YALE PHILHARMONIA SHINIK HAHM Music Director
JULIAN PELLICANO Conducting Fellow
REINIS ZARINS Piano
MAY 1 2009
MUSIC OF Strauss Ravel Rachmaninoff
Robert Blocker, Dean
YALE SCHOOL OF MUSIC
PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA OF YALE Shinik Hahm, Music Director
STRAUSS
Till Eulenspiegel's lustige Streiche, Op. 28 (Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks) Julian Pellicano, Conducting Fellow
RAVEL
Piano Concerto for the Left Hand in D major Reinis Zarins, Piano
INTERMISSION
RACHMANINOFF
Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27 Largo—Allegro moderato Allegro molto Adagio Allegro vivace
As a courtesy to the orchestra and to other audience members, turn off cell phones and pagers. Please do not leave the hall during selections. Photography or recording of any kind is not permitted.
PHIILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA OF YALE
SHINIK HAHM Music Director
KRISTA JOHNSON Managing Director
JULIAN PELLICANO Assistant Conductor
RENATA STEVE Librarian
MERYN DALY Production Coordinator
FARKHAD KHUDYEV Assistant Conductor
Violin 1
Yoon Hee Ko Jacques Wood Joann Whang
Leelanee Sterrett, 3* Ryan Stewart, 2, 3 Tianxia Wu, 1, 3 Donna Yoo, 2, 3
Jiyun Han, concertmaster Marc Daniel Van Biemen So Young Kwon Naria Kim David Southorn Evan Shallcross Yoorhi Choi Nicholas DiEugenio Sae-Rom Yoo Marjolaine Lambert Kyung-Jun Kim
Violin 2 Michelle Abraham, principal Anastasia Metla Qi Cao Youngsun Kim Ruby Chen Jae-Won Bang Jae In Shin Benjamin Charmot Jennifer Hsiao Yu-Ting Huang
Viola Matt Hofstadt, principal Mathilde Geismar Roussel Edwin Kaplan Hyun-Jung Lee Christopher Williams Bo Li Min Jeong Cha Keju Wang Cong Wu Feifei Yuan
Cello Wonsun Keem, principal Philo Lee Mo Mo Hannah Collins Sifei Wen Ying-Chi Tang Laura Usiskin
Bass James Hasspacher, principal Wen Yang Patrick O’Connell Nathaniel Chase Brian Ellingsen Brian Thacker
Trumpet
Flute & Piccolo
Trombone
Christopher Matthews, 1, 2*, 3 (Piccolo) Sabatino Scirri, 1 (Piccolo) Jihoon Shin, 1*, 2 (Piccolo), 3 Yoobin Son, 1, 2, 3*
Jennifer Griggs, 1*, 2* Achilleas Liarmakopoulos, 3* Ted Sonnier, 1, 2, 3
Oboe Michelle Farah, 1*, 3 Merideth Hite, 1, 3* Steven Kramer, 1 (English Horn), 2* Carl Oswald, 2 Andrew Parker, 1, 3 (English Horn) Jennifer Shark, 2 (English Horn)
Clarinet Paul Won Jin Cho, 1 (Eb Clarinet), 2 (Eb Clarinet) Danny Erdman, 1*, 2*, 3 Jenny Ferrar, 1, 2, and 3 (Bass Clarinet) Xiaoting Ma, 1, 2, 3
John Brandon, 2 Michael Brest, 1, 2* John Heinen, 1*, 3 Douglas Lindsey, 1, 3 Kurt Schewe, 2, 3*
Bass Trombone Richard Henebry, 1*, 2*, 3*
Tuba Stephanie Fairbairn Ycaza, 1*, 2* Bethany Wiese, 3*
Percussion John Corkill Lia DeRoin, 2 (Timpani) Ji Hye Jung, 3 (Timpani) Dennis Petrunin, 1 (Timpani) Michael Zell
Harp Colleen Potter, 2*
Bassoon Nicholas Akdag, 1, 2, 3* Sam Blair, 1 Jeremy Friedland, 1*, 2* Scott Switzer, 1 (Contrabassoon), 2 (Contrabassoon)
Horn Yoo-Jin Choe, 1, 2* Elizabeth Fleming, 1* Scott Holben, 1, 2
1 - Performer on Strauss 2 - Performer on Ravel 3 - Performer on Rachmaninoff * - Denotes Principal Player
RICHARD STRAUSS (1864-1949)
Till Eulenspeigel's lustige Streiche, Op. 28
Conductor and composer Richard Strauss was one of the most successful musicians of the late Romantic era. The son of an accomplished hornist, by the age of twenty he had become a protégé of the famed conductor Hans von Bülow and by the age of twenty-one had replaced him as conductor of the Meinigen Orchestra. He distinguished himself as a composer favoring opera and the symphonic poem, a genre which had been pioneered by Franz Liszt thirty years earlier. Based on a prescriptive text or title, the music portrayed a narrative or philosophical concept without the aid of spoken or sung words. Strauss brought this art to new heights with his impeccable sense of theatricality, colorful textures, and tonal coherence. By 1895, Strauss had earned acclaim by composing three tone poems: Macbeth (1886), Don Juan (1889) and Death and Transfiguration (1893). In his next work, Till Eulenspiegel (1895), he experimented further with the genre. For this work, themes are composed not just for their tones but for their orchestral effect. Distinctive color dominates so that every moment reveals a new sparkling gem of sound, and all other musical features are calculated to best serve the orchestral palette. In the Wagnerian spirit of requiring ever-larger ensembles, Strauss’s orchestra for Till Eulenspiegel includes