Download Concerts of Thursday, March 1 and Friday, March 2, 2012, at 8:00pm

Concerts of Thursday, March 1 and Friday, March 2, 2012, at 8:00pm, and Sunday,
March 4, 2012, at 3:00pm.
Robert Spano, Conductor
André Watts, Piano
Adam Schoenberg (b. 1980)
La Luna Azul (The Blue Moon) (2012)
World Premiere, Commissioned by Robert Spano
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907)
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in A minor, Opus 16 (1868)
I. Allegro molto moderato
II. Adagio
III. Allegro moderato molto e marcato
André Watts, Piano
Intermission
Carl Nielsen (1865-1931)
Symphony No. 5 (1922)
I. Tempo giusto; Adagio non troppo
II. Allegro; Presto; Andante un poco tranquillo; Allegro
Notes on the Program by Ken Meltzer
La Luna Azul (2012)
Adam Schoenberg was born in Northampton, Massachusetts, on November 15,
1980. These are the world premiere performances of La Luna Azul. La Luna Azul is
scored for piccolo, three flutes, three oboes, three clarinets, bass clarinet, three
bassoons, four horns, three trumpets, two trombones, bass trombone, tuba, timpani,
xylophone, marimba, crotales, aluphone (or bell tree), small triangle, medium
triangle, two tom-toms, kick drum, hi-hat, ride cymbal, chime, finger cymbal,
vibraphone, claves, five temple blocks, four cowbells, two conga drums, two bongo
drums, orchestra bells, Thai/nipple gongs, egg shaker, sizzle cymbal, harp and
strings. Approximate performance time is thirteen minutes.
Adam Schoenberg
Adam Schoenberg is the newest member of the Atlanta School of Composers. Previous
performances by the ASO and Robert Spano of works by Mr. Schoenberg include
Finding Rothko (October 1-3, 2009), and the fanfare, Up! (September 30, October 1-2,
2010). The latter composition was commissioned by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra as
part of its celebration of the tenth anniversaries of Maestro Spano’s tenure as Music
Director, Donald Runnicles’s tenure as Principal Guest Conductor (and their Artistic
Partnership), and the Atlanta School of Composers.
Recent commissions include compositions for the Kansas City Symphony, Aspen Music
Festival and School, Atlanta Chamber Players, Quintet of the Americas, and The
Blakemore Trio. The American Brass Quintet released a CD of Mr. Schoenberg’s
Quintet as part of their 50th anniversary CD, and Jack Sutte (Cleveland Orchestra)
released a recording of Schoenberg’s trumpet sonata, Separated by Space.
Adam Schoenberg will become the first Composer-in-Residence for the Kansas City
Symphony under Michael Stern’s tenure for the 2012-13 season. Mr. Schoenberg is the
2012 BMI Composer-in-Residence for the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt
University, and the 2010-2012 guest composer for the Aspen Music Festival and
School’s M.O.R.E program. He was a 2009 and 2010 MacDowell Fellow, and was the
First Prize winner at the 2008 International Brass Chamber Music Festival for best Brass
Quintet. In 2007, he was awarded ASCAP’s Morton Gould Young Composer Award,
Juilliard’s Palmer-Dixon Prize for Most Outstanding Composition, and a Meet the
Composer Grant. He received the 2006 Charles Ives Scholarship from the American
Academy of Arts and Letters and has garnered further acclaim from ASCAP and the
Society for New Music.
Mr. Schoenberg earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree at The Juilliard School where
he studied with John Corigliano and Robert Beaser. He also received his Master of
Music degree from Juilliard and his Bachelor of Music degree from the Oberlin
Conservatory of Music.
A committed educator, Adam Schoenberg is on faculty at UCLA where he teaches
undergraduate orchestration. He has presented lectures and master classes at the Atlanta
Symphony Orchestra, The Juilliard School, University of Kansas, University of Missouri
Kansas City, Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Germantown Performing Arts Centre, Blair
School of Music, and the Aspen Music Festival & School. Schoenberg currently resides
in Los Angeles with his wife, playwright and screenwriter Janine Salinas.
