Meet the musicians…
u
TneUp!
S AT U R D AY
M AY 1 4 , 2 0 1 6
Yoobin Son, Flute
Hometown: Seoul, Korea Years playing in the New York Philharmonic: 3.5
Fun fact about the flute: Most human cultures from different regions have their own forms of flute.
In Rossini’s William Tell Overture, the flute mimics a Swiss Alpine shepherd. What else can
the flute depict? With its high pitch and agile quality, flute is often used to describe birds (Peter and the Wolf, Carnival of the Animals, etc.).
Do you remember the first time you played Mahler? It was Mahler Symphony No. 5. I loved having four flutes in the section and
playing low unison parts together to create an amazing and somber sound quality.
You just came back from a Philharmonic tour in California. What is one of your favorite memories traveling
with the Orchestra? Playing for audiences in my hometown of Seoul, Korea. Some of my family members came, and they were very proud.
Alan Baer, Tuba
Hometown: Erie, PA Years playing in the New York Philharmonic: 12
Fun fact about the tuba: It's the youngest brass instrument, invented in the late 1800s.
You just came back from teaching at the Philharmonic’s Shanghai Orchestra Academy. What
was it like? The students there are very kind, appreciative, and eager to learn from someone from the U.S. The best part of
being in Shanghai was seeing the lights at the Bund, the part of the city along a river that is quite beautiful, especially at night.
There is only one tuba in the Orchestra. Do you ever get lonely? NO! It's nice being your own section.
Actually, I’m part of a bigger section or family — the brass section. Here I am the largest and lowest instrument of all the brass instruments.
So no, I don’t get lonely.
If the tuba was going to portray a character in an opera, what would that character be like? I think it would be like
the Road Runner. Just out to have fun and not too worried about someone else's funny business!
TM
Welcome to the Young People’s Concerts !
Everyone knows songs, everyone sings songs — do you have a favorite song?
What makes that song a song? And what happens when we add an orchestra
to a song? Welcome to Story and Song, our final Young People’s Concert of
a season devoted to words and music. We’ll push the boundaries of song in
music by Gustav Mahler and Aaron Copland, and then dive into the world of opera – a
world of outsized feelings and glorious melody. How big can emotions get with the help of
a great orchestra and a great singer like Eric Owens? We’ll find out, so warm-up those vocal chords and
get ready for the season finale!
T
H
E
P
R
O
G
R
A
M
ROSSINI
Selection from William Tell Overture
MAHLER
Selections from Des Knaben Wunderhorn
(The Boy’s Magic Horn)
“Trost im Unglück”
“Des Antonius von Padua Fischpredigt”
MAHLER
Selection from Symphony No. 2 in C minor, Resurrection
COPLAND
“Variations on a Shaker Melody,” from Appalachian Spring
Courtney Lewis became Assistant Conductor of the New York Philharmonic in September 2014. Born in Belfast, Northern
Ireland, Courtney has conducted his way across the United States over the past seven years: he is currently music director of the
Jacksonville Symphony and has appeared with the Atlanta, National, and Detroit symphony orchestras; Los Angeles Philharmonic;
Minnesota Orchestra; and Houston and St. Louis symphonies, among others. He studied composition and clarinet at the University
of Cambridge and conducting at the Royal Northern College of Music.
MOZART
“Madamina, il catalogo è questo,” from Don Giovanni, K.527
GERSHWIN
Selections from Porgy and Bess
“I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin’”
“Where’s My Bess”
“O, Lawd, I’m on My Way”
As the 2015–16 Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence at the New York Philharmonic, bass-baritone Eric Owens
appears as soloist throughout the season, and is expanding the role of the Philharmonic’s Artist-in-Residence by curating
programs and participating in educational activities. This season includes performances with orchestras such as the
St. Louis Symphony, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, and Minnesota Orchestra, in works including
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Brahms’s A German Requiem, and Dvořák’s Stabat Mater. Operatic highlights include performances at The Metropolitan Opera, Santa Fe Opera, and the Washington National Opera. At the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.,
he performs an evening of jazz standards, and he also appears in recital at colleges and universities across the country.
