CSO Brahms Symphony No. 4 - program 02-10-23

Joshua Weilerstein conductor

Joyce Yang piano

February 10 & 11 Belk Theater

Welcome to your CSO!

I’m delighted to welcome you back to another exciting month at the Charlotte Symphony! As we begin the celebration of Black History Month, it feels important to reflect on the immense contributions of Black composers and performers in orchestral music. Throughout February, we will be sharing notable performances of works by Black composers, the history of Black pioneers in classical music, and information about the Black composers and artists of today who are enriching the classical music scene and inspiring countless future musicians.

I invite you to visit our website to learn more about how we are showcasing the music of Black composers and artists in our programming this season, including in a recently announced concert at Johnson C. Smith University on March 21 that showcases the music programs of JCSU side by side with the Charlotte Symphony.

We also continue to share the joy of music with children in communities across the region through our many education and community engagement programs. We believe that music has the power to change lives, and we are committed to making sure that everyone has access to exceptional performances and educational resources.

I hope you will join us in celebrating Black History Month by experiencing the music and stories of these important figures in the world of classical music. It is our goal to make the Charlotte Symphony a welcoming and inclusive space for our entire community. I look forward to seeing you at the Symphony.!

David Fisk President & CEO

The CSO is…

MORE THAN WHAT’S ONSTAGE.

Did you know that the Charlotte Symphony is much more than what you see on the Belk and Knight Theater stages? Beyond the Classical, Pops, Family, and Movie Series in the theaters, we work to uplift, entertain, and educate our community through inclusive education programs and community performances.

• The CSO has three programs for young musicians: the Youth Orchestra, the Youth Philharmonic, and the Youth Ensemble. CSO musicians participate in coaching throughout the year, and even perform with the young musicians!

• Reaching approximately 15,000 students each season, we also have extensive school programs, including Project Harmony, “Music and the Holocaust,” and “One Musical Family” Education Concerts.

• We perform throughout the region, from community parks and schools to breweries, senior care centers, and places of worship all season long.

The CSO is…FOR EVERYONE .

To learn more, visit charlottesymphony.org

Friday, February 10, 2023 at 7:30pm

Saturday, February 11, 2023 at 7:30pm

Belk Theater at Blumenthal Performing Arts Center

Joshua Weilerstein, conductor

Joyce Yang, piano

ETHEL SMYTH (1858-1944)

“On The Cliffs of Cornwall,” Prelude to Act 2 from The Wreckers

EDVARD GRIEG (1843-1907)

Concerto for Piano in A minor, Op. 16

I. Allegro molto moderato

II. Adagio

III. Allegro moderato molto e marcato

Joyce Yang, piano

INTERMISSION

JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833-1897)

Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98

I. Allegro non troppo

II. Andante moderato

III. Allegro giocoso

IV. Allegro energico e passionato

concert duration: approximately 1 hour, 40 minutes. There will be one 20-minute intermission.

Joshua Weilerstein

guest conductor

Joshua Weilerstein enjoys a flourishing guest conducting career across the globe and has forged close relationships with many of the world’s finest orchestras and soloists. With a repertoire that spans from the Renaissance era to the music of today, he combines a deep love for canonical masterpieces alongside a passionate commitment to uncovering the works of under-represented composers such as Pavel Haas, William Grant Still, William Levi Dawson, and Ethel Smyth, among others. He is also a tireless advocate for the music of today, championing the works of Caroline Shaw, Jörg Widmann, Derrick Skye, Christopher Rouse, and more. In October 2022, Weilerstein was announced as the new Chief Conductor of Denmark’s Aalborg Symphony Orchestra from the 23/24 season.

Highlights of Weilerstein’s 22/23 season include debuts with the Bavarian Radio Symphony and RTVE Symphony (Madrid); and return engagements with the Indianapolis Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, Florida Orchestra, London Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Aalborg Symphony, Swedish Chamber, Netherlands Philharmonic orchestras, Orchestre national de Belgique, and Orchestre national de Lille, among others. He will also return to the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, with whom he was Artistic Director from 2015-2021.

In recent seasons, Weilerstein’s guest engagements have included concerts with the San Francisco Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, and New York Philharmonic; and in Europe with the Oslo Philharmonic, Danish National Symphony, Bergen Philharmonic, Finnish Radio Symphony, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Tonhalle Zurich, NDR Hannover, and Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie. During his time as Artistic Director of the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Weilerstein was instrumental in expanding the orchestra’s repertoire and together they released critically acclaimed recordings of

music by Shostakovich, Stravinsky, Smyth, and Ives along with a complete Beethoven symphony cycle on DVD; they also toured throughout Europe with soloists such as Juan Diego Florez, Christian Tetzlaff, and Albrecht Mayer.

Weilerstein won both the First Prize and the Audience Prize at the Malko Competition for Young Conductors in Copenhagen in 2009, and was subsequently appointed Assistant Conductor of the New York Philharmonic, where he served from 2012-2015. In 21/22 he became the Music Director of Phoenix, a dynamic and ambitious orchestra in Boston devoted to the presentation of classical music concerts in accessible and unforgettable ways and to the promotion of music by composers whose works have been unjustly overlooked.

Weilerstein hosts a wildly successful classical music podcast called “Sticky Notes” for music lovers and newcomers alike, with over two million downloads in 165 countries.

Joyce Yang

piano

Blessed with “poetic and sensitive pianism” (Washington Post) and a “wondrous sense of color” (San Francisco Classical Voice), Grammy-nominated pianist Joyce Yang captivates audiences with her virtuosity, lyricism, and interpretive sensitivity.

In solo recitals, Yang’s innovative program has been praised as “extraordinary” and “kaleidoscopic” (LA Times). She has performed at New York City’s Lincoln Center and Metropolitan Museum, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Chicago’s Symphony Hall, Zurich’s Tonhalle, and all throughout Australia on a recital tour presented by Musica Viva.

