May Cause Dizziness, Fanfare for Orchestra (2010) Serenade (after Plato s Symposium ) (1954)

Transcription

1 Concerts of Thursday, April 5, and Friday, April 6, 2018, at 8:00p Robert Spano, Conductor Robert McDuffie, violin Michael Kurth (b. 1971) May Cause Dizziness, Fanfare for Orchestra (2010) Leonard Bernstein ( ) Serenade (after Plato s Symposium ) (1954) I. Phaedrus: Pausanias. Lento; Allegro marcato II. Aristophanes. Allegretto III. Eryxiymachus. Presto IV. Agathon. Adagio V. Socrates: Alcibades. Molto tenuto; Adagio; Allegro molto vivace; Molto giocoso Robert McDuffie, violin Intermission Ludwig van Beethoven ( ) Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, Opus 55 ( Eroica ) (1803) I. Allegro con brio II. Marcia funebre. Adagio assai III. Scherzo. Allegro vivace IV. Finale. Allegro molto

2 Notes on the Program by Ken Meltzer May Cause Dizziness, Fanfare for Orchestra (2010) Michael Kurth was born in Falls Church, Virginia, on November 22, The first performance of May Cause Dizziness took place at Atlanta Symphony Hall on March 31, 2011, Roberto Abbado, conductor. May Cause Dizziness is scored for piccolo, flute, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, two trombones, bass trombone, tuba, timpani, triangle, bass drum with pedal, tom-toms, snare drum, hi-hat, ride cymbals, cymbals a2, tambourine, and strings. Approximate performance time is four minutes. First Classical Subscription Performances: March 31-April 1, 2011, Roberto Abbado, Conductor. The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra has been proud to commission and premiere several compositions by Michael Kurth, a member of the ASO s bass section since May Cause Dizziness was one of several orchestral fanfares the ASO commissioned various composers to write for the season that marked the tenth anniversaries of Robert Spano s tenure as Music Director, the Artistic Partnership between Maestro Spano and Principal Guest Conductor Donald Runnicles, and the Atlanta School of Composers. I wrote May Cause Dizziness in December 2010 in celebration of Robert Spano s tenth season as our Music Director. It s my first piece for large orchestra. The title refers to a warning label I noticed on the side of a medicine bottle, accompanied by a funny picture of a halfclosed eye with spirals above it. It begins with an insistent rhythm that s been floating in my brain for several years, and grows into something (I hope) suitably fanfarish. Michael Kurth Serenade (after Plato s Symposium ) (1954) Leonard Bernstein was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, on August 25, 1918, and died in New York on October 14, The first performance of the Serenade took place at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Italy, on September 9, 1954, with Isaac Stern as violin soloist, and the composer conducting the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition to the solo violin, the Serenade is scored for timpani, Chinese blocks, suspended cymbals, tenor drum, tambourine, xylophone, chimes, orchestra bells, snare drum, triangle, bass drums, harp, and strings. Approximate performance time is thirty-four minutes. First Classical Subscription Performances: September 27-29, 1984, Peter Zazofsky, Violin, William Fred Scott, Conductor.

3 Most Recent Classical Subscription Performances: September 29-October 1, 2005, Tai Murray, Violin, Marin Alsop, Conductor. Leonard Bernstein composed his Serenade between late 1953 and August, During that period, Bernstein was also at work on Candide (1956). The Serenade fulfilled both a longstanding commission from the Koussevitsky Foundation, and Bernstein s desire to write a piece for his friend, the great American violinist Isaac Stern ( ). Stern was the soloist, and Bernstein the conductor of the Israel Philharmonic, in the Serenade s world premiere, which took place at Venice s Teatro La Fenice on September 9, Bernstein noted that the Serenade resulted from a rereading of Plato s charming dialogue, The Symposium. He added: The music, like the dialogue, is a series of related statements in praise of love, and generally follows the Platonic form through the succession of speakers at the banquet. Just as each succeeding speaker uses the comments of his predecessor as a starting point, so each movement of the Serenade develops thematic material previously introduced in the work. The following are program notes by the composer, written the day after completing his Serenade: I. Phaedrus; Pausanias (Lento; Allegro marcato). Phaedrus opens the symposium with a lyrical oration in praise of Eros, the god of love. (Fugato, begun by the solo violin.) Pausanias continues by describing the duality of the lover as compared with the beloved. This is expressed in a classical sonata-allegro, based on the material of the opening fugato. [The second theme of this sonata movement incorporates disjunct grace-note figures and dissonant intervals in the elegant solo violin part.] II. Aristophanes (Allegretto). Aristophanes does not play the role of clown in this dialogue, but instead that of the bedtime-storyteller, invoking the fairy-tale mythology of love. The atmosphere is one of quiet charm. [Aristophanes sees love as satisfying a basic human need. Much of the musical material derives from the grace-note theme of the first movement. The middle section of this movement incorporates a melody for the lower strings (marked singing ) played in close canon.] III. Eryximachus (Presto). The physician speaks of bodily harmony as a scientific model for the workings of love-patterns. This is an

