Download Concerts of Thursday, January 10, Friday, January 11, and Saturday

Concerts of Thursday, January 10, Friday, January 11, and Saturday, January 12,
2013, at 8:00p.
Robert Spano, Conductor
Laura Ardan, Clarinet
Juho Pohjonen, Piano
Michael Gandolfi (b. 1956)
The Nature of Light (for clarinet and string orchestra) (2012)
I. Waves (Anthem)
II. Particles (Shape Shifter)
Laura Ardan, Clarinet
World Premiere, Commissioned by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953)
Concerto No. 5 in G Major for Piano and Orchestra, Opus 55 (1932)
I. Allegro con brio
II. Moderato ben accentuato
III. Toccata—Allegro con fuoco (più presto che la prima volta)
IV. Larghetto
V. Vivo
Juho Pohjonen, Piano
Intermission
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908)
Scheherazade, Opus 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
The Nature of Light (for clarinet and string orchestra) (2012)
Michael Gandolfi was born in Melrose, Massachusetts, on July 5, 1956. These are
the world premiere performances of The Nature of Light. The Nature of Light is
scored for solo clarinet and string orchestra. Approximate performance time is
twenty-two minutes.
Michael Gandolfi
American composer, instrumentalist and educator Michael Gandolfi developed an interest
in classical, rock and jazz music at an early age. At the age of eight, Mr. Gandolfi taught
himself to play the guitar, and soon became interested in composing. Formal
composition studies in his early teens led to fellowships at the Yale Summer School of
Music and Art, the Composers Conference and the Tanglewood Music Center. Michael
Gandolfi graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music, where he now serves
as the Chairman of the Composition Department. In addition to the New England
Conservatory, Mr. Gandolfi is on faculty at the Tanglewood Music Center. He has also
taught at Harvard University, Phillips Academy, Andover and Indiana University.
Michael Gandolfi’s musical interests span the worlds of contemporary concert music,
jazz, blues and rock. Mr. Gandolfi is also fascinated by the interaction between music
and other disciplines, including science, film and theater. Mr. Gandolfi has pursued
these broad-ranging, eclectic interests both as an educator, and in his own compositions.
In addition, Michael Gandolfi has long held a profound interest in writing music for
young audiences, and has written several works for them.
Michael Gandolfi is a member of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s “Atlanta School” of
composers. The ASO commissioned Mr. Gandolfi’s orchestral work, The Garden of
Cosmic Speculation, inspired by Charles Jenck’s garden in Dumfries, Scotland. Music
Director Robert Spano and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra gave the world premiere
performances at Symphony Hall on May 24, 25 and 26, 2007. Maestro Spano and the
ASO also recorded The Garden of Cosmic Speculation for Telarc Records (CD: 80696).
On June 3, 5 and 6, 2010, Maestro Spano and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and
Chorus premiered Mr. Gandolfi’s Q.E.D.: Engaging Richard Feynman (2010).
Commissioned by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Q.E.D.: Engaging Richard Feynman
was inspired by the Nobel laureate physicist. A recording by Maestro Spano and the
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus of Q.E.D.: Engaging Richard Feynman, is
available on the ASO Media label (CD: 1001)
Other commissions for new works include the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Memphis
Symphony Orchestra, Reno Philharmonic, The President’s Own United States Marine
Band, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Fromm Foundation, Atlanta Chamber Players,
Boston Musica Viva, and the Koussevitzky Foundation, among many others.
Michael Gandolfi's music has been recorded on the ASO Media, BMOP Sound, CRI,
Deutsche Grammophon, Innova, Klavier, Telarc and USMB labels.
The Nature of Light
The composer provides the following commentary on The Nature of Light:
The Nature of Light is a two-movement work for clarinet and string orchestra. It
was commissioned by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and premiered by them in
January 2013, with Robert Spano, conductor, and Laura Ardan, clarinet soloist.
