Concerts of Thursday, September 22 and Friday, September 23, 2011, at 8:00p, and Sunday, September 25, 2011, at 3:00p. Robert Spano, Conductor Christine Brewer, soprano Nancy Maultsby, mezzo-soprano Vinson Cole, tenor Nathan Berg, baritone Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus Norman Mackenzie, Director of Choruses John Stafford Smith (1750-1836) (arr. Walter Damrosch) The Star-Spangled Banner Richard Wagner (1813-1883) Excerpts from Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung) (1876) The Ride of the Valkyries from Die Walküre (The Valkyrie) (1870) Siegfried s Death and Funeral March from Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods) (1876) Immolation Scene from Götterdämmerung Christine Brewer, soprano Intermission Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Opus 125, Choral (1824) (retuschen Gustav Mahler) I. Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso II. Molto vivace; Presto; Molto vivace III. Adagio molto e cantabile IV. Presto Christine Brewer, soprano
Nancy Maultsby, mezzo-soprano Vinson Cole, tenor Nathan Berg, baritone Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus English Surtitles by Ken Meltzer
Notes on the Program by Ken Meltzer Excerpts from Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung) (1876) Richard Wagner was born in Leipzig, Germany, on May 22, 1813, and died in Venice, Italy, on February 13, 1883. The first performance of the complete Der Ring des Nibelungen took place in Bayreuth, Germany, August 13 to 17, 1876, with Hans Richter conducting. Richard Wagner s creation of his epic The Ring of the Nibelung, A stage-festival play for three days and a preliminary evening, spanned twenty-eight years of the German composer s life. In 1848, Wagner began the prose sketch of what ultimately became the Ring s final opera, Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods). In August of 1876, the premiere of the complete 18-hour Ring cycle took place at Bayreuth, in the theater Wagner specially constructed for festival performances of his masterwork. The two principal sources for the story of Wagner s Ring Cycle are The Poetic Edda, a collection of ancient Norse poems first transcribed in the twelfth century, and the thirteenth-century Nibelungenlied. Wagner employed these ancient tales as a forum for his own philosophical views. In an 1854 letter to his friend August Röckel, Wagner described the meaning of his Ring: We must learn to die, in fact to die in the most absolute sense of the word. Fear of the end is the source of all lovelessness, and it arises only where love itself has already faded. How did it come about that mankind so lost touch with this bringer of the highest happiness to everything living that in the end everything they did, everything they undertook and established, was done solely out of fear of the end? My poem shows how...the course of the drama thus shows the necessity of accepting and giving way to the changeability, the diversity, the multiplicity, the eternal newness of reality and of life. The Ring is one of the most significant works in the history of lyric theater. In the Ring, Wagner attempted to move away from what he viewed as the singer-oriented excesses of French and Italian grand opera to create a Gesamtkunstwerk ( total art work ), a fusion of text, music and stage drama. One of the most revolutionary aspects of the Ring is Wagner s is the elevation of the orchestra from its traditional role as accompanist to that of another protagonist in the drama. This, Wagner achieved not only by the deployment of an ensemble of impressive size and color, but also by the ingenious use of the leitmotif ( leading motif ), symbolic musical phrases. The power, beauty and eloquence of several episodes in Wagner s Ring have assured their status as favorites, not just within the context of the original operas, but as independent concert works.
