Concert of Friday, June 22, 2018, at 8:00p Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Stephen Mulligan, Conductor Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) Overture to Candide (1956) West Side Story, Selections for Orchestra (1957) (arr. Mason) George Gershwin (1898-1937) Porgy and Bess: A Symphonic Picture (arr. Robert Russell Bennett) (1942) Intermission Aaron Copland (1900-1990) Four Dance Episodes from Rodeo (1942) John Williams (b. 1932) Star Wars: Suite for Orchestra (1997)
Notes on the Program by Ken Meltzer Leonard Bernstein was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, on August 25, 1918, and died in New York on October 14, 1990. The first performance of Candide took place at the Colonial Theater in Boston, Massachusetts on October 29, 1956. The Overture to Candide is scored for piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, E-flat clarinet, two clarinets, bass clarinet, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, snare drum, bass drum, triangle, xylophone, cymbals, glockenspiel, tenor drum, harp, and strings. Approximate performance time is five minutes. It was perhaps as early as 1950 that American author Lillian Hellman suggested to Leonard Bernstein that the two collaborate on a musical adaptation of Voltaire s Candide (1759). Hellman first conceived of Candide as a play with incidental music. But over time, the project grew into a piece of lyric theater, much more in the style of a musical or operetta. In 1954, Hellman and Bernstein began work on Candide. Even then, various other projects and responsibilities intervened, including Bernstein s film score for On the Waterfront and the Broadway musical, West Side Story. By 1956, Hellman and Bernstein were still in the process of creating Candide. Richard Wilbur, a young American poet, assisted Hellman and Bernstein with Candide s lyrics. Bernstein s Candide is a work of remarkable energy, lyricism, humor, and, at its conclusion, emotional impact. In her comments on Voltaire s Candide, Lillian Hellman hailed the roaring-river quality that was the mark of the genius who wrote it. Her words might well apply with equal force to Leonard Bernstein s magical score. The brief and rollicking Overture to Candide, featuring melodies from the work, has enjoyed an independent life as one of the most popular concert pieces of the second half of the 20 th century. West Side Story, Selections for Orchestra (1957) (arr. Mason) The first performance of West Side Story took place at the National Theater in Washington, D.C., on August 19, 1957. Selections for Orchestra from West Side Story are scored for piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, English horn, two clarinets (optional two alto saxophones, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone), two bassoons, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, bongos, castanets, chimes, glockenspiel, claves, cymbals, hi-hat, maracas, snare drum, tambourine, triangle, vibraphone, xylophone, and strings. Approximate performance time is eight minutes. West Side Story premiered on August 19, 1957, at the National Theater in Washington, DC. The production featured one of the most remarkable
collaborative teams in the history of musical theater a book by Arthur Laurents, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, music by Leonard Bernstein, and the entire production directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins. After performances in Washington, DC, and Philadelphia, West Side Story opened at the Winter Garden Theatre in New York City on September 26, 1957. The production finally closed on June 27, 1959, after 734 performances. A tour followed, as well as a Hollywood movie in 1961. West Side Story has remained in the repertoire ever since. West Side Story, one of the miracles of American musical theater, is a remarkable fusion of drama, music, and dance, all placed at the service of a powerful and timeless story. It also represents an amazing synthesis of popular and classical elements, a sublime marriage of the Broadway stage with the opera and ballet houses. As Bernstein wrote after the premiere: I am now convinced that what we dreamed all these years is possible; because there stands that tragic story, with a theme as profound as love versus hate, with all the theatrical risks of death and racial issues and young performers and serious music and complicated balletics and it all added up for the audiences and critics. In West Side Story, the setting of Shakespeare s Romeo and Juliet shifts from Renaissance Verona to New York City in the 1950s. The Capulets are now the Puerto Rican gang, the Sharks. The Montagues become the Jets, a gang of self-styled Americans. Tony, a member of the Jets and Maria, the sister of the leader of the Sharks, are the modern-day star-crossed lovers. This concert features an arrangement for orchestra by Jack Mason of songs from West Side Story, including I Feel Pretty, Maria, Something s Coming, Tonight, One Hand, One Heart, Cool, and America. Porgy and Bess: A Symphonic Picture (arr. Robert Russell Bennett) (1942) George Gershwin was born in Brooklyn, New York, on September 26, 1898, and died in Hollywood, California, on July 11, 1937. The first performance of Porgy and Bess: A Symphonic Picture took place at Syria Mosque in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on February 5, 1943, with Fritz Reiner conducting the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Porgy and Bess: A Symphonic Picture is scored for piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, English horn, two clarinets, bass clarinet, two alto saxophones, tenor saxophone, two bassoons, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, glockenspiel, xylophone, woodblock, cymbals, triangle, snare drum, suspended cymbal, bass drum, banjo, two harps, and strings. Approximate performance time is twenty-four minutes.
