:; r ~ -~-y.~ ~ ~-- r. r-> ~...,. i. RAVINIA 2002 Christoph Eschenbach, Music Director RAVINIA Festival Season. June 7 - September 8, 2002

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1 .r:"> :/ ~... z>. U. -~-y.~ ~ ~-- r r-> ~...,. i j1. :; r ~ RAVINIA 2002 Christoph Eschenbach, Music Director RAVINIA International Festival of the Arts 2002 Festival Season June 7 - September 8, 2002

2 - - RAVINIA FESTIVAL 2002 PROGRAM NOTES JULY 15 - JULY 21

3 ~AT I RAVINIA THIS WEEK JULY ls EMERSON STRING QUARTET 3 JULY 16 BLUES TRAVELER 8 JULY 17 CELIA CRUZ 10 with special guest Tiempo Libre JULY 18 EMANUEL AX, Piano 12 JULY 19 CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA.. 17 James Conlon, Conductor Garrick Ohlsson, Piano JULY 20 CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA 27 James Conlon, Conductor Emanuel Ax, Piano Christine Brewer, Soprano Melina Pyron, Soprano -Gayla Blaisdell, Soprano Louise Callinan, Mezzo-soprano Anthony Dean Griffey, Tenor Benjamin Butterfield, Tenor Jonathan Lemalu, Baritone Robert Pomakov, Bass Dale Warland Singers Apollo Chorus of Chicago SI. Charles Singers JULY 21 CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA 45 David Alan Miller, Conductor Christopher O'Riley, Piano Nicole Cabell, Soprano Christoph Eschenbach's biography 52 Chicago Symphony Orchestra 53 Next Week's Events 56 The Ravinia Festival is partially supparted by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, an agency of the State of Illinois FESTIVAL INFORMATION All concerts stort promptly. Management reserves the right to seat latecomers at its discretion. No one will be seated during the performance of a work. Please turn off all electronic devices, including cell phones, pagers and alarm watches. Use of cameros and tape recorders is strictly prohibited at all Ravinia performances. Ravinia is a smoke-free environment. Wireless headsets for assisted listening ore available at the customer service window for performances in the Pavilion and Martin Theatre, or at the box office in the Harza Building for performances in Ik=AA G=~ ~IJ.. /I.o..,;, ~~,,,''''''''''\'l ""'f""~ ~'" oj,-,e 9".,,\"= 'no, '0""" rncoe pos:ible 'oy a g{tr from Kathryn and Bert Pollak. Yamaha is the official piano of the Ravinio Festival.

4 SPM SATURDAY JUlY 20,2002 PAViliON CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA JAMES CONLON, Conductor EMANUEL AX, Piano CHRISTINE BREWER, Soprano MELINA PYRON, Soprano GAYLA BLAISDELL, Soprano LOUISE CALLINAN, Mezzo-soprano ANTHONY BENJAMIN JONATHAN DEAN GRIFFEY, Tenor BUTTERFIELD, Tenor LEMALU, Baritone ROBERT POMAKOY, Bass APOLLO CHORUS OF CHICAGO DALE WARLAND SINGERS ST. CHARLES DALE WARLAND, SINGERS Choral Preparation BEE THO V EN Fantasy for Orchestra, Piano and Chorus, Op. 80 Adagio-Finale: Allegro Emanuel Ax, Melina Pyron, Gayla Blaisdell, Louise Callinan, Anthony Dean Griffey, Benjamin Butterfield, Robert Pomakov Dale Warland Singers, Apollo Chorus of Chicago, St. Charles Singers Intermission

5 SATURDAY J U l Y 20, Symphony No.9 in D Minor, Op. 125 Allegro rna non troppo, un poco maestoso Moho vivace Adagio moho e cantabile Presto-Allegro assai (based on Schiller's "Ode to Joy") Christine Brewer, Louise Callinan, Anthony Dean Griffey, Ionathan Lemalu Dale Warland Singers, Apollo Chorus of Chicago, St. Charles Singers The Ravinia Festival Association expresses its appreciation to KPMG LLP for its generous sponsorship of this evening's performance. This evening's concert is performed in memory of Edward Gordon.

