FWSO Program Book | March/April 2024

FWSO program guide

March/April 2024

The FWSO’s Jennifer Corning Lucio: Beethoven, Vaughan Williams, and Carlos Simon Mar. 1-3

John Williams Celebration Mar. 8-10

Family Series: Beethoven Lives Upstairs Mar. 9

Wagner’s Die Walküre and Sibelius’ Sixth Apr. 19-21

Family Series: Harry Potter Children’s Suite Apr. 27

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Apr. 26-28

Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto and the Fifth Symphony Mar. 15-17 featuring Joyce Yang, piano

At The University of Texas at Dallas, we celebrate rising stars in the visual and performing arts. From dance, theatre and music to art history and film studies, our students are creative, innovative and performance driven. Come shine with us.

utdallas.edu/bright

John Dinh, B.S.N., RN Primary Care Nurse

UT Southwestern Fort Worth

Finding answers, changing lives.

UT Southwestern’s Monty and Tex Moncrief Medical Center, located in the heart of Fort Worth’s Medical District, is committed to delivering the highest-quality health care for you and your family.

Our renowned physicians offer innovative treatments in specialties ranging from cardiology and ENT to neurology, urology, and ophthalmology. Using the most advanced techniques and technology, we are equipped to meet all your medical needs. Primary and specialty care, physical and speech therapy, lab and pharmacy services are all available in one convenient location.

At UTSW Fort Worth, the future of medicine is right where you want it –close to home.

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Visit us at utswmed.org/fortworth or call 817-882-2400 for more

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North Texas Community Foundation helps individuals, families, and businesses create tax-efficient giving plans to support the local causes and nonprofits they care about most.

We offer a variety of charitable funds to support your giving today and for generations to come.

John, Grainger and Gregor Esch at HSC

Look Again

Happy Hour in the Kimbell Café

EVERY FRIDAY, 5–7 pm

Live music | Beer Wine | Food

Admission to the permanent collection is always free. View the full schedule of exhibitions, events, and programs at kimbellart.org.

Support for the Kimbell is provided in part by Arts Fort Worth and the Texas Commission on the Arts.

Georges de La Tour, The Cheat with the Ace of Clubs (detail), c. 1630–34, oil on canvas. Kimbell Art Museum, AP 1981.06

FWSO STAFF

EXECUTIVE OFFICE

Keith Cerny, Ph.D. President and CEO

OPERATIONS

Victoria J. Moore Vice President of Operations

Matthew Glover Director of Operations

Branson White Production Manager

Lacy McCoy Project Manager

Megan Brook Orchestra Personnel Manager

Wilson Armstrong Stage Manager

Gillian Boley Artistic Services Coordinator

Artist

Jennifer Corning Lucio,

Christopher Hawn Orchestra Librarian

David Sterrett Librarian Assistant

DEVELOPMENT

Meagan Hemenway Vice President of Development

Malia Lewis Development Manager, Board and Donor Relations

Courtney Hughey Institutional Giving Manager

Veronika Perez Development Specialist, Operations

Carolyn Hudec Events Manager

BOX OFFICE

Veronica Morris Box Office Associate

Sydney Palomo Box Office Associate

Josh Pruett Box Office Associate

Patrick Sumner Box Office Associate

Paul Taylor Box Office Associate

FINANCE

Shelby Lee Vice President of Finance

Lucas Baldwin Senior Staff Accountant

HUMAN RESOURCES

Jacque Carpenter Vice President of Human

Raquel Kenston HR & Office Coordinator

MARKETING

Carrie Ellen Adamian Chief Marketing Officer

Monica Sheehan Director of Marketing

Emily Gavaghan Senior Marketing Manager

Melanie Boma Tessitura Database Senior Manager

Josselin Garibo Pendleton Senior Manager,

Mercedes T. Bass

Chairman of the Board of Directors

Dear Friends,

We are thrilled for a full, and exciting spring of programming. Wagner’s Die Walküre will feature an incredible array of singers under the baton of FWSO’s Music Director Robert Spano, who conducts opera so superbly. And I am personally looking forward to the final Chamber Series concert of the season at the Kimbell Art Museum. Piano Stampede will feature Maestro Spano alongside his longtime collaborator Pedja Mužijević, joined by FWSO President and CEO Keith Cerny, and pianist Shields-Collins (“Buddy”) Bray. The production will include favorites like Saint-Saens Danse Macabre for two pianos, eight hands.

In addition to its artistic excellence, the FWSO continues to expand its reach into the community with its Bridges to Music ticket program, discounted student tickets, and educational programming developed in partnership with FWISD. These initiatives are so important to the mission of the FWSO and have become invaluable to the North Texas community. Thank you for your support and patronage, which makes all of these projects possible.

With much appreciation and gratitude,

Mercedes T. Bass Chairman of the Board of Directors

Keith Cerny, Ph.D.

President and CEO

Dear Patron,

We are midway through Music Director Robert Spano’s second season with the FWSO, and the orchestra continues to go from strength to strength. On our Theater of a Concert series, where we add extra visual, theatrical, and dance elements to productions, we partnered back in January with the Dallas Black Dance Theatre on a “dazzling” new Choreography of Stravinsky’s Petrushka. We will continue to present bold theatrical elements in our April production of Act I of Wagner’s Die Walküre, which features a stellar cast directed by the acclaimed opera Director James Robinson. We also welcome two legendary conductors to Fort Worth in March: British conductor Dame Jane Glover and Edo de Waart. The FWSO’s own Principal Oboe Jennifer Corning Lucio will perform the Vaughn Williams Oboe Concerto with Maestra Glover, a not to be missed treat!

We are equally proud of our expanded programming on the Pops and Family series. In March, we celebrate the music of John Williams, conducted by Richard Kaufman – a perfect warmup to our April Pops concerts. Then, Music Director Laureate Miguel Harth-Bedoya will conduct the next installment of the iconic Star Wars movie franchise: Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. Our Family series in Bass Hall presents a tribute to Beethoven in March, and the final Family concert of the season in April features the beloved music of Harry Potter. There really is something for everyone on our Pops and Family series!

Thank you for your support and attendance at all of the FWSO concerts, as we work to rebuild and grow our audiences following the pandemic. We are incredibly proud of the exceptional music we are producing at the FWSO, which we know you will enjoy.

Yours sincerely,

Keith Cerny, Ph.D President & CEO

Robert Spano

Music Director

Robert Spano, conductor, pianist, composer, and teacher, is known worldwide for the intensity of his artistry and distinctive communicative abilities, creating a sense of inclusion and warmth among musicians and audiences that is unique among American orchestras. After twenty seasons as Music Director, he will continue his association with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra as Music Director Laureate. An avid mentor to rising artists, he is responsible for nurturing the careers of numerous celebrated composers, conductors, and performers. As Music Director of the Aspen Music Festival and School since 2011, he oversees the programming of more than 300 events and educational programs for 630 students and young performers. Principal Guest Conductor of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra since 2019, Spano became Music Director Designate on April 1, 2021, and begins an initial three-year term as Music Director in August 2022. He is the tenth Music Director in the orchestra’s history, which was founded in 1912.

Spano leads the Fort Worth Symphony in six symphonic programs, three chamber music programs, and a gala concert with Yo-Yo Ma, in addition to overseeing the orchestra and music staff and shaping the artistic direction of the orchestra and driving its

continued growth. Additional engagements in the 2022-23 season include a return to Houston Grand Opera to conduct Werther. Maestro Spano made his highly-acclaimed Metropolitan Opera debut in 2019, leading the US premiere of Marnie, the second opera by American composer Nico Muhly. Recent concert highlights have included several world premiere performances, including Voy a Dormir by Bryce Dessner at Carnegie Hall with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and mezzo-soprano Kelley O’Connor; George Tsontakis’s Violin Concerto No. 3 with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra; Dimitrios Skyllas’s Kyrie eleison with the BBC Symphony Orchestra; the Tuba Concerto by Jennifer Higdon, performed by Craig Knox and the Pittsburgh Symphony; Melodia, For Piano and Orchestra, by Canadian composer Matthew Ricketts at the Aspen Music Festival; and Miserere, by ASO bassist Michael Kurth.

The Atlanta School of Composers reflects Spano’s commitment to American contemporary music. He has led ASO performances at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Ravinia, Ojai, and Savannah Music Festivals. Guest engagements have included the Cleveland, Philadelphia, and Minnesota Orchestras, New York and Los Angeles Philharmonics, and the San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, With a discography of criticallyacclaimed recordings for Telarc, Deutsche Grammophon, and ASO Media, Robert Spano has garnered four Grammy™ Awards and eight nominations with the Atlanta Symphony. Spano is on faculty at Oberlin Conservatory and has received honorary doctorates from Bowling Green State University, the Curtis Institute of Music, Emory University, and Oberlin. Maestro Spano is a recipient of the Georgia Governor’s Award For The Arts And Humanities and is one of two classical musicians inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. He makes his home in Atlanta and Fort Worth. New World, San Diego, Oregon, Utah, and Kansas City Symphonies. His opera performances include Covent Garden, Welsh National Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, and the 2005 and 2009 Seattle Opera productions of Wagner’s Ring cycles.

German conductor Kevin John Edusei is sought-after the world over, dividing his time equally between the concert hall and opera house. He is praised repeatedly for the drama and tension that he brings to his musicmaking, for his attention to detail, sense of architecture, and the fluidity, warmth and insight that he brings to his performances. He is deeply committed to the creative elements of performance, presenting classical music in new formats, cultivating audiences, introducing music by under-represented composers and conducting an eclectic range of repertoire from the baroque to the contemporary.

In the 2022/23 season, Edusei makes his debut with many orchestras across the UK and US, including the London Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, Hallé, Utah Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony and National Symphony (Washington) orchestras amongst others and he returns to the London Symphony, the City of Birmingham Symphony, Baltimore and Colorado Symphony orchestras. With the Chineke! Orchestra he returns to the BBC Proms for a televised performance of Beethoven 9 and also performs at Festivals in Snape, Hamburg, Helsinki and Lucerne. In recent seasons he has conducted many of the major orchestras across the UK, Holland, Germany and the US. He is the former Chief Conductor of the Munich Symphony Orchestra and 22/23 marks the start of his tenure as the Principal Guest Conductor of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra (Texas).

In the 2022/23 season Edusei also makes his debut with the Royal Opera House conducting La Boheme with Juan Diego Florez and Ailyn Pérez. He recently made his debut at the English National Opera and previously has conducted at the Semperoper Dresden, Hamburg State Opera, Hannover State Opera, Volksoper Wien and Komische Oper Berlin. During his time as Chief Conductor of Bern Opera House, he led many new productions including Britten Peter Grimes, Strauss Salome, Bartók Bluebeard’s Castle, Wagner Tannhäuser and Tristan and Isolde, Janáček Kátya Kábanová and a cycle of the Mozart Da-Ponte operas.

In 2004 Edusei was awarded the fellowship for the American Academy of Conducting at the Aspen Music Festival by David Zinman, in 2007 he was a prize-winner at the Lucerne Festival conducting competition under the artistic direction of Pierre Boulez and Peter Eötvös, and in 2008 he won the First prize at the International Dimitris Mitropoulos Competition.

Kevin John Edusei

Principal Guest Conductor

Taichi Fukumura is a rising Japanese-American conductor known for his dynamic stage presence, resulting in a growing international career. Acclaimed for his musical finesse and passionate interpretations, he is praised by musicians and audiences alike across the United States, Mexico, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Bulgaria, Hong Kong, and Japan. A two-time recipient of the Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award in 2021 and 2022, Fukumura is the newly appointed Assistant Conductor of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra for the 2022-2024 seasons.

Highlights from the 2021/22 season include guest conducting debuts with La Orquesta de Cámara de Bellas Artes in Mexico City and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. Selected by the Berlin Philharmonic as one of 10 Assistant Conductor Candidates, Fukumura conducted in the Siemens Conductors Scholarship Competition. Fukumura served as the Assistant Conductor of the Chicago Sinfonietta, where he previously received mentorship from Music Director Mei-Ann Chen as a Freeman Conducting Fellow.

Past engagements include guest conducting in the Boston Symphony’s Community Chamber Concerts, leading members of the BSO in Stravinsky’s L’Histoire du Soldat. Fukumura assisted the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Chicago Philharmonic as cover conductor. Equally adept in opera conducting, he has led full productions of Britten’s Turn of the Screw and Mozart’s Don Giovanni at the Northwestern University Opera Theatre.

Born in Tokyo, Taichi Fukumura grew up in Boston and began music studies at age three on the violin. Professionally trained on the instrument, he received a Bachelor of Music in violin performance from Boston University, studying with Peter Zazofsky. Fukumura received both his Doctoral and Masters degrees in orchestral conducting from Northwestern University, studying with Victor Yampolsky. Additional conducting studies include Aspen Music Festival Conducting Academy, Pierre Monteux School and Festival, Paris Conducting Workshop, and Hong Kong International Conducting Workshop.

