14 minute read
Dvořák’s Serenade
Friday, May 7, 2021 at 1:00 PM Saturday, May 8, 2021 at 7:30 PM Tuesday, May 11, 2021 at 7:00 PM
BPO Classics Series
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STILL Mother and Child for string orchestra
HAYDN Sinfonia concertante in B-flat major, Hob. I:105 I. Allegro II. Andante III. Finale: Allegro con spirito Nikki Chooi, violin Roman Mekinulov, cello Henry Ward, oboe Glenn Einschlag, bassoon
DVOŘÁK Serenade for Strings in in E major, Op. 22 I. Moderato II. Tempo di Valse III. Scherzo: Vivace IV. Larghetto V. Finale: Allegro vivace
This concert is proudly sponsored by the Consulate General of Canada in New York
You can learn more about this program from JoAnn Falletta’s introduction at bpo.org/musically-speaking
NIKKI CHOOI, VIOLIN
Canadian violinist Nikki Chooi, praised for his passionate and poetic performances, has established himself as an artist of rare versatility. Described as “vigorous, colorful” by the New York Times, he has received critical acclaim in recent engagements at the Harris Theatre in Chicago, Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, Carnegie Hall and Kauffman Center in New York, Koerner Hall in Toronto, Place des Arts and Salle Bourgie in Montreal, as well as appearing as soloist with orchestras across Canada including the Montréal Symphony, Winnipeg Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, Edmonton Symphony, and internationally with the St. Petersburg State Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Wallonie, National Orchestra of Belgium, Auckland Philharmonia, Malaysian Philharmonic, and Hong Kong Philharmonic. He has been featured at many international festivals with performances at the Marlboro Festival, Ravinia Festival, La Jolla Summerfest, Vancouver Recital Series, Moritzburg Festival, Kammermusik Utrecht, Dresden Music Festival, Olympus Festival in Russia, and Fundación Beethoven in Chile. His many collaborators have included Jan Vogler, Inon Barnatan, Desmond Hoebig, Kim Kashkashian, David Shifrin, Susanna Phillips, and members of the Guarneri and Juilliard String Quartets. Nikki has embarked on nation-wide performance tours with Musicians from Marlboro in the United States, as soloist with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Canada, Chamber Music New Zealand, and Australia’s Selby and Friends. Nikki has also delved into the orchestral repertoire, having served as Concertmaster of New York’s Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in 2016/2017 while working closely with singers and conductors including Renee Fleming, Elīna Garanča, Eric Owens, Fabio Luisi, and Esa-Pekka Salonen. His solos can be heard through The Met: Live in HD broadcasts in productions of Verdi’s La Traviata, Janacek’s Jenufa, and the Grammy-nominated recording of Strauss’ Rosenkavalier released on the Decca Label. He has also appeared as Guest Concertmaster with the Pittsburgh Symphony, Sydney Symphony, and Houston Symphony. A passionate educator, Nikki has presented masterclasses at the San Francisco Conservatory, Morningside Music Program at the New England Conservatory, Sphinx Academy at the Curtis Institute of Music, Hong Kong Cultural Center, and the University of Auckland. Nikki is also immersed in projects involving the engagement of classical music through Astral’s Community Program for schools and learning centers in Philadelphia, New Zealand’s Sistema Aotearoa Program, and Music from Angelfire’s Outreach events in New Mexico. Nikki began his studies at the Victoria Conservatory, Mount Royal Conservatory, and at the National Arts Centre Young Artist Programme with Pinchas Zukerman. He completed his formal studies at the Curtis Institute and the Juilliard School under the mentorship of Joseph Silverstein, Ida Kavafian, and Donald Weilerstein. A recipient of prizes at the Queen Elizabeth and Tchaikovsky Competitions, Nikki was the 1st Prize Winner of the Montreal Symphony’s Standard Life Competition, the Klein International Strings Competition, and the Michael Hill International Violin Competition. He released his debut album of works by Prokofiev, Ravel, and Gershwin on the Atoll Label. 16
