prélude west michigan symphony concert magazine scott speck / music director volume 3 // september 2013/June 2014
2013/2014 CONCERT SEASON AUDIO SPECTRUM: Rachmaninoff: Vocalise, Op. 34, No. 14 / Strauss: Thunder and Lightning Polka, Op. 324 / Kódaly: Dances of Galánta / Liszt: Piano Concerto no.1, S. 124, in E-Flat Major / Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra / Vienna Boys' Choir: Ava Maria / Baby It’s Cold Outside / The Nutcracker Suite / Sleigh Ride / O Holy Night / Bach: Concerto for Violin and Oboe, BWV 1060 / Haydn: Symphony no.94 in G Major / Schickele: Quartet for Clarinet, Violin, Cello and Piano / Prokofiev: Symphony no.1, Op. 25, in D Major / Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto, Op. 35, in D Major / Beethoven: Symphony no.2, Op. 36, in D Major / Martinů: Overture H. 345 / Kernis: Simple Songs / Mendelssohn: Symphony no.3 / Tchaikovsky: Hamlet: Fantasy Overture after Shakespeare, Op. 67 / Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43 / Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto no.2, Op. 18, in C minor / Martina McBride: Blessed / Carrie Underwood: Just a Dream
2013-2014 Concert Season Frauenthal Theater // Downtown Muskegon CIRQUE DE LA SYMPHONIE
BEETHOVEN AND BLUE JEANS
// Back by popular demand and bringing additional performers and more acts. A unique and elegant fusion, adapting the stunning artistry of cirque with the majesty of the West Michigan Symphony.
// David Schiff Stomp // Beethoven Symphony no.2 // Tchaikovsky Concerto for Violin Chee-Yun violin
7:30 pm SEPT 27 – 28 // Friday and Saturday
7:30 pm MAR 7 – 8 // Friday and Saturday
Tickets start at $32 // Student tickets* $15
Tickets start at $17 // Student tickets* $5
GYPSY FIRE
SIMPLE SONGS
// Kódaly Dances of Galánta // Liszt Piano Concerto no.1, Gabriela Martinez piano // Bartók Concerto for Orchestra
// Martinů Overture // Aaron Kernis Simple Songs Martha Guth Soprano // Mendelssohn Symphony no.3 – Scottish Symphony
7:30 pm NOV 1 – 2 // Friday and Saturday Tickets start at $17 // Student tickets* $5
7:30 pm APR 18 – 19 // Friday and Saturday Tickets start at $17 // Student tickets* $5
VIENNA BOYS' CHOIR
RUSSIAN RHAPSODY
// Internationally renowned, the Vienna Boys' Choir, a 24-member chorus, will perform a selection drawn from their repertoire of Austrian folk songs and waltzes, classical masterpieces, beloved pop songs, holiday favorites and medieval chant.
// Tchaikovsky Hamlet Overture // Rachmaninoff Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Yuri Rozum piano // Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto no.2 Yuri Rozum piano
7:30 pm NOV 21 // Thursday
7:30 pm MAY 16 – 17 // Friday and Saturday
Tickets start at $17 // Student tickets* $10
Tickets start at $17 // Student tickets* $5
SWINGIN’ HOLIDAY CELEBRATION
MUSIC CITY HITMAKERS
// Clyde Mitchell guest conductor // Teri Dale Hansen and Nat Chandler vocalists // Broadway stars Teri Dale Hansen and Nat Chandler join the West Michigan Symphony for a holiday show featuring traditional songs in a swinging style!
// Brett James, Hillary Lindsey and Gordie Sampson musicians/songwriters // Nashville’s hottest songwriters join the West Michigan Symphony to perform 18 Billboard #1 songs they composed for some of today’s most iconic stars.
7:30 pm DEC 13 – 14 // Friday and Saturday Tickets start at $20 // Student tickets* $10
7:30 pm JUNE 6 – 7 // Friday and Saturday Tickets start at $20 // Student tickets* $10
SURPRISE & CLASSICAL SYMPHONIES // Bach Concerto for Violin and Oboe Jennifer Walvoord violin and Gabriel Renteria oboe // Haydn Symphony no.94 “Surprise” // Schickele Quartet for Clarinet, Violin, Cello and Piano Vireo Ensemble // Prokofiev Classical Symphony 7:30 pm FEB 7 // Friday ONLY Tickets start at $17 // Student tickets* $5
For tickets and more information: westmichigansymphony.org 231.726.3231 x 223 360 W. Western Ave., Muskegon, MI Find us on Facebook at: facebook.com/wmsymphony *Student tickets not available online
What's Inside
MUSIC DIRECTOR Scott Speck ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF Carla Hill President/CEO Rhonda Bogner, CPA Director of Finance David Dressel Stage Manager Amanda Dykhouse Orchestra Librarian Cath Dubault Business Development Manager Perry Newson Director of Operations/Guest Artists Keely Payne Art Director/Marketing Coordinator Gabe Slimko VP of Operations/Orchestra Personnel Manager Rita Smith Patron Services Manager/Tickets Karen Vander Zanden Director of Education and Outreach WEST MICHIGAN YOUTH SYMPHONY Daniel M. Meyers WMYS Music Director/Conductor Annette Henry Debut Strings Conductor Gabe Slimko WMYS Operations Manager WEST MICHIGAN SYMPHONY CHILDREN'S CHOIR
3 5 6 7 8 10 15 16 18 20 24 26 28 32 38 42 46 48
Message from the Music Director About Scott Speck Board of Directors Orchestra Personnel About the Orchestra Contributors New Education Programs Welcome. To. The Block. P.1 / Cirque de la Symphonie M.1 / Gypsy Fire Vienna Boys' Choir P.2 / Swingin' Holiday Celebration M.2 / Surprise and Classical Symphonies M.3 / Beethoven and Blue Jeans M.4 / Simple Songs M.5 / Russian Rhapsody P.3 / Music City Hitmakers Advertisers
Beth Slimko Music Director/Conductor Karen Vander Zanden Choir Manager The West Michigan Symphony is an Equal Opportunity Employer and provides programs and services without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex or disability. Programs are funded in part by a grant from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs with the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts.
THEATER RULES/ETIQUETTE :: Latecomers will be seated by the ushers at a suitable pause in the program. :: Cameras and recording equipment are strictly prohibited. :: No food or drink allowed in the hall during the performance. :: Wireless headsets are available in the lobby for hearing impaired patrons.
TICKET OFFICE // 231.726.3231 x223 360 W. Western Avenue, Muskegon, MI 49440 Monday – Thursday, 10 am – 5:30 pm Friday (week of concert) 10 am – 5 pm Online at westmichigansymphony.org FIND US ONLINE Website: westmichigansymphony.org Facebook: facebook.com/wmsymphony Facebook: facebook.com/AtTheBlock Twitter: twitter.com/westmisymphony West Michigan Symphony 360 W. Western Avenue, Suite 200, Muskegon, MI 49440 p: 231.726.3231 e: info@westmichigansymphony.org Symphony concert tickets are also available at startickets.com, 800-585-3737
:: Quiet, please! We respectfully request that all signal watches, cell phones, paging devices and such be turned off before entering the hall. Patrons wearing hearing aids should be aware that such devices are sensitive to pitch and may transmit a shrill tone. The wearer often is not conscious of this and nearby patrons may wish to alert them discreetly if this happens. We appreciate your cooperation in helping to make our concerts as enjoyable as possible for everyone. Thank you to tonight’s ushers—volunteers courtesy of Friends of the Frauenthal.
PROGRAM NOTES All program notes by: Joseph & Elizabeth Kahn www.wordprosmusic.com All sales are final. Dates, artists and programs are subject to change.
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2 :: West Michigan Symphony Concert Program
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A Message from Scott DEAR FRIENDS, Do you know what really excites me the most about this season of the West Michigan Symphony? You might say the guest artists—like Cirque de la Symphonie, back by overwhelming demand with a completely new program. Or Gabriela Martinez, who raises the roof with Liszt’s piano concerto. Or the incredibly talented violinist Chee-Yun, who joins us at the Frauenthal for the first time. Or our own Concertmaster and Principal Oboe, Jenny Walvoord and Gabriel Renteria, who take center stage for a Bach concerto. Or the great Yuri Rozum, who closes our season with not one but TWO great Russian piano concertos.
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Or you might say the music—well-known masterpieces like Beethoven’s Second, Haydn’s Surprise Symphony, Prokofiev’s Classical Symphony, Mendelssohn’s Scottish Symphony, the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto, and Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra. Or you might say the works we're presenting by living composers —like the glorious and transcendent Simple Songs of Aaron Jay Kernis, or David Schiff’s dynamic tribute to James Brown, Stomp. Or you might say the orchestra itself—the magnificent musicians of the West Michigan Symphony, who pour their hearts into everything they play. And you’d be right. But what excites me the MOST is something else. What really excites me about this season is that you are here to experience it. We created our season to move you, to electrify you, to speak (and listen) to you, to bring you to new heights of musical and emotional exhilaration. The West Michigan Symphony is nothing without you. Thanks for being here.
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Volume 3//September 2013 – June 2014 :: 3
EDGES. IN TENSION. AT THE BLOCK. 360 W. Western Ave, 2nd Floor For tickets and info westmichigansymphony.org facebook.com/AtTheBlock 231.726.3231
Helix Collective “World Dance Club: The First Classical Dance Party!”
Gaudete Brass Quintet
Chee-Yun violin
The Chicago-based Gaudete Brass Quintet is an outstanding young group bringing fresh ideas to brass chamber music. Gaudete is expanding the brass quintet repertoire by commissioning new works from modern composers as well as performing historically informed Renaissance music.
Violinist Chee-Yun’s flawless technique, dazzling tone and compelling artistry have enraptured audiences on five continents. Charming, charismatic and deeply passionate about her art, Chee-Yun continues to carve a unique place for herself in the ever-evolving world of classical music.
Friday, November 15 7:30 pm
Sunday, March 9 3 pm
Kathleen Supové piano/performance artist
Teri Dale Hansen soprano
Andrew Spencer percussionist
Kathleen Supové is one of America’s most acclaimed and versatile contemporary music pianists, known for continually redefining what it means to be keyboardist and performance artist in today’s world.
Andrew Spencer, former WMS principal timpani, is planning a concert that features interactive computer programming including a new work for five cardboard boxes and a Homeric ode recited while accompanied by four terra cotta pots.
Friday, October 18 7:30 pm
From Opera to Broadway, Teri Hansen has received International recognition for her crossover abilities as a singing actress and is internationally recognized as an interpreter of Kurt Weill. “More vocal talent than anywhere in New York, Miss Hansen should be highly sought after.” New York Times
Neil Jacobs 12-string guitar
Ion Trio piano, violin and cello
Martha Guth soprano
Neil Jacobs performs an exotic hybrid of gypsy jazz, flamenco and Eastern European folk that allows his music to sound like everything from a guitar to a symphony orchestra.
WMS cellist Igor Cerkovic, WMS violinist Oleg Bezuglov and pianist Natalia Beuglova performing Tchaikovsky’s Piano Trio in A minor, Op. 50 and the Shostakovich Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor, Op. 67. Saturday, January 18 7:30 pm
Canadian soprano Martha Guth is internationally known for her interpretations in Art Song, Oratorio and Opera. Martha says “Classical Song is my passion. What fascinates me is the unique ability of a song to create a world in miniature, and what keeps me inspired is a love of collaboration.”
Gabriela Martinez piano
Vireo Ensemble and Guests “Café Music”
Yuri Rozum piano
The New York Times calls her “compelling, elegant, and incisive.” Venezuelan pianist Gabriela “Gabby” Martinez is quickly establishing a reputation and earning praise as a versatile artist and has already amassed an impressive list of recital, concerto and chamber music performance credits.
The Vireo Ensemble, founded by WMS principal clarinet Jonathan Holden, performs a program of Café Music that is evocative of popular music styles, mostly American, and including jazz, cabaret, ragtime, bebop and rock and roll.
Pianist Yuri Rozum will bring down the house with a solo concert that is certain to include some of his favorite composers: Shostakovitch, Tchaikovsky, Chopin and Scriabin. A favorite among West Michigan audiences, Yuri always delivers a riveting and powerful performance.
WMS principal English horn Phil Popham and his Los Angelesbased ensemble Helix Collective present their World Dance Club of Bollywood, Renaissance, salsa, klezmer, bluegrass and rock. This show will have you dancing, singing and clapping along to dances from around the world. Saturday, October 12 7:30 pm
Saturday, October 26 7:30 pm
Sunday, November 3 pm 4 :: West Michigan3Symphony Concert Program
Sunday, December 15 3 pm
Saturday, February 8 7:30 pm
Saturday, March 15 7:30 pm
Wednesday, April 16 7:30 pm
Sunday, May 18 4 pm
Scott Speck, Music Director
Photo by JD Hage, Green Frog Photo
Scott Speck has inspired international acclaim as a conductor of passion, intelligence and winning personality. He is now in his eleventh year as Music Director of the West Michigan Symphony and is also the Music Director of the Mobile Symphony and Principal Conductor for the Joffrey Ballet. He was recently named Artistic Director of the Chicago Philharmonic Society; and he was invited to the White House as Music Director of the Washington Ballet. In recent seasons Scott Speck has conducted at London’s Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, the Paris Opera, Washington’s Kennedy Center, San Francisco’s War Memorial Opera House, and the Los Angeles Music Center. He has led numerous performances with the symphony orchestras of Baltimore, Houston, Chicago (Sinfonietta), Paris, Moscow, Shanghai, Beijing, Vancouver, Romania, Slovakia, Buffalo, Columbus (OH), Honolulu, Louisville, New Orleans, Oregon, Rochester, Florida and Virginia, among many others. Previously he held positions as Conductor of the San Francisco Ballet (1998 to 2002); Music Advisor and Conductor of the Honolulu Symphony; and Associate Conductor of the Los Angeles Opera. During a recent tour of Asia he was named Principal Guest Conductor of the China Film Philharmonic in Beijing. In addition, Scott Speck is the co-author of two of the world’s bestselling books on classical music for a popular audience, Classical Music for Dummies and Opera for Dummies. These books have received stellar reviews in both the national and international press
and have garnered enthusiastic endorsements from major American orchestras. They have been translated into twenty languages and are available around the world. His third book in the series, Ballet for Dummies, was released in September 2003. Scott Speck has been a regular commentator on National Public Radio, the BBC, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and Voice of Russia, broadcast throughout the world. His writing has been featured in numerous magazines and journals.
Scott Speck is a great communicator of classical music. He exudes his passion for music in every gesture and every word. —David Styers, American Symphony Orchestra League
Born in Boston, Scott Speck graduated summa cum laude from Yale University. There he founded and directed the Berkeley Chamber Orchestra, which continues to perform to this day. He was a Fulbright Scholar in Berlin, where he founded Concerto Grosso Berlin, an orchestra dedicated to the performances of Baroque and Classical music in a historically informed style. He received his Master’s Degree with highest honors from the University of Southern California, served as a Conducting Fellow at the Aspen School of Music, and studied at the Tanglewood Music Center. He is fluent in English, German and French, has a diploma in Italian, speaks Spanish and has a reading knowledge of Russian. Volume 3//September 2013 – June 2014 :: 5
2013/2014 Board of Directors The Board of Directors of the West Michigan Symphony is an active and involved group that takes its fiduciary and oversight responsibilities very seriously. The Board is made up of business and community leaders and volunteers from throughout the communities served by the WMS. Board members actively participate in committees that are involved in all aspects of the organization. Susan Bissell Chair
Ken Hoopes
Teresa Stevens
David F. Gerdes Secretary and Past Chair
Bari S. Johnson
Zinnie Stille
Thomas S. Jones
Nancy Summers-Meeusen
Tom Ladd Treasurer
Michael Olthoff
David E. Waterstradt
Deborah L. Brown
Alan Steinman
MORE THAN JUST A THEATER Imagine treating your guests to a piece of Muskegon’s history by hosting your event in our unique and versatile venue. BANQUET AREAS • MEETING ROOMS SPACIOUS HALLS LARGE & SMALL THEATER TO RENT A SPACE CALL 231.332.4103 www.frauenthal.org
W
hen all
the music
has been played,
and the baton lies motionless on the stand,
A Letter from the Board Chair WELCOME FRIENDS, It takes a community to build an orchestra. The brilliant performances that we enjoy today under the direction of Scott Speck were made possible through many years of work on behalf of dedicated volunteers, superb musicians and capable staff working behind the scenes. In addition, the support of subscribers and ticket holders, concert and guest artist sponsors, corporate donors, business partners, and individuals make West Michigan Symphony what it is today. It is very exciting to consider the impact of this fine collaboration. You might be interested to know that in addition to the cost of a ticket, another $28 per person is spent when attending classical and pops concerts in the Frauenthal—that's over $500,000 to the local economy in ancillary spending. Not only that, but of the Symphony's budget of approximately $1,000,000, over 90% stays in West Michigan! The West Michigan Symphony has been actively enlarging its web and social media presence. Online you can find the schedule of concerts, for both the WMS and The Block, special upcoming events, program and audio notes for our Masterworks concerts, and information on our many education and community programs, including the new WMS Children's Choir and a family series of interactive concerts called “Click Clack Moosic.” Follow the WMS and The Block on facebook (facebook.com/wmsymphony and facebook.com/AtTheBlock) and twitter (twitter.com/westmisymphony) for the latest information. Thank you, dear friends, for all of your support. I invite you to continue your generous involvement so that we may enjoy the best music in our community. Sincerely, Susan Bissell Board Chair
what’s remembered most is the song that remains in the heart forever.
