“We are honored to present to you a recording bridging 100 years of the Lake Placid Sinfonietta. When given the opportunity to helm this storied ensemble in 2008, my thoughts immediately turned to the centennial year of 2017 and how it could be uniquely commemorated. A commissioned work is an obvious choice to celebrate a milestone such as this, and we are so honored to present the world premiere recording of Michael Torke’s Sylvan. As 2017 approached I did some research and soon discovered the treasure trove of music written, conceived or arranged in 1917, the year of our founding. Like the rush of the icy wind one feels at the top of Whiteface Mountain, one of the 46 glorious peaks in the Adirondacks, it hit me: Let’s record a CD of pieces from 1917 to pair with the piece written for us in 2017! It is our musical handshake through time with those who started it all. Of particular note we decided to include some local musical flavor by including Bartók’s Romanian Folk Dances, since Bartók in his waning years spent time in a small cabin in Saranac Lake which is where he wrote his 3rd Piano Concerto and Viola Concerto. Also included, a song “Thine Alone” from the 1917 Operetta Eileen by Victor Herbert, who built and spent many a summer in a large camp on what is now Victor Herbert road in Lake Placid. The song is arranged by Xander Rodzinski whose grandfather was the great conductor Artur Rodzinski whose summer home was also in Lake Placid. Every year for six weeks 20 professional musicians from around the country present concerts in Lake Placid and throughout the Adirondacks, it is truly a place that feels magical and we strive to make it sound magical. With this recording, we welcome you to the next hundred years of the Lake Placid Sinfonietta! From 1917 to 2017, we thank everyone who made this possible.” Ron Spigelman, Music Director, Lake Placid Sinfonietta “Having spent several summers in the Adirondacks, the smell of the trees, as the cool air settles from the mountains to the lakes, has lingered as a piquant memory. The grandeur of the Eastern White pine, which at one time was used for the masts of ships; the color of the autumnal leaves of the Yellow Birch, and the use of the Red Spruce for not only Christmas trees, but whose tonal qualities in the wood make it ideal for violin making, contributed to my work to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Lake Placid Sinfonietta. All in all, there is a soothing majesty about trees found in the Lake Placid region. We live in pluralistic, eclectic times - which make me want to limit my stylistic palette to as tight and concentrated as I can make it. To say something and to be heard require focus. What if I wrote a piece that had just one theme? The danger of this restriction could delimit the listener’s enjoyment But what if we hear three themes, and underneath it all, each is actually coming from the same source, with its presentation disguised in such a way that they sound like completely fresh ideas? If such a plan could succeed, durability would flow from the unity of ideas, and the ear would sense a more cohesive, communicative voice. I’ve always believed that the tighter the relationships between the notes, the stronger a composition will be, the longer it will be valued through the vicissitudes of time’s judgment, and the more reliably we can respond emotionally to the music. With “Sylvan” each of the three trees have their own distinct music, but everything is derived ultimately from the same series of notes, a kind of hummable tune that gradually emerges as the branches reach out to limbs and leaves.” Michael Torke