Wolfgang Amadé Mozart 250 th Anniversary Celebration II

Transcription

1 The Atlanta Baroque Orchestra John Hsu, Artistic Director & Conductor Wolfgang Amadé Mozart 250 th Anniversary Celebration II Friday 22 September :00 p.m. Peachtree Road United Methodist Church 3180 Peachtree Road NW Atlanta, Georgia

2 program Symphony in G Major, K. 199 Allegro Andantino grazioso Presto Concerto in G Major, K. 216, for violin and orchestra Allegro Adagio Rondeau: Allegro Karen Clarke, violin intermission Symphony in A Major, K. 201 Allegro moderato Andante Menuetto Allegro con spirito The Atlanta Baroque Orchestra John Hsu, Artistic Director & Conductor Violin Viola Flute Valerie Prebys Arsenault Melissa Brewer Catherine Bull Garry Clarke Martha Perry Janice Joyce Stephen Redfield Shawn Pagliarini Violoncello Oboe Gesa Kordes Stephanie Vial George Riordan Ute Marks Eckhart Richter Lara Lay Ruth Johnsen Martha Bishop Horn Violone Celeste Holler Melanie Punter Russell Williamson Harpsichord Daniel Pyle

3 The Atlanta Baroque Orchestra was founded under the leadership of Lyle Nordstrom, along with foundingmembers Catherine Bull, Jeanne Johnson, Daniel Pyle, and Eckhart Richter, who felt the need for a permanent, professional, historical-instrument orchestra in the Southeast. The unique, transparent sheen of early instruments, coupled with their capability of a delightful variety of articulations, allows voices and instruments to blend into a unified, yet clear, sound that is very difficult to achieve with modern instruments. Since its founding in 1997, the ABO has been applauded for its freshness and verve, and for its delightful, convincing performances of a wide range of earlier works. The Orchestra received initial generous support from the Atlanta Early Music Alliance and a variety of individuals, and has also depended on donations of time and money from the musicians themselves. The ABO is a not-for-profit corporation based in Atlanta, and is 501(c)3 (tax-exempt). Contributions, which are tax-deductible, are greatly appreciated and are central to the survival of a venture such as this. If you would like to support the ABO and its future programming, please send checks made out to The Atlanta Baroque Orchestra, 303 Augusta Avenue SE, Atlanta, GA There is also a great opportunity for friends of the arts in the community to serve on the Atlanta Baroque Orchestra board. Please visit our website at for more information on the ABO. John Hsu is the Old Dominion Foundation Professor of Music Emeritus at Cornell University, where he taught for 50 years ( ). He was the founder and conductor of the erstwhile Apollo Ensemble (a period instrument chamber orchestra) and a renowned virtuoso player of the viola da gamba and baryton. As both a conductor and an instrumentalist, he has been awarded grants by "The Fund for U.S. Artists at International Festivals and Exhibitions," a public/private partnership of the National Endowment for the Arts, the United States Information Agency, The Rockefeller Foundation, and the Pew Charitable Trusts. He has performed throughout North America and Europe, and made award-winning recordings. Among them are his CD of Haydn Baryton Trios (with violist David Miller and cellist Fortunato Arico), which was chosen Winner in the Music Retailers Association's Annual Award for Excellence in London, 1989; and his CD Symphonies for the Esterhazy Court by Joseph Haydn (with the Apollo Ensemble), which was nominated for the 1996 International Cannes Classical Music Award. In recognition of his edition of the complete instrumental works of Marin Marais ( ), the most important composer of music for the viola da gamba, and for his performances and recordings of French baroque music for the viola da gamba, the French government conferred on him the knighthood Chevalier de l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres in May of He is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music, which awarded him the Honorary Doctor of Music degree in He is also Artistic Director Emeritus of the Aston Magna Foundation for Music and the Humanities (the pioneering musical organization in the historical performance movement in this country, founded by Albert Fuller in 1972). As conductor of the Cornell Symphony Orchestra, he has performed all nine Beethoven Symphonies, based on the new Bärenreiter edition by Jonathan Del Mar, completed in Karen Clarke is a versatile performer, and has served as concertmaster of the ABO since Professor of Violin at the Florida State University College of Music, where she has taught since 1980, Ms. Clarke has appeared as soloist with orchestras throughout the nation, and maintains an active life as chamber musician, solo recitalist and orchestral performer. A former member of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, she served as concertmaster of various orchestras, including the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra under the baton of Leonard Bernstein, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, and for 20 years, the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra. She has performed and recorded with the Baltimore Symphony, and with period instrument ensembles such as the Smithsonian Chamber Orchestra, the Apollo Ensemble, and the Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra.

