Concerts of Thursday, March 3, and Saturday, March 5, 2016, at 8:00p
Marc Piollet, Conductor
Augustin Hadelich, violin
Boris Blacher (1903-1975)
Orchestra Variations on a Theme by Paganini, Opus 26 (1947)
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D minor, Opus 47 (1903/4, rev. 1905)
I. Allegro moderato
II. Adagio di molto
III. Allegro, ma non tanto
Augustin Hadelich, violin
Intermission
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Opus 98 (1885)
I. Allegro non troppo
II. Andante moderato
III. Allegro giocoso
IV. Allegro energico e passionato
Notes on the Program by Ken Meltzer
Orchestra Variations on a Theme by Paganini, Opus 26 (1947)
Boris Blacher was born in Niu-chang, China, on January 19, 1903, and died
in Berlin, Germany, on January 30, 1975. The first performance of the
Orchestra Variations took place in Leipzig, Germany, on November 27,
1947, with Herbert Albert conducting the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra.
The Orchestra Variations are scored for piccolo, three flutes, two oboes,
English horn, three clarinets, bass clarinet, three bassoons,
contrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani,
and strings. Approximate performance time is fifteen minutes.
First Classical Subscription Performances: January 13, 14, and 15, 1983,
Hiroyuki Iwaki, Conductor.
Most Recent Classical Subscription Performances: Feburary 15, 16, and 17,
2001, William Eddins, Conductor.
The Italian violinist Nicolò Paganini (1782-1840) was one of the greatest and
most charismatic virtuosos in the history of music. Paganini’s riveting stage
presence, coupled with the violinist’s spellbinding technique, repeatedly drove
audiences into a frenzy.
Paganini was as much a master of self-promotion as he was of the violin. Well
before the age of the intense marketing efforts that attend many superstars in
today’s entertainment industry, Paganini understood the value of publicity,
particularly of the sensational variety. Paganini did little to stifle incredible rumors
that he learned to play the violin on a single-stringed instrument while serving a
prison sentence for murder, or that his incomparable talents resulted from a pact
with the devil. In fact, Paganini encouraged these and other stories at every turn.
The violinist’s shoulder-length hair and gaunt, black-attired figure only served to
reinforce the diabolical associations.
It’s not suprising that Paganini’s violin compositions showcased his unique
talents. While commentators have differed as to the musical value of these
works, there is no question they exerted a profound influence upon subsequent
artists. One composition in particular, the last of Paganini’s 24 Caprices for Solo
Violin, Opus 1 (ca. 1805), has served as the inspiration for such pieces as
Johannes Brahms’s Paganini Variations, Opus 35 (1863) for solo piano, Nathan
Milstein’s Paganiniana (1954) for solo violin, and two pieces for solo piano and
orchestra, Sergei Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Opus 43
(1934), and Witold Lutosławski’s Paganini Variations (1978).
Another work based upon the Caprice No. 24 is German composer Boris
Blacher’s Orchestral Variations on a Theme of Paganini. During World War II,
Blacher was forced to relinquish his position at the Dresden Conservatory
because his teachings conflicted with Nazi ideology. At the conclusion of the
War, Blacher was able to return to teaching and composing. He completed his
Orchestral Variations in 1947. The work premiered in Leipzig on November 27,
1947. Herbert Albert conducted the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra.
As in the case of Paganini’s original Caprice, Blacher’s orchestral work is in
theme and variations form. The Orchestral Variations opens with the Paganini
theme, in its original version for solo violin. A series of sixteen brilliant and
diverse orchestra variations (many jazz-influenced) on the Paganini theme
follows, culminating with the grand final bars.
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D minor, Opus 47 (1903/4, Rev. 1905)
Jean Sibelius was born in Tavastehus, Finland, on December 8, 1865, and
died in Järvenpää, Finland, on September 20, 1957. The first performance
of the Violin Concerto took place in Helsinki, Finland, on February 8, 1904,
with Viktor Nováček as soloist and the composer conducting. In addition
to the solo violin, the Concerto is scored for two flutes, two oboes, two
clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones,
timpani, and strings. Approximate performance time is thirty-three
minutes.
First Classical Subscription Performance: November 18, 1952, Tossy
Spivakovsky, Violin, Henry Sopkin, Conductor.
