THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY College of Music presents the
University Philharmonia
Alexander Jiménez, Music Director and Conductor
Thomas Roggio, Graduate Associate Conductor
Thursday, February 13, 2025
7:30 p.m. | Opperman Music Hall
PROGRAM
Overture to La Forza del Destino Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901)
Idyll for Strings Leoš Janáček Andante (1854–1928)
Moderato
Allegro
Adagio-Presto
Moderato
Thomas Roggio, Graduate Associate Conductor
INTERMISSION
Symphony No. 2 in B minor Alexander Borodin Allegro (1833–1887)
Scherzo
Andante
Finale
NOTES ON THE PROGRAM
Verdi: Overture to La Forza del Destino
By the 1860s Verdi had conquered the world of Italian opera, and was rapidly gaining influence in opera houses all over Europe, even including the formidable Parisian opera establishment. His rousing successes in the 1850s include works still central in the international operatic repertoire: Rigoletto, Il Trovatore, La Traviata, and Un Ballo in Maschera. After these masterpieces his rate of composition fell off somewhat, ending with the great works of his later years: Aïda, Othello, and Falstaff. In between there falls Don Carlos (1867) and La Forza del Destino (1862).
La Forza del Destino (The Force of Destiny) was first performed in St. Petersburg, Russia, with several important productions following soon thereafter, including one in New York City in 1865. Verdi often made revisions to his operas, for a variety of reasons, including censorship, specific demands based upon venue (notably Paris), specific singers’ abilities and preferences—all common during those times. The 1869 revision of the opera included a new overture, which stands almost alone among overtures to Verdi operas as a concert favorite. Its popularity stems from the powerful drama imbued in the music from the very first imposing notes in the brass. There is a case to be made that the three chords are a rare example of a musical symbol in Verdi, in this instance, depicting the inevitable power of “fate,”—hence the title of the opera. The plot of the opera is not untypical of the composer, being a thicket of doomed love, vicious wars, hidden identities, duels, vows to enter a monastery, and ethnic hatred, and, of course, tragic death at the end.
The afore-mentioned octaves in the brass open the work with a steely powerful effect, followed by the famous, uneasy and ominous main theme in the basses: four little ascending notes that tell us much. What follows is a well-wrought compendium of several of the main tunes from the opera, woven together somewhat like the tedious, complicated— almost risible plot. But, the musical logic of Verdi’s best-known overture is superb, and a truer reflection of the dramatic power and melodic riches of one of Italy’s greatest composers could not be essayed. Musical dark and light alternate, as the melodies from the opera intertwine, leading to the thundering conclusion that never fails to rouse.
– William E Runyan
Janáček: Idyll for String Orchestra
If one were to base an opinion on his best-known works, the Czechoslovakian composer Leos Janáček would be considered a late bloomer. His first success, the opera Jenufa, was completed in 1891 and not performed until he was nearly 40. All of his other “standard’’ repertoire came after he turned 60: the operas Katya Kabanova (1921), The Cunning Little Vixen (1923), The Makropoulos Case (1925), and From the House of the Dead (1928); the “Glagolitic’’ Mass (1926); and the two orchestral suites Taras Bulba (1918) and Sinfonietta (1926).
Yet a closer examination reveals the story of a man who devoted his life to music and composition. Born into a family of amateur musicians, Janáček began his studies at the age of ten, when he joined a monastery choir. At 19 he was appointed choirmaster at a cathedral in Brno, but he was dissatisfied with his technique and soon traveled to Prague, Leipzig, and Vienna in search of further education before eventually returning to Brno to teach.
It was while he was in Leipzig that Janáček wrote his Idyll for strings. Like the early works of many composers, the Idyll exhibits a mix of styles, sometimes imitating earlier compositional periods, sometimes showing the influence of Dvorák (whom the younger man revered), and occasionally providing glimpses of the distinct voice that would eventually make Janáček famous.
