Interpreti Veneziani

Transcription

1 University of Florida Performing Arts Presents Interpreti Veneziani Sunday, November 6, 2011, 7:30 p.m. Phillips Center Sponsored by

2 Program Il Cimento dell Armonia e dell Inventione (The Test of Harmony and Invention), Op. 8, Nos 1-4: Le quattro stagioni (The Four Seasons) Spring, op. 8, n0. 1 Paolo Ciociola, violin Allegro (Giunt è la primavera) Largo (mormorio di fronde e piante - il capraro che dorme) Allegro (danza pasorale) Summer, op. 8, no. 2 Sebastiano Maria Vianello, violin Allegro non molto (languidezza per il caldo: allegro) Adagio (toglie alle membra lasse il suo riposo) Presto (tempo impetuoso d estate) Autumn, op. 8, no. 3 Pietro Talamini, violin Allegro (ballo e canto de villanelli) Adagio molto (dormienti ubriachi) Allegro (a caccia) Winter, op. 8, no. 4 Giuliano Fontanella, violin Allegro non molto (aggiacciato tremar tra nevi algenti) Largo (passar al foco i dì quieti ) Allegro (camminar sopra il ghiaccio) Antonio Vivaldi INTERMISSION Concerto In B-flat Major, for Violin, Giovanni battista Pergolesi Strings and Continuo Sebastiano Maria Vianello, violin Allegro Larghetto Allegro Fugue in D Minor (from Toccata and Fugue BWV. 565) La Ronde des Lutins (Dance of the Goblins), Op. 25 Nicola Granillo, violin Johann Sebastian Bach Antonio Bazzini

3 Program Notes Il Cimento dell Armonia e dell Inventione (The Test of Harmony and Invention), Op. 8, Nos 1-4: Le quattro stagioni (The Four Seasons) Antonio Vivaldi ( ) March 4, 1678, was a portentous day: the day that composer Antonio Vivaldi was born, and the day that his birthplace of Venice, Italy, experienced an earthquake. The two events were conflated in his parents mind, an omen, a sign that the young Antonio must serve a higher purpose: the priesthood. Pragmatists also point out that a struggling family might see the priesthood as a convenient and cost-effective way to educate a precocious and talented young man. Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi was ordained as a priest at age 25. That same year, the composer was appointed master of violin at an orphanage in Venice. Actually, this orphanage was among several locations in Venice devoted to the female offspring of noblemen resulting from dalliances with their mistresses. These Ospedali were supported by those noblemen, resulting in richly endowed music programs and a singular educational curriculum for young women. It was for the celebrated orchestra at the Ospedale della Pietà that Vivaldi wrote a significant number of his works. The Red Priest, as he was called, was a virtuoso violinist himself. In a first-hand account of his initial encounter with Vivaldi, German music patron J.F.A. von Uffenbach wrote: Vivaldi played an admirable solo to accompany an aria, at the conclusion of which he added an improvisation that really frightened me, for I doubt anything like it has ever been done before or will ever be again. Vivaldi s written music for the violin is remarkable, as well, and was an inspiration for many a composer in his day and beyond (J.S. Bach, among others, was a huge devotee). Vivaldi benefitted from a publication boom in the early 18th century. His first printed collection of concertos, Opus 3, was published in 1711; it was an immediate sensation, spreading Vivaldi s name throughout the music capitols of Europe. That was nothing compared to the reception of his concertos published as Op. 8, Nos. 1-4, best known as Le quattro stagioni, or The Four Seasons, which were wildly successful when published and played throughout Europe. Of course, in our day, The Four Seasons have eclipsed most every other instrumental work of the Baroque era in popularity. From the familiar joyous opening notes of the first concerto (Spring) to the mad final strains of the fourth concerto (Winter), it is a remarkable collection that represents the highest spirits of the Baroque era. All four concerti follow the fast-slow-fast movement configuration that Vivaldi more or less established himself. Listen for plenty of natural sounds, from birds and insects to gentle breezes, autumn hunts and sudden thunderclaps. Listeners who are especially taken with The Four Seasons might seek out the four sonnets, probably written by Vivaldi himself, which were originally published with the musical scores. Concerto In B-flat Major, for Violin, Strings and Continuo Giovanni Battista Pergolesi ( ) Earthquakes also played a role in the career of composer Giovanni Battista Pergolesi. He began life in the city of Jesi near Italy s eastern coast, and ended up at the conservatory in Naples, a city in the southwest in which he spent his most important and precious few student and professional years. In late 1732, earthquakes hit Naples. The archbishop figured that the town needed to atone somehow, so the city chose to honor the patron saint of earthquakes, St. Emidus, in a yearly festival. Pergolesi responded with a number of scared works that put him in good stead with the local cognoscenti, religious and otherwise. Within a few years, he was appointed to the important musical post as deputy to the maestro de cappella of Naples, a gig that also