A Night
at the
Opera
About the artists…
Theodore Wiprud — Vice President, Education, The Sue B. Mercy Chair — has overseen the New York Philharmonic’s
wide range of in-school programs, educational concerts, adult programs, and online offerings since 2004. He has also created
educational and community-based programs at the Brooklyn Philharmonic, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and American Composers
Orchestra. An active composer, Ted has worked as a teaching artist and resident composer in a number of New York City schools.
What’s Young People’s Concerts 2016–17:
Coming
Up Next...
The Ages of Music
“Baroque” Oct 22 “Romantic” Jan 21
“Classical” Dec 3 “Modern” Mar 11
Saturdays at 2:00 p.m.
Support for Young People’s Concerts is provided by The Theodore H. Barth Foundation.
TuneUp! is made possible by an endowment in the name of Lillian Butler Davey.
COURTNEY LEWIS conductor
ERIC OWENS bass-baritone
THEODORE WIPRUD host
GUSTAV MAHLER
GIOACHINO ROSSINI
AARON COPLAND
Birthday: July 7, 1860
Birthplace: Kalischt, Bohemia
Musical start: First introduced to music through
street songs, dance tunes, folk melodies, and the
marches of the local military band.
Fun fact: Mahler moved to New York in 1909 to be
chief conductor of the New York Philharmonic!
Birthday: February 29, 1792
Birthplace: Pesaro, Italy
Musical start: Began playing triangle
in his father’s band at age six.
Fun fact: Rossini was a fan of fine food.
A famous French chef even created a recipe
for him. “Tournedos Rossini” is a steak dish with
foie gras (goose liver) and black truffle mushrooms!
G
Birthday: November 14, 1900
Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York
Musical start: His older sister, Laurine, gave
him his first piano lessons.
Fun fact: Copland earned the title “Dean of
American Composers” for his influence on generations of American composers.
ustav Mahler was known in his time as a leading orchestral and operatic conductor.
ne of America’s great artists, Aaron Copland skillfully combined folk songs from
Today, he is loved around the world as a great Romantic composer of symphonies and
n Italian composer of dozens of operas, Gioachino Rossini was celebrated for his
around the globe with modern composition techniques to create sounds that evoke
songs. His music combines a deep feeling for humanity, a longing for the divine, and a love of
inspired, lyrical melodies. He was one of the most famous composers of his day
the beauty of the American landscape. Appalachian Spring was composed as a
nature — he often composed in his studio in the forest by a lake. Des Knaben
and amassed a great fortune during his lifetime. He was
ballet that tells the story of a newlywed couple living in Pennsylvania during the 1800s on
Wunderhorn, The Boy’s Magic Horn, is a set of songs for voice and orchestra based on a
called both the “Little German” and the “Italian
a Shaker settlement. The Shakers, a religious group, composed thousands of songs —
SONG
collection of German folk poems. Most of the songs were composed before Mahler began
Mozart” for his devotion to the music of Mozart.
musical “gifts” — as part of their beliefs. In “Variations on a Shaker Melody,”
Music with words,
work on his symphonies and several songs evolved into movements in his 2nd, 3rd, and 4th
Based on a folk hero of Switzerland, William
Copland takes the theme of the Shaker song
or
lyrics,
easy
enough
for
symphonies. Whether a song is about being rejected in love or a tale with a moral ending,
Tell was the last opera Rossini composed.
“Simple Gifts” and creates variations on
anyone
to
sing.