Taichi Fukumura

Assistant Conductor

FORT WORTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Robert Spano, Music Director, Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Chair

Kevin John Edusei, Principal Guest Conductor

Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Music Director Laureate

Taichi Fukumura, Assistant Conductor, Rae and Ed Schollmaier+ Foundation Chair John Giordano, Conductor Emeritus

VIOLIN I

Michael Shih, Concertmaster

Mrs. Mercedes T. Bass Chair

Mr. Sid R. Bass Chair

Swang Lin, Associate Concertmaster

Ann Koonsman+ Chair

Eugene Cherkasov, Assistant Concertmaster

Mollie & Garland Lasater Chair

Jennifer Y. Betz

Ordabek Duissen

Qiong Hulsey

Ivo Ivanov

Nikayla Kim

Izumi Lund

Ke Mai

Kimberly Torgul

Albert Yamamoto

VIOLIN II

Adriana Voirin DeCosta, Principal

Steven Li, Associate Principal

Janine Geisel, Assistant Principal

Symphony League of Fort Worth Chair

Molly Baer

Suzanne Jacobson°

Matt Milewski

Kathryn Perry

Tatyana Smith

Rosalyn Story

Andrea Tullis

Camilla Wojciechowska

VIOLA

DJ Cheek, Principal

Anna Kolotylina, Associate Principal

HeeSun Yang, Assistant Principal

Joni Baczewski

Sorin Guttman

Aleksandra Holowka

Dmitry Kustanovich

Daniel Sigale

CELLO

Allan Steele, Principal

Mrs. Mercedes T. Bass Chair

Mr. Sid R. Bass Chair

Emileigh Vandiver, Associate Principal

Keira Fullerton, Assistant Principal

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Foundation Chair

John Belk

Deborah Brooks

Shelley Jessup

Jenny Kwak

BASS

William Clay, Principal

Mr. & Mrs. Edward P. Bass Chair

Paul Unger, Assistant Principal

Jeffery Hall

Sean P. O’Hara

Julie Vinsant

The seating positions of all string section musicians listed alphabetically change on a regular basis.

FLUTE

Jake Fridkis, Principal

Shirley F. Garvey Chair

Gabriel Fridkis, Assistant Principal

Edna Jeon°

PICCOLO

Edna Jeon°

OBOE

Jennifer Corning Lucio, Principal

Nancy L. & William P. Hallman, Jr., Chair

Tamer Edlebi, Assistant Principal

Tim Daniels

ENGLISH HORN

Tim Daniels

CLARINET

Stanislav Chernyshev, Principal Rosalyn G. Rosenthal Chair*

Ivan Petruzziello, Assistant Principal

Gary Whitman

E-FLAT CLARINET

Ivan Petruzziello

BASS CLARINET

Gary Whitman

BASSOON

Joshua Elmore, Principal

Mr. & Mrs. Lee M. Bass Chair

Cara Owens, Assistant Principal

Nicole Haywood°

CONTRABASSOON

Nicole Haywood°

HORN

Gerald Wood, Principal

Elizabeth H. Ledyard Chair

Alton F. Adkins, Associate Principal

Drs. Jeff and Rosemary Detweiler Chair

Kelly Cornell, Associate Principal

Aaron Pino

TRUMPET

Kyle Sherman, Principal

Cody McClarty, Assistant Principal

Dorothy Rhea Chair

Oscar Garcia

TROMBONE

Joseph Dubas, Principal

Mr. & Mrs. John Kleinheinz Chair

John Michael Hayes, Assistant Principal

Dennis Bubert

BASS TROMBONE

Dennis Bubert

Mr. & Mrs. Lee M. Bass Chair

TUBA

Edward Jones, Principal

TIMPANI

Seth McConnell, Principal

Madilyn Bass Chair

Nicholas Sakakeeny, Assistant Principal

PERCUSSION

Keith Williams, Principal

Shirley F. Garvey Chair

Nicholas Sakakeeny, Assistant Principal Adele Hart Chair

Deborah Mashburn

Brad Wagner

HARP

vacant

Bayard H. Friedman Chair

KEYBOARD

Shields-Collins Bray, Principal

Rildia Bee O'Bryan Cliburn & Van Cliburn Chair

STAGE MANAGER

Wilson Armstrong

ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL MANAGER

Megan Brook

ORCHESTRA LIBRARIANS

Christopher Hawn

David Sterrett

*In Memory of Manny Rosenthal

°2023/2024 Season Only

+Denotes Deceased

The Concertmaster performs on the 1710 Davis Stradivarius violin.

The Associate Concertmaster performs on the 1685 Eugenie Stradivarius violin.

Friday, March 01, 2024 at 7:30 PM

Saturday, March 02, 2024 at 7:30 PM

Sunday, March 03, 2024 at 2:00 PM

Bass Performance Hall Fort Worth, TX

Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra

Jane Glover, conductor

Jennifer Corning Lucio, oboe

CARLOS SIMON AMEN!

I. Lively

II. Soulfully

III. Mysteriously

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

Concerto in A minor for Oboe and String Orchestra

I. Rondo Pastorale: Allegro moderato

II. Minuet and Musette: Allegro moderato

III. Finale (Scherzo): Presto

Jennifer Corning Lucio, oboe

INTERMISSION

BEETHOVEN

Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92

I. Poco sostenuto ▬ Vivace

II. Allegretto

III. Presto ▬ Assai meno presto

IV. Allegro con brio

Video or audio recording of this performance is strictly prohibited. Patrons arriving late will be seated during the first convenient pause. Program and artists are subject to change.

ARTIST PROFILES

Acclaimed British conductor Jane Glover, named Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2021 New Year’s Honours, has been Music of the Baroque’s music director since 2002. She made her professional debut at the Wexford Festival in 1975, conducting her own edition of Cavalli’s L’Eritrea. She joined Glyndebourne in 1979 and was music director of Glyndebourne Touring Opera from 1981 until 1985. She was artistic director of the London Mozart Players from 1984 to 1991. From 2009 until 2016 she was Director of Opera at the Royal Academy of Music where she is now the Felix Mendelssohn Visiting Professor. She was recently Visiting Professor of Opera at the University of Oxford, her alma mater.

Jane Glover has conducted all the major symphony and chamber orchestras in Britain, as well as orchestras in Europe, the United States, Asia, and Australia. In recent seasons she has appeared with the New York Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, the San Francisco, Houston, St. Louis, Sydney, Cincinnati, and Toronto symphony orchestras, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the Bamberg Symphony, and the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. She has worked with the periodinstrument orchestras Philharmonia Baroque, and the Handel and Haydn Society. She has made frequent appearances at the BBC Proms.

In demand on the international opera stage, Jane Glover has appeared with numerous companies including the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera, Covent Garden, English National Opera, Glyndebourne, the Berlin Staatsoper, Glimmerglass Opera, New York City Opera, Opera National de Bordeaux, Opera Australia, Chicago Opera Theater, Opera National du Rhin, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Luminato, Teatro Real, Madrid, Royal Danish Opera, Teatro La Fenice and Detroit Opera. A Mozart specialist, she has conducted all the Mozart operas all over the world regularly since she first performed them at Glyndebourne in the 1980s, and her core operatic repertoire also includes Monteverdi, Handel, and Britten. Highlights of recent seasons include The Magic Flute with the Metropolitan Opera, Alcina with Washington Opera, L'Elisir d'amore and The Magic Flute for Houston Grand Opera, Medea for Opera Omaha, Così fan tutte for Lyric Opera of Kansas City, The Turn of the Screw, Jephtha and Lucio Silla in Bordeaux, The Rape of Lucretia, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Cosí fan tutte, Figaro and Don Giovanni at the Aspen Music Festival, Gluck’s Armide and Iphigenie en Aulide with Met Young Artists and Juilliard, Don Giovanni and The Magic Flute at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Orfeo ed Euridice (Gluck) in Lisbon, Albert Herring with Chicago Opera theater, and Xerxes with Detroit Opera. Among the many operas she conducted while Director of Opera at the Royal Academy of Music were Eugene Onegin, The Rake’s Progress, The Marriage of Figaro, L’incoronazione di Poppea, and the world premiere of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies’ Kommilitonen! In the current season she will return to Houston Grand Opera for Don Giovanni, which she will also conduct for Cincinnati Opera.

Future and recent-past concert engagements include her continuing seasons with Music of the Baroque in Chicago, her returns to the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra—both at Severance Hall as well as the Blossom Music Festival, the Houston Symphony, the Orchestra of St Luke’s (at Carnegie Hall), the St Louis Symphony, Houston Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, and the London Mozart Players. She made

Continued on P. 10

Dame Jane Glover, conductor

ARTIST PROFILES

Glover, continued from P. 9

her debuts with the Chicago Symphony, Montreal’s Orchestre Mètropolitain, the Fort Worth Symphony, and Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. The current season includes debuts with the Baltimore Symphony, Helsinki Philharmonic, as well as returns to the New York Philharmonic, and the Cincinnati, Toronto and Fort Worth Symphonies. She will conduct the Mozart Requiem in a debut with Camerata Salzburg in the 2024/2025 season.

Her discography includes a series of Mozart and Haydn symphonies with the London

Jennifer Corning Lucio, oboe

Jennifer Corning Lucio is the principal oboist with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. She has been featured as a concerto soloist, including the Mozart Oboe Concerto with her own cadenzas, and the Strauss and Marcello oboe concerti. Ms. Corning Lucio has also served as guest principal oboist of the Baltimore, Milwaukee, Seattle, Utah, and Jacksonville symphonies and has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. During the summer, she has enjoyed several seasons as the principal oboist of the Crested Butte Music Festival in Colorado. Her national television credits include principal oboist on the PBS Live from Lincoln Center program.

An active chamber musician of both contemporary and standard repertoire, Ms. Corning Lucio performed the world premiere of her own composition for two oboes and English horn on the 2021 Spectrum concert series. She has been featured with the Mimir Festival, Voices of Change, the Chamber Music Society of Fort Worth, Cliburn Chamber Series, Hall Ensemble, and Caminos del Inka. A first prizewinner of the Schubert Club Young Artist Competition of Minneapolis, she was an honoree of the Young Artist Competition of the Minnesota Orchestra and an invited guest soloist to the Tokyo New National Theater.

Ms. Corning Lucio believes in the healing power of music, having performed over sixty local recitals at senior and long-term

Mozart Players and various recordings with the London Philharmonic, the Royal Philharmonic, Trinity, Wall Street, and the BBC Singers. She is the author of the critically acclaimed books Mozart’s Women, Handel in London and has recently published Mozart in Italy. She holds a personal professorship at the University of London, is a Fellow of the Royal College of Music, an Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music, and the holder of several honorary degrees. In 2020 she was awarded the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Gamechanger Award for her work in breaking new ground for female conductors

health facilities through Texas Winds Musical Outreach. A dedicated educator, she served as Professor of Oboe at the University of Tulsa and Oboe Instructor at the Oklahoma Arts Institute while in her previous position with the Tulsa Philharmonic. She continues to present master classes at the university level, coaches the Fort Worth Youth Orchestra, and maintains a highly successful private studio.

As a student of Elaine Douvas, Ms. Corning Lucio received her master’s degree from the Juilliard School, also earning a PEO Scholar Award. Her bachelor’s degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music was under the instruction of the John Mack. While in Cleveland, she received academic honors from Case Western Reserve University and the Karl Lemmerman Prize in writing.

PROGRAM NOTES : CARLOS SIMON

by Jeremy Reynolds

AMEN!

I. Lively

II. Soulfully

III. Mysteriously

DURATION: About 13 minutes

PREMIERED: Ann Arbor, 2017

INSTRUMENTATION: Two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, piano, and strings.

“My intent is to re-create the musical experience of an African American Pentecostal church service that I enjoyed being a part of while growing up in this denomination.”

— Carlos Simon (Born 1986, United States)

CADENCE: The ending of a phrase, perceived as a rhythmic or melodic articulation or a harmonic change or all of these; A plagal cadence, also called the “Amen” cadence, is when a subdominant harmony resolves to the tonic.

FURTHER LISTENING:

Simon: Four Black American Dances

Written in Stone

Requiem for the Enslaved Breathe

Right from the start, the first movement of AMEN! is an energetic, gospel-tinged celebration of musical energy and color, brass chords shaking slightly like a preacher’s vibrato and strings and winds whirling around to add zest and finesse to the affair. The University of Michigan — where composer Carlos Simon studied for his doctorate — commissioned the work for symphonic band originally. Simon later arranged the music for full orchestra, the version at hand for these performances.

Born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Atlanta, Simon, the son of a preacher, absorbed gospel music as his primary musical language. (He’s said he was actually forbidden to listen to music other than gospel in his youth.) At the age of 10, he began playing piano for his father’s Sunday church services and taking lessons. Later, he discovered the music of Beethoven and Brahms and began adopting Western classical traditions and fusing them with his gospel roots. Currently, Simon is an assistant professor in the Department of Performing Arts at Georgetown University, and his compositions are often informed by his commitment to racial justice. In recent years, top American orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, and many more have commissioned him for original works.

The composer himself describes the piece as follows:

AMEN! is an homage to my family’s four-generational affiliation with the Pentecostal church... Pentecostal

Continued on Page 14

PROGRAM NOTES : RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

by Jeremy Reynolds

OBOE CONCERTO in A MINOR

I. Rondo Pastorale

II. Minuet and Musette

III. Finale: Scherzo

DURATION: About 18 minutes

PREMIERED: Liverpool, 1944

INSTRUMENTATION: Oboe and strings

“There is a feeling of recognition, as of meeting an old friend, which comes to us all in the face of great artistic experiences. I had the same experience when I first heard an English folksong, when I first saw Michelangelo’s Day and Night, when I suddenly came upon Stonehenge or had my first sight of New York City — the intuition that I had been there already.”

