NOVEMBER 21–23
2014/15 SEASON
LA VALSE AND STRAUSS
Friday, Saturday & Sunday, November 21-23, 2014
MICHAEL STERN, music director
PHILIPPE QUINT, violin
R. STRAUSS “Salome’s Dance” from Salome, op. 54
BERNSTEIN Serenade (After Plato’s “Symposium”)
I. Phaedras - Pausanias: Lento - Allegro
II. Aristophanes: Allegretto
III. Erixymachus: Presto
IV. Agathon: Adagio
V. Socrates - Alcibiades: Molto tenuto Allegro molto vivace
Philippe Quint, violin
INTERMISSION
SIBELIUS Symphony No. 3 in C Major, op. 52
I. Allegro moderato
II. Andantino con moto, quasi allegretto
III. Moderato - Allegro, ma non tanto
RAVEL
La valse, poème chorégraphique
THE 2014-2015 SEASON IS GENEROUSLY
SPONSORED BY
THE CLASSICAL SERIES IS SPONSORED BY
Shirley and Barnett C. Helzberg, Jr.
FRIDAY’S CONCERT IS SPONSORED BY
Joan Horan
Podcast available at www.kcsymphony.org
ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY
KANSAS CITY SYMPHONY
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K ANSAS CITY SYMPHONY
PROGR AM NOTES By Ken Meltzer
RICHARD STRAUSS (1864-1949)
“Salome’s Dance,” from Salome op. 54
(1905) 12 minutes
Piccolo, 3 flutes, 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets,
bass clarinet, 3 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns,
3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, gong,
cymbals, bass drum, snare drum, tambourine,
triangle, xylophone, castanets, glockenspiel, celesta, harp and strings.
Richard Strauss’ shocking one-act opera, Salome, is based upon the
biblical play by Oscar Wilde, written in 1891 and published two years later.
The story of Salome takes place in Tiberius, in the palace of
Herod, Tetrarch of Judea. The princess Salome, daughter of Herod’s
wife, Herodias, becomes fascinated with the imprisoned prophet,
John the Baptist. When John the Baptist resists Salome’s advances,
the young princess vows that she will kiss the prophet’s mouth.
The lecherous Herod vows to give Salome anything she
wishes if the princess will dance for him. After extracting this
promise from Herod, Salome performs the seductive “Dance of
the Seven Veils,” a stunning and voluptuous orchestral showpiece
that has enjoyed an independent life in the concert repertoire.
At the conclusion of the Dance, Salome throws herself at Herod’s feet
and asks for her reward — the head of John the Baptist on a silver platter.
Salome grabs the platter, and, exulting in her triumph, kisses the mouth
of the prophet’s severed head. Herod orders his soldiers to crush Salome
beneath their shields.LE
ONARD BERNSTEIN (1918-1990)
RECOMMENDED RECORDING
R. STRAUSS: “Salome’s Dance” from Salome
Dresden State Opera Orchestra/ Rudolf Kempe, cond.
Label: EMI Seraphim Catalog # 74016
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LEONARD BERNSTEIN (1918-1990)
Serenade (After Plato’s “Symposium”)
(1954) 30 minutes
Solo violin, timpani, snare drum, tenor
drum, bass drum, suspended cymbal,
chimes, triangle, temple blocks, tambourine,
xylophone, glockenspiel, harp and strings.
Leonard Bernstein composed his
Serenade between late 1953 and August 1954. The work fulfilled
both a commission from the Koussevitsky Foundation and Bernstein’s
desire to write a piece for his friend, the great American violinist Isaac
Stern (1920-2001). Stern was the soloist, and Bernstein the conductor
of the Israel Philharmonic, in the Serenade’s world premiere, which
took place at Venice’s Teatro La Fenice on September 9, 1954.
Bernstein noted that the Serenade “resulted from a
rereading of Plato’s charming dialogue, ‘The Symposium’ …
The music, like the dialogue, is a series of related statements
in praise of love, and generally follows the Platonic form
through the succession of speakers at the banquet.”
The following are excerpts from program notes by the
composer, written the day after completing the Serenade:
I. Phaedrus; Pausanias (Lento; Allegro marcato). Phaedrus
opens the symposium with a lyrical oration in praise of
Eros, the god of love … Pausanias continues by describing
the duality of the lover as compared with the beloved.
II. Aristophanes (Allegretto). Aristophanes does not play
the role of clown in this dialogue, but instead that of the
bedtime-storyteller, invoking the fairy-tale mythology
of love. The atmosphere is one of quiet charm.