6 SATURDAY JULY 20, JAMES CONLON, Conductor James Conlon's biography appears on page 18. EMANUEL AX, Piano Emanuel Ax's biography appears on page 13. CHRISTINE BREWER, Soprano Soprano Christine Brewer appears regularly in opera, concert and recital performances around the world. She has appeared with leading orchestras throughout North America and Europe, and she has sung the repertoire of composers from Mozart to Britten and Janacek. This past season, she performed Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the Montreal Symphony, London Symphony and the Cleveland Orchestra, and also appeared in performances of Verdi's Requiem with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Other appearances included a concert version of Beethoven's Fidelio with the Israel Philharmonic, Mahler's Symphony No.2 with the Chicago Symphony, Shostakovich's Symphony No. 14 with the Miinchen Staatsoper, Beethoven's Missa Solemnis and Janacek's Glagolithic Mass with the National Symphony and the third act of Wagner's Die Walkilre with the Atlanta Symphony. She has appeared in a wide variety of roles on stage and has performed her signature role of Donna Anna in Mozart's Don Giovanni with the Royal Opera at Covent Garden, New York City Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and at the Edinburgh Festival. She has also appeared in the title roles of Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos at the Santa Fe Opera, English National Opera and Opera Colorado; Gluck's Iphigenie en Tauride at the Edinburgh Festival and in Rio de Janeiro and Madrid; and Strauss's Die iigyptische Helena at the Santa Fe Opera. Next season, she makes her Metropolitan Opera debut in the title role of Ariadne auf Naxos. Brewer has appeared in recital at London's Wigmore Hall and on Lincoln Center's ''Artof the Song" series. She can be heard on recordings of Janacek's Glagolithic Mass and Dvorak'sTe Deum with the Atlanta Symphony on the Telarc label and as a soloist on a recording of opera choruses entitled Grand & Glorious, also on Telarc. Tonight's performance marks Brewer's Ravinia Festival debut. MELINA PYRON, Soprano Soprano Melina Pyron has been a member of the Lyric Opera Center for American Artists for the past two years. During this time she has appeared at the Civic Opera House as the Second Lady in Mozart's Die Zauberflote, Countess Ceprano in Verdi's Rigoletto, Karolka in Janacek's /enufa and the shepherd in

7 SATURDAY JULY 20, Puccini's Tasca. Other opera -credits include Federica in Verdi'sLuisa Miller and Mercedes in Bizet's Carmen with the Sarasota Opera; and Meg Page in Verdi's Falstaff, Cherubino in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro and Rosina in Rossini's If barbiere di Siuiglia at the Tacoma Opera. She was a first-place winner in the 2001 Musician's Club of Women Competition and has made numerous orchestral appearances around the country. These include Mozart's "Great" Mass in C Minor at the Blossom Festival in Cleveland, Bernstein's Songfest with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and Mahler's Symphony No. 8 with the Missoula Symphony Orchestra. Tonight marks Melina Pyron's second apperance at Ravinia, where she attended the Steans Institute for Young Artists in 1996 and sang at Box Office Opening Day in GAYLA BLAISDELL, Soprano Gayla Blaisdell recently made her Carnegie Hall debut as soprano soloist in Beethoven's symphony No.9 with the American Composers Orchestra. She has given the premieres of new works at the Society of Composers Convention in New York City and performed the New York premiere of a composition by John Baboukis in Merkin Hall. Blaisdell has also recorded a cycle of songs by Elizabeth Bell with the North/South Consonance Ensemble. Additional credits include performances with the Dorian Opera Theater and the State Repertory in New Jersey, as well as participation in the Tanglewood and Opera North festivals, the International Institute of Vocal Arts in Italy and Ravinia's Steans Institute for Young Artists. Tonight's performance marks Gayla Blaisdell's Ravinia Festival debut. LOUISE CALLINAN, Mezzo-soprano Louise Callinan was born in Sydney, Australia, and is a graduate of both the Sydney Conservatorium at the University of Sydney and the Queensland Conservatorium at Griffith University. She was also a member of Opera Queensland's YoungArtist Program and is a 2000 alumna of Ravinia's Steans Institute for YoungArtists. In 1998 she was the first Australian artist to be accepted into the Centre de formation lyrique (Young Artist Program) of l'opera National de Paris. There she performed the roles of Hermia in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Meg Page in Verdi's Falstaff, Dorabella in Mozart's COSlfan tutte and Concepcion in Ravel's L'Heure espagnole, a role she has also performed in Montpellier, France and on a broadcast for Radio France. In 2000 she made her debut with l'opera National de Paris as the Page in Verdi's