For more information, visit Mr. Schoenberg’s website at:
http://www.adamschoenberg.com.
La Luna Azul
These concerts feature the world premiere of Mr. Schoenberg’s orchestral work, La Luna
Azul, commissioned by Robert Spano. The composer provided the following
commentary:
La Luna Azul (The Blue Moon) was conceived in the form of an essay and
tone poem. An essay in the sense that I wanted to study a musical idea
that has been of recent interest to me, and a tone poem in that I aimed to
create a narrative that could depict different scenes from a story that I
wished to tell.
This work is about love, light, curiosity, innocence, and a glimpse into the
unknown. The main material evolved from a piano trio, Luna y Mar,
which was inspired by my wife, Janine. We met in the woods of New
Hampshire, at the MacDowell Colony where we both had residencies. The
moon (luna) and the color blue (azul), which also represents the ocean,
have been very influential in her work as a poet, playwright, and
screenwriter. I wanted to take these two ideas and see how they could
inspire my own music.
The piece is divided loosely into three sections, slow and atmospheric;
fast, playful and groove; and a delicate ending that’s based on two
juxtaposing ostinati (i.e., an 8-note ostinato superimposed over a 5-note
ostinato in 5/8 time) with a gently soaring oboe and cello solo that elevates
the piece to a more sensitive space.
The first half is very ethereal and reflects a ruminative journey. The music
begins spatially with a drone in Bb hinted throughout. A chord
progression is soon introduced, and it later becomes the principal material
for the second half of the piece. The first half slowly unfolds and
gradually becomes more dissonant, leaving us with a question before
jumping to the next section.
The second half of the piece is more rhythmic and playful, lending itself to
the essay portion of the piece. I’ve been interested in exploring grooveoriented music, especially rhythms that can potentially be heard in a club.
The first section of the second half contains some of the most irregular
rhythmic writing I have ever composed. There is a sense of pulse, but the
downbeats are never square (e.g., some of the passages move from 7/8 to
8/8 to 7/16). The music and rhythm are consistently unpredictable, but the
percussion adds a line that makes the section feel more secure. The end of
this section takes us into the next which uses the initial chord progression
heard in the first half. This time, however, the progression is transformed
into an experience that incorporates elements from the different musical
influences that resonate with me (e.g., electronica, jazz fusion,
minimalism, Afro-Cuban and Latin music, etc.) as an artist.
The final moment is about transcendence. In many ways, the idea of a
groove is still present because of the two ostinati, but this time the groove
sits in the background, while the oboe and cello solo play in the
foreground. This, for me, represents the intimate connection between the
ocean and the moon.
A special thank you to Janine, my dear friends Sam Hyken and Sage
Lewis, and my parents, Jane and Steven. This work is dedicated to Robert
Spano with profound gratitude and admiration.
—Adam Schoenberg
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in A minor, Opus 16 (1868)
Edvard Grieg was born in Bergen, Norway, on June 15, 1843, and died there on
September 4, 1907. The first performance of the Piano Concerto in A minor took
place in Copenhagen, Denmark, on April 3, 1869. In addition to the solo piano, the
Concerto is scored for piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons,
four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani and strings. Approximate
performance time is thirty-one minutes.
First ASO Classical Subscription Performances: January 30, 1949, Margarethe
Parrott, Piano, Henry Sopkin, Conductor.
Most Recent ASO Classical Subscription Performances: October 14, 15 and 16,
2004, Orli Shaham, Piano, David Robertson, Conductor.
Edvard Grieg’s beloved Piano Concerto was the product of a particularly happy period in
the Norwegian composer’s life. In 1867, Grieg and his wife, Nina, were married. The
following April, their daughter, Alexandra, was born. That summer, Edvard, Nina and
Alexandra Grieg traveled to Søllerød, located near Copenhagen. The Grieg family
vacationed in a rented cottage. There, Edvard Grieg composed the A-minor Piano
Concerto.
