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Transformational Support
Fund Honors Anne Parsons’s Legacy
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It is a beautiful thing when a connected community proactively supports one another through triumphs and trials. Time and time again, our supporters have shown up and rallied for the foundational mission of the DSO: to impact lives through the power of unforgettable musical experiences by sustaining a world-class orchestra for our city and global community. DSO President Emeritus Anne Parsons passed away this spring following a courageous battle with cancer, but her memory lives on as we look to the future of the DSO. Anne imagined a community-driven and inspirational orchestra energized to take the magic of The Anne Parsons Leadership Fund serves as a musical connection beyond the concert hall and bring rich melodies and universal themes to promise to honor and build upon local audiences. With tenacious Anne’s legacy. Through this support, the DSO will always drive and through genuine relationship building, the desire for the DSO to be visible and accesremain deeply rooted in the cultural sible throughout Metro Detroit fabric of Detroit—committed and beyond gained substantial to delivering the inspiration of support from the community; and, together, our shared vision music and human connection to all.” has become a flourishing reality. —Erik Rönmark, Through the Anne Parsons
DSO President and CEO Leadership Fund, and avid sup port from DSO donors and leadership contributors including the Mort and Brigitte Harris Foundation, we will unite to carry on Anne’s spirit, resilience, and influence. This endowed fund will ensure that the vision for the DSO as a community-supported as Learn more well as a community-supporting institution about the fund will continue in perpetuity.
dso.org/parsonsfund
The DSO is grateful to the donors who have made extraordinary endowment investments through the DSO Impact Campaign or multi-year, comprehensive gifts to support general operations, capital improvements, or special programs.
FOUNDING FAMILIES
Mr. & Mrs. Lee Barthel Julie & Peter CummingsAPLF The Davidson-Gerson Family and the William Davidson Foundation The Richard C. Devereaux Foundation Erb Family and the Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation The Fisher Family and the Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation Stanley & Judy Frankel and the Samuel & Jean Frankel Foundation Danialle & Peter Karmanos, Jr. Mort & Brigitte Harris FoundationAPLF Linda Dresner & Ed Levy,
Jr.APLF
James B. & Ann V. Nicholson and PVS Chemicals, Inc.APLF Bernard & Eleanor Robertson Mrs. Richard C. Van Dusen Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation Clyde & Helen Wu◊
VISIONARIES
Mr. & Mrs. Richard L. AlonzoAPLF Penny & Harold BlumensteinAPLF Mr. & Mrs. Phillip Wm.
FisherAPLF, MM
Alan J. & Sue Kaufman and FamilyMM Shari & Craig MorganAPLF, MM
CHAMPIONS
Mandell & Madeleine Berman FoundationAPLF Mr. & Mrs. Raymond M. Cracchiolo Joanne Danto & Arnold Weingarden Vera & Joseph Dresner Foundation DTE Energy Foundation Ford Motor Company Fund Mr. & Mrs. Morton E. Harris◊ John S. & James L. Knight Foundation The Kresge Foundation Mrs. Bonnie LarsonAPLF The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Ms. Deborah Miesel Dr. William F. Pickard The Polk Family Stephen M. Ross Family of Clyde & Helen WuAPLF
LEADERS
Applebaum Family Philanthropy Charlotte Arkin Estate Marvin & Betty Danto Family FoundationAPLF Adel & Walter DissettMM Herman & Sharon Frankel Ruth & Al◊ Glancy Mary Ann & Robert GorlinAPLF Ronald M. & Carol◊ Horwitz Richard H. & Carola HuttenlocherMM John C. Leyhan Estate Bud & Nancy Liebler Richard & Jane Manoogian Foundation David & Valerie McCammon Mr. & Mrs. Eugene A. Miller Pat & Hank◊ Nickol Jack & Aviva Robinson◊ Martie & Bob Sachs Mr. & Mrs.◊ Alan E. Schwartz Drs. Doris Tong & Teck Soo Paul & Terese Zlotof
BENEFACTORS
Mr.◊ & Mrs. Robert A. Allesee Mr. David Assemany & Mr. Jeffery ZookAPLF, MM W. Harold & Chacona W. BaughAPLF Robert & Lucinda Clement Lois & Avern CohnMM Mary Rita Cuddohy Estate Margie Dunn & Mark DavidoffAPLF, MM DSO MusiciansMM Bette Dyer Estate Marjorie S. Fisher FundMM Dr. Marjorie M. Fisher & Mr. Roy Furman Mr. & Mrs. Aaron FrankelMM Barbara Frankel & Ronald MichalakMM Victor◊ & Gale Girolami Fund The Glancy Foundation, Inc.APLF Herbert & Dorothy Graebner◊ Laurie Lindamulder Harris Richard Sonenklar & Gregory HaynesMM Mr. & Mrs. David Jaffa Renato & Elizabeth JamettMM Allan & Joy NachmanMM Ann & Norman◊ Katz Dr. Melvin A. Lester◊ Florine Mark Michigan Arts & Culture Council Dr. Glenda D. Price Ruth Rattner Mr. & Mrs.◊ Lloyd E. Reuss Mr. & Mrs. Fred Secrest◊ Jane & Larry Sherman Cindy McTee & Leonard Slatkin Marilyn Snodgrass Estate Mr. and Mrs. Arn TellemAPLF Nancy Schlichting & Pamela TheisenAPLF Mr. James G. VellaMM Eva von Voss and FamilyMM
MM: DSO Musicians Fund for Artistic Excellence
APLF: Anne Parsons Leadership Fund
SENZA: WITHOUT LIMITATIONS
The DSO is working alongside students to realize their dreams and fulfill their potential through a new program, Senza. Meaning “without” in Italian, Senza is built to create a space for students without limitations, a space to examine and reject assumptions based on race, ethnicity, culture, socioeconomic status, disability, gender identity, and other societal markers. The program is built for and with students who hold a broad range of experiences.
In fall 2021, after a nine-month planning phase, the DSO’s Community and Learning team was delighted to launch Senza: a professional development music program that offers a personalized curriculum of courses, mentorship, cultural experiences, community engagement, practical experience, and networking for selected high school students. Driven by participants’ experiences and goals, the program prioritizes the involvement and participation of students from communities currently underrepresented in classical music.
While the program is individually responsive, there is also a substantial teamwork component. Senza is specifically designed to build a strong cohort of high school students who learn, lead, and grow together over their time in the program, and continue their involvement into their post-graduation years, through peer support and mentorship of new participants.
In the 2021-2022 season, eight Senza students were selected by application and audition from a pool of incoming 8th and 9th grade CYE musicians. In the 20222023 season, the number will increase to 12 students.
Previous Senza activities included CYE ensemble and chamber music participation, individual mentorship, team meetings, workshops with collegiate level educators, group trips to DSO performances, and performances at community engagement events, including the premiere of an original composition, Kaleidoscope, at the Durfee Innovation Event Center.
Additionally, five Senza students attended Interlochen Arts Camp or Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp this summer: Seth Banks (trumpet), Ethan Banks (trumpet), Isaiah Thomason-Redus (horn), and Milan Forrester (violin) attended Interlochen, and Jordan Harris (trumpet) attended Blue Lake. For four out of the five students, it was their first summer music camp experience of this caliber.
“We are tremendously proud of our first group of Senza students,” said DSO Director of Education Debora Kang. “Their artistic progress has been remarkable, and just as much as our students have grown by working with our educators, our educators have grown by working with our students. We are grateful to continue this program in the new season and look forward to positively impacting more lives through Senza.”
Visit dso.org to learn more about Senza.
Senza is made possible by generous funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and falls under the DSO’s Civic Youth Ensembles (CYE) umbrella. Last season, the DSO celebrated 50 years of CYE, and now proudly continues this rich tradition of music education with expanded Senza offerings in the new season.
