Program Notes

James Randall

Superheroes come in many forms, and our concert testifies to their diversity: some local, some national, some unsung, and some extraterrestrial. They all, however, reflect us—our fears, our hopes, and our collective desire for rescue and redemption.

Joan Tower: Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman No. 6

Joan Tower is one of our most celebrated living composers. Born in New York, her family moved to Bolivia when she was nine, and her musical experiences in South America deeply informed her later style: “My babysitter used to take me to these festivals. She would drop me off at the bandstand, so she could have fun. The band people would throw me a maraca or some kind of castanet or drum…My music is basically about rhythm. It’s all about timing for me.” Tower trained seriously as a pianist, studying first at Bennington College, where she also wrote her first musical works, and then went on to study composition at Columbia University, earning her doctorate in 1968. After composing successful chamber works in 1970s, she was approached to write a piece for orchestra in 1980. Describing the process, she said “I wrote the piece kicking and screaming, and close to being tortured.” Nonetheless, conductor Leonard Slatkin fell in love with the work, Sequoia, and invited her to become composer in residence with the St. Louis Symphony. For Tower, this launched the beginning of a fruitful but anxiety laden career as an orchestral composer: “I’ve always had a low opinion of myself. I think it’s a female thing, in a way. For women, in a field like composition, which has been male dominated for years and years and years, it’s a hard thing to walk into and feel that you are as empowered as your male colleagues are.”

Today we hear the finale of Tower’s six short Fanfares for the Uncommon Woman. The first was commissioned for the Houston Symphony by conductor Tobias Picker, who asked a number of composers to write short fanfares which would begin each of their concerts for the season. As Tower drafted hers, she took inspiration from Aaron Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man, jokingly telling a female colleague that she had nicknamed the piece, “For the Uncommon Woman.” The friend said, “That’s not funny. It’s actually a great title.” The title stayed, and Tower further dedicated the fanfares to “women who take risks and are adventurous.” The first fanfare, premiered in 1986, was written for Maryn Alsop, the first woman to hold a permanent post as conductor of a major symphony orchestra. As a fitting tribute 20 years later, Alsop commissioned and conducted the sixth fanfare with the Baltimore Symphony to celebrate the orchestra’s Centennial Season in 2016.

The fanfare begins with an incessant ticking—is it a bomb, a clock? The ticking ceases and a half second later Tower detonates an explosive rhythmic motive that will form the thematic basis for the remainder of this exciting work.

Jean Sibelius: Lemminkäinen Suite, Op. 22, No. 1, 2 & 4

As monarchies toppled across Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries, peoples long suppressed sought to form new nations bound by common ethnicity, language, and culture. The revival of folk tales, poetry and myth played an important role in these nascent nationalisms. For Finnish speaking peoples, the epic poetry of the Kalevala preserved the founding myths of their culture. Long preserved in oral tradition, these stories were assembled into a single written narrative in the nineteenth century, when they became an important source of national pride. In 1893, Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, in a marvelous piece of fan fiction, sought to musicalize episodes from the Kalevala in a multimovement symphonic suite. While certainly “program music”—music with an accompanying narrative—Sibelius’s music is more impressionistic than literal. He once wrote “If I could express the same thing with words as with music, I would, of course, use a verbal expression. Music is something autonomous and much richer. Music begins where the possibilities of language end.”

Sibelius was a huge admirer of Richard Strauss’ programmatic music, especially of Don Juan, which followed the misadventures of the legendary lothario. As it turned out the Kalevala had a randy hero of its own in the character Lemminkäinen. In the first movement of Sibelius’s work, Lemminkäinen visits an island where all the men, strangely, are away for the moment. The women, “a thousand brides,” (and widows too) are quite happy to see him. After some revelry, the men return and our “hero” makes a quick exit. In the second movement, The Swan of Tuonela, Sibelius explores the fabled isle of the dead, Tuonela, located in the northernmost reaches of earth. Between this island and the land of the living flows a swift, black river where a mystical swan patrols the waters. Lemminkäinen is sent to kill the swan, but on his jouney he’s felled by an arrow cast by an angry shepherd. Sibelius represents the swan in an unforgettable, haunting melody played on the English horn. Swans were held in particularly high regard by Sibelius. He wrote of his spiritual connection to the noble bird: “Millions of years ago, in my previous incarnations, I must have been related to swans…I can still feel that affinity.” While not programmed in today’s concert, movement three, Lemminkäinen in Tuonela, begins with the shepherd who shot Lemminkäinen throwing the hero’s body into the river. Angry to hear of the attempted murder of the swan, the son of the king of the underworld chops Lemminkäinen’s body into very small pieces. Not to worry, however—Lemminkäinen’s grieving mother travels to Tuonela, gathers the pieces, and resurrects our hero for further adventures. In the final movement, Lemmingkäinen’s Return, our hero returns from battle and gets a true superhero welcome. Victorious and triumphant, Sibelius’s icy and noble music still dazzles us today.

