Program Notes: Beethoven's Ninth with Marin Alsop

CLASSICS 2023/24 BEETHOVEN’S NINTH SYMPHONY WITH MARIN ALSOP PERFORMED BY YOUR COLORADO SYMPHONY MARIN ALSOP, conductor INBAL SEGEV, cello JANAI BRUGGER, soprano TAYLOR RAVEN, mezzo-soprano ZWAKELE TSHABALALA, tenor SIDNEY OUTLAW, baritone COLORADO SYMPHONY CHORUS, DUAIN WOLFE, director Friday, February 23, 2024 at 7:30pm Saturday, February 24, 2024 at 7:30pm Sunday, February 25, 2024 at 1:00pm Boettcher Concert Hall JOAN TOWER

Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman No. 1

ANNA CLYNE Dance for Cello and Orchestra I. …when you’re broken up II. …if you’ve torn the bandage off III. …in the middle of the fighting IV. …in your blood V. …when you’re perfectly free — INTERMISSION — BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 “Choral” I. Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso II. Molto vivace III. Adagio molto e cantabile IV. Presto - Allegro assai - Andante maestoso - Allegro, sempre ben marcato CONCERT RUN TIME IS APPROXIMATELY 2 HOURS INCLUDING A 20 MINUTE INTERMISSION Friday’s concert is dedicated to Holland & Hart Saturday's Concert is Dedicated to the Colorado Symphony's Luminary Society Sunday’s concert is dedicated to Sherri Colgan, Jane Costain & Gary Moore, and Ken & Zoe Barley PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY

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CLASSICS BIOGRAPHIES MARIN ALSOP, conductor One of the foremost conductors of our time, Marin Alsop represents a powerful and inspiring voice. Convinced that music has the power to change lives, she is internationally recognized for her innovative approach to programming and audience development, deep commitment to education, and championing of music’s importance in the world. The first woman to serve as the head of a major orchestra in the United States, South America, Austria and Britain, she is, as the New York Times put it, not only “a formidable musician and a powerful communicator” but also “a conductor with a vision.”

Now embarking on her fourth season as Chief Conductor of the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, Alsop leads the orchestra at Vienna’s Konzerthaus and Musikverein, and on recordings, broadcasts and international tours, highlighted by its recent Salzburg Festival appearance and BBC Proms debut. As Chief Conductor of Chicago’s Ravinia Festival, she curates and conducts the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s summer residencies, formalizing her long relationship with Ravinia, where she made her debut with the orchestra in 2002.

Appointed in 2020 as the first Music Director of the National Orchestral Institute + Festival (NOI+F), a program of the University of Maryland’s Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, she has launched a new academy for young conductors and conducts multiple concerts each June with the NOI+F Philharmonic.

At the close of the 2020-21 season, Alsop assumed the title of Music Director Laureate and OrchKids Founder of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, where she continues to conduct the orchestra for three weeks each season. During her outstanding 14-year tenure as its Music Director, she led the orchestra on its first European tour in 13 years, released multiple award-winning recordings, and conducted more than two dozen world premieres, as well as founding OrchKids, its groundbreaking music education program for Baltimore’s most disadvantaged youth. In 2019, after seven years as Music Director, Alsop became Conductor of Honour of Brazil’s São Paulo Symphony Orchestra (OSESP), with which she continues to undertake major projects each season, including the orchestra’s Carnegie Hall debut to celebrate 200 years of Brazilian independence. Deeply committed to new music, she was Music Director of California’s Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music for 25 years, over the course of which she led 174 premieres.

Alsop has longstanding relationships with the London Philharmonic and London Symphony Orchestras, and regularly guest conducts such major international ensembles as the Cleveland Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Philharmonia Orchestra, Budapest Festival Orchestra and Orchestre de Paris, besides leading the La Scala Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and others. In collaboration with YouTube and Google Arts & Culture, she spearheaded the “Global Ode to Joy” (GOTJ), a crowd-sourced video project to celebrate Beethoven’s 250th anniversary. Together with Germany’s official Beethoven anniversary campaign and the leading

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CLASSICS BIOGRAPHIES arts organizations of five continents, she invited the global community to share the call for tolerance, unity and joy of the composer’s Ninth Symphony in videos tagged #GlobalOdeToJoy. The project culminated in December 2020, the month of Beethoven’s birth, with a grand video finale: a GOTJ highlight reel, set to a performance of the “Ode to Joy” anchored by the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony, the international Stay-at-Home Choir and Alsop herself.

Recognized with BBC Music “Album of the Year” and Emmy nominations in addition to Grammy, Classical BRIT and Gramophone awards, Alsop’s discography comprises more than 200 titles.

