ABOUT THE MUSIC
VIVALDI’S FOUR SEASONS
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ABOUT THE CONDUCTOR
NICHOLAS McGEGAN CONDUCTOR
Nicholas McGegan is known as a baroque and classical specialist but has been recognized for his revelatory explorations of music of all periods. McGegan most recently served as Music Director of the San Francisco-based Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale.
ABOUT THE MUSIC
M OZ A R T SERENADE IN G MAJOR (EINE KLEINE NACHTMUSIK)
P A R T I C I P AT I N G M U S I C I A N S
FIRST VIOLIN
SECOND VIOLIN
Eric Halen, Co-Concertmaster Ellen E. Kelley Chair Marina Brubaker Sophia Silivos Ferenc Illenyi Christopher Neal
MuChen Hsieh, Principal Amy Semes, Associate Principal Martha Chapman Tianjie Lu Boson Mo
VIOLA
CELLO
Wei Jiang Linda Goldstein Phyllis Herdliska
Jeffrey Butler Charles Seo
DOUBLE BASS Burke Shaw
ABOUT THE MUSIC
M OZ A R T SERENADE IN G MAJOR (EINE KLEINE NACHTMUSIK)
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART
COMPOSER (1756–1791) • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) wrote Eine Kleine Nachtmusik in 1787 for string quintet, but it is frequently performed by a larger string ensemble as it is on this program. • In Mozart’s time, a serenade was a work performed at a social gathering in the evening. Serenades are characterized by a joyful and lively quality, with catchy melodies, and this serenade is no exception! The title Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, or “A Little Night Music,” is Mozart’s own. • The four-movement work is widely recognizable due to its frequent use in today’s pop culture, including films such as Ace Ventura, Batman, There’s Something About Mary, and Alien.
ABOUT THE MUSIC
W. G . S T I L L “SUMMERLAND” FROM THREE VISIONS P A R T I C I P AT I N G M U S I C I A N S
MATTHEW ROITSTEIN ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL FLUTE
ERIC HALEN CO-CONCERTMASTER
WEI JIANG VIOLA
CHARLES SEO CELLO
MEGAN CONLEY PRINCIPAL HARP
ABOUT THE MUSIC
W. G . S T I L L “SUMMERLAND” FROM THREE VISIONS
WILLIAM GRANT STILL
COMPOSER (1895–1978) • In William Grant Still’s Three Visions, written in 1935, he asks the listener to be aware that each of the “visions” are real only to the dreamer. His second vision, “Summerland,” depicts the promised beauty of the afterlife. • Still believed that a composer should be a master of many styles, bound to none. Reminiscent of this philosophy, you may hear in this piece hints of blues mixed with nods to fellow composer Claude Debussy. • William Grant Still (1895–1978) is an important composer in American history, often associated with the Harlem Renaissance. He matured as a composer in Harlem in the 1920s and is known for blending African American musical idioms and spirituals with European styles and forms. • A prolific composer with more than 150 compositions, he received numerous prestigious awards and notable commissions throughout his lifetime. He was also the first African American to conduct a major American orchestra (Los Angeles Philharmonic) and to have an opera performed by a major opera company (New York City Opera).
ABOUT THE MUSIC
V I VA L D I THE FOUR SEASONS
F E AT U R E D M U S I C I A N S
SPRING BOSON MO VIOLIN
SUMMER CHRISTOPHER NEAL VIOLIN
FA L L AMY SEMES VIOLIN
WINTER MUCHEN HSIEH VIOLIN
ABOUT THE MUSIC
V I VA L D I THE FOUR SEASONS
P A R T I C I P AT I N G M U S I C I A N S
FIRST VIOLIN
SECOND VIOLIN
Marina Brubaker Sophia Silivos Ferenc Illenyi
Annie Kuan-Yu Chen Martha Chapman Tianjie Lu
VIOLA
CELLO
Joan DerHovsepian, Acting Principal Sheldon Person
Brinton Averil Smith, Principal Janice and Thomas Barrow Chair Jeremy Kreutz
DOUBLE BASS
KEYBOARD
Eric Larson
Scott Holshouser, Principal
ABOUT THE MUSIC
V I VA L D I THE FOUR SEASONS
ANTONIO VIVALDI
COMPOSER (1678–1741) • The four violin concertos by Vivaldi (published in 1725) are known as The Four Seasons, as each concerto gives a musical expression to a season of the year. • Each concerto is accompanied by sonnets, possibly written by Vivaldi himself after he was inspired by painter Marco Ricci’s paintings of the seasons. These concertos are early examples of program music, or music that tells a story. • Listen for musical representations of seasonal characteristics in each concerto: chirping birds in spring, a rapidly moving summer thunderstorm, peasant songs and dances celebrating the fall harvest, and harsh, icy winter winds.
