Download Music & Machines NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY WIND ENSEMBLE

Music &
Machines
NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY WIND ENSEMBLE
Music and Machines
PROGRAM NOTES
Northeastern University Wind Ensemble
March of the Steel Men
The April, 1937 edition of The School Musician magazine featured an article with the
headline “Charles S. Belsterling, Vice-president of the United States Steel Corp.
Writes a Band March.” The uncredited author wrote, “Like many other prominent
business men, Mr. Belsterling has made music his hobby since boyhood…Among the
compositions turned out by the schoolboy composer were a series of marches and an
Easter cantata which was used by a local church. In those days, before the advent of
radio, political marching clubs enlivened every campaign with torch-light processions.
One such group of young men came to Mr. Belsterling and asked for a special march.
For them he wrote a stirring number known as ‘The Ambassador’ which was later
published as a piano number and won considerable praise at the time.” Years later,
after Belsterling heard his hometown high school band play at Radio City Music
Hall, he commented to other businessman about his love of music and his “youthful
experiences as a composer” and was asked for a copy of the march. Kenneth Alford,
composer of famous Colonel Bogey March, was hired to arrange the march for
band. The piece was renamed The March of the Steel Men, and is now part of the
band repertoire, and as the only known standard work by a VP of US Steel, a fitting
introduction to a concert of music related to machines.
Allen Feinstein, conductor
Sunday, April 3, 2016 at 4pm
The Fenway Center
PROGRAM
March of the Steel Men (1937)
Charles Belsterling (1874-1959)
Arr. Kenneth Alford
Like Riding A Bicycle (2000)
Allen Feinstein (b. 1964)
Winding Up/Winding Down for Bb Clarinet and Wind Ensemble* (2014)
Michael Gandolfi (b. 1956)
Diego Bacigalupe and Larry O’Connor, clarinets
Shared premiere performance (*co-commissioned by the NU Wind Ensemble)
Contrapunctus I and Contrapunctus IX from The Art of the Fugue (c. 1740)
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Arranged by Ken Amis
The Typewriter (1950)
Leroy Anderson (1908-1975)
Denzil Leach, typewriter
Intermission
Short Ride In A Fast Machine (1986)
John Adams (b. 1947)
Transcribed by Lawrence T. Odom
Scenes from Metropolis (2016)
Premiere performances
Fredersen Meets the Machine
Zachary Cadman (b. 1993)
Maria’s Transformation
Melissa Rorech (b. 1995)
Danzon No. 2 (1994)
Arturo Márquez (b. 1950)
Arranged by Oliver Nickel
Powerhouse (1937)
Raymond Scott (1908-1994)
Arranged by Allen Feinstein
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Like Riding a Bicycle
Like Riding a Bicycle is a programmatic work following this story:
She takes her bike out and goes for a ride
She meets a friend
They ride together
The ride ends
Along the way we hear the happy whistling of a girl about to ride her bike, the soft
clicking of the bike’s wheels, her bicycle bell, the surprising sound of her friend’s bike
horn. During the ride we enjoy the view as the girls pass woods with birds chirping,
and we get a thrill when they rush down hills. At the climax there is a majestic gliding
through imagined mountains as the music’s themes come together. And, at the end
the girls glide to a near stop, ring and honk once more, and go their separate ways.
The piece ends with contented whistling and a cheerful chime reflecting the day’s
adventure. The composition was commissioned by Mark Hanson.
Winding Up/Winding Down
Composer Michael Gandolfi wrote:
Winding Up/Winding Down is a serenade for clarinet and wind ensemble in
a single, ten-minute movement. The opening material is a transcription of
an audio crosswalk-signal that I frequently encounter in Harvard Square in
my home city of Cambridge, Massachusetts. The rhythmical phasing of two
of these signal-beacons is quite striking, so I decided to build this pulsed
dance into an elaborate passage that provides the introductory (and main)
material for the piece.
There are many sections in the work, featuring the clarinet in virtuosic as
well as lyrical guises and accompanied by various instrumental groupings,
all of which are placed in an overall form that is suggestive of a condensed,
introduction-fast-slow-fast-coda, concerto design.