As an avid chamber musician, Yang has collaborated with the Takács Quartet for Dvořák — part of Lincoln Center’s Great Performers series — and Schubert’s “Trout” Quintet with members of the Emerson String Quartet at the Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center. Yang has fostered an enduring partnership with the Alexander String Quartet and together released three celebrated recordings under Foghorn Classics.

In 2020, Yang released her tenth album, performing Jonathan Leshnoff’s Piano Concerto with the Kansas City Symphony. As a champion of new music, Yang has also recorded the World Premiere of Michael Torke’s Piano Concerto with Albany Symphony and David Alan Miller. Yang’s wide-ranging discography also includes two celebrated solo discs, Collage and Wild Dreams, where she “demonstrated impressive gifts” (New York Times). She also released a live-performance recording of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with Denmark’s Odense Symphony Orchestra, which International Record Review called “hugely enjoyable, beautifully shaped … a performance that marks her out as an enormous talent.”

In recent years, Yang has focused on promoting creative ways to introduce classical music to new audiences. She served as the Guest Artistic Director for the Laguna Beach

Music Festival in California, curating concerts that explore the “art-inspires-art” concept – highlighting the relationship between music and dance while simultaneously curating outreach activities to young students. Yang’s collaboration with the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet of Half/Cut/Split — a “witty, brilliant exploration of Robert Schumann’s Carnaval” (The Santa Fe New Mexican) choreographed by Jorma Elo — was a marriage between music and dance to illuminate the ingenuity of Schumann’s musical language. The group toured nationwide, including five performances at the Joyce Theater in New York.

In the 2021/2022 season, Yang shared her versatile repertoire in over 40 cities in the US and Europe. After returning to the stage in summer performances at Wolf Trap with the National Symphony Orchestra, Grant Park Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival, Sun Valley Music Festival, Yang appeared with the New World Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Utah Symphony, Colorado Symphony, Nashville Symphony, Pacific Symphony, Phoenix Symphony, Tucson Symphony, and Rhode Island Philharmonic, among many others. She also premiered Reinaldo Moya’s Piano Concerto with Bangor Symphony, which draws inspiration from Venezuelen artist Carlos Cruz-Diez. In recital, she presented daring programs of Bach, Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky, and Kernis as well as collaborated with the Takacs Quartet.

Born in 1986 in Seoul, South Korea, Yang received her first piano lesson from her aunt at the age of four. She quickly took to the instrument, which she received as a birthday present. Over the next few years, she won several national piano competitions in her native country. By the age of ten, she had entered the School of Music at the Korea National University of Arts, and went on to make a number of concerto and recital appearances in Seoul and Daejeon. In 1997, Yang moved to the United States to begin studies at the precollege division of the Juilliard School with Dr. Yoheved Kaplinsky. She graduated from Juilliard with special honor as the recipient of the school’s 2010 Arthur Rubinstein Prize, and in 2011 she won its 30th Annual William A. Petschek Piano Recital Award.

Yang appears in the film In the Heart of Music, a documentary about the 2005 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. She is a Steinway artist.

YOUR CHARLOTTE SYMPHONY

Christopher Warren-Green, Conductor Laureate & Music Adviser

Christopher James Lees, Resident Conductor

FIRST VIOLINS

Calin Ovidiu Lupanu, Concertmaster

The Catherine & Wilton Connor Chair

Joseph Meyer, Associate Concertmaster

Kari Giles, Assistant Concertmaster

Ernest Pereira°*

Susan Blumberg°°

Jane Hart Brendle

Emily Chatham°°

Ayako Gamo

Jenny Topilow°°

Dustin Wilkes-Kim

Hanna Zhdan

SECOND VIOLINS

Oliver Kot, Principal

The Wolfgang Roth Chair

Kathleen Jarrell, Assistant Principal

The Pepsi-Cola Foundation of Charlotte Chair

Carlos Tarazona°

Monica Boboc

Tatiana Karpova

Ellyn Stuart

Martha Geissler

Sakira Harley

VIOLAS

Benjamin Geller, Principal

The Zoe Bunten Merrill Principal Viola Chair

Alaina Rea, Assistant Principal *

Chihiro Tanaka, Acting Asst. Principal

Ellen Ferdon

Cynthia Frank

Viara Stefanova

Ning Zhao

Matthew Darsey †

CELLOS

Jonathan Lewis, Principal

The Kate Whitner McKay Principal Cello Chair

Allison Drenkow, Assistant Principal

Alan Black, Principal Emeritus

Marlene Ballena

Jeremy Lamb

Sarah Markle

DOUBLE BASSES

Kurt Riecken, Principal

Judson Baines, Assistant Principal

Jeffrey Ferdon

Jason McNeel

FLUTES

Victor Wang, Principal

The Blumenthal Foundation Chair

Amy Orsinger Whitehead

Erinn Frechette

PICCOLO

Erinn Frechette

OBOES

Hollis Ulaky, Principal

The Leo B. Driehuys Chair‡

Erica Cice

Terry Maskin

ENGLISH HORN

Terry Maskin

CLARINETS

Taylor Marino, Principal

The Gary H. & Carolyn M. Bechtel Chair

Samuel Sparrow

Allan Rosenfeld

E♭ CLARINET

Samuel Sparrow

BASS CLARINET

Allan Rosenfeld

BASSOONS

Joseph Merchant, Principal

Joshua Hood

Naho Zhu†

CONTRABASSOON

Naho Zhu†

HORNS

Byron Johns, Principal

The Mr. & Mrs. William H. Van Every Chair

Andrew Fierova

Robert Rydel

Richard Goldfaden

Philip Brindise†

TRUMPETS

Alex Wilborn, Principal

The Betty J. Livingstone Chair

Jonathan Kaplan

Gabriel Slesinger, Associate Principal*

The Marcus T. Hickman Chair

TROMBONES

John Bartlett, Principal

Thomas Burge

BASS TROMBONE

Scott Hartman, Principal

TUBA

Colin Benton, Principal

The Governor James G. Martin Chair

TIMPANI

Jacob Lipham, Principal

The Robert Haywood Morrison Chair

PERCUSSION

Brice Burton, Principal

HARP

Andrea Mumm Trammell, Principal

The Dr. Billy Graham Chair

This roster lists the full-time members of the Charlotte Symphony. The number and seating of musicians onstage varies depending on the piece being performed.