ABOUT THE MUSIC
V I VA L D I THE FOUR SEASONS
F U N FAC T S
A B O U T V I VA L D I
• Vivaldi wrote over 500 concertos, 46 operas, and numerous works for choir and chamber ensembles. • Vivaldi was employed for 30 years as a master violinist and teacher at an orphanage. The female orphans received musical training and became members of the school’s choir and orchestra. Many of his works were written for these ensembles. • Although Vivaldi was well-known during his life, his music was nearly lost after his death. His complete catalogue of music was not fully realized until 1926, after a large collection of manuscripts was discovered in a boarding school in Piedmont, Italy.
ABOUT THE MUSIC
V I VA L D I THE FOUR SEASONS
SONNETS
SPRING Allegro Springtime is upon us. The birds celebrate her return with festive song, and murmuring streams are softly caressed by the breezes. Thunderstorms, those heralds of Spring, roar, casting their dark mantle over heaven, Then they die away to silence, and the birds take up their charming songs once more. Largo On the flower-strewn meadow, with leafy branches rustling overhead, the goat-herd sleeps, his faithful dog beside him. Allegro Led by the festive sound of rustic bagpipes, nymphs and shepherds lightly dance beneath the brilliant canopy of spring.
ABOUT THE MUSIC
V I VA L D I THE FOUR SEASONS
SONNETS
SUMMER Allegro non molto Under a hard Season, fired up by the Sun Languishes man, languishes the flock and burns the pine We hear the cuckoo’s voice; then sweet songs of the turtledove and finch are heard. Soft breezes stir the air, but threatening the North Wind sweeps them suddenly aside. The shepherd trembles, fearing violent storms and his fate. Adagio e piano – Presto e forte The fear of lightning and fierce thunder Robs his tired limbs of rest As gnats and flies buzz furiously around. Presto Alas, his fears were justified The Heavens thunders and roar and with hail Cuts the head off the wheat and damages the grain.
ABOUT THE MUSIC
V I VA L D I THE FOUR SEASONS
SONNETS
FA L L Allegro Celebrates the peasant, with songs and dances, The pleasure of a bountiful harvest. And fired up by Bacchus’ liquor, many end their revelry in sleep. Adagio molto Everyone is made to forget their cares and to sing and dance By the air which is tempered with pleasure And (by) the season that invites so many, many Out of their sweetest slumber to fine enjoyment Allegro The hunters emerge at the new dawn, And with horns and dogs and guns depart upon their hunting The beast flees and they follow its trail; Terrified and tired of the great noise Of guns and dogs, the beast, wounded, threatens Languidly to flee, but harried, dies.
ABOUT THE MUSIC
V I VA L D I THE FOUR SEASONS
SONNETS
WINTER Allegro non molto To tremble from cold in the icy snow, In the harsh breath of a horrid wind; To run, stamping one’s feet every moment, Our teeth chattering in the extreme cold Largo Before the fire to pass peaceful, Contented days while the rain outside pours down. Allegro We tread the icy path slowly and cautiously, for fear of tripping and falling. Then turn abruptly, slip, crash on the ground and, rising, hasten on across the ice lest it cracks up. We feel the chill north winds course through the home despite the locked and bolted doors... this is winter, which nonetheless brings its own delights.