ROMAN MEKINULOV, CELLO
A native of Leningrad, Russia, Roman Mekinulov began cello studies at the age of five at the Leningrad Music School. At age 12 and 14, he was a winner of the Young Artists Competition of Leningrad. In 1985, he was presented in the Winner’s Showcase Series at Leningrad’s Great Philharmonic Hall. At age 16, Mekinulov entered the Rimsky-Korsakov College where he studied with Georgy Ginovker. As a chamber musician, he performed with various ensembles, and in 1988 was awarded First Prize in the Leningrad Chamber Music Competition. In 1989, he immigrated to the United States and continued his studies at the Juilliard School in New York, where he has successfully accomplished Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees under scholarship in the class of Professor Harvey Shapiro. As a result of winning the 1992 Young Artists International Auditions Cello Award, Roman presented his New York Recital - Debut in Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall in April of 1993, and since the 1995-96 season, he has been repeatedly invited to substitute in the New York Philharmonic under their music director, Kurt Masur, and other guest conductors, in concert as well as on recordings for Teldec. As an active recitalist, chamber musician, and concerto soloist, Roman has performed extensively throughout the United States, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Germany, France, Greece, Denmark, and Switzerland, as well as his native Russia. He has appeared as a principal cellist of the Juilliard Symphony and Orchestra under Kurt Masur, Hugh Wolf, and Leonard Slatkin, the North Carolina Symphony in their European Tour, as well as the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra in Germany with such conductors as Rostropovich, Menuchin, and Eschenbach. In 1998 Mekinulov was appointed principal cellist of the Orquestra Sinfonica do Estado de Sao Pauloin Brazil, and in September of 2001 he was nominated for the prestigious Carlos Gomes Prize in the “Best Instrumentalist of the Year” category. In 2001 Mekinulov was appointed principal cellist of Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, where in the past several years he has been featured numerous times as soloist with the orchestra, and appeared in over 60 concerts of chamber music around Western New York as well as with Jupiter Chamber Players in New York City. In 2015, Concierto en Tango, written for Mekinulov by Miguel del Aguila and performed and recorded with the BPO, was nominated for a Latin Grammy. Recent engagements include concerto appearances with the Virginia Symphony, Albany Symphony, and Erie Chamber Orchestra as well as the US premiere of Krzysztof Penderecki’s Concerto doppio with the BPO. Roman maintains a robust teaching studio and is a founding member and Artistic Director of the Bravo International Chamber Music Workshop for high school and college students. He resides in Amherst with his wife Sebnem, a lyric soprano, and their two children, Talia and Benjamin.
HENRY WARD, OBOE
A native of the Philadelphia area, oboist Henry Ward joined the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra as Principal Oboe in 2016, and previously served as Acting Associate Principal Oboe of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra for two seasons. He has performed with the Boston Pops Orchestra, the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra (New Zealand), and was a fellow with the New World Symphony. He made his solo debut performing Mozart’s Oboe Concerto in C Major with the Carnegie Mellon Chamber Orchestra in April 2012. He has been featured as a soloist with the BPO in concertos by Bach and Handel, and Mozart in January 2019. Henry received fellowships to the Tanglewood Music Center and the Music Academy of the West and has participated in the Marlboro Music, Oregon Bach, and the Lakes Area Music Festivals. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree from the New England Conservatory where he studied with Boston Symphony oboists Mark McEwen and John Ferrillo followed by graduate studies with Eugene Izotov at Roosevelt University.
