How to Enjoy the Concert Experience ENJOY Bravo! Vail is an extremely communal experience. In fact, people often say that the social component is what sets Bravo! Vail apart from other classical music organizations. People coming together to enjoy great music in a casual atmosphere in one of the most glorious settings in the world – that’s what makes Bravo! Vail so special.
of rules around applause. If you’re a free spirit, applaud when you feel like it, although someone may give you a stern look. If not, watch for when the conductor drops his or her arms and turns around - or just take a cue from those around you. BE ON TIME Try to arrive in plenty of time to park, visit the concessions, find your seat and read about the concert in the program book. A lot of people time it so closely that they either don’t make it to their seat in time or are so rushed they cannot enjoy the beginning of the concert. Remember, parking in Vail can be challenging and time consuming.
VERY FEW RULES Bravo! Vail isn’t a fan of legislating anyone’s concert experience. Browse the Internet to see hundreds of “Concert Etiquette” entries if you are interested, but we like to use good old common sense. Be comfortable, be courteous of those around you, and have a good time.
MANNERS LIKE YOUR ELDERS TAUGHT YOU Cell phones, watch alarms, pagers, cameras, and other electronic devices are designed to make noise, but the only noise people around you want to hear is that of Beethoven, Mozart and Bach. Please turn off all these devices prior to performances, as they’ll disrupt the concentration of musicians and other patrons. If you forget, your neighbor will certainly be tempted to remind you.
DRESS Those who don’t often go to classical music concerts completely stress out about what to wear. Don’t worry because Vail is an extremely casual place and Bravo! Vail is the same. There is no set dress for concerts. You can dress formally, if you wish, or opt for the comfort of jeans and t-shirts. Wear what makes you feel comfortable. But, don’t forget that Vail at nighttime can get very cold and damp. Come prepared.
TALKING Your quiet whisper is as loud as a freight train to someone intently trying to listen to glorious sounds at Bravo! Vail, so be kind to your neighbors by keeping any unnecessary conversation to a minimum until the intermission or after the concert.
APPLAUSE Ditto on what was said above about dress. In 19th century Italy, audiences would spontaneously erupt in applause at a great rendition of an operatic aria, or when the spirit moved them. Today, we’ve manufactured lots 1
What is symphonic music? The word symphonic is an adjective now referring to a musical composition scored for a symphony orchestra. Symphonic music doesn’t necessarily refer just to symphonies, but works of all lengths and styles that require larger orchestral forces. The modern symphonic form was devised by the Austrian composer Franz Joseph Haydn in the 18th century and continues to be developed by present-day composers. “Symphonic” does not imply a specific form. The word’s root derives from the Greek word συμφωνiα, meaning “agreement or concord of sound.” Over the centuries the word evolved widely and with differing meanings. In Germany, “Symphonie” was a generic term for spinets and virginals (early keyboards) from the late 16th to the 18th century. In the sense of “sounding together” the word begins to appear in the titles of some works by 16th and 17th century composers including Giovanni Gabrieli and Heinrich Schütz. In the 17th century and for most of the Baroque period, the terms “symphony” and “sinfonia” were used for a range of different compositions, including instrumental pieces used in operas, sonatas and concertos—usually part of a larger work. The opera sinfonia, or Italian overture had, by the 18th century, a standard structure of three contrasting movements: fast; slow; fast and dance-like. It is this form that is often considered as the direct forerunner of the orchestral symphony.
What is chamber music? Called “the music of friends,” this form of music began to flourish at a time when economic prosperity allowed amateur musicians with ample free time to gather with friends in their homes to entertain one another. This is music written to be performed in “chambers” or rooms in a palace or stately home. Chamber music is composed for smaller groups of instruments and performers, with one performer to a part. The real excitement of chamber music comes from being in close proximity to the music and the musicians, and the incredibly intimate, direct and personal nature of the music making. Playing chamber music requires special skills, both musical and social, that differ from those required for playing solo or symphonic works. A sense of teamwork, compromise and respect for everyone’s input is required to be a successful chamber musician.
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CLASSICAL MUSIC IN A NUTSHELL Classical music is rooted in Western European liturgical and secular music, beginning in the 11th century and continuing today. The music became codified sometime between 1550 and 1900 when much of the repertory we perform today was written. During this time the system of staff notation was developed to prescribe the pitch, speed, meter, individual rhythms and exact execution of a piece of music. The term “classical music” didn’t appear until the early 19th century when an attempt was made to describe the period from Johann Sebastian Bach to Beethoven as the music’s “golden age”. The earliest reference to “classical music” recorded by the Oxford English Dictionary is from 1836. In order to understand the timeline for Western art music, one must accept the fact that, first and foremost, musical periods were not ‘cut and dry’ and not necessarily linear. Styles and periods have always overlapped but musical innovations in every era have led to exciting and influential new soundscapes that have come to define every period.
BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF CLASSICAL MUSIC PERIODS Antiquity We really have no idea what this music sounded like, but do know that the Greeks in particular used three primary instruments: the lyre (harp), kithara (primitive guitar), and the aulos (reed instrument). Instruments were used to accompany stories, dancing, and poems that were tied to Greek dramas. Music would accompany speech and dialogue on stage and later competitions were held as instrumental music grew popular and more complex. Medieval Music written during the Middle Ages traces its beginnings to the fall of the Roman Empire. This era concludes sometime in the early 15th century. Beginning in the 12th century Europe had begun to recover economically and stabilize after the fall of the Roman Empire and the Dark Ages that followed. We see the rise of Gregorian chant and stringed instruments like the lute and dulcimer, as well as instruments from places like Byzantium.
LISTEN UP
Use your web browser or go to YouTube to search for the music of Leonin and Perotin, early church composers from Notre Dame of Paris, to hear the approximate sounds of music written from the late 1100s to the mid 1200s.
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Renaissance Starting around 1400 and ending with the Baroque era around 1600, the music of this period was significantly influenced by the rise of humanistic thought and the rediscovery of the literary and artistic heritage of ancient Greece and Rome. The period is characterized by increased innovation and discovery, the growth of commercial enterprise, the rise of the middle class and the Protestant Reformation. From this changing society emerged a common, unifying musical language. The development of printing made distribution of music possible on a wide scale. Demand for music as entertainment and as an activity for educated amateurs increased with the emergence of the middle class. The flourishing system of music education in the many churches and cathedrals allowed the training of hundreds of singers and composers, who were then hired as composers and teachers by churches and aristocratic courts.
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Use your web browser or go to YouTube to find a few examples of music from this era: Palestrina’s Pope Marcellus Mass; William Byrd’s Ave Verum Corpus, and various Renaissance dances.
Baroque Describing music that flourished from approximately 1600 to 1750, the word “baroque” comes from the Portuguese word barroco, meaning “misshapen pearl.” This connotation refers to the highly florid and heavily ornamented music of this period that combined with the art of improvisation to become the hallmark of the era. Baroque music’s most famous composers include Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, Domenico Scarlatti and Antonio Vivaldi. During the Baroque period composers and performers made changes in musical notation and developed new instrumental playing techniques. Baroque music expanded the size, range, and complexity of instrumental performance. Opera as a musical genre as well as many musical terms and concepts still used today were established during the Baroque era.
LISTEN UP
Use your web browser or go to YouTube to find excerpts from Bach’s Goldberg Variations and Domenico Scarlatti’s Keyboard Sonatas L. 14 and L. 429, which will be performed by Anne-Marie McDermott and Joyce Yang on the Silver Oak and Twomey Series on July 31st.
