Neighborhood Program Book - June/July 2022

DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA PRESENTS

2021-2022 CONCERT SERIES MADE POSSIBLE BY THE WILLIAM DAVIDSON FOUNDATION

BEETHOVEN: SYMPHONY NO. 4

BEETHOVEN: SYMPHONY NO. 1

June 16–19 SOUTHFIELD MONROE BEVERLY HILLS

July 14–17 WEST BLOOMFIELD LIVONIA BLOOMFIELD HILLS GROSSE POINTE

June/July 2022

Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Inc. LIFETIME MEMBERS

CHAIRS EMERITI

DIRECTORS EMERITI

OFFICERS

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Directors are responsible for maintaining a culture of accountability, resource development, and strategic thinking.

As fiduciaries, Directors oversee the artistic and cultural health and strategic direction of the DSO.

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Samuel Frankel◊ Stanley Frankel David Handleman, Sr.◊

Dr. Arthur L. Johnson◊ James B. Nicholson Clyde Wu, M.D.◊

Peter D. Cummings Phillip Wm. Fisher Stanley Frankel

Robert S. Miller James B. Nicholson

Floy Barthel Chacona Baugh Penny B. Blumenstein John A. Boll, Sr. Richard A. Brodie Lois Cohn Marianne Endicott Sidney Forbes Barbara Frankel

Herman H. Frankel Dr. Gloria Heppner Ronald Horwitz Harold Kulish Bonnie Larson David McCammon David R. Nelson William F. Pickard, Ph.D. Marilyn Pincus

Lloyd E. Reuss Marjorie S. Saulson Alan E. Schwartz Jane Sherman David Usher Barbara Van Dusen Arthur A. Weiss

Mark A. Davidoff Chair

Hon. Kurtis T. Wilder (Ret.) Secretary

Shirley Stancato Officer at Large

Erik Rönmark President & CEO

Pamela Applebaum Officer at Large

James G. Vella Officer at Large

David T. Provost Vice Chair

Ralph J. Gerson Officer at Large

Faye Alexander Nelson Treasurer

Glenda D. Price, Ph.D. Officer at Large

David Assemany Governing Members Chair Elena Centeio Aaron Frankel Herman B. Gray, M.D., M.B.A. Laura Hernandez-Romine Rev. Nicholas Hood III Richard Huttenlocher

Renato Jamett Trustee Chair Daniel J. Kaufman Michael J. Keegan Arthur C. Liebler Xavier Mosquet Arthur T. O’Reilly Stephen R. Polk

WILLIAM DAVIDSON NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERT SERIES PROGRAM

BOARD OF TRUSTEES Renato Jamett, Chair Trustees are a diverse group of community leaders who infuse creative thinking and innovation into how the DSO strives to achieve both artistic vitality and organizational sustainability.

Ismael Ahmed Richard Alonzo Hadas Bernard Janice Bernick Elizabeth Boone Gwen Bowlby Marco Bruzzano Margaret Cooney Casey Karen Cullen Joanne Danto Stephen R. D’Arcy Maureen T. D’Avanzo Jasmin DeForrest Afa Sadykhly Dworkin Peter Falzon James C. Farber Linda Forte Maha Freij Carolynn Frankel Maha Freij Christa Funk Robert Gillette Jody Glancy Malik Goodwin Mary Ann Gorlin

Bernard I. Robertson Scott Strong Orchestra Representative Nancy Tellem Laura J. Trudeau Dr. M. Roy Wilson David M. Wu, M.D. Johanna Yarbrough Orchestra Representative

JUNE/JULY 2022

Donald Hiruo Michelle Hodges Julie Hollinshead John Jullens David Karp Joel D. Kellman Jennette Smith Kotila Leonard LaRocca William Lentine Linda Dresner Levy Florine Mark Anthony McCree Kristen McLennan Tito Melega Lydia Michael Lois A. Miller H. Keith Mobley Scott Monty Shari Morgan Sandy Morrison Frederick J. Morsches Jennifer Muse, NextGen Chair Nicholas Myers, Musician Representative Sean M. Neall

Eric Nemeth Maury Okun Vivian Pickard Denise Fair Razo Gerrit Reepmeyer Richard Robinson James Rose, Jr. Laurie Rosen Elana Rugh Marc Schwartz Carlo Serraiocco Lois L. Shaevsky Mary Shafer Cathryn M. Skedel, Ph.D. Ralph Skiano, Musician Representative Richard Sonenklar Rob Tanner Yoni Torgow Gwen Weiner Donnell White Jennifer Whitteaker R. Jamison Williams Margaret E. Winters Ellen Hill Zeringue

MAESTRO CIRCLE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Janet & Norm Ankers, Chairs

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Cecilia Benner

Joanne Danto

Gregory Haynes

Bonnie Larson

Lois Miller

Richard Sonenklar

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WILLIAM DAVIDSON NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERT SERIES PROGRAM 3

DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

DETROIT DETROIT SYMPHONY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ORCHESTRA AA COMMUNITY-SUPPORTE D ORCHESTRA COMMUNITY-SUPPORTED ORCHESTRA

JADER BIGNAMINI MUSIC DIRECTOR JADER BIGNAMINI MUSIC DIRECTOR

A COMMUN ITY-SUPPORTE D ORCHESTRA

DETROIT DETROIT SYMPHONY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ORCHESTRA AA COMMUNITY-SUPPORTE D ORCHESTRA COMMUNITY-SUPPORTED ORCHESTRA

DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

JADER BIGNAMINI MUSIC DIRECTOR JADER BIGNAMINI MUSIC DIRECTOR

A COMMUN ITY-SUPPORTE D ORCHESTRA

JADER BIGNAMINI, Music Director

JEFF TYZIK

FIRST VIOLIN Kimberly Kaloyanides Kennedy

ACTING CONCERTMASTER Katherine Tuck Chair

Hai-Xin Wu

ACTING ASSOCIATE CONCERTMASTER Schwartz and Shapero Family Chair

Jennifer Wey Fang ASSISTANT CONCERTMASTER Walker L. Cisler/Detroit Edison Foundation Chair

Marguerite Deslippe* Laurie Goldman* Rachel Harding Klaus* Eun Park Lee* Adrienne Rönmark* Laura Soto* Greg Staples* Jiamin Wang* Mingzhao Zhou*

SECOND VIOLIN Adam Stepniewski ACTING PRINCIPAL The Devereaux Family Chair

Will Haapaniemi*

David and Valerie McCammon Chairs

Hae Jeong Heidi Han*

David and Valerie McCammon Chairs

Sheryl Hwangbo Yu* Sujin Lim* Hong-Yi Mo* Alexandros Sakarellos*

Drs. Doris Tong and Teck Soo Chair

Marian Tanau* Alexander Volkov* Jing Zhang*

VIOLA Eric Nowlin PRINCIPAL Julie and Ed Levy, Jr. Chair

James VanValkenburg ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

Caroline Coade Henry and Patricia Nickol Chair

Glenn Mellow Hang Su Shanda Lowery-Sachs Hart Hollman Han Zheng Mike Chen

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Music Directorship endowed by the Kresge Foundation

TERENCE BLANCHARD

LEONARD SLATKIN

NEEME JÄRVI

Fred A. Erb Jazz Creative Director Chair

Music Director Laureate

Music Director Emeritus

CELLO Wei Yu PRINCIPAL

Abraham Feder

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL Dorothy and Herbert Graebner Chair

Robert Bergman* Jeremy Crosmer*

Victor and Gale Girolami Cello Chair

ENGLISH HORN Monica Fosnaugh

Shari and Craig Morgan Chair

CLARINET Ralph Skiano

PRINCIPAL Robert B. Semple Chair

Jack Walters

PVS Chemicals Inc./ Jim and Ann Nicholson Chair

BEETHOVEN: SYMPHONY NO. 4

PRINCIPAL Richard and Mona Alonzo Chair

James Ritchie ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

Una O’Riordan*

E-FLAT CLARINET Laurence Liberson

Andrés Pichardo-Rosenthal

BASS CLARINET Shannon Orme

James Ritchie

BASS Kevin Brown PRINCIPAL Van Dusen Family Chair

Stephen Molina ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

Christopher Hamlen Brandon Mason Nicholas Myers

HARP Patricia Masri-Fletcher PRINCIPAL Winifred E. Polk Chair

FLUTE Hannah Hammel PRINCIPAL Alan J. and Sue Kaufman and Family Chair

Amanda Blaikie Morton and Brigitte Harris Chair

Sharon Sparrow ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL Bernard and Eleanor Robertson Chair

Jeffery Zook

PICCOLO Jeffery Zook

Shari and Craig Morgan Chair

OBOE Alexander Kinmonth

PRINCIPAL Jack A. and Aviva Robinson Chair

Sarah Lewis ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

Monica Fosnaugh

Barbara Frankel and Ronald Michalak Chair

BASSOON Michael Ke Ma

CONTRABASSOON Marcus Schoon^ HORN Karl Pituch PRINCIPAL

Johanna Yarbrough Scott Strong

Ric and Carola Huttenlocher Chair

David Everson ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL William Cody Knicely Chair

LIBRARIANS Robert Stiles PRINCIPAL

Ethan Allen

PERSONNEL MANAGERS Patrick Peterson

DIRECTOR OF ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL

Benjamin Tisherman

MANAGER OF ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL

STAGE PERSONNEL Dennis Rottell STAGE MANAGER

Ryan DeMarco

DEPARTMENT HEAD

Noel Keesee

DEPARTMENT HEAD

Mark Abbott

Steven Kemp

TRUMPET

Matthew Pons

Hunter Eberly PRINCIPAL Lee and Floy Barthel Chair

Michael Sarkissian

Kevin Good Stephen Anderson ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