~ Since 1929 ~
6 :: West Michigan Symphony Concert Program
2013/2014 West Michigan Symphony Personnel FIRST VIOLIN Jennifer Walvoord Concertmaster Gene Hahn Assc. Concertmaster Jacie Robinson Asst. Concertmaster Adam Liebert Asst. Principal Oleg Bezuglov Ruth Carlson Jennifer Kotchenruther Joo Yun Preece Oxana Sourine Carla Joy Strand Delia Turner SECOND VIOLIN Amanda Dykhouse Principal Mark Portolese Assc. Principal Vitezslav Cernoch Francine Harris Sarah Hedlund Karen-Jane Henry Natalie Hockamier Britta Bujak Portenga Carol Wildgen Tatiana Zueva VIOLA Leanne King MacDonald Co-Principal Leonid Sourine Co-Principal Mikhail Bugaev Lauren Garza Evgeny Gorbstov Antione Hackney Jon McNurlen Sara Rogers
CELLO Alicia Gregorian Sawyers Principal Igor Cetkovic Assc. Principal Dessislava Nenova Asst. Principal Lee Copenhaver Tina Horrigan Chi-Hui Kao Calin Muresan Daniel Tressel BASS Michael Crawford Principal Michael Hovnanian Assc. Prinicpal Robert Johnson Spencer Phillips FLUTE Jill Marie Brown Principal Jodi Dyer Leslie Graham Piccolo OBOE Gabriel Renteria Principal Xiomara Mass Phil Popham English horn CLARINET Jonathan Holden Principal Stephanie Hovnanian Lisa Raschiatore Bass clarinet BASSOON Vincent Karamanov Principal Open Position 2nd Bassoon
HORN Erin Lano Principal (Leave of Absence) Greg Bassett Lisa Honeycutt Assc. Principal Leah Brockman TRUMPET Pamela Smitter Principal Bill Baxtresser Kevin Vos TROMBONE Edward Hickman Principal Joe Radtke Bryan Pokorney Bass trombone (Leave of Absence) Scott Grupke Interim Bass trombone TUBA Clinton McCanless Principal TIMPANI Open Position Principal PERCUSSION Matthew Beck Principal Gary Donald Eric Jones HARP Sylvia Norris Principal PIANO/CELESTE Kelly Karamanov Principal
Changing Lives
Helping people through the train for, find, and Power of Work keep good jobs.
www.goodwillwm.org Volume 3//September 2013 – June 2014 :: 7
About the West Michigan Symphony
Photo by Andrew Le Images April 16 – 17, 2010: “Water Music: Experience the Lake Effect” The West Michigan Symphony at the Frauenthal Center for the Performing Arts in Muskegon, MI
Music Director Scott Speck
EVERY ORCHESTRA TELLS ITS OWN STORY The West Michigan Symphony (WMS) is a widely recognized professional orchestra and proud to be a leader in West Michigan’s cultural community for the past 74 years. Mr. A. M. Courtright, a Muskegon Heights teacher, and Mr. Palmer Quackenbush are credited with early pioneering efforts to provide Muskegon with a symphony orchestra. In November 1938 a musical group of 40 members presented its first concert with Mr. Quackenbush conducting and Mr. Courtright assisting. The group incorporated the following year and elected its first Board of Directors. Performances were initially held in area schools, eventually moving into downtown Muskegon’s historic Frauenthal Theater. Conductors have included Tauno Hannikainen, Hugo Kolberg, Wayne Dunlap, Lyman Starr, John Wheeler, Philip Greenberg, Murray Gross, and current Music Director Scott Speck. Today the West Michigan Symphony presents eight pairs of subscription concerts (five classical and three pops) in the historic Frauenthal Theater. The WMS is made up of musicians of the highest caliber playing extremely challenging repertoire and we present some of the world’s most talented guest artists. Built in 1929, the 1724 seat theater has undergone a $7.5 million renovation that restored it to its original Spanish Renaissance splendor while also creating a spacious modern lobby linking the Frauenthal with the adjacent 180 seat Beardsley Theatre. With its extraordinary beauty, excellent acoustics and sight lines, the Frauenthal Theater is praised by artists and audiences alike. With the prime location of its performance hall in the Frauenthal Center for the Performing Arts at the intersection of downtown Muskegon’s Western Avenue and Third Street, the West Michigan Symphony is proud to be a key player in this period of renaissance that will bring a renewed vitality and life to the center of the city. 8 :: West Michigan Symphony Concert Program
On May 15, 2013, the West Michigan Symphony moved into its new headquarters on the second floor at 360 W. Western Avenue and ushered in a new era of music making. The Block concert space adjacent to the offices is 1,800 square-feet plus a lounge and dressing room area. This intimate concert and education space with flexible seating for up to 150 features a small balcony, windows facing Muskegon Lake, and a future outdoor deck. The Block will also be a used for WMS educational programs including Debut Strings for budding string players and the newly formed WMS Children’s Choir. The new facility allows WMS to increase its presence in downtown Muskegon by expanding its ticket operations on the first floor and presenting over 16 Block concerts in the first year, welcoming artists in genres from classical to cabaret to alternative. OUR MUSICIANS At the heart of the West Michigan Symphony are our musicians and for the majority of them, music is their livelihood. When they aren’t practicing, rehearsing or performing a classical or pops concert with the WMS, many of them are practicing, rehearsing
and performing with orchestras throughout West Michigan including those in Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Midland, Battle Creek, Holland and Traverse City. With advanced degrees in performance and a commitment to symphonic music, you will find many of our musicians on the music faculties of major Michigan universities, teaching privately, giving recitals, and playing with fellow musicians in small ensembles. OUR EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMS With the belief that arts education is a key ingredient for development of life skills and is essential toward creating a vibrant community, the West Michigan Symphony is committed to offering a wide array of education programs for school children, as well as a variety of activities and concert presentations for children and their families. In collaboration with Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute, the West Michigan Symphony is participating in its tenth year presenting the Link Up program. Link Up pairs orchestras across the country with schools in their local communities inviting them to learn about orchestral repertoire through a year-long, hands-on music curriculum. Each year, students explore a core musical concept in one of three distinct curricula, such as rhythm in The Orchestra Rocks, melody in The Orchestra Sings, and melodic motifs in The Orchestra Moves. Utilizing materials provided free to the schools, teachers guide students in exploring music through a composer’s lens. Students participate in active music making in the classroom, perform repertoire on recorder, violin, voice, or body percussion and take part in creative work such as composing their own pieces inspired by the orchestral music they have studied.
the region at elementary schools, community events, and as an occasional preconcert activity for youth and families attending a WMS concert. The WMS education department has worked collaboratively with the Muskegon Museum of Art’s Super Saturday programs and a new one-day program in 2011 called “Follow Your Art Day.” This one-day event for middle school students provided a variety of art experience with each student participating in three of the 10 artist workshops offered and included a tour of the MMA and a performance by the West Michigan Youth Symphony. Under the direction of Daniel M. Meyers, the West Michigan Youth Symphony is comprised of young musicians from throughout West Michigan. Representing fifteen schools and several home schooled students, the Youth Symphony brings together the most talented young musicians in the region for weekly rehearsals, two annual concerts, and other community events. The WMYS provides young musicians with challenging orchestral performance experiences that complement school music programs. The WMYS is committed to nurturing the talents of their members while offering them a unique opportunity to grow in their musicianship. The WMYS became part the WMS family in 2009. Music Director Scott Speck and WMS musicians frequently assist the WMYS in sectional rehearsals and clinics.<<
Students reacting as confetti falls from the air to end the Link Up program at the Frauenthal Center for the Performing Arts 2013 Instrument Petting Zoo at WMS summer concert, Mill Point Park, Spring Lake, MI 2012
The culmination of this year's program is a live performance in the Frauenthal on May 7, 2014 where over 4,000 students from 50 elementary schools in a five county region of West Michigan will sing and play the recorder along with the Symphony in an hour-long concert. This performance provides them with an opportunity to apply the musical concepts they have studied. Other education programs include the very successful Instrument Petting Zoo that provides a hands-on experience at creating sounds on musical instruments. This program is offered throughout Volume 3//September 2013 – June 2014 :: 9
Contributors Contributors listed here made gifts from September 1, 2012, through September 1, 2013. We have given careful attention to ensure a complete and accurate list. If your name has been misspelled or omitted, please accept our apologies and inform us of the error by calling 231.726.3231 x223.
Sustaining Fund The generosity of numerous individuals, corporations and foundations of the Sustaining Fund has been instrumental in advancing the artistry and musical excellence of the West Michigan Symphony. We extend our deepest appreciation to you for helping to make the West Michigan Symphony a cultural touchstone in our community. The Olthoff Challenge Match announced May 21, 2011, matched new and increased gifts/pledges to the West Michigan Symphony on a dollar-for-dollar basis up to the first $50,000 each year for three years. Crescendo Club members have pledged an increase or new gift of at least $1,000 each year for three years. +Denotes Crescendo Club Members of the Olthoff Challenge Match ++Denotes Olthoff Challenge Match *Denotes a fund of the Community Foundation for Muskegon County **Denotes a fund of the Grand Haven Area Community Foundation
DONORS Golden Baton: $10,000 & up Pat & Julie Donahue+ Larry & Lari Hines+ Charles Johnson II+ Mike & Kay Olthoff Concertmaster Circle: $4,000-$7,999 Jon & Jane Blyth+ Jan & Christine Deur+ Ronald & Shirley Gossett+ Douglas & Janet Hoch+ Bari Johnson+ Steve & Kathy Ongert+ Kenneth & Sheila Reinecke+ Peter M. Turner+ Orchestra Circle: $1,500-$3,999 Roger A. & Marilyn V. Andersen*+ William & Susan Bissell+ Dr. Harold E. Bowman++ Sherry & Pete Brown+ Marti Driscoll++ Cathleen & Robert A. Dubault++ William & Mary Lou Eyke Julia Norris Fugate David Gerdes & Carolyn Smith-Gerdes+ Martha Giacobassi Carla Hill++ Kenneth & Maria Hoopes+ Paul & Karen Jackson+ Tom & Diane Jones++ Dr. & Mrs. Thomas Kelso+ Robert & Wendy Kersman Paul & Barbara Kidd+ Daniel & Sheryl Kuznar Clara Lang+ Cathy & Bruce Martin+ 10 :: West Michigan Symphony Concert Program
John & Jessie Martin+ Gary Neal & Chris McGuigan+ Richard & Nancy Morgenstern+ Barbara J. Murphy+ Joanna & Fred Norris Anonymous++ William L. "Bill" Rogers++ John Saling matched in part by Emerson Michael & Corina Soimar Mort & Gayle Speck+ in honor of Scott Speck Alan & Annoesjka Steinman+ Ken & Teresa Stevens+ Ann & Dan Tabor+ Thomas & Elizabeth Tuttle+ Jim & Kristine Tyler Norna Verplank Judy Wilcox+ Benefactor: $700-$1,499 Dr. Robert & Cindy Ackerman++ Charles & Gloria Alstrom++ Jane Bradbury Michael Cerminaro, DDS & Connie Verhagen, DDS Curtis Chambers Bill & Barbara Harris Dr. Tom & Heidi Hill Charles & Janet Hook Pat Hunt++ Warren E. Hutchins Amy Klop++ Tom & Jennifer Ladd++ Katherine Maitner Ryan & Melissa Myers Steve & Debbie Olsen David & Nancy Sietsema
Gabe & Beth Slimko++ Jack & Becky Slimko Scott Speck Leon & Dzintra Stille++ Nancy Summers-Meeusen++ John & Peggy Whitlock Patron: $400-$699 Debbie Barkett Herb & Anne Bevelhymer Gordon & Mary Buitendorp Norman & Maureen Campbell Dr. Paul & Nancy Christie Dr. Mark & Kristina Clark Dr. Donald & Nancy Crandall Dr. & Mrs. David Deitrick Eugene & Karen Fethke Carol Folkert Robert & Clara Harrell Bill Hendrick John L. & Linda P. Hilt Advised Fund* Barbara & Hugh Hornstein Wilda James David Jespersen Pat & Tom Johnson Louis Jorissen Ruth & Bob Keessen Kent & Charlotte Krive Dr. Steven & Sherry Lessens Joe & Lila Manhart Charles Matthews John & Linda McKendry Mark & Bonnie Meengs Jeanne S. Moffett Hester P. Newton Fred & Linda Nicles++ Dr. & Mrs. Richard W. Peters Sally Peterson
David E. & Georganna Rice++ Dr. Patricia Roy & Paul Roy Helen & Jay Smith Rita Smith++ Dr. F. Remington & Ginny Sprague Susan & Stephen Struck David & Linda Taylor Mary Towner++ Gary & Vicki Verplank Dan & Nancy Weller Jolee Wennersten Sponsor: $200-$399 Chris Adams Mike Cramer & Courtney Albers Jim & Shirley Meeks Douglas Bard Dale & Pauline Barker David & Barbara Bloomfield Mary & Bob Boyer Ardythe Bulthouse Donald & Jocelyn Bussies matched by Steelecase Foundation Joyce Carpenter Ruth Clark Lee & Darlene Collet Jane Connell & Steven Rosen Mary & Gust Danigelis Janet B. Day Terry & Sandi DeGroot Hon. & Mrs. Graydon Dimkoff Bruce & Esther Drukker Joel & Linda Engel Jerry Engle Jean Enright Fran F. Fisher Robert & Sue Fles Tom & Janet Fortenbacher Bob & Heather Garretson Barbara Gauthier Donald & Betty Goodman Marjorie Gorajec Bill & Marge Gustafson Bill & Ellen Hanichen Marjorie K. Harrison Klemm & Donna Harvey Thomas & Rita Higgins William & Nancy Hohmeyer Micaela S. Iovine++ Linda Jabas matched by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Robert Johnston++ Dr. Mort & Maxine Kantor Joan Leder Sandy Majeski Tom & Angela Maloy++ Paul & Winnie McNergney Mary A. Miesle William & Mary Ellen Miller Robert & Susan Mixer++
Carol Morell Rick Murak Greg & Rhonda Myers Ed & Ginevra Naill Peter & Carol Payne Gay C. Petersen Roy & Britta Bujak Portenga Hack & Joan Ramseyer Gary & Pennie Robertson Grace Romzick Rick & Ruth Saukas Michael & Debby Schubert Sue Schuiteman Jay & Joanne Sikkenga Robert Slager & Hazel Whittaker George & Dottie Strabel Frank & RenĂŠ Sundquist Dr. & Mrs. John L.Tevebaugh Carol Parker Thompson John & Judy Tierney++ Tom & Pat Trombly Tom & Liz Trzaska Nancy & Bruce Walborn Bill & Shirley Walther Russell Winsemius George & Doris Worden Jane Wright Morris & Marjorie Younts Sustaining Member: $75-$199 Ronald & Nancy Anderson Ralph Askam Bruce & Christine Baker Bruce & Paula Baker Beth & Ed Baldwin George Barnes Sandy & Allen Beck Carroll & Dorothy Bennink Jo & Jim Bidle Jan Blakkan Glada Blanchette Orel A. Borgeson Janet Briegel Sandy Brown Carl & Emma Butenas Susan & Jon Chesney Bob & Charlotte Chessman George & Deborah Chmelar Rudy & Pat Chmelar Julie & Ron Cornetet Bill & Carol Cross Russ & Sandra Cross David & Marie Culver Ed DeJong & Diane VanWesep Agnes Derks Lila DeYoung Norma DeYoung Karen & Herb Driver Dennis & Barbara Dryer Doris Ducey
Amanda & Gregory Dykhouse Robert & Jackie Engel Harold & Mary Englund Robert & Ann Erler Charles Fisher Dale & Bridget Fox Keith & Deb Gardner James & Susan Geisler Judi Glass in honor of Mr. & Mrs. Robert Kersman Michael & Bonnie Gluhanich Mary Anne Gorman Dr. Josephine H. Grieve Bob & Eileen Grunstra Revs. Gerald & Susan Hagans Helga E. Hamm Gary & Anita Hasper Carolyn & Paul Heckle Dr. & Mrs. James Hegedus Isobel Herbert Patricia Hesling John & Terry Hoekstra Joan & Sam Hollar Connie Holley Bruce & Donna Hood John & Mary Jamieson Don & Penny Johnson Marti VanWyck Johnson Ted & Nancy Johnson William & Jeanne Karis David & Loretta Kasprzyk Jack & Joanne Kelley Kevin & Bonnie Kellogg Robert & Norann Kelly Randy & Debra Knapp++ Bruce & Mary Krueger Pete & Mimi Kunz Calvin & Jane Lane Bob & Pam Lascko Phyllis Laurin Lloyd & Mildred Lindland Gene & Laura Logan Mary Lombard Bill & Mary Lou Maher Clarke Manning Marlene Marcinkowski David & Julia Marckini Dr. Deborah Margules Cindy Mazurek Garry & Julie Mc Keen David & Carol McLeod Ruth Mehall Alice Michaud Patrick & Sheila Miller Judith Minty Phyllis Monte John S. & Carol J. Moran Richard & Doris Morgan David Nancarrow Kathy Neff Volume 3//September 2013 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; June 2014 :: 11
