THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY College of Music presents
University Philharmonia Alexander Jiménez, Music Director and Conductor William Whitehead, Graduate Associate Conductor
Thursday, November 9, 2023 7:30 p.m. | Opperman Music Hall
PROGRAM Toccata and Fugue in D Minor
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) tr. Leopold Stokowski (1882–1977) Will Whitehead, conductor
Entr’acte (a minuet and trio)
Caroline Shaw (b. 1982) INTERMISSION
Symphonic Dances, Op. 64 I. Allegro moderato e marcato II. Allegretto grazioso III. Allegro giocoso IV. Andante-Allegro molto e risoluto
Edward Grieg (1843–1907)
NOTES ON THE PROGRAM Bach: Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BVW 565 The marvelous resources of the nineteenth-century symphony orchestra serve the broadest musical imaginative purposes with amazing facility. Although the twentieth century added a broad array of percussion instruments, the fundamental sound resources of the orchestra were in place by around 1850. During the 1800s the instrumental colors available in the orchestra grew tremendously as a result of the influence of the opera orchestra. Composers of opera were studiously incorporating new instruments into their works to heighten the dramatic atmosphere on the stage. French composers such as Meyerbeer led the way, followed by Wagner and others. A short list of newlyintroduced instruments includes the tuba, trumpets and horns with valves, the bass clarinet, English horn, keyboard instruments, multiple harps, thundersheets—the list goes on. At the same time, imaginative orchestrators were assiduously exploring the deep resources of the string family by pushing the limits of the higher register, developing a variety of figurations, using special effects such as multiple stops, playing with the wood of the bow (rather than the bow hair), pizzicato, harmonics, and novel combinations of divisi strings. And these are just a few of the deep well of possibilities that serve composers and orchestrators. What is more, and perhaps most important, is that these resources were varied and rich enough to serve not only nineteenth-century art, as well as the radical changes of musical style of the twentieth century, but still seem without limits of possibility in our new century. With this as background, why should we listen to a twentieth- century arrangement for orchestra of an eighteenthcentury masterpiece for organ: Bach’s venerable Toccata and Fugue in D Minor? The short answer, of course, is that Leopold Stokowski, flamboyant showman and longtime conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra, ran a cottage industry in the last century making splashy arrangements for symphony orchestra of music from other media that showcased his “Fabulous Philadelphia Sound.” Among them were several of J. S. Bach’s organ works, arrangements of
which he thought would better acquaint the public with these masterpieces; today, of course, long after the Baroque revival, this is superfluous. But, these arrangements were all the rage earlier on—they were a hit in the movie, The Big Broadcast of 1937, where Stokowski, flowing mane and all, played himself (of course). Later we are familiar with the Toccata’s appearance in Walt Disney’s motion picture, Fantasia. So, finally, why do we still perform this hoary warhorse, of dubious artistic origin? Well, the answer is simple—it is a sonic feast, and just plainly a lot of innocent fun. The music’s drama is enhanced immeasurably by the deep resources of the symphony orchestra. Clearly, Stokowski did a magnificent job in showing us another dimension of Bach’s timeless music. This is no time for pedants and snobs. Enjoy! – © 2015 William E. Runyan
Shaw: Entr’acte for String Orchestra Caroline Shaw (b. 1982) is a musician who moves among roles, genres, and mediums, trying to imagine a world of sound that has never been heard before but has always existed. She is the recipient of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize in Music, several Grammy awards, an honorary doctorate from Yale, and a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship. She has worked with a range of artists including Rosalía, Renée Fleming, and Yo-Yo Ma, and she has contributed music to films and TV series including Fleishman is in Trouble, Bombshell, Yellowjackets, Maid, Dark, and Beyonce’s Homecoming. The composer writes: Entr’acte was written in 2011 after hearing the Brentano Quartet play Haydn’s Op. 77 No. 2 — with their spare and soulful shift to the D-flat major trio in the minuet. It is structured like a minuet and trio, riffing on that classical form but taking it a little further. I love the way some music (like the minuets of Op. 77) suddenly takes you to the other side of Alice’s looking glass, in a kind of absurd, subtle, technicolor transition.
