Minnesota Orchestra Courtney Lewis, conductor

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1 jan 26, 27 A Tribute Concert to Sir Neville Marriner Minnesota Orchestra Courtney Lewis, conductor Thursday, January 26, 2017, 11 am Friday, January 27, 2017, 8 pm Orchestra Hall Orchestra Hall These performances are dedicated to the memory of Sir Neville Marriner, the Minnesota Orchestra s music director from 1979 to 1986, who had been scheduled to conduct these concerts; sadly, he passed away on October 2, 2016, at age 92. Felix Mendelssohn The Hebrides Overture, Opus 26 (Fingal s Cave) ca. 10 Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 1 in C major, Opus 21 ca. 25 Adagio molto Allegro con brio Andante cantabile con moto Menuetto: Allegro molto e vivace Finale: Adagio Allegro molto e vivace I N T E R M I S S I O N ca. 20 Antonín Dvořák Symphony No. 8 in G minor, Opus 88 ca. 36 Allegro con brio Adagio Allegretto grazioso Allegro ma non troppo OH+ (Orchestra Hall Plus) Concert Preview with host Phillip Gainsley and guests Michael Anthony, Luella Goldberg and Richard Cisek Thursday, January 26, 2017, 10:15 am, Auditorium Friday, January 27, 2017, 7:15 pm, Target Atrium Minnesota Orchestra concerts are broadcast live on Friday evenings on stations of Classical Minnesota Public Radio, including KSJN 99.5 FM in the Twin Cities. 36 SHOWCASE

Orchestra s associate conductor, has established himself as one of his generation s most talented conductors. He is currently in his second season as music director of the Jacksonville Symphony.

2 Minn Orch January 2017.qxp_Minnesota Orch copy 12/15/16 1:32 PM Page 37 A Tribute Concert to Sir Neville Marriner Courtney Lewis, conductor Courtney Lewis, who in 2014 completed his four-year tenure as the Minnesota Orchestra s associate conductor, has established himself as one of his generation s most talented conductors. He is currently in his second season as music director of the Jacksonville Symphony. His additional past appointments have included assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic, which he will return to in April for a week of subscription concerts. He has also been a Dudamel Fellow with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. From 2008 to 2014, he was the music director of Boston s acclaimed Discovery Ensemble. His additional guest engagements this season include debuts with the Dallas Symphony and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and a return to the Colorado Symphony. Highlights of his season included debuts with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, Milwaukee Symphony, Royal Flemish Philharmonic and Colorado Symphony, as well as assisting Thomas Adès at the Salzburg Festival for the world premiere of Adès opera The Exterminating Angel. This is Lewis second time conducting Minnesota Orchestra subscription concerts since the conclusion of his tenure as associate conductor; he led an all-russian program in November More: opus3artists.com, courtneylewis.com. jan 26, 27 Sir Neville Marriner ( ) Sir Neville Marriner, music director of the Minnesota Orchestra from 1979 to 1986, had been scheduled to conduct these concerts. After his death last October at age 92, the performances were rededicated as a tribute in his memory, while preserving the musical repertoire he personally selected for the program. During his seven seasons as music director, he presided over a number of ﬁrsts, including the Orchestra s ﬁrst composer-in-residence program and two international trips, to Australia in 1985 and Hong Kong in In 1982 he led a star-studded, televised Tonight Scandinavia concert attended by members of several Scandinavian royal families. In 1985 he achieved a distinction unique in the Orchestra s annals by being knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. In his ﬁnal performance with the Orchestra in 2008, he conducted Elgar s Violin Concerto with former Concertmaster Jorja Fleezanis as soloist. Born in England in 1924, Marriner began his music career as a violinist, serving for 12 years as principal second violin of the London Symphony Orchestra. In 1958 he established the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, which has become one of the world s most highly-regarded chamber orchestras, and one of the most proliﬁc orchestras in recordings. He also founded the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and led the Southwest German Radio Orchestra in Stuttgart, among other professional posts, and maintained a regular schedule of conducting major orchestras in Europe, the U.S. and Asia. He is survived by his wife, Molly; a son, Andrew, principal clarinetist of the London Symphony Orchestra; a daughter, Susie; three grandchildren; and a great-grandson. one-minute notes Mendelssohn: The Hebrides Overture Impressions of swirling waters and crashing waves unfold in The Hebrides Overture as Mendelssohn paints pictures of the dramatic sea and the haunting scenery on the islands oﬀ the Western coast of Scotland. Beethoven: Symphony No. 1 Beethoven s First Symphony is full of crisp melodies and quick turns of phrase, as well as musical inside jokes. Later in life Beethoven would revolutionize the symphonic form, but in this early work he is content to compose music of clean lines and undeniable beauty. Dvořák: Symphony No. 8 Dvořák s Eighth is full of luminous melodies and unexpected harmonic shifts. The second movement alludes to the funeral march of Beethoven s Eroica, but lighter elements prevail in a whirlwind ﬁnale that is delightfully Czech. JANUARY

