Worthgold Publishing

Music, Fine Art, Books and Poetry

Main menu: Home | Events | Composer | Artist | Gallery

Carol Worthey Events 2013

2013 EVENTS ARCHIVE!

"Some major events of 2013. Don't forget
 you can peruse the Event Archive for prior years
 by clicking on the links in the sidebar."

 

2013 Events Archive Table

OCTOBER
     "A Transforming Experience!"~Los Angeles, California
     "'Love and Lament': Stanley Wong Moves His Hong Kong Audience"
     "World Premiere - RESCUE: A True Story"~Glendale, California
SEPTEMBER
     "Carol Pays Homage to Bach and to Will & Ariel Durant"
     "The Poetry of Flute"
JULY
     "'Pavane Gitana' World-Premiere, Steinway Concerts at the Ranch"~Culver City, California
MARCH
     "Cross Island in Concert"~East Islip, New York
FEBRUARY
     "Celebrating The Chinese New Year: A Gala Concert"~Hong Kong
JANUARY
     "WINDS, WORDS & SONG II, a concert"~Los Angeles
     "Happy New Year!"

Using the Events page:

To view an event, simply click on the title text from the Table of Contents below. Doing so will take you to a description of the event and associated images. Clicking on the image will present a higher resolution version, clicking again restores the original image. At the bottom right of each detailed description, you will find a "top" link that will move you to the top-of-page and a "toc" (or table-of-contents) link that will move you there. Happy viewing!

--Webmaster     
 



Carol Worthey, Composer; Maksim Velishkin, Cello

World Premiere of
Transformations
for Solo Cello

Maksim Velishkin, Cello

 
Carol Worthey has this to say about the Maksim Velichkin concert on October 28th, 2013 at Silverlake Library in Los Angeles: "World-class cellist Maksim Velichkin presented the World-Premiere of my solo cello work Transformations tonight with spontaneity, passion and lyricism, not to mention dazzling technical skill! All this lent it a very 'ALIVE' feeling. While he was playing, I felt as if I were hearing the piece just as I'd imagined it in the first moments of creation! I'm glad to say Transformations received a long and rousing response from the audience and many warm comments! Thank you, Maksim! The whole concert was delightful."
Before Maksim played Carol's composition, he invited her to give a little description of the work and show the audience her portrait of Bach at Forty-Eight. Here you see a photo from the presentation.
A new person to Carol named Ted came up to the composer after the concert and said, "It was really beautiful. I loved the lyrical qualities of it, but what really struck me was that there were surprises. I really liked that aspect of it a lot!" Surprises — yes, Carol says, "I always aim for those. Surprising but satisfying moments!"
 
 
top    toc   

 

Stanley Wong, Piano
St. John's Cathedral, Hong Kong, China
Pavane Gitana by Carol Worthey, Composer

'Love and Lament': Stanley Wong Moves His Hong Kong Audience

Pavane Gitana
the Asian Premiere

Stanley Wong, Piano

Music by Carol Worthey

 
Concert Pianist Stanley Wong , who has performed numerous works by Carol Worthey , honored her yet again on October 16th, 2013 with a performance of "Pavane Gitana" in a noon-time recital at Saint John's Cathedral in Hong Kong, China. This was the Asian and Chinese Premiere of the work.
This is what the Pianist Stanley Wong had to say:
"In this mini-concert, I presented 4 piano solo works juxtaposing the feeling of 'love' and 'lament'.
"Regarding the program, there are 3 pieces related to paintings — the Granados' Goyescas (in the style of Goya ) and contemporary composer Carol Worthey 's Pavane Gitana which is interrelated to composer's art-work. While Augusta Read Thomas' Love Twitters is a surprising improvisation on Irving Berlin 's hit song 'They say it's wonderful'.
Program:
Enrique Granados Quejas o la maja y el Ruisenor from Goyescas
Augusta Read Thomas Love Twitters (2007)
Carol Worthey Pavane Gitana (2012) Asian Premiere & Hong Kong premiere
Enrique Granados Los Requiebros from Goyescas
An additional thrill was a note that Stanley was sent by an audience member, a perceptive analysis of the skillful programming design of the concert with some words that made Carol's heart sing:
"Thanks for the wonderful recital. By alternating between "lament" and "love", and playing the fourth Goyescas first and the first one last, you effectively created an impression of a single cohesive work climaxing into a virtuosic ending. What's more, although your first two pieces were composed in different eras, they're nicely unified by the common theme of trills. Speaking of which, I especially liked your bell-like trills in Quejas which were further enhanced by the cathedral's acoustics. Overall, I loved Pavane Gitana the best - it's the most moving piece to my ears today."
--- Tak-Shing Chan,
audience member at the concert who sent this
to Stanley after the concert (on facebook)
 