Classical This term refers to music written after the death of JS Bach in 1750 until about 1820. A reaction to the “excesses” of Baroque music, music of this period mirrors the move toward a new style in architecture, literature, and the arts, generally known as Classicism, which sought to emulate the ideals of Classical antiquity and especially those of Classical Greece. While still tightly linked to the royal court culture with
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its formality and emphasis on order and hierarchy, the new aesthetic emphasized a cleaner style—one that favored clearer divisions between parts, brighter contrasts and colors, and simplicity rather than complexity. The typical orchestra size increased with the legendary composers of this era: Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Ludwig van Beethoven.
LISTEN UP
Use your web browser or go to YouTube for examples of Mozart’s Concerto No. 12 in A major, K. 414 which will be played by Anne-Marie McDermott and the Calder Quartet on July 15th; and Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, to be performed by the Dallas Symphony with its music director Jaap van Zweden on July 1st.
Romantic Music that is the heart and soul of the modern symphony orchestra was roughly written between the 1820s and 1910. Influenced by Beethoven, composers who followed exploited the full spectrum of emotional expression in their music. This unleashing of emotion was the focus of all the arts of the self-described Romantic movement. The nineteenth century saw the creation and evolution of new genres such as symphonies that followed explicit story lines, the symphonic poem, the concert overture, and short, expressive piano pieces written for the salons of Europe by Robert Schumann and Frédéric Chopin. The Italian bel canto (beautiful singing) tradition of Rossini, Donizetti and Bellini led directly to the later operatic masterworks of Giuseppe Verdi. North of Italy music developed along a different path with the new idea of the German music drama as established by Richard Wagner. Romantic composers turned to the visual arts, poetry, drama, literature and to nature itself while further developing the older musical forms and making them serve their heightened emotional artistic ideals.
LISTEN UP
Use your web browser or go to YouTube to search for Chopin’s Twenty-Four Preludes, Op. 28 to be performed on July 30th by pianist Pedja Muzijevic. Also search for the Dies Irae of Verdi’s Requiem, to be performed by The Philadelphia Orchestra under the baton of its new music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin on July 13th.
20th Century/Modern Arising out of the social advances of the 19th century and associated political tumult, music of this era is diverse, disparate and developed in many different directions at the same time. Composers such as Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss and Jean Sibelius were pushing the boundaries of Post-Romantic symphonic writing at the same time that the Impressionist movement took hold in France, spearheaded by Claude Debussy. Reactions to Post-Romantic and Impressionist styles in turn were widespread: Arnold Schoenberg developed atonality out of the expressionism that arose in the early part of the 20th century; Stravinsky explored neoclassicism; and Italian composers dabbled with the “Futurist” context. Concert music moved into the university setting after WWII and its popularity with audiences was sometimes 5
challenged as highly experimental styles became the norm. Some composers in the United States responded by creating an American vernacular style of music as evident in the works of Aaron Copland and George Gershwin. In the latter part of the 20th century minimalism ascended through the works of Phillip Glass and John Adams, as did other significant movements. The term postmodern music is often applied to music that “reacts” to Modernism, although it is not always clear what the “reaction” is to. Experimentation and open mindedness are the hallmarks of the music with which we currently live.
LISTEN UP
Use your web browser or go to YouTube for Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 in G Major, to be performed by The Philadelphia Orchestra and its Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin on July 12th. Also search for Brainstorm by Sebastian Currier, to be performed by pianist Joyce Yang on July 31st at the Silver Oak and Twomey Series.
MODERN ORCHESTRA SET UP
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BRAVO! VAIL’S 2013 SEASON The only Festival in North America to host three of the world’s finest orchestras in a single season, Bravo! Vail 2013 features summer residencies by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic with popular concerto artists plus a wide array of stellar chamber music performances. Artists include pianists Garrick Ohlsson and Jean-Yves Thibaudet, baritone Matthias Goerne, cellist Alisa Weilerstein, Cuban jazz legend Paquito D’Rivera, and violinists Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg and Gil Shaham. Dvořák Immersion: In Anne-Marie McDermott’s Own Words “At the heart of every Festival, I love to create what I call a ‘mini-immersion’ into the world of a single composer. My choice for 2013 is the Czech composer, Antonin Dvořák, who, within a brief life span of 63 years, prodigiously crafted symphonies, songs, concertos, choral scores, and more than forty pieces of chamber music. Noted for his natural affinity for melody, and the characteristic folk rhythms and ebullient, life-affirming character of his scores, Dvořák occupies an important place in the pantheon of great symphonic composers. From the Wind Serenade, the earliest of the works to be performed on the Bravo! Vail season, to his Symphony, From the New World, listeners can experience the wide variety of genres and sounds that reveal the authentic and highly personal sonic world of Antonin Dvořák. The other aspect of his work (and that of Janáček and Bartók whose music I have programmed alongside it) is his fascination with native folk music. As the composer himself said, “All the great musicians have borrowed from the songs of the people.” The son of a butcher, Dvořák was raised and lived among “the people” and his residency in the United States is rich with stories of his communing with people at favorite watering holes on Manhattan’s Lower East Side to visits to Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. Yet Dvořák’s music is never merely a pastiche of well-known songs and dances, nor does he directly quote known folk melodies. The driving Piano Quintet, the more elusive Piano Quartet and the pastoral String Quintet (all scheduled this summer) reveal a unique compositional style. Members of The Philadelphia Orchestra, the Calder Quartet, and the violist Paul Neubauer all will recreate the lyrical lines, the surprising “dumkas” (Slavic epic ballads), the fiery scherzos and the symphonic sized sounds of this amazing chamber music. Choral music and songs featuring the world-class all male vocal ensemble Cantus, and the engaging soprano Susanna Phillips, round out the programs. Jaap van Zweden and the Dallas Symphony will open our exploration with their magical rendition of the popular New World Symphony. Near the end of the Bravo! Vail season we hear one of Dvořák’s last works written in America, the masterful Cello Concerto in B minor. The incomparable New York Philharmonic and its star principal cellist Carter Brey will do the honors. Along the way, we will have engaging talks, interesting articles and a lot of fun.”