– reprinted from https://www.laphil.com/musicdb/pieces/6685/entracte
Grieg: Symphonic Dances, Op. 64 Edvard Grieg is considered to be the father of the Norwegian nationalist school of composition. Trained at the famed Leipzig Conservatory, he returned to Norway and became fascinated with his home country’s tradition of folk music, a fascination that informed his compositional language. Grieg’s music is characterized by a refined lyrical sense and a late Romantic harmonic style. Of his orchestral works, the most performed are incidental music to the Henry Ibsen’s play, Peer Gynt, and the majestic and beloved Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16. He did not, however, compose any symphonies. If the Symphonic Dances heard tonight are any indication, he did not find the motive-driven symphony that ruled the day suitable to his artistic temperament. The four movements of the Symphonic Dances are not necessarily interconnected by an overarching symphonic narrative. Instead, we find a set of delightful Norwegian folk tunes inspired by Ludwig Mathias Lindeman’s “Mountain Melodies, Old and New” of 1853. Composed in 1898, the movements are built on typical Norwegian dances (and this work is not to be confused with the Norwegian Dances, Op. 35, for four-hand piano), including two different settings of the Halling (a traditional dance typically danced in rural weddings) in the first two movements, and the springdans (a leaping dance for men) in the third movement.
The rousing final movement departs from Lindeman’s collection and borrows two tunes, instead, from another collection titled Twenty-five Norwegian Folksongs and Dances: Såg du nokke Kjaeringa (You said enough, Kjaeringa!) and Brulåten (The Wedding Party). – Alexander Jiménez
University Philharmonia Personnel Alexander Jiménez, Music Director and Conductor William Whitehead, Graduate Associate Conductor Violin I Sarah Biesack ‡ Amanda Marcy Will Purser Bailey Bryant Mariana Reyes Parra Hayden Green Myra Sexton Eden Rewa Olivia Leichter Christopher Wheaton Abigail Jennings Rose Ossi Mari Stanton Elizabeth Milan Violin II Carlos Cordero* Alex Roes Victoria Joyce Karolyne Lugo Chloe Caldwell Sarita Thosteson Kali Henre Elina Nyquist Noah Johnson Samuel Ovalle Peter Fennema Quinn French
Viola Tyana McGann* Harper Knopf Abigayle Benoit Spencer Schneider Jonathan Taylor Ruth Gray Kiran Hafner Emma Patterson Cello Noah Hays* Param Mehta Caroline Keen Abigail Fernandez Jaden Sanzo Jake Reisinger Natalie Taunton Sophie Stalnaker Zoe Thornton Marina Edwards Ryan Wolff Sydney Spencer Bass John Hermann* Layla Feaster Paris Lallis Charles Storch Emma Waidner Harp Ezekiel Harris* Ava Crook
Flute Moriah Emrich* Renee Roberts Carissa Kettering Emma Cranford Piccolo Emma Cranford
Trumpet CarlosManuel Aceves* Jeremiah Gonzalez Bob Kerr* Trombone Carter Wessinger* Justus Smith
Oboe Sarah Ward* Jordan Miller* Anisa Herbert Alice Frisch
Bass Trombone Kevin Li
Clarinet Jalen Smalls Dawson Huynh Joshua Collins* Morgan Magnoni*
Percussion Alyssa Coleman
Bassoon Ryder Kaya Timothy Schwindt* Hannah Farmer Korsica Kegg
Orchestra Stage Manager Sierra Su
Horn Jordan Perkins* Isaí Santos AC Caruthers Alexandro Garcia Allison Kirkpatrick Issac Roman
Tuba Charlie Nelson
Orchestra Manager Melody Quiroga
Orchestra Librarians Will Whitehead Guilherme Rodrigues Administrative Assistant Marina Akamatsu
‡ Concertmaster * Principal