Program Notes

Notes on the Program by Ken Meltzer

SERGEI PROKOFIEV

born: April 23, 1891 in Sontskova, Russia died: March 5, 1953 in Moscow, Russia

Symphony No. 1 in D Major, “Classical”

Opus 25

composed: 1917 premiere: April 21, 1918 in Petrograd

Sergei Prokofiev composed his “Classical” Symphony, one of the most popular concert works of the 20th century, during a period that spanned the years 19161917. He completed the orchestration on September 10, 1917. The world premiere of Prokofiev’s “Classical” Symphony took place in Petrograd on April 21, 1918. The composer led the former St. Petersburg Court Orchestra.

Despite the turbulence that plagued Russia during the composition of the “Classical” Symphony, the work represents Prokofiev at his wittiest and most carefree. Perhaps this is not that surprising, given that the “Classical” Symphony is Prokofiev’s tribute to the greatest of symphonic humorists — the 18th-century Austrian composer, Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809). In his autobiography, Prokofiev described his approach to this beloved work:

It seemed to me that had Haydn lived to our day he would have retained his own style while accepting something of the new at the same time. That was the kind of symphony I wanted to write: a symphony in the classical style. And when I saw that my idea was beginning to work, I called it the Classical Symphony: in the first place because that was simpler, and secondly for the fun of it, to “tease the geese,” and in the secret hope that I would prove to be right if the symphony really did turn out to be a piece of classical music.

The “Classical” Symphony is in four brief movements. The first is a bracing Allegro. Prokofiev directs that the central theme of the slow-tempo second movement (Larghetto) be played molto dolce (“very sweetly”). The third movement is a Gavotte (Non troppo allegro), a court dance in 4/4 time. The Finale (Molto vivace) brings the “Classical” Symphony to a joyful close.

A few weeks after the premiere of the “Classical” Symphony, Prokofiev left Russia, then in the grips of the Revolution. More than a decade elapsed before Prokofiev returned to his homeland.

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART

born: January 27, 1756 in Salzburg, Austria died: December 5, 1791 in Vienna, Austria

Concerto for Clarinet in A major

K. 622

composed: 1791 premiere: October 16, 1791 in Prague

Mozart composed his Clarinet Concerto for his friend and fellow Freemason, Anton Stadler (1753-1812). Stadler and his brother Johann were musicians with the imperial court in Vienna. The relationship between Mozart and Stadler dated back to 1784, when the clarinetist participated in the performance of one of the composer’s serenades for winds. Mozart wrote his magnificent Quintet for Clarinet and Strings, K. 581 (1789) to showcase Stadler’s considerable talents. Additionally, Stadler played the lovely obbligato passages in two arias from Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito at the opera’s September 1791 premiere in Prague. Mozart reported that at a later performance of the opera, “cries of ‘Bravo’ were shouted at (Stadler) from the parterre and even from the orchestra.”

Mozart probably began composition of the Clarinet Concerto shortly after the September 30, 1791 premiere of his opera, Die Zauberflöte. By October 7, Mozart reported to his wife Constanze: “I smoked a splendid pipe of tobacco; and then I orchestrated almost the whole of Stadler’s rondo (the final movement of the Clarinet Concerto).” The remarkable speed with which Mozart completed this work was facilitated to some extent by the fact that the first 199 measures of the opening Allegro were adapted from a somewhat earlier and unfinished Concerto for Basset Horn. Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto remains one of the most beloved in the repertoire.

The Concerto is in three movements. The first movement’s (Allegro) orchestral introduction focuses upon the elegant principal melody, immediately offered by the strings. The clarinet enters with a repetition of the melody that soon expands into wide-ranging flights for the soloist. The clarinet then introduces a contrasting melancholy theme in the minor key. Mozart frequently employed the central slow-tempo movements of his concertos to showcase the singing quality of the featured solo instrument. In 1785, a critic wrote admiringly of Anton Stadler: “one would never have thought that a clarinet could imitate the human voice to such perfection.” The Clarinet Concerto’s second movement (Adagio), cast in the A—B—A form typical of operatic arias of the period, is one of the composer’s sublime efforts. The soloist inaugurates the Rondo (Allegro) finale with the introduction of the cheerful principal theme. Some of the contrasting sections are in a more serious vein. But for the better part, high spirits prevail throughout the finale, perhaps most notably in the soloist’s playful excursions during the closing episode.

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN

born: December 1770 in Bonn, Germany died: March 26, 1827 in Vienna, Austria

Symphony No. 4 in B-flat Major

Opus 60

composed: 1806 premiere: April 1808 at the Burgtheater in Vienna

During the summer of 1806, Ludwig van Beethoven visited his friend and patron, Prince Karl Lichnowsky, who owned a Silesian country estate. During that visit, Lichnowsky introduced Beethoven to Count Franz von Oppersdorff, whose castle was located nearby. Oppersdorff, an avid music-lover, greeted Beethoven with a performance of the composer’s Symphony No. 2, played by the Count’s own court orchestra.

It was on that occasion that Count Oppersdorff commissioned Beethoven to write a new symphony. Beethoven had already begun work on what would become known as his Symphony No. 5. However, he temporarily put that work aside, in order to compose the B-flat Major Symphony for Prince Oppersdorff. Beethoven composed his Fourth Symphony during the months of September and October 1806, while residing at Prince Lichnowsky’s estate. The Symphony was probably first performed privately at the Vienna townhouse of Prince Lobkowitz in March of the following year.

It was Robert Schumann who characterized Beethoven’s Fourth Symphony as “a slender Greek maiden between two huge Nordic giants.” It is true that the Fourth does not present the epic struggles found in the “Eroica” and Fifth Symphonies. Nevertheless, there is plenty of drama in the Beethoven Fourth, as well as humor. The latter is a characteristic not often associated with a man who, through genius and force of will, overcame the greatest obstacles, including deafness.

Still, we know from contemporary accounts that Beethoven did, indeed, possess a robust sense of humor. And we should also bear in mind that in his early years, Beethoven was a student of one of music’s great humorists, Franz Joseph Haydn. While listening to the Fourth, we might recall what Haydn wrote of his young pupil in 1793: “Beethoven will in time become one of the greatest musical artists in Europe, and I shall be proud to call myself his teacher.”

The Symphony is in four movements. The first opens with an extended and mysterious slow-tempo introduction (Adagio). A crescendo leads to a whiplash motif in the strings, the springboard to the skipping principal motif of the Allegro vivace. The slow-tempo second movement (Adagio) begins with a repeated figure in the second violins. This serves as the accompaniment for the lovely cantabile (i.e., in a singing style) opening theme, played by the first violins, and later repeated by the winds. The third movement (Allegro molto e vivace) is a vigorous scherzo. The principal scherzo portion alternates with the more pastoral Trio section. A brief horn call heralds the concluding fortissimo chord. The finale (Allegro ma non troppo) opens with a perpetuum mobile figure in the strings, establishing the playful mood that predominates throughout. The coda seems to proceed toward a quiet resolution, but, suddenly, a raucous exclamation brings the Symphony No. 4 to a fortissimo conclusion.

Palais Lobkowitz in Vienna, c. 1760

During the period of the composition of the Fourth Symphony, Beethoven and Prince Lichnowsky had a quarrel. Beethoven, ever the proud rebel, wrote to Lichnowsky: “Prince, what you are, you are by accident of birth; what I am, I am through myself. There have been and will still be thousands of princes; there is only one Beethoven.”

Prince Lichnowsky

Count Oppersdorff

Prince Lobkowitz