Download Concerts of Thursday, February 6, 2014, at 8:00p

Concerts of Thursday, February 6, 2014, at 8:00p, and Saturday, February 8, 2014,
at 7:30p
James Feddeck, Conductor
Augustin Hadelich, Violin
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Symphony No. 3 in D Major, D. 200 (1815)
I. Adagio maestoso; Allegro con brio
II. Allegretto
III. Menuetto
IV. Presto vivace
Nicolò Paganini (1782-1840)
Concerto No. 1 in D Major for Violin and Orchestra, Opus 6 (1816)
I. Allegro maestoso (Cadenza by Mr. Hadelich)
II. Adagio espressivo
III. Rondo. Allegro spiritoso
Augustin Hadelich, Violin
Intermission
Edward Elgar (1857-1934)
Variations on an Original Theme, Opus 36, “Enigma” (1899)
Andante
I. (C.A.E.) L'istesso tempo
II. (H.D.S-P.) Allegro
III. (R.B.T.) Allegretto
IV. (W.M.B.) Allegro di molto
V. (R.P.A.) Moderato
VI. (Ysobel) Andantino
VII. (Troyte) Presto
VIII. (W.N.) Allegretto
IX. (Nimrod) Adagio
X. (Dorabella) Intermezzo. Allegretto
XI. (G.R.S.) Allegro di molto
XII. (B.G.N.) Andante
XIII. (***) Romanza. Moderato
XIV. (E.D.U.) Finale. Allegro
Notes on the Program by Ken Meltzer
Symphony No. 3 in D Major, D. 200 (1815)
Franz Schubert was born in Vienna, Austria, on January 31, 1797, and died there
on November 19, 1828. The first public performance of the Symphony No. 3 took
place at the Crystal Palace in London, England, on February 19, 1881, with August
Friedrich Manns conducting. The Symphony No. 3 is scored for two flutes, two
oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani and strings.
Approximate performance time is twenty-five minutes.
First ASO Classical Subscription Performance: April 4, 1968, Robert Shaw,
Conductor.
Most Recent ASO Classical Subscription Performances: April 30, May 2 and 3,
2009, Itzhak Perlman, Conductor.
“This little gang bothered me so terribly”
In August of 1814, Franz Schubert completed his ten-month teacher training course at the
Normalhauptschule in Vienna. Shortly thereafter, Schubert, 17 years of age, began
employment as sixth assistant master at his father’s Säulengasse school.
Schubert was given special responsibility for the school’s youngest pupils. The small,
overcrowded facilities at the Säulengasse were far from ideal. Schubert, who preferred to
devote his time to music, resented the imposition placed upon him by his official duties.
Not surprisingly, Schubert approached teaching with less than total enthusiasm. As he
later admitted to his friend, composer Franz Lachner: “It’s true; whenever I composed,
this little gang bothered me so terribly, that I couldn’t keep my mind on what I was
doing.”
A remarkable year
Nevertheless, the year 1815 proved to be an extraordinarily productive one for Franz
Schubert, the composer. Works from that year include four operas, the completion of his
Symphony No. 2, the entire Symphony No. 3, a string quartet, nine compositions for solo
piano, numerous sacred works for chorus and orchestra, as well as approximately 140
songs, including such masterpieces as Heidenröslein and Erlkönig. Schubert biographer
Brian Newbould (Schubert: The Music and the Man, University of California Press,
1997) offered this perspective on the composer’s prolific 1815 output:
Schubert composed about 21,850 bars of music in this one year, of which
11,072 involved an orchestra. (It will be appreciated that orchestration
adds an extra layer to the conceptual process of composing as well as
adding significantly to the time needed to write out a score.) Averaged out
over the calendar year of 52 weeks, this amounts to an output of 420 bars a
week, of which 213 bars involve an orchestra. This would mean that
Schubert produced, in each week of 1815, the equivalent of the slow
movement of the Third Symphony, the Gloria of the Mass in G; the slow
movement of the E major Piano Sonata, D. 157; the partsong Trinklied
(Drinking Song) for TTBB and piano, D. 267; Erster Verlust (First Loss);
Heidenröslein (The Wild Rose); (and) Sehnsucht (Longing), D. 310.
