Concerts of Thursday, September 22, and Saturday, September 24, 2016, at 8:00p. Robert Spano, Conductor Garrick Ohlsson, piano John Adams (b. 1947) Tromba lontana (1986) Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) Symphony No. 5 in E-flat Major, Opus 82 (1915, rev. 1916, 1919) I. Tempo molto moderato; Allegro moderato; Presto II. Andante mosso, quasi allegretto III. Allegro molto; Misterioso Intermission Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943) Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 3 in D minor, Opus 30 (1909) I. Allegro ma non tanto II. Intermezzo. Adagio III. Finale. Alla breve Garrick Ohlsson, piano
Notes on the Program by Ken Meltzer Tromba lontana (1986) John Adams was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, on February 15, 1947. The first performance of Tromba lontana took place at Jones Hall in Houston, Texas, on April 4, 1986, with Sergiu Commissiona conducting the Houston Symphony Orchestra. Tromba lontana is scored for two solo trumpets, two piccolos, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, four horns, glockenspiel, crotales, suspended cymbal, vibraphone, piano, harp, and strings. Approximate performance time is four minutes. These are the First Classical Subscription Performances. During the course of the 2016-17 Season, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra will perform several works by John Adams, in celebration of the American composer s 70 th birthday. Tromba lontana ( distant trumpet ), was written at the request of the Houston Symphony, part of a fanfare commissioning project initiated by the composer Tobias Picker, who wrote his own well-known Old and Lost Rivers for the same series. Taking a subversive point of view on the idea of the generic loud, extrovert archetype of the fanfare, I composed a fourminute work that barely rises about mezzo piano and that features two stereophonically placed solo trumpets (to the back of the stage or on separate balconies), who intone gently insistent calls, each marked by a sustained note followed by a soft staccato tattoo. The orchestra provides a pulsing continuum of serene ticking in the pianos, harps and percussion. In the furthest background is a long, almost disembodied melody for strings that passes by almost unnoticed like nocturnal clouds. Although Tromba lontana was published by Boosey & Hawkes in a grouping called 2 Fanfares for orchestra, I never intended the piece to be paired with Short Ride in a Fast Machine. They are united only in the fact that they are orchestral fanfares, but in fact it is difficult to make (them) work in a satisfying manner in live concert. I myself have never programmed them together. John Adams Reprinted with kind permission of www.earbox.com Symphony No. 5 in E-flat Major, Opus 82 (1915, rev. 1916, 1919) Jean Sibelius was born in Tavastehus, Finland, on December 8, 1865, and died in Järvenpää, Finland, on September 20, 1957. The first performance of the Symphony No. 5 took place in Helsinki, Finland, on December 8, 1915, with the composer conducting. The Symphony No. 5 is scored for two flutes, two oboes, two
clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, timpani, and strings. Approximate performance time is thirty-three minutes. First Classical Subscription Performances: November 21, 23 and 24, 1979, Louis Lane, Conductor. Most Recent Classical Subscription Performances: March 24 and 26, 2011, Robert Spano, Conductor. Recording: Yoel Levi, Conductor (Telarc CD-80246, CD-80760) In July of 1914, the outbreak of World War I threw the lives of millions of Europeans into chaos. Finnish composer Jean Sibelius was no exception. Finland, long a Grand Duchy of the Russian Tsarist regime, found itself allied with Britain, France, and Russia against Germany. As a result, Sibelius s relationship with his Leipzig publisher, Breitkopf & Härtel, was severed. Sibelius soon found himself plunged into severe debt. In order to extricate his family from dire circumstances, Sibelius composed numerous smaller pieces for various Finnish publishers. The Symphony No. 5 is Sibelius s most important large-scale work from those wartime years. The start of composition was in close proximity to the outbreak of the conflict (although Sibelius may have been thinking about the work as early as 1912). Sibelius completed the first version of his Fifth Symphony in time for its premiere in Helsinki on December 8, 1915. The composer led the concert, given in honor of his fiftieth birthday. Sibelius revised the score of his Fifth Symphony the following year. However, it was not until 1919 that Sibelius penned the familiar third, final version of his Symphony No. 5. My heart sings, full of sadness As one might imagine, the period during which Sibelius composed his Fifth Symphony often found him in a reflective, somber mood. A few weeks after the start of war, Sibelius wrote in his diary: Under the signs of war a Sunday atmosphere. Everything exudes peace, but in the background there is a dull, hollow keynote. A few months after the outbreak of war, he wrote: My heart sings, full of sadness the shadows lengthen. Nevertheless, there were moments of hope. In the spring of 1915, Sibelius wrote: Today saw 16 swans at ten to eleven. One of the greatest impressions of my life! God, what beauty! They circled over me for a long spell. Disappeared in the solar haze like a silver ribbon. Their call the same woodwind type as that of cranes, but without tremolo. That of the swans closer to trumpet A low refrain reminiscent of a small child sobbing. Nature s mysticism and life s lament. That this should have happened to me, who has so long been outside of everything. Have thus been in the sanctuary, today 21 April 1915. Without question, Sibelius s Fifth Symphony has moments of gloom and conflict. However, like another famous Symphony No. 5 Ludwig van Beethoven s C-minor, Opus 67 (1808) the struggle depicted in the Sibelius Fifth ends in triumph.
