PROGRAM NOTES by Pam Davis, Assistant Concertmaster
Arturo Marquez (1950 -) Danzon No. 2 (1994)
Son of a mariachi musician, Arturo Marquez was trained at the Mexican Music Conservatory and the California Institute of the Arts. His music incorporates traditional forms and styles from his Mexican heritage. The danzon is a dance form of 1880’s Cuban origin with roots in English contradance, French quadrille, and African rhythms. In this work, Marquez includes duet passages that hint at a physical dance between two partners. Commissioned by the National Autonomous University of Mexico and dedicated to his daughter Lily, Danzon No. 2 is one of Marquez’s most popular works. It begins with a sultry conversation between clarinet and piano with the ubiquitous clave ostinato developing into a tango style, not unlike salon music of the early 1900’s. That clave rhythm creates a heartbeat in much of the piece, joined by solos for piccolo, trumpet, and violin. e WORLD EVENTS: Nelson Mandela elected president of South Africa, Amazon. com is founded, the Tunnel under the English Channel opens e FIRST PERFORMANCE: March 5, 1994, Mexico City
e MOST RECENT SSO PERFORMANCE: November 2013, Kyle Wiley Pickett conducting
Pablo Sarasate (1844 -1908) Fantasy on Bizet’s Carmen, Opus 25 (1883)
Pablo Martín Melitón de Sarasate y Navascuez shortened his name to Pablo Sarasate when he became a prominent musician. Born in Pamploma, Spain, which is famous for the annual running of the bulls, Sarasate was the son of a Spanish military bandmaster. Sarasate began violin lessons at age five, performed his first concert at eight, and entered the Paris Conservatory at 12. Seeing his potential of furthering Spanish culture in his touring performances, Queen Isabella II subsidized his career, including gifting him with a Stradivarius. Sarasate, as one of the big three violinists of the 19th century (along with Paganini and Joachim) was known for his beautiful tone, precision, and apparent effortlessness in playing and was the first important violinist to make commercial recordings. Many composers dedicated works to Sarasate, among them Lalo and Saint-Saëns. In this piece of violin showmanship dedicated to Austrian violinist Joseph Hellmesberger, Sarasate borrowed liberally from Bizet’s opera Carmen eight years after its premiere: the Entr’acte between Acts III and IV; Carmen’s Habanera; the scene of Carmen, Don José and Zuniga, “Mon officier c’était une querelle”; the Séguidille from Act I; and the Chanson Bohème from Act II. Technically demanding, filled with effects such as harmonics, left-hand pizzicato, fiery arpeggios, and flashy scales, this challenging work was most likely written for the composer’s own concert tours. e WORLD EVENTS: Franz Kafka is born, the Brooklyn Bridge opens, Richard Wagner dies e FIRST PERFORMANCE: 1875, Paris
e MOST RECENT SSO PERFORMANCE: Tonight is the SSO debut 48
