Concerto for Cello and Orchestra No. 1 in A minor, Opus 33 (1872)

Transcription

1 Concert of Saturday, May 5, 2018, at 8:00p Robert Spano, Conductor Yo-Yo Ma, cello Georges Bizet ( ) Carmen Suite No. 1 (1875) (ed. Fritz Hoffmann) I. Prélude and Aragonaise II. Intermezzo III. Séguedille IV. Les dragons d Alcala V. Les toréadors Paul Dukas ( ) L apprenti sorcier (The Sorcerer s Apprentice) (1897) Gabriel Fauré ( ) Elégie, Opus 24 (1880) Yo-Yo Ma, cello Intermission Georges Bizet ( ) L Arlésienne Suite No. 1 (1872) (ed. Fritz Hoffmann) I. Prélude II. Menuet III. Adagietto IV. Carillon Camille Saint-Saëns ( ) Concerto for Cello and Orchestra No. 1 in A minor, Opus 33 (1872) I. Allegro non troppo 1

2 II. Allegretto con moto III. Allegro non troppo; Un peu moins vite Yo-Yo Ma, cello 2

3 Notes on the Program by Ken Meltzer Carmen Suite No. 1 (1875) Georges Bizet was born in Paris, France, on October 25, 1838, and died in Bougival, France, on June 3, The first performance of Carmen took place at the Paris Opéra-Comique on March 3, The Carmen Suite No. 1 is scored for piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, English horn, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, triangle, snare drum, castanets, tambourine, cymbals bass drum, harp, and strings. Approximate performance time is twelve minutes. Georges Bizet s Carmen, one of the most performed and beloved operas, was a failure at its March 3, 1875 premiere, in Paris. Bizet died three months later, at the age of only 36. Some have suggested that Bizet s death was hastened by the failure of Carmen. It s not difficult to understand the reasons for Carmen s early lack of acceptance. The plot, based upon an 1845 novel by Prosper Mérimée, tells the story of a gypsy who has multiple affairs, and is murdered by one of her jealous lovers. This did not sit well with the audience of the Paris Opéra-Comique, a theater usually reserved for light opera and family entertainment. One critic labeled Bizet s Carmen music of the future. And though the critic did not intend this as a compliment, Carmen was an opera far ahead of its time. With its graphic depiction of the passion and violence of everyday life, Carmen anticipates by fifteen years the Italian verismo (or Realism ) operatic movement. Bizet s masterful and dramatic employment of various melodic leitmotifs is another aspect that looks forward to operas of the late 19 th and 20 th centuries. Over time, the elements that caused such a stir at Carmen s premiere made the opera a riveting theatrical experience, beloved by audiences around the world. And Bizet s genius for melody and rich, inventive orchestral sonorities helped to make Carmen a mainstay not only in the opera house, but on the orchestral concert stage and in popular culture as well. Bizet s Carmen is a work that continues to fascinate, beguile, and intoxicate audiences. It is clear that, more than 140 years after Carmen s premiere, the gypsy has lost none of her powers of seduction. The Carmen Suites feature instrumental excerpts from the opera, as well as vocal selections transcribed orchestra. This concert opens with the Suite No. 1. I. Prélude (Prelude to Act I) and Aragonaise (Entr acte, Act IV) II. Intermezzo (Entr acte, Act III) III. Séguedille (Act I) 3

4 IV. Les dragons d Alcala (Entr acte, Act II) V. Les toréadors (Introduction to Act I) L apprenti sorcier (The Sorcerer s Apprentice) (1897) Paul Dukas was born in Paris, France, on October 1, 1865, and died there on May 17, The first performance of The Sorcerer s Apprentice took place in Paris, as part of a concert by the Société Nationale, on May 18, The Sorcerer s Apprentice is scored for piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, bass clarinet, three bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, two trumpets, two cornets, three trombones, timpani, orchestra bells, suspended cymbal, triangle, cymbals, bass drum, harp, and strings. Approximate performance time is twelve minutes. The Sorcerer s Apprentice is not only the best-known work of French composer, Paul Dukas; it remains one of the most familiar of all concert pieces. The Sorcerer s Apprentice, an instant success at its 1897 premiere, continued to enjoy tremendous popularity for the next several decades. Then, in 1940, The Sorcerer s Apprentice was immortalized on the silver screen, courtesy of the Walt Disney animated classic, Fantasia. In the film, Mickey Mouse portrays the hapless apprentice, whose misadventures are set to Dukas s brilliant score, performed by Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra. The great German poet, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ( ), provided the inspiration for Dukas s magical orchestral scherzo. In a ballad, entitled Die Zauberlehrling, Goethe tells the story of a magician s apprentice. The apprentice has observed his master s ability to bring a broomstick to life in order to do the sorcerer s bidding. The apprentice has divined the sorcerer s magical incantation. And so, when the sorcerer departs, the apprentice animates the broomstick and orders it to fetch water. The broomstick complies, but much too enthusiastically soon, the magician s house is overflowing with water. The apprentice tries to stop the disaster by chopping the broom in half with an axe, but that causes two brooms to emerge and further inundate the house. Finally, the sorcerer returns, and with a wave of his hand, restores calm. The action of Goethe s poem is masterfully portrayed in Dukas s scintillating music. Elégie, Opus 24 (1880) Gabriel Fauré was born in Pamiers, France, on May 12, 1845, and died in Paris, France, on November 4, The first public performance of the Elégie took place in Paris at the Société Nationale de Musique on December 15, 1883, with Jules Loëb, cellist, and the composer as pianist. In addition to the solo cello, the Elégie is scored for two flutes, two oboes, 4