In September of 1915, shortly after he began work on the Fifth Symphony, Sibelius wrote in his diary: In a deep dell again. But I already begin dimly to see the mountain I shall surely ascend God opens his door for a moment and his orchestra plays the Fifth Symphony. Jean Sibelius died in the evening of September 20, 1957, at the age of 91. At the moment of his passing, a concert was taking place in Helsinki. Conductor Sir Malcolm Sargent and the orchestra were performing the music of Sibelius his Symphony No. 5. Musical Analysis I. Tempo molto moderato; Allegro moderato; Presto Over the roll of the timpani, the horns present the arching, initial theme. The theme resolves to another motif an undulating woodwind figure. The strings make their initial entrance as the accompaniment for a stark theme, played in octaves by the winds. The final principal theme is an insistent, dotted-rhythm motif. Rather than immediately proceed to the traditional development section, Sibelius first offers a varied second exposition of the principal themes (beginning with a transformation of the opening theme into a trumpet call, echoed by the flutes). The horns initiate an extended hushed and mysterious development section. The music begins to grow in force. A repetition of the first two themes resolves to a quicksilver episode in 3/4 time (Allegro moderato). This episode, a separate movement in the original version of the Fifth Symphony, serves the dual function of the opening movement s rather free recapitulation and the work s scherzo. The coda (Presto) gathers impressive momentum, bringing the opening movement to a rousing close. II. Andante mosso, quasi allegretto A chorale sung by the clarinets, bassoons, and horns introduces and accompanies the slow movement s delicate principal melody played by pizzicato strings and flutes. The melody is the basis for a series of variations, some offering hints of the ensuing finale. The movement concludes with another tranquil woodwind chorale. III. Allegro molto; Misterioso The final movement opens with a flurry of activity in the strings. This ultimately yields to a majestic theme, introduced by the horns. The two themes return throughout a finale notable for its energy and inexorable momentum. In the closing measures, the second theme reigns supreme until the work s stunning conclusion six hammer-blow chords. Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 3 in D minor, Opus 30 (1909) Sergei Rachmaninov was born in Semyonovo, Russia, on April 1, 1873, and died in Beverly Hills, California, on March 28, 1943. The first performance of the Third Piano Concerto took place at the New Theater in New York City on November 28, 1909, with the composer as soloist, and Walter Damrosch conducting the Symphony Society of New York. In addition to the solo piano, the Concerto is scored for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, cymbals, snare drum, suspended cymbals, and strings. Approximate performance time is forty-two minutes.
First Classical Subscription Performance: October 30, 1951, Thomas Brockman, Piano, Henry Sopkin, Conductor. Most Recent Classical Subscription Performances: April 19, 20, and 21, 2012, Yuja Wang, Piano, Roberto Abbado, Conductor. Recording: ASO Media CD-1003, Garrick Ohlsson, Piano, Robert Spano, Conductor. I ll be able to buy myself that automobile In the summer of 1909, Sergei Rachmaninov received an invitation to make his first concert tour of the United States. The Russian pianist/composer/conductor had grave misgivings about leaving his family and homeland for such an extended period of time. However, considerations of a decidedly non-musical nature seemed to provide some consolation. According to biographer Oskar von Riesemann, in the early part of the twentieth century Rachmaninov developed a passion for motorcars: While in the country he frequently made long or short expeditions These journeys were his greatest recreation, and never tired him; he invariably returned happy and refreshed and in the best of tempers. As he said himself, it was only when driving the car that he could get away from the musical visions which constantly pursued him. Rachmaninov considered the generous fees he would earn during the American tour, and finally accepted. As he confessed to his friend, Nikita Morozov: I don t want to go. But then perhaps after America I ll be able to buy myself that automobile It may not be so bad after all! The American concert tour featured Rachmaninov as both pianist and conductor in performances of his compositions. During the summer of 1909, Rachmaninov authored a new work to be premiered during that tour his Third Piano Concerto. Rachmaninov composed the D-minor Concerto while vacationing at his retreat in Ivanovka, located some 300 miles south of Moscow. In October of that year, Rachmaninov began his voyage to the United States. The composer later recalled: As during the previous summer I had not found much time for practicing and was not familiar enough with some passages, I took a dumb piano (i.e., silent keyboard) on the boat with me and practiced during the journey. I believe it is the only time that I have resorted to this mechanical toy, which, however, at the time proved very useful. Rachmaninov and Mahler On November 28, 1909, at the New Theater in New York City, Rachmaninov appeared as soloist in the world premiere of his Third Piano Concerto. Walter Damrosch conducted the Symphony Society of New York. On January 16, 1910, an historic collaboration took place at Carnegie Hall, when Rachmaninov again performed his Third