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The spirited sections that follow the introduction comprise the first
‘fast’ portion of the form. The ‘slow’ section of the form features the
soloist accompanied by bassoons and timpani. Music of quite different
character, and much speedier tempo, follows and drives the piece to its
most heightened and animated state, providing a sense of ‘winding up’ or
ratcheting-up the action. This music, coupled with the following lyrical
sections, comprises the last ‘fast’ section of the form. The coda features
the return of the crosswalk-signal material, presented in an altered, less
animated manner than that heard in the opening, imbuing the piece with
an overall sense of ‘winding down,’ and prompting the soloist to continue
‘winding down’ alone to the end of the piece.
Winding Up/Winding Down is dedicated to William Wrzesian, an
extraordinary clarinetist, brilliant musician, and a longstanding faculty of
the New England Conservatory, whose tenure there spanned five decades,
and whose artistry I was fortunate to observe during my developmental
years as an NEC student. I would also like to express my gratitude to William
Drury, the driving force in bringing this work to fruition, whose longstanding
support, collegiality, and consummate musicianship, I have always admired.
Metropolis
Metropolis is a landmark work of cinema from 1927. Directed by Fritz Lang, it is one
of a handful of silent films that continues to be presented regularly today, often with
scores written for it by composers inspired by its striking images and story. Two short
scenes featuring the film’s famous robot were scored by composers studying in the
Music Department’s Music Composition and Technology program.
The Art of the Fugue
The Art of the Fugue is a collection of fugues and canons, almost of all of which are
based on the same musical subject. Unenlightened critics of Bach might call his music
mechanical (hence it’s placement on the program), and there is indeed a sublime
precision to the construction of these works. Of course the fugues are the furthest
thing from being mechanical—the simplicity of the themes makes them wonderful
subjects for interpretation, and the complexity of the fugues is a testament to the
potential of human creativity.
Composer Zach Cadman wrote, “The inventor Rotwang had always been in love with
a woman named Hel, who left had him to marry his colleague Joh Fredersen. When
Hel died giving birth to Fredersen’s son, Rotwang was unable to accept her death.
In this scene, he reveals to Fredersen a robot that he built and explains his plans to
transform the machine into Hel in order to resurrect her for himself. The score is
meant to highlight Fredersen’s discomfort and disbelief in what he is being shown,
while not neglecting the magnificence of the machine that is coming to life before his
eyes.”
The fugue subject is heard in the beginning of the first fugue, Contrapunctus I,
in the french horn, and answered by the oboe, bass clarinet and alto sax before
counterthemes are introduced in other instruments. As arranger Kenneth Amis
writes in his notes to the conductor, Bach included no instructions regarding what
instruments should play the various voices of the fugue, although scholars generally
agree the original intent was for the work to be realized on the keyboard. We will hear
two of the fugues—the first, in which the theme is initially stated, and the ninth, which
is a double fugue.
Here is a translation of the intertitles in this excerpt:
Amis notes that Bach doesn’t give instructions on dynamics or tempi, which leaves
many musical decisions to the arranger and conductor. This has opened up this music
to widely differing interpretations. For the performance of Contrapunctus IX the Wind
Ensemble has taken Amis’ arrangement and overlaid yet another interpretation—one
inspired by a 1960’s recording of the piece by the Swingle Singers.
The Typewriter
Leroy Anderson was the preeminent composer of musical miniatures. His craft in that
genre is unrivaled, and is comparable to Sousa’s mastery of the march form. Anderson
recognized the music (and humor) in the objects, turns of phrase, and concepts that
he used to title his pieces. In The Typewriter he uses the clicks of that machine as
percussion, but also as rhythmic thematic material. For textural variety (and humor)
he includes the sounds of the carriage return and the bell of the typewriter. As in all
Anderson compositions, the tunes are catchy and the orchestration is impeccable.
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Short Ride In A Fast Machine
Short Ride In A Fast Machine is a work of post-minimalism. Minimalism is a style of
music in which repetition of textures, melodic, and harmonic material often frames
a relatively slow evolution of musical ideas often over the course of many minutes.
Fortunately, this is a short ride and a fast machine, so the changes come at a
relatively quick pace. While the harmonies in Short Ride are generally slow-moving,
the rhythmic gestures evolve quickly, creating a work with unrelenting intensity. It
all starts with a solitary woodblock heartbeat (a heartbeat that occasionally skips),
and quickly blossoms into a frenetic, colorful musical race to the finish, with a climax
involving a demanding brass chorale followed by a brisk coda. Composer John Adams
wrote of the piece, “You know how it is when someone asks you to ride in a terrific
sports car, and then you wish you hadn’t?”