jan 26, 27 A Tribute Concert to Sir Neville Marriner MARRINER MEMORIES The Minnesota Orchestra family fondly remembers Sir Neville Marriner, music director from 1979-86 I owe Sir Neville and the

3 jan 26, 27 A Tribute Concert to Sir Neville Marriner MARRINER MEMORIES The Minnesota Orchestra family fondly remembers Sir Neville Marriner, music director from I owe Sir Neville and the musicians committee a tremendous debt, as it was they who hired me back in He always showed me kindness and good humor on and off the podium. Our tour to Australia was one highlight of my tenure. I also learned a good many tricks about recording as I watched him go through the process many times with us. Principal Trumpet Manny Laureano, Minnesota Orchestra musician since 1981 Neville, of course, was one of the most experienced recording conductors ever. I remember that one of his rules was that recording tempos needed to be ever so slightly faster than performance tempos. This allowed for the absence of the visual ear. Neville embodied the new age of the democratic conductor as opposed to the autocratic leader of old. Both he and his wife Molly were a friend to everyone. They brought a charming spirit of collegiality that served the Orchestra and the community exceedingly well. Marcia Peck, Minnesota Orchestra cellist since 1971 One of my best pieces, Casa Guidi, was commissioned by Neville as a vehicle for mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade. Neville not only gave it a glowing premiere in 1983, he took it along on a national tour with the Minnesota Orchestra which included performances at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. Eiji Oue later recorded Casa Guidi with von Stade and the Minnesota Orchestra, and that recording was awarded the 2003 Grammy for Best Classical Composition an honor bestowed on a work whose success owes a great deal to Neville s championing, generosity and kindness. Dominick Argento, Minnesota Orchestra Composer Laureate Mr. Marriner was a kind and gentle soul who I very much enjoyed making music with. He always had a smile on his face and helped bring this Orchestra up to another level in the world of classical music. Acting Principal Bassoon Mark Kelley, Minnesota Orchestra musician since 1982 Through our work together for the Orchestra, my husband, Stan, and I, became lifelong friends of Sir Neville and his wife, Molly. Less than one week before Neville died, the four of us enjoyed a wonderful lunch in Padua, Italy, where Neville was conducting. For five hours, we talked, laughed, reminisced and planned for the Marriners January visit to Minnesota. Sir Neville recalled with fondness the Scandinavian and British Festivals he led here, the recordings and the tours to Hong Kong and Australia. He had planned to conclude his concert here with Dvořák s Symphony No. 8, a work he was very proud of having recorded with the Minnesota Orchestra. How fortunate Sir Neville was to be doing what he loved until the very end, and how fortunate the Minnesota Orchestra is to count him among our distinguished Music Directors. Luella Goldberg, Minnesota Orchestra Board Chair, , and current Life Director 38 SHOWCASE

Program Notes jan 26, 27 Felix Mendelssohn Born: February 3, 1809, Hamburg, Germany Died: November 4, 1847, Leipzig, Germany The Hebrides Overture, Opus 26 (Fingal s Cave) Premiered: May 14, 1832 of