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Orchestral Highlights On June 29th, guest conductor Bob Bernhardt leads the Dallas Symphony in a tribute to America’s great movie composers in “Music at the Movies: A Tribute to John Williams & Arthur Fiedler,” centering on Williams’s most famous scores. DSO music director, Jaap van Zweden, returns on Sunday, June 30th, with Dvořák’s New World Symphony. Garrick Ohlsson also performs Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2. On Monday, July 1st, the DSO performs one of classical music’s most cherished works, Beethoven’s 5th Symphony. The Philadelphia Orchestra’s 2013 residency includes the return of “Cirque de la Symphonie” on July 6th. Spellbinding acrobatic and aerial feats are choreographed to rich classical scores as performed by the fabulous Philadelphians. Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin concludes The Philadelphia Orchestra residency on July 13th with the Bravo! Vail premiere of Verdi’s monumental Requiem Mass for orchestra, chorus and vocal soloists. Highlights of the New York Philharmonic’s residency are principal cello Carter Brey performing Dvořák’s Cello Concerto and music director Alan Gilbert leading the New Yorkers in Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 on July 19th. On July 21st pianist JeanYves Thibaudet performs Liszt’s Totentanz. Bravo! Vail’s first-ever Broadway Night with the New York Philharmonic is scheduled for July 24th. Veteran conductor Ted Sperling leads a cast of superb singers direct from Broadway in some of the most romantic songs ever written from shows like Promises, Promises, West Side Story, Annie Get Your Gun, Carousel, Guys and Dolls, Ragtime and A Light in the Piazza. Chamber Music Series On July 15th, the Calder Quartet and pianist AnneMarie McDermott will give the first live performance of a recording project they recently completed—that of three Mozart Piano Concertos in the composer’s sanctioned renditions for string quartet. The concertos, with catalogue numbers K. 414, 415 and 449, are all from the early 1780s. As a pragmatist, Mozart was fully in favor of these being played with string quartet because he knew they’d receive far more performances than with full orchestra. Bravo! Vail is happy to announce that the new
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McDermott/Calder Mozart Concertos recording will be released for the first time to the public the night of the concert. Throughout July, Slavic chamber music delights fill the schedule. Dvořák’s Serenade for Winds and the Piano Quintet No. 2 are performed on July 11th. Soprano Susanna Phillips, Cantus and the Calder Quartet join violist Paul Neubauer and pianist Anne-Marie McDermott on July 16th and 17th for two varied programs full of works by Dvořák, Janáček and Bartók. At the final concert of the Festival on August 3rd, Anne-Marie McDermott has invited three pianist friends to join her on stage for a Four Piano Bash. Featured is Carl Czerny’s Equator Concertante for Four Pianos, a work he wrote for three of his female students. On the same program Joyce Yang, Stephen Prutsman, Pedja Muzijevic, and McDermott will also perform Bach’s Concerto for Four Keyboards. Free Concerts All Summer Long This summer Bravo! Vail offers 14 different free, hour-long chamber music concerts at the Vail Interfaith Chapel, The Chapel at Beaver Creek, Edwards Interfaith Chapel, and locations in Gypsum and elsewhere throughout the Valley. Check the attached schedule at the end of this guide for details. Silver Oak and Twomey Series: In Anne-Marie McDermott’s Own Words “’I was so completely thrilled by the success of our first Silver Oak and Twomey Series at the wonderful Donovan Pavilion last summer. We set out to create a new atmosphere for listening -- comfortable, elegant, intimate and enveloped in the beauty of the outdoors. Bringing the performers in close proximity with the audience and encouraging both to mingle over great food and wine creates a sense of openness, receptivity and good spirit. This is for me the very essence of performance, particularly in the magical realm of chamber music. Musically, my goal in 2013, just as it was in 2012, is to share with audiences the passion that my colleagues and I have for discovering the resonances and interplay between what is considered “new” in music to that which we now call “old” that revered body of work that stretches back at least five centuries. I want our audiences to hear from the musicians, both in their playing and their own voices, why new and recent music is not separate for them from the past. I want to create an ongoing dialogue with our audiences to understand how great music from all eras connects with our present day experience. With each succeeding generation of musicians, this dialogue has become more potent. The Silver Oak and Twomey Series opening night on Tuesday, July 30th, for example, spotlights the young Jasper String Quartet. As this astonishing ensemble came of age at the Oberlin Conservatory and at Yale, it discovered not only the singular joy of performing Quartets by Beethoven and other 18th and 19th century masters, but also the wealth of music written by composers from the last 25 to 40 years. Of special interest to them is the passionate and deeply moving music of the Pulitzer Prize winning American composer Aaron Jay Kernis. Juxtaposing Kernis’ Second String Quartet with Beethoven’s Op. 59, No. 3 is for the Jasper one of the most exciting ways in which they can share with audiences the relationship between two vastly different sounding works written in 1806 and 1997. As J Freivogel, the Quartet’s first violinist, has so eloquently written: 9
Silver Oak and Twomey Series Calder Quartet
“ Sometimes there are pieces that we connect with right from the start and this was the case with Kernis’ second quartet. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1998, the year after it was written, and there is a wonderful complexity to the music that works much like a kaleidoscope - unveiling its beauty with each musical turn. In composing the piece, Kernis took inspiration from Beethoven’s quartets as a whole and Op. 59 No. 3 specifically. The final fugue of Op. 59 No. 3 is one of the great finales to any quartet; Kernis chose this movement on which to base his final movement, Double Triple Gigue Fugue (after Beethoven). The two works were a natural pairing for our season’s programs…” The second Silver Oak and Twomey Series installment on Wednesday, July 31st is an all solo piano evening featuring Joyce Yang, Stephen Prutsman and me. The program culminates with Bach’s iconic, some would even say mythical, Goldberg Variations, which I am so honored to play. Put simply, the Goldbergs consist of an Aria and 30 variations--a format that Bach did not often employ. Tomes have been written about this now well-known work, including stories that may or may not be true about a certain insomniac Count who requested a work that his trusted composer/performer companion could be given to play as a way of entertaining him during sleepless nights. Glenn Gould’s 1955 debut recording of the work on Columbia Masterworks sparked the Goldberg’s widespread fame. In a program note from my 2010 concert in Los Angeles, I found this excerpt especially clear and inspiring: “ Much study and analysis has been dedicated to JS Bach’s Goldberg Variations, for they are the towering work of a master. Not only do they require skillful playing and considerable stamina, they draw upon a wealth of traditions. The set is an encyclopedia of the styles and techniques of the period. Bach had absorbed and mastered all of the genres and styles of his time, and his unique understanding is evident in variation after variation. The Goldberg Variations are nothing short of a musical expedition—each variation is an exquisite snapshot along the way, and the whole journey is a splendid one....” – Christine Lee Gengaro, PhD On the first half of the solo piano program, Joyce Yang and Stephen Prutsman offer stunning and fun works that will awake the senses. Joyce Yang plays two 10
Silver Oak and Twomey Series Jasper String Quartet
compositions by the 53-year old American composer Sebastian Currier, known for numerous works written for and championed by violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter. The first of these from 1997 is Scarlatti Cadences, an homage to the 18th century Italian composer and keyboardist Domenico Scarlatti; the second, a fiery work entitled Brainstorm. Joyce pairs these two works beautifully. Also on the first half of the evening Stephen Prutsman, well known to fans of last summer’s Silver Oak and Twomey Series, creates one of his typically thoughtprovoking juxtapositions with a few of his own compositions side by side with Beethoven’s “Moonlight” Sonata. The final concert of the Silver Oak and Twomey Series on August 1st pairs two major works of the chamber music repertoire that may seem worlds apart, yet dozens of concert programs share these two giants of music - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Olivier Messiaen. Messiaen, a French organist and composer, died in 1992, 201 years after Mozart’s death. It would be foolish to dig too deeply for direct musical connections or hidden meanings in this concert. Perhaps by opening with the light-filled ebullience of Mozart’s cherished Clarinet Quintet and closing with the utterly profound and monumental Quartet for the End of Time, we will experience humanity’s inner contrasts of light and dark, or perhaps one will take away another glimpse into music’s transcendent powers. This is for the audience to decide. I can only promise that they will not leave unmoved. The back-story to the Quartet of the End of Time is fascinating. Knowing that it was written by Messiaen while a captive in a German prisoner of war camp in WWII, premiered by him on piano with other prisoners on hand - a cellist, a violinist and a clarinetist – and coupled with its literary source in the Book of Revelations, adds layers of meaning to the haunting sounds and the stunning silences of the work’s eight movements. What is most remarkable to me is that I have known many people who knew nothing of the story, or the context, but still have more than grasped the work’s epic power. 11
