Season 2013-2014 23 Thursday, January 30, at 8:00 Friday, January 31, at 2:00 Saturday, February 1, at 8:00 The Philadelphia Orchestra Yannick Nézet-Séguin Conductor Radu Lupu Piano Smetana The Moldau, from Má vlast Bartók Piano Concerto No. 3 I. Allegretto II. Adagio religioso Poco più mosso Tempo I III. Allegro vivace Presto Tempo I Intermission Dvořák Symphony No. 6 in D major, Op. 60 I. Allegro non tanto II. Adagio III. Scherzo (Furiant: Presto) Trio (Poco meno mosso) Tempo I (Presto) IV. Finale: Allegro con spirito This program runs approximately 1 hour, 45 minutes. The January 30 concert is sponsored by Medcomp. Philadelphia Orchestra concerts are broadcast on WRTI 90.1 FM on Sunday afternoons at 1 PM. Visit www.wrti.org to listen live or for more details.
3 Story Title The Philadelphia Orchestra 25 Jessica Griffin The Philadelphia Orchestra is one of the preeminent orchestras in the world, renowned for its distinctive sound, desired for its keen ability to capture the hearts and imaginations of audiences, and admired for a legacy of innovation in music-making. The Orchestra is inspiring the future and transforming its rich tradition of achievement, sustaining the highest level of artistic quality, but also challenging and exceeding that level, by creating powerful musical experiences for audiences at home and around the world. Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin triumphantly opened his inaugural season as the eighth artistic leader of the Orchestra in fall 2012. His highly collaborative style, deeplyrooted musical curiosity, and boundless enthusiasm, paired with a fresh approach to orchestral programming, have been heralded by critics and audiences alike. Yannick has been embraced by the musicians of the Orchestra, audiences, and the community itself. His concerts of diverse repertoire attract sold-out houses, and he has established a regular forum for connecting with concertgoers through Post-Concert Conversations. Under Yannick s leadership the Orchestra returns to recording with a newlyreleased CD on the Deutsche Grammophon label of Stravinsky s The Rite of Spring and Leopold Stokowski transcriptions. In Yannick s inaugural season the Orchestra has also returned to the radio airwaves, with weekly Sunday afternoon broadcasts on WRTI-FM. Philadelphia is home and the Orchestra nurtures an important relationship not only with patrons who support the main season at the Kimmel Center but also those who enjoy the Orchestra s other area performances at the Mann Center, Penn s Landing, and other venues. The Orchestra is also a global ambassador for Philadelphia and for the U.S. Having been the first American orchestra to perform in China, in 1973 at the request of President Nixon, today The Philadelphia Orchestra boasts a new partnership with the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing. The Orchestra annually performs at Carnegie Hall while also enjoying annual residencies in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and at the Bravo! Vail festival. Musician-led initiatives, including highly-successful Cello and Violin Play-Ins, shine a spotlight on the Orchestra s musicians, as they spread out from the stage into the community. The Orchestra s commitment to its education and community partnership initiatives manifests itself in numerous other ways, including concerts for families and students, and ezseatu, a program that allows fulltime college students to attend an unlimited number of Orchestra concerts for a $25 annual membership fee. For more information on The Philadelphia Orchestra, please visit www.philorch.org.
