Program - A Colorado Christmas - All Beethoven

2019/20 SEASON PRESENTING SPONSOR:

HOLIDAY

2019/20

A COLORADO CHRISTMAS PERFORMED BY YOUR COLORADO SYMPHONY TIMOTHY SEMANIK, conductor DEVIN DESANTIS, tenor COLORADO SYMPHONY CHORUS, MARY LOUISE BURKE, associate conductor COLORADO CHILDREN’S CHORALE, DEBORAH DESANTIS, artistic director Friday, December 13, 2019 at 7:30pm Saturday, December 14, 2019 at 2:30pm Saturday, December 14, 2019 at 6:00pm Sunday, December 15, 2019 at 1:00pm Boettcher Concert Hall

Arr. Wilberg

Joy to the World

YON/arr. Holland

Gesu Bambino

Arr. Beck

Betelehemu

PinkZebra

Winter Dreams

Arr. Forrest

Sussex Carol

HANDEL Messiah

Pifa There were shepherds And lo the angel And suddenly there was with the angel Glory to God Hallelujah Maria Giovanetti, soprano (continued on next page) Friday’s Concert is Gratefully Dedicated to Sherman & Howard Saturday Afternoon’s Concert is Gratefully Dedicated to Ernst & Young, LLP and The Chill Foundation Saturday Evening’s Concert is Gratefully Dedicated to Coreen and Mike Miller and the HealthONE health system.

Sunday’s Concert is Gratefully Dedicated to Prologis PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY SOUNDINGS

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PROGRAM 1

HOLIDAY

2019/20

Arr. Fry

Sing the Carols of Christmas

GARY FRY

Twas the Night Before Christmas

World Premiere

— INTERMISSION —

SAMSEL/ANDERSON arr. Brymer

That Time of Year

GENE SCHEER/arr. Fry

Christmas Once More

Arr. Kuzma

Christmas Pops Sing-along

Arr. Harris

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen

Arr. Fry

Still, Still, Still

SAMUEL LANCASTER

Christmas in Colorado

ANDERSON/FRY

Sleigh Ride

Arr. Waite

St. Nick Swing

BEUELIN/SKLAR arr. Beck

There is a Santa Claus

Raleigh Fairchild, Elizabeth Plender, Jimmy Ragan

Special Appearance by Brad and Susie Bolton

CONCERT RUN TIME IS APPROXIMATELY 1 HOUR 35 MINUTES WITH A 20 MINUTE INTERMISSION. FIRST TIME TO THE SYMPHONY? SEE PAGE 8 OF THIS PROGRAM FOR FAQ’S TO MAKE YOUR EXPERIENCE GREAT!

PROGRAM 2

C O L O R A D O SY M P H O N Y.O R G

HOLIDAY BIOGRAPHIES TIMOTHY SEMANIK, conductor Timothy Semanik currently serves as music director for the Northwest Symphony, the Salt Creek Chamber Orchestra, and the Bradley Symphony Orchestra. He was previously music director for the Carleton College Orchestra, the University of Chicago Chamber Orchestra, the Northern Illinois University Philharmonic, and the Central Illinois Youth Symphony. Mr. Semanik was assistant conductor for Welcome Yule! with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and has appeared as guest conductor with the Chicago Youth Symphony, the Windsor Symphony, the Elmhurst Symphony, the Pacific Symphony Institute and Youth Orchestra, and the orchestras at Northwestern University and the University of Michigan. Mr. Semanik is principal guest conductor for MIOpera and recently completed his twelfth season as music director of the Savoyaires. Additional operatic credits include productions with Winter Opera St. Louis, Festival Opera, Light Opera Works, Great Lakes Lyric Opera, Ann Arbor Opera, Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company, Comic Opera Guild, Ann Arbor Civic Theater, Opera in the Ozarks, Bradley University, Northwestern University, the University of Michigan, and California State University, Fullerton.

Mr. Semanik holds a doctoral degree in orchestral conducting from Northwestern University and a master’s degree in orchestral conducting from the University of Michigan, studying with Victor Yampolsky and Kenneth Kiesler, respectively. He was a member of the conducting class at the Tanglewood Music Center and was a recipient of the Bruno Walter Scholarship at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music.

