SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY A Jacobs Masterworks Concert. May 4, 5, and 6, Swedish Rhapsody No. 1, Opus 19: Midsummer Vigil INTERMISSION

Transcription

1 SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY A Jacobs Masterworks Concert May 4, 5, and 6, 2012 ALFVÉN Swedish Rhapsody No. 1, Opus 19: Midsummer Vigil RACHMANINOFF Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Opus 43 INTERMISSION ENESCO Romanian Rhapsody No. 1, Opus 11 GERSHWIN Rhapsody in Blue

2 A PROGRAM OF RHAPSODIES This program of four different rhapsodies shows us how wide the meaning of that term has become. In ancient Greece, a rhapsody (from the Greek rháptein + ōid(ē) = "to stitch an ode") was spoken, a passage recited as part of the reading of an epic poem. Only much later did that term begin to be used for musical compositions. Initially, the term rhapsody was used for pieces that incorporated folk or other national material. We see this in Alfvén and Enesco s rhapsodies, which are based on Swedish and Romanian folk melodies. But eventually the term began to have a wider meaning, referring to music in a dramatic or extroverted style. Rachmaninoff, who had trouble settling on the name for the piece heard on this program, finally decided that his set of variations for piano and orchestra justified that title. And a decade earlier, Gershwin used the title to refer simply to a big, exciting piece, here flavored with his own distinctive jazz idiom. Swedish Rhapsody No. 1, Opus 19: Midsummer Vigil HUGO ALFVÉN Born May 1, 1872, Stockholm Died May 8, 1960, Falun Hugo Alfvén studied at the Stockholm Conservatory and in Europe, and he supported himself for several years as a violinist in an opera orchestra. But Alfvén made his career as a composer and a conductor, and from 1910 until his retirement in 1939 he served as director of music at the University of Uppsala. Alfvén composed five symphonies and numerous choral works, but his international reputation continues to rest on one work, the Swedish Rhapsody No. 1, composed in 1903 and also known as Midsummer Vigil. The Rhapsody is a portrait of life in rural Sweden during the summer, and it was specifically inspired by a peasant wedding that took place on St. John s Eve, traditionally a time of dancing and celebration (at about this same time, Manuel de Falla composed his comic ballet El Sombrero de Tres Picos, also set on St. John s Eve, but in Spain). Alfvén based the Swedish Rhapsody No. 1 (there would be two more) on folk music from the Dalecarlia region. His method is quite simple, and this music is easily followed and enjoyed: Alfvén strings together a series of characteristic and very attractive Swedish folk-tunes. These repeat and are colorfully embellished each time they come back, and sometimes Alfvén sets the tunes in graceful

3 counterpoint to each other. From the saucy clarinet tune at the very beginning through the slow central episode and on to the vigorous dance of the closing sequence (full of blazing fiddling and the sound of French horns), this music charms with its strong Swedish flavor and bright instrumental color. In 1920, some years after it was composed, the Swedish Rhapsody No. 1 was produced as a ballet in France under the title La Nuit de Saint-Jean. That production proved exceptionally attractive to audiences: the Ballet Suédois gave it more than 250 performances over the next four seasons. Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Opus 43 SERGE RACHMANINOFF Born April 1, 1873, Semyonovo Died March 28, 1943, Beverly Hills In the spring of 1934 Rachmaninoff then 61 and his wife moved into a villa they had just purchased on Lake Lucerne in Switzerland. They were delighted by the house, its opulent size, and its view across the beautiful lake, and Rachmaninoff was especially touched to find a surprise waiting for him there: the Steinway Company of New York had delivered a brand-new piano to the villa. Rachmaninoff spent the summer gardening and landscaping, and he also composed: between July 3 and August 24 he wrote a set of variations for piano and orchestra on what is doubtless the most-varied theme in the history of music, the last of Niccolo Paganini s Twenty-Four Caprices for Solo Violin. Paganini had written that devilish tune, full of rhythmic spring and chromatic tension, in 1820, and he himself had followed it with twelve variations. That theme has haunted composers ever since. In the nineteenth century, Liszt (Transcendental Etudes), Schumann (Twelve Etudes de Concert), and Brahms (the two sets of Paganini Variations) all wrote variations on it, and they have been followed in the twentieth century by Witold Lutoslawksi, Boris Blacher, and George Rochberg. There may be more to come this theme appears to be inexhaustible. Rachmaninoff described his new work to a friend as being about the length of a piano concerto... the thing s rather difficult, but he had trouble deciding on a name. At first he was going to call it Symphonic Variations on a Theme by Paganini and then thought about Fantasia for Piano and Orchestra in the Form of Variations on a Theme by Paganini. In the end he settled on the simpler Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, a title that places the focus on