– Geoff Kuenning
Borodin: Symphony No. 2
Borodin was the illegitimate son of a prince, and to disguise this, was given the name of a serf. However, his well-off mother ensured he had a good education, in which he excelled in both music and chemistry. He chose chemistry as a career, becoming Professor of Chemistry at the Medical Academy in St Petersburg aged 29. However, he did not neglect his music. While on a chemistry lecture tour he met his future wife, a talented pianist, and also came to the attention of Balakirev, who invited Borodin to join the “Group of Five” Russian nationalist composers. They aimed to produce distinctively Russian music, rather than the more traditional derivatives of the German tradition. The other three members, César Cui, Modest Mussorgsky, and Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov, were all military officers who eventually became full-time composers. Only Borodin pursued composition alongside his successful career. Between his busy professional and social lives, and caring for his ailing wife, he still managed to produce more than 30 works, including two complete symphonies, the famous tone poem In the Steppes of Central Asia and various chamber works. Unsurprisingly he never completed his ambitious opera Prince Igor, which was posthumously finished by his friends Rimsky-Korsakov and Glazunov. Melodies from many of Borodin’s works were used in the 1953 musical, Kismet.
Borodin composed his first symphony with the help of Balakirev. Its positive reception inspired him to embark on a second symphony in 1871, in parallel with work on Prince Igor and founding St Petersburg’s first Medical School for Women. Conjuring up Russian folk tunes with offbeats, 5/4 rhythms and many tempo changes, this tuneful work adapted many of the themes from Prince Igor.
Borodin indicated an outline of a program for three of the movements. The first represents the assembly of Russian warriors and the preparation for war, the third a mythical Slavic bard, and the finale a feast of heroes amidst the people’s exultation, while perhaps the second movement conjures the vastness of the Russian steppes.
University Philharmonia Personnel
Alexander Jiménez, Music Director
Thomas Roggio, Graduate Associate Conductor
Violin 1
Will Purser ‡
Christina Leach
Noah Johnson
Mariana Reyes Parra
Eden Rewa
Olivia Leichter
Amanda Marcy
Myra Sexton
Max Loesener
Rose Ossi
Violin 2
Abigail Jennings*
Grey Graham
Sean Hartman
Samuel Ovalle
Elina Nyquist
Sam Brewer
Ruby Moore
Violet Lorish
Quinn French
Viola
Abigayle Benoit*
Angeleena Jackson
Mary Boulo
Emma Patterson
Jonathan Taylor
Tian Sanchez-Ballado
Julia Fire
Cello
Sydney Spencer*
Daniel Jimenez-Gaona
Jason Tejada-Chancay
Jake Reisinger
Param Mehta
Addison Miller
Kensington Manross
Caroline Keen
Jaden Sanzo
Tia Stajkowski
Zoe Thornton
Sophie Stalnaker
Bass
Charlotte Woolridge*
Paris Lallis
Garner Brant
Emma Waidner
Connor Oneacre
Harp
Aiden Sowers*
Ezekial Harris
Flute
Adeline Belova**
Allison Acevedo**
Piccolo
Kendall Smith
Talley Powell
Oboe
Sarah Ward**
Jordan Miller **
Loanne Masson
Haley O’Neill
English Horn
Haley O’Neill
Clarinet
Nicholas Mackley**
Reymon Contrera**
Bassoon
Hannah Farmer**
Susanna Campbell**
Dakota Jeter
Diego Crisostomo
Horn
Vincent Aldoretta**
AC Caruthers**
Emma Brockman
Brandon Doddy
Trumpet
Sharavan Duvvuri**
Robert Kerr**
Max McLaughlin
Trombone
Landon Ellenberg*
Sarah Castillo
Tristan Goodrich
Tuba
Sophia Farfante
Percussion
JJ Baker*
Drew Jungslager
Caitlin Magennis
Ian Guarraia
Gabby Overholt
Orchestra Manager
Za’Kharia Cox
Orchestra Stage Manager
Sierra Su
Orchestra Librarians
Guilherme Rodrigues
Tom Roggio
Library Bowing Assistant
Victoria Joyce
‡ Concertmaster
* Principal
** Co-Principal