Contributors Kathryn L. Neumann Ronald & Bonnie Nyenhuis Amy Oak & Barb Pitcher Merilee & Kenneth Otto Thomas Pascoe & Jean Stein John & Virginia Pastoor Dale & Jane Ann Peterson David & Beth Pickard Irene Pierson Russell & Margaret Price Bruce & Shirley Privacky Jim & Joanne Query Susan Rehrer Phyllis M. Risk Bruce & Judy Rollston Karl & Barbara Rowe Family Arthur G. Rudd, CPA Timothy & Marilyn Ryan Jill Sanders Gwynne & Steve Schoff Robert N. & Merle N. Scolnik Advised Fund* Paul & Nancy Seites Jocelyn Shaw Glenn Sheathelm Harrison & Charlynne Sikkenga Linda Slade Dar Smith Hayden Smith Vivian Sorden David & Kathryn Spitler Ken & Teresa Stevens Bill Papo & Julie Stewart Clifford & Lucia Storr Robert & Wanda Suits Howard & Marilyn Swanson Dr. Dwight Zulauf & Mrs. Wilma Jeanne Swartz-Zulauf James & MaryAnn Thelen Tom & Kathy Tosa Marge & Richard Tourre Roger & Rebecca Tuuk James & Lynn Van Sickle Virginia Gay Van Vleck Dr. Paul Voss John & Judith Waanders Paul & Lois Wagenmaker John & Kathryn Walson Brian & Debra Walters Sue Wierengo Marilyn L. Wikman Brewster & Mary Ellen Willcox Joe & Cindy Wolff John & Carol Workman Bill Wright & Marcia Hovey-Wright Mary & Robert Wygant
Louise Yonkers Robert & Joanne Zayko
Corporate, Art Council & Foundation Donors $50,000+ Nichols $25,000-$49,999 Hines Corporation $15,000-$24,999 Community Foundation for Muskegon County Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs $7,500-$14,999 Harbor Steel, Inc. Howmet Community Fund* Rehmann $5,000-$7,499 JSJ Foundation Meijer, Inc. Smith Haughey Rice & Roegge Warner Norcross & Judd, LLP Brooks Wheeler Estate $1,000-$4,999 American Grease Stick Co. WMS Past Presidents Club Marcia D'Oyly Valerie Eggert David Gerdes Ronald Gossett David Hogan Pat Hunt Wendy Kersman Jo Ann Landman Clara Lang John McKendry Deb Newson Fred Norris Mike & Kay Olthoff Sylvia Precious Chip Sawyer Ann Tabor Peter M. Turner Rebecca Veltman John Whitlock Jane Wright
+Denotes Crescendo Club Members of the Olthoff Challenge Match ++Denotes Olthoff Challenge Match *Denotes a fund of the Community Foundation for Muskegon County **Denotes a fund of the Grand Haven Area Community Foundation 12 :: West Michigan Symphony Concert Program
Up to $999 Consumers Energy CWC Textron, Inc. A.J. Flogge Performing Arts Fund* Hooker DeJong, Inc. Nichols in memory of George & Donna Cayo Sabo Public Relations, LLC Sun Chemical Samuel L. Westerman Foundation Matching Companies Emerson Steelcase Foundation Thrivent Financial for Lutherans
Endowment Fund Thank you to the following individuals who made gifts to our endowment fund. Gifts to the fund, managed by the Community Foundation for Muskegon County, can be made by gifts of cash, securities or property, will or trust, or a gift of life insurance. Dr. & Mrs. John Cress In memory of Mary Ann Askam Thomas & Rita Higgins Hester P. Newton
West Michigan Youth Symphony $1,000+ Billie Klont Greinke Memorial Fund* $500-$999 Richard & Nancy Morgenstern $300-$499 Eugene & Karen Fethke Martha Giacobassi Carla Hill $200-$299 Pat & Julie Donahue Ralph & Jennifer Fisher Ryan & Melissa Myers Joanna & Fred Norris Mike & Kay Olthoff Jack & Becky Slimko
Scott Speck George & Patricia Van Epps
West Michigan Symphony Children's Choir
$100-$199 Alpha Delta Kappa Tom & Diane Jones Daniel & Melissa Meyers Family Barbara J. Murphy Jennie Naffie & Richard Oman Nancy K. Poppen Fine Arts Program Chip & Sue Sawyer
Anonymous Psalm 1:3 Fund*
Up to $99 Mary Fisher Cronenwett Jeff & Gail Hall Joe & Lila Manhart Tom & Liz Trzaska
Link Up Sponsors $5,000-$9,999 DTE Energy Foundation Alyce R. Erickson Foundation** J. Christopher & Mary Eyke Fremont Area Community Foundation Mary Ann Sherwood Fund** Women's Division Chamber of Commerce $1,000-$4,999 Comerica Bank Hines Corporation Paul A. Johnson Foundation Muskegon Rotary* Nichols Mike & Kay Olthoff Mary Payne In memory of David A. West Samuel L. Westerman Foundation Up to $999 Bill & Carol Cross Dr. & Mrs. David Deitrick Pat & Julie Donahue Jean Enright Alexandria Fricano Martha Giacobassi Margot Haynes Randy & Debra Knapp Garry & Charlotte Olson Susan & Stephen Struck John & Peggy Whitlock Judy Wilcox Jane Wright
Business Partners Program The Business Partners Program was developed specifically for small- to medium-sized businesses who want to reach a targeted audience while making the most of their advertising/marketing dollars. The Program makes smart business sense when you consider the 18,000 Symphony patrons who will become better acquainted with your business through the pages of prélude, our concert program magazine. $1,500 Shoreline Insurance Agency $500 Annis Water Resources Institute McCroskey Law Witt Buick
The Block Underwriters NEW THIS YEAR: Become an underwriter of the concerts at The Block, our new intimate performance space at 360 W. Western Avenue, in the heart of a revitalizing downtown Muskegon, and only a half block from the Frauenthal Theater. A $2,500 donation gives your company recognition as a season-long underwriter of the inaugural season at The Block. Underwriters Grand Valley State University Nichols Smith Haughey Rice & Roegge
PLAN YOUR LEGACY WITH YOUR WILL OR TRUST You have worked hard to accumulate assets throughout your life, but without a valid will or trust at your death, those assets will be distributed according to state law. Wouldn’t you rather determine that yourself? Including a bequest in your will or trust to a charitable organization such as the West Michigan Symphony may be the best way to make a meaningful gift in the future. For more information on the ways to make a charitable bequest in your will or trust, simply call Carla Hill, President/CEO, at 231.928.5731 or visit with your estate planning attorney today.
Volume 3//September 2013 – June 2014 :: 13
Contributors Capital Campaign A very special thank you to our many Capital Campaign donors for making our vision for the West Michigan Symphony a reality! Please visit us at 360 W. Western Avenue in downtown Muskegon. Our patron-friendly ticket office is on the first floor and our administrative offices are on the second floor. Also on the second floor is our new intimate concert space, The Block... a simple, accessible, inspirational space where honest music can happen... not to you, but with you. DONORS $50,000 & up Mike & Kay Olthoff $25,000-$49,999 Roger & Marilyn Andersen and Barbara & Donald Bolling in memory of Eunice & Arnold Andersen Community Foundation for Muskegon County Larry & Lari Hines Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs $15,000-$24,999 Alcoa Howmet Corporation Grand Haven Area Community Foundation Douglas & Janet Hoch JSJ Foundation Daniel & Sheryl Kuznar Marion A. & Ruth K. Sherwood Family Fund** $10,000-$14,999 Jan & Christine Deur Pat & Julie Donahue Robert & Wendy Kersman The Loutit Foundation Richard & Nancy Morgenstern Judy Wilcox $5,000-$9,999 Cathleen & Robert A. Dubault David Gerdes & Ms. Carolyn Smith-Gerdes Michael & Bonnie Gluhanich Paul & Karen Jackson Bari Johnson Paul A. Johnson Foundation Robert & Jo Ann Landman Joanna & Fred Norris Garry & Charlotte Olson Jack & Becky Slimko
$2,500-$4,999 Denis & Barbara Potuznik $1,000-$2,499 Anonymous Anonymous William & Susan Bissell Don & Kathy Dahlstrom First of America Bank-Muskegon Fund* Fisher Family Fund Carla Hill Cathy & Bruce Martin Charles & Kay Matthews John & Linda McKendry Ryan & Melissa Myers Russell Block Development, LLC Robert N. & Merle N. Scolnik Scott Speck Alan & Annoesjka Steinman Ken & Teresa Stevens Leon & Dzintra Stille Peter M. Turner Norna Verplank $500-$999 Anonymous Ralph Askam Carolyn & Paul Heckle Bud & Charyn Hoffman Tom & Diane Jones Janet Krivitzky Brian & Gay Landstrom Ruth Long Sally Peterson Jocelyn Shaw Gabe & Beth Slimko Helen & Jay Smith Rita Smith Robert & Ruth Stoppert Susan & Stephen Struck Mary Towner Tom & Liz Trzaska David & Karen Vander Zanden
*Denotes a fund of the Community Foundation for Muskegon County **Denotes a fund of the Grand Haven Area Community Foundation
14 :: West Michigan Symphony Concert Program
$100-$499 Susan Cloutier-Myers Allan & Anne Dake Janet B. Day Amanda & Gregory Dykhouse Fred & Char Franczek Fund* Julie Giacobassi & Zach Hall Patricia Hesling Pat Hunt Louis Jorissen Kevin & Bonnie Kellogg Betty & James Korbecki Dennis & Marla Major Keely Payne Roy & Britta Bujak Portenga Sarah Ruddy & Michael Miller Steve Schneider Sue Schuiteman Nancy Summers-Meeusen Roger & Rebecca Tuuk Bill Wright & Marcia Hovey-Wright Dr. Dwight Zulauf & Mrs. Wilma Jeanne Swartz-Zulauf Under $100 Patrick & Sarah Beahan Agnes Derks Greg & Judith DeWeerd Connie Holley Mary Anne & Thom Hornik Dr. Steven & Sherry Lessens Rosalie Mancier Marlene Marcinkowski Marianne Martin John & Cindy McKinnon Lyle Monette William & Avis Randall
New Education Programs / Children's Choir
The West Michigan Symphony Children’s Choir is a high-quality choral group for children ages 8-11. The Children’s Choir will perform the many orchestral works that include children’s voices and will offer choral training and experience to school children throughout the Lakeshore communities. The WMS Children’s Choir will have opportunities to participate in the Symphony’s Link Up concerts in May 2014 and will present two independent concerts throughout the year that will feature a diverse repertoire of children's chorus literature. The ensemble will be directed by Beth Slimko, an experienced music teacher and choral director. Mrs. Slimko currently directs the North Muskegon Public School choir program and is the vocal music specialist for elementary music. Members will be selected through an audition process held each spring and fall. Rehearsals and performances take place at The Block.
New Education Programs / Click Clack Moosic
The West Michigan Symphony Click Clack Moosic program is a music education concert series using the books by author Doreen Cronin, Click Clack Moo, Giggle Giggle Quack, and Dooby Dooby Moo, inviting children (ages 3-7) and their families to a live musical-story time event. Children will meet musicians, learn about basic music concepts, interact with the Narrator throughout the story and hear live music performed, written specifically for the Click Clack Moosic Program. Three separate Moosic programs will be offered at The Block beginning in February 2014. Each one of the Doreen Cronin stories will offer a distinct and unique learning experience. • Music and Story Time #1: Click Clack Moosic! What are Dynamics • Music and Story Time #2: Giggle Giggle Quack! What is Tempo • Music and Story Time #3: Dooby Dooby MOO! What is Pitch
For more information or to support these programs contact Karen Vander Zanden, Director of Education at 231.928.5738 Volume 3//September 2013 – June 2014 :: 15
Welcome. To. The Block.
360 W. Western Ave, 2nd Floor For tickets and info for upcoming concerts: westmichigansymphony.org facebook.com/AtTheBlock 231.726.3231
16 :: West Michigan Symphony Concert Program
A simple, accessible, inspirational space where honest music can happenâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; not to you, but with you. A place where music pushes the boundaries of tradition and expectation and encourages investigation. Concerts at The Block will include an intriguing, cross-pollinated mix of music that can be intimate or explosive, but always entertaining. From timpanists who perform on cardboard boxes to klezmer-meets-Bollywood with a splash of bluegrass to jazz and Broadway influenced cabaret performances. The Block is located on the second floor of 360 W. Western Avenue in an 1800 square foot space with flexible seating on two levels for up to 150 audience members.
Muskegon Harbor & Conference Center
Third Street Grille Great Food and Beverages Before and After the Show
Under new ownership (231) 722-0100 Newly reNovated 2010 • INdoor pool & wHIrlpool • wet & dry sauNa, fItNess CeNter • 24-Hour busINess CeNter • HIgH-speed wIreless INterNet • baNquet faCIlItIes for up to 500 people • louNge • rooM servICe • breakfast, luNCH & dINNer served daIly • featurINg New luNCH & dINNer MeNus • weekday luNCH buffet • great fall/wINter paCkages avaIlable
939 Third St. • Muskegon, MI 49440 • www.holidayinn.com
West M ichigan Symphony Presents
Vienna Boys' Choir T h u r s d a y , N o v e m b e r 2 1 , 2 0 1 3 || 7 : 3 0 p m F r a u e n t h a l T h e a t e r || M u s k e g o n
Tickets start at $17 || Student tickets $10* westmichigansymphony.org || 231.726.3231 x 223 360 W. Western Ave., Muskegon, MI Find us on Facebook at: facebook.com/wmsymphony *Student tickets not available online Volume 3//September 2013 – June 2014 :: 17
P.1 || Cirque de la Symphonie September 27 – 28, 2013 || 7:30 pm Friday and Saturday Scott Speck, conductor
Julius Fuĉík
Entry of the Gladiators
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Vocalise, Op. 34, No. 14 Christine Van Loo, Aerial Silks
Aram Khachaturian
Dance of the Young Rose Maidens and Hopak from Gayane Vladimir Tsarkov, Ring Juggling
Claude Debussy
Claire de Lune from Suite Bergamesque Elena Tsarkova, Contortion and Dance
Aram Khachaturian
Lezghinka from Gayane Alexander Streltsov, Spinning Cube
Bedřich Smetana
Dance of the Comedians from The Bartered Bride
High-flying fantasy soars once again over the Frauenthal stage with Cirque de la Symphonie—back by popular demand with an all-new program! Acrobats, contortionists, jugglers, strongmen and more perform astonishing feats uniquely choreographed to the music of Rachmaninoff, Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, Khachaturian, Sibelius, and others. As aerialists take flight above the stage, the West Michigan Symphony provides plenty of orchestral suspense, turning the concert into an entertainment extravaganza. Get ready to enjoy your favorite music—and some of the most nail-biting circus acts you've ever seen—in a thrilling spectacle the San Francisco Examiner calls "dazzling and elegant if not death-defying!" <<
Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov Scena e canto Gitano and Fandango asturiano from Capriccio Espagnole, Op. 34 Aloysia Gavre, Aerial Hoop INTERMISSION Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov Dance of the Tumblers from The Snow Maiden Vladimir and Elena Tsarkov, Quick Change Emmanuel Chabrier
Fête Polonaise from Le Roi Malgré Lui
Aram Khachaturian
Sabre Dance from Gayane Vladimir Tsarkov, Electric Juggler
Jacques Offenbach
Can-can from Orpheus in the Underworld Elena Tsarkova, Contortion and Dance
Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky
Waltz from Swan Lake Alexander Streltsov and Christine Van Loon, Aerial Duo
Johann Strauss II
Thunder and Lightning Polka, Op. 324 Jarek and Darek, Strongmen
Jean Sibelius
Finlandia, Op. 26
Concert Sponsor:
Guest Artist Sponsor: Howmet Community Fund
18 :: West Michigan Symphony Concert Program
at the Community Foundation for Muskegon County
DEATH-DEFYING, COLOSSAL AND STUPENDOUS... THE MOST ASTONISHING POSES... ALMOST HALLUCINOGENIC —Portland Press Herald
Sept. 24: GVSU Steel Drum Ensemble Oct. 22: Prizm – Woodwind Ensemble Nov. 26: The Early Music Consort – Medieval and Renassiance Christmas Music Dec. 10: Jonathan Tuuk – Christmas at the Organ
Dec. 15: Grand Rapids Choir of Men and Boys – Festival of Lessons and Carols
Mar. 25: Muskegon High School Jazz Ensemble
Jan. 28: Neil Jacobs – 12-String Guitar
May 27: Nancy Steltmann – Cello with Piano Accompaniment
Feb. 25: Arthur Campbell and Helen Marlais – Clarinet and Piano
Apr. 22: Folias Music Impressions of the Tango
FEEDING THE SOUL OF THE CITY 2013 – 2014 SEASON
1006 Third Street, Muskegon, MI 49440 :: For more information contact St. Paul’s Episcopal Church :: 231.722.2112 :: stpaulsmuskegon.org/fsoc
THEATER ETIQUETTE Q: Is there a correct way to enter a partly occupied row of seats in a theater? A. Scoot sideways with you knees slightly bent and your buttocks facing the person seated. In the event a theater patron refuses to stand or twist to the side to let you pass, try grinding your heel into the toe of the person seated.
