Download Beethoven`s Violin Concerto and Seventh Symphony Jan. 10

Beethoven’s Violin Concerto and Seventh Symphony
Jan. 10-12, 2014
Michael Stern, music director
Noah Geller, violin
Corigliano
Fantasia on an Ostinato (1986)
Beethoven
Concerto in D major for Violin and Orchestra, op. 61 (1806)
I. Allegro ma non troppo
II. Larghetto
III. Rondo. Allegro
Noah Geller, violin
Intermission
Beethoven
Symphony No. 7 in A major, op. 92 (1812)
I. Poco sostenuto—Vivace
II. Allegretto
III. Presto—Assai meno presto
IV. Allegro con brio
Notes on the program by Ken Meltzer
Concert overview
John Corigliano (b. 1938)
Fantasia on an Ostinato (1986) 16 minutes
Piccolo, 3 flutes, 3 oboes, 3 clarinets, 3 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 4 trumpets,
3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, harp, piano and strings.
• American composer John Corigliano wrote his orchestral Fantasia on an Ostinato in
response to a commission in celebration of the 50th anniversary of New York’s WQXR.
• A “fantasia” is a piece of music in rather free form, while an “ostinato” is a constantly
repeated musical pattern.
• The ostinato that forms the basis for Corigliano’s colorful orchestral work is the
principal theme from the second movement of the final work on this concert, Beethoven’s
Seventh Symphony.
American composer John Corigliano’s Fantasia on an Ostinato began as a work for solo
piano, written in 1985 for the Seventh Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.
Later, the New York Philharmonic commissioned Corigliano to compose a work to
commemorate the 50th anniversary of WQXR Radio. In response to the commission,
Corigliano revised, expanded, and orchestrated the original piano score of Fantasia on an
Ostinato. The orchestral version of Fantasia on an Ostinato received its premiere on
Sept. 18, 1986, with Zubin Mehta conducting the New York Philharmonic.
A “fantasia” is a piece of music in rather free form, while an “ostinato” is a constantly
repeated musical pattern. The ostinato that serves as the basis for Corigliano’s Fantasia is
the principal theme of the second movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's Seventh
Symphony (1812) (see below). In notes for the premiere of his Fantasia on an Ostinato,
Corigliano observed:
That music is unique to Beethoven's output because of an inexorable
ostinato that continues, unvaried except for a long crescendo and added
accompanimental voices, for over four minutes… In Fantasia on an
Ostinato I have attempted to combine what I felt were the attractive
aspects of minimalism with convincing architecture and emotional
expression … the first part explores the rhythmic elements of the ostinato
as well as the harmonic implications of its first half. The second part
develops and extends the ostinato’s second half, transforming its pungent
major-minor descent into a chain of harmonies over which a series of
patterns grows continually more ornate. This climaxes in a return of the
obsessive Beethoven rhythm and, finally, in the appearance of the
Beethoven theme itself.
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D major, op. 61 (1806) 42 minutes
Solo violin, for flute, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani
and strings.
• Beethoven’s only Concerto for solo violin and orchestra is one of the greatest of the
19th century.
• The Beethoven Concerto is in three movements. The first, longer than the final two
combined, features remarkable interplay between the soloist and orchestra.
• The beautiful slow second movement segues without pause to the finale, one of
Beethoven’s most joyful creations.
Beethoven’s only Violin Concerto premiered at a Vienna concert on Dec. 23, 1806. The
soloist for the premiere was among the best available. The Austrian violinist Franz
Clement (1780-1842), himself a composer, was an acknowledged virtuoso and leader and
director of the orchestra of the Theater an der Wien. Clement was particularly renowned
for the grace and lyricism of his playing, as well as his impeccable intonation.
Still, there are indications that the first performance of the Violin Concerto left much to
be desired. Beethoven composed the Concerto at breakneck speed in order for the work
to be presented as part of a benefit concert for Clement. Beethoven penned revisions
almost to the moment of the premiere.