8 Music Director Nigel Parry/CPi Yannick Nézet-Séguin triumphantly opened his inaugural season as the eighth music director of The Philadelphia Orchestra in the fall of 2012. His highly collaborative style, deeply-rooted musical curiosity, and boundless enthusiasm, paired with a fresh approach to orchestral programming, have been heralded by critics and audiences alike. The New York Times has called Yannick phenomenal, adding that under his baton the ensemble has never sounded better. In his first season he took the Orchestra to new musical heights. His second builds on that momentum with highlights that include a Philadelphia Commissions Micro-Festival, for which three leading composers have been commissioned to write solo works for three of the Orchestra s principal players; the next installment in his multi-season focus on requiems with Fauré s Requiem; and a unique, theatrically-staged presentation of Strauss s revolutionary opera Salome, a first-ever co-production with Opera Philadelphia. Yannick has established himself as a musical leader of the highest caliber and one of the most exciting talents of his generation. Since 2008 he has been music director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic and principal guest conductor of the London Philharmonic, and since 2000 artistic director and principal conductor of Montreal s Orchestre Métropolitain. In addition he becomes the first ever mentor conductor of the Curtis Institute of Music s conducting fellows program in the fall of 2013. He has made wildly successful appearances with the world s most revered ensembles, and has conducted critically acclaimed performances at many of the leading opera houses. Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Deutsche Grammophon (DG) enjoy a long-term collaboration. Under his leadership the Orchestra returns to recording with a newly-released CD on that label of Stravinsky s Rite of Spring and Leopold Stokowski transcriptions. Yannick continues a fruitful recording relationship with the Rotterdam Philharmonic for DG, BIS, and EMI/Virgin; the London Philharmonic for the LPO label; and the Orchestre Métropolitain for ATMA Classique. A native of Montreal, Yannick Nézet-Séguin studied at that city s Conservatory of Music and continued lessons with renowned conductor Carlo Maria Giulini and with Joseph Flummerfelt at Westminster Choir College. Among Yannick s honors are an appointment as Companion of the Order of Canada, one of the country s highest civilian honors; a Royal Philharmonic Society Award; Canada s National Arts Centre Award; the Prix Denise- Pelletier, the highest distinction for the arts in Quebec, awarded by the Quebec government; and an honorary doctorate by the University of Quebec in Montreal. To read Yannick s full bio, please visit www.philorch.org/conductor.
26 Soloist Mary Roberts Pianist Radu Lupu is widely acknowledged as a leading interpreter of the works of Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, and Schubert. Since winning the prestigious Van Cliburn (1966) and Leeds (1969) piano competitions, he has regularly performed as soloist and recitalist in the musical capitals and major festivals of Europe and the United States. He has appeared many times with the Berlin Philharmonic since debuting with that ensemble at the 1978 Salzburg Festival under Herbert von Karajan, and with the Vienna Philharmonic, including the opening concert of the 1986 Salzburg Festival under Riccardo Muti. He is also a frequent visitor to the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and all the major London orchestras. Mr. Lupu s first major American appearances were in 1972 with the Cleveland Orchestra and Daniel Barenboim and with the Chicago Symphony and Carlo Maria Giulini. He made his Philadelphia Orchestra debut in 1973. In the 2013-14 season Mr. Lupu is artist in residence at the Dresden Staatskapelle. Concerto appearances include performances with the Bournemouth, Montreal, Milwaukee, and Cincinnati symphonies; the Berlin, Stockholm, Monte Carlo, and Flanders philharmonics; and the Tonhalle, Leipzig Gewandhaus, and Cleveland orchestras. Other season highlights include his 11th tour of Japan, and the conclusion of his cycle of the Beethoven piano concertos at the new concert hall in Helsinki with the Finnish Chamber Orchestra and Jukka-Pekka Saraste. Mr. Lupu has made more than 20 recordings for London/Decca, including the complete Beethoven concertos with the Israel Philharmonic and Zubin Mehta; the complete Mozart violin and piano sonatas with Szymon Goldberg; Grieg and Schumann concertos; Debussy and Franck violin and piano sonatas with Kyung Wha Chung; and numerous solo recordings of works by Beethoven, Brahms, and Schubert. He also has two recordings with pianist Murray Perahia (Sony Classical); two albums of Schubert lieder with soprano Barbara Hendricks (EMI); and a disc of Schubert works for piano, four hands, with Mr. Barenboim (Teldec). Born in Romania in 1945, Mr. Lupu began studying the piano at age six. He made his public debut with a complete program of his own music at age 12 and won a scholarship to the Moscow State Conservatory.
