Download Concerts of March 6-8, 2015 Michael Stern, Music Director Anthony

Concerts of March 6-8, 2015
Michael Stern, Music Director
Anthony McGill, clarinet
Beethoven
Leonore Overture No. III, op. 72b (1806)
Danielpour
From the Mountaintop for Clarinet and Orchestra (2013)
Co-commission by the Kansas City Symphony
Anthony McGill, clarinet
Intermission
Schumann
Symphony No. 3 in E-Flat Major, op. 97 (“Rhenish”) (1850)
I. Lebhaft
II. Scherzo. Sehr mässig
III. Nicht schnell
IV. Feirlich
V. Lebhaft
Notes on the Program by Ken Meltzer
Concert Overview
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Leonore Overture No. III, op. 72b (1806) 14 minutes
—Beethoven’s only opera, Fidelio (called Leonore by the composer) tells the story of a
political prisoner’s heroic rescue by his wife.
—The thrilling Overture foreshadows the tale of Florestan’s imprisonment, and ultimate
freedom at the hands of his wife, Leonore.
Richard Danielpour (b. 1956)
From the Mountaintop for Clarinet and Orchestra (2013) 22 minutes
—Richard Danielpour’s many conversations with Rev. Andrew Young about Rev. Martin
Luther King, Jr.’s life and his final year inspired From the Mountaintop.
—In From the Mountaintop, the solo clarinet assumes the role of a pastor, narrating to
the congregation (the orchestra) the story of Dr. King’s final year.
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Symphony No. 3 in E-Flat Major, op. 97 (“Rhenish”) (1850) 32 minutes
—Robert Schumann composed his “Rhenish” Symphony following his appointment as
Music Director in Düsseldorf.
—The “Rhenish” Symphony is a musical reflection of Schumann’s experiences in the
Rhineland. The Symphony, in five movements, is a romantic work of abundant energy,
beauty, and melodic inspiration.
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Leonore Overture No. III, op. 72b (1806) 14 minutes
2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani,
and strings.
Beethoven’s only opera, Fidelio, occupied a special place in the composer’s heart. In his
Will, Beethoven said of his beloved work: “before all others I hold it worthy of being
possessed and used for the science of art.” Fidelio is based upon a work created during
the French Revolution by lawyer and writer Jean Nicolas Bouilly. It was a story that
greatly appealed to Beethoven, a staunch advocate of democracy and freedom.
The creation of Fidelio (called Leonore by the composer) was hardly an easy process.
Beethoven composed at least three versions of the opera. The Leonore Overture No. III
premiered as part of a revised version of the opera, first performed on March 29, 1806.
Fidelio takes place in 18th-century Spain. The evil governor Don Pizarro has imprisoned
the nobleman Don Florestan for daring to speak out against his corrupt regime. In an
attempt to rescue her husband, Florestan’s wife, Leonore, disguises herself as the young
man, Fidelio. This allows Leonore to gain employment at the jail where her husband is
imprisoned.
When Pizarro learns that the benevolent minister, Don Fernando, is coming to inspect the
prison, he vows to kill Florestan, thereby concealing evidence of his wrongdoing.
Leonore discovers her husband in a dungeon. She places herself in front of Florestan,
and holds Pizarro at bay with her pistol. The sound of trumpets heralds Don Fernando's
arrival. Fernando soon learns of Pizarro’s misdeeds and orders him imprisoned.
Florestan and all the political prisoners are freed, and Leonore is hailed as their savior.
The thrilling Leonore Overture No. III tracks the story of the opera, from Florestan’s
imprisonment, to Leonore’s rescue of her husband and the liberation of the political
prisoners.
Richard Danielpour (b. 1956)
From the Mountaintop for Clarinet and Orchestra (2013) 22 minutes
Solo clarinet, piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 3
horns, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, timpani, percussion, piano, celeste, harp, and
strings.