8 SATURDAY JUlY 20, Rigoletto, followed by appearances as Tebaldo in Verdi's Don Carlosand a Flower Maiden in Wagner's Parsifal. Additional performances there included roles in Zemlinsky's Der Zwerg, Ravel's L'enfant et les sortileges and Stravinsky's Pulcinella. She performs regularly in concert throughout France with the orchestra of l'opera de Massy and the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, among others. Next season she will make her debut with Opera Australia in the title role of Rossini's La Cenerentola. Tonight's performance marks Louise Callinan's Ravinia Festival debut. ANTHONY DEAN GRIFFEY, Tenor A native of North Carolina, Anthony Dean Griffey holds degrees from Wingate University, the Eastman School of Music and The Juilliard School. He is also a graduate of the Metropolitan Opera Young Artist Development Program, making his company debut in April 1995 as the First Knight in Wagner's Parsifal. Other Met credits have included Massenet's Manon, Verdi's Don Carlos, Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov, Tchaikovsky's Pikovaya Dama, Verdi's Aida, Britten's Billy Budd and Strauss's Salome. He made his major role debut with the Met in the title role of Britten's Peter Grimes, which was also the vehicle of his triumphant debut at the Glyndebourne Festival in 2000, and returned to the Met as Sam in a new production of Carlisle Floyd's Susannah opposite Renee Fleming. Additional stage credits include Lenny in Of Mice and Men at the Houston Grand Opera and in the title role of Weber's Oberon at Carnegie Hall. He has also given recitals in New York and San Diego. This past season Griffey performed Britten's Serenade for Tenor and Horn with the New York Philharmonic. His other orchestral apperances have included Britten's War Requiem with the Atlanta Symphony and Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Brooklyn Philharmonic and the Detroit Symphony. He can be heard on many recordings, including the role of Mitch in the debut recording of Andre Previn's A Streetcar Named Desire with the San Francisco Opera for Deutsche Grammophon (a role he has also sung with San Diego Opera and the Pittsburgh Symphony), as well as recordings of Poulenc's LesMamelles de Tiresiason the Philips label and Verdi's I Lombardi for Decca Records. Tonight's performance marks Griffey's second performance at the Ravinia Festival, where he first appeared in BENJAMIN BUTTERFIELD, Tenor Benjamin Butterfield studied at McGill University and the Banff Center for the Performing Arts in Canada and later went on to study with Diane Forlano and Leopold Simoneau. He is a 1998 alumnus of Ravinia's Steans Institute for Young Artists. Butterfield's orchestral engagements include performances with the Montreal, San Francisco, Houston and Toronto symphonies and performances IEIII

9 SATURDAY JUlY 20, in New Zealand of Britten's "Spring" Symphony with the Christchurch City Choir. He has performed under numerous noted conductors.. and his 1998 performances of Handel's Messiah were taped live at the Handel Festival in Halle, Germany, for German television. He also sang in Bach's Saint Matthew Passion at the Saito Kinen Festival in Japan under Seiji Ozawa. This past season included performances of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the Vancouver Symphony and Handel's Messiah with the Vancouver Bach Choir, Les Violons du Roi of Quebec and the National Arts Centre Orchestra of Ottawa. He performed the role of Don Ottavio in Mozart's Don Giovanni with the Arizona Opera and appeared in Stravinsky's Persephonewui: the Naples Opera. He has recorded for CBC Records, Dorian, Marquis and Koch International, and his recent releases include Opera Encores with the Canadian Opera Company and Bach's Saint Matthew Passion with the American Bach Soloists. Tonight marks Benjamin Butterfield's Ravinia Festival debut. JONATHAN LEMALU, Bass-baritone Hailing from New Zealand, bass-baritone Jonathan Lemalu has just completed his studies at the Benjamin Britten International Opera School at the Royal College of Music. His earliest performances took place in New Zealand at the First Church of Otago, Dunedin and the Dunedin Town Hall. Lemalu went on to perform with. many of New Zealand's leading orchestras, including the Southern Sinfonia, Christchurch Symphony, Wellington Symphony, Auckland Philharmonic and New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, with whom he performed at the Sydney Opera House in Australia as part of the 2000 Olympic Arts Festival. While a student at the Royal College of Music, Lemalu has also given many concerts in Great Britian. He has performed recitals at such venues as Wigmore Hall, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, St. James's Piccadilly, the Linbury Studio Theatre and Queen Elizabeth Hall. He has also been a guest artist with many British orchestras, including the English Chamber Orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Lemalu has won many competitions, including the 1996 Dunedin Performing Arts Competitions Aria Contest, the 1998 Mobil Song Quest, the 1999 McDonald's Operatic Aria Contest and the Llangollen International Singer 2000 Competition. At the Royal College of Music, Lemalu was presented with the Graziella Sciutti Recital Prize, the Keith Faulkner Oratorio Prize, and the Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother Rosebowl. He was also made a BBCYoung Generation Artist. His operatic credits include Leporello in Mozart's Don Giovanni at the London Royal Schools' Opera, Bottom in Benjamin Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Benjamin