III. Erixymathos (Presto). The physician speaks of bodily harmony
as a scientific model for the workings of love-patterns.
IV. Agathon (Adagio). Perhaps the most moving speech
of the dialogue, Agathon’s panegyric embraces all
aspects of love’s powers, charms and functions.
KANSAS CITY SYMPHONY
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K ANSAS CITY SYMPHONY
PROGR AM NOTES By Ken Meltzer
Leonard
Bernstein
composed his
Serenade for the
great American
violinist,
Isaac Stern.
V. Socrates; Alcibiades (Molto tenuto;
Allegro molto vivace). Socrates
describes his visit to the seer
Diotima, quoting her speech on the
demonology of love … The famous
interruption by Alcibiades and his
band of drunken revelers ushers in the
Allegro, which is an extended rondo ranging in spirit from
agitation through jig-like dance music to joyful celebration.
RECOMMENDED RECORDING
BERNSTEIN: Serenade
Isaac Stern, violin
New York Philharmonic/ Leonard Bernstein, cond.
Label: Sony Catalog # 60558
JEAN SIBELIUS (1865-1957)
Symphony No. 3 in C Major, op. 52 (1907) 29 minutes
2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns,
2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani and strings.
In the early 1900s, Jean Sibelius
was acclaimed as Finland’s greatest
composer. Such works as Finlandia
(1900) and Symphony No. 2 (1902)
established Sibelius not only as a gifted composer but also a voice of
his people, yearning for independence from Russian domination.
At this point, Sibelius’ life took a new path. As he recalled in a
conversation with biographer Karl Ekman: “It was necessary for me to
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2014/2015 SEASON
K ANSAS CITY SYMPHONY
PROGR AM NOTES By Ken Meltzer
Sibelius
composed the
Third Symphony
following a move
from Helsinki to
his forest home
in Järvenpää.
get away from Helsinki. My art demanded
another environment. In Helsinki, all
melody died within me. Besides, I was too
sociable to be able to refuse invitations
that interfered with my work.”
Sibelius built a log home in the
forests of Järvenpää, located some 20
miles north of Helsinki. In the autumn of 1904, Sibelius and his
family moved to this cabin that would remain the composer’s
home until his death more than a half-century later.
Upon his arrival in Järvenpää, Sibelius began work on the
Third Symphony, which he completed in 1907. The composer
conducted the world premiere in Helsinki on September 25, 1907.
The Helsinki audience, familiar with the passionate, Romantic
voice of Sibelius’ first two symphonies, did not quite know what
to make of the Third’s more austere and introspective mode
of expression. To this day, the Sibelius Third remains the least
performed and recorded of the composer’s seven symphonies.
Nevertheless, upon hearing the Third, Finland’s preeminent
critic, Karl Flodin, wrote: “Sibelius stands without doubt at the
height of his art. He has cast all mannerisms aside and, whereas he
used to repeat himself, he now reaches down into a new reservoir.”
Indeed, the Third Symphony’s compelling thematic unity and
unerring momentum, expressed in Sibelius’ unique instrumental
voice, are hallmarks of the composer’s finest mature works.
The Third Symphony is in three movements. The first
(Allegro moderato) opens with a churning figure in the cellos and
basses that predominates throughout, serving as the basis for the
RECOMMENDED RECORDING
SIBELIUS: Symphony No. 3
Lahti Symphony Orchestra/ Osmo Vanska, cond.
Label: BIS Catalog # 862
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K ANSAS CITY SYMPHONY
PROGR AM NOTES By Ken Meltzer
varied thematic material that follows. The second movement
(Andantino mosso, quasi allegretto), a brooding intermezzo,
spotlights the winds. The third movement (Moderato; Allegro (ma
non tanto)) serves the dual function of a vibrant scherzo and stately
finale, the latter culminating in a powerful C-major close.
MAURICE RAVEL (1875-1937)
La valse, poème chorégraphique (1920) 13 minutes
Piccolo, 3 flutes, 3 oboes, English horn,
2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon,
4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba,
timpani, ancient cymbals, bass drum, castanets,
cymbals, orchestra bells, snare drum, tam tam,
tambourine, triangle, 2 harps and strings.
The premiere of Ravel’s La valse, a “Choreographic Poem for
Orchestra,” took place in Paris on December 12, 1920, as part of
the Concerts Lamoureux, with Camille Chevillard conducting.
