Saturday, April 21, :00 p.m. Symphony. Cliff Colnot, conductor. DePaul Concert Hall 800 West Belden Avenue Chicago

Transcription

1 Saturday, April 21, :00 p.m. DePaul Symphony Orchestra Cliff Colnot, conductor DePaul 800 West Belden Avenue Chicago

2 Saturday, April 21, :00 p.m. DePaul DePaul Symphony Orchestra Cliff Colnot, conductor Program Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov ( ) Russian Easter Festival Overture (1888) Ludwig van Beethoven ( ) Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61 (1806) Allegro, ma non troppo Larghetto Rondo Yefim Romanov, violin DePaul Concerto Competition winner

3 Program Notes Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov ( ) Russian Easter Festival Overture (1888) Duration: 16 minutes Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov was a central figure in nineteenth-century Russian music. He was the leader of the Mighty Five, nationalist composers who advocated for Russian music. The other members of the group were César Cui, Aleksandr Borodin, Mily Balakirev, and Modest Mussorgsky. Rimsky-Korsakov taught at the Moscow Conservatory, was an accomplished conductor, and wrote influential textbooks. His Treatise on Orchestration was used by generations of musicians in conservatories around the world. He was a master of orchestral effects, and made virtuosic use of instrumental sonorities. His manipulation of orchestral timbres has not only left its mark on his pupil, Igor Stravinsky, but also influenced generations of composers, from Debussy and Ravel to Boulez. In the work performed tonight, there are many examples of varying colorful instrumental textures. To cite just a few, the violin has a cadenza-like solo interlude, there is also a solo passage for the second trombone evoking a monk intoning a chant; and towards the end of the piece the whole orchestra is invoked to mimic the triumphant ringing of church bells announcing the rising of Christ. While working within classical forms, Rimsky-Korsakov had a very specific series of events and feelings he wanted to evoke: the deep religious, mystic ceremonies of the church celebration of Easter (called The Bright Holiday in Russia) becoming a joyous, popular, all-encompassing explosion of popular joy. The description of the Overture, given below, is taken from the Rimsky-Korsakov memoirs. The rather lengthy, slow introduction on the theme of Let God Arise alternating with the ecclesiastic An angel wailed [both are Russian Church songs] appeared to me as Isaiah s prophecy. The gloomy colors of the Andante lugubre [movement] depict the holy sepulcher that had shone with ineffable light at the moment of resurrection in the transition to the Allegro of the Overture a tonal reproduction of the joyous, almost dance-like bell-tolling alternating now with the sexton s rapid reading and now with the conventional chant of the priest

4 Program Notes This legendary and heathen side of the holiday, this transition from the gloomy and mysterious evening of Passion Saturday to the unbridled pagan-religious merrymaking on the morn of Easter Sunday is what I was eager to reproduce in my Overture. The Russian tunes used within the work are taken from the Obikhod, the official book of songs of the Russian Orthodox Church. They would be well known to the intended Russian audience. In fact, Rimsky- Korsakov wrote that in order to truly appreciate the Overture, and have the music evoke the kind of scenes the composer had in mind, the listener should have attended a Russian Easter morning service, in a cathedral thronged with people from every walk of life, with several priests conducting the service. History proved him wrong. More than a century later, we do not need to follow any precise story line, or share a specific national or religious tradition to enjoy the music. We can listen to its transition from gloom to joy, and relish the beautiful sounds of a full virtuoso orchestra. Note by Cathy Elias Ludwig van Beethoven ( ) Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61 (1806) Duration: 47 minutes Beethoven composed the Violin Concerto in 1806 at the same time as his Fourth Piano Concerto and Fourth Symphony. These works, though composed during what is referred to as Beethoven s heroic style period, reveal a more lyrical and reflective style, albeit with moments of strong vitality. Though both the Fourth and the Fifth piano concertos would strikingly begin with portions for the solo instrument, the violin concerto begins in a classic manner with an orchestral statement of the principal themes. At the same time, the concerto also mysteriously begins with five soft tympani beats or four beats plus a downbeat that elides with the opening woodwind statement. This rhythmic and pitch motive becomes a prominent part of the movement in many guises and many combinations, forming an interesting contrast to the concerto s lyricism, and prompting early critics to refer sarcastically to the work as a tympani concerto. When the solo violin finally appears, it seems to rise out of the orchestra, and as the work continues, the violin s music does not compete with