10 r SATURDAY JULY 20, Britten International Opera School, Dr. Bartolo in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro at the Menuhin Festival Gstaad 2001 in Switzerland and the title role of Verdi's Oberto at the Linbury Studio Theatre. Jonathan Lemalu makes his American debut tonight at the Ravinia Festival. ROBERT POMAKOV, Bass Currently a student at The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, Robert Pomakov has already established himself as an exciting new talent in the vocal music world. After a successful audition in 1999 for the artistic director of the Canadian Opera Company, he was invited there for free coachings and a performance with noted baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky. He was also selected to perform in the New Year's Eve Millenium Gala at Toronto's Roy Thompson Hall with 14 of Canada's finest singers, for which he received glowing reviews. The concert was subsequently released on CD. Additional recording credits include Handel's Apollo e Daphne for the Naxos label. Pomakov's awards and honors include an Encouragement Grant from the George London Foundation, first prize at the 24th annual Oratorio Society Solo Competition in New York and advancement to the final round of the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Belgium. Tonight's performance marks Robert Pomakov's debut at the Ravinia Festival where he attended the Steans Institute for Young Artists in DALE WARLAND, Choral Preparation Dale Warland grew up on a farm in rural Iowa and attended St. Olaf College, where he got his conducting start, becoming the music director of the student-led male chorus at the age of 20. He attended graduate school at the University of Minnesota and the University of Southern California and spent two years in the United States Air Force. After teaching for three years in California and New York,Warland joined the faculty of Macalester College in Minnesota in He formed the Dale Warland Singers in 1972 and continued to teach at Macalester until As a guest conductor, Warland has led the Swedish Radio Choir, Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Danish Radio Choir and Israel's Cameran Singers and has prepared many vocal ensembles for orchestral performances with major conductors. In 2001 Warland was given the McKnight Foundation's Distinguished Artist Award, and in 2002 he received the prestigious Louis Botto Award for Innovative Action and Entrepreneurial Zeal from Chorus America, which included a $5,000 cash prize for the Dale Warland Singers.

11 SATURDAY J U l Y 20, APOLLO CHORUS OF CHICAGO As Chicago's oldest musical organization, the Apollo Chorus of Chicago carries on a legacy of classical choral singing that began shortly after the Great Chicago Fire in 1872 when the chorus was formed to bring cultural life back to the city. The ensemble comprises more than 150 volunteer members who are accomplished choral singers and presents three major programs in its concert series each year. Since 1879 the chorus has given annual performances of Handel's Messiah during the month of December. Its annual Cathedral Concerts, held in late winter, showcase shorter sacred works by both classical and contemporary composers, and each spring they present a major work for chorus and orchestra, this year's being Haydn's The Creation. From its inception, the Apollo Chorus has been an important part of cultural life in Chicago. Members of the group played an important role in bringing Theodore Thomas to Chicago in 1891, one of Apollo's original directors as well as the first conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The chorus has performed at such important historical events as the Colombian Exposition in 1893, the Century of Progress Exhibition in 1933 and the Golden Jubilee of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1941, as well as the dedications of Navy Pier, Auditorium Theatre, Medina Temple, Orchestra Hall and Symphony Center. The chorus made its New York debut in 1987 at Avery Fisher Hall and since 1980 has gone on two tours of Europe, with a third planned for Tonight's performance marks the Ravinia debut of the Apollo Chorus. SOPRANO ALTO Julie Bromley Joan Behrens Johanna Clark Chris Bobka Beth Crome Carole Hays Roslyn DeBoer Chris May Deanna Edgerson Cheryl Meier Brenda Green Anne Murray Mary Hernandez Sara Pearsaul Lise Jacobson Arlene Talbot Mary Johnson Ethelyn Taylor Tina Nolan Jill Walker Michele Piel Gwenan Wilber Tamara Roberts TENOR Todd Arp Jerry Fusselman Gerhard Haigis Eric Johnson Harold Johnson Jim May Dan McMahon Tom Murphy Maff Posthuma Ken Rosinski BASS Jeff Buckley Dale Crome Martin Daly Martin Deppe David Elliott Rob Groetti nger Stefan Haney Dave Hahn Paul Hekman Luciano Laurentiu Dick Lauterbach Larry Leonard Art Moswin

12 SATURDAY JULY 20, THE DALE WARLAND SINGERS The Dale Warland Singers, a 40-voice professional choir, hale from the Twin Cities, where they present subscription concerts. They regularly tour throughout the U.S. and abroad and in 1990 traveled to Stockholm and Helsinki to represent North America at the Second World Symposium on Choral Music. In addition to giving live performances, the Dale Warland Singers are regularly heard on radio broadcasts such as Garrison Keillor'sA Prairie Home Companion and Public Radio International's Saint Paul Sunday. They regularly collaborate with other Twin Cities arts organizations such as the James Sewell Ballet, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and the Minnesota Orchestra. They have oyer 20 recordings to their credit and have just released a recording of Bernstein's Chichester Psalms and Britten's Rejoice in the Lamb. The ensemble also has a reputation for commissioning new works and has created a program called Choral Ventures, which has contributed over $100,000 for commissions to over 50 composers. In 1992 the ensemble was the first recipient of the Margaret Hillis Achievement Award for choral excellence and has received four ASCAPawards for adventuresome programming. Tonight's performance marks the Ravinia debut of the Dale Warland Singers. SOPRANO Beth Althof Margaret Burton Sora Dick Marie Spar Dymit Pamela Marentette Melissa Morey Deborah Loon Osgood Sarah Schlomer Dawn Schuffenhauer Naomi Christensen Storuch Monica Stratton denotes section leader ALTO Carrie Benson Sara Boos Teresa K. Elsbernd Galina Erickson Joanne Hclvorsen " Lynette Johnson Mary C. Maiden Muller Krista Palmquist Rosita Tendall TENOR Jared L. Anderson Lawrence Bach Joel Beyer Jerome Elsbernd Joel C. Fischer Eric N. Hopkins Justin Karch David Nordli Steven Staruch Hal Snyder Gregory Tambornino BASS Jeffrey Bipes Bruce Broquist Matthew Culloton Dave Jacobson Brian Kremer Michael Meyer Kevin Norberg Tim O'Brien Bob Peskin Brian E. Petty Brad Runyan Terry Sheetz Brian L. Steele