In his score, Ravel provided a brief choreographic vision for La valse:
Through whirling clouds, waltzing couples may be
faintly distinguished. The clouds gradually scatter: one
sees an immense hall filled with a swirling throng.
TUNE IN TO THE SYMPHONY
Want more? Visit www.kcsymphony.org, listen on
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previews, learn more about the composers and much more.
K ANSAS CITY SYMPHONY
PROGR AM NOTES By Ken Meltzer
The stage is gradually illuminated. The light of
the chandeliers reaches its peak at the fortissimo.
An imperial court, about 1855.
Ravel offered these insights during interviews
conducted in 1922 and 1924:
It is a dancing, whirling, almost hallucinatory ecstasy, an
increasingly passionate and exhausting whirlwind of dancers
who are overcome and exhilarated by nothing but “the waltz.”
Some people have seen in this piece the expression of a
tragic affair; some have said that it represented the end of the
Second Empire, others said that it was postwar Vienna. They
are wrong. Certainly, La valse is tragic, but in the Greek sense:
it is a fatal spinning around, the expression of vertigo and of the
voluptuousness of the dance to the point of paroxysm. RECOMMENDED RECORDING
RAVEL: La valse
Boston Symphony/ Charles Munch, cond.
Label: RCA Victor Living Stereo Catalog # 66374
WRAP IT UP!
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season, your wrapping just got easier. No big boxes or
gift bags, a Kansas City Symphony gift certificate never
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can be redeemed for nearly all Symphony performances.
Perfect for everyone on your list. Call the Symphony
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ABOUT PHILIPPE QUINT
PHILIPPE QUINT | VIOLIN
Award-winning American violinist Philippe Quint is a multifaceted artist whose
wide range of interests has led to several Grammy® nominations for his albums,
performances with major orchestras throughout the world, a leading role in a major
independent film called, “Downtown Express,” and explorations of tango with his
band, The Quint Quintet.
Highlights of Quint’s 2014-2015 season include performances with the
orchestras of Indianapolis, Kansas City, Oklahoma City, San Diego, Grand Rapids,
Santa Barbara and New Orleans, among others. Last season, Quint performed with
the London Philharmonic led by Damian Iorio, the Phoenix Symphony with
Gregory Vajda, San Antonio Symphony with Cristian Macelaru, Rochester
Philharmonic with Fabien Gabel, and Jacksonville Symphony with André Raphel as
well as return performances and a new recording with the Bochumer Symphoniker
and Steven Sloane.
Quint’s formidable discography includes a large variety of rediscovered
treasures along with popular works from the standard repertoire. His recordings of
William Schuman’s Violin Concerto (2007) and Korngold’s Violin Concerto (2009)
were both nominated for Grammy® Awards. In November 2013, he released “Opera
Breve” with pianist Lily Maisky, a unique collection of opera transcriptions for violin
and piano on the Avanticlassic label. In May 2014, Quint recorded the Khachaturian
and Glazunov violin concertos with the Bochumer Symfoniker. His recording of the
Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the Sofia Philharmonic led by conductor Martin
Panteleev, paired with Anton Arensky’s String Quartet No. 2, op. 35 (for violin, viola,
and two cellos), will be released in the 2014-2015 season.
Constantly in demand worldwide, Quint’s most recent appearances include
40 2014/2015 SEASON
K ANSAS CITY SYMPHONY
ABOUT PHILIPPE QUINT cont.
performances with the orchestras of Chicago, Detroit, Indianapolis, Bournemouth,
Weimar Staatskapelle, Royal Liverpool, China National, Orpheus, Komische Oper
Berlin, Leipzig’s MDR at the Gewandhaus, Nordwestdeutsche and Bochumer
symphonikers as well as Cape Town Philharmonic. He has performed under the
batons of Marin Alsop, Carl St. Clair, Daniel Hege, Andrew Litton, Kurt Masur,
Jorge Mester, Martin Panteleev, Carlos Miguel Prieto, Klauspeter Seibel, Steven
Sloane, Michael Stern and Bramwell Tovey.
Quint also has given recitals and chamber music performances at many
prestigious venues, including the Mostly Mozart, Caramoor, Ravinia
and Aspen festivals. He also has performed at the National Gallery in
Washington, D.C. In 2009, Quint formed The Quint Quintet, an ensemble
dedicated to exploring the music of Astor Piazzolla and Argentine tango.
Quint plays the magnificent 1708 Ruby Antonio Stradivari violin on loan
to him through the generous efforts of The Stradivari Society®.