The structure of the concert program also put such a profound and organic work as the
Beethoven Violin Concerto at an extreme disadvantage. After the opening movement,
Clement interrupted the performance of the Concerto to offer one of his own sonatas,
played on one string with the violin held upside down! The final two movements of the
Beethoven Concerto then followed.
Of course, the fortunes of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto improved considerably, although
not in the composer's lifetime. In fact, it appears the work did not receive its proper due
until a London concert on May 27, 1844, led by Felix Mendelssohn, in which the 12year-old Joseph Joachim stunned the audience with his rendition of the Concerto’s solo
part. Joachim and his successors have been paying homage to this extraordinary work
ever since.
The Violin Concerto opens with an expansive movement (Allegro ma non troppo), in
many ways as revolutionary as the composer’s Allegro con brio in his “Eroica”
Symphony (1803). The time span is as long as the entirety of many contemporary violin
concertos. Also noteworthy is the extraordinary sense of interplay between the soloist and
orchestra. The lyrical second movement (Larghetto) is a theme and set of variations. A
brief flourish by the soloist leads without pause to the finale (Rondo. Allegro), one of
Beethoven’s most joyous creations, abounding with spirit and humor.
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Symphony No. 7 in A major, op. 92 (1812) 36 minutes
2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani and strings.
• When German composer Carl Maria von Weber heard the Seventh for the first time, he
pronounced Beethoven “quite ripe for the madhouse!” Over time, however, the
Beethoven Seventh became universally acknowledged as one of his most thrilling works.
• Throughout the Seventh Symphony, Beethoven introduces and manipulates the briefest
of rhythmic motifs to create music of extraordinary momentum and drama.
• The Beethoven Seventh is in four movements. German composer Richard Wagner
hailed the whirlwind finale as the “apotheosis of the dance.”
Beethoven completed his Seventh Symphony in 1812. The work received its premiere on
Dec. 8, 1813 at the grand Hall of the University of Vienna, at a concert presented for the
benefit of wounded Austrian and Bavarian soldiers. Beethoven was the conductor.
Because of Beethoven’s participation in the concert and its philanthropic mission,
Maelzel was able to convince several of Vienna’s eminent musicians to play in the
Orchestra. The concert proved to be one of the great public triumphs of the composer’s
career. The audience insisted upon an encore of the Seventh Symphony’s Allegretto. By
popular demand, the entire concert was repeated four days later, raising another 4,000
florins for the wounded soldiers.
Still, Beethoven’s reliance upon the briefest of rhythmic motifs, often presented with
relentless, even frightening energy, inspired some negative reactions. Musician Friederich
Wieck, father of Clara Wieck Schumann, attended the first rehearsal of the Beethoven
Seventh. Wieck recalled that the general consensus among musicians and laymen alike
was that Beethoven must have composed the Symphony, particularly its outer
movements, in a drunken state (“trukenen Zustande”). Carl Maria von Weber, after
hearing the Symphony for the first time, reportedly stated that Beethoven was now “quite
ripe for the madhouse.”
On the other hand, Richard Wagner, in one of the most famous appraisals of a Beethoven
Symphony, lauded the finale as the “apotheosis of the dance.” Two centuries after the
premiere, Beethoven’s Seventh continues to amaze audiences with its dramatic fire. It
remains one of the most powerful symphonic creations.
The Symphony No. 7 is in four movements. The first movement begins with the most
ambitious slow introduction in any Beethoven Symphony (Poco sostenuto). The flute
launches the principal Vivace with the repeated dotted eighth/sixteenth/eighth-note motif
that serves as the foundation for the entire movement. The slow movement (Allegretto) is
based upon an ominous, repeated march figure, introduced by the lower strings. The
vigorous third-movement scherzo (Presto—Assai meno presto) offers a stunning change
of mood. The finale (Allegro con brio) is a breathless whirlwind of activity that slams to
a halt in the stunning final measures.