William Lucas TROMBONE Kenneth Thompkins PRINCIPAL

David Binder

WILLIAM DAVIDSON NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERT SERIES PROGRAM

Thursday, June 16, 2022 at 7:30 p.m. at Congregation Shaarey Zedek Friday, June 17, 2022 at 8 p.m. at Meyer Theater, Monroe Community College Sunday, June 19, 2022 at 3 p.m. at Seligman Performing Arts Center

PRINCIPAL Ruth Roby and Alfred R. Glancy III Chair

ACTING PRINCIPAL

Marcus Schoon^ Jaquain Sloan §

NEEME JÄRVI Music Director Emeritus

TIMPANI Jeremy Epp

PERCUSSION Joseph Becker

Mary Ann & Robert Gorlin Chair

LEONARD SLATKIN Music Director Laureate

WILLIAM DAVIDSON NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERT SERIES

Shannon Orme

Cole Randolph*

TERENCE BLANCHARD Fred A. Erb Jazz Creative Director Chair

PRINCIPAL

Laurence Liberson

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

JEFF TYZIK

Principal Pops Conductor

TUBA Dennis Nulty

David LeDoux* Peter McCaffrey*

Joanne Deanto and Arnold Weingarden Chair

JADER BIGNAMINI MUSIC DIRECTOR

JADER BIGNAMINI, Music Director

Music Directorship endowed by the Kresge Foundation Principal Pops Conductor

JADER BIGNAMINI MUSIC DIRECTOR

DEPARTMENT HEAD

KEREM HASAN, conductor KIMBERLY KALOYANIDES KENNEDY, violin Zoltán Kodály Dances of Galánta (1882 - 1967) Lento - maestoso Allegretto moderato Allegro con moto, grazioso Allegro Allegro vivace Max Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26 (1838 - 1920) Prelude: Allegro moderato Adagio Finale: Allegro energico Kimberly Kaloyanides Kennedy, violin

Intermission

Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 4 in B-flat major, Op. 60 (1770 - 1827) Adagio - Allegro vivace Adagio Allegro vivace Allegro ma non troppo

DEPARTMENT HEAD DEPARTMENT HEAD

LEGEND * These members may voluntarily revolve seating within the section on a regular basis ^ On sabbatical § African American Orchestra Fellow

JUNE/JULY 2022

The William Davidson Neighborhood Concert Series is made possible by a generous grant from the William Davidson Foundation. WRCJ 90.9 FM also supports the Series. dso.org

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WILLIAM DAVIDSON NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERT SERIES PROGRAM 5

PROGRAM NOTES Dances of Galánta Composed 1933| Premiered 1933

ZOLTÁN KODÁLY B. December 16, 1882, Kecskemét, Hungary D. March 6, 1967, Budapest, Hungary

Scored for 2 flutes (1 doubling piccolo), 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, percussion, and strings. (Approx. 17 minutes)

Z

oltán Kodály joined Béla Bartók in the monumental task of collecting and transcribing Hungarian folk music, and Galánta was the first village he visited to write down the melodies he had heard in his childhood. He celebrated the village in his composition Dances of Galánta, written for the 80th anniversary of the Budapest Philharmonic.

In his biography of the composer, Kodály scholar Lazlo Eosze refers to the overall design of the work as an introduction, a free five-part rondo followed by an even longer coda. But people who have heard the rhapsodies of Liszt and Bartók might also recognize the familiar lassu/friss (slow/fast) design of a typical Hungarian rhapsody.

The rhapsodic character of the piece is further defined by the elastic tempos that permeate the piece and the lonely, yearning quality of its melodies. In the introduction, successive incantations by the cellos, horn, and oboe are answered by rushing passages in the strings, finally culminating in a long clarinet solo that evolves into a cadenza—and from there into the main theme of the rondo. This long, winding main theme returns twice in full-orchestra settings, each time preceded by faster-paced episodes. The flute against an accompaniment of pizzicato strings leads the first one, while a short oboe solo heralds the second, which is highlighted by the colorful sound of tinkling orchestra bells.

Pitted against the pull toward ever-faster tempos, the final return of

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the main theme breaks off, giving way to a syncopated rhythm announcing the beginning of the coda. This chain of exuberant dances roughly divides itself into four sections, including a droll conversation among the clarinet, flute, bassoon, and cellos. The main theme of the slow rondo briefly interrupts the music’s headlong dash toward its final cadence. – Carl R. Cunningham The DSO most recently performed Kodály’s Dances of Galánta in July 2014, conducted by Michael Stern. The DSO first performed the piece in March 1939, conducted by Franco Ghione.

Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26 Composed 1867 | Premiered 1868

MAX BRUCH B. January 6, 1838, Cologne, Germany D. October 2, 1920, Friedenau near Berlin, Germany

Scored for solo violin, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, and strings.

