ABOUT THE CONDUCTOR
Alexander Jiménez is Professor of Conducting, Director of Orchestral Activities, and String Area Coordinator at the Florida State University College of Music. He has recorded on various labels such as Naxos, Navona, Neos, Canadian Broadcasting Ovation, and Mark. Jiménez has a strong dedication to contemporary composers and has collaborated with renowned composers like Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, Ladisalv Kubík, Anthony Iannaccone, Krzysztof Penderecki, Martin Bresnick, Zhou Long, Chen Yi, Harold Schiffman, Louis Andriessen, and Georg Friedrich Haas. As a guest conductor, he has led performances in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East, including appearances with prestigious orchestras like the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Brno Philharmonic, and the Israel Netanya Chamber Orchestra. He is equally comfortable conducting professional and educational orchestras, including regional and state honor orchestras in various states, as well as the NAfME AllEastern Honor Orchestra in 2009. Jiménez has also worked with the Boston University Tanglewood Institute and the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp.
Under Jimenez’s leadership, the orchestral studies program at FSU has grown and gained recognition as one of the top programs in the country. The University Symphony Orchestra has been featured at conferences such as the College Orchestra Directors National Conference and the American String Teachers Association National Conference. The University Philharmonia has performed at the Southeast Conference of the Music Educators National Conference and the College Orchestra Directors Association National Conference in 2023. The national PBS broadcast of Zwilich’s Peanuts Gallery® featuring the University Symphony Orchestra was recognized as an outstanding performance in 2007. In 2023, the University Symphony Orchestra embarked on a tour, delivering acclaimed performances at the Steinmetz Concert Hall of the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Orlando, as well as in Santiago and Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.
Jimenez’s former students can be found worldwide, conducting in academic institutions, youth orchestras, and professional orchestras, including notable organizations such as the National Tour of Les Miserables, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the National Opera, the Merola Opera Program of the San Francisco Opera, The Yerevan State Opera, Appalachian State University, Indiana University, the Rochester Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, Ithaca College, Whitman College, and Carthage College.
In addition to his conducting work, Jiménez is also a busy adjudicator. He serves as an international ambassador for the European Festival of Music for Young People in Belgium and frequently adjudicates and provides clinics for Festival Disney. At FSU, he has received University Teaching Awards in 2006 and 2018, The Transformation Through Teaching Award, and the Guardian of the Flame Award, recognizing his outstanding mentorship.
At the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Michigan, Jiménez holds positions as a principal conductor of the Festival Orchestra, Blue Lake Camerata, and serves as artistic director. Jiménez also serves as conductor of the Tallahassee Ballet, has appeared on numerous occasions with the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, and was the music director of the Tallahassee Youth Orchestras from 2000 to 2017.
ABOUT THE FEATURED SOLOIST
Violinist Thomas Roggio maintains an exciting career as a performer and collaborator. Originally from Long Island, New York, he is currently a Doctor of Music student at Florida State University, studying with Benjamin Sung. As a member of the Burgin String Quartet, Thomas has given masterclasses internationally and recorded works by FSU composers for NPR. In 2023 he was selected as the winner of FSU’s Doctoral Concerto Competition performing Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1. Previous solo engagements include appearances with the Tallahassee Bach Parley and Bowling Green State University Philharmonia.
A passionate performer of new music, Thomas has collaborated alongside artists such as Pamela Z, Curtis Stewart, Yvette Young, and Benjamin Sung. As a fellow with The Next Festival of Emerging Artists, he has premiered works by Curtis Stewart, Leilehua
Lanzilotti, Che Bufford, Matthew Evan Taylor, Peter Askim, and Yvette Young. In 2019, he was a guest performer at The Society of Composers, Inc. Region V Conference, performing Cold Brew Rejuvenation (2019) by Jon-Luke Martin.
Thomas plays regularly with Sinfonia Gulf Coast, Valdosta Symphony and Tallahassee Symphony. He received performance degrees from Bowling Green State University with Caroline Chin and SUNY Fredonia with Maureen Yuen.
