Yale Philharmonia, Peter Oundjian, principal conductor & Anna Lee, violin, May 6, 2023

Robert Blocker, Dean

Yale Philharmonia

Peter Oundjian, Principal Conductor

Anna Lee, violin

Saturday, May 6, 2023 | 7:30 p.m.

Woolsey Hall

Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61

I. Allegro ma non troppo

II. Larghetto

III. Rondo. Allegro

Anna Lee, violin

intermission

The Rite of Spring, K015

Part 1: The Adoration of the Earth

Introduction

The Augurs of Spring: Dances of the Young Girls

Ritual of Abduction

Spring Rounds

Ritual of the Rival Tribes

Procession of the Sage

The Sage

Dance of the Earth

Part 2: The Sacrifice

Introduction

Mystic Circles of the Young Girls

Glorification of the Chosen One

Evocation of the Ancestors

Ritual Action of the Ancestors

Sacrificial Dance

As a courtesy to others, please silence all devices. Photography and recording of any kind is strictly prohibited. Please do not leave the hall during musical selections. Thank you.

Ludwig van Beethoven 1770–1827

Igor Stravinsky 1882–1971

The Wagner Tuben used in this performance of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring were furnished through the courtesy of the New York Philharmonic.

Artist Profiles

Peter Oundjian, principal conductor

Toronto-born conductor Peter Oundjian has been an instrumental figure in the rebirth of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra since his appointment as Music Director in 2004. In addition to conducting the orchestra in dynamic performances that have achieved significant artistic acclaim, he has been greatly involved in a variety of new initiatives that have strengthened the ensemble’s presence in the community and attracted a young and diverse audience.

In addition to his post in Toronto, from which he stepped down in 2018, Oundjian served as Principal Guest Conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra from 2006 to 2010 and played a major role at the Caramoor International Music Festival in New York between 1997 and 2007. In 2012 he was appointed Music Director of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.

Oundjian was the first violinist of the renowned Tokyo String Quartet, a position he held for fourteen years. Since 1981, he has been on the Yale School of Music faculty. He was awarded the School’s Samuel Simons Sanford Medal for distinguished service to music in 2013 and named Principal Conductor of the Yale Philharmonia in 2015. He is Professor (adjunct) of Music and Orchestral Conducting at the School of Music.

Anna Lee, violin

Delighting her listeners with “her warm, humane musicianship” and “sweet spot of grace,” Anna Lee is an active concert violinist, chamber musician, and teacher. She began violin studies at the age of four with Alexander Souptel and debuted two years later as soloist, performing Paganini’s Violin Concerto No. 1 with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and maestro Lan Shui. Since then, she has performed in music festivals around the world, such as the Marlboro Music Festival, the Seoul Spring Festival, and the Verbier Festival, as well as on radio shows such as NPR’s Performance Today.

Notable chamber music collaborations include Emanuel Ax, Cho-Liang Lin, Mitsuko Uchida, and Gary Hoffman. As a soloist, Anna Lee made her New York Philharmonic debut in 2011, as well as her German debut in 2016 with maestro Christoph Eschenbach and the Frankfurt Radio Orchestra (hrSinfonieorchester). Prizewinner of the 2022 Ysaÿe, 2022 Classic Strings Dubai, 2019 Montréal, and 2018 Indianapolis Competitions, Anna Lee has also been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Horatio Parker Memorial Prize (Yale School of Music), the Louis Sudler Prize (Office for the Arts at Harvard University), and the Hahnloser Violin Prize (Verbier Festival Academy).

Anna Lee studied with Masao Kawasaki and Cho-Liang Lin at The Juilliard School Pre-College Division, Ana Chumachenco at the Kronberg Academy, and Miriam Fried and Don Weilerstein in Boston, where she

began her exploration of music and poetry at Harvard College. In May 2023, she will receive her Master of Musical Arts degree with Ani Kavafian at the Yale School of Music.

She also maintains a private studio while being invited as a teacher and chamber music coach to institutions like the Kronberg Academy’s Mit Musik–Miteinander festival, Classical Music Institute in San Antonio, and MusicAlp Festival in France.