GLENN EINSCHLAG, BASSOON
Principal Bassoonist of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra since 1999, Glenn Einschlag has performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Boston Symphony, the Indianapolis Symphony, and the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra. Mr. Einschlag has performed concerti with the Ars Nova Chamber Orchestra, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Erie Chamber Orchestra, among others. Mr. Einschlag has participated in the Aspen, Tanglewood, Spoleto (USA), and Domaine Forget (Canada) festivals. He can be heard on the Beau Fleuve, Naxos, and EMI recording labels. Mr. Einschlag teaches at the Glenn Gould School in Toronto and SUNY at Buffalo. He has presented master classes at the Colburn Conservatory, the University of Michigan, the Eastman School of Music, the Manhattan School of Music, and Rice University, among others. Educated at The Juilliard School, The Curtis Institute of Music, and Rice University, he has studied with Harold Goltzer, Marc Goldberg, Bernard Garfield, William Winstead, Norman Herzberg, and Ben Kamins.
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
The youthful Antonin Dvořák’s Serenade is a beautiful reflection of a very happy time in his life - his first successes as a composer, and the beginning of a lifelong friendship with his mentor and champion, Johannes Brahms. The innate sweetness of this gorgeous work speaks of Dvořák’s devotion to the people and landscape of his beloved Bohemia. We celebrate four of our BPO virtuosos in Haydn’s Sinfonia Concertante for violin, cello, oboe, and bassoon - a warmhearted and joyous work that Haydn wrote for his own treasured friend, violinist Johann Peter Salomon. And in honor of Mother’s Day, we open the concert with William Grant Still’s lovely tribute to his own mother, his own favorite of his works, Mother and Child.
PROGRAM NOTES
William Grant Still
(American; 1895-1978)
Mother and Child for string
orchestra (1943)
As a teenager, William Grant Still taught himself every instrument he could get his hands on. His musical interests were stoked by his step father, leading him to the Oberlin School of Music, where he studied with some of the most important composers of the day. He would go on to work in pop music, arranging for bands and NBC Radio broadcasts, but as his career matured, he would become the first major African American composer of concert music.
Although the challenges facing Still were great, he managed to find success in the late 1930s, composing for film and the 1939 World’s Fair, while his 1939 opera Troubled Island became the first opera composed by an African American to be performed by a major opera company.
Although he was quite busy, in 1943 he composed his Suite for Violin and Piano, from which he extracted a movement to arrange for string orchestra under the title Mother and Child. Like much of Still’s music, the work’s cinematic melodies have the fingerprints of his southern upbringing, with the sounds of his grandmother’s spirituals wafting over lush harmonies.
Franz Joseph Haydn
(Austrian; 1732-1809)
Sinfonia Concertante in B flat major
(Hob. I:105) (1792) I. Allegro II. Andante III. Finale: Allegro con spirito
Franz Joseph Haydn spent a large part of his career on site at the Esterházy estate, where he served the wealthy, aristocratic Hungarian family as music director. The enormity and importance of his catalogue was well-known across Europe in his own day, and continues to be celebrated for its importance in developing such genres as the Symphony and String Quartet. While most of his life’s work was done at his patrons’ rural estate, the death of his 19
primary backer freed him to travel. Johann Peter Salomon, in a shrewd and historical move, immediately retained Haydn with a lucrative deal to travel to London for two long stints in the 1790s, where he would write new music for adoring crowds. London had a history of celebrating Continental composers dating to the first part of the century with the arrival of the Hanovers, and modern concert organizers competed to attract the best of Europe. Already the most famous composer in London, Salomon’s securing of Haydn was sensational. In the spirit of competition, Haydn pleased an eager city with a series of exciting Symphonies and concert works. London newspapers may have hammed up these competitive concert presenters, and promoted the narrative that Haydn’s former student, Ignaz Pleyel, was to be seen as a formidable, up-and-coming rival. Salomon was determined to win out, and Haydn’s quickly-composed 1792 Sinfonia Concertante must have been a volley in response to Pleyel’s recent Concertante in B flat.