DEVIN DESANTIS, tenor Devin DeSantis is overjoyed to be celebrating Christmas with the Colorado Symphony once again. Devin is a Colorado native who grew up in this very hall as a proud member of the Colorado Children’s Chorale, and started his solo career with the Colorado Symphony at the age of 11 in Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, conducted by Marin Alsop. He now lives and works as a performing artist in Chicago. Favorite professional credits include: Tommy in The Who’s Tommy (Jeff Award Nomination Best Actor), Marius in Les Miserables (Jeff Award Nomination Best Supporting Actor), Prince Eric in Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Britt Craig/Young Soldier in Parade, Dr. Frankenstein in Young Frankenstein, Corny Collins in Hairspray, Buddy in the first regional post-Broadway production of Side Show, Nanki-Poo in Hot Mikado, Matthew in Altar Boyz Chicago, the world premiere of The Three Musketeers at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Anyone Can Whistle starring Patti LuPone and Audra McDonald, and The Most Happy Fella starring George Hearn. He was a singer for 4 years in The Radio City Christmas Spectacular starring The Rockettes. He is a graduate of Northwestern University’s School of Music, a member of Actor’s Equity, and Associate Artistic Director/founding member of the Chicago Artists Chorale, currently in their 6th season. He is a lead singer for the Bluewater Kings Band, and a member of the Four C Notes—the Midwest’s only tribute to Franki Valli and the Four Seasons. If you find yourself in Chicago this winter, catch him as Frank Churchill in the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre production of Emma, or see him this spring as Charlie Price in the regional premier of Kinky Boots at the Paramount Theatre. Have courage and be kind.

SOUNDINGS

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PROGRAM 3

HOLIDAY BIOGRAPHIES MARY LOUISE BURKE, creative director for A Colorado Christmas, associate conductor, Colorado Symphony Chorus Mary Louise Burke is in her 26th season as Associate Chorus Director of the Colorado Symphony Chorus. In addition to assisting Chorus Director Duain Wolfe, she also prepares the chorus for various Colorado Symphony pops concerts and special chorus projects. Burke is also Associate Director of the Colorado Children’s Chorale, conducting the Concert Choir and acting as vocal coach for the Chorale. With an expertise in vocal technique, Burke frequently does seminars in vocal and choral techniques for area church and community choirs. She is the Vocal Advisor at Montview Presbyterian Church and has taught classes in “Find Your Authentic Voice” at the University of Denver. She has a Doctorate in Voice Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Colorado.

GARY FRY, composer/arranger Composer of the world-premiere Twas the Night Before Christmas commissioned by the Colorado Symphony Orchestra for these performances. The Emmy Award-winning composer Gary Fry is familiar to audiences here— his arrangements and compositions have been regularly performed on Christmas programs since 1996. He has the distinction of being the most-performed living composer by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, collaborating with conductor Duain Wolfe for 19 years. Many other orchestras from around the country regularly program his music. Long active in commercial music, Fry has composed for film, television, theater, ballet, and more than 2,500 radio and television commercials for McDonald’s, Sears, Kellogg’s, and other major national advertisers. He received a 2006 Emmy Award for his work for Chicago’s CBS affiliate WBBM-TV. Travelers hear Fry’s electronic version of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue in the United Airlines terminal at Chicago’s O’Hare airport. Recently his arrangement of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah was featured on the Netflix series Sense8. Music and education for children are other areas in which Fry is active. His commissions from academic and professional vocal ensembles around the country include the Chicago Symphony Singers, the Colorado Children’s Chorale, the Cincinnati Children’s Choir, and the University of Southern California. The Kansas City Symphony recently commissioned a work for children’s voices and orchestra (Come and Sing a Song with Me) which received its premiere in October 2019, and the West Virginia Symphony just presented the first performance of Fry’s Appalachian Suite for the orchestra and featuring the Appalachian Children’s Chorus.

PROGRAM 4

C O L O R A D O SY M P H O N Y.O R G

HOLIDAY BIOGRAPHIES COLORADO SYMPHONY CHORUS The 2019/20 Colorado Symphony concert season marks the 36th season of the Colorado Symphony Chorus, celebrating their official 35th Anniversary in the autumn of 2019 with a performance of Verdi’s Requiem. Founded in 1984 by Duain Wolfe at the request of Gaetano Delogu, then the Music Director of the Symphony, the chorus has grown over the past three decades into a nationally respected ensemble. This outstanding chorus of 185 volunteers joins the Colorado Symphony for numerous performances (more than 25 this year alone), and radio and television broadcasts, to repeat 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 Valley Music Festival, where it has performed with the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Dallas Symphony. For over two decades, the Chorus has been featured at the world-renowned Aspen Music Festival, performing many great masterworks under the baton of notable conductors Lawrence Foster, James Levine, Murry Sidlin, Leonard Slatkin, Robert Spano, and David Zinman.

