Program Notes

NOTES BY DAVID B. LEVY

Antonio Vivaldi

Violin Concerto in E Major, RV 270, “Il riposo per il Santissimo natale” (date unknown)

The composer and violinist Antonio Vivaldi was born in Venice on March 4, 1678, and died in Vienna on July 28, 1741. Known popularly during his lifetime as “The Red Priest,” Vivaldi left the clergy to pursue a career as a musician. He was a prolific composer of sacred music, operas, and chamber music, but his most enduring achievement lies in the codification of the three-movement format and style of the Baroque solo concerto, a genre to which he contributed no fewer than five hundred examples, the most popular of which today are the quartet of programmatic violin concertos known as The Four Seasons. Vivaldi also authored several concertos for two or more solo instruments, a genre known as the concerto grosso.

The most important post that the Venetian master Vivaldi held was that of Maestro de’ concerti (Director of Concerts) at the Ospedale della Pietà, an orphanageconservatory for young women. Vivaldi’s association with this institution lasted from 1703 through 1740, although the records show that he was released from his duties on occasion, only to be rehired shortly thereafter. Charles de Brosses, a Frenchman traveling though Venice in 1739, wrote a charming vignette of the kinds of concerts that took place under Vivaldi’s supervision:

The transcendent music is that of the asylums (ospedali). There are four of them, made up of illegitimate and orphaned girls and those whose parents are not in a position to raise them. They are brought up at the expense of the state and trained solely to excel in music. Moreover, they sing like angels and play the violin, the flute, the organ, the oboe, the cello, and the bassoon; in short, there is no instrument, however unwieldy, that can frighten them. They are cloistered like nuns. It is they alone who perform, and about forty girls take part in each concert. I vow to you that there is nothing so diverting as the sight of a young and pretty nun in white habit, with a bunch of pomegranate blossoms over her ear, conducting the orchestra a beating time with all the grace and precision imaginable. (Lettres familières sur Italie, in Pincherle, Vivaldi, 1955.)

The autograph of the Violin Concerto in E Major is marked Il riposo per il S.S. natale. The Italian “riposo” does not quite match its English equivalent “riposte,” but should be considered more properly as “response.” It has more popularly been identified as Vivaldi’s “Christmas Concerto,” the autograph of which resides in the National Library of Torino. Unlike the famous Concerto Grosso, Op. 6, No. 8 by Arcangelo Corelli (“Fatto per la notte di Natale”), there is no concluding a “pastoral” in Vivaldi’s Concerto, and we do not know the precise date of its composition. Of Vivaldi’s 500-plus concertos, roughly 350 of them are for solo instrument, while 230 of these are for violin—his own instrument. The work comprises two quick movements, separated by a ninemeasure sequence of chords, marked Ad[agi]o . Another unusual feature of the “Christmas Concerto” is the indication in the autograph, “Con[cer]to: con tutti gli Istrom[en]ti sempre sordini,” indicating that soloist and accompanying instruments should make use of mutes. Vivaldi also specifies that no keyboard instrument is to be used (“Senza cembalo”). ●

Johann Sebastian Bach

Organ Concerto in d minor, BWV 596 (1713–1714)

The Baroque German master Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Eisenach, Germany, on March 21, 1685, and died in Leipzig on July 28, 1750. The greatest in a long line of musicians, Bach excelled in every type of music known to him except for opera, a genre in which he was never called upon to compose. His genius and technical mastery became the model for composers for many generations, and he remains to this day one of the most venerated figures in all of musical history. While organ and other keyboard instruments were his primary performance outlets, he was also an accomplished violinist. His Organ Concerto, BWV 596, is one of five such works composed between 1713–1714 while Bach served as organist and member of the chamber orchestra at the Court of Weimar (1708–17). Each of the concertos is a transcription for organ of concertos by Antonio Vivaldi (BWV 593, 594, and 596) and Prince Johann Ernst von Saxe-Weimar (BWV 592 and 595). “BWV” refers to the BachWerke-Verzeichnis, or Bach Work’s Catalogue, first in 1950 (updated in 1990) by the German musicologist and librarian Wolfgang Schmieder.