(Approx. 23 minutes)

M

ax Bruch was a highly talented mid-19th century German composer whose fame was overshadowed by those of his near-contemporary, Johannes Brahms and Richard Wagner. The son of a police official, he began to compose at the age of nine and won the Frankfurt Mozart-Stiftung Prize when he was 14. He studied with Ferdinand Hiller, Carl Reinecke, and Ferdinand Breuning. Bruch composed three violin concertos, three fine symphonies, dramatic works, and numerous choral works, both sacred and secular. He attained increasingly important positions in Koblenz, Sondershausen, Berlin, Liverpool, and Breslau, finally directing a composition class at Berlin’s famed High School for Music for 21 years. He was essentially a conservative composer, rejecting the tenets of the Wagner-Liszt New German

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School in favor of the works of Mendelssohn and Schumann. By the time he died at age 82, Romanticism had given way to 20th century trends and his music was considered outdated, notwithstanding its fine craftsmanship and appealing melody.

Despite the seemingly spontaneous flow of beautiful melody in Bruch’s G minor Concerto, the piece cost him four years of labor and six drafts of the score.

In that long process, two famous violinists, Joseph Joachim and Ferdinand David, had been consulted to make sure the solo part was playable on the violin.

The first movement of Bruch’s concerto flows into the slow movement without a break, as it does in Mendelssohn’s famed Violin Concerto in E minor. But the movement is a less complete, fullyrounded sonata-allegro movement than its counterpart in the Mendelssohn concerto. An introductory section, alternating several chorale-like phrases in the orchestra with short solo violin cadenzas, leads the solo violinist to the main theme, which thrusts itself downward in a G minor broken-chord passage. The second theme, also introduced by the soloist, has a similar profile but a more lyrical character and more intricate, decorative rhythms.

Both themes are discussed and reworked in an impassioned development section, but the chorale phrases and cadenzas marking the return of the main key merely dissolve in a transition to the slow movement, instead of heralding a full recapitulation section. The middle movement offers an unbroken string of beautiful melody. Its three themes hauntingly anticipate the styles of Mahler and Strauss by about 25-30 years. As the orchestra begins the last of them, the violin embarks on an extended filigree passage that takes up most of the movement’s middle section. This leads to a more elaborate, decorative return of all three themes.

In his recent biography of Bruch, Christopher Fifield notes that the main themes in the final movements of the Bruch and Brahms violin concertos share similar “Hungarian” traits, noting that dso.org

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Joachim, a Hungarian violinist, served as adviser to both composers. After a lengthy presentation, this lively G major theme gives way to a broad second theme in D major. The main theme is extensively developed under figurative display by the violin, followed by a return of the second theme (this time chasing itself in canonic imitation) and an exuberant burst of the opening “Hungarian-theme” materials as the concerto comes to a close. – Carl R. Cunningham The DSO most recently performed Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor in October 2019, conducted by Jader Bignamini and featuring violinist Yoonshin Song. The DSO first performed the piece in March 1917, conducted by Weston Gales and featuring violinist William Grafing King.

Symphony No. 4 in B-flat major, Op. 60 Composed 1806 | Premiered 1807

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN B. December 1770, Bonn, Germany D. March 26, 1827, Vienna, Austria

Scored for flute, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, and strings. (Approx. 32 minutes)

W

ere Beethoven’s Fourth Symphony the work of any other composer active during the first decade of the nineteenth century, it would establish its author as one of the major musical figures of his day. But unfortunately for Beethoven, this work stands between two of its creator’s most dramatic and popular compositions, the Third and Fifth Symphonies, and is therefore rather in their shadow. Robert Schumann’s metaphoric description of the Fourth Symphony as “a slender Greek maiden between two Norse giants” is not entirely fair but more or less indicative of the common thought; the enduring perception of this piece is that it is a less

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PROGRAM NOTES

PROFILE

weighty and important achievement among Beethoven’s middle-period symphonies.

It is unfortunate that the towering stature of its neighbors should obscure the virtues of the Fourth Symphony, which Beethoven composed in 1806. It is a finely crafted and beautiful work that follows the formal outline of the Classical-period symphony, but fills that outline with music that often sounds quite Romantic in character. Nowhere is this Romantic element more evident than in the opening Adagio, a somber fantasy that ventures to say more than we would expect from an introduction to a symphonic first movement. Through forty spellbinding measures, it explores dark and mysterious tonal regions, and then suddenly breaks forth with two loud chords and a motif of insistently rising lines into the brilliant light of the Allegro, the main body of the first movement.

The ensuing Adagio ranks among the loveliest movements Beethoven ever wrote. Typically, it juxtaposes two principal melodies. The first appears in

the violins over a gently rocking accompaniment in the strings; the second is introduced by the clarinet. Beethoven weaves the extensions, variations, and recollections of these ideas into an exquisite dreamlike fantasy.