Jean Sibelius: Finlandia, Op. 26

or the Finnish people, the hymn-like theme of Finlandia stirs feelings of deep patriotism. When Sibelius composed this work in 1889 Finland was under the control of the Russian Empire, which became increasingly authoritarian during the rule of Czar Nicholas II. Finnish nationalists sought greater freedom and ultimately independence. In support of these efforts, writers, artists, and composers created patriotic works of art celebrating the heritage, history, and struggles of the Finnish people. Finlandia was one of these works. The piece was an immediate success when it premiered at a covert demonstration advocating for a free and independent Finnish press. Originally titled “Finland Awakes,” it was quickly adopted as a musical rallying cry for political independence. Russian attempts to censor the work were thwarted by clever Finns, who disguised it on concert programs under titles like “Impromptu” or “Happy Feeling at the Awakening of the Finnish Spring.” Today Finlandia has become much more universal in its appeal, with several authors setting words to its main theme. English-speaking audiences may recognize Sibelius’s melody as the Christian hymn, “Be Still My Soul.”

Donald O. Johnston: Symphony No. 4 “Lewis & Clark” (Notes by Scott Billadeau)

Composer Donald O. Johnston has led a remarkable life. During the Korean War he was charged with creating special music for the 45th (Thunderbird) Division of the US Army. He received the Bronze Star for Meritorious Service for raising the morale of war weary troops through his music. After the Korean War, he returned to music composition studies with the Pulitzer Award winners Robert Mills Delaney, Bernard Rogers, and Howard Hanson. Johnston also served a noteworthy career as Professor of Music at The University of Montana from 1960 to 1993, where he taught composition, theory, and music literature.

The Lewis and Clark Symphony is a re-imagined version of Johnston’s Fourth Symphony. Scott Billadeau, a former student, perceived the Fourth as the musical representation of the famous Lewis and Clark Expedition which indeed did traverse within a stone’s throw of where Johnston composed the symphony. A meeting was arranged with Dr. Hal Stearns, historian, and noted expert regarding the Lewis and Clark journey. Stearns concurred and suggested several dramatic events captured by the music. When approached by Billadeau regarding a programmatic aspect to the Fourth Symphony, Johnston found the idea intriguing. With a few minor changes and addition of a coda, the composition has become The Lewis and Clark Symphony.

I. Bad River Confluence (Encountering the Lakota Sioux)

The Lakota brought various food and gifts to Lewis and Clark in September of 1804, and they listened to an opening speech from Clark the best they could, as the interpreter was less than fluent. It’s hard to say how well things were translated with respect to the proclamation that the Lakota now had a ‘new great father’, and that the heavily armed Lewis and Clark party represented a sovereign nation who wished to have peace with their tribe. The idea that a newly formed American government was now in charge did not sit well with Chief Black Buffalo. An altercation ensued and weapons were drawn. Black Buffalo announced that Lewis and Clark would not be allowed to continue up the Missouri river. This was followed by several days of trying to get along, which included several feasts, dancing, and showing each other various treasures and medicine chests. On the final day, as the Corps of Discovery gathered in their boats, tensions flared again. Women and children backed away from the river as bad blood coursed through everyone’s veins.

II. The Gates of the Mountains

In July of 1805, Meriwether Lewis guided his canoes into a long and winding deep canyon. He described the experience in his journal as “the most remarkable cliffs that we have yet seen.” They seemed to rise “from the water’s edge on either side perpendicularly to the height of 1200 ft -- the towering and projecting rocks in many places seem ready to tumble on us.” Indeed, the nearly straight up rock cliffs were quite ominous to pass through. There was nothing but water and rock as far as they could see. After they made their way further up the river, the rocky cliffs appeared to close shut, as if they had just passed through a magical kingdom that was now hidden from view.

III. Lost Trail Pass

After feeling like they had ventured out of their way to meet up with Sacajawea’s Shoshone tribe, Lewis and Clark were determined to take a more direct route to the north. By September of 1805, the weather was hinting of the harsh winter to come - and waking up to temperatures as low as 19 degrees. Movement forward was slow and grinding, temperatures were freezing cold with snow on the ground and a mix of snow and sleet in the air that squelched their visibility. It was a treacherous and travailing path with no end in sight. Journal entries hinted at feeling lost, and if there was a trail, it was uncertain and unkind. After days of misery and every last drop of warmth pulled from their bodies, they finally made their way to present day Lolo, Montana, and what has become known as “Travelers Rest.”

IV. Ocean! O! The Joy (Symphonic Coda)

One of the key missions of the Corps of Discovery was to find a Northwest Passage that would unite the Pacific Ocean with the Midwest. Once they reached the Rocky Mountain Divide, they knew a Northwest Passage did not exist. They were now paddling downstream rather than up - and after weeks of making their way down the present day Columbia River they noticed a marked change in the terrain. After climbing up to higher ground to camp, on November 7th, 1805 (nearly 18 months after the start of their journey from St. Louis), William Clark recorded in his journal “Ocian [sic] in View! O! the joy.”

John Williams: Superman March

Few tunes are as instantly iconic of superhuman-ism as John Williams’ music for Richard Donner’s 1978 film, Superman. It’s got a fanfare to die for, a march, and, of course, a lush love theme to remind us that even superheroes need a little romance. If you listen closely, you’ll notice that all three sections grow out of the melody first introduced in opening fanfare. A master of mirroring character transformations in sound, Williams communicates the noble, the heroic, and the romantic, all in his exploration of a single theme.