4 extremely short fugato-scherzo, born of a blend of mystery and humor. [This section contains music that corresponds thematically to the canon of the previous movement, Aristophanes] IV. Agathon (Adagio). Perhaps the most moving speech of the dialogue, Agathon's panegyric embraces all aspects of love s powers, charms and functions. This movement is a simple three-part song. V. Socrates; Alcibiades (Molto tenuto; Allegro molto vivace). Socrates describes his visit to the seer Diotima, quoting her speech on the demonology of love. Love as a daemon is Socrates image for the profundity of love; and his seniority adds to the feeling of didactic soberness in an otherwise pleasant and convivial after-dinner discussion. This is a slow introduction of greater weight than any of the preceding movements, and serves as a highly developed reprise of the middle section of the Agathon movement, thus suggesting a hidden sonata-form. The famous interruption by Alcibiades and his band of drunken revelers ushers in the Allegro, which is an extended rondo ranging in spirit from agitation through jig-like dance music to joyful celebration. If there is a hint of jazz in the celebration, I hope it will not be taken as anachronistic Greek party-music, but rather the natural expression of a contemporary American composer imbued with the spirit of that timeless dinner party. [Speaking through the voice of Diotima, Socrates proposes the notion that the most virtuous form of love is the love for wisdom (philosophy).] Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, Opus 55 ( Eroica ) (1803) Ludwig van Beethoven was baptized in Bonn, Germany, on December 17, 1770, and died in Vienna, Austria, on March 26, The first public performance of the Eroica Symphony took place in Vienna on April 7, 1805, at the Theater an der Wien, with the composer conducting. The Eroica Symphony is scored for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, three horns, two trumpets, timpani, and strings. Approximate performance time is forty-nine minutes. First Classical Subscription Performance: October 22, 1949, Henry Sopkin, Conductor. Most Recent Classical Subscription Performance: May 15-17, 2014, Leonidas Kavakos, Conductor. Composed to celebrate the memory of a great man

5 The story of Beethoven s dedication of his Third Symphony, the Eroica, is one of the most compelling in the history of concert music. In the early part of the 19 th century, many idealists, Beethoven included, viewed Napoleon Bonaparte as a staunch defender of liberty and democratic ideals. By the spring of 1804, Beethoven had completed his Third Symphony, which he entitled Bonaparte. According to Beethoven s friend, Ferdinand Ries: In this symphony Beethoven had Buonaparte in mind, but as he was when he was First Consul. Beethoven esteemed him greatly at the time and likened him to the greatest of Roman consuls. I as well as several of his more intimate friends saw a copy of the score lying upon his table with the word Buonaparte at the extreme top of the title page, and at the extreme bottom, Luigi van Beethoven, but not another word. Whether and with what the space between the two was to be filled out, I do not know. I was the first to bring to him the intelligence that Buonaparte had proclaimed himself emperor, whereupon he flew into a rage and cried out: Is he then, too, nothing more than an ordinary human being? Now he, too, will trample on all the rights of man and indulge only in his ambition. He will exalt himself above all others, become a tyrant! Beethoven went to the table, took hold of its title page by the top, tore it in two, and threw it on the floor. The first page was rewritten and only then did the symphony receive the title Sinfonica eroica. Some biographers, including Maynard Solomon (Beethoven, Schirmer Books, New York, 1977), suggest that Beethoven s actions may have also been motivated by career aspirations. During the relevant time frame, Beethoven contemplated, and ultimately rejected, the notion of relocating from Vienna to Paris. With that scenario in mind, conductor Arturo Toscanini s remarks about the Eroica s first movement offer a useful perspective: To some it is Napoleon, to some it is Alexander, to me it is Allegro con brio (i.e., the movement s tempo marking). In other words, the significance of Beethoven s Third Symphony, which the composer ultimately subtitled Sinfonica Eroica, Composed to Celebrate the Memory of a Great Man, rests not with its dedicatee, but with the revolutionary nature of the music itself. Beethoven s New Road In 1802, Beethoven confided to his friend, Wenzel Krumpholz: I am not satisfied with my works up to the present time. From today I mean to take a new road. Certainly there are many aspects of the Eroica that establish a profound line of demarcation between it and the composer s first two symphonies not to mention the symphonies of Beethoven s great predecessors, Haydn and Mozart. The extraordinary length of the opening movement, achieved in great part by an