The impetus for the piece arose while I was composing Q.E.D.: Engaging
Richard Feynman for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and chorus in 2010. I was
immediately impressed by two potential paths implied by the opening material
that I composed for the first movement of that work. One path was a good match
for the overall context of Q.E.D.: Engaging Richard Feynman and its specific,
opening text. The other path was far more complex and better suited for a purely
instrumental work. I felt that a work for clarinet and string orchestra would best
realize this alternate route. Upon reading this clarinet and string orchestra
movement, Robert Spano supported my interest in developing the movement into
a large-scale concerto, and pledged to commission and premiere the completed
piece. The present work is the result of this effort.
The title of the work (suggested by Boston-based writer Dana Bonstrom), refers
to the dual nature of light (particle and wave), and its metaphorical connection to
the two-movement structure of my piece: the first movement being a musical
expression of wave shapes and the second movement being suggestive of
particles, both in its segmented formal design and the short, staccato figures that
comprise its main theme.
The first movement of The Nature of Light, subtitled Waves (Anthem), is a lyrical
piece, mostly devoted to displaying the expressive character of the clarinet and
string orchestra. Its overall design takes the form of a chaconne: a repeating
harmonic progression that serves as the basis for variation. After a string
orchestra introduction, the clarinet enters, leading the chaconne progression,
which is presented in two different tempi successively; a moderately paced tempo
followed by one that is faster. Once these differing tempi have been established,
the chaconne is sounded in both tempi simultaneously, forming a type of canon
known as a mensural canon. Following this elaborate exposition, a series of
variations ensue, the total of which serves as a development section. Next is a
grand return of the chaconne in its pure form, adorned by cascading lines that
have been gathering momentum. The movement concludes with the return of the
introduction, this time joined by the clarinet as if poised to retrace its steps.
The second movement, Particles (Shape Shifter) is an overall, fast-paced
movement which serves to highlight the clarinet’s virtuosity. The form is a
hybrid rondo: AABA’C B’ cadenza A’’ Coda, featuring a middle section (C) that
is characterized by extremely fast and facile figures for all parties. This section is
followed by the B-section material, reinterpreted to fit the hyper-speed tempo and
metrical schemes of the C-section and serves as the most overt reference to the
title ‘Shape Shifter,’ (i.e., the ‘shapes’ of the B-section material are adjusted or
‘shifted’ to fit into the temporal and metrical design of the fast-paced C-section).
This virtuosic portion of the piece leads to an extended cadenza for the clarinet,
followed by a return of the opening material.
Light speed, and its resultant, time-dilation effects, well defined in the field of
physics, finds its musical allegory in each movement of The Nature of Light: the
first movement with its mensural canons, the second movement with its
reinterpretation of material in a new, faster-paced ‘time-frame.’
—Michael Gandolfi
Concerto No. 5 in G Major for Piano and Orchestra, Opus 55 (1932)
Sergei Prokofiev was born in Sontsovka, Russia, on April 23, 1891, and died in
Moscow, Russia, on March 5, 1953. The first performance of the Piano Concerto
No. 5 took place in Berlin, Germany, on October 31, 1932, with the composer as
soloist, and Wilhelm Furtwängler conducting the Berlin Philharmonic. In addition
to the solo piano, the Concerto No. 5 is scored for piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, two
clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, two trombones, tuba, timpani,
snare drum, bass drum and strings. Approximate performance time is twenty-four
minutes.
These are the first ASO Classical Subscription Performances.
A “new simplicity”
Sergei Prokofiev completed his Fifth (and last) Piano Concerto in 1932. Prokofiev was
the soloist in the Concerto’s world premiere, which took place in Berlin on October 31,
1932. The legendary German conductor, Wilhelm Furtwängler, led the Berlin
Philharmonic.
Prokofiev arrived in Berlin immediately before the work’s premiere. Furtwängler (an
accomplished composer in his own right) informed Prokofiev: “I have left one whole
rehearsal for you. This is, of course, too little for such a difficult score, but each of us
will try to work as hard as possible.” Despite the abbreviated rehearsal time, the
premiere of the Fifth Piano Concerto was a success.
