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Audience Information
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The Schwartz Center wishes to gratefully acknowledge the generous ongoing support of Donna and Marvin Schwartz.
Cover
Design: Lisa Baron | Cover Photo: Mark Teague2023 | 2024
MUSIC
Emory Youth Symphony Orchestra
Paul Bhasin, conductor
Didi Stone, violin | Winner of the 2024 EYSO Concerto Competition
Wednesday, May 8, 2024, 8:00 p.m.
Emerson Concert Hall
Schwartz Center for Performing Arts
Program
Fanfare for the Common Man
Invitation to the Dance, op. 65
Aaron Copland (1900–1990)
Carl Maria von Weber (1786–1826) orch. Hector Berlioz
Violin Concerto in D Major, op. 35
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
I. Allegro moderato (1840–1893)
Didi Stone, violin
Winner of the 2024 EYSO Concerto Competition
Háry János Suite
Zoltán Kodály
I. Prélude. The Fairy Tale Begins (1882–1967)
II. Viennese Musical Clock
III. Song
IV. The Battle and Defeat of Napoleon
V. Intermezzo
VI. Entrance of the Emperor and his Court
Program Notes
Fanfare for the Common Man (1942)
Aaron Copland composed his Fanfare for the Common Man at the request of Eugene Goossens, conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. According to Copland:
During World War I [Goossens] had asked British composers for a fanfare to begin each orchestral concert. It had been so successful that he thought to repeat the procedure in World War II with American composers . . . Goossens, a composer himself, suggested the instruments of brass and percussion and a length of about two minutes . . .
After some difficulty, Copland named his new composition:
After I decided on Fanfare for the Common Man and sent the score to Goossens, I think he was rather puzzled by the title. He wrote: “Its title is as original as its music, and I think it is so telling that it deserves a special occasion for its performance. If it is agreeable with you, we will premiere it 12 March 1943 at income tax time . . .
I was all for honoring the common man at income tax time.
Very deliberate—The Fanfare for the Common Man is based upon two principal elements. First is a commanding percussion motif, played fortissimo at the opening of the work. The trumpets respond with an ascending and descending fanfare. Copland alternates and develops these elements, as the Fanfare builds to a stunning conclusion.
Invitation to the Dance, op. 65 (1819)
German composer Carl Maria von Weber completed his work for solo piano, Aufforderung zum Tanz (Invitation to the Dance) in 1819. Weber created a brief narrative for the work. In an elegant ballroom, a gentleman approaches a young lady and asks for the favor of a dance. At first she politely declines, but soon joins the man in a waltz. At the conclusion of the dance, the gentleman escorts the lady to her seat.
Weber’s splendid work in many ways foreshadows the unrivaled compositions of the “Waltz King,” Johann Strauss, Jr. At the time Weber composed his Invitation to the Dance, a typical waltz sequence consisted of a brief introduction followed by several unrelated dances. Weber opens Invitation to the Dance with an extended, atmospheric introduction. The architectural unity of the entire piece is reinforced by the return of the principal waltz melody throughout the main dance sequence. Additionally, music from the introduction reappears in the final coda.
This concert features the orchestration of Weber’s piano work by French composer Hector Berlioz. Berlioz, a fervent admirer of Weber, orchestrated Invitation to the Dance as part of a French-language adaptation of Weber’s Der Freischütz (1821) for an 1841 production at the Paris Opéra. The combination of Weber’s inspired music and Berlioz’s masterful instrumentation has assured the Invitation to the Dance a welcome presence in the orchestral concert hall.
Violin Concerto in D Major, op. 35 (1878)
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky composed his only Violin Concerto during spring 1878. The composer dedicated the Concerto to Leopold Auer, the great Hungarian-born violinist, who was living and teaching in St. Petersburg. Auer, however, declined to play the Concerto. Adolf Brodsky was the soloist for the premiere, which took place in Vienna on December 4, 1881. Hans Richter conducted the Vienna Philharmonic. Tchaikovsky greatly appreciated the courage displayed by Brodsky in premiering a work “before a Viennese audience with a concerto by an unknown composer, and a Russian one to boot.”
