Concerts of Thursday, May 29, and Friday, May 30, at 8:00p, and Saturday, May 31, 2014, at 7:30p.

Transcription

1 Concerts of Thursday, May 29, and Friday, May 30, at 8:00p, and Saturday, May 31, 2014, at 7:30p. Robert Spano, Conductor Joshua Bell, Violin Charles Zoll (b. 1991) Asimov at Star s End (2014) World Premiere, Commissioned by the Rapido! Take Three!!! Composition Contest, Charles Zoll, 2013 National Winner Paul Hindemith ( ) Symphony, Mathis der Maler (1934) I. Engelkonzert (Concert of the Angels) II. Grabelgung (Entombment) III. Versuchung des heiligen Antonius (The Temptation of St. Anthony) Intermission Johannes Brahms ( ) Concerto for Violin And Orchestra in D Major, Opus 77 (1878) I. Allegro non troppo II. Adagio III. Allegro giocoso, ma non troppo vivace Joshua Bell, Violin

2 Notes on the Program by Ken Meltzer Asimov at Star s End (2014) Charles Zoll was born in Tucson, Arizona, on June 6, These are the world premiere performances of Asimov at Star s End. Asimov at Star s End is scored for piccolo, flute, alto flute, oboe, English horn, clarinet, bass clarinet, bassoon, contrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, two trombones, bass trombone, tuba, timpani, bass drum, tiger gong, crotales, kaiamba, water gongs, five tom-toms, snare drum, triangle, marimba and strings. Approximate performance time is twelve minutes. These are the first ASO Classical Subscription Performances. Charles Zoll, a graduate of the University of Arizona, and currently a graduate student at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, was the winner of the third annual Rapido! Composition Contest. Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Music Director Robert Spano and Atlanta School Composers Jennifer Higdon and Michael Gandolfi judged the National Finals. Rapido!, founded in 2008 by the Atlanta Chamber Players and the Antinori Foundation, promotes the creation of new works for chamber ensembles and symphony orchestras by composers of varying experience. As the winner of the Rapido! Competition, Charles Zoll received a two-week residency at the Hambidge Center for the Creative Arts in Georgia. A chamber work by Mr. Zoll, based upon his original Rapido! submission, was premiered in the fall of 2013 by five chamber ensembles: the Atlanta Chamber Players, Boston Musica Viva, Fifth House Ensemble of Chicago, Voices of Change of Dallas, and Left Coast Chamber Ensemble of San Francisco. Charles Zoll also received a commission to write a new orchestral piece. That work, Asimov at Star s End, receives its world premiere at these performances. Among the landmark works of science fiction, Isaac Asimov s Foundation, Empire, and Robot series span thousands of years of detailed human activity. Depicted in music here are the five books of the Foundation series: the development of The Plan, its downfall, and its rebirth and redirection. In an attempt to forecast and protect the direction of civilization after the devastating Fall, a mathematician named Hari Seldon created a new starting point for humanity. Verified through a strain of science he founded called psychohistory, Seldon s Plan moved forward for two hundred uninterrupted years, characterized by oscillating crises built into the Plan. At the peak of its progress, the Mule, a social and genetic anomaly, derailed what grip the Seldon Plan had. The Mule could only be silenced by those with the same abilities; abilities that were, before, completely unknown to humans. As events unfold, we find that these abilities are not so rare: an entire planet, Gaia, possesses them as well.

3 Charles Zoll Symphony, Mathis Der Maler (1934) Paul Hindemith was born in Hanau, near Frankfurt, Germany, on November 16, 1895, and died in Frankfurt on December 28, The premiere of Hindemith's Symphony Mathis der Maler took place in Berlin, Germany, on March 12, 1934, with Wilhelm Furtwängler conducting the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. The Symphony Mathis der Maler is scored for piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, orchestra bells, bass drum, snare drum, triangle, cymbals and strings. Approximate performance time is twenty-eight minutes. First ASO Classical Subscription Performance: January 19, 1965, Robert Shaw, Conductor. Most Recent ASO Classical Subscription Performances: February 9, 10 and 11, 1989, Yoel Levi, Conductor. ASO Recording Telarc CD-80195, Yoel Levi, Conductor. In January of 1933, Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany. German composer Paul Hindemith, whose wife and several close associates were of Jewish ancestry, became increasingly troubled by Nazi policies. Hindemith believed that the Nazis would soon fall out of favor. Nevertheless, the composer felt an ever-increasing need to express his anxiety over Germany s political climate. And so, Hindemith began his opera Mathis der Maler, a work that occupied Hindemith from June 1933 to July Hindemith s opera is based on the life of German Renaissance painter Matthias (or Mathis) Grünewald (c ). Grünewald is best known for his magnificent Altarpiece, created for the hospital chapel of Saint Anthony s Monastery in Isenheim. The work now resides at the Unterlinden Museum in Colmar, France. The opera takes place during the Protestant Reformation and the bloody Peasants Revolt, c Mathis, in the employ of Cardinal Albrecht, the Archbishop of Mainz, begins to question the justification for artistic expression during times of political turmoil. Mathis abandons his art to assist the peasants in their struggle, but finally becomes disenchanted with the hypocrisy of both opposing factions. In a vision based on one of the Isenheim panels, Mathis becomes the tormented St. Anthony. After undergoing horrific temptation by demons, St. Anthony visits St. Paul (in the vision played by Cardinal Albrecht), who comforts him with a reaffirmation of Art as a holy service to God and Man. Mathis resumes his painting with renewed fervor of purpose. While dealing with the central issue of the artist s responsibility during times of political crisis, Hindemith, who created his own libretto for Mathis der Maler, also used the opera as a forum to criticize one of the Nazis infamous practices. In Mathis, an order from the Papal Legate mandates the burning of Lutheran texts. Riedinger, a wealthy burgher of