These include recordings for Decca, Harmonia Mundi and Sony Classical, as well as her acclaimed Naxos cycles of Brahms with the London Philharmonic, Dvořák with the Baltimore Symphony, and Prokofiev with the São Paulo Symphony. Recent releases include a live account of Bernstein’s Candide with the London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus and a Hindemith collection that marks her first recording as Chief Conductor of the Vienna RSO. The first and only conductor to receive a MacArthur Fellowship, Alsop has also been honored with the World Economic Forum’s Crystal Award, and made history as the first female conductor of the BBC’s Last Night of the Proms. Amongst many other awards and academic positions, she served as both 2021-22 Harman/Eisner Artist-in-Residence of the Aspen Institute Arts Program and 2020 Artist-in-Residence at Vienna’s University of Music and Performing Arts; is Director of Graduate Conducting at the Johns Hopkins University’s Peabody Institute; and holds Honorary Doctorates from Yale University and the Juilliard School. To promote and nurture the careers of her fellow female conductors, in 2002 she founded the Taki Concordia Conducting Fellowship, which was renamed in her honor as the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship in 2020. The Conductor, a documentary about her life, debuted at New York’s 2021 Tribeca Film Festival and has subsequently been broadcast on PBS television, screened at festivals and theaters nationwide, and recognized with the Naples International Film Festival’s 2021 Focus on the Arts Award.

INBAL SEGEV, cello Inbal Segev is “a cellist with something to say” (Gramophone). Combining rich tone and technical mastery with rare dedication and intelligence, she has appeared with orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic, Baltimore Symphony, St. Louis Symphony and Pittsburgh Symphony, collaborating with such prominent conductors as Marin Alsop, Stéphane Denève, Lorin Maazel, Cristian Măcelaru and Zubin Mehta. Committed to reinvigorating the cello repertoire, she has commissioned and premiered new cello concertos from Timo Andres, Anna Clyne, Avner Dorman, Fernando Otero, Dan Visconti and Victoria Poleva, whose concerto Segev looks forward to premiering with the Dallas Symphony and London Philharmonic orchestras in the 2023-24 season. Recorded with Alsop and the London Philharmonic for Avie Records, Segev’s 2020 premiere recording of Clyne’s new cello concerto, Dance, was an instant success, topping the Amazon Classical Concertos chart; its opening movement was chosen as one of NPR Music’s “Favorite Songs of 2020,” receiving nine million

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CLASSICS PROGRAM NOTES listens on Spotify, and Segev has continued to tour extensively with the piece. At the start of the pandemic, she launched “20 for 2020,” a commissioning, recording and video project featuring 20 cutting-edge composers, including John Luther Adams, Viet Cuong and Vijay Iyer, whose new concerto Segev premiered and performed throughout the 2022-23 season. Her previous discography includes acclaimed recordings of the Elgar Cello Concerto, Romantic cello works and Bach’s Cello Suites, while her popular YouTube masterclass series, Musings with Inbal Segev, has inspired a generation of cellists.

A native of Israel, at 16 Segev was invited by Isaac Stern to continue her cello studies in the U.S., where she earned degrees from Yale University and the Juilliard School, before co-founding the Amerigo Trio with former New York Philharmonic concertmaster Glenn Dicterow and violist Karen Dreyfus. Segev’s cello was made by Francesco Ruggieri in 1673.

DUAIN WOLFE, founder and director, Colorado Symphony Chorus Three-time Grammy winner for Best Choral Performance, Best Classical Recording, and Best Opera Performance, Duain Wolfe is Founder and Director of the Colorado Symphony Chorus.

This year marks Wolfe’s 40th season with the Colorado Symphony Chorus.

The Chorus has been featured at the Aspen Music Festival for nearly three decades. Wolfe recently retired as Director of the Chicago Symphony Chorus after 28 years. He has collaborated with Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez, Bernard Haitink, Riccardo Muti, and Sir George Solti on numerous recordings including Wagner’s Die Meistersinger, which won the 1998 Grammy® for Best Opera Recording. Wolfe’s extensive musical accomplishments have resulted in numerous awards, including the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from the University of Denver, the Bonfils Stanton Award in the Arts and Humanities, the Mayor’s Award for Excellence in an Artistic Discipline, and the Michael Korn Award for the Development of the Professional Choral Art. Wolfe is Founder of the Colorado Children’s Chorale, from which he retired in 1999 after 25 years. For 20 years, Wolfe also worked with the Central City Opera Festival as chorus director and conductor, founding and directing the company’s young artist residence program, as well as its education and outreach programs. Wolfe’s other accomplishments include directing and preparing choruses for Chicago’s Ravinia Festival, the Bravo! Vail Festival, the Berkshire Choral Festival, the Aspen Music Festival, and the Grand Teton Music Festival. He has worked with Pinchas Zuckerman and Alexander Shelly as Chorus Director for the Canadian National Arts Centre Orchestra for the past 20 years.

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CLASSICS PROGRAM NOTES COLORADO SYMPHONY CHORUS The 2023/24 Colorado Symphony concert season marks the 40th season of the Colorado Symphony Chorus. Founded in 1984 by Duain Wolfe at the request of Gaetano Delogu, then the Music Director of the Symphony, the chorus has grown into a nationally respected ensemble. This outstanding chorus of volunteers joins the Colorado Symphony for numerous performances each year, to repeated critical acclaim.

The Chorus has performed at noted music festivals in the Rocky Mountain region, including the Colorado Music Festival, the Grand Teton Music Festival, and the Bravo! Vail Music Festival, where it has performed with the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Dallas Symphony, under conductors Alan Gilbert, Hans Graf, Jaap van Zweden, Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Fabio Luisi. For over twenty five years, the Chorus was featured at the world-renowned Aspen Music Festival, performing many great masterworks under the baton of conductors Lawrence Foster, James Levine, Murry Sidlin, Leonard Slatkin, David Zinman, and Robert Spano.

