Concerts, CSO Program Notes, and Guest Artists

Her competition credits and awards include The Alma Blackmon Scholarship Award, winner of the Classical Singer Regional University Competition and of the Hartford Memorial Scholarship Competition, second place in the Alltech Scholarship Competition, and the 2018 Gold Medal in the American Traditions Vocal Competition. ericagabrielsoprano.wixsite.com/ website

MANDY GONZALEZ, vocalist

Mandy Gonzalez is currently starring in the hit Broadway musical Hamilton and is also known for her emotional portrayal of Nina Rosario in the Tony Awardwinning Lin-Manuel Miranda Broadway musical In the Heights, a role she originally created Off -Broadway at 37 Arts and which received a Drama Desk Award for Best Ensemble. She starred as Elphaba in the Broadway production of Wicked, earning a Broadway.com Award for Best Replacement. Other Broadway roles include Princess Amneris in the Elton John and Tim

GUEST ARTISTS Rice musical Aida and the Broadway show Lennon, where she portrayed multiple roles including that of Beatles’ icon John Lennon. Gonzalez made her Broadway debut in Jim Steinman’s Dance of the Vampires, starring opposite Michael Crawford.

Equally at home on the big and small screens, she has appeared in Across the Universe, directed by Julie Taymor; After, starring opposite Pablo Schreiber; and Man on a Ledge, with Sam Worthington. Gonzalez also had recurring roles on ABC’s Quantico and on CBS’s Madam Secretary.

Gonzalez can be heard as the voice of Mei in Disney’s Mulan 2 and on recordings of the original Broadway cast album of In the Heights, Kerrigan-Lowdermilk Live and The Man Who Would Be King. She released her fi rst solo album, Fearless, in 2017. mandygonzalez.com

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Kelly M. Dehan and Rick J. Staudigel

Artist Sponsor HEAR ME ROAR: A CELEBRATION OF WOMEN IN SONG

Composed: 1888–1894 Premiere: Mahler conducted the Berlin Philharmonic in the work’s first three movements on March 4, 1895 at a performance arranged by Richard Strauss, who was then that ensemble’s Music Director. Mahler returned to Berlin to lead the first complete performance later that year, on December 13. He also directed the American premiere, on December 8, 1908, with the orchestra of the Symphony Society of New York at Carnegie Hall. Instrumentation: Soprano and mezzosoprano soloists, SATB chorus, 4 flutes (incl. 4 piccolos), 4 oboes (incl. 2 English horns), 5 clarinets (incl. bass clarinet, 2 E-flat clarinets), 4 bassoons (incl. contrabassoon), 10 horns, 8 trumpets, 4 trombones, tuba, 2 timpani, bass drum, chimes, crash cymbals, glockenspiel, rute, 3 snare drums, suspended cymbals, 2 tam-tams, 3 triangles, 2 harps, organ, strings CSO notable performances: First Performance: November 1928 Fritz Reiner, conductor; Iliah Clark, soprano; Mme. Charles Cahier, mezzo-soprano; May Festival Chorus—for a special concert by the newly established Cincinnati Institute of Fine Arts, which would later become ArtsWave. Most Recent: October 2008 Gilbert Kaplan, conductor; Janice Chandler, soprano; Christianne Stotijn, mezzosoprano; May Festival Chorus, Robert Porco, director Duration: approx. 80 minutes GUSTAV MAHLER Born: July 7, 1860, Kalischt, Bohemia Died: May 18, 1911, Vienna

Symphony No. 2 in C Minor, Resurrection

In August 1886, the distinguished conductor Arthur Nikisch, later music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, appointed the 26-year-old Gustav Mahler as his assistant at the Leipzig Opera. At Leipzig, Mahler met Carl von Weber, grandson of the celebrated composer Carl Maria von Weber, and the two worked on a new performing edition of the virtually forgotten Weber opera Die drei Pintos (“The Three Pintos,” two being impostors of the title character). (In an episode that bore on the composition of the First Symphony, Mahler, always subject to intense emotional turmoil, fell in love with Carl’s wife during his frequent visits to the Weber house. The lovers planned to run away together, but at the decisive moment she left Mahler stranded, quite literally, at the train station.) Following the premiere of Die drei Pintos, on January 20, 1888, Mahler attended a reception in a room filled with flowers. That seemingly beneficent image played on his mind, becoming transmogrified into nightmares and waking visions, almost hallucinations, of himself on a funeral bier surrounded by floral wreaths.

The First Symphony was completed in March 1888, and its successor was begun almost immediately. Mahler, spurred by the startling visions of his own death, conceived the new work as a tone poem titled Totenfeier (“Funeral Rite”). The title was apparently taken from the translation by the composer’s close friend Siegfried Lipiner, titled Totenfeier, of Adam Mickiewicz’s Polish epic Dziady, which appeared just as work on the tone poem was begun. Though Mahler inscribed his manuscript “Symphony in C minor/First Movement,” he had no clear idea at the time what sort of music would follow Totenfeier, and he considered allowing the movement to stand as an independent composition. He completed and dated the orchestral score of the movement on September 10, 1888 in Prague, where he was conducting performances of Die drei Pintos at the German Theater.

The next five years were ones of intense professional and personal activity for Mahler. He resigned from the Leipzig Opera in May 1888 and applied for posts in Karlsruhe, Budapest, Hamburg and Meiningen. To support his petition for this last position, he wrote to Hans von Bülow, director at Meiningen until 1885, to ask for his recommendation, but the letter was ignored. Richard Strauss, however, the successor to Bülow at Meiningen, took up Mahler’s cause on the evidence of his talent furnished by Die drei Pintos and his growing reputation as a conductor of Mozart and Wagner. When Strauss showed Bülow the score for the Weber/Mahler opera, Bülow responded caustically, “Be it Weberei or Mahlerei [puns in German on “weaving” and “painting”], it makes no difference to me. The whole thing is a pastiche, an infamous, out-of-date bagatelle. I am simply nauseated.” Mahler, needless to say, did not get the job at Meiningen, but he was awarded the position at Budapest, where his duties began in October 1888.

During 1889, both of Mahler’s parents died—his father in February, his mother just eight months later—so the responsibility for supporting his brothers and sisters fell upon him. A ne’er-do-well brother, Alois, fled to America. Gustav moved Emma and Otto from their home in Bohemia to Vienna, where they could all be close to their sister, Leopoldine, who had previously married and settled in the Habsburg capital. Justine went to Budapest to keep house for her brother.

But this time of grief held yet one more shock, when Leopoldine fell gravely ill with a brain tumor and died late in the year.

In 1891, Mahler switched jobs once again, this time leaving Budapest to join the prestigious Hamburg Opera as principal conductor. There he encountered Bülow, who was director of the Hamburg Philharmonic concerts. Bülow had certainly not forgotten his earlier low estimate of Mahler the composer, but after a performance of Siegfried he allowed that “Hamburg has now acquired a simply firstrate opera conductor in Mr. Gustav Mahler...who equals in my opinion the very best.” Encouraged by Bülow’s admiration of his conducting, Mahler asked for his comments on the still unperformed Totenfeier. Mahler described their September 15th encounter:

When I played my Totenfeier for Bülow, he fell into a state of extreme nervous tension, clapped his hands over his ears and exclaimed,

“Beside your music, Tristan sounds as simple as a Haydn symphony!

If that is still music then I do not understand a single thing about music!” We parted from each other in complete friendship, I, however, with the conviction that Bülow considers me an able conductor but absolutely hopeless as a composer.

Mahler, who throughout his career considered his composition more important than his conducting, was deeply wounded by this behavior, but he controlled his anger out of respect for Bülow, who had extended him many kindnesses and become something of a mentor. Bülow did nothing to quell his doubts about the quality of his creative work, however, and Mahler, who had written nothing since Totenfeier three years before, was at a crisis in his career as a composer.

The year after Bülow’s withering criticisms, Mahler found inspiration to compose again in a collection of German folk poems by Ludwig Achim von Arnim and Clemens Brentano called Des Knaben Wunderhorn (“The Youth’s Magic Horn”). He had known these texts since at least 1887, and in 1892 set four of them for voice and piano, thereby renewing some of his creative self-confidence. The following summer, when he was free from the pressures of conducting, he took rustic lodgings in the village of Steinbach on Lake Attersee in the lovely Austrian Salzkammergut, near Salzburg, and it was there that he resumed work on the Second Symphony, five years after the first movement had been completed. Without a clear plan as to how they would fit into the Symphony’s overall structure, he used two of the Wunderhorn songs from the preceding year as the bases for the internal movements of the piece. On July 16 he completed the orchestral score of the Scherzo, derived from Des Antonius von Padua Fischpredigt, a cynical poem about St. Anthony preaching a sermon to the fishes, who, like some human congregations, return to their fleshly ways as soon as the holy man finishes his homily. Only three days later, Urlicht (“Primal Light”) for contralto solo, was completed; by the end of the month, the Andante, newly conceived, was finished.

Mahler composed with such frenzy that summer that his sisters almost urged him to give up his work lest his health be ruined. Natalie Bauer-Lechner, a close friend who left a revealing book of personal reminiscences of the composer, related that he looked strained and drawn and was “in an almost pathological state” at Steinbach. “Don’t talk to me of not looking well,” he reprimanded. “Don’t ever speak to me of this while I am working unless you want to make me terribly angry. While one has something to say, do you think that one can spare oneself? Even if it means devoting one’s last breath and final drop of blood, one must express it.”

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On June 29, 1894, just three months later [after the death of Hans von Bülow], Mahler completed his monumental “Resurrection” Symphony, six years after it was begun.

By the end of summer 1893, the first four movements of the Symphony were finished but Mahler was still unsure about the work’s ending. The finality implied by the opening movement’s “Funeral Rite” seemed to allow no logical progression to another point of climax. As a response to the questions posed by the first movement, he envisioned a grand choral close for the work, much in the manner of the triumphant ending of Beethoven’s last symphony. “When I conceive a great musical picture, I always arrive at a point where I must employ the ‘word’ as the bearer of my musical idea,” he confided. “My experience with the last movement of my Second Symphony was such that I literally ransacked world literature, even including the Bible, to find the redeeming word.” Still, no solution presented itself.