 

  Pavane Gitana - Asian Premiere HK (Stanley Wong, Piano)
download

 
 
top    toc   

 

(photo by Ray Korns)
(photo by Stephen Dean Stefan)
(photo by Stephen Dean Stefan)
(photo by Stephen Dean Stefan)
(photo by Stephen Dean Stefan)
(photo by Stephen Dean Stefan)
(photo by Stephen Dean Stefan)

World Premiere
RESCUE:
    A True Story

Elayne Boosler, Comedienne
Julia Heinen, Clarinet
Ruslan Biryukov, Cello
Dmitry Rachmanov, Piano

(Book by Elayne Boosler and Music by Carol Worthey)

 
What a phenomenal smash success the World Premiere of Rescue: A True Story was! Certainly one of the highlights of Carol Worthey 's entire lifetime of composing! A packed audience of over four hundred greeted the world premiere of Rescue: A True Story with laughter, tears and long ovation cheers! It was truly electric to feel the communication sizzling back and forth from the performers to the audience when world-renowned comedienne and animal rescuer Elayne Boosler was narrating her very humorous, colorful and heart-wrenching story about Annie, her very own rescue dog, while three of the world's best musicians played Carol Worthey 's music. Carol worked hard to set just the right mood and tone for a slew of animal characters, including a feisty raccoon and fellow puppies in the shelter. Julia Heinen on clarinet provided both subtle nuances and striking panache, Ruslan Biryukov extolled the rich expressiveness of the cello with his luscious sonorities and sensitive phrasing, and pianist pianist Dmitry Rachmanov wowed with the harmonies and melodies that flowed effortlessly from his fingers. Eclectic musical styles set many scenes, some of them downright scary, some jaunty, others lyrical and poignant: rhythmic dancelike music with "barks" for the puppy scenes, hilarious Klezmer for the Raccoon, evocative nightfall moods with forest birds and a hint of danger, daring dissonance for the dog fighting scene, and majestic classical poignancy for the final portraits of Annie as she found her "forever home" at long last! As Carol's daughter said, "At the end, there wasn't a dry eye in the house."
Here you see a batch of terrific photos taken by Dean Stefan after the Premiere of Rescue: A True Story!! They capture the delight of the 'show'!
The accolades and congratulations poured in from the audience and here are some of the raves and comments:
"Thanks to all of you for a wonderful show today. Carol, your music is beautiful! It was a roller coaster of emotions and I enjoyed every note. Great cause and wonderful music."
— C. G.
"It was truly a scintillating work, Carol. I loved every second. So much lightness, pathos, musical jokes, beautiful melodies and all so perfectly formed. Even some klezmer music! Not to mention the other ethnic tunes. It all fit so well and integrated beautifully with the narration. I think the music would work beautifully even alone. Congrats to you! And to the first-rate musicians, Ruslan Biryukov, Julian Heinen & Dmitry Rachmanov. A thrilling afternoon. Many thanks to Elayne Boosler for making all this possible. Her narration was sparkling. And thanks to the dog, Annie, for inspiring the whole thing. Who would believe a dog could send humans to such heights in her name?"
— A. P.
"Carol, your music is magnificent. An unforgettable performance."
— M. M.
"Congratulations, and thanks, Carol for a work that, with humor, brought repeated tearing to my eyes. What a lovely tribute in music to a life deeply felt and lovingly lived. It brought repeated tearing to my eyes at the same time the humor was generous, warm, lovingly felt, and allowed us all to deeply live and emphathize. Congratulations, too, on another successful concert and an ambitious start to the new season of the GPO."
— B. W. G. B.
"Your music really brought out the tenderness, humor, pathos and all wonderful emotions to a very sweet story. Congratulations, Carol! It was a joy to be there to cheer you!"
— A. A.
"...Carol Worthey, you are the voice of every woman who seeks to help and make the world a better place...your music transposed this fact in every caring notes you composed for this performance. I wish you well, thank you for believing so much in yourself that you are brave enough to share and inspire pure human and animal community! Today, you are immortal to me! Thank you for your generosity!"
— A. L-G.
"It was moving, heart-warming, and delightful!"
— J. A.
"Soooooooo thrilled to be there tonite Elayne! . Mazel Tov! Such a powerful and touching story... And how brilliant is Carol Worthey's??? ENCORE!!!! XOXOXOXO"
— L. B. H.
"OMG, I had the honor of being there. Didn't expect the flood of tears. Absolutely perfect. Tom and I thoroughly enjoyed the performance, and we both remarked to each other that you and Elayne are a great pairing!!"
— J. C. V.
"Bravo Bravo Bravo! Just returned from Glendale where Roberta Rubio and I saw Elayne Boosler and Carol Worthey's "Rescue-A True Story". I LOVED THE STORY and the music... Incredible! Thank you for telling this oh so important tale! "Tail"!"
— L. B. H.
"Good thing you served cake afterwards. Probably makes up for the crying."
— K. W.