sixteen woodwinds, eight horns, six trumpets, percussion, and a suggested string complement of sixty-four players. Two themes represent Till himself, one in the horn and the other in the clarinet. Strauss’s conducting career served him well in developing an unerring inventiveness of scoring. His sense of color, combined with musical complexity and leitmotivic symbolism, made his tone poems more than just works of onomatopoeic imitation; Strauss had developed a tool with which he could express philosophy, dramatic struggle, and disdain for critics. The original Till Eulenspiegel, as recounted in the folk stories of Dr. Thomas Murner (1475-1530), was a fourteenth-century figure whose coarse pranks almost cost him his head on the gallows. Strauss darkened the ending by carrying out Till’s execution. At the end, Till’s clarinet rises and then sighs a last breath, but his spirit lives on in the epilogue as a sad melody which had been abandoned earlier in the piece. Even in death, Eulenspiegel has the last laugh, and his spirit mocks his executioners in a final cadence. —Adam Silverman
MAURICE RAVEL (1875-1937) Born to a Swiss father and Basque mother, Maurice Ravel grew up in Paris and studied piano and composition at the Conservatoire until 1903. His work is known for its sense of proportion and balance and carefully crafted orchestration. He drew from several influences, including fin-de-siècle French art in the early 1900s, impressionism, jazz, and classical composers. In 1929, Paul Wittgenstein, a pianist who had lost his right arm in the first World War, asked Ravel to write him a concerto. Ravel responded with a grand and imposing work that in no way allows the limitations of the pianist to hamper the virtuosity of the solo part. The concerto’s impressionistic introduction opens with a line in the bassoon that hints at the coming main theme. An orchestral crescendo prepares the piano’s first cadenza, which presents a grandiose main theme. A bridge incorporating (in the composer’s words) “an improvisatory atmosphere” follows, pitting running passages in the piano against various orchestral instruments. The bridge leads to the work’s middle section, marked by ostinati and a 6/8 rhythm that suggests Ravel’s Basque heritage. The piano and orchestra then restate the main theme, and after a second cadenza, the work makes a brief and fiery peroration. – David Heetderks
Piano Concerto for the Left Hand in D major
SERGEI RACHMANINOFF (1873-1943)
Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27
In 1906-7, when he wrote the Symphony No. 2, Rachmaninoff was experiencing great success both as a composer and pianist. He had recently arrived in Dresden from Moscow and was enjoying a happy period with his wife. A feeling of triumphant optimism—not necessarily lighthearted, but exuberant nonetheless—shines throughout. Some of Rachmaninoff ’s most beautiful melodies are found in this work. The first movement is a sonata form, with the first thematic area in the tonic and the second subject in the relative major. The main theme is introduced in the Largo by the cellos and basses and recurs in some form throughout the four movements. Referring to this as a cyclical element would perhaps overstate its role, however. The motive lingers frequently in the background but is not the point of genesis from which the whole work blossoms. In the recapitulation of the first movement, Rachmaninoff demonstrates his considerable contrapuntal skill in the presentation of the second subject (now in the parallel major). The second movement, in the style of a Russian dance, proceeds at a fearsome pace. Structurally, the movement is in A minor and is set in large-scale ABA form, in which both the first and last sections are themselves ternary. After the opening dance-like section, a melodic section follows, only to be enveloped once again in an ensuing dance section. A fugato sets off the largescale departure. This fugue then returns to the dance-like section which eventually completes the ternary form. The Adagio is in a ternary structure like the second movement, though now in A major instead of minor. The middle section briefly reestablishes the home key of E but returns to A shortly after, thereby undercutting any true return to E. The finale is set in sonata allegro form, of which the first thematic group is a robust dance. This theme then gradually arrives at the second thematic group, one of Rachmaninoff ’s most beautiful melodies. Thematic fragments from the previous three movements are recalled throughout the development. In the recapitulation, the second subject, now in E, combines with the dance figure to provide a rousing conclusion to a magnificent symphonic statement. — Philip Ficsor
PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA OF YALE Since 1894 The Philharmonia Orchestra of Yale is one of America’s foremost music school ensembles. The largest performing group at the Yale School of Music, the Philharmonia offers superb training in orchestral playing and repertoire. Performances include an annual series of concerts in Woolsey Hall, as well as Yale Opera productions in the Shubert Performing Arts Center. In addition to its New Haven appearances, the Philharmonia Orchestra of Yale has performed on numerous occasions in Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall in New York City and at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. The Philharmonia recently undertook its first tour of Asia, with acclaimed performances in the Seoul Arts Center, the Forbidden City Concert Hall and National Center for the Performing Arts (Beijing), and the Shanghai Grand Theatre. The beginnings of the Yale Philharmonia can be traced to 1894, when an orchestra was organized under the leadership of the School’s first dean, Horatio Parker. The orchestra became known as the Philharmonia Orchestra of Yale in 1973, with the appointment of Otto-Werner Mueller as resident conductor and William Steinberg, then music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony, as Sanford Professor of Music. Brazilian conductor Eleazar di Carvalho became music director in 1987, and Gunther Herbig joined the conducting staff as guest conductor and director of the Affiliate Artists Conductors program in 1990. Lawrence Leighton Smith, music director of the Louisville Symphony Orchestra, conducted the Philharmonia for a decade, and upon his retirement in 2004, Shinik Hahm was appointed music director.
music.yale.edu/philharmonia
SHINIK HAHM
Music Director
Shinik Hahm was appointed Music Director of the Philharmonia Orchestra of Yale and professor of conducting at the Yale School of Music in 2004. One of the most dynamic and innovative conductors of our time, Hahm is a sought-after musician among top North American, South American, European, and Far Eastern orchestras. Hahm will conduct the 2009 European tour of Germany’s prominent Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, including a concert at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. Hahm’s active 2006-2007 season featured splendid debuts in Geneva, Switzerland and Besançon, France. Maestro Hahm made his Chinese debut with the country’s most prestigious orchestras, the China Philharmonic and the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra. Since 2006 he has enjoyed a remarkable collaboration with Mexican orchestras. After a successful debut with the Mexico National Symphony and Xalapa Symphony Orchestras, the maestro was immediately re-engaged for coming seasons. In June 2005, he made a triumphant debut at the Bolshoi Hall in St. Petersburg, Russia with the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra. His re-appearance with Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra at Disney Hall, after his 1993 debut at the Chandler Pavilion, was likewise successful. Hahm's enthusiastic and highly creative music-making has distinguished him as one of the most versatile conductors of his generation. In 2006 Maestro Hahm successfully completed his tenure as the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Daejeon Philharmonic Orchestra in Korea, with which he toured the United States in 2004 and Japan in 2005. The DPO and Hahm performed in leading concert halls including Carnegie Hall (New York), Kimmel Center (Philadelphia), Benaroya Hall (Seattle), Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore), Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall and Osaka Symphony Hall. The orchestra thoroughly benefited from his artistic leadership and sold out all concerts. Hahm served as music director of the Abilene Philharmonic Orchestra for a decade (1993-2003). During his tenure he successfully converted the community ensemble into a professional regional orchestra. He was profiled on ABC’s World News Tonight for his central role in rejuvenating and revitalizing the Abilene community.