The extent of Brodsky’s courage becomes even clearer when the circumstances of the premiere are examined. The reaction by the audience and critics was unfavorable, to say the least. The performance inspired the prominent Austrian critic Eduard Hanslick to write one of the most infamous reviews in music history. For several months after the concert, Tchaikovsky carried with him a copy of the review and, to the end of his days, could recite verbatim Hanslick’s caustic prose:
The Russian composer Tchaikovsky is surely not an ordinary talent, but rather an inflated one, with a genius-like obsession without discrimination or taste. Such is also his latest, long, and pretentious Violin Concerto. For a while it moves soberly, musically, and not without spirit. But soon vulgarity gains the upper hand and asserts itself to the end of the first movement. The violin is no longer played; it is pulled, torn,
drubbed. The Adagio is again on its best behavior, to pacify and win us. But it soon breaks off to make way for a finale that transfers us to a brutal and wretched jollity of a Russian holiday. We see plainly the savage vulgar faces, we hear curses, we smell vodka. Friedrich Visser once observed, speaking of obscene pictures, that they stink to the eye. Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto gives us for the first time the hideous notion that there can be music that stinks to the ear.
Brodsky persevered in his advocacy of the Concerto, playing it throughout Europe. In time, the merits of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto became clear. Even Leopold Auer finally performed the work, as did such protégés as Mischa Elman and Jascha Heifetz. But it was Adolf Brodsky to whom Tchaikovsky dedicated this beloved masterpiece.
I. Allegro moderato—The Concerto begins with an orchestral introduction, during which the violins foreshadow the movement’s principal theme. The solo violin enters and, after a brief opening passage, presents the flowing, principal melody. There are some playful flights for the soloist, followed by the presentation of another expressive, lyrical theme. A stunning virtuoso passage by the soloist leads to a grand orchestral proclamation of the principal melody, soon incorporated once again by the solo violin. After another orchestral statement of the theme, there is a fiery development section and the soloist’s majestic cadenza. Over the solo violin’s trills, the flute ushers in the recapitulation of the principal themes. The coda again highlights the soloist in a breathtaking display.
Háry János Suite (1927)
Hungarian composer Zoltán Kodály’s singspiel (an opera comprising sung music and spoken dialogue) received its successful premiere in Budapest on October 16, 1926. Kodály then fashioned an orchestral Suite featuring excerpts from the opera. The Háry János Suite premiered in Barcelona, Spain, on March 24, 1927.
The composer provided the following description:
The story tells the adventures of Háry János, a national hero of folklore. A peasant and an ex-soldier, with great powers of imagination, Háry sits in the village inn day after day telling of his wonderful exploits . . . A deeper significance is given to the story by regarding Háry as symbolic of the Hungarian nation, whose strivings and ambitions can be fulfilled only in dreams.
I. Prelude. The Fairy Tale Begins—According to a Hungarian superstition, if a statement is followed by a sneeze of one of the hearers, it is regarded as confirmation of its truth. The Háry János Suite begins with a sneeze of this kind! One of Háry’s group of faithful listeners, who sneezes at the wildest assertions of the old tale-spinner, is equal to the occasion even when Háry declares that he once had the occasion to subdue Napoleon himself. With a suggestion of this sneeze, “the tale begins.” The other movements may be described as follows:
II. Viennese Musical Clock—The scene is laid at the Imperial Castle in Vienna, where the ingenious Hungarian lad is amazed and enraptured by the famous “Music Box” with its little soldier figures in their brave uniforms appearing at every rotation of the marvelous machinery.