Top 10 Pieces on the 2013 Season You Should Know – and Why 1. DVOŘÁK: Symphony No. 9 in E minor, From the New World, Op. 95 • Dvořák became director of the new National Conservatory of Music in New York City in 1892, enticed by the thenunthinkably high annual salary of $15,000. • The New World Symphony was premiered by the New York Philharmonic on December 16th, 1893 at Carnegie Hall. • The first critique of the new symphony concentrated less on the artistic merit of the work but on defending Dvořák from political fall out for his suggestion that the future of American music was to be found not in the European tradition, but in the music of African Americans and Native Americans. • Dvořák informed the New York Herald in May 1893, “In the negro melodies of America, I discover all that is needed for a great and noble school of music.” Little did Dvořák know that at the same time in New Orleans, musicians like Buddy Bolden were already creating the uniquely American art form that would become known as Jazz. • The New World Symphony’s famous slow movement melody was so convincing that it was adopted by African Americans who used it in the spiritual Goin’ Home. • Vail welcomes Dallas Symphony Orchestra music director Jaap van Zweden on June 30th for his first concert of the summer in a reading of Dvořák‘s New World Symphony. The Dallas Morning News said of recent performances, “It’s refreshing to experience a conductor so passionately engaged with the music, so determined not to let a single note get by on autopilot.” 2. BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67 • The first four notes of this symphony are the most widely recognized in all of art music. They have mystified musicians, historians and philosophers for 200 years. Music critic Matthew Guerrieri says “it’s short enough to remember and portentous enough to be memorable.” • Just a few years before the 5th was written, Beethoven had to face the emotional devastation of his impending deafness. Many feel the specter of going deaf influenced his open four-note “fate” motive. • Beethoven’s friend and secretary Schindler described the symphony’s opening as “death knocking upon the door.” • The opening motive would later be used as a signature piece for the Allies during WWII, since the notes unintentionally were Morse Code for the letter “V” (for “Victory”). Many relished the irony of a German’s music galvanizing the Allied effort to defeat the Nazi war machine. • The symphony was drastically under-rehearsed at its premiere in Vienna, but was a triumph with the audience anyway. • It was reworked in the 1970s disco era into “A Fifth of Beethoven,” which became an international hit. • Jaap van Zweden and the DSO perform Beethoven’s 5th on July 1st. Van Zweden was Musical America’s Conductor of the Year in 2012 and this concert will demonstrate why. He is one of the hottest conductors around, anywhere, right now. 12
3. DEBUSSY: Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun • Based on Stephane Mallarmé’s poem L’après-midi d’un faune (The Afternoon of a Faun). • The famous opening flute theme recurs throughout the work, representing the faun. That melody is found on every flute audition of symphony orchestras worldwide. • Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun is a celebration of sound. Debussy uses non-Western and pentatonic (5 note) scales and luxurious timbres throughout the work, giving it an exotic, otherworldly quality. • Despite the use of a relatively small orchestra, Debussy produces a remarkable degree of color and subtle shadings in this dream-like work. • Debussy explores a new musical language here, which signals a turning point in music history. Generations to come were influenced by Debussy’s innovative style – in his scoring for the orchestra, approach to harmony and the use of radical new musical structures. • On July 3rd, Jaap van Zweden and the DSO present this evocative work, about which the Dallas Morning News said, “Van Zweden and the orchestra brought sensuousness and passion, as well as much sheer beauty, to Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun. Jean Garver supplied the aptly smoky tone for the famous flute solo, and horns managed amazingly subtle crescendos and decrescendos.” 4. COPLAND: Appalachian Spring Suite • It was premiered as a ballet in 1944 and has become synonymous with the sound of America, its values, unique cadence, people and spirit. • Originally entitled Ballet for Martha, the famous Martha Graham named the work after the Hart Crane poem, “The Dance” from a collection of poems in his book “The Bridge.” • Several arrangements of the work exist, from the original 13-instrument orchestration to the 1954 version commissioned from the composer by Eugene Ormandy of The Philadelphia Orchestra. • Copland was awarded the 1945 Pulitzer Prize for Music for the composition. The story involves a spring celebration of 19th century American pioneers after building a new Pennsylvania farmhouse. Among the central characters are a newlywed couple, a neighbor, a revivalist preacher and his followers. • Copland didn’t have rural Appalachia in mind when he wrote the work and was quoted as saying: “I gave voice to that region without knowing I was giving voice to it.” • The work quotes the famous Shaker tune, “Simple Gifts.” • Giancarlo Guerrero leads The Philadelphia Orchestra on July 7th in Copland’s bucolic work, a performance the Philadelphia Inquirer called “an elegant reading…. Thursday night in Verizon Hall, the winds (flutist David Cramer, oboist Peter Smith, clarinetist Ricardo Morales) were vehicles of sincerity and simplicity.”
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5. VERDI: Messa da Requiem • The Requiem is a musical setting of the Roman Catholic funeral mass for four vocal soloists, double choir and orchestra. • Although an agnostic, Verdi was a man of profound conscience and spirituality. • Originally called the Manzoni Requiem, it was composed in honor of Alessandro Manzoni, the great Italian poet and novelist of that era. • Although it was premiered in the 13th century Gothic church of San Marco in Milan in May of 1874, one year to the date after Manzoni’s death, it is typically not performed as part of the liturgy, but as a full length concert. • The second performance was at the La Scala Opera House three days later, and its intensely operatic nature was a huge hit with the Italian audience. In fact, the work is often called “an opera in disguise.” • While a success at the Opéra-Comique in Paris, performances at the new Royal Albert Hall in London were not successful because of the Catholic nature of the work. • It later disappeared from the standard choral repertoire, but reappeared in the 1930s and is now considered one of the great works of the standard choral orchestral repertory. • The Requiem has great melodies, blaring brass and heart on your sleeve emotional content. The Dies Irae alone will blow you out of your seat. • A “heaven storming” performance by the fabulous Philadelphians and their new music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin was a hit recently at Carnegie Hall and will be repeated at Bravo! Vail on July 13th. 6. BERLIOZ: Symphonie fantastique: An Episode in the Life of an Artist, in Five Parts, Op. 14 • Composed in 1830, the piece caused a scandal at the Paris Conservatory at the premiere, causing the composer’s name to be removed from the school’s roster of students. • It is one of the most highly inventive and individual works in the orchestral repertory: thematic development, harmony, structure and use of large orchestra and unusual instruments were considered revolutionary for that time. • The story line involves “an artist gifted with a lively imagination,” Berlioz himself, who has “poisoned himself with opium” in the “depths of despair” because of “hopeless love.” Berlioz wrote detailed program notes for each movement of the work. • The muse of the work is Harriet Smithson, for whom Berlioz had an obsession, at first unrequited. Smithson later met Berlioz when she realized he wrote the symphony for and about her. She later married Berlioz but the union was bitter and unsuccessful. In spite of this, the two remained emotionally linked for the rest of their lives. Berlioz and Smithson are buried next to each other at the cemetery in Montmartre, Paris. • Referring to the drug induced state of the composer, Leonard Bernstein said, “Berlioz tells it like it is. You take a trip, you wind up screaming at your own funeral.” • Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos and the New York Philharmonic take up the Berlioz on July 20th. Of their recent performances together, the New York Times described a “tight-knit group of musicians who offered an incandescent performance under the direction of an artist with a fine sense of line and color.” 14
7. SIBELIUS: Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47 • Written during a trying period in Sibelius’ life, the Finnish hero needed an escape from the pressures of life in Helsinki and the alcoholism that plagued him all his life. • Willy Burmeister, one of the leading violin soloists of the day, commissioned the concerto. The premiere was set for March of 1904 but money woes pressed the composer toward an earlier performance date. • The new premiere date necessitated a different soloist, and the first performance was considered a disaster because the work was rushed to completion and the substitute soloist wasn’t up to the task. Sibelius hastily withdrew the score and after fits and starts, a new revision was embraced in the 1930s by the great Jascha Heifetz who dusted it off and showed the world what it had been missing. The rest is history. • Gil Shaham plays the Sibelius with the New York Philharmonic on July 26th, but he first heard the piece on a recording as an 8 year old. “I remember listening to it over and over again, listening to that first phrase and thinking it was so cool.” 8. BARTÓK: String Quartet No. 4, Sz. 102 • The 4th Quartet is from the composer’s mature period when he increasingly found his own individual compositional voice. The style of his last period is named “Synthesis of East and West.” • All of the six string quartets (written in 1908, 1917, 1927, 1928, 1934, and 1939) are considered stunning masterpieces. • Fascinated with folk music, Bartók concentrated on collecting and arranging music from the Carpathian Basin (then the Kingdom of Hungary), where he notated Hungarian, Slovakian, Romanian, and Bulgarian tunes. He also collected in Moldavia, Wallachia, and Algeria. These influences are found throughout his own compositions. • The Fourth Quartet (1927) is built like an arch - the 1st and 5th movements and the 2nd and 4th relate to each other thematically; the 3rd movement stands on its own. The 2nd movement is played entirely with mutes on the strings; the entire 4th movement is played pizzicato or “plucked.” • The Jasper String Quartet tackles the Bartok on July 29th at the Chapel at Beaver Creek. 9. BACH: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 • A work originally for harpsichord, it consists of an aria and a set of 30 variations. • First published in 1741, the work is considered to be one of the most important examples of variation form. The Variations are thought to have been named after Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, although that claim has been challenged since Goldberg was only 14 years old when the work was written. • A popular but unsubstantiated story has circulated for centuries about an insomniac Count who requested a work from Bach that his trusted performer companion could be given to play as a way of entertaining him during sleepless nights.