In December 1892, Bülow’s health gave out and he designated Mahler to be his successor as conductor of the Hamburg Philharmonic concerts. A year later Bülow went to Egypt for treatment, but died suddenly in Cairo on February 12, 1894. Mahler was deeply saddened by the news. He met with the Czech composer Josef Förster that day and played through the Totenfeier with such emotion that his colleague was convinced it was offered “in memory of Bülow.” Förster recalled the memorial service they had attended at Hamburg’s St. Michael Church:

Mahler and I were present at the moving farewell.... The strongest impression to remain was that of the singing of the children’s voices.

The effect was created not just by Klopstock’s profound poem [Auferstehen—“Resurrection”] but by the innocence of the pure sounds issuing from the children’s throats. The hymn died away, and the old, huge bells of the church opened their eloquent mouths and their mighty threnody poured forth to the entire port city.

The funeral procession started. At the Hamburg Opera, where

Bülow had so often delighted the townspeople, he was greeted by the funeral music from Wagner’s Götterdämmerung [conducted by Mahler]. A great moment, full of reverence, remembrance and thankfulness.

Outside the Opera, I could not find Mahler. But that afternoon I could not restrain my restlessness, and hurried to his apartment as if to obey a command. I opened the door and saw him sitting at his writing desk, his head lowered and his hand holding a pen over some manuscript paper. Mahler turned to me and said: “Dear friend, I have it!”

I understood. As if illuminated by a mysterious power I answered:

“Auferstehen, ja auferstehen wirst du nach kurzen Schlaf.” [“Rise again, yes you will rise again after a short sleep.”] I had guessed the secret: Klopstock’s poem, which that morning we had heard from the mouths of children, was to be the basis for the closing movement of the Second Symphony.

On June 29, 1894, just three months later, Mahler completed his monumental “Resurrection” Symphony, six years after it was begun.

The great scope of the “Resurrection” Symphony, both in length and in performing forces, made its premiere a significant undertaking. Richard Strauss, then director of the Berlin Philharmonic (as successor to Bülow!), wanted to premiere the work, but he was unable to secure the vocal forces needed for the closing sections, so he arranged a performance of the first three movements for March 4, 1895 and invited Mahler to conduct. (Mahler was still reeling on that date from

the suicide of his beloved younger brother Otto less than a month before. Mahler, subject to migraine headaches during times of great stress, was almost incapacitated by blinding headaches during the rehearsals and premiere.) Though the Symphony was performed as an incomplete torso, the audience approved it warmly, recalling the composer–conductor to the stage at least five times with its applause. The critics, however, vilified the new piece, ignoring the success it had gained with the public. When the complete work was presented on December 13, the critics again decried the score. (One representative comment scorned “the cynical impudence of this brutal and very latest music maker.”) Despite critical carping, the Second Symphony became Mahler’s most often heard work during his lifetime: the score was published in 1897, he chose it for his Viennese farewell performance in 1907, and it was the first of his works he conducted (on December 8, 1908 at Carnegie Hall with the New York Symphony Orchestra) after coming to America.

The composer himself wrote of the emotional engines driving the Second Symphony: • 1st movement. We stand by the coffin of a well-loved person. His life, struggles, passions and aspirations once more, for the last time, pass before our mind’s eye.—And now in this moment of gravity and of emotion which convulses our deepest being, our heart is gripped by a dreadfully serious voice that always passes us by in the deafening bustle of daily life: What now? What is this life—and this death? Do we have an existence beyond it? Is all this only a confused dream, or do life and this death have a meaning?—And we must answer this question if we are to live on.

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TEXT AND TRANSLATION Urlicht (“Primal Light”)

O Röschen rot! Oh red rose! Der Mensch liegt in grösster Not! Humankind lies in deepest need, Der Mensch liegt in grösster Pein! Humankind lies in deepest pain. Je lieber möcht’ ich im Himmel sein! Much would I rather be in heaven! Da kam ich auf einen breiten Weg: Then I came onto a broad path: Da kam ein Engelein und wollt’ mich abweisen! An angel came and wanted to send me away. Ach nein! Ich liess mich nicht abweisen! Ah, no! I would not be sent away. Ich bin von Gott und will wieder zu Gott! I am from God and will return to God! Der liebe Gott wird mir ein Lichtchen geben, Dear God will give me a light, Wird leuchten mir in das ewig selig Leben! Will illumine me to eternal, blessed life!

Chorus and Soprano

Aufersteh’n, ja aufersteh’n wirst du, Rise again, yes you will rise again, mein Staub, nach kurzer Ruh: my dust, after a short rest: Unsterblich Leben Immortal life wird der dich rief dir geben. will He who called you grant to you. Wieder aufzublüh’n wirst du gesät! To bloom again you are sown! Der Herr der Ernte geht The Lord of the harvest goes und sammelt Garben and gathers sheaves, uns ein, die starben! even us, who died!

Mezzo-Soprano

O glaube, mein Herz, o glaube, O believe, my heart, O believe, es geht dir nichts verloren! Nothing will be lost to you! Dein ist, was du gesehnt, What you longed for is yours, dein was du geliebt, Yours, what you have loved, was du gestritten! what you have struggled for! O glaube, O believe, du warst nicht umsonst geboren! You were not born in vain! Hast nicht umsonst gelebt, You have not lived in vain, gelitten! suffered in vain!

Chorus

Was entstanden ist, What was created das muss vergehen! must pass away! Was vergangen, aufersteh’n! What has passed away must rise! Hör auf zu beben! Cease trembling! Bereite dich zu leben! Prepare yourself to live!

Soprano and Mezzo-Soprano

O Schmerz! Du Alldurchdringer, O suffering! You that pierce all things, dir bin ich entrungen! From you have I been wrested! O Tod! Du Allbezwinger, O death! You that overcome all things, nun bist du bezwungen! now you are overcome! Mit Flügeln, die ich mir errungen, With wings that I have won for myself in heissem Liebesstreben, in the fervent struggle of love, zum Licht, zu dem kein Aug’ gedrungen! to the light which no eye has pierced.

Chorus

Sterben werd’ ich, um zu leben! I shall die in order to live!

Soloists and Chorus

Aufersteh’n, ja aufersteh’n wirst du, Rise again, yes you will rise again, mein Herz, in einem Nu! my heart, in the twinkling of an eye! Was du geschlagen, What you have conquered zu Gott wird es dich tragen! will carry you to God!

JOÉLLE HARVEY, soprano

A native of Bolivar, New York, soprano Joélle Harvey received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in vocal performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). She began her career training at ©Ariele Doneson Glimmerglass Opera (now The Glimmerglass Festival) and the Merola Opera Program.

Harvey’s 2022–23 season brings appearances with a host of internationally acclaimed organizations. She will join the New York Philharmonic as the soprano soloist in a gala performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, celebrating the opening of David Geffen Hall and conducted by Jaap van Zweden. She debuts with the Bamberg Symphoniker (Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 and Alma Mahler songs, conducted by Jakub Hrůša), Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin (Handel’s Solomon with Robin Ticciati), and the Minnesota Orchestra (Haydn’s The Creation with Paul McCreesh). The season also holds returns to The Cleveland Orchestra (Schubert Mass in E-flat in Cleveland and at Carnegie Hall), Chicago Symphony Orchestra (Carmina Burana), and The Metropolitan Opera (Pamina in The Magic Flute). Notable chamber performances will include a recital with baritone John Moore and pianist Allen Perriello for Philadelphia Chamber Music Society and appearances with the Chamber Music Societies of Lincoln Center and Palm Beach. She also makes her Jacksonville Symphony debut for Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem and debuts with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s in an all-Handel program conducted by Bernard Labadie at Carnegie Hall. During the summer of 2023, she returns to the Glyndebourne Festival as the title role in a new production of Handel’s Semele, directed by Adele Thomas. joelleharvey.com KELLEY O’CONNOR, mezzo-soprano

Possessing a voice of uncommon allure, Grammy® Awardwinning mezzo-soprano Kelley O’Connor is one of the most compelling performers of her generation. She is internationally acclaimed equally in the ©Ben Dashwood pillars of the classical music canon—from Beethoven and Mahler to Brahms and Ravel—as she is in new works of modern masters—from Adams and Dessner to Lieberson and Talbot.

Her robust concert diary this season includes performances with Giancarlo Guerrero and the Nashville Symphony, Jaap van Zweden and the New York Philharmonic, Gianandrea Noseda and the National Symphony Orchestra, and Xian Zhang both with the San Francisco Symphony and New Jersey Symphony.

Sought after by many of the most heralded composers of our day, O’Connor has given the world premieres of Joby Talbot’s A Sheen of Dew on Flowers with the Britten Sinfonia, Bryce Dessner’s Voy a Dormir with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Carnegie Hall, Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar at the Tanglewood Music Festival, and John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary, written for her, which she has performed under the batons of John Adams, Gustavo Dudamel, Grant Gershon, Gianandrea Noseda, Sir Simon Rattle and David Robertson.

She is the eminent living interpreter of Peter Lieberson’s Neruda Songs, having given this moving set of songs with Stéphane Denève and the Concertgebouworkest, Christoph Eschenbach and the National Symphony Orchestra, Bernard Haitink and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Robert Spano and the Minnesota Orchestra, and with David Zinman and the Berliner Philharmoniker, among others.

Her vivid discography includes Mahler’s Third Symphony with Jaap van Zweden and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Lieberson’s Neruda Songs, Golijov’s Ainadamar, and Michael Kurth’s Everything Lasts Forever with Robert Spano and the Atlanta Symphony, Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary with Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with Franz Welser-Möst and The Cleveland Orchestra. kelleyoconnor.com

GUEST ARTISTS MAY FESTIVAL CHORUS Robert Porco, Director

Matthew Swanson, Associate Director of Choruses Heather MacPhail, Accompanist Christin Sears, Conducting Fellow Kathryn Zajac Albertson, Chorus Manager Bryce Newcomer, Chorus Librarian The May Festival Chorus has earned acclaim locally, nationally and internationally for its musicality, vast range of repertoire and sheer power of sound. The Chorus of 125 professionally trained singers is the core artistic element of the Cincinnati May Festival as well as the official chorus of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Cincinnati Pops. Throughout a typical season the chorus members collectively devote more than 40,000 hours in rehearsals and performances.

