied education: after his general qualification for university entrance he performed as a jazz pianist, and soon after he studied at the teachers' training college, then acted as a primary school teacher, always involved with musical activities.
Udo Fink studied History and German language and literature at the University of Zurich from 1965 to 1970 and finished with a doctorate and a diploma as high school teacher. With these qualifications he then taught in Zurich, Wetzikon, Winterthur and Pfaeffikon SZ, where he retired in 2000. He now performs again as a "professional" musician.
During his work as a teacher he performed as a bar pianist and participated in musicals and cabarets (for example with Inigo Gallo), as well as in diverse Jazz-groups, such as the legendary Glarona Bigband.
Udo Fink was the founder of the "Jazz Club Uster" in 1963, together with René Borel, as well as of his Jazz band "Udo Fink", which makes music of diverse arrangements to this day.
He released half a dozen CDs from 1996 to 2007 in the styles of classical jazz and salon music, and received the award for cultural promotion of the village Galgenen in May 2003.
Christoph Mächler grew up in Wangen SZ. He yet knew during his apprenticeship as a specialist in an offset printing-office, that his calling is to becoming a professional musician. So directly after he learned electric bass at the ACM Zurich ( Academy of Contemporary Music ). After that, he studied double bass, piano and vocals at the Jazz School St. Gallen for 5 years, and finished as a musician SMPV.
He completed his next studies at the Conservatoire Zurich in the subjects of double bass, piano, solo singing and guitar, and received a certificate as a music teacher after 3 years.
He has played numerous concerts and studio sessions with Carlo Brunner, Willy Valotti, Dave Fensi, Thomas Moeckel, Willy Bischof and Elmar Frey.
Patrick Watanabe performed for the first time on drums at the age of 14. From that point on the idea of learning drums didn't leave him. He decided definitively on studies in piano and percussion when he founded a band at his high school Pfaeffikon SZ at the age of 17.
After his study of architecture at the ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology), Patrick Watanabe decided to look deeper into the subject of music and took the entrance examination for the Jazz School St. Gallen in 1999. He finished his studies as a musician SMPV in 2004.
Patrick Watanabe plays in many diverse groups and cooperates with several projects. The scope goes from Jazz Trio and rock band to classical orchestra. In addition to that he works as teacher of percussion at the Music School of Zurich Oberland (MSZO) and at the Youth Music School of Rapperswil-Jona.
Ursula Butscher
Karin Hender
Sadira Campbell, Melbourne
first violin (concertmaster)
viola
violoncello
Beat Klötzli
Jörg Suter
Serge Vollmeier
Nadja Philipp
Francine Brunner
Seraina Ineichen
Patrick Gründler
Willi Brunschweiler
Wilfried Aegerter
Margrith Appenzeller
Isabel Schacher
Martin Hartwig
transverse flute
oboe 1
oboe 2
English horn
clarinet 1
clarinet 2
bass clarinet
bassoon
descant saxophone
alto saxophone
tenor saxophone
baritone saxophone
Erich Dahinden
Daniel Werren
Annette Geisel
Oskar Hugentobler
horn 1
horn 2
trumpet 1
trumpet 2
Katsunobu Hiraki
bass drum
Margrit Felchlin Spirk
Sabine Gneupel
Agnes Köhli
Madeleine Meier
Barbara Ineichen
Kathrin Schneebeli
Käthi Streit
Doris Zgraggen
Karen Drewlow
Sadira Campbell, Melbourne
Dieter Kunz
Christina Suter
Urs Baumann
first violin
first violin
first violin
first violin
second violin
second violin
second violin
second violin
viola
violoncello
violoncello
violoncello
double bass
Gustav Theodore Holst was an English composer of the late romantic or expressionistic period. He first planned a carreer as a pianist, but at the age of 17 had to capitulate because of a neuritis of his arm. He then studied composition and trombone at the Royal College of Music in London. In addition to work as an orchestra conductor and as a music teacher he was teaching composition at the Royal College of Music and at the university in Reading between 1919 and 1923.
Holst became particularly famous with his piece "The Planets". But he wrote almost 200 catalogued compositions, including orchestral suites, 6 operas, ballets, concertos, choral hymns and chamber music.
One of these pieces is the "Brook Green Suite" for strings, performed in this concert, which Holst wrote in 1933 close to the end of his life during his stay in hospital (where he was to die in May 1934). It was written for his pupils, the junior orchestra at St Paul's Girls School (SPGS). He wanted to write a piece in a contemporary mature style that was easy enough for his pupils to perform, he felt they deserved better than simple orchestrations from keyboard originals or 'watered down' orchestral pieces.
The "Prelude" is based on the descending C major scale; in fact the cellos cover it in two octaves!
The "Air" sounds as if it was based on English folk song, but most likely it was not; Holst had become so acquainted with folk song during his life that a lot of his melodies were very similar to them. The movement is full of enharmonic relations but somewhat austere. This is a trait of most of his later works.
The third movement "Dance" is based on a melody heard while he was in Sicily.
Originally, the piece contained a fourth movement "Gavotte", but this movement was withdrawn after the first performance of the Brook Green Suite in March of 1934 at a concert by the SPGS orchestra. This was the last concert that Holst attended.
Original compositions Udo Fink for Jazz Trio
The Udo Fink Trio plays three original compositions by Udo Fink as well two Jazz standards, which Udo Fink has edited.
As prelude they will play "I remember Jack", which the band taken from his CD "Souvenirs III", an "Easy Listening Jazz"-Disk. It is an inventive, jazzy variation of the well-known German song "Ein Männlein steht im Walde, ganz still und stumm" ( There was a little man standing in the wood. / He wore a purple cloak and a small black hood. ...)
The complete program of the trio:
- I remember Jack (Trad. / ed. by U. Fink)
- Just Blues (U. Fink)
- Round about Midnight (T. Monk / U.Fink)
- We'll be together again (C. Fischer / U.Fink)
- Samba de pacotinho (U. Fink)
Rhapsody in F Major for Jazz Trio and Orchestra
"The Saints" 1959
René Borel was the founder of the old-time Jazz band "The Saints Jazz Band", which he founded with players from the canton Zurich in 1952. René Borel played the clarinet and the saxophone and conducted the band for more than ten years. The band still exists today in a different formation (look on the internet site of "The Saints").
By the way: on the guitar was Walter Brandl (at the right in the picture), who played the double bass for almost ten years in the orchestra Le Corde Vive, until his death in 2004!
This creation of René Borel’s, which he composed in 2004, connects two categories and groups which are rarely found together: a classical orchestra and a Jazz Trio. For this reason it had to wait for 4 years until its world premiere today.
The work contains exciting music with great variation, and includes sections in the style typical of old Jazz, as well as more modern parts, and also has quite elegant orchestral passages.
The string orchestra Le Corde Vive will be amplified by 16 brass and woodwind players, resulting in a large sound with a total of 38 instruments!
(Please also look on the internet site of the SwissJazzOramas)
Fr. 20.- Students
Fr. 10.- Children
Fr. 30.- Adults
Fr.
20.- Member of Music-Container Uster
Schoolhouse Lendenbach
Turnhallenstreet
CH-8320 Wetzikon
About 200 meters to the east of the Protestant Church of Wetzikon , 800 meters from the railway station "Wetzikon-Kempten" towards the town.
Musikcontainer
10 Asyl street
CH-8610 Uster
About 500 meters from the railway station Uster, between the hospital and Catholic Church.