— Ralph Vaughan Williams (Born 1872, England; died 1958)

CONCERTO: A composition that features one or more “solo” instruments with orchestral accompaniment. The form of the concerto has developed and evolved over the course of music history.

CYCLIC FORM: A technique of musical construction, involving multiple sections or movements, in which a theme, melody, or thematic material occurs in more than one movement as a unifying device.

FURTHER LISTENING:

Williams: Symphony No. 5 in D major

Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus

Tuba Concerto in F minor

Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra

Like Beethoven and Smetana before him, the English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams belongs to that great tradition of classical composers whose ears turned against them later in life. During the First World War, Vaughan Williams, already 42-yearsold, volunteered to serve and drove ambulances in the Royal Army Medical Corps. The consistent sounds of gunfire damaged his ears and initiated a long, slow slide into deafness.

The war left its mark on some of his music as well. Vaughan Williams, who often drew on English folk tunes in his works, shocked the public and critics with his Symphony No. 4, a more tonally ambiguous and sharply dissonant work than he’d previously written. Close friends suspected that it was his way of processing the post-war period, of responding to the angst of a generation. The composer himself later wrote that “I’m not at all sure that I like it myself now. All I know is that it’s what I wanted to do at the time.”

The history of the Oboe Concerto, too, is in the shadow of war — its premiere was delayed due to concerns about air raids in 1943 — though it doesn’t sound like it. Vaughan Williams adapted a discarded movement from his popular Fifth Symphony, which represented a return to his more customary, gentle musical milieu. The concerto begins with a simple song in the oboe with commentary in the strings. (The melody is based on a pentatonic scale, or a scale of only five notes. Such scales are common in the folk music of numerous

Continued on Page 14

PROGRAM NOTES : LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN

by Jeremy Reynolds

SYMPHONY No. 7 in A MAJOR, Op. 92

I. Poco Sostenuto — Vivace

II. Allegretto

III. Presto — Assai meno presto IV. Allegro con brio

DURATION: Around 42 minutes

PREMIERED: Vienna, 1813

INSTRUMENTATION: Two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani, and strings

“So he [Napoleon] is no more than a common mortal! Now he, too, will tread underfoot all the rights of man [and] indulge only his ambition; now he will think himself superior to all men [and] become a tyrant!”

— Ludwig van Beethoven (Born 1770, Germany; died 1827)

SYMPHONY: An elaborate orchestral composition typically broken into contrasting movements, at least one of which is in sonata form. The “Pastoral” is a rare example of Beethoven’s programmatic music.

THEME AND VARIATIONS: A musical form in which the composer introduces a “theme,” or central melodic idea, and then repeats and deconstructs that theme such that each successive restatement, “variation,” emphasizes different moods and elements of the original theme.

SUGGESTED READING:

Beethoven: Anguish and Triumph, by Jan Swafford

Beethoven’s Letters, Dover edition

FURTHER LISTENING:

Symphony No. 8 in F Major Wellington’s Victory

Piano Sonata No. 27 in E Minor

An die Hoffnung, Op. 94

An explosion of tone and color open Beethoven’s sunny Seventh Symphony, with stately solos in the woodwinds driving the music quickly to subsequent smaller detonations. As the music continues, the slow pace of this minutes-long introduction is maddeningly portentous, hinting at the grandeur to come, before — finally — strings and flutes hover at the same pitch, transforming the rhythm into a skipping beat as the flute introduces a burbly tune, quickly echoed by the full might of the orchestra.

Much has been written about this, one of the composer’s more uplifting works, and Beethoven himself remarked that it was among his finest at its 1813 premiere. Still, another famous composer perhaps captured its ethos best. Richard Wagner wrote of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7:

All tumult, all yearning and storming of the heart, become here the blissful insolence of joy, which carries us away with bacchanalian power through the roomy space of nature, through all the streams and seas of life, shouting in glad self-consciousness as we sound throughout the universe the daring strains of this human sphere-dance. The Symphony is the Apotheosis of the Dance itself: it is Dance in its highest aspect, the loftiest deed of bodily motion, incorporated into an ideal mold of tone.

Wagner, who once danced his way through the symphony to prove this point, with none other than his father-in-

Continued on Page 14

Program Notes Continued

SIMON, p. 11

denominations, such as Church of God in Christ (C.O.G.I.C.), Pentecostal Assemblies of God, Apostolic, Holiness Church, among many others, are known for their exuberant outward expressions of worship. The worship services in these churches will often have joyous dancing, spontaneous shouting, and soulful singing. The music in these worship services is a vital vehicle in fostering a genuine spiritual experience for the congregation.

The three movements in AMEN! are performed without break to depict how the different parts of a worship services flows into the next. In the first movement, I’ve imagined the sound of an exuberant choir and congregation singing harmoniously together in a call-andresponse fashion. The soulful second movement quotes a gospel song, I’ll Take Jesus For Mine, that I frequently heard in many services. The title, AMEN!, refers to the plagal cadence or “Amen” cadence (IV-I), which is the focal point of the climax in the final movement. Along with heavily syncopated rhythms and interjecting contrapuntal lines, this cadence modulates up by half step until we reach a frenzied state, emulating a spiritually heighten state of worship.

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS, p. 12

cultures.) After this opening lyrical section, a more march-like section follows, featuring the oboe skipping playfully. Later, the mood of the opening returns, transformed. Indeed, all of the movements roughly follow this ternary pattern, where the music and mood of the opening section returns to close out each section.

Despite its penetrating sound, the oboe isn’t a common concerto instrument. Its range and timbre are more limited than the violin or piano, and its sound is easily swallowed by a full orchestra. To compensate, Vaughan Williams wrote the accompaniment for string orchestra alone, leaning into a more transparent style of orchestration he learned from the French composer Ravel. Still, the work is demanding on the oboe, which is rarely silent in the concerto. Typically, wind players require reprieves to rest their embouchures from time to time.

The work’s second movement is more pompous and features pizzicato strings backing the oboe’s chattering main theme. The finale, however, is more expansive — it’s as long as the first two movements put together — and launches with a grand

flourish in the strings, repeated by the oboe. The music dances and twirls merrily, building to a virtuosic cadenza that bursts and relaxes easily into its final chords, a compassionate meditation that stood against the chaos of the world.

law Franz Liszt performing a keyboard reduction, makes an apt observation. Each movement of this symphony has a core rhythmic drive that propels the music forward like a heartbeat. And certainly, the audience at the premiere felt moved. After a lengthy first movement built from that merry flute tune, the second movement’s funeral marchlike pathos so excited those at the premiere that the raucous applause demanded an instant encore. A sort of “double” theme and variations form, Beethoven builds the Allegretto movement on two tunes, intwining the simple rhythmic opening with a sinuous, legato tune throughout and alternating with brief major-key episodes.

For those keeping an ear out, the form is ABABA in terms of its thematic grouping and layout. The third movement follows in the same vein; listening for dramatic shifts in speed and affect can illuminate where new musical

BEETHOVEN, p. 13

Program Notes Continued

BEETHOVEN, p. 14

sections begin. More than one historian believed that Beethoven wrote this third movement while intoxicated, and famed 20th century conductor Thomas Beecham likened this segment to “a lot of yaks jumping about.” Therein lies its charm: here, Beethoven wields vast orchestral forces and sends them prancing in comically nimble melodies. A slower “trio” section contrasts this light-footed tune with an Austrian pilgrim’s hymn, far more serene and weighty.

As in the opening movement, the finale erupts and stutters before it takes off with a sweeping melody in the strings, punctuated by ferocious winds and percussion. There are two strong beats per bar here, and the composer emphasizes the second of the two throughout as the rhythmic hook for this last movement, adding a driving urgency to the music that doesn’t resolve until the final exultant moments.

Beethoven’s life and work are marked by his relationship with Napoleon Bonaparte.

The composer’s initial hope for the French leader’s humanitarianism soured after Napoleon declared himself emperor and dictator rather than embracing a more democratic approach to leadership. Beethoven had earlier crossed out his third symphony’s Napoleonic dedication, retitling it the “Eroica” (“Heroic”) symphony. The seventh symphony too, however, embodies this relationship, as it carries a whiff of confrontation and resistance to Napoleon’s 1809 occupation of Vienna and a great hope of European liberation from tyranny.

The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra dedicates

The Mar. 1-3 performances to Ramona and Lee Bass

The Mar. 8-10 performances to Amon G. Carter Foundation

The Mar. 15-17 performances to Connie Beck and Frank Tilley

The Apr. 19-21 performances to Sasha and Ed Bass

Friday, March 08, 2024 at 7:30 PM

Saturday, March 09, 2024 at 7:30 PM

Sunday, March 10, 2024 at 2:00 PM

Bass Performance Hall

Fort Worth, TX

Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra

Richard Kaufman, conductor

A John Williams Celebration

Raiders March from RaidersoftheLostArk(1981)

With Malice Toward None from Lincoln(2012)

Theme from BornOntheFourthofJuly(1989)

Flight to Neverland from Hook(1991)

Selections from HarryPotter(2001- 2011)

Hedwig's Theme

Dobby the House Elf

Nimbus 2000

Harry’s Wondrous World

Olympic Fanfare and Theme (1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympic Games)

INTERMISSION

March from Superman(1978)

Theme from Schindler'sList(1993)

Theme from JurassicPark(1993)

Shark Theme from Jaws(1975)

Selections from StarWars(1977-1983)

Imperial March

Yoda’s Theme

Throne Room & End Titles

Video or audio recording of this performance is strictly prohibited. Patrons arriving late will be seated during the first convenient pause. Program and artists are subject to change.

ARTIST PROFILES

Richard Kaufman has devoted his musical life to conducting a wide variety of musical genres, both in the concert hall and on recordings.

After 31 seasons as Principal Pops Conductor of Orange

County's Pacific Symphony, he continues conducting with the title of Principal Pops Conductor Laureate. He holds the permanent title of Pops Conductor Laureate with the Dallas Symphony and is in his eighteenth season with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra concert series, CSO at the Movies.

A recipient of the 1993 Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance, Kaufman regularly appears as a guest conductor with symphony orchestras throughout the United States and the world. As a former head of MGM Studios Music Department, he specializes in the performance of music for film and television, and often conducts entire film scores live-tofilm.

Season Finale: May 31- June 2

Jennifer Higdon, Kevin Day, and Mahler 5

In partnership with the International Trombone Festival and Texas Christian University

The FWSO’s season finale goes out with a blast, spotlighting the orchestra’s brass instruments. Music Director Robert Spano will lead the ensemble in a brand-new double concerto for trombone and piano by TCU alumnus Kevin Day as well as Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Jennifer Higdon’s river sings a song to trees. For the big finish: Mahler’s Symphony No. 5.

Tickets: fwsymphony.org | 817.665.6000

Richard Kaufman, conductor

Robert Spano Peter Steiner Constanze Hochwartner Jennifer Higdon Kevin Day conductor trombone piano composer composer

Saturday, March 09, 2024 at 11:00 AM

Bass Performance Hall Fort Worth, TX

Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra

Taichi Fukumura, conductor Classical Kids LIVE!

Beethoven Lives Upstairs

Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92: 2nd Movement

Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67: 1st Movement

Piano Sonata No. 27 in E minor, Op. 90: 2nd Movement

Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21: 4th Movement

Romance No. 1 in G Major, Op. 40

Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13, “Pathétique”

Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125: 2nd Movement

Piano Sonata in G Major, Op. 14, No. 2

Symphony No. 4 in B-flat Major, Op. 60: 2nd Movement

Minuet in G Major, WoO 10, No. 2

Violin Sonata No. 5 in F Major, Op. 24

Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93: 2nd Movement

Leonore Overture No. 3 in C Major, Op. 72b

Bagatelle No. 25 in A minor, WoO 59, “Für Elise”

Polonaise für Militarmusik in D Major, WoO 21

Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2, “Moonlight”

Variations on 'Bel Männern, welche Liebe fühlen', WoO 46

Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68: 1st Movement

Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68: 2nd Movement

Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68: 4th Movement

Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15: 1st Movement

Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major, Op. 73, “Emperor”: 2nd Movement

Variations on 'Nel cor più non mi sento', WoO 70

Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125: 4th Movement

Rondo alla ingharese quasi un capriccio in G Major, Op. 129, “Rage Over a Lost Penny”

Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68: 5th Movement

Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125: 4th Movement

Piano Sonata No. 20 in G Major, Op. 49, No. 2: 2nd Movement

Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68: 5th Movement

Video or audio recording of this performance is strictly prohibited. Patrons arriving late will be seated during the first convenient pause. Program and artists are subject to change.

ARTIST PROFILES

Edo de Waart, conductor

Throughout his long and illustrious career, renowned Dutch conductor Edo de Waart has held a multitude of posts with orchestras around the world including Music Directorships with Rot-terdam Philharmonic Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, the Minnesota Orchestra, Nether-lands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Antwerp Symphony, New Zealand Symphony, and Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and a Chief Conductorship with De Nederlandse Opera and Santa fe Opera. Edo de Waart is Principal Guest Conductor of San Di-ego Symphony, Conductor Laureate of both Antwerp Symphony Orchestra and Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and Music Director Laureate of Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.

Edo de Waart kicks off the 2022/23 season by returning to Sydney Symphony Orchestra with three performances in the newly renovated Sydney Opera House. Further engagements include Milwaukee, San Diego, Dallas, Fort Worth and Antwerp symphony orchestras, and a special recording project of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.2 and Grieg’s Concerto for Piano with Royal

Scottish National Orchestra and regular collaborator Joyce Yang.