In May 2007, while preparing for a premiere with the Atlanta
Symphony, I was fortunate to meet with the Reverend Andrew
Young for several days while in Atlanta. I was considering composing
a large dramatic work that would be about the last year of
Reverend Martin Luther King’s life. For several reasons, that work
never came about, but in the years that followed, I began to think of
an idea, of a Clarinet Concerto in which the clarinetist is a pastor
and the orchestra is his congregation. I imagined it to be a telling of
the story of that last year of Dr. King’s life. The information and
recollections that Andrew Young shared with me in 2007 remained
in my memory in those intervening years. I would not have been
able to write this work without the time that he gave so generously
to me in sharing the story of his dearest friend. “From the
Mountaintop” is dedicated to Reverend Young.
—Richard Danielpour
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Symphony No. 3 in E-Flat Major, op. 97 (“Rhenish”) (1850) 32 minutes
2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani,
and strings.
On September 2, 1850, Robert Schumann, and his wife, pianist and composer Clara
Schumann, traveled with their children to the city of Düsseldorf, where the composer
assumed the post of Music Director. Later that month, Robert and Clara enjoyed a scenic
boat trip down the great Rhine River. The couple visited the massive Cologne Cathedral,
where they witnessed Archbishop von Geissel’s installation as Cardinal. These incidents,
as well as earlier visits by Schumann to the Rhineland, provided the inspiration for his
“Rhenish” Symphony.
The “Rhenish” Symphony was written in the midst of one of Schumann’s legendary
periods of intense creativity. Between the remarkably brief span of October 10 and 24,
1850, Schumann composed his beautiful Cello Concerto. The “Rhenish” (listed as the
Third Symphony, but actually the last of the Four in order of composition) occupied
Schumann between November 2 and December 9 of the same year. Schumann conducted
the highly successful premiere, which took place in Düsseldorf’s Geisler Hall on
February 6, 1851.
Schumann had offered previous musical tributes to his beloved Rhineland and the
Cologne Cathedral—perhaps most notably in his adaptation of Heinrich Heine’s brief
poem, “Im Rhein, im heiligen Strome,” part of the composer’s 1840 song-cycle
Dichterliebe (Poet’s Love). Schumann’s majestic setting of the opening lines
foreshadows the grandeur of the “Rhenish” Symphony, particularly the work’s fourth
movement:
In the Rhine, in the sacred river,
the waves reflect
the great Cathedral
of the great, sacred Cologne.
Schumann wrote to his publisher, Simrock, that the “Rhenish” Symphony “perhaps
mirrors here and there something of Rhenish life.” However, Schumann ultimately chose
to delete any specific Rhenish allusions in the score, such as the composer’s original
“Morning on the Rhine” title for the second movement. Schumann explained: “One
should not show his heart to the people, for the general impression of a work of art is
more effective. Then the listener will at least not set up any absurd connections in his
mind.”
Of course, our knowledge of the history of this great symphony does afford us a glance
into the composer’s “heart.” But that insight in no way detracts from the splendor of the
“Rhenish,” perhaps Schumann’s finest Symphony. It is a work of abundant energy,
beauty, and melodic inspiration. As with any extraordinary composition that contains
programmatic elements, the “Rhenish” Symphony remains a staple of the repertoire not
as a result of any extra-musical considerations, but because of its musical worth. The
“Rhenish” Symphony is also a work that exerted a profound influence upon a number of
composers, including Schumann’s admirer and protégé, Johannes Brahms.
The “Rhenish” Symphony is in five movements, rather than the traditional four. The first
(Lebhaft) begins in the grandest manner, with the full orchestra announcing the exuberant
principal subject, bearing more than a passing resemblance to the opening of Brahms’
1883 Third Symphony. The second movement (Scherzo. Sehr mässig), originally titled
“Morning on the Rhine,” is based upon the ländler, a rustic dance in 3/4 meter. The
subdued and elegant slow movement (Nicht schnell) features two themes. The first is
played by the clarinets and bassoons, the second by the violas and bassoons. Schumann’s
original subtitle for the fourth movement (Feierlich) was “in the style of an
accompaniment to a solemn ceremony.” While that description was later deleted, it
seems clear the music was inspired by the great Cathedral of Cologne and Archbishop
von Geissel’s investiture there as Cardinal. The finale (Lebhaft) returns to the joyous
mood of the Symphony’s opening movement. A triumphant restatement of music from
the fourth movement leads to the “Rhenish” Symphony’s thrilling final bars.