6 unprecedented expansion of the development and coda sections (as well as the transitional material between themes), is perhaps the most obvious example. Likewise, the use of an epic funeral march is a stunning departure from the lyricism found in most slow-tempo movements of the day. But it would be incorrect to characterize the Eroica as a total rejection of the musical style of Beethoven s first two Symphonies. The Symphonies in C and D already offer hints of the rhythmic drive, pungent dynamic contrast, bold harmonic strokes, and ingenious motive development that characterize the Eroica. It should also be mentioned that Beethoven conjures the Eroica s profoundly revolutionary atmosphere with an orchestra similar in size and instrumentation to that of a late Haydn or Mozart Symphony. Several private performances of the Eroica were offered in Vienna in the winter of The first public concert featuring the Third Symphony occurred on April 7, 1805, at the Theater an der Wien. While concertmaster Franz Clement (the man who was the soloist in the premiere of Beethoven s Violin Concerto) conducted the bulk of the program, the composer himself led the performance of the Eroica. The revolutionary character of Beethoven s Eroica Symphony inspired a sense of awe, even of disorientation, on the part of the early audiences. It s not surprising that critical reaction was divided. But while many questioned the attractiveness of the Third Symphony as a form of entertainment, few could deny its power and innovation. Indeed, symphonic music would never be the same after the Eroica. Beethoven himself recognized the importance of this work in his symphonic canon. Prior to the completion of the Ninth Symphony, Beethoven s friend, Christoph Kuffner, asked the composer which of the eight was his favorite. Ah, ha! Beethoven replied, the Eroica. Kuffner responded, I should have guessed the C- Minor (i.e., the Fifth). No, Beethoven insisted, the Eroica. Musical Analysis I. Allegro con brio Beethoven introduces his musical new road in bracing fashion with two brusque chords, out of which emerges the cellos statement of the opening theme. A simple and plaintive second theme consists of three descending notes, traded among various instruments. Finally, the woodwinds introduce a sighing motif, described by British musicologist Sir George Grove as a passage of singular beauty more harmony than melody. An extraordinarily rich and varied development of the main themes ensues. At the height of the drama, the oboes introduce a new, lyrical motif. The recapitulation seems to begin when the horns, over mysterious, tremolo string accompaniment, intone the first four notes of the opening theme. However, the passage is silenced by an orchestral outburst that leads to the true recapitulation, introduced by the cellos (although the horns soon return with their own restatement). The extended coda spotlights the opening theme, as well as a reprise of the development s oboe motif. The conclusion of this

7 complex movement is simplicity itself, as two abrupt chords reprise the spirit of the work s opening measures. II. Marcia funebre. Adagio assai When Beethoven learned of Napoleon s death in 1821, he observed, I have already composed the proper music for that catastrophe. Here, the composer was referring to the second movement of the Eroica, a grand Funeral March. The violins, followed by the oboes, intone the opening, minor-key theme. The violins then offer a second theme that begins in the major key, but quickly reverts to the minor. The tragic weight of the movement is briefly dispelled by the Maggiore central section, which begins with an ascending and descending oboe melody, leading to a pair of grand orchestral exclamations. Soon, pathos returns with a reprise of the opening section, as the motifs are further developed. In the poignant coda, the violins play a sotto voce statement of the opening theme that becomes increasingly fragmented before fading to silence. III. Scherzo. Allegro vivace The mood of the Eroica Symphony is transformed from despair to joy with the arrival of this ebullient Scherzo. Over tripping string accompaniment, the oboes and first violins sing the playful opening theme, finally played in grand fashion by the full orchestra. The ensuing Trio, which prominently features the horns, leads to a return of the Scherzo s opening. The brief coda begins softly, but quickly builds to a fortissimo conclusion. IV. Finale. Allegro molto According to Carl Czerny, Beethoven moved audiences to tears through the sheer beauty and creativity of his keyboard improvisations. That extraordinary talent serves Beethoven well in the finale of his Eroica Symphony, a brilliant theme and variations movement. The finale begins with a grand orchestral introduction, followed by the strings pizzicato introduction of the thirteen-note principal theme. A series of remarkably diverse variations ensues, the third featuring the oboes introducing a melody that will return in different guises throughout the finale. It is a melody that was a particular favorite of Beethoven, one that makes appearances in the Contredanses, WoO 14 (1802), the Eroica Piano Variations, Opus 35 (1802), and his ballet, The Creatures of Prometheus, Opus 43 (1801). The entire Finale closes in thrilling fashion, with a headlong rush into a Presto coda, featuring yet another version of the Prometheus melody.