Rotwang: “Nun, Joh Fredersen - ?! Lohnt es sich nicht, eine Hand zu
verlieren, um den Menschen der Zukunft - den Maschinen-Menschen
geschaffen zu haben - ?!”
Now, Joh Fredersen? Is it not worth it to lose a hand in order to create the
machine-person of the future - ?!
Rotwang: “Noch 24 Stunden Arbeit - und kein Mensch, Joh Fredersen, wird
den Maschinen- Menschen von einem Erdgeborenen unterscheiden können
- - !”
[24 more hours, and no-one, Joh Fredersen, will distinguish the machineperson from one born of this Earth - - !]
Rotwang: “Mein ist die Frau, Joh Fredersen! Die blieb der Sohn der Hel!”
[Mine is the
woman, Joh Fredersen! You are left with the son of Hel!]
Melissa Rorech wrote, “The scene that I scored from Metropolis shows the process of
Rotwang, the mad scientist, transferring Maria’s brain and spirit to ‘Maschinenmensch’
- the robot embodiment of Maria. This scene is iconic in film history for its advanced
special effects at the time. The scene shows Rotwang going through the motions to
get the machine working and the process started, but it also shows his emotional
side as his morals and conscience get in the way of the experiment. In scoring this
scene, I tried to capture the machinist actions of Rotwang, the soulless machines
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themselves, and the mechanical aspect of this experiment, while also portraying
the human in Rotwang as well - with his moments of indecision and guilt. There are
several varying themes within the piece, including the main machine theme, Rotwang’s
‘machinist’ theme, Rotwang’s ‘human’ theme, the Maschinenmensch theme, etc. At
the very end of the scene, I tried to incorporate most of these themes across the
ensemble to resemble the height of the transformation. As far as orchestration, I
used the brass instruments for the more mechanical moments, and the woodwinds
for lighter moments. The bass drum comes in loud and sudden with the appearance
of the robot’s heartbeat towards the end. Overall, I resorted to heavy and
varied orchestration to capture the essential elements of this classic scene.”
Danzon No. 2
Danzon No. 2 is a contemporary work that is a favorite of bands in part because it is
fun to play. As a dance it is infectious, at times romantic, soaring, and intense; and
it has enough tension and inventive rhythmic elements, especially in the last third of
the work, to make the piece more interesting than many dance compositions, which
can get repetitive. The work was suggested by a member of the ensemble, and we
were eager to put in on the program. But how does it fit into a concert dedicated to
music and machines? Clarinetist Kara Peterman offers this suggestion, “The piece was
commissioned by the National Autonomous University of Mexico, and was premiered
by their orchestra. Artificial intelligence, robots, ‘automatons’ etc. all strive to be
autonomous. A nice tie-in between the aims of education and the goals of robotics!”
Powerhouse
The concert concludes with Powerhouse, a deliberate musical homage to machines.
It is the most famous composition of Raymond Scott, an electronic music pioneer,
and a composer whose music was routinely “borrowed” by others, particularly Carl
Stalling, the composer and arranger for Warner Brothers’ cartoons. Scott was perhaps
second only to Leroy Anderson in the musical miniaturist’s craft and renown, although
the subjects of his works tended toward the bizarre and less charming (like Dinner
Music for a Pack of Hungry Cannibals, Egyptian Barn Dance, and Siberian Sleigh Ride).
But Powerhouse is quite evocative and effective. It is best knows as the factory
music in Bugs Bunny cartoons. The original work was for Scott’s Quintette (which
inexplicably had six members) and was arranged for band by Allen Feinstein.
Program notes by Allen Feinstein unless otherwise noted.
ARTISTS
Allen Feinstein is a composer and conductor of film music, classical music, and
musical theatre, and is Senior Teaching Professor in the Music Department in the
College of Art, Media and Design. He directs the Wind Ensemble and teaches courses
in conducting, music theory and musical theater. Two of his compositions were
performed in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in 2011 by clarinetist Marguerite Levin.
