Download Scheherezade! and Leon Fleisher plays Ravel Feb

Scheherezade! and Leon Fleisher plays Ravel
Feb. 7-9, 2014
Michael Stern, Music Director
Leon Fleisher, Piano
Bernstein
Symphonic Suite from On the Waterfront (1955)
Ravel
Piano Concerto in D Major for the Left Hand (1930)
Leon Fleisher, Piano
Intermission
Rimsky-Korsakov
Scheherazade, op. 35 (1888)
I. The Sea and Sinbad's Ship
II. The Story of the Kalendar Prince
III. The Young Prince and the Young Princess
IV. The Festival of Baghdad—The Sea—The Ship Goes to Pieces Against a Rock
Surmounted by a Bronze Warrior—Fest in Baghdad
Notes on the Program by Ken Meltzer
Concert Overview
Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)
Symphonic Suite from On the Waterfront (1955) 23 minutes
Piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, E-flat clarinet, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, alto saxophone, 2
bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani (two
players), snare drum, bass drum, tuned drum, tam-tam, cymbals, wood block,
triangle, glockenspiel, xylophone, vibraphone, chimes, harp, piano and strings.
•
•
Leonard Bernstein composed his only film score for the 1954 Elia Kazan movie,
starring Marlon Brando.
In 1955, Bernstein created a Symphonic Suite “to salvage some of the music that
would otherwise have been left on the floor of the dubbing-room.” It remains one
of Bernstein’s most performed concert works.
Leonard Bernstein composed his only film score for the 1954 movie “On the Waterfront.”
Written by Budd Schulberg and directed by Elia Kazan, “On the Waterfront” starred
Marlon Brando, Lee J. Cobb, Karl Malden, Rod Steiger and Eva Marie Saint. The
powerful tale of corruption and oppression of workers on the New York waterfront
earned eight Oscar Awards.
In 1955, Bernstein fashioned a Symphonic Suite of music he wrote for the film: “to
salvage some of the music that would otherwise have been left on the floor of the
dubbing-room.” Bernstein dedicated the score “For my son, Alexander,” born on July 7.
On Aug. 11, 1955 in Tanglewood, Bernstein led the Boston Symphony Orchestra in the
premiere of the Symphonic Suite from “On the Waterfront.” It remains one of Bernstein’s
most performed concert works.
Andante (with dignity)—Presto barbaro
Adagio—Allegro molto agitato—Alla breve (Poco più mosso)—Presto come prima
Andante largamente—More flowing—Still more flowing—Poco meno mosso—Lento
Moving forward, with warmth—Largamente—a tempo—Calmato—Andante come
prima—sempre avanti, with intensity—Ancora più mosso
Allegro non troppo, molto marcato—Poco più sostenuto—Moving forward—Meno mosso
a tempo
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Piano Concerto in D Major for the Left Hand (1930) 19 minutes
Piccolo, 3 flutes, 2 oboes, English Horn, E-Flat clarinet, 2 clarinets in A and
B-Flat, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3
trombones, tuba, timpani, triangle, side drum, cymbals, bass drum, wood
block, tam-tam, harp and strings.
•
The young Austrian pianist Paul Wittgenstein lost his right arm while fighting on
the Russian front during WWI.
•
•
Rather than abandon his career as a concert pianist, Wittgenstein commissioned
several prominent composers, including Maurice Ravel, to concertos for left hand.
Ravel’s Piano Concerto for the Left Hand is in a single movement, with four
contrasting sections. The remarkable piano writing (including two extended solo
cadenzas) creates the impression that the music is being performed by two hands,
and sometimes more!
Paul Wittgenstein (1887-1961), brother of philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, was a
member of an affluent Viennese family. Paul Wittgenstein made his professional debut as
a concert pianist in December of 1913. A promising career was interrupted by World War
I, and seemed to come to an early and tragic end when Wittgenstein lost his right arm
while serving as a soldier on the Russian front.