Senza students perform Kaleidoscope at Durfee Innovation Center, June 2022
A COMMUNITY-SUPPORTED ORCHESTRA
JADER BIGNAMINI MUSIC DIRECTOR
JADER BIGNAMINI, Music Director
Music Directorship endowed by the Kresge Foundation
JEFF TYZIK
Principal Pops Conductor TERENCE BLANCHARD
Fred A. Erb Jazz Creative Director Chair LEONARD SLATKIN
Music Director Laureate NEEME JÄRVI
Music Director Emeritus
PVS CLASSICAL SERIES
Title Sponsor:
AX PERFORMS CHOPIN, LA MER & BOLÉRO
Friday, September 30, 2022 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, October 1, 2022 at 8 p.m. Sunday, October 2, 2022 at 3 p.m. in Orchestra Hall
JADER BIGNAMINI, conductor EMANUEL AX, piano
John Stafford Smith The Star-Spangled Banner (1750 - 1836)
Lyrics by Francis Scott Key; arr. Arthur Luck
Michael Abels Emerge (DSO co-commission) (b.1962)
Frédéric Chopin Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21 (1810 - 1849) I. Maestoso II. Larghetto III. Allegro vivace Emanuel Ax, piano
Intermission
Claude Debussy La mer (1862 - 1918) I. De l’aube à midi sur la mer [From Dawn to Noon on the Sea] II. Jeux des vagues [Play of the Waves] III. Dialogue du vent et de la mer [Dialogue of Wind and Sea]
Maurice Ravel Boléro (1875 - 1937)
Saturday’s performance will be webcast via our exclusive Live From Orchestra Hall series, presented by Ford Motor Company Fund and made possible by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
PROGRAM AT-A-GLANCE | EMANUEL AX PERFORMS CHOPIN, LA MER & BOLERO
Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue
Our 2022-2023 season kicks off with a program of orchestral favorites. First up, a new work from Michael Abels: Emerge. You may have heard his music recently in Jordan Peele films including Get Out, Us, and Nope.
Next, beloved pianist Emanuel Ax returns to Orchestra Hall to perform Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2, which despite its numbering, was the first concerto the renowned composer ever wrote.
Debussy’s La mer was inspired by the depiction of the sea in paintings and literature, with The Great Wave by Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai chosen as the cover of the original manuscript score. In many cultures, water represents life, birth, refreshment, fertility, and new beginnings, apropos for this weekend’s occasion.
Closing the program is Ravel’s beloved Boléro, which began as Fandango but was later retitled—borrowing the name of a slow, sensual triple meter Spanish couple’s dance often accompanied by castanets and guitar. The piece was so unconventional for its time that during its premiere in Paris in 1928, a woman in the audience began chanting “Au fou! Au fou!” (“The Madman! The Madman!”) to which Ravel responded, “That lady...she understood.”
PROGRAM NOTES
Emerge
Composed 2022 (DSO co-commission) | Premiered 2022
MICHAEL ABELS
B. 1962
Scored for 2 flutes (one doubling piccolo), 2 oboes, 2 clarinets (one doubling E-flat clarinet), 2 bassoons (one doubling contrabassoon), 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, harp, and strings. (approx. 9 minutes)
Michael Abels wrote the following about Emerge: Emerge is a piece that imagines a group of highly trained musicians getting back together after a long break, remembering both the exhilaration and the discipline of performing together. The piece begins with a section that evokes a sunrise on a group of musicians all playing independently. They gradually all team up to play a powerful, energetic crescendo, but that dissipates into softer section built on solo playing of bluesy phrases that keep happening in canon, rather than in unison. The middle of the piece is a placid, lyrical episode with graceful, independent string lines flowing underneath it. That kicks off a volley of rising scales back and forth between the strings and the winds. When the brass get involved, the strings are finally able to play a melody all together in unison above them. The scale volley becomes faster until it finally comes together, and this sets up an exuberant coda which, despite some shades of difficulty and frustration, is absolutely triumphant.
This performance marks the DSO’s premiere of Emerge by Michael Abels.
Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21
Composed 1829 | Premiered 1830
FREDERIC CHOPIN
B. March 1, 1810, Zelazowa, Poland D. October 17, 1849, Paris, France
Scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, bass trombone, timpani, and strings. (approx. 30 minutes)
The year 1829 found Frederic Chopin a young graduate of the Warsaw Conservatory seeking to establish himself in the musical world. He was talented, ambitious, and in love, and all three of these
qualities found reflection in his first significant composition using orchestra, the Piano Concerto in F minor, Op. 21. Chopin performed this work to great acclaim in Warsaw, Vienna, and Paris the following year, and these triumphs launched his career. Although known as his Second Piano Concerto, this piece predates Chopin’s Concerto in E minor, Op. 11 by about half a year, which has been designated his “Piano Concerto No. 1.” The two concertos were published and numbered in reverse order of their chronology (as were Beethoven’s first two piano concertos).
Although it is a youthful work, the F minor concerto reveals a skilled composer who has already found a distinctive musical voice (one of the most distinctive of the nineteenth century, indeed). Hearing this piece, we can admire the 19-year-old’s sure grasp of the concerto form, but even more impressive, we also detect the most original and distinctive elements of Chopin’s mature style: the themes that are by turns dreamy and passionate, the yearning melancholy of his harmonies, and the brilliant flashes of pianistic ornamentation.
The concerto begins in classical fashion, with a paragraph for the orchestra. Here, the first theme conveys that restless agitation so prized by the early Romantics. A second subject, introduced by the woodwinds, provides lyrical contrast. With the entrance of the soloist, the orchestra is relegated to a supporting role, as the expressive and technical capabilities of the piano are displayed to fine effect.
Chopin once declared that the ensuing Larghetto was inspired by his love for a young singer he had met at the Conservatory, an admission which has delighted romantically inclined listeners. Beginning with a long and tender theme that appears after a brief orchestral introduction, the movement builds to a passionate soliloquy for the pianist over dramatic tremolo figures in the strings. The third movement juxtaposes a bittersweet melody (punctuated by vigorous orchestral comments) with a central episode dominated by the rhythms of Poland’s national dance, the mazurka.
The DSO most recently performed Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in F major, Op. 21 in May 2013, conducted by John Storgårds and featuring pianist Rafal Blechacz. The DSO first performed the piece in March 1919, conducted by Ossip Gabrilowitsch and featuring pianist Bendetson Netzorg.
La mer
Composed 1903-1905 | Premiered 1905
CLAUDE DEBUSSY
B. August 22, 1862, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France D. March 25, 1918, Paris, France
Scored for 2 flutes, piccolo, 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets, 3 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 2 cornets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, 2 harps, and strings. (approx. 23 minutes)
Claude Debussy’s music is commonly described as impressionist, analogous to the breezy and colorful paintings of Monet or Degas. Rather than presenting a narrative structure, as an earlier work might, the symphonic poem La mer aims to be something of a quick snapshot, capturing the experience of a beach-walking visitor to the sea. Rather than listening for form in the work, then, audiences are invited to allow the individual moments of La mer wash over them—noting how the music represents rushing wind, the easy lapping of waves, or the calm of early morning.
Debussy notably (and beautifully) employs the whole-tone scale in La mer, a trope that perfectly complements music meant to stoke the imagination or an approximate a daydream. Rather than the
asymmetrical series of half-steps and whole-steps which characterize diatonic major and minor scales, the whole-tone scale is a symmetrical scale of wholesteps: C, D, E, F-sharp, G-sharp, A-sharp, C. This symmetry makes it impossible to hear any one pitch as more important than any other, since every pitch relates to every other pitch by the same set of intervals. The result is a sense of tonal disorientation, a scale without horizon or gravitational pull—perfect for relaxing (or imagining relaxing) by the sea.
The DSO most recently performed Debussy’s La mer in February 2020, conducted by Thomas Søndergård. The DSO first performed the piece in November 1936, conducted by Jose Iturbi.
Boléro
Composed 1922-1928 | Premiered 1928
MAURICE RAVEL
B. March 7, 1875, Ciboure, Basses-Pyrénées, France D. Dec. 28, 1937, Paris, France
Scored for 2 flutes, piccolo, 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets, E-flat clarinet, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 4 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, harp, keyboard, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, and strings. (approx. 14 minutes)
In 1927, Ida Rubinstein (1885-1960) commissioned Ravel to orchestrate Isaac Albéniz’s set of piano pieces Iberia for her ballet troupe. Unable to secure copyright permission, Ravel decided instead to write his own music, resulting in this, his most beloved work. Ravel’s original title for the piece was Fandango, but realizing that this dance’s traditional gradual increase in speed was contrary to his compositional plan, he retitled his work Boléro—the name of a slow, sensual triple meter Spanish couple’s dance often accompanied by castanets and guitar. Rubinstein’s performance, in its smoky Spanish setting, enjoyed immediate success. Nijinska’s choreography was set in a tavern where a female dancer on a table gathers the attention of the men in the bar. Gradually, one then another of the men joins her while the excitement builds until violence erupts near the end. Despite the ballet’s appeal, it was not until her exclusive performance right lapsed and the piece was presented in concert and broadcast on radio that Boléro’s popularity exploded.
The piece begins with the suppressed sizzle of an almost inaudible solo snare drum luring the dancers onto the floor with its signature two-measure castanet-inspired rhythm. The strings pluck a chordal accompaniment in imitation of a Spanish guitar. Like the waltz, this dance is in triple time built on units of three beats, but Boléro’s riveting, incessantly driving feel is very different. The piece gets louder and louder as other orchestral instruments join the snare to trace the increasing passion and power of the dance, yet it never speeds up or slows down.
