ABOUT THE MUSIC

Sinfonietta No. 1 for Strings

COLERIDGE-TAYLOR PERKINSON

Born June 14, 1932, Manhattan

Died March 9, 2004, Chicago

Approximate Performance Time

15 minutes

Born into a musical family, Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson was named after the Afro-British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (who in turn had been named after the English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge). The young man showed unusual musical talent, and at age 13 he entered New York’s High School of Music and Art. After graduation, he attended New York University and eventually received his bachelors and masters degrees from the Manhattan School of Music. From there he went on to study conducting at the Berkshire Music Center and at the Salzburg Mozarteum—among his conducting teachers were Dean Dixon and Dmitri Mitropoulos. Perkinson had a long and successful career that ranged over many different kinds of music: he was a jazz pianist who performed for several years as a member of the Max Roach Jazz Quartet, he was an arranger for many of the leading vocalists of his era (including Henry Belafonte, Lou Rawls and Marvin Gaye), he composed scores for different dance troupes, and he composed music for films and for television.

But above all else, Perkinson wished to succeed as a composer of classical music. He was one of the cofounders of the Symphony of the New World, the first fully integrated orchestra in the United States, and he served as associate conductor of that orchestra from 1965-70. Among his many compositions are works for orchestra (including two Sinfoniettas for Strings), choral settings and works for small instrumental ensembles or solo performers.

Perkinson’s Sinfonietta No. 1 for Strings is the work of a very young composer: he wrote it in 1954, when he was only 22. The Sinfonietta is also a compact work—its three movements span only a quarter of an hour—and each of those movements is in a different classical form. Perkinson marks the opening movement Sonata Allegro. Shortest of the movements, it proceeds along vigorous counterpoint and driving energy to a firm conclusion. The second movement, which Perkinson titles Song Form, is dark, intense and expressive music. Many have heard echoes here of Barber’s Adagio for Strings: both are somber movements, both rise to a great climax, and both fade away to a quiet conclusion. The concluding movement is in rondo form, and Perkinson specifies that the performance should be Allegro furioso. This movement—full of slashing energy, shifting meters and dancing interludes—may be “furious” music, but it is so infectious that it is sometimes performed by itself. Matters relax slightly for a reflective interlude in the middle of the movement, but the bristling energy of the opening soon returns, and Perkinson’s Sinfonietta No. 1 concludes with a strident flourish.

Symphony No. 1 in D Major, Op. 25, Classical Symphony

Serge Prokofiev

Born April 23, 1891, Sontsovka

Died March 5, 1953, Moscow

APPROXIMATE PERFORMANCE TIME

15 minutes

In the summer of 1917, with the Russian Revolution beginning to explode around him, Serge Prokofiev set to work on an experiment: he wanted to write a symphony and to compose without being seated at the piano. He wished to think “orchestrally” rather than conceiving his ideas pianistically, and in fact this symphony was composed mostly during long walks in the woods outside St. Petersburg.

But what makes this symphony so remarkable—and so charming—is that this young firebrand chose as his model the classical symphony of the eighteenth century: “It seemed to me that had Haydn lived to our day he would have retained his own style while accepting something of the new at the same time. This was the kind of symphony I wanted to write: a symphony in the classical style.” The symphony he wrote during the summer of 1917—only fifteen minutes long—is a model of classical order and style, enlivened at some points by Prokofiev’s characteristically pungent harmonies. This symphony seems to exist outside time: there is not the faintest echo here of the political cataclysm about to bury Russia, nor is this music consciously a part of the neo-classical movement then beginning in music. (Ravel was composing Le Tombeau de Couperin and Debussy his Violin Sonata at just this same time.) Rather, the “Classical” Symphony seems a stylistic experiment: a fiery young composer, seeking greater clarity and a specifically orchestral sonority, consciously chose to turn to the distant past for his model.

Music this clear and pleasing needs little explanation or comment. The Allegro is built on the expected two theme-groups: the lively opening explosion, and a poised second theme for first violins that Prokofiev marks con eleganza, full of wide skips and grace-notes. It is a measure of Prokofiev’s attention to classical form that these two themes are in the “correct” keys: the first is in the home key of D Major, the second in the dominant of A Major. The form of this miniature movement is right out of Haydn: exposition, lively development, a big climax, a recapitulation of both theme-groups and an exciting close.