Among the eight recordings the Colorado Symphony Chorus has made is a NAXOS release of Roy Harris’s Symphony No. 4. The Chorus is also featured on a Hyperion release of the Vaughan Williams Dona Nobis Pacem and Stephen Hough’s Missa Mirabilis. Most recently, the Colorado Symphony and Chorus released a world-premiere recording of William Hill’s The Raven.

In 2009, in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the chorus, Duain Wolfe conducted the chorus on a three-country, two-week concert tour of Europe, presenting the Verdi Requiem in Budapest, Vienna, Litomysl and Prague; in 2016 the chorus returned to Europe for concerts in Paris, Strasbourg and Munich featuring the Fauré Requiem. In the summer of 2022, the Chorus toured Austria, performing to great acclaim in Vienna, Graz and Salzburg.

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CLASSICS BIOGRAPHIES COLORADO SYMPHONY CHORUS Duain Wolfe, Founding Director and Conductor Mary Louise Burke, Principal Associate Director and Conductor Taylor Martin, Associate Director and Conductor Jared Joseph, Conducting Intern Hsiao-Ling Lin and ShaoChun Tsai, pianists Eric Israelson, Chorus Manager/Librarian Barbara Porter, Associate Chorus Manager SOPRANO Andrews, Lottie Ascani, Lori Atchison, René Black, Kimberly Blum, Jude Bowen, Alex Burns, Jeremy Burr, Emily Causey, Denelda Coberly, Ruth Coberly, Sarah Collins, Elizabeth Collins, Suzanne Collums, Angie Cote, Kerry Dakkouri, Claudia Dobreff, Mary Eck, Emily Emerich, Kate Ewert, Gracie Gaskill, Andria Gile, Jenifer Gill, Lori Glazier, Taylor Graber, Susan Harston, Rachel Headrick, Alaina Hittle, Erin Jones, Kaitlyn Jorden, Cameron Kennedy, Lauren Kermgard, Lindsey Kinnischtzke, Meghan Kraft, Lisa Kushnir, Marina Lang, Leanne Look, Cathy Linder, Dana

PROGRAM VI

Machusko, Rebecca Mattingly, Isabella Maupin, Anne Montigne, Erin Moraskie, Wendy O’Nan, Jeannette Peterson, Jodie Pflug, Kim Porter, Barbara Rae, Donneve Ropa, Lori Ruff, Mahli Sewell, April Sladovnik, Roberta Stegink, Nicole Tate, Judy Timme, Sydney Von Roedern, Sue Walker, Marcia Wall, Alison Wise, Rebecca Wuertz, Karen Young, Cara Zisler, Joan ALTO Adams, Priscilla Arthur, Liz Berganza, Brenda Chatfield, Cass Clauson, Clair Conrad, Jayne Cox, Martha Darone, Janie Davies, Debbie Deck, Barbara Dobson, Kezia Dutcher, Valerie Fairchild, Raleigh Friedman, Anna

Gayley, Sharon Golden, Daniela Groom, Gabriella Guittar, Pat Haxton, Sheri Hoopes, Kaia Hoskins, Hansi Isaac, Olivia Jackson, Brandy Janasko, Ellen Kaminske, Christine Kern, Charlotte Kim, Annette Kolstad, Annie LeBaron, Andrea Levy, Juliet London, Carole Long, Tinsley Maltzahn, Joanna McWaters, Susan Nordenholz, Kristen Nyholm, Christine Owens, Sheri Parsons, Jill Pringle, Jennifer Rehme, Leanne Rudolph, Kathi Scarselli, Elizabeth Schnell, Wendy Stevenson, Melanie Thaler, Deanna Thayer, Mary Tiggelaar, Clara Trubetskoy, Kimberly Virtue, Pat Wandel, Benita Worthington, Evin

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York, Beth TENOR Babcock, Gary Bowman, Ryan Carlson, James Davies, Dusty Dinkel, Jack Fuehrer, Roger Gale, John Gordon, Frank Guittar, Forrest Hodel, David Ibrahim, Sami Johnson, Trey Jordan, Curt Kolm, Kenneth Milligan, Tom Moraskie, Richard Muesing, Garvis Nicholas, Timothy Rangel, Miguel Richardson, Tyler Roach, Eugene Rosen, David Ruth, Ronald Seamans, Andrew Shaw, Kyle Sims, Jerry Stohlmann, Phillip Thompson, Hannis Waller, Ryan Witherspoon, Max Zimmerman, Kenneth BASS Adams, John Brown, Sean Carlton, Grant

Friedlander, Robert Glauner, Dave Gray, Matthew Grossman, Chris Griffin, Tim Hammerberg, Nic Hesse, Douglas Highbaugh, David Hume, Donald Hunt, Leonard Israelson, Eric Jackson, Terry Jirak, Thomas Johnson, Matthew Jones, John Joseph, Jared Lingenfelter, Paul McDaniel, Jakson Mehta, Nalin Molberg, Matthew Morrison, Greg Nuccio, Gene Phillips, John Pilcher, Ben Potter, Tom Pullen, Jacob Quarles, Kenneth Richards, Joshua Scoville, Adam Skillings, Russell Smedberg, Matthew Steele, Matt Struthers, David Swanson, Wil Virtue, Tom West, Mike Zax, Jeffrey