5 Program Notes the orchestra material but elaborates and expands it, so that the work becomes symphonic and certainly not a work that primarily exists as a virtuosic piece for the instrument. This would inspire the approach to concerto writing of later composers such as Schumann and Brahms. The first movement of the work is in sonata form with a cadenza at the end of the recapitulation that Beethoven never wrote out (as was typical of most classic period concertos). Cadenzas for this work (first and last movement) have been created by many violinist-composers including Fritz Kreisler, whose cadenzas are used for tonight s performance. The second movement uses a chorale-like theme (first stated by the orchestra, with muted strings) as a basis for variations, each made distinctive in part by its orchestration. The violin is featured most prominently in the fourth variation, which becomes a lyrical fantasy that connects attacca to the third movement. This movement is a rustic sonata rondo (ABACABA) with a 6/8 time signature. This pastoral, yet dance-like finale features a more typically virtuosic solo part. The concerto was written at the request of Franz Clement, who Beethoven had known as early as 1794 and was first performed on December 23 of 1806, having supposedly been finished only a few days before. There are differing accounts of the first performance - a positive one by Carl Czerny contrasts with comments by one Johann Möser who opined that the sequence of events often seem incoherent. It was violinist Joseph Joachim (first performing it at the age of 12 in 1844) who made a success of the work and helped it achieve its distinctive and deserved place in the repertory. Note by Kurt Westerberg

6 Biographies In the past decade Cliff Colnot has emerged as a distinguished conductor and a musician of uncommon range. One of few musicians to have studied orchestral repertoire with Daniel Barenboim, Colnot has served as assistant conductor for Barenboim s West- Eastern Divan Workshops for young musicians from Israel, Egypt, Syria, and other Middle Eastern countries. Colnot has also worked extensively with the late Pierre Boulez and served as assistant conductor to Boulez at the Lucerne Festival Academy. He regularly conducts the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), with whom he recorded Richard Wernick s The Name of the Game for Bridge Records, and he collaborates with the internationally acclaimed contemporary music ensemble eighth blackbird. Colnot has been principal conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra s contemporary MusicNOW ensemble since its inception and was principal conductor of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, an orchestra he conducted for more than twenty-two years. Colnot also conducts Contempo at the University of Chicago, and the DePaul University Symphony Orchestra and Wind Ensemble. He has appeared as a guest conductor with the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra, the American Composers Orchestra, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Utah Symphony, and the Chicago Philharmonic. Colnot is also a master arranger. His orchestration of Shulamit Ran s Three Fantasy Pieces for Cello and Piano was recorded by the English Chamber Orchestra. For the chamber orchestra of the Jerusalem International Chamber Music Festival, Colnot has arranged the Adagio from Mahler s Symphony No. 10, Schoenberg s Pelleas and Melisande (both published by Universal) and Manuel De Falla s Three Cornered Hat. For ICE, Colnot arranged Olivier Messiaen s Chants de Terre et de Ciel for chamber orchestra and mezzosoprano, also published by Universal. For members of the Yellow Barn Music Festival, Colnot arranged Shulamit Ran s Soliloquy for Violin, Cello, and Piano, to be published by Theodore Presser. Colnot re-orchestrated the Bottesini Concerto No. 2 in B Minor for Double Bass, correcting many errors in existing editions and providing a more viable performance version. He has also been commissioned to write works for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Percussion Scholarship Group. His orchestration of Duke Ellington s New World Coming was premiered by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra with Daniel Barenboim as piano soloist in 2000, and Colnot also arranged, conducted, and co-produced the CD Tribute to Ellington featuring Barenboim at the piano. He has also written for rock-and-roll, pop, and jazz artists Richard Marx, Phil Ramone, Hugh Jackman, Leann Rimes, SheDaisy, Patricia Barber, Emerson Drive, and Brian Culbertson.

7 biographies Colnot graduated with honors from Florida State University and in 1995 received the Ernst von Dohnányi Certificate of Excellence. He has also received the prestigious Alumni Merit Award from Northwestern University, where he earned his doctorate. In 2001 the Chicago Tribune named Cliff Colnot a Chicagoan of the Year in music, and in 2005 he received the William Hall Sherwood Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Arts. Most recently, Colnot has been awarded the 2016 Alice M. Ditson Conductor s Award of Columbia University in recognition for his excellent commitment to the performance of works by American Composers. He has studied with master jazz teacher David Bloom, has taught jazz arranging at DePaul University, film scoring at Columbia College, and advanced orchestration at the University of Chicago. As a bassoonist, he was a member of the Lyric Opera Orchestra of Chicago, Music of the Baroque, and the Contemporary Chamber Players.