Vivaldi left the clergy to pursue a career as a musician. He was a prolific composer of sacred music, operas, and chamber music.

Johann Sebastian Bach’s duties as organist at the Court of Weimar did much to establish and solidify has reputation as a performer at, and composer for, that instrument. This also marked a period during which he made careful study of the solo concertos and concertos for multiple instruments by the talented Prince Johann Ernst von Saxe-Weimar, and the Italian Baroque masters Archangelo Corelli, Giuseppe Tartini, and especially Antonio Vivaldi. The Concerto in d minor, BWV 596, is based upon Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Violins and Obbligato Violoncello, RV 565, published in Amsterdam as Op. 3, No. 11 under the title “L’estro armonico” (The Harmonic Invention).

The first page of Bach’s autograph manuscript for this concerto includes writing by Bach’s son Wilhelm Friedemann that states “di W. F. Bach manu mei Patris descript.” This indicator for a long time led to the mistaken belief that W.F. Bach was the actual composer. The manuscript also includes some markings indicating the elder Bach’s desire that the performer’s hand could switch manuals, as well as the changing of organ stops that would affect which pipes could be used. A feature of Vivaldi’s concerto that surely appealed to Bach was the inclusion in the first movement (Allegro-Grave-Fuga) of an elaborate fugue—a contrapuntal process for which Bach had no peer. The second movement offers a Siciliano—an Italian dance movement in 6/8 meter, while the lively final movement contains material reused by Bach in the opening of his Church Cantata, BWV 21, (“Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis”). ●

NOTES BY MICHAEL MCLEAN

Michael McLean

Elements (2004)

Inspiration for Elements (2004) came after recording with violinist Brian Lewis. Enthralled with Brian’s gorgeous tone, I knew in that moment I would write a violin concerto for him. I was reading Carl Jung (archetypal patterns and the

collective unconscious), and the idea of the four Greek elements (Earth, Fire, Air, Water) and their deep spiritual symbolism became the organizing principle. On two distinct levels, we can hear the elements at their surface as lush tonal paintings, or delve deeper, exploring the symbolic undercurrents of each element.

“Earth” follows a simple ABA form with a violin cadenza. Evoking the Creation story from Genesis, this movement’s chant-like polyphony is reminiscent of 16th-century counterpoint. The entrance of the solo violin heralds divine inspiration, “and God created Man.” The motif of the middle B section portrays upward motion, symbolizing man’s search for truth, guidance, and self-knowledge. The end is a poignant violin obbligato, an alignment and eventual return to source.

“Fire” was inspired by Hitchcock composer Bernard Hermann (Psycho, Vertigo). Its images and essence are a devilish dance for violin and strings. An initial spark ignites into a larger and larger conflagration. Fire symbolizes both the creative and destructive element, the cycle of birth and death.

“Air” paints an ethereal image of sun and clouds on which the violin (Spirit) floats throughout. A meditation of peace and synchronicity explores the resonance of the violin’s upper register, as well as various compositional techniques (baroque textures,12-tone). The upward sweep of scales and arpeggios, a picture of floating skywards, reminds us of our constant spiritual evolution.

