October 22 & 23 — Classics

Friday, October 22, 2021 at 7:30 pm Saturday, October 23, 2021 at 7:30 pm

ALLEN-BRADLEY HALL

Ken-David Masur, conductor Chee-Yun, violin

EMMANUEL CHABRIER

Joyeuse marche

ÉDOUARD LALO

Symphonie espagnole for Violin and Orchestra, Opus 21 I. Allegro non troppo II. Scherzando: Allegro molto III. Intermezzo: Allegretto non troppo IV. Andante V. Rondo

Chee-Yun, violin

INTERMISSION

MAURICE RAVEL

Rapsodie espagnole I. Prélude a la nuit II. Malagueña III. Habañera IV. Feria

GABRIELA LENA FRANK

Three Latin-American Dances for Orchestra I. Introduction: Jungle Jaunt II. Highland Harawi III. The Mestizo Waltz

MANUEL DE FALLA

Suite No. 2 from The Three-Cornered Hat (Three Dances) I. The Neighbor’s Dance (Seguidillas) II. The Miller’s Dance (Farruca) III. Final Dance (Jota)

The 2021.22 Classics Series is presented by the

UNITED PERFORMING ARTS FUND.

The length of this concert is approximately 1 hour, 45 minutes. Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra can be heard on Telarc, Koss Classics, Pro Arte, AVIE, and Vox/Turnabout recordings. MSO Classics recordings (digital only) available on iTunes and at mso.org. MSO Binaural recordings (digital only) available at mso.org.

Guest Artist Biographies

CHEE YUN

Chee-Yun has performed with many of the world’s foremost orchestras and conductors. Orchestral highlights include her tours of the United States with the San Francisco Symphony and Japan with the NHK Symphony, a concert with the Seoul Philharmonic that was broadcast on national television, and a benefit for UNESCO with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Avery Fisher Hall. She has appeared with the Toronto, Pittsburgh, Dallas, Atlanta, and National symphony orchestras, and the Saint Paul and Los Angeles chamber orchestras. A champion of contemporary music, Chee-Yun has performed Christopher Theofanidis’ Violin Concerto as part of the Albany Symphony’s American Festival. As a recitalist, Chee-Yun has performed in many major U.S. cities. Career highlights include appearances at the Kennedy Center’s “Salute to Slava” gala and with the Mostly Mozart Festival on tour in Japan, as well as a performance in the inaugural season of Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall, and the U.S. premiere of Penderecki’s Sonata No. 2. In 2016, Chee-Yun performed as a guest artist for the Secretary General at the United Nations in celebration of Korea’s National Foundation Day and the 25th anniversary of South Korea joining the UN. Firmly committed to chamber music, Chee-Yun has toured with Music from Marlboro and appears frequently with Spoleto USA. Chee-Yun has performed frequently on NPR’s Performance Today and on WQXR and WNYC radio in New York City. She has been featured on KTV, CNBC, A Prairie Home Companion, Public Radio International, and numerous syndicated and local radio programs across the world. Chee-Yun’s first public performance at age eight took place in her native Seoul after she won the Grand Prize of the Korean Times Competition. At 13, she came to the United States and was invited to perform in a Young People’s Concert with the New York Philharmonic. Two years later, she appeared as soloist with the New York String Orchestra Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. In Korea, Chee-Yun studied with Nam Yun Kim. In addition to her active performance and recording schedule, Chee-Yun is a dedicated and enthusiastic educator. She gives master classes around the world and has held several teaching posts at notable music schools and universities.

Program notes by J. Mark Baker

This evening, we visit the vibrant and colorful Iberian Peninsula – with Lalo, Ravel, and Falla as our tour guides. We’ll also travel to Latin America via music of Gabriela Lena Frank. A brief but joyous march by Chabrier heralds our departure.

Emmanuel Chabrier

Born 18 January 1841; Ambert, France Died 13 September 1894; Paris, France

Joyeuse marche

Composed: 1885 (piano duet); orchestrated 1888 First performance: 4 November 1888; Angers, France Last MSO performance: MSO premiere Instrumentation: 2 flutes; piccolo; 2 oboes; 2 clarinets; 4 bassoons; 4 horns; 2 trumpets; 2 cornets; 3 trombones; tuba; timpani; percussion (bass drum, cymbals, snare drum, triangle); harp; strings Approximate duration: 4 minutes

The French composer Emmanuel Chabrier is best known for his glittering orchestral rhapsody España. His primary output, however, includes operas, songs, and piano music. His most important works are the latter: They inspired compatriots of later generations, especially Ravel, who claimed that Chabrier was his principal influence. Chabrier numbered among his friends the leading composers, writers, and painters of his day. One of his closest associates was Edouard Manet, who painted Chabrier’s portrait in 1881. Chabrier himself collected Impressionist works of art long before they became fashionable. Joyeuse marche began its life as a piano duet that Chabrier later orchestrated. It was the second part of what, in the keyboard version, was called Prélude et marche française. This brilliantly colorful and buoyant piece is indeed joyous, making for a sparkling concert-opener. Chabrier dedicated it to his friend and fellow composer Vincent d’Indy.