As an opera conductor, Edo de Waart has enjoyed success in a large and varied repertoire in many of the world’s greatest opera houses. He has conducted at Bayreuth, Salzburg Festival, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Opéra Bastille, Santa Fe Opera, and the Metropolitan Opera. With the aim of bringing opera to broader audiences where concert halls prevent full staging, he has, as Music Director in Milwaukee, Antwerp and Hong Kong, often conducted semi-staged and opera in concert performances.

A renowned orchestral trainer, he has been involved with projects working with talented young players at the Juilliard and Colburn schools and the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara.

Edo de Waart’s extensive catalogue encompasses releases for Philips, Virgin, EMI, Telarc and RCA. Recent recordings include Henderickx’s Symphony No.1 and Oboe Concerto, Mahler’s Symphony No.1 and Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius, all with Royal Flemish Philharmonic.

Beginning his career as an Assistant Conductor to Leonard Bernstein at New York Philharmonic, Edo de Waart then returned to Holland where he was appointed Assistant Conductor to Bernard Haitink at the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

Edo de Waart has received a number of awards for his musical achievements, including be-coming a Knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion and an Honorary Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia. He is also an Honorary Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.

ARTIST PROFILES

Blessed with “poetic and sensitive pianism” (Washington Post) and a “wondrous sense of color” (San Francisco Classical Voice), Grammy-nominated pianist Joyce Yang captivates audiences with her virtuosity, lyricism, and interpretive sensitivity.

She first came to international attention in 2005 when she won the silver medal at the 12th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. The youngest contestant at 19 years old, she took home two additional awards: Best Performance of Chamber Music (with the Takàcs Quartet), and Best Performance of a New Work. In 2006 Yang made her celebrated New York Philharmonic debut alongside Lorin Maazel at Avery Fisher Hall along with the orchestra’s tour of Asia, making a triumphant return to her hometown of Seoul, South Korea. Yang’s subsequent appearances with the New York Philharmonic have included opening night of the 2008 Leonard Bernstein Festival – an appearance made at the request of Maazel in his final season as music director. The New York Times pronounced her performance in Bernstein’s The Age of Anxiety a “knockout.”

In the last decade, Yang has blossomed into an “astonishing artist” (Neue Zürcher Zeitung), showcasing her colorful musical personality in solo recitals and collaborations

with the world’s top orchestras and chamber musicians through more than 1,000 debuts and re-engagements. She received the 2010 Avery Fisher Career Grant and earned her first Grammy nomination (Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance) for her recording of Franck, Kurtág, Previn & Schumann with violinist Augustin Hadelich (“One can only sit in misty-eyed amazement at their insightful flair and spontaneity.” (The Strad).

Other notable orchestral engagements have included the Chicago Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Hong Kong Philharmonic, the BBC Philharmonic, as well as the Toronto, Vancouver, Sydney, Melbourne, and New Zealand symphony orchestras. She was also featured in a five-year Rachmaninoff concerto cycle with Edo de Waart and the Milwaukee Symphony, to which she brought “an enormous palette of colors, and tremendous emotional depth” (Milwaukee Sentinel Journal).

In solo recitals, Yang’s innovative program has been praised as “extraordinary” and “kaleidoscopic” (Los Angeles Times). She has performed at New York City’s Lincoln Center and Metropolitan Museum, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Chicago’s Symphony Hall, Zurich’s Tonhalle, and all throughout Australia on a recital tour presented by Musica Viva.

As an avid chamber musician, Yang has collaborated with the Takács Quartet for Dvořák – part of Lincoln Center’s Great Performers series – and Schubert’s “Trout” Quintet with members of the Emerson String Quartet at the Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center. Yang has fostered an enduring partnership with the Alexander String Quartet and together released three celebrated recordings under Foghorn Classics.

In 2020, Yang released her tenth album performing Jonathan Leshnoff’s Piano

Joyce Yang, piano

ARTIST PROFILES

Concerto with the Kansas City Symphony (Reference Recordings) that was written for her. Textura magazine wrote “Joyce Yang delivers a riveting performance others would be hard pressed to better. … The opening movement dazzles from the start, with Yang expertly voicing chiming figures over insistent strings and the syncopated rhythms restlessly churning”. As a champion of new music, Yang has also premiered and recorded a World Premier discography of Michael Torke’s Piano Concerto with Albany Symphony and David Alan Miller (Albany Records). Yang’s wide-ranging discography also includes two celebrated solo discs (Collage and Wild Dreams, Avie Records), where she “demonstrated impressive gifts” (New York Times). Yang also released a live-performance recording of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with Denmark’s Odense Symphony Orchestra (Bridge Records), which International Record Review called “hugely enjoyable, beautifully shaped … a performance that marks her out as an enormous talent.”

In recent years, Yang has focused on promoting creative ways to introduce classical music to new audiences. She served as the Guest Artistic Director for the Laguna Beach Music Festival in California, curating concerts that explore the “art-inspires-art” concept –highlighting the relationship between music and dance while simultaneously curating outreach activities to young students. Yang’s collaboration with the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet of Half/Cut/Split – a “witty, brilliant exploration of Robert Schumann’s Carnaval” (The Santa Fe New Mexican) choreographed by Jorma Elo –was a marriage between music and dance to illuminate the ingenuity of Schumann’s musical language. The group toured nationwide, including five performances at the Joyce Theater in New York.

In the 2021/2022 season, Yang will share her versatile repertoire in over 40 cities

in the US and Europe. After returning to the stage in summer performances at Wolf Trap (with the National Symphony Orchestra), Grant Park Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival, Sun Valley Music Festival, Yang will appear with the New World Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Utah Symphony, Colorado Symphony, Nashville Symphony, Pacific Symphony, Phoenix Symphony, Tucson Symphony, and Rhode Island Philharmonic, among many others. Furthermore, Yang will give a World Premier performance of Reinaldo Moya’s Piano Concerto with Bangor Symphony, which draws inspiration from Venezuelen artist Carlos Cruz-Diez. In recital, Yang will present daring programs of Bach, Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky and Kernis as well as collaborate with the Takacs Quartet.

Born in 1986 in Seoul, South Korea, Yang received her first piano lesson from her aunt at the age of four. She quickly took to the instrument, which she received as a birthday present. Over the next few years won several national piano competitions in her native country. By the age of ten, she had entered the School of Music at the Korea National University of Arts, and went on to make a number of concerto and recital appearances in Seoul and Daejeon. In 1997, Yang moved to the United States to begin studies at the pre- college division of the Juilliard School with Dr. Yoheved Kaplinsky. During her first year at Juilliard, Yang won the pre-college division Concerto Competition, resulting in a performance of Haydn’s Keyboard Concerto in D with the Juilliard Pre-College Chamber Orchestra. After winning the Philadelphia Orchestra’s Greenfield Student Competition, she performed Prokofiev’s Third Piano Concerto with that orchestra at just twelve years old. She graduated from Juilliard with special honor as the recipient of the school’s 2010 Arthur Rubinstein Prize, and in 2011 she won its 30th Annual William A. Petschek Piano Recital Award.

Yang appears in the film In the Heart of Music, a documentary about the 2005 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. She is a Steinway artist.

PROGRAM NOTES : PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY

by Jeremy Reynolds

PIANO CONCERTO No. 1 in B MINOR, Op. 23

I. Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso

II. Andantino semplice

III. Allegro con fuoco

DURATION: About 35 minutes

PREMIERED: Boston, 1875

INSTRUMENTATION: Two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, strings, and solo piano.

“He repeated that my concerto was impossible... and said that if within a limited time I reworked the concerto according to his demands, then he would do me the honor of playing my thing at his concert. ‘I shall not alter a single note,’ I answered, ‘I shall publish the work exactly as it is!’ This I did.”

—Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Born 1840, Russia; died 1893)

CONCERTO: A composition that features one or more “solo” instruments with orchestral accompaniment. The form of the concerto has developed and evolved over the course of music history.

FURTHER LISTENING:

Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 3 in E-flat major, Op. 75

Piano Concerto No. 2 in G major, Op. 44

Sérénade mélancolique in B-flat minor, Op. 26

In 2019, the World Anti-Doping Agency banned the Russian Federation from participating in all major international sporting events, including the Olympics, for four years, as the state itself was supplying steroids and other performance enhancers to its athletes. Russian competitors later were allowed to participate under a neutral flag and designation. The competitors, prohibited from using the Russian national anthem, selected Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 as a replacement.

It’s easy to hear why. The opening crashes of the piece are among the most famous in classical music, with pounding chords in the piano accompanying a fervent string melody, all passion and exhortation. Although these introductory bars are never repeated, careful study has revealed that the opening bars contain key melodic fragments and harmonic progressions that populate the duration of the piece.

The remainder of the first movement is more freeform than was customary at the time — rather than a strict adherence to the conventions of “sonata form,” there are three themes that alternate and transform and blend over the course of the first movement. The first is a nervous, skittering tune in the piano with lots of rhythmic snap. (Tchaikovsky allegedly heard this tune from a blind Ukrainian beggar on the street.) Clarinets introduce the more melancholy second theme, and strings take over to build a more optimistic third theme that bridges back to a fierce passage in the piano.

The second movement begins with a

Continued on Page 25

PROGRAM NOTES : PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY

by Jeremy Reynolds

SYMPHONY NO. 5 in E MINOR, Op. 64

I. Andante – Allegro con anima

II. Andante cantabile, con alcuna licenza

III. Valse. Allegro moderato

IV. Finale: Andante maestoso – Allegro vivace

DURATION: About 50 minutes

PREMIERED: Saint Petersburg, 1888

INSTRUMENTATION: Three flutes and piccolo, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four French horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, and strings.

“Truly there would be reason to go mad were it not for music.

“Music is indeed the most beautiful of all Heaven’s gifts to humanity wandering in the darkness. Alone it calms, enlightens, and stills our souls. It is not the straw to which the drowning man clings; but a true friend, refuge, and comforter, for whose sake life is worth living.”

—Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Born 1840, Russia; died 1893)

SYMPHONY: An elaborate orchestral composition typically broken into contrasting movements, at least one of which is in sonata form. In the case of the “Italian,” it’s the first movement.

SUGGESTED READING:

Tchaikovsky: His Life and Works, by Rosa Newmarch

Tchaikovsky and His World, by Leslie Kearney

FURTHER LISTENING:

Tchaikovsky: Pezzo Capriccioso in B Minor, Op. 62

Hamlet: Fantasy Overture in F Minor Symphony No. 4 in F Minor

Much of classical music follows a traditional narrative structure that dates back to the Greek philosopher Aristotle. First there is “equilibrium,” then “disruption,” then a new “equilibrium.” In music, this is analogous to the exposition, or the introduction of a piece’s themes, a development and transformation of those themes, and then a recapitulation, or a restatement. In a symphony, this can take place both within a movement and on the scale of the work as a whole, though it can be difficult to remember an opening tune over the better course of an hour.

In Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony, however, the opening tune, a funereal, trudging theme in the clarinets in the low strings, recurs often and is the key to the entire symphony. This simple, evocative, melody, at once determined and resigned, returns each movement, transforming throughout until it becomes a dizzyingly triumphant march in the finale. While the symphony is abstract, as it builds on its opening material and references itself, this theme becomes a clear touchpoint for listeners to digest the action of the music, so to speak.

It returns twice in the second movement, first as a defiant fanfare in the brass and later as a violent, tortured cry, accentuating the aching pain of that movement. Near the end of the third movement, the tune appears again in the clarinet and bassoon, now more gently, a pleasant respite. The finale begins with a full restatement of

Continued on Page 25

Program Notes Continued

TCHAIKOVSKY, p. 23

flute solo based on the second theme of the first movement, with lightly plucked strings accompanying before the piano takes over. The movement is a more traditional binary form, with a faster, contrasting middle section a return to the opening theme, now transformed. Next, the finale is all fire, another Ukrainian folksong that alternates with a more soaring tune that slowly builds to a soul-igniting major-key climax.

Perhaps it was the creativity in form that led to the piece’s initial rejection. Tchaikovsky wasn’t a concert pianist, and he asked a friend and colleague at the Moscow Conservatory, where both were teaching, to premiere the work. When the composer played through the piece for pianist Nikolai Rubinstein, the latter reacted coldly, refusing to say a word until he’d heard the entire work. It was Christmas Eve. Tchaikovsky, a sensitive soul, recalled the instance in a letter:

Then a torrent broke from Rubinstein’s lips, gentle at first, gathering volume as it proceeded, and finally bursting into the fury of a Jupiter. My

Concerto was worthless, absolutely unplayable; the passages so broken, so disconnected, so unskillfully written, that they could not even be improved; the work itself was bad, trivial, common; here and there I had stolen from other people; only one or two pages were worth anything; all the rest had better be destroyed. I left the room without a word.

Furious, Tchaikovsky asked pianist and conductor Hans von Bülow to premiere the work far from Russia, just in case the public shared Rubinstein’s opinion. Bülow loved the piece and wrote effusively to Tchaikovsky — “this true gem shall earn you the gratitude of all pianists” — and he premiered the work to great success in Boston. (That said, a bystander recalled in a memoir that the conductor told the brass to “go to hell” quite audibly during an erroneous entrance in the premiere. Whoops.) This concerto remains among the most popular works in the repertoire.