CLASSICS BIOGRAPHIES JANAI BRUGGER, soprano American soprano Janai Brugger’s recent engagements include her highly successful role debut in the title role of Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah at Opera Theatre of St Louis this summer, followed by her performances as Pamina in The Magic Flute at Ravinia Festival, a role she also sang at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, London, and at the Metropolitan Opera of New York, where she returns to the role later this year. Last season she sang the role of Glauce in Cherubini’s Medea at the Metropolitan Opera of New York, Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro at Los Angeles Opera, Liu in Turandot at Opera Colorado. Concert engagements include Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with Munich Philharmonic Orchestra and with Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Ravinia Festival under the baton of Marin Alsop, Poulenc’s Gloria with Bozeman Symphony Orchestra and Mahler’s Second Symphony with Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Jader Bignamini conducting.

She made her Vienna debut at Musikverein in Brahms Requiem with CBSO and Mirga GražinytėTyla; Mahler’s Second Symphony also with CBSO in Birmingham UK; Zerlina in Don Giovanni at Tanglewood Festival under Andris Nelsons; Servillia in La Clemenza di Tito and Zerlina in Don Giovanni at Ravinia Festival under the baton of James Conlon alongside Kaddish with Marin Alsop. She sang Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Ricardo Muti, and Mahler’s Fourth Symphony with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and The Philadelphia Orchestra. She appeared at Dutch National Opera in their acclaimed Missa in tempore Belli (Haydn) conducted by Lorenzo Viotti and directed by Barbora Horáková. She returned to the Metropolitan Opera of New York for further performances of Clara in Porgy and Bess, a role she established in their new production in 2019.

Future appearances include the principal soprano role in Jake Heggie’s new opera, Intelligence, at Houston Grand Opera, concert engagements with Colorado Symphony, Atlanta Symphony and with Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra; her debut at Canadian Opera Company as Glauce in a revival of the Met’s Medea, and her debut next summer at Glyndebourne Festival as Michaela in Carmen.

TAYLOR RAVEN, mezzo-soprano Taylor Raven is a “vocal sensation” (Washington Classical Review) quickly establishing herself in opera, concert, and recital. Ms. Raven began the 22/23 season with her debut at the San Francisco Opera for a trio of operas: a world premiere of John Adams’ Antony and Cleopatra (Charmian), Dialogues des Carmélites (Sister Mathilde) and La traviata (Flora). Other highlights this season include debuts with Kentucky Opera for La Cenerentola (Angelina) and Chicago Opera Theater for The Life and Death(s) of Alan Turing (Joan Clarke), and a return to Des Moines Metro Opera for the title role in Carmen. On the concert stage, she will make her debut with The Cleveland Orchestra for La fanciulla del West (Wowkle) conducted by Franz Welser-Möst and will return to the Memphis Symphony.

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CLASSICS BIOGRAPHIES Last season she made debuts with Houston Grand Opera for Die Zauberflöte (Dritte Dame), Washington Concert Opera for Lakmé (Mallika), and North Carolina Opera for Moravec’s Sanctuary Road. On the concert stage she made debuts with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Iowa, and returned to the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Additional engagements included the world premiere of a song cycle commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with Urban Arias and a return to the roster of the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Recent engagements include debuts with Des Moines Metro Opera in Pique Dame (Pauline), Finger Lakes Opera in Il barbiere di Siviglia (Rosina), and Handel & Haydn Society for Beethoven Symphony No. 9 conducted by Marin Alsop. Taylor is a recent graduate of the Young Artist Program with the LA Opera, where she was seen in La clemenza di Tito (Annio), Don Carlo (Tebaldo), the Kosky production of Die Zauberflöte (Zweite Dame) conducted by James Colon, and Hansel and Gretel (Sandman). As a Filene Artist at Wolf Trap Opera she performed in Il barbiere di Siviglia (Rosina) and L’heure espagnole (Concepción). On the concert stage she made her Alice Tully Hall debut appearing with the American Symphony Orchestra for a concert of Bach arias conducted by Leon Botstein.

ZWAKELE TSHABALALA, tenor With a “bristling and heartfelt intensity” (The Guardian), up and coming South African tenor Zwakele Tshabalala captivates audiences with his touching performances on the opera stage. In his rapidly developing career, Tshabalala has established himself as a rising star, leaving a lasting impression wherever he performs.

Last season Tshabalala was invited to join English National Opera as a Harewood Artist after his acclaimed performance as Hot Biscuit Slim in Paul Bunyan at Alexandra Palace. He subsequently made his main stage debuts in the British premieres of Heggie’s It’s a Wonderful Life and Jeanine Tesori’s Blue, in which he sang the role of The Son to critical acclaim. His remarkable talent has shone internationally in the past few seasons as Sportin’ Life in Matthew Wild’s acclaimed new production of Porgy and Bess for Theater an der Wien, and the title role in Dutch National Opera’s world premiere performances of Anansi.

Tshabalala’s versatility and undeniable charisma have seen him excel in traditional as well as contemporary roles including his captivating portrayal of Rodolfo (La bohème) in Abracadopera! for Sky Arts and his recent inclusion in the Endellion Festival as Alfredo in La traviata.