Think of “Water,” the Jungian symbol for the subconscious, also as the mythological “underworld.” The opening minimalist devices of repetition and slowpaced harmonic rhythm paint a picture of raindrops turning into a full river of sound and texture. One hears the spray of fountains and other water-like devices interplay between the solo and tutti violins. The middle development section is a journey deep into a dream-like landscape, the dark regions of our subconscious. As with the hero’s journey, inner conflicting energies are confronted, and as the violin solo breaks through, we are in the realm of psychological integration. Earth, Fire, Air and Water are heard together in musical and personal transcendence. ●

NOTES BY DAVID B. LEVY

Sergei Rachmaninoff

Piano Concerto No. 2 in c minor, Op. 18 (1900–1901)

Sergei Vassilevich Rachmaninoff was born in Oneg, Novgorod, on March 20/ April 1, 1873, and died in Beverly Hills, California, on March 28, 1943.* Famed as both pianist and composer, Rachmaninoff left Russia after the Revolution of 1917, eventually taking up residence in the United States. His Piano Concerto No. 2 was composed in 1900-01 and received the first performance of its last two movements in Moscow on December 2/15, 1900, in Moscow. The first performance of the entire piece took place on October 27/ November 9, 1901.* On both occasions the composer himself was the soloist, with Alexander Siloti conducting the Moscow Philharmonic. The Concerto No. 2 is scored for solo piano, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, and strings. [*NB: The variation of dates reflects the difference between the Julian and Gregorian calendars.]

On two distinct levels, we can hear the elements at their surface as lush tonal paintings, or delve deeper, exploring the symbolic undercurrents of each element.

The Russian-born pianist and composer Rachmaninoff falls into the tradition of the great performer-composers of the Romantic style that included figures such as Niccolo Paganini and Franz Liszt. Like his great predecessors at their best, his music avoids the self-indulgent kind of virtuosity-for-its-own-sake practiced by less gifted musicians. His music often is quite sentimental, but his melodic gifts were more than sufficient to prevent it from becoming maudlin. Although Rachmaninoff composed a wide variety of music, he is best known for his works for the piano, and his Concerto No. 2 is by far the most frequently performed of the four that he composed. His Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini is also a popular favorite.

After the failure of his First Symphony in Saint Petersburg, Rachmaninoff recorded in his Recollections that he lost all hope for any future success. In 1900, he sought psychiatric assistance from Dr. Nikolai Dahl, who, according to the composer, hypnotically persuaded him to continue work on a new piano concerto. Dr. Dahl’s positive approach seems to have worked, and he became the recipient of the dedication of the Piano Concerto No. 2. The work received its first performance in 1901 in Moscow, and it was greeted with both critical and popular acclaim.

The work is in three broad movements. The first of these, Allegro moderato, begins quietly with chords solemnly played by the unaccompanied soloist. These grow in intensity, ushering in the lush first theme in the strings. A lyrical second theme emerges from the soloist, followed by a proper development section and a stirring recapitulation in martial style. The Adagio sostenuto is a movement of great beauty and tunefulness, whose serenity is only briefly interrupted by an animated middle section that calls for considerable dexterity. The last movement is marked Allegro scherzando, and it plays dramatically between the major and minor mode. As in the first movement, the finale’s second subject is highly lyrical. Following the lead of Tchaikovsky’s

Piano Concerto No. 1, which seems to have served as a model for this piece, Rachmaninoff demarcates the climax of the movement with a tutti statement of the lyrical theme. This produces a triumphant effect, making for a stirring conclusion to the romantic masterpiece. ●

Sergei Rachmaninoff

Symphony No. 1 in e minor, Op. 13 (1895)

The great Russian pianist, conductor, and composer Sergei Rachmaninoff was, in many ways, the last great representative of Russian Romantic style brought to fruition by Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, and other Russian composers. This in no way prevented Rachmaninoff from developing a thoroughly personal idiom, whose lyricism is enhanced by a sure grasp of form and brilliance of orchestration. His Symphony No. 1 was a failure upon its first performance under Aleksandr Glazunov on March 27, 1897, but went on to enjoy critical acclaim since its posthumous performance in Moscow on October 17, 1945, under the direction of Aleksandr Gauk. The work is dedicated to Pyotr Lodyzhensky, the recipient of the dedication of his 1892–4 symphonic poem, Caprice Bohèmien (Capriccio on Gypsy Themes). The Symphony No. 1 is scored for 3 flutes (piccolo), 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, and strings.