° Non-revolving position

°° Alternates between first and second violins

† Acting member of the Charlotte Symphony

‡ Funded by The Symphony Guild of Charlotte, Inc.

* On leave

ARTISTIC OPERATIONS

Michael Reichman, VP of Artistic Operations & General Manager

Carrie Graham, Director of Artistic Planning

Tim Pappas, Acting Director of Operations

Nixon Bustos, Principal Music Librarian

Bradley Geneser, Assistant Librarian

Erin Eady, Acting Personnel Manager

John Jarrell, Stage Manager

The Charlotte Symphony is a proud member of the League of American Ochestras.

SAM SPARROW Clarinet

Member of CSO since 2017 hometown: Durham, NC

FUN FACTS

• I am a NC native from Durham, NC and received my Bachelor of Music in Clarinet Performance from the Manhattan School of Music.

• I grew up on a small sheep farm with many other animals (including a llama) and used to exhibit sheep in the NC State Fair!

• I love a good adrenaline rush! I’m a big rollercoaster fan, and rode the world’s largest free-fall swing a few years ago in New Zealand!

For more information about Charlotte Symphony musicians, visit charlottesymphony.org

One of the premier music organizations in the Southeastern United States and the oldest operating symphony orchestra in the Carolinas, the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra (CSO) connects with more than 100,000 music lovers each year through its lively season of concerts, broadcasts, community events, and robust educational programs. The CSO is committed to its mission of uplifting, entertaining, and educating the diverse communities of Charlotte-Mecklenburg and beyond through exceptional music experiences.

The Charlotte Symphony upholds the highest artistic integrity and takes bold steps to engage with its community through music. Its 62 professional, full-time musicians perform throughout the region — from community parks and breweries, to places of worship and senior care centers — and offer significant educational support, aimed at serving the underresourced areas of our community.

The Charlotte Symphony is deeply committed to the notion that music, accessible to all and experienced in its many forms, enriches and unifies our community. The CSO believes in equity and inclusion and strives to be an industry leader in imaginative, relevant programming by intentionally seeking out women conductors, underrepresented in our industry, and conductors, composers, and guest artists of color.

Founded in 1932, the Charlotte Symphony plays a leading cultural role in the Charlotte area and aims to serve the community as a civic leader, reflecting and uniting our region through the transformative power of live music.

OUR MISSION

The Charlotte Symphony uplifts, entertains, and educates the diverse communities of Charlotte-Mecklenburg and beyond through exceptional musical experiences.

OUR VISION

Reaching out through the transformative power of live music, the Charlotte Symphony will be a civic leader, reflecting and uniting our region.

For more information, visit us online at charlottesymphony.org

MUSIC AND THE HOLOCAUST MAKES AN IMPACT

On November 18, 2021, The Gizella Abramson Holocaust Education Act was passed into law, making North Carolina one of just nineteen states in the United States to mandate Holocaust education in public middle and high schools. With the act taking effect in the 2023–24 school year, the Charlotte Symphony’s Music and the Holocaust program is poised to address the growing need for supplemental education about the Holocaust in our schools.

Music and the Holocaust features an ensemble of Charlotte Symphony musicians performing music of significance during this tumultuous period in history. Through this music, students learn about Jewish culture and the horrors of the Holocaust. The music features a mix of traditional Jewish music — which was forbidden and considered “degenerate” by the Nazis — music composed in the concentration camps, and music that evokes survival and healing. Each concert includes narration and projected images that explore pre-WWII Jewish culture, the Third Reich’s attempts to control art and culture, the role of music and musicians in the concentration camps, and how the European Jewish community refused to be silenced.

Mitch Rifkin is Chairman of the North Carolina Holocaust Foundation, a non-profit that helps fund the many programs offered by the North Carolina Council on the Holocaust such as teacher workshops, traveling plays and exhibits, and speaking engagements.

Why was The Holocaust Education Act so important to advance the work that you’re already doing?

“[The Act] passed after a lot of hard work, as you can imagine. We are excited about the fact that it came about because of all the right reasons. Not just talking about the horrors of the holocaust, but about how the holocaust came to be and that it could happen again — meaning the hatred prevails — and how one man was able to exterminate 12 million people.”

(continued next page)

How is the Foundation and the N.C. Council on the Holocaust preparing educators for this upcoming school year?

“To teach this topic properly, educators need to understand the facts behind the holocaust. We hold nine seminars a year where we bring teachers in to learn these facts and how to address holocaust denial and distortion. We also sponsor a bus trip that takes educators to the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. It truly is enlightening for them, and they come back and tell other teachers about their experiences. The curriculum being written by the Council is designed to teach the holocaust correctly, how it came to be, so we can avoid this happening again.”

How can a program like the Charlotte Symphony’s Music and the Holocaust help to educate students?

“Music is important, there’s no question. When I attended Music and the Holocaust, I noticed that the students were engaged, they weren’t wiggling in their seats, they were paying attention to the music, so that’s 90% of the battle — getting them engaged. I think your music and this topic are current. The rise of hatred in America, and globally, today is horrific. There is so much hatred in the world, and certainly the rise of antisemitism is a daily occurrence. When you see people like Kanye West and Kyrie Irving, with a huge following on social media, put that junk out there and no one contradicts them, it’s horrible. But we contradict it. And we try to bring forth the understanding of how we, as a people, should be more tolerant of each other.”