Ravel was a master of orchestral color, on which Boléro thrives. The piece contains only two melodic ideas (representing the female and male dancers). The first 16-bar melody begins in measure three with the flute and is then repeated by clarinet; the second motive appears with the bassoon and is again mirrored by clarinet. These two seductive melodic personalities, one serpentine, the other more insistent, alternate 18 times in pairs. Every instrument in the ensemble offers its version as either a solo or in magical combinations that often make it hard to identify their constituent parts. The whole musical exegesis hypnotizes and levitates the listener through the power of repetition. At the ecstatic climax of the piece, a second snare joins, taking the crescendo over the top, trombone smears add passion, and the key shifts suddenly from the C major that characterized the first fifteen minutes to a surprising E major, and then
the piece comes to a crashing finish.
Ravel was mystified by the success of this work—one that he viewed as a rather simple experiment against orchestral conventions (one incessant rhythm, no melodic development, and to top it, off the piece ends in a different key than it starts). Yet Boléro’s remarkable popularity has endured.
The DSO most recently performed Ravel’s Boléro in January 2016, conducted by Leonard Slatkin. The DSO first performed the piece in February 1930, conducted by Eugene Goossens.
PROFILES
Jader Bignamini biography, see page 6.
EMANUEL AX
Born to Polish parents in what is today Lviv, Ukraine, Emanuel Ax moved to Winnipeg, Canada, with his family when he was a young boy. Ax made his New York debut in the Young Concert Artists Series, and in 1974 won the first Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition in Tel Aviv. In 1975, he won the Michaels Award of Young Concert Artists, followed four years later by the Avery Fisher Prize.
In fall 2021, he resumed a post-Covid touring schedule that included concerts with the Colorado, Pacific, Cincinnati, and Houston symphonies, as well as Minnesota, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, and Cleveland orchestras. 2022-23 will include a tour with Itzhak Perlman and friends, and a continuation of the “Beethoven for 3” touring and recording project with partners Leonidas Kavakos and Yo-Yo Ma, this year on the west coast.
In recital, he can be heard in Palm Beach, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Chicago, Washington DC, Houston, Las Vegas, and New York, and with orchestras in Atlanta, Detroit, Boston, San Francisco, San Diego, New York, Naples, Portland (OR), Toronto, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland. Touring in Europe in the fall and spring includes concerts in Germany, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and France.
Ax has been a Sony Classical exclusive recording artist since 1987 and following the success of the Brahms Trios with Kavakos and Ma, the trio launched an ambitious, multi-year project to record all the Beethoven Trios and Symphonies arranged for trio, of which the first two discs have recently been released. He has received Grammy Awards for the second and third volumes of his cycle of Haydn’s piano sonatas. He has also made a series of Grammy-winning recordings with cellist Yo-Yo Ma of the Beethoven and Brahms sonatas for cello and piano. In the 2004-05 season, Ax contributed to an International Emmy Award-Winning BBC documentary commemorating the Holocaust that aired on the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. In 2013, Ax’s recording, Variations, received the Echo Klassik Award for Solo Recording of the Year (19th Century Music/Piano).
Ax is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and holds honorary doctorates of music from Skidmore College, New England Conservatory of Music, Yale University, and Columbia University.
A COMMUNITY-SUPP JORTED ORCHESTRAJADER BIGNAMINI, Music Director ADER BIGNAMINI MUSIC DIRECTOR
Music Directorship endowed by the Kresge Foundation
JEFF TYZIK
Principal Pops Conductor TERENCE BLANCHARD
Fred A. Erb Jazz Creative Director Chair LEONARD SLATKIN
Music Director Laureate NEEME JÄRVI
Music Director Emeritus
TITLE SPONSOR:
Prohibition: From Moulin Rouge to Boardwalk Empire Friday, October 7, 2022 at 10:45 a.m. Saturday, October 8, 2022 at 8 p.m. Sunday, October 9, 2022 at 3 p.m. in Orchestra Hall
JEFF TYZIK, conductor MYRA MAUD, vocalist • BRONSON NORRIS MURPHY, vocalist MADISON CLAIRE PARKS, vocalist • ERIC METZGAR, drummer
POWERHOUSE By Raymond Scott
MY CANARY HAS CIRCLES UNDER HIS EYES Music by Jack Golden, Lyrics by Ted Koehler and Eddie Pola
PUT A TAX ON LOVE Music by Gilbert Wolfe and Harry Warren, Lyrics by Al Dubin
WHAT’LL I DO By Irving Berlin
HALLELUJAH Music by Vincent Youmans, Lyrics by Leo Robin and Clifford Grey
DIZZY FINGERS By Edward Elzear “Zez” Confrey
LA VIE EN ROSE Music by Louis Guglielmi, Lyrics by Edith Piaf
DE TEMPS EN TEMPS By André Hornez and Paul Misraki
LA CONGA BLICOTI Music by Jen Charles, André Giot de Badet, and Armando Bega Orefiche
TWILIGHT IN TURKEY By Raymond Scott JONNY By Frederick Hollander
ALABAMA SONG from The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny Music by Kurt Weill, Lyrics by Bertolt Brecht
MACK THE KNIFE from The Threepenny Opera Music by Kurt Weill, Lyrics by Bertolt Brecht
BEI MIR BIST DU SCHöN Music by Sholom Secunda, Lyrics by Jacob Jacobs; English version by Saul Chaplin and Sammy Cahn
Intermission
BLACK BOTTOM STOMP By Ferdinand Joseph “Jelly Roll” Morton
DOIN’ THE UPTOWN LOWDOWN Music by Harry Revel and Mack Gordon
ST. LOUIS BLUES By William Christopher Handy
SWEET GEORGIA BROWN Music by Ben Bernie and Maceo Pinkard, Lyrics by Kenneth Casey
PROHIBITION a Schirmer Theatrical/Greenberg Artists co-production Arrangements by Jeff Tyzik
AT AN ARABIAN HOUSE PARTY By Raymond Scott
BROTHER, CAN YOU SPARE A DIME Music by Jay Gorney, Lyrics by Edgar Yipsel Harburg
WE’RE IN THE MONEY Music by Harry Warren, Lyrics by Al Dubin
DREAM A LITTLE DREAM OF ME Music by Fabian Andre and Wilbur Schwandt, Lyrics by Gus Kahn
MIDNIGHT, THE STARS AND YOU By James Campbell, Reginald Connelly and Harry M. Woods
ON THE SUNNY SIDE OF THE STREET Music by Jimmy McHugh, Lyrics by Dorothy Fields
SHOUT FOR HAPPINESS Music by John Hart and Tom Blight
PUTTIN’ ON THE RITZ By Irving Berlin
ALL ARRANGEMENTS AND IMAGERY LICENSED BY SCHIRMER THEATRICAL, LLC
PROGRAM AT-A-GLANCE | PROHIBITION: CABARETS & SPEAKEASIES OF THE ERA
The Prohibition Blues
The Prohibition era in the United States began in 1920 with the passing of the Volstead Act and the 18th amendment banning the manufacturing, transportation, and selling of intoxicating liquors. The amendment followed a century of increasingly restrictive alcohol legislation inspired by religious revivalism, the rise of alcoholism and its detriment to family life, and the need to save grain to produce food during the war. However, this legislation proved difficult to enforce and contributed to an increase of bootlegging and speakeasies. Artists were greatly influenced by this era, and many songs were written and performed to address the impact that Prohibition had on their daily lives. Eddie Cantor’s “Put a Tax on Love” references the increase of income taxes as a result of prohibition, while “My Canary Has Circles Under His Eyes” by Jack Golden refers to the increase in nightclubs and party life just shy of the repeal of Prohibition in 1933.
PROFILES
Jeff Tyzik biography, see page 7.
MYRA MAUD
Myra Maud was born in Paris, with roots in Madagascar and Martinique, making for a unique musical style. Career highlights include starring as the great Josephine Baker in the French movie Ballade De Printemps, portraying Nala in the German musical Der König Der Löwen (The Lion King), and performing during the opening celebration of the Women’s Soccer World Cup in 2011 in Frankfurt.
In 2010, Maud received a platinum record in South Africa for her album, AfriFrans, and is currently working on a new album with Lutz Krajenski.
BRONSON NORRIS MURPHY
Kentucky native Bronson Norris Murphy is best known for roles in Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals including Cats, The Phantom of the Opera, Love Never Dies: The Phantom Returns, and UNMASKED: The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber.
