AMERICAN MUSIC SERIES                                   384 a-h                                 OHV

Aldo Parisot

With Susan Hawkshaw

Yale University, New Haven, CT

October 19, 2007

October 26, 2007

November 2, 2007

November 16, 2007

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Side a                                                                                                  pp. 1-43

His father Luis Parisot—his stepfather Tomazzo Babini—Study of solfège and learning the cello with his stepfather—touring South America from ten to sixteen years of age—taking a position at the radio station in Recife at the age of sixteen—studies as an architect incomplete—his childhood: his mother’s remarriage and its effect on him—playing together in the evening with his stepfather—stepfather’s fantastic technique and bow arm—hearing Feuermann on the victrola and deciding he wanted to study with him—stepfather’s advice, after giving him a solid techique, to play string quartets—technique at the service of music—occasional harshness of his stepfather—hearing Casals play the Locatelli sonata, hoping to learn about staccato—difficulty of staccato stroke—obtaining the position of principal cellist in the Brazil Symphony in Rio de Janeiro—his brother the violinist, also playing in the orchestra in Rio, but left to become president of a bank—his dream: to own a Strad, to play with all the big orchestras and big conductors—Carleton Sprague Smith arranges for a scholarship to study with Feuermann at Curtis, but Feuermann passes away three months prior to Parisot’s arrival—his admiration for Feuermann’s playing—Smith advises Parisot to go to Yale to study theory and chamber music—repertoire on debut at age 12 and when touring in Brazil—more on his family—his brother—Brazil in World War II—Iacovino String Quartet—meeting Villa-Lobos—coming to America—Eleazar De Carvalho—De Carvalho and Parisot at Tanglewood—Quincy Porter’s Fantasy and Dance—many more cellists in the field today—his first wife—Hindemith’s theory classes—playing chamber music with Hindemith—Hindemith playing viola-- with Szymon Goldberg and Feuermann—playing Quincy Porter’s music at Branford College—auditioning for the Pittsburgh Symphony—U.S. Debut—helping his students financially.

Side b                                                                                                  pp. 43-61

Playing with the Pittsburgh Symphony—Victor de Sabata—Lorin Maazel in the Pittsburgh Symphony—Vladimir Bakaleinikoff—playing in a quartet with Maazel and Bakaleinikoff—playing a solo recital at Town Hall that launched his international career—Alaskan tour—his dislike of airplanes—New York Philharmonic debut—Second Cello Concerto of Villa-Lobos—playing for Villa-Lobos—Villa-Lobos etudes for Segovia—Villa-Lobos’s work with folklore—playing the concerto with Walter Hendl—

Parisot’s comments about the third movement—Camargo Guarnieri’s Choro, written for Parisot—Parisot’s involvement in Korea: competition—recent event in Zankel Hall—concerto by Jose Siquiera written for Parisot that was never performed—premiering a concerto by Claudio Santoro—President Lula of Brazil—sonata of Santoro written for Parisot—Parisonatina by Donald Martino.

Side c                                                                                                  pp. 61-114

His French Basque grandparents—his mother’s sister who was a concert mandolinist—his mother as pianist—Parisot’s father—conservatory in Brazil where his stepfather taught—program of study in Bologna, Italy, where his stepfather came from—difficulty of playing Guarneri’s Choro with material paginated differently—importance of solfège—advantage because of his early training—Luigi Silva—French system in use in Brazil—living under dictator Getúlio Vargas—work as principal cellist in the Orquestra Sinfonica Brasileira—arriving in U.S. with only two hundred dollars—playing quartets at Branford and Pierson colleges at Yale with Quincy Porter, Lois Porter, Howard Boatwright, etc.—working at menial jobs so that he could eat—kindness of Porter and Boatwright who sometimes gave him the whole concert fee—playing concerts all over the world—his dream—his interest in and support of contemporary music: contemporary composers wrote works for him—playing the Villa-Lobos Fantasia for Stokowski—Guarnieri’s Choro—Jose Siquiera’s concerto written for Parisot—Villa-Lobos’s concerto for Parisot—Quincy Porter’s piece for Parisot—playing works of Claudio Santoro—Donald Martino’s Parisonatina that was written for Parisot and based on his name—critical review of Parisonatina—playing Debussy’s Sonata in the Salle Gaveau in Paris—

teaching his student Ashley Bathgate to play the Parisonatina—pieces by Mel Powell, Joan Panetti, Yehudi Wyner, for Parisot—De Novo, by Wyner—Alvin Etler’s piece for Parisot: Concerto for Cello with Chamber Group—more on the Parisonatina—Ezra Laderman’s piece for Parisot—Cazinha pequeninha [The Small House]—playing the Arirang in Korea (Yale Cellos).