Among the seven recordings the Chorus has made is a NAXOS release of Roy Harris’s Symphony No. 4, as well as a remarkable recording of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. 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 their 25th anniversary, Duain Wolfe conducted the Chorus on a 3-country, 2-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. From Evergreen to Brighton, and Boulder to Castle Rock, singers travel each week to rehearsals and performances in Denver, totaling about 80 a year. The Colorado Symphony and Denver community continue to be grateful for the excellence and dedication of this remarkable all-volunteer ensemble. For an audition appointment, visit the symphony website for an online sign up form. www.coloradosymphony.org

SOUNDINGS

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PROGRAM 5

HOLIDAY BIOGRAPHIES COLORADO SYMPHONY CHORUS Duain Wolfe, Founding Director and Conductor; Mary Louise Burke, Associate Conductor; Travis Branam, Taylor Martin, Assistant Conductors; Brian Dukeshier, Hsiao-Ling Lin, Pianists; Eric Israelson, Barbara Porter, Chorus Managers Soprano I Black, Kimberly Brazell, Madeline Brown, Jamie Causey, Denelda Choi, LeEtta H. Coberly, Sarah Collins, Suzanne Coppage, Zoie Emerich, Kate A. Gile, Jenifer D. Gill, Lori C. Graber, Susan Hedrick, Elizabeth Heintzkill, Mary-Therese Hinkley, Lynnae C. Hittle, Erin R. Hofmeister, Mary Jordan, Cameron Joy, Shelley E. Levy, Juliet Look, Cathy Machusko, Rebecca E. Maupin, Anne Mitchell, Angela Moraskie, Wendy L. Plender, Elizabeth Porter, Barbara A. Ropa, Lori A. Saddler, Garlyn Schawel, Camilia Schweitzer, Laura Solich, Stephanie Sladovnik, Roberta A. Stegink, Nicole J. Wuertz, Karen Young, Cara M. Soprano II Ascani, Lori Barker, Ashley Blum, Jude Bowen, Alex S. Brauchli, Margot L. Coberly, Ruth A. Cote, Kerry H. Dakkouri, Claudia Dean, Lindsay Headrick, Alaina Heimann, Abigail Kraft, Lisa D.

PROGRAM 6

Kushnir, Marina Lang, Leanne Linder, Dana Long, Lisa McLaughlin, Sarah Montigne, Erin Nesbit, Angie Nyholm, Christine M. O’Nan, Jeannette R. Pflug, Kim Rae, Donneve S. Roth, Sarah Ruff, Mahli Saddler, Nancy C. Sullivan, Madeleine Tate, Judy Timme, Sydney Travis, Stacey L. Von Roedern, Susan K. Walker, Marcia L. Woodrow, Sandy Zisler, Joan M. Alto I Adams, Priscilla P. Branam, Emily M. Braud-Kern, Charlotte Brown, Kimberly Buesing, Amy Cauthen, Rachael Clauson, Clair T. Conrad, Jayne M. Fairchild, Raleigh Franz, Kirsten D. Frey, Susie Gayley, Sharon R. Groom, Gabriella D. Guittar, Pat Guttmann, Emily Henningson, Linnea Holst, Melissa J. Hoopes, Kaia M. Kim, Annette Kolstad, Annie McNulty, Emily McWaters, Susan Nordenholz, Kristen Passoth, Ginny Pringle, Jennifer Rudolph, Kathi L. Schmicker, Kate

Stevenson, Melanie Thaler, Deanna K. Thayer, Mary B. Tiggelaar, Clara Virtue, Pat York, Beth Alto II Bender-Moore, Jane Boothe, Kay A. Cox, Martha E. Daniel, Sheri L. Deck, Barbara Dominguez, Joyce Eslick, Carol A. Gangware, Elizabeth Golden, Daniela Holmes, Kelsey Hoskins, Hansi Jackson, Brandy H. Janasko, Ellen D. LeBaron, Andrea London, Carole A. Maltzahn, Joanna K. Marchbank, Barbara J. Nelson, Annélise Nittoli, Leslie M. Schalow, Elle C. Scooros, Pamela R. Townsend, Lisa Worthington, Evin Tenor I Dougan, Dustin Gordon, Jr., Frank Guittar, Jr., Forrest Hodel, David K. Jordan, Curt Moraskie, Richard A. Mosser, Shane Muesing, Garvis J. Nicholas, Timothy W. Rehberg, Dallas Reiley, William G. Roach, Eugene Thompson, Hannis Zimmerman, Kenneth Tenor II Babcock, Gary E. Bradley, Mac