On the concert stage performing Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, he joined Marin Alsop as part of her celebration of Beethoven’s 250th anniversary at the World Economic Forum in ‘An International Call for Unity and Joy’ in January 2020, made his anticipated BBC Proms debut with the Chineke! Orchestra under the baton of Kevin John Edusei, and recently joined Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Barbican.

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CLASSICS BIOGRAPHIES This season he continues his work with English National Opera as Nick in The Handmaid’s Tale and Gastone in La traviata. He makes his US debut with Marin Alsop with both Colorado Symphony in Denver and returns to the Royal Albert Hall to sing Gospel Messiah with BBC Concert Orchestra. He also joins Ed Gardner and London Philharmonic Orchestra for Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht’s satirical work Seven Deadly Sins.

SIDNEY OUTLAW, baritone Lauded by The New York Times as a “terrific singer” with a “deep, rich timbre” and the San Francisco Chronicle as an “opera powerhouse” with a “weighty and forthright” sound, Sidney Outlaw was the Grand Prize winner of the Concurso Internacional de Canto Montserrat Caballe in 2010 and continues to delight audiences in the U.S. and abroad with his rich and versatile baritone and engaging stage presence. A graduate of the Merola Opera Program and the Gerdine Young Artist Program at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, this rising American baritone from Brevard, North Carolina recently added a GRAMMY nomination to his list of accomplishments for the Naxos Records recording of Darius Milhaud’s 1922 opera trilogy, L’Orestie d’Eschyle in which he sang the role of Apollo.

Last season for Mr. Outlaw included his Dandini in La Cenerentola with Greensboro Opera, appearances with the Charlotte Symphony, the Bridgehampton Chamber Music and Colour of Music Festivals, his Spoleto Festival debut as Jake in Porgy and Bess, and Madison Opera’s Opera in the Park. The 2016-2017 season includes Mercutio in Roméo et Juliette with Madison Opera, Vaugh Williams’ Dona nobis pacem with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, a recital with Warren Jones, and a return to the New York Philharmonic.

A sought-after concert singer and recitalist, Mr. Outlaw made his Schwabacher Recital debut at the San Francisco Opera center with pianist John Churchwell and collaborates regularly with renowned pianists Warren Jones, Carol Wong, Steven Blier, and Michael Barrett. His concert and recital appearances include debuts of renowned works at major concert halls: Haydn’s The Creation and Handel’s Messiah at Carnegie Hall, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 at Avery Fisher Hall, Mahler’s Lieder eines Fahrenden Gesellen with Music Academy of the West and “Wednesday At One” at Alice Tully Hall, John Stevens in the world premiere concert of H. Leslie Adam’s opera Blake at the prestigious Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, and the world premiere of Wayne Oquin’s A Time to Break Silence: Songs inspired by the Words and Writings of Martin Luther King, Jr., commissioned by The Juilliard School.

Mr. Outlaw won 2nd Prize in the Walter W. Naumburg Foundation’s International Competition, 2nd Prize in the 2011 Gerda Lissner Foundation Awards, National semi-finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, semi- finalist in the Francisco Viñas International Singing Competition, finalist in both Concours International Musical de Montreal and George London Foundation, and grand prize in the Florida Grand Opera/YPO Vocal Competition. He holds a Bachelor in Music Performance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a Master of Vocal Performance from The Julliard School.

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CLASSICS PROGRAM NOTES JOAN TOWER (born in 1938) Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman No. 1 Joan Tower was born on September 6, 1938 in New Rochelle, New York. The Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman No. 1 was composed in 1986, and premiered by the Houston Symphony Orchestra on January 10, 1987, Hans Vonk conducting. The score calls for an ensemble of four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani and percussion. Duration is about 3 minutes. This piece was last performed by the orchestra May 13-15, 2022 with Asher Fisch conducting.

Joan Tower was born in New Rochelle, New York in 1938 and went to South America with her family at age nine. Her father was a mining engineer whose assignments necessitated frequent family moves to Bolivia, Chile and Peru, but he always found a piano and a teacher to nurture his daughter’s musical interests. Tower returned to the United States at age eighteen to attend Bennington College and Columbia University, where she earned a doctorate in composition. After finishing her professional training, she taught at Greenwich House, a settlement house in New York, while also composing and performing as a pianist. Since 1972, Tower has taught at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, where she is now Asher Edelman Professor of Music. She is also active working with performing groups and students in residencies throughout the country, and has served as Co-Artistic Director of the Yale/Norfolk Chamber Music Festival; she was Composer-in-Residence with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s in New York from 1999 to 2007 and Mentor Composer-in-Residence for the Albany Symphony’s 20132014 season. Tower’s many distinctions include awards and fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, Koussevitzky Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts and Massachusetts State Arts Council, as well as the prestigious Grawemeyer Award from the University of Louisville in 1990, the first woman ever to receive that honor. In 2019, Tower was awarded the Gold Baton, the highest honor given by the League of American Orchestras, and in 2020 she was honored with the Richard J. Bogomolny National Service Award

by Chamber Music America and named Musical America’s Composer of the Year.

Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman No. 1, the first Tower’s of six eponymous works, was composed for the Houston Symphony’s sesquicentennial in 1986. Of it, the composer wrote, “This work was inspired by Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man, and uses in fact the same instrumentation. The original theme resembles the theme in my piece. It is dedicated to women who take risks and are adventurous.”