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• Canadian pianist Glenn Gould’s 1955 debut recording of the work on Columbia Masterworks sparked the Goldberg’s widespread fame. • Anne-Marie McDermott performs Bach’s Goldberg Variations by Candlelight at the Donovan Pavilion on July 31st as part of the Silver Oak and Twomey Series. The seating is cabaret style, and hearing Bach in this intimate setting, by candlelight, while sipping wonderful wines will be an experience never to be forgotten. 10. MESSIAEN: Quartet for the End of Time • In 1940, Olivier Messiaen was interned in a German concentration camp, where he discovered among his fellow prisoners a clarinetist, violinist and cellist. He wrote a trio for them, then added add seven more movements to create the Quartet for the End of Time. • The first performance was held in the rain before hundreds of fellow prisoners and guards on January 15th, 1941. Messiaen later recalled: “Never was I listened to with such rapt attention and comprehension.” • Messiaen’s work is inspired by the Book of Revelation (Chapter 10), about the descent of the seventh angel, at the sound of whose trumpet the mystery of God will be consummated, and who announces “that there should be time no longer.” It has less to do with Messiaen’s imprisonment or the Apocalypse. • The work’s movements feature different combinations of solos and the four instruments, which give it a high degree of variety and tonal color. The Quartet also employs a varied and flexible rhythmic system, based in part on ancient Hindu rhythms. The equally measured “time” of western classical music also comes to an “end” in this remarkable work. • There are eight movements because God rested on the seventh day after creation, a day which extended into the eighth day of timeless eternity.
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What the Critics Said We often think of composers, blissfully sitting in their ivory towers, holding court and receiving the adulation of the masses. Not always so. Many of them wrote, rewrote, struggled, starved and took it on the chin from the critics and the masses. Some lived relatively obscure lives and only enjoyed fame posthumously. Here are some quotes about the very famous composers whose masterpieces comprise Bravo! Vail’s season, by critics most of us don’t remember.
BARTOK “ The third movement began with a dog howling at midnight, proceeded to imitate the regurgitations of the less refined or lower-middle-class type of water-closet cistern, modulating thence into the mass snoring of a Naval dormitory around the dawn - and concluded inconsequently with the cello reproducing the screech of an ungreased wheelbarrow.” – From a letter about the String Quartet No. 4, written by Alan Dent, quoted in The Letter Ego by James Agate, London, 1951
BEETHOVEN “ Beethoven, this extraordinary genius, was completely deaf for nearly the last ten years of his life, during which his compositions have partaken of the most incomprehensible wildness. His imagination seems to have fed upon the ruins of his sensitive organs.” – William Gardiner, The Music of Nature, London, 1837
BERLIOZ “ Of the Berlioz nonsense it is difficult to speak with patience. It is bad in itself, false, frightful. The third movement has an ugly Ranz-des-vaches running through it. The Fantastic Symphony is a nightmare set to music. The third movement ends with what the programme calls ‘the sinking of the sun - a distant roll of thundersolitude-silence.’ The thunder is well imitated, and the silence is delicious.” – Review in an unidentified New York newspaper, November 28th, 1868
CHOPIN “ The wildness of both the melody and harmony of Chopin is, for the most part, excessive…We cannot imagine any musician, who has not acquired an unhealthy taste for noise, and scrambling, and dissonance, to feel otherwise than dissatisfied with the effect of either of the Third Ballade, or the Grande Valse, or the Eight Mazurkas.” – Dramatic and Musical Review, London, November 4th, 1843
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COPLAND “ A feeble score is the Appalachian Spring: music anemic and insignificant… Copland cannot forget the coachmen’s and wet nurses’ dances, Petrushka’s liveliest. His Appalachian peasants sound more like Appalachian Cossacks.” – Lazare Saminsky, Living Music of the Americas, New York, 1949 DEBUSSY “ Debussy’s L’après-midi d’un faune was a strong example of modern ugliness. The faun must have had a terrible afternoon, for the poor beast brayed on muted horns and whinnied on flutes, and avoided all trace of soothing melody, until the audience began to share his sorrows.” – Louis Elson, Boston Daily Advertiser, February 25th, 1904
MAHLER “ The drooling and emasculated simplicity of Gustav Mahler! It is not fair to the readers of the Musical Courier to take up their time with a detailed description of that musical monstrosity, which masquerades under the title of Gustav Mahler’s Fourth Symphony. There is nothing in the design, content, or execution of the work to impress the musician, except its grostequerie…The writer of the present review frankly admits that…to him it was one hour or more of the most painful musical torture to which he has been compelled to submit.” – Musical Courier, New York, November 9th, 1904
TCHAIKOVSKY “ Of the Fifth Tchaikovsky Symphony one hardly knows what to say…In the Finale we have all the untamed fury of the Cossack, whetting itself for deeds of atrocity, against all the sterility of the Russian steppes. The furious peroration sounds like nothing so much as a horde of demons struggling in a torrent of brandy, the music growing drunker and drunker. Pandemonium, delirium tremens, raving, and above all, noise worse confounded.” – Boston Evening Transcript, October 24th, 1892
VERDI “ The coarse and brutal Verdi commonplaces, raucous and clamorous choruses, these screaming unisons, these iron-clad, hard melodies, in which we have the most original and individual part of Verdi - how happy one is to forget it.” – A New York paper, February 21st, 1874
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A
A SHORT GLOSSARY OF MUSICAL TERMS
a cappella (“in the church manner”) choral music without instrumental accompaniment. accelerando gradually speeding up. adagio slow tempo; a composition or movement in this tempo. allegro (“happy”) fast tempo; a composition or movement in this tempo. andante (“walking”) moderate tempo; a composition or movement in this tempo. aria a composition for solo voice and instrumental accompaniment, usually from an opera, oratorio or cantata. arpeggio (“in the manner of a harp”) the notes of a chord played in quick succession rather than simultaneously. atonal/atonality without tonality, i.e., the absence in a composition or passage of a harmonic tonal center avant garde: [Fr.] (“ahead of the guard”), the most progressive style of its time.
B
bar a measure. baritone middle-range male voice, between tenor and bass; an instrument or melody in this range. Baroque the historical era extending from about 1600 (the invention of opera) to 1750 (the death of J.S. Bach), characterized by motoric rhythm, florid counterpoint, elaborate spun-out melody, continuously unfolding form, rich harmony, use of basso continuo and small orchestral ensembles, and strong emotional expression. bass lowest male voice; an instrument or melody in this range; the clef used for instruments in the low range. basso continuo the ubiquitous accompanimental instruments in Baroque music — an obligatory chordal instrument (harpsichord, organ, lute), usually doubled by a bass melody instrument (cello, double bass, bassoon) — which “realize” or fill out the continuous stream of harmonies from the composition’s single notated bass line. 19
bravura a virtuoso work, passage or performance. brio briskly, with vigor.