Simple
songs
OPERA
Mahler creates sudden shifts in color and combines tender, lyrical passages with
It is most famous for its Overture, which is
that theme, changing the instrumentaA big piece of music
usually have one syllable of lyric
energetic rhythmic drive. These musical clashes may represent Mahler’s belief that
divided into four parts: Prelude (Dawn),
tion, accompaniment, rhythm, and
with
words and characters
for each note of music, move
humanity is filled with irony and life is bittersweet.
written only for the cellos, double basses,
character of the music.
telling a story. An opera is usually
mostly by step, have a modest
and timpani (not heard today); Storm, for
performed by several solo singers
range from the lowest to the
full orchestra with prominent low brass; Call
TONE
PAINTING
Music
composed
to
illustrate
the
meaning
or
with theatrical staging and coshighest note, and use the
to the Dairy Cows, featuring the flute and
tumes,
and often with a chorus,
setting
of
a
song
or
opera,
like
flowing
music
for
a
river
or
same melody over and
English horn; and Finale (March of the Swiss
dance, film, or other elements.
bird-like sounds for a forest.
over.
Soldiers) — one of the best known pieces in classiOperas have been composed
cal music with its catchy cavalry gallop.
and performed all over the
A
O
GEORGE GERSHWIN
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART
Birthday: September 26, 1898
Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York
Musical start: He had no interest in music until he was 10 years old, when he attended a friend’s
violin recital. Then he started playing on the family piano, originally purchased for his older brother, Ira.
Fun fact: Gershwin was the soloist in the world premiere performance of his Piano Concerto in F with
the New York Philharmonic in 1925.
Birthday: January 27, 1756
Birthplace: Salzburg, Austria
Musical start: Began piano lessons at age three with his father,
Leopold.
Fun fact: Mozart wrote his first symphony when he was 8 years old
during his “free” time (he had a six-week break from his busy concert
schedule while his father was recovering from illness)!
W
olfgang Amadeus Mozart composed such delightful music, such graceful melodies with such profound emotion,
that he has remained one of the most popular composers for over two hundred years. A rare musical genius, he
developed whole pieces in his mind and wrote them down in a single draft. Mozart’s Don Giovanni, an opera written
in Italian, portrays a fictional character whose adventures — especially his trickery — became legendary. In the aria
“Madamina, il catalogo è questo,” we hear Don Giovanni’s servant, Leporello, recite a list of all of Don
Giovanni’s girlfriends (1,003!). In just one song we get a sense of Mozart’s playfulness, seriousness, and cleverness.
world in many styles and
traditions.
B
orn in Brooklyn, George Gershwin led a double life writing for both Broadway and the concert hall, but always in his distinctive jazz style. He often
worked in collaboration with his elder brother Ira, who wrote lyrics for his songs. Together they gave musical voice to the 1920s and 30s, now
referred to as the “Jazz Age.” They created many musicals for Broadway, one of which, Porgy and Bess (based on a novel by DuBose Heyward), is
equally at home in the opera house. George Gershwin called Porgy and Bess a “folk opera,” drawing on different kinds of folk songs he knew: blues,
praying songs, street cries, and spirituals. He even traveled to a small island near Charleston, South Carolina, to get a feel for the locale of Heyward’s
play, and the music there. Inspired by his trip, he wrote his own spirituals and folk songs, and blended them craftily with traditional opera elements.
Meet the musicians…
Yoobin Son, Flute
Hometown: Seoul, Korea Years playing in the New York Philharmonic: 3.5
Fun fact about the flute: Most human cultures from different regions have their own forms of flute.
In Rossini’s William Tell Overture, the flute mimics a Swiss Alpine shepherd. What else can
the flute depict? With its high pitch and agile quality, flute is often used to describe birds (Peter and the Wolf, Carnival of the Animals, etc.).
Do you remember the first time you played Mahler? It was Mahler Symphony No. 5. I loved having four flutes in the section and
playing low unison parts together to create an amazing and somber sound quality.
You just came back from a Philharmonic tour in California. What is one of your favorite memories traveling
with the Orchestra? Playing for audiences in my hometown of Seoul, Korea. Some of my family members came, and they were very proud.
Alan Baer, Tuba
Hometown: Erie, PA Years playing in the New York Philharmonic: 12
Fun fact about the tuba: It's the youngest brass instrument, invented in the late 1800s.
