Arctic Chamber Orchestra, Sept 30, 2007

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Overture to Creatures of Prometheus, OP. 43

Ludwig van Beethoven was born on December 16, 1770, in Bonn, Germany and died on March 26, 1827, in Vienna, Austria. The overture received its premiere on March 28, 1801, in Vienna. It was last performed by the Fairbanks Symphony in 1985. The piece is scored for 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets, 2 Bassoons, 2 Horns, 2 Trumpets, Timpani, and Strings.

Beethoven worked on his ballet The Creatures of Prometheus during 1800 and early 1801. In Greek mythology, Prometheus is the Titan who took fire from Zeus and gave it to mortal man. Prometheus was duly punished for his actions by Zeus, being chained to a mountain top where for eternity he would have his liver eaten (daily) by an eagle. Beethoven's literary contemporaries Lord Byron and Goethe wrote poems on the legend of Prometheus depicting him as an intelligent and cunning figure who had sympathy for mankind. The word promethean refers to events or people of great creativity, intellect and boldness which is also an apt description of Beethoven himself.

The Overture to The Creatures of Prometheus falls stylistically into the composer's early period (dating from the years up to 1802). He wrote the complete score of this ballet after finishing his First Symphony and before starting on his Second Symphony. He would later use music from the ballet in his epic and heroic Third Symphony.

The opening is typical of Beethoven: dramatic chords by the full orchestra demanding the listener's attention. Suspense is maintained by a lack of a clear harmonic or rhythmic progression until a momentary pause. Only then does the slow music unfold, leading to the lively main body of the piece, reminiscent of Mozart's overture to Così fan tutte. At the time of its writing, the Viennese convention for this type of opening number was for an entertaining and dramatic work. Beethoven achieves this and the orchestral brilliance is especially clear in the fast section of the overture.

The overture was Beethoven's first attempt in this genre and was published as a stand alone piece in January 1804. He often used this overture to start his public concerts in which he introduced many of his newly written compositions. The overture still remains popular with audiences today.

Richard Strauss was born June 11, 1864 in Munich and died September 8, 1949 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. A composer of the late romantic era and early modern era, he was particularly noted for his tone poems and operas. The Concerto for Oboe was first performed on February 26, 1946 in Zurich, Switzerland. Marcel Saillet was soloist with the Tonhalle Orchestra conducted by Volkmar Andreae. The work was last performed in Fairbanks in 1996 by Marc Fink and the Arctic Chamber Orchestra. The concerto is scored for 2 Flutes, 1 English Horn, 2 Clarinets, 2 Bassoons, 2 Horns and Strings.

The Concerto for Oboe was composed in 1945-46 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in the Bavarian Alps, and is one of the composer's last works. Apparently the impetus to write the concerto came from John De Lancie - the later famous principal oboist of the Philadelphia Orchestra - who visited Strauss's home in Garmisch-Partenkirchen during the last weeks of fighting in Germany during the second World War. It is interesting to note that Mr. De Lancie was a Sergeant in the US Army during World War II.

During a series of visits with the elderly composer, De Lancie asked if Strauss had a special love for the oboe and if he ever considered writing a concerto for the instrument since he wrote so beautifully for it [the instrument] in so many of his tone poems and operas. Strauss simply said "No". Apparently though, this question sparked some interest in the composer. A few months later, De Lancie, still a member of the intelligence branch of the U.S. Army in Europe, received a letter from his brother, a soldier in the South Pacific. Tucked in the letter was a clipping from an Okinawa-based armed forces newspaper, reporting: "The world will get a new oboe concerto from the pen of the famous Richard Strauss, 81-year-old composer, because an American soldier asked the master to write him a few bars of music for the oboe..."

Richard Strauss' Concerto for Oboe is generally considered to be one of the most significant additions to the oboe literature in the 20th century. The concerto demands a facile finger technique and complete mastery of breathing and air support on the part of the soloist. Still, the work is firmly rooted in the romantic style and as the music unfolds, the audience is swept along on a sonic journey of the beautiful and impassioned sounds of the oboe for which Strauss was so keenly adept at scoring his compositions.

Franz Joseph Haydn was born on March 31, 1732 in Rohrau, Austria and died on May 31, 1809 in Vienna. He was one of the most prominent composers of the Classical period, and is called by some the "Father of the Symphony". The Symphony No. 104 in D major (Hoboken 1/104) is his final symphony and is known as the London Symphony. It received its premiere in London at the King's Theatre on May 4, 1795. The work is scored for pairs of Flutes, Oboes, Clarinets, Bassoons, Horns and Trumpets, with Timpani and Strings.