Édouard Lalo

Born 27 January 1823; Lille, France Died 22 April 1892; Paris, France

Symphonie espagnole for Violin and Orchestra, Opus 21

Composed: 1874 First performance: 7 February 1875; Paris, France Last MSO performance: January 1994; Lawrence Leighton Smith, conductor; Corey Cerovsek, violin Instrumentation: 2 flutes; piccolo; 2 oboes; 2 clarinets; 2 bassoons; 4 horns; 2 trumpets; 3 trombones; timpani; percussion (triangle, snare drum); harp; strings Approximate duration: 33 minutes

While I do not know exactly what I am, I do know what I am not. I am not a member of any school, and I do not adhere to any system. I agree with the poet Musset: “My glass is small, but I drink from

my glass.” –Édouard Lalo

Born in Lille to a family of Spanish descent, Edouard Lalo studied at the Conservatoire there and later in Paris. A gifted violinist, his most famous compositions include the Violin Concerto (1873), the Symphonie espagnole (1874, a de facto violin concerto), and the opera Le Roi d’Ys (1888), based on Breton folklore. As shown in the quotation above, he refused to define his own musical style, and was in fact something of an outsider when it came to the French musical establishment of the mid-to-late 19th century. As musicologist Hugh MacDonald has pointed out, Lalo’s music has strong melodic and rhythmic elements, but virtually no counterpoint. Diatonic melody, piquant chromatic harmony, and ingenious orchestration typify his music. A gifted violinist, he was a founding member of the Armingaud Quartet, established in 1855 to perform the quartets of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and also Mendelssohn and Schumann – repertoire not particularly in vogue at that time in Paris. Lalo’s own string quartet dates from 1859. Lalo received no real recognition as a composer until he was in his late 40s. In 1872, his Divertissement – based on ballet music from his opera Fiesque – made a splash in Paris. Not long after, his Violin Concerto (Opus 20) was well-received in London when it was played by the Spanish violinist and composer Pablo de Sarasate (1844-1908). Lalo’s reputation was further enhanced by the Symphonie espagnole, written as a tribute to Sarasate, who premiered the work. Set in five movements, the Symphonie espagnole is a de facto violin concerto. Steeped in Spanish flavor, it is an engaging showpiece that has become its composer’s most acclaimed score. Following an orchestral introduction, the soloist makes a striking entrance; thereafter, intensity and excitement are the order of the day. The second movement Scherzando is a seguidilla, a bolero-like dance. It is followed by an Intermezzo, which makes ample use of the Spanish triplet rhythm. Then comes an eloquent Andante and finally a dazzling Rondo – the best-known movement – to bring this violinist’s tour de force to its brilliant conclusion.

Maurice Ravel

Born 7 March 1875; Ciboure, France Died 28 December 1937; Paris, France

Rapsodie espagnole

Composed: 1907-08 First performance: 15 March 1908; Paris, France Last MSO performance: October 2012; Olari Elts, conductor Instrumentation: 2 flutes; 2 piccolos; 2 oboes; English horn; 2 clarinets; bass clarinet; 3 bassoons; contrabassoon; 4 horns; 3 trumpets; 3 trombones; tuba; timpani; percussion (bass drum, castanets, cymbals, snare drum, triangle, tam tam, tambourine, xylophone); harp; celeste; strings Approximate duration: 15 minutes

Maurice Ravel was born in Ciboure, not far from France’s border with Spain. His mother was from that country’s Basque region and had grown up in Madrid. Thus, his preoccupation with things Spanish is a natural evolution, even though his family moved to the French capital while he was still a baby. His father was Swiss, and instilled in young Maurice an admiration for things meticulous and mechanical that found its way into his flawless music. Ravel’s ability to create seemingly authentic Spanish music drew the admiration of Manuel de Falla, who spoke of the Rapsodie espagnole as “surprising one by its Spanish character, achieved through the free use of the modal rhythms and melodies and ornamental figures of our ‘popular’ music.” The Habanera movement was composed in 1895, originally scored for two pianos. The four-movement work became Ravel’s first published piece that was written specifically for orchestra.

The Rapsodie’s opening section, “Prélude à la nuit” [Prelude to the Night], starts with a four-note descending figure (F–E–D–C-sharp) that permeates the movement; toward the end, there’s an unusual cadenza: for two bassoons. The colorful “Malagueña” is the shortest of the four pieces; the English horn gets an exquisite solo turn, and the four-note motif is heard once again. The “Habanera” – sultry, sensuous, provocative – leads to the splashy “Feria”, a brief Impressionistic tone poem in its own right.