4 Mainz, angrily questions: Should a city that has always been distinguished for its freedom of thought start burning books? In July 1933, conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler commissioned Hindemith to compose a new orchestral work. Hindemith responded with the Symphony Mathis der Maler, based upon music from the opera. Hindemith completed his Symphony before the opera, and the work received its triumphant premiere on March 12, 1934, with Furtwängler conducting the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. The opera was scheduled for production by the Berlin Staatsoper during the season. But Nazi authorities, angered both by Hindemith s association with Jews, and music they viewed as degenerate and decadent, banned performances of his works, including Mathis der Maler. Furtwängler wrote an impassioned article in defense of Hindemith, published in the press on November 25, That evening, when Furtwängler entered the orchestra pit to conduct Wagner s Tristan und Isolde, the audience greeted him with a 20-minute ovation. This display intensified the Nazis stand against Hindemith s music. In protest, Furtwängler temporarily resigned his official posts. That December at a Nazi rally, Joseph Goebbels leveled a personal attack on Hindemith. In January, Hindemith was given a six-month leave of absence from his teaching position at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin. Hindemith was ultimately allowed to return to the Hochschule, and occasional performances of his music took place in Germany. The premiere of the opera Mathis der Maler took place in Switzerland, at the Zürich Stadttheater, on May 28, Four months later the composer and his wife left Germany, first for Switzerland and ultimately, the United States. Musical Analysis I. Engelkonzert (Concert of the Angels) The opening movement serves as the Prelude to the opera, and features music that will return in a scene in which Mathis receives the inspiration for his painting depicting three angels serenading the baby Jesus. The slow introduction is based on the German folk melody, Es sungen drei Engel, ( Three angels sang a sweet song ). In the opera, the melody is sung by Regina, daughter of the murdered leader of the Peasants Revolt. The main themes of the faster principal section are derived from Mathis s ecstatic description of the angelic concert. II. Grabelgung (Entombment) The title of this slow movement is derived from the Isenheim Altarpiece portraying the entombment of Jesus. The somber music functions in the opera as the Interlude between Regina s death and the finale. At the opera s close, Mathis, having finally attained his fulfillment as an artist, bids farewell to the tools of his craft. III. Versuchung des heiligen Antonius (The Temptation of St. Anthony) The Symphony s finale is an arrangement of portions of the opera. After an ominous slow introduction, the orchestra launches into music employed in the terrifying scene where Mathis, in the guise of St. Anthony, is haunted by demons (In the score, Hindemith

5 includes the words found on the Grünewald painting that Mathis cries out during the scene: Where are you, good Jesus? Why have you not come to heal my wounds? ). A slow interlude incorporates music from a vision in which Ursula, Mathis s beloved, appears as a temptress. A reprise of earlier material leads to the coda. Over agitated string accompaniment, the winds intone the chorale Lauda Sion Salvatorem ( Praise thy Savior, O Zion ). The Symphony ends with a glorious Alleluia. Concerto for Violin And Orchestra in D Major, Opus 77 (1878) Johannes Brahms was born in Hamburg, Germany, on May 7, 1833, and died in Vienna, Austria, on April 3, The first performance of the Violin Concerto took place at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Germany, on January 1, 1879, with Joseph Joachim as soloist and the composer conducting. In addition to the solo violin, the Concerto is scored for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, timpani and strings. Approximate performance time is forty minutes. First ASO Classical Subscription Performance: March 10, 1952, Robert Harrison, Violin, Henry Sopkin, Conductor. Most Recent ASO Classical Subscription Performances: January 8, 9 and 10, 2009, Gil Shaham, Violin, Roberto Abbado, Conductor. Melodies flying so fast During the years 1877 to 1879, Johannes Brahms enjoyed summer vacations in Pörtschach, a tiny Austrian village on Lake Wörth. Brahms found the tranquil and picturesque locale a source of musical inspiration. In the summer of 1877, Brahms wrote to the eminent Viennese music critic, Eduard Hanslick: The Wörthersee is untrodden ground, with melodies flying so fast that you need to watch that you don t step on any of them. It was in Pörtschach that Brahms created such works as his Second Symphony (1877), the G-Major Violin Sonata (1878-9), and the Two Piano Rhapsodies (1879). During his second Pörtschach summer, Brahms also composed his magnificent Violin Concerto. Brahms and Joachim Brahms created the Violin Concerto for his dear friend, the Austro-Hungarian virtuoso violinist, composer and conductor, Joseph Joachim ( ). Brahms, who frequently sought Joachim s counsel and advice, forwarded the solo violin part of the Concerto s first movement on August 22, 1878, along with the following comments: After having written it out I really don t know what you will make of the solo part alone. It was my intention of course, that you should correct it, not sparing the quality of the composition and that if you thought it not worth scoring, that you should say so. I shall be satisfied if you will mark those parts that are difficult, awkward or impossible to play. The whole affair is in four movements. Joachim, then in Salzburg, replied: It gives me great pleasure to know that you are composing a Violin Concerto in four movements too! I have had a good look at what you