C O L O R A D O SY M P H O N Y.O R G

Carlson, James Davies, Dusty R. Dinkel, Jack Fuehrer, Roger Gale, John H. Ibrahim, Sami Jin, Yi Kolm, Kenneth E. Lively, Mark McCracken, Todd Meswarb, Stephen Milligan, Tom A. Richardson, Tyler Ruth, Ronald L. Seamans, Andrew J. Shaw, Kyle Sims, Jerry E. Bass I Adams, John G. Cowen, George Gray, Matthew Grossman, Chris Hesse, Douglas D. Hume, Donald Hunt, Leonard Jirak, Thomas J. Lingenfelter, Paul Plakorus, Ryan Quarles, Kenneth Ragan, Jimmy Ravid, Frederick Smedberg, Matthew Snyder, Kyle Struthers, David R. Bass II Friedlander, Robert Israelson, Eric W. Jackson, Terry L. Kent, Roy A. Morrison, Greg A. Nuccio, Eugene J. Phillips, John R. Potter, Tom Skillings, Russell R. Swanson, Wil W. Taylor, Don Teplansky, Alexander Virtue, Tom G.

HOLIDAY BIOGRAPHIES DEBORAH DESANTIS, artistic director, Colorado Children’s Chorale Deborah DeSantis has been instrumental in the growth and success of the Colorado Children’s Chorale since 1983. She directs Tour Choir, regularly conducts performances throughout metropolitan Denver and has led numerous tours, nationally and internationally. Her passion for artistic excellence and music education has been a driving force in the development of the Chorale’s School Partnership program, which she established in 1994. In addition to designing and directing community performance residencies for the Chorale, she frequently serves as guest clinician and conductor for school and community children’s choral programs throughout the nation. She has a Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Colorado. Debbie has conducted seminars and workshops for Chorus America, the American Choral Director’s Association, Colorado Music Educators Association, the Choristers’ Guild, the Suzuki Institute, and has served as co-chair of Chorus America’s Children/Youth Choir Constituency.

COLORADO CHILDREN’S CHORALE The Colorado Children’s Chorale has been performing with the Colorado Symphony on their Colorado Christmas concert for more than 34 years. The Chorale has brought their artistry and charm to audiences throughout the world since 1974. With a diverse repertoire ranging from fully staged opera and musical theater to standard choral compositions in classical, folk and popular traditions, the Chorale performs with an innovative stage presentation and a unique theatrical spirit. In recognition of its artistic quality, the Chorale was awarded the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, the Mayor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts and the prestigious El Pomar Award for Excellence in Arts and Humanities. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Deborah DeSantis and Executive Director Meg Steitz, the Colorado Children’s Chorale annually trains 500 members between the ages of 7 and 14 from all ethnicities and socio-economic backgrounds representing more than 170 schools in the Denver metro area and beyond. Since its founding, the Chorale has sung countless performances with some of the world’s finest performing arts organizations, performed for numerous dignitaries, and appeared in several television and radio broadcasts. The Performance Program includes a series of self-produced concerts, numerous performances with other Colorado arts organizations and touring around the world. The Chorale presents annual performances of Christmas with the Children’s Chorale and Spring with the Children’s Chorale at Boettcher Concert Hall, A Classical Afternoon at Montview Presbyertian plus Performing Small Miracles and Spring Fling Sing! in venues across the metro area. This season also includes Tosca with Opera Colorado, Peter Pan with the Colorado Ballet, and Carousel with Central City Opera.

SOUNDINGS

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PROGRAM 7

HOLIDAY BIOGRAPHIES COLORADO CHILDREN’S CHORALE Deborah DeSantis, Artistic Director Mary Louise Burke, Associate Director TOUR CHOIR James Algermissen Ella Basham Madi Bishop Gabi Bustamante Pryce Cantrell Carson Cash Ethan Conklin Lucy Crile Emily Cull Bianca Curtiss-Schmidt Melissa Dai Logan Day-Richter Katie Dupper Clara Frey Sofia Gessler Izzy Getsch Noelle Gibson Junhee Graf Bella Grant Tori Greer Migui Guajardo Tihun Hann Jackson Hasserd Ethan Hecker Gunnar Henry Elena Higgins Graham Higgins Violet Higgins RuAnn Hollingsworth Adedoyin Jaiyesimi Elliot Jenkins Ian Johnson Shaedryn Klein Nora Knight Ariana Lavezza Eli Maize Vaughn Mason Jacob Mays Noah Meyerhoff Maressa Mora-Calderon Levi Morris

PROGRAM 8

Lily Moyer Amelia Muldrow Finn Murry Sarah Myers Bella Newton Kason Nicholas Sophie Park Jonathan Pitzer Vivian Pitzer Julia Rippons Emelie Rosenberg Sara Schott Parker Seeman Leah Sepulveda Conor Sharpe Lily Sharpe Drew Shoup Jack Shoup Claire Sladovnik Danni Sternlicht Oliver Strubbe Ira Timme Annika Visser Asha Wagner Blaise Weinig Alaina Wharton Johnson Zhu CONCERT CHOIR Veronika Amundson Olivia Atkins Hanbei Bao Emmy Barnacle Kourtnie Batcho Kinsley Bau Alexa Bishop Alice Britton Saniyah Brooks Logan Chamberlain Felicia Colahan Sophia Connolly Vanessa Conty