Schubert began composition of his Symphony No. 3 on May 24, 1815, and completed the
work on July 19 of that same year. There is no record of a public performance of the
Symphony during Schubert’s lifetime. In all likelihood, Schubert and his friends played
the work at one or more of their private musical gatherings in Vienna.
In 1860, Viennese court composer Johann Herbeck conducted one movement of the
Schubert Third at a concert of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde (Five years later,
Herbeck conducted the world premiere of Schubert’s Symphony No. 8, the
“Unfinished”). The first public performance of the entire Third Symphony took place at
the London Crystal Palace on February 19, 1881, under the direction of August Manns.
The Third remains one of Schubert’s lesser-performed Symphonies. That fact, however,
does not diminish the work’s considerable merits. The Third Symphony’s glowing
lyricism, abundant charm—and, in the finale, captivating élan—make performances a
rare, but considerable, pleasure.
Musical Analysis
I. Adagio maestoso; Allegro con brio—The Symphony begins with a somber introduction
(Adagio maestoso), featuring dialogues between the winds and the strings. The clarinet
introduces the Allegro con brio’s jaunty, initial theme. After a vigorous orchestral tutti,
and a brief pause, the oboe plays the second principal theme, incorporating the dotted
rhythm of its predecessor. The mysterious development section also prominently features
the seminal dotted rhythm. The clarinet inaugurates the recapitulation of the principal
themes. A vibrant coda brings the opening movement to a forceful conclusion.
II. Allegretto—The second movement is in A—B—A form. The first violins softly
intone the movement’s staccato opening theme. The clarinet introduces the flowing
second theme. After a brief pause, the first violins repeat the opening section, and the
Allegretto proceeds to a pianissimo close.
III. Menuetto. Vivace—The strong accents and marked dynamic contrasts lend a
decidedly rustic atmosphere to this Menuetto (Minuet). The central Trio features a
charming duet for the oboe and bassoon, accompanied by the strings. The third
movement concludes with a reprise of the Minuet.
IV. Presto vivace—The finale is modeled upon a vigorous Italian dance, known as the
tarantella (Another famous example of the tarantella is Gioachino Rossini’s song, La
danza). The first violins softly introduce the skipping, principal melody, which continues
to gather momentum. The second theme is in the form of a dialogue for winds and
strings. The exposition’s closing section ingeniously combines elements of both themes.
The brief development is based upon the second theme’s repeated four-note pattern. The
violins initiate the recapitulation with a restatement of the opening theme. The high
spirits continue to the finale’s mercurial conclusion.
Concerto No. 1 for Violin and Orchestra in D Major, Opus 6 (ca. 1817)
Nicolò Paganini was born in Genoa, Italy, on October 27, 1782, and died in Nice,
France, on May 27, 1840. In addition to the solo violin, the Concerto No. 1 is scored
for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, bassoon, contrabassoon, two horns, two
trumpets, three trombones, timpani, bass drum, cymbals, suspended cymbal and
strings. Approximate performance time is thirty-three minutes.
First ASO Classical Subscription Performances: January 26, 27 and 28, 1978,
Eugene Fodor, Violin, Hiroyuki Iwaki, Conductor.
Most Recent ASO Classical Subscription Performances: January 24, 25 and 26,
2002, Yang Liu, Violin, Federico Cortese, Conductor.
The Italian violinist Nicolò Paganini was one of the greatest and most charismatic
virtuosos of all time. Paganini’s haunting stage presence, coupled with his total
command of such spellbinding techniques as rapid arpeggios, left-hand pizzicatos,
multiple-stopping and “ricochet” bowings repeatedly drove audiences into a frenzy. But
Paganini moved his audiences as much with eloquence as pyrotechnics. Franz Schubert
once remarked with glowing admiration: “In Paganini’s Adagio I heard an angel sing.”
Paganini was as much a master of self-promotion as he was of the violin. Well before the
age of the intense marketing efforts that attend many of the superstars in today's music
industry, Paganini understood the value of publicity, particularly of the sensational
variety. Paganini did little to stifle incredible rumors that he learned to play the violin on
a single-stringed instrument while serving a prison sentence for murder, or that his
incomparable talents resulted from a pact with the devil. In fact, Paganini encouraged
these and other stories at every turn. The violinist’s shoulder-length hair and gaunt figure
attired in black only served to reinforce the diabolical imagery.
