Download NHMFS16 - Program Book.indd - New Hampshire Music Festival

2016 Classics Series
Paul Polivnick, conductor laureate • Dan Perkins, principal guest conductor & director of choral activities
Joel O. Johnson, symphonic chorus conductor emeritus
OPENING NIGHT: CLASSIC BEAUTY
Thursday, July 7 at 7:30 p.m.
Silver Center for the Arts, Hanaway Theatre, Plymouth, New Hampshire
Paul Polivnick, conductor
George Lopez, piano
Handel
Concerto Grosso in B-flat Major,
Op. 3, No. 2 - HWV 313
I. Vivace
II. Largo
III. Allegro
IV. Moderato
V. Allegro
Haydn
Symphony No. 98 in B-flat Major - Hob.I:98
I. Adagio - Allegro
II. Adagio
III. Menuet (Allegretto) - Trio
IV. Finale (Presto)
26’
Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major, Op. 73
George Lopez, piano
I. Allegro
II. Adagio un poco mosso
III. Rondo: Allegro ma non troppo
45’
11’
Intermission
Beethoven
– 21 –
Program Notes
July 7 Performance
George Frederick Handel (1685–1750)
Concerto Grosso in B-flat Major, Op. 3, No. 2 - HWV 313
The concerto grosso was the common type of orchestral music of the Baroque era
(c. 1600–c. 1750) characterized by a small group of solo instruments interacting with a full
orchestra. It flourished as secular court music and reached its highest potential of expression in
the hands of Mr. Handel. After 1750 the solo concerto took its place, but by the 20th century,
composers such as Igor Stravinsky and others revived the concerto grosso and gave it new life.
Handel was a German born musician who spent the bulk of his life in cosmopolitan London.
He became a British subject in 1712 and was totally involved with the musical life of his
adopted country. Besides writing a staggering amount of music, including immensely popular
works such as the Water Music, Music for the Royal Fireworks and the Messiah, he composed 40
operas and even found time to create and manage three opera companies! Handel died almost
blind, very rich and was buried with full state honors at Westminster Abbey.
Tonight’s concerto grosso starts with a radiant burst of energy. Enjoy the interplay between
2 solo violins who “talk” to one another in the first movement. The Largo which follows is a
stroke of genius: 2 solo cellos flowing like parallel streams under a sublimely beautiful oboe
melody—ah, the beautiful sadness of it all! What follows is a truly exciting orchestral fugue (a
round-like construction) that is extremely clever in its musical organization and bristling with
electricity. Finally, two gentle dance movements bring the piece to its conclusion and provide
a showcase in which the woodwinds can really shine.
Handel was born in the same year as the other giant of the Baroque, Johann Sebastian Bach.
They were both musicians of the highest order but had very different temperaments. Bach
lived and worked his whole life more or less in one area. His music was generally serious
and spiritually oriented. Handel was a man of the world, a favorite in the salons of the rich
and powerful and he had the ability to express humor, something I have always found very
attractive!
Joseph Haydn (1732–1809)
Symphony No. 98 in B-flat Major - Hob.I:98
Joseph Haydn was a prolific Austrian composer of the classical period (c. 1730–1820). He
was instrumental in the development of chamber music and his contributions to musical
form earned him the title “father of the symphony and string quartet.” Much of his career was
spent as a court musician for the wealthy Esterhazy family at their remote estate. Nevertheless,
his music circulated widely and for most of his professional life he was the most celebrated
composer in Europe, a friend of Mozart and the most important teacher of Beethoven.
The central characteristic of Haydn’s music is the development of large structures out of very
short, simple musical ideas. He passed this on to Beethoven who carried it even further. The
first movement of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony is a perfect example of this principle. Haydn’s
fast movements are rhythmically propulsive and full of energy. The slow movements took
on over the years a broad emotional range and the minuets have a clearly popular character.
– 22 –
Much of his music was written to please and delight a Prince and its tone is correspondingly
upbeat. He was a devout Catholic who normally began the manuscript of each work with “in
nomine Domini” (in the name of the Lord) and ended with “Laus Deo” (praise be to God).
And perhaps more than any other composer, Haydn’s music is known for its humor!
In 1790 when Haydn’s patron, Prince Nikolaus Esterhazy died, his son Anton “downsized”
the estate and happily let him accept an offer from the impresario, Salomon to visit England
and conduct new symphonies with a large orchestra. He made two trips (1791-92 and 179495), drew huge crowds, made large profits and became financially secure. A quote from a
review of the first concert conveys a sense of the momentous atmosphere: “Haydn himself
presided at the pianoforte (an earlier form of piano); and the sight of that renowned composer
so electrified the audience, as to excite an attention and a pleasure superior to any that had
ever been caused by instrumental music in England.”