The Symphony No. 104 was composed by Haydn while he was living in London in 1795. In fact, Haydn's last twelve symphonies were composed for performance in England during his two journeys there in 1791-92 and 1794-95. His English visits were one of the most fruitful and happy periods of his life.

In 1795, for historical perspective, George Washington was in his 7th year as President of the new United States, Napoleon Bonaparte was beginning his rise to power in France and Alexander Baranof first sailed into Sitka Bay (Alaska).

The symphony is laid out in the classical style which Haydn had developed and perfected during his career. The first movement begins with a slow and somber introduction in D minor before embarking on the lively Allegro. The main theme, in D major, is upbeat and a great contrast to the introduction. After the development ends abruptly, the main theme returns and brings the movement to a grand conclusion.

The slower second movement is basically in the A-B-A song form. The theme, in G Major, is serenely simple and lends itself well to variation. The B section explores the key of G minor while at the return of the A section, he continues his exploration and variation of the theme before ending the movement quietly in G Major.

The third movement menuetto is wonderful diversion. It is full of articulated gestures and rhythmic vitality. In the contrasting and lyrical trio section, the winds are featured over a delicate accompaniment.

The last movement, back in D Major, is a spirited finale. The main theme, set over a drone in the lower instruments, is the basis for the whole movement. Haydn's sense of drama is ever present as he develops a simple yet endearing Croatian folk theme to a rousing conclusion.

Johannes Brahms was born on May 7, 1833 in Hamburg, and died on April 3, 1897 in Vienna. The second piano concerto was begun in spring of 1878 and completed at Pressbaum near Vienna on July 7, 1881. The first public performance took place on November 9, 1881 in Budapest, with Alexander Erkel conducting the Orchestra of the National Theater, with Brahms as the soloist. The last FSO performance of this concerto was in 1991, with pianist Geir Henning Braaten as soloist. The concerto is scored for solo piano, two flutes, piccolo, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, timpani, and strings.

"I have written a tiny little concerto with a tiny little wisp of a Scherzo." The "tiny concerto" to which Brahms is referring is no other than the monumental second piano concerto with four movements. To the normal three-movement form, Brahms had added a Scherzo which is there because, as he said - "Well, you see, the first movement is so harmless." All of these statements are generally made in jest for as Eduard Hanslick, a noted Brahms partisan, described this concerto as "a symphony with piano obligato." In this concerto Brahms demands (from the soloist) an enormous amount of stamina, intellect and musicality to bring out all the elements in this work. The pianist must command the technique to handle some of the most awkward and difficult passages that Brahms ever wrote for the instrument. Critics have stated that "The pianist who plays this B-flat concerto must, to a great extent, renounce his position as a virtuoso and become a mere journeyman at the piano, executing the pianistic toil imposed upon him by the composer with groans - and by sweat of his brow..This concerto calls for blood and sweat."

The concerto begins with a noble horn call answered with an arpeggiated statement by the piano. After a brief but powerful cadenza, the full orchestra plays a magnificent tutti, introducing the themes of the first movement. Brahms was always a classicist in his composition, modeling this concerto on Beethoven. The movement proceeds in a straight forward Sonata Allegro form, pitting the soloist in a true battle with the orchestra.

The second movement is an exciting and restless Scherzo, a form which had been reserved for the symphony and, until this concerto, never appeared as a movement in a solo concerto. It contains complicated syncopations and cross-rhythms, providing visceral energy. The Trio is in a triumphal key of D Major and exhibits wonderful horn fanfares and pianistic pyrotechnical display.

The third movement can be labeled as an "Intermezzo." It begins with a lengthy introduction by the orchestra which features a magnificent solo for the cello. This is another example of the tragedy that Brahms never ventured to write a solo cello concerto. This movement contains moments of extreme beauty, rhapsodic passion and sublime intimacy.

The finale is in a Rondo form containing Viennese charm and rhythmic vitality. The movement contains some of the most difficult piano writing, which includes fast scales in thirds and extended passages in double notes. The concerto concludes with a fiery coda; bring all the forces together for an exciting conclusion.

Along with such piano concertos as Rachmaninoff 3rd, Prokofieff 2nd, and Bartok 2nd, the Brahms 2nd piano concerto is a pillar of piano repertoire and the standard by which the concert pianist is measured.

Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904)
Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Opus 95, from the New World

Antonin Dvorak was born on September 8, 1841 in Nelahozeves, Bohemia and died on May 1, 1904 in Prague. Symphony No. 9 was composed between December 1892 and May 1893. The official premiere took place on December 15, 1893 with Anton Seidl conducting the New York Philharmonic. The last performance of this work by the Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra was in 2000. The symphony is scored for 2 flutes and piccolo, two oboes and English horn, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, triangle, cymbals, and strings.