The premiere of the Concerto, which took place in Copenhagen on April 3, 1869, was
generally well received by the Norwegian press. One critic viewed the work, which
incorporated Norwegian folk idioms, as presenting “all Norway in its infinite variety and
unity,” and compared the slow movement to “a lonely mountain-girt tarn that lies
dreaming of infinity.”
Not too long before the premiere of the Piano Concerto, Grieg received perhaps an even
more gratifying review of one of his compositions. It arrived in the form of a letter from
pianist/composer Franz Liszt:
Sir,
It is most pleasant for me to relate to you my sincere pleasure in reading
your Sonata (in F Major for Violin and Piano, Opus 8).
It testifies to a talent for composition that is strong, thoughtful, inventive,
of excellent material—the kind that cannot help but follow its natural
voice and ascend to a high rank. It pleases me to think that you will find
in your country the success and encouragement that you deserve; you lack
nothing else; and if you come to Germany this winter, I cordially invite
you to stay a while in Weimar, so that we may become better acquainted.
Please receive, Sir, the assurance of my feelings of highest regard and
most distinguished consideration.
29. Decbr. 68, Rome
F. Liszt
Grieg finally met Liszt (in Rome, not Weimar) in early 1870. During one visit on April
9, Grieg presented the score of the A-minor Concerto to Liszt, who played through the
work, often shouting his approval. As Grieg related: “Finally, (Liszt) said in a strange,
emotional way: ‘Keep on, I tell you. You have what is needed, and don’t let them
frighten you.’” Liszt did suggest some changes to the score, finally published in 1872.
Grieg himself was never totally satisfied with the Concerto, and continued to pen
revisions until the time of his death. Despite the composer’s misgivings, the Grieg Aminor remains one of the most popular of piano concertos.
Musical Analysis
I. Allegro molto moderato—The Grieg Piano Concerto features one of concert music’s
most famous and dramatic openings. After a roll of the timpani, and a stunning
orchestral chord, the soloist plays a series of descending octaves and rising arpeggios.
The winds then play the dolce initial theme, soon repeated by the pianist. A dance-like
animato section and a cantabile passage lead to the introduction by the cellos of the
plaintive second theme, which the pianist soon plays in more ornate fashion and with
increasing fire. The first five notes of the initial motif form the basis for the short
development section. The pianist ushers in the recapitulation of the principal themes. A
powerful orchestral restatement of the initial motif leads to a pause, followed by an
extended and brilliant cadenza for the soloist. The movement concludes with a brief
coda, featuring a reprise of the pianist’s grand entrance.
II. Adagio—An extended introduction spotlighting the muted strings precedes the soloist,
whose presence dominates the remainder of this brief and affecting slow movement. A
series of trills and a soft arpeggio by the soloist lead immediately to the finale.
III. Allegro moderato molto e marcato—A short introduction anticipates the soloist’s
presentation of the main theme, a jaunty rhythmic passage based upon a Norwegian folk
dance known as the halling. The flute initiates a lovely contrasting tranquillo interlude,
but the spirited halling motif soon returns. After another virtuoso cadenza by the soloist,
the principal dance theme is transformed from the duple-time halling to a triple-time
springdans. The closing pages present the orchestra’s majestic transformation of the
tranquillo interlude, accompanied by the pianos’s grand flourishes.
Symphony No. 5 (1922)
Carl Nielsen was born in Sortelung, Denmark, on June 9, 1865, and died in
Copenhagen, Denmark, on October 3, 1931. The first performance of the
Symphony No. 5 took place in Copenhagen on January 24, 1922, conducted by the
composer. The Symphony No. 5 is scored for piccolo, three flutes, two oboes, two
clarinets, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, three
trombones, tuba, timpani, snare drum, offstage snare drum, triangle, suspended
cymbal, tambourine, orchestra bells and strings. Approximate performance time is
thirty-five minutes.
First ASO Classical Subscription Performances: December 1, 2 and 3, 1988,
Hiroyuki Iwaki, Conductor.