George Gershwin s opera, Porgy and Bess, is based upon the 1925 novel, Porgy, by DuBose Heyward. The libretto was created by George Gershwin s brother, Ira, and Heyward. The opera premiered in Boston, Massachusetts, on September 30, 1935. After the Boston premiere, Porgy and Bess moved to New York, where it opened on October 10, 1935. The opera met with critical resistance, and closed after 124 performances, incurring a huge financial loss. Still, George Gershwin did not lose faith in what he called his labor of love. It is not the few knowing ones whose opinions make any work of art great, Gershwin contended, it is the judgment of the great mass that finally decides. Today, George Gershwin s Porgy and Bess is celebrated as a brilliant synthesis of traditional opera, Broadway, jazz, and folk music. Porgy has become a mainstay not only of the opera house, but of popular culture as well. Fritz Reiner, Music Director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra from 1938-1948, commissioned Robert Russell Bennett to compose an orchestral synthesis of music from Porgy and Bess, including such favorites as Summertime, I Got Plenty of Nothin, Bess, You is My Woman Now, There s a Boat That s Leavin Soon for New York, It Ain t Necessarily So, and Oh Lord, I m on My Way. Reiner and the Pittsburgh Symphony gave the first performance of Porgy and Bess: A Symphonic Picture, on February 5, 1943. Four Dance Episodes from Rodeo (1942) Aaron Copland was born in Brooklyn, New York, on November 14, 1900, and died in North Tarrytown, New York, on December 2, 1990. The first performance of Rodeo took place at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, on October 16, 1942. The Four Dance Episodes are scored for two piccolos, three flutes, two oboes, English horn, two clarinets, bass clarinet, two bassoons, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, cymbals, glockenspiel, slapstick, snare drum, triangle, wood block, whip, xylophone, harp, piano/celesta, and strings. Approximate performance time is eighteen minutes. At the age of twenty, Aaron Copland journeyed to Paris where he worked with the legendary teacher, Nadia Boulanger. While in Europe, Copland was greatly impressed by the nationalist music of Russian composers Modest Mussorgsky and Igor Stravinsky. Upon his return to the United States in the early 1920s, Copland decided that he would attempt to create a parallel genre; that is, to compose music that would immediately be recognized as American in character, noting (t)his desire to be American was symptomatic of the period. Indeed, George Gershwin s Rhapsody in Blue premiered in 1924. Copland s desire to compose in an American fashion ultimately manifested itself in two compositional styles, one not necessarily independent of the other. One technique featured the incorporation of jazz into classical works. The other method, and the one for which Copland is best known, involved the use of American folk subjects and/or melodies.
A beloved work from that second category is the ballet Rodeo. Copland composed Rodeo at the request of Agnes de Mille, who danced the lead female role in the world premiere, presented by the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo at New York s Metropolitan Opera House on October 16, 1942. The ballet s scenario depicts a Saturday afternoon rodeo, as well a dance that evening. This concert features four excerpts from Rodeo Buckaroo Holiday, Corral Nocturne, Saturday Night Waltz and Hoe Down, the last, music that gained even wider fame after its inclusion in beef commercials! Star Wars: Suite for Orchestra (1997) John Williams was born in New York City on February 8, 1932. Star Wars: Suite for Orchestra is scored for piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, bass clarinet, two bassoons, four horns, three trumpets, two trombones, bass trombone, tuba, timpani, percussion (two players), harp, piano/celesta, and strings. Approximate performance time is twenty-five minutes. George Lucas s Star Wars films are among the most successful in the history of cinema. The riveting adventures from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away are the product of a remarkable collaboration of writing, acting, directing, and production talent. No doubt one of the great reasons for the immense popularity of the Star Wars movies is the music written by the American composer and conductor, John Williams. The Williams Star Wars soundtracks, with their soaring melodies and brilliant orchestration, are among the finest achievements in American cinema, worthy of the tradition of such composers as Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Franz Waxman, and Bernard Herrmann. As in the case of film scores written by John Williams s great predecessors, excerpts from the Star Wars films have also enjoyed great popularity in the concert hall. This concert presents a Suite John Williams fashioned from his music for the first three Star Wars releases: Star Wars (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Return of the Jedi (1983). In a preface to the score, the composer offers the following comments: During 1997 we celebrated the 20 th anniversary of the release of George Lucas classic film Star Wars. All of us concerned with this phenomenal movie have been gratified to see an entire new generation of very young film-goers enjoy the Star Wars trilogy and relate so strongly to its story, characters, and music. Also, I am personally delighted to have this new edition of the score available to orchestras and the public. It includes the Imperial March and Yoda s Theme, both of which have not been available until this present printing.
I. Main Title I have always felt privileged to have had the opportunity to compose music for these landmark films, and the ongoing interest in the films and their music has continued to be one of my greatest joys. John Williams II. Princess Leia s Theme III. The Imperial March (Darth Vader s Theme) IV. Yoda s Theme V. Throne Room and End Title