13 SATURDAY J U l Y 20, ST. CHARLES SINGERS The St. Charles Singers, founded in 1984 by Jeffrey Hunt, comprise 32 people, many of whom pursue musical careers outside of the choir. They regularly perform a Christmas concert to benefit CASAKane County, a charity for children. The choir has also been part of the biennial 16-day St. Charles Art and Music Festival, and for several years they have performed under the direction of composer and conductor John Rutter to critical and popular acclaim. They have also worked with Timothy Brown, director of music at Clare College in Cambridge, England, and have performed with the Illinois Chamber Orchestra and the Elgin Symphony Orchestra. Recent guest artists who have appeared with the St. Charles Singers include jazz pianist George Shearing, bassist Malcolm Creese and organist David Schrader. In 2000 the choir made a successful tour of England, returning in 2002 for a second tour of England and France. Tonight's performance marks the Ravinia debut of the St. Charles Singers. SOPRANO Ellen Anton Anne Arends Groce Hunt Laura Johnson Casey Murdaugh Amanda King Candace Thomas-Kless Beverly Nesbit April Stovall Tara Zamin ALTO Katie Barr Jennifer Hunt Bridget Kander Heather Lambert Ann MacDonald Linda McCullough Debby Wilder Valerie Wilder TENOR Ti Bergman Bob Boyd David Hunt Jeffrey Hunt Andy Jeffrey Bryan Kunstman Eric Johnson Stan McGrouty BASS Nick Bradac Glenn Breilzig John Clarke Pierrick Hcnlet Lamont Lambert Jacob Madden Joel Miller Mike Miller Jonathan Sager Jeff Stoffel David Tognorelli Jon Warfel

14 SATURDAY JULY 20, PROGRAM NOTES LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN ( ) Fantasy for Orchestra, Piano and Chorus, Op. 80 First performed at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna on December 22, 1808; Beethoven played piano and conducted. The score calls for pairs of flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns and trumpets, timpani, solo piano, strings and mixed chorus. Theodore Thomas introduced this piece to Chicago Symphony subscription audiences on December 18, Daniel Barenboim appeared as pianist and conductor in the most recent performances, September 17, 20 and , with the Chicago Symphony Chorus and soloists Kary Stewart, Mary Ann Beatty, Diane Busko-Bryks, Thomas Dymit, Kevin McKelvie and Matthew Greenberg. At the Ravinia Festival, the "Choral Fantasy" was first performed by the Chicago Symphony Ludwig van Beethoven by Orchestra and Chorus, with pianist Rudolf Joseph Carl Stieler (1819) Firkusny, under James Levine on July 10, Riccardo Chailly led the most recent performance by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, pianist Peter Serkin, and soloists Mary Jane Endicott, Amy Pickering, Diane Busko-Bryks, Kevin McKelvie, David Anderson and Matthew Greenberg on July 21,1995. For his Akademie (public concert) of December 22, 1808, Beethoven mounted an extraordinarily long and taxing program. Its organization conformed to typical late-18th-century concert format: two halves, each beginning with an orchestral work, followed by miscellaneous vocal-choral pieces and improvisations by the featured composer-performer, and concluding with a major solo piece with orchestra. An ambitious musician occasionally scheduled such a concert in order to introduce new works before an audience of potential aristocratic patrons or to enhance his reputation with middle-class consumers of printed music. Scheduling such a program first required official (after 1813, governmental) approval. Generally the musician assumed all financial liability, compensating the orchestra and vocalists from box-office receipts. Any remaining revenues became the featured performer's income. What distinguished Beethoven's public concert from those by his contemporaries was its exceptional length and demanding content. As advertised in the Wiener Zeitung on December 17, the program consisted of the following: "First