4 As a founding member of the Rogeri Trio, Ms. Clarke performed throughout the United States and held a residency at Yale University. Through her great interest in stylistically imaginative performances, she became active as a period instrument violinist, performing on instruments and bows typical of those in use during the time of Bach, Vivaldi, Handel, Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. While conducting research in London, she pursued period violin studies with Monica Huggett, whom ABO audiences heard as guest director and soloist during our season. Ms. Clarke's students have been finalists in solo and chamber competitions at the national level and hold positions in symphony orchestras and on faculties at universities and public and private schools in the U.S. and abroad. A native of Boise, Idaho, she holds degrees from the Peabody Institute in Baltimore with further study at Yale University, and her teachers have included Joseph Silverstein, Robert Gerle and Donald Weilerstein. Karen is married to the ABO's principal oboist, George Riordan. For this concert, she is performing on a violin by Pietro Giacomo Rogeri, Brescia, Italy, 1700, with a bow by the Dutch maker, Gerhard Landwehr. Program Notes by John Hsu The three works on this program, Symphonies K. 199 and K. 201, and the Violin Concerto K. 216, were composed in Salzburg in 1773, 1774, and 1775 respectively. These were not happy years professionally for the composer. He had just returned from his third trip to Italy, having spent twenty exciting and active months in Milan, to find his new patron Count Colloredo, the Elector and Archbishop, tightfisted in his support of music, and not fully appreciative of Mozart s musical genius and contributions. It was probably during this period that Mozart realized that there was no future for him in Salzburg, and that he had to seek his fortune elsewhere. It is possible that these three works are among the many composed during with an eye towards the future, for we know of no specific occasions for which they were intended. Symphony in G Major, K. 199, is a three-movement work in the Italian style, scored for two flutes (instead of the more usual two oboes), two horns, and strings with continuo. It is an exuberant work infused with youthful energy and spirit. From the initial chords of the first movement, one senses immediately the influence of Italian opera. All three movements are in sonata form. The first movement is characterized by the contrast between the scintillating first theme and the lyrical second theme, which heightens the dramatic effect throughout the movement. The second movement is a duet with a simple accompaniment, in which the theme is first heard as a duet for the violins, then the flutes, in both the exposition and recapitulation. The development section features the violins in a dialogue. The third movement begins as a fugue but wittily transform itself into a waltz-like dance movement, and ends with a brilliant coda. Symphony in A Major, K. 201, is indisputably the best of Mozart s early chamber symphonies scored for the modest instrumentation of two oboes, two horns, strings and continuo. It surpassed all the others in its strong characterization of themes, the vitality and variety of rhythmic motives, and the effective juxtaposition of homophonic and contrapuntal textures. Three of the four movements, excepting the Menuetto, are in sonata form. By the extensive development of motivic ideas within each movement and the presence of common elements in the themes of different movements, such as the prominence of

5 the octave in the first and last movements and the dotted rhythm in the two middle movements, this work possesses a structural coherence and grandeur not found in his earlier symphonies. Many Mozart lovers consider this work to be his first great symphony. Inexplicably, this great achievement was followed by a hiatus in Mozart s symphonic writing, lasting from late 1774 until the appearance of the Symphony in D, K. 297, in Paris in June of It was during this unfruitful symphonic period, namely in 1775, that Mozart composed four of his five violin concertos. (The first violin concerto, K. 207, long thought to belong to this same year, was actually composed in 1773.) The Concerto in G is a work of eloquence and elegance, in which one finds the fusion of vocal lyricism and instrumental virtuosity. In the sonata-form first movement, this quality is most apparent in the development section, where the seemingly random juxtaposition of the contrasting motives of the soloist and the harmonic modulations of the orchestra together create a dramatic tension that is operatic. The second movement is a song with a richly decorated melodic line that in style and expressiveness is akin to that of a coloratura soprano aria. Its modest length and its simplicity of structure (an introduction of the first four bars of the theme by the orchestra, followed by the complete theme and its repetition, which are separated only by a short modulatory passage) is an effective contrast to the structural complexity of the Rondeau that follows. This finale is in the sonata-rondo form, and as suggested by its name, the formal structure of ABACABA comprises the principles of both the rondo and the sonata form. As a rondo, the primary musical interest is the alternation of the dance-like refrain in the fast triple meter of 3/8 with other couplets of musical contrast. As a sonata movement, sections A and B of the rondo are construed as the two themes in the exposition of the sonata form, the C section usually as the development section, and the repeat of the A and B sections as the recapitulation. In this unusual movement, however, section C cannot be taken as the development section of a sonata movement. It is instead an extended contrasting couplet in the rondeau scheme, consisting of a pair of dances in duple time: an gavotte in g minor, marked Andante, followed by a bourrée in G major, marked Allegretto. The irresistible charm and elegance of this section, in contrast to the lively gigue-like refrain, makes it the unforgettable, savory part of the movement. (Additional note by Daniel Pyle Mozart s name which he was given at his baptism was Johann Chrysostom Wolfgang Theophilus Mozart: Johann Chrysostom in honor of the saint of the same name, and Theophilus in honor of his godfather. Amadeus, by which we know him, is simply a Latin translation of the Greek Theophilus, He also used the form Amadeo at times, but the form he himself used most often was Amadé or Amadè. )

