Download Concerts of Thursday, February 21, Friday, February 22, and

Concerts of Thursday, February 21, Friday, February 22, and Saturday, February
23, 2013, at 8:00p
Robert Spano, Conductor
Olli Mustonen, Conductor
Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)
Overture to La forza del destino (1862)
Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936)
Concerto in modo misolidio (1925)
I. Moderato
II. Lendto
III. Passacaglia. Allegro energico
Olli Mustonen, Piano
Intermission
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Symphony No. 2 In D Major, Opus 73 (1877)
I. Allegro non troppo
II. Adagio non troppo
III. Allegretto grazioso (Quasi andantino)
IV. Allegro con spirito
Notes on the Program by Ken Meltzer
Overture to La forza del destino (1862)
Giuseppe Verdi was born in Roncole, Italy, on October 9 or 10, 1813, and died in
Milan, Italy, on January 27, 1901. The first performance of La forza del destino took
place at the Bolshoi Theater in St. Petersburg, Russia, on November 10, 1862. The
Overture to La forza del destino is scored for piccolo, flute, two oboes, two clarinets,
two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, cymbals,
bass drum and strings. Approximate performance time is eight minutes.
First ASO Classical Subscription Performances: April 26, 27 and 28, 1979, Robert
Shaw, Conductor.
Most Recent ASO Classical Subscription Performances: April 14, 15 and 16, 2011,
Arild Remmereit, Conductor.
In 1861, the famous tenor Enrico Tamberlik proposed that Giuseppe Verdi compose an
opera—based upon a story of the Italian composer’s choosing—for the Imperial Theater
of St. Petersburg, Russia. Verdi finally decided upon a sprawling 1830s Spanish play,
Don Alvaro, or The Force of Destiny, by Angel Pérez de Saavedra, Duke of Rivas.
Francesco Maria Piave, Verdi’s librettist for several works, including Macbeth, Rigoletto,
and La traviata, adapted the work for the operatic stage. The premiere took place in St.
Petersburg on November 10, 1862.
Although Forza was a success with the public, Verdi felt the score was not sufficiently
concise. Verdi finally revised the opera for an 1869 carnival season production at the La
Scala Opera House in Milan. By that time, Piave had suffered a debilitating stroke.
Verdi called upon the services of Antonio Ghislanzoni to assist him in reworking the
libretto. The revised La forza del destino, which premiered at La Scala on February 27,
1869, was a resounding triumph and continues to be the version performed in opera
houses around the world.
To this day, some find Forza’s epic length (expanded by several crowd scenes) somewhat
problematic. However, the basic tale is relatively straightforward. The story takes place
in Spain and Italy, toward the middle of the 18th century. Don Alvaro accidentally kills
the Marquis of Calatrava—the father of the woman he loves, Leonora di Vargas. Don
Carlo, the Marquis’s son, searches for Don Alvaro and Leonora in order to avenge his
father’s death. Don Carlo finally confronts Don Alvaro (now a priest), and challenges
him to a duel. Don Alvaro mortally wounds Don Carlo, who in turn fatally stabs Leonora
when she tries to comfort her brother. Don Alvaro curses the fates, but when he finally
prays for forgiveness, Leonora dies in peace.
Verdi composed a Prelude for the original, 1862 version of La forza del destino that he
revised into the famous Overture for the 1869 La Scala production. It is a magnificent
orchestral showpiece that remains Verdi’s most popular overture in the concert hall.
Typical of overtures of the time, it incorporates various melodies from the opera. The
Overture begins with the repeated ominous brass chords that serve to open Act II
(Allegro). The strings play the relentless, churning destiny motif that pursues Leonora di
Vargas throughout the opera. Several further melodies from the opera—often
accompanied by the destiny motif—are introduced with the unerring contrast and
inexorable forward motion that are hallmarks of one of the lyric theater’s greatest
dramatists. A rousing coda brings The Force of Density Overture to a stunning
conclusion.
Concerto in modo misolidio for Piano and Orchestra (1925)
Ottorino Respighi was born in Bologna, Italy, on July 9, 1879, and died in Rome,
Italy, on April 18, 1936. The first performance of the Concerto in modo misolidio
took place at Carnegie Hall in New York on December 31, 1925, with the composer
as soloist, and Willem Mengelberg conducting the New York Philharmonic. In
addition to the solo piano, the Concerto in modo misolidio is scored for piccolo, two
flutes, two oboes, English horn, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two
trumpets, three trombones, timpani, tam-tam and strings. Approximate
performance time is thirty-eight minutes.
These are the first ASO Classical Subscription Performances.