Framing the Program 27 Parallel Events 1874 Smetana The Moldau 1880 Dvořák Symphony No. 6 1945 Bartók Piano Concerto No. 3 Music Grieg Peer Gynt Literature Hardy Far from the Madding Crowd Art Renoir La Loge History First American zoo founded in Philadelphia Music Tchaikovsky Capriccio italien Literature Dostoyevsky The Brothers Karamazov Art Cézanne Château de Medan History New York streets first lit by electricity Music Strauss Metamorphosen Literature Orwell Animal Farm Art Moore Family Group History Surrender of Germany The concert today visits Central Europe, featuring three illustrious Czech and Hungarian composers. Bedřich Smetana s The Moldau is the second and most famous movement of a six-part set of orchestral tone poems entitled Má vlast (My Homeland). The piece marvelously evokes a trip along the mighty Vltava River (Moldau in German), beginning with two intermingling streams (delightfully rendered by flutes and clarinets) that join to flow by peasants dancing, hunters hunting, and through an atmospheric nocturnal landscape. The river eventually reaches the imposing Vyšehrad cliffs and passes through the center of Prague. Béla Bartók fled his native Hungary during the Second World War and settled in America, where he died of leukemia in 1945. He had nearly completed his Third Piano Concerto, written as a birthday gift for his pianist wife. His student, Philadelphia Orchestra violist Tibor Serly, orchestrated the final 17 measures of the Concerto and the Orchestra gave its world premiere in 1946, with Eugene Ormandy conducting and György Sándor as soloist. Although Antonín Dvořák wrote nine symphonies, the first one was lost soon after its composition (and only discovered long after the composer s death), and the others were published out of order. What we now know as his Sixth Symphony in D major was the first one to be released and helped to establish his international reputation. The work is in large measure modeled on the recent Second Symphony, also in D major, by his friend and mentor Johannes Brahms. In this magnificent and sunny work Dvořák combines elements of the Germanic symphonic tradition with the spirit of his native Bohemia, most notably in the lively third-movement furiant.
28 The Music The Moldau, from Má vlast Bedřich Smetana Born in Litomysl, Bohemia, March 2, 1824 Died in Prague, May 12, 1884 At the peak of his career Smetana poured the better part of his energies into eight first-rate operas, which were produced in Prague between 1866 and 1882 and still form an important part of the local repertory. It was the subject matter of one of these dramas, Libuše, that sparked the inspiration for Má vlast (My Homeland), the cycle of six symphonic poems that became his most lasting orchestral work. In that opera, completed in 1872, the legendary Bohemian Princess Libuše proclaims from her castle high atop the Vyšehrad cliffs that overlook the Vltava River (near central Prague) her dream of a grand and glorious Czech nation, which would vanquish the terrors of hell. Smetana considered Libuše his most perfect work in the field of high drama and was still under its nationalistic spell when he sketched Vyšehrad, the first piece of Má vlast, in 1872 or 1873. Deafness Strikes In the middle of the composition of Vyšehrad, tragedy struck the composer: In October of 1874 Smetana became deaf virtually all at once. Unlike Beethoven, whose hearing loss developed over the course of more than a decade, Smetana hardly had an opportunity to become accustomed to the idea before total deafness set in. As a result he had to give up his position as principal conductor of the National Theater in Prague, a blow that initiated a series of disappointments over the next decade that eventually led to a complete mental collapse. Nevertheless he produced some of his most durable scores during this period, including Má vlast, which occupied him until 1879. When deafness struck he was composing the second piece of the cycle, Vltava (or Moldau, as the river is called in German), which has become Smetana s most popular piece. He completed The Moldau in late 1874, and it was first performed in Prague in April 1875; the entirety of Má vlast received its premiere there in November 1882 under Adolf Čech s baton. Although the main theme of The Moldau was derived from a Swedish folk tune, Ack Värmeland du sköne, the treatment of themes and the brilliance of orchestration including the running flute and clarinet passages at the outset indicate a composer of the first order.