Prokofiev originally planned to title the work “Music for Piano and Orchestra,” but later
decided upon the traditional “Fifth Piano Concerto.” Prokofiev composed the Concerto
during a period when, by his own admission, he was seeking a “new simplicity” in his
music. But nine years after the premiere of the Piano Concerto No. 5, Prokofiev wrote:
The work turned out to be complicated, a fate that pursued me fatally in a
number of opuses dating from that period. True, I was searching for
simplicity, but I was also afraid it would turn into refrains of old formulas,
into an “old simplicity,” which serves little purpose in a composer looking
for the new. In my search for simplicity, I sought a “new simplicity,” but
then it turned out this new simplicity, with its new techniques and—most
of all—its new intonations, was not perceived as simplicity at all.
Despite Prokofiev’s reservations about the Fifth Piano Concerto, he frequently
programmed the work, both in his capacities as soloist and conductor. It is true that
performances of the Fifth Piano Concerto are comparatively rare (these are the first in
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra history). But in the hands of a sympathetic pianist,
conductor and orchestra, the Prokofiev Fifth Piano Concerto is a compelling and thrilling
experience.
Musical Analysis
I. Allegro con brio—The soloist immediately presents the opening movement’s principal
theme—an extended, wide-ranging and angular melody, set in waltz (3/4 time). A far
more lyrical central episode (Più mosso), features lovely woodwind solos. The
momentum builds, leading to a reprise of the opening section (Meno mosso [Tempo
initiale]), culminating in the emphatic closing measures.
II. Moderato ben accentuato—A “tick-tock” figure in the winds and brass serves as the
basis for a satiric march and brilliant flights by the soloist. The meter shifts from 4/4 to
12/8, the start of a more relaxed and jaunty episode (Più mosso). These two basic
elements intermingle, until a final statement of the march resolves to a hushed
conclusion.
III. Toccata—Allegro con fuoco (più presto che la prima volta)—The Concerto’s third
movement (the briefest of the five) is a Toccata. A popular form of keyboard music in
the Baroque, the toccata was designed to display the soloist’s lighting-quick dexterity. In
that tradition, this Toccata (based upon the opening theme of the first movement) is a
non-stop tour-de-force for the pianist.
IV. Larghetto—The Concerto’s only slow movement is also the work’s emotional
centerpiece. The energy and biting humor of the previous movements now yield to
heartfelt lyricism. Muted strings, punctuated by the solo flute, serve as introduction to
the soloist’s haunting, dolce melody. An energetic central episode builds to a stunning
climax. The soloist’s delicate ascent caps a reprise of the Larghetto’s opening measures.
V. Vivo—The soloist offers a furtive presentation of a scurrying theme that serves as the
basis for music of arresting energy. The momentum reaches an unexpected hiatus with a
brief hushed episode (Più tranquillo), featuring continued seraphic ascents by the
soloists. Muted strings introduce a syncopated version of the opening theme—the start of
the concluding bars (Coda. Allegro non troppo) that finally hurtle to an enigmatic close.
Scheherazade, Opus 35 (1888)
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov was born in Tikhvin, Russia, on March 18, 1844, and
died in Lyubensk, Russia, on June 21, 1908. The first performance of Scheherazade
took place in St. Petersburg, Russia, on November 3, 1888, with the composer
conducting. Scheherazade is scored for two piccolos, two flutes, two oboes, English
horn, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba,
timpani, bass drum, cymbals, suspended cymbals, snare drum, triangle,
tambourine, tam-tam, harp and strings. Approximate performance time is forty-six
minutes.
First ASO Classical Subscription Performance: November 23, 1949, Henry Sopkin, Conductor.
Most Recent ASO Classical Subscription Performances: January 18, 20 and 21, 2007, Robert
Spano, Conductor.
