Download Concerts of Thursday, March 7 and Saturday, March 9, at 8:00p, and

Concerts of Thursday, March 7 and Saturday, March 9, at 8:00p, and Sunday,
March 10, 2013, at 3:00p.
Roberto Abbado, Conductor
David Coucheron, Violin
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Overture to Die Zauberharfe (Rosamunde), D. 644 (1820)
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Violin Concerto in E minor, Opus 64 (1844)
I. Allegro molto appassionato
II. Andante
III. Allegretto non troppo; Allegro molto vivace
David Coucheron, Violin
Intermission
Luciano Berio (1925-2003)
Rendering for Orchestra (1990)
I. Allegro
II. (Andante)
III. (Allegro)
Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868)
Overture to Guillaume Tell (1829)
Notes on the Program by Ken Meltzer
Overture to Die Zauberharfe (Rosamunde), D. 644 (1820)
Franz Schubert was born in Vienna, Austria, on January 31, 1797, and died there
on November 19, 1828. The premiere of Die Zauberharfe took place at the Theater
an der Wien in Vienna on August 19, 1820. The premiere of Rosamunde took place
at the Theater an der Wien on December 20, 1823. The Overture to Die
Zauberharfe is scored for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four
horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani and strings. Approximate
performance time is ten minutes.
First ASO Classical Subscription Performances: May 15, 16 and 17, 1997, Yoel Levi,
Conductor.
Most Recent ASO Classical Subscription Performances: May 3, 4 and 5, 2001, Alan
Gilbert, Conductor.
In the autumn of 1823, Franz Schubert received a request to compose incidental music
for a new play, Rosamunde, Princess of Cyprus. The play’s author, Helmina von Chézy,
also wrote the libretto for Carl Maria von Weber’s opera, Euryanthe, which premiered in
the Vienna Kärntnertor Theater on October 25, 1823. Rosamunde had its first
performance at the Vienna Theater an der Wien on December 20 of that year.
In both cases, Chézy was the subject of relentless attacks by the Viennese critics. One
writer accused her of having “in a single year been the undoing of two great composers.”
Rosamunde lasted just two performances before it was withdrawn forever.
The beautiful music that Schubert composed for this failed project fared much better than
Chézy’s play. Given the brief amount of time Schubert had to complete the music for the
premiere of Rosamunde, it is not surprising that he borrowed extensively from earlier
compositions. The work known as the Rosamunde Overture originally appeared in
Schubert’s score for the 1820 melodrama (a play in which spoken dialogue is
accompanied by music) Die Zauberharfe (The Magic Harp).
The Zauberharfe (Rosamunde) Overture begins with an extended and dramatic slow
introduction in C minor (Andante), featuring striking juxtapositions of loud and soft
dynamics. A concluding fortissimo chord and brief pause herald the principal C-Major
Allegro vivace section. The first violins immediately sing the sprightly first principal
melody, leading to a vigorous orchestral tutti. The clarinets and bassoons softly intone
the lyrical second principal theme. A playful, galloping motif resolves to another grand
orchestral statement. After a brief, hushed interlude, a reprise of the principal themes
shifts to 6/8 meter, and the Overture’s exuberant final measures.
Violin Concerto in E minor, Opus 64 (1844)
Felix Mendelssohn was born in Hamburg, Germany, on February 3, 1809, and died
in Leipzig, Germany, on November 4, 1847. The first performance of the E-minor
Concerto took place at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, on March 13, 1845, with
Ferdinand David as soloist and Niels W. Gade conducting. In addition to the solo
violin, the E-minor Concerto is scored for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two
bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani and strings. Approximate performance
time is twenty-nine minutes.
First ASO Classical Subscription Performance: February 27, 1949, James de la
Fuente, Violin, Henry Sopkin, Conductor.
Most Recent ASO Classical Subscription Performances: April 15, 16 and 17, 2010,
Midori, Violin, Lothar Zagrosek, Conductor.
“Whatever comes from the heart makes me happy”
The genesis of Felix Mendelssohn’s E-minor Violin Concerto is memorialized in a July
30, 1838 letter from the composer to his dear friend, Ferdinand David (1810-1873).
