FRED BROER
music for string quartet and
piano solo
OVERVIEW
Composer, author, and educator Fred Broer presents his String Quartet No. 8, as well as four colorful piano works, on his Navona release FRED BROER: MUSIC FOR STRING QUARTET AND PIANO SOLO.
Broer’s adventurous String Quartet No. 8 is performed masterfully by the New England String Quartet and is dedicated to the memory of his good friend Hilda Ayer. The first movement “Impetuous” is characterized by a duality of character, with a capricious theme – first heard in the solo violin – opposing an orderly drumbeat ostinato, emerging throughout the movement in a series of dialogues and clashes. The second movement “Fleeting” opens with ethereal tremolos and trills and ambiguous harmonies. The uncertainty of the opening gradually shifts to a character of clarity and calmness expressed through harmonic simplicity. In the final movement “Very animated,” an energetic, stuttering theme is contrasted with a moody lyrical theme. Violent chords that recall the rhythm of the first movement’s drumbeat ostinato, a lyrical ascending chromatic passage, and a final energetic stutter finish the work.
Broer’s selection of Four Piano Pieces, as performed by Karolina Rojahn, showcases his skill in creating compelling musical moods and atmospheres. Piano Piece No. 2 undergoes abrupt and extreme changes of mood, from casual meandering to dramatic furor to dreamy simplicity. Piano Piece No. 6 is a playful scherzo, casting repetitive staccato motives against spritely interjections in the extreme registers of the piano, with a mischievous whirring theme at the piece’s beginning and end. In Piano Piece No. 5, a sparkling, driven theme is contrasted with a dense trudging theme in the piano’s lower register. A dark and mysterious theme takes center stage in Piano Piece No. 8, where it is contrasted with an agitated theme. At the piece’s end, a wispy ascending line washes away the dark theme and disappears into the distance.
HIGHLIGHTS
The New England String Quartet specializes in creating a synthesis of contemporary music and classic tradition. The Quartet is committed to music education, having developed several notable outreach programs and residencies – such as The Xibus Tour, The Ethno-Urban Orchestra, and The Xibus World Orchestra – through which the ensemble teaches contemporary music techniques and improvisation to music students around the country
Karolina Rojahn is devoted to contemporary music, having premiered over 100 works by living composers and recorded 18 CDs of contemporary solo and chamber music works for Music & Media Recordings and Navona Records. She is a founding member of Boston’s Ludovico Ensemble and is part of the piano faculty at Boston Conservatory
Broer holds a Master of Music degree from Indiana University and a Doctorate from Boston University. He has studied composition with Jack Goode, Bernard Heiden, and Joyce McKeel
Broer has been active as a music director, having worked in this capacity with several churches and community choruses. He has taught music in higher education for over 25 years, notably having served as director of the North Shore Conservatory of Music, a community music school at Endicott College in Beverly MA
Broer authored the book "Johann Nepomuk Hummel: Innovator of His Time" (Cantilena Publishing Co.), an in-depth examination of Hummel’s music for piano solo. Broer has also edited and published several piano and chamber works by Hummel
Broer has composed over 50 works for solo, chamber, and orchestral forces. His Symphony for String Orchestra, as performed by the Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Petr Vronský, is featured on TURBULENT SKY (NV6012), available on Navona Records
BIOGRAPHY
Fred Broer (b.1942) is a native Oregonian. He received his Master of Music degree from Indiana University and his Doctorate from Boston University. Some of the composition teachers he studied with include Jack Goode, Bernard Heiden, and Joyce McKeel. He taught music in colleges for over 25 years, served in several churches as Music Director/Organist, performed as director of several community choruses, and was Director of the North Shore Conservatory of Music, a community music school at Endicott College in Beverly MA.
Broer is author of the book "Johann Nepomuk Hummel: Innovator of His Time" (Cantilena Publishing Co.) and has edited and published several piano and chamber works by Hummel. His compositions, which number over 50 works, encompass a broad spectrum of solo, chamber and orchestra music. He currently resides in Gloucester MA.
Release Date: June 10, 2016
Catalog #: NV6042
TRACK LISTING
String Quartet No. 8
New England String Quartet | Julia Okrusko, violin; Nelli Jabotinsky, violin;
Lilit Muradyan, viola; Ming-Hui Lin, cello
1 I. Impetuous
2 II. Fleeting
3 III. Very animated
Four Piano Pieces
Karolina Rojahn, piano
4 I. Piano Piece, No. 2
5 II. Piano Piece, No. 6
6 III. Piano Piece, No. 5
7 IV. Piano Piece, No. 8
CREDITS
String Quartet No. 8 was recorded November 29, 2015
at Futura Productions in Roslindale MA
Session Producer Andy Happel
Session Engineer John Weston
Piano Piece, No. 2 & Piano Piece, No. 6 were recorded
October 31, 2015 at Futura Productions in Roslindale MA
Session Producer Matt Konrad
Session Engineer John Weston
Piano Piece, No. 5 & Piano Piece, No. 8 were recorded
November 12, 2015 at Futura Productions in Roslindale MA
Session Producer Matt Konrad
Session Engineer John Weston
Executive Producer Bob Lord
Executive A&R Sam Renshaw
A&R Brandon MacNeil
Recording Session Manager Matt Konrad
Audio Director Jeff LeRoy
Editing & Mixing Andy Happel (Tracks 1-3) & Shaun Michaud (tracks 4-7)
Production Engineer Nate Hunter
Art & Production Director Brett Picknell
Graphic Design Emily Roulo
Marketing Morgan MacLeod
ALSO ON NAVONA
NV6012
Broer | Coble | Yip
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