Ghita Cordova Carly Crile Finn Donahue Raeya Engstrom Brian Erickson Quincy Essary Makenzi Ewing Annie Fialka Tayla Folle Lorena Franklin Cassady Frederick Sylvie Frey Amelia Gassen Sarah Gee Lyla Getsch Junah Graf Izzy Gusmus Emilia Heeres Silas Helton Reagan Henderson Hannah Hoffman Cam Jackson Dovie James Rachel Johnson Liam Jones Jake Jui Tess Jui Alaya Kingsbury Alexa Krug Cam Lewis Soliah Maceo July Madsen Molly Magley Mackenzie Malloy Abby Martin Sofie Mason Micah Mays Vanessa Meredith Adah Meyerhoff Kenny Millard Bella Mitchell Sloane Moritz

C O L O R A D O SY M P H O N Y.O R G

Bianca Morris Anjali Morrison Liam O’Connor Kate Olson Aubrey O’Neill Clara Paterson Eloise Peters Taytum Peterson Ariana Pezic Peter Politis Nash Politte Walker Politte Avie Powers Marion Powers Selina Rakhmanova Max Reed Lia Rivera Grace Rolf Elise Rosen-Kelly Macy Sampson Bella Sandoval Reece Scyphers Alexander Segesman Harry Shamos Hayley Smith Calder Svoboda Kristina Tkachenko Sofia Tkachenko Zach Wachter Anna Wang Gabe Ward Joy Wiebel Ella Williams Mary Kate Wilson Caroline Wolfinger Sheena Wu Sarah Yang David Zwyer

SPOTLIGHT

STEINWAY PIANO SPONSOR

2019/20

2019/20 SEASON PRESENTING SPONSOR:

ALL BEETHOVEN – 250TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION PERFORMED BY YOUR COLORADO SYMPHONY BERTIE BAIGENT, conductor BENJAMIN RANDALL, piano--winner of the Schmitt Music Piano Competition Monday, December 16, 2019 at 7:30pm Boettcher Concert Hall

BEETHOVEN

Overture to Egmont, Op. 84

BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73 Allegro — INTERMISSION —

BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67 Allegro con brio Andante con moto Allegro Allegro

CONCERT RUN TIME IS APPROXIMATELY 1 HOUR AND 21 MINUTES WITH A 20 MINUTE INTERMISSION.

FIRST TIME TO THE SYMPHONY? SEE PAGE 8 OF THIS PROGRAM FOR FAQ’S TO MAKE YOUR EXPERIENCE GREAT!

Monday’s Concert is Gratefully Dedicated to Beyond Campus Innovations PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY SOUNDINGS

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PROGRAM 9

SPOTLIGHT BIOGRAPHIES

PHOTO: BEN DURRANT

BERTIE BAIGENT, assistant conductor Bertie Baigent is rapidly building an international reputation as an exciting and dynamic conductor-composer. He is Assistant Conductor of the Colorado Symphony, Music Director of Waterperry Opera Festival and Principal Guest Conductor of the Denver Young Artists Orchestra; other groups he has worked with include the Dallas Symphony, the WDR Sinfonieorchester, and the Gürzenich-Orchester. Bertie has assisted conductors including Sir Mark Elder, Edward Gardner, and Jac van Steen, and has participated in masterclasses with Martyn Brabbins, Pierre-André Valade, and as part of the Dirigentenforum in Germany. Winner of the Royal Academy of Music’s Sir Henry Wood Scholarship and Ernest Read Prize in 2017, Bertie was the youngest semi-finalist in the London Symphony Orchestra Donatella Flick Conducting Competition 2018, and in 2017 participated in the Deutscher Dirigentenpreis. He is a Lies Askonas Fellow with Askonas Holt. ​Also at home in the world of opera, recent engagements have included The Magic Flute at Waterperry Opera Festival, Partenope for Hampstead Garden Opera, and work with Helios Opera and OperaUpClose. New music is particularly important to Bertie, with collaborations including those with the London Sinfonietta, the Phaedra Ensemble, the Royal Academy Contemporary Ensemble, and 4|12 Collective. Bertie’s compositions have been widely performed by artists such as the Aurora Orchestra, the Britten Sinfonia, the Choir of St Paul’s Cathedral, and the viol consort Fretwork, and have been heard in venues such as the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and the Royal Festival Hall. He has been awarded prizes and commissions by organizations including the Royal Philharmonic Society, the BBC, the National Centre for Early Music, and the Royal College of Organists. His works have been broadcast on BBC Radio 3, Classic FM, and other European radio stations, and are published by Stainer & Bell.