Most Recent Classical Subscription Performances: May 31, and June 1 and
2, 2012, David Coucheron, Robert Spano, Conductor.
Robert Shaw Performances: (Classical Subscription, unless otherwise
noted) November 6, 7, and 9, 1969, Erick Friedman, Violin; November 11,
12, 13, and 14, 1969, Erick Friedman, Violin (Tour).
“Dreamt I was twelve years old and a virtuoso,” reads a 1915 entry in the diary of
Jean Sibelius, made while the composer was at work on his Sonatina for Violin
and Piano. As a young man, Sibelius was a highly accomplished violinist who
had aspirations to become a great instrumentalist. While in his early 20s,
Sibelius realized that he would not be able to achieve what he termed “my
greatest desire, my proudest ambition.” Sibelius pragmatically opted for
composition as his preferred form of musical expression. Still, Finland’s greatest
composer maintained a profound affection for the violin, producing some lovely
works for the instrument, including one of the most beloved concertos of the 20th
century.
“Wonderful! Masterly!”
Sibelius began work on his Violin Concerto sometime in 1902. A driving force
behind the work was Willy Burmester, an acclaimed virtuoso, and former leader
of the Helsinki Philharmonic. Burmester, a great admirer of Sibelius, encouraged
the composer to finish the work, and even offered to play the first performance.
Sibelius was enthusiastic about the prospect, and offered Burmester a
November, 1903 premiere. However, Burmester’s schedule precluded any
performances until March of the following year. Sibelius was in dire financial
straits and needed to present the work as soon as possible.
Sibelius then offered the premiere to Viktor Nováček, a teacher in Helsinki and,
by all accounts, a violinist of decidedly lesser ability than Burmester. When
Burmester learned of this turn of events, he vowed never to play the Concerto.
Sibelius tried to placate the eminent musician:
I’ll agree to whatever you want, but my financial position is so
parlous that I must give a concert here either at the end of the year
or at the beginning of January. The concerto will be played then by
someone here (Nováček for instance) in Helsinki and Turku. When
you come in March you will launch it: for any comparison between
the two of you is out of the question! So in March or February (?)
we can play it together in Berlin, Symphony II and the concerto and
something else...Marvelous! Helsinki doesn’t mean a thing!! I'm so
grateful that you will do it in so many places.
Burmester accepted Sibelius’s peace offering and maintained his great
enthusiasm for the Concerto. Toward the close of 1903, Sibelius forwarded to
Burmester a violin/piano score of the Concerto. Burmester commented: “I can
only say one thing: wonderful! Masterly! Only once before have I spoken in such
terms to a composer, and that was when Tchaikovsky showed me his concerto.”
“A mass of joyless things”
Sibelius hoped for a premiere in November, but delays in completing the final
score postponed the first performance until February 8, 1904, just one month
prior to when Burmester would have been available to play the Concerto. At the
premiere, Nováček struggled with the considerable technical challenges of the
work. Karl Flodin, Finland’s preeminent critic, wrote: “his playing offered up a
mass of joyless things. From time to time there were terrible sounds and it was
impossible to fathom the composer’s meaning, so great was the cacophony.”
Still, Flodin confidently asserted “that the new Violin Concerto will not form a link
in the chain of genuinely significant modern creations in this artistic form...The
Concerto is, to be honest, boring, something that could not hitherto be said of a
composition by Jean Sibelius.”
Burmester remained confident of Sibelius, the Concerto, and, of course, his own
abilities:
All my 25 years’ platform experience, my artistry and insight will be
placed to serve this work. Just this very fact will do much on your
work’s behalf. Don’t worry about anything, just follow your own
concerns and leave this safely in my hands. I shall play the
concerto in Helsinki in such a way that the city will be at your feet.
Burmester offered to play the Concerto in October of 1904. However, in June of
that year, Sibelius wrote to his friend Axel Carpelan: “I shall withdraw my Violin
Concerto; it will not appear again for two years. This is my great secret sorrow at
present. The first movement is to be formed completely anew, also the
proportions of the Andante, and so on.” In the summer of 1905, Sibelius did
substantially modify the Concerto, tightening its structure and altering or
removing many passages.
