PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION

Friday 17 April 2020 / 7:30PM Saturday 18 April 2020 / 7:30PM Jack Singer Concert Hall Masterworks

SPONSORS + SUPPORTERS

Guest Artist Supporter: Naomi + John Lacey Virtuoso Programme Series Sponsor: United Active Living

PROGRAMME

Kahchun Wong, conductor Maximilian Hornung, cello

Liszt Symphonic Poem No. 3, S. 97 (Les préludes) Shostakovich Cello Concerto No.1 in E-flat Major, Op.107 I. Allegretto II. Moderato III. Cadenza IV. Allegro con moto

Intermission

Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition (arr. Ravel) Promenade I. Gnomus (The Gnome) II. Il Vecchio castello (The Old Castle) III. Tuileries IV. Bydlo (Polish Oxcart) V. Ballet of the Chicks in Their Shells VI. Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuyle VII. Limoges (The Market Place) VIII. Catacombs IX. The Hut on Fowl’s Legs (Baba Yaga) X. The Great Gate of Kiev 16'

30'

20'

35'

SYMPHONIC POEM NO. 3, S. 97 (LES PRÉLUDES)

Franz Liszt (1811 to 1886)

In addition to serving as the 19th century’s reigning virtuoso pianist (the title was frequently challenged but never surrendered), Liszt made major contributions to the art of composition. None has been more influential than the creation of the symphonic poem. Drawing upon centuries-old practices of descriptive or programme music (such as Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6), this free-form type of orchestral music draws inspiration from such extra-musical sources as literature, painting, geography, and philosophy. Countless composers followed Liszt’s example in this field, Richard Strauss and Jean Sibelius perhaps most successfully.

Les préludes (The Preludes) is the third and most frequently performed of Liszt’s 13 symphonic poems. Its musical origins lie in an overture that he composed in 1848, to introduce a choral setting of The Four Elements, verses by the French poet Joseph Autran. Six years later, he recast it as a symphonic poem. His quest for an appropriate programme for this second incarnation ended with a typical Romantic poem, Alphonse Lammartine’s Les préludes. Liszt’s composition closely matched its darkness-to-light emotional progress.

CELLO CONCERTO NO. 1 IN E-FLAT MAJOR, OP. 107

Dmitri Shostakovich (1906 to 1975)

Like so many Soviet/Russian cello works, Shostakovich’s two cello concertos were inspired by and dedicated to the eminent soloist, Mstislav Rostropovich. Shostakovich knew that Rostropovich wished dearly to receive a concerto from him, but the composer’s wife warned the soloist never to mention it; she knew it would appear only when the time was right.

That time proved to be the summer of 1959. Rostropovich recalled that “When I learned that Shostakovich

had finished the Cello Concerto, I immediately went up to Leningrad. I received the score on the evening of 2 August, and I learned the work in four days exactly. I practiced for 10 hours the first day, and had the score memorized in three days.

“Then on 6 August, I went to Shostakovich’s dacha to play the concerto through to him. He said, ‘Now just hang on a minute while I find a music stand for you...’ I had been waiting for this and said, ‘Dmitri Dmitrievich, but I don’t need a stand.’ He said, ‘What do you mean, you don’t need a stand?’ ‘You know, I’ll play from memory.’ ‘Impossible, impossible...’” The play-through proceeded and gave complete satisfaction to composer and soloist alike.

PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION

Modest Mussorgsky (1839 to 1881) Orchestrated by Maurice Ravel (1875 to 1927)

Mussorgsky was the most talented, imaginative, and perceptive of the late-19th-century Russian composers who followed Mikhail Glinka’s example in taking their homeland’s folk music as a model for concert and theatre works. He befriended Victor Hartmann, a brilliant young artist and architect, in 1862. Hartmann’s death 11 years later plunged Mussorgsky into a deep depression. The following year, a memorial exhibition in St. Petersburg displayed Hartmann’s paintings, costumes, architectural designs, and sketches. Mussorgsky’s visit to it, combined with his desire to compose a piece in his friend’s memory, inspired him to compose Pictures at an Exhibition. Although it is his finest piano work, its colourful nature cries out for the rich palette of instrumental effects that only an orchestra can provide. The transcription that Russian conductor Sergei Koussevitzky commissioned from French composer Maurice Ravel in 1922 is by far the most popular of the several that have appeared.

KAHCHUN WONG

Conductor

Praised by Musical America for the “depth and sincerity of his musicality,” Singaporean conductor Kahchun Wong earned international attention after winning the fifth Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition in 2016. He has since developed a reputation as one of the most exciting conductors of his generation. After a remarkable debut with the Nürnberger Symphoniker in 2016, Wong was swiftly appointed its next Chief Conductor from the 2018/2019 Season. He made his New York Philharmonic debut in 2019, and recently appeared in Europe and Japan at the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Hamburger Symphoniker, Tonkünstler Vienna, Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse, Kyoto Symphony, and Nagoya Symphony. He has also led concerts with the Czech Philharmonic, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Staatskapelle Weimar, Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi di Trieste and Orquesta de València, Tokyo Philharmonic, Tokyo Symphony, China Philharmonic, Shanghai Symphony, and Singapore Symphony. Wong’s belief in the power of music education to uplift and inspire led him to create Project Infinitude, an inclusive arts initiative embracing children with special needs, in underserved communities, and from diverse backgrounds. The non-profit was co-founded with Marina Mahler, granddaughter of Gustav Mahler.

MAXIMILIAN HORNUNG

Cello

With his striking musicality, instinctive stylistic certainty, and musical maturity, young cellist Maximilian Hornung is taking the international music scene by storm. He regularly performs as a soloist with such renowned orchestras as the London Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony, Philharmonia Orchestra, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, Czech Philharmonic, and Vienna Symphony. Highlights of the 2019/2020 Season include re-invitations to the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, and Florida Orchestra, and debuts at the Bregenz Festival, ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra Vienna, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and Mainly Mozart Festival in San Diego. As Artist-in-Residence with the Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester Frankfurt he showcases his musical versatility as soloist, chamber musician, and conductor. Hornung’s discography includes Richard Strauss’ major cello works with the Bavarian Radio Symphony and Bernard Haitink, and Schubert’s Trout Quintet with Anne-Sophie Mutter and Daniil Trifonov. Hornung was born in Augsburg and began taking cello lessons at age eight. At only 23, he became first principal cellist of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and held this position until 2013. He has been supported by the Anne-Sophie Mutter Circle of Friends Foundation and Borletti-Buitoni Trust London.