Bertie is a prize-winning Fellow of the Royal College of Organists, and trained as a cellist and pianist before focusing on conducting and composition. He read music at the University of Cambridge, graduating with a double first in 2016, and subsequently completed his master’s at the Royal Academy of Music, graduating with distinction and DipRAM in 2018.

PROGRAM 10

C O L O R A D O SY M P H O N Y.O R G

SPOTLIGHT BIOGRAPHIES BENJAMIN RANDALL, piano Benjamin Randall has played piano since he was six years old. In high school, Randall studied with Dr. Joan Sawyer and has received additional training from Dr. Zahari Metchkov, who studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music. He is currently studying under Dr. Jennifer Hayghe, an Associate Professor of Piano at CU-Boulder’s College of Music. Hayghe received her bachelors, masters, and doctorate degree in piano performance from The Juilliard School, where she was the last student of the legendary artist-teacher Adele Marcus. Known for his virtuosity and tonal control, Randall received the highest score in his division for his audition and was subsequently selected as a roster member of the prestigious Young Musicians Foundation of Colorado (YMF). Locally recognized as one of Colorado’s up-and-coming young artists, he has given numerous solo recitals across the state including performances for the Rocky Mountain Music Alliance, Young Musicians Foundation of Colorado, and the Colorado State Music Teachers Association Conference. An avid competitor, Randall has won many first place music awards, including the Colorado MTNA Senior Piano Competition, the Schmitt Music Steinway Concerto Competition, PPMTA-CSYSA Piano Concerto Competition, the CSMTA Rising Stars Lower and Upper Senior Piano Competitions, the Chamber Orchestra of the Springs Young Artist Competition, and the Pueblo Keyboard Arts Festival Young Artist Competition. In celebration of the 250th anniversary of the birth of Ludwig van Beethoven, Randall is performing Beethoven’s Fifth Piano Concerto with a number of Colorado orchestras. He had his solo debut with the Colorado Springs Youth Symphony, performed with The Chamber Orchestra of the Springs and will perform with the Pikes Peak Philharmonic during their 2020 season. Randall is a third generation native of Southern Colorado. He was homeschooled through high school when he also attended The Classical Academy – College Pathways and Pikes Peak Community College. While continuing his piano performance career, Randall plans to also study actuarial mathematics at the University of Colorado – Colorado Springs (UCCS). When he is not studying or practicing, he enjoys volleyball and mountain biking.

SOUNDINGS

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SPOTLIGHT PROGRAM NOTES LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827): Overture to Goethe’s Egmont, Op. 84 Ludwig van Beethoven was born on December 16, 1770 in Bonn and died March 26, 1827 in Vienna.

He composed the incidental music to Goethe’s play of 1787 between October 1809 and June 1810; the Overture was the last of the nine pieces to be written. This music was first heard on June 15, 1810 to accompany a performance of Egmont at Vienna’s Hofburgtheater. The score calls for pairs of woodwinds plus piccolo, four horns, two trumpets, timpani, and strings. Duration is about 9 minutes.

The orchestra last performed the piece on November 30, December 1 & 2, 2018, with Hans Graf on the podium.

“The first casualty when war comes,” observed Senator Hiram Johnson in 1917, “is truth.” So when Napoleon invaded Vienna in May 1809, convinced that the Austrian Empire was the major stumbling-block to his domination of Europe, it is not surprising that censorship of literature, of the press, and of the theater were instituted immediately. The months until the French departed in October were bitter ones for the Viennese. The value of the national currency dwindled, food was in short supply, and freedoms were limited. Soon after the first of the year, with Napoleon’s forces gone, the director of the Hoftheater, Josef Härtel, arranged for the production of a series of revivals of the dramas of Schiller and Goethe, the great figures of the German stage.

Appropriately, two plays that he chose dealt with the oppression of a noble people by a foreign tyrant, and of the eventual freedom the patriots won for themselves — Schiller’s William Tell and Goethe’s Egmont.

