Set design for Scheherazade’s bedroom by Léon Bakst, 1910 Ballet Russes production
ARABIAN NIGHTS
2017 Tour of Israel & Europe:
Pre-tour Concert
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CONCERT PROGRAM
Oskar Morawetz
Carnival Overture, Op. 2
Pierre Boulez
Le soleil des eaux
I. Complainte du lézard amoureux
(Lament of the lizard in love)
II. La Sorgue, chanson pour Yvonne
(The Sorgue, song for Yvonne)
Wednesday, May 3, 2017
8:00pm
Peter Oundjian
conductor
Carla Huhtanen
soprano
Soundstreams Choir 21
Intermission
David Fallis
Artistic Director
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Scheherazade, Op. 35
I. The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship: Largo e maestoso –
Allegro non troppo
II. The Tale of Prince Kalendar: Lento – Allegro molto
III. The Young Prince and the Princess:
Andantino quasi allegretto
IV. The Festival at Baghdad – The Sea – The Ship Goes to
Pieces on a Rock: Allegro molto
Jonathan Crow, violin (Tom Beck Concertmaster Chair)
Peter
Oundjian
Music
Director
This week, we are performing the repertoire that we will take on tour to Israel and
Europe. I am very excited about the tour, and about the opportunity to play in
some of the finest venues in the world. I cannot think of a more perfect showcase
for this orchestra than Rimsky-Korsakov’s wonderful Scheherazade, a work that
we have played many times and recorded. The dazzling orchestration highlights
every section of this virtuoso ensemble, and of course, it features the solo playing
of our amazing Concertmaster, Jonathan Crow. Soprano Carla Huhtanen and
Soundstreams Choir 21 join us for Le soleil des eaux, a luminous work by Pierre
Boulez, richly detailed, intense, a colourful poem for voices and orchestra. Boulez
was one of the great explorers of 20th-century music, and this piece is one of
his finest achievements. And the concert opens with a true Canadian classic, the
Carnival Overture by Oskar Morawetz, an exciting, tuneful work that looks back at
the great European tradition.
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THE DETAILS
Oskar Morawetz
Carnival Overture, Op. 2
5
min
Born: Světlá nad Sázavou, Bohemia, Jan 17, 1917
Died: Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Jun 13, 2007
Composed: 1946
Oskar Morawetz is one of Canada’s most
distinguished and most frequently performed
composers. After early studies in Prague, Vienna,
and Paris, in 1940 he escaped from the growing
tide of Nazi terror by emigrating to Toronto. He
was appointed a professor at the University of
Toronto in 1952 and served there with distinction
until his retirement 30 years later. His numerous
honours include membership in the Order of
Ontario (the first composer to be admitted) and
the Order of Canada, and a JUNO Award for his
Harp Concerto.
He created a substantial catalogue of music in
virtually all major forms, from piano solos and
songs through chamber music to choral works.
Among his most highly regarded compositions
are the Piano Concerto and Sinfonietta for winds
and percussion, both premièred by Zubin Mehta,
while his deeply moving creations Memorial
to Martin Luther King (commissioned by cellist
Mstislav Rostropovich) and From the Diary
[Carnival Overture is]
very much in the style of
what Slavic composers
did at the end of the last
[19th] century, like the
Carnival [Overture] by
Dvořák; you know, I didn’t have it in mind.
But if I write something sad it’s never typically
Czech, and if I write something happy, it’s
never typically Dvořák. It’s just a mixture.
—Oskar Morawetz
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of Anne Frank have been performed on four
continents.
His orchestral works have proven especially
successful. They have been programmed in
North and South America, Europe, Australia,
and Asia by nearly 120 orchestras and by such
outstanding conductors as Seiji Ozawa, Rafael
Kubelik, Kurt Masur, and Sir Adrian Boult. Other
pieces have been commissioned by such
renowned artists as Maureen Forrester, the
Orford Quartet, and the Toronto Symphony
Orchestra (Symphony No. 2, 1959).
