AB: We bring you a broadcast from Hungarian Echoes: A Philharmonic Festival from 2011

Transcription

1 NYP Hungarian Echoes b-1 FINAL (INSERT NATIONAL UNDERWRITERS 01) (NYP THEME MUSIC UP AND UNDER) (ROLL: NYPTW INTRO) AB: and this week (MUSIC MONTAGE UP AND UNDER) AB: We bring you a broadcast from Hungarian Echoes: A Philharmonic Festival from 2011 Hello. This is Alec Baldwin. Thanks very much for joining me for a program that features music by three important composers that all have ties to Hungary: Ligeti, Haydn and Bartok. Composer-in-Residence Esa-Pekka Salonen will conduct and here he is to tell us more: (ACTUALITY: EPS on Echoes ~:45)

2 AB: Our broadcast will open with Ligeti s Concert Romanesc. [cone-sair rome-ah-nesk] Joseph Haydn s Symphony No. 7, Le Midi, will follow and the program will conclude with a complete performance of Bela Bartok s one-act opera, Bluebeard s Castle starring mezzosoprano Michelle de Young, bass Gabor Bretz in his New York Philharmonic debut, and Narrator Richard Easton. Once again, Esa-Pekka Salonen will conduct The New York Philharmonic This Week. (MUSIC UP AND UNDER) (ACTUALITY: ESP 01 re: ligeti) AB: Conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen on his relationship with Gyorgy Ligeti. Our broadcast begins with a work that many feel to be one of Ligeti s most accessible: his Concert Romanesc or Romanian Concerto. Originally written in 1951, this piece was premiered in 1971, and Ligeti revised it in the 1990s

3 AB: Though played without pause, the 12-minute concerto is divided into four movements. After a lyrical introduction for strings and winds, the 2nd movement bursts forth with the kind of vigorous, folkloric rhythms we often associate with Bartók or Enescu. [eh-ness-coo] (PAUSE) AB: In the third movement, Ligeti suggests the sound of the Alp horns that he heard as a small boy in the Carpathian Mountains. He does this by having the horns--two on stage, and one elsewhere in the hall-- play with natural tuning. This may sound out of tune, but the composer wrote quote: it is this sense of wrongness that is in fact what is right, as it represents the specific charm of the horn timbre. (MUSIC) AB: The thrilling, whirlwind finale of the piece evokes a Gypsy fiddle with clashing trumpet harmonies and a final emphatic umph to bring the piece to an exhilarating close. AB: and we go down to the stage, now, for the Concert Romanesc by Gyorgy Ligeti. Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts The New York Philharmonic.

4 (MUSIC) AB: Concert Romanesc or Romanian Concerto by Gyorgy Ligeti. The New York Philharmonic was conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen. (ACTUALITY: jm 01 re: haydn) AB: Esa-Pekka Salonen on the music of Joseph Haydn. AB: It was in 1761 that Joseph Haydn began his 3- decades-long relationship with the wealthy, music-loving Esterházy [ES-ter-hah-zee]family. With a contract that enumerated his duties in great detail, Haydn served as Kapellmeister of the court orchestra first of Prince Paul Anton Esterházy and, a year later, of his brother, Prince Nikolaus. While in their employ, Haydn would create the majority of his 104 symphonies, including the well-known triptych of the Symphony No. 6, Le matin, No. 7, Le midi, and No. 8, Le soir morning, noon, and evening. 107

5 All three of the symphonies I mentioned were premiered at the same concert in Vienna, where the Esterházys had another palace and all three these works gave the musicians of the Esterhazy Court Orchestra plenty of opportunities to show their stuff. Here again with more is Esa-Pekka Salonen: AB: and we go back down to the stage for The Symphony No. 7 Le midi by Joseph Haydn. Esa- Pekka Salonen conducts The New York Philharmonic. (MUSIC) AB: Symphony No. 7 in C-major, Le midi or noon, by Joseph Haydn. The New York Philharmonic was conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen. Coming up after a break, our broadcast will conclude with a complete performance of Duke Bluebeard s Castle by Bela Bartok. I m Alec Baldwin and you re listening to the New York Philharmonic This Week. 134