CLASSICS

Chopin Piano Concerto No. 2 featuring Ingrid Fliter FEB 7-9 FRI-SAT 7:30 SUN 1:00 n

Jun Märkl, conductor Ingrid Fliter, piano CHOPIN Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21 DEBUSSY La Mer RAVEL La Valse

tickets: coloradosymphony.org PROGRAM 12

C O L O R A D O SY M P H O N Y.O R G

SPOTLIGHT PROGRAM NOTES Beethoven was commissioned to write the music for Goethe’s 1789 play. (Adalbert Gyrowetz was assigned William Tell. Rossini’s operatic setting of the tale was still two decades in the future.) Egmont, based on an incident from 1567, depicts the subjugation of the Netherlands to the tyrannical Spanish rulers, the agony of the people, and their growing defiance and dreams of liberty, and ends with Count Egmont’s call for revolution and his vision of eventual victory in the moments before his execution.

The theme of political oppression overthrown in the name of freedom was also treated by Beethoven in his only opera, Fidelio, and the musical process employed there also served well for Egmont. The triumph of good over evil, of light over darkness, is portrayed through the overall structure of the work: major tonalities replace minor at the moment of victory; bright orchestral sonorities succeed somber, threatening ones; fanfares displace sinuous melodies. The Overture compresses the action of the play into a single musical span. A stark unison begins the introduction. Twice, stern chords from the strings are answered by the lyrical plaints of the woodwinds. The main body of the Overture commences with an ominous melody in the cellos. A storm quickly gathers (note the timpani strokes), but clears to allow the appearance of the contrasting second theme, a quicker version of the material from the introduction. The threatening mood returns to carry the music through its developmental central section and into the recapitulation. A falling, unison fourth followed by a silence marks the moment of Egmont’s death. Organ-like chords from the winds sustain the moment of suspense. Then, beginning almost imperceptibly but growing with an exhilarating rapidity, the stirring song of victory is proclaimed by the full orchestra. Tyranny is conquered. Right prevails.

 Movement I from Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73, “Emperor” Beethoven composed this last of his concertos in 1809 in Vienna. The first performance was in Leipzig on November 11, 1811, with Friedrich Schneider as soloist and Johann Philipp Christian Schulz conducting. The score calls for woodwinds in pairs, two horns, two trumpets, timpani, and strings.

Duration of the first movement is about 20 minutes. Jeffery Kahane was the soloist and Jun Märkl conducted the orchestra when the piece was last performed on December 5-7, 2014.

The year 1809 was a difficult one for Vienna and for Beethoven. In May, Napoleon invaded the city with enough firepower to send the residents scurrying and Beethoven into the basement of his brother’s house. The bombardment was close enough that he covered his sensitive ears with pillows to protect them from the concussion of the blasts. On July 29th, he wrote to the publisher Breitkopf und Härtel, “We have passed through a great deal of misery. I tell you that since May 4th, I have brought into the world little that is connected; only here and there a fragment. The whole course of events has affected me body and soul.... What a disturbing, wild life around me; nothing but drums, cannons, men, misery of all sorts.” He bellowed his frustration at a French officer he chanced to meet: “If I were a general and knew as much about strategy as I do about counterpoint, I’d give you fellows something to think about.” Austria’s finances were SOUNDINGS

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SPOTLIGHT PROGRAM NOTES in shambles, and the annual stipend Beethoven had been promised by several noblemen who supported his work was considerably reduced in value, placing him in a precarious pecuniary predicament. As a sturdy tree can root in flinty soil, however, a great musical work grew from these unpromising circumstances — by the end of that very year, 1809, Beethoven had completed his “Emperor” Concerto.

The sobriquet “Emperor” attached itself to the E-flat Concerto very early, though it was not of Beethoven’s doing. If anything, he would have objected to the name. “Emperor” equaled “Napoleon” for Beethoven, as for many Europeans of the time, and anyone familiar with the story of the “Eroica” Symphony will remember how that particular ruler had tumbled from the great composer’s esteem. “This man will trample the rights of men underfoot and become a greater tyrant than any other,” he rumbled to his young friend and pupil Ferdinand Ries. The Concerto’s name may have been tacked on by an early publisher or pianist because of the grand character of the work, or it may have originated with the purported exclamation during the premiere by a French officer at one particularly noble passage, “C’est l’Empereur!” The most likely explanation, however, was given by Anton Schindler, long-time friend and early biographer of Beethoven.

The Viennese premiere, it seems, took place at a celebration of the Emperor’s birthday.

The Concerto opens with broad chords for orchestra answered by piano before the main theme is announced by the violins. The following orchestral tutti embraces a rich variety of secondary themes leading to a repeat of all the material by the piano accompanied by the orchestra. A development ensues with “the fury of a hail-storm,” wrote Sir Donald Tovey.