C
cadenza an unaccompanied passage for solo instrument. capriccio (“whim, caprice”) a musical work in free form, usually comprising several continuous sections. chromatic pitch alterations of diatonic scales and chords through the use of sharps, flats and/or naturals, usually to heighten the music’s expressive intensity. clef a notational sign indicating the pitch values of the lines and spaces of a staff. coda the concluding section of a movement or work. concertmaster the orchestra’s first-chair violinist (called “leader” in England). concerto a work for soloist (occasionally multiple soloists, as in the concerto grosso) and orchestra. counterpoint (from “punctus contra punctum,” i.e., “note against note”) two or more melodic lines sounding simultaneously. crescendo increasing in volume.
D
da capo (“the head”) return to the beginning of the work or movement. decrescendo decreasing in volume. Dies irae (“Day of Wrath”) a chant from the Roman Catholic Requiem Mass for the Dead, used by numerous composers (Berlioz, Liszt, Saint-Saëns, Rachmaninoff, etc.) in programmatic compositions associated with death or the supernatural. diminuendo decreasing in volume. dissonant the sounding together of two or more pitches in such a way as to produce an expressive state of tension or instability which, in traditional styles, leads to resolution in consonance. divertimento multi-movement instrumental composition for entertainment (“diversion”), usually for small ensemble or chamber orchestra.
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double stops two or more pitches played simultaneously on a bowed string instrument. dynamics degrees of volume — piano (soft), mezzo-piano (medium soft), mezzo-forte (medium loud), forte (“strong,” i.e., loud), etc.
E
elegy a composition of mournful character. ensemble (“together”) a group of musicians performing together. entr’acte (“between acts”) an instrumental piece performed between the acts of a play or opera. epilogue the concluding section of a movement or work; a coda. episode a subsidiary passage in a musical form, usually leading to an important structural juncture. espressivo expressively. etude a “study,” usually intended to work on a single aspect of technique, therefore yielding a composition of unified character. exposition the opening section of a sonata form.
F
fanfare a short musical piece, often for brass instruments, in the nature of a signal or alert; a musical style using principally the notes playable on the natural trumpet or horn, i.e., those of a common chord. fantasy a work, often free in form, in which the imagination of the composer takes precedence over conventional styles and forms. flat a notational symbol that lowers a pitch by a half-step. fortepiano (“loud-soft”) the wood-frame keyboard instrument of the late 18th-early 19th centuries whose name derives from its ability to play at different dynamic levels, unlike the earlier monodynamic harpsichord. fortissimo very loud.
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fugue a musical style in which thematic material is imitated by the individual voices in succession; the form of a complete fugue is based on the alternation of sections in which the principal theme occurs (“expositions”) and sections (“episodes”) in which other material, often simply figural, is heard. furiant a fiery Bohemian dance in quick triple meter with frequent shifting accents.
G
gavotte a French dance in moderate duple meter. genre a type of musical composition (e.g., symphony, concerto, tone poem, oratorio, etc.). German dance an Austrian folk dance (a “Ländler”) in moderate triple meter. gigue a French dance in quick compound meter. giocoso humorous. glissando a continuous slide connecting two notes. grace notes small ornamenting notes. Gregorian chant the monophonic liturgical music of the Roman Catholic Church; named in honor of Pope Gregory I (reigned 590-604), who is credited with initiating the systematic codification of the previously largely unorganized Church repertory into a settled musical liturgy. ground bass a short melodic pattern (“ground”), usually in the bass voice, that is repeated continuously while changing music is heard in the other voices.
H
habañera a Spanish and Cuban dance of seductive character in moderate duple meter. half-step the smallest traditional musical interval (i.e., “semi-tone”). harmonic a succession of chords. progression harmonics the constituent sounds of an musical tone, which include the notated pitch (“fundamental”) plus the resultant higher pitches of lesser intensity that are set in vibration sympathetically by 22
the fundamental (“overtones” or “harmonics”); the character and relative strengths of the constituent pitches determine the sonority of an instrument or voice. harmony the simultaneously sounding of multiple musical pitches.
I
imitation the statement in close succession of a melody in different voices. impetuoso impetuously. Impressionism an early 20th-century musical style, principally associated with Debussy, in which lush harmonies, subtle rhythms and opulent sonorities are used to evoke moods and impressions. impromptu (“unprepared, unpremeditated”) a brief work of improvisationlike spontaneity. improvisation spontaneous performance without the aid of notation or memory; spontaneous decoration of a notated work in performance. incidental music music to be used in conjunction with the performance of a play. interlude any kind of inserted music, often for church or theatrical use; an episode in a musical form. intermezzo an instrumental movement in an opera, often used as the introduction to an act. interval the distance between two musical pitches. irregular meters any succession of stressed and unstressed beats that does not consistently follow the same duple, triple or compound meter.
J
jig a lively English dance. jota a lively dance in rapid triple meter, accompanied by castanets, from Aragon (northeastern Spain). joyeux joyful.
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K
K. an entry in Ludwig Köchel’s chronological catalog of the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Kammermusik chamber music. Kapellmeister (“chapel master”) a court or church music director. key a tonality. keyboard the set of keys in a piano, organ, harpsichord, clavichord, etc. used to activate the sound mechanism; by extension, any instrument with a keyboard. Konzertstück “concert piece” for solo instrument and orchestra. kraft strength.
L
lament a composition commemorating a death; a piece of mournful character. Ländler an Austrian folk dance in moderate triple meter, predecessor of the waltz. largo (“broad”) slow tempo; a composition or movement in this tempo. Late Romantic the historical era of the late 19th century, when the elements of Romanticism — strong emotional expression, chromatic harmony, long involved forms, large virtuoso orchestra, luxuriant texture, affective melody — were brought to their ripest state. legato the smooth connection of notes. lento very slow tempo; a composition or movement in this tempo. libretto (“little book”) the words of a vocal or music theater work. Lied song. lontano from a distance. lullaby a composition of gentle nature in swaying meter. measure a single grouping of beats (units of musical time.) medley a continuous succession of independent melodies.
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M
meter a continuously repeated pattern of uniformly stressed and unstressed beats. mezzo-forte medium loud. mezzo-piano medium soft. mezzo-soprano the middle-range woman’s voice, between soprano and alto. minimalism a style of modern music that utilizes repetitive melodic patterns, consonant harmonies, minor: one of the two principal scale forms (along with major) in traditional Western music, and the system of harmony founded upon that scale, whose tonal center is indicated by pitch name (e.g., F minor, B-flat minor); among the expressive attributes of minor tonalities are sadness, unease, foreboding, struggle, tragedy, etc. minuet [menuet, menuetto, minuetto] a French dance in triple meter; a common internal movement (usually the third movement) in Classical-era symphonies, quartets, sonatas, etc., where it is paired with a complementary central section (trio) of similar form and style; a composition in this style and form. movement: one of the principal portions of a symphony, concerto, sonata, etc., usually complete within itself.
N
NachtstĂźck night piece. narrator the performer of the spoken text in a musical work. natural a musical pitch that is neither a sharp nor a flat; the notational sign that cancels an existing sharp or flat. Neo-Classicism a style of the early 20th-century that sought to revive the clear melody and harmony, balanced form, and expressive objectivity of late 18th-century music. Neo-Romantic a modern style that seeks to revive the extroverted expression, rich harmony, sweeping melody and opulent sonority of 19thcentury music. nocturne a composition suggesting the night or meditative in mood. note an individual musical sound, consisting of pitch, duration and sonority.