David, an eminent violinist, was then concertmaster of Mendelssohn’s Gewandhaus
Orchestra of Leipzig. Mendelssohn wrote from Berlin:
I would also like to write you a violin concerto for next winter as well; I
have one in E minor in my head, the opening leaves me no peace...I feel
that with every piece I get further toward being able to write what is really
in my heart, and in fact that is the only rule of conduct I have. If I am not
destined for popularity I do not want to study or struggle to win it; or if
you think that is not the way to speak, let us say I cannot study to win it.
For I really cannot, and I don’t want to be able to. Whatever comes from
the heart makes me happy, in its outward effects as well...
David was, of course, thrilled by Mendelssohn’s news. However, the progress of the
Concerto proved to be slow, as Mendelssohn tended to other obligations. In response to a
letter from David, written the following year, Mendelssohn acknowledged:
It is nice of you to press me for a violin concerto! I have the liveliest
desire to write one for you, and if I have a few propitious days, I’ll bring
you something. But the task is not an easy one. You ask that it should be
brilliant, and how can anyone like me do this?
David continued to encourage Mendelssohn, and the composition of the Violin Concerto
proved to be a truly collaborative effort. The violinist repeatedly offered constructive
suggestions for modifications to the score-in-progress. It is generally believed that David
was in great part responsible for the beautiful first-movement cadenza.
In December of 1844, Mendelssohn forwarded the score of the Violin Concerto to his
publisher. But then, the composer immediately wrote the following to David:
Today I must ask you a favor. I have sent the score of the violin concerto
to Breitkopf and Haertel and I have lately made several alterations in it
with pencil, which can be copied into the parts. I have changed a number
of things in the solo part, too, and I hope they are improvements. But I
would particularly like to have your opinion about all this before I give up
the music irrevocably to the printer.
After listing several corrections for David’s review, Mendelssohn concluded: “‘Thank
God that the fellow is through with his concerto!’, you will say. Excuse my bothering
you, but what can I do?”
Mendelssohn dedicated the Concerto to David, who appeared at the March 13, 1845
Gewandhaus premiere. Mendelssohn was recuperating from an illness at the time, and
so, Niels W. Gade served as the conductor for that highly successful first performance.
The Concerto was repeated during the subsequent Gewandhaus season. David was again
the soloist at the October 20, 1845 concert, this time with Mendelssohn on the podium.
To this day, the Mendelssohn E-minor remains one of the most beloved of violin
concertos. The seamless, inevitable flow of the work belies the years of struggle invested
by Mendelssohn and his worthy collaborator, Ferdinand David. The genial lyricism also
tends to obscure the several innovative, even revolutionary, touches in the magnificent
score. The E-minor Concerto, along with such works as the Octet for Strings (1825) and
the Overture to Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1826), represent
Mendelssohn at his zenith, a composer demonstrating the capacity to approach—and
perhaps even achieve—perfection.
Musical Analysis
I. Allegro molto appassionato—Mendelssohn dispenses with the traditional orchestral
introduction of the Concerto’s principal themes. Instead, the soloist enters almost
immediately, playing a haunting melody, soon repeated in highly dramatic fashion by the
orchestra. An undulating second theme is initially played by the oboes and first violins,
and then, by the soloist. The violin’s majestic, descending phrase leads to the
introduction by the flutes and clarinets of the beautiful closing theme, marked tranquillo.
In Concertos of the 18th and 19th centuries, the solo cadenza traditionally appears toward
the close of the movement. Mendelssohn departs from convention by placing the cadenza
immediately before the recapitulation of the principal themes. The undulating second
theme dominates the tempestuous closing measures, leading directly to the ensuing
Andante.
II. Andante—After a brief and mysterious orchestral prelude, the violinist enters with the
lyrical, principal melody. The Andante is fashioned along the lines of an opera aria, with
the presentation and ultimate reprise of the melody separated by a contrasting, dramatic
interlude. The concluding movement follows without pause.
III. Allegretto non troppo; Allegro molto vivace—A brief episode (Allegretto non
troppo), featuring echoes of thematic material from the first two movements, serves as a
bridge to the principal section of the rondo finale (Allegro molto vivace). A dialogue,
consisting of fanfares by the brass and winds and upward flourishes by the violin, leads to
the soloist’s introduction of the rondo’s elfin, central theme. The mood of the finale is
joyful throughout, and the movement concludes in triumphant fashion, with brilliant solo
writing.