In 1892, Jeanette Thurber, the wife of a wealthy New York business man, convinced Dvorak, whose reputation at this time as a symphony composer was surpassed only by Brahms, to be the director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York City. Dvorak spent the next three years in the United States. American audiences loved his music and he enjoyed his time in New York City as well as spending summers in Spillville, Iowa, (which had a large Bohemian community). Dvorak stated that: "My own duty as a teacher is not so much to interpret Beethoven, Wagner, and other masters of the past, but to give what encouragement I can to the young musicians of America.this nation has already surpassed so many others in marvelous inventions and feats of engineering and commerce, and it has made an honorable place for itself in literature - so it must assert itself in the other arts, and especially in the art of music." According to Thurber, the "New World Symphony" was written at her suggestion. She believed that Dvorak should write a symphony "embodying his experiences and feelings in America." Dvorak was a nationalistic Bohemian composer and in his symphonies brought elements of folk music of his native country. In Symphony No.9, he did the same with American music. He was interested in two forms of music that had origins in the United States; Native American music and African American spirituals. One of Dvorak's students at the National Conservatory was a young African American composer named Harry T. Burleigh. Dvorak transcribed every tune Burleigh knew. Dvorak's contact with Native American music came about when he saw a performance of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. Dvorak denied that he made actual use of Native American or African American themes in this symphony. He said, "I have simply written original themes embodying the peculiarities of Indian music, and using these themes as subjects, have developed them with all the resources of modern rhythms, harmony, counterpoint, and orchestral color."

The first movement begins with a slow introduction. Violas, Cellos and Basses begin the symphony with a dark descent. This mood is quickly broken by the abrupt eruption of the unison Strings in dialogue with Timpani. The famous theme of the symphony is introduced by the French Horns. This theme will be heard in different guises throughout the symphony. The beautiful second theme, played softly by the Flute, is closely related to the African American spiritual hymn, Swing Low Sweet Chariot. After an exciting development and a powerful recapitulation, the movement comes to a triumphal conclusion.

The second and third movements of the symphony have their inspiration from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's The Song of Hiawatha. It is believed that the second movement is based on one of the following three elements of the poem. The first element is Hiawatha's wooing of Minnehaha, the second is Hiawatha's funeral in the forest, and the third is Hiawatha's and Minnehaha's slow journey home after the wedding. Unfortunately, Dvorak never identified which element the movement was based upon. After a solemn brass chorale, the movement begins with a beautiful melody played by the English Horn. It was assumed that this melody was a traditional spiritual which Dvorak borrowed, but in fact it was only later that this melody became the popular song called, Goin' Home. The movement contains contrasting episodes featuring different instruments of the orchestra, before ending solemnly just like it began.

The third movement is a wild Scherzo and is referred to as Hiawatha's, "feast in the woods where the Pau-puk-Keewis dance." This is a typical symphonic Scherzo with Trio containing numerous dance elements. Dvorak masterfully recalls the opening theme of the first movement in the coda of this movement.

The finale is a tour-de-force for the orchestra. After an exciting introduction by the strings, the brass states the main theme of the movement. The finale is in Sonata Form which combines all the themes of the previous movements for its structure. The coda of the symphony brings this incredible symphony to a powerful climax, only to conclude with a fading chord in the woodwinds.

Arctic Chamber Orchestra, January 26, 2008

Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868)
Overture to "The Italian Girl in Algiers"

Gioacchino Rossini was born on February 29, 1792, in Pesaro, Italy and died on November 13, 1868, in Paris, France. The opera L'Italiana in Algeri received its premiere on May 22, 1813, in Venice. The Overture was last performed by the Arctic Chamber Orchestra in 1976. The piece is scored for Piccolo, 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets, 2 Bassoons, 2 Horns, 2 Trumpets, Percussion, and Strings.

While Rossini was an extremely gifted composer, he was also a great procrastinator! It is known that he often waited until the very last moment to compose the overtures for his many operas. He wrote about the process himself saying: "Wait until the evening before opening night. Nothing primes inspiration more than necessity, whether it be the presence of a copyist waiting for your work or the prodding of an impresario tearing at his hair."

Today he is mainly remembered and loved for his vast output of operas - he composed over 40 of them! The opera The Italian Girl in Algiers was one of Rossini's early successes. It was his tenth opera and he was just 21 years old when he composed it. Moreover, he wrote the opera in an astoundingly short period of time - just 21 days! The overture is a magnificent, if not typical, example of Rossini's many opera overtures. Full of energy, sparkle, drama and good humor, his overtures have become popular works in their own right, programmed at symphony concerts throughout the world.