"The concert -- your musical creation -- was beyond wonderful, Carol. You literally glowed the entire time, and graciously shared your warmth with everyone there. I have had the privilege of spending numerous wonderful moments with you, but yesterday...well, it all just took my breath away. Jeff and I enjoyed the afternoon (and subsequent evening!) so very much, and we both look forward to many more such magical times with you and "the family." Love you so much my heart hurts!!"
— N. C.
"It was such a great show and venue. We had a wonderful time, with or without cake."
— M. M.
"The minute [Elayne] said "Annie", I was done! Not just weepy eyes, but huge tears rolling down my face! Such a beautiful story... And made me think of what happened to my little guy "Archer" before I found him running in traffic! What you do is so important!!!! Here's to Annie and "that rescuer and her husband"!!!!"
— L. B. H.
"You are AMAZING Carol !!! It was beyond a joy to hear your exquisite music and Elayne and the story (funny AND heart wrenching) and the superb musicians. Thanks so much for inviting us! You should take this piece on the road..."
— T. V.
"She made me cry like a baby tonight..."
— D. L.
"I am so happy to have attended the concert and that it was beautiful. If I can describe what I felt about your music for the presentation, I would say it was very poignant-I noticed a lot of moist eyes in the audience at the end of the story. Carol, it was beautiful to see how warm and accessible the music was. My favorite parts were the descriptions of how the various dogs would describe themselves, and the final number which was so heartfelt. There was no mistaking the bigness of heart and emotion that just poured out of the music. All throughout I felt a consummate, experienced hand guiding us through the story with ease and mastery-your hands that is! I really was blown away and feel privileged to be working with you [as a composition student]. It really was a triumph, Carol! The performers were all excellent-I'm sure that helps! Too bad they didn't get a chance to play that little French song you showed me. Was that what was sold for the auction? [Yes, in a sense, it was the original pencil-and-paper with full arrangement of "Strolling by The Seine" aka Chanson Francais.] "
— E. K.
"Brava, Carol! I really enjoyed it. You have such a gift for storytelling in your music. it was very moving."
— C. 0.
"Great music & Great story:) Made me laugh and cry ! Enjoyed a lot. Thank you!!"
— Y. H.
"What a delight to hear your wonderful musical setting of a sweet/poignant story about Brownie/Annie etc. It was a wonderful afternoon! You should be very happy to have such a delightful work out in the world! congratulations, dear Carol!"
— A. A.
"What a great show!! Bows, Bow wows!!"
— D. A.
"Excellent in every way! A marvelous achievement. You should all be very proud."
— M. D. W.
"Thank you Elayne Boosler for sharing what will become an American classic"A Dog's Rescue". Most comedians prime objective is to stimulate humor. Laughter and joy. But this evening, I damn near cried like I was five years old watching the ending to Disney's Old Yellow for the first time when the four legged hero must be put down. When I was introduced to this event, the event was promoted as a narration of the classic"Peter and the Wolf". I loved this story since second grade. Our teacher Ms.McCune, who looked like the little lady in the Tweety Bird cartoons, would play a Disney LP narrated by the great Hans Conrad in the afternoon break period instead of recess when the weather was bad. Peter and his pop gun against the wolf. I still recall the record album. Here, we have a dog that survives abandonment by various owners and like the classics "Lassie Come Home" or the movie we watched last night "Homeward Bound" with the grandchildren, this story will soon be a family classic. Thank you for allowing us to be the first folks worldwide to feast on this great human story of compassion, determination, salvation and love. Great storytelling and great music. Well done my friend. Well done. My dog was also rescued, but it is she that has rescued me. I like to think I am a better man by God's grace, my wife's support, and our dog Lady's unconditional love. Again, great work of literature and music."
— V. W.
"I'm glad I had tissues. What a beautiful dog and heartfelt narration. Kudos to all involved with this wonderful project."
— K. C.
"Brava, brava, BRAVA for the beautiful music yesterday. You are one talented lady!!!"
— C. B.
"Wow! I really loved everything about the performance yesterday. I loved the little Dog Story. Usually I roll my eyes at people with pets, but this piece made me feel for the animal. I am concerned about people's carelessness with animals. I loved the Klezmer for the racoon. Your music for the story was terrific."
— N. S.
"Such an amazing evening!!! Such an honor to meet you Carol Worthey! ENCORE ENCORE!!!!"
— L. H.
"The concert was FANTABULISSIMO!!!
— R. M. T.
"It was a very powerful piece and should be performed everywhere!"
— M. D. W.
LA Splash: Review of Elayne Boosler's Rescue-A True Story—A Wonderful Concert That Makes You Laugh and Cry By Georja Umano
 