Sibelius’s publisher, Robert Lienau, scheduled the premiere of the revised
Concerto to take place in Berlin on October 19, 1905, with Richard Strauss
conducting and Karl Halir, leader of the Berlin Orchestra, as soloist. Sibelius
rather meekly noted that he had promised the next performance to Burmester,
but the publisher insisted that the concert take place with the scheduled artists.
Burmester, who offered so much support and encouragement in the creation of
the Sibelius Violin Concerto, never played this magnificent work.
Musical Analysis
I. Allegro moderato—Muted strings accompany the soloist’s extended
introduction of the haunting opening theme (dolce ed espressivo). After a short
cadenza, a brooding orchestral passage develops into the second principal
theme, first intoned by the bassoons and cellos, and later played with searing
passion by the soloist. An ethereal, reflective episode for the soloist leads to a
vigorous orchestral passage. The flutes then introduce a more playful theme to
close the exposition. Another forceful orchestral proclamation heralds an
expansive solo cadenza that replaces the typical development section. A varied
recapitulation of the principal thematic material, and a soaring coda that
prominently features the soloist, round out the opening movement.
II. Adagio di molto—The slow movement opens with a brief, evocative
introduction by the winds. The soloist enters with the Adagio’s throbbing
principal melody (sonoro ed espressivo). The peaceful woodwind introduction is
transformed into a menacing orchestral statement, leading to the soloist’s
passionate response. Serenity finally returns in the Adagio’s closing bars.
III. Allegro, ma non tanto—The boisterous third movement has inspired some
picturesque characterizations. The composer once referred to it as a danse
macabre, while the eminent British musician Sir Donald Francis Tovey dubbed
the finale “a polonaise for polar bears(!)” The strings and timpani provide
insistent accompaniment to the soloist’s vigorous presentation of the finale’s
main theme, which serves as a springboard for breathtaking virtuoso flights. In
fact, the entire movement is virtually a non-stop tour de force for the soloist, right
to the closing upward flourish.
Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Opus 98 (1885)
Johannes Brahms was born in Hamburg, Germany, on May 7, 1833 and
died in Vienna, Austria, on April 3, 1897. The first performance of the
Symphony No. 4 took place in Meiningen, Germany, on October 25, 1885,
with the composer conducting the Meiningen Orchestra. The Symphony
No. 4 is scored for piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two
bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones,
timpani, triangle, and strings. Approximate performance time is forty-two
minutes.
First Classical Subscription Performance: March 10, 1952, Henry Sopkin,
Conductor.
Most Recent Classical Subscription Performances: April 4, 5, and 6, 2014,
Donald Runnicles, Conductor.
Robert Shaw Performances: (Classical Subscription, unless otherwise
noted) February 8, 1968; September 29, 30, and October 1, 1971; October 5,
1971 (Special); October 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 1971 (Tour); November 22, 1971
(Runout); February 21, 26, April 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, and 22, 1972 (Tour);
January 23, 1975 (Tour); February 23, 24, 25, 1978; September 14, 15, 16,
1978; October 6, 12, 13, 14, 1978 (Tour); November 12, 1978 (Runout);
January 26, 1979 (Runout); October 14, 15, 16, 1982; October 22, 23, 24, 25,
1982 (Tour); January 19, 24, 25, 26, 27, 29, March 23, 1983 (Tour); June 12,
1983 (Atlanta Parks); April 24, 25, 26, 1986; October 6, 1987 (Runout).
Johannes Brahms composed his Fourth (and final) Symphony during the
summers of 1884 and 1885, while vacationing in the Alpine village of
Mürzzuschlag. On August 29, 1885, Brahms forwarded the manuscript of the
Fourth Symphony’s opening movement to his friend, Elisabet von Herzogenberg,
along with the following playful correspondence:
Will you allow me to send you a piece of a piece of mine, and would
you have time to glance at it and send me a word about it?
Generally speaking, my pieces are, unfortunately, pleasanter than I
am, and people find less in them that needs putting right! The
cherries in this part of the world never grow sweet and are
uneatable—so that if the thing is not to your taste don’t hesitate to
say so. I am not at all eager to write a bad No. 4...