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CLASSICS PROGRAM NOTES ANNA CLYNE (born in 1980) Dance, Concerto for Cello and Orchestra Anna Clyne was born on March 9, 1980 in London. Dance was composed in 2019 and premiered on August 8, 2019 at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in Santa Cruz, California, conducted by Cristian Mǎcelaru with Inbal Segev as soloist. The score calls for piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, English horn, two clarinets, bass clarinet, two bassoons, contrabassoon, two horns, two trumpets, trombone, tuba, timpani, percussion and strings. Duration is about 25 minutes. This is the Colorado Symphony premiere performance.

“Anna Clyne,” according to the biography provided by her publisher Boosey & Hawkes, “is a composer of acoustic and electro-acoustic music, combining resonant soundscapes with propelling textures that weave, morph and collide in dramatic explosions. Her work often includes collaborations with cutting edge choreographers, visual artists, film-makers and musicians worldwide.”

Anna Clyne was born in London in 1980, studied music from early in life (she recalls lessons “on a piano with randomly missing keys”), began composing at age eleven (a fully notated piece for flute and piano), and received her undergraduate training at Edinburgh University and a master’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music. Clyne is now a member of the composition faculty of Mannes/The New School in New York City, and serves as Mentor Composer for the Orchestra of St Luke’s Inaugural DeGaetano Composer Institute.

Clyne’s career has been on a meteoric trajectory since she completed her education — performances by leading ensembles and soloists around the world and commissions from noted orchestras, ensembles and ballet companies; selection as a participant in a master class with Pierre Boulez in New York City; director of the New York Youth Symphony’s award-winning program for young composers “Making Score” from 2008 to 2010. Clyne served as Composerin-Residence with both the Philharmonia Orchestra of London and Trondheim Symphony Orchestra (Norway) in 2022–2023, after which she began season-long residencies with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and the Symphony Orchestra of Castilla y León in Valladolid.

Clyne’s dedication to both education and collaboration are evidenced by her extended residency with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (2010-2015), when she not only composed six works for the ensemble — including the Grammy-nominated double-violin concerto Prince of Clouds — but also conducted workshops with the Chicago Public Schools and incarcerated youth at the city’s Juvenile Detention Center, joined with Yo-Yo Ma and musicians of the Civic Orchestra, CSO and Chorus to help realize the work of young poets, musicians and composers at such events as the Humanities Festival and Youth in Music Festival, and worked with art therapist Caroline Edasis to develop an innovative collaboration between the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Learning Institute and residents in the memory care unit of the Mather Pavilion Residential Nursing Home. Anna Clyne’s rapidly accumulating collection of honors includes eight consecutive ASCAP Plus Awards, Hindemith Prize, Charles Ives Fellowship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and Clutterbuck Award from the University of Edinburgh, as well as awards from Meet the Composer, American Music Center, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, Jerome Foundation and International Artist Sponsorship; she also received a grant from Opera America to develop a work titled Eva, about the German-born American post-minimalist sculptor Eva Hesse (1936-1970).

Clyne said of Dance, commissioned in 2019 by cellist Inbal Segev and the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, and São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, “I knew that I wanted to write a multi-movement work in which each movement had its own personality, its own character. I’ve known this poem by [13th-century Persian SOUNDINGS 2 0 2 3/ 24

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CLASSICS PROGRAM NOTES writer and mystic] Rumi for a while and always thought it would be a good source of inspiration — it’s short, has repetition, a clear form of five lines, and a strong physicality (for example, ‘broken open,’ ‘in your blood’). It also has a sense of urgency that I found compelling for this piece. It was a great way to structure the piece — to break it up into the five movements according to the five lines of the poem.

Dance, when you’re broken open.

Dance, if you’ve torn the bandage off.

Dance in the middle of the fighting.

Dance in your blood.

Dance, when you’re perfectly free.

“The first movement opens the concerto in an unusual way — concertos tend to get off to a dramatic start with a lot of energy, but I wanted to do the opposite, to start with very tender and delicate music. The title of this movement is when you’re broken open. I imagined the fragility of being shattered apart — zooming in on those shards. The harmony moves in blocks to create a repeating cycle above which the solo cello soars in a high register.

“The second movement, if you’ve torn the bandage off, is marked ‘Earthy and Fiery.’ It’s much faster, a lot more aggressive, with a lot of double stops in the cello. The solo cello drives this movement — a lot of the orchestration is characterized by instruments within the orchestra spiraling around the soloist, often in unisons. ‘If you’ve torn the bandage off’ is a very physical sensation. In this movement, folk elements are introduced with melodic inflections and the use of drones as an accompaniment.

“The third movement, in the middle of the fighting, imagines discovering a moment within the chaos — where time freezes to provide an opportunity to be still and reflect. It’s a slow, repeating cycle above which the cello plays a soulful melody. Each time it returns, the cello plays in a higher register. It’s very simple, but quite elegant as well, with Baroque-like embellishments to the lines. The tonality allows for a lot of natural harmonics on the cello to give it a delicate resonance and character.

