Concerts of Thursday, February 4, at 8:00p, Friday, February 5, at 6:30p, and Saturday, February 6, 2016, at 8:00p.

Transcription

1 Concerts of Thursday, February 4, at 8:00p, Friday, February 5, at 6:30p, and Saturday, February 6, 2016, at 8:00p. Robert Spano, Conductor David Coucheron, violin Johannes Brahms ( ) Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D Major, Opus 77 (1878) I. Allegro non troppo II. Adagio III. Allegro giocoso, ma non troppo vivace David Coucheron, violin Intermission Michael Kurth (b. 1971) A Thousand Words (2015) I. Above: Radiance II. Beneath: My Sinister Groove Machine III. Within IV. Beyond: We Will Puncture the Canopy of Night World Premiere, Commissioned by Robert Spano and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Richard Strauss ( ) Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche (Till Eulenspiegel s Merry Pranks), Opus 28 (1895) The concert of Friday, February 5, performed without intermission, features the Brahms Violin Concerto.

2 Notes on the Program by Ken Meltzer Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D Major, Opus 77 (1878) Johannes Brahms was born in Hamburg, Germany, on May 7, 1833, and died in Vienna, Austria, on April 3, The first performance of the Violin Concerto took place at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Germany, on January 1, 1879, with Joseph Joachim as soloist and the composer conducting. In addition to the solo violin, the Concerto is scored for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, timpani, and strings. Approximate performance time is forty minutes. First Classical Subscription Performance: March 10, 1952, Robert Harrison, Violin, Henry Sopkin, Conductor. Most Recent Classical Subscription Performances: May 29, 30, and 31, 2014, Joshua Bell, Violin, Roberto Spano, Conductor. Robert Shaw Performances: (Classical Subscription, unless otherwise noted) April 8 and 9, 1972 (Other Series), Sergiu Luca, Violin; March 13, 14, and 15, 1980, Henryk Szeryng, Violin; October 30 and 31, November 1, 1986, William Preucil, Violin. Melodies flying so fast During the years 1877 to 1879, Johannes Brahms enjoyed summer vacations in Pörtschach, a tiny Austrian village on Lake Wörth. Brahms found the tranquil and picturesque locale a source of musical inspiration. In the summer of 1877, Brahms wrote to the eminent Viennese music critic, Eduard Hanslick: The Wörthersee is untrodden ground, with melodies flying so fast that you need to watch that you don t step on any of them. It was in Pörtschach that Brahms created such works as his Second Symphony (1877), the G-Major Violin Sonata (1878-9), and the Two Piano Rhapsodies (1879). During his second Pörtschach summer, Brahms also composed his magnificent Violin Concerto. Brahms and Joachim Brahms created the Violin Concerto for his dear friend, the Austro-Hungarian virtuoso violinist, composer, and conductor, Joseph Joachim ( ). Brahms, who frequently sought Joachim s counsel and advice, forwarded the solo violin part of the Concerto s first movement on August 22, 1878, along with the following comments: After having written it out I really don t know what you will make of the solo part alone. It was my intention of course, that you should correct it, not sparing the quality of the composition and that if you thought it not worth scoring, that you should say so. I shall be

3 satisfied if you will mark those parts that are difficult, awkward or impossible to play. The whole affair is in four movements. Joachim, then in Salzburg, replied: It gives me great pleasure to know that you are composing a Violin Concerto in four movements too! I have had a good look at what you sent me and have made a few notes and alterations, but without the full score one can t say much. I can however make out most of it and there is a lot of really good violin music in it, but whether it can be played with comfort in a hot concert-room remains to be seen. On October 23, Brahms apologized to Joachim: I am slow at writing and for first performances! If you think anything of my work, arrange for (a premiere in) January. I cannot write anything definite at the moment especially after having blundered through the (second-movement) Adagio and (third-movement) Scherzo. In November, Brahms informed Joachim that he had revised the Concerto from a four-movement work to one in the standard three: I have had a fair copy made of the solo part, and would like to send you the score soon, in the hope that you can tell me frankly whether this amounts to real hospitality! The middle movements have been cut out naturally they were the best! But I am adding a wretched Adagio. Brahms s reference to the Concerto s glorious slow movement as a wretched Adagio is bound to raise a few eyebrows. Actually, this self-deprecating humor is typical of a man who also characterized his Second Symphony as a little Sinfonia and the monumental Piano Concerto No. 2 as a tiny, tiny, pianoforte concerto with a tiny, tiny, wisp of a scherzo. On December 12, just a few weeks before the anticipated New Year's Day premiere, Brahms wrote to Joachim: I send you the part herewith and agree to your alterations. The orchestral parts will be ready for Jan. 1 st in case you play it in Leipzig. If so, I will meet you in Berlin a few days before... Despite the minimal amount of remaining preparation time, Joachim agreed to give the premiere as scheduled. He also composed the first-movement cadenza that, to this day, remains the preferred version among soloists. The violin wins! The world premiere of the D-Major Violin Concerto took place at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig on New Year s Day, Joachim, to whom Brahms dedicated the work, was the soloist. The premiere, conducted by Brahms, was far from an unqualified triumph. Perhaps the audience was confused by the