The third movement is a scherzo in all but name, a rollicking piece marked by a lively play of rhythms and accents. The concluding measures offer a surprise from the horns.

The finale gives us many of Beethoven’s most characteristic gestures: sudden contrasts, abrupt offbeat accents, and contrapuntal echoes of thematic fragments. The movement races along toward its conclusion, pausing only to allow the composer, in high humor, to draw the principal theme out in slow motion before dashing through its final measures.

The DSO most recently performed Beethoven’s Symphony No. 4 in B-flat major in January 2018, conducted by Gábor Tackács-Nagy. The DSO first performed the piece in April 1921, conducted by Ossip Gabrilowitsch.

KEREM HASAN

returns to the Tiroler Landestheater in Innsbruck to conduct Rossini’s L’italiana in Algeri and Mozart‘s Die Zauberflöte.

Further highlights of his 2021-22 season include opera productions at the English National Opera (Così van tutte) and in Glyndebourne (The Rake’s Progress) as well as concerts with the Tonkünstlerorchester Niederösterreich, Borusan Philharmonic Orchestra, and Antwerp Symphony Orchestra.

Furthermore, Hasan debuts with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, and Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, and returns to the ORF Radio Symphonieorchester Wien, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and Noord Nederlands Orkest. June 2022 sees him making his US debut with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra followed by concerts with the Minnesota

K

erem Hasan commences his third season as chief conductor of the Tiroler Symphonieorchester Innsbruck, after starting this position in September 2019. In Summer 2017, the young British conductor laid the foundations for a very promising international career by winning the Nestlé and Salzburg Young Conductors Award. Prior to this, he had already attracted attention as a finalist in the Donatella Flick Conducting Competition in London and as Associate Conductor of the Welsh National Opera.

Apart from his concerts with the Tiroler Symphonieorchester, Hasan also

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Orchestra and at the Aspen Music Festival.

Hasan’s previous engagements include opera performances in Glyndebourne (Die Zauberflöte), with the Welsh National Opera (La Forza del Destino) and at the Tiroler Landestheater Innsbruck (Samson et Dalila, Rigoletto, The Rape of Lucretia).

He has conducted concerts with the Concertgebouworkest, London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, SWR Symphonieorchester, MDR Sinfonieorchester, ORF RadioSymphonieorchester Wien, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Filarmonica Teatro La Fenice, and New Japan Philharmonic. In masterclasses, he received valuable advice from David Zinman, Edo de Waart, Gianandrea Noseda, and Esa-Pekka Salonen. On the invitation of his mentor Bernard Haitink, he assisted him with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Concertgebouworkest, and Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks.

Hasan, born in London in 1992, studied piano and conducting at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Later, he continued his education at the Zurich University of the Arts with Johannes Schlaefli.

KIMBERLY KALOYANIDES KENNEDY

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cting Concertmaster Kimberly Kaloyanides Kennedy won her coveted position as a violinist with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra at the age of 22. In 2003, Kennedy further realized her dream when she became Associate Concertmaster.

Kennedy began her study of the violin at the age of 5 in Dayton, Ohio. Being the daughter of a Minister of Music and

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church organist allowed her many chances to share from her heart in front of congregations. Her love of music became what undoubtedly would be her career as she pursued her studies at Brevard Music Center and Interlochen Arts Camp as the Governor’s Scholar for the state of Ohio. She continued her studies at the Sarasota Music Festival; spent four summers at the Aspen Music Festival on Fellowship, as Associate Concertmaster of the Chamber Orchestra; spent three years at the Harid Conservatory in Boca Raton, Florida with Sergiu Schwartz; and finally landed at the University of Michigan with Paul Kantor. It was halfway through her senior year at Michigan in 1998 that her hard work paid off, when she joined the first violin section of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

Throughout her training, she won several prizes in competitions around the country, including the Grand Prize in the National MTNA competition and first prize in the Greek Women’s National Competition in Chicago; the Skokie Valley Concerto Competition, where she performed Barber Violin Concerto; the University of Michigan Concerto Competition, where she performed Ravel’s Tzigane; and the Harid Conservatory Concerto Competition, where she performed the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto. Kennedy was one of the few Americans invited to the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis in 1998. She solos regularly with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

Kennedy enjoys performing chamber music regularly around Michigan with various groups, including the Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings, on series such as Chamber Music North, Fairlane Concert Guild, Pro Mozart, Classical Brunch in Birmingham, and the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival.

