Mendelssohn's "Scottish" program

BNY MELLON GRAND CLASSICS | HEINZ HALL

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2021 AT 8:00 P.M. SUNDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2021 AT 2:30 P.M.

Osmo Vänskä, conductor Lorna McGhee, flute

Ludwig Van Beethoven Overture to Egmont, Opus 84 Kaija Saariaho Aile du Songe (“Wing of the Dream”), Concerto for Flute and Orchestra I. Aérienne Prélude Jardin des oiseaux D’autres rives II. Terrestre L’oiseau dansant Oiseau, un satellite infima de notre orbite planétaire

Ms. McGhee

Felix Mendelssohn Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Opus 56, “Scottish” I. Introduction and Allegro agitato II. Scherzo assai vivace III. Adagio cantabile IV. Allegro guerriero and Finale maestoso Played without pause

Alexander Kerr, Guest Concertmaster (Concertmaster, Dallas Symphony)

GRAND CLASSICS TITLE SPONSOR MEDIA SPONSOR

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Overture to Egmont, Opus 84

Ludwig van Beethoven was born in in Bonn, Germany on December 16, 1770, and died in Vienna, Austria on March 26, 1827. Beethoven composed the Overture to Egmont in 1809-1810, and it premiered in Vienna on June 15, 1810, at the Hofburgtheater conducted by the composer himself. The Pittsburgh Symphony first performed the work at Carnegie Music Hall under the baton of the orchestra's first conductor, Frederic Archer, in May 1896, and most recently performed it at Heinz Hall with conductor Krzysztof Urbanski in October 2017. The score calls for pairs of woodwinds plus piccolo, four horns, two trumpets, timpani, and strings.

Performance time: 8 minutes.

KAIJA SAARIAHO Aile du Songe (“Wing of the Dream”), Concerto for Flute and Orchestra

Kaija Saariaho was born in Helsinki, Finland, on October 14, 1952. Aile du Songe (“Wing of the Dream”), Concerto for Flute and Orchestra, was composed in 2001 and premiered in Brussels, Belgium on October 12, 2001, with the Vlaams Radio Orchestra conducted by Marin Alsop, featuring flutist Camilla Hoitenga. These performances with principal flute Lorna McGhee mark the Pittsburgh Symphony premiere of the concerto. The Pittsburgh Symphony first performed a work by Kaija Saariaho in April 2001, entitled Oltra Mar, Seven Preludes for the New Millenium. The score calls for timpani, percussion, harp, celesta, and strings.

Performance time: 18 minutes

FELIX MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Opus 56, “Scottish”

Felix Mendelssohn was born in Hamburg, Germany, on February 3, 1809, and died in Leipzig on November 4, 1847. His Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Opus 56 “Scottish” was written between 1841 - 1842, and premiered in Leipzig on March 3, 1842, with Mendelssohn conducting the Gewandhaus Orchestra. The Pittsburgh Symphony first performed the work at Carnegie Music Hall under the baton of Frederic Archer in February 1896, and most recently performed it at Heinz Hall with conductor Matthew Halls in January 2017. In 1953, the PSO released a recording of the symphony led by William Steinberg. The score calls for woodwinds in pairs, four horns, two trumpets, timpani and strings.

Performance time: 43 minutes

Aile du Songe by Kaija Saariaho is presented under license from G. Schirmer Inc. and Associated Music Publishers, copyright owners.