Rachmaninoff, one of the great pianists and composers of the late-Romantic Russian tradition, had a disastrous first experience as a symphonist.

His Symphony No. 1, composed in 1895, received its first performance on March 27, 1897, with Alexander Glazunov conducting, and the event was an unmitigated failure. According to Rachmaninoff’s wife, Glazunov was drunk, although it may have been that he simply did not care for the piece. César Cui called it “a program symphony on the Ten Plagues of Egypt,” a work that relied on “the meaningless repetition of the same short tricks.” Other critics more charitably acknowledged that the piece was badly performed. The conductor Aleksandr Khessin recalled that the “symphony was insufficiently rehearsed,” resulting in a “bland performance, with no flashes of animation, enthusiasm, or brilliance of orchestral sound.” Rachmaninoff subsequently went into a deep depression that lasted for three years, and it seemed for a time that the world would be deprived of any further compositions from his pen. Fortunately, with the help of a physician, Dr. Dahl, and through continued work as a performer, Rachmaninoff worked though the trauma, emerging in 1900–1901 with his popular Second Piano Concerto.

In point of fact, Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 1 was his second attempt at composing in this genre. While a student at the Moscow Conservatory, his teacher Anton Arensky suggested that he try his hand at composing such a work. Only one movement from this stylistically eclectic “Youth Symphony” has survived, but it is rarely performed. Despite the unfortunate circumstances surrounding its premiere and subsequent reviews, time has been far kinder to Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 1, even as it remains one of his least frequently performed major orchestral compositions, overshadowed as it has been by the popular Symphony No. 2 and Symphonic Dances. Indeed, each new hearing of the work reveals just how original and striking it truly is.

Rachmaninoff [developed] a thoroughly personal idiom, whose lyricism is enhanced by a sure grasp of form and brilliance of orchestration.

The first movement, Grave-Allegro ma non troppo, begins with an ominous triplet that surrounds the tonic pitch of D. This figure is a motto that recurs throughout the symphony’s four movements. The rugged theme presented by the strings in the short introduction becomes the basis for the principal theme heard throughout the remainder of the movement, variants of which can be heard in the three movements that follow. Many writers have suggested that this theme has a kinship to the Gregorian chant from the Sequence of the Roman Catholic Requiem Mass, “Dies irae.” The composer did use this chant in some of his later works, thus lending credence to the claim. In this movement filled with tremendous drama, the sweeping romantic lyricism for which Rachmaninoff is treasured is not lacking. The second movement, Allegro animato, is a mercurial and mysterious scherzo brimming with nervous energy. It begins with a modified version of the first movement’s motto that leads into a plaintive short-long figure that will serve as a foil to the more tarantella-like speedier figuration.

A more benign version of the motto opens the lovely Larghetto third movement, followed by a lyrical theme presented by the clarinet. Beautiful scoring for the woodwinds and the lush lyricism of the strings are hallmarks of this movement, as well as harbingers of the Rachmaninoff of the future. The influence of Tchaikovsky can also be discerned in the movement’s moody and more turbulent middle episode. The finale, Allegro con fuoco, is cast in a more cheerful D Major, but its opening brings back a more ominous recollection of the opening of the first movement. Brass fanfares and snare drum, however, sweep this mood aside as the main theme, a triumphal march makes its appearance. Against a backdrop of plaintive horns, the dark mood seeks to spoil the party. New themes, of a more tuneful type, ensue, as well as reminiscences of the earlier movements. The struggle between darkness and light, violence and lyricism, continues until reaching a dramatic climax punctuated by the interruption of the tam-tam. As the tempo slows, the listener rightfully comes to expect a triumph of the major mode over the minor, but, for better or for worse, the sinister motto gets the final “word.” Rachmaninoff placed a fascinating inscription from Romans XII:19 at the end of the score: “Vengeance is mine, I will repay saith the Lord.” This quotation also appears at the end of Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, leaving open the question as to whether or not Symphony No. 1 contains a hidden programmatic meaning. ●