Just a little tip from your friends at Port City Group.
360 W. WESTERN AVE. / DOWNTOWN MUSKEGON
OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK
1985 E. Laketon Muskegon, MI 49442 (231) 777-3941
PORT CITY GROUP
Volume 3//September 2013 – June 2014 :: 19
Program Notes ZOLTÁN KODÁLY (1882-1967) Dances of Galánta
M.1 || Gypsy Fire November 1 – 2, 2013 || 7:30 pm Friday and Saturday Scott Speck, conductor Gabriela Martinez, piano
Zoltán Kódaly
Dances of Galánta I. Lento II. Allegretto moderato III. Allegro con moto, grazioso IV. Allegro V. Allegro vivace
Franz Liszt Gabriela Martinez, piano
Piano Concerto no. 1, S. 124, in E-Flat Major I. Allegro maestoso II. Quasi adagio – Allegretto vivace III. Allegro marziale animato
INTERMISSION Béla Bartók Concerto for Orchestra I. Introduzione: Andante non troppo – Allegro vivace II. Giuoco delle coppie: Allegretto scherzando III. Elegia: Andante non troppo IV. Intermezzo interrotto: Allegretto V. Finale: Pesante - Presto
Concert Sponsor:
Guest Artist Sponsor:
WMS Past presidents
Gabriela Martinez will be performing a solo piano concert at The Block Sunday, November 3 3 pm For tickets or info: westmichigansymphony.org facebook.com/AtTheBlock 231.726.3231 20 :: West Michigan Symphony Concert Program
Composers have always loved to integrate folk melodies into their works both for popular appeal and to show their ability to manipulate a simple tune. The practice was already common in the Middle Ages. However, in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, they often made the mistake of equating the popular music of the day with authentic folk melodies. The melodies that Brahms and Liszt used in their Hungarian dances and rhapsodies, for example, were not indigenous melodies, but were the popular street and café music of their time—often played by Rom (Gypsy) bands. Zoltán Kodály and his colleague Béla Bartók, both pioneers of modern ethnomusicology, were among the first (in 1907) to use the newfangled invention, the wax cylinder recorder, to collect folk melodies at their source. They traveled extensively to the most rural backwaters of Central and Eastern Europe to collect their examples and were careful to authenticate their research. Critical to their systematic approach was seeking out the variations in music and text from different locales in the attempt to determine the origin of the melodies and follow the geographical spread of both music and words. They avoided one of the great pitfalls in authenticating folk music, recognizing the fact that the simpler the melody, the greater the possibility that similar ones arose independently and were not necessarily derived from a common source. Like Bartók, Kodály used many of the collected folk melodies as themes for his compositions. Of the two, Kodály was the more conservative and the more Romantic. While his international reputation is generally overshadowed by that of Bartók, his music has become a national treasure in his native Hungary. Kodály’s ethnomusicological research notwithstanding, the themes for Dances of Galánta, a tone poem first performed in 1933 for the 80th anniversary of the Budapest Philharmonic Society, did indeed originate from street and café music. Galánta, a small town now in Slovakia, was part of Hungary when Kodály lived there in his childhood. In the eighteenth century Galánta had been a center of sophisticated Rom musicians who performed from notated scores, rather than from memory, and played in the orchestras of the gentry. Although their fame had waned by Kodály’s time, the composer wanted to revive the old tradition. The themes for Dances of Galánta came from a historical collection, Selected Hungarian National Dances of Various Gypsies from Galánta. Kodály selected five different melodies and rhythms, giving them a brilliant orchestral dressing that provided a special showcase for the upper winds.
The five dances employ different modes, themes and rhythms, but they are strung together in such a way that the final measures of one dance serve as an introduction to the next. The opening dance begins with a long introduction that has the effect of a warmup or flexing of musical muscles. The first three dances feature an orchestral soloist; in the first movement, the clarinet introduces a slow modal theme, while the second features the flute, finally blending seamlessly into the third, which features the oboe and contains a dialogue between the upper winds and strings. The fourth dance pits the violins against the upper winds as the dance becomes wilder and wilder. Suddenly everything shifts gears with a pompous interruption from the lower brass, slipping into the final dance. The tempo is fast, with the theme bouncing around the entire orchestra and including quotes from the previous dances. FRANZ LISZT (1811-1886) Piano Concerto no.1 in E-flat major Franz Liszt was a man of paradoxes and extremes who could only have flourished in the Romantic period. He was both a superficial showman and contemplative artist, mystic and hedonist, genius and poseur, saint and sinner. He broke many a commandment and many a heart, exhibiting incredible flamboyance in his virtuoso piano performances before adoring audiences, yet longing for a life of religious asceticism. He fathered numerous illegitimate offspring but ended up taking minor orders in the Catholic Church with the right to the title Abbé Liszt. He witnessed firsthand the cultural and musical transformation of Europe but unfortunately never wrote his life’s memoirs, being “too busy living it.” Like most of Liszt’s compositions, the First Piano Concerto had a long gestation with the earliest sketches dating from 1830. Liszt completed it in 1849, only to revise it twice more before the publication in 1856. Liszt had a lifelong penchant for either creating
innovative musical forms or breathing new life into classic ones. In listening to this well-known work, consider how different it is in form and musical development from the more classic mid-century concerti of Mendelssohn, Schumann or Brahms. The concerto is played without a pause but still comprises four distinct movements, which are also linked thematically. It opens Allegro maestoso with a majestic theme, or motto, on the strings, from which Liszt derived all the other themes in the work. When once asked about the meaning of this theme, Liszt sat down at the piano and sang to it: “Das versteht Ihr alle nicht” (None of you understands that), without any further elaboration. The piano enters almost at once with a series of bravura passages in octaves followed by a spectacular solo display. As the opening section fades into silence, the second movement, Quasi adagio, opens with a dreamy melody on muted strings, which is taken up by the piano in a cantilena that has been compared to a Bellini aria.
weak to deliver an entire series of lectures at Harvard University, the fee for which he had counted on to support him and his wife until the fall. Then, in early summer, at the suggestion of violinist Joseph Szigeti and conductor Fritz Reiner—both fellow Hungarians— Bartók received a commission from Serge Koussevitzky, conductor of the Boston Symphony, for a large orchestral work in memory of his late wife, Natalie. The commission so revived Bartók’s spirit that after spending the next few weeks at Saranac Lake, New York, he returned in October with the completed score of the Concerto for Orchestra. He finalized the orchestration during the winter in Asheville, NC, and Koussevitzky premiered it with the Boston Symphony in December 1944 to resounding acclaim.
BÉLA BARTÓK (1811-1886) Concerto for Orchestra
In notes for the premiere, Bartók wrote: “The title of this symphony-like orchestral work is explained by its tendency to treat the single orchestral instruments in a concertant or soloistic manner.” The five-movement work is a showpiece for orchestra players, allowing each of the sections and section soloists a chance to demonstrate their virtuosity. The Concerto is structured like an arch, as are many of Bartók's works, with the central Elegy framed by two outer movements in sonata form and two inner intermezzo-like movements. Biographer Halsey Stevens provided an explanation for the huge appeal of this work, writing that it combines such diverse elements as Bach fugues and Schoenberg atonality, which had influenced Bartók throughout his creative years. All the melodies, harmonies and rhythms are colored by the peasant music that was Bartók’s great love.
In the fall of 1940, Béla Bartók fled his native Hungary with his family and sailed for the United States. For a couple of years he eked out a precarious living teaching piano and performing with his wife, Ditta, also a pianist. By the end of 1942 he fell ill with what turned out to be a form of leukemia, and his future looked bleak indeed. Early in 1943 he was too
Among its most striking features is the Concerto’s kaleidoscope of orchestral colors emanating from the generally thin texture that showcases only a few instruments at a time. often in stunning combinations. The Introduzione opens with an eerie andante, the double basses and cellos accompanied by tremolo on muted high strings. Gradually
The witty third section, Allegretto vivace, is the equivalent of a classical scherzo and introduces a delicate rhythm played on the triangle that raised the ire of the staid Viennese of the nineteenth century, especially that of the dean of music critics, the acerbic Eduard Hanslick, who called it derisively the “Triangle Concerto.” A piano cadenza on the opening theme serves as a bridge to the fourth section, Allegro marziale animato, in which all the themes from the Adagio and Allegretto are combined ingeniously for a grand recapitulation.
Volume 3//September 2013 – June 2014 :: 21
Program Notes other instrument groups enter, adding additional color. The violins then introduce the main theme with its vigorous rhythm. A second theme comes in soon after on a solo trombone. The second movement Giuoco delle coppie (Game of Pairs) begins with the side drum, which maintains a rhythmic ostinato throughout the movement. Five unrelated (according to Bartók) dance themes are then strung jauntily together, featuring in turn pairs of bassoons, oboes, clarinets, flutes and muted trumpets. A short chorale-like melody follows on five brass instruments, after which the five pairs of wind instruments return in order as before but with more elaborate accompaniment. The Elegia third movement is the work’s centerpiece, described by the composer as a “Lugubrious death song... of misty texture and rudimentary motifs.” After a mysterious opening, the whole orchestra suddenly enters fortissimo restating the themes, followed by a reprise of the beginning of the movement. The Intermezzo interrotto (Interrupted Intermezzo) is just that. Bartók described its structure as “ABA—interruption—BA.” It opens with the oboe introducing a lively theme, like a rhythmically asymmetric peasant dance, followed by a cantilena said to be based on a popular Hungarian national melody. Suddenly the movement is interrupted by what, according to the composer’s son Peter, is a parody of the first movement of Shostakovich’s Seventh (“Leningrad”) Symphony, popular at the time because of the war and the devastating siege of the city. Both Shostakovich and, subsequently Bartók, satirize the Germans with a march partly based on the aria “Nun geh’ ich
ins Maxim” from Franz Léhar’s The Merry Widow. Peter says that the banality of the march so irritated his father that he parodied Shostakovich’s parody by writing circus music. As the interruption fades away, the cantilena and then the peasant dance return, but in shortened form. The finale, Pesante, opens with a riotous horn call, followed by a fiery Romanian dance, a perpetuum mobile figure, by the whole orchestra. A second dance is introduced by the high woodwinds, and a third on the horns. The themes are developed in a complicated fugue of brilliant orchestral colors. Originally, the work ended 22 bars short of the version we hear today. Bartók, in spite of his frailty and illness, traveled to Boston to hear the premiere, where he realized that his ending was unsatisfactory. He immediately sat down to write the brilliant 22-measure coda. There is a recording available of the premiere, with the original ending, which, indeed, does not match the quality of the rest of the Concerto. << AUDIO WEB NOTES For a deeper understanding of the music you heard or will be hearing, visit westmichigansymphony.org and go to the masterworks program of your choice. There you’ll find an expanded version of the printed notes including musical examples you can hear by clicking on the icon. There are also brief clickable definitions of musical terms as they appear in the text. Program notes by: Joseph & Elizabeth Kahn
13/14 CONCERT
November 17, 2013 Mona Shores Performing Arts Center Norton Shores, MI
DATES March 16, 2014 Grand Haven High School Grand Haven, MI
Daniel M. Meyers, music director
22 :: West Michigan Symphony Concert Program
Gabriela Martinez Lauded by The New York Times as "compelling, elegant, and incisive," Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Martinez is quickly establishing a reputation and earning praise as a versatile artist who combines "panache and poetry" (Dallas Morning News) with a "sense of grace and clarity" (The Star Ledger).
COMPELLING, ELEGANT, AND INCISIVE
Ms. Martinez has already amassed an impressive list of recital, concerto, and chamber music performance credits. Since making her orchestral debut at age 7, Ms. Martinez has appeared as soloist with orchestras such as the Chicago, New Jersey, Fort Worth, Pacific and San Francisco Symphonies, The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Symphonisches, Staatsorchester Halle, Stuttgarter Philharmoniker, Nurnberger Philharmoniker, MDR Rundfunkorchester, Tivoli Philharmonic, and regularly performs with the Simón Bolívar Youth Symphony Orchestra. An avid chamber musician, she has collaborated with numerous musicians and ensembles including Itzhak Perlman, and the Takacs quartet. Ms. Martinez has performed under the batons of conductors Gustavo Dudamel, Itzhak Perlman, Lawrence Foster, James Gaffigan, Dirk Brosse, Klauspeter Seibel, Giordano Bellincampi, Diego Matheuz, Christian Vasquez, Guillermo Figueroa, David Machado, Anne Manson, James Conlon, Charles Dutoit, Egmon Colomer, Pedro and Cristobal Halffter, among others. Ms. Martinez has performed at Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, and Alice Tully Hall in New York; Davies Hall in San Francisco; Bass Hall in Fort Worth; Palace of Versailles in Paris; Grosses Festspielhaus in Salzburg; Semperoper in Dresden; Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen; the Verbier Festival; Ravinia Festival; Dresden Music Festival; Snow and Symphony Festival in St. Moritz; Festival de Radio France et Montpellier; Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto; the New Hampshire Music Festival; the Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center; and the Tokyo International Music Festival. She has performed both as soloist and chamber musician in over 50 concert halls in the U.S. and Germany, as well as in Salzburg, Copenhagen, Paris, The Netherlands, St. Moritz, Verbier, Sendai, Tel Aviv, Tokyo, Montpellier, Rome, Venice, London, Spoleto, Brussels, Caracas, and Bogota. Ms. Martinez has won numerous national and international prizes and awards. Her most recent
—New York Times
accomplishments include first prize and audience award at the Anton G. Rubinstein International Piano Competition in Dresden. She was a semifinalist at the 12th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, where she also received a Jury Discretionary Award. Ms. Martinez's wide-ranging career includes world premieres of new music, live performance broadcasts, and interviews on TV and radio. Her performances have been featured on MDR Kultur (Germany), NHK (Japan), Radio France (France), RAI (Italy), Deutsche Welle (Germany), WQXR, WNYC, National Public Radio, CNN, PBS, 60 minutes, ABC, From the Top (USA), and numerous television and radio stations in Venezuela. Born in Caracas in 1984, Ms. Martinez began her piano studies with her mother Alicia Gaggioni, and studied with Miyoko Lotto at the Perlman Music Program. She earned her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School as a full scholarship student of Yoheved Kaplinsky, and her doctorate with Professor Marco Antonio de Almeida in Halle, Germany. Committed to arts advocacy, Ms. Martinez was a fellow in "The Academy," a program of Carnegie Hall, the Juilliard School, the Weill Music Institute, and New York City Public Schools. Ms. Martinez has been a Career Grant recipient from the Bagby Foundation for the Musical Arts since 2002. In 2008, Ms. Martinez was appointed Concert Artist Faculty at Kean University in New Jersey. gabrielamartinezpiano.com << Volume 3//September 2013 – June 2014 :: 23
Vienna Boys' Choir November 21, 2013 || 7:30 pm Thursday The West Michigan Symphony presents a one night only performance of the world renowned Vienna Boys' Choir.