15 SATURDAY J U l Y 20, Part: 1.A Symphony, entitled: 'ARecollection of Country Life,' in F major (No.5) [actually No.6, the "Pastoral"]; 2. Aria [probably the soprano scena ''Ah! perfido"]; 3. Hymn with Latin text, composed in the church style with chorus and solos [from Mass in C Major]: 4. Pianoforte Concerto played by himself [No.4, in G major]. Second Part: 1. Grand Symphony in C Minor (No.6) [actually No. 5J;2. Holy, with Latin text composed in the church style with chorus and solos [from Mass in C Major]; 3. Fantasia for Pianoforte alone; 4. Fantasia for Pianoforte which ends with the gradual entrance of the entire orchestra and the introduction of choruses as a finale." By all accounts, the concert was a colossal disaster. The music lasted from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. in a bitterly cold theater. Beethoven offended his original soprano soloist, and her replacement fell far short of expectations. The orchestrastill insulted by an unpleasant encounter with Beethoven at an earlier benefit concertopenly resisted his shoddy Interior of the Theater an der Wien, where Beethoven direction. Works receiving their gave his benefit concert on December 22, 1808 premieres on that occasion were unenthusiastically and insufficiently prepared. In fact, not one piece was rehearsed in its entirety before the concert. Disaster was inescapable. Inspired only days before the Akademie to conclude with a grand finale, Beethoven envisioned an unprecedented combination of piano, orchestra and chorus. The resulting Choral Fantasy-consisting of a piano introduction and orchestral-choral finale-reached only partial completion before the concert. Apparently the composer wrote the final section first, although without a complete text in hand. Only after composing his music did Beethoven commission six stanzas of poetry, most likely from Christoph Kuffner. (If Kuffner penned these lyrics, he apparently did not think highly of them, for they do not appear in his "complete works" edition.) The ink was still wet on the choral parts at the first rehearsal. Beethoven's original introduction has been lost. However, a set of incomplete instrumental parts suggest that the composer began with a very different conception than the now-authoritative opening solo piano cadenza. Despite Beethoven's sincerest efforts, the Choral Fantasy fell apart in concert. Confusion over repeated sections resulted in orchestral mayhem. Although accounts vary in detail, the Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung described the ensuing scene during which Beethoven halted this ill-fated performance: "The wind-instruments vary the theme that Beethoven had previously played on the pianoforte. The turn comes to the oboes. The clarinets, if I am not mistaken,

16 SATURDAY J U l Y 20, make a mistake in the count and enter at once. A curious mixture oftone results. Beethoven jumps up, tries to silence the clarinets, but does not succeed until he las called out quite loudly and rather ill-ternperedly: 'Stop, stop! That will not do! Again-again!'" The fantasy's unusual construction produced all obvious predecessor to the final movement of Symphony No. 9 for orchestra, solo voices and chorus. Its slow, improvisatory C-minor piano introduction contains virtuosic flourishes, occasionally in a pseudo-baroque contrapuntal texture. Double basses and cellos begin the Finale. Orchestral phrases alternate with recitative-like segments for solo piano. The Ninth Symphony also applies vocal writing to the instruments. Beethoven introduced the C-major melody of his song Gegenliebe ("Requited Love"),WoO ll8, in the piano, a theme ripe for variation. Certain melodic traits anticipate the Ninth's "Ode to Joy": gavotte-like phrases beginning in the middle of a measure, a stanzaic grouping of four- measure phrases and a characteristic fermata before the final phrase. Eleven variations of this theme ensue, each scored for a different instrumental and vocal combination. Beethoven highlighted different members of the orchestra in his initial four variations: NO.1 for flute and piano, No.2 for oboe duet and piano, No.3 for two clarinets and bassoon, and No.4 for a quartet of solo strings. The full orchestra makes its first appearance in the fifth variation. An extensive piano interlude contains a pervasive triplet rhythm. Following another cadenza, the piano begins Variation 6 in C minor, a transformation that shifts the mid-measure phrases to the beginning of the measure. Variation 7 evokes a pastoral atmosphere with its chamber scoring for paired clarinets and bassoons, an ornamented piano part, and violas and cellos. March-like orchestral rhythms further alter the theme (No.8). The piano reenters and engages in a series of expansive modulations. Double basses resume their introductory theme to the finale. Elaborate piano arpeggios lead to the first vocal entrances. A solo trio of women's voices accompanied by the piano declaim two stanzas of poetry. Three male soloists, supported by pizzicato strings, immediately follow with an additional pair of stanzas (Variations 9 and 10). The mixed chorus contributes the final variation (No. ll) based on the final lines of poetry. Beethoven then builds a tremendous coda by continuing the exchange between solos and chorus, employing imitative textures and accelerating into a presto climax.