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

Mozart and Salieri, Op. 48 (1897)

The Russian master Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov was born in Tikhvin, Russia, on March 18, 1844, and died in Lyubensk, near Luga (now Pskov district), on June 21, 1908. He was a brilliant composer, arranger, and teacher, whose illustrious students included Igor Stravinsky. A member of the group of composers known as “The Five,” Rimsky-Korsakov (along with Mussorgsky, Balakirev, Cui, and Borodin) played an important role in developing an idiosyncratic Russian musical voice. The author of a manual on orchestration and prized by all as a master of the same, Rimsky-Korsakov is best known for his orchestral showpieces, including the Great Russian Easter Festival Overture, Capriccio espagnol, and the most popular of them all, Scheherazade (1887-8). His oneact opera, Mozart and Salieri, based on Alexander Pushkin’s 1830 poetic drama, was composed in 1897 and first performed in Moscow’s Solodovnikov Theater on December 7, 1898, with staging by Mikhail Vrubel and musical direction by Giuseppe Truffi. Calling for only two singing roles— Salieri (baritone) and Mozart (tenor)—there is a non-singing role for a violinist. The respective roles were sung by Feodor Chaliapin (Shalyapin) and Vasilly Shkafer.

The opera’s orchestration calls for a small chamber orchestra comprising single winds, 2 horns, piano, strings, and offstage chorus.

In our own time, the name Antonio Salieri has become well-known to Englishspeaking audiences thanks to Peter Shaffer’s 1979 stage play, Amadeus, and the subsequent Academy Award-winning filmization of it directed by Milos Forman and released in 1984. What is less familiar, however, is that Shaffer’s script is itself based upon the verse drama Mozart and Salieri, written in 1830 by Alexander Pushkin. This play, in turn, inspired the opera by the same name by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Its cast at the premiere included the famed Russian baritone Fedor Chaliapin, whose career later catapulted him to international acclaim. The pianist at the first performance was none other than Sergei Rachmaninoff.

The historical Antonio Salieri was not the villainous murderer of Mozart, but was rather a highly respected musician at the Habsburg court in Vienna.

The historical Antonio Salieri (1750–1825) was not the villainous murderer of Mozart that Pushkin and Shaffer depict, but was rather a highly respected musician at the Habsburg court in Vienna. No less a figure than Ludwig van Beethoven thought well enough of Salieri’s talents to seek him out for lessons. It is true, however, that as the early 19th century evolved, Salieri recognized that musical trends and tastes were changing. There is also some truth in the fact that a kind of rivalry existed between Salieri and Mozart, but this represented a difference between the Italian and Germanic approaches to composition. It is also true that the operatic life in Vienna toward the turn of the century was dominated by Salieri and other Italians, a fact of which Mozart took notice in letters to his father. The final coup de grace, however, occurred in 1823, when Salieri attempted suicide, and rumors persisted that in his dementia he claimed to have poisoned Mozart in a fit of jealousy.

As is often the case, these rumors spread and continued to feed the imagination of artists, including Pushkin. The great Russian master produced another mini-drama titled The Stone Guest that was set to music by Alexander Dargomyzhsky (1813–1869), but remained unfinished before its premiere in 1872. Rimsky-Korsakov and César Cui completed the opera’s composition and orchestration after Dargomyzhsky’s death. The inspiration for Pushkin and Dargomyzhsky was, of course, Lorenzo da Ponte and Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni, an opera whose title character—the famous Don Juan—disrupts social norms of behavior. Mozart and Salieri in many ways also addresses several moral issues, including the destructive effects of envy, as well as the question of who is, and who is not, talented. As Salieri asks near the opening of the opera, “Where is justice when the holy gift of immortal genius is bestowed not as a reward for fervent love of art, selfsacrificing labor, prayer and zeal, but lights upon the head of a dunce, and idle gadabout.” In addition to RimskyKorsakov’s music, we hear excerpts from Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni (Zerlina’s aria “Batti, batti, O bel Masetto”), and the introit of Mozart’s Requiem.