CLASSICS

Beethoven Missa Solemnis featuring the Colorado Symphony Chorus FEB 21-23 FRI-SAT 7:30 SUN 1:00 n

Brett Mitchell, conductor Jessica Rivera, soprano, Meg Bragle, alto John Tessier, tenor, Sidney Outlaw, baritone Colorado Symphony Chorus, Duain Wolfe, director BEETHOVEN Missa Solemnis, Op. 123

tickets: coloradosymphony.org

PROGRAM 14

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SPOTLIGHT PROGRAM NOTES Following a recapitulation of the themes and the sounding of a proper chord on which to launch a cadenza, Beethoven wrote into the piano part, “Do not play a cadenza, but begin immediately what follows.” At this point, he supplied a tiny, written-out solo passage that begins the coda.

This being the first of his concertos that Beethoven himself would not play, he wanted to have more control over the finished product, and so he prescribed exactly what the soloist was to do.

With this novel device, he initiated the practice of completely writing out all solo passages that was to become the standard method used by most later composers in their concertos.

 Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67 According to Beethoven’s 19th-century biographer Alexander Wheelock Thayer, the earliest sketches for the Fifth Symphony date from 1800. Beethoven took up the sketches again four years later, and composed the score largely between 1805 and 1808. He conducted the work’s premiere on December 22, 1808 at Vienna’s Theater an der Wien. The score calls for woodwinds in pairs plus piccolo and contrabassoon, two horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, and strings. Duration is about 35 minutes. Last performance took place on September 15-17, 2017, with Brett Mitchell leading the orchestra.

Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, more than any work in the musical repertory, is the archetypal example of the technique and content of the form. Its overall structure is not one of four independent essays linked simply by tonality and style, as in the typical 18th-century example, but is rather a carefully devised whole in which each of the movements serves to carry the work inexorably toward its end. The progression from minor to major, from dark to light, from conflict to resolution is at the very heart of the “meaning” of this work. The triumphant nature of the final movement as the logical outcome of all that preceded it established a model for the symphonies of the Romantic era. The psychological progression toward the finale — the relentless movement toward a life-affirming close — is one of Beethoven’s most important technical and emotional legacies, and it established for following generations the concept of how such a creation could be structured, and in what manner it should engage the listener.

The opening gesture is the most famous beginning in all of classical music. It establishes the stormy temper of the Allegro by presenting the germinal cell from which the entire movement grows. Though it is possible to trace this memorable four-note motive through most of the measures of the movement, the eminent English musicologist Sir Donald Tovey has pointed out that the power of the music is not contained in this fragment, but rather in the “long sentences” that Beethoven built from it. The key to appreciating Beethoven’s formal structures lies in being aware of the way in which the music moves constantly from one point of arrival to the next.

The gentler second theme derives from the opening motive, and gives only a brief respite in the headlong rush that hurtles through the movement. It provides the necessary contrast while doing nothing to impede the music’s flow. The development section is a paragon of cohesion,

SOUNDINGS

2 0 1 9/2 0 PROGRAM 15

SPOTLIGHT PROGRAM NOTES logic and concision. The recapitulation roars forth after a series of breathless chords that pass from woodwinds to strings and back. The stark hammer-blows of the closing chords bring the movement to its powerful end.

The second movement is a set of variations on two contrasting themes. The first theme, presented by violas and cellos, is sweet and lyrical in nature; the second, heard in horns and trumpets, is heroic. The ensuing variations on the themes alternate to produce a movement by turns gentle and majestic.

The Scherzo returns the tempestuous character of the opening movement, as the four-note motto from the first movement is heard again in a brazen setting led by the horns. The fughetta, the “little fugue,” of the central trio is initiated by the cellos and basses. The Scherzo returns with the mysterious tread of the plucked strings, after which the music wanes until little more than a heartbeat from the timpani remains. Then begins another accumulation of intensity, first gradually, then more quickly, as a link to the finale, which arrives with a glorious proclamation, like brilliant sun bursting through ominous clouds.

The finale, set in the triumphant key of C major, is jubilant and martial. The sonata form proceeds apace. At the apex of the development, however, the mysterious end of the Scherzo is invoked to serve as the link to the return of the main theme in the recapitulation. It also recalls and compresses the emotional journey of the entire Symphony. The closing pages repeat the cadence chords extensively as a way of discharging the work’s enormous accumulated energy.

Concerning the effect of the “struggle to victory” that is symbolized by the structure of the Fifth Symphony, a quote that Beethoven scribbled in a notebook of the Archduke Rudolf, one of his aristocratic piano students, is pertinent. The composer wrote, “Many assert that every minor [tonality] piece must end in the minor. Nego! On the contrary, I find that ... the major [tonality] has a glorious effect. Joy follows sorrow, sunshine — rain. It affects me as if I were looking up to the silvery glistening of the evening star.” ©2019 Dr. Richard E. Rodda

PROGRAM 16

C O L O R A D O SY M P H O N Y.O R G