In the final two decades of his life, Italian composer Ottorino Respighi turned to music of
the distant past as the basis for his own compositions. Such works as the three Sets of
Ancient Airs and Dances (1917, 1923, 1931), the Concerto gregoriano for Violin and
Orchestra (1921), the Quartetto dorico (1924) and Metamorphosen modi XII, Theme and
Variations for Orchestra (1929-30) are fine examples of Respighi’s use of older (and
even ancient) music to create new, contemporary-sounding works.
In the Concerto in modo misolidio, Respighi used the Mixolydian mode as the basis for a
work for solo piano and orchestra. The Mixolydian is the seventh of the eight church
modes, the basis for Gregorian chant (the Mixolydian mode encompasses the octave from
G to G, with the F-sharp of the G-Major diatonic scale replaced by an F natural).
In particular, Respighi incorporated the plainchant Viri Galilaei, the Introit for the Mass
of Ascension Day. A translation of the chant reads: “Men of Galilee, why are you gazing
in astonishment at the sky? alleluia; just as you have seen Him ascend into Heaven, so in
like manner, shall He return, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. All nations, clap your hands;
shout unto God with a voice of joy.” Respighi’s score of the Concerto in modo misolidio
includes the phrase “Omnes gentes plaudite manibus,” a quote from the Viri Galilaei
chant (“All nations, clap your hands”).
Respighi was the soloist in the world premiere of his Concerto in modo misolidio, which
took place at New York’s Carnegie Hall on December 31, 1925. Willem Mengelberg,
longtime Music Director of the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, led the New
York Philharmonic. Over the next few years, Respighi’s Concerto in the Mixolydian
Mode received performances throughout Europe. The work seemed to fare better with
audiences than with critics. Over time, the Concerto in modo misolidio disappeared from
the concert stage. It has only been in recent years that this fascinating, beautiful work has
enjoyed a well-deserved renaissance.
Musical Analysis
I. Moderato—A fortissimo proclamation by the orchestra is prelude to the entrance of the
soloist (A fantasia), who boldly proclaims the Viri Galilaei chant. During the course of
this extended solo episode, the pianist introduces another theme, a hushed, flowing
melody. Soon, the orchestra begins to make its reappearance, as the music builds to a
fortissimo climax, based upon the chant. A diminuendo resolves to a tender exchange
between the piano and solo cello. A dramatic fantasia on the themes reaches its
fortissimo conclusion, setting the stage for the soloist’s extended, brilliant cadenza, based
upon the central themes. The music finally subsides to a whisper. In the arresting final
pages (Mistico), the clarinets and bassoons softly chant the Viri Galilaei, over muted
strings and the piano’s delicate chords.
II. Lento—The cellos, with commentary by the soloist, sing the Lento’s espressivo
principal melody, soon incorporated by the violins. The remainder of the Largo features
varied presentations of the cello melody. An extended cadenza for the soloist leads,
without pause, to the finale.
III. Passacaglia. Allegro energico—The finale is in the form of a Passacaglia, a Baroque
musical structure featuring variations over a repeated bass theme. The pianist launches
the finale with a fortissimo statement of the Passacaglia theme. The ensuing variations
often feature the soloist in playful dialogue with members of the orchestra. The piano
and full complement of the orchestra join forces for the grand closing measures.
Symphony No. 2 In D Major, Opus 73 (1877)
Johannes Brahms was born in Hamburg, Germany, on May 7, 1833, and died in
Vienna, Austria, on April 3, 1897. The first performance of the Symphony No. 2
took place in the concert hall of the Musikverein in Vienna on December 30, 1877,
with Hans Richter conducting the Vienna Philharmonic. The Symphony No. 2 is
scored for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two
trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani and strings. Approximate performance
time is forty minutes.
First ASO Classical Subscription Performance: April 6, 1950, Henry Sopkin,
Conductor.
Most Recent ASO Classical Subscription Performances: October 14, 15 and 16,
2010, Donald Runnicles, Conductor.
“The tramp of a giant”
“I shall never write a symphony. You have no idea how the likes of us feel when we hear
the tramp of a giant like him beside us.” So Johannes Brahms wrote in 1870 to conductor
Hermann Levi. The “giant” Brahms feared was Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827),
whose Nine Symphonies form the cornerstone of the orchestral repertoire. Although he
attempted the composition of a symphony as early as 1854, it wasn’t until 1876 that the
43-year-old Brahms gathered the courage to complete his First (in C minor, Opus 68).