The Vienna Boys' Choir is a choir of trebles and altos based in Vienna. It is one of the best known boys' choirs in the world. The boys are selected mainly from Austria, but also from many other countries. The choir is a private, not-for-profit organization. There are approximately 100 choristers between the ages of ten and fourteen. The boys are divided into four touring choirs, named for Bruckner, Haydn, Mozart and Schubert, which perform about 300 concerts each year before almost 500,000 people. Each group tours for about nine to eleven weeks. The choirs are of equal standing; the tours, appearances in Vienna and recording projects are shared among them. Each choir has a choirmaster, and two tutors or prefects who travel with the boys. HISTORY The choir is the modern-day descendant of the boys' choirs from the Viennese Court, dating back to the late Middle Ages. The choir was, for practical purposes, established by a letter written by Maximilian I of Habsburg on July 7, 1498. In the letter the Emperor instructed court officials to employ a singing master, two basses and six boys. Jurij Slatkonja became the director of the ensemble. The role of the choir (numbering between fourteen and twenty) was to provide musical accompaniment to the church mass. The boys received a solid musical education, which in most cases had a significant impact on the rest of their lives, as many went on to become professional musicians. The composers Jacobus Gallus and Franz Schubert, and the conductors Hans Richter, Felix Mottl, Georg Tintner and Clemens Krauss were members of the choir. Additionally, the Haydn brothers were members of the St. Stephen's Cathedral choir, directed at the time by Georg Reutter II who used this choir in his duties for the imperial court which at the time had no boy choristers of its own. Over the centuries, the choir has worked with many composers including Heinrich Isaac, Hofhaimer, Biber, Fux, Caldara, Gluck, Salieri, Mozart, Franz Schubert and Bruckner. In 1920, the Hofkapelle (court orchestra) was disbanded. However, the rector at the time, Josef Schnitt, sought a continuation of the tradition. In 1924 the "Vienna Boys' Choir" was officially founded, and has evolved into a professional music group. The choir adopted the now-famous blue and white sailor suit, replacing the imperial military cadet uniform that included a dagger. The composer HK Gruber is one of the graduates of the reformed choir. 24 :: West Michigan Symphony Concert Program
Since 1948 the Palais Augarten has served as their rehearsal venue and boarding school which goes from kindergarten level up to middle school level. In 1961, Walt Disney filmed Almost Angels, a fictional drama about (and starring) the Vienna Boys' Choir, set and filmed in the Palais Augarten. It was Disney who, for cinematographic reasons, persuaded the Austrian government to allow the boys to legally wear the Austrian national emblem on the breast of their uniform, a tradition that continues to this day. THE CHOIR'S AIMS The Vienna Boys' Choir strives to create an environment in which boys can fully develop and realize their personal and musical potential. Choristers learn to express themselves on a professional level in many different styles of music, and they are provided with the tools to set them on the road toâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;should they wish itâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a professional career in music. The experiences a boy has whilst a member of the choir, in particular the concerts and the touring, stay with him for life; the choir aims to make these experiences as diverse as possible. EDUCATION The Vienna Boys' Choir is a choir of long-standing tradition; it is one of the oldest boys' choirs not attached to a church or a college. It was the choir attached to the Austrian court (and very much a travelling band); its roots go back to the thirteenth century, but records from the early phases are
tenuous and scarce. In the late fiftheenth century, the choir was part of the court music of Maximilian I, the Holy Roman Emperor, who moved the court from Innsbruck to Vienna and thus is credited with the foundation of the Chapel Imperial. Among the choir's duties today are the Sunday services in the Imperial Chapel, appearances at official state occasions, concerts in Vienna and abroad as well as appearances in the Vienna State Opera and Volksoper. Each choir spends about 11 weeks of the academic year on tour; each choir boy sings around 80 performances a year. Given the boys' concert load, it is essential to maintain a careful balance of musical training, rehearsals, academic lessons and leisure time. The choir's own grammar school— which is attended only by choristers—takes the choir's activities into account. Tours and indeed their preparation are part of the curriculum, the time table is flexible and can be altered at short notice in accordance with the rehearsal and performance schedule. <<
Not everyone can read print... TALKING BOOKS for the BLIND WWW.MADL.ORG Call 1-231-737-6310 Volume 3//September 2013 – June 2014 :: 25
P.2 || Swingin' Holiday Celebration December 13 – 14, 2013 || 7:30 pm Friday and Saturday Clyde Mitchell, guest conductor Teri Dale Hansen and Nat Chandler, vocalists
The Polar Express Concert Suite
Alan Silvestri Arr. Jerry Brubaker
It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year Edward Pola, George Wyle – Teri and Nat Arr. James Kessler The Christmas Song and Torme, Wells, Blane, Martin Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas Arr. Don Pippin – Teri and Nat Baby It's Cold Outside – Teri and Nat
Frank Loesser Arr. Rick Bassett
How the Grinch Stole Christmas Medley Albert Hague, Eugene Poddany – Nat Arr. Jerry Brubaker We Need A Little Christmas – Teri and Nat
Jerry Herman Arr. James Kessler
T'was the Night Before Christmas – Teri and Nat
Clement Moore Arr. Brad Ross
The Nutcracker Suite
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn) Arr. Rick Bassett
INTERMISSION Feliz Navidad
José Feliciano
12 Days After Christmas – Teri and Nat
Frederick Silver
I'll Be Home for Christmas – Nat
Kim Gannon, Walter Kent
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town – Teri and Nat
John Frederick Coots, Haven Gillespie Arr. Bill Holcombe
A Charlie Brown Christmas
Vince Guaraldi Arr. David Pugh
Sleigh Ride
Leroy Anderson
Jingle Bells/Joy to the World/Adeste Fidelis/Silent Night – Audience Sing-Along
Various
O Holy Night – Teri
Adolphe Adam Arr. David Clydesdale
The Prayer – Teri and Nat
Foster, Sager
Guest Artist Sponsor:
26 :: West Michigan Symphony Concert Program
Clyde Mitchell American/Canadian conductor Clyde Mitchell is Conductor and Music Director of Lions Gate Sinfonia and the new Lions Gate Youth Orchestra in Vancouver, British Columbia. Clyde studied piano, organ, and French Horn before deciding to pursue a career in music. Music Performance degrees from Louisiana State University (B. Mus.) and Cal. State U-Northridge (Master of Arts in Music) led to a performing career in Bogotá, Colombia, Tucson, Arizona, and Montreal, Quebec. In Montreal, he was Associate Principal Horn in the prestigious Montreal Symphony Orchestra under Charles Dutoit, and was Professor of Horn and Chamber Music Studies and Conductor of the Brass Choir at McGill University. Following his orchestral playing career, Clyde turned to conducting studies at CSU-Long Beach (Master of Music) and USC (Artist Diploma.) These degrees, and his experience as an orchestral performer, led to Conductor and Music Director positions in Canada and the US, including Resident and Associate Conductor of the Vancouver Symphony. Clyde has won several important conducting awards and competitions, including Canada’s Heinz Unger Award as “Canada’s Most Promising Conductor” and the U.S. National Conductor’s Award with the National Repertory Orchestra. Clyde Mitchell is an outspoken advocate for music education, and regularly conducts and holds workshops for Honour Bands and Orchestras across North America. A fun additional career sees Clyde as a guest speaker and host for classical music radio and television shows. Clyde lives in Los Angeles, where his wife, Sarah Jackson, plays Solo Piccolo with the world-famous Los Angeles Philharmonic. Sarah and Clyde love their two cats, and enjoy traveling and experiencing different cultures, languages, food, and wine. <<
Teri Dale Hansen will be performing a solo concert at The Block Sunday, December 15 3 pm For tickets or info: westmichigansymphony.org facebook.com/AtTheBlock 231.726.3231
Teri Dale Hansen
Nat Chandler
Miss Hansen starred as Magnolia in London’s West End in Harold Prince’s Tony Award winning production of Show Boat, made her Broadway debut in 2002 in The Boys from Syracuse and, in that same year, began concertizing with Marvin Hamlisch worldwide. She has sung leading roles with the Houston Grand Opera, Theatre in Pfalsbau, Glimmerglass Opera, Orlando Opera, Salle Esse, Florida Grand Opera and the Opera De Toulon. Miss Hansen has appeared with the Israel Philharmonic, the National Symphony, the National Symphony of Brazil, the Anhaltisches Philharmonie, the Russian Phiharmonic Orchestra of Moscow, the Houston Symphony, the Utah Symphony, the Detroit Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Virginia Symphony, the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Naples Philharmonic, the Fort Myers Symphony, the Colorado Springs Symphony, the Midland Symphony, the Florida Sunshine Pops and has performed under the baton of Julius Rudel, Rob Fisher, John DeMain, Richard Hayman, Christoph Eschenbach, Don Pippin and Toshi Shimada. Ms. Hansen was a Kennedy Center Irene Ryan Award nominee as a leading Actor for her performance in Bertolt Brecht’s The Caucasian Chalk Circle. Teri toured as Marian Paroo in the National Tour of The Music Man and the also starred as Guenevere in that National Tour of Camelot. Her debut CD Into Your Arms... Love Songs Of Richard Rodgers is available worldwide.
Nat has enjoyed an exciting career on Broadway, in concert, and opera. On Broadway he appeared in the title role of The Scarlet Pimpernel, and Children and Art. Other career highlights include Fred/Petruchio in Kiss Me Kate, King Arthur in Spamalot and Prince Danilo in The Merry Widow. Mr. Chandler starred as Raoul in The Phantom of the Opera directed by Hal Prince and toured the United States opposite Sarah Brightman in The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber. Mr. Chandler played Lancelot opposite Robert Goulet's King Arthur in Camelot, Rapunzel's Prince in Into the Woods, and Lun Tha in The King and I with Yul Brynner. Barrymore Award nominated for his work in the roles of Phantom in the Yestin/Kopit Phantom! and Lancelot in Camelot, Nat also received a Kevin Kline nomination for Miles Gloriosus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Mr. Chandler has appeared in concert with the Naples Philharmonic, Tucson Symphony Orchestra, Phoenix Symphony Orchestra, Portland Symphony Orchestra, Florida Sunshine Pops, Colorado Springs Philharmonic, Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra, Princeton Symphony Orchestra and many more world wide.
terihansen.net <<
natchandler.com <<
West Michigan Symphony Gift Certificates
Make great holiday presents! Call 231.726.3231 x223 for more information. Available in any amount. No Expiration. Volume 3//September 2013 – June 2014 :: 27
Program Notes
M.2 || Surprise and Classical Symphonies February 7, 2014 || 7:30 pm Friday Scott Speck, conductor Jennifer Walvoord, WMS concertmaster Gabriel Renteria, WMS principal oboe Vireo Ensemble, Jonathan Holden, clarinet; Caroline Holden, violin; Carrie Pierce, cello; Kelly Karamanov, piano
Johann Sebastian Bach Jennifer Walvoord, violin Gabriel Renteria, oboe
Concerto for Violin and Oboe, BWV 1060 1. Allegro 2. Adagio 3. Allegro
Franz Joseph Haydn
Symphony no. 94 in G Major, “Surprise” I. Adagio; Vivace assai II. Andante III. Menuetto: Allegro molto IV. Allegro di molto
Schickele Vireo Ensemble
Quartet for Clarinet, Violin, Cello and Piano
INTERMISSION Sergei Prokofiev
Symphony no. 1, Op. 25, in D Major, “Classical” I. Allegro con brio II. Larghetto III. Gavotte: Non troppo allegro IV. Finale: Molto vivace
Guest Artist Sponsor:
Vireo Ensemble and Guests will be performing "Café Music" at The Block. Saturday, February 8 7:30 pm For tickets or info: westmichigansymphony.org facebook.com/AtTheBlock 231.726.3231 28 :: West Michigan Symphony Concert Program
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685-1750) Concerto in C minor for Oboe, Violin and String orchestra, BWV 1060 In addition to his enormous responsibilities in his final and most prestigious job as Kantor of the entire musical program at St. Thomas Church in Leipzig—where he produced weekly cantatas for the liturgical year, rehearsed the musicians, trained the boy choristers and taught Latin —Bach was also expected to put together the weekly concert of secular vocal and instrumental music for the Leipzig Collegium Musicum. The Collegium was a German university extra-curricular town-and-gown institution for which students and local musicians got together to perform at public gatherings. At least Bach got credit for this extra work since during his tenure in the post from 1729 to 1741, the institution was called the “Bachisches Collegium.” It was held in Zimmermann’s Coffee House, a high-class bourgeois establishment spacious enough to accommodate a large ensemble. Apparently, Zimmermann did not charge for these concerts, assuming that enough money was coming in from refreshments. Bach’s surviving harpsichord concertos—transcriptions of concertos for other instruments—and the surviving violin concertos were probably composed for the Collegium. Although the oboe and its double reed cousins played a significant role in Bach’s music, especially in the cantatas, there are no surviving solo or chamber works for this family of instruments. Many decades of research, however, have shown that all of Bach’s keyboard concertos were his own arrangements of his works originally composed for either violin or oboe–or both together. The keyboard concertos have been used to reconstruct the concertos, presumably in their original form, and the opinion today is unanimous that the Concerto no. 1 in C minor for Two Harpsichords and Strings, is a transcription of a concerto composed originally for oboe and violin. Its reconstruction posed no special difficulties. In this version of the Concerto, the violin part generally sounds subdued, since the soloist’s sound blends with the orchestral string instruments, while the oboe’s penetrating voice dominates the duo. As is typical of the Baroque concerto, each movement is based on a single theme, or ritornello, which is initially played by all the performers (ripieno) and then developed by the solo instrument(s) (concertino). In the energetic first movement, the oboe stands out among all the strings in the ritornello. In the solo sections, Bach maintains a running dialogue between the two instruments. He
handles the dialogue differently in the second, slow movement, where each soloist weaves a line over the other sustained notes. In the third movement, the two soloists are pitted against the orchestra. FRANZ JOSEPH HAYDN (1732-1809) Symphony no.94 in G major "Surprise" The long life of Franz Joseph Haydn spanned one of the great upheavals in the economics of the musical profession. It marked the demise of the aristocratic “ownership” of music and musicians and the rise of the middle class as patrons, supporters and chief consumers of the arts. No one bridged this transition more effectively than Haydn, who spent most of his career as the valued erudite servant of an Austro-Hungarian aristocrat to become in his later years the darling of London's merchants–without offending either. On New Year’s Day 1791, Haydn made the first of two extended trips to London at the invitation of the impresario Johann Peter Salomon and actually considered settling there for good. Salomon, violinist, conductor and concertmaster of his own orchestra, had been writing to Haydn for some time in an attempt to get him to come to London, but to no avail. When Haydn’s lifelong patron, Prince Nikolaus Esterházy, died and the family disbanded the orchestra, the composer was suddenly a free agent. Capitalizing on the situation, Salomon personally went to Vienna to “fetch” Haydn with a princely lure of £1200, and Haydn bit. He composed numerous works for performance at Salomon’s concerts, primarily
his last twelve symphonies (nos. 93-104, known today as the “London” or “Salomon” symphonies). These performances, like most concerts of the time, went on for hours and were a mixed bag, including vocal, chamber and orchestral pieces. For the decade of the 1790s, their star attraction was Haydn’s music, and the old man reigned supreme. Haydn arrived for his first season in London armed with a number of new works, but his huge popularity demanded more and more from his pen. In the summer of 1791 he retreated to the countryside to compose; the Symphony no. 94 was actually the fourth of the 12 to be finished. Premiered in March, 1792, it was a tremendous success, with one newspaper stating: “The second movement was the happiest of this great Master’s conceptions. The surprise might not be unaptly [sic] likened to the situation of a beautiful shepherdess who, lulled to slumber by the murmur of a distant waterfall, starts alarmed by the unexpected firing of a fowling-piece. The flute obbligato was delicious.” The reference was to the second movement, Andante, a theme and four variations in which an unexpected fortissimo accompanied by the timpani interrupts the gentle reverie. The rumor, now legend, that Haydn had written in the famous chord to “wake up” the English audience–or one member thereof–who fell asleep at his concert became immediately so widespread that Haydn himself had to refute it. Instead, he claimed that he had wanted to make a grand statement to ensure that his concerts would outshine those of his student Pleyel, whose rival series had opened
the previous week. It is clear, however, that Haydn was speaking tongue-in-cheek, as he maintained a close friendship with Pleyel while the two were ostensibly slugging it out. The Symphony opens with Haydn's customary slow introduction. The movement is written in sonata form but with only one true theme. Although in most hands, the result would have been monotonous indeed, Haydn spins out every fragment of the melody, using surprising key changes and transitions. The Andante theme and variations packs more than one surprise. While the first variation goes without a hitch, the second goes off on a musical tangent, beginning in the minor and suddenly changing key. For twenty-first century listeners, this kind of diversion seems trivial, but if we listen with the ears of Haydn's audience, we understand their delight at having their expectations thwarted. Haydn's minuets were always the least bit clunky—more like the peasant Ländler than a court dance. With the help of the timpani, no. 94's is particularly so. The Finale is another sonata form, a flexible structure that Haydn was partial to. The surprise in this movement is the long coda, which, with its unusual key changes, is more like another development section. PETER SCHICKELE (b. 1935) Quartet for Clarinet, Violin, Cello and Piano Known for his musical pratfalls as Johann Sebastian’s phantom youngest son, P.D.Q. (Fanfare for the Common Cold, Unbegun
Volume 3//September 2013 – June 2014 :: 29
Program Notes Symphony, Erotica Variations for Banned Instruments and Piano, The Musical Sacrifice, Sonata for Viola Four Hands and many others), Peter Schickele occasionally also composes “serious” music. One of these works is the charming Clarinet Quartet, finished in 1982 and dedicated to Schickele’s father. Schickele’s music is as eclectic as that of his alter ego, P.D.Q. Bach, sometimes fiercely atonal and, as here, Romantic and jazzy. The four-movement work opens with what sounds like a paean to Gabriel Fauré’s intimate chamber music. He then doffs a hat at bee-bop, continues with a movement of Romantic, schmaltzy love music, and ends with a dance movement that would have made any big band proud.