The Overture to The Italian Girl in Algiers opens with an introduction which begins quietly - strings plucking out a rhythmic and harmonic pattern setting the stage for a beautifully lyrical passage for solo oboe. Soon the orchestra begins to get more and more agitated before it calms down to its quiet beginnings. The fast section begins abruptly with the woodwinds announcing a fragment of the rhythmic pattern that is to permeate the rest of the overture. Typical of Rossini's music, the music is punctuated here and there with loud chords for dramatic and comedic purpose. There are also virtuosic passages for the woodwinds in various guises and combinations. Perhaps Rossini's most striking compositional technique was his unique crescendo - layering instrument upon instrument while repeating a rhythmic and melodic pattern. It is used to great effect in this fun-filled and charming jewel of an overture.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Concerto No.1 for Flute in G Major

Mozart was born January 27, 1756, in Salzburg, Austria; died December 5, 1791, in Vienna. He composed this concerto in early 1778; the date of the first performance is not known. The last performance of this piece with the Fairbanks Symphony was in 1988 with Trevor Wye as soloist. The work is scored for 2 flutes (in the slow movement only), 2 oboes, 2 horns, and strings.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was that unique and prolific genius who wrote some of the greatest music ever written, all during a relatively short life. A child prodigy, he was taught and promoted by his father Leopold who set up tours throughout Europe to showcase his son's many talents which included exceptional skill on the violin, at the keyboard and at composition.

The young Mozart was commissioned by Ferdinand de Jong, a Dutch amateur flute player, to compose "three short, simple concertos and a couple of quartets for the flute." For this commission Mozart wrote the Flute Concerto in G Major, rescored his oboe concerto for the flute, and added a pair of quartets for flute and strings. He never did write the third concerto, though he did write an alternative slow movement (presumably for the G Major Concerto) which was published separately as the Andante in C Major, K.315.

By the time he composed the present work, Mozart was a seasoned writer of concertos, having already completed five violin concertos, five piano concertos and one concerto each for Bassoon and Oboe. Mozart did not play a wind instrument but he had a great sense of what was capable and sounded good on the wind instruments of his day. His writing for woodwinds in his orchestral pieces attest clearly to his great skill and sensibility.

The G-Major Concerto is a work of singing melody, elegance and grace. The concerto is in the "classical" three movement scheme - fast-slow-fast. While it requires great virtuosic playing on the part of the soloist, it never sounds impossible or implausible and always there is a story to be told. From the lively opening movement, to the reflective middle movement and then the dance-like last movement, Mozart never ceases to amaze the listener with his ability to write so perfectly for the instrument. We are very privileged to have Massimo Mercelli bring this concerto to life in the wonderful acoustics of Davis Concert Hall on the eve of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's 251st birth date!

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Symphony No. 2 in D Major

Ludwig van Beethoven was born on December 16, 1770, in Bonn, Germany and died on March 26, 1827, in Vienna, Austria. The Symphony No.2 received its premiere on April 5, 1803, in Vienna. It was last performed by the Fairbanks Symphony in 1993. The piece is scored for 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets, 2 Bassoons, 2 Horns, 2 Trumpets, Timpani, and Strings.

The second Symphony was composed by Beethoven in 1801-1802 while he was living at Heiligenstadt, near Vienna, Austria. It was during this time that the composer was grappling with the realization that he was losing his hearing. The great French composer Hector Berlioz, who wrote some of the greatest music criticism of the 19th century, wrote the following about this piece:

"In this Symphony everything is noble, energetic, proud. The Introduction, Adagio molto, is a masterpiece. The most beautiful effects follow one another without confusion and always in an unexpected manner. The song is of a touching solemnity, and it at once commands respect and puts the hearer in an emotional mood. The rhythm is already bolder, the instrumentation is richer, more sonorous, more varied. An Allegro con brio of enchanting dash is joined to this admirable introduction. The fast motive which begins the theme, given at first to the violas and cellos in unison, is taken up again in an isolated form, to establish either progressions in a crescendo or imitative passages between wind instruments and the strings.

The second-movement, Larghetto, is not treated after the manner of that of the First Symphony: it is not composed of a theme worked out in canonic imitations, but it is a pure and simple song. It is a ravishing picture of innocent pleasure which is scarcely shadowed by a few melancholy accents.

The Scherzo is as frankly gay in its fantastic capriciousness as the previous movement has been wholly and serenely happy; for this symphony is smiling throughout... colored with a thousand nuances as it passes from one to the other, it is as though you were watching the fairy sports of Oberon's graceful spirits.

The finale, Allegro molto, is of like genius. It is a second scherzo in duple meter, and its playfulness has perhaps something still more delicate, more piquant."