29 Smetana composed The Moldau in 1874. The first Philadelphia Orchestra performance of the piece was on December 14, 1900, during the Orchestra s first season; Fritz Scheel conducted. Most recently on subscription, Wolfgang Sawallisch led the entire Má vlast cycle in April/ May 2001. The Orchestra recorded The Moldau in 1957 for CBS with Eugene Ormandy. Smetana scored the piece for piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion (bass drum, cymbals, suspended cymbal, triangle), harp, and strings. Performance time is approximately 12 minutes. A Closer Look For each of the six works of the cycle the composer provided a programmatic description; his note for The Moldau reveals his passionate affection for the earthy, ancient richness of the Czech countryside: Two springs gush forth in the shade of the Bohemian forest, the one warm and spouting, the other cool and tranquil. Their waves, joyously rushing down over their rocky beds, unite and glisten in the rays of the morning sun. The hurrying forest brook becomes the river Vltava, which grows to a mighty stream while flowing through Bohemia s valleys: It flows through thick woods where the joyous noise of the hunt and the tones of the hunter s horn are heard ever nearer and nearer; it flows through grass-grown pastures and lowlands, where a wedding feast is celebrated with song and dancing. At night the wood and water nymphs revel in its shining waves, in which many fortresses and castles are reflected, as witnesses of the past glory of knighthood and the vanished warlike fame of bygone ages. At the St. John Rapids, the stream rushes on, weaving through the cataracts, and with its foamy waves beats a path for itself through the rocky chasm into the broad river in which it flows onward in majestic repose toward Prague, welcomed by time-honored Vyšehrad, whereupon it vanishes in the far distance from the poet s gaze. Paul J. Horsley
30 The Music Piano Concerto No. 3 Béla Bartók Born in Nagyszentmiklós, Hungary (now Romania), March 25, 1881 Died in New York City, September 26, 1945 Of the major European composers of the first half of the 20th century, it is Béla Bartók whose imprint on subsequent music is the most difficult to assess. Schoenberg, who devised a potent system for atonal composition, remains the most influential intellectual figure in music of the last century, despite the fact that his music is played with relative infrequency. Stravinsky, ostensibly the most accessible of the three, has become a household name, and many of his works are as familiar as those of Bach or Brahms. Bartók, less cosmopolitan than Stravinsky and less severely systematic than Schoenberg, forged a peculiar style that was fiercely personal, built partly on pride in Hungarian ethnicity. He was, in many ways, a more conventional artist than either of his contemporaries yet he still became one of the most original musicians and thinkers of his era. A Hungarian in Self-Exile Bartók had already achieved a full and rich career when he arrived in America in 1940. As a composer he had amazed and shocked the European music world with scandalous theater works such as The Miraculous Mandarin and with densely wrought orchestral works including concertos that quickly became part of many pianists s and violinists s concert repertoire. He had also carved out a substantial career for himself as pianist and pedagogue. But when Fascism began to envelop Europe during the early 1930s, the ever-individualistic Bartók was outspoken in his criticism of its tactics. After 1933 he refused to perform in Germany. As a result, he himself began to be the object of attacks; at first he considered moving to England, but during concerts in America in the late 1930s he contemplated the possibility of settling here, an idea that was solidified in 1940 through the offer of a temporary appointment as Visiting Research Associate at Columbia University. He accepted the position, which began in 1941. New York bewildered him. He wrote of being lost in the subway system, he and his wife travelling hither and thither in the earth; finally, our time waning and our mission incomplete, we shamefacedly slunk home all entirely underground, of course. There was worse to come. The Columbia appointment was not to be renewed, and he found himself in financial straits. As he tried to make a
31 living concertizing, he grew ill. In 1943, after becoming so sick he could no longer give concerts, he was finally diagnosed with leukemia (though his doctors told him it was polycythema, a less serious illness affecting the white blood cells). His final years consisted of a series of charitable gestures from friends and, ultimately, money from ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers), which allowed him to survive but not thrive. Nevertheless he was able to compose several of the works for which he is best known today, including the Concerto for Orchestra, the Viola Concerto (left unfinished), and the Third Piano Concerto which was completed except for the scoring of the final 17 measures. Piano Concertos as Paradoxes The three piano concertos present prime examples of the paradoxes of Bartók s art the tension between tradition and revolution, between folk song and iconoclasm. They remain among the most important contributions to the genre of the piano concerto in the 20th century, though their entrance into the standard repertoire has been a bumpy one. Each of these works offers insight into an important aspect of Bartók the musician. The First (1926), with its barbaric rhythms and martellato ( hammered ) effects, suggests the importance of irregular meters and percussive sonorities in Bartók s music. The Second synthesizes folk rhythm with orchestral tone-painting, Baroque counterpoint, and relentless motivic development. The lyrical Third Concerto underscores the neoclassical tranquility and resignation of the composer s final years in exile in New York. The Third Concerto is normally regarded as his last completed composition, since the orchestration of the final bars, effected by former Philadelphia Orchestra violist Tibor Serly, was a relatively mechanical exercise. A Closer Look The Piano Concerto was conceived as a birthday present for Bartók s wife, the prominent pianist Ditta Pásztory-Bartók, who was to turn 42 on October 31, 1945. Bartók knew he was dying, and he rushed to complete the Concerto partly, some believe, so that Ditta could have a work with which to build her own career in America. Serly tells of visiting Bartók in September as he was completing the orchestration of the piece, on the last evening before the composer s final hospitalization. Having interrupted his work, he felt responsible for hindering Bartók from finishing the piece, and thus took it upon himself to do so after the composer s death later that month.