6 (FADE OUT)(ID)(FADE IN) (ACTUALITY: EPS?) AB: Conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen on the work that concludes our broadcast: Bluebeard s Castle by Bartok. AB: Duke Bluebeard s Castle was written to a libretto by the symbolist poet, novelist, and dramatist Bela Balasz [buh-lahsh]. Balasz, who based his text on a fairy tale by Charles Perrault [SHARL pair-ohl],actually conceived the piece for his roommate, composer Zoltan Kodaly. The first edition of the libretto bares a dedication to both Kodaly and Bartok. It seems Bartók was more drawn to the project, however, and he was motivated to complete his score in time for submission to a competition in Little is known about the contest, save for the fact that Bluebeard s Castle didn t win. A subsequent competition the following year motivated the composer to make a few modifications to the opera, but again Bartok didn t receive the prize. His opera with only two characters and a single location was deemed not dramatic enough for the category in which it was entered; theater music. Here again is Esa-Pekka Salonen:

7 (ACTUALITY?) ALT: Mezzo-Soprano Michelle de Young tells us more: ALT: Our soloists for the work Michell de Young and Gabor Bretz tell us more: AB: Though the judges failed to see it, New York Philharmonic Program Annotator James M. Keller makes the following observation quote: While symbolist plays and operas don t often display a particularly forthright narrative, Duke Bluebeard s Castle is less opaque than many such pieces of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Peter Bartok, the composer s son, supports this idea particularly when the opening prologue is included. He writes quote: The prologue is an essential part of the opera as it contains the key to understanding the symbolic message. Its original text explains that the legend is but a frame for presenting our lives and their relation to others. End quote. The Philharmonic has engaged Richard Easton to read the opening prologue for this broadcast. Here he is with a few words: (ACTUALITY?)

8 (MUSIC) ALT: Our soloists, bass Gabor Bretz and mezzosoprano Michelle de Young had this to say: (ACTUALITY?) AB: The story of the opera is centered on Duke Bluebeard and his new wife, Judith. Having been brought to his castle, Judith is both frightened and curious to see what is behind the seven doors of the castle s great hall. They reveal a torture chamber, an armory, a secret garden of roses spotted with blood, a treasure room, Bluebeard s kingdom, a lake of tears, and, finally, his three beautiful former wives. One by one the doors close again; and, adorned with a bejeweled cloak and crown, Judith disappears through the seventh door to join her predecessors. The Duke is alone once again. Esa-Pekka Salonen continues the story: (ACTUALITY?) ALT: Here again are our singers to continue the story: AB: It was the success of Bartok s ballet The Wooden Prince in 1917 that paved the way for the world premiere of Duke Bluebeard s Castle, which took place on May 24, 1918, at the Budapest Opera.

9 AB: Musically, the overall feeling of the piece is gloomy and cold. Bartok made great use of the minor 2nd interval (think: the theme music to Jaws) to highlight the sadness and danger evident in the libretto. From a vocal perspective, this piece requires talented and highly intelligent singers, such as the soloists we ll hear in this work: American mezzo-soprano Michelle de Young and Hungarian bass Gabor Bretz. It is a very challenging work for the singers due to the highly complex musical language and to the speech-rhythm inflected style Bartok employs. For a non-native speaker, the Hungarian libretto can be particularly difficult to Master as well. Here are Michelle de Young and Gabor Bretz with more: (ACTUALITY)

10 AB: and with our artists ready to begin, we head back down to the stage at David Geffen Hall for Duke Bluebeard s Castle by Bela Bartok. The soloists are Michelle de Young and Gabor Bretz. The narrator is Richard Easton. Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts the New York Philharmonic. (MUSIC) AB: We just heard a complete performance of Duke Bluebeard s Castle by Bela Bartok. The New York Philharmonic was conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen and the soloists were Michelle de Young and Gabor Bretz. Actor Richard Easton read The Bard s Poem. (INSERT CLOSER AND CREDITS)