Carl Nielsen’s Symphony No. 4, completed in 1916, was the Danish composer’s response
to the horrors of the First World War. According to Nielsen, the work’s subtitle—“The
Inextinguishable”—refers to “the elemental will to life.” Nielsen believed that, even in
the face of the most horrid destruction, this “will to life” would prevail: “Soon the plants
would begin to multiply, the breeding and screaming of birds would be seen and heard,
human aspiration and yearning would be felt. These forces, which are inextinguishable,
are what I have tried to represent.” And indeed, after much storm and strife throughout
the work, Nielsen’s “Inextinguishable” Symphony concludes in triumphant fashion.
Carl Nielsen began his next Symphony in February of 1921. The composer completed
the Fifth on January 15, 1922, just nine days before he led the Symphony’s premiere in
Copenhagen.
Unlike the “Inextinguishable,” the Symphony No. 5 carries no descriptive name. In an
interview with journalist Axel Kjerulf that took place in advance of the Fifth’s premiere,
Nielsen commented that his Symphony No. 4 concerned:
the only thing that music in the end can express: resting forces in contrast
to active ones. If I could find a designation for my new Fifth Symphony,
it would express something similar. I haven’t been able to come up with
the word which would be characteristic and not too pretentious—so I’ve
done without.
In the Kjerulf interview, Nielsen discussed his new Symphony’s departure from tradition:
This time I have changed the form and made do with two parts instead of
the usual four movements. I’ve thought a lot about the fact that in the old
symphonic form as a rule one said most of what one had to say in the first
Allegro. Then came the peaceful Andante, with the effect of contrast, then
again the Scherzo where one again reaches too high up and destroys the
climax of the finale, where the ideas all too often run out…So this time
I’ve divided the symphony into two large, broad sections—the first begins
slowly and peacefully and the second is more active.
Nielsen added: “They tell me my new symphony isn’t like my earlier ones. I can’t hear
that. But maybe they’re right. I do know that it’s not so easy to grasp, nor so easy to
play.”
To be sure, early performances of the Nielsen Fifth inspired some potent reactions. The
most infamous occurred during a performance in Sweden on January 20, 1924. As one
critic reported:
Midway through the first part with its rattling drums and “cacophonous”
effects a genuine panic broke out. Around a quarter of the audience
rushed for the exits with confusion and anger written over their faces, and
those who remained tried to hiss down the “spectacle,” while the
conductor Georg Schnéevoigt drove the orchestra to extremes of volume.
As Carl Nielsen observed: “An artist always hopes for understanding!” And in time,
Nielsen’s Fifth gained recognition as one of the finest symphonies of the 20th century, a
powerfully eloquent and, ultimately, optimistic depiction of mankind’s struggles.
Carl Nielsen Describes His Symphony No. 5
After completing the Fifth Symphony, Nielsen discussed the work’s meaning with his
student, Ludvig Dolleris:
I. Tempo giusto; Adagio non troppo—
I am out walking in the country—I’m not thinking of anything in
particular, in fact I’m not paying much attention to what I see or come
across. What was that now: a flower snapping, a little clod of earth
falling? Was it an animal with bright eyes starting from a tuft of grass?
(The various motifs are really chaotic, almost accidental—only one of
them, the “evil” motif is used a lot.) Then suddenly I become aware of
myself as a musician: my thoughts take a definite form, impressions
suddenly flood forth in me—and now everything is singing
pleasantly”…“Then, the “evil” motif intervenes—in the woodwind and
strings—and the side drum becomes more and more angry and aggressive;
but the nature-theme goes on, peaceful and unaffected, in the brass.
Finally the evil has to give way, a last attempt and then it flees—and with
a strophe thereafter in consoling major mode a solo clarinet ends this large
idyll-movement, an expression of vegetative (idle, thoughtless) Nature.
II. Allegro; Presto; Andante un poco tranquillo; Allegro—
The second movement is its counterpole: if the first movement was
passivity, here it is action (or activity) which is conveyed. So it’s
something very primitive I wanted to express: the division of dark and
light, the battle between evil and good. A title like “Dreams and Deeds”
could maybe sum up the inner picture I had in front of my eyes when
composing.”