Learn more about the Charlotte Symphony’s Music and the Holocaust

PROGRAM NOTES by Ken Metzer

ETHEL SMYTH

born: April 22, 1858 in Marylebone, England

died: May 9, 1944 in Woking, England

“On the Cliffs of Cornwall”

Prelude to Act II of The Wreckers (1906)

premiere: November 11, 1906 in Leipzig, Germany

Dame Ethel Smyth was both an accomplished composer and outspoken member of the women’s suffrage movement. Smyth’s father, a career military officer, strongly opposed his daughter pursuing a career in music. Nonetheless, Smyth began studies at the Leipzig Conservatory in 1887. Smyth quickly became dissatisfied with the experience and after a year, began private studies with Heinrich von Herzogenberg. During these early years in Europe, Smyth made the acquaintance of such eminent musicians as Johannes Brahms, Clara Wieck Schumann, Joseph Joachim, Edvard Grieg, Anton Rubinstein, and Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky. After travels throughout Europe, Smyth returned to England in 1890. Over the next few decades, Smyth earned success and recognition both at home and abroad, especially in the realm of opera (although she composed effectively in a wide range of instrumental and vocal genres). New York’s Metropolitan Opera performed the U.S. premiere of Smyth’s Der Wald in March 1903. It was the Met’s first presentation of an opera by a woman composer.

At the start of the second decade of the 20th century, Smyth became strongly involved in the English suffragette movement. Her 1910 composition The March of the Women emerged as an anthem for the movement. In March of 1912, Smyth took part in a suffragette demonstration that led to her serving two months in Holloway Prison. When Thomas Beecham, Smyth’s friend and advocate, visited her in prison, he found the composer leading fellow suffragette inmates in a rousing performance of The March of the Women. In 1922, Ethel Smyth was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire — the first female composer to be given this honor. She was also awarded honorary degrees from St. Andrews and Manchester Universities, as well as an honorary doctorate in music from Oxford University.

(continued next page)

Smyth’s opera The Wreckers began as a setting of Henry Brewster’s French-language drama Les Naufrageurs. Attempts to stage the opera in French-speaking countries proved unsuccessful. The premiere took place on November 11, 1906 at the Neues Theater in Leipzig. The opera was performed in a German translation with the title Strandrecht. Smyth and Alma Strettell created an English-language libretto for The Wreckers, which received its concert performance at at London’s Queen’s Hall, on May 30, 1908, conducted by Arthur Nikisch. A staged production followed on June 22, 1909, performed at His Majesty’s Theater in London, led by Sir Thomas Beecham. The Wreckers is based upon tales of 18th-century Cornish natives who lured ships onto Cornwall’s rocky shores by disabling warning lights. Once the ships had wrecked, the natives would rob and kill the sailors. Into this story, The Wreckers weaves the tragic love affair of Mark, a young fisherman, and Thirza, wife of Pascoe, the village leader and preacher. “On the Cliffs of Cornwall” serves as the atmospheric orchestral introduction to the opera’s second act.

EDVARD GRIEG

born: June 15, 1843 in Bergen, Norway died: September 4, 1907 in Bergen, Norway

Piano Concerto in A minor Opus 16 (1868)

Edvard Grieg’s beloved Piano Concerto was the product of a particularly happy period in the Norwegian composer’s life. In 1867, Grieg and his wife, Nina, were married. The following April, their daughter, Alexandra, was born. That summer, Edvard, Nina and Alexandra Grieg traveled to Søllerød, located near Copenhagen. The Grieg family vacationed in a rented cottage. There, Edvard Grieg composed the A-minor Piano Concerto. The premiere of the Concerto, which took place in Copenhagen on April 3, 1869, was generally well received by the Norwegian press. One critic viewed the work, which incorporated Norwegian folk idioms, as presenting “all Norway in its infinite variety and unity,” and compared the second movement to “a lonely mountain-girt tarn that lies dreaming of infinity.”

In early 1870 in Rome, Grieg met the great Hungarian pianist and composer, Franz Liszt. During one visit, Grieg presented the score of the A-minor Concerto to Liszt, who played through the work, often shouting his approval. As Grieg related: “Finally, (Liszt) said in a strange, emotional way: ‘Keep on, I tell you. You have what is needed, and don’t let them frighten you.’” Liszt did suggest some changes to the score, finally published in 1872. Grieg was never totally satisfied with the Concerto, and continued to pen revisions until the time of his death. Despite the composer’s misgivings, the Grieg A-minor remains one of the most popular of piano concertos.

The Concerto is in three movements. The first (Allegro moderato) features one of concert music’s most famous and dramatic openings. The second movement (Adagio) opens with an extended introduction spotlighting the muted strings. This precedes the entrance of the soloist, whose

premiere: April 3, 1869 in Copenhagen, Denmark

presence dominates the remainder of this brief and affecting slow-tempo movement. The finale (Allegro moderato molto e marcato) begins with a short introduction that anticipates the soloist’s presentation of the main theme — a jaunty rhythmic passage based upon a Norwegian folk dance known as the halling. The flute initiates a lovely contrasting interlude, but the spirited halling motif soon returns. The closing pages present the orchestra’s majestic transformation of the interlude, accompanied by the soloist’s grand flourishes.

Edvard Grieg (1891), portrait by Eilif Peterssen

JOHANNES BRAHMS

born: May 7, 1833 in Hamburg, Germany died: April 3, 1897 in Vienna, Austria

Symphony No. 4 in E minor Opus 98 (1885)

premiere: October 25, 1885 in Meiningen, Germany

Johannes Brahms composed his Fourth (and final) Symphony during the summers of 1884 and 1885, while vacationing in the Alpine village of Mürzzuschlag. On August 29, 1885, Brahms forwarded the manuscript of the Fourth Symphony’s opening movement to his friend Elisabet von Herzogenberg (wife of Ethel Smyth’s teacher, Heinrich von Herzogenberg), along with the following playful correspondence:

Will you allow me to send you a piece of a piece of mine, and would you have time to glance at it and send me a word about it? Generally speaking, my pieces are, unfortunately, pleasanter than I am, and people find less in them that needs putting right! The cherries in this part of the world never grow sweet and are uneatable—so that if the thing is not to your taste don’t hesitate to say so. I am not at all eager to write a bad No. 4...