His style absorbed, in his own distinctly personal
way, several trends of the 20th century, but he
was never attracted to serial music or the latest
avant-garde styles such as chance or electronic
music. Musicologists and critics usually stress
the melodic and rhythmic vitality of his music,
sincerity of expression, his sense for building up
powerful, dramatic climaxes, and his colourful
and imaginative orchestration. Stylistically, he
was a self-avowed traditionalist: “Ever since I
was a child, music has meant for me something
terribly emotional, and I still believe there has to
be some kind of melodic line,” he said.
Carnival Overture is his earliest surviving
orchestral work. Conductor and composer
Sir Ernest MacMillan (who led the Toronto
Symphony Orchestra from 1931 to 1956) coined
the title, reacting, in his words, to the music’s
“tremendous rhythmic vitality and colourful
orchestration.”
Program note by Don Anderson
Pierre Boulez
Le soleil des eaux
11
min
Born: Montbrison, France, Mar 26, 1925
Died: Baden-Baden, Germany, Jan 5, 2016
Composed: 1948; rev. 1950, 1958, and 1965
Pierre Boulez was a multitalented international
force in the post-Second-World-War musical
world. He won fame in his high-profile
activities as composer, conductor, author, and
administrator, and his strong opinions (“all the
art of the past must be destroyed”) regularly
stirred controversy.
After studying at the Paris Conservatoire with
Olivier Messiaen, he quickly found fame as the
composer of such powerful and provocative
avant-garde pieces as Le marteau sans maître
(The hammer without a master), Pli selon pli
(Fold by fold), and Répons (Answer). His other
activities, and his regular practice of revising
earlier works, led to his composing only a
relatively small amount of music.
His 60-year career as a conductor won him
his most widespread renown. He succeeded
Leonard Bernstein as Music Director of the New
York Philharmonic (1971–1977) and developed
enduring relationships with major orchestras
in the USA (including Chicago and Cleveland)
“THE NECESSITY FOR
ATONALITY”
Around the time of composing Le soleil
des eaux, Boulez was deep into the 12-tone
technique of Schoenberg. As he would
famously write in 1952, “I...assert that any
musician who has not experienced the
necessity for the dodecaphonic [12-tone]
language is USELESS.”
and Europe (BBC Symphony Orchestra, and the
Vienna and Berlin Philharmonics). He specialized
not only in the classics of the 20th century but
also in French music dating back to Berlioz, and
the super-romantic operas and symphonies
of Wagner and Mahler. He was a prolific and
distinguished recording artist, winning 26
GRAMMY® Awards and a GRAMMY® Lifetime
Achievement Award (2015) for his work on disc.
Boulez was just 23 when he composed incidental
music for a radio play called Le soleil des eaux
(The sun of the waters). The text was by René
Char (1907–1988), a poet who had been an
active member of the French Resistance during
the Second World War, and who shared Boulez’s
radical outlook. It concerned a fisherman who
opposed the commercial development of a river.
Over the following 17 years, Boulez developed
the music into the version you will hear at this
concert.
It sets two of Char’s surreal poems—“Lament of
the Lizard in Love” and “The Sorgue” (referring to
a river in southeastern France)—using the serial
techniques developed by Arnold Schoenberg.
Boulez called for singers and a large orchestra,
and asked every performer for an enormous
range of volume and expression. Author
Dominique Jameux succinctly and poetically
described the two sections: “after lament,
incantation; after contemplation, action; after
lyricism, drama; after seduction, violence.”
Program note by Don Anderson
For the text and translation to Le soleil des
eaux, please turn to pages 24 and 25.
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THE DETAILS
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Scheherazade, Op. 35
47
min
Born: Tikhvin, Russia, Mar 18, 1844
Died: Lyubensk, Russia, Jun 21, 1908
Composed: 1888
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov mastered the art of
colourful orchestration, a skill through which
he expressed his taste for exotic subjects. It
was virtually inevitable that he would turn his
attention to one of the world’s best-known
collections of folklore, the Arabian—or 1001—
Nights. In his autobiography, he gave his
intentions in composing Scheherazade: “I had
in view the creation of an orchestral suite in
four movements, closely knit by the unity of its
themes and motives, yet presenting, as it were,
a kaleidoscope of fairy tale images...I meant
the hinted titles of the movements to direct but
slightly the hearer’s fancy on the path which my
own fancy had travelled.”
