A World of Music: National Symphony Orchestra Young People's Concert

PERFORMANCE GUIDE

Cuesheet

A T R I P T H R O U G H T H E K E N N E D Y C E N T E R ’ S H A L L O F N AT I O N S National Symphony Orchestra Young People’s Concert Ankush Kumar Bahl, Conductor

David and Alice Rubenstein are the Presenting Underwriters of the NSO. Performances for Young Audiences is made possible by

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Composers, Orchestras, and Music!

Hundreds of years ago, the world was introduced to the orchestra. It was love at first sound. Everyone was captivated by the never-before-heard sounds of some 20 to 100 musicians playing together. Before the orchestra, classical music was for groups of three (trios) or four (quartets)—tops! The invention of this much bigger musical group meant bigger musical possibilities, and the world’s imagination went wild. Composers all across Europe were inspired to try their hand at creating symphonies for the orchestra and pushing classical music to new limits.

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Who are composers? Composers are people who write or “compose” music. Composers get musical ideas from many sources. Some composers create music that captures a specific time or place. Others are inspired by an emotion—or they might want to tell a story or paint a picture with music.

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The Composer’s Toolbox Every composer uses basic tools to write music. One is pitch (high notes and low notes). Another is rhythm (long notes and short notes.) Once you mix the high and low notes with the long and short notes, you’ve written a melody!

Some other tools in a composer’s toolbox are tempo, major and minor keys, and dynamics. Composers might also adjust the speed at which the music is played using tools with Italian names, like andante for “slow,” allegro for “fast” and accelerando, meaning to accelerate or “get faster.” Through our Listening Activities and at the concert, you’ll learn more about these tools while you hear the music of composers from many different countries across Europe. Listen carefully and you’re sure to hear the international language of music.

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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (pronounced MO-tzart) was an ambitious young composer who wanted to write music like no one else in the world. He did it by writing music that was perfectly constructed—and by capturing his own playful personality in the melodies.

The Composer’s Toolbox When composers work with pitch, they have many notes to choose from: high notes, low notes, and all the notes in-between. To travel from one note to another, composers might take small steps or giant leaps. They might even climb, crawl, hop, scoop, wiggle, or drop to get from one note to another.

LISTENING ACTIVITY

The Composer’s Challenge Mozart challenged himself to write music that sounded different from anything that came before it. He selected his notes very carefully, and he chose how to get from one note to another even more carefully. Go to the “Woofers and Tweeters” Listening Activity that introduces Mozart’s Symphony No. 29 and listen for how Mozart uses high notes, low notes, and all the notes in-between.

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AustriA — The waltz!

The Alps! Apple strudel!

For a small country, Austria has had a huge impact on European culture and on classical music.

Mozart (1756-91) was a child prodigy—someone with extraordinary ability or talent at a young age. He could play the piano beautifully when he was only four years old and completed his first symphony at age eight!

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Edvard Grieg (GREEG) wanted his music to sound like all his favorite Norwegian folk tunes and dances. His most famous work tells the story of a folk hero named “Peer Gynt” (ghint). Peer is a mischievous boy whose adventures include an attempt to steal a princess from a mountain filled with trolls.

The Composer’s Toolbox Composers decide on the rhythm of their melodies by combining long notes and short notes into patterns.

Rhythms happen at the same time as the steady beat. (You can clap along to the steady beat!) Sometimes they match, and sometimes they don’t. The tempo refers to the speed at which the music is played. Some songs are played quickly. Some are played very slowly.

And some get faster all the time.

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The Composer’s Challenge Grieg’s challenge was to write music that told a clear story without using any words. Grieg used rhythm to help tell the story of Peer Gynt tiptoeing through the mountain and being chased by trolls. Jump to the “Oh, No! Trolls!” Listening Activity that introduces Grieg’s “In the Hall of the Mountain King” and listen carefully to hear how rhythm, steady beat, and tempo help to tell the young boy’s story.

raised in a musical home, Grieg (1843–1907) was “discovered” when he was 15 years old by a famous violinist who persuaded his family to send him to music school.

NorWAy — Vikings! Fjords!

Trolls! Located on the northernmost border of Europe, Norway is famous for its cold weather, skiing, beautiful scenery, and the Norse myths handed down from the early Vikings.

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Everyone knows what it feels like to be sad, but what if you wanted to write music that expressed emotions without using words? Benjamin Britten’s “Sentimental Saraband” from his Simple Symphony, is based on melodies sketched in his childhood notebooks.

The Composer ’s Toolbox Another tool in the composer’s toolbox is mood. Britten wrote his melody in a minor key. Songs in a major key sound bright, hopeful, and happy. Music composed in a minor key can sound dark, sad, and even scary sometimes.