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DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA A COMMUNITY-SUP PORTE D ORCHESTRA

JADER BIGNAMINI MUSIC DIRECTOR

DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA A COMMUNITY-SUP PORTE D ORCHESTRA

JADER BIGNAMINI MUSIC DIRECTOR

JADER BIGNAMINI, Music Director

Music Directorship endowed by the Kresge Foundation

JEFF TYZIK

Principal Pops Conductor

TERENCE BLANCHARD

LEONARD SLATKIN

NEEME JÄRVI

Fred A. Erb Jazz Creative Director Chair

Music Director Laureate

Music Director Emeritus

WILLIAM DAVIDSON NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERT SERIES

BEETHOVEN: SYMPHONY NO. 1 Thursday, July 14, 2022 at 7:30 p.m. at Berman Theater Friday, July 15, 2022 at 8 p.m. at Adlai E. Stevenson High School Saturday, July 16, 2022 at 8 p.m. at Christ Church Cranbrook Sunday, July 17, 2022 at 3 p.m. at Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Church JONATHON HEYWARD, conductor MICHAEL MA, bassoon Felix Mendelssohn Die Schöne Melusine Overture (1809 - 1847) (The Fair Melusina)

Gioachino Rossini Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra (1792 - 1868) (Allegro) Largo (Rondo: Allegretto) Michael Ma, bassoon Intermission Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op. 21 (1770 - 1827) Adagio molto - Allegro con brio Andante cantabile con moto Menuetto: Allegro molto e vivace Finale: Adagio - Allegro molto e vivace

PROGRAM NOTES The Fair Melusina Overture, Op. 32 Composed 1834 | Premiered 1834

FELIX MENDELSSOHN B. February 3, 1809, Hamburg, Germany D. November 4, 1847, Leipzig, Germany

Scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, and strings. (Approx. 10 minutes)

B

orn into a wealthy and cultured family, Felix Mendelssohn was a gifted child whom the finest musicians of the day hailed as a second Mozart. By the time young Felix had reached his mid-teens, he had composed an astonishing number of mature works, including 12 string symphonies and his first symphony for full orchestra, written when he was just 15. In 1825, he produced the remarkable Octet for Strings, and the year after that came the Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream. As if his purely musical talents were not enough, he was a highly skilled organizer and administrator— raising performance standards at the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, of which he became conductor in 1835, and founding and directing the Leipzig Conservatory. He was a major figure in the revival of interest in Bach’s music, which at that time was almost unknown to the general public, and was responsible for presenting the first public performance of the St. Matthew Passion since Bach’s death in 1750. He visited England on numerous occasions where he was treated with great adulation by the public, praised to new heights by the press, and became a great favorite of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

Mendelssohn’s The Fair Melusina Overture was inspired by Melusina, a beautiful girl from medieval European folklore who was cursed to take the form of a mermaid every Saturday, a story that was first documented by Jean d’Arras in 1387. She married a knight named Reymund and continued to live in the human world, but forbade Reymund from seeing her on her “serpent day.”

When Reymund breaks his promise and spies on her in the bath one Saturday, she felt betrayed and disappeared completely from the sight of humans, returning to the water for eternity.

However, the sounds of her wailing from the depths of the sea continued to be heard in the human world.

This piece begins with a fluid dreamscape, conveying effortless forward motion through gently rippling phrases resembling water currents in the key of F major, suggesting blissful serenity and sunshine and representing Melusina’s secret of being part-mermaid. The solo clarinet at the beginning of this piece introduces this flowing motif, and is soon interrupted by a stormy passion, giving audiences the sense of two worlds colliding. The piece’s form outlines the contours of this story, with the outburst of musical passion suggesting Reymund’s intrusion of her in the bath and betrayal that one fateful Saturday night. The sighs of a nostalgic musical lament mark the end of this stormy eruption, and the final bars of this piece gradually fade into watery depths, as did Melusina.

The DSO most recently performed Mendelssohn’s The Fair Melusina Overture in January 2016, conducted by James Feddeck. The DSO first performed the piece in February 1921, conducted by Ossip Gabrilowitsch.

The William Davidson Neighborhood Concert Series is made possible by a generous grant from the William Davidson Foundation. WRCJ 90.9 FM also supports the Series.

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PROGRAM NOTES Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra GIOACCHINO ROSSINI B. February 29, 1792, Pesaro, Italy D. November 13, 1868, Passy, France

Scored for solo bassoon, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, bassoon, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, and strings.

(Approx. 17 minutes)

G

ioacchino Rossini’s Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra is a recently discovered work by the renowned composer, found in a library in the late 1990s and published in 1998 by Italian bassoonist Sergio Azzolini.

Historians speculate that this concerto was written for bassoonist Nazareno Gatti around 1845 to play at his final musical examination at a music school in Bologna in the 1840s. Some say that this piece may have been sketched out by Rossini and left for someone else to finish, as Rossini did with many pieces after he retired from composition in his 40s. If this were the case, it is possible that Gatti may have been involved in completing the work under Rossini’s name. The true origin of this piece remains uncertain, and contributes to the air of mystery and excitement that this newfound concerto conveys. This concerto is informally known as the “Examination” concerto, based on the compositional inspiration for the piece.