The Ride of the Valkyries from The Valkyrie (1870) The Ride of the Valkyries is scored for two piccolos, two flutes, three oboes, English horn, three clarinets, bass clarinet, three bassoons, eight horns, three trumpets, four trombones, tuba, timpani, cymbals, snare drum, triangle and strings. Approximate performance time is six minutes. First ASO Classical Subscription Performance: April 6, 1950, Henry Sopkin, Conductor. Most Recent ASO Classical Subscription Performances: January 6, 7 and 8, 2005, Robert Spano, Conductor. The most famous excerpt from Wagner s Ring is the opening of the final act of the second opera, Die Walküre (The Valkyrie). The scene takes place on the summit of a rocky mountain. The warrior maiden Valkyries, daughters of Wotan, King of the gods, return on horseback from battle. The stirring music depicts their magical flight through a fearsome storm. In the opera, The Ride of the Valkyries is scored for several female voices and orchestra. Here, the music is heard in its familiar orchestral setting. Siegfried s Death and Funeral March from Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods) (1876) Siegfried s Death and Funeral March is scored for piccolo, three flutes, three oboes, English horn, three clarinets, bass clarinet, three bassoons, eight horns (5-8 play Wagner tubas), three trumpets, three trombones, contrabass trombone, bass trumpet, tuba, timpani, cymbals, triangle, tenor drum, two harps and strings. Approximate performance time is nine minutes. First ASO Classical Subscription Performances: November 3 and 4, 1971, Michael Palmer, Conductor. Most Recent ASO Classical Subscription Performances: May 16, 17 and 18, 1985, Louis Lane, Conductor. Music from the final act of the Ring s concluding opera accompanies the funeral procession of the hero Siegfried, who has been murdered by the villainous Hagen. The Funeral Music includes several Ring leitmotifs associated with Siegfried s life, notably the theme of the hero s sword, introduced here by the solo trumpet. The sword motif leads to a resplendent climax. After this brief moment of triumph, the music concludes in the same despairing mood with which it began. Immolation Scene from Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods) The Immolation Scene is scored for solo soprano, piccolo, three flutes, three oboes, English horn, three clarinets, bass clarinet, three bassoons, eight horns (5-8 play Wagner tubas), three trumpets, three trombones, contrabass trombone, bass
trumpet, tuba, timpani, cymbals, triangle, tam-tam, two harps and strings. Approximate performance time is eighteen minutes. First ASO Classical Subscription Performance: January 31, 1954, Eileen Farrell, soprano, Henry Sopkin, Conductor. Most Recent ASO Classical Subscription Performances: January 6, 7 and 8, 2005, Jane Eaglen, soprano, Robert Spano, Conductor. In the final scene of the Ring, the Valkyrie Brünnhilde orders that a funeral pyre be built for her beloved Siegfried. Brünnhilde rides her horse, Grane, into the flames to join Siegfried. As she does, Brünnhilde returns the ring (the source of turmoil throughout the entire Ring cycle) to the Rhine and the Rhinemaidens. Brünnhilde s act of self-sacrifice removes the curse of the ring, and redeems the world. Brünnhilde Starke Scheite schichtet mir dort am Rande des Rheins zuhauf! Hoch und hell lodre die Glut, die den edlen Leib des hehresten Helden verzehrt. Sein Ross führet daher, dass mit mir dem Recken es folge; denn des Helden heiligste Ehre zu teilen, verlangt mein eigener Leib. Vollbringt Brünnhildes Wort! Stack a pile of stout logs for me on the shores of the Rhine! Let the fire blaze high and bright, and consume the body of this noble hero. Lead his horse here, to follow the warrior with me; for my own body desires to share the hero s most sacred honor. Do as Brünnhilde commands! Wie Sonne lauter strahlt mir sein Licht: der Reinste war er, der mich verriet! Die Gattin trügend, treu dem Freunde, von der eignen Trauten, einzig ihm teuer, schied er sich durch sein Schwert. Echter als er schwur keiner Eide; treuer als Er hielt keiner Verträge; lautrer als Er liebte kein andrer:
und doch, alle Eide, alle Verträge: die treueste Liebe trog keiner wie er! Wisst ihr, wie das ward? His radiance shines like pure sunlight upon me: He was the purest, he betrayed me! He betrayed his wife, but was loyal to his friend, With his sword, he kept himself apart from his own true love, dear to him. A more honest man never swore an oath; none more true ever made a treaty; a more honest man never loved: and yet, for all his oaths, all his treaties: he betrayed his truest love like no other! Do you know how that happened? Oh, ihr, der Eide ewige Hüter! Lenkt euren Blick auf mein blühendes Leid, erschaut eure ewige Schuld! Meine Klage hör, du hehrster Gott! Durch seine tapferste Tat, dir so tauglich erwünscht, weihtest du den, der sie gewirkt, dem Fluche, dem du verfielest: mich musste der Reinste verraten, dass wissend würde ein Weib! Weiss ich nun, was dir frommt? Alles, alles, alles weiss ich, Alles ward mir nun frei! Auch deine Raben hör ich rauschen; mit bang ersehnter Botschaft send ich die beiden nun heim. Ruhe, ruhe, du Gott! Oh you, the eternal guardian of oaths! Turn your gaze to my growing sorrow, behold your eternal guilt! Hear my lament, supreme god! By his courageous deed, that you so desired, you sacrificed him who performed it, to the curse that had fallen upon you: this innocent had to betray me, so that I would become a woman of wisdom! Do I now know what is your will? Everything, I know everything,
everything is now clear to me! I hear your ravens stirring, too; with news both feared and desired I now send them both home. Rest, rest, you god! Mein Erbe nun nehm ich zu eigen. Verfluchter Reif! Furchtbarer Ring! Dein Gold fass ich, und geb es nun fort. Der Wassertiefe weise Schwestern, des Rheines schwimmende Töchter, euch dank ich redlichen Rat. Was ihr begehrt, ich geb es euch: aus meiner Asche nehmt es zu eigen! Das Feuer, das mich verbrennt, rein ge vom Fluch den Ring! Ihr in der Flut löset ihn auf, und lauter bewahrt das lichte Gold, das euch zum Unheil geraubt. I now take my inheritance as my own. Accursed, terrible ring! I seize your gold, and I give it away. Wise sisters of the watery depths, swimming daughters of the Rhine, I thank you for your honest counsel. What you desire, I give to you: take it from my ashes! The fire that consumes me, shall remove the curse from the ring! You in the water, wash it away, and guard the gleaming gold, that was disastrously stolen from you. Fliegt heim, ihr Raben! Raunt es eurem Herren, was hier am Rhein ihr gehört! An Brünnhildes Felsen fahrt vorbei! Der dort noch lodert, weiset Loge nach Walhall! Denn der Götter Ende dämmert nun auf. So werf ich den Brand in Walhalls prangende Burg. Ravens, fly home! Tell your master,
what you have heard here by the Rhine! Pass by Brünnhilde s rock! The fire still blazes there, send Loge to Valhalla! For the end of the gods is near. So do I throw this torch into Valhalla s proud castle. Grane, mein Ross, sei mir gegrüsst! Weisst du auch, mein Freund, wohin ich dich führe? Im Feuer leuchtend, liegt dort dein Herr, Siegfried, mein seliger Held. Dem Freunde zu folgen, wieherst du freudig? Lockt dich zu ihm die lachende Lohe? Grane, my horse, I greet you! My friend, do you know where I am leading you? There is your master, shining in the fire, Siegfried, my glorious hero. Are you neighing with joy to follow your friend? Do the laughing flames draw you to him? Fühl meine Brust auch, wie sie entbrennt; helles Feuer das Herz mir erfasst, ihn zu umschlingen, umschlossen von ihm, in mächtigster Minne vermählt ihm zu sein! Heiajaho! Grane! Grüss deinen Herren! Siegfried! Siegfried! Sieh! Selig grüsst dich dein Weib! Feel my breast, how it burns; a bright fire has captured my heart, to embrace him, wrapped in his arms, to be united with him in the most powerful love! Heiajaho! Grane! Greet your master! Siegfried! Look! Your wife joyfully greets you! Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Opus 125, Choral (1824) (retuschen Gustav Mahler) Ludwig van Beethoven was baptized in Bonn, Germany, on December 17, 1770, and died in Vienna, Austria, on March 16, 1827. The first performance of the Ninth Symphony took place at the Kärnthnerthor Theater in Vienna on May 7, 1824, with