32 Bartók s Piano Concerto No. 3 was composed in 1945. György Sándor presented the world premiere of the Third Concerto, on February 8, 1946, with Eugene Ormandy and The Philadelphia Orchestra. Most recently on subscription, the work was performed by pianist Andreas Haefliger and Jonathan Nott in January 2011. The Fabulous Philadelphians recorded the work in 1946 with Sándor and Ormandy for CBS. In addition to solo piano, Bartók scored the piece for two flutes (II doubling piccolo), two oboes (II doubling English horn), two clarinets (II doubling bass clarinet), two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion (bass drum, cymbals, snare drum, tam-tam, triangle, xylophone), and strings. The Concerto runs approximately 25 minutes in performance. The Third is a remarkably tranquil, transparent work. Gone is the brutal percussiveness of the First Piano Concerto, or the transcendent virtuosic difficulty of the Second. The first movement Allegretto begins with a simple, charming melody in the piano, played with both hands two octaves apart; this shimmering, transparent quality is carried through the entire work. In place of virtuosity is brilliant, breathless instrumental color, the sparkling shades that transform simple motivic ideas into poetry. The tonality is unusually clear, opening and closing on E and languishing mostly in major mode but also with shades of Mixolydian and Lydian. Likewise the twittering of the second movement (Adagio religioso) transports the listener to a sound-world of artifice and high refinement. Much of this is based on bird songs that Bartók noted during a visit to Asheville, North Carolina, the year before; the central Trio section contains much of the ethereal night music of Bartók s early piano works like Out of Doors. The finale (Allegro vivace) recalls somewhat the texture and feel of the Concerto for Orchestra, and recapitulates many of the first movement s ideas, albeit in more strikingly contrapuntal form. The Concerto concludes in a deep sense of calm and transport. Paul J. Horsley
The Music Symphony No. 6 33 Antonín Dvořák Born in Nelahozeves, Bohemia, September 8, 1841 Died in Prague, May 1, 1904 Johannes Brahms and Antonín Dvořák offer a wonderful example of master composers for whom mentorship turned into friendship. In 1874 the 33-year-old Czech applied for a newly created Austrian state stipend helping needy young artists. He submitted 15 compositions, including his Second and Third symphonies. The jury was chaired by the powerful music critic Eduard Hanslick and included prominent musicians in Vienna. Dvořák was awarded a grant. The next year, with Brahms joining the jury, he succeeded again (this time with the Fifth Symphony among the submitted pieces), as he did the following three years, ultimately winning all five times he applied. The financial support freed Dvořák from having to play in an orchestra and allowed him to concentrate on composition. An additional benefit was that Brahms enthusiastically took up his cause, going so far as to write to his Berlin publisher, Fritz Simrock, urging him to publish some works: Dvořák has written all manner of things: operas (Czech), symphonies, quartets, piano pieces. In any case, he is a very talented man. Moreover, he is poor! I ask you to think about it! The duets will show you what I mean. Simrock took the tip, releasing the Moravian Duets Brahms mentioned, as well as Slavonic Dances. Mainstream Versus Nationalistic And here is where certain paradoxes begin to emerge: The pieces for which Dvořák proved so successful winning the stipend were principally written in the mainstream German style, rarely marked by specifically Czech musical elements. Yet Brahms was initially most attracted to Dvořák s more nationalist fare, as he sensed his publisher would be as well. Simrock had already made a substantial profit from Brahms s hugely popular Hungarian Dances, and Dvořák now offered a new revenue stream. Brahms had an abiding attraction to the so-called Hungarian Style, which he employed in many of his own compositions. As he was himself north German, however, no one thought to view him as being provincial or nationalist. Dvořák, on the other hand, found himself caught in a wave of growing anti-czech sentiment in Vienna that had serious consequences for the Sixth Symphony we hear today.