One of the works Paganini used to dazzle his audiences was his Violin Concerto No. 1 in
D Major, Opus 6. Typical of Paganini’s compositions, the First Violin Concerto
exploited his unique talents at every turn. While there are of course numerous episodes
of sheer (and thrilling) virtuoso display, there are also moments that allowed Paganini to
sing like the “angel” Franz Schubert heard.
Musical Analysis
I. Allegro maestoso—After a brief fortissimo fanfare, the orchestra presents an extended
introduction of the opening movement’s principal themes. From the moment of his
entrance to the movement’s conclusion, the soloist remains center stage, with music that
alternates between daredevil passages and haunting lyricism. During the development
section, the soloist assumes the role of an opera star, performing a dramatically-charged
scena. The movement concludes with a solo cadenza, leading to the dashing final bars.
II. Adagio—The distinguished German music critic Ludwig Rellstab offered this
recollection of Paganini:
The Adagio of his Concerto is so simple that a student could play it
without difficulty—it is a simple, melancholy air…Never in my life have I
heard such weeping. It was if the lacerated heart of this suffering Mortal
had been turned over in his breast and were pouring out its agonies to
us…I had never known that there existed such tones in music. He spoke,
he wept, he sang, and all the virtuosity is nothing in comparison with this
Adagio.
After a somber, forceful orchestral introduction, the soloist enters with the B-minor
Adagio’s searing principal melody, marked con espressione. In the final measures, the
soloist’s pleas (con passione) conclude with a fortissimo outburst.
III. Rondo. Allegro spiritoso—The finale, in the home key of D Major, opens with
pizzicato strings accompanying the soloist’s introduction of the skipping, wide-ranging
principal theme. This recurring melody serves as the basis for a non-stop series of
virtuoso flights by the soloist. The soloist and orchestra join forces for the triumphant
final bars.
Variations on an Original Theme, Opus 36, “Enigma” (1899)
Sir Edward Elgar was born in Broadheath, England, on June 2, 1857, and died in
Worcester, England, on February 23, 1934. The first performance of the “Enigma”
Variations took place at St. James’s Hall in London, England, on June 19, 1899,
with Hans Richter conducting. The “Enigma” variations are scored for piccolo, two
flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, three
trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani (two players), snare drum, triangle,
cymbals, suspended cymbal, bass drum, organ and strings. Approximate
performance time is thirty-one minutes.
First ASO Classical Subscription Performance: April 1, 1952, Henry Sopkin,
Conductor.
Most Recent ASO Classical Subscription Performances: April 5, 6 and 7, 2001,
Jeffrey Tate, Conductor.
The premiere of Edward Elgar’s “Enigma” Variations took place at St. James’s Hall in
London on June 19, 1899. After the premiere, conductor Hans Richter called Elgar to the
stage to acknowledge the audience’s enthusiastic reception. On June 23, Elgar’s mother
proudly wrote to the composer’s wife: “What can I say to him, the dear one, I feel that he
is some great historic person—I cannot claim a little bit of him now he belongs to the big
world.”
The word “Enigma” is found in the score above the introduction of the principal theme.
In correspondence to Charles Barry, program annotator for the “Enigma’s” premiere
concert, Elgar admitted:
It is true that I have sketched for their amusement and mine, the
idiosyncrasies of fourteen of my friends, not necessarily musicians; but
this is a personal matter and need not have been mentioned publicly.
The Enigma I will not explain—its “dark saying” must be left unguessed,
and I warn you that the apparent connection between the Variations and
the Theme is often of the slightest texture; further, through and over the
whole set another and larger theme “goes,” but is not played...So the
principal Theme never appears, even as in some late dramas...the chief
character is never on the stage.
These comments have inspired musical sleuths over the past century to try to uncover
Elgar’s mystery “principal Theme.” In a 1911 commentary, Elgar suggested that the
“enigma” revolves not around some hidden melody, but the manipulation and
development of the theme that is clearly presented at the opening of the piece: “This
work, commenced in a spirit of humour and continued in deep seriousness, contains
sketches of the composer’s friends. It may be understood that these personages comment
or reflect upon the original theme and each one attempts a solution of the Enigma, for so
the theme is called.”