4 unusual prominence of the orchestra, which traditionally played a decidedly supporting role in violin concertos. Brahms s unconventional approach prompted Joseph Hellmesberger to dub the work a concerto, not for, but against the violin. Violinist Bronisław Huberman took a somewhat different view, stating that the Brahms Concerto was for violin against orchestra and the violin wins! Brahms and Joachim continued to work on revisions to the score, finally published in October of And in time (thanks in great part to Joachim s sterling advocacy), the Brahms D-Major secured its place as one of the greatest violin concertos, a Mt. Everest of technical and interpretive challenges. As with many of Brahms s finest works, it is also a brilliant and immensely satisfying synthesis of Classical structure and Romantic passion. Musical Analysis I. Allegro non troppo Brahms launches his Violin Concerto in traditional fashion, with a purely orchestral exposition of the movement s principal themes. The bassoons, violas, and cellos, with support from the horns, state the noble first theme. A more flowing theme will reach its full development with the appearance of the soloist. The strings play an agitated and forceful closing motif. The soloist makes a fiery entrance and then, after the mood calms, proceeds to offer embellished statements of the principal themes. The extended development features a wide range of moods and technical challenges for the soloist. A triumphant orchestral statement heralds the varied recapitulation. The soloist's cadenza leads to the final coda, which begins with the utmost serenity. However, the music soon builds to a powerful climax, with the soloist offering a grand concluding flourish. II. Adagio The Adagio s sublime opening, scored for winds, features the oboe s presentation of the unforgettable central melody. The soloist follows with a delicate and wide-ranging version of the theme. After a dramatic central episode, the oboe and violin reprise the melody. A final ethereal passage for the soloist completes the Adagio. III. Allegro giocoso, ma non troppo vivace The soloist immediately launches the rondo finale s vigorous principal theme (many commentators have viewed the music as a tribute by Brahms to Joachim s Hungarian origins). High spirits abound, with the soloist prominently featured throughout the finale. The concluding section opens with a robust march variant of the rondo theme. There is a tremendous surge of momentum, followed by a gradual diminuendo. However, after a brief pause, three jubilant chords mark the Concerto s triumphant conclusion. A Thousand Words (2015) Michael Kurth was born in Falls Church, Virginia, on November 22, These are the world premiere performances. A Thousand Words is scored

5 for piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, English horn, E-flat clarinet, 2 B-flat clarinets, B-flat bass clarinet, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, glockenspiel, marimba, vibraphone, tambourine, ratchet, triangle, tam-tam, kick drum, snare drum, hihat, toms, splash cymbal, suspended cymbal, cowbell, gong, bass drum, congas, brake drum, shaker, salsa bell, claves, chimes, cabasa, optional Berlioz bells, harp, piano, celeste, and strings. Approximate performance time is twenty-seven minutes. A Thousand Words is a commission by Robert Spano and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Michael Kurth Discusses A Thousand Words This work is more difficult to write about than my previous Atlanta Symphony Orchestra commissions; parts of it are slightly programmatic, but mostly it s just music from inside my head spread all over the orchestra for half an hour. One of my favorite authors, Richard Powers, in his novel Orfeo, says: Music doesn t mean things. It is things. I hope that this music will be things to listeners; it is things to me. Why A Thousand Words? The title alludes to the inherent difficulty in expressing verbally the images or memories that occupy our minds. When we remember visits to meaningful places, the images we recall are often accompanied by sensory memories and sentiments difficult to capture with words. I could share pictures of places I ve visited or events I ve experienced, I could try to describe them, or I could relate these things to you musically. In the absence of images or words, the music conveys the meaning, but more; the music becomes its own experience, independent of its source, like a tide pool, or a feral animal. A Thousand Words is symphonic in form, and has four movements: I. Above: Radiance The first movement was inspired by a sunrise over the Atlantic ocean on a January morning at Tybee Island. The movement lasts just about as long as it takes the sun to fully crest the horizon. II. Beneath: My Sinister Groove Machine Parts of the second movement were inspired by the basalt cliffs at Reynisfjara, on the southern coast of Iceland; parts were inspired by the Sloss Furnaces in Birmingham, Alabama. Both places are eerily beautiful, and you should visit them. The music grooves in a mechanically sinister way, hence the subtitle. III. Within The third movement at first appears fragile, but as it develops, it reveals its strength. IV. Beyond: We Will Puncture the Canopy of Night Parts of the fourth movement were inspired by birds in flight, and also by seeing millions of stars in places where that s still possible. It ends with a joyful Carnival parade.

