Download Notes Atlanta SO - Atlanta Symphony Orchestra

Concert of Sunday, November 6, 2016, at 3:00p
Joseph Young, Conductor
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)
Pohjola’s Daughter, Symphonic Fantasy, Opus 49 (1906)
Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)
West Side Story, Selections for Orchestra (1957) (arr. Mason)
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
Pohjola’s Daughter, Symphonic Fantasy, Opus 49 (1906)
Jean Sibelius was born in Tavastehus, Finland, on December 8, 1865, and died in
Järvenpää, Finland, on September 20, 1957. The first performance of Pohjola’s
Daughter took place at in St. Petersburg, Russia, on December 29, 1906, with the
composer conducting the Maryinsky Theater Orchestra. Pohjola’s Daughter is
scored for piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, English horn, two clarinets, bass clarinet,
two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, two trumpets, two cornets, three
trombones, tuba, timpani, harp, and strings. Approximate performance time is
seventeen minutes.
The Kalevala was the labor of love of Elias Lönnrot (1802-84), a Finnish country doctor
who meticulously compiled the work from oral myths and legends that had been in
existence for some 2,500 years. The first edition of the Kalevala was published in 1835.
An expanded, definitive edition, consisting of more than 22,000 verses and 50 songs
(runes) was published in 1849.
Sibelius made his initial acquaintance with the Kalevala during his childhood years. In
the fall of 1890, Sibelius wrote to his future wife, Aino: “I am reading the Kalevala a
lot…The Kalevala strikes me as extraordinarily modern and to my ears is pure music,
themes and variations; its story is far less important than the moods and atmosphere
conveyed: the gods are human beings, Väinämöinen is a musician, and so on.” The
Kalevala served as the inspiration for several compositions by Sibelius, including
Kullervo (1892), the Four Legends (1895), Pohjola’s Daughter (1906), Luonnatar
(1913), and Tapiola (1926).
The orchestral composition that finally materialized as Pohjola’s Daughter was the
culmination of several years of work on various musical projects by Sibelius. The
Symphonic Fantasy is based upon the Rune VIII of the Kalevala. While on a journey, the
ancient traveler Väinämöinen spies the beautiful Maiden of the North (Pohjola’s
Daughter) perched upon a rainbow. Väinämöinen implores the maiden to become his
wife. Pohjola’s Daughter responds by challenging Väinämöinen to accomplish a series
of extraordinary feats. Väinämöinen invokes his magical powers to achieve each one.
Finally, Pohjola’s daughter requests Väinämöinen to use the splinters of her spindle to
construct a boat. While attempting to build the vessel, Väinämöinen strikes his axe upon
a rock, causing a severe injury to his knee. Realizing that his cause is in vain,
Väinämöinen leaves Pohjola’s Daughter, and resumes his journey.
Pohjola’s Daughter opens with a slow-tempo episode (Largo). A solo cello depicts,
perhaps, the arrival of the aged Väinämöinen. Subsequent episodes portray exchanges
between Väinämöinen and Pohjola’s Daughter (and at times, her mocking laughter), his
attempts to fulfill her challenges, and finally, Väinämöinen’s despair and abandonment of
his quest. The dramatic narrative is couched in Sibelius’s unique sound world, masterful
thematic development, and orchestration.
West Side Story, Selections for Orchestra (1957) (arr. Mason)
Leonard Bernstein was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, on August 25, 1918, and
died in New York on October 14, 1990. 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, vibraphone, xylophone, and strings.
Approximate performance time is eight minutes.
West Side Story, one of the miracles of American musical theater, was the product of an
extraordinary team— book by Arthur Laurents, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, music by
Leonard Bernstein, and the entire production directed and choreographed by Jerome
Robbins. West Side Story 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, the 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.”
Variations on an Original Theme, Opus 36, “Enigma” (1899)
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, bass drum, cymbal, snare drum, triangle,
organ, and strings. Approximate performance time is twenty-nine minutes.
In the “Enigma” Variations, Edward Elgar introduces a theme that serves as the basis for
a series of variations, each a musical depiction of a person in the composer’s life. As
Elgar commented: “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.”
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—H. D. 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 profondo 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, falling into the river, vigorously swimming to shore and
finally landing with a “rejoicing bark.”
XII. (B.G.N.) Andante—Basil 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 heroic
Finale. Echoes of previous variations return—notably “C.A.E.” and “Nimrod”—leading
to the grand final measures.