BEETHOVEN 4: BOLD

Friday 29 May 2020 / 7:30PM Saturday 30 May 2020 / 7:30PM Jack Singer Concert Hall Masterworks

Matthews Family Dedication Concert

SPONSORS + SUPPORTERS

New Commission Supporter: DeBoni New Works Guest Artist Supporter: Naomi + John Lacey Virtuoso Programme Series Sponsor: United Active Living Conductor Couturier: Umberto Custom Tailors Ltd.

PROGRAMME

Rune Bergmann, conductor Jocelyn Morlock, composer Katherine Chi, piano

Jocelyn Morlock Interloper 12'

Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 58 34' I. Allegro moderato II. Andante con moto III. Rondo: Vivace

Intermission 20’

Beethoven Symphony No. 4 in B-flat Major, Op. 60 I. Adagio - Allegro vivace II. Adagio III. Allegro vivace IV. Allegro ma non troppo 34' This concert features the debut of a new work by Canadian composer Jocelyn Morlock, commissioned by the Calgary Philharmonic. She has provided the following programme note:

INTERLOPER

Jocelyn Morlock (b. 1959)

A 21st-century listener hearing Beethoven’s fourth symphony drinks in the mysterious slow introduction to the work, comfortably expecting the energetic first movement proper that we’ve heard dozens of times; but in 1806, beginning a work titled Symphony No. 4 in B Flat Major in the minor mode was transgressive — then, as now, a living composer was out to surprise, to shock us, maybe make us laugh, maybe scare us a little. Beethoven was an interloper himself; he struggled to improve his social and financial status, gradually morphing from socialist outlier to colossus. But I’ve been wondering — must the image of Beethoven be mutated from one of quirky, humorous, disruptive artist, to deified cultural icon — and is this truly a positive transformation? I came to classical music in late adolescence — as with many composers of my generation, by way of Amadeus — and felt like I’d passed through a magic portal. Since then I’ve been inviting myself into the musical worlds of great western art music composers of the past, and making myself at home. Interloper’s adoptive home is those first three notes of Beethoven 4, the unexpected minor mode, and the commensurate sense of strangeness and unreality that might be comforting, or perhaps rather scary.

PIANO CONCERTO NO. 4 IN G MAJOR, OP. 58

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 to 1827)

Beethoven composed both works on this programme during the period 1805 to 1806, an especially fruitful

time during which he also worked on the Violin Concerto and the Triple Concerto. All these works share a sweet, contented nature. As he had done with his three previous piano concertos, he played the solo part at the first performance himself, in March 1807. It took place before an aristocratic audience in the Vienna home of his friend and patron Prince Lobkowitz. Listeners responded with only polite applause, and the public debut proved even less successful. It was only when no less a piano soloist than Felix Mendelssohn took it up, more than 20 years later, that this lovely, heartfelt (but also humorous) piece finally began to find a place for itself in the standard repertoire.

SYMPHONY NO. 4 IN B-FLAT MAJOR, OP. 60

Ludwig van Beethoven

In the autumn of 1806, Beethoven visited his patron Prince Lichnowsky at his summer estate. There he met another great music lover, the Prince’s neighbour, Count Franz von Oppersdorf. An ardent admirer of Beethoven’s, the Count invited Beethoven and the Prince to his castle. He had his private orchestra perform Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2 during their stay, and commissioned a new symphony from him. Symphony No. 4 is dedicated to him; he would later commission No. 5 as well. It is probable but not proven that the Count’s orchestra gave the fourth symphony its premiere. The first fully documented reading was a private one that took place in Vienna in March 1807.

The weighty character of symphonies three and five, and the more immediate and more powerful impact they make, has led to the relatively low popularity of No. 4. This fate is utterly unrelated to its quality. As the noted 19th-century English musicologist Sir George Grove wrote, “Widely different as the fourth is from the third, it is no less original or individual. It is lighter and less profound than the Eroica, but there is no retrogression in style. It is the mood only that is different, the character and the means of expression remain the same.”

JOCELYN MORLOCK

Composer

Juno Award-winning composer Jocelyn Morlock’s music is hailed as “airy but rhythmic, tuneful but complex” and with “uncanny yet toothsome beauty” (Georgia Straight). She served as Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s first female Composerin-Residence from 2014 to 2019, following her term as Composer-inResidence for Vancouver’s Music on Main series. She has been composer of record for significant competitions, including the 2008 Eckhardt-Gramatté National Music Competition and the 2005 Montreal International Music Competition, for which she wrote Amore, a vocal work that has received more than 70 performances and numerous broadcasts. Called “a lyrical wonder, exquisite writing” (Vancouver Sun), Morlock’s accolades include a Juno for Classical Composition of the Year, Top 10 at the International Rostrum of Composers, the Jan V. Matejcek Award from SOCAN for overall success in New Classical Music, the Barbara Pentland Award of Excellence, the Mayor’s Arts Award for Music, several Western Canadian Music Awards, and the CMC Prairie Region Emerging Composers competition. Her work is on numerous recordings, including the National Arts Centre Orchestra’s Life Reflected, musica intima’s into light, and her own Cobalt and Halcyon. Much of her music is inspired by birds, insomnia, or a peculiar combination thereof.

KATHERINE CHI

Piano

Katherine Chi, one of Canada’s most sought-after pianists, has performed throughout Europe and North America to great acclaim. As noted by the New York Times, “Ms. Chi display[s] a keen musical intelligence and a powerful arsenal of technique.” With her energy, character, and spunk, Chi performs repertoire ranging from Bach to Bartók to Liszt to Schoenberg. She recently appeared with the Vancouver Symphony, the Library of Congress, and the Gilmore International Keyboard Festival. She has also performed with the Alabama, Calgary, Colorado, Columbus, Edmonton, Grand Rapids, Kitchener-Waterloo, Nova Scotia, Philadelphia, Quebec, Thunder Bay, Toronto, Vancouver, and Victoria Orchestras; CBC Radio Orchestra; Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra; I Musici de Montreal; Manitoba Chamber Orchestra; the Neue Philharmonie Westfalen; and Toronto Sinfonia, in addition to numerous festivals. Chi made her recital debut at age nine, and at 10 was accepted to the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music. She continued studies at the New England Conservatory in Boston, earning master’s and graduate degrees, an artist diploma and doctorate. After becoming a prizewinner at the 1998 Busoni International Piano Competition, Chi became the first woman and first Canadian to win the Honens International Piano Competition in 2000.