The First Symphony received its premiere on November 4, 1876. Although the premiere
and initial subsequent performances were far from unqualified triumphs, Brahms had
finally cast aside his trepidation about composing in a genre that invited comparisons to
Beethoven. Brahms spent the following summer in Pörtschach, a tiny Austrian village on
Lake Wörth. It was there, between the months of June and September 1877, that Brahms
composed his Second Symphony. The composer informed his friend, the Viennese music
critic, Eduard Hanslick:
I am deeply grateful to you, and by way of thanks, this winter I will have a
symphony played to you that sounds so cheerful and sweet that you will
think I have written it especially for you, or even your young wife!
There’s nothing clever about it, you will say; Brahms is a sly one! The
Wörthersee is untrodden ground, with melodies flying so fast that you
need to watch that you don’t step on any of them.
Brahms found Pörtschach a congenial place for musical inspiration. In addition to the
Second Symphony, Brahms composed his Violin Concerto (1878), the G-Major Violin
Sonata (1878-9), and Two Piano Rhapsodies (1879) while vacationing at the peaceful
lakeside village.
Brahms’s “Pastoral” Symphony
The premiere of the Brahms Second Symphony took place on December 30, 1877, at the
concert hall of the Musikverein in Vienna. The eminent conductor, Hans Richter, led the
Vienna Philharmonic. Music historian Carl Ferdinand Pohl attended the first
performance, and reported to the publisher, Simrock: “It’s done! An exemplary
performance, the warmest possible reception, the third movement (allegretto) played
again da capo, repeated curtain calls...” Brahms himself conducted the next performance
of the D-Major Symphony on January 10, 1878, at the Leipzig Gewandhaus, as well as in
February concerts in Holland.
The D-Major Symphony seems to reflect the composer’s relaxed state of mind during the
happy summer of 1877. The lyrical character of the work—sometimes referred to as
Brahms’s “Pörtschach” or “Pastoral” Symphony—certainly is in marked contrast to the
storm and stress that pervades the C-minor First (although to be sure, the Second
Symphony has its moments of conflict as well, particularly in the first two movements).
Brahms referred to his Second Symphony as a “charming new monster” and, in typically
self-deprecating fashion, told his friend, Elisabeth von Herzogenberg, that it was merely a
little Sinfonia. That of course, is hardly the case, and in spite of Brahms’s protestations
to Hanslick that “there is nothing clever about it,” the Second Symphony is a remarkably
intricate and unified composition. In its own genial fashion, the D-Major Symphony is as
dramatically rewarding as its heroic predecessor.
Musical Analysis
I. Allegro non troppo—The first movement opens with the cellos and basses intoning a
three-note motif that will return in various guises throughout the Symphony.
Immediately after this statement of the motif, the winds present the initial theme. After a
brief outburst, the mood calms and the violas and cellos sing the waltz-like second theme,
recalling the composer’s famous “Lullaby,” Opus 49, Nr. 4 (1868). After another
expansive tutti section (spotlighting the three-note motif), the exposition concludes with a
reprise of the “Lullaby” melody. The development begins peacefully with the solo horn’s
restatement of the initial theme, but soon generates considerable tension. The oboes
inaugurate the recapitulation with a piano statement of the initial theme, to which the
violins provide a flowing response. The magical closing pages feature a haunting
passage for solo horn.
II. Adagio non troppo—The cellos play an espressivo statement of the expansive
principal theme. The horn (soon joined by the bassoon) introduces a flowing melody,
immediately echoed by the oboes, flutes and lower strings. A syncopated theme, cast in
12/8 time and marked dolce (L’istesso tempo, ma grazioso) is first played by the flutes
and oboes, and later in soaring fashion by the strings. The repose of the opening section
is disturbed by agitated transformations of the various themes. Only in the final measures
is calm fully restored.
III. Allegretto grazioso (Quasi Andantino)—The third movement begins with the oboe’s
presentation of the sprightly principal melody. The melody returns twice more (Tempo
primo), alternating with fleet interludes (Presto ma non assai), thematically related to the
opening section. The movement concludes with a final statement of the principal
melody.
IV. Allegro con spirito—The most cheerful finale among Brahms’s Four Symphonies
opens with the strings’ sotto voce presentation of the main theme. After the briefest of
pauses, the entire orchestra explodes with a joyous forte restatement of the theme.
Violins and violas introduce a noble melody that Brahms directs be played largamente
(“broadly”). The development section of this sonata-form movement imparts an air of
mystery. Soon, the strings quietly reprise the opening theme, and when yet another tutti
outburst follows, the festive mood returns. The recapitulation is followed by a coda of
extraordinary momentum, power and brilliance.