He composed and conducted his scores accompanying silent films on the National
Film Preservation Foundation’s DVD compilation Treasures 3, which was on many
‘best of’ lists, including those of The New York Times, Time Magazine, and The New
Yorker. Adam Frey, guest soloist for the Boston Pops, recorded Feinstein’s Concerto
for Euphonium and Orchestra with the New Zealand Symphony. The concerto won the
prestigious Phillips Award for compositional excellence from the International Tuba
Euphonium Association for the best work written for the instrument over the span of
four years. Feinstein has written several musicals; his latest theater project is Plotnik’s
Movie Palace, about the early days of silent film. A free reading of that work will be
held on Saturday April 16 at 7pm in room 354 Ryder Hall—all are invited to attend and
offer critiques. Feinstein’s compositions have been performed by the Milwaukee Symphony, Banda Municipal de Jaen (Spain), Virginia Symphony, US Army Orchestra, Akron
Symphony, many other professional orchestras and numerous college ensembles.
A native of Newton, Massachusetts, Diego Bacigalupe is a freshman at Northeastern
and current member of the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. An alumnus of
New England Conservatory’s Preparatory School, Diego has held principal positions in
the Youth Symphony and Massachusetts Youth Wind Ensemble with whom he toured
Ireland in 2014; festival participation includes principal positions in the 2015 NAfME
All-Eastern Orchestra, 2015 MMEA All-State Orchestra, and 2014 MMEA All-State
Band. Diego will return to Carnegie Hall with the BPYO in June before touring Spain;
other international engagements have included the Berlin Philharmonie, the KKL
Lucerne, Dvorak Hall, and Smetana Hall.
Originally from Norwell, MA, composer Zach Cadman began studying at Northeastern
University in 2011 and has been a member of both the Wind Ensemble and Pep Band
since his first semester. He will be graduating this spring with a degree in Music
Composition & Technology and a minor in Music Recording. Outside of Northeastern,
Zach plays in local bands Hakanai and Department of Everything, and is an alumnus of
composer Larry Groupé’s Palomar Film Music Workshop.
Denzil Leach is a freshman bioengineering student from East Kingston, New
Hampshire. The typewriter is not his primary instrument, as most of his typing is
performed on a touchscreen phone keyboard. However, he is excited to demonstrate
his versatility with this performance today. Clarinetist Larry O’Connor is a senior year Civil Engineering student from Hooksett,
New Hampshire. This is the eighth semester he has played with the Wind Ensemble.
He played clarinet competitively while growing up and is thankful he continued
performing with the Wind Ensemble throughout his college years.
Melissa Rorech is a third year Music Composition and Technology major, with minors
in Music Recording, Vocal Performance, and Music Industry. She aspires to be a film
and video game composer, and is very thankful for this opportunity!
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Northeastern University Wind Ensemble, Spring 2016
Allen Feinstein, conductor
Piccolo
Chloe Weiers
Tenor Sax
Trenton White
Double Bass
Rachel Lesser
Flute 1
Chloe Weiers
Matan Silver
Caitlin Caulfield
Bari Sax
Matthew Lamontagne
Percussion
Oliver Cervantes
Colin Davis
Sam Hanson
Denzil Leach
Cameron Parker
Amy Stahl
Flute 2
Logan Riegel
Olivia Palmer
Whitney Wallace
Oboe
Timothy Su
Clarinet 1
Kara Peterman
Diego Bacigalupe
Larry O’Connor
Eric Qin
Erika Towne
Clarinet 2
Jennifer Li
Dana Walker
Clarinet 3
Courtney Molio
Jill Coghlan
Erica Penniman
Trumpet 2
Robert Anderson
Jake Sullivan
Trumpet 3
Shane Waxler
Horn 1
Julia Winzer
Horn 2
Kenneth Barragan
Horn 3
Luke Miller
Horn 4
Sarah Braun
Trombone 1
Adam Perruzzi
Bass Clarinet
Lucas Rich
Trombone 2
Kevin Mott
Bassoon 1
Morgan Hines
Trombone 3
Kyle Oberholtzer
Bassoon 2
Victoria Dominguez
Euphonium
Zachary Cadman
Cameron O’Neill
Rachel Saywitz
Alto Sax 1
Alex Ginnerty
Alto Sax 2
Nathan Helmick
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Trumpet 1
Riley Grant
Lucas Barton
Tuba
Tyler McDonald
Piano and Synthesizer
Colin Davis