 
 
 
top    toc   

 

Maksim Velichkin, Cello
Will & Ariel Durant Library, Los Angeles
Homage to Bach - Score Cover

Carol Pays Homage to Bach and to Will & Ariel Durant

Homage to Bach
the Third Performance

Maksim Velichkin, Cello

Music by Carol Worthey

 
It is such an intense pleasure to a composer when a work calls for more than an isolated premiere, more than even a second welcome performance, because a third performance seems to send the music off into the future with a promise of endurance and appreciation! It is with this sense of anticipation and gratitude, that Carol Worthey entered the Will & Ariel Durant Library on West Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood California on September 28th 2013, awaiting the third performance of her Homage to Bach by the masterful cellist who first premiered it, Maksim Velichkin . It must be mentioned that Carol has been reading the Durants' eleven-volume History of Civilization, is looking up all the words ( Will Durant is her favorite writer in the English language --- This historian-philosopher has the most copious and precise vocabulary of any author or researcher she has ever encountered) so in her eyes, the Will & Ariel Durant Library is absolutely sacred ground! Couple this with nearly every seat in the cheerful concert room being filled and you have the makings of a very enjoyable event. But nothing could have prepared Carol Worthey for the concert that ensued: Brilliant and straight-to-the-heart! Maksim outdid himself with every cello piece, including the most beautiful performance of Homage to Bach yet. Four contemporary composers were in attendance, Adrienne Albert , Elliot Goldkind , Stephen Kohn and Carol and each was regaled with a great performance and enthusiastic audience response. At the end, Maksim put down his cello, went to the upright piano and turned it into a concert grand in a blistering display of improvisational mastery the likes of which Carol has never heard in her entire life. This was one concert where a recording would have born witness to genius. Breathless, the composers left the sacred ground wherein love of books and delight in music join.
Music is a dialogue — it communicates emotion and states-of-being beyond the conveyance of words, a dialogue flowing from Composer to Performer to Listener. Styles change through the eras, but the dialogue continues. Sometimes a feeling or a song so captures the mood that it continues through all the scenes of history, transformaing itself in myriad ways but still essentially recognizable.
Homage to Bach for solo cello is the final Theme & Variation that ends the work Transformation , a somewhat self-contained and extended variation (which in Bach-like style) is truly a dialogue. Composer Carol Worthey had just attended a seminar on Composing for Classical Guitar which pointed out the brilliant use in Bach's celebrated Suites for Unaccompanied Cello of what the seminar leaders called intermittent Counterpoint. In this technique three layers (sometimes more) exist within the range of a solo guitar (and cello), layers that can be coordinated to produce chords and melodic content. The lower range functions as the bass, the top usually bears the strongest melodic interest and the middle not only fills out the chord but also has its own melodic and rhythmic structure forming and interweaving melody. What makes this technique for conveying harmonies and melodic threads "intermittent" is that each layer (the top melody or harmonizing part; the middle melody and mid-chord tones; the lower bass notes with their own melodic path) is broken up time-wise into fragments that demand an eager ear to tie them into coherence.
It is the challenge of the Composer to create each layer as a discernible thread within the fabric of the whole; it is the challenge of the Performer to unroll each layer and fulfill the quest for richness amid transparency of line. And when both composer and performer do their missions well, the ear of an attentive listener is able to discern all three strands and follow top-middle-bottom, savor the harmonies, catch the snippets and piece it all together. Breaking the layers up into portions not only allows one solo player to sound like an ensemble, conveying the full richness, it also wakes the listener up, asking him or her to connect what-goes-where across the subtle silences and breaks. This method Intermittent Counterpoint fascinates Carol and so it colors the entire set of variations, becoming the "modus operandi." Carol felt there was no better way to end a solo cello work than with a humbly offered tribute to the absolute master of this technique, J. S. Bach.
 