The gentle second movement is in ternary form. Over pulsing accompaniment from the lower strings, first violins have the very high main idea, which Prokofiev marks molto dolce. The center section features pizzicato strings and the bubbling sound of the two bassoons, before an abbreviated return of the opening section. The third movement brings a slight deviation from the classical model: this is not the expected minuet but a gavotte, based on a main theme that dances by stomping (Prokofiev marks it pesante); a stately middle section gives way to a concise repeat of the gavotte tune by the two flutes before the music suddenly vanishes on two quiet pizzicato strokes. Out of this quiet, the finale bursts to life. In sonata form, complete with exposition repeat, this Molto vivace is full of the sound of chattering woodwinds; the bright energy of the opening never lets up as the symphony rushes to its shining close.

The “Classical” Symphony is scored for classical orchestra: pairs of woodwinds, trumpets and horns, plus timpani and strings. Prokofiev consciously chose to step outside time when he wrote this music. In the process, he wrote a symphony that may live for all time.

Rounds for Piano and String Orchestra

JESSIE MONTGOMERY

Born December 8, 1981, New York City

APPROXIMATE PERFORMANCE TIME

15 minutes

The daughter of theater and musical artists, Jessie Montgomery learned to play the violin as a child and earned her bachelors degree in violin performance from Juilliard and her masters in composition from New York University. She is currently a Graduate Fellow in composition at Princeton as well as a Professor of Violin and Composition at The New School in New York City. In May 2021 Montgomery began her tenure as composer-in-residence with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

The composer has provided a program note for Rounds for Piano and String Orchestra:

Rounds for solo piano and string orchestra is inspired by the imagery and themes from T.S. Eliot’s epic poem Four Quartets. Early in the first poem, Burnt Norton, we find these evocative lines:

At the still point of the turning world. Neither flesh nor fleshless;

Neither from nor towards; at the still point, there the dance is,

But neither arrest nor movement. And do not call it fixity,

Where past and future are gathered. Neither movement from nor towards,

Neither ascent nor decline. Except for the point, the still point,

There would be no dance, and there is only the dance.

(Text © T.S. Eliot. Reproduced by courtesy of Faber and Faber Ltd)

In addition to this inspiration, while working on the piece, I became fascinated by fractals (infinite patterns found in nature that are self-similar across different scales) and also delved into the work of contemporary biologist and philosopher Andreas Weber who writes about the interdependency of all beings. Weber explores how every living organism has a rhythm that interacts and impacts with all of the living things around it and results in a multitude of outcomes.

Like Eliot in Four Quartets, beginning to understand this interconnectedness requires that we slow down, listen, and observe both the effect and the opposite effect caused by every single action and moment. I’ve found this is an exercise that lends itself very naturally towards musical gestural possibilities that I explore in the work—action and reaction, dark and light, stagnant and swift.

Structurally, with these concepts in mind, I set the form of the work as a rondo, within a rondo, within a rondo. The five major sections are a rondo; section “A” is also a rondo in itself; and the cadenza—which is partially improvised by the soloist—breaks the pattern, yet, contains within it, the overall form of the work.

To help share some of this with the performers, I’ve included the following poetic performance note at the start of the score:

Inspired by the constancy, the rhythms, and duality of life, in order of relevance to form:

Rondine – AKA Swifts (like a sparrow) flying in circles patterns

Playing with opposites – dark/light; stagnant/swift

Fractals – infinite design

I am grateful to my friend Awadagin Pratt for his collaborative spirit and ingenuity in helping to usher my first work for solo piano into the world.

-Jessie Montgomery, February 2022

Symphony No. 104 in D Major, London

FRANZ JOSEPH HAYDN

Born March 31, 1732, Rohrau

Died May 31, 1809, Vienna

APPROXIMATE PERFORMANCE TIME

30 minutes

CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

FRIDAY, APR 21 7:30PM

SATURDAY, APR 22 7:30PM

The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park™

JEAN-YVES THIBAUDET PLAYS DEBUSSY

Rafael Payare, conductor

Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano

Hera Hyesang Park, soprano

San Diego Symphony Orchestra

Program

CLAUDE DEBUSSY

Prélude à “L’après midi d’un faune” (Prelude to “Afternoon of a Faun”)

CLAUDE DEBUSSY

Fantaisie for Piano and Orchestra

Andante; Allegro Lento e molto espressivo Allegro molto

Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano

– INTERMISSION –

GUSTAV MAHLER

Symphony No. 4 in G Major

Bedächtig; nicht eilen Im gemächlicher Bewegung; ohne Hast Ruhevoll

Sehr behaglich

Hera Hyesang Park, soprano

Approximate program length: 1 hour, 50 minutes (includes one 20-minute intermission)

The April 21 performance is made possible, in part, through the generosity of the Atkinson Family in memory of Rita Loyd Atkinson.