In a letter of September 6, Mme. von Herzogenberg confessed: “(t)he movement from the Symphony has already been heaving many sighs and groans under my unskilled hands...there are many passages where I still get quite lost.” And, after hearing a piano duet performance of the Symphony, critic Eduard Hanslick, commented: “I feel as though I am being thrashed by two frightfully clever fellows.”

The eminent German pianist and conductor Hans von Bülow was thrilled by the score, and invited Brahms to conduct his Meiningen Orchestra in the October 25, 1885 premiere. The favorable response prompted that Orchestra to perform the Symphony during its autumn tour of Germany and Holland.

On March 7, 1897 in Vienna, the mortally-ill Brahms attended his final orchestral concert, in which Hans Richter conducted the E-minor Symphony. The audience became aware of Brahms’s presence, and applauded after each movement.

(continued next page)

At the conclusion of the Symphony, the audience leapt to its feet and offered a massive ovation in tribute to Brahms. The frail composer summoned his remaining energy to rise and acknowledge the cheers.

As biographer Florence May described:

Tears ran down his cheeks as he stood there, shrunken in form with lined countenance, strained expression, white hair hanging lank, and through the audience there was a feeling as of a stifled sob, for each knew that he was saying farewell. Another outburst of applause and yet another; one more acknowledgment from the master, and Brahms and his Vienna had parted forever.

It is entirely appropriate that the Fourth Symphony served to mark the Brahms’s farewell to his beloved Vienna. The work represents the summit of the composer’s extraordinary symphonic output. While each of the Four Symphonies is a masterpiece, the E-minor is an extraordinary synthesis of Classical (and even pre-Classical) form with searing Romantic passion and lyricism. The Fourth Symphony’s dramatic power— couched in a miraculous economy of utterance—continues to move and amaze audiences.

The Symphony is in four movements. The first (Allegro non troppo) begins with the violins’ immediate presentation of the principal theme, based upon alternating pairs of descending and ascending notes. The second movement (Andante moderato) is a series of variations on a theme, introduced at the outset by the horns and woodwinds. Brahms once described the stirring third-movement scherzo (Allegro giocoso) as “Alexander the Great’s march to India.” In the finale (Allegro energico e passionate), Brahms uses his version of music from J.S. Bach’s Cantata No. 150 as the underlying structure for a series of variations. The movement is also cast in a general A—B—A form, with two fiery outer sections and a central, lyrical episode. The concluding “A” section gathers intensity to the shattering final bars.

We gratefully acknowledge these generous donors to the Charlotte Symphony Annual Fund. This list reflects gifts received between July 1, 2022 through January 1, 2023

BENEFACTOR CIRCLE

$100,000+

Anonymous

Catherine & Wilton Connor

$50,000 – $99,999

Roberta H. Cochran

Ellen M. Fitzsimmons & Greg Rogowski

$25,000 – $49,999

Anonymous

Joan & Mick Ankrom

Richard & Ruth Ault

Dr. Milton & Arlene Berkman Philanthropic Fund

Mark & Judith Brodsky

DG Brungard Foundation

Linda & Bill Farthing

John & Maria Huson

$15,000 – $24,999

Ralph S. Grier

Richard Krumdieck

Betty P. & Jeffrey J. Lee

DeDe & Alex McKinnon

$10,000 – $14,999

Anonymous (3)

Francisco & Jeannette Alvarado

Katharine & Frank Bragg

Mr. & Mrs. R. Alfred Brand III

Lynne & Colby Cathey

Margarita & Nick Clements

Christoph & Robin Feddersen

Karen Fox

Janet M. Haack

Chris & Susan Kearney

Ginger Kelly

Douglas Young

Jane & Hugh McColl

Patricia & Thrus Morton

Patrick J. O’Leary

Richard J. Osborne

Paul & Kathy Reichs

Carolyn Shaw

John & Andromeda Williams

Debbie & Pat Phillips

Judy & Derek Raghavan

Ann & Fritz Rehkopf

Page & Ed Kizer

Ms. Nina Lesavoy

Susan & Loy McKeithen

Alex & Ulrike Miles

Robert Norville

Mr. & Mrs. Jerry Richardson

Mary Anne Rogers

Mike Rutledge

Thomas & Sherry Skains

Richard & Lisa Worf

For more information on how to make a gift to the CSO Annual Fund, please contact Libby Currier, Annual Fund Manager, at 704.714.5137 or lcurrierl@charlottesymphony.org

CIRCLE

In Memory of Tess Verbesey

Kevin & Jill Walker

Floyd Wisner & Glenda Colman

$3,500 – $4,999

Wedge & Debbie Abels

Philipp J. Bischoff

Jan & Bob Busch

Judith Carpenter

Brian & Morgan Cromwell

Joan & Parker Foley

H. Clay Furches

Richard I. McHenry & Cynthia L. Caldwell

Mr. & Mrs. Paul McIntosh

Elizabeth J. McLaughlin

Chuck Miller & Marcy Thailer

Mr. Glenn Mincey & Mrs. Macie Mincey

Tony & Linda Pace

Edgar & Karen Whitener

$2,500 – $3,499

Anonymous (3)

