January 2000 Concert Program

This is the overture to one of the most celebrated German comic operas of the 19th century. The opera was written in 1844 and was commissioned by the Vienna Royal Opera. Unfortunately for the composer, the opera was rejected by the company that commissioned it. It took until 1849 to get it produced. That production was by the Berlin Royal Opera. The production was very successful and eventually became popular throughout Europe and America.

Nicolai lived to see some of the success of the opera. Unfortunately, he died after conducting the first four performances. The overture has become a standard piece of repertoire for many orchestras.

Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

The concerto was complete on March 2, 1786. This is one of the almost thirty piano concerti that he wrote. Many Mozart scholars consider his piano concerti to be some of his finest music.

The concerto is written for a smaller orchestra in that it only includes 1 flute, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons and 2 horns along with strings.

To give you an idea as to how prolific Mozart was, this is one of two piano concerti written in the month of March of this year. 1786 was also the year that Mozart wrote a piano sonata, The Marriage of Figaro, a string quartet and Symphony No. 38, as well as many other smaller pieces.

The first movement of the concerto being performed today is vintage Mozart. It is a textbook case of sonata-allegro form, has easy to follow melodic development and has a logical harmonic progression. Along with that, the sharing of the melodic and harmonic development between the piano and the orchestra makes it enjoyable for the performers to perform. In addition, the piece allows the soloist to exhibit a great deal of musical expression and control without sounding like the concerto is tremendously difficult for the performer.

The Unanswered Question, Charles Ives

Charles Ives (1874-1954) was one of the first important American composers of serious music. Even at that, he did not devote his entire life to music. He served as an executive with a major Connecticut insurance firm much of his career. He also served as an organist in New Haven, Connecticut and New York City. Most of his most famous music, including his four symphonies, was written between 1906 and 1916.

The music of Ives is many times atonal and chromatic, and many times alludes to folk music and popular songs of the period. Some of the compositional techniques are the same as those of Stravinsky. In fact, Ives was using some of the compositional techniques attributed to Stravinsky before the performance pieces like the Rite of Spring.

The Unanswered Question is an interesting piece because of the structure of the piece and the story behind it. The composer wrote the piece with three elements of the orchestra taking on a significant part of a story. A solo trumpet asks the age old question, 'What is the meaning of life?" The woodwind section acts as the answer to the preceding question and becomes more irritated each time the question is asked. The string section, in Ives' words, represents the Druids who know, see and hear nothing. The piece ends with the trumpet asking the question for a seventh and final time without getting an answer.

March from “Carmen,” George Bizet (1838-1875)

The opera “Carmen” is probably the best known of all operas. This short but sprightly march has as the second theme the famous “Toreador's Song.” This melody is well known to all music lovers.

Largo from the “New World Symphony,” Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904)

Dvorak's symphony in E minor, Opus 95, subtitled “From the New World,” is one of the most famous in symphonic literature. The Largo movement is very subtle in its beauty. The slow tempo of this piece requires great control of tone and pitch. It is wonderful training music for a young orchestra. I have added a short section to give our piano and harp a moment to shine. My apologies to Dvorak.

Overture to "Il Re Pastore," Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

“II Re Pastore” is one of Mozart's early operas written when he was about nineteen. The music is light and happy with a conversational dialogue between the two violin sections and the cellos. The tossing back and forth of the thematic material provides another aspect of good orchestral training.

March of the Meistersingers, Richard Wagner (1813-1883)

Wagner is known for his huge, massive music dramas of great length - many lasting over five hours. "Meistersinger" is one of his earlier efforts but displays al I of the heavy, chromatic harmony of his later work. This provides another opportunity for our Young musicians to set yet another Musical mood.

Piano Concerto No. 2, Camille Saint-Saens

This is one of five piano concerti written by this composer. It was written in 17 days when the conductor, Anton Rubenstein, invited Saint-Saens to solo with his orchestra in 1868. The premier was done in Paris, France.

The concerto opens with a cadenza. The structure of the rest of the first movement is that of a fantasia, which is a very loosely organized piece. It is filled with virtuosic passages. This concerto has become a part of the repertoire of many pianists and is one of the most frequently performed concertos of Saint-Saens.

The Moldau, Bedrich Smetana

The Moldau is one of six symphonic poems written by Smetana depicting his homeland, Bohemia. The creation of these compositions helped Smetana to be considered the father of Bohemian music.

The Moldau is a portrait of the Moldau River, which runs past Prague and into the Elbe River. The music is based on the following description of the river's path:

Two springs come together to form the river that flows through a forest. As it flows, it develops from a small stream to a mighty river. Within the forest, one hears the sounds of a hunter as well as the merriment of a marriage feast. As evening comes, the sounds of wood nymphs evolve. As the river flows, there are reflections of castles in the water. The river eventually winds through gorges and becomes a series of rapids. This is followed by a majestic calm. The end of the piece of reminiscent of someone looking at the river and seeing it disappear

Like a lot of Smetana's music, the melodies and harmonies are folk-like in nature. But he treats the music in such a way that it is exciting, partially due to the rich orchestration as well as his ability to develop a simple melody into what seems like a frenzy at times.

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