Program Notes

Violin Concerto in D major beethoven

ed. from Patrick Campbell Jankowski

Though it is one of the most often performed and universally beloved works in the concert repertoire today, Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D major was not met with such acclaim at its Viennese premiere in 1806. The story goes that the composer was so late in completing the concerto before the premiere that the violin soloist Franz Clement, for whose benefit concert the work was written, was forced to essentially sight-read it. As may be expected, the premiere was all but disastrous, and Clement allegedly resorted to playing his violin upside-down to keep the audience amused. As if that were not enough, audiences at the time complained of its unprecedented length, and violinists complained of its technical difficulty.

In one of the most recognizable opening gestures in the canon of art music, Beethoven

begins his concerto with four subdued pulsations in, of all instruments, the timpani. This four-beat motive can be traced as it is transformed and manipulated throughout the entirety of the lengthy and complex first movement. Immediately apparent after this opening gesture is the movement’s lyricism, as evidenced in the calm wind chorale that introduces the first theme of the movement. Indeed, though it is technically demanding, the concerto does not rely on flashy pyrotechnics for effect. Rather, it calls forth the soloist’s expressive voice throughout. Beethoven greatly enlarges the role of the orchestra in this concerto, in contrast to the solo-centric conception of many other works in the genre. The soloist often comments upon and occasionally even accompanies the action taking place in the orchestra, rather than exerting its presence over an obediently accompanying ensemble. This novel dynamic challenges the concept of a concerto’s focus.

The second movement is a lyrical set of variations on a theme that recalls the first movement’s primary theme in its hymnal style. The theme and variations would become one of Beethoven’s most favored and often-used genres; it allows the composer to demonstrate his clever mastery of a number of styles, and of melodic and motivic transformation. In a way, the theme and variations challenges the composer to write music that is unique and interesting yet constrained by the repeating melody or theme. In this example, Beethoven meets this challenge astutely, by having the original chorale theme be present in its original form throughout. No matter where the soloist ventures, the theme is always there, like a fond reminis-

cence echoing in one’s mind. This memory remains in the background as the music escalates in energy through a brilliant connective passage that links the contemplative middle movement to the exuberant finale, which follows without pause.

The finale, a jaunty and jovial Rondo in a galloping dance meter, provides some of the technical ostentatiousness that one might expect in a solo concerto. The playful movement departs into some surprising musical territory, including a poignant G minor dialogue with the solo bassoon. As in the finale of the second piano concerto, Beethoven gets the last laugh – he takes the soloist to the very quietest dynamic as it is left alone in the final few bars to ruminate on the opening theme, as though temporarily lost in a pleasant and nostalgic daydream, before being abruptly shocked back into reality once more by the closing orchestral fortissimo.

The Rite of Spring

stravinsky

ed.

from David Heetderks

Stravinsky said that one day in 1910, “I saw in my imagination a solemn pagan rite: sage elders, seated in a circle, watched a young girl dance herself to death. They were sacrificing her to propitiate the god of spring.” Nicholas Roerich created a scenario for the ballet, and Stravinsky wrote the music 1911–1913. The Rite of Spring received its first performance, with choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky, in 1913. The premiere caused a near riot. Listeners were galvanized by the heretofore-unheard rhythmic power, brutally dissonant harmonies, and shocking orchestral effects. Two features are especially

notable: the first is a lack of “symphonic” methods of composition – various cells and blocks of sounds are juxtaposed and overlaid, or lines are piled on top of one another to give frenetic but logical crescendi of activity; the second is the work’s revolutionary use of rhythm: ostinati, long sections of conflicting accents, and motives with varying meter.

“Adoration of the Earth” begins with a quiet transformation of a Russian folk song in the bassoon. “The Augurs of Spring: Dances of the Young Girls” opens with a thick chord in the strings, repeated in a motoric fashion. A pattern introduced in pizzicato strings then serves as an ostinato for a textural buildup that leads to the “Ritual of Abduction.” The fourth scene, “Spring Rounds,” opens with a pentatonic clarinet melody and continues with a heavy choral song. After a “Ritual of the Rival Tribes,” a steadily building texture of several rhythmic ostinati heralds the “Procession of the Sage.” This reaches a thunderous pitch until the texture cuts off and a ghostly chord indicates “The Sage.” Part I concludes with the passionate “Dance of the Earth.”