As an advocate for music literacy, Bronson serves as an active voice and acting teacher who maintains regular classroom hours in NYC and hosts workshops across the country. Murphy currently serves as the Associate Artistic Director for Kentucky’s Official Outdoor Musical: The Stephen Foster Story.
MADISON CLAIRE PARKS
Madison Claire Parks has established herself as a prominent force for the next generation of classical leading ladies. Parks is best known for starring as Luisa in the historic Off-Broadway production of The Fantasticks for more than 400 performances. She recently returned to Off-Broadway to star as Genevieve in Stephen Schwartz’s revised New York premiere of The Baker’s Wife with J2 Spotlight at Theatre Row, singing the iconic Meadowlark role.
ERIC METZGAR
Eric Metzgar grew up in Rochester, New York, and studied jazz at the Eastman School of Music. He runs a successful studio for drums and percussion in New York City, teaching a broad range of styles carefully tailored to each student. Metzgar regularly performs with many of today’s jazz luminaries.
A COMMUNITY-SUPP JORTED ORCHESTRAJADER BIGNAMINI, Music Director ADER BIGNAMINI MUSIC DIRECTOR
Music Directorship endowed by the Kresge Foundation
JEFF TYZIK
Principal Pops Conductor TERENCE BLANCHARD
Fred A. Erb Jazz Creative Director Chair LEONARD SLATKIN
Music Director Laureate NEEME JÄRVI
Music Director Emeritus
PVS CLASSICAL SERIES
Title Sponsor:
JADER CONDUCTS MOZART’S PRAGUE SYMPHONY
Thursday, October 13, 2022 at 7:30 p.m. Friday, October 14, 2022 at 10:45 a.m. Saturday, October 15, 2022 at 8 p.m. in Orchestra Hall
JADER BIGNAMINI, conductor KIAN SOLTANI, cello
Sergei Prokofiev Classical Symphony, Op. 25 (Symphony No. 1) (1891 - 1953) I. Allegro con brio II. Larghetto III. Gavotte: Non troppo allegro IV. Finale: Molto vivace
Franz Joseph Haydn Concerto for Cello and Orchestra (1732 - 1809) in C major, H.VIIb:1 I. Moderato II. Adagio III. Allegro molto Kian Soltani, cello
Intermission
Joseph Bologne, Symphony No.2, Overture Chevalier de Saint-Georges to “L’Amant anonyme,” Op. 11, No. 2 (1745 - 1799) Allegro presto Andante Presto
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Symphony No. 38 in D major, K. 504, “Prague” (1756 - 1791) I. Adagio - Allegro II. Andante III. Presto
Saturday’s performance will be webcast via our exclusive Live From Orchestra Hall series, presented by Ford Motor Company Fund and made possible by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
Back to the Classics
Pedagogical lineage is the foundation of classical music. This program is representative of the strong lineage of Classicalera titans and their continued influence on prominent composers throughout the ages. Haydn’s Cello Concerto No. 1 is reminiscent of the baroque ritornello form and exhibits the then-emerging traditional structure of the sonata allegro form which has since become a standard of many symphonic works. Haydn inspired Mozart, with whom he studied, and Saint-Georges, who conducted or played in most of the Paris premieres of Haydn’s symphonies. Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 1 was partially inspired by his teacher at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, Nikolai Tcherepnin, who was keen on teaching his students about the proper way to conduct works by (you guessed it) Haydn. Written while Prokofiev was on holiday in the countryside and in hiding from the violent street fights during the February Revolution in Petrograd, the Classical Symphony also features influences of Mozart with light, airy scoring and a fast-paced first and final movement.
PROGRAM NOTES
Classical Symphony, Op. 25 (Symphony No. 1)
Composed 1916-17 | Premiered April 1918
SERGEI PROKOFIEV
B. 11 April 1891, Sontsovka, Ukraine D. 5 March 1953, Moscow, Russia
Scored for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani, and strings. (Approx. 13 minutes)
While none of Sergei Prokofiev’s works created a scandal comparable to the premiere of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, the Scythian Suite, Op. 20 (1914-15) certainly furthered Prokofiev’s reputation as a radical composer. Considering this, it is not difficult to imagine the shock created by his apparent about-face with the Haydn-esque Classical Symphony, Op. 25. Naturally, this work is often discussed alongside the neo-classical works of Stravinsky, but it is important to realize that Prokofiev composed the Classical Symphony nearly two years before Stravinsky began Pulcinella, his first work in this vein.
Perhaps the most defining characteristic of Prokofiev’s symphony concerns the fact that he composed it away from the piano, thus rejecting his usual practice. Prokofiev made his reputation as a virtuoso pianist (performing his own concertos and sonatas), and his playing was notoriously percussive and aggressive. Not surprisingly, his ideas were usually pianistic in conception, even if they were not intended for the piano. As he once remarked, composing away from the piano had a liberating effect, and indeed there is hardly a trace of his characteristically pianistic writing in the Classical Symphony.
Concerning his approach to the work, Prokofiev described his intentions as follows: “I thought that if Haydn were alive today, he would compose just as he did before, but at the same time would include something new in his manner of composition. I wanted to compose such a symphony: a symphony in the classical style.” The work is one of Prokofiev’s most popular, no doubt as he intended it to be. Ultimately, its title not only suggests the composer’s models, but also his desire to write a piece of “classical music” that would endure like so many works of the late 18th century.
The DSO most recently performed Prokofiev’s Classical Symphony in March 2022 on the William Davidson Neighborhood Concert Series, conducted by Ari Pelto. The DSO first performed the piece in January 1935, conducted by Victor Kolar.
Composed 1761| Premiered 1765
JOSEPH HAYDN
B. March 31, 1732, Rohrau, Austria D. May 31, 1809, Vienna, Austria Scored for solo cello, 2 oboes, 2 horns, and strings. (approx. 25 minutes)
Of the three Viennese classical masters, Haydn—who otherwise had much less interest in the concerto than either Mozart or Beethoven—was the only one to write works for cello and orchestra. The most likely explanation for this is that, as Kapellmeister to Prince Nikolaus Esterházy, Haydn worked closely with many excellent instrumentalists in the prince’s orchestra. Concertos were welcome additions to the programs of the twice-weekly musical “academies,” for which so many of Haydn’s symphonies were written. (It should be noted that many of Haydn’s early symphonies also contain extended, almost concerto-like, instrumental solos.)
The Concerto in C major, the first of Haydn’s two cello concertos, was written about two decades before the D major work. For many years, this concerto was thought to be lost; only its first two measures were known from the handwritten catalog Haydn had kept of his own works. Even more frustrating, this catalog contained not one but two almost identical incipits (opening measures) for concertos in C major. In 1961, Czech musicologist Oldřich Pulkert discovered a set of parts in Prague that corresponded to one of the two incipits. It was published and, of course, immediately taken up by cellists everywhere. As for the other C major incipit, it could have been a simple mistake (Haydn could have notated the theme from memory and didn’t remember it exactly) or a discarded variant.
On stylistic grounds, scholars have dated the C major concerto from between 1762 and 1765; it is certainly an early work, from the first years of Haydn’s tenure at Eszterháza (1761-1790). It belongs to that transitional period between Baroque and Classicism whose greatest representative, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788), had a strong influence on the young Haydn. The continuity of the rhythmic pulse and the numerous identical repeats of the first movement’s main theme are definitely Baroque features, while the shape of the musical gestures points to the emergence of a new style that would later be known as Classicism.
The original cello part shows that the soloist was expected to play along with the orchestra during tutti passages, reinforcing the bass line. The solo part is extremely demanding, with rapid passagework that frequently ascends to the instrument’s highest register. The second movement Adagio, in which the winds are silent, calls for an exceptionally beautiful tone, and the last movement for uncommon brilliance and stamina. Surely the first cellist of Haydn’s orchestra, Joseph Weigl, must have been one of the outstanding players of his time.
The DSO most recently performed Haydn’s Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in May 2022 on the William Davidson Neighborhood Concert Series, conducted by Yue Bao and featuring cellist Pablo Ferrández. The DSO first performed the piece in November 1964, conducted by Sixten Ehrling and featuring cellist Mihaly Virizlay.
Symphony No. 2, Overture to “L’Amant anonyme,” Op. 11, No. 2
Composed 1778-79
JOSEPH BOLOGNE, CHEVALIER DE SAINT-GEORGES
B. December 25, 1745, Baillif, Guadeloupe D. June 10, 1799, Paris, France
Like his Symphony No. 1, Saint-Georges’ s Symphony No. 2 was written while he was the conductor of the Concert des Amateurs. This was a post he had taken over from life-long friend and mentor (and possible composition teacher) François Gossec, who had left the Concert des Amateurs in 1773 to helm the Concert Spirituel. That Gossec left the direction of this ensemble in SaintGeorges’s capable hands is a testament to the latter’s musical skill and incredible work ethic, which allowed him to enter the highest social circles of 18th century Parisian society.