6 sent me and have made a few notes and alterations, but without the full score one can t say much. I can however make out most of it and there is a lot of really good violin music in it, but whether it can be played with comfort in a hot concert-room remains to be seen. On October 23, Brahms apologized to Joachim: I am slow at writing and for first performances! If you think anything of my work, arrange for (a premiere in) January. I cannot write anything definite at the moment especially after having blundered through the (second-movement) Adagio and (third-movement) Scherzo. In November, Brahms informed Joachim that he had revised the Concerto from a fourmovement work to one in the standard three: I have had a fair copy made of the solo part, and would like to send you the score soon, in the hope that you can tell me frankly whether this amounts to real hospitality! The middle movements have been cut out naturally they were the best! But I am adding a wretched Adagio. Brahms s reference to the Concerto s glorious slow movement as a wretched Adagio is bound to raise a few eyebrows. Actually, this self-deprecating humor is typical of a man who also characterized his Second Symphony as a little Sinfonia and the monumental Piano Concerto No. 2 as a tiny, tiny, pianoforte concerto with a tiny, tiny, wisp of a scherzo. On December 12, just a few weeks before the anticipated New Year's Day premiere, Brahms wrote to Joachim: I send you the part herewith and agree to your alterations. The orchestral parts will be ready for Jan. 1 st in case you play it in Leipzig. If so, I will meet you in Berlin a few days before... Despite the minimal amount of remaining preparation time, Joachim agreed to give the premiere as scheduled. He also composed the first-movement cadenza that, to this day, remains the preferred version among soloists. The violin wins! The world premiere of the D-Major Violin Concerto took place at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig on New Year s Day, Joachim, to whom Brahms dedicated the work, was the soloist. The premiere, conducted by Brahms, was far from an unqualified triumph. Perhaps the audience was confused by the unusual prominence of the orchestra, which traditionally played a decidedly supporting role in violin concertos. Brahms s unconventional approach prompted conductor Joseph Hellmesberger to dub the work, a concerto, not for, but against the violin. Violinist Bronislaw Huberman took a somewhat different view, stating that the Brahms Concerto was for violin against orchestra and the violin wins! Brahms and Joachim continued to work on revisions to the score, finally published in October of And in time (thanks in great part to Joachim's sterling advocacy), the Brahms D-Major secured its place as one of the greatest violin concertos, a Mt. Everest of technical and interpretive challenges. As with many of Brahms s finest works, it is also a brilliant and immensely satisfying synthesis of Classical structure and Romantic passion. Musical Analysis

7 I. Allegro non troppo Brahms launches his Violin Concerto in traditional fashion, with a purely orchestral exposition of the movement s principal themes. The bassoons, violas and cellos, with support from the horns, state the noble first theme. A more flowing theme will reach its full development with the appearance of the soloist. The strings play an agitated and forceful closing motif. The soloist makes a fiery entrance and then, after the mood calms, proceeds to offer embellished statements of the principal themes. The extended development features a wide range of moods and technical challenges for the soloist. A triumphant orchestral statement heralds the varied recapitulation. The soloist's cadenza leads to the final coda, which begins with the utmost serenity. However, the coda soon builds to a powerful climax, with the soloist offering a grand concluding flourish. II. Adagio The Adagio s sublime opening, scored for winds, features the oboe s presentation of the unforgettable central melody. The soloist follows with a delicate and wide-ranging version of the theme. After a dramatic central episode, the oboe and violin reprise the melody. A final ethereal passage for the soloist completes the Adagio. III. Allegro giocoso, ma non troppo vivace The soloist immediately launches into the rondo finale s vigorous principal theme (many commentators have viewed the music as a tribute by Brahms to Joachim s Hungarian origins). High spirits abound, with the soloist prominently featured throughout the finale. The concluding section opens with a robust march variant of the rondo theme. There is a tremendous surge of momentum, followed by a gradual diminuendo. However, after a brief pause, three jubilant chords mark the Concerto s triumphant conclusion.