Part II opens with quiet undulating chords in the winds. “Mystical Circles of the Young Girls” begins with a gentle chorale melody based on a Russian folk song. Strings and timpani introduce “Glorification of the Chosen One,” a wild dance with irregular meters. The following scenes feature a fanfare first introduced by the winds and brass and a slower procession. “Sacrificial Dance” depicts the chosen maiden dancing herself to death. Stravinsky said of this gripping finale that at first he knew how to play it, but not how to write it down.

Yale Philharmonia Roster

Peter Oundjian, principal conductor

violin i

Herdís Guðmundsdóttir

Xingzhou Rong

Emma Meinrenken

Albert Steinberger

Sophia Steger

Kenneth Naito

Charlie Lovell-Jones

Minkyung Lee

Ladusa Chang-Ou

Chaewon Kim

Freya Liu

Yiqing Fu

Katherine (Kit Ying)

Cheng

Andrew Samarasekara

violin ii

Gregory Lewis

Jeein Kim

Tristan Siegel

Zili Sha

Amy Oh

Da Young (Rachel) Lim

Guan-Ru Lin

Tiffany Wee

Emma Carleton

Andy OuYang

Evan Johanson

Emily Shehi

viola

Joseph Skerik

Wanxinyi Huang

Cassia Drake

Colin Laursen

Madison Marshall

Katie Liu

Emily Rekrut-Pressey

Serena Hsu

cello

Jakob Taylor

Thomas Hung

Mafalda Santos

Ben Lanners

Cheng “Allen” Liang

William Suh

Jasmine Pai

Jenny Bahk

double bass

Chelsea Strayer

Nicholas Hernandez

Dylan Reckner

Min Kyung Cho

Hector Ponce

Esther Kwon

Xinyun Tu

Nicole Wiedenmann

flute

Daniel Fletcher

Michael Huerta ²

Jarrett May

Collin Stavinoha ¹

alto flute

Hyeonjeong Choi

piccolo

Jarrett May

Collin Stavinoha

oboe

Rachel Ahn 1

Jini Baik

Alec Chai

Mickenna Keller

Michelle Oh 2

english horn

Alec Chai

Will Stevens

clarinet

Jonathan López ²

Tianyi Shen

Kean Xiong ¹

Zikang Wang

bass clarinet

Amer Hasan

Zikang Wang

e-flat clarinet

Lloyd Van’t Hoff

bassoon

Darius Farhoumand ²

Winfred Felton

Anjali Pillai

Marty Tung

Lucas Zeiter ¹

contrabassoon

Ryan Goodwin

Marty Tung

horn

Annie Citron

Stephanie Fritz 3

Xin He ¹

Franco Augusto Ortiz ²

Jaimee Reynolds

William Sands

Corey Schmidt

Amber Wang

Kate Warren

wagner tuba

Jaimee Reynolds

William Sands

trumpet

Joshua Bialkin

Shania Cordoba ¹

Eric Evans

Lizbeth Yanez ²

piccolo trumpet

Anthony Barrington

trombone

Timothy Jay Maines II

Addison Maye-Saxon ²

Yuki Mori

Jackson Murphy

tuba

Bridget Conley ²

Vivian Kung

timpani

Makana Medeiros ²

Mingyu Son ¹

Michael Yeung

percussion

Jessie Chiang

Sijia Huang

Yukiko Nakamura ²

Mingyu Son

¹ Principal on Beethoven

² Principal on Stravinsky

3 Assistant Principal on Stravinsky

Staff

manager

Jeffrey M. Mistri

assistant manager

Samuel Bobinski

assistant conductor

Samuel Hollister

office assistant

Marty Tung

stage crew

Shania Cordoba

Ryan Goodwin

Riana Heath

Makana Medeiros

Jackson Murphy

Xinyun Tu

Amber Wang

Declan Wilcox

Kean Xiong

Lucas Zeiter

library

Darius Farhoumand

Stephanie Fritz

Nicholas Hernandez

Guan-Ru Lin

Freya Liu

Jaimee Reynolds

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