“The fourth movement, in your blood, presents music in contrast to the previous more delicate movement. It is marked ‘Regal and Expansive’ and starts with a simple ascending and descending line in quarter notes played alone by the solo cello. Once that line is finished the double basses pick it up and the cellist adds a new line. And then the basses loop the first line, the cello section play the second, and the soloist takes on a new line. This process repeats until all the strings are playing. The use of cycles, of repeating patterns, is quite central to this work.

At the end of the fourth movement, it unexpectedly melts into a lullaby, which incorporates melodic fragments from the previous movements.

“The last movement, when you’re perfectly free, is actually the movement I wrote first, but it ended up becoming the last movement. It almost stands alone from the rest of the concerto.

The other movements incorporate elements from this movement, but it has its own story. This movement, like the second movement, is full of exposed and quite simple melodies … not getting too caught up in complexity. The movement ends with a very simple melody. I was a little hesitant to end the piece in this way, but I do find beauty in its simplicity.”

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PROGRAM XII C O LO R A D O S Y M P H O N Y.O R G

CLASSICS PROGRAM NOTES LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, “Choral” Ludwig van Beethoven was born on December 16, 1770 in Bonn, and died on March 26, 1827 in Vienna. The Ninth Symphony was mostly composed in 1823, though some of its ideas were conceived as much as thirty years before. The sketch was completed by the end of 1823, and the orchestration by the following February. Beethoven supervised the premiere, at Vienna’s Kärntnertor Theater on May 7, 1824, though the actual conducting was handled by Michael Umlauf. The score calls for piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, percussion and strings. Duration is about 65 minutes. The orchestra last performed this piece May 27-29 with Peter Oundjian conducting.

Friedrich Schiller published his poem An die Freude (“Ode to Joy”) in 1785 as a tribute to his friend Christian Gottfried Körner. By 1790, when he was twenty, Beethoven knew the poem, and as early as 1793 he considered making a musical setting of it. Schiller’s poem appears in his notes in 1798, but the earliest musical ideas for its setting are found among the sketches for the Seventh and Eighth Symphonies, composed simultaneously in 1811-1812. Though these sketches are unrelated to the finished Ode to Joy theme — that went through more than 200 revisions (!) — they do show the composer’s continuing interest in the text and the gestating idea of setting it for voices. The Seventh and Eighth Symphonies were finished by 1812, and Beethoven immediately started making plans for his next composition in the genre, settling on the key of D minor but getting no further. It was to be another dozen years before he could bring this gestating vision to fulfillment.

The first evidence of the musical material that was to figure in the finished Ninth Symphony appeared in 1815, when a sketch for the theme of the Scherzo emerged among Beethoven’s notes. He took up his draft again in 1817 and by the following year much of the Scherzo was sketched. It was also in 1818 that he considered including a choral movement, but as the slow movement rather than as the finale. With much still unsettled, Beethoven was forced to lay aside this vague symphonic scheme in 1818 because of ill health, the distressing court battle to secure custody of his nephew, and other composing projects, most notably the monumental Missa Solemnis, and he was not able to resume work on the piece until the end of 1822. The 1822 sketches show considerable progress on the Symphony’s first movement, little on the Scherzo, and, for the first time, some tentative ideas for a choral finale based on Schiller’s poem. Most of the remainder of the opening movement was sketched during the early months of 1823. The Scherzo was finished in short score by August, eight years after Beethoven first conceived its thematic material, and the third movement sketched by October. With the first three movements nearing completion, Beethoven had one major obstacle to overcome before he could complete the Symphony: how to join together the instrumental and vocal movements. He decided that a recitative — the technique that had been used for generations to bridge from one operatic number to the next — would work perfectly, especially if the recitative included fragments of themes from earlier movements to unify the structure. Beethoven still had much work to do, as the sketches from the autumn of 1823 show, but he at last knew his goal, and the composition was completed by the end of the year. When the final scoring was finished in February 1824, it had been nearly 35 years since Beethoven first considered setting Schiller’s poem.

S O U N D I N G S 2 0 2 3 / 2 4 PROGRAM XIII

CLASSICS PROGRAM NOTES The Symphony begins with the interval of a barren open fifth, suggesting some aweinspiring cosmic void. Thematic fragments sparkle and whirl into place to form the riveting main theme. A group of lyrical subordinate ideas follows. After a great climax, the open fifth intervals return to begin the highly concentrated development section. A complete recapitulation and an ominous coda arising from the depths of the orchestra bring this eloquent movement to a close.

The form of the second movement is a combination of scherzo, fugue and sonata that exudes a lusty physical exuberance and a leaping energy. The central trio is more serene in character but forfeits none of the contrapuntal richness of the Scherzo. The Adagio is one of the most sublime pieces that Beethoven, or anyone else, ever wrote. Formally, this movement is a variation on two themes, almost like two separate kinds of music that alternate with each other.

The majestic finale is in two large parts: the first instrumental, the second with chorus and soloists. Beethoven chose to set about two-thirds of the original 96 lines of Schiller’s poem. To these, he added two lines of his own for the baritone soloist as a transition to the choral section.