Julian Andretta

Mrs. Harriet B. Barnhardt

Bill & Georgia Belk

Cathy Bessant & John Clay

Ms. Melody Birmingham

Si & Michael Blake

Mr. & Mrs. Alan Blumenthal

Dr. & Mrs. O. Robert Boehm

Twig & Barbara Branch

Ann Thomas Colley

Dorothy & Mike Connor

Melissa Cornwell

Alfred & Amy Dawson

Peter De Arcangelis

Phil & Mary Delk

Cheryl DeMaio

Peggy & Charles Dickerson

Mrs. Carolyn Faison

Alex & Patty Funderburg

Timothy & Kara Gallagher

Harvey & Cindy Gantt

Mr. Billy L. Gerhart, in memory of Judith Gerhart

Snyder

Ms. Andrea J. Stevenson

Kevin Taylor

Drs. Jennifer Sullivan & Matthew Sullivan

Chris & Jim Teat

Drs. Chris & Lillian Teigland

Judith & Gary Toman

Mr. & Mrs. C.L. Trenkelbach

Suzie & Nick Trivisonno

Todd & Andrea Griffith

Angela & Michael Helms

Ivan Hinrichs

Brian & Juliet Hirsch

Carol A. Hitselberger & Robert Petty

Jim & Peggy Hynes

Shirley & Bob Ivey

David S. Jacobson

Ginger Kemp

(continued next page)

Cotty

Arlene H. Elisha

Mrs. Geraldine S. Emmert

Mr. Peter F. Guild

Katherine G. Hall

Anne J. Henderson

Steven Hershfield & Mary Jo Germain

Mr. & Mrs. Benjamin F. Hill, Jr.

Joan Irwin

Gene & Helen Katz

Dr. & Mrs. Jack Kramer

Anna Marriott

Ms. Rosemarie Marshall & Mr. Lee Wilkins

Jim & Dottie Martin

Cricket Weston & David Molinaro

Eleanor W. Neal

Caroline Olzinski

Mr. Vincent Phillips & Mr. Paul Pope

Torsten & Kim Pilz

John & Wilma Pinter

Larry & Dale Polsky

John & Susan Rae

Mr. & Mrs. Pope A. Shuford

Morris & Patricia Spearman

Robert & Maxine Stein

Ann & Wellford Tabor

Tillie S. Tice

James H. Trexler & Kelly Zellars

Daniel & Kathleen Troy

Mindy & Don Upton

Vera Watson

Grant Webb

Linda & Craig Weisbruch

Mrs. Eugenia N. White

Deems Wilson

Ms. Deborra Wood & Mr. Russell Propst

$1,000 – $1,499

Anonymous (2)

Ashley & Steve Allen

Kathleen & Richard Anderson

JWD Atchison

Mary Lou & Jim Babb

Mr. & Mrs. Lincoln A. Baxter

Morgan Beggs

John & Katherine Beltz

Shirley W. Benfield

Donald H. & Barbara K. Bernstein

Family Foundation

Mr. James Biddlecome

In Memory of Bernadette Zirkuli Biddlecome

Ms. Brett Blumenthal & Mr. David Wax

Carole Bourret

Khary Brown

Herbert Browne

Jane & Larry Cain

Maggie Callen

Ralph & Sam Canfield

Ms. Elizabeth Carr

Bill & Pauline Chinnis

Mr. Mark Copeland & Mrs. Kathleen Goldammer-Copeland

(continued next page)

Hans Teich

Sarah S. Tull

Mrs. William K. Van Allen

Mr. & Mrs. Michael Van Glish

Bill & Rita Vandiver

Dr. & Mrs. Bill Chu & Jin Wang

Pam & Steve West

Peter White

David Wilcox

Bryan Wilhelm

Ms. Judith Wood

Mrs. Anne Yudell

$500 – $999

Anonymous (3)

Michael & Lee Abbott

Doug & Lynda Abel

Mark Abrams & Iris Prandi

Mr. Lester Ackerman & Mr. Layton Campbell

Larry Anderson

Leigh & Rhonda Armistead

Mrs. Natascha A. Bechtler

Bob & Cathy Becker

Dr. John L. Bennett & Mr. Eric T. Johnson

Jeffrey Boghosian

David Bower & Ann Richardson

Ms. Marianne Bragg

James Broadstone

Aram & Scott Bryan

Mr. Charles Budd

Greg & Mary Lou Cagle

Barbara F. Caine

Ms. Lisa Callen

$500 - $999 cont.

Amanda & Kevin Chheda

Hobart B. Cheyne

Ms. Michele T. Classe

Mr. Brent Clevenger

Dr. W. Gerald Cochran & Mr. Timothy D. Gudger

Mr. Thomas E. Collins, Jr.

Dr. & Mrs. Charles E. Cook

Dr. Kilian Cooley

Dr. & Mrs. Mark Couture

Mr. & Mrs. Alpo F. Crane

Ellen M. Crowley

Mrs. Judy Crozier

Craig Selimotic Danforth

Dr. Roy E. DeMeo, Jr. & Ms. Linda A. Evanko

Thomas & Kris Duffy

Virginia Dulaney

Ms. Helen Edwards

Rebecca Elliott

Martin Ericson, Jr.

Dr. & Mrs. J. Murray Fadial

Doug Faris

Tom & Gail Fennimore

Lawrence W. Fetner, Jr.

Robert & Catherine Flynn

Melisa & Frank Galasso

(continued next page)

Pitts

Jeanine & Naeem Qasim

Dr. & Mrs. R. Pinkney Rankin, Jr.

Haywood & Sabine Rankin

Jane & Milburn Ratteree

Brendan Reen

Casey Rentch

Nancy Rutledge & Jim Rutledge

Robert & Christine Rydel

Mr. & Mrs. William Seifert

John Schroeder, in honor of Patty McArthur

Mr. Andrew Silliker

Carol Smith

Dr. & Mrs. Henry L. Smith II

Rebecca & Eric Smith

Scott Smith

John-Palmer Smith

Julia J. Souther

Mr. & Mrs. Larry Stern

Kathryn Stewart

Sam & Martha Stowe

Wesley & Claudia Sturges

George & Brenda Sweet

Ms. Sarah Teague

Tim Timson

Jenny & Ken Tolson

James & Melanie Twyne

Greg & Sandy Vlahos

Lyman Welton

Barnet & Harriet Weinstock

Dr. Thomas H. White

Mr. & Mrs. John A. Yakob

Ms. Barbara Yarbrough

Dan & Susan Yardley

Dr. & Mrs. T. Price Zimmermann

$250 – $499

Anonymous (3)

