Download Joshua Bell, plus Bartók`s Concerto for Orchestra March 7

Joshua Bell, plus Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra
March 7-9, 2014
Michael Stern, music director
Joshua Bell, violin
Schoenberg (b. 1980)
American Symphony (2011, rev. 2013) 25 minutes
I. fanfare
II. white on blue
III. rondo
IV. prayer
V. stars, stripes, and celebration
Lalo (1823-1892)
Symphonie espagnole, for Violin and Orchestra, op. 21 (1874) 33 minutes
I. Allegro non troppo
II. Scherzando. Allegro molto
III. Intermezzo. Allegretto non troppo
IV. Andante
V. Rondo. Allegro
Joshua Bell, Violin
Intermission
Bartók (1881-1945)
Concerto for Orchestra (1943) 36 minutes
I. Introduzione. Andante non troppo; Allegro vivace
II. Giuoco delle coppie. Allegretto scherzando
III. Elegia. Andante, non troppo
IV. Intermezzo interrotto. Allegretto
IV. Finale. Pesante; Presto
Notes on the Program by Ken Meltzer
Concert Overview
Adam Schoenberg (b. 1980)
American Symphony (2011, rev. 2013) 25 minutes
Piccolo, 3 flutes, 3 oboes, English horn, 3 clarinets, E-flat clarinet, bass clarinet, 3
bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, piccolo trumpet, 2 trombones, bass
trombone, tuba, timpani, crotales, glockenspiel, xylophone, vibraphone, marimba,
four tom-toms (one set, high, medium, low and bass), snare drum, bass drum, conga,
bongo, tambourine, 5 temple blocks, hi-hat, sizzle cymbal, large suspended cymbal,
crash cymbal, tam-tam, small triangle, bell tree, waterphone, ratchet, guiro,
maracas, claves, harp, piano, celeste and strings.
• Adam Schoenberg’s American Symphony was commissioned and premiered by the
Kansas City Symphony and Music Director Michael Stern.
• Mr. Schoenberg notes that his American Symphony “was inspired by the 2008
presidential election, where both parties asked the people to embrace change and make a
difference.”
• The American Symphony is in five movements; fanfare, white on blue, rondo, prayer
and stars, stripes, and celebrations.
Adam Schoenberg’s American Symphony was commissioned by The Kansas City
Symphony and Music Director Michael Stern, under a grant from the Miller Nichols
Charitable Foundation, Kansas City, Missouri. Maestro Stern and the Kansas City
Symphony performed American Symphony’s world premiere at the Lyric Theater on
March 4, 2011.
Mr. Schoenberg notes that his American Symphony “was inspired by the 2008
presidential election, where both parties asked the people to embrace change and make a
difference.” He adds: “While not a patriotic work, the symphony reflects a respect and
responsibility for the great potential of our nation and a hunger to effect positive change.
It is about our collective ability to restore hope within ourselves and our neighbors, both
here and around the world.”
The American Symphony is in five movements. The first is a fanfare. The second, white
on blue, “is conceived as an atmospheric journey” and “marks the start of the
symphony’s emotional journey.” The third movement is a rondo, “influenced by
electronica.” The fourth movement, prayer, “pays homage to great American composers
such as Barber and Gershwin.” The finale, the longest of the symphony’s five movements,
“is essentially conceived in three larger sections: Stars, Stripes, and Celebration.” “The
symphony ends suspended in mid air to remind us that even though we are making
positive strides to being a better America, we are still searching.”
Édouard Lalo (1823-1892)
Symphonie espagnole, for Violin and Orchestra, op. 21 (1874) 33 minutes
Piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones,
timpani, percussion, harp and strings.
• French composer wrote his Symphonie espagnole for the great Spanish violinist, Pablo
de Sarasate.
• The work, in five movements, combines elements of both a symphony and virtuoso
showpiece for violin, all with a decidedly Spanish flavor.
