Watercolour portrait of Franz Peter Schubert, by Wilhelm August Rieder, 1825 SCHUBERT SYMPHONY 9

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1 Watercolour portrait of Franz Peter Schubert, by Wilhelm August Rieder, 1825 SCHUBERT SYMPHONY 9 20

2 CONCERT PROGRAM Alberto Ginastera Ollantay, Op. 17 (CANADIAN PREMIÈRE) I. Paisaje de Ollantaytambo (The Landscape of Ollantaytambo) II. Los guerreros (The Warriors) III. La muerte de Ollantay (The Death of Ollantay) Maurice Ravel Piano Concerto for the Left Hand in D Major In one movement Intermission Wednesday, October 25, :00pm Thursday, October 26, :00pm Juanjo Mena conductor Marc-André Hamelin piano Franz Peter Schubert Symphony No. 9 in C Major, D. 944 Great I. Andante Allegro, ma non troppo II. Andante con moto III. Scherzo: Allegro vivace IV. Finale: Allegro vivace ABOUT THIS CONCERT Juanjo Meno joins the TSO for this remarkably varied program. It begins with the Canadian première of Ollantay, by the Argentinian composer Alberto Ginastera. This work comes at the end of his earliest period, formed by the folk music of his native land and is powerful and dramatic. Ravel s Concerto for the Left Hand, by contrast, is a subtle, elegant, richly textured work, by turns darkly lyrical and rhythmically driven. The astonishingly difficult solo part is a perfect showpiece for the soloist, Canadian pianist Marc-André Hamelin. The concert closes with Schubert's final symphony, the so-called Great Symphony in C major. This work stands in stark contrast to every other symphony by Schubert in its length, breadth, and ambition. At the end of his life, Schubert had found a new path his final works became very long and epic, clearly reflecting the influence of Beethoven, but in his own highly personal style. This symphony, perhaps as much as Beethoven's own Ninth, is a true ancestor of the sprawling musical canvases of Bruckner and Mahler. 21

3 THE DETAILS Alberto Ginastera Ollantay, Op. 17 (CANADIAN PREMIÈRE) 14 Born: Buenos Aires, Argentina, Apr 11, 1916 Died: Geneva, Switzerland, Jun 25, 1983 Composed: 1947 Ginastera was one of the finest composers that Argentina has produced. Until the 1950s, such early compositions as the ballet scores Panambi and Estancia showed the strong influence of Argentinean folk music, through original themes in folk style rather than the direct quotation of traditional melodies. Later creations displayed an exciting, colourful modernist style with less folk flavour to it. A Guggenheim award allowed him to spend time in the USA, where he benefited from the guidance of Aaron Copland and other internationally respected musicians. Returning to Argentina in 1947, he took on several major educational and cultural positions while he continued to compose. His catalogue includes three operas, concertos for harp, violin, piano and cello, piano and chamber pieces, and choral works. Ollantay, a symphonic triptych, was inspired by a myth from the ancient Inca culture of South America. A note in the printed score reads: The story revolves around the myth of Ollantay, son of the Earth, who opposes Inca, son of the Sun. The latter declares war on Ollantay for profaning the Temple of the Virgins in an attempt to abduct Coyllur, the daughter of Inca. The tragedy brings conflict to the empire. Ollantay resists for a long period of time in his fortress until he is defeated and killed. Ginastera s music seeks primarily to evoke the atmosphere of the myth rather than specific, detailed events. I. The Landscape of Ollantaytambo: In the lonely night of Ollantaytambo, Ginastera wrote, Ollantay emerges to evoke the outcry of the disappeared cities. This movement contrasts a gentle, pastoral theme with an austere, dramatic one. II. The Warriors: The warriors of Ollantay dance while they prepare for war. Excited, they imitate armies in battle. This dynamic movement is driven by savage rhythms, forcefully punctuated by percussion. III. The Death of Ollantay: Ollantay, imprisoned by Inca, forecasts the destruction of the empire and the disappearance of the race of the sons of the Sun. Ollantay dies and solitude invades the Andine valleys. Recalling thematic material from the opening movement, Ginastera built a massive climax to depict Ollantay s death, followed by a sorrowful concluding lament. The terraces of Ollantaytambo, now part of southern Peru. Program note by Don Anderson 22