Born the son of a French plantation owner and a woman enslaved to him, Nanon, Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges first rose to prominence as a champion fencer. Knowing that a boy of mixed heritage faced a dim future in his birthplace of Guadeloupe in the Caribbean, Joseph was brought to Paris at the age of 7 by his father to receive an aristocratic education—not just in fencing, but also in courtly dance and horseback riding. At 13, he was enrolled at the Academie royal polytechnique des armes et de l’equitation under Nicolas Texier de la Boëssière, where his superior speed and agility earned him the reputation as one of the academy’s top students. Later, his skill with a blade allowed him to become known as one of the finest swordsmen in all of Europe, besting the best-known fencers of the day in high profile duels. After defeating Alexandre Picard, who openly taunted Saint-Georges’s skin color, SaintGeorges’s father gifted him a horse and buggy, indicative of the financial support Joseph and his mother received throughout his father’s life. At a time when most slave owners disowned the children they fathered with their slaves, the opposite was true for Saint-Georges.
By all accounts, Saint-Georges was a gentleman of the highest order. His good looks and charm earned him the affection of the Parisian elites—especially with women, with whom he was very popular. He maintained a close friendship with Marie Antoinette, and even gave her music lessons. Though he was never allowed to marry, Saint-Georges earned a reputation as a Don Juan of the Parisian salons. He rarely ever lost his temper in public unless thoroughly provoked by insults over his race, which he never tolerated.
In total, Saint-Georges wrote 14 violin concertos, 18 string quartets, three violin sonatas, a sonata for harp and flute, six sonatas for two violins, two symphonies and eight symphonie-concertantes, all written and published between 1771 and 1779. He turned his attention to writing operas almost exclusively after 1780, a genre in which he found less success.
His Symphony No. 2 was written sometime in 1778-79 and features a three-movement structure as opposed to the more traditional four. A year after its composition, Saint-Georges used the entire symphony as the overture for his opera, L'Amant anonyme, which is unfortunately lost. The work demonstrates Saint-Georges’s clear grasp of the Classical period aesthetic— distinct textures, and an emphasis on melody with varying accompanying figures.
The opening movement begins with an energetic theme in D major, propelled by an eighth-note accompaniment played by the lower strings. Its playful and dancelike secondary theme is presented by the first violins doubled by the oboe, with the second violins and violas answering in graceful quarter note figures. The development is written in a Sturm und Drang (storm and stress) style, featuring a brooding unison passage of fast runs before turning to a songful and melancholy theme set in E minor. Saint-Georges never dwells on these darker moments for too long, as the music returns to its lively state as the movement closes.
The second movement features a plaintive melody set in D minor—played first by the violins and answered a bar later by the violas and cellos. This imitative texture is present throughout. Though very simply
composed, this music does not lack the emotional depth that Saint-Georges was famous for achieving in his slow movements.
The finale is a joyous, energetic, and vivacious piece of music, written in 6/8 meter. Reminiscent of an Italian tarantella, this movement derives its sense of forward motion by an almost constant presence of eighth notes. The development also maintains the energy of the opening but in the darker key of D minor. A playful, Haydn-esque imitative passage between the violin sections segues directly into the recapitulation. The movement ends just as it began—boisterous and full of life. —Michael Divino
This performance marks the DSO premiere of Joseph Bologne, Chevalier De Saint-Georges’s Symphony No. 2.
Symphony No. 38 in D major, K. 504, “Prague”
Composed 1786 | Premiered 1786
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART
B. January 27, 1756, Salzburg, Austria D. December 5, 1791, Vienna, Austria
Scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, and strings. (approx. 23 minutes)
Mozart’s relationship with the people of Prague marks a happy period in the otherwise sad tale of his last years. While Vienna was growing indifferent to both the man and his music, Prague couldn’t seem to get enough of either. The “Prague” Symphony—which was actually written in Vienna at the end of 1786—is more difficult to perform and more conceptually advanced than any of Mozart’s previous efforts in the genre. By this time the symphony was expected to provide significant artistic weight and depth, rather than merely serve as a collection of pleasant sounds with which to open or close a concert.
The most noticeable feature of the first movement is the motivic chromatic figure that opens the Allegro section, which is gradually transformed and becomes the primary thematic material of the movement. In a break from standard sonata form, the first movement does not contain a secondary theme; rather, the opening theme continues to be developed through the end of the exposition and recapitulation sections, when it unfolds completely into an expression of pure joy.
Typical of Mozart in his later symphonies, the second movement is also in sonata form, instead of making use of a simpler ternary (or A-B-A) structure. With its slow tempo and distinctive melodic material, the listener can easily discern not only the main sections of the movement, but also the reworking of the original melodic material in the development section. By the time the first theme makes its reappearance in the recapitulation, the accompaniment has changed entirely, with the theme entering surreptitiously in the flutes and violins midway through a phrase played by the oboes, bassoons, and horns.
The Presto final movement, with its opera buffa-like themes, is reminiscent at times of The Marriage of Figaro. It opens at a relentless pace and does not let up. Yet in spite of the lighthearted and comedic tone, the finale features the use of understated and intricate counterpoint, with much of the music’s forward motion coming from the tension created when two voices play melodies in overlapping phrases. Nowhere is the buffa style more apparent than in the development, which begins with loud orchestral outbursts alternating with softer passages of imitative counterpoint in the flutes and oboes. By the time the opening theme returns it has incorporated this outburst from the development, leading the work to a jubilant, exhilarating conclusion.
The DSO most recently performed Mozart’s “Prague” Symphony as part of the Mozart Festival in January and February 2017, conducted by Leonard Slatkin. The DSO first performed the piece in October 1946, conducted by Karl Krueger.
KIAN SOLTANI
Hailed by The Times as a “remarkable cellist” and described by Gramophone as “sheer perfection,” Kian Soltani’s playing is characterized by a depth of expression, sense of individuality, and technical mastery, alongside a charismatic stage presence and ability to create an immediate emotional connection with his audience. He is now invited by the world’s leading orchestras, conductors, and recital promoters, propelling him from rising star to one of the most talked about cellists performing today.
In the 2021-22 season, Soltani debuted with orchestras including the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Czech Philharmonic, ORF Vienna Radio, Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, WDR, and Barcelona and Pittsburgh symphony orchestras. He returned to the London and Israel philharmonic orchestras, Vienna Symphony, Staatskapelle Berlin, and Tonhalle Zurich, among others. Furthermore, Soltani embarked on extensive orchestral touring including with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra and Daniel Barenboim, St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra and Yuri Temirkanov, ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra and Marin Alsop, and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Vasily Petrenko.
Recent orchestral highlights include the Vienna Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Berlin Staatskapelle, NCPA Orchestra, Boston Symphony, and Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Soltani was Artistin-Residence at the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival in July 2021, at which he curated concerts including a Persian evening with the Shiraz Ensemble. Soltani commenced a multi-year residency with Junge Wilde at Konzerthaus Dortmund in fall 2018. As a recitalist, Soltani has recently performed at Carnegie Hall, Salzburg and Lucerne festivals, Wigmore Hall, and the Boulez Saal, where he was invited to curate an evening of cello music.
In 2017, Soltani signed an exclusive recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon. His first disc, Home— comprising works for cello and piano by Schubert, Schumann, and Reza Vali—was released to international acclaim in 2018, with Gramophone describing the recording as “sublime.” Soltani has since recorded discs including the Dvorˇák and Tchaikovsky Piano Trios with Lahav Shani and Renaud Capucon, recorded live at Aix Easter Festival in 2018 (Warner Classics) and Dvořák’s Cello Concerto with the Staatskapelle Berlin and Daniel Barenboim in August 2020.
During the entirety of 2020, Soltani worked on his latest disc with Deutsche Grammophon, which was released in October 2021. The disc, entitled Cello Unlimited, is a celebration of the cello and film music.
Born in Bregenz, Austria in 1992 to a family of Persian musicians, Soltani began playing the cello at age four and was 12 when he joined Ivan Monighetti’s class at the Basel Music Academy. He was chosen as an Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation scholarship holder in 2014 and completed his further studies as a member of the Young Soloist Programme at Germany’s Kronberg Academy. He received additional important musical training at the International Music Academy in Liechtenstein.