TCHAIKOVSKY, p. 24

the theme, now in a stately major key, passed around the orchestra before the movement takes off in earnest, eventually coming full circle to that opening material once more.

This approachability was immediately apparent to listeners, who responded enthusiastically to the music, unlike professional critics of the day. Three guesses who Tchaikovsky, long plagued by debilitating self-doubt, chose to listen to:

Having played my Symphony twice in Petersburg and once in Prague, I have come to the conclusion that it is a failure. There is something repellent in it, some over-exaggerated color, some insincerity of fabrication which the public instinctively recognizes. It was clear to me that the applause and ovations referred not to this but to other works of mine, and that the Symphony itself will never please the public.

Such grim thinking wasn’t uncommon for the composer, often his own harshest critic. At worst, the symphony is a bit hodgepodge, as it explores an enormous variety of

Program Notes Continued

TCHAIKOVSKY, p. 25

material throughout its movements, some of which transition to one another rather abruptly. However, tying the symphony together with such a recognizable melody, often characterized as a sort of “fate motif” by commentators, unites the work as a coherent whole.

The piece has a form of internal memory that gives it a sense of captivating narrative drama.

Tchaikovsky, born into a military family in a provincial town, proved a precocious pianist at a young age. Though his family sent

Lasting Impressions

May 11, 2024 • 7:30 pm

Will Rogers Auditoriun

him to a prestigious school to study imperial administration, he leapt at the chance to study music in the inaugural class of the St. Petersburg Conservatory. A whiff of his military background remains clear in the pomp and flair of the so-called “fate motif.”

Witness the spellbinding transformation of the Impressionist masterworks, brought to moving life by a team of artists using cutting-edge 3D Motion Sculpting technology. With an exclusive introduction by Sophie Renoir, Lasting Impressions features14 artists including Van Gogh, Monet, and Renoir with more than 100 paintings presented on a custom ultra high-definition stereoscopic screen aligned with an entrancing soundtrack to match. The art is choreographed to renowned composers such as Debussy & Ravel as well as popular music including French and global songs including Ce sera moi sung by Nana Mouskouri.

ARTIST PROFILES

Karita Mattila, soprano

The lyrical beauty of Karita Mattila’s voice and her innate sense of theatre have set her apart as one of the most sought-after operatic sopranos in the world today.

In demand by every major opera house, new roles this season include Herodias (Salome) in Lydia Steier’s new production for Opéra national de Paris under Simone Young; and for the Canadian Opera Company under Johannes Debus; and her anticipated debut as Strauss’ Klytämnestra (Elektra) under Sir Donald Runnicles at the Deutsche Opera, Berlin.

Other recent outstanding performances in her remarkable career include a triumphant return to the Salzburg Festival as La zia principessa (Suor Angelica) in Christof Loy’s new staging of Il trittico and conducted by Franz Welser-Möst; Poulenc’s La voix humaine staged especially for her by Finnish National Opera under Dalia Stasevaska; and in Glaus Guth’s award-winning production of Jenůfa for The Royal Opera, Covent Garden – all of which were internationally streamed and broadcast.

Of her many iconic roles, Janáček’s Emilia Marty (Věc Makropulos) has been acclaimed worldwide including at San Francisco Opera, The Metropolitan Opera, Finnish National Opera and at the BBC Proms; Sieglinde (Die Walküre) at Houston Grand Opera and San Francisco Opera, Marie (Wozzeck) at the Royal Opera House, and Madame de Croissy (Dialogues des Carmelites) under Yannick Nézet-Séguin at the Metropolitan Opera in a performance broadcast worldwide in the Live in HD series.

In addition to two Grammy Awards for Best Opera Recording – Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg under Sir George Solti (1998) and Jenůfa under Bernard Haitink (2004) – Ms. Mattila has many recordings to her credit, highlights of which include Strauss’ Vier letzte Lieder under Claudio Abbado (Deutsche Grammophon) – recently selected as the performance of choice by BBC Radio 3’s Building a Library; and her 40th birthday concert in front of an audience of 12,000 in Helsinki (Ondine).

Mattila has won numerous awards throughout a distinguished career and received the Order of the Lion of Finland, First Class Commander in 2020. Her other notable awards include Musical America’s Musician of the Year and the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres; and in the 2016 Royal Philharmonic Society Award for her “unforgettable incarnations of both Kostelnička and Emilia Marty”.

A native of Finland, Mattila trained at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki with Liisa LinkoMalmio and subsequently with Vera Rózsa with whom she studied for almost 20 years. Her experience is now highly sought after and recent invitations to give masterclasses include the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University, Lauluakatemia, Helsinki and The Birgit Nilsson Museum and she sat on the jury panel for the 2021 Toivo Kuula Competition.

ARTIST PROFILES

Brandon Jovanovich, tenorh

Praised by The Wall Street Journal for his “ardent, heroic tenor and strong acting,” Brandon Jovanovich appears regularly at the world’s leading opera companies for his passionate stage portrayals of leading roles in French, Italian, German and Slavic opera.

Mr. Jovanovich open the 2023-2024 season in his return to Teatro alla Scala in the title role of Peter Grimes, followed by performances as Gherman in The Queen of Spades in a new production opposite Asmik Grigorian and later Lise Davidsen at Bayerische Staatsoper. Jovanovich later reprises Don José in Carmen for his return to Covent Garden, and returns to Berlin as Dick Johnson in Lydia Steier’s production of La Fanciulla del West at Staatsoper Berlin. On the concert stage, he sings Siegmund in a concert performance of Die Walküre with Kirill Petrenko with the Berliner Philharmoniker in Baden Baden, as well as in a concert presentation of the first act with Fort Worth Symphony conducted by Robert Spano and directed by James Robinson.

Mr. Jovanovich began the 2022-2023 season as Sergei in Graham Vick’s production of Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk at the Metropolitan Opera conducted by Kerri-Lynn Wilson. He then returned to Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona as Luigi in Il Tabarro, conducted by Susanna Mälkki and opposite Lise Davidsen. Mr. Jovanovich made his role and house debut as Laca in Jenůfa with the Opera of Palau de les Arts in Valencia and reprised the role of Florestan in Fidelio at the Wiener Staatsoper. He also appeared as a soloist in San Francisco Opera’s Centennial Gala.

In the 2021-2022 season, Mr. Jovanovich sang the role of Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos at the Metropolitan Opera (also part of the Met’s Live in HD telecasts) opposite frequent colleague Lise Davidsen. He also appeared at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in the title role of Lohengrin, directed by David Alden and conducted by Jakub Hrůša. Other engagements included Siegmund at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, and the title role in Parsifal at the Wiener Staatsoper conducted by Philippe Jordan. He appeared with Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in Act 1 of Die Walküre conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin at Carnegie Hall and with Act 1 of Die Walküre at the Lanaudiere Festival also conducted by Nézet-Séguin. His season concluded at the Salzburg Festival in a concert of Act II Samson and Act II Parsifal with Daniel Barenboim.

During the pandemic closure, Mr. Jovanovich was scheduled to join the Bayerische Staatsoper in the title role of Parsifal, the Opéra national de Paris as Herman in The Queen of Spades, both the Metropolitan Opera and Washington National Opera as Florestan in Fidelio, and at Lyric Opera of Chicago as the title role in Samson et Dalila In 2020, he had also been scheduled to sing Froh and Siegmund in the Ring cycle at Lyric Opera of Chicago, and the title role in Act 3 of Siegfried at the Bregenz Festival. In concert, he had been scheduled to sing Siegmund in Act 1 of Die Walküre at the Festival de Lanaudière, as well as Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 in performances marking what would have been Michael Tilson Thomas’s final concerts as Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony.

ARTIST PROFILES

Raymond Aceto, bass

American bass Raymond Aceto has established an important presence among the world’s leading opera companies and symphony orchestras. Of his performance as Baron Scarpia, The Houston Chronicle hailed, “Raymond Aceto oozes suave villainy as the evil Baron Scarpia, his voice a dark rumble of menace and lust as he plots to destroy Cavaradossi and conquer Tosca…intelligent characterization distinguishes Aceto’s Scarpia as more than a cartoon villain. Commanding in voice and presence, implacable in his lust for Tosca, he is nonetheless subtle in his calculations. It’s his smiling ease that confirms how dangerous he is.” Recent highlights include performances of the Bonze in Madama Butterfly and Nourabad in Les Pêcheur de Perles at the Metropolitan Opera, Méphistophélès in Gounod’s Faust at Washington National Opera, and Sparafucile in Rigoletto at the Dallas Opera. Highlights of Aceto’s 2023-24 season will include performances at Santa Fe Opera as Arkel in Pelléas et Mélisande, the Metropolitan Opera as Warden George Benton in Dead Man Walking, Atlanta Opera as Hunding in Die Walküre, and Dallas Opera as Frère Laurent in Romeo et Juliette

Aceto’s 2021-2022 season began with his return to Wolf Trap as soloist for their 50th Anniversary Celebration Gala, followed by his return to Seattle Opera as Hunding for a special Welcome Back performance of Die Walküre. In November he returns to the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Captain in Daniel Catán’s Florencia en el Amazonas, directed by Francesca Zambello. He returns to the Metropolitan Opera stage throughout the season for performances of the Bonze in Madama Butterfly and Gremin in Eugene Onegin. On the concert stage, he returns to the Cleveland Orchestra in May as Lodovico in Verdi’s Otello. During the 2020-2021 season, Aceto was scheduled to perform the roles of Zuniga in Carmen, Il Commendatore in Don Giovanni, and Warden George Benton in a new production of Dead Man Walking, all at the Metropolitan Opera; Leporello in Don Giovanni and The Fairy King in Wagner’s Die Feen at the Glimmerglass Festival; and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Cleveland Orchestra.

His operatic appearances in the United States include Roméo et Juliette, La fanciulla del West, King Roger, and Rigoletto with Santa Fe Opera; Nabucco, Aida, Don Giovanni, and Rigoletto at the Metropolitan Opera; Nabucco, Macbeth, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Das Rheingold, Siegfried, Samson et Dalila, Les pêcheurs de perles, Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, Aida, Manon, and Boris Godunov with the Lyric Opera of Chicago; Macbeth, Aida, Turandot, Aida, and Susannah with the San Francisco Opera; Tosca, L’incoronazione di Poppea, Rigoletto, Lucia di Lammermoor, Simon Boccanegra, Boris Godunov, Carmen, Die Zauberflöte, and Don Giovanni with Houston Grand Opera; Don Giovanni, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Lucia di Lammermoor, Rigoletto, La bohème, Das Rheingold, Luisa Miller, and Die Zauberflöte with The Dallas Opera; Méphistophélès in Gounod’s Faust and Vodnik in Rusalka with New Orleans Opera; and Wagner’s RING Cycle at Washington National Opera. He has appeared in leading roles with the opera companies of Seattle, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Boston, Colorado, Pittsburgh, North Carolina, and Cleveland, as well as the opera festivals in St. Louis and Spoleto (USA).

On the international stage, Aceto has been seen in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Turandot, Rigoletto, and Il Trovatore at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Oroveso in Norma at the Gran Teatre del Liceu; Simone Boccanegra, Aida, and Carmen at Deutsche Oper Berlin; Aida at the Vienna Staatsoper; Il Trovatore at the Teatro Real Madrid; Rigoletto at the Netherlands Opera; Lucia di Lammermoor and Le Vêspres Sicilienne at Oper Frankfurt; Nabucco, Aida, and Carmen at the Arena di Verona; Scarpia in Tosca at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna; I due foscari at La Monnaie; Zaccaria in Nabucco at the Teatro Comunale di Firenze; Carmen at Teatro Massimo; Fidelio and Der fliegende Holländer at the Canadian Opera Company; and Rigoletto at L’Opéra de Montréal.

ARTIST PROFILES

In the 2023-2024 season, James Robinson returns to the Lyric Opera of Chicago to direct the company’s premiere of Terrence Blanchard’s Champion and to the Metropolitan Opera for a revival of Fire Shut Up in My Bones, which opened the company’s 20212022 season to sensational acclaim after its world premiere at Opera Theatre of St. Louis in 2019. This season also brought him to the Ravinia Festival, where he directed The Magic Flute joined by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and conductor Marin Alsop. Later this season, he joins Fort Worth Symphony to direct Act 1 of Die Walküre conducte by Robert Spano. Last season he directed the Met premiere of Champion and directed Tobias Picker’s Awakenings at Odyssey Opera in Boston.

First seen at English National Opera and Dutch National Opera, his Grammy awardwinning production of Porgy & Bess opened the Metropolitan Opera season in 2019 and returned to the Met last Fall. He directed Written in Stone, a trio of new operas commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy Center, at Washington National Opera in February 2022. In March 2022, he made his Lyric Opera of Chicago debut with Fire Shut Up In My Bones. He also directed the world premiere of Tobias Picker’s Awakenings (based on the book by Oliver Sacks) and a new version of Stewart Wallace’s Harvey Milk (co-directed with choreographer Sean Curran) for Opera Theatre of St. Louis, as well as the world premiere of Huang Ruo’s M Butterfly (based on the play by David Henry Hwang) for Santa Fe Opera as part of their 2022 season.