Rendering for Orchestra (1990)
Luciano Berio was born in Oneglia, Italy, on October 24, 1925, and died in Rome,
Italy, on May 27, 2003. The first complete performance of Rendering took place at
the Concertebouw in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on April 19, 1990, with Riccardo
Chailly conducting the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Rendering is scored for
two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, three
trombones, celeste and strings. Approximate performance time is thirty-four
minutes.
These are the first ASO Classical Subscription Performances.
The Schubert “Tenth”
In the final months of his tragically brief life, Franz Schubert began sketches for a new
Symphony, in three movements. Schubert was unable to complete the Symphony before
his death on November 19, 1828, at the age of 31. The sketches for Schubert’s “Tenth
Symphony” were discovered in the last quarter of the 20th century, and assigned the
catalogue No. 936A.
Schubert scholar and biographer, Brian Newbould (b. 1936) used the sketches to create a
performing version of the Schubert 10th. In his notes for a Hyperion recording by the
Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Sir Charles Mackerras (CDA67000), Prof. Newbould
describes the state of Schubert’s sketches:
(T)he ‘Tenth’ comes to us in a piano score with sparse indications of
instrumentation…there are barely two dozen such markings, some of them
‘Or.” (for Orchester), ‘Bl.’ (for Bläser=wind), or ‘Tutti’ (all). At one
point Schubert calls for ‘Tromboni’: thus it is clear that the work requires
the enlarged Romantic orchestra of the ‘Unfinished’ (8th) and ‘Great’ (9th
Symphonies).
Prof. Newbould orchestrated Schubert’s sketches, connecting them with music of his own
creation in Schubert’s style, thereby creating a complete performing version of the
“Tenth” (in addition to the above Hyperion recording, there is one on the Newton
Classics label, with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, conducted by Sir Neville
Marriner, 8802033 6CD).
Berio’s Rendering
In his Rendering, the contemporary Italian composer, Luciano Berio, took a far different,
but compelling approach. Berio composed Rendering for Amsterdam’s Royal
Concertgebouw Orchestra, and dedicated the work to its chief conductor, Riccardo
Chailly. Maestro Chailly and the Concertgebouw gave the premiere of the complete
work on April 19, 1990.
Luciano Berio provided the following commentary on Rendering:
During the last few weeks of his life, Franz Schubert created many
sketches in preparation for a Tenth Symphony in D major (D 936 A).
These sketches are fairly complex and of great beauty: they add a further
indication of the new paths that were taking Schubert away from
Beethoven’s influence. Rendering with its dual authorship is intended as a
restoration of these sketches, it is not a completion nor a reconstruction.
This restoration is made along the lines of the modern restoration of
frescoes that aims at reviving the old colours without however trying to
disguise the damage that time has caused, often leaving inevitable empty
patches in the composition (for instance as in the case of Giotto in Assisi).
As it can be seen, the sketches as left by Schubert in an almost pianistic
form bear occasional instrumental indications, but are at times almost
written in shorthand and had to be completed above all in the internal and
bass parts. The orchestration follows that of the Unfinished, and whilst
the obvious Schubert colour has been preserved there are brief episodes in
the musical development which seem to lean towards Mendelssohn and
the orchestration naturally reflects this. Furthermore the expressive
climate of the second movement is stunning: it seems inhabited by
Mahler’s spirit.
In the empty places between one sketch and the next there is a kind of
connective tissue which is constantly different and changing, always
“pianissimo” and “distant”, intermingled with reminiscences of late
Schubert (the Piano Sonata in B flat, the Piano Trio in B flat etc.) and
crossed by polyphonic textures based on fragments of the same sketches.
This musical “cement” comments on the discontinuities and the gaps that
exist between one sketch and another and is always announced by the
sound of a celesta, and must be performed “quasi senza suono” (“almost
without sound”) and without expression.