He attached the following introduction to
the score: “The Sultan Shakriar, convinced of
FOR VLADIMIR STASOV
The idea of composing Scheherazade came
to Rimsky-Korsakov during the early months
of 1888, while he was putting into shape
the materials for Borodin’s Prince Igor—the
opera’s Oriental element, represented by
the Polovtsians, may have been his primary
inspiration. After producing an outline and
a few sketches, he completed the score
(in three weeks) at a restful retreat near
Lake Cheryemenyetskoye. He dedicated
the suite to Vladimir Stasov, a prominent
Russian critic who advised “The Mighty
Handful”, the group of Russian composers
of which Rimsky-Korsakov was a member.
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the falsehood and inconstancy of all women,
had sworn an oath to put to death each of his
wives after the first night. However, the Sultana
Scheherazade saved her life by arousing his
interest in the tales which she told during the
1001 nights. Driven by curiosity, the Sultan
postponed her execution from day to day, and at
last abandoned his bloodthirsty design.”
The suite opens with a stern brass theme
that could represent the bloodthirsty sultan.
Answering it is the most important recurring
motive, a bewitching melody sung by the solo
violin: the voice of Scheherazade. Early on,
Rimsky-Korsakov begins to dot the score with
the featured passages for solo instruments—flute,
clarinet, cello, and horn—that make the entire
suite a marvellous orchestral showpiece.
The kaleidoscopic second movement has the
character of a scherzo, with the solo bassoon
launching the tale in a sinuous manner. Throughout,
solo winds rhapsodize in flexible rhythm over a
throbbing string accompaniment, and a war-like
fanfare introduced by trombones and tuba plays
an important role in the fantastic proceedings.
The third movement offers a luscious romantic
reverie; a dance, tinged with light percussion,
appears at the core. The finale is a boisterous
carnival, where themes heard earlier in the suite
jostle for attention. It is ultimately crowned by a
colossal climax, after which the “Scheherazade”
theme returns one last time. Keening softly in
the heights, it rocks the theme of the Sultan, its
bullying tone now soothed, in a tender lullaby.
Program note by Don Anderson
THE ARTISTS
Peter Oundjian
conductor
A dynamic presence in the conducting world, Torontoborn conductor Peter Oundjian is renowned for his
probing musicality, collaborative spirit, and engaging
personality. Oundjian’s appointment as Music Director
of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) in 2004
reinvigorated the Orchestra with numerous recordings,
tours, and acclaimed innovative programming as well as extensive audience growth,
thereby significantly strengthening the ensemble’s presence in the world. In 2014,
he led the TSO on a tour of Europe, which included a sold-out performance at
Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw and the first performance of a North American
orchestra at Reykjavik’s Harpa Hall. In May 2017, Oundjian leads the TSO in its firstever touring appearances in Israel, with performances in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv,
before travelling to Europe and appearing in Vienna, Prague, Regensburg, and Essen.
Few conductors bring such musicianship and engagement as Oundjian does to
the world’s great podiums—from Berlin, Amsterdam, and Tel Aviv, to New York,
Chicago, and Sydney. He has also appeared at some of the great annual gatherings
of music and music lovers: from the BBC Proms and the Prague Spring Festival to the
Edinburgh Festival and The Philadelphia Orchestra’s Mozart Festival where he was
Artistic Director from 2003 to 2005.
Oundjian was appointed Music Director of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra
(RSNO) in 2012. Under his baton, the orchestra has enjoyed several successful tours
including one to China, and has continued its relationship with Chandos Records. He
was previously Principal Guest Conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (2006–
2010) and Artistic Director of the Caramoor International Music Festival (1997–2007).
Since 1981, he has been a visiting professor at the Yale School of Music, and was
awarded the university’s Sanford Medal for distinguished service to music in 2013.
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THE ARTISTS
Carla Huhtanen
soprano
Carla Huhtanen made her TSO début in April 2016.
