MUSIC FOR ORGAN AND ORCHESTRA THE WANAMAkER ORGAN. PETER RICHARD CONTE, ORGAN SyMPHONy IN C ROSSEN MIlANOv, CONDUCTOR

Transcription

1 MUSIC FOR ORGAN AND ORCHESTRA THE WANAMAkER ORGAN Centennial Concert PETER RICHARD CONTE, ORGAN SyMPHONy IN C ROSSEN MIlANOv, CONDUCTOR

2 tracklist Symphony No. 2 in A Major, for Organ and Orchestra, Opus 91 Félix Alexandre Guilmant 1 I. Introduction et Allegro risoluto 10:18 2 II. Adagio con affetto 5:56 3 III. Scherzo (Vivace) 6:49 4 IV. Andante Sostenuto 2:39 5 V. Intermède et Allegro Con Brio 5:55 6 Alleluja, for Organ & Orchestra, Opus 112 Joseph Jongen 5:58 7 Hymne, for Organ & Orchestra, Opus 78 Jongen 8:52 Symphony No. 6 in G Minor, for Organ and Orchestra, Opus 42b Charles-Marie Widor 8 I. Allegro Maestoso 9:21 9 II. Andante Cantabile 10:39 10 III. Finale 6:47 TOTAL TIME: 73:16 2

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4 the music FÉLIX ALEXANDRE GUILMANT Symphony No. 2 in A Major for Organ and Orchestra, Op. 91 Alexandre Guilmant ( ), the renowned Parisian organist, teacher and composer, wrote this fivemovement symphony in Two years before its composition, Guilmant played an acclaimed series of 40 recitals on the St. Louis World s Fair Organ the largest organ in the world before it became the nucleus of the present Wanamaker Organ. In the Symphony s first movement, Introduction et Allegro risoluto, a sprightly theme on the strings is offset by a deeper motif. That paves the way for the titanic entrance of full organ, with fugato expositions and moments of unbridled sensuousness, building to a restless climax. An Adagio con affetto follows in A-B-A form, building on the plaintive organ with silken strings that are soft, lovely and soaring. The familiar Scherzo (Vivace) is graced with a noble melody of considerable energy, undergirded here and there by brass. It is followed by an Andante Sostenuto that begins pensively on the organ and is soon joined by the orchestra. In the Intermède et Allegro Con Brio, the string section draws the curtain to Beethoven-like bursts of sunshine as organ and orchestra unite in a towering dialogue that is both crisp and frenetic. JOSEPH JONGEN Alleluja, for Organ and Orchestra, Op. 112 Hymne, for Organ and Orchestra, Op. 78 Joseph Jongen ( ), a Belgian organistcomposer, penned only three works for organ and orchestra. Alleluja, written in 1940 for the inauguration of the new organ in Belgian Radio s concert hall, is a modally inflected work that opens in solemnity. Its energetic passages bring to mind the composer s masterpiece, his Symphonie-Concertante (opus 81), which was written for the Wanamaker Organ. Hymne for organ and string orchestra was composed in In it, the organ provides a foundation for a moody meditation by the strings, later joined by other voices. CHARLES-MARIE WIDOR Symphony No 6 in G Minor for Organ and Orchestra, Op. 42b Charles-Marie Widor ( ) was the organist of St. Sulpice in Paris, where he presided for 54 years over what is still the largest pipe organ in France. In 1919 this work received its American Premiere in this venue, the Grand Court of Philadelphia s John Wanamaker department store, under Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra. As many as 15,000 listeners were present. The work was dedicated to Charles M. Courboin, organist for the occasion. As Wanamaker Stores music director Alexander Russell wrote in 1919: the Sixth Symphony is a massive work. Competent critics consider the first movement, Allegro Maestoso, one of the most noble in the entire organ literature. The opening theme is one of great stateliness, broad and virile. The Andante Cantabile possesses great charm, with certain reminiscences of the recitative of the first movement. The Finale is one of the most brilliant of all organ compositions, and would doubtless equal the popularity of the famous toccata from the Fifth Symphony, if played more frequently. After the 1919 concert, Dr. Russell wrote that in the first and last movements the organ and orchestra produced a perfect Niagara of sound. Since that occasion ten-thousand pipes have been added to the Wanamaker Organ. RAY BISWANGER