Founded in 1873, the annual May Festival is the oldest, and one of the most prestigious, choral festivals in the Western Hemisphere. The annual Festival, now under the artistic leadership of Principal Conductor Juanjo Mena, boasts the May Festival Chorus—with choral preparation by Robert Porco—and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra as anchors, hosts an international array of guest artists and presents two spectacular weekends of dynamic programming. James Conlon, who in 2016 brought to a close an unprecedented 37-year tenure as May Festival Music Director, was named Music Director Laureate upon his retirement. Many important choral works have received their World and American premieres at the May Festival, including Johann Sebastian Bach’s Magnificat, Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 3, Benjamin Britten’s Gloriana, Gian Carlo Menotti’s The Death of the Bishop of Brindisi and Robert Nathaniel Dett’s The Ordering of Moses. mayfestival.com ROBERT PORCO has been recognized as one of the leading choral musicians in the U.S., and throughout his career he has been an active preparer and conductor of choral and orchestral works, including most of the major choral repertoire, as well as of opera. A highlight of his career was leading an Indiana University student choral and orchestral ensemble of 250 in a highly acclaimed performance of Leonard Bernstein’s MASS as part of the Tanglewood Music Festival’s celebration of the composer’s 70th birthday. In 2011 Porco received Chorus America’s “Michael Korn Founders Award for Development of the Professional Choral Art.” In 2016 he led the May Festival Chorus and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Mendelssohn’s Elijah for Chorus America’s National Conference.

Porco’s conducting career has spanned geographic venues and has included performances in the Edinburgh Festival; Taipei, Taiwan; Lucerne, Switzerland; Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, Israel; and Reykjavik, Iceland; and at the May Festival, Tanglewood Music Festival, Berkshire Music Festival, Blossom Festival and Grant Park Festival. He has been a guest conductor at the May Festival and with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and The Cleveland Orchestra, among others.

The 2022–23 season is Robert Porco’s 34th as Director of Choruses.

©Roger Mastroianni

OF NOTE

Samuel Lee and Daniel Wiley join the CSO and Pops as Assistant Conductors this season. Lee, an alumnus of Hochschule für Musik “Hanns Eisler” Berlin and former violist of the Novus String Quartet, was first prize winner of the BMI International Conducting Competition in Bucharest and the International Conducting Competition in Taipei and has maintained an active career in Europe and Asia, but this will be his first time working with a U.S. orchestra. Wiley’s previous conducting posts include Assistant Conductor of the Jacksonville Symphony, Music Director of the Jacksonville Symphony Youth Orchestras, Associate Conductor of the Windsor Symphony Orchestra, Music Director of the Windsor Symphony Youth Orchestras, and many others. Congratulations to Lee and Wiley and welcome to the CSO. Keep an eye out for profiles on each of our new Assistant Conductors in subsequent issues of Fanfare Magazine. Both L-R: Samuel Lee and Daniel Wiley assistant conductor positions are endowed by Ashley and Barbara Ford.

MAY FESTIVAL YOUTH CHORUS Matthew Swanson, Director

David Kirkendall, Accompanist and Assistant Director Dr. Eva Floyd, Musicianship Instructor Kathryn Zajac Albertson, Chorus Manager Bryce Newcomer, Chorus Librarian The May Festival Youth Chorus connects, inspires and educates young people through the study and performance of choral music. Since its founding in 1987, the Youth Chorus has appeared annually at the May Festival to perform choral-orchestral works with the May Festival Chorus, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and internationally renowned conductors and soloists. In addition, the Youth Chorus presents its own concert series and collaborates with cultural institutions and organizations throughout greater Cincinnati.

Highlights of the Youth Chorus experience include a broad range of repertoire; annual commissions and world premieres; free professional voice instruction; access to free and discounted tickets to the May Festival, CSO and Pops concerts; frequent concert appearances with the CSO and Pops at Music Hall and Riverbend Music Center; and a community of enthusiastic and skilled peer musicians from across the tri-state. Notably, the Youth Chorus is tuition-free; acceptance is based solely on ability.

MATTHEW SWANSON, Associate Director of Choruses, May Festival Chorus

Matthew Swanson is the Associate Director of Choruses and the Director of the May Festival Youth Chorus. He annually prepares the May Festival Chorus and Youth Chorus for performances with the Cincinnati Symphony and Pops Orchestras, and for their featured appearances at the May Festival.

Under his leadership, the May Festival has instituted an annual Youth Chorus commissioning project; the May Festival Community Chorus; the presentation of community choral concerts at Music Hall during the May Festival; a robust program of professional voice instruction, free to Chorus and Youth Chorus members; the Festival’s community choral podcast “Sing the Queen City”; and free in-school choral clinics for area high schools.

A native of southeast Iowa, Swanson earned an undergraduate degree in trumpet performance and American Studies at the University of Notre Dame; master’s degrees in choral conducting and choral studies from CCM and King’s College, Cambridge, respectively; and a doctorate of musical arts in conducting from CCM. He was awarded the May Festival Choral Conducting Fellowship in 2015.

XAVIER UNIVERSITY CHOIR Matthew Swanson, Director

The Xavier Choir, the primary choral ensemble in Xavier University’s Department of Music and Theatre, comprises students from a broad range of academic programs. The choir, under the direction of Matthew Swanson, performs frequently on campus, around Cincinnati, and across the country. A highlight of the previous academic year was a performance at the installation of Xavier’s 35th president, Dr. Colleen Hanycz. Ensembles in Xavier’s Department of Music and Theatre combine to reach approximately 10,000 people each year, and their activities are rooted in the University’s fervent tradition of service to others. Xavier University is a Jesuit Catholic University in Cincinnati, annually ranked among the nation’s best universities. Founded in 1831, Xavier is the oldest Catholic College in Ohio. Its four colleges offer 90+ undergraduate majors, 60+ minors and 40+ graduate programs to approximately 7,000 total students, including 5,000 undergraduates. xavier.edu

This season, the CSO welcomes 10 new musicians to the Orchestra! We are delighted to welcome Felicity James, Associate Concertmaster; Dan Wang, Section Viola; Gabe Napoli, Section Viola; Emilio Carlo, one-year Section Viola; Daniel Kaler, Section Cello; Isabel Kwon, one-year Section Cello; Stephen Jones, Assistant Principal Bass; Luis Celis, Section Bass; Rebecca Tutunick, Piccolo/Utility Flute; and Joseph Bricker, Associate Principal Timpani/Section Percussion. Additionally, our own Associate Principal Librarian Christina Eaton won the national search for Principal Librarian. Congratulations to each of these musicians and welcome to the CSO. Keep an eye out for profiles on each of our new musicians in subsequent issues of Fanfare Magazine.

PIOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY Born: May 7, 1840, Votkinsk, Russia Died: November 6, 1893, St. Petersburg

Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74, Pathétique

Tchaikovsky died in 1893, at the age of only 53. His death was long attributed to the accidental drinking of a glass of unboiled water during a cholera outbreak, but that theory has been questioned in recent years with the alternate explanation that he took his own life. Though the manner of Tchaikovsky’s death is incidental to the place of his Sixth Symphony in music history, the fact of it is not.

Tchaikovsky conducted his B Minor Symphony for the first time only a week before his death. It was given a cool reception by musicians and public, and Tchaikovsky’s frustration was multiplied when discussion of the work was avoided by the guests at a dinner party following the concert. Three days later, however, his mood seemed brighter, and he told a friend that he was not yet ready to be snatched off by death, “that snubbed-nose horror. I feel that I shall live a long time.” He was wrong. The evidence of the cause of his death is not conclusive, but what is certain is the overwhelming grief and sense of loss felt by music lovers in Russia and abroad as the news of his passing spread. Memorial concerts were planned. One of the first was in St. Petersburg on November 18, only 12 days after he died. Eduard Napravnik conducted the Sixth Symphony on that occasion, and it was a resounding success. The “Pathétique” was wafted by the winds of sorrow across the musical world, and it became—and remains—one of the most popular symphonies ever written.

The music of the “Pathétique” is a distillation of the strong residual strain of melancholy in Tchaikovsky’s personality rather than a mirror of his daily feelings and thoughts. Though he admitted there was a program for the Symphony, he refused to reveal it. “Let him guess it who can,” he told his nephew Vladimir Davidov. A cryptic note discovered years later among his sketches suggests that the first movement was “all impulsive passion; the second, love; the third, disappointments; the fourth, death—the result of collapse.” It is not clear, however, whether this précis applied to the finished version of the work, or if it was merely a preliminary, perhaps never even realized, plan. That Tchaikovsky at one point considered the title “Tragic” for the score gives sufficient indication of its prevailing emotional content.

The title “Pathétique” was suggested to Tchaikovsky by his elder brother, Modeste. In his biography of Peter, Modeste recalled that they were sitting around a tea table one evening after the premiere, and the composer was unable to settle on an appropriate designation for the work before sending it to the publisher. The sobriquet “Pathétique” popped into Modeste’s mind, and Tchaikovsky pounced on it immediately: “Splendid, Modi, bravo. ‘Pathétique’ it shall be.” This title has always been applied to the Symphony, though the original Russian word carries a meaning closer to “passionate” or “emotional” than to the English “pathetic.”

The Symphony opens with a slow introduction dominated by the sepulchral intonation of the bassoon, whose melody, in a faster tempo, becomes the impetuous first theme of the movement. Additional instruments are drawn into the symphonic argument until the brasses arrive to crown the movement’s first climax. The tension subsides into silence before the yearning second theme appears, “like a recollection of happiness in time of pain,” according to musicologist

Composed: 1893 Premiere: October 28, 1893 in the Hall of the Nobility in St. Petersburg, Tchaikovsky conducting Instrumentation: 3 flutes (incl. piccolo), 2 oboes, 2 clarinets (incl. bass clarinet), 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, crash cymbals, tam-tam, strings CSO notable performances: First Performance: January 1899, Frank Van der Stucken conducting. Most Recent: November 2017, Louis Langrée conducting. Recorded in 2007, Paavo Järvi conducting. This work has been conducted by every CSO Music Director. Duration: approx. 48 minutes

Christopher Rouse, ©Jeff Herman

©Jeffrey Herman

Composed: 2019, on commission from the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra with support from Dianne and J. David Rosenberg in celebration of the Orchestra’s 125th Anniversary Premiere: October 18, 2019, Cincinnati; Louis Langrée conducting the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Instrumentation: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets (incl. bass clarinet), 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets (incl. fluegelhorn), 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, crash cymbals, glockenspiel, gong, rute, snare drum, suspended cymbals, tam-tam, xylophone, harp, strings CSO notable performances: The 2019 world premiere was the only previous performance of this work at these concerts. Duration: approx. 28 minutes Edward Downes. The tempestuous development section, intricate, brilliant and the most masterful thematic manipulation in Tchaikovsky’s output, is launched by a mighty blast from the full orchestra. The recapitulation is more condensed, vibrantly scored, and intense in emotion than the exposition. The major tonality achieved with the second theme is maintained until the hymnal end of the movement. Tchaikovsky referred to the second movement as a scherzo, though its 5/4 meter gives it more the feeling of a waltz with a limp. The third movement is a boisterous march. The tragedy of the finale is apparent at the outset in its somber contrast to the explosion of sound that ends the third movement. A profound emptiness pervades the symphony’s closing movement, which maintains its slow tempo and mood of despair throughout.