17 SATURDAY JULY Schmeichelnd hold und lieblich klingen unsers Lebens Harmonien, und dem Schonheitssinn entschwingen Blumen sich, die ewig bluhn. Fried' und Freude gleiten freundlich wie der Wellen Wechselspiel; was sich drangte rauh und feindlich, ordnet sich zu Hochgefuhl. Wenn der Tone Zauber walten und des Wortes Weihe spricht, muss sich Herrliches gestalten, Nacht und Sturrne werden Licht. Auss're Rube, inure Wonne herrschen fur den Glucklichen. Doch der Kunste Fruhlingssonne lasst aus beiden Licht entstehn. Grosses, das ins Herz gedrungen, bluht dann neu und schon empor, hat ein Geist sich"aufgeschwungen, hallt ihm stets ein Geisterchor. Nehmt denn hin, ihr schonen Seelen, froh die Gaben schoner Kunst. Wenn sich Lieb' und Kraft verrnanlen, lohnt dem Menschen Gotter-Gunst, Charmingly and lovingly flattering sound our life's harmonies, and beauty's essence shoots forth flowers that bloom forever. Peace and joy gently pass over, like the interplay of waves; that which urges them on, rudely and unfriendly, is put in order by exultation. When music's magic rules, and the solemnity of words speaks forth, magnificence must take shape, night and storm become light. Outward peace, inward bliss govern the fortunate. However, art-the sun of springallows light to arise from both. Greatness, which penetrates into the heart, then blossoms upward new and beautiful; a spirit is lifted up, a spirit choir ever resounds. Accept then their beautiful souls, the joyous gifts of a beautiful art. When love and might unite, the goodness of the gods rewards humankind.

18 SATURDAY JUlY 20, Symphony No.9 in D Minor, Gp. 125 First performed on May 7, 1824, at the Kiirntnertor Theater in Vienna, Ignaz Umlauf conducting. The score calls for twoflutes, oboes, clarinets and bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, timpani, strings, solo vocal quartet and chorus. Theodore Thomas conducted the first performance of the Symphony No. 9 by the Chicago Orchestra (as it was then called) on December 17,1892. Sir Georg Solti led the most recent subscription performances by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus on September 25, 26 and 27, 1986; soloists were Iessye Norman, Reinhild Runkel, Robert Schunk and Hans Sotin. This symphony also was performed on two special nonsubscription concerts celebrating the inaugural season of Symphony Center Title page of Beethoven's Symphony NO.9 on October 11 and 12, 1997; Daniel Barenboim conducted, with soloists Soile Isokoski, Rosemarie Lang, Ben Heppner and Robert Holl, and the Chicago Symphony Chorus. At Ravinia, the Ninth Symphony was first performed on July 31, 1952, by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Northwestern University Summer Chorus and soloists Eileen Farrell,Jane Hobson, Andrew McKinley and Mack Harrell, all under the direction of Otto Klemperer. Christoph Eschenbach conducted the most recent performance by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus and soloists Pamela Armstrong.janis Taylor,Vinson Coleand PeterRose on June 24, Few works of art elevate, inspire and mystify with the same indescribable power that Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 possesses. The music dramas of Richard Wagner and the symphonies of Gustav Mahler, to name a few,owe their very existence to this work. Gustav Klimt's wonderfully sensual, art nouveau Beethoven Frieze embodies a personal reflection on the Ninth Symphony. Musical analyses of this complex score (such as Heinrich Schenker's tome) have filled volumes. The depth of meaning in Beethoven's inspired setting of Friedrich von Schiller's "Ode to Joy" has not been exhausted. It probably never will be. Even before moving to Vienna permanently in 1793, Beethoven announced his desire to compose music for the "Ode to Joy."The idea of including this text in a symphony, though, struck with jarring force 30 years later. Anton Schindler, Beethoven's secretary and biographer, remembered the magical moment: "One day, when 1entered his room, he called out to me, 'I have it!1have it,' holding out his sketchbook, where 1 read these words, 'Let us sing the immortal Schiller's song, Freude.' At that moment, the master solved the aesthetic impasse 11III

19 SATURDAY J U l Y 20, presented by the final movement." Borrowing a notion (and actual melodic phrases) from his Choral Fantasy, Op. 80, for piano, orchestra and chorus, Beethoven made the unprecedented decision to incorporate chorus and vocal soloists into his symphony. However, Schiller's drinking-song text required patient selection and rewriting to extol universal peace and brotherhood. Although the Symphony No.9 originated as a work for the Philharmonic Society of London, its premiere took place May 7, 1824,in Vienna on a monumental program with the Overture to Consecration of the House, Op. 124, and three movements from the Missa solemnis, Op Totally deaf, the composer stood beside conductor Ignaz Umlauf, beating time and turning pages. Beethoven negotiated with several publishers for rights to the Symphony No.9, which he finally offered to the Mainz firm of B. Schott and Sons. The printed score, complete with metronome markings and lavish title page, was dedicated to Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia. Structurally the Symphony NO.9 remains within accepted boundaries of early- Romantic instrumental practice: sonata-form first movement, scherzo-trioscherzo, slow variations and fast sonata-rondo. However, Beethoven saturates his movements with a bounteous stream of melodic motives, rhythmic energy, daring harmonic progressions and developmental expansion that stretch standard forms to the point of destruction and irrelevance. His colossal expression dominates every aspect of the music and in the final movement demands both a larger performing medium (solo and choral forces in addition to the typical orchestral "families") and an enduring text. In the Allegro, ma non troppo, un poco maestoso, the robust triadic first theme slowly emerges from a sparse, hushed opening. A quiet composite of lyrical motives, serving as a second theme, does not completely still the turbulence simmer beneath the surface. Beethoven manipulates thematic fragments in the extensive development. The recapitulation begins in major, then reverts to minor in preparation for a massive coda. The second movement combines scherzo and sonata ideals. A fleet, triple-meter sonata form, with repeated exposition, functions as a scherzo. Turning to cut time, Beethoven introduces a quieter trio before resuming the scherzo music. The Adagio malta e cantabile consists of interlocking sets of variations, such as Beethoven might have learned from Haydn. A chaotic dissonance inaugurates the finale. Basses and cellos anticipate the solo bass voice recitative to come, while the orchestra reminisces on themes from earlier movements. Complete statements of the "Ode to Joy" melody appear in the low strings, then in the full ensemble, but without text it remains a beautiful yet empty tune. Chaos strikes with greater force in a tone cluster containing every member of the D-minor scale. The bass solo rejects all music heard to this point, implores the gathered company ("0 Friends, not these sounds! Instead, let us make sweeter and more joyous music!"), then begins the famous "Ode," in which the chorus and other soloists join. This melody, varied in each repetition, alternates like a refrain between new vocal themes. Beethoven concludes his exhilarating hymn with a quicksilver orchestral coda.