James Robinson has been the Artistic Director of Opera Theatre of St. Louis since 2009. During his tenure he has directed numerous world premieres, including Terence Blanchard’s Champion and Fire Shut Up in My Bones, Ricky Ian Gordon’s 27 and Jack Perla’s Shalimar the Clown. For Opera Theatre of St. Louis he has also mounted productions of John Adams’ The Death of Klinghoffer and Nixon in China, Dominick Argento’s Miss Havisham’s Fire, Weill’s Street Scene, Tobias Picker’s Emmeline, Ricky Ian Gordon’s The Grapes of Wrath, and the American premiere of Unsuk Chin’s Alice in Wonderland.

A frequent guest at Santa Fe Opera, he directed Barber’s Vanessa in 2016 and Huang Ruo’s Dr. Sun Yat Sen in 2014, in addition to Così fan tutte, Capriccio, and The Rake’s Progress. For Canadian Opera Company, he has directed acclaimed productions of Elektra, Norma, L’elisir d’amore, and Nixon in China. He has also directed numerous new productions for Houston Grand Opera, most recently Giulio Cesare and the world premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon’s A House Without a Christmas Tree and San Francisco Opera, where his work has included L’elisir d’amore and Tobias Picker’s Dolores Claiborne. His work has also been seen at Opera Australia, the Royal Swedish Opera, the Wexford Festival, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Hollywood Bowl, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, and Carnegie Hall.

James Robinson, stage director

PROGRAM NOTES : JEAN SIBELIUS

by Jeremy Reynolds

SYMPHONY No. 6 in D minor, Op. 104

I. Allegro molto moderato

II. Allegretto moderato

III. Poco vivace

IV. Allegro molto

DURATION: Around 30 minutes

PREMIERED: Helsinki, 1923

INSTRUMENTATION: Two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets and bass clarinet, two bassoons, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, harp, timpani, and strings.

“I do not think of a symphony only as music in this or that number of bars, but rather as an expression of a spiritual creed, a phase in one’s inner life.

IHazy, unhurried melodies in the strings open Sibelius’ Sixth Symphony, layered atop one another in a gentle counterpoint that caresses the ear. It is neither stagnant nor dramatic and turbulent, merely a quiet song of inner thoughts and feelings. Slowly, winds begin to interject, first the oboes, later the horns, adding color and clarity as the strings continue to wind and wend. And then, a quickening, the movement takes off in earnest, bright flutes and harps frolicking about.

“The sixth symphony always reminds me of the scent of the first snow.”

— Jean Sibelius (Born 1865, Finland; died 1957)

SYMPHONY: An elaborate orchestral composition typically broken into contrasting movements, at least one of which is in sonata form.

FURTHER LISTENING:

Sibelius: Suite champêtre, Op. 98b

Symphony No. 5 in E-flat Major, Op. 82

Symphony No. 7 in C Major, Op. 105

Sibelius, Finland’s best-loved musical son, wrote of his Sixth Symphony: “Whereas most other modern composers are engaged in manufacturing cocktails of every hue and description, I offer the public pure cold water.” Other composers in the early 20th century were pushing tonality and key structures to their breaking point in pursuit of the new and the dramatic, many in response to the carnage of World War I. Sibelius, however, spent four years working this opus, reaching backward through history and drawing from a scale that isn’t the typical major or minor from music history: a church mode. His symphony is in D Dorian, a scale based on the note D that utilizes all of the white keys on the piano. It is harmonically distinct from major and minor as it doesn’t create the same tensions and key relationships, and it grants a feeling of tranquility to the composition.

The first movement is quick but still feels relaxed and serene, never growing overly loud until a great brass chord provides a climax. Next, the second movement is slower, murkier. Winds and timpani enter

Continued on Page 34

PROGRAM NOTES : RICHARD WAGNER

by Jeremy Reynolds

ACT I from DIE WALKÜRE

DURATION: About 60 minutes

PREMIERED: Munich, 1870

INSTRUMENTATION: Three flutes, three oboes and English horn, three clarinets and bass clarinet, three bassoons, eight horns, four Wagner tubas, three trumpets and bass trumpet, four trombones, contrabass tuba, two pairs of timpani, three harps, strings and vocals.

“My Walküre turns out terribly beautiful. I hope to submit to you the whole poem of the tetralogy before the end of the summer. The music will be easily and quickly done, for it is only the execution of something practically ready.

— Richard Wagner (Born 1813, Germany; died 1883)

LEITMOTIF: A recurring musical theme that is associated with a person, idea or action. Wagner is credited with cementing the operatic use of such musical devices, which commonly appear in music for film and television as well.

FURTHER LISTENING:

Wagner: Das Rheingold (The Rhinegold) Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods)

Siegfried

Wagner’s epic Ring cycle spans four operas — Das Rheingold (The Rhinegold), Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), Siegfried, and Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods) — totaling about 15 hours of music. The process of writing this saga, which weaves strands of Norse sagas together to tell of the downfall of the gods, took more than 20 years all together, and for the first performance the composer insisted that the work be performed as a complete whole over the course of a week. Wagner founded a special festival, the Bayreuth Festival in southeast Germany, which continues today, for this express purpose.

Nevertheless, the quality of the music proved too tempting for individual companies and orchestras, and not long after Wagner’s death productions of individual operas, and at times even individual scenes and sections, began to appear. While the overarching narrative relates to a stolen treasure of gold, forged into a ring, and the destruction it inspires, Die Walküre begins with a tale of a forbidden, powerful love between two twins, separated at birth.

The plot is straightforward: The hero Siegmund seeks shelter from his enemies in a stranger’s home. Sieglinde, the wife of Hunding, enters and gives him water and mead and promises he may stay until her husband returns. There is a deep attraction.

After an orchestral interlude, Hunding arrives and questions Siegmund, only to discover that Siegmund had killed

Continued on Page34

Program Notes Continued

SIBELIUS, p. 32

at odd intervals, making it difficult for listeners to pinpoint a beat and giving the movement a detached, even aloof feeling. It warms as it progresses.

The third movement is another faster movement, following the fast-slowdance-fast four-movement pattern of the historical symphony. Tonality aside, Sibelius eschewed conventional forms for this work — it is more rhapsodic or improvisatory rather than adhering to a traditional “sonata form,” which prescribes certain repetitions and developments. Here, the music is light-stepping and brief, reminiscent of the opening movement’s grace and geniality. Here, strings whirl and whiz at times atop pedal tones in brass, with the harp occasionally chiming in.

Sibelius, may have seen this work as spring water, but the great British composer and conductor Benjamin Britten remarked on the same piece: “He must have been drunk when he wrote it.” This is more astute than acerbic — Sibelius self-medicated with alcohol often to help calm an “essential tremor” and had drunk heavily in his earlier years, resolving on multiple occasions to

give it up. Nevertheless, the fourth movement begins with grace and builds to a more forceful, devil-may-care energy, tuneful and clear to the last. And rather than a great crashing finale, the sixth quietly fades to silence, serene but still questioning.

WAGNER, p.33

some of his kin. He allows him to rest the night but promises that they will duel to the death in the morning. Sieglinde drugs Hunding to sleep and reveals that she was forced into marriage and shows Siegmund an immovable sword, stabbed deep into an ash tree. Siegmund is able to draw the blade — the two profess their love, and she realizes that the two are twins, and they sing passionately as the curtain falls on the first act.

Needless to say, there’s quite a lot going on. Wagner wrote in great detail about his desire to unify text and music, and he eschewed the grand operatic tradition of writing a series of arias and recitatives (essentially, alternating melodic songs and sung dialogue) in favor of a unified style that weaves together various

leitmotifs, a technique adopted later became by film music composers.

Indeed, Walküre begins fiercely with a stormy orchestral prelude with deep, rumbling thunder. There are fragments of melody throughout the act that harken back to tunes in the first opera, Das Rheingold, as well as new material. Wagner’s aim with the music was to illuminate the inner lives and emotions of his characters. Though the libretto is fairly straightforward, there is a churning, writhing sense of passion present in much of the first act’s score, intensifying the drama with brilliantly calculated melodies.

SAINT-SAÊNS

Saturday, April 27, 2024 at 11:00 AM Bass Performance Hall Fort Worth, TX

Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra

Taichi Fukumura, conductor

arr. Arthur Ruis Aquarium from Carnival of the Animals

TCHAIKOVSKY Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy from The Nutcracker Suite No.1, Op. 71a

GRIEG

In the Hall of the Mountain King from Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46

JOHN WILLIAMS HarryPotterandtheSorcerer'sStone: Children's Suite for Orchestra

I. Hedwig's Flight

II. Hogwarts Forever

III. Voldemort

IV. Nimbus 2000

V. Fluffy and his Harp

VI. Quidditch

VII. Family Portrait

VIII. Diagon Alley

IX. Harry's Wondrous World

Video or audio recording of this performance is strictly prohibited. Patrons arriving late will be seated during the first convenient pause. Program and artists are subject to change.

SAINT-SAÊNS

Friday, April 26, 2024 at 7:30 PM

Saturday, April 27, 2024 at 11:00 AM

Sayurday, April 27, 2024 at 7:30 PM

Bass Performance Hall Fort Worth, TX

Sunday, April 28, 2024 at 2:00 PM

Bass Performance Hall

Fort Worth, TX

Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra

Taichi Fukumura, conductor

Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra

arr. Arthur Ruis Aquarium from Carnival of the Animals

Miguel Harth-Bedoya, conductor

John Williams

TCHAIKOVSKY Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy from The Nutcracker Suite No.1, Op. 71a

GRIEG

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

Feature Film with Orchestra

In the Hall of the Mountain King from Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46

There will be one intermission.

Starring

Mark Hamill

Production Credits

JOHN WILLIAMS HarryPotterandtheSorcerer'sStone: Children's Suite for Orchestra

Harrison Ford

Carrie Fisher

Billy Dee Williams

Anthony Daniels

Co-Starring

David Prowse as Darth Vader

Kenny Baker as R2-D2

Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca

Frank Oz as Yoda

Directed by Irvin Kershner

Produced by Gary Kurtz

President, Disney Music Group

I. Hedwig's Flight

II. Hogwarts Forever

III. Voldemort

SVP/GM, Disney Concerts

Ken Bunt

Operations, Disney Concerts

IV. Nimbus 2000

Chip McLean

V. Fluffy and his Harp

VI. Quidditch

Supervising Technical Director

VII. Family Portrait

Alex Levy – Epilogue Media

VIII. Diagon Alley

Film Preparation

IX. Harry's Wondrous World

Ramiro Belgardt

Business Affairs, Lucasfilm

Rhonda Hjort

Chris Holm

Brannon Fells

Royd Haston

Business Affairs, Disney Concerts

Darryl Franklin

Gina Lorscheider

Phil Woods

Elena Contreras

Addison Granillo

Video or audio recording of this performance is strictly prohibited. Patrons arriving late will be seated during the first convenient pause. Program and artists are subject to change.

Screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan

Story by

George Lucas

Executive Producer

George Lucas

Music by John Williams

For Booking Inquires: Emily.Yoon@ICMPartners.com

Music Preparation

Mark Graham

Matthew Voogt

Joann Kane Music Service

Disney Music Library

Business Affairs, Warner-Chappell

Scott McDowell

Marketing & Publicity

Lisa Linares

Rebecca Armour

Maria Kleinman

Presentation licensed by Disney Concerts in association with 20th Century Fox, Lucasfilm Ltd., and Warner/Chappell Music. All rights reserved.

ARTIST PROFILES

In a career spanning more than six decades, John Williams has become one of America’s most accomplished and successful composers for film and for the concert stage, and he remains one of our nation’s most distinguished and contributive musical voices. He has composed the music for more than 100 films, including all nine Star Wars films, the first three Harry Potter films, Superman, Memoirs of a Geisha, Home Alone and The Book Thief.

His nearly 50-year artistic partnership with director Steven Spielberg has resulted in many of Hollywood’s most acclaimed and successful films, including Schindler’s List, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Jaws, Jurassic Park, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the Indiana Jones films, Saving Private Ryan, Lincoln, The BFG and The Post. Mr. Williams has composed themes for four Olympic Games.

He served as music director of the Boston Pops Orchestra for 14 seasons and remains their Laureate Conductor. He has composed numerous works for the concert stage including two symphonies, and concertos commissioned by many of America’s most prominent orchestras. Mr. Williams has received five Academy Awards and 52 Oscar nominations (making him the secondmost nominated person in the history of the Oscars), seven British Academy Awards, 25 Grammys, four Golden Globes, and five Emmys. In 2003, he received the Olympic Order (the IOC’s highest honor) for his contributions to the Olympic movement.

In 2004, he received the Kennedy Center Honors, and in 2009 he received the National Medal of Arts, the highest award given to artists by the U.S. Government. In 2016 he received the 44th Life Achievement Award from the American Film Institute – the first time a composer was honored with this award. And in 2020 he received Spain’s Princess of Asturias Award for the Arts as well as the Gold Medal from the prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society in the UK.

John Williams, composer

ARTIST PROFILES

Miguel Harth-Bedoya, conductor

Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Emmy award-winning and Grammynominated conductor, is a master of color, drawing idiomatic interpretations from a diverse and wide range of repertoire in concerts across the globe.

Celebrating more than 30 years of professional conducting, and with a deep commitment to passing his experience on to the next generation of musicians, he is currently the Mary Franks Thompson Director of Orchestral Studies at Baylor University, and Music Director of the Baylor Symphony Orchestra where in addition to performing, he teaches orchestral conducting at the undergraduate and graduate level.