Side d                                                                                                  pp. 114-129

Courses in Brazil—returning to Brazil for Villa-Lobos competition—Juarez Johnson (one of Parisot’s students who was instrumental in establishing a Brazilian cello festival)--establishing a festival in João Pessoa in the state of Paraiba—moving the festival to Campos do Jordão because of drought in the north of Brazil—Governor Tarcizio Burity of Paraiba—competition done jointly with Janos Starker—painting “Dodecafonia”—

Parisonatina—three paintings in the lobby of Leigh Hall commissioned by Frank Tirro—selling his paintings to establish a scholarship fund (now called an enrichment fund and also used for prize money)—establishment of scholarship fund in 1995, with Yo-Yo Ma playing—teaching Yo-Yo Ma the Debussy Sonata—Yo-Yo Ma’s approach to playing the cello—Ma’s teacher, Leonard Rose—Parisot on cello technique.

Side e                                                                                                  pp. 132-169

Ezra Laderman’s trilogy of works: Aldo, Simões, and Concerto for Multiple Cellos, that  includes Parisot—Parisot’s personality—Juarez Johnson—other outstanding Parisot students: Maya Beiser, Matthew Brubeck, Emanuel Lopez, Bejun Mehta, Shauna Rolston, Ralph Kirshbaum, Jian Wang, Carter Brey—tour in Poland: work commissioned from Roman Jablonski’s father—his friendship with Penderecki, who was also at Yale for a time—making a painting for Lutoslawski and meeting him—Lutoslawski accepts Parisot’s suggestion of a change in his concerto—meeting Samuel Barber and playing his Cello Concerto—composers sometimes changing their minds—Christopher Rouse’s Rapturedux, written for Ralph Kirshbaum’s International Cello Festival in Manchester, England—Parisot’s conducting—amateur group “No Friends of Music”—teaching positions—Indiana, Yale, Juilliard, Peabody, etc.—New England Conservatory—Mannes—playing the Boccherini Concerto—teaching at Yale—different deans at Yale—importance of serving the student—helping the students: Claudio Jaffe, Jian Wang, and others—Parisot at Norfolk—playing with the Yale String Quartet—playing at Battell House—recording—value of chamber music—playing with Keith Wilson—P. Hawkshaw as director—painting the door of Brookside 1.

Side f                                                                                                  pp. 170-200

Philip Nelson as dean—status of the School—magic of name of Yale—need for special program for the young and gifted—establishing the Yale Cellos—recordings they made—value of Yale Cellos for the students—conducting—his professional connection with Dave Brubeck—Brubeck’s son Matthew—pieces of Brubeck that he has recorded—performing Brubeck—his interpretation of Brubeck’s music—playing with the New Haven Symphony—playing the Schoenberg Cello Concerto—his feelings about the music of various composers—his activities at Banff—master classes—teaching—his paintings—beginning to paint at Norfolk—influence of his study of architecture on his painting—working outside the rectangle—change in style of his paintings—time in architecture school—selling the paintings to raise money for scholarships—when and how he paints—painting as relaxation—joy of continuing to learn—his instrument—selling his instrument.

Side g                                                                                                  pp. 199-249

Parisot’s philosophy and technique of playing the cello—importance of having a cellist teach the cello—holding the bow—freeing the body from tension—scales—playing for photography magazine—acquiring an effective technique—Brazilian system of teaching music—David Popper—Tortelier and the bent end pin—Janos Starker—Gregor Piatigorsky—composers willingness to change if a performer makes a good suggestion—Ralph Kirkpatrick—Aldo Parisot International Paulo Competition in Finland—Parisot’s awards—his public relations people and what they arranged for him—article in Photography.

Side h                                                                                                  pp. 250-267

Being honored in Zankel Hall—Sejong Soloists--tour in Taiwan to aid earthquake victims—Janos Starker—playing with Benny Goodman—more on playing at radio station in Recife—hearing Feuermann on the radio.