Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 4 in G Major

Transcription

1 7 February FRIDAY SERIES 9 Helsinki Music Centre at Pablo Heras-Casado, conductor Mojca Erdmann, soprano J. S. Bach: Cantata No min (Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen), for the 15th Sunday after Trinity BWV51, for soprano, trumpet, strings and continuo Trumpet solo: Miikka Saarinen, Baroque trumpet I Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen (aria) II Wir beten zu dem Tempel an (recitative) III Höchster, mache deine Guete (aria) IV Sei Lob und Preis mit Ehren (chorale) V Alleluja (aria) INTERVAL 20 min Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 4 in G Major 58 min I Heiter, bedächtig, nicht eilen II In gemächlicher Bewegung, ohne Hast III Ruhevoll (Poco adagio) IV Sehr behaglich (Wir genießen die himmlischen Freuden) Interval at about The concert ends at about Broadcast live on Yle Radio 1, Yle Teema and the internet (yle.fi/klassinen). 1

2 The LATE-NIGHT CHAMBER MUSIC will begin in the main Concert Hall after an interval of about 10 minutes. Those attending are asked to take (unnumbered) seats in the stalls. Tuomas Lehto, cello J. S. Bach: Cello Suite No. 3 in C Major BWV min I Prelude II Allemande III Courante IV Sarabande V Bourrée 1 VI Bourrée 2 VII Gigue 2

3 J. S. BACH ( ): CANTATA NO. 51 (JAUCHZET GOTT IN ALLEN LANDEN) According to the obituary written by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, his father, Johann Sebastian, composed enough church cantatas to satisfy the need for five whole years, i.e. a good 300. Of these, about 200 have been preserved. Cantata 51 bears the title Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen Exult in God in all lands, and Bach composed it in It would thus have been heard for the first time on 17 September that year. Bach nevertheless increased its potential for liturgical use by adding et in ogni tempo ( and at any time ). Nowadays, however, cantatas tend to be performed mostly in concerts rather than during divine worship, and Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen is one of the best-known of these. Its popularity no doubt springs from its lofty, jubilant mood and the dazzling virtuosity it requires of both the soprano and the trumpet. Historians have wondered how anyone in conservative Leipzig at that time was able to sing such a part, and some have even conjectured that the soloist may have been not a soprano but a falsetto tenor, possibly Bach s own son Carl Philipp Emanuel, who was 16 when the cantata was written. No. 51 is one of the four Bach cantatas scored for a soprano soloist but no other singers and no choir. The unusual orchestration (trumpet, two violins, viola and continuo bass) further underlines the work s special nature and links it with the Italian line and the legacy of, say, Alessandro Scarlatti. The anonymous author has based his text on verses from the Bible: Psalms 26 and 138, and Lamentations 3, but there are no direct references to the liturgical text for the 15th Sunday after Trinity. The cantata is in five movements. One minor point of interest is that the soprano sings the hymn melody in the fourth, the chorale, leaving its contrapuntal embellishment to the two violins. The fifth, Alleluja, is bold and imaginative in its coloratura ornamentation and a direct predecessor of the corresponding works by Mozart. GUSTAV MAHLER ( ): SYMPHONY NO. 4 The first four symphonies by Mahler are generally regarded as a separate entity in his output. Above all, they all inhabit the German collection of folk poetry Des Knaben Wunderhorn (The Youth s Magic Horn) and the world that this evokes. The perspective in the fourth symphony is that of a child, manifest in a subtle simplification and a gauche naivety. But true to style, Mahler does not present his ideas at one level only. Though viewed through the eyes of a child, what the child looks at varies from one movement to another. Mahler mischievously refused to equip the 3