The year 1917 was a traumatic one for Russia. The February Revolution had deposed the Tsar, and the October Revolution brought the Bolsheviks to power. Meanwhile, on the international front, Russia was losing disastrously in its war against Germany and Austria. In the spring and summer of that year Prokofiev retired to a village not far from Petrograd (now and formerly St. Petersburg) and, as if oblivious to the earthshattering turmoil around him, composed at a furious pace. Among the creations of that period was his sunny Symphony no. 1, which he subtitled The Classical.
SERGEI PROKOFIEV (1891-1953) Symphony no.1 in D major, Op. 25, "The Classical"
The Symphony was an experiment. An accomplished pianist, Prokofiev routinely composed at the piano, although he noticed: “...thematic material composed without the piano was often better in quality... I was intrigued with the idea of writing an entire symphonic piece without the piano... So this was how the project of writing a symphony in the style of Haydn came about... it seemed it would be easier to dive into the deep waters of writing without the piano if I worked in a familiar setting.” This delicate, nostalgic Symphony premiered in Petrograd in April 1918 with the composer on the podium, amidst civil war and social upheaval.
Prokofiev was a composer caught between two cultures. Born into an affluent musical family, he left the Soviet Union in the summer of 1918, shortly after the 1917 Revolution. For the next 17 years he lived in Paris and toured the United States, returning to his native country in the mid-1930s never to leave again.
The overall Classical style of the Symphony makes it easy to forget that it is a twentiethcentury creation. The opening Allegro conforms to the standard first movement sonata allegro form, with occasional twentieth-century harmonies. The second theme is a caricature of the eighteenthcentury Rococo style, played on the tips of
Born in Iowa, Schickele graduated from Swathmore College, after which he studied composition with Roy Harris and Darius Milhaud, and with Vincent Persichetti and William Bergsma at Juilliard. He now lives in New York City, concentrating on composing.
the violin bows “con eleganza” like a mincing dancing master—but with a less than elegant surprise sforzando at the cadence. The graceful Larghetto theme in the second movement, introduced first by the violins then joined by a flute, shows what a little musical creativity can do with a simple descending scale. The short Gavotte replaces a traditional minuet/trio movement. Prokofiev’s is a clumsy dance, whose melody contains awkward octave leaps and strange grace notes in the bassoon. The Trio is accompanied by a bagpipe-like drone. Prokofiev loved this movement, recycling and expanding it some 20 years later in the Capulets’ Ball for his ballet Romeo and Juliet. The Molto vivace finale is a sonata form, rather than the usual rondo, but has the persistent dynamic drive of a Haydn finale. In composing it, Prokofiev played a game with himself, in which he attempted to eliminate all minor chords. << AUDIO WEB NOTES For a deeper understanding of the music you heard or will be hearing, visit westmichigansymphony.org and go to the masterworks program of your choice. There you’ll find an expanded version of the printed notes including musical examples you can hear by clicking on the icon. There are also brief clickable definitions of musical terms as they appear in the text. Program notes by: Joseph & Elizabeth Kahn
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30 :: West Michigan Symphony Concert Program
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Artist Bios JENNIFER WALVOORD, Concertmaster Jennifer Walvoord of Holland, MI graduated with her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI. She has Masters degrees in both violin performance and chamber music from the University of Michigan, and a Bachelors degree in violin performance from Hope College in Holland, MI. In addition to her position as West Michigan Symphony concertmaster, Jennifer is a member of the Grand Rapids Symphony. She has performed as soloist with the West Michigan Symphony and the Holland Symphony Orchestra. While at the University of Michigan, Jennifer served as concertmaster and performed electric violin on the Grammy Award-winning recording of William Bolcom’s Songs of Innocence and Experience conducted by Leonard Slatkin. Jennifer is an active chamber musician. She performs recitals regularly with her husband, pianist Dr. Andrew Le. Jennifer and Andrew are the Artistic Directors of the Chamber Music Festival of Saugatuck. Jennifer collaborated with her sister, Martha, on a recording called “American Perspectives” which was recently released on the Centaur Records Label. Jennifer and Andrew live in Holland, MI with their son, Matthew and daughter, Katherine. <<
GABRIEL RENTERIA, Principal Oboe Gabriel Renteria received his Bachelor of Music degree from the Oberlin Conservatory where he studied with James Caldwell. He went on to do graduate work at the University of Washington and the Colburn Conservatory where he was a student of Nathan Hughes and Alan Vogel. Gabriel has played with the Seattle Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Chicago Symphony. He is currently the Principal Oboe and Artist-in-Residence with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra. <<
VIREO ENSEMBLE Jonathan Holden, clarinet; Caroline Holden, violin; Carrie Pierce, cello; Kelly Karamanov, piano The Vireo Ensemble comprises three musicians who collaborate with acclaimed artists from across the United States in the presentation of dynamic and often eclectic musical programs. Many of these works celebrate modern culture, unashamedly recalling the sounds of everyday life as they draw from cherished popular and folk music idioms. The Vireo Ensemble embraces such music in the service of audiences who wish to be thoroughly engaged. Jonathan Holden serves on the faculty of Florida State University and is Principal Clarinet of the West Michigan Symphony. Caroline Holden is sought after as an orchestral violinist, formerly a member of the Louisiana Philharmonic and a frequent guest of the Grand Rapids and Mobile symphony orchestras. Carrie Pierce is Assistant Principal Cello of the Corpus Christi Symphony and Assistant Professor of Cello at Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi. Guest pianist Kelly Karamanov is Principal Pianist for the West Michigan Symphony, and performs with the Grand Rapids Symphony, at Hope College, Grand Valley State University, and collaborates with a variety of musicians across Michigan. <<
Volume 3//September 2013 – June 2014 :: 31
Program Notes
M.3 || Beethoven and Blue Jeans March 7 – 8, 2014 || 7:30 pm Friday and Saturday Scott Speck, conductor Chee-Yun, violin
David Schiff
Stomp
Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky
Violin Concerto, Op. 35, in D Major I. Allegro moderato II. Canzonetta: Andante III. Finale: Allegro vivacissimo
INTERMISSION Ludwig van Beethoven Chee-Yun, violin
Symphony no. 2, Op. 36, in D Major I. Adagio Molto – Allegro con brio II. Larghetto III. Scherzo: Allegro IV. Allegro Molto
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Chee-Yun will be performing a violin concert at The Block. Sunday, March 9 3 pm For tickets or info: westmichigansymphony.org facebook.com/AtTheBlock 231.726.3231 32 :: West Michigan Symphony Concert Program
DAVID SCHIFF (b. 1945) Stomp A native of New York City, David Schiff studied music at the Manhattan School of Music and at Juilliard with such noted teachers as John Corigliano and Elliot Carter. He is currently the R.P. Wollenberg Professor of Music at Reed College in Portland, OR. Schiff has composed in all areas, many works on Jewish and biblical themes, including an opera Gimpel the Fool. He composed Stomp in 1990 on commission from Concordia Chamber Orchestra for conductor Marin Alsop. Inspired by the music of James Brown (“Every instrument is treated like a drum”), Stomp recalls the various jazz styles from the 1920s on. This six-minute romp features various instrument combinations, making it a fine vehicle for orchestral solos. The percussion obviously gets center stage, but even the least percussive instruments, the flute and violin, get a chance to shine. LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1837) Symphony no.2 in D major, Op. 36 The cheerful mood of the Second Symphony presents an ironic contrast to the circumstances under which it was written. Composed in the summer of 1802, the Symphony was the child of one of the blackest moments in Beethoven’s life. Finally obliged to confront head on the dire implications of his increasing deafness, he realized that this affliction was not only the cruelest blow to the practice of his art but also would in all likelihood deny him the normal friendships and family life to which he aspired. Advised by his physician to leave Vienna for the peace and quiet of the countryside, Beethoven spent that summer and fall in Heiligenstadt, a suburb of Vienna. From his refuge he wrote to his brothers the famous pessimistic letter known as the “Heiligenstadt Testament,” a timeless statement on the full practical and emotional ramifications of deafness. Beethoven wrote, “…I was compelled early to keep apart, to live in loneliness; when at times I tried to surmount all this, oh, how harshly I was defeated by the doubly tragic experience of my bad hearing, and yet, I could not bring myself to say to people ‘Speak loudly for I am deaf.’” Beethoven never sent the letter, which was found among his effects after his death. His personal tragedy notwithstanding, Beethoven had the dedication and inner strength to put the final touches to his Second Symphony and the Third Piano Concerto. These two, together with the cantata Christ on the Mount of Olives, were premiered on April 5, 1803 at a Beethoven Akademie (benefit Concert) in Vienna to great acclaim (Scalpers were selling tickets at two to three times their nominal value.)
Because the Symphony shows no trace of Beethovenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s anguished pessimism, it has sometimes been called â&#x20AC;&#x153;a heroic lie.â&#x20AC;? It also illustrates the steady development of the composerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s style and orchestration, while still paying tribute to the spirit of Haydn and Mozart. The slow introduction is longer and weightier than the public was used toâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;even from Haydn. The Allegro introduces one of those deceptively simple themesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a slightly embellished five-finger exerciseâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;which Beethovenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s invested with new life through asymmetrical phrasing and unexpected harmonic direction. The second movement Larghetto presents a bouquet of lyrical melodies that contrast legato and detached articulation. The Scherzo plays a game with sudden contrasts in dynamics and orchestral color, and the Finale continues with the sudden dynamic shifts. Its explosive opening, with special prominence for the timpani, points the way for the boisterous finales of his mature years. He capitalizes on the joke by developing it within the exposition and later in the development as a series of musical â&#x20AC;&#x153;hiccups.â&#x20AC;? It is almost as if the unpredictable changes in dynamics in these last two movements represent the composerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s erratic hearing.
2013-2014 SeaSon
Time for theatre! A time to laugh; a time to cry;
usic and yrics by
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September 20 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; October 5, 2013 Beardsley Theater
PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893) Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35
November 22 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; December 8, 2013
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Tchaikovskyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Violin Concerto raises for the first time the ghastly idea that there are pieces of music that one can hear stinking... [the finale] transports us into the brutish grim jollity of a Russian church festival. In our mindâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eye we see nothing but common, ravaged faces, hear rough oaths and smell cheap liquor.â&#x20AC;? This politically incorrect assessment comes from the pen of the dean of nineteenth century music critics, Eduard Hanslick, reviewing the Concertoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Vienna premiere. Why did the Concerto premiere in Vienna and not St. Petersburg? It is difficult to believe that this Concerto, probably the most popular in the literature, was declared to contain passages that were â&#x20AC;&#x153;almost impossible to playâ&#x20AC;? by its first dedicatee, the famed violinist and violin teacher Leopold Auer, concertmaster of the Imperial Orchestra in St. Petersburg. Completed in 1878, it had to wait for three years for its premiere in Vienna where Hanslick was not alone in his opinion. What Hanslick and the other critics disliked most is what makes the Concerto so appealing today: its athletic energy, unabashed romanticism and rousing Slavic finale. Without diminishing our own enjoyment of the Concerto, attempting to hear it with the ears of its first audience is a fascinating exercise in cultural relativity. First of all, consider the sheer difficulty of the piece. What defeated Russiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading violin virtuoso is the stuff teenage prodigies cut their teeth on at Juilliard and Curtis, practicing the killer bits ad nauseam until they get it right or find some other career.
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Music and Lyrics by Laurence Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Keefe and Nell Benjamin Book by Heather Hach Based on the novel by Amanda Brown and the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Motion Picture
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34 :: West Michigan Symphony Concert Program
Program Notes Then there’s the fact that there was no love lost between the two great nineteenth-century imperial behemoths, Russia and AustriaHungary, who continued to slug it out until the end of World War I. That Tchaikovsky disliked Johannes Brahms, Hanslick’s favorite composer, probably also added fuel to the fire.
opens with a gentle melancholy song on the woodwinds that pervades the movement, serving as sharp contrast to the raucous Finale that follows without pause. Hanslick’s appraisal: “The adagio with its gentle Slav melancholy [note the stereotyping] is well on its way to reconciling us and winning us over.”
At the time of the Concerto’s inception, Tchaikovsky was just emerging from under the black cloud of a disastrous marriage to an emotionally unstable woman who had threatened suicide if he refused to marry. The marriage was also undertaken to quash rumors about his homosexuality; it ended two weeks later with his attempted suicide, although they were never legally divorced. The vibrant energy of the Concerto, however, seems to have been inspired by the visit of Josif Kotek, a young violinist, pupil and protégé who managed to raise the composer’s spirits and helped him with the Concerto, giving advice on technical matters.
The unabashed use of Russian peasant dance rhythms in the third movement that so upset Vienna’s critics was even at the time becoming a signature of much Russian orchestral music and a symbol of Russian nationalism. Another peculiar divergence from tradition that must have raised a few Viennese eyebrows is the spectacular cadenza at the beginning of the movement that follows immediately on the fiery orchestral introduction and leads right into the main theme. Now, if these had been German or Hungarian dances, Vienna’s attitude might have been different. <<
The Concerto opens with a brief, gentle introduction, paving the way for the lyrical first theme. After some virtuosic fireworks, the emerging second theme is surprisingly similar in mood to the first. The development, full of technical acrobatics, leads into the very difficult cadenza that the composer wrote himself.
AUDIO WEB NOTES For a deeper understanding of the music you heard or will be hearing, visit westmichigansymphony.org and go to the masterworks program of your choice. There you’ll find an expanded version of the printed notes including musical examples you can hear by clicking on the icon. There are also brief clickable definitions of musical terms as they appear in the text.
