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Introductions by Mark Sheldon
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ARGENTO Reverie (Reflections on a Hymn Tune) Listen Mr. Argento purposely wrote this work with the MSO's upcoming European tour in mind. He wanted to write something based on a pre-existent tune that might be familiar to both Europeans and Americans. He chose the tune ELLACOMBE. It was composed in Germany in 1784 for use in the Duke of Wirtemburg's catholic chapel. It later became a Protestant hymn in England and America where it is frequently sung at Easter to the words: Great day of resurrection. Earth tell it out abroad." This is not a set of variations...it is, rather, a meditation or reflection on the melody as the subtitle indicates. Only towards the end of the work is the actual tune given away. In the composer's words, this gives way to a spiritual sort of progression, from doubt thru indecision to acceptance from dimness to brightness.A point underscored by the added construction of the work being one continuous crescendo. Moving from darkness into light, from dimness into brightness, doubt to faith...the world premiere of Reverie, Reflections on a Hymn tune by Dominick Argento...the MSO led by Eiji Oue...a work commissioned by the MSO for their 1998 European tour...a work based on Protestant hymn in England and America where it is frequently sung at Easter to the words: Great day of resurrection. Earth tell it out abroad." One continuous crescendo leading us forward from darkness into light or from doubt into faith, as the composer suggests.
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RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No.3 Listen Here's a work that is generally considered to be the ULTIMATE piano concerto in the repertoire...and not one for the faint hearted. If you saw the movie Shine, you already have some familiarity with Rachmaninoff's 3rd concerto...Rachmaninoff wrote this for his own US tour in 1909.
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TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 5 Listen Though some ten years separate them, the fourth and fifth symphonies of Tchaikovsky share much in common: both are cast in the minor mode, both deal with gloomy as well as exuberant spirits, and both acknowledge Tchaikovsky's all-pervasive sense that fate is one's constant companion in life. It sometimes seems that you couldnt be a composer in the 19th century without paying at least lipservice to the notion of FATE. And it was that SENSE of Fate and the inescapable destiny of life that dogged Tchaikovsky his entire life... At the heart of the symphony is this Fate motive...you'll hear it first played by the clarinets...this theme will occur at several points thru out the symphony. The second movement brings one of Tchaikovsky's loveliest and most mournful melodies, played by the french horn. The tune is full of the kind of nostalgia and melancholy that marks much of Tchaikovsky's later works. The third movement temporarily blows away the gloom and brings forth a dance fashioned from a tune he heard once as a boy on the streets in Florence. And in the fourth movement, the emotional battle between the forces of Fate and Triumph are played out. The Fate theme is ever-present but in a final statement of glory, Tchaikovsky changes the minor into a major, and at least for now, he seems to come off victorious over his ever-present sense of Fate. ...A work full of all the hopes AND fears of life...of that intangible blend of powerlessness fused with an ultimate sense of victory--that strange mixture we all feel as different points in our lives--a work as disarmingly human in its expression of that dichotomy as any you are likely to find in the orchestral repertoire. And as with so many of Tchaikovsky's works, an almost overwhelming pessimism gives way to a brilliant and a vibrant conclusion, offering some consolation to Tchaikovsky's ever-present sense of Fate. The Symphony #5 by Tchaikovsky played by the Minnesota Orchestra under the baton of Eiji Oue...one of the works the MSO will be taking to Europe in February. |
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MOZART Sinfonia Concertante in E-flat major for Violin, Viola, and Orchestra, K. 320d [K. 364] Listen There is a certain amount of intrigue surrounding Mozart's charming Sinfonia concertante in Eb...one of those little events in the life of Mozart that adds fodder to the already Hollywood-like life of the young composer. He evidently had written it for a Paris performance featuring some very well-known soloists. But the person he assigned to copy the work for performance DIDNT do it...why, no one knows...but Mozart himself was suspicious that jealousy was at the root. Mozart never saw the score again...and although he intended to write it all out again from that incredible memory of his, he never got around to it and it disappeared from sight for some 70 years. What eventually did turn up was not the manuscript but a rather romantic interpretation of the score...the original flute part was gone and in its place was the part for clarinet...still, it WAS Mozart's...just not the way he had originally written it. But what we DO have is still a marvel of wind writing...colorful, lyrical, and every bit as charming as the original must have been.
