CONCERT PROGRAM BRAHMS & RACHMANINOFF

Transcription

1 CONCERT PROGRAM BRAHMS & RACHMANINOFF Wednesday, March 28, :00pm Thursday, March 29, :00pm Stéphane Denève conductor Lars Vogt piano Lars Vogt s appearance with the TSO on March 28 is generously supported by Bettie Moore, in memory of Donald Moore. Johannes Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 83 I. Allegro non troppo II. Allegro appassionato III. Andante IV. Allegretto grazioso Intermission Sergey Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances, Op. 45 I. Non allegro II. Andante con moto (Tempo di valse) III. Lento assai Allegro vivace

2 THE DETAILS Johannes Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op min Born: Hamburg, now in Germany, May 7, 1833 Died: Vienna, Austria, Apr 3, 1897 Composed: 1881 Johannes Brahms s Piano Concerto No. 2 has symphonic ambitions uncommon in a concerto its unusual four-movement form is proof of that though Brahms, with characteristic self-deprecation, called it a tiny, tiny concerto with a tiny, tiny wisp of a scherzo. The work has a noble bearing, and its ample proportions are apparent already in the leisurely opening dialogue of horn and piano. The dramatic range is extraordinary. When not scaling Olympian heights, the music is often relaxed, lyrical, charming, sometimes delicately scored, yet there are dark and turbulent moments, too, and strange digressions. The broadly scaled first movement is brimming with melodies and motifs, all of which Brahms, with seemingly limitless imagination, extends and links, varies and develops, in ever-shifting settings. In all four movements, clear, solid structures contain but do not quell the wonderful sense of colour and fantasy and perpetual metamorphosis in this music. For all its debts to Classical models, this is a Romantic concerto par excellence. The orchestral part is powerfully conceived, and hardly subservient, but never overwhelms the piano part, which is unusually brilliant and rhapsodic and monstrously difficult. The tiny, tiny wisp of a scherzo is, in reality, a fierce, hard-driven movement, developed at length though adhering to three-part Classical minuet-andtrio form. Brahms wrote it, he said, because the first movement was too harmless on its own; the scherzo further sets the heartbreaking beauty of the slow movement in maximum relief. The Andante opens with a broad, luscious cantilena in a solo cello. The piano never plays this melody; instead, it comments on the melody in a kind of extended recitative, which grows anguished and dissonant in the middle of the movement. After a hushed, deeply moving transition, the great melody returns in the cello; the piano ornaments it, and the two instruments come together tenderly at the end. The finale of this mighty concerto comes as a surprise, for though spacious, it is light and witty, gracious and relaxed, free of storm and stress with half a dozen distinct, mostly lighthearted themes. (The trumpets and drums are silent throughout.) As in the finales of Brahms s other three concertos, the Roma idiom is prominent most obviously in the one theme in a minor key, which would be right at home in a Hungarian Dance. Program note by Kevin Bazzana

3 THE DETAILS Sergey Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances, Op min Born: Oneg, Russia, Apr 1, 1873 Died: Beverly Hills, California, USA, Mar 28, 1943 Composed: 1940 Sergey Rachmaninoff composed the Symphonic Dances shortly after fleeing war-torn Europe for the United States. The work is rhythmically animated (he originally wanted it choreographed as a ballet) and truly symphonic in style, proportions, and sonority, with melodies that could only be Rachmaninoff s. Yet, it is less opulently Romantic than his earlier music: it has the leanness, discrimination, and occasional weirdness typical of his late orchestral style. The driving first movement unfolds with grim determination. It begins with a grotesque, sarcastic march, which is subjected to intense development before dissolving into a more tranquil middle section, with a long, elegiac melody introduced by an alto saxophone new to Rachmaninoff s orchestra. (Some hear Russian folk music here.) The march returns, but the movement ends peacefully, with a quotation from Rachmaninoff s own First Symphony (a theme derived from Russian church music). That symphony disastrously premièred in 1897 and long withdrawn was almost unknown in 1940, so the quotation obviously had some purely personal meaning. The second movement is a dark valse triste a heavily stylized parody of the Viennese waltz, at once nostalgic and sarcastic, sensual and sinister. Traditional waltz lilt is compromised by complex, unsettling rhythms; the melodies are bittersweet; strange harmonies create an atmosphere of unease and anxiety; there are touches of the grotesque, like the sneering brass fanfare at the start. The movement builds to an almost hysterical climax only to vanish as if into shadows. The finale is the shortest but most fantastical movement dark, morbid, sardonic, full of demonic energy, with pounding strings, ominous brass, and squealing woodwinds. Rachmaninoff draws on two favourite sources of inspiration: chants of the Russian Orthodox Church, and the Dies irae, the Gregorian chant for the dead. The middle section is more soulful and lyrical, though melancholy, sometimes eerie. The opening dance of death returns and reaches a furious climax, but just before the end, Rachmaninoff introduces the Orthodox chant Blessed be the Lord. Again, his meaning seems to have been private (perhaps a recognition of God s ultimate triumph over death?). I thank thee, Lord, he wrote at the end of his score, and the words were sadly apt, for this would be his last original composition. Three years later, he was dead. Program note by Kevin Bazzana