Rarely performed, Mozart and Salieri has moments of true human poignancy. The late Richard Taruskin, a scholar steeped in encyclopedic knowledge of Russian music and its history, suggested that Rimsky-Korsakov was attracted to the subject of Pushkin’s depiction of Salieri’s envy of Mozart because he projected his own lack of self-worth in contrast to the accomplishments of his colleagues Alexander Borodin and Modest Mussorgsky. Through Salieri’s heartfelt and genuine remorse in murdering Mozart, he asks, by way of justification, did not Michaelangelo commit murder of a rival so that he would receive commissions from the Vatican? Or were these also unfounded rumors? ●

NOTES BY TERRY HAWKINS

Daniel Steven Crafts

Symphony No. 18, “The Dream-Mirror Dancer”

In the dream mirror, one can see whatever one desires. The reflex of creativity builds upon itself, enfolding worlds of otherwise hidden imagination. The doors of perception ever widen the splendor of possibility—riches ready to drop upon us if the passion and joy are strong enough. ●

NOTES BY DAVID B. LEVY

Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy

Symphony No. 4 in A Major, “Italian,” Op. 90 (1833; rev. 1834)

(Jacob Ludwig) Felix Mendelssohn (-Bartholdy) was born on February 3, 1809, in Hamburg and died on November 4, 1847, in Leipzig. Mendelssohn was one of the most important composers of symphonies in the first half of the 19th century. The “Italian” Symphony received its premiere on May 13, 1833, in London under the baton of the composer. It is scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, and strings.

Of the five mature symphonies by Mendelssohn, the one designated as the fourth has proved to be the most popular with audiences and is the one that is most frequently performed. The “Italian” Symphony had its origins during Mendelssohn’s 1830-31 sojourn in Italy. It received its first performance in May 1833 in London with its composer, who also was one of the first renowned conductors, directing that city’s Philharmonic Society orchestra.

It may strike us as curious that the composition of this work was a difficult task for its brilliant young author, especially given the piece’s seemingly effortless melodic beauties and boundless energy. Mendelssohn grew up as a child prodigy, and he usually found composition to come to him with relative ease. But as he matured, Mendelssohn became more self-consciously aware of the work of other composers—both contemporaneous and from previous generations. This awareness led him to evaluate his own efforts with a more critical eye and ear.

The first of the Symphony’s four movements is a brilliant Allegro vivace of high spirit. Among its arresting features are the rapid-fire woodwind chords that introduce, and subsequently accompany, the first theme. The more solemn Andante con moto is alleged to have been inspired by a religious procession that the composer observed while in Naples. The stolid “walking” bass line and rapid changes of harmony give this movement a distinctly “Baroque” feel. This feature is not surprising in light of the composer’s lifelong interest in the music of Bach, the culmination of which came in his landmark 1829 performance of the monumental Passion According to St. Matthew. The third movement of the “Italian” Symphony is marked Con moto moderato, and it follows the ternary design (ABA) characteristic of the traditional minuet and trio. The finale, marked Presto, is identified in the score as a saltarello—a leaping Italian dance. In point of fact, however, Mendelssohn makes use of two dances in this finale. The saltarello with which it opens is identifiable by its staccato articulation. The second dance, a tarantella, uses the smoother legato (connected) articulation. A primary attraction of this movement is how skillfully the composer brings these dances together in counterpoint. A highly interesting and unusual feature of the finale is that it ends in the minor mode. One can identify any number of multi-movement works that begin in the minor mode and that end in the major. But to my knowledge, at least, the “Italian” Symphony is the only work that reverses this process. ●