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BARTOK Concerto for Orchestra Listen Bela Bartok came to the U.S. in 1940 at the age of 60, starting all over again. He became very pessimistic about his career, his finances, life in general. He was a renowned performer, composer and ethnomusicologist in his native Hungary. But work was hard to find in New York. Through the generosity of friends and some timely commissions, Bartok was able to wade through some of his financial swamps. In 1943, diagnosed with leukemia, Bartok was hospitalized. While there, Serge Koussevitsky, music director of the Boston SO came for a visit and offered a $1000 commission for a new work. Bartok, thinking he wouldn't be able to finish it, declined at first. But once he accepted the offer, he wrote the Concerto for Orchestra in about 2 months. Its premiere in 1944 at Carnegie Hall, New York was a great success. And of course, the Concerto for Orchestra is now a part of any major orchestra's music list. This is one of those pieces where the whole orchestra gets to take a solo bow. It is a Concerto for Orchestra after all. Written by a piano virtuoso himself, Bela Bartok...for virtuosos in the symphonic world, the Boston symphony Orchestra led by Serge Koussevitsky in 1944. It is a good test for any music director, too. The Minnesota Orchestra started playing the Concerto for Orchestra with Antal Dorati in 1949, five years after its premiere. They also recorded it for Mercury, as did Stanislaw Skrowaczewski years later for Vox. Eiji Oue taking up the challenge here making his own mark. . As I mentioned earlier,it now doubt would have pleased Bartok to know that this final work of his is now one of the mainstays of any major orchestra.
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SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Opus 47 Listen Without a doubt, Sergei Prokofiev and Dmitri Shostakovich were the two greatest symphonists of 20th century Soviet Russia...the difference being, as commentator MaryAnn Feldmann points out, that Prokofiev had been trained in Czarist Russia before the Revolution and had lived for a time in the West. Shostakovich was the first true product of a post-Revolutionary Russia and composed no less than 15 symphonies during his creative life. After his opera "Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk" was sounded rejected by the official Soviet press as "leftist" and "unwholesome," followed by a likewise dismisal of his ballet, "The Clear Stream," he was definitely "out of favor" with the authorities. for many years, this 5th Symphony was seen as his "rehabilitation"...his "response to just criticism" as he told the press. this was a dark period in Soviet history...the time of the purges, the concentration camps, the Stalin inspired genocide of his own people. It's no wonder that what someone SAID and what someone BELIEVED may be at odds with one another. And exactly WHAT Shostakovich was feeling or believing when he composed this symphony may, indeed, never be known. But his longtime friend and colleague cellist Mstislav Rostopovich once remarked "anyone who thinks the finale of the 5th symphony is a glorification is an idiot." Strong words...but probably closer to the truth than the official line. Ultimately, we all have our own response to music, no matter the external conditions of its creation...and this work has certainly always elicited a strong response from its hearers...a symphony on an heroic scale, invoking the spirit of Beethoven, to be sure, with an expansive and emotional slow movement, catchy Scherzo rhythms, and the ultimately dramatic and triumphant finale have appealed to its hearers since its premiere in Leningrad 1937...in time for the 20th anniversary of the Soviet Revolution... ...one of the most triumphant symphonic creations of this century...AND one that has a great deal of legend and myth that has grown up around it. Maestro Oue believes that inspite of all the external political circumstances surrounding its creation, it has an inner, deeper meaning--at least to him: ...its hard to imagine a more exciting or exhilerating finale to any symphonic work......whatEVER the inner motivations at work within Shostakovich. He certainly did regain the good graces of the Soviet authorities with this symphony...Shostakovich had been on the OUTS with the musical establishment for his more adventurous compositions preceeding this one...but whether this was a true evocation of the spirit of the soviet socialist realist artist credo, or whether shostakovich was thumbing his nose at the establishment will be left to the scholars to debate for years t come...for us, WE get the enjoyment of the emotional, intellectual, and purely visceral response to one of the great masterworks of the 20th century.