4 included the right to succeed his boss. Not bad for an early twenty something. Sadly, Pergolesi was in poor health throughout his short life, and he never made it to the higher post. Pergolesi was best known for his numerous dramatic works, both comic and dramatic opera, and his many sacred works, most notably his Stabat Mater from He is not well known for his instrumental music at all, which makes this concerto for violin most remarkable. The Concerto In B-flat Major follows the fast-slow-fast movement relationship that was by then becoming the expected norm in a concerto. The opening Allegro is upbeat, like a toofast ride on a coach over bumpy roads. After the seemingly improvised cadenza, listen for the brief pause at the very end, kind of like a big inhale before a finale exhale. The lilting second movement, marked Largo, is a dance form called the siciliana; it aptly demonstrates Pergolesi s melodic ability. Indeed, this could just as easily have been an aria from one of his operas. The last movement is a charming bookend to the first movement, an open-faced Allegro that is without pretense or fussiness. Listen for the recurring long-short rhythms of the string accompaniment against the more flowing triplet figures in the solo part. Fugue in D Minor (from Toccata and Fugue BWV. 565) Johann Sebastian Bach ( ) In his day, German composer Johann Sebastian Bach was known, but he was no celebrity: certainly not to the extent that he is known and revered today. It was for his outstanding performing on organ that he was most celebrated. His ornamented, contrapuntal and deeply devotional music the epitome of the Baroque era fell out of favor and out of date in the dawning of the new, so-called Classical age. After his death, keyboardists kept his music in circulation. Composers knew of him, too, of course: Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Schumann and Mendelssohn were great admirers. Felix Mendelssohn, in fact, is generally credited with bringing Bach s music back from obscurity beginning with an 1829 revival concert of Bach s St. Matthew Passion that he organized. Luckily, the revival has never abated. Probably no single work in Bach s vast catalog is better known by audiences than the Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV It is certainly his most famous organ work, here transcribed for strings. It has also been transcribed for just about every combination of instruments imaginable, from concert band and wind ensemble to solo flute and solo horn. More than a few heavy metal bands have been attracted by the work, including Mötley Crüe and Deep Purple, among others, and of course there are jazz versions for a variety of ensembles. The Fugue is especially interesting for a couple of reasons. First, for its unrelenting fast notes (16ths to be exact). Perhaps this drive and energy are what makes the Fugue so appealing to so many. Secondly, toward the very end is a cadenza-like section, very improvisational in nature, that is a welcome pause before the final cadence. More than a few violinists, rock guitarists, jazz saxophonists and classical organists have improvised extended passages here. And why not? Bach probably did, too. La Ronde des Lutins (Dance of the Goblins), Op. 25 Antonio Bazzini ( ) Italian composer Antonio Bazzini was best known throughout Europe as a virtuoso violinist and violin teacher. He lived and toured throughout the continent, including a four-year stint in Germany where he premiered Mendelssohn s Violin Concerto in a private reading. Bazzini was also a fine teacher and is credited for his influence on another Italian composer, Giacomo Puccini. Bazzini s La Ronde des Lutins (Dance of the Goblins) from 1852 is a challenging and virtuosic romp, a showpiece that was written specifically to show off the talents of a highly-skilled

5 professional player, namely, the composer himself. La Ronde des Lutins is Bazzini s best-known work and with good reason: it dazzles, from beginning to end. It was a favorite of renowned violinist Jascha Heifetz, too, which also hasn t hurt its continuing popularity. Program notes by Dave Kopplin About Interpreti Veneziani From Venice, Italy comes this group of master musicians Interpreti Veneziani. They made their debut in 1987, immediately gaining a reputation for the youthful exuberance and all-italian brio characterizing their performances, becoming a main attraction for both locals and visitors to the romantic city. In Venice, they play a total of some 350 concerts, with more than 60,000 subscribers to their own seasons at the San Vidal Church, where Antonio Vivaldi used to play, and where his spirit remains strong. Playing on original instruments, specializing in mostly Baroque music, the individual talent of the members of this group, their expertise as soloists and ensemble musicians and the high level of their performances have earned Interpreti an enthusiastic welcome from both audiences and critics alike. Their most recent major achievements include appearances in the Melbourne and Bayruth Festivals; concerts at Stockholm s Royal Palace; participation in the World Vision telemarathon at the Kirov Theatre to mark the reinstatement of the name St. Petersburg; a concert at the Osaka Symphony Hall in live broadcast for Japanese radio; concerts at the Tokyo Suntory Hall and Kjoi Hall; and appearances in glamorous seasonal concerts such as those of Sapporo and Yokohama during six tours in Japan. Interpreti Veneziani did several tours in Australia and has been invited many times in America (Bahamas, Mexico, Venezuela, Guatemala and Colombia). Interpreti Veneziani s recording activity includes 18 compact discs recorded with Rivo Alto. Though it s difficult to reproduce the Venetian atmosphere and Vivaldi s music in concert halls, Interpreti Veneziani manages to do the impossible unfold the silence of the lagoon and the romanticism of the city wherever they go, feeling that no other composer renders Venice better than he does. Their triumphant North American debut tour resulted in multiple bookings for both 2011 and 2012.