French composer Édouard Lalo composed both his Violin Concerto, op. 20 (1873), and
Symphonie espagnole for the great Spanish virtuoso, Pablo de Sarasate (1844-1908). The
son of a military bandmaster in Pamplona, Sarasate quickly demonstrated extraordinary
musical talents. With the assistance of Queen Isabella, who provided financial aid and a
1724 Stradivari violin, Sarasate commenced studies at the Paris Conservatoire by the age
of 12. Within a few years, he established himself as a violinist of international repute.
Pablo de Sarasate’s playing was notable for its warm tone (observers noted a broader
application of vibrato than had previously been customary), impeccable technique, and
patrician musicianship. Sarasate’s extraordinary artistry also inspired many great
composers to write works for him. Sarasate, too, was an accomplished composer who
fashioned many works he played to rapturous acclaim in his legendary concerts.
Sarasate was the soloist in the world premiere of the Symphonie espagnole, which took
place in Paris on Feb. 7, 1875. A month later, another Spanish-inspired masterpiece by a
French composer had its premiere in Paris—George Bizet’s opera, Carmen.
Like Sarasate, Lalo was an accomplished violinist of Spanish descent. In the Symphonie
espagnole, Lalo created a work that combines elements of both a symphony and virtuoso
showpiece for violin, all with a decidedly Spanish flavor.
I. Allegro non troppo
II. Scherzando. Allegro molto
III. Intermezzo. Allegretto non troppo
IV. Andante
V. Rondo. Allegro
Béla Bartók (1881-1945)
Concerto for Orchestra (1943) 36 minutes
Piccolo, 3 flutes, 3 oboes, English horn, 3 clarinets, bass clarinet, 3 bassoons,
contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, two
harps, and strings.
• Hungarian composer Béla Bartók wrote his Concerto for Orchestra during one of the
darkest periods in his life.
• Nevertheless, the Concerto (in five movements) is a brilliant, and ultimately optimistic
work that, according to Bartók, treats “the single instruments or instrument groups in a
“concertant” or soloistic manner.”
Béla Bartók composed his Concerto for Orchestra during one of the darkest periods in
the Hungarian composer’s life. In October of 1940, Bartók and his wife left Hungary to
escape the Nazis. When Bartók settled in New York, he struggled to find work. As his
health deteriorated, Bartók labored to fulfill the few assignments he received. In 1941,
Bartók wrote to his friend, conductor Paul Sacher: “I have lost all my faith in men and
nations, everything...”
In 1943, Serge Koussevitsky, conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, paid Bartók
a surprise visit at his New York hospital room. Koussevitsky offered Bartók a
commission to write a new orchestral work. Koussevitsky’s visit seemed to rejuvenate
the gravely-ill composer. Bartók worked on his Concerto for Orchestra “practically night
and day” during a period from Aug. 15 to Oct. 8, 1943, while staying at a private
sanatorium in Lake Saranac, New York.
Serge Koussevitsky and the Boston Symphony Orchestra presented the triumphant world
premiere of Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra at Symphony Hall on Dec. 1, 1944. Bartók
died the following year.
Bartók offered the following general description of his Concerto for Orchestra for
the 1944 premiere:
The title of this symphony-like orchestral work is explained by its tendency
to treat the single instruments or instrument groups in a “concertant” or
soloistic manner. The “virtuoso” treatment appears, for instance, in the
fugato section of the first movement (brass instruments), or in the
“perpetuum mobile”-like passage of the principal theme in the last
movement (strings), and, especially, in the second movement, in which
pairs of instruments consecutively appear with brilliant passages.
The Concerto for Orchestra is in five movements. The first opens with a brooding
Introduction (Andante non troppo), leading to the energetic principal Allegro vivace. The
second movement, Giuoco delle coppie. Allegretto scherzando, a sprightly “game of
pairs,” features a series of passages for groups of two instruments. The third movement
Elegy (Andante, non troppo) is, according to the composer, a “lugubrious death-song.”
The fourth-movement Intermezzo interrotto (Interrupted Intermezzo) includes an
unwelcome appearance of Dmitri Shostakovich’s “Leningrad” Symphony (1941), a work
Bartók detested. Bartók both parodies and obliterates the “Leningrad” before resuming
the Intermezzo. The Concerto for Orchestra concludes with a breathtaking Finale
(Pesante; Presto).