CHRISTOPHER ROUSE Born: February 15, 1949, Baltimore Died: September 21, 2019, Towson, Maryland

Symphony No. 6

Christopher Rouse, a native of Baltimore, was largely self-taught in music before entering the Oberlin Conservatory in 1967 to study composition with Richard Hoffmann and Randolph Coleman; he received his bachelor’s degree from Oberlin in 1971. Following two years of private study with George Crumb in Philadelphia, he enrolled at Cornell University, where his teachers included Karel Husa and Robert Palmer; he graduated from Cornell in 1977 with both master’s and doctoral degrees, and a year later joined the faculty of the School of Music of the University of Michigan. Rouse taught at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester from 1981 to 2002 and was on the composition faculty of the Juilliard School from 1997 until his death. From 1986 to 1989, he served as Composer-in-Residence with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra; at the invitation of Leonard Bernstein, he was Composer-in-Residence at the 1989 Santa Cecilia and Schleswig-Holstein festivals. He also held residencies at the Tanglewood Music Festival (1996), Helsinki Biennale (1997), Pacific Music Festival (1998), Aspen Music Festival (annually since 1999), Pittsburgh Symphony (2004–05) and Phoenix Symphony (2006–2007), and he was Composer-in-Residence with the New York Philharmonic from 2012 to 2015 and with the Eugene Symphony during the 2016–17 season. He died in Towson, Maryland on September 21, 2019, just weeks after completing his Symphony No. 6, which was premiered one month later by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Louis Langrée.

Christopher Rouse received commissions from many distinguished ensembles and patrons, including the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Atlanta Symphony, Detroit Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, Houston Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Chamber Music America, Koussevitzky Foundation, YoYo Ma, Jan DeGaetani, William Albright and Leslie Guinn. Among his many distinctions were the 1993 Pulitzer Prize in Music (for the Trombone Concerto), 2002 Grammy for Best Classical Contemporary Composition (Concert de Gaudí for guitarist Sharon Isbin), three BMI/ SCA Awards, American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Music, Rockefeller Chamber Works Award, Friedheim Award of Kennedy Center, grants and fellowships from the National Endowment for

the Arts, Warner Brothers, American Music Center, Guggenheim Foundation and Pitney-Bowes, and honorary doctorates from Oberlin College and the State University of New York at Geneseo; in 2002, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In 2009, he was named “Composer of the Year” by Musical America magazine. In addition to his activities as a composer and teacher, Christopher Rouse was also a rock historian, writer on various musical subjects, and author of William Schuman Documentary, published jointly by Theodore Presser and G. Schirmer, Inc.

Death has been woven through the history of music from time immemorial, in the plots of countless tragic operas, in sacred and secular works meant to remember the departed and console the living, and in compositions that grieve for humanity (Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 13, Babi Yar, about the Nazis’ slaughter of thousands in Ukraine in 1941, or Britten’s War Requiem, inspired by pity over World War I), but there have been few instances in which composers have directly addressed their own deaths in their music.

Johann Sebastian Bach’s last work was The Art of Fugue, which he planned to close with a stupendous Fuga a Tre Soggetti (“Fugue on Three Subjects”). His health and eyesight had failed completely by then, however, and he could not get beyond the 26th measure. He asked a scribe to head those final pages of his life’s work with the title Vor deinen Thron tret’ ich—“I Come Before Thy Throne”—and then dictated the chorale prelude (BWV 668) he had created some 30 years before on Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein (“When We’re in Greatest Need”). Bach took his last Communion at home on July 22, 1750 and died on the evening of July 28 following a stroke.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart worked intermittently on his Requiem Mass during the last months of his life, when he suffered from swelling limbs, feverishness, pains in his joints, and severe headaches caused by a still-uncertain disease. He became obsessed with the Requiem, referring to it as his “swan-song,” convinced that he was writing the music for his own funeral: “I know from what I feel that the hour is striking; I am on the point of death; I have finished before I could enjoy my talent.... I thus must finish my funeral song, which I must not leave incomplete.” Mozart was unable to finish the Requiem before he died on the morning of December 5, 1791, six weeks shy of his 36th birthday.

The most significant composition of such creative self-awareness for Christopher Rouse in his Symphony No. 6 is the Ninth Symphony of Gustav Mahler, written 1908–10 when he was not yet 50 but already suffering from a serious heart condition that would end his life in May 1911. Mahler was acutely aware of his own mortality during those years but refused to curtail his strenuous schedule, which then included full seasons conducting the New York Philharmonic and Metropolitan Opera. Realizing that the pace of his career would probably soon cost him his life, he embedded in the Ninth Symphony a message of farewell and an acceptance of his own approaching death. Leonard Bernstein, decades later a successor to Mahler as Music Director of the Philharmonic and a masterful interpreter of his music, wrote a “personal introduction” to the Ninth Symphony that he titled Four Ways to Say Farewell. “In the Ninth,” Bernstein wrote, “each movement is a farewell: the 1st is a farewell to tenderness, passion— human love; the 2nd and 3rd are farewells to life—first to country life, then to urban society; and the finale is a farewell to life itself.”

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“One final time my subject is death, though in this event it is my own of which I write.”

—Christopher Rouse

“One fi nal time my subject is death, though in this event it is my own of which I write,” wrote Rouse when he had completed the Symphony No. 6 at his home in Baltimore on June 6, 2019. He died three months later, in hospice, on September 21, and the Sixth Symphony was premiered on October 18 by Music Director Louis Langrée and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, which had commissioned the work. He continued:

I realized that I had largely avoided the standard four-movement form and recognized that this would be the time to tackle it. (To be fair, my Fifth Symphony does also exhibit many elements of fourmovement structure.) I fi rst chose to bookend the piece with two slow movements, and it then occurred to me that by placing a moderatetempo movement second and a fast one third I would have replicated overall the architecture of Mahler’s Ninth Symphony, though in a much more modest time span. (My Symphony lasts only about 40% as long as Mahler’s.) An immediate decision was required vis-à-vis how referential I would be in relation to the Mahler, and I elected not to employ any actual Mahler quotations. As in Mahler’s second movement, I would in mine present music in both slow and fast tempi, but my third movement would consist of fast music only. Throughout my piece I would make subtle reference to the “stuttering” motive that opens the Mahler Symphony.

My choice of an “unusual instrument” in the Sixth Symphony was the fl uegelhorn. The timbre of this dark-tinged member of the trumpet family seemed right for the elegiac quality of the Symphony’s opening idea, and it is a color that will return at various stages during the piece. My intent was to imbue the opening movement with a feeling of yearning as it strives to fi nd an anchor in a sea of doubt.

Each of the middle movements serves as an interlude in its own way, neither working with nor against the expressive grain of the opening

Adagio. (For me, this is also how Mahler’s two middle movements largely function within the span of his Ninth Symphony; the essential connection in both symphonies is that between the opening and the closing movements.) The music continues its path towards the end.

Ultimately there is a valedictory passage featuring the strings over a long droning E in the contrabasses. The drone is the lifeline. Fear and doubt give way to an uncertain serenity. Still the life drone sounds.

Love adds its grace and its healing power. The drone continues.

Gradually all begins to recede but for the drone. The drone holds and holds. At the end, the fi nal step must be taken alone. The drone continues…and continues...until it stops.

The last note of the Sixth Symphony is a stroke on the gong alone, distinct but neither loud nor soft, marked funesto (“fatal”). In place of the legend Rouse usually placed beneath the last line of a score—Deo gratias (“Thanks be to God”)—he inscribed Finis.

“My main hope,” Rouse said, “is that the Symphony will communicate something sincere in meaning to those who hear it.” —Dr. Richard E. Rodda

Composed: 1841–1845 Premiere: December 4, 1845, Hôtel de Saxe in Dresden, Ferdinand Hiller, to whom the score is dedicated, conducting; Clara Schumann, pianist Instrumentation: solo piano, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, strings CSO notable performances: First Performance: March 1897, Frank Van der Stucken conducting and Adèle aus der Ohe, piano. Most Recent Performance: November/December 2019, James Conlon conducting and Lise de la Salle, piano. Notable pianists who have performed this work with the CSO include José Iturbi (1935), Jesús María Sanromá (1948), Arthur Rubinstein (1955), Claudio Arrau (1967), and Alicia de Larrocha (1969). Duration: approx. 31 minutes ROBERT SCHUMANN Born: June 8, 1810, Zwickau, Germany Died: July 29, 1856, Endenich, near Bonn, Germany

Concerto in A Minor for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 54

Schumann’s Piano Concerto occupied a special place in his loving relationship with his wife, Clara. In 1837, three years before their marriage, Schumann wrote to her of a plan for a concerted work for piano and orchestra that would be “a compromise between a symphony, a concerto and a huge sonata.” It was a bold vision for Schumann who had, with one discarded exception, written nothing for orchestra. In 1841, the second year of their marriage, he returned to his original conception and produced a Fantasia in one movement for piano with orchestral accompaniment. That memorable year also saw the composition of his Symphony No. 1 and the first version of the Fourth Symphony, a burst of activity that had been encouraged by Clara, who wanted her husband to realize his potential in forms larger than the solo piano works and songs to which he had previously confined himself. Schumann had really drawn up his own blueprint for the piano and orchestra work in a prophetic article he wrote in 1839 for the journal he edited, the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik (“New Music Journal”):

We must await the genius who will show us, in a newer and more brilliant way, how orchestra and piano may be combined; how the soloist, dominant at the keyboard, may unfold the wealth of his instrument and his art, while the orchestra, no longer a mere spectator, may interweave its manifold facets into the scene.

The Fantasia seemed to satisfy the desires of both husband and wife. Clara ran through the work at a rehearsal of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra on August 13, 1841, and Robert thought highly enough of the piece to try to have it published. His attempts to secure a publisher for the new score met with one rejection after another, however, and, with much disappointment, he laid the piece aside.