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O
obbligato an ambiguous term, which literally means “obligatory” (i.e., must not be omitted) and is used in that sense in Baroque music, but subsequently came to indicate a secondary melody, which may be omitted at the discretion of the performer. octave a musical interval, heard in succession (i.e., melodically) or simultaneously (i.e., harmonically), from one pitch to another eight scale steps distant (e.g., C-d-e-f-g-a-b-C). off-beat the emphasis on a beat other than the one usually accented in a metric pattern. opus (“work”) a numerical designation applied by the composer or publisher to indicate the chronological placement of a work in a composer’s output. oratorio an extended musical setting of a sacred, usually non-liturgical, text that employs the forms and styles of opera but is performed without scenery, costumes or stage movement. orchestration the technique of assigning the content of a musical work to the ensemble’s various instruments. ostinato (“obstinate”) a persistently repeated musical phrase. overture an instrumental composition that precedes an opera, oratorio or play.
P
pastorale an instrumental piece of gentle character written in imitation of the music of shepherds, especially with reference to the shepherds who attended the birth of Christ. pentatonic a five-note scale, most commonly the one playable on the black keys of the piano, which is often used to evoke images of the Far East. phrase a division of a melody, comparable to a sentence in prose, that ends with a cadence, breath or pause. piano soft. pitch a musical tone whose sound, high or low, is determined by speed of the vibrations which produce it.
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pizzicato a note produced by plucking a string of a violin, viola, cello or bass with the finger. poco little. polyphonic (“many sounds”) a musical texture made from the weaving together of two or more independent lines of equal importance. ponticello the bridge of a string instrument; bowing at the bridge to produce a glassy sound. presto very fast. programmatic music with an extra-musical reference. promenade a work or passage in the style of an informal procession.
Q
quarter note a rhythmic value of moderately short duration, between a half and an eighth note. quartet a work or passage for four voices or instruments. quasi almost, nearly, close to. quintet a work or passage for five voices or instruments.
R
recapitulation the concluding section of a sonata-form movement or work. recitative a musical style in the manner of natural speech. Requiem the Roman Catholic Mass for the Dead. rhapsody a work of free form or unrestrained character. ritardando gradually slowing down. Rococo the light, diverting, elegant style of the late 18th century, as distinct from the more serious, emotionally charged styles of the previous Baroque era or the contemporary Empfindsamer or Sturm und Drang idioms. rondo a form in which a recurring musical refrain is separated by episodes of contrasting character: A — B — A — C — A — etc.
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rubato (“robbed”) a flexible rather than strict tempo, which uses small accelerandos and ritardandos for expressive effect.
S
scale (“steps”) a sequence of adjacent ascending or descending pitches contained within the interval of an octave, arranged in traditional Western music into the major and minor modes. scherzo (“joke”) a common internal movement (usually the third movement) of vigorous character in fast triple meter in 19th and 20th-century symphonies, quartets, sonatas, etc., where it is paired with a complementary central section (trio) of similar form and style; a composition in this style and form. sharp a notational symbol that raises a pitch by a half-step. sonata a multi-movement work for soloist or small ensemble. sordino muted. spiccato (“detached”) quick notes played by bouncing the bow on the string. staccato (“detached”) separated notes. staff the five parallel lines that serve as the notational grid for indicating musical pitches. subito suddenly. suite a selection of excerpts from music for an opera, ballet or play; a Baroque composition comprising a series of dances, usually preceded by a movement in the style and form of a French overture. syncopated the disturbance of the normal accentuation of metric pulses.
T
tempo the speed of a composition or passage. tessitura the portion of the total range within which most of a musical line lies. theme a distinctive melodic idea upon which a movement or composition is based in whole or in part.
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third a musical interval, heard in succession (i.e., melodically) or simultaneously (i.e., harmonically), from one pitch to another three scale steps distant (e.g., C-d-E). tone poem a one-movement orchestral work with a narrative or illustrative association. transposition the placement of a work or passage in a tonality different from the original. treble the highest part in an ensemble, usually a choir; the clef sign used for instruments in the high range. tremolo (“trembling”) the quick reiteration of a single pitch on a string instrument by the rapid movement of the bow up and down. triad a chord of three notes. trill the rapid alternation of two adjacent pitches. trio a work or passage for three instruments or voices; the center section of a three-part form (i.e., “B” in an A–B–A form). triple meter rhythmic pattern with emphasis on every third beat (ONE-two-three, ONE-two-three), e.g., a waltz. tutti together, i.e., the entire ensemble.
U
Ungherese, all’ in Hungarian (i.e., Gypsy) style. unison all voices and/or instruments sounding the same pitches simultaneously.
V
valse waltz. variations a form in which successive statements of a theme are altered: A (= the theme) — A1 — A2 — A3 — A4 — etc. variazioni variations. vif lively. vigoroso vigorously. violento violently. virtuoso a performer or musical work of exceptional technical notoriety. 29
vite fast. vivace lively tempo; a composition or movement in this tempo. vivacemente very lively tempo; a composition or movement in this tempo. vivo lively.
W
walking bass a bass line in even, steadily flowing rhythm. waltz an Austrian dance in moderate triple meter. Walzer (”to rotate”) waltz. whole note a rhythmic value of long duration, twice the length of a half note. whole step a small musical interval, equal to two half-steps. wie as, like. woodwinds see “Instruments of the Orchestra.” wuchtig heavy, ponderous.
Z
zapateado a Spanish dance in strong triple meter marked by stomping the heels. zarzuela a Spanish theatrical genre in which musical numbers are mixed with spoken dialogue. Zeitmass tempo. ziemlich rather, quite. zu to, at; too. zurückhalten guarded, cautious.
Special thanks to Dr. Richard Rodda for supplying this glossary of Musical Terms
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bravo! Vail season 26 schedule
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bravo! Vail, season 26 schedule Friday, June 28, 6:00 p.m. Hits from the Golden Age of Jazz Dallas Symphony Orchestra Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater
Sunday, July 7, 6:00 p.m. Nadja and Appalachian Spring The Philadelphia Orchestra Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater
Saturday, June 29, 6:00 p.m. Music at the Movies: A Tribute to John Williams and Arthur Fiedler Dallas Symphony Orchestra Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater
Monday, July 8, 6:00 p.m. Donor Appreciation Concert & Reception Alexander Kerr, violin Alisa Weilerstein, cello Anne-Marie McDermott, piano Vilar Performing Arts Center, Beaver Creek
Sunday, June 30, 6:00 p.m. Dvořák’s New World Symphony Dallas Symphony Orchestra Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater Monday, July 1, 6:00 p.m. Beethoven’s 5th Dallas Symphony Orchestra Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater
Tuesday, July 9, 1:00 p.m. TBA Vail Interfaith Chapel
Tuesday, July 2, 1:00 p.m. TBA Vail Interfaith Chapel
Tuesday, July 9, 6:00 p.m. Soirée II Anne-Marie McDermott Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg Members of The Philadelphia Orchestra Sheehy Residence, Beaver Creek