4 melody and somewhat disguises the ingenious variation-technique at the center of this music. The first performance, with the composer as soloist, took place in Baltimore on November 7, 1934, with Leopold Stokowski conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra. Pleased and somewhat surprised by the success of this music with the public, Rachmaninoff observed drily: It somehow looks suspicious that the Rhapsody has had such an immediate success with everybody. The Rhapsody has a surprising beginning: a brief orchestral flourish containing hints of the theme leads to the first variation, which is presented before the theme itself is heard. This gruff and hard-edged variation, which Rachmaninoff marks Precedente, is in fact the bass-line for Paganini s theme, which is then presented in its original form by both violin sections in unison. Some of the variations last a matter of minutes, while others whip past almost before we know it (several of the variations are as short as nineteen seconds). The twenty-four variations are sharply contrasted, in both character and tempo, and the fun of this music lies not just in the bravura writing for piano but in hearing Paganini s theme sound so different in each variation. In three of them, Rachmaninoff incorporates the old plainsong tune Dies Irae (Day of Wrath), used by Berlioz, Saint-Saëns, and many others, including Rachmaninoff, for whom this grim theme was a virtual obsession. Here it appears in the piano part in the seventh and tenth variations, and eventually it drives the work to its climax in the final variation. Perhaps the most famous of Rachmaninoff s variations, though, is the eighteenth, in which Paganini s theme is inverted and transformed into a moonlit lovesong. The piano states this variation in its simplest form, and then strings take it up and turn it into a soaring nocturne. This variation has haunted many Hollywood composers, and Rachmaninoff himself noted wryly that he had written this variation specifically as a gift for my agent. From here on, the tempo picks up, and the final six variations accelerate to a monumental climax: the excitement builds, the Dies Irae is stamped out by the full orchestra, and suddenly like a puff of smoke the Rhapsody vanishes before us on two quick strokes of sound. Romanian Rhapsody No. 1, Opus 11 GEORGES ENESCO Born August 19, 1881, Liveni Virnav, Romania Died May 3/4, 1955, Paris Georges Enesco was one of those Promethean musical talents that could do virtually

5 anything. He studied at the Vienna and Paris Conservatories, then launched an international career as a violin virtuoso, but he was also a composer, pianist, cellist, conductor, and educator. Though he was based in Paris, Enesco remained devoted to his Romanian homeland: he maintained a residence in Romania, spent much time there, and became a driving force in Romanian musical life. The most famous examples of his devotion to his native land are his two Romanian Rhapsodies. Enesco led the premiere of both works with the Pablo Casals Orchestra in Paris on February 7, 1908, and the First Rhapsody quickly became his most popular composition when it was premiered at the Proms in London, the audience demanded that it be repeated. As he tried to define a Romanian national idiom, Enesco was adamant that Romania was not a Slavic country, despite its location. Instead, he insisted, it was a Latin country that had been founded by the Roman legions (hence its name), and he traced the roots of its folk-music to the music of India and Egypt. The Romanian Rhapsody No. 1 is in the tradition of national rhapsodies that were much in fashion in this era (other examples include Liszt s Hungarian Rhapsodies, Dvorak s Slavonic Rhapsodies, Alfven s Swedish Rhapsodies, and many more). It is built on a number of Romanian folk-tunes, primarily the old drinking song Am un leu si vrau sa: I have a coin and I want to drink. Enesco then strings these folk-tunes and dances together the structure of the Romanian Rhapsody is episodic, and there is almost no development of these themes. Enesco simply repeats them in different instrumental colors, and gradually the Rhapsody accelerates to its exciting close. Rhapsody in Blue GEORGE GERSHWIN Born September 28, 1898, Brooklyn Died July 11, 1937, Beverly Hills If as Dvořák suggested American classical music would have to come from uniquely American roots, then Rhapsody in Blue is probably the piece of American classical music. In it, Gershwin combined the European idea of the piano concerto with American jazz and in the process created a piece of music that has become famous throughout the world in addition to its many recordings by American orchestras, Rhapsody in Blue has been recorded by orchestras in England, Germany, Australia, and Russia. Gershwin was in fact aware that Rhapsody in Blue might become a kind of national piece; he said that during its composition he heard it as a sort