 
top    toc   

 

Alice Pero, Flute
Quatrain - Score Cover

The Poetry of Flute

Quatrain for Solo Flute
World Premiere

Alice Pero, Flute

(along with Poetry Readings by Poets Alice Pero & Nancy Shiffrin)

 
When Carol Worthey was asked to compose a piece for Alice Pero , who is a both a renowned poet and a dazzling flutist, Carol began to conceive a piece for flute that echoed both disciplines, poetry and flute. There is something native to the dulcet, pastoral tones of a flute that lends itself to the subtle art of poetry. The result was Quatrain for solo flute. Like a quatrain, which is a four-line stanza, this work is divided into four sections. The very first seven notes are mystical, with a Japanese-like scale that suggests ancient reflective pools in zen gardens and yet the theme has a contemporary flavor. The theme is explored in the rich but gentle low register and in the bright high register and seems to be asking an unworded question of the listener. The next two sections take the theme into rapid runs and staccato tonguing, exploring the virtuoso, birdcall aspects of the flute. The final movement returns home, perhaps to answer the mysterious question posed at the beginning with a suggestion of completion — questions and new possibilities. And yes, all this is in the music. (A recording of the Premiere is anticipated.)
On Friday evening, September 27th, 2013 the world-premiere of Quatrain took place in a 1920's mansion devoted to the art of language where the largest collection of poetic journals and chapbooks in the Western US is on display or for sale and where workshops and readings take place just about every day: Beyond Baroque in Venice, California. In an intimate space where many famous poets have read their works over the years, poet Nancy Shiffrin read from her book The Great Unknowing and Alice read from her book Thawed Stars — poems whimsical, wise, telling. The audience was intent on every word. A long and loud applause greeted Alice Pero 's brilliant performance of Quatrain . Carol is planning new versions of this work, since it has qualities unlike anything she has created up to this point. Poetry lives and she feels that Quatrain is bound for a long life too!
 
 
top    toc   

 

Carol Worthey, Piano
Carol Worthey, Composer
Pavane Gitana by Carol Worthey, Composer

World Premiere of "Pavane Gitana"
for Solo Piano

Carol Worthey, Piano

 
The World-Premiere of Pavane Gitana ("slow Gypsy dance") for Solo Piano was performed by the composer Carol Worthey at this Steinway Concerts at the Ranch concert on Saturday, July 20th, 2013.
Throughout her life, Carol has gone to the piano to communicate her feelings — the piano has become a dear, lifelong friend. The night her beloved dog Sophie died, Carol went almost in a trance to the piano to expiate her grief in an improvisation. The feeling was so intense that Carol didn't feel she could continue writing it, so she wrote down the theme and abandoned it in a stack of paper. Years later when she was in the process of moving out of a house she'd lived in for twenty years, Carol ironically found the scrap of paper and realized that it deserved to be a completed work and that she needed to take grief and loss to a new place. Adding ornamentation, rich harmonies and surprising twists, the composer was able to transform sorrow into passion and tenderness. The word "pavane" originated as a stately and sensual Medieval dance; Ravel's famous Pavane for A Dead Princess added the connotation of a memorial piece written in tribute.
Carol hopes the deep feelings expressed take you to a place of healing and beauty. This past Autumn Pavane Gitana made its debut as a Violin/Cello duet, but was premiered in its original form at this concert. To create the art cover for the score, the composer/artist studied traditional Gypsy dress and lifestyle and then drew from imagination. The Gypsy girl in the foreground wears authentic dress. Behind her runs a little dog, added in homage to Sophie, initial inspiration for the piece.
 