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SIBELIUS Concerto in D minor for Violin and Orchestra, Opus 47 Listen Sibelius himself was trained as a violinist and so it should come as no surprise that he understood more than just the technical capabilities of the instrument when he wrote this amazing work. He was already an accomplished composer of tone poems and musical depicter of ancient Finnish legends when he turned his hand to composing this violin concerto...so it is not surprising that the SOUND is much like one of his great epic symphonic creations. He had intended it to be premiered by virtuoso violinist Willy Burmester--who eagerly awaited it--but the premiere date had to be changed and thus the first performance was given by a less accomplished violinist and its reception was cool. Sibelius was discouraged. Years later he revised it and again wanted Burmester to perform it...AGAIN, the date had to be changed and another violinist engaged to perform it...though this time none other than Richard Strauss was the conductor of the performance! But Burmester never did get to perform this work, ironically enough. You will hear a combination of intimate, personal lyricism combined with some of the most exciting gypsy-like dance phrases...AND one of the most brilliant endings of any violin concerto to be found anywhere!
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BEETHOVEN Leonore Overture No. 3 Listen Earlier we the final version of Beethoven's overture to Fidelio, his one and only opera. His earlier three versions are known as the three Leonore Overtures...all worthy efforts in their own right, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, but for Beethoven none was suited to open his opera. For him, they gave too much of the plot away. Still, they stand on their own as concert works quite nicely. We are going to hear the 3rd of the those Leonore Overtures...the most polished and perfect of the less-than-perfect three. This work indeed acts as a summary of the story complete with the thrilling climax where Fidelio thows herself in front of the assasin's pistol ust as as a trumpet announces the arrival of the liberators who will free her husband. It's an orchestral drama in miniature, building tension that is finally released by the liberating trumpet signal...and is always a winner in the concert hall... ...the third of the so-called Leonore Overtures...NOT the one that Beethoven accepted as the official opening of his opera, though he did write THIS version for the successful 1806 revival of Fidelio.
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STRAVINSKY The Firebird Suite Listen The Firebird was Stravinsky's first true success. He was 28 and he hit it big with his shimmering orchestration...so captivating it caught the attention of no less figures than Claude Debussy and Richard Strauss when they first heard it. The music tells the story quite convincingly of a the Russian legend of young Prince Ivan who stumbles upon a magical firebird, takes pity on its life who in turns give him a magic feather to use if he is ever in trouble. When his castle is beset upon by an evil green-taloned orge and he is about to be turned into stone, he remembers the Firebird's feather, calls upon his friend who saves the castle and its inhabitants...and of course, the Prince gets the Princess and everyone lives happily ever after...including the composer...it was THIS score that made him an instant celebrity. Here is the Minnesota Orchestra led by Eiji Oue to perform the suite from the ballet The Firebird...by Igor Stravinsky. The Firebird by Igor Stravinsky performed by the Minnesota Orchestra under the direction of music director Eiji Oue...this is the second of three orchestral suites Stravinsky gleened from his first huge success...and the one performed the most often...in fact, this still remains THE most popular of any work Stravinsky was to compose the rest of his life...even though his style changed quickly after this ballet...Petroushka and the Rite of Spring following close on the heels of this success...in truth, it irritated him that often fans would remark as time went on that they wished he would return to the lush style of his Firebird...something he never did of course...but that has not dulled the popularity of this much loved ballet. This is one of the works the Minnesota orchestra has recently recorded for the Reference Recordings label...that with the Rite of Spring...along with a CD called "Exotic Dances from Opera.." both disks being released in May of 1996.
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BARBER Symphony No. 1 (in One Movement) Listen Samuel Barber was one of the leading compositional voices the first half of this century from this country. He is best remembered these days for having written that haunting and emotionally wrenching Adagio for Strings made universally known in the movie Platoon. Barber's gift for melody was extraordinary and seemingly endless and his first symphony which we will hear now was the first american composition to be represented at the Salzburg festival in 1937. It's the first work the MSO will perform on the first stop of their tour taking place in London, so here is a performance of the work made by the LSO led by David Measham...the symphony #1 in One mvmt, by Samuel Barber.
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