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6 the organ Built by the Los Angeles Art Organ Company for the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, the Wanamaker Organ was designed by renowned organ architect George Ashdown Audsley, author of The Art of Organ-Building. This heroic instrument had more than 10,000 pipes, and its construction was on such a lavish scale that costs soared to $105,000, bankrupting the builder. In 1909, Philadelphia merchant-prince John Wanamaker bought the instrument for his new Philadelphia emporium. Thirteen freight cars were required to ship the entire organ from St. Louis, and installation took two years. Despite its immense size, the tone was judged inadequate to fill the huge court. Wanamaker's opened a private pipe-organ factory in the Store attic, employing up to 40 full-time employees to enlarge the instrument. More than 8,000 pipes were added to the Organ between 1911 and 1917, and from 1924 to 1930 an additional 10,000 pipes were installed, bringing the total number of pipes today to 28,677 (463 ranks). During the lifetimes of John Wanamaker and his son Rodman, the world's finest musicians were brought to the Store for brilliant after-business-hours concerts, among them France's Marcel Dupre, Louis Vierne and Nadia Boulanger, Italy's Fernando Germani and Marco Enrico Bossi, and England's Alfred Hollins. A complete stoplist is available on the Gothic Catalog Web site. Further information about the history of the Wanamaker organ can be found in G-49240, The Wanamaker Legacy with Peter Richard Conte, organ. < THE WANAMAKER ORGAN IN ITS ORIGINAL PAINTED COLORS 6

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8 the artists Peter Richard Conte is celebrating his 25th year as Wanamaker Grand Court Organist. He is only the fourth person to hold that title since the organ first played in He performs concerts twice daily, six days each week, on the largest fully-functioning musical instrument in the world. Mr. Conte is also Principal Organist of Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, PA, and, since 1991, has served as Choirmaster and Organist of Saint Clement s Church, Philadelphia, where he directs a professional choir in an extensive music program catering to the Anglo-Catholic tradition. Mr. Conte is highly regarded as a skillful performer and arranger of organ transcriptions. He has been featured several times on NPR and on ABC television s Good Morning America and World News Tonight. He has two radio shows: The Wanamaker Organ Hour, which airs on the first Sunday of each month, at 5:00 PM (ET), and can be heard via the internet at WRTI.ORG; on each Wednesday evening at 7:00 PM, his Grand Court concert is streamed live on YesterdayUSA.com. Mr. Conte performs extensively throughout the United States and Canada under the management of Phillip Truckenbrod Concert Artists, and has appeared as a featured artist at MILANOV American Guild of Organists National and Regional Conventions. He has performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Peter Nero and the Philly Pops, and with numerous orchestras around the country. Peter Richard Conte is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Organ at Rider University s Westminster Choir College, Princeton, NJ, where he teaches organ improvisation. He is the 2008 recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award from the CONTE Indiana University School of Music, Bloomington. The Philadelphia Music Alliance awarded him a Bronze Plaque on the Avenue of the Arts in This is his sixth recording for Gothic Records. Rossen Milanov is the Music Director of Symphony in C. He is the Principal Conductor of Orquesta Sinfonica del Principado de Asturias in Spain, and also serves as the Music Director of the Princeton Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Milanov has collaborated with some of the world s most prestigious artists, including Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Joshua Bell, Midori, Christian Tetzlaff and André Watts, as well as with some of the world s most esteemed vocalists such as Nikolai Ghiaurov, Vesselina Kasarova, Ghena Dimitrova and Krassimira Stoyanova. During his eleven-year tenure with The Philadelphia Orchestra he conducted more than 200 performances with that great orchestra, both as Associate Conductor and Artistic Director of the Orchestra s summer home at The Mann Center for the Performing Arts. Rossen Milanov studied conducting at The Juilliard School (where he received the Bruno Walter Memorial Scholarship), the Curtis Institute of Music, has a degree in Oboe from Duquesne University and the Bulgarian National Academy of Music. Former Chief Conductor of the Bulgarian National Radio Orchestra ( ), Mr. Milanov is a recipient of the Bulgarian Ministry s Award for Extraordinary Contribution to Bulgarian Culture and an ASCAP award in 2011 for his programing with Princeton Symphony Orchestra. In 2005, he was chosen as Bulgaria s Musician of the Year. 8

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10 credits MUSIC FOR ORGAN AND ORCHESTRA THE WANAMAKER ORGAN: CENTENNIAL CONCERT MACY S CENTER CITY, PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA PETER RICHARD CONTE, ORGAN SYMPHONY IN C ROSSEN MILANOV, CONDUCTOR Recorded on October 1, 2011 Executive producer: Recording engineers: Editing and mastering: Organ curators: Chief organ tuner: Booklet editor: Graphic designer: Photographs: Roger W. Sherman Charles Gagnon and James Stemke Charles Gagnon Curt Mangel, Sam Whitcraft and Anthony Nichols Anthony Nichols Roger W. Sherman Dominic AZ Bonuccelli (azfoto.com) Jeffrey Holder Acknowledgments: Friends of the Wanamaker Organ, Ray Biswanger, the Wyncote Foundation and Macy s Center City. All rights of the producer & the owner of the work reproduced are reserved. Unauthorized copying, hiring, lending, public performance and broadcasting of this recording are prohibited. Catalog Number: G o & r 2014 by Loft Recordings, LLC All Rights Reserved 1 0

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