In 1844, Robert had a difficult bout of the recurring emotional disorder that plagued him throughout his life. After his recovery, he felt a new invigoration and resumed composition with restless enthusiasm. In May 1845, the Fantasia came down from the shelf with Schumann’s determination to breathe new life into it. He retained the original Fantasia movement and added to it an Intermezzo and Finale to create the three-movement Piano Concerto, which was destined to become one of the most popular works in the keyboard repertory.

The public’s initial reaction to the new Concerto, however, was cool. The composition did not have any of the flamboyant virtuosity that was then routinely expected from a soloist (Liszt dubbed it “a concerto without piano”), and the originality of its formal concept put audiences off. Clara, undeterred, was convinced of the work’s value, and she was determined to have it heard. The style of the Concerto even helped her to find a new direction for her own concertizing, since she thereafter left behind the vapid virtuoso showpiece and concentrated instead on the more substantive music of Bach, Beethoven and her husband. As the Schumanns’ French biographer Victor Basch wrote, Clara felt that this change in attitude and repertory “reconciled the discrepancy between her aspiration as an artist and her duties as a wife.” Clara’s perseverance had its reward— she lived to see not only this magnificent Concerto but much of her husband’s music become beloved throughout the world.

Schumann’s Piano Concerto is memorable not only for the beauty of its melodies and the cogency of its expression, but also for the careful integration of its structure. Were the manner in which the work was composed unknown, there would be no way to tell that several years separate the creation of the first from the second and third movements. The Concerto’s sense of unity arises principally from the transformations of the opening theme heard throughout. This opening motive, a lovely melody presented by the woodwinds after the fiery prefatory chords of the piano, pervades the first movement, serving not only as its second theme but also appearing in many variants of tone color, harmony and texture in the development section. Even the coda, placed after a stirring cadenza, uses a double-time marching version of the main theme.

The second movement, the “very essence of tender romance” according to Eugene Burck, is a three-part form with a soaring cello melody in its middle section. The movement’s initial motive, a gentle dialogue between piano and strings, is another derivative of the first movement’s opening theme.

The principal theme of the sonata-form finale is yet another rendering of the Concerto’s initial motive, this one a heroic manifestation in energetic triple meter; the second theme employs extensive rhythmic syncopations. After a striding central section, the recapitulation begins in an unexpected key so that the movement finally settles into the expected home tonality only with the syncopated second theme. The soloist has another rousing cadenza before the work’s close.

RICHARD STRAUSS Born: June 11, 1864, Munich Died: September 8, 1949, Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Also sprach Zarathustra (“Thus spake Zarathustra”), Op. 30

Though each of Richard Strauss’ tone poems—Macbeth, Death and Transfiguration, Don Juan, Don Quixote, Till Eulenspiegel, Ein Heldenleben, Also sprach Zarathustra—was inspired by what he called “a poetical idea,” he never described the programmatic elements, plot or “meaning” of these works in any detail, preferring to let critics and scholars contend over such matters. (Of Till Eulenspiegel, he once said, “Let them guess at the musical joke that the Rogue has offered them.”) Strauss approved almost all of these efforts (they were, after all, good publicity, and Strauss—and his very large income—thrived on publicity), so the latter-day reader is left with often contradictory evidence.

Such is the case with Also sprach Zarathustra, which was derived, in some manner at least, from the universal vision of Friedrich Nietzsche’s poem (left unfinished at his removal to a mental hospital in 1889). Strauss provided titles for the nine continuous sections of the piece, but attempts to equate them with specific passages from the poem have been largely unconvincing. Some of the music even goes against the meaning of the text. Of the Inhabitants of the Unseen World deals in Nietzsche’s work with his belief in the folly of religion. Strauss’ analogous music, which was originally titled “Of the Divine” and quotes a Credo from the ancient Catholic liturgy, is marked “with devotion” and creates a prayerful mood. Strauss’ Dance-Song is not some vision of gods on Mount Olympus hymning the beauties of life, but a lilting Viennese waltz. The sensuality of Strauss’ interpretation of Joys and Passions has nothing to do with the self-abnegation

RICHARD STRAUSS Also sprach Zarathustra (“Thus spake Zarathustra”), Op. 30

Composed: 1896 Premiere: November 27, 1896, Frankfurt; Richard Strauss led the Orchestra of the Museum Concerts Instrumentation: 3 flutes (incl. piccolo), piccolo, 3 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets, E-flat clarinet, bass clarinet, 3 bassoons, contrabassoon, 6 horns, 4 trumpets, 3 trombones, 2 tubas, timpani, bass drum, chimes, crash cymbals, glockenspiel, suspended cymbals, triangle, 2 harps, organ, strings CSO notable performances: First Performance: November 1926 with Fritz Reiner conducting. Most Recent: May 2017 at the Taft Theatre conducted by Robert Treviño. The Prelude was recorded for the Cincinnati Pops album Time Warp. Duration: approx. 35 minutes professed by the poet. The truth of the matter seems to be that Strauss’ music and Nietzsche’s poem share little more than a title and a few pretentious ideas. Strauss’ Also sprach Zarathustra is a musical composition and not a philosophical tract.

One possible way to view Also sprach Zarathustra was given by Strauss himself in a letter to his friend Otto Florscheim at the time of the work’s Berlin premiere. “I did not intend to write philosophical music or to portray in music Nietzsche’s great work,” he wrote. “I meant to convey by means of music an idea of the development of the human race from its origin, through the various phases of its development, religious and scientific, up to Nietzsche’s idea of the Superman. The whole symphonic poem is intended as my homage to Nietzsche’s genius, which found its greatest exemplification in his book Thus spake Zarathustra.” These objectives are, in themselves, more than enough to ask of any piece of music. To go further and “attempt to reveal [in sound] a specific philosophical system or detailed philosophical teaching,” wrote George R. Marek in his biography of Strauss, “must end in failure.” Against this background, it seems probable that Nietzsche’s book was little more than the source of generating Strauss’ “poetical idea,” a literary hook upon which to hang a piece of music. In his exhaustive study of the composer, Norman Del Mar brought out the most salient point about Strauss’ magnificent tone poem: “Ultimately it is the sheer quality of the musical material and its organization that counts, while the greater or lesser degree to which it succeeds in the misty philosophizing which conjured it into being is wholly immaterial.”

Though its philosophical associations are tenuous, there has never been any doubt about the expressive powers of this music. (It was the Budapest premiere of Also sprach Zarathustra that convinced the young Béla Bartók to devote his life to composition.) The sections of Strauss’ tone poem mirror several strong emotional states, as indicated by the following program note (authorized but not written by the composer) that appeared at the work’s premiere. “First movement: Sunrise, Man feels the power of God. Andante religioso. But still man longs. He plunges into passion (second movement) and finds no peace. He turns toward science, and tries in vain to solve life’s problems in a fugue (third movement). Then agreeable dance tunes sound and he becomes an individual, and his soul soars upward while the world sinks far below him.”

Three motives unify the work. The first, a unison call by four trumpets based on the most fundamental pitches in the musical spectrum—C-G-C—heard immediately at the outset, is the theme of Nature. The second motive is a sinister theme, perhaps depicting Fate, introduced by the trombones in the section Of Joys and Passions. The third is the conflict between the tonalities of C—representing Nature— and B, which stands for Man’s Aspirations. The unsettled struggle between these two polarities (the technical term is bi-tonality) is most clearly heard at the close of the work, but it occurs throughout.

Though Strauss supplied individual titles for the nine sections of Also sprach Zarathustra, the work is performed continuously. It opens with one of music’s greatest fanfares—a tonal depiction of a radiant sunrise, based on the Nature theme proclaimed by unison trumpets. (The unforgettable image that director Stanley Kubrick supplied for this music in his film 2001: A Space Odyssey could not have been more appropriate.) Von den Hinternweltern (“Of the Inhabitants of the Unseen World”) presents three thematic elements in quick succession: a tortuous figure on tremolo cellos and basses; an upward fragment in pizzicato strings (the theme of Man, in the key of B); and the first

notes of the ancient liturgical chant Credo in unum deum (“I believe in one God”) in the muted horns. This brief passage is followed by a chorale-like hymn—marked “with devotion”—for strings divided into 19 parts, organ and horns, which rises to a climax before subsiding.

Von der grossen Sehnsucht (“Of the Great Longing”) returns the theme of Man. An intonation based on the Magnificat is given by the organ; horns again sound the Credo. A wide-ranging motive in the low strings generates a passage of rushing scales and leaps whose impetuosity carries over into the next section, Von den Freuden und Leidenschaften (“Of Joys and Passions”). The music acquires a heroic but stormy character from which the trombones intone the sinister Fate motive, which gains importance as the work unfolds. Das Grablied (“Dirge”), more a nostalgic remembrance of youthful pleasures than a threnody, combines the bounding motive of Man with the rhythmically active themes of the preceding section. The music quiets to lead into Von der Wissenschaft (“Of Science”).

To represent Science, Strauss used that most learned of all musical forms, the fugue, which rumbles up from the depths of the basses into the violas and bassoons, maintaining its lugubrious tone throughout. This carefully calculated theme derives from the open intervals of the Nature motive (C–G–C) and encompasses all 12 notes of the chromatic scale. Quick rhythmic motion returns with the recapitulation of the theme of Man and a sweet melody played by the flutes and violins. A dance-like stanza high in the orchestra is followed by a mysterious presentation of the Nature theme (trumpet) accompanied by chirping calls from the woodwinds based on the Fate theme. (Strauss was adept at transforming a theme into an astonishing number of variants suitable to almost any emotional context.)

Der Genesende (“The Convalescent”), the longest section thus far, utilizes several of the work’s motives. The fugue is re-activated by the trombones before the Fate motive comes to dominate this section. The music reaches a sustained climax followed by complete silence before Man’s theme reappears, timidly at first, but with growing vigor. A sudden hush comes over the music, with only twitterings from woodwinds and a sustained version of the Nature theme introducing the following section, Das Tanzlied (“The Dance-Song”).

The dance turns out to be a fully developed Viennese waltz, accompanied by figuration in the oboes derived from the Nature theme. The theme of Man returns and achieves its grandest expression. Gradually, the Fate theme overtakes the joy of this passage. Nachtwandlerlied (“Night Wanderer’s Song”) begins with a display of power, but slowly the energy drains from the music. Calm, or perhaps mystery, overtakes the music as it reaches its close, with the B major chord of Man fading softly into the highest ether of the orchestra while the insistent C of Nature lingers in the depths of the basses. The conflict is left unresolved.