5 two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, and strings. Approximate performance time is seven minutes. Gabriel Fauré composed his haunting Elégie, for cello and piano, in Fauré originally intended the work to serve as the slow-tempo movement of a sonata for cello and piano. The Elégie received its first performance at the Paris home of composer Camille Saint-Saëns on June 21, In a letter to his publisher, Fauré noted that the Elégie was excellently received, which greatly encourages me to go on and do the whole Sonata. However, that cello sonata never materialized. In 1883, the Elégie was published as an individual work. Fauré dedicated the Elégie to cellist Jules Loëb, who, along with the composer, gave the first public performance in Paris, on December 15, Later, Fauré created an arrangement of the Elégie for solo cello and orchestra. The premiere of the orchestral version took place in Paris on April 26, 1901, with the composer conducting. Pablo Casals was the cello soloist. L Arlésienne Suite No. 1 (1872) (ed. Fritz Hoffmann) Georges Bizet was born in Paris, France, on October 25, 1838, and died in Bougival, France, on June 3, The first performance of L Arlésienne took place at the Théâtre du Vaudeville in Paris, on October 1, The L Arlésienne Suite No. 1 is scored for two flutes, two oboes, English horn, two clarinets, alto saxophone (optional), two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, two cornets, three trombones, timpani, snare drum, harp, and strings. Approximate performance time is seventeen minutes. In 1872, Léon Carvalho, impresario of the Paris Théâtre du Vaudeville, contacted Georges Bizet. The theater was presenting Alphonse Daudet s play, L Arlésienne, and Carvalho wanted Bizet to write a series of pieces to serve as incidental music to the action, a tragic love story set in Provence. In a few weeks time, Bizet composed a few dozen numbers. According to Daudet, the premiere of his play L Arlésienne was a most dazzling failure, with the most charming music in the world. Nevertheless, Bizet soon experienced great success with an orchestral suite he fashioned from the play s incidental music. After Bizet s death, his friend, Ernest Guiraud, fashioned a second L Arlésienne Suite. I. Prélude II. Menuet III. Adagietto IV. Carillon Concerto for Cello and Orchestra No. 1 in A minor, Opus 33 (1872) 5

6 Camille Saint-Saëns was born in Paris, France, on October 9, 1835, and died in Algiers, Algeria, on December 16, The first performance of the Cello Concerto No. 1 took place in Paris on January 19, 1873, with soloist August Tolbecque and the Paris Conservatory Orchestra. In addition to the solo cello, the Concerto No. 1 is scored for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani, and strings. Approximate performance time is twenty minutes. Saint-Saëns completed his First Cello Concerto in Saint-Saëns dedicated the work to August Tolbecque, principal cellist of the Paris Conservatory Orchestra. Tolbecque was the soloist in the Concerto s January 19, 1873 premiere in Paris. The Saint-Saëns First Cello Concerto has long been a favorite of distinguished soloists. The reasons for the popularity of this work are clear. The Concerto is a taut, unified composition, providing the soloist with opportunities for both lyrical expression and thrilling technical display. Further, the composer s expert orchestration allows the soloist to be heard even when in tandem with the full ensemble always a challenge in music for solo cello and orchestra. The Saint-Saëns A-minor Concerto consists of three brief sections, performed without pause. The first (Allegro non troppo) begins with a single emphatic orchestral chord, after which the soloist presents the central theme a tripletbased, wide-ranging melody that appears in various guises throughout the movement. The second section (Allegretto con moto) begins with a sort of nostalgic recollection of an 18 th -century minuet. The music later becomes more passionate. An episode for the soloist serves as a bridge to the final section (Allegro non troppo; Un peu moins vite), opening with the oboe s evocation of the first movement s central theme. A subsequent virtuoso episode for the soloist seems to exploit the instrument s entire range and technical capacity. A final passage for the soloist is capped by a brief orchestral postlude. 6