4 THE ARTISTS Stéphane Denève conductor Stéphane Denève made his TSO début in April Stéphane Denève is Music Director of the Brussels Philharmonic, Principal Guest Conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra, Music Director Designate of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, and Director of the Centre for Future Orchestral Repertoire (CffOR). He appears with orchestras such as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Orchestra Sinfonica dell Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, The Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, and New York Philharmonic, among others. Recognized internationally for the exceptional quality of his performances and programming, he has a special affinity for the music of his native France, and is a passionate advocate for new music. A gifted communicator and educator, he is committed to inspiring the next generation of musicians and listeners, and has worked regularly with young people in the programs of the Tanglewood Music Center and New World Symphony. Critically acclaimed for his recordings, he is a triple winner of the Diapason d Or of the Year, has been shortlisted for Gramophone s Artist of the Year Award, and has won the prize for symphonic music at the International Classical Music Awards. Lars Vogt piano Lars Vogt made his TSO début in January Lars Vogt has established himself as one of the leading musicians of his generation. Born in Düren, Germany, in 1970, he first came to public attention when he won second prize at the 1990 Leeds International Piano Competition and has enjoyed a varied career for nearly 25 years. Vogt is now increasingly working with orchestras both as conductor and conducting from the keyboard, and his recent appointment as Music Director of the Royal Northern Sinfonia at the Sage, Gateshead in Newcastle, UK in September 2015 reflects this new development in his career. Highlights of Lars Vogt s 2017/18 season include concerto performances with Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Warsaw Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Radio Symphony Orchestra Berlin, Brussels Philharmonic, and the Toronto, St. Louis, and Baltimore symphony orchestras, as well as five concerts for a residency with the Frankfurt Museumorchester. A prolific recording artist, Mr. Vogt now works closely with the Ondine label, most recently on a disc of Schubert works released in October Prior to that, his Bach Goldberg Variations with the label had unprecedented success in download charts and received widespread acclaim. Lars Vogt has also recorded 10 discs for EMI and for CAvi and Ohems Classics.

5 GUEST ARTIST CHANGE It is with great regret that Lars Vogt must cancel his appearances with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra this week. We have been fortunate to secure Israeli pianist Inon Barnatan to perform Brahms s Piano Concerto No. 2 led by guest conductor Stéphane Denève. Inon Barnatan, piano Inon Barnatan made his TSO début in April One of the most admired pianists of his generation (The New York Times), Inon Barnatan is celebrated for his poetic sensibility, musical intelligence, and consummate artistry. He is the recipient of both a prestigious 2009 Avery Fisher Career Grant and Lincoln Center s 2015 Martin E. Segal Award. A regular soloist with many of the world s foremost orchestras, the Israeli pianist recently completed his third and final season as the inaugural Artist-in- Association of the New York Philharmonic. Recent orchestral débuts include with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Hong Kong, London, and Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestras, and the Chicago, Baltimore, Seattle, and National symphony orchestras. In 2019, Barnatan will become Music Director of Southern California s La Jolla SummerFest. In recital this season, Barnatan returned to New York s 92nd Street Y and London s Wigmore Hall, in addition to making Carnegie Hall appearances with soprano Renée Fleming and cellist Alisa Weilerstein. His passion for contemporary music has seen him commission and perform many works, including premières of pieces by Thomas Adès, Sebastian Currier, Avner Dorman, Alasdair Nicolson, Andrew Norman, and Matthias Pintscher. A born Schubertian (Gramophone), Barnatan s critically acclaimed discography includes two recordings of the Austrian composer s solo piano works, as well as Darknesse Visible, which was included on The New York Times Best of His 2015 release, Rachmaninov & Chopin: Cello Sonatas with Alisa Weilerstein, earned rave reviews, while his most recent recording is of Messiaen s Des canyons aux étoiles (From the Canyons to the Stars), in which he played the formidable piano part.