—Dr. Richard E. Rodda

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OF NOTE The inaugural Andrew J. Brady Neighborhood Concert Series took place this summer in

neighborhoods throughout Cincinnati. The shows featured everything from R&B to jazz, Latin to soul. Families spread out blankets and lined up lawn chairs in the sun, enjoyed face painting, popcorn and art projects, and stopped by food trucks for barbecue and free popsicles. They watched the Golden Gloves Boxers perform two-minute drills to the Theme from Rocky and danced along with the Q-KIDZ Dance Studio to “Happy.” And most important, they enjoyed a sense of community. The next Brady Neighborhood Concert Series will kick off in the summer of 2023.

HÉLÈNE GRIMAUD, piano

©Mat Hennek

Hélène Grimaud is a woman with multiple talents that extend far beyond the instrument she plays with such poetic expression and technical control. The French artist has established herself as a committed wildlife conservationist, a compassionate human rights activist and as a writer.

Grimaud was born in 1969 in Aix-enProvence and began her piano studies at the local conservatory with Jacqueline Courtin, before going on to work with Pierre Barbizet in Marseille. She was accepted into the Paris Conservatoire at just 13 and won fi rst prize in piano performance a mere three years later. She continued to study with György Sándor and Leon Fleisher until, in 1987, she gave her well-received debut recital in Tokyo. That same year, renowned conductor Daniel Barenboim invited her to perform with the Orchestre de Paris; this marked the launch of Grimaud’s musical career, characterized ever since by concerts with most of the world’s major orchestras and many celebrated conductors.

A committed chamber musician, she has performed at the most prestigious festivals and cultural events with a wide range of musical collaborators. Her prodigious contribution to and impact on the world of classical music were recognized by the French government when she was admitted into the Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur (France’s highest decoration) at the rank of Chevalier (Knight).

Grimaud has been an exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artist since 2002. Her recordings have been critically acclaimed and awarded numerous accolades. For her most recent recording, The Messenger, Grimaud created an intriguing dialogue between Silvestrov and Mozart.

Grimaud began the 2022–23 season with a recital of her 2018 Memory recording in Santa Fe. Forthcoming plans include performances with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, and St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, and in recital at Carnegie Hall. The new year starts with her European tour with Camerata Salzburg, followed by recitals in Vienna, Luxembourg, Munich, Berlin and London, to name a few. helenegrimaud.com

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TUES OCT 25, 7:30 pm Music Hall

COMMON

COMMON, singer-songwriter DAMON GUPTON,conductor

Academy Award, Emmy and GRAMMY-winning artist, actor, author, and activist, Common joins the Pops and Principal Guest Conductor Damon Gupton for a special one-night-only performance! After dazzling a sold-out crowd with the CSO at Classical Roots in 2016, the legendary R&B and hiphop icon takes the stage at Music Hall to make his debut with the Pops.

Selections will be announced from the stage.

The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra is grateful to Pops Season Sponsor PNC. The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is grateful for the support of the Louise Dieterle Nippert Musical Arts Fund of the Greenacres Foundation and for the thousands of people who give generously to the ArtsWave Community Campaign. This project was supported in part by the Ohio Arts Council, which receives support from the State of Ohio and the National Endowment for the Arts. WVXU is the Media Partner for these concerts. The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in-orchestra Steinway piano is made possible in part by the Jacob G. Schmidlapp Trust. Steinway Pianos, courtesy of Willis Music, is the official piano of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Cincinnati Pops.

Composed: 1885, dedicated to the Society for Chamber Music for Wind Instruments Premiere: April 30, 1885, at the Salle Pleyel in Paris, France, played by flutist Paul Taffanel, oboists Georges Gillet and Alfred Boullard, clarinetists Charles Turban and Prosper Mimart, hornists Jean Garigue and François Brémond, and bassoonists Jean Espaignet and Adolphe Bourdeau Duration: approx. 17 minutes CHARLES GOUNOD Born: June 17, 1818, Paris Died: October 18, 1893, Saint-Cloud (near Paris), France

Petite symphonie

Gounod is more familiar to audiences for his operas Faust (1859) and Roméo et Juliette (1867), as well as his setting of the Ave Maria text with J.S. Bach’s C Major Prelude as the accompaniment, than he is for his chamber music like the Petite symphonie.

He also was deeply religious. While at the French Academy in Rome, Gounod heard performances of Palestrina’s music and was deeply moved. He was also drawn into the circle around JeanBaptiste Henri-Dominique Lacordaire, a member of the Dominican Order who was touted as the greatest pulpit orator of the 19th century. Gounod’s mother became concerned that Charles would enter the priesthood, which he did consider in 1847 when he enrolled in the St. Sulpice seminary. Why he didn’t finish his priestly education is mostly unknown, but rumors of a faked faith and extra-marital affairs abound. Nevertheless, Gounod, as one annotator writes, “produced a small ocean of sacred compositions, including three oratorios and 21 masses.”

Gounod wrote his Petite symphonie late in his life, after he had gained fame as a composer of opera and sacred music. He had written two symphonies (in 1855/1856) but their success was short lived. This “little symphony” owes its creation to two primary factors: technical advances in instrument manufacturing and a personal connection to Paul Taffanel.

The woodwind family of instruments, in particular, benefited from advancements in instrument design. Theobald Boehm (1794–1881), credited with perfecting the modern Western concert flute, made improvements to the flute’s fingering system (still in effect on today’s flutes), allowing for greater dynamic range and improved intonation. Inspired by Boehm and based on his principles, Hyacinthe Klosé (1808–1880) worked with Louis-Auguste Buffet to employ similar key work on clarinets. Guillaume Triébert (1770–1848) and his sons Charles and Frederic used Boehm’s ideas to improve the key work of the oboe, which F. Lorée continued to develop into the late 19th century. Boehm’s work on the flute also inspired changes to the bassoon. With all these improvements, by the late 19th century woodwind instruments were much more stable in intonation, capable of a larger dynamic range, and had increased technical facility than their earlier century counterparts. The technical advances in the instruments themselves afford the composer a more robust palette of colors to explore and the ability to feature virtuosic displays throughout the nonet configuration.

Paul Taffanel was the leading flute player of his day and developed the primary French school of playing and teaching. In 1879, Taffanel founded the Société de Musique de Chambre pour Instruments á Vent (The Society for Chamber Music for Wind Instruments), and its concert ensemble, La Trompette, which he directed for 15 years. This Society created a need for new pieces to be written for wind chamber groups. Taffanel asked his friend Gounod for such a piece and Gounod responded with Petite symphonie.

For Petite symphonie, the woodwind octet (2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons and 2 horns) was expanded to include a flute for Taffanel

to play. The form follows the basic structure of a classical fourmovement symphony but tinted with Romantic harmony, operatic melodies and virtuosic displays.

—Tyler M. Secor

ROBERT SCHUMANN Born: June 8, 1810, Zwickau, Germany Died: July 29, 1856, Endenich (near Bonn), Germany

Piano Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 47

Robert Schumann was a playwright and poet as well as a composer. He also was a pianist, and all of his compositions, until 1840 when he married Clara Wieck, were for solo piano. That year, he was inspired to compose most of his lieder (“art songs”). The year 1841 was devoted to writing symphonic literature and 1842 to chamber music. Early in 1842, Schumann studied at length the string quartets of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, and when Clara returned from a concert tour (she was a skilled pianist and more celebrated than he at that time), Robert put into practice the knowledge he had gathered from the masters. He composed his three string quartets, the piano quintet, a piano trio that later became the Fantasiestücke, and the piano quartet all during that year.

The first movement of the Piano Quartet begins with a brief sostenuto, reminiscent of Beethoven, which introduces the thematic material of the following allegro. Except for another appearance of the sostenuto, there are almost constant eighth notes propelling this energetic movement to a close. In the second movement, instead of a traditional slow movement, Schumann gives us a scherzo, again with almost constant eighth notes except for the two trios (the second tries to trick the listener—what actually is the third beat of each bar sounds like the downbeat). The third movement andante sounds like one of Schumann’s lieder, with all three string voices singing the beautiful tune. Sadly, this theme is never shared with the piano. This andante also has a Beethovenesque middle section. The finale begins with a driving fugue, followed by a flowing, yet impatient, second theme. A short, lyrical section gives a moment of repose, but the fugue subject is insistent and finally takes over as this piece races to a conclusion. —Daniel Culnan

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Born: baptized December 17, 1770, Bonn, Germany Died: March 26, 1827, Vienna

String Quintet in C Major, Op. 29, “Storm”

At the age of 32 and around the same time as he wrote his Second Symphony and Third Piano Concerto, Beethoven wrote his Op. 29 String Quintet—the only quintet in his oeuvre specifically composed as a multi-movement string quintet. Beethoven did, however, transcribe or rework other pieces for this combination of instruments. Op. 29 is dedicated to Count Moritz von Fries, to whom Beethoven also dedicated his Violin Sonatas Nos. 4 and 5 and his Seventh Symphony.

The autograph score was completed in 1801 and set aside for Count Fries’ use for about a year and half. Beethoven sold the publication rights to Breitkopf & Härtel in Leipzig and sent the publisher the engraver’s copy in April 1802. Unknown to the composer, the Viennese publisher Artaria had the work engraved and published in December

Composed: October 25 and November 26, 1842 Premiere: April 5, 1843 at a private performance in the Schumanns’ Inselstrasse home in Leipzig. The first public performance was December 8, 1844 at Leipzig Gewandhaus with Clara Schumann, piano; Ferdinand David, violin; Niels W. Gade, viola; and Franz Karl Wittmann, cello. Published in May 1845 and dedicated to Count Matyev Yuryevich Weilhorsky Duration: approx. 29 minutes

Composed: started in 1800 and finished in 1801 Premiere: unknown, published in 1802 Duration: approx. 30 minutes

Check out our new digital program page for even more enriching content including program notes, full-length biographies, digital content and more! Visit cincinnatisymphony.org/ digital-program, or point your phone’s camera at the QR code. 1802. On January 22, 1802 in the Wiener Zeitung, Beethoven publicly criticized the Artaria edition. According to court documents, Artaria came to have the parts via the manuscript copy provided to Count Fries. Nevertheless, Beethoven did edit two copies for Artaria to reissue a corrected edition by the end of 1802. A lawsuit ensued over publication rights of Op. 29 and a need for Beethoven to retract his January 1802 writing in Wiener Zeitung. The lawsuit was not resolved until a compromise was finally reached in 1805. (For more see Donald W. Macardle’s “Beethoven, Artaria, and the C Major Quintet” article in Vol. 34, Issue 4, 1948 in Musical Quarterly.)