Paula Andretta

Andrew & Karen Antoszyk

Judi Bainbridge

Dr. & Mrs. Michael J. Bell

Sam & Nancy Bernstein

Ms. Deborah Berry

Mr. & Mrs. Alexander Bierce

Stuart Blackmon

Lawton & Janette Blandford

Megan Blankemeyer List

Ken & Nelle Brown

Mr. Nicholas Bonevac

Steve Bost

David H. & Barbara J. Burns

John Carr

Robert & Jo Anne Caruso

Mary Case

Amy Cathey

Rev. Janice Chalaron

Ms. Catherine Choudary

Gray Clark

Mortimer & Josephine Cohen Fund

Ms. Dorothy Cole

(continued next page)

Jill Maxwell

Matula

Kim & Alan Maxwell

Ms. Judy Mayo

James & Stephanie McGarvey

Eric Miller

Kimberly Moore-Wright

Glenn A. Muegel

David H. Nance & Jennifer Nance

Sara & Tom Nolan

Dr. & Mrs. Michael E. Norman

Dimitris & Jennifer Papageorgiou

Cookie & Jerry Parnell

Rose & Bailey Patrick

Bradley & Sharon Patterson

Mr. Conrad Puckett

Mr. Mason & Dr. Krista Rankin

Stephen & Melissa Ratliff

$250 - $499 cont.

Emily & Brian Reinicker

Dr. Livia Robicsek

Mr. & Mrs. Albert E. Rodgers

Sarah E. Schoedinger

Eileen Scholl

Merle & Judy Schuh

Dr. & Mrs. Marvin Shapiro

Ginny Shaw

Fred H. Smith

James & Ellie Stephens

William & Catherine Stone

Larry Stratemeyer

Charlene Sturgill

Brenda Gail Summers

Ms. Jena M. Summerville

Carrie & Jeffrey Teixeira

Nancy & Dick Thigpen

Gretchen & Jean-Claude Thill

Melissa M. Tolin

Patti Tracey & Chris Hudson

Cynthia Turner

Sarah & Tim Turner

Rebecca Valenstein

Minyan Wang

Jenny & Henry Ward

Ms. Leslie Webster

Mr. Erik Weghorst

Mr. & Mrs. Tom Weidman

Mr. & Mrs. Richard J. Wertheimer

Mrs. Carol Wilson

Allen & Clara Wolfe

Karen & Charles Wolff

CORPORATE PARTNERS

We are grateful for the following outstanding corporate funders:

$250,000 +

$100,000 - $249,999

$20,000 - $49,999

$10,000 - $19,999

$5,000 - $9,999

Atrium Health Kingfisher Capital The Dunhill Hotel

For more information, please contact Amanda LoCascio, AVP - Institutional Philanthropy at 704.714.5138 or alocascio@charlottesymphony.org

GOVERNMENT & FOUNDATION SUPPORT

We are grateful for the following outstanding foundation and government funders:

$100,000 +

$50,000 - $99,999

$20,000 - $49,999

DG Brungard Foundation

Mariam & Robert Hayes Charitable Trust

The Trexler Foundation

$10,000 - $19,999

Blumenthal Foundation

Charlotte Mecklenburg Community Foundation

Cole Foundation

Dunspaugh-Dalton Foundation, Inc.

John S. & James L. Knight Foundation

The Maurer Family Foundation

$5,000 - $9,999

AT&T Foundation

The George W. & Ruth R. Baxter Foundation

The Jack H & Ruth C. Campbell Foundation

The Charlotte Assembly

$2,500 - $4,999

Barnhardt/Thomas Trust

Kathryn Stephenson Pipe Organ Endowment Foundation

Stanly County Community Foundation

Winer Family Foundation

For more information, please contact Toni Freeman, Grant Writer at development@charlottesymphony.org

Dickson Foundation

The Truist Charitable Fund is a donor-advised fund created by Truist and administered by The Winston-Salem Foundation

We invite your firm to join this special group of corporate supporters committed to keeping the music alive — enriching Charlotte and the surrounding communities as a first-class place to work and live.

$2,500 - $4,999

GreerWalker

Moore & VanAllen Park Inc.

$5,000 + $500 - $2,499

Carter Troutman Pepper LLP

World Famous Golf Carts of South Carolina

For more information, please contact Amanda LoCascio, AVP - Institutional Philanthropy at 704.714.5138 or alocascio@charlottesymphony.org

The Charlotte Symphony Orchestra recognizes donors of exceptional generosity whose cumulative giving to the CSO exceeds $1 million with the designation of Music Director Society.

Anonymous (2)

Bank of America Corporation

Catherine & Wilton Connor

Goldman, Sachs & Co.

The Leon Levine Foundation

John S. & James L. Knight Foundation

Mr. & Mrs. Hugh L. McColl, Jr.

Robert Haywood Morrison Foundation

C. D. Spangler Foundation

The Symphony Guild of Charlotte, Inc.

Wells Fargo Corporation

For more information, please contact Leslie Antoniel, AVP of Development, at 704.714.5139 or lantoniel@charlottesymphony.org.

Anonymous (3)

Geraldine I. Anderson†

Richard & Ruth Ault

Baldwin Family Trust

Barnhardt Thomas Trust

Larry & Joyce† Bennett

Donald H. & Barbara K. Bernstein

Mark & Louise Bernstein†

Twig & Barbara Branch

Saul Brenner

Mike & Joan Brown†

Mrs. Joan Bruns †

Jan & Bob Busch

Dr. Helen G. Cappleman, Ph.D.†

Jim Cochran†

Robin Cochran

Tom Covington

Charles & Peggy Dickerson

Mr. Martin Ericson, Jr.

David J.L. Fisk & Anne P. O’Bryne

Peter & Ann† Guild

William G. & Marguerite K. Huey Fund†

Dr. Nish Jamgotch, Jr.