This affable genius, a man of boundless curiosity and charm who made friends wherever he went, recorded his impressions not only in descriptive letters and on his sketchpad, but in music of

4 Program Notes jan 26, 27 Felix Mendelssohn Born: February 3, 1809, Hamburg, Germany Died: November 4, 1847, Leipzig, Germany The Hebrides Overture, Opus 26 (Fingal s Cave) Premiered: May 14, 1832 of all the master composers who were great traveling companions, Mendelssohn ranks with the best. This affable genius, a man of boundless curiosity and charm who made friends wherever he went, recorded his impressions not only in descriptive letters and on his sketchpad, but in music of extraordinary tonal imagination, like the Hebrides Overture. Richard Wagner praised it as one of the most beautiful pieces we possess, recognizing that Mendelssohn s vivid tone painting was a prelude to his own sea music. an adventure across Scotland At 20, Mendelssohn was intent on seeing the world, beginning with England; accompanying him was his best friend Karl Klingemann. The capstone of their trip was an adventure across Scotland. That journey eventually paid off in two masterpieces: the Symphony No. 3, known as the Scottish, an idea for which struck him at Holyrood Castle; and the Hebrides Overture, also known as Fingal s Cave, named for a tourist attraction off the tiny isle of Staffa. Mendelssohn recorded his impression of the cave in a 21-bar musical fragment which he sent to his sister Fanny on August 7, 1830, telling her: In order to make you realize how extraordinarily the Hebrides have affected me, the following came into my mind there. These opening measures have virtually the final form in which they appear in the Overture that Mendelssohn finished in Italy in 1830, but withheld from performance until he was fully satisfied. Klingemann, an aspiring poet and future diplomat, cast his impression in words that anticipate Mendelssohn s music: We were put out in boats and lifted by the hissing sea up to the pillar stumps to the famous Fingal s Cave. A greener roar of waves never rushed into a stranger cavern its many pillars making it look like the inside of an immense organ, black and resounding, absolutely without purpose, and quite alone, the wide grey sea within and without. Addressing his family from Paris on January 31, 1832, Mendelssohn sniffed at his manuscript: The whole so-called development tastes more of counterpoint than of whale-oil and seagulls and cod-liver oil, and it ought to be the other way around. Soon he revised the score and brought it to London, where, on May 14, the Philharmonic Society gave the first performance. Despite its success, the meticulous composer made still more changes, finally submitting it for publication in 1833, when he remarked to his mother that the work had become much better through threefold revisions. There is no prelude: the theme invented on the spot is immediately unfolded by a somber blend of low strings and bassoon, casting us into the midst of swirling waters and melancholy visions. As the motif expands, it draws more instruments into a vortex of subtly shifting harmonies. The powerful second theme left its imprint on many later Romantic composers. In the work s brass fanfares, Mendelssohn s contemporaries detected an epic, Ossianic quality the wild, Romantic impulse that inspired the poems of the legendary Gaelic hero, imitated by the Scotsman James MacPherson in his grandiloquent rhythmic prose. Instrumentation: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani and strings Program note by Mary Ann Feldman. Ludwig van Beethoven Born: December 16, 1770, Bonn, Germany Died: March 26, 1827, Vienna, Austria Symphony No. 1 in C major, Opus 21 Premiered: April 2, 1800 beethoven began sketches for a symphony in C major in 1795, three years after he arrived in Vienna, but the piece did not go well, and he abandoned it. The symphony was the grandest of purely instrumental forms, and, because he did not want to rush into a field where Haydn and Mozart had done such distinguished work, Beethoven used the decade of the 1790s to refine his technique as a composer and to prepare to write a symphony. He slowly mastered sonata form and began to write for larger chamber ensembles and for wind instruments; he also composed two piano concertos before re-approaching the challenge of a symphony. By 1800 he had completed his First Symphony, and it was premiered in Vienna on April 2, crisp and exuberant music The genial First Symphony has occasionally been burdened with ponderous commentary by those who feel that it must contain JANUARY

jan 26, 27 Program Notes the seeds of Beethoven s future development every modulation and detail of orchestration has been squeezed for evidence of the revolutionary directions the composer would