NOTES ON THE PROGRAM
Shostkovich: Concerto for Violin No. 1, Op. 99
On no other major recent composer has more ink been spilt attempting to understand what thought processes and motivations reveal the true self than that on Shostakovich. The evidence is fought over, sifted, and re-sifted to build the case that he was a musically gifted, but incredibly naïve, tool of the worst instincts of Stalinism. Or, on the other hand, that he was a musically gifted, but wondrously deceptive, resident critic of the terrors of Soviet Communism. Even – something of both, for Shostakovich left a maddeningly ambiguous record of his inner thoughts.
His artistic life is a case study in the tragic difficulty of being true to one’s own sense of artistic integrity and vision, while balancing that with the practical necessity of having any opportunity to exist at all – both as an artist, or even as a human being – in an oppressive
totalitarian society. Accordingly, his compositions varied in their styles over the decades. Those of his early maturity were composed under the daily fear of his vanishing in Stalin’s purges of the 1930s; during the “Great Patriotic War” with the Nazi government, the national effort allowed artists a bit more latitude in their expressions. But the clamp down after the war produced understandable, but confusingly cooperative “artistic confessions” of his lack of sufficient sensitivity to collectivist politics. Thus, his long line of fifteen symphonies is marked by a few embarrassingly “populist” potboilers, as well as by his immortal masterpieces.
Shostakovich was equally capable of writing satirical compositions that scathingly excoriate the excesses and flaws of Western Democracies, as well as works of dark and profound passion that lament the fundamental tragedies of universal human experience. It is tempting for those who enjoy easy freedoms of artistic expression to hold others from other times to a high moral standard and to adjure them to not “sell out” their integrity. But few major composers have endured such political and artistic oppression, as did Shostakovich.
Which brings us to his first violin concerto. The impressive gifts of the great Russian violinist, David Oistrakh, led Shostakovich to begin the composition of the concerto in Summer 1947, while in the meantime, epic political events were brewing. Andrey Zhdanov, head of state affairs for the arts, was orchestrating a campaign to repress those artists who were not sufficiently toeing the Stalinist line for accessible music for the proletariat. The storm erupted in January 1945, when Shostakovich, Prokofiev, and others had their nonconformist compositions proscribed. Consequently, the violin concerto went into what Shostakovich called “the drawer” – a metaphor for works that were dangerously out of political fashion, and which he kept to himself. After Stalin’s death in March 1953, the concerto and other great works came out of “the drawer,” and musical posterity is much the richer. The violin concerto is dedicated to Oistrakh; he collaborated with some revisions and played the première with the Leningrad Philharmonic in October 1955.
Cast in four movements, rather than the typical three, it is a dark, serious, and weighty affair, and clearly symphonic in both scope and composition. Bearing little resemblance to violin concertos that feature memorable melodies and an emphasis upon showy virtuosity, Shostakovich’s work is a formidable intellectual challenge as well a musical one – and for the soloist, it must be said, a physical one, as well. The first movement, “Nocturne,” is, of course, an unusual way to begin a concerto, and the mood is more than crepuscular – it is a study in pessimistic reflections at midnight. The orchestra stays well out of the way, yet provides a backdrop of somber dark, rich colors as the soloist relentlessly weaves a weft of tentative, searching melodic lines that pose questions, but no answers. Some have aptly compared it with the sad, elegiac first movement of Elgar’s Cello Concerto – a reflection of the death and destruction of WWI.
Most symphonies have a scherzo as an inner movement, and in this concerto Shostakovich has written one that is obviously related to the common trope of a “demonic,” “satanic,” or “devil’s” violin. This image goes back to the Middle Ages and has been common coin
in musical compositions since the nineteenth century. The strings mostly retire here, as the soloist engages with the unusual colors in the threatening woodwinds. Here, as in the last movement, there is a hint of Jewish scales and melody – but only a hint. Shostakovich about this time had composed other compositions on specifically Jewish themes as a counter to anti-Semitism, and that interest surfaces here, as well. The composer’s famed mastery of musical sarcasm pervades the frenetic virtuosity.