III. Song—Háry and his sweetheart are longing for their village home, its quiet evenings musical with love songs.
IV. The Battle and Defeat of Napoleon—Háry, the General, in command of his hussars, confronts the French army. He brandishes his sword, and lo! the French begin to fall before him like tin soldiers! First, two at a time, then four, eight, ten, and so on. Finally, there are no more French soldiers left and Napoleon is forced to engage in person the invincible Háry. Háry’s fantasy pictures a Napoleon made in the image of his own burly peasant imagination, an immensely tall and formidable Napoleon, who, shaking in his every limb, kneels before his conqueror and pleads for mercy. The ironical French victory march is transformed into a dirge.
V. Intermezzo—of no special significance.
VI. Entrance of the Emperor and his Court—An ironical march of triumph in which Háry pictures his entry into the Imperial Court at Vienna, but it is not a realistic account, only a Hungarian peasant’s way of imagining the rich happiness of the celebrated Wiener Burg.
—Program notes by Ken
MeltzerPaul Bhasin, conductor
Paul Bhasin serves as director of orchestral studies at Emory University where he holds the Donna and Marvin Schwartz Professorship in Music. In this capacity, he conducts the Emory University Symphony Orchestra and the Emory Youth Symphony Orchestra, oversees music research programs, and teaches conducting. Praised for his “crisp, clear” conducting and “highly expressive” interpretations, Bhasin’s career began when he won the Yamaha Young Performing Artist Competition in 1998. Bhasin serves as music director and conductor of both the DeKalb Symphony Orchestra and the Atlanta Chamber Music Festival and has recently led the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, “President’s Own” United States Marine Band, American Youth Philharmonic, Williamsburg Symphony, performances at Interlochen, the Kennedy Center, and throughout the People’s Republic of China. He has also led performances as a guest conductor with members of the Richmond Symphony, National Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, and Kennedy Center Opera Orchestra, and with honor orchestras and bands (including at the all-state level). He has presented at national conferences including the Midwest Orchestra Clinic and the National Music Teachers Association Conference. As a trumpeter, he performed and recorded with the Virginia Symphony and Opera; Columbus (Ohio) Symphony; New World Symphony; the Civic Orchestra of Chicago; and at the music festivals of Aspen, Tanglewood, and Ravinia; and as a soloist on National Public Radio, Detroit PBS-TV, the International Computer Music Conference, and at the International Dvořák Festival (Prague, Czech Republic), and his trumpet students have won first prize at major competitions including the National Trumpet Competition. Bhasin has recorded as trumpeter and conductor for both the Centaur and Interscope record labels. Bhasin’s compositions, transcriptions, and arrangements are published by Carl Fischer Music and have been praised by the New York Times and Chicago Tribune with recent performances by the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Opera Theater, and the Grand Tetons Festival Orchestra. He received his musical training from Northwestern University, the University of Michigan, and the University of Wisconsin.
Didi Stone, violin
Winner of the 2024 EYSO Concerto Competition
Didi Stone, a senior at Alpharetta High School, began performing the violin in first grade with the Fayette Fiddlers. His continuous passion for orchestra led him to perform in the GMEA AllState orchestra every year since sixth grade, Emory Junior Chamber Orchestra, Emory Youth Symphony Orchestra, and the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra. Stone was also one of ten violinists selected for the Georgia Governor’s Honors Program in 2022. In addition to serving as the concertmaster of his school orchestra, during the 2023–2024 school year Stone held the position of concertmaster in both the Emory Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra. In 2024, in addition to winning the Emory Youth Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition, Stone will be joining the National Youth Orchestra in the summer.
Stone is also an avid chamber musician. Since elementary school, he has played with Quartet Le Petit. The quartet won the state-level Kiwanis Music and Art Competition in 2022 and top prizes at the Franklin Pond Chamber Music Competitions in 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2023. His newly formed trio in 2024 is a semi-finalist in the Coltman National Chamber Music Competition.
Apart from his violin skills, Stone is an accomplished singer, winning local competitions in Fayette County, Georgia; and Quanzhou, China. He has been chosen as a soloist for the Georgia All-State Chorus for two consecutive years. In summer 2023, Stone had the opportunity to record solo songs for a local composer in Xiamen, China. Beyond music, Stone enjoys solving Rubik’s cubes, working out, and playing chess.