MUSICIAN BIOS NICHOLAS McGEGAN CONDUCTOR
As he embarks on his sixth decade on the podium, Nicholas McGegan—long hailed as “one of the finest baroque conductors of his generation” (The Independent) and “an expert in 18th-century style” (The New Yorker)—is recognized for his probing and revelatory explorations of music of all periods. The 2019–20 season marks the final year of his 34-year tenure as music director of Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Chorale. He is also principal guest conductor of the Pasadena Symphony. Best known as a baroque and classical specialist, Nicholas’s approach— intelligent, infused with joy, and never dogmatic—has led to appearances with many of the world’s major orchestras. At home in opera houses, he shone new light on close to 20 Handel operas as the artistic director and conductor at the Göttingen International Handel Festival for 20 years and the Mozart canon as principal guest conductor at Scottish Opera in the 1990s. At the same time, he was principal conductor of the Drottningholm Opera in Sweden. Nicholas’s prolific discography includes more than 100 releases spanning five decades. Having recorded more than 50 albums of Handel, he has explored the depths of the composer’s output through recordings of a dozen of his oratorios and close to 20 of his operas. Under its own label, Philharmonia Baroque Productions, Philharmonia has released almost a dozen acclaimed albums of Handel, Scarlatti, Vivaldi, Brahms, Haydn, Beethoven, and more. Since the 1980s, Nicholas has released more than 20 recordings with Hungary’s Capella Savaria on the Hungaroton label, the latest being Haydn’s Symphonies 79, 80, and 81. He has also released two recent albums with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra: Josef Myslivecek’s ˇ Complete Music for Keyboard with soloist Clare Hammond and an album of early horn concertos with soloist Alec Frank-Gemmill. Born in England, Nicholas was educated at Cambridge and Oxford. He is an honorary professor at the Georg-August University in Göttingen and was also given an honorary doctorate of music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. In 2010, he was made an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire “for services to music overseas.” He was also awarded the Verdienstkreuz (am bande) from Niedersächsen, Germany, in 2011.
MUSICIAN BIOS ERIC HALEN
CO-CONCERTMASTER ELLEN E. KELLEY CHAIR Recognized by the Houston Chronicle as a Houston favorite, Houston Symphony CoConcertmaster Eric Halen’s violin playing has been described by critics as “sterling” and “tenderly expressive and dramatic.” A review in the Chicago Sun-Times of the Houston Symphony Chamber Players Ravinia Festival performance of Messiaen’s “Quartet for the End of Time” states, “…as the final, sustained tone of Eric Halen’s violin faded to close… there was no doubt that the evening had offered the best kind of virtuosity.” Halen joined the Houston Symphony as Assistant Concertmaster in 1987. In 1997, he assumed the position of Associate Concertmaster and served as Acting Concertmaster for the 2005–06, 2008–09, and 2009–10 seasons. Halen grew up in a family of violinists. His parents were both professionals, and his brother David is Concertmaster of the Saint Louis Symphony. After earning his bachelor’s degree at Central Missouri State University where he studied violin with his father, Dr. Walter Halen, he received his master’s degree at the age of 20 from the University of Illinois, while studying with Sergiu Luca. At age 23, he became artist-teacher of violin at Texas Christian University. Halen has performed in solo and chamber music programs in the U.S. and abroad, including solo appearances with the St. Louis and Houston Symphonies. As a chamber musician, he has collaborated with many pre-eminent artists including violinist Sergiu Luca, violist Lawrence Dutton, cellists Gary Hoffman and Ralph Kirschbaum, and pianists Christoph Eschenbach and John Kimura Parker. Halen has made frequent guest appearances with DA CAMERA of Houston, MUSIC IN CONTEXT, and performed at summer music festivals including the Aspen Music Festival, the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan and Cascade Head Festival in Oregon. As a member of the Houston Symphony Chamber Players with Christoph Eschenbach, he has toured the U.S., Japan, and Europe and made recordings for Koch International, including Messiaen’s “Quartet for the end of Time” and Alban Berg’s Adagio for Violin, Clarinet and Piano from the Chamber Concerto. Halen has performed as soloist many times with the Houston Symphony on Classical Subscription concerts, including a performance of Prokofiev’s Concerto in G minor with Christoph Eschenbach conducting, and the Mozart Duet Aria “Non Temer Amato Bene” with soprano Barbara Bonney and Hans Graf conducting at New York’s Carnegie Hall. He has also performed as soloist on the “Interact‚” “Mozart and More‚” and the “Exxon Pops‚” series. In September 2006, Halen was invited by the Nashville Symphony and their Music Advisor Leonard Slatkin to join them as guest concertmaster to open their new symphony hall, the Schermerhorn Center. The opening night concert was broadcast nationally several times on PBS and PBS HD, as a special titled “One Symphony Place.” Halen plays a violin made in 1616 by Antonio and Hieronymus Amati.