In a letter of September 6, Mme. von Herzogenberg confessed: “(t)he movement
from the Symphony has already been heaving many sighs and groans under my
unskilled hands...there are many passages where I still get quite lost.” And, after
hearing a piano duet performance of the Symphony, the Viennese critic, Eduard
Hanslick, commented: “I feel as though I am being thrashed by two frightfully
clever fellows.”
The eminent German pianist and conductor Hans von Bülow was thrilled by the
score, and invited Brahms to conduct his Meiningen Orchestra in the October 25,
1885 premiere. The favorable response prompted that Orchestra to perform the
Symphony during its autumn tour of Germany and Holland.
“Brahms and his Vienna had parted forever”
On March 7, 1897, in Vienna, the mortally-ill Brahms attended his final orchestral
concert, in which Hans Richter conducted the E-minor Symphony. The audience
became aware of Brahms’s presence, and applauded after each movement. At
the conclusion of the Symphony, the audience leapt to its feet and offered a
massive ovation in tribute to Brahms. The frail composer summoned his
remaining energy to rise and acknowledge the cheers.
As biographer Florence May described:
Tears ran down his cheeks as he stood there, shrunken in form
with lined countenance, strained expression, white hair hanging
lank, and through the audience there was a feeling as of a stifled
sob, for each knew that he was saying farewell. Another outburst
of applause and yet another; one more acknowledgment from the
master, and Brahms and his Vienna had parted forever.
It is entirely appropriate that the Fourth Symphony served to mark the Brahms’s
farewell to his beloved Viennese public. The work represents the summit of the
composer’s extraordinary symphonic output. While each of the Four
Symphonies is a masterpiece, the E-minor is the perfect synthesis of Classical
(and even pre-Classical) form with searing Romantic passion and lyricism. The
Fourth Symphony’s dramatic power—couched in a miraculous economy of
utterance—continues to move and amaze audiences.
Musical Analysis
I. Allegro non troppo—The opening movement begins with the violins’ immediate
presentation of the principal theme, based upon alternating pairs of descending
and ascending notes. A woodwind fanfare leads to a wide-ranging and plaintive
string melody. Another fanfare by the winds and horns serves as the basis for
the exposition’s stormy conclusion. The development opens in the same fashion
as the very start of the work, but soon features ingenious manipulations of the
thematic material. A mystical expansion of the opening theme, played by the
winds, serves as prelude to the recapitulation. The tempestuous coda begins
with a massive statement of the opening theme, and rushes headlong to a
thunderous close.
II. Andante moderato—The horns and woodwinds intone a rather foreboding
statement of the Andante’s central, modal theme. The variations of the theme,
presented throughout the movement, offer a remarkably wide range of moods
and orchestra colors. Although there are moments of great agitation, the
Andante concludes with the utmost serenity.
III. Allegro giocoso—By contrast, the third-movement scherzo opens in
boisterous fashion, as the orchestra immediately proclaims the vigorous main
theme. The triangle adds a sparkling, festive touch. There are moments of
lyricism, notably in the flowing, grazioso violin theme, and a brief interlude,
introduced by the bassoons and horns. But in general, an almost violent energy
pervades this movement. During an orchestral rehearsal of the Fourth
Symphony, conductor Fritz Steinbach asked Brahms to offer a description of the
Scherzo. Brahms replied: “That is Alexander the Great’s march to India.”
IV. Allegro energico e passionato—Several years before the composition of the
Fourth Symphony, Brahms showed Hans von Bülow the final movement of
Johann Sebastian Bach’s Cantata No. 150 (Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich) and
inquired: “What would think of a symphonic movement written on this theme one
day? But it is too heavy, too straightforward. It would have to be chromatically
altered in some way.” Brahms once referred to the magnificent Chaconne from
Bach’s Partita No. 2 in D Minor for Solo Violin, BWV 1004, as “one of the most
incredible pieces of music. Using a single system...the man writes a whole world
of the deepest and most powerful expression.” Much the same may be said of
the finale of the Brahms Fourth, a stunning series of variations on a bass figure,
derived from the composer’s modification of the noted passage in Bach’s Cantata
No. 150.
The winds and brass proclaim the eight-measure bass figure that serves as the
underlying structure for a series of thirty variations. The movement is also cast in
a general A—B—A form, with two fiery outer sections and a central, lyrical
episode. The concluding “A” section gathers intensity to the shattering final bars.