ASO Recording: Robert Spano, Conductor (Telarc CD: 80568)
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. British explorer Sir Richard Burton created a popular
English-language version in the late 19th century. 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, Opus 36. In his
autobiography, My Musical Life, Rimsky-Korsakov offered this explanation of
Scheherazade:
The program I had been guided by in composing Scheherazade consisted
of separate, unconnected episodes and pictures from The Arabian Nights,
scattered through all four movements of my suite: the sea and Sinbad’s
ship, the fantastic narrative of the Prince Kalendar, the Prince and the
Princess, the Baghdad festival and the ship dashing upon the rock with the
bronze rider upon it.
Several musical themes recur throughout the work’s four movements. However,
Rimsky-Korsakov cautioned:
In vain do people seek in my suite leading motives linked unbrokenly with
ever the same poetic ideas and conceptions. On the contrary, in the
majority of cases, all these seeming leitmotives are nothing but purely
musical material or the given motives for symphonic development. These
given motives thread and spread over all the movements of the suite,
alternating and intertwining each with the other. Appearing as they do
each time under different illumination, depicting each time different traits
and expressing different moods, the self-same motives and themes
correspond each time to different images, actions and pictures.
Nevertheless, the composer did acknowledge that the famous recurring violin solo, which
makes its initial appearance early in the first movement, is symbolic of the heroine,
Scheherazade, “telling her wondrous tales to the stern sultan.”
Rimsky-Korsakov was a master of the art of instrumentation. His Principles of
Orchestration (1896-1908) remains one of the most important texts on that subject. In
speaking of Scheherazade, as well as his Capriccio espagnol, Opus 34 (1887) and
Russian Easter Overture, Opus 36 (1888), the composer proudly acknowledged, “my
orchestration had achieved a considerable degree of virtuosity and bright sonority.”
Rimsky-Korsakov’s brilliant deployment of orchestral forces—coupled with his unerring
sense of dramatic contrast and impressive melodic gifts—have assured continued
affection for Scheherazade by musicians and audiences alike.
Musical Analysis
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.
I. The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship—Scheherazade opens with a menacing fortissimo
orchestral pronouncement (Largo e maestoso), perhaps representing, at least in this
passage, the Sultan Schahriar. A series of pianissimo woodwind chords leads to the
delicate entrance of the solo violin (Lento). Scheherazade begins her first tale.
The principal section of the opening movement (Allegro non troppo) features variants of
the opening motif and Scheherazade’s music. Throughout, an accompanying undulating
string figure evokes the motion of the sea upon which Sinbad’s ship travels. The
movement proceeds to a series of grand climaxes, but finally resolves to a whisper.
II. The Story of the Kalendar Prince—Scheherazade’s music returns (Lento) as the
introduction to the second movement, which concerns a Kalendar, or beggar Prince
(several Kalendar Princes are mentioned in The Arabian Nights).
A solo bassoon plays a seductive melody (Andantino), marked dolce ed espressivo. The
melody is soon incorporated by the solo oboe, followed by the violins and woodwinds. A
reprise of the oboe solo leads to a contrasting, agitated sequence (Allegro molto). Toward
the close, a magical reverie, featuring muted strings, harp and various solo instruments, is
followed by a thunderous conclusion.
III. The Young Prince and the Young Princess—The violins offer the initial statement of
the slow movement’s graceful principal melody (Andantino quasi allegretto). Rapidly
ascending and descending woodwind scales punctuate various presentations of the
melody. After a jaunty, delicately scored interlude (Pocchissimo più mosso), the
character of Scheherazade (solo violin) returns. A reprise of music from the second
movement’s Andantino leads to a dolce resolution.
IV. The Festival of Baghdad—The Sea—The Ship Goes to Pieces Against a Rock
Surmounted by a Bronze Warrior—Fest in Baghdad—Furious statements of the opening
“Sultan” motif, alternating with Scheherazade’s music (Allegro molto; Lento; Allegro
molto e frenetico; Lento), serve as a prelude to the central portion of the finale. Flutes
introduce the sprightly principal melody (Vivo). A whirlwind of activity ensues, growing
ever more ominous. At the climax, there is an imposing reprise of the “Sinbad” music
(Allegro non troppo e maestoso). Finally, the mood calms, and the solo violin brings
Scheherazade’s narrative to a magical conclusion.