He has also established The Conducting Institute to teach the fundamentals of conducting to students ages high school and up, of all levels, through intensive summer and winter programs,

workshops, courses, and seminars.

Harth-Bedoya has amassed considerable experience at the helm of orchestras, including recently completing tenures as Chief Conductor of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra and as Music Director of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, where he now holds the title of Music Director Laureate. Previously he has held Music Director positions with the Auckland Philharmonia in New Zealand and the Eugene Symphony in Oregon, the Lima Philharmonic Orchestra in Peru, and the New York Youth Symphony at Carnegie Hall. He also held the Director of Orchestral Studies position at the University of Nebraska, Omaha.

Harth-Bedoya guest conducts with orchestras around the world. In the United States, he has conducted the Atlanta Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Boston Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, and St. Louis Symphony, among others. He is also frequently a guest at summer festivals such as Aspen Music Festival, Grand Teton Music Festival, Tanglewood Music Festival, Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Grant Park Festival, Hollywood Bowl, and the New Zealand Festival. Following his exceptional tenure as Associate Conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic during the early years of his career, HarthBedoya’s “special chemistry”

(LA Times) with the orchestra remains strong and he often returns as a guest conductor.

Worldwide he is a frequent guest of the Helsinki Philharmonic, MDR Sinfonieorchester Leipzig, National Orchestra of Spain, New Zealand Symphony, and Sydney Symphony Orchestras, and has appeared with the Melbourne Symphony, London Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, Dresden Philharmonic, NDR Sinfonieorchester Hamburg, Zürich Tonhalle Orchestra, Danish National Symphony, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Bilbao Symphony and Barcelona Orchestras, among others. In the summer of 2016, HarthBedoya made his Japanese debut conducting both the NHK Symphony and Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestras.

Equally, at home in opera, Harth-Bedoya has conducted both traditional and premiere productions. He led a new production of La Bohème at English National Opera directed by Jonathan Miller, as well as productions with the Bremen Opera, Canadian Opera Company, Cincinnati Opera, and Minnesota Opera. At the Santa Fe Opera, he led two world premiere productions of Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar in 2005 and Jennifer Higdon’s Cold Mountain in 2015. The recording of Cold Mountain at the Santa Fe Opera was nominated for a Grammy Award. He also conducted the world premiere of Stephen

Continued on Page ?

ARTIST PROFILES

Paulus’ Heloise and Abelard with the Juilliard Opera Center in 2002.

With a passionate devotion to unearthing new South American repertoire, Miguel Harth-Bedoya is the founder and Artistic Director of Caminos del Inka, a non-profit organization dedicated to researching, performing, and preserving the rich musical legacy of South America. Among its varied activities, Caminos del Inka champions South American composers, produces lectures, chamber music concerts, CD and video recordings, and supports The Conducting Institute. In addition, Harth-Bedoya’s multimedia project: Caminos del Inka, a musical journey has been performed by the Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Boston Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Baltimore Symphony Residentie Orkest and MDR Sinfonie Leipzig.

Harth-Bedoya’s impressive discography includes albums on Harmonia Mundi, Deutsche Gramophone, Decca, FWSOLive, LAWO, Naxos, and MSR Classics. The 2018 release Mussorgsky/ Gorchakov: Pictures at an Exhibition/Prokofiev: Cinderella (FWSOLive) received accolades from critics, with Nick Bernard of MusicWeb-International, writing: “Throughout, music director/conductor Miguel Harth-Bedoya is a sensitive and impressive guide. He draws from the Fort Worth musicians playing of real character and considerable virtuosity.” In Gramophone,

Guy Rickards commented,"... Miguel Harth-Bedoya has a knack for getting the most out of players in front of him; and, as it is with the Mussorgsky; so it proves with the substantial 30-minute selection of extracts from Prokofiev's Cinderella...”

For the prestigious Harmonia Mundi label, Harth-Bedoya has made six acclaimed recordings: Music of Lutoslawski and Brahms (arr Schoenberg); orchestral works by Jimmy Lopez; New South American Discoveries; the complete Prokofiev Piano Concertos with Cliburn winner Vadym Kholodenko, and piano concertos by Grieg and Saint-Saëns which was awarded “Editor’s Choice” in Gramophone.

Other recordings include Traditions and Transformations: Sounds of Silk Road Chicago with the Chicago Symphony and Yo-Yo Ma, which received two Grammy nominations, music by Osvaldo Golijov with the Orquesta Sinfonica de Castilla y Leon and pianists Katia and Marielle Labeque on Deutsche Grammophon, and Sentimiento Latino with Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Flores on Decca. For Naxos, Harth-Bedoya recorded an album devoted to music by Peruvian composer Celso Garrido-Lecca.

Recently, on MSR Classics label he recorded an album of orchestral music by Jimmy López Bellido performed by the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, and in the Norwegian label, LAWO Classics, released a disc

devoted to works by Alberto Ginastera which he recorded with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra (KORK).

Born and raised in Peru, HarthBedoya received his Bachelor of Music degree from the Curtis Institute of Music and his Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School, both under the guidance of Otto-Werner Mueller. He also studied with Seiji Ozawa and Gustav Meier at Tanglewood, and was awarded an Honorary Doctor in Music degree from Texas Christian University.

Harth-Bedoya is an environmental advocate who is committed to a zero-waste lifestyle. In 2016 he cofounded Cowboy Compost, a business geared to achieve food waste reduction. He is married to Dr. Maritza Cáceres, a choral conductor, and have three children, Elena, Emilio, and Elisa. www.miguelharth-bedoya. com

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Gain entry to the Brooks Morris Society and ensure your legacy leaves and impact by investing in the future of the FWSO through a charitable bequest.

Endowment Fund

Established in 1984, the FWSO’s endowment fund was established in order to provide an additional source of financial security for our institution. Gifts to the endowment fund ensure that the rich artistic traditions of the FWSO are secured in perpetuity as a part of the city’s cultural fabric for generations to come.

To learn more about donor benefits and ways to give to the FWSO, please visit our website, fwsymphony.org/support/personal-giving or call the FWSO’s Donor Services Team at (817) 665-6603

Board of Directors

Officers

Mercedes T. Bass

Chairman of the Board

Marianne Auld

Chairman of the Executive Committee

Lee Hallman Secretary

Don C. Plattsmier Interim Treasurer

Keith Cerny, Ph.D. President and CEO

Board of Directors

Marianne Auld+

Amy Roach Bailey

Mercedes T. Bass+

Dr. Rebecca Beasley

Connie Beck+

Ashli Blumenfeld

Anne Marie Bratton+

John Broude

J. Brooks+

Karen Burchfield+

Anne Carvalho

Dr. Joseph Cecere

Brenda Cline

Dr. Mary Costas

Barbara Cox

Juana-Rosa Daniell

Tim Daniels

Dr. Benge Daniel

Mitzi Davis

Dr. Asad Dean+

Dr. Tom Deas

Dr. Jeffrey G. Detweiler

Joseph DeWoody

Willa Dunleavy

Brandon Elms

Dr. Jennifer Freeman+

Charlotte French

Aubrey Gideon

Pamela Gilchrist

Gail Aronoff Granek

Lee Hallman+

Aaron Howard+

Kim Johnson

Dee J. Kelly, Jr.+

Kelly Lancarte

Mollie Lasater+

Nico Leone

Mary Hart Lipscomb

Misty Locke

Kate Lummis

Priscilla Martin

Louella Martin+

Dr. Stuart D. McDonald

Ellen Messman

Justin Newton

Don C. Plattsmier+

Dana Porter+

Don Reid

Jean Roach+

Henry Robinson+

Jude Ryan

Alann B. Sampson+

Jeff Schmeltekopf

Dr. Russ Schultz

Kal Silverberg

Whit Smith

Clare Stonesifer+

Jonathan T. Suder+

Carla Thompson+

Dr. Amy Tully

John Wells+

Dr. James Williams

J.W. Wilson+

Gerry Wood

Emeritus Council

Marvin E. Blum

Dr. Victor J. Boschini, Jr.

Gail Cooke

Vance A. Duffy

Katie Farmer

Joan Friedman

Tera Garvey

John B. Giordano

Barry L. Green

Genie Guynn

Kathleen Hicks

Robert L. Jameson

Teresa King

Michelle Marlow

Colin McConnell

Dr. Till Meyn

Erin Moseley *

Frasher H. Pergande

Thomas “Tommy” L. Smith

Dwayne Smith

Kathleen B. Stevens

Ronda Jones Stucker

Lon Werner

Chairman Emeriti

William P. Hallman, Jr.*

Adele Hart*

Ed Schollmaier*

Frank H. Sherwood

Life Trustee

Rosalyn G. Rosenthal

Rae and Ed Schollmaier*

President Emerita

Ann Koonsman*

+ Executive Committee Member

* Denotes Deceased

Supporters of the FWSO

The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra expresses its deepest gratitude to the generous individual, institutional, endowment, and legacy supporters of the FWSO, a world-class orchestra and cultural pillar of Fort Worth.

Individual Giving

Maestro’s Level

$150,000+

Mrs. Mercedes T. Bass

Mr. & Mrs. J. Luther King, Jr. / Luther King Capital Management

In memory of Marie A. Moore

John Wells & Shay McCulloch-Wells

Principal Guest Conductor’s Level

$50,000- $149,999

Ms. Marianne M. Auld and Mr. Jimmy Coury

Mr. & Mrs. William S. Davis; Davoil, Inc.

Aaron Howard & Corrie Hood-Howard

Mrs. Louella Martin

Dana & David Porter

Mrs. Rosalyn Rosenthal

Concertmaster’s Level

$25,000- $49,999

Ramona & Lee Bass

Connie Beck & Frank Tilley

Mr. & Mrs. Douglas K. Bratton

Mr. & Mrs. Ronald Koonsman

Mollie & Garland Lasater at the NTCF Fund

Estate of Virginia & James O’Donnell

Nancy & Don Plattsmier

Alann Bedford Sampson

Artist’s Level

$10,000- $24,999

Carol Margaret Allen

Mr. & Mrs. Tull Bailey

Sasha and Edward P. Bass

Megan & Victor Boschini

Greg & Pam Braak

Steve Brauer Jr.

James Brooks

Mr. and Mrs. Orlando Carvahlo

Dr. and Mrs. Joseph C. Cecere, DMD

Sue & John Allen Chalk, Sr.

Mr. John & Dr. Mary Costas, in honor of their grandchildren

Barbara A. & Ralph F. Cox

Kim & Glenn Darden

For the full donor listing, please visit fwsymphony.org/support/donor-listing

As of February 9, 2023 to February 9, 2024.

* Denotes deceased

Drs. Jeff & Rosemary Detweiler

C. Edwards & R. Schroeder

Mr. Brandon Elms

Dr. Jennifer Freeman

Tera & Richard Garvey

Susan & Tommy Green

Gary & Judy Havener

Ms. Nina C. Hutton

Matthew & Kimberly Johnson

Dee Kelly Foundation

Priscilla & Joe Martin

Deborah Mashburn & David Boddie

Nesha & George Morey

Mr. Justin E. Newton

Mrs. Susan S. Pratt

Don & Melissa Reid

Mr. & Mrs. Thomas B. Reynolds

Thomas L. Smith

Ms. Patricia A. Steffen

Tim and Clare Stonesifer

Jonathan and Medea Suder; MJR Foundation

Mr. Gerald E. Thiel

Mr. & Mrs. Kelly R. Thompson

Charles White

Dr. James C. Williams

Mr. & Mrs. J.W. Wilson

Mr. & Mrs. Mitchell Wynne

Benefactor

$5,000- $9,999

William & Kathryn Adams

Elaine & Neils Agather

Drs. Becky Beasley & Roger Gates

Anonymous

Ashli & Todd Blumenfeld

Debbie Brooks; DFW Musicians Services LLC

John Broude & Judy Rosenblum

Mr. & Mrs. Michael Burchfield

Mr. and Mrs. Orlando Carvalho

Mary Cauble

Dr. & Mrs. Lincoln Chin

Brenda & Chad Cline

Dean & Emily Crocker

Dr. & Mrs. Atlee Cunningham, Jr.

Dr. and Mrs. Benge R. Daniel, Jr.

Asad Dean M.D.; Texas Oncology

Margaret & Craig Dearden

H. Paul Dorman

Steve* & Jean Hadley

Dr. Christy L. Hanson

Mr. and Mrs. Jacob M. Huffman III

Mr. Maynard K. Johnson

Tim & Misty Locke

Katherine Lummis

McCallum Family Foundation

Dr. & Mrs. Stuart D. McDonald

Shannon McGovern

Ellen F. Messman

Berlene T. & Jarrell R. Milburn

Mr. & Mrs. Richard W. Moncrief

Stephen & Brenda Neuse

Jeff & Judy Schmeltekopf

Dr. & Mrs. Russ A. Schultz

Kal & Karen Silverberg

Ronda & Walter Stucker

Jim & Judy Summersgill

Dr. Richard Turner

Suzy Williams & John Williams

Mr. and Mrs. Philip C. Williamson

Anonymous

Contributor

$3,000- $4,999

Ellen & Larry Bell

Mr. Bill Bond

Judge Tim & Celia Boswell

Daniel & Soraya Caulkins

Mrs. Jeanne Cochran

Gary Cole

Doug & Carol English

For the full donor listing, please visit fwsymphony.org/support/donor-listing

As of February 9, 2023 to February 9, 2024.