6 Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche (Till Eulenspiegel s Merry Pranks), Opus 28 (1895) Richard Strauss was born in Munich, Germany, on June 11, 1864, and died in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, on September 8, The first performance of Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche took place in Cologne, Germany, on November 5, 1895, with Franz Wüllner conducting the Gürzenich Orchestra. Till Eulenspiegel is scored for piccolo, three flutes, three oboes, English horn, E-flat clarinet, two clarinets, bass clarinet, three bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, large ratchet, snare drum, cymbals, field drum, triangle, bass drum, and strings. Approximate performance time is sixteen minutes. First Classical Subscription Performance: March 31, 1951, Henry Sopkin, Conductor. Most Recent Classical Subscription Performances: March 3, 4 and 5, 2011, Gilbert Varga, Conductor. Till Eulenspiegel Scholars are in general agreement that Richard Strauss s tone poem, Till Eulenspiegel s Merry Pranks, After an Old-Fashioned Roguish Manner In Rondeau Form (to use its full title), is one of the greatest examples of comic expression in music. However, they differ as to the actual origin of the character for whom the piece is named. Some contend that the legendary prankster Till Eulenspiegel (whose last name translates literally as Owl Glass or Owl s Mirror ) was an actual person who was born in Kneitlingen, Brunswick, and died in 1350 at Mölln, Schleswig-Holstein. In the 16 th century, a tombstone was discovered in Mölln bearing the following inscription: This stone no one should lift up. Here is buried Eulenspiegel. Anno Domini MCCCL. Others posit that Till Eulenspiegel, who so delighted in revealing the foibles of the rich and powerful, was a purely mythical figure created to entertain the laborer and peasant, as well as those members of the privileged class who enjoyed a laugh at their own expense. By the early 16 th century, Till s exploits were published in book form and circulated throughout Europe. Till continued to be a popular figure, and was well known and adored by 19 th -century German schoolchildren, the young Richard Strauss included. As an adult, Strauss first conceived of an operatic setting of Till s exploits, and began to sketch a libretto in June of However, the lack of success of Strauss s first operatic effort, Guntrum (1894), may have encouraged the composer to present his musical vision of Till in purely orchestral fashion. The composition of the miraculous score, described by the great 20 th century German conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler as a stroke of genius, worthy of Beethoven, was completed on May 6, The premiere took place that year in Cologne on November 5, with Franz Wüllner leading the Gürzenich Orchestra.

7 Strauss discusses Till Eulenspiegel Although Till Eulenspiegel is clearly programmatic in nature, Strauss was reluctant at first to provide any specific story line or synopsis. At the request of Wüllner, Strauss finally offered the following commentary for the audience attending the premiere: It is impossible for me to furnish a program for Eulenspiegel; were I to put into words the thoughts that its several incidents suggested to me, they would seldom suffice, and might even give rise to offense. Let me leave it, therefore, to my hearers to crack the hard nut that the rogue has prepared for them. By way of helping them to a better understanding, it seems sufficient to point out the two Eulenspiegel motives, which, in the most manifold disguises, moods, and situations, pervade the whole up to the catastrophe, when, after he has been condemned to death, Till is strung up to the gibbet. For the rest, let the merry citizens of Cologne guess at the musical joke that a rogue has offered them. The above comments are interesting for many reasons, not the least of which is Strauss s reference to the rogue. Is the rogue Eulenspiegel, Strauss, or both? We do know that Strauss was a practical joker, who identified to some degree with Till. Musical Analysis The two Eulenspiegel motives noted by Strauss appear at the very outset of the piece. The first a somewhat plaintive theme is played by the violins. The second, one of the most famous horn passages in all of symphonic music, is a puckish seven-measure staccato figure that playfully hesitates twice, prior to bursting forth in its mischievous totality. The two themes reappear in various forms throughout this rather free orchestral rondo, contrasting with material depicting Till s numerous misadventures. Strauss s brilliant orchestration and remarkable ability to create transparent textures (with even the greatest of instrumental forces) are apparent throughout. Strauss later provided the following inscriptions above various passages in a score of Till, owned by his friend Wilhelm Mauke. They offer a somewhat more detailed picture of the story as conceived by the composer for his orchestral tourde-force: Once upon a time there was a Volksnarr; Named Till Eulenspiegel; That was an awful hobgoblin; Off for new pranks; Just wait, you hypocrites! Hop! On horseback into the midst of the marketwomen; with seven-league boots he lights out; Hidden in a mousehole; Disguised as a pastor, he drips with unction and morals; yet out of his big toe peeps the rogue; But before he gets through he

8 nevertheless has qualms because of his having mocked religion; Till as cavalier pays court to the girls; She has really made an impression on him; He courts her; A kind refusal is still a refusal; Till departs furious; He swears vengeance on all mankind; Philistine motive; After he has pronounced to the Philistines a few amazing theses he leaves them in astonishment to their fate; Great grimaces from afar; Till s street tune; The court of justice; He still whistles to himself indifferently; Up the ladder; There he swings; he gasps for air; a last convulsion; The mortal part of Till is no more. To Strauss s own commentary it need only be added that an epilogue follows the musical depiction of Till s execution. According to legend, Till Eulenspiegel continued to torment his enemies, even after his death. The work s raucous conclusion gleefully hints that the prankster s spirit indeed lives on.