Soltani plays “The London, ex Boccherini” Antonio Stradivari cello, kindly loaned to him by a generous sponsor through the Beares International Violin Society.
ABE SCOTT
Your Favorite Podcast Is Back
Season four of Between 2 Stands is back with new episodes in the 2022-2023 season!
First launched in May 2020 as a web series, the Between 2 Stands (B2S) podcast takes listeners on a journey inside the minds of DSO musicians and special guests, with hosts Abraham Feder (Assistant Principal Cello, Dorothy and Herbert Graebner Chair), Andrés Pichardo-Rosenthal (Assistant Principal Percussion, William Cody Knicely Chair), and Scott Strong (Horn, Ric and Carola Huttenlocher Chair). See below for B2S musings from Abe, Andrés, and Scott, and be sure to tune in to the new season! New episodes drop every first Monday of the month at 7 p.m. ET on your favorite podcasting platforms.
Learn more at dso.org/between2stands
WHY DID YOU CREATE THE SHOW? B2S is an accessible and enjoyable experience that creates a new level of engagement with our community. People who aren’t familiar with going to the symphony can sometimes feel intimidated while attending a concert. We wanted to break through the barrier between the stage and the audience so listeners can feel like they know us more personally. By sharing unique tidbits about ourselves and our fellow musicians, we hope to make Orchestra Hall feel like a home.
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE MOMENTS SO FAR? One of our favorite moments was hosting a pre-concert lecture before a performance at Orchestra Hall. Not only did it give audiences a musician’s perspective on the concert they were about to hear, but it also showcased the versatility of B2S and the many ways we can connect with listeners. Another highlight: the games! We’ve gotten a real kick out of “terms of enfearment” (Seasons 2 and 3) and “punch a composer in the face” (Season 1, Episode 1).
WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM YOUR GUESTS THAT YOU DIDN’T KNOW BEFORE? Every time we interview someone, we learn something new—whether it’s about the person, the instrument, or music history, there are always informative takeaways. Our interview with Wynton Marsalis was a window to jazz players of another era and we learned tons of incredible history. We love showcasing the general humanity of each guest and appreciating each other as musicians across a wide range of genres.
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FOLLOW THE GUYS’ PICKS, OR CHOOSE FOR YOURSELF AT DSO.ORG/CREATE
OCTOBER 14
Terence Blanchard with Tarriona “Tank” Ball & the Turtle Island Quartet
NOVEMBER 11-13
Jader Conducts Mahler’s “Resurrection” Symphony
DECEMBER 1-3
Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto & Schumann
JUNE 8-10
Strauss’ Also Sprach Zarathustra & Dueñas Performs Lalo
A COMMUNITY-SUPP JORTED ORCHESTRAJADER BIGNAMINI, Music Director ADER BIGNAMINI MUSIC DIRECTOR
Music Directorship endowed by the Kresge Foundation
JEFF TYZIK
Principal Pops Conductor TERENCE BLANCHARD
Fred A. Erb Jazz Creative Director Chair LEONARD SLATKIN
Music Director Laureate NEEME JÄRVI
Music Director Emeritus
TITLE SPONSOR:
HOT LATIN SOUNDS WITH THE MAMBO KINGS Sunday, October 16, 2022 at 3 p.m. in Orchestra Hall
ROBERT BERNHARDT, conductor
MAMBO KINGS: Richard DeLaney, music director and piano Wilfredo (Freddy) Colón, drums, timbales, and bongos John Viavattine, saxophone Hector Diaz, bass Tony Padilla, congas
Program to include:
I Richard Delaney - Melodia Dave Brubeck / arr. Richard Delaney - Blue Rondo à la Turk Richard Delaney – Nostalgia Guillermo Castillo / arr. Richard Delaney - Tres Lindas Cubanas Astor Piazzolla / arr. Richard Delaney - Milonga del Ángel Rafael Hernández Marín / arr. Richard Delaney - El cumbanchero
II Lennon-McCartney / arr. Richard Delaney - Day Tripper Richard Delaney - Marinera Richard Delaney - Danzón Michel Camilo - Caribe Tito Puente / arr. Richard Delaney - Oye Cómo Va
Program subject to change
A Pan-American Musical Journey
Audiences across the United States have enjoyed an explosive blend of Afro-Cuban rhythms and jazz improvisation courtesy of the Mambo Kings since their formation in the mid 1990s. Making their orchestral debut in 1997 with Jeff Tyzik, the group unites this afternoon with in-demand pops conductor Robert Bernhardt to present a range of repertoire from the sultry melancholy of Astor Piazzolla to the burning Afro-Cuban jazz of Tito Puente.
ROBERT BERNHARDT
In the 2021-22 season, conductor Bob Bernhardt celebrated 40 years as Principal Pops Conductor with the Louisville Orchestra. He is concurrently Principal Pops Conductor of the Grand Rapids Symphony and Music Director Emeritus and Principal Pops Conductor of the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera. Formerly, he was Principal Conductor/Artistic Director of the Rochester Philharmonic, Music Director and Conductor of the Tucson Symphony, Music Director and Conductor of the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera, Principal Guest Conductor of Kentucky Opera, Music Director and Conductor of the Amarillo Symphony, and Artistic Director of the Lake Placid Sinfonietta. Since 2006, he has been the conductor of the Symphony Under the Sky Festival with the Edmonton Symphony, and a frequent guest conductor annually on several of their subscription series.
He debuted with the Boston Pops in 1992 at John Williams’s invitation and has returned there often. He hs appeared frequently as a guest conductor with the Baltimore Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Cincinnati Pops, Pittsburgh Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Seattle Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, and others. In the world of pops, he has worked with scores of stars from Broadway, Rock & Roll, and the American Songbook: from Brian Stokes Mitchell and Kelli O’Hara, and the Beach Boys and Wynonna, to Jason Alexander and Ben Folds. A lover of opera, he conducted productions with Kentucky Opera for 18 consecutive seasons, and for 19 seasons with his own company in Chattanooga, as well as many guest conducting engagements with the Nashville Opera.
THE MAMBO KINGS
The Mambo Kings, together since 1995, are enjoying great success as Upstate New York’s foremost Latin jazz ensemble, and have rapidly earned a national reputation for their explosive blend of Afro Cuban rhythms and jazz improvisation.
Since their orchestral debut in 1997 with the Rochester Philharmonic and Conductor Jeff Tyzik, Mambo Kings have appeared at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival and in pops concerts with orchestras in Baltimore, Vancouver, Detroit, Dallas, Naples (FL), and Portland (OR), among others, performing original compositions and arrangements by pianist Richard DeLaney.
As a quintet, Mambo Kings have appeared as featured soloists at the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Fest, the Music in the Mountains Festival in Colorado, the Lewiston (NY) Jazz Fest, and the Big Sky Arts Fest in Bozeman, MT.
More recently, the 2019 season featured performances with the Alabama Symphony, a sold-out concert at the Grant Park Music Festival in Chicago, and a show with the Des Moines Symphony. The band weathered the 2020-21 season with online performances with the Austin, Buffalo, and West Michigan orchestras, and a live performance with the Virginia Symphony to wrap up the year.
Mambo Kings released their third self-produced recording, Nostalgia, in July of 2008. Nostalgia, along with their previous releases—Live! (2005) and Marinera (2003)—continues to receive radio airplay throughout North America and Puerto Rico.
A COMMUNITY-SUPPORTED ORCHESTRA
JADER BIGNAMINI MUSIC DIRECTOR JADER BIGNAMINI, Music Director
Music Directorship endowed by the Kresge Foundation
JEFF TYZIK
Principal Pops Conductor TERENCE BLANCHARD
Fred A. Erb Jazz Creative Director Chair LEONARD SLATKIN
Music Director Laureate NEEME JÄRVI
Music Director Emeritus
PVS CLASSICAL SERIES
Title Sponsor:
Friday, October 21, 2022 at 8 p.m. Saturday, October 22, 2022 at 8 p.m. Sunday, October 23, 2022 at 3 p.m. in Orchestra Hall
Felix Mendelssohn Concerto for Violin and Orchestra (1809 - 1847) in E minor, Op. 64 I. Allegro molto appassionato II. Andante III. Allegretto non troppo - Allegro molto vivace Benjamin Beilman, violin
Intermission
Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 3 in E-Flat major, Op. 55, “Eroica” (1770 - 1827) I. Allegro con brio II. Marcia funebre: Adagio assai III. Scherzo: Allegro vivace IV. Finale: Allegro molto
Saturday’s performance will be webcast via our exclusive Live From Orchestra Hall series, presented by Ford Motor Company Fund and made possible by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
PROGRAM AT-A-GLANCE | BEETHOVEN’S THIRD & MENDELSSOHN’S VIOLIN CONCERTO
Excellence Takes Time
In the context of compositional masterpieces, time really is of the essence. Much like the aging of fine wine, great compositional ideas need time to evolve. Beethoven’s “Eroica” Symphony—one of his most prominent and renowned works—arose after a six-month period of compositional silence, a rarity for Beethoven’s usual creative pace.
Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor took six years to complete, during which time he was experiencing feelings of self-doubt, the pressure of writing his third symphony, and an unhappy relocation to Berlin due to a request from King Frederick William IV of Prussia.
The commission of the opening piece on this program, Olga Neuwirth’s Masaot/Clocks without Hands, was delayed for five years, in which time Neuwirth drew connections between the ghost of Mahler and the spirit of her grandfather. Although she never knew her grandfather, this piece represented her journey to “find the unfindable” in him, causing her to stumble into the elusiveness of memory and time.
PROGRAM NOTES
Masaot/Clocks without Hands
Composed 2014 | Premiered 2015
OLGA NEUWIRTH
B. August 4, 1968, Graz, Austria Scored for 3 flutes (one doubling piccolo), 3 oboes, 3 clarinets (one doubling E-flat clarinet and one doubling bass clarinet), 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 3 horns, 3 trumpets, 2 trombones, bass trombone, tuba, percussion, celesta, and strings (approx. 20 minutes)
Olga Neuwirth wrote the following about Masaot/Clocks without Hands: In 2010 the Vienna Philharmonic asked me to write an orchestral work for the 100th anniversary of Gustav Mahler’s death. As I had to finish two operas by the end of 2011, I had to decline.
When the commission was postponed until 2015, I decided I did not want to drop the idea from 2010 of reflecting on Mahler. In the interim, my grandfather, whom I had never met and whom I only knew through photos and my grandmother’s stories, appeared to me in a dream. In the sunlit meadow of the Danube, with its rippling water, the wind moved myriads of green blades of grass in a strip of tangled reeds. My grandfather was standing in the midst of the grass, and playing one song after another to me on an old crackling tape recorder. He said: “From the start, I was strikingly different. I was an outsider and never entirely fit into my Austrian surroundings. All my life I had the feeling of being excluded. Listen to these songs: this is my story.” He had fallen out of time and was sharing this with me.
This dream had moved me so much that I wanted to process it by writing a composition.
Masaot/Clocks without Hands can be seen as a poetic reflection on how memories fade. The piece combines recurrent fragments of melodies from very different places and experiences from my grandfather’s life. The composition develops a “grid” in which song fragments resound and are recombined. Concurrently, there is a “musical object,” based on metronome beats, that makes time audible and perceptible. Just like on a spinning carousel, these metronome beats appear and disappear. Yet unlike on a carousel, they do not remain the same; they change each time through a slight shift in context and the superposition of various tempi. Through this “ticking of the metronome,” through this time’s externally regulated pulsation, time itself becomes a subjectively timeless realm of the subconscious.
Ultimately, time appears to dissolve: clocks without hands.
My grandfather was born in a city by the sea that had had a turbulent history: at times the city was under Venetian rule, while at others it was under CroatianHungarian rule. He later grew up in the Danube River Basin, on the border between Croatia and Hungary. Thus this piece was for me about the many different (musical) stories heard and carried to sea by the river: in my case, the Danube.
Back to Mahler. After its world premiere, his First Symphony was called “Katzenmusik” (caterwauling or cacophony) and criticized for eclecticism.
But that was precisely what interested me, and I wanted to explore this musical phenomenon.
I wanted to look back at the world of Kakanian heritage from the perspective of my present life. In the search for identity and origin.
Masaot/Clocks without Hands evolved out of the multi-voiced sound of my fragmented origins and my desire for an uninterrupted flow, determined throughout the piece by constantly interchanging cells. In Masaot/Clocks without Hands I try to respond to the idea of someone having “several homelands,” namely, by composing music that is both native and foreign. Familiar and unfamiliar sounds, beyond any form of Kakanian nostalgia, in the impossible attempt to stop time by composing.
This performance marks the DSO premiere of Olga Neuwirth’s Masaot/Clocks without Hands.
Composed 1838-1844 | Premiered 1845
FELIX MENDELSSOHN
B. February 3, 1809, Hamburg, Germany D. November 4, 1847, Leipzig, Germany Scored for solo violin, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, and strings. (approx. 27 minutes)
Felix Mendelssohn’s E minor violin concerto (his second) was written over a period of six years, and completed a mere three before his death. It remains the composer’s last large orchestral work. It was dedicated to the violin virtuoso Ferdinand David and benefited greatly from suggestions that David offered. Months after the work’s premiere, a second virtuoso—Joseph Joachim, Mendelssohn’s teenage protégé—performed it in Dresden, and Joachim remained a champion of the concerto for the rest of his life.
Many scholars noted that the concerto creatively breaks with established conventions in the opening bars of the first movement. Instead of having the full orchestra introduce the first theme before the soloist’s entrance, Mendelssohn reverses the order, allowing the solo violin to waft the opening melancholy theme over gently pulsing string arpeggios before building to a dramatic orchestral tutti. In contrast to the haunting beauty of the first theme, the second theme is characterized by a warm melody in the clarinets and flutes. And instead of moving directly from the development section into a recapitulation of the two main themes, Mendelssohn cleverly inserts a dazzling cadenza, which serves as an elegant and unexpected transition between the two sections.
The second movement follows directly on the heels of the first, with a lone, plaintive bassoon solo carrying the listener from one movement into the next. The musical structure of the movement follows a standard three-part A-B-A form, but within this simple pattern, Mendelssohn spins some of his most exquisitely conceived melodies. The finale is a bubbly, sparkling concoction that pushes the soloist’s virtuosity further and further as the movement progresses. Transparent orchestral textures allow clear projection of the acrobatic solo line, and the nimble coda drives both the
orchestra and soloist towards an exhilarating conclusion.
The DSO most recently performed Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor at a DSO Digital Concert in May 2021, conducted by Jader Bignamini and featuring violinist Midori. The DSO first performed the piece in March 1916, conducted by Weston Gales and featuring violinist Francis MacMillen.
Symphony No. 3 in E-Flat major, Op. 55, “Eroica”
Composed 1803-1804 | Premiered 1805
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN
B. December 1770, Bonn, Germany D. March 26, 1827, Vienna, Austria
The sharp “hammerstroke” chords that open Beethoven’s “Eroica” symphony are a genre-bending and even humorous imitation of the three loud chords heard in countless tiny, frivolous Italian sinfonias composed in Naples and Milan in the 1730s. In their original context, they were simply used to silence a noisy audience, but Beethoven boldly made them into structural pillars that recur throughout the first movement of the “Eroica.” This nicely encapsulates what makes the symphony so groundbreaking: Beethoven doesn’t veer from the pre-established musical path per se, but he kicks up so much dust that his genius is laid bare.
The “Eroica” maintains many elements of the symphonic traditions in a fairly straightforward way—at least on paper. It opens with a simple theme that rocks gently up and down the notes of the E-flat major triad. The horn trio in the middle of the Scherzo observes the standard practice of featuring the wind instruments in that section of the movement. And, despite its huge architecture and extraordinary technical demands, the “Eroica” is a work in which the sound of the string choir is still a basic orchestra element.
But in practice, there was nothing at all like the “Eroica” in 1804. The piece’s unambiguous hugeness, dramatic emphasis, and a sense of self-importance were all new. It was the longest symphony ever written at the time. And it boldly shifted emphasis from the first movement to the last, creating the idiom that would become known as the “finale symphony”—the fugal end of Mozart’s “Jupiter” Symphony offers the only real precedent for Beethoven’s “Eroica” in this regard.
Though the first-movement exposition is set forth as a typical set of short, pithy themes, the energy gathered in them foretells the scope of the musical structure Beethoven has in store. But developmental proceedings are suddenly interrupted by a brand-new theme, in the quite foreign key of E minor. Beethoven then gradually introduces the opening triadic theme in a variety of tonalities that eventually lead back to the main key of E-flat major and a recapitulation of all the thematic material. He appends a long coda to the movement, reintroducing the new theme as one of its dramatic events.
The slow movement beautifully contrasts somber, heroic, and elegiac sentiments, and the Scherzo is a virtuosic and even hilarious romp—with pizzicato string effects, contrasting horn colors in the trio section, and stubborn syncopations and changes of meter. The exuberant spirits can be capped only by the climactic variations Beethoven uses to conclude the “Eroica,” which we now recognize as the bridge between the Classical and Romantic periods. And of course, Beethoven ends the movement with another set of fierce “hammerstroke” chords. —Carl R. Cunningham
The DSO most recently performed Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 at a DSO Digital Concert in December 2020, conducted by Jader Bignamini. The DSO first performed the piece in January 1919, conducted by Ossip Gabrilowitsch.
