july 24, 26
SOMMERFEST Strauss: The Waltz King
Minnesota Orchestra
Andrew Litton, conductor
Adam Kuenzel, flute | Greg Milliren, flute | Steven Campbell, tuba
Strauss: The Waltz King
Friday, July 24, 2015, 8 pm
Sunday, July 26, 2015, 2 pm
Orchestra Hall
Orchestra Hall
Johann Strauss, Jr.
Overture to The Gypsy Baron
ca. 8’
Johann Strauss, Jr.
Schatz Walzer (Treasure Waltz), from The Gypsy Baron
ca. 7’
Josef Strauss
Stiefmütterchen (Pansies), Polka-Mazurka
ca. 5’
Johann Strauss, Jr.
Bitte schön! (If You Please!), Polka française
ca. 4’
Johann Strauss, Jr.
Auf der Jagd (On the Hunt), Polka schnell
ca. 2’
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Concerto in F minor for Tuba and Orchestra
Allegro moderato
Romanza: Andante sostenuto
Finale, Rondo alla tedesca: Allegro
Steven Campbell, tuba
I
N
T
E
R
M
I
S
S
I
O
ca. 12’
N
Josef Strauss
Dynamiden Waltzes (The Mysterious Powers of Magnetism)
Johann Strauss, Jr.
Flugschriften (Pamphlets) Waltz
ca. 9’
Eduard Strauss
Bahn frei! (Clear Track!), Polka schnell
ca. 2’
Eduard Strauss
Ohne Bremse (Without Brakes), Polka schnell
ca. 4’
Andrew Litton’s profile appears on page 12, Adam Kuenzel’s and Greg Milliren’s on page 52, and
Steven Campbell’s on page 51.
thank you
38
ca. 20’
Sommerfest is presented by U.S. Bank
MINN E S O T A O R CH ESTRA
SHOWC A SE
ca. 10’
Program Notes
Georges Bizet/
arr. François Borne/
ed. James Walker
Carmen Fantasy, for Two Flutes and Orchestra
Adam Kuenzel, flute; Greg Milliren, flute
Johann Strauss, Jr.
Kaiserwalzer (Emperor Waltzes)
july 24, 26
ca. 8’
ca. 10’
magical music, effervescent moods
Vienna in the
19th century was
a city of glamour
and charm—and it
was passionately
The famous golden
in love with
statue of Strauss in
Vienna’s Stadtpark.
dancing, requiring
thousands of waltzes, polkas, galops, marches
and other dances to satisfy its voracious appetite.
At the center of this world of gaiety, shimmering
with chandeliers and reeling with romance, was
the Strauss family, ushered in by Johann, Sr., and
brought to the height of fame and fortune by his
three sons, Johann, Jr., Josef and Eduard.
Johann Strauss, Jr.
trio, “Ha, seht, es winkt, es blinkt, es klingt” (“Ha, look, it
beckons, it glitters, it jingles”), in which Barinkay, joined
by Saffi and Czipra, sings of the treasure (Schatz) he has
just found at his late father’s estate.
Born: October 25, 1825, Vienna
Died: June 3, 1899, Vienna
Overture to The Gypsy Baron
d
er Zigeunerbaron (The Gypsy Baron), is a tale of
gypsies, buried treasure, zesty Hungarian flavor and
of course Viennese Schmaltz and romance, and among
the 15 stage works of Johann Strauss, Jr., it is second in
popularity only to Die Fledermaus (1874). So deeply did
the Viennese take this music to their hearts that between
the year of its premiere, 1885, and 1909, more than
a thousand performances were given. Even the city’s
“serious” opera house, the Staatsoper, presented it, with
none less than the eminent Felix Weingartner on the
podium. The operetta’s sparkling, melodious overture gets
our Strauss celebration off on just the right note.
Schatz-Walzer (Treasure Waltz), from
The Gypsy Baron
o
ne month after the premiere of The Gypsy Baron,
Strauss assembled a waltz sequence from the
complete operetta. The title Schatz-Walzer (Treasure
Waltz) comes from the subject—and melody—of the Act II
Our concert offers a steady stream of music by the
Strausses, broken twice by delightful interruptions—
seldom-heard, fascinating concerted works by
composers who extend inspiration for this concert’s
magic well beyond Vienna.
Josef Strauss
Born: August 20, 1827, Vienna
Died: July 22, 1879, Vienna
Stiefmütterchen (Pansies)
Polka-Mazurka
a
polka-mazurka might seem to be, at least in theory,
almost a contradiction in terms: the polka is in duple
meter, the mazurka in triple. But it works. In Josef Strauss’
Stiefmütterchen, the meter belongs to the mazurka (three
beats to the bar, but with the accent on the first), the
structure belongs to the polka (two principal themes heard
in quick succession, and a central “trio” section often with
a new theme and in a different key). The genre became
popular in the 1850s; the first written by any Strauss was in
1854, with Johann’s La Viennoise. Stiefmütterchen (Pansies)
is one of at least a dozen pieces by Josef named after a
flower. It was first performed at a benefit concert organized
by the composer and held in Vienna’s Volksgarten on July 7,
1865. The ethereally beautiful ending is of special note.
S O M M ERFES T 2015
M I NNES O TA O RCHES T R A
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