Scan this QR code with your smartphone or text SDS to 55741 to access the interactive version of the program

About The Conductor

RAFAEL PAYARE Please turn to page 6.

About The Artists

For more than three decades, JEAN-YVES THIBAUDET has performed world-wide, recorded more than 50 albums, and built a reputation as one of today's finest pianists. From the start of his career, he delighted in music beyond the standard repertoire, from jazz to opera, which he transcribed himself to play on the piano. His profound professional friendships crisscross the globe and have led to spontaneous and fruitful collaborations in film, fashion, and visual art.

Thibaudet has a lifelong passion for education and fostering young musical talent. He is the first-ever Artistin-Residence at the Colburn School in Los Angeles, where he makes his home. In 2017, the school announced the Jean-Yves Thibaudet Scholarships, funded by members of Colburn’s donor community, to provide aid for Music Academy students, whom Thibaudet will select for the merit-based awards, regardless of their instrument choice.

Thibaudet's recording catalogue has received two Grammy® nominations, the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik, the Diapason d'Or, the Choc du Monde de la Musique, the Edison Prize and Gramophone awards. His most recent solo album, 2021’s Carte Blanche, features a collection of deeply personal solo piano pieces never before recorded by the pianist. He is the soloist on Wes Anderson’s 2021 film The French Dispatch; his playing can also be heard in Pride and Prejudice, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, Wakefield, and the Oscar-winning and critically acclaimed film Atonement. His concert wardrobe is designed by Dame Vivienne Westwood.

In 2010 the Hollywood Bowl honored Thibaudet for his musical achievements by inducting him into its Hall of Fame. Previously a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, Thibaudet was awarded the title Officier by the French Ministry of Culture in 2012. In 2020, he was named Special Representative for the promotion of French Creative and Cultural Industries in Romania. He is co-Artistic Advisor, with Gautier Capuçon, of the Festival Musique & Vin au Clos Vougeot.

Thibaudet's worldwide representation: HarrisonParrott. Thibaudet records exclusively for Decca Classics.

Hailed by The New York Times for her “bright, clear voice and impressive coloratura technique,” Korean soprano HERA HYESANG PARK is attracting the attention of opera houses and concert houses worldwide.

In the 2022-23 season, Park returns to the Staatsoper Berlin for Adina L’elisir d’amore; makes her role debut as Nannetta in Falstaff at The Metropolitan Opera and makes her operatic house debut as Pamina in Die Zauberflöte at the Teatro Colón Buenos Aires. In concert, she sings Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with San Diego Symphony and Naples Philharmonic; Handel’s Messiah with St. Paul’s Chamber Orchestra and appears with Baltimore Symphony as soloist in their Lunar New Year celebration concert. Park will also give recital and concert performances on tour in Mexico, South America and South Korea and makes her solo recital debut in New York’s Carnegie Hall.

The 2021-22 season saw Hyesang triumph in three role debuts: Pamina in The Magic Flute at the Metropolitan Opera; Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro at Glyndebourne Festival and Adina at Staatsoper Berlin. She also made her Opéra national de Paris debut in Marina Abramovic’s Seven Deaths of Maria Callas. Concert highlights included gala concerts with the New York Philharmonic and Prague Philharmonia as well as a multi-city tour of South Korea.

Her honors and awards include first prize in the April 2016 Gerda Lissner Foundation International Competition, second prize and the Audience Choice Award at the 2015 Montreal International Musical Competition, winning second place overall in the women’s division in Placido Domingo’s 2015 International Operalia competition, as well as taking First Prize in the women’s Zarzuela.

Park records exclusively for Deutsche Grammophon. Her debut album I am Hera was released in November 2020.