34 The eminent Hans Richter conducted his Third Slavonic Rhapsody with the Vienna Philharmonic in November 1879. Dvořák attended the concert with Brahms and was thrilled: It was a splendid day that I shall not easily forget for the rest of my life. Plans were soon hatched for a new symphony for Richter and the orchestra. Yet dissenting voices within the ensemble led to the cancellation later that season of a scheduled performance of Dvořák s Serenade for Winds. A comment from critic Ludwig Speidel, second in power only to Hanslick, is telling: The Slavic folk school is not loved in Vienna; when faced with it the Viennese feels himself to be decidedly German. Dvořák nonetheless pressed forward with the Sixth Symphony, which he completed in the fall of 1880. He informed Simrock that he wished to place the work first of all before Meister Brahms for his inspection. The political situation in Vienna and the reluctance of some members of the Philharmonic to perform the work meant that the premiere kept getting postponed, much to the composer s frustration. In the end Dvořák got back the score and parts from Richter (to whom the Symphony remained dedicated) and arranged the first performance in Prague conducted by Adolf Čech. David Brodbeck, who has studied this complicated genesis, believes that Dvořák must have taken this rejection especially hard, since he seems to have designed the symphony in accordance with the cultural biases of its intended German audience. While the third movement, a furiant dance, is notably Czech, the Sixth Symphony otherwise not only reflects a primarily German tradition, but indeed a specifically Viennese one, and through its many allusions to Brahms and Beethoven, it goes out of its way to suggest an orientation toward what the Viennese elite would have understood as the center, not the periphery. The genre of the symphony was one in which Dvořák could aspire to the highest in instrumental music at an international level. Confusion concerning the numbering of the nine he composed is more than a mere cataloguing issue it points to the fitful progress of his professional career. Dvořák himself misnumbered them because his first, written at age 24, was submitted to a competition in Germany (which he did not win) and it was never returned. (The work was only discovered in 1923.) Simrock published what we now know as the Sixth Symphony in 1881 as Dvořák s First and four years later released the Seventh Symphony in D minor as the Second. The popularity these and other works enjoyed
35 Dvorˇák composed his D-major Symphony in 1880. William Smith conducted the first Philadelphia Orchestra performances of the Symphony, in December 1958. Since then it has appeared seldom on subscription concerts; the most recent were with conductor David Loebel, in January 1994. The work is scored for an orchestra of two flutes (II doubling piccolo), two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, and strings. Performance time is approximately 40 minutes. led him to request more music from Dvořák, who provided unpublished works written years earlier. Simrock readily took these new old pieces, but hid their origins by giving them high opus numbers, much to the composer s dismay and leading to even further confusion about the order and numbering of Dvořák s symphonies. A Closer Look Dvořák s immediate model for the Sixth Symphony was Brahms s Second Symphony, which is in the same key and scored for the same forces; even the tempo and meter of the first and last movements are the same. Beethoven s Eroica has a somewhat similar opening theme as the Allegro non tanto, but Dvořák s spacious beginning, projecting wonderful freshness, is ultimately more lyrically pastoral than heroic. In any case, various themes in the Symphony have a simple triadic cast that relate to the Czech folk tradition. The woodwind introduction to the second movement Adagio harkens back to the slow movement of Beethoven s Ninth Symphony, leading to a lovely violin melody in delicate dialogue with oboe and then horn. The movement is a rondo in ABACABA form with coda. The distinctively Czech third movement (repeated at the premiere performance in Prague) is a Scherzo making use of a furiant, a fast Bohemian triple-meter dance that here often sounds as if it were a duple meter. A calmer middle section provides contrast. The last movement (Allegro con spirito) opens with a quiet tune for the strings again similar to Brahms s Second Symphony. Dvořák recalls and reworks earlier themes in this finale that lend the entire Symphony a larger unity. The movement builds to a fast and thrilling conclusion, a virtuoso display for the orchestra. As one Prague critic remarked: The overall mood of this work is happy and buoyant; if we were to name the work, we would call it the Czech Spring Symphony. Christopher H. Gibbs Program notes 2014. All rights reserved. Program notes may not be reprinted without written permission from The Philadelphia Orchestra Association.