A shrieking dissonance introduces the instrumental recitative for cellos and basses that joins together brief thematic reminiscences from the three preceding movements. The wondrous Ode to Joy theme appears unadorned in the low strings, and is the subject of a set of increasingly powerful variations. The shrieking dissonance is again hurled forth, but this time the ensuing recitative is given voice and words by the baritone soloist. “Oh, friends,” he sings, “no more of these sad tones! Rather let us raise our voices together, and joyful be our song.” The song is the Ode to Joy, presented with transcendent jubilation by the chorus. Many sections based on the theme of the Ode follow, some martial, some fugal, all radiant with the glory of Beethoven’s vision.

Baritone O Freunde, nicht diese Töne!

Sondern lasst uns angenehmere anstimmen, und freudenvollere.

O friends, not these sounds!

Rather let us sing more pleasing songs, full of joy.

Baritone and Chorus Freude, schöner Götterfunken, Tochter aus Elysium, wir betreten feuertrunken, Himmlische, dein Heiligtum.

Deine Zauber binden wieder was die Mode streng geteilt; alle Menschen werden Brüder wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt.

Joy, brilliant spark of the gods, daughter of Elysium, drunk with fire, we enter, Divinity, your sacred shrine.

Your magic again unites all that custom harshly tore apart; all men become brothers beneath your gentle hovering wing.

PROGRAM XIV C O LO R A D O S Y M P H O N Y.O R G

CLASSICS PROGRAM NOTES Quartet and Chorus Wem der grosse Wurf gelungen, eines Freundes Freund zu sein, wer ein holdes Weib errungen, mische seine Jubel ein!

Ja, wer auch nur eine Seele sein nennt auf dem Erdenrund!

Und wer’s nie gekonnt, der stehle weinend sich aus diesem Bund!

Freude trinken alle Wesen an den Brüsten der Natur, alle Guten, alle Bösen folgen ihre Rosenspur.

Küsse gab sie uns und Reben, einen Freund, geprüft im Tod; Wollust ward dem Wurm gegeben, und der Cherub steht vor Gott!

Whoever has won in that great gamble of being friend to a friend, whoever has won a gracious wife, let him join in our rejoicing!

Yes, even if there is only one other soul he can call his own on the whole earth!

And he who never accomplished this, let him steal away weeping from this company!

All creatures drink of joy at Nature’s breast, All men, good and evil, follow her rose-strewn path.

Kisses she gave us and vines, a friend, faithful to death; desire was even given to the worm, and the cherub stands before God!

Tenor and Chorus Froh, wie seine Sonnen fliegen durch des Himmels prächt’gen Plan, laufet, Brüder, eure Bahn, freudig wie ein Held zum Siegen.

Joyously, just as His suns fly through the splendid arena of heaven, run, brothers, your course gladly, like a hero to victory.

Chorus Freude, schöner Götterfunken, Tochter aus Elysium, wir betreten feuertrunken, Himmlische, dein Heiligtum.

Deine Zauber binden wieder was die Mode streng geteilt; alle Menschen werden Brüder wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt.

Joy, brilliant spark of the gods, daughter of Elysium, drunk with fire, we enter, Divinity, your sacred shrine.

Your magic again unites all that custom harshly tore apart; all men become brothers beneath your gentle hovering wing.

Seid umschlungen, Millionen!

Diesen Kuss der ganzen Welt!

Brüder, über’m Sternenzelt muss ein lieber Vater wohnen.

Ihr stürzt nieder, Millionen?

Be embraced, ye millions!

This kiss is for the entire world!

Brothers, above the canopy of stars surely a loving Father dwells.

Do you bow down, ye millions?

S O U N D I N G S 2 0 2 3 / 2 4 PROGRAM XV

CLASSICS PROGRAM NOTES Ahnest du den Schöpfer, Welt?

Such’ ihn über’m Sternenzelt! Über Sternen muss er wohnen.

Do you sense the Creator, World?

Seek Him above the canopy of stars!

Above the stars must He dwell.

Freude, schöner Götterfunken, Tochter aus Elysium, wir betreten feuertrunken, Himmlische, dein Heiligtum.

Joy, brilliant spark of the gods, daughter of Elysium, drunk with fire, we enter, Divinity, your sacred shrine.

Seid umschlungen, Millionen!

Diesen Kuss der ganzen Welt!

Be embraced, ye millions!

This kiss is for the entire world!

Ihr stürzt nieder, Millionen?

Ahnest du den Schöpfer, Welt?

Such’ ihn über’m Sternenzelt!

Brüder! Brüder! Über’m Sternenzelt muss ein lieber Vater wohnen.

Do you bow down, ye millions?

Do you sense the Creator, World?

Seek Him above the canopy of stars!

Brothers! Brothers!

Above the canopy of stars surely a loving Father dwells.

Quartet and Chorus Freude, Tochter aus Elysium, deine Zauber binden wieder was die Mode streng geteilt; alle Menschen werden Brüder wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt.

Joy, daughter of Elysium, Your magic again unites all that custom harshly tore apart; all men become brothers beneath your gentle hovering wing.

Seid umschlungen, Millionen!

Diesen Kuss der ganzen Welt!

Brüder, über’m Sternenzelt muss ein lieber Vater wohnen.

Be embraced, ye millions!

This kiss is for the entire world!

Brothers, above the canopy of stars surely a loving Father dwells.

Freude, schöner Götterfunken, Tochter aus Elysium!

Joy, brilliant spark of the gods, daughter of Elysium!

PROGRAM XVI C O LO R A D O S Y M P H O N Y.O R G