 

  Pavane Gitana - World Premiere (Carol Worthey, Piano)
download

 
 
top    toc   

 

Suzanne Mueller, Cello; Elinor Abrams Zayas, Piano

World Premiere of "Solitaire: Theme & Variations"
for Solo Cello

Suzanne Mueller, Cello

 

Monday, March 24 th , 2013
Bayard Cutting Arboretum
Winter Concert Series of the Islip Arts Council

 
 
Cross Island is the name of a celebrated professional duo consisting of cellist Suzanne Mueller and pianist Elinor Abrams Zavas. This concert — part of the Winter Concert Series put on by the Islip Arts Council in the beautiful garden setting of an arboretum on Long Island — features both solo works for each instrument and delightful duets.
One of the highlights of this musical afternoon will be the World-Premiere of Carol Worthey 's latest work, "Solitaire: Theme & Variations" for Solo Cello, especially commissioned by cellist Suzanne Mueller. Suzanne will be recording "Solitaire: Theme & Variations" on her upcoming solo CD "Solitaire", to be released this summer. Carol has fashioned a rich tour-de-force for solo cello that plays with two ideas inherent in the word "solitaire": The many card games that bear that name, each with different layouts and unique challenges, and the concept of "solitary-ness", which embodies a spectrum of emotions from loneliness to reflective solitude to the joy of being oneself. Working with both the idea of variety (the many games) and solitary-ness, the composer utilized the time-honored approach of theme and variations, transforming a soulful melody representing "loneliness" into a variety of styles, eras and moods, from a Renaissance romp to a passionate tango to blues and beyond. Ms. Mueller has told the composer that — especially after the recent sorrow of her father's passing — the work resonates with her in its spectrum of emotions. Carol is very excited to have this premiere on Long Island, where she often visited her beloved Opera Singer Aunt, Uncle and cousins as a child.
The concert program was inventive, featuring beloved favorites and new discoveries, alternating between solo works and duets of all kinds, including Beethoven 's Twelve Variations on "See, the Conqu'ring Hero Comes" from Handel 's "Judas Maccabeus", a number of pieces from Gliere 's "Album Leaves", Richard Rodney Bennett 's "All in a Garden Green" and "Buskin" from his "Six Country Dances", selections from "Danzas Argentinas" by Alberto Ginastera and Astor Piazzola 's "Escualo", plus works by Chopin, Glazunov, and works by renowned women composers of the past, American composer Amy Beach and Romantic era composer, Clara Schumann ( Robert Schumann 's wife and one of the most celebrated concert pianists of her day). The concert closed with free improvisation by the duo.
 
 
top    toc   

 

Stanley Wong, Piano

Celebrating
The Chinese New Year:

A Gala Concert

Pianist, Stanley Wong
in Hong Kong

Sunday, February 17th, 2013, 6:30 p.m.
Parsons Music Recital Hall 14th Floor
Times Square, Causeway Bay
Hong Kong

 
The concert featured exuberant and joyous works to highlight this festive time of year:
 
"Romanza" for Solo PianoCarol Worthey
"Variations on a Theme by Mozart"Yves Ramette
"Sandburg Suite"Victoria Bond
"Starlight"David Liptak
"A Simple Ditty"Carol Worthey


 
top    toc   

 

Winds, Words & Song Concert, Los Angeles

WINDS, WORDS & SONG CONCERT

Saturday, January 12th, 2013



Celebrity Centre International Pavilion
5930 Franklin Avenue Hollywood, CA 90028

 
A truly exciting concert featured music of
Composers
J.S. Bach
M. Ravel
P. Hindemith
Carol Worthey
 
with performances by
Alice Pero, Flute & poetry
Sisu Raiken, Soprano
Sheila Zimmermann, Flute
Paul Switzler, Piano
 
 
top    toc   

 

Happy New Year!

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!

 
 
 
top    toc