During his last days Schubert took lessons in counterpoint, manuscript
paper was expensive and it was perhaps for this reason that amongst the
sketches for the Tenth Symphony there is a brief and elementary
counterpoint exercise (a canon in contrary motion). This too has been
orchestrated and integrated into the Andante.
The final Allegro is equally impressive and certainly the most polyphonic
orchestral movement Schubert ever wrote. These last sketches, although
very fragmentary, are of great homogeneity and they show Schubert in the
process of testing different contrapuntal possibilities for one and the same
thematic material. These sketches alternatively present the character of a
Scherzo and a Finale. This ambiguity (which Schubert would have solved
or exasperated in some new way) was of particular interest and the
“cement-work” here aims amongst other things at making that ambiguity
structurally expressive.
The demarcation between Schubert and Berio’s respective contributions to Rendering
will be immediately apparent to the listener. The contrast of the two is a poignant
reminder of what the music world lost with Schubert’s untimely passing. While listening
to Berio’s heartfelt tribute, we are constantly reminded of Franz Grillparzer’s inscription
on Franz Schubert’s monument: “The art of music here entombed a rich possession, but
even fairer hopes.”
I. Allegro
II. (Andante)
III. (Allegro)
Overture to Guillaume Tell (1829)
Gioachino Rossini was born in Pesaro, Italy, on February 29, 1792, and died in
Passy, France, on November 13, 1868. The first performance of Guillaume Tell took
place at the Opéra in Paris, France, on August 3, 1829. The Overture to Guillaume
Tell is scored for piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, English horn, two clarinets, two
bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, triangle, bass drum,
cymbals and strings. Approximate performance time is twelve minutes.
First ASO Classical Subscription Performances: March 11, 12 and 14, 1971, James
Levine, Conductor.
Most Recent ASO Classical Subscription Performances: January 23, 24 and 25,
1992, Yoel Levi, Conductor.
ASO Recording: Telarc CD-80334, Yoel Levi, Conductor.
Gioachino Rossini’s final opera, Guillaume Tell, is based upon Friedrich Schiller’s play,
Wilhelm Tell. Guillaume Tell takes place in 14th-century Switzerland, and relates the
story of the Swiss victory over their Habsburg oppressors. With its epic length, spectacle
and ballet, Guillaume Tell is in the tradition of French Grand Opera. Rossini provided
music of extraordinary power and eloquence, departing from the early 19th-century bel
canto practices that had often featured vocal display at the expense of drama.
In fact, Guillaume Tell earned the praise of such demanding and revolutionary musical
dramatists as Hector Berlioz and Richard Wagner. Berlioz deemed Guillaume Tell
“seriously thought out, considered at leisure, and conscientiously executed from
beginning to end.” Wagner particularly admired the title character’s eloquent third-act
aria, “Sois immobile.” During an 1860 meeting, Wagner told Rossini the aria “reached
the highest summits of lyric expression.” Rossini replied: “So I made music of the future
without knowing it.” To which Wagner responded: “There, Maestro, you made music for
all times, and that is the best.”
Guillaume Tell premiered at the Paris Opéra on August 3, 1829. Rossini was thirty-seven
and would live another thirty-nine years. Yet, he composed no operas after Guillaume
Tell. Between 1812 and 1829, Rossini composed thirty-nine operas, and the years of
hard labor had taken a tremendous toll on his physical and emotional health. Rossini
spent the remainder of his life enjoying the company of friends, and composing many
salon pieces he affectionately referred to as “Sins of My Old Age.” In an 1866 letter to
composer Giovanni Pacini, Rossini expressed no regrets about his abrupt retirement from
opera: “such a presentiment is not given to everyone; God granted it to me and I bless
him for it every hour.”
The famous Overture to Guillaume Tell begins with an extended slow introduction
(Andante) that features a magical combination of five solo cellos. The rustlings of the
strings and winds (Allegro) are prelude to a storm sequence of tremendous power. After
the storm abates, the English horn, in tandem with the flute, offers a ranz des vaches, the
traditional call of the Swiss herdsman to his cattle (Andante). Trumpet fanfares launch
the triumphant final section (Allegro vivace). The music, known (perhaps all too well)
for its association with the 1950s television series The Lone Ranger, still generates
tremendous excitement on its own terms.