The third movement – clearly a dirge – is a case in point as a target for Stalin’s apparatchiks, ever vigilant for the artistic sin of “formalism”– that is abstract music without palpable reference to the glories of collectivism. It is a passacaglia, a centuries old technique that uses a repeating bass line (think of the Pachelbel canon) to generate structure. Here, the bass line is seventeen bars long, repeated nine times, with Shostakovich’s skill as an imaginative orchestrator coming to the fore. Each repetition of the bass theme is clothed in new orchestra colors, building into heart-rending intensity with each iteration. Finally, when there seems to be nowhere else to go in this stress and passion, the soloist plunges into a challenging cadenza of unprecedented power, length, and drama. It practically takes on the significance of a fifth movement, and eventually takes us right into the last movement, “Burlesque.”
It’s a riotous, wild affair, threatening to careen out of control, with familiar elements of Shostakovich’s style propelling us along: Russian dancing and drinking, Jewish folksongs, vicious social parody, among others. As this vital composition drives to a smashing conclusion, the audience will perhaps be as exhausted as the orchestra and soloist. Notwithstanding his putative, occasional acquiescence to the oppressive Soviet state, the Violin Concerto, along with its peers, is eloquent testimony to the genius of the real Dimitri Shostakovich. – ©2021
Brahms: Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 68
William E. Runyan
Ludwig van Beethoven’s compositional output left an indelible mark upon the musical traditions of Europe. For many composers this influence proved daunting, making the task of supplying a worthy new voice to the German symphonic oeuvre an almost insurmountable challenge. This obstacle was perhaps felt by none so deeply as Johannes Brahms, who once remarked, “I shall never compose a symphony! You have no idea how one of our craft feels when he hears a giant like Beethoven striding behind him.” It was only after more than a decade of composing that Brahms felt comfortable venturing into this realm that had been dominated by Beethoven. Even then, the composer toiled over the work for an additional fourteen years. In 1876, he completed his first symphony, at the age of 43. After finishing this work, he apparently felt less pressure to continue the grand tradition of Beethoven; he wrote his second symphony in less than a year.
Of Brahms’s four symphonies, the first incorporates the most of Beethoven’s symphonic compositional characteristics. Notably, the tonal relationships in Symphony No. 1 are
distinctly similar to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony in that the C-minor tonality eventually progresses to the parallel major. Additionally, the first and fourth movements open with slow introductions, thereby drawing clear associations to Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. The slow introduction was not present when Brahms presented the first movement of Symphony No. 1 in a letter to Clara Schumann. One wonders if her tepid reception of “pretty strong” influenced the composer to utilize more characteristics of Beethoven’s compositional model to bolster his own work.
Through closely spaced chromatic writing over a tonic pedal point, the thirty-seven measure introduction sets the tension in the first movement so convincingly that it is difficult to imagine the movement without this section. The second movement abates the tension that was carefully and patiently developed in the first movement. It features a beautiful duet between the violin and horn in a relaxed triple meter. The following movement is written in the characteristic form of a third movement, although the tempo and melody present an entirely unexpected character. Through use of the woodwinds and horns in melodic thirds, Brahms engenders pastoral associations that stylistically offset the third movement from the opening of the fourth. The fourth movement opens similarly to the first with a slowly developing introduction. The tension increases gradually over the course of the introduction through accelerating pizzicato string passages before resolving into a grand chorale in the horns and trombones. After this passage develops, Brahms introduces a new theme that takes over, driving the intensity of the composition to the very end.
Admittedly, there are such similarities between Brahms’s method of composition and Beethoven’s that Hans von Bülow referred to this work as Beethoven’s tenth symphony. However, the composition is not without Brahms’s unique voice and original style. The rhythmic complexity for which Brahms is so well known pervades the work. In addition, the third movement breaks with Beethoven’s precedent of setting the third movement in a scherzo tempo. Instead, Brahms builds interest into the movement through different means and lets the tempo relax, marking the movement “Un poco Allegretto e grazioso” – “a little quickly and gracefully.”