* Denotes deceased

Angela L. Evans

Mr. & Mrs. Ben J. Fortson, Jr.

Gary Glaser and Christine Miller

Richard Hubbard, M.D.

Carolyn & Randall Hudson

Gordon & Aileen Kanan

Mr. Nico Leone

Art & Cheryl Litke

L. Lumley

McCraw Family Charitable Fund

Anonymous

Cecile Montgomery Charitable Account

Jeanne O’Connor

Harris Franklin Pearson Private Foundation

Mary Pencis

Mr. & Mrs. Omas Peterson

Ms. Jane Rector

Dr. Deborah Rhea & Ms. Carol Bollinger

Rosemary Riney

Jude & Terry Ryan

Emmet G. & Judith O. Smith

Dave & Julie Wende

Arthur & Carolyn Wright

Sustainer

$2,000- $2,999

Mr. & Mrs. David R. Atnip

Mary Frances & George Barlow Charitable Fund at the NTCF

Dr. Joyce Beck

Linda Brookshire

Frances Jean Browning

Lowell & Kathryn Bryan

Henry & Diana Burks

Honorable H.D. Clark III and Mrs. Peggy

Sue Branch-Clark

Dr. & Mrs. Martin F. Conroy

Mr. and Mrs. Laurence Cooke

Susan Jackson Davis

Dedrick Family

Dawn Ellison

Mr. & Mrs. Kirk French

Dr. Oscar L. Frick

Ms. Clara Gamache

Dr. & Mrs. William H. Gibson

Anonymous

Dotty & Gary Hall

James & Mary Ann Harris

Michelle & Reagan Horton

Mr. & Mrs. Robert L. Jameson

Ms. Trina Krausse

In memory of Laura Elizabeth Bruton

Dr. & Mrs. James D. Maberry

Gregory L. McCoy

John & Anita O’Carroll

Lynne B. Prater

William Proenza

Barbara Roels

Punch Shaw & Julie Hedden

Tzu-Ying & Michael Shih in tribute of Mr. & Mrs. William S. Davis

Marilyn Wiley & Terry Skantz

Susan & James Smith

Mary Alice Denmon Smith

Mary C. Smith; Clark Educational Services

Dr. Mary Alice Stanford & Mr. Don Jones

Thomas Sutter

Sallie & Joseph Tarride

Hon. & Mrs. Chris Taylor

Dr. Stuart N. Thomas; In memory of Dr. Gaby Thomas

John* & Camille Thomason

Joy & Johnnie Thompson

David Turpin

Rhonda McNallen Venne

Gene Walker and Marianna Smith

Laurie & Lon Werner

Mr. John Molyneaux & Ms. Kay West

John Williams & Suzy Williams

Stuart Yarus & Judith Williams

For the full donor listing, please visit fwsymphony.org/support/donor-listing

As of February 9, 2023 to February 9, 2024.

* Denotes deceased

Institutional Giving

$500,000 and above

Mr. and Mrs. John Kleinheinz

Sid W. Richardson Foundation

$150,000- $499,999

Amon G. Carter Foundation

Mary Potishman Lard Trust

William E. Scott Foundation

$50,000- $149,999

American Airlines

Anonymous

The Eugene McDermott Foundation

Adeline & George McQueen Foundation

Fort Worth Tourism Public Improvement District

$25,000- $49,999

Frill Foundation

George & Jeanne Jaggers Charitable Trust

The Thomas M., Helen McKee & John P. Ryan Foundation

Texas Commission on the Arts

$10,000- $24,999

Alcon

BNSF Railway

Bratton Family Foundation | Mr. and Mrs. Douglas K. Bratton

Carl B. & Florence E. King Foundation

As of February 9, 2023 to February 9, 2024.

City Club of Fort Worth

North Texas Giving Day Fund of the Communities Foundation of Texas

Frost

Garvey Texas Foundation

Helene Bare & W. Glenn Embry Charitable Trust

Kelly Hart & Hallman LLP

Lowe Foundation

Marguerite Bridges Charitable Trust

McCallum Family Foundation

MJR Foundation

Piranesi

The Roach Foundation

$5,000- $9,999

Atmos Energy

Fifth Avenue Foundation

Neiman Marcus Fort Worth

Symphony League of Fort Worth

The Worthington Renaissance Fort Worth Hotel

$2,000- $4,999

Dubose Family Foundation

Kimbell Art Foundation

Once Upon A Time...

Robert D. & Catherine R. Alexander Foundation

Tanner and Associates, PC

For the full donor listing, please visit fwsymphony.org/support/donor-listing

Endowment Giving

$5,000,000 and above

Mrs. Mercedes T. Bass

Mr.* and Mrs.* Perry R. Bass

Mr. Sid R. Bass

$1,000,000- $4,999,999

Lee and Ramona Bass Foundation

Sasha and Edward P. Bass

The Burnett Foundation

Garvey Texas Foundation

Kimbell Art Foundation

Elizabeth H. Ledyard

Rosalyn Rosenthal

Rae* & Ed* Schollmaier; Schollmaier Foundation

$500,000- $999,999

Mr. & Mrs. John B. Kleinheinz

Mollie & Garland Lasater at the NTCF Fund

The Thomas M., Helen McKee & John P. Ryan Foundation

T.J. Brown & C.A. Lupton Foundation

$250,000- $499,999

BNSF Railway

Estate of Dorothy Rhea

Qurumbli Foundation

Mr. & Mrs. Mark L. Hart III

Drs. Jeff & Rosemary Detweiler

$100,000- $249,999

Alcon

American Airlines

Amon G. Carter Foundation

Althea L. Duersten

Estate of Peggy L. Rayzor

Mr. & Mrs. Ben J. Fortson, Jr.

* Denotes deceased

Mr.* & Mrs. Dee J. Kelly, Sr.

Mr. & Mrs. J. Luther King, Jr. / Luther King

Capital Management

John Marion

J.P. Morgan Charitable Giving Fund

The Roach Foundation

Anna Belle P. Thomas

$50,000- $99,999

Michael and Nancy Barrington

Van Cliburn*

Mrs. Gunhild Corbett

Mrs. Edward R. Hudson, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. Ronald Koonsman

Scurlock Foundation

Symphony League of Fort Worth

$25,000- $49,999

Mr. & Mrs. Jack S. Blanton Jr.

Estate of Linda Reimers Mixson

Michael Boyd Milligan*

Garvey Texas Foundation

Colleen* and Preston Geren

Mrs. Adele Hart

Mr. and Mrs. Craig Kelly

Dee Kelly Foundation

Mr. and Mrs. Robert D. Krebs

Mr. Eddie M. Lesok

Mr. & Mrs. Duer Wagner Jr.

Laurie and Lon Werner

$10,000- $24,999

Mr.* and Mrs.* William L. Adams

Mr. & Mrs. Malcolm K. Brachman

Mr. & Mrs. Douglas K. Bratton

Mr. Carroll W. Collins*

Mary Ann and Robert Cotham

Mr. and Mrs. Norwood P. Dixon*

Elizabeth L. and Russell F. Hallberg Foundation

Estate of Ernest Allen, Jr.

Fifth Avenue Foundation

Mrs. Dora Lee Langdon

Carol V. Lukert

Mr. & Mrs. Richard W. Moncrief

Stephen & Brenda Neuse

Peggy L. Rayzor

Mr. & Mrs. Thomas B. Reynolds

William E. Scott Foundation

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas M. Taylor

Donna* & Bryan Whitworth

William S. Davis Family Foundation

$5,000- $9,999

Mrs. Charles Anton*

Ms. Lou Ann Blaylock

Sue & John Allen Chalk, Sr.

Anonymous

Nelson & Enid Cleary

Barbara A. & Ralph F. Cox

Estate of Witfield J. Collins

Francis M. Allen Trust

Mr. and Mrs. Scott Jeffrey Gerrish

Felice and Marvin Girouard

Mr. & Mrs. Ralph J. Green Jr.

Maritza Cáceres & Miguel Harth-Bedoya

Richard Hubbard, M.D.

JPMorgan Chase*

Mr.* and Mrs. Robert E. Klabzuba

Priscilla & Joe Martin

Miss Louise McFarland*

Karen Rainwater Charitable Fund at the NTCF

Alann Bedford Sampson

Betty J. Sanders

Save Our Symphony Fort Worth

Jerry & James Taylor

The Musicians of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra

Mr. Gerald E. Thiel

John* & Frances Wasilchak Charitable Fund at the NTCF

Endowed Chairs and Programs

The Board of Directors extends sincere gratitude to the following donors who have demonstrated exceptional generosity and commitment to the FWSO by endowing the following chairs and programs.

Music Director

Guest Conductors

Associate Conductor

Concertmaster

Associate Concertmaster

Assistant Concertmaster

Assistant Principal 2nd Violin

Section 2nd Violin

Principal Cello

Assistant Principal Cello

Principal Bass

Principal Oboe

Principal Flute

Principal Clarinet

Assistant Principal Trumpet

Principal Bassoon

Principal Horn

Associate Principal Horn

Principal Trombone

Bass Trombone

Principal Percussion

Assistant Principal Percussion

Timpani

Harp

Keyboard

Great Performance Fund

Pops Performance Fund

Adventures in Music

* Denotes deceased

Symphonic Insight

Nancy Lee & Perry R. Bass* Chair

Mrs. Mercedes T. Bass Chair

Mr. Sid R. Bass Chair

Rae & Ed Schollmaier*/Schollmaier Foundation Chair

Mrs. Mercedes T. Bass Chair

Mr. Sid R. Bass Chair

Ann Koonsman* Chair

Mollie & Garland Lasater Chair

Symphony League of Fort Worth Chair

Marie A. Moore* Chair

Mrs. Mercedes T. Bass Chair

Mr. Sid R. Bass Chair

BNSF Foundation Chair

Mr. & Mrs. Edward P. Bass Chair

Nancy L. & William P. Hallman, Jr. Chair

Shirley F. Garvey* Chair

Rosalyn G. Rosenthal Chair

In Memory of Manny Rosenthal

Dorothy Rhea* Chair

Mr. & Mrs. Lee M. Bass Chair

Elizabeth H. Ledyard* Chair

Drs. Jeff and Rosemary Detweiler Chair

Mr. & Mrs. John Kleinheinz Chair

Mr. & Mrs. Lee M. Bass Chair

Shirley F. Garvey* Chair

Adele Hart* Chair

Madilyn Bass Chair

Bayard H. Friedman * Chair

Rildia Bee O’Bryan Cliburn & Van

Cliburn* Chair

Rosalyn G. Rosenthal Chair

In Memory of Manny Rosenthal

The Burnett Foundation

The Ryan Foundation

Teresa & Luther King

Brooks Morris Society

Annette & Jerry* Blaschke

Dr. Lloyd W. Brooks

Mr. and Mrs. M. A. Cardona*

Barbara Clarkin

Mr. Carroll W. Collins*

Mr. and Mrs. Laurence Cooke

Juana-Rosa & Dr. Ron Daniell*

Estate of Anna Belle P. Thomas

Miss Dorothy Rhea*

Electra M. Carlin*

Estate of Ernest Allen, Jr.

F. Warren O’Reilly*

Hugh L. Watson*

Estate of Kathy B. Higgins

Estate of Linda Reimers Mixson

Lois Hoynck Jaggers*

Michael Boyd Milligan*

Mildred G. Walters*

Estate of Peggy L. Rayzor

Sylvia E. Wolens*

Whitfield J. Collins*

Tom Gay

Gwen M. Genius

George & Jeanne Jaggers Charitable Trust

Mrs. Charlotte M. Gore

Gail Aronoff Granek

Helene Bare & W. Glenn Embry Charitable Trust

Qurumbli Foundation

Hank and Shawn Henning

Mr. Eric F. Hyden*

* Denotes deceased

Kathleen E. Connors Trust

Mr. & Mrs. Ronald Koonsman

Lewis F. Kornfeld, Jr. Memorial Fund at the NTXCF

Mollie & Garland M. Lasater, Jr.

Elizabeth H. Ledyard

Carol V. Lukert

Marguerite Bridges Charitable Trust

Patty Cartwright Mays

Shannon McGovern

Dr. and Mrs. A. F. Murph

Linda Todd Murphy

Estate of Virginia & James O’Donnell

Harris Franklin Pearson Private Foundation

Peggy Meade-Cohen Crut Charitable Trust

Mr.* and Mrs. John V. Roach II

The Roach Foundation

Jude & Terry Ryan

Jeff & Judy Schmeltekopf

Mr. & Mrs. Grady Shropshire

Kathleen & Richard Stevens

Mr. Gerald E. Thiel

The Walsh Foundation

Peter G. Warren

John* & Frances Wasilchak Charitable Fund at the NTCF

John Wells & Shay McCulloch-Wells

Lynn Wilson

A City Club Social Membership provides access to dining in our restaurants and member event privileges including Wine Tastings, Holiday Brunches and many other Club events. You will have the ability to reserve private rooms for business and social functions.

Social Memberships for $102 per month

FWSO Season Ticket Holders receive a discounted enrollment fee

For more information, contact Matt Burrell, City Club Membership Director at 817.878.4000 or mburrell@cityclubfw.com.

Take in the sweeping downtown views from our inviting, western-inspired accommodations, and enjoy clever cocktails, prime aged steaks, and live music at our on-site restaurants.

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