In 1787 the young Beethoven had met the middle-aged Mozart; as fate would have it, they met during the weeks in which Mozart would have been finishing his own string quintet in C major, K. 515. Beethoven was eager to study with Mozart or Haydn, and, while on leave from the Bonn Court Orchestra, Beethoven traveled to Vienna for an audience with his idol, Mozart. The older composer agreed to the meeting, but, as the story is told, was not particularly happy about it. Beethoven started to play one of Mozart’s piano concertos and Mozart quickly cut him off, asking him to play something original. Mozart’s wife, Constanze, was in the next room and, as Constanze later reported, Mozart said, “Watch out for that boy. One day he will give the world something to talk about.” Mozart agreed to take Beethoven on as a pupil but died shortly thereafter. Beethoven’s C Major String Quintet was composed some 15 years later and Beethoven left no record of having used Mozart’s K. 515 as a model, but he was certainly familiar with this work. The florid and lyrical melody of Op. 29’s slow movement is reminiscent of Mozart’s slow movements, but Op. 29 more closely corresponds to Beethoven’s own stormy and explosive Fifth and Sixth Symphonies.

The tragedy of Beethoven’s deafness is well-known. To pinpoint the exact date and time that Beethoven realized that his hearing was failing is almost impossible. However, in June 1801 Beethoven wrote to his friend Franz Gerhard Wegeler to communicate the secret of his increasing deafness. Wegeler was trained in medicine and was uninvolved with Vienna society—a well-suited person to receive this information. Beethoven wrote:

I must confess that I am living a miserable life. For almost two years

I have ceased to attend any social functions, just because I find it impossible to say to people: I am deaf. If I had any other profession it would be easier, but in my profession it is a terrible handicap. As for my enemies, of whom I have a fair number, what would they say?

Beethoven’s increasing deafness clearly caused him emotional torment; in his own words, “my poor hearing haunted my everywhere like a ghost.” As a composer, a life without the ability to hear probably seemed like no life at all. This is the internal context that most likely surrounds Op. 29. A composer coming to grips with his impending deafness, all the while putting on a front for his “enemies.” The storm (this work’s moniker) that must have been raging within Beethoven himself, perhaps found its way into the forceful, explosive and, at times, lyrical String Quintet.

—Tyler M. Secor

©Camilla Jessel Panufnik

Composed: 1963 Premiere: August 12, 1964, Monte Carlo, Louis Frémaux conducting the Monte Carlo Opera Orchestra. Instrumentation: 3 flutes (incl. piccolo), 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 6 horns, 4 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, crash cymbals, snare drum without snare, suspended cymbals, tam-tam, tenor drums, triangles, strings CSO notable performances: These performances are the work’s CSO premiere. Duration: approx. 22 minutes ANDRZEJ PANUFNIK Born: September 24, 1914, Warsaw, Poland Died: October 27, 1991, Twickenham (London), United Kingdom

Sinfonia Sacra (Symphony No. 3)

The symbolic birthdate of the Polish state is April 14, 966, when Duke Mieszko I converted to Christianity and, at the same time, imposed the religion throughout his entire realm. This move had great political significance, as it was the precondition of Poland’s acceptance as a sovereign nation among the countries of Europe.

When the 1,000th anniversary of this historic event approached, Poland was a Communist dictatorship. Although the Catholic Church was much stronger there than elsewhere within the Soviet sphere of influence, the religious character of Poland’s early history was something of a problem for the ruling Party, which tried hard to deemphasize the Christian element and focus only on the political aspect of the nation’s founding. Elaborate celebrations took place all over the country, beginning years before the actual anniversary and spanning most of the 1960s.

Andrzej Panufnik, one of the leading Polish composers of the time, had been living in London since his defection in 1954. He was thus free to celebrate what the Poles called chrzest Polski, the “baptism of Poland.” His Sinfonia sacra (the third of his ten published symphonies) was written to honor this historic milestone. The symphony won first prize in an international competition held in Monte-Carlo and became one of the composer’s most-performed works.

Panufnik based his entire symphony on the medieval hymn Bogurodzica (“Mother of God”), believed to be the oldest surviving melody in the Polish language. Bogurodzica is both a religious song and a battle hymn, as a reminder that the young Polish state had to fight extended wars against the Holy Roman Empire and Kievan Rus. This is why the symphony begins and ends with loud military fanfares. (In his autobiography, Panufnik recalled that he first heard Bogurodzica during his wartime military service, while listening to the radio. He was completely transfixed by the experience.)

The actual hymn, and the variations on it, are preceded by three “Visions”: three distinct sections based on the predominant intervals of Bogurodzica. The first of these Visions is a vigorous fanfare, played by four trumpets placed in four different corners of the stage. The second Vision, in stark contrast to the first, is slow, extremely soft, and played by muted strings with bows on the fingerboard to create a more muffled, eerie sound (sul tasto). Vision III, the longest of the three, starts out as an energetic percussion solo, soon bringing in the entire orchestra in what feels like a violent war scene. Only after this triple introduction does the actual Hymn begin, soft and distant, with the mystical harmonics of the violins. The orchestra enters gradually, and the hymn gradually grows in volume and intensity. At the end, the hymn tune is combined with the trumpet fanfares from Vision I, to give the symphony a triumphant and grandiose conclusion.

OF NOTE

With over 200 auditions from the region’s most talented young musicians, the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestras are delighted to announce and welcome their 2022–23 season orchestra members. Congratulations! To view the CSYO rosters, visit cincinnatisymphony.org/youth-programs.

SERGEI RACHMANINOFF Born: April 1, 1873, Oneg, near Semyonovo, Russia Died: March 28, 1943, Beverly Hills, California

Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 43

What is it in the melody of the 24th violin caprice by Niccolò Paganini (1782–1840) that has made it so irresistible to composers as diverse as Robet Schumann, Franz Liszt, Johannes Brahms, Witold Lutosławski and many more? The answer lies in the theme’s extreme simplicity, which seems to cry out for embellishment in the form of virtuoso variations. The melody moves from its fundamental note to the note a fifth above, then back to the fundamental and back to the fifth again— what could, in fact, be simpler? The number of melodies that can be derived from this elementary gesture is endless. Of course, Paganini himself was the first to realize this when he created a bravura piece based on the theme.

At a time when Rachmaninoff had all but stopped composing (due to his emigration from Russia and his heavy schedule as a concert pianist), Paganini’s caprice provided him with just the impulse he needed. In the 1930s, Rachmaninoff built a villa on Lake Lucerne in Switzerland, which he named “Senar” (after the first letters of SErgei and NAtalia Rachmaninoff). Happy to find a permanent home after so many years of incessant concertizing, he saw his creativity return: the Paganini Rhapsody was immediately followed by the Third Symphony.

The Rhapsody (which Rachmaninoff introduced to Cincinnati in 1937) begins by stating the intervals of a fifth on which the Paganini theme is built. Rachmaninoff’s procedure is similar here to that followed by Beethoven in the last movement of the “Eroica” symphony, where the appearance of the theme is preceded by its “skeleton.” Rachmaninoff then introduces the actual Paganini theme in the orchestra, while the solo piano keeps on playing the “skeleton.” Soon, the piano takes over the melody, and starts ornamenting it right away.

In the first six variations (there will be 24 in all), the vast harmonic potential of the theme is explored, with much pianistic brilliance and exquisite orchestral coloring. Then, a surprise awaits in Variation 7: the Gregorian melody of the Dies irae (“Day of Wrath”) suddenly appears. Rachmaninoff was positively obsessed with this melody, which he quoted in many of his works. But what is this gloomy theme from the Mass of the Dead doing in a sparkling virtuoso composition? We shouldn’t look for a philosophical explanation. If we listen to Variation 7 carefully, we hear the Dies irae melody in the piano while the orchestra plays the Paganini theme. Quite simply, Rachmaninoff discovered that these two melodies “worked” well together contrapuntally, and he wanted to exploit that fortunate discovery. The Dies irae theme dominates the next four variations, bringing into relief what one commentator has called the “sinister” aspects of the theme. (After all, wasn’t Paganini called the “violinist of the Devil” in his own day?)

A new section begins with Variation 11, a dream-like cadenza that serves as a transition to No. 12, an elegant “Tempo di Minuetto.” Until now, the music has been moving in duple meter; as it changes to triple, Rachmaninoff gives the theme a new physiognomy, mixing elements of the minuet, the waltz and the lyrical character piece. Then the tempo speeds up and the next two variations are more dramatic and agitated. Variation 15, marked “Scherzando,” is light and extremely nimble, 16 is graceful and lyrical, while No. 17 is mysterious and intensely chromatic. Musicologist and critic Michael Steinberg wrote about the latter: “It is like making your way, hands along the wall,

Composed: 1934 Premiere: November 7, 1934, Baltimore, Maryland, Leopold Stokowski conducting The Philadelphia Orchestra, Sergei Rachmaninoff, pianist Instrumentation: solo piano, 2 flutes, piccolo, 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, crash cymbals, glockenspiel, snare drum, suspended cymbals, triangle, harp, strings CSO notable performances: First Performance: October 1937 with Eugene Goossens conducting and Sergei Rachmaninoff, piano. Most Recent: February 2016 with Giancarlo Guerrero conducting and Conrad Tao, piano. Notable pianists who have performed this work with the CSO include Arthur Rubinstein (1944 & 1951), Leon Fleisher (1959) and Van Cliburn (1970). Duration: approx. 24 minutes

©National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

Composed: 1906, rev. 1930–35 Premiere: May 11, 1946, New York’s Juilliard School, Theodore Bloomfield (offstage) and Edgar Schenkman (onstage) with a chamber orchestra of Juilliard graduate students. Instrumentation: 4 flutes, trumpet, strings CSO notable performances: First Performance: January 1959 with Max Rudolf conducting. Most Recent: October 2020 livestream concert with Louis Langrée conducting. Duration: approx. 8 minutes through a dark cave.” We do find our way out, however, emerging to the sunshine in Variation 18, which has one of Rachmaninoff’s greatest melodies, derived from Paganini by simple inversion: every rising interval in the theme is replaced by a falling one and vice versa.