All of this intrigue and conjecture have never obscured the “Enigma” Variations as a
brilliantly crafted and often moving work, a testament to Elgar’s considerable gifts at the
service of the beloved friends who inspired him.
Musical Analysis
Andante—In the seventeen-bar introduction, the strings, followed by the winds, present
the various elements of the haunting principal theme.
I. (C.A.E.) L'istesso tempo—The composer’s loving tribute to his wife, Caroline Alice
Elgar. The oboes and bassoons play a four-note motif Elgar always whistled upon
returning home.
II. (H.D.S-P.) Allegro—Hew David Steuart-Powell was an amateur pianist who,
according to Elgar, would begin each session with “a characteristic diatonic run over the
keys.”
III. (R.B.T.) Allegretto—Richard Baxter Townshend was an author and amateur actor
who regaled audiences with his ability to instantly shift his vocal range from the deepest
basso profundo to the highest soprano.
IV. (W.M.B.) Allegro di molto—The shortest of the Variations depicts William Meath
Baker, lord of Hatsfield Court and R.B.T.’s brother-in-law, informing his guests of
arrangements he made for their transportation and then quickly leaving the room, “with a
bang on the door.”
V. (R.P.A.) Moderato—Richard Penrose Arnold was the son of poet Matthew Arnold.
Elgar delighted in the fact that Arnold’s “serious conversation was continually broken up
by whimsical and witty remarks.”
VI. (Ysobel) Andantino—Isabel Fitton studied viola with Elgar. That instrument is
prominently featured in this variation.
VII. (Troyte) Presto—Arthur Troyte Griffith was an architect and amateur painter. It
seems that this stormy variation, with its thundering timpani, represents only one aspect
of his character.
VIII. (W.N.) Allegretto—Winifred Norbury served with Elgar as joint secretary of the
Worcestershire Philharmonic Society. Elgar claimed that this genial variation was a
portrait of Winifred’s country home, but the playful wind interjections offer “a little
suggestion of a characteristic laugh.”
IX. (Nimrod) Adagio—“Nimrod” is Elgar’s depiction of his friend, August Jaeger
(“jaeger” in German means “hunter,” thus the reference to Nimrod, the biblical hunter).
This glorious Adagio is the composer’s fond recollection of “a long summer evening talk,
when my friend grew nobly eloquent (as only he could) on the grandeur of Beethoven,
and especially his slow movements.”
X. (Dorabella) Intermezzo. Allegretto—Dora Penny was W.M.B.’s step-niece whom
Elgar nicknamed “Dorabella,” after a character in Mozart's opera, Cosi fan tutte. Both
Dora Penny’s love of dance and her slight stammer are depicted in this fetching
Intermezzo.
XI. (G.R.S.) Allegro di molto—George Robertson Sinclair was the organist at Hereford
Cathedral. According to Elgar, this section is a portrait not of Sinclair. Rather, the music
depicts Sinclair’s bulldog, Dan, plunging into the river, vigorously swimming to shore
and finally landing with a “rejoicing bark.”
XII. (B.G.N.) Andante—Basil G. Nevinson was an amateur cellist who often played
chamber music with Elgar. The Variation begins and ends with a plaintive cello solo.
XIII. (***) Romanza. Moderato—The penultimate Variation is inspired by Lady Mary
Lygon. During composition of the “Enigma” Variations, Elgar learned his friend would
soon embark upon a voyage to Australia. Over undulating strings, a solo clarinet plays a
descending phrase—a quote from Mendelssohn’s Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage
Overture.
XIV. (E.D.U.) Finale. Allegro—Finally, the composer himself appears (“E.D.U.” is
derived from “Edoo,” Lady Elgar’s nickname for her husband). Elgar recalled he created
this section, “at a time when friends were dubious and generally discouraging about the
composer’s musical future.” However, there is no lack of self-confidence in the swagger
of this Finale. Echoes of previous variations return—notably “C.A.E.” and “Nimrod”—
leading to the grand final measures.