8 Personnel Violin I Alina Kobialka, concertmaster Shaleah Feinstein, assistant concertmaster Lara Madden Rasa Mahmoudian Yu Xin Heidi Hatch Courtney Silver Sofie Yang Yefim Romanov Adam Dorn Barbora Valiukeviciute Konrad Kowal Violin II Ece Dolu, principal Luis Salazar, assistant principal Diana Ortiz Salazar Alexandra Kwasny Natasha Kubit Angelo Horngtay Chiu Lee Meghan Henson Ruoyao Li Brent Taghap Joseph Jung Jong Sean Lee Viola Michael Zahlit, principal Annika Sundberg, assistant principal Kevin Lin* Aleksa Kuzma* Jonathan Walters Caleb Henry David Beytas* Rachel Mostek Cello David Sands, principal Emily Munn-Wood, assistant principal Aurora Lawrie Keegan O Donald Nomin Zolzaya Sarah Nail Anna Patterson Philip Lee Michelle Dodson Jingjing Hu Zachary Sears Bass Teddy Gabrielides, principal Isaac Polinsky, assistant principal Chris DeMarco Micah Stoddard Nicholas DeLaurentis Flute Emily Bieker Ana Boulas Emily DePalma Erin Wallace Piccolo Ana Boulas Oboe Erik Andrusyak Andrew Cooper Lindsay Wiley Clarinet Laurie Blanchet Emily Kerski Louis Kim Theresa Zick Bassoon Sandra Bailey Jonathan LiVolsi Nick Ritter Horn Payton Chadwick Fiona Chisholm Melody Lin Ali Nizamani Emily Whittaker Trumpet Monica Benson Ruben Cova Julia Tsuchiya-Mayhew Adam Shohet Trombone Nate Doucette Lucas Steidinger Bass Trombone Ben Zisook Tuba Akshat Jain Timpani Sarah Christianson Leo Taylor Percussion Christian Hughes Mark Linley Boyan Tantchev Leo Taylor Carley Yanuck Harp Michael Maganuco* Librarians Diana Ortiz Salazar Theresa Zick *Guest

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10 Upcoming Events Sunday, April 22 3:00 p.m. Shared Resilience: A Concert of Music and Dance Sunday, April 22 4:00 p.m. Recital Hall Faculty Artist Series: Stephen Balderston, cello Thursday, April 26 8:00 p.m. DePaul Wind Ensemble Saturday, April 28 8:00 p.m. DePaul Concert Orchestra and Symphonic Choir Sunday, April 29 2:00 p.m. St. Vincent de Paul Parish 1010 West Webster Avenue Chicago DePaul Concert Orchestra and Symphonic Choir Tuesday, May 1 7:00 p.m. Driehaus Museum 40 East Erie Street Chicago DePaul Chamber Music Showcase Friday, May 4 8:00 p.m. New Music DePaul Saturday, May 5 8:00 p.m. DePaul Wind Symphony Sunday, May 6 5:00 p.m. Faculty Artist Series: Janet Sung and Friends Monday, May 7 7:00 p.m. Recital Hall Wagner Campos Studio Recital Friday, May 18 7:30 p.m. Sunday, May 20 2:00 p.m. DePaul Opera Theatre: The Judgement of Paris

11 upcoming events Saturday, May 19 3:00 p.m. Percussion Ensemble Saturday, May 19 8:00 p.m. African Drum Ensemble Sunday, May 20 2:00 p.m. Student Center 2250 North Sheffield Avenue Chicago Jazz Orchestra Monday, May 21 8:00 p.m. Composers Forum Monday, May 20 8:00 p.m. The Jazz Showcase 806 Plymouth Court Chicago Jazz Workshop and Jazz Ensemble Wednesday, May 23 8:00 p.m. Orchestra Hall 220 South Michigan Avenue Chicago DePaul Symphony Orchestra Thursday, May 24 7:00 p.m. Recital Hall Jazz Combos As a courtesy to those around you, please silence all cell phones and other electronic devices. Flash photography is not permitted. Thank you. Sign up for DePaul E-Notes! Receive monthly updates in your inbox on performances taking place at the School of Music, as well as special offers and discounts to ticketed events! You can choose to unsubscribe from the list at any time. We have a strict privacy policy and will never sell or trade your address. You can sign up for E-Notes by visiting music.depaul.edu and clicking on Concerts & Events. DePaul University School of Music 800 West Belden Avenue Chicago Recital Hall 804 West Belden Avenue Chicago music.depaul.edu

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