Piano Concerto this time with the New York Philharmonic. The conductor was the Orchestra s Music Director, the great Austrian composer Gustav Mahler. Rachmaninov deemed Mahler: the only conductor whom I considered worthy to be classed with (Arthur) Nikisch. He touched my composer s heart straight away by devoting himself to my Concerto until the accompaniment, which is rather complicated, had been practiced to the point of perfection, although he had already gone through another long rehearsal. According to Mahler, every detail of the score was important an attitude which is unfortunately rare amongst conductors. The rehearsal began at ten o clock. I was to join it at eleven, and arrived in good time. But we did not begin to work until twelve, when there was only a half hour left, during which I did my utmost to play through a composition that usually lasts thirty-six minutes. We played and played Half an hour was long passed, but Mahler did not pay the slightest attention to this fact Forty-five minutes later Mahler announced: Now we will repeat the first movement. My heart froze within me. I expected a dreadful row, or at least a heated protest from the orchestra. This would certainly have happened in any other orchestra, but here I did not notice a single sign of displeasure. The musicians played the first movement with a keen or perhaps even closer appreciation than the previous time. At last we had finished. I went up to the conductor s desk, and together we examined the score. The musicians in the back seats began quietly to pack up their instruments and disappear. Mahler blew up: What is the meaning of this? The leader (i.e., concertmaster): It is half-past one, Master. That makes no difference! As long as I am sitting, no musician has a right to get up! The talents and hard work of Rachmaninov, Mahler, and the orchestra produced a sterling performance of the new Concerto. As the New York Herald reported the following day: The impression made at the earlier performances of the essential dignity and beauty of the music and the composer s playing was deepened, and the audience was quite as enthusiastic in its expression of appreciation as at the performance at The New Theater on 28 November last and at the Carnegie Hall two days later.
Then, the New York Herald critic offered this prophetic commentary about the Rachmaninov Third: The work grows in impressiveness upon acquaintance and will doubtless rank among the most interesting piano concertos of recent years, although its great length and extreme difficulties bar it from performances by any but pianists of exceptional technical powers. We re fortunate that there have been many superb artists willing to confront the phenomenal technical demands imposed by Rachmaninov, who was, after all, one of the greatest virtuoso pianists. When the hurdles are overcome, the Rachmaninov Third emerges as a summit of the Romantic piano concerto repertoire a masterful fusion of virtuoso pyrotechnics, unforgettable melody, and lush orchestration. Musical Analysis I. Allegro ma non tanto After two bars of orchestral introduction, the soloist enters with the undulating principal melody, scored in octaves, with each hand playing a single note. The soloist s lightning-quick passagework serves to accompany the orchestra s restatement of the theme. A brief unaccompanied episode for the soloist leads to a broader presentation of the opening theme. Fanfares herald the second theme, soon played in its complete form by the soloist. The development section begins in much the same manner as the opening of the movement, but soon ventures into flights of stunning display for the soloist. An extended, fully-composed cadenza for the pianist also briefly incorporates the solo flute, oboe, clarinet, and horn. Instead of the traditional full recapitulation, the movement closes with a restatement of the opening melody and a brief reminiscence of the second theme. II. Intermezzo. Adagio The Intermezzo begins with an extended, somber orchestral introduction whose central theme initially played by a solo oboe bears a kinship to a portion of the principal melody of the opening Allegro. The soloist enters with rhapsodic variants of the theme. A contrasting, vivacious passage features yet another transformation of the opening movement s principal melody, now played by a solo clarinet and bassoon. After a brief reprise of the opening portion of the Intermezzo, the soloist launches a dramatic passage. This serves as the bridge to the Finale, which follows without pause. III. Finale. Alla breve The soloist presents the fanfare-like opening theme, derived from the introductory measures of the first movement. A series of syncopated chords by the soloist develops into the flowing second theme. Two subsequent episodes a breezy Scherzando and more reflective Lento present echoes of the opening Allegro. A varied reprise of the Finale s first section leads to the grand resolution of the Concerto a glorious declaration of the second theme, capped by a dazzling cascade by the soloist.