The current slow movement was Tchaikovsky’s second try; he discarded his first attempt, eventually publishing it separately as a violin and piano piece, Méditation, Op. 42, No. 3. The second version
Program notes by: Joseph & Elizabeth Kahn
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Chee-Yun
THIS IS A TALENTED INSTRUMENTALIST, WITH THE KIND OF HIGH-GLOSS TONE THAT PULLS SENSUOUSLY AT THE LISTENER'S EAR —New York Times
Violinist Chee-Yun's flawless technique, dazzling tone and compelling artistry have enraptured audiences on five continents. Charming, charismatic and deeply passionate about her art, Chee-Yun continues to carve a unique place for herself in the ever-evolving world of classical music. Chee-Yun performs regularly with the world's foremost orchestras, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, the London Philharmonic, and the Toronto, Houston, Seattle, Pittsburgh and National symphony orchestras. She has performed with such distinguished conductors as Hans Graf, James DePriest, Jesus Lopez-Cobos, Michael Tilson Thomas, Jaap van Zweden, Krzysztof Penderecki, Neeme Järvi, Pinchas Zukerman, Manfred Honeck, Giancarlo Guerrero and Carlos Kalmar. Internationally, Chee-Yun has toured with the Haifa Symphony, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, Germany's Braunschweig Orchestra and the MDR Radio Leipzig and performed with the BBC Symphony, St. Petersburg Camerata, the Bamberg Philharmonic, the Bilbao Symphony, the London Festival Orchestra, the Nagoya Philharmonic, and the KBS Symphony Orchestra. As a recitalist, Chee-Yun has performed in many major US cities including New York, Chicago, Washington, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Atlanta. Career highlights include appearances at the Kennedy Center's "Salute to Slava" gala honoring Mstislav Rostropovich, the Mostly Mozart Festival's tour to Japan, a performance with Michael Tilson Thomas in the inaugural season of Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall, and the US premiere of the Penderecki Sonata no. 2 with pianist Barry Douglas.. In the 2012-2013 season she toured in recital with pianist
Alessio Bax. Firmly committed to chamber music, Chee-Yun has toured with "Music from Marlboro" and appears frequently with Spoleto USA, a project she has been associated with since its inception. Chee-Yun's first public performance at age 8 took place in her native Seoul after she won the Grand Prize of the Korean Times Competition. At 13, she came to the United States and was invited to perform the Vieuxtemps Concerto no. 5 in a Young People's Concert with the New York Philharmonic. Two years later, she appeared as soloist with the New York String Orchestra under Alexander Schneider at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. In 1989, she won the Young Concert Artist’s international competition, and a year later became the recipient of the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant. In Korea, Chee-Yun studied with Nam Yun Kim. In the United States, she has worked with Dorothy DeLay, Hyo Kang, Daniel Phillips and Felix Galimir (chamber music) at The Juilliard School. In addition to her active performance and recording schedule, Chee-Yun is a dedicated and enthusiastic educator. She gives master classes around the world and has held several teaching posts at notable music schools and universities. Her past faculty positions have included serving as the resident Starling Soloist and Adjunct Professor of Violin at the University of Cincinnati CollegeConservatory of Music, and Visiting Professor of Music (Violin) at Indiana University School of Music. In August 2007, she was appointed Artist-in-Residence and Professor of Violin at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. For Chee-Yun's complete bio, please visit: chee-yun.net <<
36 :: West Michigan Symphony Concert Program
MUSIC CITY HITMAKERS
RENT THE BLOCK 360 W. Western Ave., 2nd Floor Muskegon, MI
Frauenthal Theater || Downtown Muskegon
Scott Speck, conductor Hillary Lindsey, Brett James and Gordie Sampson, musicians/songwriters Nashville's hottest songwriters join the West Michigan Symphony to perform Billboard #1 songs they composed for some of today's most iconic stars.
Concert selection will include some or all of the following: A Little Bit Stronger recorded by Sara Evans Hillary Lindsey, Hillary Scott, Luke Laird American Honey recorded by Lady Antebellum Hillary Lindsey, Cary Barlow, Shane Stevens Blessed recorded by Martina McBride Brett James, Hillary Lindsey, Troy Verges It’s America recorded by Rodney Atkins Brett James, Angelo Jesus Take The Wheel Grammy Award winning song recorded by Carrie Underwood Brett James, Hillary Lindsey, Gordie Sampson Just A Dream recorded by Carrie Underwood Hillary Lindsey, Gordie Sampson, Steve McEwan Mr. Know It All recorded by Kelly Clarkson Brett James, Ester Dean, Brian Kennedy
For tickets and more information: westmichigansymphony.org 231.726.3231 x 223 360 W. Western Ave., Muskegon, MI Find us on Facebook at: facebook.com/wmsymphony
The Block’s beautiful performance hall is AVAILABLE FOR RENT. The space is ideal for small- to mid-sized events including weddings, concerts and recitals, business meetings, client receptions, retreats, training classes, reunions, receptions and holiday parties. We can accommodate up to 150 people with a variety of seating or a strolling reception. The Block has state of the art lighting and technology, and a 20x11 ft. projection wall. For a tour or for rental information of The Block, please contact: Cathleen Dubault Business Development Manager West Michigan Symphony cdubault@westmichigansymphony.org
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Program Notes
M.4 || Simple Songs April 18 – 19, 2014 || 7:30 pm Friday and Saturday
Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů’s formative years were unusual. He spent his childhood in relative isolation in a tiny room at the top of the church tower in the small Moravian town where his father, a cobbler, served also as fire-watch, bell ringer and tower keeper. Until he started school, the boy seldom descended the 193 steps to street level. He remarked that his whole aesthetic was influenced by his early bird’s eye view of the world, "…not the small interests of people, the cares, the hurts, or the joys but space, which I always have in front of me."
Scott Speck, conductor Martha Guth, soprano
Bohuslav Martinů
Overture H. 345
Aaron Jay Kernis Martha Guth, soprano
Simple Songs
INTERMISSION Mendelssohn
BOHUSLAV MARTINŮ (1890-1959) Overture for Orchestra
Symphony no. 3 “Scottish” I. Andante con moto – Allegro un poco agitato II. Vivace non troppo III. Adagio IV. Allegro vivacissimo – Allegro maestoso assai
Although his musical talent manifested itself early in his childhood, he was expelled from the Prague Conservatory for “incorrigible negligence.” In spite of his strong nationalistic feelings, Martinů left Prague and newly independent Czechoslovakia in 1923 for Paris in order, as he said, “To escape the cult of Smetana and the pervasive influence of German music with its full metaphysical apparatus.” He had intended to stay in Paris for only a few months to study with Albert Roussel but ended up settling there for 17 years until forced to escape after the fall of France in 1940. Like many of Europe’s displaced intelligentsia, he reached the US via Lisbon in 1941. He lived in New York, composing and commuting to Princeton to teach. In spite of his many friends among the refugees from Europe, he never felt comfortable in this country. Nevertheless, his stay here turned into an extremely creative period with commissions and compositions, many written for his friends and colleagues, including the Five Madrigal Stanzas for violin and piano, written for violinist Albert Einstein and his friend, the pianist Robert Casadesus. Composed in 1953, the Overture is a mini concerto grosso, written for a large orchestra with a seven-member concertino of solo instruments: Flute, 2 violins, viola, 2 cellos and oboe. The style is also neo-Baroque, contrapuntal and definitely tonal, but with a slight twentieth-century bite. AARON JAY KERNIS (b. 1960) Simple Songs
Martha Guth will be performing a solo concert at The Block. Wednesday, April 16 7:30 pm For tickets or info: westmichigansymphony.org facebook.com/AtTheBlock 231.726.3231 38 :: West Michigan Symphony Concert Program
In the now-defunct schism between the serialists and the listening public, Aaron Jay Kernis clearly sided with neither, carving out his own personal vision of what is beautiful, flowing seamlessly from moments of dissonance to moments of lyrical tonality. His style is eclectic, juxtaposing a variety of styles, including American popular and vernacular music. He was described by New York music critic Lawrence Cosentino as “...at or near the top of a list of young American composers
who have made it safe for music lovers to return to the concert hall and enjoy new music that neither panders to nor alienates audiences.” His compositions have earned him many prizes and commissions, including the Pulitzer Prize in 1988 for his String Quartet no.2. He currently serves as composer in residence for the Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute.
Mendelssohn’s financial security gave him the opportunity to take the Grand Tour in what was then considered the civilized world, Western Europe, Italy and Britain. In 1829, he traveled to England and then on to Scotland, where his visit to Fingal’s Cave in the Hebrides Islands inspired The Hebrides Overture. It also produced the ideas that became the Scottish Symphony.
Self-taught on the violin, piano and in composition, Kernis attended the San Francisco Conservatory, the Manhattan School of Music, and Yale University, working along the way with John Adams, Charles Wuorinen, Morton Subotnick, Bernard Rands and Jacob Druckman.
Started in Italy in 1830 but not finished until 1842, the Scottish Symphony was Mendelssohn's last—the numbering of the five symphonies reflecting their order of publication rather than composition. He dedicated the Symphony to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, whom he had met and charmed during one of his visits to England (the Queen actually sang with Mendelssohn accompanying her on the piano).
Kernis composed Simple Songs in 1991 for soprano Susan Narucki and the New Music Consort (7+ players). In 1995 he expanded it for chamber orchestra for the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and subsequently made an arrangement for soprano and piano. Kernis selected the texts from an anthology, The Enlightened Heart, edited by Stephan Mitchell, which deals with mystical poetry from the Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, and Muslim traditions. The chosen texts are a paean to the simple life. The musical settings are quite disparate in style and instrumentation. 1. Poet, dramatist and composer, the twelfth-century abbess Hildegard von Bingen wrote this poem to her own music in the style of liturgical plainchant. Kernis’s angular vocal line and atonal setting is the most contemporary of the five songs. It is accompanied by bright sounds of piccolo and hand bells. 2. Dramatically different in musical style from the previous song, these verses from Psalm 1 recall some of Mahler’s early songs. 3. The poet Ryokan was a Zen Buddhist monk lived in Niigata, Japan from 1758 to 1831 and is famous for his poetry and calligraphy. The flute and percussion parts imitate birdsong. The vocal line recalls in style the Hermit Songs of Samuel Barber. 4. A poem by Rumi, the 13th century Persian mystic Sufi poet. 5. Kernis dedicated this quiet, contemplative setting of Psalm 131 to the memory of Leonard Bernstein. It is largely instrumental with a long introduction and ending. FELIX MENDELSSOHN (1809-1847) Symphony no. 3 in A minor, Op. 56, "Scottish" We are all familiar with the romantic stereotype—and often the reality—of the struggling composer struggling for his daily bread and artistic survival. Probably the greatest exception to this picture was Felix Mendelssohn, an economically secure composer from a culturally sophisticated and highly supportive family. The Mendelssohn household was a Mecca for the intellectual elite of Germany, and the many family visitors fawned over the prodigy and his talented sister Fanny. Fortunately for the development of his rare abilities, his carefully selected teachers were demanding and strict.
While the music has an undeniably Scottish flavor, it does not quote any authentic folk melodies, a device that Mendelssohn despised. Writing to his father from Wales, he commented: "...anything but national music! May ten thousand devils take all folklore... a harpist sits in the lobby of every inn of repute playing so-called folk melodies at you—dreadful, vulgar, fake stuff; and simultaneously a hurdygurdy is tooting out melodies—it's enough to drive you crazy..." That being said, it’s difficult to distinguish Mendelssohn’s invented Scottish style melodies from the kind of musical nationalism he so despised. Beginning with the introduction and the succeeding allegro agitato, the gloomy atmosphere gave rise to the myth that it was somehow inspired by the tragic life of Mary Queen of Scots. More likely, the Symphony reflects the bleak and stormy weather so prevalent in the Scottish highlands, lowlands and outlying islands. The climax of the first movement is a veritable hurricane, replete with chromatic moaning in the strings. The second movement provides a little sunshine, its main theme as near to a Scottish folksong—with “Scotch snap” and all—as Mendelssohn could get without actually using one. The third movement comes through as passionate, at times even anguished. Its middle section suggests a horn-call summons of doom. Then, it’s back to the Sturm und Drang of the finale. But—perhaps with a bow to Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony—Mendelssohn ends the Symphony with a shift again to the major mode and a new and optimistic theme to end it. << AUDIO WEB NOTES For a deeper understanding of the music you heard or will be hearing, visit westmichigansymphony.org and go to the masterworks program of your choice. There you’ll find an expanded version of the printed notes including musical examples you can hear by clicking on the icon. There are also brief clickable definitions of musical terms as they appear in the text. Program notes by: Joseph & Elizabeth Kahn Volume 3//September 2013 – June 2014 :: 39
Martha Guth FROM THE FIRST NOTES THE ATMOSPHERE IN THE HALL CHANGED. IT WAS ONE OF THOSE MAGICAL MOMENTS... —Clare Stevens Opera Now, London
Soprano Martha Guth brings consummate musicianship, interpretive intelligence and a distinctive tonal palette to a wide range of musical styles and periods. A persuasive actress, she just enjoyed a big success as Frau Fluth in the Boston Midsummer Opera production of Nicolai’s rarely-staged The Merry Wives of Windsor. Past operatic forays include Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro (Countess) and Don Giovanni (Donna Anna) at Opera Lyra Ottawa; the same composer’s Die Zauberflöte (Pamina) and Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Konstanze) in Göggingen, Germany; the title role of Händel’s Alcina in Lucca, Italy; Lauretta in Bizet’s Dr. Miracle and Norina in Don Pasquale with the Santa Fe Opera (the latter on tour as a past apprentice of the company), and Alyce in Tom Cipullo’s Glory Denied at New York’s Chelsea Opera. A much-sought-after concert soloist, her engagements include Beethoven’s Missa solemnis with Helmuth Rilling and the Bachakademie Stuttgart, the Brahms Requiem with John Nelson in Grand Rapids, Haydn’s Die Schöpfung with the New Mexico Symphony, Händel’s Messiah with the Santa Fe Symphony, Mozart’s Exsultate, jubilate with the Hamilton Philharmonic, Berlioz’ Les nuits d’été with the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra, Mozart Arias with Germany’s Bad Reichenhaller Philharmonie, and Strauss and Mozart selections with the Toronto Symphony. She has also been guest
soloist with Seiji Ozawa and Robert Spano at Tanglewood, as well as with the National Arts Centre Orchestra and Calgary Philharmonic. Other works in her active repertoire include Orff’s Carmina Burana (Florida Orchestra, Mobile and Lima Symphonies), Mahler’s Second, Fourth and Eighth Symphonies, and the Bach Passions, B Minor Mass and Cantatas. Recent and upcoming performances include Britten's Sea Symphony (Durham, NC), Messiahs in Grand Rapids, MI, Providence and Lexington, KY, Mahler #2 with the Evansville Philharmonic, two recitals with pianist Graham Johnson (Leeds, U.K.), and an allBritten recital with Malcolm Martineau in New York City, where she also curates the Casement Fund Song Series. A model collaborator, Ms. Guth has earned special distinction for her passionate devotion to recital and chamber repertoire, earning First Prize at the 2007 Wigmore Hall International Song Competition in London. She has been welcomed at Wigmore Hall with pianist Graham Johnson, New York’s Liederkranz Foundation with Dalton Baldwin, and MusicFest Vancouver with Erika Switzer. In addition, she and Ms. Switzer co-host an online magazine Sparks and Wiry Cries (sparksandwirycries.com) featuring live and recorded performances and discussions with singers, pianists and composers. Martha Guth was raised in Vancouver, British Columbia. She holds an undergraduate degree from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, a Master’s from the Cincinnati College/Conservatory of Music, and a post-graduate degree from the Hochschule für Musik in Augsburg/Nürnberg where she studied with Edith Wiens. marthaguth.com <<
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Volume 3//September 2013 – June 2014 :: 41
Program Notes
M.5 || Russian Rhapsody May 16 – 17, 2014 || 7:30 pm Friday and Saturday Scott Speck, conductor Yuri Rozum, piano
Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky
Hamlet: Fantasy Overture after Shakespeare, Op. 67
Sergei Rachmaninoff Yuri Rozum, piano
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43
INTERMISSION Sergei Rachmaninoff Yuri Rozum, piano
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Piano Concerto no. 2, Op. 18, in C minor I. Moderato II. Adagio sostenuto III. Allegro scherzando
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Yuri Rozum will be performing a solo piano concert at The Block. Sunday, May 18 4 pm For tickets or info: westmichigansymphony.org facebook.com/AtTheBlock 231.726.3231 42 :: West Michigan Symphony Concert Program
PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893) Hamlet: Fantasy Overture, Op. 67 The plays of William Shakespeare were one of the major literary influences on the composers of the Romantic era, from Mendelssohn to Tchaikovsky. The latter wrote fantasy overtures based on three of Shakespeare’s plays. The first, Romeo and Juliet, has become one of the most popular orchestral compositions in the classical repertory, while the other two, The Tempest and Hamlet, are infrequently heard today. Tchaikovsky composed Hamlet in the summer of 1888, at the same time as the Fifth Symphony. He had already composed his two other fantasy overtures on Shakespeare over a decade earlier but had been toying with the idea of music to Hamlet during the same period. A request for incidental music for a performance in St. Petersburg that he failed to fulfill in time finally inspired him to write the overture. Tchaikovsky did not attempt to narrate the plot of Hamlet, but rather present atmospheric sketches and the emotional states of the main characters. There is no back story to the composition of the work as there is for Romeo and Juliet and its various revisions; and Tchaikovsky was not as accommodating as Dvorák, who supplied “cheat sheets” for his tone poems that specified the correspondences between musical themes and narrative elements. It is, therefore, impossible to identify even such important figures as the ghost of Hamlet’s father or even Claudius and Gertrude. But Ophelia emerges from all the Sturm und Drang, predictably, as a mournful oboe solo, and a love scene was de rigueur in the nineteenth century, despite the fact that in the play, Hamlet treats his beloved only with sarcasm and real, or feigned, manic disdain. Like all such overtures of the period, Hamlet is written in sonata form. It opens with a long, mournful introduction with funereal timpani, marked Lento lugubre. The Allegro is fraught with tension and frenetic anxiety, which could stand for anything from the Ghost to Hamlet’s erratic behavior, to the rotten state of Denmark under a usurper, etc. The requisite contrasting second theme seems to represent a very Russian-sounding Ophelia, followed by the probable love motive. Suddenly a military march interrupts, obviously Fortinbras eager to set the shiftless kingdom to rights and snap up more real estate for Norway. After an increasingly stormy development, Tchaikovsky returns to the narrative with a coda, the timpani now beating out a funeral march for Shakespeare’s antihero and the rest of the cast.
