SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA A JACOBS MASTERWORKS CONCERT Johannes Debus, conductor December 9 and 10, 2017 ENGELBERT HUMPERDINCK Prelude to Hänsel und Gretel WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART Concerto in C Major for Flute and Harp, K.299 (297c) Allegro Andantino Rondo: Allegro Julie Smith Phillips, harp Rose Lombardo, flute INTERMISSION PIOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 1 in G minor, Op. 13: Winter Daydreams Daydreams on a Winter Journey: Allegro tranquillo Land of Gloom, Land of Mist: Adagio cantabile ma non tanto Scherzo: Allegro scherzando giocoso Finale: Andante lugubre; Allegro moderato; Allegro maestoso
Prelude to Hänsel und Gretel ENGELBERT HUMPERDINCK Born September 1, 1854, Stegburg, Germany Died September 27, 1921, Neustrelitz Engelbert Humperdinck s opera Hänsel und Gretel began as a family entertainment. In 1890, Humperdinck then teaching at the Cologne Conservatory was approached by his sister, who had a simple request: would the composer furnish four simple choruses from Grimm s fairy-tale Hänsel und Gretel for a production she planned to give with her children? The composer agreed, and the choruses turned out to be such a success that Humperdinck was encouraged to expand them, eventually transforming what had begun as a family project into a full three-act opera. The premiere of Hänsel und Gretel, conducted by Richard Strauss in Weimar on December 23, 1893, was such a success that the opera had 72 separate productions in its first year alone, and it has remained an audience favorite. To introduce the opera, Humperdinck composed not an overture but a prelude based on themes that will be heard later in the opera. At the 1893 premiere, the parts for this prelude had not arrived in time, so that first performance took place without any musical introduction, but the prelude has since proven so attractive that it has had a life of its own in the concert hall. Everyone notes the influence of Wagner on this music, which is not surprising, given Humperdinck s admiration for that composer and their close association: Wagner had invited Humperdinck to Bayreuth to assist with the premiere of Parsifal in 1881. Just as Parsifal begins with a prayer, so too does Hänsel und Gretel, the soft chorale-like melody of the Evening Prayer striking just the right tone for this fairy-tale opera. Horns and bassoons sing this noble melody, which is quickly taken up and expanded by the strings. There follows a sequence of themes taken from the opera a stirring trumpet call, music associated with sorcery and folk dances and Humperdinck treats these attractive ideas to some deft contrapuntal development. This music almost glows with its innocence and peaceful spirit perhaps this is one of the reasons the opera is often produced at Christmas time and eventually the prelude draws to a quiet close on fragments of the opening prayer.
Concerto in C Major for Flute and Harp, K.299 (297c) WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART Born January 27, 1756, Salzburg Died December 5, 1791, Vienna When Mozart made an extended visit to Paris in 1778, the 22-year-old composer quickly found himself embroiled in the musical intrigues of that city. Long in the past was the time when he dazzled audiences as a child prodigy, and Parisians now were not much interested in his music. His hopes of finding a worthy position in Paris soon evaporated and worse his mother died there after a brief illness. The young composer returned to Salzburg the following January with little to show for his long absence. Soon after arriving in Paris, however, Mozart became acquainted with two musical aristocrats: the Count de Guines, who Mozart said plays the flute extremely well, and his harpist daughter, whose name has not come down to us; Mozart noted that she plays the harp magnifique. They asked the composer for a concerto they might play together, and he composed this Concerto for Flute and Harp in April 1778, scoring it for the soloists and a small orchestra (pairs of oboes and horns, plus strings). Apparently Mozart s relations with the de Guines were not entirely happy: he waited some time before he was paid for this concerto and in the meantime had the dismal task of trying to teach composition to the unwilling daughter. Mozart wrote a telling letter to his father: She is extremely doubtful as to whether she has any talent for composition, especially as regards invention or ideas Well, we shall see. If she gets no inspirations or ideas (for at present she really has none whatever), then it is to no purpose, for God knows I can t give her any. The concerto for this young woman and her father has proven a much more successful enterprise, though it unites two instruments that were somewhat alien to Mozart; his dislike for the sound of the flute is well-known, and this was the only occasion he wrote for harp. Faced with these conditions and the limitations of two amateur performers Mozart sensibly composed straightforward and uncomplicated music. The concerto is in an easy key (C Major), Mozart keeps orchestral textures light and clear, and this agreeable music calls for able musicianship from its soloists rather than dazzling brilliance. Referring to its gracious manner, Mozart s biographer Alfred Einstein speaks of this concerto as an example of the finest French salon music. The orchestral introduction to the Allegro sounds the movement s main theme made up
of the notes of a C Major chord and the soloists enter on this same subject. There are opportunities for cadenzas in all three movements; Mozart wrote out cadenzas for the count and his daughter, but these have unfortunately been lost. The Andantino is particularly impressive: Mozart leaves the orchestral winds out and accompanies the soloists only with strings; further, he divides the violas, creating a richer orchestral sound. The unusually expressive sweep of this movement has made it an audience favorite. Fans of the film Amadeus will remember that this was one of the scores that burst to radiant life when Salieri opened the stack of music Mozart s wife had brought for his perusal. The finale is a nod to Parisian taste: it is a rondo in the form of a gavotte, a dance much in fashion in France at that time. Symphony No. 1 in G minor, Op. 13: Winter Daydreams PETER ILYCH TCHAIKOVSKY Born May 7, 1840, Votkinsk Died November 6, 1893, St. Petersburg In December 1865 Tchaikovsky graduated from the St. Petersburg Conservatory and took the only steady job he ever had