Gabriela Lena Frank

Born September 1972; Berkeley, California

Three Latin-American Dances for Orchestra

Composed: 2003 First performance: 23 April 2004; Salt Lake City, Utah Last MSO performance: MSO premiere Instrumentation: 3 flutes; piccolo; 2 oboes; English horn; 2 clarinets; bass clarinet; 3 bassoons; 4 horns; 3 trumpets; 3 trombones; timpani; percussion (bass drum, 2 castanets, 2 claves, 2 slapsticks, 2 suspended cymbals, tam tam, 2 triangles, chimes, xylophone, congas, 2 tambourines, 2 cymbals, 2 marimbas, shekere, temple blocks, thunder sheet, snare drum, bongo drums, wood block); harp, piano, strings Approximate duration: 17 minutes

Born to a mother of mixed Peruvian/Chinese ancestry and a father of Lithuanian/Jewish descent, Gabriela Lena Frank seeks to explore her multicultural heritage through her compositions. She has traveled all across South America. As a result, her pieces are often rooted in Latin American folklore – incorporating poetry, mythology, and native musical styles into a Western classical framework that is entirely her own. When asked about how her heritage affects her music, she replied: “Sometimes the Latin influences are quite evident, and sometimes they are quite subtle. And of course, ‘Latin’ can mean so many different things. There is no one single Latin identity.” Three Latin-American Dances was premiered by the Utah Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Keith Lockhart. The opening scherzo, “Jungle Jaunt,” begins with “an unabashed tribute” to the urban jungle depicted in Bernstein’s West Side Story. The energy of the music that follows – with harmonies and rhythms derived from various pan-Amazonian dance forms – owes a debt to Argentinian composer Alberto Ginastera. “Highland Harawi” evokes the Andean harawi, a melancholy adagio traditionally played by a single bamboo quena flute to accompany a lone dancer. As mountain music, there’s an ambiance of mystery, vastness, and echo. The fast middle section depicts thunder, lightning, and rain. “The Mestizo Waltz” is a pun on Liszt’s well-known “Mephisto Waltz.” It is, Frank explains, “a lighthearted tribute to the mestizo or mixed-race music of the South American Pacific coast. It evokes the romancero tradition of popular songs and dances that mix influences from indigenous Indian cultures, African slave cultures, and western brass bands.”

Born 23 November 1876; Cádiz, Spain Died 14 November 1946; Alta Gracia, Argentina

Suite No. 2 from The Three-Cornered Hat

Composed: 1915-1919 (ballet) First performance: 22 July 1919; London, England (complete ballet) Last MSO performance: January 2005; Miguel Harth-Bedoya, conductor Instrumentation: 2 flutes; piccolo; 2 oboes; English horn; 2 clarinets; 2 bassoons; 4 horns; 3 trumpets; 3 trombones; tuba; timpani; percussion (bass drum, castanets, cymbals, snare drum, tam tam, triangle, xylophone); harp; piano; celeste; strings Approximate duration: 12 minutes

Manuel de Falla is one of the few Spanish composers across the centuries to gain international renown. Though his compositions remained rooted in the folk music of his native country, he learned much from his French colleagues, particularly Debussy and Ravel. Along with the ballet El amor brujo [Love, the Magician] and the piano concerto Nights in the Gardens of Spain, The Three-Cornered Hat [El sombrero de tres picos] remains one of his best-known works. The Three-Cornered Hat began its life as a pantomime – El corregidor y la molinera [The Corregidor and the Miller’s Wife] – that was based on a novella by Pedro Antonio de Alarcón (1833-1891). The renowned impresario Serge Diaghilev had wanted to present Nights in the Gardens of Spain with his Ballets Russes, but the pantomime seemed better suited to dancing. He convinced Falla to revise the piece as The Three-Cornered Hat, and hired Pablo Picasso as the designer. Much of the material in this humorous work has its roots in popular music; though the orchestration shows the influence of Stravinsky, transfiguration of the guitar is often suggested. The ballet’s highly successful premiere (as Le tricorne), established Falla’s international reputation. The story’s central narrative employs three stock characters: a jealous miller, his beautiful young wife, and a lascivious magistrate (corregidor), whose rank is symbolized by his three-cornered hat. In this comic tale, the bumbling but relentless oaf is thwarted at every turn. His own constables arrest him by mistake, and in the end, he is subjected to peasant justice: being tossed with a blanket.

Suite No. 2 opens with the miller’s neighbors gathering to celebrate the Feast of St. John; they dance seguidillas based on traditional themes. The miller then has his solo, a dark and fiery flamenco farruca; it is solemn and intense. The ballet’s many themes are combined in the final jota, a riotous apogee and joyous resolution all-in-one.