Brahms labored over every detail of this symphony before presenting it to the world. Through years of revision and careful consideration, he submitted a work worthy of the grand tradition in which it followed, but he also laid a path for future directions in the development of symphonic composition.
– Dr. Paul Luongo reprinted with permission
University Symphony Orchestra Personnel
Alexander Jiménez, Music Director and Conductor
Guilherme Rodrigues, Associate Conductor
Violin
MaryKatherine Whiteley ‡
Masayoshi Arakawa ‡‡
Tommaso Bruno
Maria Mendez
Darrian Lee
Keat Zhen Cheong
Rosalee Walsh
Stacey Sharpe
Angel Andres
Jean-Luc Cataquet
Nicole Vega
Barbara Santiago
Catherine Yara
Violin II
Gabriela Da Silva Fogo*
Madelyne Garnot
Maya Johnson
Anna Kirkland
Callan Downing
Hope Welsh
Gabriel Salinas-Guzman
Harshul Mulpuru
Alyssa Donall
Ana Uribe
Michael Mesa
Joan Prokopowicz
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Luiz Barrionuevo*
Jeremy Hill
Hunter Sanchez
Joshua Singletary
Ahdi Horton
Marina Akamatsu
Caroline Bruns
Abigail Felde
Margot Elder
Keara Henre
Cello
Mitchell George*
Thu Vo
Angelese Pepper
Liam Sabo
Marina Burguete-Diago
Katie Jo Gelasco
Emma Hoster
Clare Bevensee
Luke Ponko
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Maximilian Levesque*
Alejandro Bermudez
Christian Maldonado
Alex Lunday
Lucas Kornegay
Kent Rivera
Megan Hipp
Harp
Isabelle Scott
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Xiaoyuan Cao
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Rachael Lawson*
Brenna Wiinanen*
Steven Fireman
Lindsey Kovach
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Emma Cranford
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Nic Kanipe*
Luis Gallo*
Andrew Swift
Elijah Barrios
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Luis Gallo
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Anne Glerum*
Dave Scott*
Travis Irizarry
Hannah Faircloth
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Dave Scott
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Josie Whiteis*
Cailin McGarry
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Ryder Kaya
Horn
Leslie Bell*
Tarre Nelson*
Jordan Perkins
Tommy Langston
Brianna Nay
Trumpet
Madison Barton*
Jeremy Perkins
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Grant Keel*
Connor Altagen
Bass Trombone
Justin Hamann
Tuba
Chris Bloom*
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Landon Holladay*
Kylan Bigby
Jackson Kowalczyk
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Kylan Bigby
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Heather Simpson
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Alejandro Bermudez
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Will Whitehead
Guilherme Rodrigues
Administrative Assistant
Marina Akamatsu
‡ Concertmaster
‡‡ Associate Concertmaster
* Principal
2023–2024 CONCERT SEASON
FALL November 19, 2023 Elijah Felix Mendelssohn UNITY 17 January 28, 2024 Sounds of Cinema Celebrating Tallahassee’s Bicentennial SPRING April 28, 2024 Lord Nelson Mass Joseph Haydn
All performances in Ruby Diamond Concert Hall, Florida State University Funded in part by TICKETS: TCCHORUS.ORG OR 850-597-0603
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2023-2024
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*University Musical Associates Executive Committee
The University Musical Associates is the community support organization for the FSU College of Music. The primary purposes of the group are to develop audiences for College of Music performances, to assist outstanding students in enriching their musical education and careers, and to support quality education and cultural activities for the Tallahassee community. If you would like information about joining the University Musical Associates, please contact Kim Shively, Director of Special Programs, at kshively@fsu.edu or 850-644-4744.
The Florida State University provides accommodations for persons with disabilities. Please notify the College of Music at 850-644-3424 at least five business days prior to a musical event if accommodation for disability or publication in alternative format is needed.