JULIAN PELLICANO Julian Pellicano is currently a fellow in orchestral conducting at the Yale School of Music, where he studies with Shinik Hahm, and assistant conductor of the New Britain Symphony, appointed by music director Jesse Levine. He has recently been appointed to the faculty at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, where he will serve as Artistic Director of Large Ensembles and Music Director of the Longy Chamber Orchestra. At Yale, Mr. Pellicano serves as assistant conductor of the Yale Philharmonia and the New Music New Haven concert series. At the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Mr. Pellicano has been conductor of the Norfolk New Music Ensemble since 2008, and he has worked with New York-based New Paths, New Music, promoting cultural exchange through contemporary music. Their first tour encompassed five concerts throughout Turkey. More recently, Mr. Pellicano appeared as guest conductor with the Tuscaloosa Symphony, and he was a participant in the 2009 Kurt Masur Conducting Seminar in New York City. In 2007, Mr. Pellicano was one of ten young conductors to receive a fellowship from the Centre Acanthes in Paris to study with conductors Peter Eötvös and Zsolt Nagy, and the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg. Julian Pellicano holds a BA in philosophy from Johns Hopkins University, degrees in percussion from the Peabody Conservatory and the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, Sweden where he studied with Jonathan Haas and Anders Loguin, respectively, and an MM in percussion from the Yale School of Music, where he studied with Robert van Sice. As a percussionist he has attended the Aspen Music Festival, was a soloist in the 2004 Young Nordic Music Festival, and was featured at the 2005 Holland’s Nationaal Jeugd Orkest festival. Previous conducting teachers have been Dr. Harlan Parker and Per Andersberg. Awards include two stipends from the Royal Swedish Academy of Music, Yale’s Phillip F. Nelson Award, and the prestigious Presser Music Award.
Conducting Fellow
REINIS ZARINS
Piano
Reinis Zarins, a native Latvian, studied the piano from the age of seven at the E. Darzins Special Music College and J. Withols Latvian Music Academy with Raffi Kharayanian. He has won awards in nine international competitions, among them first prize in B. Smetana International competition (Czech Republic) and the Brother and Sister piano-duo competition in St. Petersburg, Russia. At festivals such as Norfolk, MasterWorks, Crescendo, and Holland Music Sessions, Reinis has studied with such distinguished artists as Karl-Heinz Kammerling, Jan Wijn, Claude Frank, Andre-Michel Schub, Ann Schein, and the Tokyo and Vermeer string quartets, among others. In 2007, Mr. Zarins toured in Europe as the winner of New Masters on Tour by International Holland Music Sessions, performing recitals in Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, St. Petersburg’s Glazunov Hall, Bratislav’s Philharmonia, Diligentia den Haag, and others. Reinis has given recitals and performed with orchestras throughout Latvia, as well as in Lithuania, Estonia, Germany, the Czech Republic, and both coasts of the US. He is the recipient of the E.B. Storrs, B. Simonds, G.W. Miles, and S. & D. Adams scholarships. He also has been awarded the C.S. Miller prize at the Yale School of Music, where he is currently pursuing his Certificate degree with Boris Berman.
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UPCOMING
For a complete listing of all our concerts: music.yale.edu
VIOLISTS FROM BEIJING
Sudler Recital Hall in William L. Harkness Hall An all-viola program performed by Professor Wing Ho and his students Jia Guo, Keju Wang, Cong Wu, and Feifei Yuan. Music of Bach, Reger, Hindemith, Stamitz, Q.W. Guan, and Prokofiev. Free admission.
May 2 / Sat / 7 pm
CONCERTI GROSSI OF THE BAROQUE May 3 / Sun / 4 pm
COMMENCEMENT CONCERT May 24 / Sun / 4 pm
TWILIGHT BAND CONCERT May 24 / Sun / 7 pm
Sprague Memorial Hall Baroque violinist Robert Mealy, professor of early music, will lead the students of his historical performance practice class in an orchestral program of festive concerti grossi by Handel, Bach, and Vivaldi, including excerpts from Handel's Water Music. Free admission. This concert will be streamed live at music.yale.edu/media. Sprague Memorial Hall Featuring outstanding performers from the Class of 2009. Free admission.
Old Campus Yale Concert Band performs a twilight commencement concert. Thomas C. Duffy, director.
CONCERTS & MEDIA YALE SCHOOL OF MUSIC Robert Blocker, Dean
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