MUSICIAN BIOS CHRISTOPHER NEAL FIRST VIOLIN
Christopher Neal joined the Houston Symphony in 2001. Prior to that he was a member of the Michigan Opera Theatre, North Carolina Symphony, and Naples Philharmonic. He holds degrees from Loyola University New Orleans and the Cleveland Institute of Music. Neal has participated in festivals at Spoleto USA, Tanglewood, and Norfolk and has performed as a soloist with several orchestras, including the Houston Symphony. As a chamber musician, he has performed in venues as varied as KUHF radio and Saez and Zouk, a midtown nightclub. Neal enjoys teaching and has been on the faculty of the American Festival of the Arts in Houston. He is married to Mila Ivkovich Neal, a professional violinist who works with the Houston Grand Opera and Ballet, and has two children: Maja, 13 and Luka, 10.
MUCHEN HSIEH
PRINCIPAL SECOND VIOLIN MuChen (Jessica) Hsieh, from Taiwan, joined the Houston Symphony as principal second violin in 2017. Prior to her appointment in Houston, she worked with conductors including Thomas Adès, Charles Dutoit, Larry Rachleff, David Robertson, Joshua Weilerstein, and Hugh Wolff. She studied with Kathleen Winkler at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, and Malcolm Lowe and Masuko Ushioda at the New England Conservatory. Hsieh regularly performs recitals, chamber music concerts, and in orchestras in the United States and Taiwan. Her festival performances include New York String Orchestra, Sarasota Festival Orchestra, and Music Academy of the West Festival Orchestra. Hsieh has served as concertmaster of the Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra on numerous occasions, including for the orchestra’s 2016 tour to Carnegie Hall. She has also performed with the New York Philharmonic as a Zarin Mehta Global Academy Fellow. An avid chamber musician, she has collaborated with James Dunham, Jon Kimura Parker, Kathleen Winkler, and Larry Wheeler. When Hsieh is home in Taiwan, she enjoys organizing chamber music concerts with friends. She also has a passion for coaching and leading local orchestra concerts during the summer in Taiwan with the concertmaster of the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, RayChou Chang. Aside from playing violin, Hsieh enjoys cooking and baking with friends, jogging, or dreaming about getting a dog.
MUSICIAN BIOS AMY SEMES
ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL SECOND VIOLIN Amy Semes, born in Broomall, Pennsylvania, graduated from Rice University, Shepherd School of Music in 2019, where she received a Master of Music, studying with Kathleen Winkler. In 2017, she graduated from the Juilliard School with a Bachelor of Music, studying with Naoko Tanaka. At Juilliard, she held a Gluck Community Service fellowship for three years. She has performed with the Pittsburgh Symphony and the New World Symphony. Amy has previously attended the Tanglewood Music Center, Aspen Music Festival, Music Academy of the West, and the Spoleto Festival USA.
BOSON MO
SECOND VIOLIN Winner of Third Prize at the 2013 Michael Hill International Violin Competition, Boson was named as one of Canada’s “30 under 30 Top Classical Musicians of 2015” by CBC Radio-Canada. He is a recipient of the “Prix Joseph-Rouleau” at the 2010 Montreal International Violin Competition as well as a top 25 candidate at the 2015 International Tchaikovsky Competition, and is a winner of Canada’s prestigious Sylva Geber Foundation Award. Additionally, he is a twotime winner of Canada Council for the Arts’ Musical Instrument Bank loan. Mo served as Acting Assistant Concertmaster of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in the autumn of 2017 and is now a member of the Houston Symphony. He will forever be a student of mentors Keqiang Li and Paul Kantor, and he currently performs on a violin by MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient Joseph Curtin.