4 symphony with a programme, though this would not, he said, have been difficult. In another context he did give some hints: the first movement takes place in the land of the living, in the second death assumes an active role, in the third the devout mood is inspired by gazing at a tomb in a church crypt, and the fourth speaks of the joys of heaven. The child s perspective is purest in the soprano solo of the finale, which Mahler wrote long before the other movements. The first movement is in sonata form and immediately presents a host of cheerful, catchy motifs. The development is thorough, but more to the point is what it is not: it lacks heavy, sentimental, grandiose rhetoric and black humour. The second movement appears on the surface to be a light, uncomplicated Ländler, but the builtin presence of death makes it macabre. Death is represented by a solo violin tuned higher than usual that Mahler wanted to sound like a cheap fiddle ( wie eine Fiedel ). The Adagio is serene and devout. The fourth movement incorporates a solo soprano presenting an innocent, dulcet vision of heaven. The text is a folk poem; hence the source of joy is the material abundance in heaven. Only the rich can envisage something more spiritual in their heaven! Jouni Kaipainen (abridged) PABLO HERAS-CASADO Born in Granada in Spain, Pablo Heras- Casado enjoys an unusually varied conducting career, encompassing the great symphonic and operatic repertoire, historically-informed performance and cutting-edge contemporary scores. In 2011 he was announced Principal Conductor of the Orchestra of St. Luke s in New York, beginning a four-year term including an annual concert season at Carnegie Hall. This season, in addition to the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Maestro Heras-Casado makes his debut with the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the London Symphony, the Philharmonia and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, and at the New York Metropolitan, where he will conduct Verdi s Rigoletto. He also returns to the San Francisco Symphony, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Rotterdam and Munich Philharmonics, and guest conducts a series of concert and opera performances at the Mariinsky Theatre. Harmonia mundi has released Pablo Heras-Casado s recording of Schubert s Symphonies 3 & 4 with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra and Sony his disc featuring Plácido Domingo in baritone arias by Verdi with the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana. He is also recording on the Deutsche Grammophon label. 4

5 MOJCA ERDMANN German soprano Mojca Erdmann is known for her versatility in repertoire ranging from Baroque to contemporary. Praised by critics for her beauty of tone and impeccable artistry, she is a rapidly rising star on the international music scene. She made her debut at the New York Metropolitan in 2011 and is a frequent guest at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the Berlin Philharmonie, the Vienna Musikverein and the Alte Oper Frankfurt, where she was Artist in Residence last season. Among the conductors with whom she frequently works are Sir Simon Rattle, Manfred Honeck, Kent Nagano and Daniel Harding. This season, Mojca Erdmann will be appearing across Europe and in Japan in, for example, concert performances of Beethoven s Fidelio and Mozart s Zaide, and in Orff s Carmina Burana. She can be seen and heard on the opera stage as Sophie in Strauss s Rosenkavalier in Vienna, New York, Munich and Paris. Mojca Erdmann s many recordings include Mahler s Symphony No. 4 with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra and Jonathan Nott (Tudor), and Ravel s L enfant et les sortilèges with the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Sir Simon Rattle (Sony). She has had an exclusive recording agreement with Deutsche Grammophon since THE FINNISH RADIO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (FRSO) is the orchestra of the Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yle). Its mission is to produce and promote Finnish musical culture and its Chief Conductor as of autumn 2013 is Hannu Lintu. The Radio Orchestra of ten players founded in 1927 grew to symphony orchestra strength in the 1960s. Its previous Chief Conductors have been Toivo Haapanen, Nils-Eric Fougstedt, Paavo Berglund, Okko Kamu, Leif Segerstam, Jukka-Pekka Saraste and Sakari Oramo. The FRSO has two Honorary Conductors: Jukka-Pekka Saraste and Sakari Oramo. The latest contemporary music is a major item in the repertoire of the FRSO, which each year premieres a number of Yle commissions. Another of the orchestra s tasks is to record all Finnish orchestral music for the Yle archive. During the 2013/2014 season it will premiere six Finnish works commissioned by Yle. The FRSO has recorded works by Eötvös, Nielsen, Hakola, Lindberg, Saariaho, Sallinen, Kaipainen, Kokkonen and others, and the debut disc of the opera Aslak Hetta by Armas Launis. Its discs have reaped some major distinctions, such as the BBC Music Magazine Award and the Académie Charles Cros Award. The disc of the Sibelius and Lindberg violin concertos (Sony BMG) with Lisa Batiashvili as the soloist received the MIDEM Classical Award in 2008, 5

6 in which year the New York Times chose the other Lindberg disc as its Record of the Year. The FRSO regularly tours to all parts of the world. During the 2013/2014 season it will be visiting Central Europe under the baton of Hannu Lintu. All the FRSO concerts both in Finland and abroad are broadcast, usually live, on Yle Radio 1. They can also be heard and watched with excellent stream quality on yle.fi/klassinen. 6