Carla débuted in the UK as Lisetta in Garsington Opera’s
La gazzetta (Rossini), and returned as Serpetta in La finta
giardiniera, repeated at the Barbican Centre. She débuted
in Italy at Teatro la Fenice as Daisy Park in Gershwin’s
Lady, Be Good!, and returned as Athenaïs in Cherubini’s
Anacreon; in France, the title role of Purcell’s The Fairy Queen and Angelica in
Handel’s Orlando at festivals in Marseilles, Aix-en-Provence, Antibes, and Chartres.
She sang at Lisbon’s Teatro Sao Carlos in Lady, Be Good! and starred in a Bernstein
Tribute with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. She has been praised for her “vivid,
fine-toned, accurately placed coloratura” (Independent) and her “clarity of tone and
smoothness of line matched only by her exquisite acting” (Opera Now).
Current and upcoming seasons include Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem
Serail for Opera Columbus, Cantatrix Sopranica by Unsuk Chin for Soundstreams,
a concert with Ensemble Diagonal (Paris), and Melanto in Monteverdi’s Il ritorno di
Ulisse in Patria with Opera Atelier. In 2015/16, she sang with Dublin's RTÉ Orchestra
(Bernstein), with Opera Atelier and Versailles Opera in Lully’s Armide, with the Toronto
Symphony Orchestra in Abigail Schulte-Richardson’s Alligator Pie, and in Tapestry
Opera's Rocking Horse Winner.
She appeared in 2014/15 with the National Ballet of Canada (Owen Pallett), the Art
of Time Ensemble (Crumb), and Lully’s Persée with Opera Atelier in Toronto and
Versailles. Highlights with Opera Atelier include Mozart’s Susanna, Blonde, Zerlina,
and Papagena/First Lady, Charpentier’s Actéon, and Ännchen in Der Freischütz.
Other past highlights include Cunegonde in Candide with the BBC Concert
Orchestra (Royal Festival Hall), and for the Valletta Festival in Malta. She also toured
as a soloist with the Royal Philharmonic under Carl Davis in the UK and Germany.
A leading interpreter of contemporary music, she has worked closely with
composers Kaija Saariaho, Philippe Leroux, and Steve Reich in showcase concerts,
and performs the music of Giacinto Scelsi, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Thomas Adès, and
Oliver Knussen.
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Soundstreams Choir 21
David Fallis
Artistic Director
Soundstreams Choir 21 made its TSO début in
March 2012.
Founded in 2010 by Soundstreams Artistic Director
Lawrence Cherney, Choir 21 is a preeminent group
of exceptional singers selected by Music Director
David Fallis. Soundstreams Choir 21 members are
handpicked for their ability to perform contemporary choral music. They are drawn
from a pool of professional choristers that includes the Canadian Opera Company
Chorus, Tafelmusik Choir, and The Elmer Iseler Singers.
The choir appears in Soundstreams’ concerts under David Fallis and with renowned
guest conductors such as James MacMillan, Tõnu Kaljuste, and Péter Eötvös.
Choir 21 has performed for the Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s New Creations
Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, Art of Time, and Continuum, and
presented a joint concert with Frieder Bernius’s Stuttgart Chamber Choir.
Committed to keeping choral music alive, Choir 21 supports the ongoing evolution
of this compelling and enduring medium into the 21st century.
Soprano
Elizabeth Anderson
Sheila Dietrich
Amy Dodington
Giselle Kulak
Teresa Mahon
Julia Morson
Carol Woodward
Ratzlaff
Alto
Veronika Anissimova
Margaret Bardos
Diane English
Claudia Lemcke
Colleen Renihan
Alison Roy
Loralie Vancourt
Jessica Wright
Tenor
Charles Davidson
Colin Frotten
Jonathan MacArthur
Mitchell Pady
Robert Rawlins
Bud Roach
Michael Sawarna
Andrew Walker
Bass
Neil Aronoff
Richard Hrytzak
Matthew Li
Bryan Martin
Craig Morash
Sean Nix
John Pepper
Chris Petersen
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