4 Maurice Ravel Piano Concerto for the Left Hand in D Major 19 Born: Ciboure, France, Mar 7, 1875 Died: Paris, France, Dec 28, 1937 Composed: 1930 Maurice Ravel was already at work on a piano concerto in G major when, early in 1929, he heard the Austrian pianist Paul Wittgenstein in concert in Vienna. Wittgenstein lost his right arm in the First World War, yet continued to have a successful concert career, having developed a left-hand technique of astonishing virtuosity. He commissioned new works from many composers and when he asked Ravel to write a concerto for the left hand, the composer was so eager to do so that he temporarily set aside the one already in progress. The Concerto for the Left Hand was finished nine months later, in the fall of Wittgenstein gave the première, in Vienna, on January 5, Ravel was intrigued by the challenge of writing for a one-armed pianist; his goal, he told an COMPOSER VS. PERFORMER Paul Wittgenstein received the dedication of the Concerto for the Left Hand and was granted exclusive perforg rights for six years. But Ravel was miffed to discover that Wittgenstein took liberties with score, including the orchestration. Ravel spoke of infringement and insisted that Wittgenstein follow the score; the pianist insisted on the performer s right to make a piece his own. In 1937, after Wittgenstein s six-year exclusivity had expired, Ravel reassigned the perforg rights to the French pianist Jacques Février. Both pianists left recordings of the concerto. interviewer in 1931, was to give the impression of a texture no thinner than that of a part written for both hands. And as though to enhance the challenge for himself and the pianist, he scored the concerto for a large orchestra, complete with piccolo, English horn, bass clarinet, contrabassoon, trombones, tuba, harp, and percussion. In the end, he succeeded spectacularly in making one hand do the work of two and hold its own against the orchestra. The Concerto for the Left Hand is a single movement in two parts: a stately preamble (Lento Più lento Andante) and a quick, propulsive finale (Allegro) that Ravel dubbed a scherzo. Stylistically eclectic, the concerto opens with an impressionistic haze in the low register, out of which emerges a kind of ghostly, lugubrious march with two themes: the first introduced by a contrabassoon, the second by two horns. After the piano s entrance in a splashy cadenza, the first theme is reprised, fortissimo; at its climax, the theme takes on a distinctly Spanish cast. A poignant, lyrical new theme follows, introduced by the piano. The stylistic mix includes, as Ravel noted, a good many jazz effects, starting with the bluesy horn theme at the beginning, but especially in the Allegro: listen for ragtime-like syncopated rhythms, chromatic harmonies, and blue notes, jazz-band-like sonorities. It is all heavily stylized, however; the allusions are, rather, to the sort of concert-hall jazz represented by George Gershwin, of whom Ravel was a fan. Program note by Kevin Bazzana 23

5 THE DETAILS Franz Peter Schubert Symphony No. 9 in C Major, D. 944 Great 50 Born: Himmelpfortgrund, Austria, Jan 31, 1797 Died: Vienna, Austria, Nov 19, 1828 Composed: 1826 The last of Schubert s seven completed symphonies was finished early in 1826; his date of March 1828 on the manuscript may refer to later revisions or a projected première. (The nickname Great Symphony, incidentally, is merely a Victorian translation of the generic große Sinfonie.) In the spring of 1828, the symphony was rehearsed by the Society of Friends of Music in Vienna, to whom Schubert had promised it, but was withdrawn, apparently because it was too difficult. Robert Schumann arranged its first public performance in 1839, in Leipzig, with Mendelssohn conducting, though the work was not widely played and admired until the 1850s. Formally, the symphony adheres to Classical models, but the music is more leisurely than tightly argued; its breadth was unprecedented in its day. (Old joke: Schubert wrote two symphonies, one unfinished, the other endless.) Here we find, besides the most masterly compositional technique, life in every fibre; colouring down to the finest gradation; meaning everywhere; sharp expression in detail; and in the whole a suffusing Romanticism such as other works of Franz Schubert have already made known to us. [...] And the heavenly length of the symphony...how this refreshes, this feeling of rich and ubiquitous abundance... Robert Schumann on Schubert s Symphony No. 9, in an essay published in the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik 12, Schumann used the phrase heavenly length to describe this music, and there is indeed an unusual wealth of incident throughout, as Schubert develops every idea at length with unflagging imagination. And he infuses Classical forms with Romantic melodies, instrumental colours, and expressive nuances. The first movement opens with a long, slowish introduction with its own theme, set out by horns in the opening bars. The Allegro that follows is sunny and boisterous, though with some darkly Romantic undercurrents: its third principal theme, played by trombones, is ghostly, uncanny, operatic. In a long, faster coda, Schubert fixates on his first theme, but closes with an inspired surprise: a blazing apotheosis of the horn theme from the introduction. The slow movement is deeply expressive and profoundly Romantic, and, despite some tender and dreamy interludes, it ends on a forlorn note; its main theme, a somber march characterized by dotted rhythms and comprising several distinct ideas, has an unmistakable Hungarian flavour. In the third movement, the main scherzo section unfolds in full sonata form; the principal theme is bustling and witty, later themes more elegant, urbane, waltz-like. The trio is homelier, like a country dance, though exquisitely scored. The massive finale, which begins with a call to arms, is busy and energetic, much of it generated by a seegly simple motive from its first theme, and its long coda attains Beethovenian rhythmic and orchestral power. Program note by Kevin Bazzana 24