20 SATURDAY JULY 20, The interpretive adaptability of Schiller's text has thrust this symphony into the service of politics and nationalism. One popular notion, that the poet intended an ode to Freiheit ("freedom") but changed it to Freude ('joy"), circulated widely during the 19th century. After the fall of the Berlin wall, a once-torn German nation celebrated its reunification to these strains. Leonard Bernstein assembled an orchestra and chorus for two special Christmastime concerts on both sides of the Brandenburg Gate. These 220 musicians from the East and West performed December 23 in West Berlin's Philharmonie concert hall and then on Christmas morning in East Berlin's Shauspielhaus theater. Caught in the spirit of the event, Bernstein substituted the word Freiheit for Freude. More recently Seiji Ozawa conducted an unusual performance as part of the opening ceremonies of the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics. Five choruses in different countries were linked by satellite for a truly global rendition of Beethoven's "Ode to Joy." o Freunde, nicht diese Tone! Sondern lasst uns angenehmere anstimmen und freudenvollere! Freude, schoner Gottcrfunken, Tochter aus Elysium! Wir betreten feuertrunken, HimmJische, dein Heiligtum. Deine Zauber binden wieder, Was die Mode streng getheilt; Aile Menschen werden Bruder, Wo dein sanfter Flugel weilt. Wem der grosse Wurf gelungen, Eines Freundes Freund zu sein, Wer ein holdes Weib errungen, Mische seinen Iubel ein! Ja-wer auch nur eine Seele Sein nennt auf dem Erdenrund! Und wer's nie gekonnt, der stehle Weinend sich aus diesem Bund. o Friends, not these sounds! Instead, let us make sweeter and more joyous music! Joy,lovely spark of the gods, daughter of Elysium. We enter elated with fervor, heavenly one, into your sanctuary. Your charms unite again what fashion sharply divided; all men are made brothers wherever your gentle wing abides. To whomever it has been granted to be the friend of a friend; whoever has won a gracious woman, now join in the exultation! Yes-he who even only one heart has called his own on the whole wide earth! And whoever never could feel it, let him steal away weeping from this alliance.

21 SATURDAY J U L Y 20, Freude trinken alle Wesen An den Brusten der Natur; Aile Guten, alle Bosen Folgen ihrer Rosenspur. Kusse gab sie uns und Reben, Einen Freund, gepruft im Tod; Wollust ward dem Wurm gegeben, Und der Cherub steht vor Gott. Froh, wie seine Sonnen fliegen Durch des Himmels pracht'gen Plan, Laufet, Bruder, eure Bahn, Freudig, wie ein Held zum Siegen. Seid umschlungen, Millionen! Diesen Kuss der ganzen Welt! Bruder-i-uberrn Sternenzelt Muss ein Lieber Vater wohnen! Ihr stiirzt nieder, Millionen? Ahnest du den Schopfer, Welt? Such' ihn iiberm Stemenzelt! tiber Stemen muss er wohnen. Ail creatures drink in joy at the breast of nature; all the good, all the evil follow in her path of roses. Kisses she gave to us, and wine, and a friend, faithful unto death; lust was given to the worm, and the cherub stands before God. Happy, as the suns rushing through heaven's brilliant plane, follow, brothers, your path joyously as a hero to victory. Receive this embrace, ye millions! This kiss to the whole world! Brothers-above the starry sky there surely lives a loving father! Do you fall down, ye millions? Do you sense the creator, world? Seek him above the starry sky! Above the stars he certainly lives. -Program notes and translation of the Choral Fantasy Todd E. Sullivan Translation of Schiller's "Ode to Joy" by Don Horisberger 11III