Symphony #98 in B-flat Major is the 6th of the 12 symphonies Haydn composed while in
London (#93-104) and was performed in 1792 during his first visit. It uses a flute, pairs of
oboes, bassoons, horns and trumpets along with timpani, strings and harpsichord. Haydn
directed and played along throughout the symphony, improvising a virtuoso solo near the
end which no doubt came as a wonderful surprise.
The Symphony begins with a formal, stately, slow introduction in B-flat minor which leads to
the main body of the first movement, the sunny Allegro. The Introduction and Allegro both
use the same rhythmic idea (stated slowly in the former and quickly in the latter), a device
that was not at all common. The second musical theme of the movement is simply a variation
of the first one rather than an entirely new idea—an innovation Haydn used in many of
his works. Finally, after a long development section (where the composer plays rhythmic,
melodic and harmonic games with his ideas), the recapitulation has unusually significant
variation of the earlier material.
The second movement is solemn and hymn-like, using material from Mozart’s Coronation
Mass and Jupiter Symphony. Haydn was composing the symphony when he heard the news
of his friend’s death and was greatly distressed by it. It would seem then that the reference to
Mozart’s music was a form of tribute.
The Menuetto is brightly vigorous with only a brief, gently tender moment for the flute. The
Trio (a contrasting section that is usually calmer and more rustic) is the perfect foil for the
high energy of the bracketing minuet.
The final movement is the longest of any Haydn Symphony. There is a surprising pause after
the first part before the development begins. The development then goes through a wide
range of keys and has prominent violin solos (another unique element). There is a lengthy
Coda (the final section of the movement) where Haydn slows the music way down. The
harpsichord adds its surprising solo variation and suddenly fast notes are inundating the scene
within the slower pulse to create a final glorious burst of triumphant energy.
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)
Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major, Op. 73 (Emperor)
Ludwig van Beethoven was a crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and
Romantic eras in Western music. He remains as one of the most influential of all composers
and also perhaps the most popular composer of our day and age. His best known works
– 23 –
include 9 symphonies, 5 piano concertos, 1 violin concerto, 32 piano sonatas, 16 string
quartets, his great Missa Solemnis and an opera, Fidelio.
Born in Bonn in what was then called the Holy Roman Empire (the state of Germany
didn’t exist as yet!), he moved to Vienna at the age of 21 where he studied with Haydn and
remained there until his death. From his late 20s his health began to deteriorate and by the
last decade of his life he was almost totally deaf. Such was his anguish over his loss of hearing
(and physical suffering as well from chronic abdominal pain) that he considered committing
suicide. But he continued to compose, certain that he had been given a God-given gift and
a mission to use it to its fullest.
Beethoven had a disdain for authority and social rank. He would stop playing if the audience
chatted amongst themselves and didn’t give him its total attention. At soirees he would refuse
to play if suddenly asked to do so. And his patron, the Archduke Rudolph, after repeated
confrontations decreed that the usual rules of court etiquette did not apply to him!
The Emperor Concerto was composed in 1809. Haydn had passed away that year and
Napoleon bombarded Vienna. Fearing the effect of the intense noise on his health, Beethoven
hid in the basement of his brother’s house and covered his ears with pillows! The concerto
is in E-flat, an important key for Beethoven and, like his Eroica Symphony, is heroic in
character and uses broad phrases to sustain large amounts of material and key shifts.
In his 4th Piano Concerto, Beethoven broke with convention and began it with a gentle
phrase by the solo piano instead of a substantial orchestral introduction. The 5th Concerto
also has a novel start by beginning with a series of three short cadenzas (virtuoso solo piano
phrases) introduced by blasts from the full orchestra. Only after these have concluded, do
we have the usual orchestral introduction and it is substantial! The movement is expansive
and powerful like the Eroica Symphony’s first movement, lasting 20 minutes. There is no
improvised cadenza near the end, another break with convention.
What follows is one of his most beautiful slow movements. It is music of the night-dreamy,
serene and poetic foreshadowing Chopin. It is not virtuosic but simple and lyrically
delightful. The spotlight (or lamplight!) is on the piano with sparse accompaniment and the
character is soothing and tender. Another innovation here is the lack of a break between the
second and third movements. In lieu of that, there is a quietly suspenseful transition between
them with a dramatic drop of a halftone from B to B flat followed by a tentative introduction
of the Rondo theme by the piano. A Rondo is a musical form of this type: ABACADA. Its
main characteristic is the frequent return to “A” which develops into “an old friend” as the
movement unfolds.
The Rondo is exuberant and cheerful in contrast to the stately magnificence of the opening
movement. Again, there is no final improvised cadenza but there is a lot of cadenza-like
writing for the piano throughout. Near the end, a point of considerable calm is reached in a
sustained duet between the piano and timpani before the full orchestra returns to bring the
work to a vigorous conclusion.
Beethoven never performed this work. He gave up playing the piano in public in 1811
due to his ailing health. The moniker “Emperor” would have irritated him no end with its
Bonaparte connotations but that is the name that was passed on to us for one of the greatest
piano concertos of all time. © Paul Polivnick - 2016
– 24 –