SERGEI RACHMANINOFF (1873-1943) Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43 Sergei Rachmaninoff grew up in a middle-class musical family, but under strained economic conditions. His gifts as a pianist were recognized early, but he had always wanted to compose and considered himself a composer first, pianist second. Already established as a performer in his teens, he gained instant fame as a composer at age 19 with his Prelude in C-sharp minor, a work that haunted him all his life because audiences always expected—and demanded—it as an encore to his concerts. For nearly two decades Rachmaninoff managed to divide his time comfortably among composing, conducting and performing, with composing his priority. But this idyllic lifestyle changed drastically with the 1917 Russian Revolution, which, as a conservative and traditionalist, he viewed with horror. That year, Rachmaninoff left the country with his family never to return, eventually settling in the United States. His sources of income having dried up, he became a fulltime pianist for the rest of his life, leaving him little time to compose. One of Rachmaninoff’s late works was the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, composed in 1934. The work is a set of variations based on the 24th Caprice from Niccoló Paganini’s Caprices for Violin Solo, Op. 1. This Caprice—itself a set of bravura variations—has also served such diverse composers as Chopin, Liszt, Schumann, Brahms, Schnittke and Lutoslawski. Rachmaninoff played the premiere with the Philadelphia Orchestra in Baltimore under the baton of Leopold Stokowski. In the Rhapsody, Rachmaninoff reveals an inventiveness—and even an uncharacteristic sense of humor. While Paganini’s variations concentrate on virtuosic pyrotechnics, Rachmaninoff imbues the little tune with a wide array of clever harmonizations, eccentric rhythms and changing moods. But however much the variation appears to stray from the theme, the underlying harmonic structure remains constant. The piece opens with an introduction that hints at the theme to come, followed by the first variation (which he labeled “precedente”), a skeletal version of the theme itself, using only the first note of each of Paganini’s measures—Beethoven had used a similar device to open the set of variations in the Finale of the Symphony no. 3 (Eroica), a stunningly novel approach for the time. Only afterwards does Rachmaninoff present the theme in full, following it with 23 more variations and a mischievous two-measure coda. The Variations give the pianist the same kind of virtuosic workout as its model did for showman Paganini. Rachmaninoff provides two surprises that save the work from unrelenting repetitiveness so common with long sets of variations. One is in Variation 7 with the appearance of a second theme, the
Dies irae chant from the Catholic Mass for the Dead that reminds mourners of the terrors of the Day of Judgment. It is a theme that recurs frequently in Rachmaninoff’s music, usually in the most somber sections, but here it has a decidedly tongue-in-cheek flavor: While the piano plays the Dies irae, the orchestra continues to play the Paganini theme, with which it conveniently harmonizes perfectly. The Dies irae recurs in later variations, but always balanced by the main theme and never imposing its lugubrious atmosphere on the composition. The second highlight occurs in Variation 18. Nearly all of Rachmaninoff’s music is in minor keys. Yet, “compelled” by tradition to compose at least one variation in the opposite mode, he accentuated the contrast by not only composing Variation 18 in the major mode, but inverting the theme as well. SERGEI RACHMANINOFF (1873-1943) Piano Concerto no.2 in C minor, Op. 18 By 1895 Rachmaninoff felt confident enough to compose a symphony. The premiere took place in St. Petersburg in 1897 but was a dismal failure, in large part because to the shoddy conducting of Alexander Glazunov who was under “the influence.” Whereas earlier setbacks had produced in the young composer creative defiance, this disappointment brought on a severe depression. For three years he was unable to do any significant composing. After consulting numerous physicians and advisors, even asking old Leo Tolstoy for help, he finally went for therapy in 1900 to Dr. Nikolay Dahl, an internist who studied hypnosis and rudimentary psychotherapy in Paris. The result was one of the first well-known successes of modern psychotherapy. Although the composer was able to return to creative work, relapses into depression dogged him for the rest of his life. Significantly, all his large instrumental compositions are in minor keys, and one of the melodic themes recurring in many of his compositions is the Dies irae chant from the Catholic mass for the dead that reminds mourners of the terrors of the day of judgment. Rachmaninoff expressed his gratitude to Dr. Dahl by dedicating the Second Piano Concerto to him. The first performance of the complete work, in November 1901 with the composer at the piano, was an instant success. It is Rachmaninoff's most frequently performed and recorded orchestral work. It even found its way into Hollywood as background music to the World War II movie Brief Encounter. The first movement opens with dark, plodding unaccompanied chords on the piano that increase in intensity and volume, gradually joined by the orchestra and leading to the first theme. The effect is like the tolling of the giant low-pitched bells common in Russian churches. The second broadly romantic theme is a Rachmaninoff signature. The lyrical mood is sustained throughout until the coda with its sudden conclusion in a dramatic burst of energy. Volume 3//September 2013 – June 2014 :: 43
Program Notes
Yuri Rozum
The second movement opens with muted strings, following by the piano left hand hesitantly accompanying the high woodwinds. The right hand then joins the woodwinds in dreamy interplay. After a brief energetic cadenza, the atmosphere of the beginning returns.
Yuri Rozum was born in Moscow and enrolled in the Central Music School of the Moscow Conservatory at the age of seven. He came in first in the piano entrance exams at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatoire, and at the age of 21 was selected to participate in the Queen Elizabeth Piano Competition in Brussels. The Soviet authorities, for religious and political reasons, refused to give him permission to attend. It was not until several years later that he was allowed to travel abroad and became a prize-winner of numerous international competitions and festivals, including the Queen Sofia International Piano Competition in Madrid, the Barcelona International Piano Competition, the Montreal International Music Competition, Pleven International Laureate Festival, the Tokyo International Music Competition, and others.
The beginning of the third movement in the lower range of the orchestra is deceptively gentle, eventually breaking into a sudden sparkling, drivingly rhythmic piano cadenza. The main theme, introduced by the violas and oboes, is intensely passionate—in the same vein as the second theme of the opening movement. After a surprisingly calm episode, the tempo increases to presto; and after another short cadenza the highest instruments in the orchestra take up the theme, culminating in a glittering climax. << AUDIO WEB NOTES For a deeper understanding of the music you heard or will be hearing, visit westmichigansymphony.org and go to the masterworks program of your choice. There you’ll find an expanded version of the printed notes including musical examples you can hear by clicking on the icon. There are also brief clickable definitions of musical terms as they appear in the text.
Yuri Rozum has performed with many leading international orchestras and in many prestigious halls including the Grand Hall of Moscow Conservatoire, Moscow Tchaikovsky Hall, Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Teatro Real in Madrid, Palau de la Musica in Barcelona, and many others. In 2003, for the first time in the history of the Russian Federation Government House, the main hall of the “White House” in Moscow became a venue of the solo piano recital performed by Yuri Rozum. In 2005 Yuri was chosen to perform as a soloist at the prestigious “Glocke” Theatre in Bremen with the Bremen Philharmonic Orchestra at the charity festive concert dedicated to Mikhail Gorbachev’s 75th birthday.
Program notes by: Joseph & Elizabeth Kahn For his outstanding contribution to the musical life of Russia he was awarded a medal of the Supreme Soviet and title of the “People's Honoured Artist of Russia” by President Putin. Yuri has also received the Medal of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR “Labour Valour”, Order of “Peter the Great of the 1st Degree”, Order “Service to the Art”, and Order the “Knight of Science and Arts”. The Yuri Rozum International Charitable Foundation” was created in 2005, on the initiative of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences and Moscow Regional Arts School No.1 for Children, which has been named after Yuri Rozum. Yuri Rozum’s regular festival appearances include “Russian Winter” Music Festival, “Moscow Stars” Festival, Colorado Music Festival, Portland Piano Seria, Rheingau Music Festival (Germany), Seiler International Music Festival (Germany), Festival Frédéric Chopin A Valldemossa (Spain), Melbourne Festival (Australia), and others.
THOSE WHO DON’T KNOW OR HAVEN’T HEARD YURI ROZUM HAVEN’T LIVED YET —Rudolf Prince Von Sayn-Wittgenstein 44 :: West Michigan Symphony Concert Program
In addition to his career as a soloist, Yuri Rozum gives regular series of master classes at a number of leading Universities in the United States, Germany, Norway, Australia and Russia. For a number of years Yuri was Professor of Music at the Fischer Music Academy and also at the Monash University in Melbourne. Yuri has been a respected juror of international music competitions in Russia and Seiler International Piano Competitions (Germany). Since 2008 Yuri has been Professor of Music of the Moscow Gensins' Academy of Music. yurirozum.com <<
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Hillary Lindsey
P.3 || Music City Hitmakers June 6 – 7, 2014 || 7:30 pm Friday and Saturday Scott Speck, conductor Hillary Lindsey, Brett James and Gordie Sampson, musicians/songwriters
CONCERT SELECTIONS WILL INCLUDE SOME OR ALL OF THE FOLLOWING: THE #1's A Little Bit Stronger recorded by Sara Evans
Hillary Lindsey, Hillary Scott, Luke Laird
American Honey recorded by Lady Antebellum
Hillary Lindsey, Cary Barlow, Shane Stevens
Blessed Brett James, Hillary Lindsey, Troy Verges recorded by Martina McBride It’s America recorded by Rodney Atkins
Brett James, Angelo
Jesus Take The Wheel Brett James, Hillary Lindsey, Gordie Sampson Grammy Award winning song recorded by Carrie Underwood Just A Dream Hillary Lindsey, Gordie Sampson, Steve McEwan recorded by Carrie Underwood Mr. Know It All recorded by Kelly Clarkson
Brett James, Ester Dean, Brian Kennedy
Out Last Night recorded by Kenny Chesney
Brett James, Kenny Chesney
So Small Hillary Lindsey, Carrie Underwood, Luke Laird recorded by Carrie Underwood Summer Nights recorded by Rascal Flatts
Brett James, Gary Lavox, Busby
The Man I Want To Be recorded by Chris Young
Brett James, Tim Nichols
The Truth recorded by Jason Aldean
Brett James, Ashley Monroe
Wasted Hillary Lindsey, Troy Verges, Marv Green recorded by Carrie Underwood THE OSCAR AND GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINEES Coming Home Hillary Lindsey, Troy Verges, Tom Douglass Oscar Nominated song from the major motion picture Country Strong There’s A Place For Us Hillary Lindsey, Carrie Underwood Golden Globe Nominated song from the major motion picture Narnia recorded by Carrie Underwood For more info on the songwriters and their hits, visit: musiccityhitmakers.com
46 :: West Michigan Symphony Concert Program
• 5 Carrie Underwood #1 singles • Oscar and Two Time Golden Globe Nominee • RIAA Certified 30 million records sold Grammy winning songstress Hillary Lindsey hails from the small town of Washington, GA and remembers writing songs as early as age 10. In 1994, Hillary entered Belmont University’s esteemed Music Business School. It was there that she discovered her penchant for song and forged the writing relationships that had her destined for success. Shortly after leaving Belmont, Hillary signed her first publishing deal and had eight songs recorded by major artists in her very first year. In 2002, Hillary enjoyed her first Billboard Country #1 song with "Blessed" recorded by Martina McBride. During the years following this success, Hillary had a streak of top 30 singles with such artists as Terri Clark, Sarah Evans, Carolyn Dawn Johnson and again with Martina McBride, this time cracking the top 5 with "This One’s for the Girls." Lindsey returned to the top of the chart in January of 2006 with "Jesus Take The Wheel" recorded by 2005 American Idol winner Carrie Underwood. The song spent six weeks atop the Country Hot 100 tying the runner-up record for the longest-running song by a solo female artist. In 2007 "Jesus Take The Wheel" won Hillary, and cowriters Brett James and Gordie Sampson, a Grammy for Best Country Song at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards. The song had already received ACM honors for Single of the Year in the previous year. For Hillary, the Grammy win marked only the beginning of her run with Carrie Underwood adding four more #1’s to her credit; "So Small," "Wasted," "Last Name," and "Just A Dream." Hillary’s songwriting successes extend far beyond the Country genre, to movies and pop charts abroad. Her film credits include the songs "Grow Young With You’" performed by Coley McCabe and Andy Griggs in Where The Heart Is starring Natalie Portman, "Together" performed by Michelle Branch in Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, and "Don’t Walk
Away" performed by Miley Cyrus in Hannah Montana The Movie. Her international achievements have been with EMI Belgium artist Sarah who took her song "Very Last Moment" to the top of the pop chart and Warner recording artist Ilse Delange brought "I’m Not So Tough" to the number one position in her native country of Holland.
Brett James
As his chart success continued, Brett appeared on Billboard Magazine’s top-ten country songwriters list for five consecutive years, the only writer to do so, and in 2006 reached yet another musical milestone winning ASCAP Songwriter of the Year. Outside of the writer’s room, Brett’s talents have earned production credits that include Taylor Swift, Jessica Simpson, Josh Gracin and Kip Moore. James is currently serving his fifth term on the board of directors for the Country Music Association as well as the Nashville Songwriters Association International.
Gordie Sampson
• 5 Kenny Chesney smash hits • Two Time ASCAP Songwriter of the Year • 13 #1's, 300+ songs recorded Over the past decade, Grammy winning songwriter and producer Brett James, has established himself as one of the most prolific and versatile songwriters in Nashville, having had more than two hundred of his songs recorded by major label recording artists. James has become a fixture on the Billboard Country chart with ten #1 and scores of top 20 singles to his credit. In 2009, Brett achieved the Music Row “Triple Play,” an award for three #1 songs in a single chart year, not once, but twice! These six #1‘s; "It’s America," Rodney Atkins, "Out Last Night," Kenny Chesney, "Cowboy Cassanova," Carrie Underwood, "Summer Nights," Rascal Flatts, "The Truth" Jason Aldean, and "The Man I Want To Be" Chris Young earned James ASCAP Songwriter of the Year for a second time in October 2010. A native of Oklahoma City, Brett attended Baylor University where he completed two years of medical school before moving to Nashville to pursue his dream of becoming a country star. In 1995, Brett James was signed to the Arista subsidiary Career Records and subsequently released his self-titled debut album. Career Records was later dissolved in consolidation and with it, James’s recording artist aspirations. Brett persevered as a writer at Patrick Joseph Publishing which fostered the relationships that destined him for success. In the year 2000, James received his first major album cut with the song "Love Is A Sweet Thing," recorded by Faith Hill followed by a top 20 single "You Won’t Be Lonely Now," with Billy Ray Cyrus. It wasn’t long before Brett reached the benchmark that all songwriters and artists alike strive for, the coveted #1 song. In April of 2001, then break out artist Jessica Andrews landed James his first #1 with the song "Who I Am." He returned to the top of the chart in 2002, this time with country superstar Martina McBride and the song "Blessed."
• 2 Carrie Underwood #1 songs • SOCAN and Juno Award-winner • Canadian artist with 4 commercial releases Gordie Sampson is a musical whirlwind, perpetually creating—a brilliant writer, an innovative producer and a dynamic performer. Gordie's musical genius is applauded by audiences and industry players alike. From his national debut in the early 90's to his presence today on the Nashville writing scene where international recording stars are discovering and recording his material including Faith Hill "Paris," George Canyon "My Name," and Keith Urban covering "The Hard Way" and “You (or Somebody Like You)." Gordie's second solo recording; titled Sunburn is an intelligent, original and compelling hook laden cd. From the weary truth of the title track "Sunburn" to the aching melancholy of "Paris," it has been worth the wait for avid fans of this musical phenomenon. Sunburn, has garnered him a Juno nomination for Songwriter of the Year and numerous East Coast Music Awards. When “Stones” was released to rave reviews, Gordie earned a Juno nomination and half a dozen East Coast Music and Music Industry Association of Nova Scotia Awards. The second single, "Sorry," would draw particular attention to Gordie as a songwriter, while touring with The Rankins introduced him to new audiences as a performer, and producing Natalie MacMaster’s 1999 album “In My Hands,” earned Gordie a new level of respect and a pair of national music awards. Volume 3//September 2013 – June 2014 :: 47
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