You just came back from teaching at the Philharmonic’s Shanghai Orchestra Academy. What
was it like? The students there are very kind, appreciative, and eager to learn from someone from the U.S. The best part of
being in Shanghai was seeing the lights at the Bund, the part of the city along a river that is quite beautiful, especially at night.
There is only one tuba in the Orchestra. Do you ever get lonely? NO! It's nice being your own section.
Actually, I’m part of a bigger section or family — the brass section. Here I am the largest and lowest instrument of all the brass instruments.
So no, I don’t get lonely.
If the tuba was going to portray a character in an opera, what would that character be like? I think it would be like
the Road Runner. Just out to have fun and not too worried about someone else's funny business!
About the artists…
Courtney Lewis became Assistant Conductor of the New York Philharmonic in September 2014. Born in Belfast, Northern
Ireland, Courtney has conducted his way across the United States over the past seven years: he is currently music director of the
Jacksonville Symphony and has appeared with the Atlanta, National, and Detroit symphony orchestras; Los Angeles Philharmonic;
Minnesota Orchestra; and Houston and St. Louis symphonies, among others. He studied composition and clarinet at the University
of Cambridge and conducting at the Royal Northern College of Music.
As the 2015–16 Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence at the New York Philharmonic, bass-baritone Eric Owens
appears as soloist throughout the season, and is expanding the role of the Philharmonic’s Artist-in-Residence by curating
programs and participating in educational activities. This season includes performances with orchestras such as the
St. Louis Symphony, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, and Minnesota Orchestra, in works including
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Brahms’s A German Requiem, and Dvořák’s Stabat Mater. Operatic highlights include performances at The Metropolitan Opera, Santa Fe Opera, and the Washington National Opera. At the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.,
he performs an evening of jazz standards, and he also appears in recital at colleges and universities across the country.
Theodore Wiprud — Vice President, Education, The Sue B. Mercy Chair — has overseen the New York Philharmonic’s
wide range of in-school programs, educational concerts, adult programs, and online offerings since 2004. He has also created
educational and community-based programs at the Brooklyn Philharmonic, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and American Composers
Orchestra. An active composer, Ted has worked as a teaching artist and resident composer in a number of New York City schools.
What’s Young People’s Concerts 2016–17:
Coming
Up Next...
The Ages of Music
u
TneUp!
S AT U R D AY
M AY 1 4 , 2 0 1 6
“Baroque” Oct 22 “Romantic” Jan 21
“Classical” Dec 3 “Modern” Mar 11
Support for Young People’s Concerts is provided by The Theodore H. Barth Foundation.
TuneUp! is made possible by an endowment in the name of Lillian Butler Davey.
TM
Welcome to the Young People’s Concerts !
Everyone knows songs, everyone sings songs — do you have a favorite song?
What makes that song a song? And what happens when we add an orchestra
to a song? Welcome to Story and Song, our final Young People’s Concert of
a season devoted to words and music. We’ll push the boundaries of song in
music by Gustav Mahler and Aaron Copland, and then dive into the world of opera – a
world of outsized feelings and glorious melody. How big can emotions get with the help of
a great orchestra and a great singer like Eric Owens? We’ll find out, so warm-up those vocal chords and
get ready for the season finale!
T
H
E
P
R
O
G
R
A
M
ROSSINI
Selection from William Tell Overture
MAHLER
Selections from Des Knaben Wunderhorn
(The Boy’s Magic Horn)
“Trost im Unglück”
“Des Antonius von Padua Fischpredigt”
MAHLER
Selection from Symphony No. 2 in C minor, Resurrection
COPLAND
“Variations on a Shaker Melody,” from Appalachian Spring
MOZART
“Madamina, il catalogo è questo,” from Don Giovanni, K.527
GERSHWIN
Selections from Porgy and Bess
“I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin’”
“Where’s My Bess”
“O, Lawd, I’m on My Way”
A Night
at the
Opera
COURTNEY LEWIS conductor
ERIC OWENS bass-baritone
THEODORE WIPRUD host