MUSICIAN BIOS
WEI JIANG VIOLA
Born in China, Wei Jiang began studying violin with his father at the age of 5 and began studying viola after being admitted to the prestigious Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. Having graduated with the highest honor, he was subsequently offered a teaching position at the conservatory as the youngest member of the music faculty. During his fiveyear tenure at the Central Conservatory, Jiang was actively involved in performing both solo and chamber music and toured extensively with his string quartet in Asia and Europe. He was also a founding member of the Eclipse Ensemble, a unique performing group that showcases music by contemporary Chinese composers throughout China. Jiang came to the United States in 1996 to further his musical training at the Oberlin Conservatory and later at the University of Maryland. In 1999, he became a member of the Houston Symphony. Jiang is also a member of the Fidelis String Quartet which performed in recital at Carnegie Hall in 2005 and toured Puerto Rico in 2006. In his spare time, he likes playing tennis and enjoys traveling with his wife Sherry and two young children, Luke and Alice.
CHARLES SEO CELLO
Cellist Charles Seo was appointed cellist of the Houston Symphony in the summer of 2018 at age 22. Previously, he served as principal cellist in the Colburn Orchestra. Charles, who made his solo orchestral debut at age 10, has performed as guest soloist with the Houston Symphony, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and San José Chamber Orchestra. He is silver medalist of the 2014 Irving M. Klein International String Competition and bronze medalist of the 2014 Stulberg International String Competition. In 2013, he was the gold medalist of the Houston Symphony League Concerto Competition, the Lynn Harrell Concerto Competition, the Schmidbauer International Competition, and the 30th Pasadena Showcase House Instrumental Competition. Charles performed Sarasate’s Zigeunerweisen with Christopher O’Riley on NPR’s From the Top. Charles has collaborated with cellists Lynn Harrell, Robert deMaine, Clive Greensmith, Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, David Geringas, Steven Isserlis, Jian Wang, Myung-wha Chung, Lluís Claret, Li-Wei Qin, Bion Tsang, and Laurence Lesser. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Colburn School, where he studied with Ronald Leonard and Greensmith.
MUSICIAN BIOS
MATTHEW ROITSTEIN
ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL FLUTE Originally from Valencia, California, Matthew Roitstein joined the Houston Symphony in 2014 as associate principal flute, the first appointment made by Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada. He was previously a member of the Honolulu Symphony and Sarasota Opera Orchestras, as well as a fellow of the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, Florida, where he inaugurated the Solo Spotlight recital series in 2011 in the newly-built New World Center. Roitstein has performed as guest principal flute with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, and River Oaks Chamber Orchestra. He has also performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and Louisiana Philharmonic. During the summer, he has participated in the Tanglewood Music Center, Music Academy of the West, and Aspen and Sarasota Music Festivals. Roitstein has twice appeared on the PBS series Great Performances from Tanglewood and the New World Center, and he can be heard on recordings with the Houston Symphony and New World Symphony, as well as on Gloria Estefan’s album, The Standards. An enthusiastic educator, Roitstein has taught extensively in the United States as well as throughout South and Central America. He received his bachelor’s degree in both architecture and music from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was the 2007 winner of the MIT Symphony Concerto Competition. While at MIT, he studied flute with Seta Der Hohannesian. He received his Master of Music in Flute Performance with Leone Buyse at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. Other influential teachers include Mark Sparks, Stephen Kujala, Gary Woodward, Pedro Eustache, and his mother, Rosy Sackstein.
MUSICIAN BIOS
MEGAN CONLEY PRINCIPAL HARP
Megan Conley (née Levin) had a musical upbringing in Austin, Texas. She began harp lessons at the age of five. The daughter of musician Danny Levin, she grew up playing music with her father and siblings in the family band. By the time she was 15, she had played on several albums of Austin musicians, including the Grammy Award-winning album ‘Los Super Seven.’ Megan received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Rice University, where she studied with Paula Page. In 2005, she was awarded a Fulbright Grant to study with Isabelle Perrin at the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris, France. In 2012, Megan won first place in the Ima Hogg Competition and subsequently performed the Ginastera Harp Concerto with the Houston Symphony. Megan joined the Sarasota Opera Orchestra as Principal Harpist for their 2011 and 2012 seasons. She also served as Principal Harpist of the chamber orchestra CityMusic Cleveland from 2007–2012. As a freelance harpist, Megan has performed with the New York City Ballet, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, The Knights, American Symphony Orchestra, Irish Chamber Orchestra, and the Bang On a Can All-Stars, among others. She also performed for ‘The Fantasticks’ on Broadway. Megan joined the Houston Symphony as Principal Harpist in January 2015.