Ignaz Umlauf conducting. The Gustav Mahler version of the Ninth Symphony is scored for soprano, alto, tenor and bass soloists, mixed chorus, two piccolos, four flutes, four oboes, four clarinets, four bassoons, contrabassoon, eight horns, four trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani (two pairs, second player in first movement, only), triangle, cymbals, bass drum, sixteen first violins, fourteen second violins, twelve violas, ten cellos and eight double-basses. Approximate performance time is 70 minutes. These are the first ASO classical subscription performances of the Mahler version of the Beethoven Ninth. First ASO Classical Subscription Performance of Beethoven Ninth: October 19, 1967, Robert Shaw, Conductor. Most Recent ASO Classical Subscription Performances: September 21, 23 and 24, 2006, Robert Spano, Conductor. ASO Recording: (Telarc CD-80603) Soloists and Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus, Donald Runnicles, Conductor The Journey to the Ninth Symphony Beethoven s Ninth and final Symphony ( Choral ) represents, on a number of levels, a summit of the immortal composer s artistic life. The Ninth is by far the most epic of Beethoven s Symphonies, both in terms of length and performing forces. The revolutionary introduction of vocal soloists and chorus in the finale was a bold masterstroke that forever expanded the potential of symphonic expression. Richard Wagner hailed the Beethoven Ninth as: the redemption of Music from out her own peculiar element into the realm of universal art. It is the human evangel of the art of the future. Beyond it no forward step is possible; for upon it the perfect artwork of the future alone can follow, the universal drama to which Beethoven has forged for us the key. The text of the Symphony s finale, based upon the 1785 Ode To Joy by the great German writer, Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805), held a lifelong attraction for the composer. Beethoven first became acquainted with Schiller s Ode To Joy ( An die Freude ) when the composer was a student in his native Bonn. In his 1790 Cantata on the Accession of Emperor Leopold II, Beethoven briefly quotes Schiller s Ode. In 1793, Bartholomäus Ludwig Fischenich wrote from Bonn to Schiller s sister, Charlotte: I have preserved a setting of (Sophie Mereau s poem) Feuerfarbe for you on which I would like your opinion. It is by a young man of this place, whose musical talent is becoming known, and whom the Elector has just
sent to Haydn in Vienna. He intends to compose Schiller s Freude verse by verse. Evidence suggests that the young Beethoven may well have composed a song to the text of Schiller s An die Freude. However, if the song did exist at one time, it has been forever lost. The beloved melodic setting of Schiller s Ode in the Finale of Beethoven s Ninth was also the product of an extended genesis. A version of the melody first appears in a song Beethoven composed in the mid-1790s, entitled Gegenliebe ( Mutual Love ), based upon a poem by Gottfried August Bürger. An even more startling premonition of the Ninth Symphony may be found in Beethoven s 1808 Fantasia in C minor for Piano, Chorus, and Orchestra, Opus 80. In that work, the melody in this case, a setting of words by Christian Kuffner receives a treatment quite similar in many ways to that found in the Choral Symphony. Although the notion of presenting Schiller s Ode To Joy in a symphonic context seems to have been on the composer s mind for several years, it was not until the spring of 1823 that Beethoven was finally able to focus his attention upon this landmark work. Beethoven completed his Ninth Symphony the following January. It is not surprising that Beethoven struggled with the revolutionary finale of his Ninth Symphony. Indeed, as late as the summer of 1823, Beethoven considered ending his Symphony in traditional fashion with a purely instrumental fourth movement. Even after Beethoven made the final decision to employ Schiller s text, the question remained of how to effect the appropriate transition to this new and daring path. I ve got it. And then one day (according to the composer s friend and biographer, Anton Schindler), Beethoven exclaimed: I ve got it, I ve got it. Beethoven had sketched the following words: Let us sing the song of the immortal Schiller. This text was to be performed by the basses of the chorus, with the soprano then presenting Schiller s Ode. Beethoven ultimately modified the above text to read: O friends, no more these sounds! Let us sing songs that are more cheerful and full of joy! Both these lines, and the beginning of Schiller s Ode, are given to the solo bass vocalist. The premiere of Beethoven s Ninth Symphony took place at the Vienna Kärnthnerthor Theater on May 7, 1824. By this stage of Beethoven s life, the composer s hearing had deteriorated to such an extent that conducting the performance was out of the question. Instead, Ignaz Umlauf led the premiere. But all the while, Beethoven was at Umlauf s side, attempting to direct the tempos for the various movements. At the conclusion of the performance, the audience erupted with a spirited ovation. Karoline Unger was the contralto soloist at the premiere of the Beethoven Ninth. More than four decades later, she met with the British music writer, Sir George Grove. During that meeting, Unger described what happened at the May 7, 1824 concert:
The master, though placed in the midst of this confluence of music, heard nothing of it at all and was not even sensible of the applause of the audience at the end of his great work, but continued standing with his back to the audience, and beating the time, till Fräulein Unger, who had sung the contralto part, turned him, or induced him to turn round and face the people, who were still clapping their hands, and giving way to the greatest demonstrations of pleasure. His turning round, and the sudden conviction thereby forced upon everybody that he had not done so before, because he could not hear what was going on, acted like an electric shock on all present, and a volcanic explosion of sympathy and admiration followed, which was repeated again and again, and seemed as if it would never end. Gustav Mahler and the Beethoven Ninth Like Richard Wagner, composer Gustav Mahler both revered Beethoven s Ninth, and conducted the work on numerous occasions. But also like Wagner, Mahler perceived difficulties inherent in Beethoven s original orchestration. Both Wagner and Mahler believed that the limitations of the instruments of Beethoven s time compromised their ability to do justice to the composer s melodic intentions. Again according to Wagner and Mahler, the onset of the Beethoven s deafness only served to exacerbate this dilemma. In his essay, The Rendering of Beethoven s Ninth Symphony (1873), Wagner discussed at great length his proposed solutions to these challenges. In an explanatory pamphlet distributed before a February, 1900, concert with the Vienna Philharmonic, Mahler cited Wagner s essay, and insisted: the conductor of today s concert has followed precisely the same course, without, as far as the essential is concerned, trespassing beyond the limits set by Wagner. Mahler s retouches of Beethoven s instrumentation involved the doubling of the piccolos, flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns and trumpets, and (in the first movement only) timpani. Mahler added a tuba as reinforcement to the lower-voiced instruments. Mahler also expanded the number of strings typical in Beethoven s time. It seems almost nothing Gustav Mahler did was free of controversy. Mahler insisted he was consistently and solely concerned with carrying out Beethoven s wishes even in seemingly insignificant details, and with ensuring that nothing the master intended should be sacrificed or drowned in a general confusion of sound. Nevertheless, many critics were scandalized by what they viewed as a heretical approach to a towering masterwork. With these performances, we are in the fortunate position of being able to judge for ourselves. Musical Analysis I. Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso The Beethoven Ninth opens with one of the most atmospheric and mysterious episodes in concert music. Over the hushed, repeated tread of open fifths in the second violins and cellos, the first violins, violas and
basses utter a descending, two-note figure that serves as the basis for much of the Symphony s thematic material. The motif grows inexorably, until it finally emerges as the initial principal theme, thundered by the orchestra in a fortissimo outburst. The winds introduce the dolce ascending and descending second theme, foreshadowing Beethoven s immortal setting of Schiller s Ode in the final movement. Beethoven introduces several more themes during the course of the exposition, which builds to a climax. As the momentum subsides, a reprise of the opening introduces the development section. This culminates in a furious passage that resolves to a massive restatement of the opening theme. Likewise, the coda proceeds to a fierce resolution, capped by a final statement of the opening theme. II. Molto vivace; Presto; Molto vivace In the Ninth, the Scherzo appears as the Symphony s second (rather than the traditional third) movement. The Scherzo begins with a brusque, descending figure in the strings, first echoed by timpani, then by the ensemble. This figure emerges as the movement s agile principal theme, introduced by the second violins. Beethoven presents the theme in a variety of orchestral colors and moods what remains consistent is its inexorable momentum. In the central Trio, the winds introduce a flowing theme that is another