6 of musical kaleidoscope of America of our vast melting pot, of our unduplicated national pep, of our blues, our metropolitan madness. Classical purists argue that this is not a true piano concerto, and jazz purists argue that it is not true jazz. Of course both are right, but none of that matters Rhapsody in Blue is a smashing success on its own terms. Gershwin was right to call this one-movement work a rhapsody, with that term s suggestion of a form freer than the concerto. Soloist and orchestra are not so tightly integrated as in a concerto, and the Rhapsody tends to be episodic: the piano plays alone much of the time and then gives way to orchestral interludes; only rarely does Gershwin combine all his forces. Gershwin wrote the Rhapsody in the space of less than a month early in 1924, when he was only 25. Because he was uncertain about his ability to orchestrate, that job was given to Ferde Grofé, who would later compose the Grand Canyon Suite. At the premiere on February 12, 1924, Gershwin was soloist with a small jazz ensemble, but performances today almost always use Grofé s version for full orchestra. The Rhapsody has one of the most famous beginnings in all of music: the clarinet trill that suddenly spirals upward in a seductive, sleazy glissando leads directly into the main theme, which will recur throughout. The various episodes are easy to follow, though one should note Gershwin s ability to move so smoothly from episode to episode these changes in tempo and mood seem almost effortless. Also noteworthy is the big E-major string tune marked Andantino moderato con espressione; near the end Gershwin gives this to the brass and transforms its easy flow into a jazzy romp that ends in one of the most ear-splitting chords ever written. - Program notes by Eric Bromberger WHY THIS PROGRAM? I have wanted to program an all-rhapsody concert for some years now, and am finally able to do it. Jahja Ling expressed great satisfaction with this opportunity, and commented that the program should be a great audience favorite. He added, Even if they may not recognize the music from the titles, they will all find it familiar when they hear it played. The idea is catchy and so is the music. Jackie Parker is giving us all a treat, playing two very difficult rhapsodies on one concert. That s very rare. I led the Alfvén during my first season as music director here, and

7 everyone knows that tune. The Enesco is very folksy, very tuneful and very acrobatic for the orchestra. This brilliant piece, for some reason, is not heard as frequently as it had been in prior years. I don t know why. It has always been a great audience favorite Jahja Ling conducted Alfvén s Swedish Rhapsody No. 1 during his initial season as the San Diego Symphony s music director. However, it also had been performed several times by the pre-war San Diego Symphony under Nino Marcelli. These concerts mark its second appearance on these contemporary programs. Rachmaninoff s very popular Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra on a Theme by Paganini was introduced to these concerts by Earl Bernard Murray, who conducted Byron Janis as the soloist during the season. Noriko Agawa was the soloist in the season, when Jung-Ho Pak led the orchestra. The Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue, interestingly, was introduced to the San Diego audiences in a duo-piano form, played by the team of Bartlett and Robinson, under Fabien Sevitzky s direction in the summer of It has been repeated often (in a number of varied arrangements) during the popular and summer seasons. Enesco s brilliant First Romanian Rhapsody was first played by the San Diego Symphony, Robert Emile conducting, during the summer season of Murry Sidlin led its most recent performance here during the season of Dr. Melvin G. Goldzband, Symphony Archivist