5 jan 26, 27 Program Notes the seeds of Beethoven s future development every modulation and detail of orchestration has been squeezed for evidence of the revolutionary directions the composer would later take. Actually, Beethoven s First is a very straightforward late 18th-century symphony, the product of a talented young man quite aware of the example of Haydn and Mozart and anxious to master the most challenging form he had faced so far. In fact, one of the most impressive things about Beethoven s First Symphony is just how conservative it is. It uses the standard Haydn-Mozart orchestra of pairs of winds plus timpani and strings; its form is right out of Haydn, with whom Beethoven had studied; and its spirit is consistently carefree. There are no battles fought and won here, no grappling with darkness and struggling toward the light the distinction of the First Symphony lies simply in its crisp energy and exuberant music-making. adagio molto allegro con brio. The key signature of this symphony may suggest that it is in C major, but the first movement s slow introduction opens with a stinging discord that glances off into the unexpected key of F major. This leads to another wrong key, G major, and only gradually does Beethoven correct the tonality when the orchestra alights gracefully on C major at the Allegro con brio. Many have noticed the resemblance between Beethoven s sturdy main theme here and the opening of Mozart s Jupiter Symphony, composed twelve years earlier. This is not a case of plagiarism or of slavish imitation only a young man s awareness of the thunder behind him. This energetic movement, with its graceful second theme in the woodwinds, develops concisely and powerfully. andante cantabile con moto. The second movement is also in sonata form. The main theme arrives as a series of polyphonic entrances, and Beethoven soon transforms the dotted rhythm of this theme s third measure into an accompaniment figure: it trips along in the background through much of this movement, and Beethoven gives it to the solo timpani for extended periods. Beethoven s stipulation con moto is crucial: this may be a slow movement, but it pulses continuously forward along its 3/8 meter, driving to a graceful climax as the woodwind choir sings a variant of the main theme. menuetto: allegro molto e vivace. By contrast, the third movement bristles with energy, and Beethoven s marking Menuetto frankly seems incorrect: this may well be a minuet in form, but the indication Allegro molto e vivace banishes any notion of dance music. This movement is in everything but name a scherzo, the first of the remarkable series of symphonic scherzos Beethoven would write across his career. The trio section is dominated by the winds, whose chorale-like main tune is accompanied by madly-scampering violins. finale: adagio allegro molto e vivace. The most amusing joke in this symphony comes at the opening of the finale, where a rising scale emerges bit by bit, like a snake coming out of its hole; at the Allegro molto vivace, that scale rockets upward to introduce the main theme. With this eight-bar theme, the movement seems at first a rondo, but it is actually in sonata form, complete with exposition repeat and development of secondary themes. A vigorous little march drives the symphony to its resounding close. Instrumentation: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani and strings Program note by Eric Bromberger. Antonín Dvořák Born: September 8, 1841, Mühlhausen, Bohemia Died: May 1, 1904, Prague Symphony No. 8 in G minor, Opus 88 Premiered: February 2, 1890 in the summer of 1889 Dvořák took his family to their summer retreat at Vysoka in the countryside south of Prague. There, amid the rolling fields and forests of his homeland, he could escape the pressures of the concert season, enjoy the company of his wife and children, and indulge one of his favorite pastimes: raising pigeons. melodies pour out of me Dvořák also composed a great deal that summer. On August 10 he completed his Piano Quartet in E-flat major, writing to a friend that melodies pour out of me, and lamenting If only one could write them down straight away! But there I must go slowly, only keep pace with my hand, and may God give the rest. A few weeks later, on August 25, he made the first sketches for a new symphony, and once again the melodies poured out: he began the actual composition on September 6, and on the 13th the first movement was done. The second movement took three days, the third a single day, and by September 23 the entire symphony had been sketched. The orchestration was completed on November 8, and Dvořák himself led the triumphant premiere of his Eighth Symphony in Prague on February 2, From the time Dvořák had sat down before a sheet of blank paper to the completion of the full score, only 75 days had passed. 40 SHOWCASE