Britten (1913–76) was another child prodigy who played the piano and viola and composed music when he was only five years old.

LISTENING ACTIVITY

The Composer ’s Challenge Britten wanted to compose music that expressed emotion without using words. This Listening Activity asks you to compare the sound of familiar melodies in a major key and a minor key. Then, you’ll listen to Britten’s “sad tune” and try to identify what makes it seem sad. Is it only the minor key? What instruments did he choose for his melody? How did he use the other tools in his composer’s toolbox?

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ND ENGLANd — Big Ben! The Beatles! Fish and chips!

England sits inside the united Kingdom, an island off the northwest coast of Europe.

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dmitri shostakovich (duh-MEE-tree Shaw-stah-KOH-vitch) used his music to paint a picture of his war-torn homeland. As a boy, Shostakovich watched as rulers fought for control of Russia. His Symphony No. 10 recalls his memories of the tanks and soldiers he saw in the streets of his homeland, and the determination of the Russian people to find freedom.

The Composer ’s Toolbox

shostakovich (1906–75) began piano lessons when he was eight years old and entered music school at age 13.

One more tool in the composer’s toolbox is dynamics, where the composer tells the musicians how loudly or softly to play the music.

Small changes and big, sudden changes can be very effective. Shostakovich liked to go from loud to even louder, and from very loud to incredibly quiet. This helps make his music very exciting for the audience.

LISTENING ACTIVITY

The Composer ’s Challenge Shostakovich's challenge was to compose music that sounded as if you were living through a war. Make sure you watch your ears when you go to the Listening Activity. Examine what happens when sound changes its dynamic from soft to loud—and from loud to louder—while listening to Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10.

russiA — The Kremlin!

Troikas! Snow, snow, and more snow! russia is the largest country in the world and is the birthplace of many of the world’s most beloved writers, painters, and composers.

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David M. Rubenstein Chairman Michael M. Kaiser President

Before the concert, your teacher will share musical selections from the program. Listen to the music and do the listening activities. You’ll enjoy the concert more if you’re familiar with the music.

Things to Know about a Concert ■

An orchestra is a group of musicians who play different instruments.

There are four sections or “families” of instruments: strings (including violin, viola, cello, and bass); woodwinds (including flute, oboe, clarinet, and bassoon); brass (including trumpet, horn, trombone, and tuba); and percussion (including timpani, snare drum, and xylophone).

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The conductor is a person who leads the orchestra. Conductors use their right hand to tell the orchestra the tempo (speed) to play, and their left hand to indicate the dynamics (loud or soft). Some use a slender white stick called a baton (buh-TAHN) as they conduct. At the concert, watch how the conductor communicates with the musicians.

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After an orchestra is seated, the leader of the violins, known as the “first violinist” or “concertmaster,” bows to applause and takes his or her seat. This person then asks the principal oboist to sound an “A” note, to which the entire orchestra tunes. Watch for the first violinist at the beginning of the performance and greet his or her entrance with applause.

Enjoy the performance!

Darrell M. Ayers Vice President, Education

Christoph Eschenbach Music Director National Symphony Orchestra Additional support for Performances for Young Audiences is provided by the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts, Capital One Bank, the Carter and Melissa Cafritz Charitable Trust, The Clark Charitable Foundation, Fight for Children, Inc., Mr. James V. Kimsey, The Kirstein Family Foundation, Inc., The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation, Inc., Linda and Tobia Mercuro, The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, Park Foundation, Inc., Mrs. Irene Pollin, Dr. Deborah Rose and Dr. Jan A. J. Stolwijk, The Theodore H. Barth Foundation, Inc., the U.S. Department of Education, and the Verizon Foundation.

Major support for the Kennedy Center's educational programs is provided by David and Alice Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program.

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Hall of Nations

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The Kennedy Center’s Hall of Nations displays the flags of all countries on friendly (diplomatic) terms with the United States, in alphabetical order.

When you visit the Kennedy Center, choose your favorite musical selection from the program, identify the country of its composer—and then look for the flag that connects with your favorite piece of music!

There is more about the Hall of Nations— and more about the concert program—online at www.artsedge.kennedy-center.org/ students/kc-connections/ a-world-of-music

www.kennedy-center.org/artsedge Cuesheets are produced by ARTSEDGE, an education program of the Kennedy Center. ARTSEDGE is a part of Verizon Thinkfinity, a consortium of free educational Web sites for K-12 teaching and learning.

Learn more about Education at the Kennedy Center at www.kennedycenter.org/education The contents of this Cuesheet do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. © 2011 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

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