This title is written on the first page of the manuscript, and if the historical origins hypothesized for this piece are correct, this piece represents Rossini’s final work for orchestra before he retired from composing.

Rossini’s bassoon concerto is written in three movements and possesses the beloved “Rossini sound.” This piece

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follows the traditional classical concerto form and emulates many of Rossini’s compositional trademarks. The first movement Allegro in B-flat major opens with an enchanting and expansive introduction, with the bassoon diving to a very low note and carrying out operatic lyricism present in the melodies throughout this movement. This movement follows the traditional concerto sonata form, and the solo bassoon punctures the low register throughout, showing off the instrument’s vast technical capabilities and range and leading into a short coda section at the conclusion of this movement.

The second movement in C major portrays a tender bassoon melody emulating an opera soloist’s voice floating above a sea of winds and strings, and growing into a cadenza leading to the finale, with the increased intensity of a Rossini crescendo. It is clear that Rossini enjoyed exploring the tonal range of the bassoon through the demonstration of its timbre changes throughout registers, and this movement ends with fading dramatic tremolos played by the strings.

The third and final movement in F major showcases virtuosity in the solo bassoon part, testing the soloist’s technical and musical abilities. This compositional style was appropriate for examination pieces, where music schools measure a student’s musical abilities to determine whether or not they will pass to the next level of their studies. This concerto is an excellent representation of the bassoon’s versatility and is a welcome and valuable addition to the bassoon concerto repertoire.

This performance marks the DSO premiere of Rossini’s Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra.

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Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op. 21 Composed 1795-1800 | Premiered 1800

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN B. December 1770, Bonn, Germany D. March 26, 1827, Vienna, Austria

Scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, and strings. (approx. 25 minutes)

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ittingly, the 29-year-old Beethoven premiered his first symphony in the year 1800, at the dawn of a new century. The work is from Beethoven’s early period and is greatly influenced by his teacher, Joseph Haydn. Despite its homages to the older generation, it is very much a forward-looking work with glimmers of the innovations to come from the great composer. Beethoven challenged his listeners with new sounds from the very beginning. Whereas most classical symphonies open unambiguously in the chosen key of the piece in order to establish the central tonality in the listener’s ear, this symphony begins far removed from C major, with a sequence of tonic-dominant chords that serve to confuse the tonal landscape. The movement that follows is light and bouncy, although the thick textures and virtuosic writing for winds belie

Beethoven’s hand. The second movement features a stately theme, introduced fugally, and a more subdued second theme. The lyrical writing for woodwinds, in particular for the oboe, is especially exquisite. The third movement, though labeled Menuetto, resembles the more stylized and usually faster Scherzo that would be one of Beethoven’s great contributions; this is not music for dancing, but intended to be performed by highly trained musicians in a concert hall.

The finale of this work opens with another curious introduction. Here is a clear indication of the dominant: after a full-orchestra G, the first violins playfully make their way slowly up the G-major scale, creating tension that propels the tempo onward and prolonging the arrival at tonic C. The rest of the movement is lighthearted and virtuosic, featuring heavily scalar writing for the strings and strong brass parts to bring the work to a ringing close, but not before one of Beethoven’s characteristic climactic sequences of alternating tonic and dominant chords in the final measures.

The DSO most recently performed Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1 in C major in July 2016, conducted by Karina Canellakis. The DSO first performed the piece in November 1914, conducted by Weston Gales.

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PROFILES JONATHON HEYWARD

J

onathon Heyward is forging a career as one of the most exciting conductors on the international scene.

Currently in his second year as a Chief Conductor of the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, in summer 2021, Heyward took part in an intense, two-week residency with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain which led to a highly acclaimed BBC Proms debut.

According to The Guardian, Heyward was “not too exhausted, though, to lead — from memory — a fast and fearless performance of Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony, in which loud chords exploded, repeating like fireworks in the hall’s dome, and the quietest passages barely registered. It was exuberant, exhilarating stuff.” In Colin’s Column, Ateş Orga noted: “This Prom was about Jonathon Heyward, NYOGB and Beethoven…

Heyward’s a man of twenty-nine coolly heading for the stratosphere.”

Heyward’s recent and forthcoming symphonic guest conducting highlights in the United Kingdom include debuts and re-invitations with the London Symphony, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, BBC Symphony, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and Scottish Chamber Orchestra. In continental Europe, amongst Heyward’s recent and future debuts are collaborations with the Castilla y León in Spain; Basel Symphony, Musikkollegium Winterthur, and Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne in Switzerland; Brussels Philharmonic, SymfonieOrkest Vlaanderen, and Antwerp Symphony in Belgium; Philharmonie Zuidnederland in the Netherlands; Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine in France; Lahti Symphony in Finland; Kristiansand Symphony in Norway, and St. Petersburg Symphony in Russia. In his native United States in the current and upcoming concert seasons, Heyward looks forward

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to making debuts with the Baltimore, Atlanta, Detroit, Houston, San Diego, St. Louis, and Oregon symphony orchestras and with the LA Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl. Following successful collaborations of past seasons, in 2022 Heyward returns to Seattle Symphony and Grant Park Music Festival. In summer 2021, Heyward made his Wolf Trap debut conducting the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C. Equally at home on the opera stage, Heyward recently made his Royal Opera House debut with Hannah Kendall’s Knife of Dawn, having also conducted a Kurt Weill’s Lost in the Stars with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra as well as the world premiere of Giorgio Battistelli’s new opera, Wake, in a production by Graham Vick for the Birmingham Opera Company.