Betty & Stanley Livingstone†

† Deceased

Nellie McCrory †

M. Marie Mitchell†

Cricket Weston & David Molinaro

Joan & Richard Morgan

Don C. Niehus

Eva Nove

Richard J. Osborne

Gwen Peterson & Tom Hodge

James Y. Preston†

Mrs. Clayton (Dusty) Pritchett

Ann & Fritz Rehkopf

Elizabeth Waring Reinhard

Nancy W. Rutledge

Mike Rutledge

Harriet Seabrook

Mr. & Mrs. William Seifert

Morris & Patricia Spearman

Bob & Maxine Stein

Dr. Ben C. Taylor III

Mr. & Mrs. Hans Teich

Cordelia G. Thompson

Tim Timson

Jenny & Ken Tolson

Ms. Debora Wood & Mr. Russell Propst

The Encore Society includes individuals who have made provisions for the CSO in their estate plans. We are honored to recognize their support: Leave a lasting legacy of great music through your planned gift. For more information, contact Leslie Antoniel at 704.714.5139.

With your gift, the Charlotte Symphony uplifts, entertains, and educates the diverse communities of Charlotte-Mecklenburg and beyond through exceptional musical experiences.

Multimillion Dollar Commitment City of Charlotte

$1.5 million and above Bank of America

C.D. Spangler Foundation / National Gypsum Company

John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

Trane Technologies

$600,000 - $1 million

Albemarle Foundation

Atrium Health

Barings

Duke Energy

Honeywell

JELD-WEN, Inc.

LendingTree Foundation

Lowe’s Companies, Inc.

Novant Health

Red Ventures

Truist

$300,000-$600,000

Ally Financial

The Centene Charitable Foundation

Childress Klein Properties

Coca-Cola Consolidated

Deloitte

EY

The Gambrell Foundation

Moore & Van Allen

PwC

Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson, P.A.

Rodgers Builders

Wells Fargo

Up to $300,000

Fifth Third Bank

Foundation For The Carolinas

Deidre and Clay Grubb

Leslie and Michael Marsicano

Jane and Hugh McColl

Nucor Corporation

PNC Bank

Premier, Inc.

Jane and Nelson Schwab

The Charlotte Symphony is supported, in part, by the Infusion Fund and its generous donors.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Linda McFarland Farthing

Chair

John Williams

Vice Chair

Mick Ankrom

Treasurer

David Fisk

President & CEO

Melissa Anderson

Joye D. Blount

Mike Butterworth

Nick Clements

Catherine Connor

Mary Delk*

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Richard Osborne, Chair

Ruth & Richard Ault

Kat Belk

Arlene & Milton Berkman

Jason & Tiffany Bernd

Frank Bragg

Robin & Bill Branstrom

Derick & Sallie Close

Robin Cochran

Wilton Connor

Jeanie & T. Thomas Cottingham III

Brian Cromwell

Alessandra & Pasquale De Martino

Alvaro & Donna de Molina

Peggy & Richard Dreher

Lisa Hudson Evans

Todd Gorelick

Janet Haack

Reginald B. Henderson, Esq.

Mark & Whitney Jerrell

Jeff Lee

Gov. James G. Martin

Denise DeMaio

Richard Krumdieck

Alex McKinnon

Ulrike W. Miles

Glenn Mincey

Robert Rydel*

Ylida Scott

Melinda Snyder

Jennifer Sullivan

Jenny Tolson*

Jenny Topilow*

Kevin Walker

*ex officio

Jane & Hugh McColl

Susan & Loy McKeithen

Elizabeth J. McLaughlin

George McLendon

Patrick J. O’Leary

Debbie & G. Patrick Phillips

Paul Reichs

Nancy & Charles Robson

Patricia A. Rodgers

M.A. Rogers

Dan & Sara Garces Roselli

Laura & Mike Schulte

Carolyn Shaw

Tom Skains

Emily & Zach Smith

Bob & Marsha Stickler

Adam Taylor

Cynthia Tyson

Braxton Winston

Richard Worf

Albert Zue

EXECUTIVE

David J. L. Fisk, President & CEO

Samantha Hackett, Executive Administrator

ARTISTIC OPERATIONS (see p. 11)

DEVELOPMENT

Shayne Doty, Vice President of Development

Leslie Antoniel, Associate Vice President of Development

Amanda LoCascio, Associate Vice President, Institutional Philanthropy

Libby Currier, Annual Fund Manager

Tammy Matula, Database Manager

Jennifer Gherardi, Campaign Coordinator

Senta Harvey, Annual Fund & Sponsorships Associate

FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION

Angel Adams, Vice President of Finance & Administration

Lissette Rodriguez, Staff Accountant

Chazin & Company, Financial Services

Amy Hine, Office Administrator

HUMAN RESOURCES

Maribeth Baker (Catapult), Human Resources Counselor

LEARNING & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Aram Kim Bryan, Vice President of Learning & Community Engagement

Emily Gordon, Project Harmony Manager

Dylan Lloyd, Youth Orchestras Manager

Peyton Wulff, Learning Manager

Jirah Montgomery, Youth Orchestras Assistant

MARKETING

Mical Hutson, Vice President of Marketing & Audience Development

Deirdre Roddin, Director of Institutional Marketing & Communications

Nicole Glaza, Senior Manager of Digital Marketing

Chad Calvert, Visual Communications Manager

Laura Thomas, Marketing Manager

Meghan Starr, Patron Communications Manager

Garrett Whiffen, Ticketing Manager

Mei-Ann Chen, conductor

Calin Ovidiu Lupanu, violin

Bruch’s Violin Concerto is one of the best-loved works of the Romantic period. “Vivid” (San Francisco Classical Voice) guest conductor Mei-Ann Chen leads this program, featuring Concertmaster Calin Lupanu.

February 24 & 25 Knight Theater

FRANCK SYMPHONY in D minor