6 Program Notes jan 26, 27 allegro con brio. Symphony in G major, says the title page, but the beginning of this work is firmly in the wrong key of G minor, and this is only the first of many harmonic surprises. It is also a gorgeous beginning, with the cellos singing their long wistful melody. But another surprise this theme will have little to do with the actual progress of the first movement. We soon arrive at what appears to be the true first subject, a flute theme of an almost pastoral innocence (commentators appear unable to resist describing this theme as birdlike ), and suddenly we have slipped into G major. There follows a wealth of themes; someone counted six separate ideas in the opening minutes of this symphony. Dvořák develops these across the span of the opening movement, and the cellos somber opening melody returns at key moments, beginning the development quietly and then being blazed out triumphantly by the trumpets at the stirring climax. adagio. The two middle movements are just as free. The Adagio is apparently in C minor, but it begins in E-flat major with dark and halting string phrases; the middle section flows easily on a relaxed woodwind tune in C major in which some have heard the sound of cimbalon and a village band. A violin solo leads to a surprisingly violent climax before the movement falls away to its quiet close. allegretto grazioso. The third movement opens with a soaring waltz in G minor that dances nimbly along its 3/8 meter; the charming center section also whirls in 3/8 time, but here its dotted rhythms produce a distinctive lilt. The movement concludes with nice surprises: a blistering coda, Molto vivace, whips along a variant of the lilting center section tune, but Dvořák has now transformed its triple meter into a propulsive 2/4. The movement rushes on chattering woodwinds right up to its close, where it concludes suddenly with a hushed string chord. Instrumentation: 2 flutes (1 doubling piccolo), 2 oboes (1 doubling English horn), 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani and strings. Program note by Eric Bromberger. c da The Minnesota Orchestra performed Mendelssohn s Hebrides Overture for the first time on February 20, 1910, at the Minneapolis Auditorium, under the baton of the Orchestra s founding Music Director Emil Oberhoffer. Earlier that month, William D. Boyce founded the Boy Scouts of America. The Orchestra gave its initial performance of Beethoven s First Symphony on January 17, 1905, at First Baptist Church in Minneapolis, also with Emil Oberhoffer conducting. The Orchestra has recorded the work only once, in June 2007 as part of its acclaimed Beethoven symphonies cycle on the BIS Records label. The Orchestra s first performance of Dvořák s Eighth Symphony came on January 23, 1942, at Northrop Memorial Auditorium, with Dimitri Mitropolous conducting. Sir Neville Marriner conducted the symphony on the historic occasion of his first concerts as the Orchestra s music director in September 1979, and subsequently recorded the work with the Orchestra in allegro ma non troppo. The finale is a variation movement sort of. It opens with a stinging trumpet fanfare, an afterthought on Dvořák s part, added after the rest of the movement was complete. Cellos announce the noble central theme (itself derived from the flute theme of the first movement), and a series of variations follows, including a spirited episode for solo flute. But suddenly the variations vanish: Dvořák throws in an exotic Turkish march full of rhythmic energy, a completely separate episode that rises to a great climax based on the ringing trumpet fanfare from the opening. Gradually things calm down, and the variations resume as if this turbulent storm had never blown through. Near the end comes lovely writing for strings, and a raucous, joyous coda a final variation of the main theme propels this symphony to its rousing close. JANUARY

SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA A JACOBS MASTERWORKS CONCERT David Danzmayr, conductor. December 1 and 2, 2017

SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA A JACOBS MASTERWORKS CONCERT David Danzmayr, conductor December 1 and 2, 2017 GRAŻYNA BACEWICZ Overture FRÉDÉRIC CHOPIN Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11 Allegro maestoso