Originally trained as a cellist and chamber musician, Heyward went on to take up the position of Assistant Conductor for both their opera department and the Boston Opera Collaborative, where he worked on such productions as La bohème, Die Zauberflöte, and The Rape of Lucretia. In 2013, Heyward became the youngest ever semi-finalist at the Blue Danube International Opera Conducting Competition at the age of 21, and, soon after, was appointed Associate Director of the Hampstead Garden Opera Company in London. Winner of the 2015 Besançon International Conducting Competition, in 2016, he completed his postgraduate studies in conducting with Sian Edwards at the Royal Academy of Music. In the 2017-2018 season, Heyward was selected as a Los Angeles Philharmonic Dudamel Conducting Fellow, later stepping in to make his subscription debut with Hilary Hahn as part of the orchestra’s Bernstein @ 100 Celebration at Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Heyward recently completed three years as Assistant Conductor of the Hallé Orchestra under mentorship of Sir Mark Elder. Amongst highlights in Manchester, Heyward counts his first subscription concert with Benjamin Grosvenor in 2018

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and a 200th birthday concert for the orchestra’s founder, Sir Charles Hallé. In recognition of his extensive community outreach work and commitment to music education as Music Director of the Hallé Youth Orchestra, Heyward received a finalist nomination for Young Creative of the Year at the Manchester Culture Awards in 2018. The culmination of Heyward’s tenure in Manchester was marked with the debut at the Manchester International Festival conducting a “roaringly bold account” (Bachtrack) of Shostakovich’s Leningrad Symphony.

MICHAEL KE MA

M

ichael Ke Ma started his professional career in 2000 when he was appointed Principal Bassoon of the Shanghai Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra (now the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra). In 2004, he was appointed the Assistant Principal Bassoon of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra by Neeme Järvi, making him the first Chinese wind player to earn such a title in a major US orchestra.

Ma was born in Shanghai, where he started violin lessons at the age of 5.

After switching from violin to bassoon for only six months at age 11, he was accepted by the Shanghai Conservatory of Music to study with Professors Zhun Zhao, Zhi-Hong Song, and Zhao-Lu Liu. In 2001, he was invited by Stephen Maxym, former Principal Bassoon of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, to study in the US under a full scholarship at the University of Southern California. He was Stephen’s last recruit, and upon his passing, Ma continued his studies with Judith Farmer, former Principal Bassoon of the Austrian Radio Orchestra.

Since then, Ma has given solo recitals, chamber music, and orchestral performances at many music festivals and venues around the globe, including the Banff Center for the Arts, Idyllwild Arts dso.org

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Summer Program, Sunflower Chamber Music Festival in Kansas, Asian Youth Orchestra, Spoleto USA Festival Orchestra, Beijing International Music Festival, Shanghai International Arts Festival, and the Tongyeong International Music Festival in Korea. Ma recently served as Principal Bassoon of the Global Chinese Festival Orchestra and was invited by Maestro Myung-whun Chung to play with the Asia Philharmonic Orchestra, based in Korea and comprising elite musicians worldwide. In 2015, Ma spent 2 months with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra as their Guest Principal Bassoon. He has also made guest appearances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in its 2010-2011 season. Ma has been interviewed by the Shanghai OTV and Detroit’s Fox 2 News, and his performances can often be heard on the radio at KUSC and K-MZT in Los Angeles; and WRCJ 90.9 and WWJ 950 AM in Detroit.

A dedicated teacher, Ma is very active in music education. He has taught master classes at Interlochen Arts Academy, participated in the Professional Panel at Michigan State University, coached private students at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and Macau Youth Symphony Orchestra, and worked with the DSO’s Civic Youth Ensembles. He has regularly been invited by Yongyan Hu, Dean of the EOS Orchestra Academy of the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, and Long Yu, President of the Shanghai Orchestra Academy in Shanghai, to give master classes to their students.

Ma has collaborated with luminaries such as Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Charles Dutoit, Lang Lang, John Williams, Fabio Luisi, Paavo Järvi, Kathleen Battle, Placido Domingo, and the late Kurt Masur. He currently travels between Detroit and Shanghai, where Maestro Long Yu invited him to be the guest principal with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra.

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