in music. The Rubinstein brothers composer Nikolay and pianist Anton invited him to join the faculty of the Moscow Conservatory, which they were just establishing, and Tchaikovsky moved to Moscow in January 1866 to become a professor of harmony. Nikolay led a successful performance in March 1866 of Tchaikovsky s Overture in F Major, and the brothers encouraged him to take on the most imposing of orchestral forms, the symphony. It was a daunting prospect for a young composer still uncertain about his abilities, and the composition of what would become his first symphony proved harrowing. Tchaikovsky made a first draft between March and August 1866, but when he showed his manuscript to Anton Rubinstein, the reaction was so caustic that Tchaikovsky went back and completely rewrote it. In fact, the stress was so great that Tchaikovsky came near to collapse. He was doubtless relieved when his doctors ordered him to put the work aside for a while and collect his faculties. He had the score completed by December, and on the 22 nd of that month Nikolay conducted a performance of the scherzo in Moscow, while the second and third movements were well-received when they were performed in February in St. Petersburg. The complete symphony had to wait for a year for its premiere, but it was worth the wait to its young creator: that performance, which took place in Moscow on February 15, 1868, was a great success. But Tchaikovsky s First Symphony has not really held a place in the repertory. Though his final three symphonies with their grand gestures and emotional content are played to
death, performances of the First remain infrequent. But this music youthful, melodic and far from the tortured intensity of some of Tchaikovsky s later scores has pleasures of its own. It also has a curious nickname, one for which Tchaikovsky himself was partially responsible. This is not programmatic music (Tchaikovsky was intent on mastering the symphony on its own terms), but he did give the first two movements subtitles; the one he gave the first movement ( Dreams on a wintry road ) has been transformed into a general nickname: Winter Daydreams. That is an evocative title, but it may not make for an ideal entry into this music, which at moments is full of a fire and excitement far removed from our normal sense of winter. It is better to enjoy this symphony for itself than strain to hear something in the music that is not there. Certainly no one would on his own guess that the first movement should be called Dreams on a wintry road, and listeners should take this at most as a suggestion of general atmosphere. This sonata-form movement gets off to a wonderful start: over rustling strings, solo flute and bassoon in octaves outline the main theme, and Tchaikovsky quickly spins a rhythmic sub-theme from this. Solo clarinet has the second subject, and these two theme-groups develop at some length. Tchaikovsky s subtitle for movement No. 2, the Adagio cantabile Land of gloom, land of mist is also misleading, for this lovely movement is so appealing that it has occasionally been performed by itself. Once again, it is based on two theme-groups, which Tchaikovsky simply alternates across the span of the movement. Muted strings make for a lush beginning, and solo oboe introduces what at first seems a melancholy second subject, but the cellos quickly pick this up and make it dance. In fact, even at a slow tempo, this movement shows a kinship with Tchaikovsky s great ballet scores, and its strong appeal for audiences is no surprise. Neither of the final two movements has a subtitle perhaps at this point Tchaikovsky had abandoned the original wintry inspiration. His performance marking for the Scherzo is worth noting: he wants this movement not just scherzando ( jesting ) but also giocoso ( happy ). He adapted the scherzo theme from a Piano Sonata in C-sharp minor that he had composed in St. Petersburg (and which would remain unpublished until after his death), and its energetic main idea tumbles and cascades along the 3/8 meter. The trio section has been called the first of Tchaikovsky s great orchestral waltzes. He preserves the 3/8 meter of the scherzo, and this waltz dances energetically and perhaps a little innocently. In a nice touch, Tchaikovsky brings back a ghostly reminiscence of this waltz just before the movement s close, where it is accompanied by
an energetic timpani part. Composers have frequently found the finale the most troublesome part of a symphony, and Tchaikovsky struggled with this one. It begins with a slow introduction based on the old Russian folk-tune The Garden Bloomed, music he specifies should be lugubre ( gloomy ). But sunlight shines through at the Allegro moderato, which bursts to life in exultant G Major, and Tchaikovsky deftly transforms the folk-tune of the slow introduction into the spirited second subject of this sonata-form movement. The development goes on perhaps a little too long the young Tchaikovsky seems intent on showing us that he can write counterpoint but it is easy to forgive him when the movement finally plays up to a resounding and satisfying close. Tchaikovsky s First Symphony is rarely performed today, but if we are prone to underestimate it in favor of his later symphonies, we should remember the composer s own verdict on this symphony. He remembered it fondly, revising it in 1874 (this is the version invariably heard today), and late in his relatively brief life described it as better than many of my other more mature works. -Program notes by Eric Bromberger WHY THIS PROGRAM? by Dr. Melvin G. Goldzband, Symphony Archivist Nicolai Sokoloff led the San Diego Symphony's initial performance of Humperdinck's much-loved Overture to Hänsel und Gretel twice during the orchestra's 1941 summer season. Often played at Christmas family concerts or during the summer seasons, it was not repeated at the Masterworks concerts until Jahja Ling conducted it during the 2010-11 season. The delightful concerto by Mozart for flute and harp has been played here only once before, in the season of 2010-11. The soloists were Demarre McGill, at the time our principal flute, and Julie Smith Phillips, then and now our principal harpist. Philip Mann was the conductor. Peter Erős introduced San Diego Symphony audiences to Tchaikovsky's First Symphony (Winter Daydreams) during the 1975-76 season, and Yoav Talmi programmed it for a concert in the 1993-94 season. It was not played again here until Thomas Wilkins conducted it during the 2009-10 season, its most recent performance.