36 Musical Terms GENERAL TERMS Atonality: A term used to describe music that is not tonal, especially organized without reference to key or tonal center Cadence: The conclusion to a phrase, movement, or piece based on a recognizable melodic formula, harmonic progression, or dissonance resolution Cadenza: A passage or section in a style of brilliant improvisation, usually inserted near the end of a movement or composition Chord: The simultaneous sounding of three or more tones Coda: A concluding section or passage added in order to confirm the impression of finality Contrapuntal: See counterpoint Counterpoint: A term that describes the combination of simultaneously sounding musical lines Dissonance: A combination of two or more tones requiring resolution Furiant: A rapid Bohemian dance, with alternating rhythms and changing accentuation Lydian: The common name for the fifth of the eight church modes Meter: The symmetrical grouping of musical rhythms Mixolydian: The common name for the seventh of the eight church modes Octave: The interval between any two notes that are seven diatonic (non-chromatic) scale degrees apart Op.: Abbreviation for opus, a term used to indicate the chronological position of a composition within a composer s output. Opus numbers are not always reliable because they are often applied in the order of publication rather than composition. Recapitulation: See sonata form Rondo: A form frequently used in symphonies and concertos for the final movement. It consists of a main section that alternates with a variety of contrasting sections (A-B- A-C-A etc.). Scherzo: Literally a joke. Usually the third movement of symphonies and quartets that was introduced by Beethoven to replace the minuet. The scherzo is followed by a gentler section called a trio, after which the scherzo is repeated. Its characteristics are a rapid tempo in triple time, vigorous rhythm, and humorous contrasts. Also an instrumental piece of a light, piquant, humorous character. Sonata form: The form in which the first movements (and sometimes others) of symphonies are usually cast. The sections are exposition, development, and recapitulation, the last sometimes followed by a coda. The exposition is the introduction of the musical ideas, which are then developed. In the recapitulation, the exposition is repeated with modifications. Symphonic poem: A type of 19th-century symphonic piece in one movement, which is based upon an extramusical idea, either poetic or descriptive Trio: See scherzo THE SPEED OF MUSIC (Tempo) Adagio: Leisurely, slow Allegretto: A tempo between walking speed and fast Allegro: Bright, fast Con spirito: With spirit Meno mosso: Less moved (slower) Più mosso: Faster Presto: Very fast Religioso: Sacred, devout Vivace: Lively TEMPO MODIFIERS Non tanto: Not too much so Poco: Little, a bit
February The Philadelphia Orchestra 37 Jessica Griffin Enjoy the ultimate in flexibility with a Create-Your-Own 4-Concert Series today! Choose 4 or more concerts that fit your schedule and your tastes. Hurry, before tickets disappear for this exciting season. There s still time to subscribe and receive exclusive subscriber benefits! Choose from over 30 performances including: Ax, from Bach to Strauss February 6 & 8 8 PM February 7 2 PM Vladimir Jurowski Conductor Jeffrey Khaner Flute Emanuel Ax Piano Bach Orchestral Suite No. 2 Strauss Burleske, for piano and orchestra Bach Piano Concerto No. 1 Mahler Todtenfeier All Rachmaninoff February 13, 14, & 15 8 PM Vladimir Jurowski Conductor Vsevolod Grivnov Tenor Alexey Zuev Piano Tatiana Monogarova Soprano Sergei Leiferkus Baritone Westminster Symphonic Choir Joe Miller Director Rachmaninoff Songs Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 4 Rachmaninoff The Bells TICKETS Call 215.893.1999 or log on to www.philorch.org PreConcert Conversations are held prior to every Philadelphia Orchestra subscription concert, beginning 1 hour before curtain. All artists, dates, programs, and prices subject to change. All tickets subject to availability.