6 The Atlanta Baroque Orchestra would like to thank the following persons and establishments For contributing their time, talents, and energy in regard to the details of ABO concerts. Atlanta Early Music Alliance (AEMA) William & Ute Marks Janice Joyce & Chris Robinson Eckhart & Rosemary Richter Nancy & Wayne Musselwhite Gisella Torresala Janie Hicks Valerie Prebys Arsenault Peter and Patricia DeWitt Sid & Linda Stapleton Sandy Fitzpatrick & Randy Lewis Susan Wagner Ted Huddleston Linda Bernard & RyeType Design Martha Bishop Peachtree Road United Methodist Church: Scott Atchison and Amir Zaheri The ABO would also like to acknowledge the several thousand dollars worth of rehearsal time that has been graciously given to the orchestra by its members. These concerts could not be given without their enthusiasm and support. ABO Board of Directors President: Eckhart Richter Ephraim McLean Vice President: Cathy Adams William E. Pearson III Vice President for Development: Janie Hicks John Lemley Secretary: Susan Wagner Melanie Punter Treasurer: Peter DeWitt Scott Atchison Daniel Pyle, Resident Director Hotel accommodation for The Atlanta Baroque Orchestra musicians is graciously provided by Support is also provided by

7 Embellish A Melody! Bach Club ($ ) Telemann Club ($ ) Dr. & Mrs. David Bright Niels Brix Andersen Dr. & Mrs. Peter DeWitt Roger S. Austin Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta Mr. & Mrs. William H. Austin, Jr. Janie R. Hicks Daniel Baba Martha J. R. Hsu Patrick L. Boyle & Paula G. Ciembor Douglas Leonard Stratton H. Bull Mr. & Mrs. William E. Pearson III Susan K. Card Daniel Pyle & Catherine Bull Dr. & Mrs. Robert M. Cates Lois Z. Pyle Dr. & Mrs. M. Dwayne Collier Donald E. Snyder Dr. & Mrs. Jack R. Edgens Susan Wagner Homer Edwards Larry Thorpe & Dr. Barbara Williams Drs. Thomas & Shauna Farmer Dr. & Mrs. Peter G. Gilmer Handel Club ($ ) Anne Halliwell Donald N. Broughton & Susan L. Olson Dymples E. Hammer James E. Honkisz & Catherine A. Binns Dr. & Mrs. Daniel Hanks, Jr. Dr. & Mrs. William P. Marks, Jr. Dr. & Mrs. Bannester L. Harbin Dr. George Riordan & Karen Clarke Margaret T. Harbin Rome Area Council for the Arts Mr. & Mrs. Allan R. Jones Southeastern Historical Keyboard Society Hans & Christa Krause Dr. & Mrs. Joel D. Todino George H. Lanier Dr. & Mrs. Richard W. Leigh Vivaldi Club ($ ) Mr. & Mrs. Gordon A. Leiter Martha Bishop Mrs. Hugh T. Moore Michael Clifford & Sandra Murray G. R. and Caroline Nuckolls Nancy Musselwhite Shawn Pagliarini & Russell Williamson Dr. Marie P. Griffith and Music Academy of Rome Mr. & Mrs. Jerry Pollard Dr. & Mrs. David Halverson Mary Roth Riordan Dr. Henry Kahn & Mary Gilmore--Kahn Dr. & Mrs. Michael Rogers Dr. Jerry McCormick Certified Collision Specialists Dr. & Mrs. Jim L. Rogers Dr. & Mrs. Ephraim R. McLean Ann R. Rollins Mr. & Mrs. John L. Mortison Dr. Jack Runninger Holly, Mark, Jack, & Sara Murphy Michael & Cheri Schneider Dr. & Mrs. Roderick Remoroza Dr. & Mrs. Stuart A. Smith Mr. & Mrs. Thomas J. Thomas Hans & JoAnn Schwantje Mr. & Mrs. Paul Timm-Brock Mr. & Mrs. James H. Tuttle Dr. & Mrs. Gary Voccio

8 Do Not Miss the Rest of Our Season! The Mozart Celebration continues! Symphony no. 18 in F; Regina coeli in B-flat; & Symphony no. 25 in G minor with soprano Jennifer Ellis & the Emory Concert Choir (Eric Nelson, director) Sunday 19 November 2006 Italian Music for Strings Music of Vivaldi, Corelli, Caldara, Torelli, & Manfredini Sunday 28 January 2007 Dieterich Buxtehude 300 th Anniversary Membra Jesu Nostri (Seven meditations) Sonatas for strings and basso continuo Sunday 11 March 2007 Handel & Haydn Handel: Concerti grossi from Op. 3 & Op. 6 Haydn: Little Organ Mass With soprano Arietha Lockhart Chamber Choir of Peachtree Road United Methodist Church (Scott Atchison, director) Sunday 13 May 2007 Visit our web-site at