MATTHIAS PINTSCHER
Matthias Pintscher is the Music Director of the Ensemble Intercontemporain in Paris. In 2020-21, Pintscher also began a three-season appointment as the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s new Creative Partner. Known equally as one of today’s foremost composers, Pintscher’s works are frequently commissioned and performed by major international orchestras.
Pintscher opened his 2021-22 season as the “Theme Composer” of Suntory Hall’s 2021 festival, including the world premiere of his work neharot, which he conducted with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra. In January 2022, his violin concerto written for Leila Josefowicz, Assonanza II, was premiered by the Cincinnati Symphony under Pintscher’s baton. In recent seasons, Pintscher has begun to conduct staged operas, and recently returned to the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin to lead Lohengrin, for which he gave the production’s premiere.
Pintscher has held many titled positions, most recently as the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra’s Artist-inAssociation for nine seasons. In 2018-19, he served as the Season Creative Chair for the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, as well as Artist-in-Residence at the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. He was Principal Conductor of the Lucerne Festival Academy Orchestra from 2016-2018.
Pintscher began his musical training in conducting, studying with Pierre Boulez and Peter Eötvös in his early twenties, during which time composing soon took a more prominent role in his life. Pintscher’s music is championed by some of today’s finest performing artists, orchestras, and conductors. He is published exclusively by Bärenreiter. Pintscher has been on the composition faculty of the Juilliard School since 2014.
BENJAMIN BEILMAN
Benjamin Beilman has won international praise both for his passionate performances and deep rich tone. Highlights of Beilman’s 2021-22 season included performances of the Samuel Coleridge-Taylor concerto with the Indianapolis, Toledo, and Charlotte symphonies, as well as the premiere a new violin concerto by Chris Rogerson with the Kansas City Symphony and Gemma New. In Europe, recent highlights include performances with the Swedish Radio Symphony and Elim Chan, the Antwerp Symphony and Krzysztof Urbański, the Toulouse Symphony and Tugan Sokhiev, and the Trondheim Symphony and Han-Na Chan. He also returned to the BBC Scottish Symphony, and the Tonkünstler Orchestra, with whom he has recorded a concerto by Thomas Larcher.
Beilman studied with Almita and Roland Vamos at the Music Institute of Chicago, Ida Kavafian and Pamela Frank at the Curtis Institute of Music, and Christian Tetzlaff at the Kronberg Academy, and has received many prestigious accolades including a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship, an Avery Fisher Career Grant, and a London Music Masters Award. He has an exclusive recording contract with Warner Classics and released his first disc, Spectrum, for the label in 2016, featuring works by Stravinsky, Janáček and Schubert. Beilman plays the “Engleman” Stradivarius from 1709 generously on loan from the Nippon Music Foundation.
A COMMUNITY-SUPP JORTED ORCHESTRAJADER BIGNAMINI, Music Director ADER BIGNAMINI MUSIC DIRECTOR
Music Directorship endowed by the Kresge Foundation
JEFF TYZIK
Principal Pops Conductor TERENCE BLANCHARD
Fred A. Erb Jazz Creative Director Chair LEONARD SLATKIN
Music Director Laureate NEEME JÄRVI
Music Director Emeritus
TITLE SPONSOR:
THE MUSIC OF ABBA
Friday, October 28, 2022 at 8 p.m. Saturday, October 29, 2022 at 8 p.m. Sunday, October 30, 2022 at 3 p.m. in Orchestra Hall
MICHAEL KRAJEWSKI, conductor RAJATON AILI IKONEN, soprano • ESSI WUORELA, soprano SOILA SARIOLA, alto • HANNU LEPOLA, tenor AHTI PAUNU, baritone • JUSSI CHYDENIUS, bass
All composed by Ulvaeus / Andersson / Anderson
arr. Kiiski ABBA Medley arr. Kuusisto Dancing Queen - Money, Money, Money - One of Us arr. Lepola Head Over Heels arr. Kiiski S.O.S. arr. Vanska Take a Chance On Me arr. Kiiski Chiquitita arr. Kiiski Mamma Mia
INTERMISSION
arr. Kuusisto People Need Love – an ABBA Symphonic Medley arr. Kuusisto When All Is Said and Done arr. Kiiski Knowing Me, Knowing You arr. Chydenius Fernando arr. Vanska Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! arr. Kuusisto Does Your Mother Know - The Winner Takes It All – Thank You For the Music
PROGRAM AT-A-GLANCE | THE MUSIC OF ABBA
Mamma Mia...Here We Go Again!
Music of Swedish supergroup ABBA (comprised of Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad) returns to Orchestra Hall. Now a global household name, the band first rose to prominence after their Eurovision Song Contest-winning performance of “Waterloo” in 1974.
During ABBA’s golden years between 1972 and 1982, the group consisted of two married couples (Fältskog and Ulvaeus, and Lyngstad and Andersson). As their popularity increased, their personal lives suffered, eventually leading to the collapse of both marriages and ultimately the group’s separation in 1982.
In 1999, the music of ABBA was adapted into a stage musical titled Mamma Mia! The production toured worldwide and is among the top-ten longest running Broadway and West End productions. In 2008, the musical was made into a film of the same title, engaging a new generation with the timeless magic of ABBA. In this tribute, conductor Michael Krajewski conducts a set of the band’s top hits. Get ready to unleash your inner dancing queen!
PROFILES
MICHAEL KRAJEWSKI
Known for his entertaining programs and engaging personality, Michael Krajewski is a much sought-after pops conductor in the US, Canada, and abroad.
His twenty-year relationship with the Houston Symphony included 17 years as Principal Pops Conductor. He also served as Principal Pops Conductor of the Long Beach Symphony for 11 years, Principal Pops Conductor of Atlanta Symphony for eight years, Music Director of the Philly Pops for six years, and Principal Pops Conductor of the Jacksonville Symphony for 25 years.
Krajewski’s busy schedule as a guest conductor includes concerts with major and regional orchestras across the United States. In Canada, he has appeared with the orchestras of Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Regina, and Kitchener-Waterloo. Overseas, he has performed in Ireland, Spain, the Czech Republic, Iceland, Malaysia, and China.
Krajewski has conducted concerts featuring notable musicians and entertainers from many diverse styles of music. He has worked with classical luminaries such as vocalist Marilyn Horne, flutist James Galway, pianist Alicia de Larrocha, and guitarists Pepe and Angel Romero.
In the field of popular music, he has performed with Roberta Flack, Judy Collins, Art Garfunkel, Kenny Loggins, Ben Folds, Rufus Wainright, Jason Alexander, Patti Austin, Sandi Patty, Megan Hilty, Matthew Morrison, Doc Severinsen, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, The Chieftains, Chicago, Pink Martini, and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.
Born in Detroit, Krajewski studied music education at Wayne State University and conducting at the Cincinnati CollegeConservatory of music. He was an Antal Dorati Fellowship Conductor with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and subsequently served as the DSO’s assistant conductor for four years. Krajewski now lives in Florida with his wife Darcy. In his spare time, he enjoys travel, photography, and solving crossword puzzles.
RAJATON
The Finnish word Rajaton translates as “boundless”—a word that so accurately describes the way this six-voice a cappella ensemble approaches music. Regularly performing around a hundred concerts and workshops each year, Rajaton exposes their audiences to the kind of diversity of
repertoire, singing style, and stage presentation that has made them a phenomenon on the world stage.
Performing at concert halls, churches, jazz, and choral festivals, this distinct group of musicians approaches all styles of music with the same level of commitment and integrity, making it difficult to imagine an audience that they could not inspire, or a type of music they could not make their own. In their native Finland, Rajaton is a bona fide pop phenomenon, successfully bridging the gap that often exists between classical and mainstream convention.
Rajaton has released 16 different albums. In 2017, Rajaton celebrated 20 years of music-making with one double platinum, three platinum, and eight gold records in Finland under their belt, as their worldwide record sales draw over 400,000 copies altogether.
Ever seeking new artistic challenges, the group has grown immeasurably through collaborations with other a cappella artists, including The King’s Singers and The Real Group, as well as productions with film directors and choreographers. But it is perhaps their deep passion for choral art, their generosity of spirit, and their sheer enjoyment of singing that has won the hearts and acclaim of audiences and critics everywhere. Their energy—infectious; their ability to entertain and inspire—Rajaton!