16 38 Story Title Tickets & Patron Services TICKETS & PATRON SERVICES Subscriber Services: 215.893.1955 Call Center: 215.893.1999 Fire Notice: The exit indicated by a red light nearest your seat is the shortest route to the street. In the event of fire or other emergency, please do not run. Walk to that exit. No Smoking: All public space in the Kimmel Center is smoke-free. Cameras and Recorders: The taking of photographs or the recording of Philadelphia Orchestra concerts is strictly prohibited. Phones and Paging Devices: All electronic devices including cellular telephones, pagers, and wristwatch alarms should be turned off while in the concert hall. Late Seating: Latecomers will not be seated until an appropriate time in the concert. Accessible Seating: Accessible seating is available for every performance. Please call Ticket Philadelphia at 215.893.1999 for more information. You may also purchase accessible seating online at www.philorch.org. Assistive Listening: With the deposit of a current ID, hearing enhancement devices are available at no cost from the House Management Office. Headsets are available on a first-come, firstserved basis. Large-Print Programs: Large-print programs for every subscription concert are available in the House Management Office in Commonwealth Plaza. Please ask an usher for assistance. PreConcert Conversations: PreConcert Conversations are held prior to every Philadelphia Orchestra subscription concert, beginning one hour before curtain. Conversations are free to ticketholders, feature discussions of the season s music and music-makers, and are supported in part by the Wells Fargo Foundation. Lost and Found: Please call 215.670.2321. Web Site: For information about The Philadelphia Orchestra and its upcoming concerts or events, please visit www.philorch.org. Subscriptions: The Philadelphia Orchestra offers a variety of subscription options each season. These multi-concert packages feature the best available seats, ticket exchange privileges, guaranteed seat renewal for the following season, discounts on individual tickets, and many other benefits. For more information, please call 215.893.1955 or visit www.philorch.org. Ticket Turn-In: Subscribers who cannot use their tickets are invited to donate them and receive a tax-deductible credit by calling 215.893.1999. Tickets may be turned in any time up to the start of the concert. Twenty-four-hour notice is appreciated, allowing other patrons the opportunity to purchase these tickets. Individual Tickets: Don t assume that your favorite concert is sold out. Subscriber turn-ins and other special promotions can make lastminute tickets available. Call Ticket Philadelphia at 215.893.1999 or stop by the Kimmel Center Box Office. Ticket Philadelphia Staff Gary Lustig, Vice President Jena Smith, Director, Patron Services Dan Ahearn, Jr., Box Office Manager Catherine Pappas, Project Manager Michelle Parkhill, Client Relations Manager Mariangela Saavedra, Manager, Patron Services Gregory McCormack, Training Specialist Samantha Apgar, Business Operations Coordinator Elysse Madonna, Program and Web Coordinator Patrick Curran, Assistant Treasurer, Box Office Tad Dynakowski, Assistant Treasurer, Box Office Michelle Messa, Assistant Treasurer, Box Office Patricia O Connor, Assistant Treasurer, Box Office Thomas Sharkey, Assistant Treasurer, Box Office James Shelley, Assistant Treasurer, Box Office Tara Bankard, Lead Patron Services Representative Jayson Bucy, Lead Patron Services Representative Meg Hackney, Lead Patron Services Representative Julia Schranck, Lead Patron Services Representative Alicia DiMeglio, Priority Services Representative Megan Brown, Patron Services Representative Maureen Esty, Patron Services Representative Brand-I Curtis McCloud, Patron Services Representative Scott Leitch, Quality Assurance Analyst