precursor to the immortal Ode To Joy melody. The return of the Scherzo (when conducting the work, Mahler often omitted the opening eight measures here, and proceeded directly to the second violin melody) leads to the briefest of repetitions of the Trio, quickly silenced by the orchestra. III. Adagio molto e cantabile A brief introduction by the bassoons and clarinets serves as prelude to the sublime opening theme, played by the first violins and echoed by the winds. The key changes from B-flat Major to D Major (and from 4/4 to 3/4) as the second violins and violas play the equally lovely second theme (Andante moderato). The two themes return in sequence and in varied form, leading to a grand double climax. The coda proceeds to a pianissimo close, a stark contrast to what immediately follows. IV. Presto A brief outburst by the winds, brass and timpani launches the final movement. The tempest alternates with a recitative-like passage in the lower strings. In an extraordinary sequence, the principal themes from the first three movements now return in order, each cut off by the lower-string recitative. Finally, the winds suggest a new melody, welcomed by an orchestral cadence. The melody is now presented in its entirety by the cellos and basses. A series of variations ensues, culminating in a majestic statement of the immortal theme. A bridge passage leads to a return of the storm with which the movement began. This time, however, the bass soloist calls for an end to the conflict. He Schiller s Ode, set to the melody. Variations of the melody, featuring the soloists and chorus, proceed to a resplendent climax, followed by a dramatic pause. What follows is a masterstroke of the highest order. The next variation is a jaunty march in the Turkish style, highlighting the winds, percussion and solo tenor. The contrasting playfulness of this section allows the lofty, ensuing variations to glow in their fullest splendor. A final, Maestoso choral statement of Schiller s Ode and the orchestra s Prestissimo race to the finish conclude Beethoven s Ninth Symphony.
Texts and Translations Baritone Solo, Soloists and Chorus O Freunde, nicht diese Töne! Sondern lasst uns angenehmere anstimmen und freudenvollere! Oh friends, no more these sounds! Let us sing songs that are more cheerful and full of joy! Freude, schöner Götterfunken, Tochter aus Elysium, Wir betreten feuertrunken, Himmlische, dein Heiligtum! Deine Zauber binden wieder, Was die Mode streng geteilt; Alle Menschen werden Brüder, Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt. Joy, lovely divine spark, Daughter of Elysium, With fiery rapture, We approach your sanctuary! Your magic reunites, What stern custom separated; All men shall be brothers, Under your gentle wings. Wem der grosse Wurf gelungen, Eines Freundes Freund zu sein, Wer ein holdes Weib errungen, Mische seinen Jubel ein! Ja, wer auch nur eine Seele Sein nennt auf dem Erdenrund! Und wer s nie gekonnt, der stehle Weinend sich aus diesem Bund. Whoever has enjoyed the great fortune Of being a friend to a friend, Whoever has won a dear wife, Join in our chorus of jubilation! Yes, even if he has but one soul On this earth to call his own! And whoever has not, let him steal away Tearfully and alone.
Freude trinken alle Wesen An den Brüsten der Natur; Alle Guten, alle Bösen Folgen ihrer Rosenspur. Küsse gab sie uns und Reben, Einen Freund, geprüft im Tod; Wollust ward dem Wurm gegeben, Und der Cherub steht vor Gott! Every creature drinks joy At nature s breast. Everyone, good and bad Follows in her rosy path. She gave us kisses and the fruit of the vine, And a friend, faithful until death; Even the worm can feel contentment, And the cherub stands before God! Tenor Solo and Chorus Froh, wie seine Sonnen fliegen Durch des Himmels prächt gen Plan, Laufet, Brüder, eure Bahn, Freudig, wie ein Held zum Siegen. Gladly, as His suns fly Through the mighty path of heaven, So, brothers, run your course, Joyfully, like a hero on his conquest. (The first stanza is repeated) Chorus and Soloists Seid umschlungen, Millionen! Diesen Kuss der ganzen Welt! Brüder! Über m Sternenzelt Muss ein lieber Vater wohnen. Ihr stürzt nieder, Millionen? Ahnest du den Schöpfer, Welt? Such ihn überm Sternenzelt! Über Sternen muss er wohnen. Be embraced, you millions! This kiss is for all the world! Brother! Above this tent of stars There must dwell a loving Father.
Do you kneel, you millions? Do you sense your Creator, world? Seek him above in the tent of stars! Above the stars he must dwell.