The Sinfonia Concertante genre combines the weight of a symphony’s large orchestration and form, but features impressive playing from one or more soloists. In this example, Haydn plucked members of the orchestra; a cellist, oboist, bassoonist, and violinist (first played by Salomon), as the work’s principal soloists. As such, the writing for these parts is certainly challenging, even virtuosic, but integrates with the orchestra conversationally. The opening Allegro is boldly symphonic, with soaring and contrasting melodic material punctuated by rhythmic orchestration. As the movement develops, so too does the complexity and role of the soloists. The lyrical Andante has the soloists trading embellished melodies, and the playful finale begins with operatic parody, and finishes delightfully. If the critical response is any indication, the work was a resounding success for Salomon. However, the gamesmanship played up by the media may have been more important to the box office than the two composers, who were of course close friends.
Antonín Dvořák
(Czechoslovakian; 1841-1904)
Serenade for Strings in E major,
Op. 22 (1875) I. Moderato II. Tempo di Valse III. Scherzo: Vivace IV. Larghetto V. Finale: Allegro vivace
19th-century art in Europe was impacted by the emergence of national political identities, and the first figurehead of Czech music was the revolutionary Bedřich Smetana. Incorporation of Bohemian melodies, dances, and folk subject matter enlivened the national spirit of his music, and while he has always been respected as the father of the movement, Antonín Dvořák, not two decades his junior, has always been celebrated as its most famous practitioner. Perhaps his closeness with Johannes Brahms helped soften the edge of his Bohemian inspired music, but Dvořák’s beloved symphonic music brought him international recognition, helping spread the national identity first embraced by Smetana. Dvořák
even spent three years in New York City where, as the director of the National Conservatory of Music, he helped America’s nascent music scene seek out its own national identity. Years before his billowing international reputation and travels abroad, he was one of several children in a large, working class family. His taking to music fostered a challenging, impoverished career as a regional composer, unrecognized outside of Prague. His quest for personal and professional success didn’t take off until the mid1870s, when his new, happy marriage led to his firstborn in 1875. The same year, he won the prestigious Austrian State Prize for the first time, with the jury impressed by his massive number of works considering his impoverished state. The alignment of fortunes for a prolific composer in his mid-thirties was a springboard to international fame and income to come. In the happy year of 1875, he was productive, creating many memorable works including his Fifth Symphony, the opera Vanda, and his Serenade for Strings in E major. The Serenade is a warm, jubilant work that demonstrates Dvořák’s identity as nationalist Czech composer, with the influence of Brahms’ neo-Classical restraint. Well acquainted with the formal and orchestrational demands of the Symphony, Dvořák opted for a less serious collection of five movements, mostly composed in simplified A-B-A structures. He is said to have briskly completed the work in just twelve days. The opening movement immediately bears the signs of Brahms’ influence, and rather than a bold opening, Dvořák starts off with the warm embrace of a flowing Moderato. An easy-going melody begins with a violin statement, immediately echoed by the cellos. The orchestral conversation shifts to a stately country dance for its central section in a bright G major, returning to the opening melodies in the original E major. The second movement is a waltz that subtly juxtaposes minor and major-keyed harmonies, with floating lines contrasting with buoyant cutting dance rhythms. The movement’s central trio is dramatic in its contrast, with long lush melodies in the violins supported by a lilting accompaniment. The dramatic trio becomes stormy, with punctuating accents, and the original waltz returns to close out the movement, finishing with a smiling chord. The work’s middle Scherzo opens with a lively melody, but wanders introspectively as the opening material is developed and reset in a variety of moods, ranging from tranquil to ecstatic. The final two movements are the largest and most symphonic of the group, with the fourth being a passionate diversion separating the first three movements from the finale. Tranquil at first, the lush melodies are deeply felt, supported by dense counterpoint as the music waxes, and simple textures as it wanes. Again, Dvořák creates a dramatically contrasting central section, here with a nocturnal mood built out of sneaky staccato rhythm, but the return to the movement’s emotional lines creates calm before the finale. The Allegro Vivace has the spirit and liveliness of a village dance, opening with bold echoes and a driving eighth note rhythm. The alternating minor and major-key centers, quiet and full, light and dense, combine to create edge-of-seat tension. Building rhythms ultimately lead to a moving reprisal of the work’s opening Moderato, and a return to the boisterous dancing creates an ecstatic conclusion.