Tuesday, July 2, 5:00 p.m. All Haydn Anne-Marie McDermott, piano The Chapel at Beaver Creek
Wednesday, July 10, 6:00 p.m. Yannick Conducts Rachmaninoff The Philadelphia Orchestra Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater
Tuesday, July 2, 6:00 p.m. Soirée I Grojean Residence, Beaver Creek
Thursday, July 11, 1:00 p.m. TBA Vail Interfaith Chapel
Wednesday, July 3, 6:00 p.m. Pines of Rome Dallas Symphony Orchestra Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater
Thursday, July 11, 6:00 p.m. Dvořák Works for Winds, Strings & Piano Anne Marie McDermott, piano Members of The Philadelphia Orchestra Calder Quartet Concert Hall, Vail Mountain School
Thursday, July 4, 2:00 p.m. Patriotic Concert Dallas Symphony Orchestra Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater Friday, July 5, 6:00 p.m. Latin Jazz Night with Paquito D’Rivera The Philadelphia Orchestra Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater Saturday, July 6, 6:00 p.m. Cirque de la Symphonie The Philadelphia Orchestra Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater
Friday, July 12, 6:00 p.m. Mozart Piano Concerto & Mahler’s 4th The Philadelphia Orchestra Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater Saturday, July 13, 6:00 p.m. Verdi’s Requiem The Philadelphia Orchestra Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater
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bravo! Vail, season 26 schedule Sunday, July 14, 11:00 a.m. Free Family Concert National Repertory Orchestra Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater
Thursday, July 18, 1:00 p.m. Songs of the Baltics Cantus Vail Interfaith Chapel
Sunday, July 14, 6:00 p.m. When Twilight Falls Cantus The Lodge and Spa at Cordillera
Thursday, July 18, 6:00 p.m. Masterworks for Male Voices ‘On the Shoulders of Giants’ Cantus Edwards Interfaith Chapel
Sunday, July 14, 5:30 p.m. 26th Annual Gala Ritz Carlton, Bachelor Gulch
Friday, July 19, 6:00 p.m. Tchaikovsky’s 5th New York Philharmonic Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater
Monday, July 15, 6:00 p.m. Mozart Concertos for Piano and String Quartet Anne-Marie McDermott, piano Concert Hall, Vail Mountain School
Saturday, July 20, 6:00 p.m.. Symphonie Fantastique New York Philharmonic Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater
Monday, July 15, 7:30 p.m. Sumer is Icumin In:’ Early Music for Spring and Summer Cantus Gypsum Town Hall
Sunday, July 21, 6:00 p.m. Scheherazade New York Philharmonic Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater Monday, July 22, 6:00 p.m. Decoding Webern and Beethoven Jasper String Quartet Brush Creek Pavilion, Eagle
Tuesday, July 16, 1:00 p.m. TBA Vail Interfaith Chapel Tuesday, July 2, 1:00 p.m. TBA Vail Interfaith Chapel
Tuesday, July 23, 1:00 p.m. Beethoven’s Finest Jasper String Quartet Vail Interfaith Chapel
Tuesday, July 16, 6:00 p.m. Bohemian Works by Janáček & Dvořák Susanna Phillips, soprano Cantus Calder Quartet Paul Neubauer, viola Anne-Marie McDermott, piano Concert Hall, Vail Mountain School
Tuesday, July 23, 6:00 p.m. Soirée III Pianist Ted Sperling & Broadway singers. Washing Residence, Mountain Star Wednesday, July 24, 6:00 p.m. Broadway Night with the Philharmonic New York Philharmonic Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater
Wednesday, July 17, 6:00 p.m. Slavic Dances and Rhymes Susanna Phillips, soprano Cantus Calder Quartet Paul Neubauer, viola Anne-Marie McDermott, piano Concert Hall, Vail Mountain School
Thursday, July 25, 1:00 p.m. 20th Century Masters Vail Interfaith Chapel
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bravo! Vail, season 26 schedule Thursday, July 25, 6:00 p.m. Summertime Classics with Bramwell Tovey New York Philharmonic Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater Friday, July 26, 6:00 p.m. Holst’s The Planets New York Philharmonic Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater Sunday, July 28, 6:00 p.m. Soirée IV Mayer Residence, Cordillera Valley Monday, July 29, 6:00 p.m. Music of Beethoven, Bartók & Kernis Jasper String Quartet The Chapel at Beaver Creek
Thursday, August 1, 1:00 p.m. Joyce Yang, piano Vail Interfaith Chapel Thursday, August 1, 7:30 p.m. Silver Oak and Twomey Series: Mozart and Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time Jasper String Quartet Anne-Marie McDermott, piano Donovan Pavilion Saturday, August 3, 6:00 p.m. Four Piano Bash Anne-Marie McDermott, piano Pedja Muzijevic, piano Stephen Prutsman, piano Joyce Yang, piano Concert Hall, Vail Mountain School
Tuesday, July 30, 1:00 p.m. Solo Piano Music of Chopin Pedja Muzijevic, piano Vail Interfaith Chapel Tuesday, July 30, 7:30 p.m. Silver Oak and Twomey Series: Barber’s Adagio, Kernis & Beethoven Jasper String Quartet Donovan Pavilion Wednesday, July 31, 7:30 p.m. Silver Oak and Twomey Series: Bach’s Goldberg Variations by Candlelight Anne-Marie McDermott, piano Pedja Muzijevic, piano Stephen Prutsman, piano Joyce Yang, piano Donovan Pavilion
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bravo! Vail, season 26 artist roster As of March 4, 2013. All artists are subject to change.
Piano Alessio Bax Alexander Brown Jan Lisiecki Anne-Marie McDermott Pedja Muzijevic Garrick Ohlsson Stephen Prutsman Jean-Yves Thibaudet Joyce Yang Violin Glenn Dicterow Augustin Hadelich Alexander Kerr Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg Gil Shaham Viola Paul Neubauer Cello Carter Brey Alisa Weilerstein Voice Karen Cargill, mezzo-soprano Matthias Goerne, baritone Angela Meade, soprano John Mac Master, tenor Susanna Phillips, soprano John Relyea, bass-baritone Saxophone Paquito D’Rivera Trumpet Byron Stripling Trombone Wycliffe Gordon Chamber Ensembles Calder Quartet: Benjamin Jacobson, violin Andrew Bulbrook, violin Jonathan Moerschel, viola Eric Byers, cello Cantus Vocal Ensemble, Young Professionals in Residence Aaron Humble, tenor Paul Rudoi, tenor
Gary Ruschman, tenor Shahzore Shah, tenor David Walton, tenor Adam Reinwald, baritone Matthew Tintes, baritone Chris Foss, bass Timothy Takach, bass Jasper String Quartet, Young Professionals in Residence J Freivogel, violin Sae Chonabayashi, violin Sam Quintal, viola Rachel Henderson-Freivogel, cello Resident Orchestras Dallas Symphony Orchestra Jaap van Zweden, music director and conductor Jeff Tyzik, conductor Bob Berndardt, conductor The Philadelphia Orchestra Yannick Nézet-Séguin, music director and conductor Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor Cristian Măcelaru, associate conductor New York Philharmonic Alan Gilbert, music director and conductor Ted Sperling, conductor Bramwell Tovey, conductor Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, conductor Karen Herman, special guest conductor National Repertory Orchestra Carl Topilow, music director and conductor Choruses Colorado Symphony Orchestra Chorus Duain Wolfe, director Women of the Evans Choir Catherine Sailer, director 35
Interested In Further Reading? Twenty Suggested Classical Music Books The Penguin Guide to Recorded Classical Music 2010: Ivan March, et al. The Lives of the Great Composers: Harold Schonberg The NPR Guide to Building a Classical CD Collection: Ted Libbey A History of Western Music: J. Peter Burkholder, Donald Grout, Claude Palisca Beethoven: Maynard Solomon The Insider’s Guide to Classical Recordings: Jim Svejda Opera 101: Fred Plotkin The Gramophone Classical Music Guide 2011: James Jolly Concerto Conversations: Joseph Kerman The Classical Style: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven: Charles Rosen The Rest is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century by Alex Ross Classical Music for Dummies by David Pogue Gustav Mahler: Volume 3: Vienna: Triumph and Disillusion (1904-1907) by Henry-Louis de La Grange The Memoirs by Hector Berlioz The Vintage Guide to Classical Music by Jan Swafford Memoirs by Georg Solti This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession by Daniel J. Levitin The Rough Guide to Classical Music (Paperback) by Rough Guides A Compendium of Essays: Purcell, Hogarth and Handel, Beethoven, Liszt, Debussy, and Andrew Lloyd Webber Berlioz and His Century: An Introduction to the Age of Romanticism by Jacques Barzun
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