After this horrific turn of events, Wittgenstein arranged several solo pieces for left hand
that he played in concerts throughout Europe, the United States and the Near East.
Wittgenstein also commissioned piano concertos from such prominent composers as
Richard Strauss, Paul Hindemith, Sergei Prokofiev, Benjamin Britten, and Maurice Ravel.
Wittgenstein was the soloist in the premiere of the Concerto for the Left Hand, which
took place in Vienna on Nov. 27, 1931. From the time of the first performance, critics
have marveled at how the Concerto sounds as if it is indeed written for performance by
two hands. At the Paris premiere, critic Henry Prunières marveled that at times, the
Concerto seemed to be a work scored for piano duet! Of course, the illusion is due in
great part to Ravel’s mastery of instrumental colors. But it must also be acknowledged
that a piano virtuoso of the highest order is required for the Concerto to weave its magical
spell. For in truth, Ravel often requires the left hand to perform the work of two (if not
four).
Ravel’s Piano Concerto for the Left Hand is in a single movement, featuring various
contrasting sections. The opening section (Lento) includes the first of two lengthy solo
cadenzas, during which the Concerto’s principal theme is introduced. Another slowtempo section (Andante) gathers momentum and leads headlong into the central jazzoriented portion (Allegro). The final section (Tempo 1o) includes the second extended
solo cadenza, which, in turn, leads to a final outburst by the soloist and orchestra.
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908)
Scheherazade, op. 35 (1888) 42 minutes
2 piccolos, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2
trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, cymbals, suspended cymbals,
snare drum, triangle, tambourine, tam-tam, harp and strings.
•
•
Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade is based upon the
fantastic collection of tales known as The Arabian Nights, or A Thousand and One
Nights.
The Sultana Scheherazade saves her life by entrancing the Sultan with a series of
remarkable tales. In Rimsky-Korsakov’s orchestral work, a solo violin is the voice
of Scheherazade.
•
Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade is in four brilliantly-orchestrated movements,
each representing one of the Sultana’s tales.
The fantastic collection of tales known as The Arabian Nights, or A Thousand and One
Nights, has captivated readers for centuries. The ancient stories, mostly of Arabic, Indian
or Persian origin, were first presented to European readers in an early 18th-century
French translation by Antoine Galland. In the late 19th century, British explorer Sir
Francis Richard Burton created a popular English-language version. To this day, such
tales as “The History of Aladdin, or the Wonderful Lamp,” “The History of Sinbad the
Sailor,” and “The History of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves,” continue to weave their
magical spell.
Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov created his Scheherazade, Symphonic Suite
after “A Thousand and One Nights,” in the summer of 1888. During that same period,
Rimsky-Korsakov also completed his brilliant Russian Easter Overture, op. 36. The
composer proudly acknowledged, “my orchestration had achieved a considerable degree
of virtuosity and bright sonority.”
Rimsky-Korsakov conducted the first performance of Scheherazade in St. Petersburg on
Nov. 3, 1888.
As a preface to his score, Rimsky-Korsakov provided the following program for
Scheherazade:
The Sultan Schahriar, convinced of the perfidy and faithlessness of women,
vowed to execute each of his wives after the first night. But the Sultana
Scheherazade saved her own life by interesting him in the tales she told
him through 1001 nights. Impelled by curiosity, the Sultan continually put
off her execution, and at last entirely abandoned his sanguinary resolve.
Many marvels did Scheherazade relate to him, citing the verses of poets
and the words of songs, weaving tale into tale and story into story.
Throughout the work, a solo violin represents Scheherazade bewitching the Sultan with
her intoxicating tales. The work is in four movements, each with a descriptive title.
I. The Sea and Sinbad's Ship
II. The Story of the Kalendar Prince
III. The Young Prince and the Young Princess
IV. The Festival of Baghdad—The Sea—The Ship Goes to Pieces Against a Rock
Surmounted by a Bronze Warrior—Fest in Baghdad