This slow variation marks the emotional high point of the Rhapsody. What follows is a return to a more basic form of the theme, one in which the original fifths are prominent once again. Having thus reconnected with Paganini, Rachmaninoff heads for the finish line, with a grandiose development in which the initial duple meter returns as a march. The composition ends with a witty final flourish, but not before the Dies irae theme is recalled one last time.

CHARLES IVES Born: October 20, 1874, Danbury, Connecticut Died: May 19, 1954, New York City

The Unanswered Question

Brief and relatively unassuming as it is, The Unanswered Question is one of the key musical works of the 20th century. Written in 1906 and revised in the 1930s, it was not performed until 1946. Clearly, the musical world was not ready for the novelties of the score.

Yet The Unanswered Question, far from being incomprehensibly complex, is actually a very simple piece, once you let go of any expectations based on the musical conventions of the 19th century. Ives’ main discovery, in this piece, is the direct and immediate musical expression of the characters he described in his commentary (see below); he totally bypassed conventional harmony, and phrase structure to arrive at his goal. At the same time, there is nothing arcane or contrived in his innovations, no modernity for modernity’s sake. If the different members of the ensemble play in different keys or tempos, it is because the point of the piece was precisely to represent various characters, attitudes, or planes of existence and to express their irreconcilable differences.

The title The Unanswered Question comes from the poem “The Sphinx,” by one of Ives’ greatest sources of inspiration, Ralph Waldo Emerson, who was also memorialized in the first movement of Ives’ celebrated Concord Sonata for piano. The original, full title was A Contemplation of a Serious Matter or The Unanswered Question. It was intended to be paired with another work, A Contemplation of Nothing Serious or Central Park in the Dark in “The Good Old Summer Time,” now known simply as Central Park in the Dark.

IVES ABOUT THE UNANSWERED QUESTION

The strings play ppp [very softly] throughout with no change in tempo. They are to represent “The Silences of the Druids—who Know,

See and Hear Nothing.” The trumpet intones “The Perennial Question of Existence,” and states it in the same tone of voice each time. But the hunt for “The Invisible Answer” undertaken by the flutes and other human beings, becomes gradually more active, faster and louder through an animando [more animated] to a con fuoco [with fire]....

“The Fighting Answerers,” as the time goes on, and after a “secret conference,” seem to recognize a futility, and begin to mock “The

Question”—the strife is over for the moment. After they disappear,

“The Question” is asked for the last time, and “The Silences” are heard beyond in “Undisturbed Solitude.”

RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Born: October 12, 1872, Down Ampney, Gloucestershire, England Died: August 26, 1958, London

Symphony No. 6 in E Minor

The musicologist and author Deryck Cooke (best known for his completion of Mahler’s Tenth Symphony) recalled his first impressions of the Vaughan Williams Sixth in his book The Language of Music:

The effect on the present writer, at the first performance, was nothing short of cataclysmic: the violence of the opening and the turmoil of the whole first movement; the sinister mutterings of the slow movement, with that almost unbearable passage in which the trumpets and drums batter out an ominous rhythm, louder and louder, and will not leave off; the vociferous uproar of the Scherzo and the grotesque triviality of the Trio; and most of all, the slow finale, pianissimo throughout, devoid of all warmth and life, a hopeless wandering through a dead world ending literally in niente [nothing]...

Cooke was not alone in having such a strong response to the new work; it became one of the most successful symphonies of its time, with more than a hundred performances within two years of the premiere. Composed during and immediately after World War II, Vaughan Williams’ Sixth was widely assumed to be about the war, though the composer himself made no such statement and, in fact, strongly discouraged discussions of his music along programmatic lines. Yet no one could miss the fact that the dean of English composers, then in his mid-70s, had gone further than ever before in the exploration of dissonance and the large-scale integration of contrasts,” in the words of another prominent writer on music, Hans Keller. The work sharply contrasted with Vaughan Williams’ previous symphony, the serene Fifth; though also a wartime work, the Fifth was perceived as a fervent plea for peace and harmony, while the Sixth speaks a much harsher language, regardless of how we choose to interpret that harshness.

The four movements of the symphony are played without pauses (or, as RVW put it: “Each of the first three has its tail attached to the head of its neighbour”). The work opens with the kind of climactic outburst one would normally expect only after a long crescendo. Gradually, however, the music reaches a state of greater calm. The second theme introduces a more regular rhythmic pulsation, but elements of tension remain, since the stresses in the melody do not always coincide with those in the bass. With the third theme, a lyrical cantabile, complete harmony is almost achieved: in spite of the lyrical character, the active pulsation of the previous section remains constantly present, as if trying to counteract the melodic flow unfolding over it. This pulsation then grows more and more powerful and leads into a recapitulation of the “cataclysmic” opening. As a concluding gesture, the cantabile (“songlike”) melody returns, this time free from any unsettling counterpoint. The lush chords of the harp, entering here for the first time, enhance the soothing atmosphere.

The second movement is built upon an insistent rhythmic motive, heard almost constantly during the opening section. Its development culminates in a timpani roll and a startling bass fanfare, followed, as a total contrast, by a new lyrical idea introduced by the strings. Yet the insistent motive soon returns, first in an understated manner but then increasing in volume until the music erupts in another dramatic climax, even more passionate than the one in the first movement.

by E.O. Hoppé, 1921

Composed: 1944–47 Premiere: April 21, 1948, London, Sir Adrian Boult conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra Instrumentation: 3 flutes (incl. piccolo), 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, tenor saxophone, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 4 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, crash cymbals, side drum, suspended cymbals, triangle, xylophone, harp, strings CSO notable performances: First and Most Recent: April 2015 with Vassily Sinaisky, conducting. Duration: approx. 31 minutes

Check out our new digital program page for even more enriching content including program notes, full-length biographies, digital content and more! Visit cincinnatisymphony.org/ digital-program, or point your phone’s camera at the QR code. A meditative English-horn solo concludes the movement, leading directly into the ferocious scherzo. The latter is driven, once more, by its rhythmic momentum; this time the fundamental idea is the alternation between different kinds of rhythmic motion: quarter-notes followed by quarter-note triplets followed by eighth-note triplets. The scherzo’s central trio section is a haunting solo for tenor saxophone accompanied by the snare drum. Both sections of this solo are repeated by the full orchestra, before an expanded recapitulation, at the end of which the trio melody reappears, played fortissimo by the entire orchestra.

A quiet transition, with clarinet and bass clarinet solos, connects the scherzo to the symphony’s last movement, the slow “Epilogue.” Its opening theme—similarly to the opening theme of the second movement—had been originally intended for, but not actually used in, a score Vaughan Williams wrote for a wartime film titled Flemish Farm. The symphonic finale unfolds as a succession of “whiffs of themes” (the composer’s own expression), with a great deal of contrapuntal development and meandering woodwind solos. In a rare concession to those who insisted on seeking extra-musical meanings in the work, the composer offered this quote from Shakespeare’s Tempest: “We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep.” In Prospero’s famous speech, all reality melts “into thin air” and “the great globe itself...shall dissolve”; similarly, at the end of Vaughan Williams’ symphony, the entire musical fabric disintegrates and only a faint E minor chord remains, in its most unstable inverted form, until that, too, fades into silence.

—Peter Laki

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RHAPSODY ON A THEME OF PAGANINI

MICHAEL FRANCIS, conductor

Currently holding three long-term positions with community-driven, innovative organizations, Michael Francis has been Music Director of the Florida Orchestra since 2015–16, Chief Conductor of Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie ©Marco Borggreve Rheinland-Pfalz since 2019–20, and Music Director of the Mainly Mozart Festival in San Diego since 2014.

Internationally established as a guest artist, Francis has brought his distinguished programming to audiences throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Among his collaborators are notable soloists such as Lang Lang, Arcadi Volodos, Itzhak Perlman, Christian Tetzlaff, Vadim Gluzman, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Nicola Benedetti, Javier Perianes, Jamie Barton, Truls Mørk, Håkan Hardenberger, Maximilian Hornung, Miloš, Benjamin Grosvenor, Emanuel Ax, Ian Bostridge, James Ehnes, Sting and Rufus Wainwright.

Mentoring young musicians is of an utmost priority. In addition to leading the Florida Orchestra’s community engagement initiatives, he has enjoyed collaborations with the New World Symphony, National Youth Orchestra of Scotland and National Youth Orchestra of Canada.

Francis’s discography includes the Rachmaninoff piano concertos with Valentina Lisitsa and the London Symphony Orchestra, Wolfgang Rihm’s Lichtes Spiel with AnneSophie Mutter and the New York Philharmonic, and the Ravel and Gershwin piano concertos with Ian Parker.

A former double-bass player in the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO), Michael Francis came to prominence as a conductor in 2007, stepping in for Valery Gergiev and John Adams with the LSO.

Francis makes his home in Tampa, FL, with his wife, Cindy, and daughter, Annabella. michaelfrancisconductor.com BEHZOD ABDURAIMOV, piano

Behzod Abduraimov’s performances combine an immense depth of musicality with phenomenal technique and breathtaking delicacy. 2022–23 European performances include concerts with Accademia Nazionale ©Evgeny Eutykhov di Santa Cecilia, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Wiener Symphoniker, SWR Symphonieorchester, RundfunkSinfonieorchester Berlin, Philharmonia Orchestra, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, and as part of the Belgian National Orchestra’s Rachmaninoff Festival. In North America he returns to The Cleveland Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Los Angeles Philharmonic, among others. He also returns to the NHK Symphony Orchestra (Tokyo) under Gianandrea Noseda.

The summer of 2022 saw Behzod’s third appearance at the BBC Proms. He also returned to the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra and to the Queensland and West Australian symphony orchestras.

Recitals this season will include Meany Hall, Seattle; Spivey Hall, Atlanta; and La Società dei Concerti di Milano, to mention a few. Regular festival appearances include the Aspen, Verbier, Rheingau, La Roque Antheron and Lucerne festivals. 2021 saw the highly successful release of his recital album (Alpha Classics) based on a program of miniatures, including Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. In 2020, recordings included Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, recorded on Rachmaninoff’s own piano from Villa Senar (Sony Classical), and Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with Concertgebouworkest (RCO Live). Both were nominated for 2020 Opus Klassik awards.

Born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in 1990, Abduraimov began the piano at age five as a pupil of Tamara Popovich at Uspensky State Central Lyceum in Tashkent. In 2009, he won First Prize at the London International Piano Competition with Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3. He studied with Stanislav Ioudenitch at the International Center for Music at Park University, Missouri, where he is Artist-inResidence. harrisonparrott.com