Classical music composer David Ludwig has
written the original score to director Michael Almereyda's new feature
film Cymbeline, an explosive modern-day drama based on Shakespeare's
play by the same name. Academy Award nominees Ethan Hawke (Best
Supporting Actor, Training Day, 2001) and Ed Harris (Best Actor,
Pollock, 2000) lead a powerhouse cast including Milla Jovovich, John
Leguizamo, Penn Badgley, Dakota Johnson
and Anton Yelchin, with Bill Pullman and Delroy Lindo in a gritty story
of a take-no-prisoners war between dirty cops and an outlaw biker gang.
Oscar-winning Anthony Katagas (12 Years a Slave, Killing Them Softly)
is producing the film for Keep Your Head Productions alongside Michael
Benaroya (Margin Call, Lawless, The Words) for Benaroya Pictures.
Although Ludwig has composed for documentaries and animated shorts,
Cymbeline marks the feature-length film-scoring debut for the composer.This project represented a musical transition from concert stage to
big screen for Ludwig, who is on the composition faculty at the Curtis
Institute of Music in Philadelphia and has written for numerous major
orchestras and some of the top performers in classical music today. Film director Michael Almereyda commented: "Having listened to a
number of his orchestral pieces, I knew David could write music with
complexity, depth and emotional power. The question was, could he
harness these qualities in a film score, following the fixed contours of
given scenes? Could he write dramatic music that rides the wave of the
film's dialogue and action? His score for Cymbeline demonstrates that he
can do exactly that, very capably, often brilliantly."
"Writing for film requires a very
different sense of timing and pacing, great flexibility, a handle on
technology, and strong communication skills," said Ludwig. "But it is
equally rewarding in so many ways. There's nothing quite like seeing the
finished picture with your music framing the richness of each scene."
Cymbeline was a recent feature at the Venice Film Festival in September 2014 and was nominated for the Venice Horizons
Award. This is Almereyda's second modern-day adaption of Shakespeare.
In 2000, he directed the highly acclaimed Hamlet, with Ethan Hawke in
the title role.
Preserving the original language and plot lines of Shakespeare's
"Cymbeline," the film is a fresh take on a universal story of love,
betrayal and revenge. Cymbeline the movie opens on March 13, 2015 in
theaters and on Video On Demand.
David Ludwig (b. 1972) is "a composer with something urgent to say"
(Philadelphia Inquirer). An award winning and highly sought after
composer, Ludwig's recent concert commissions include those from
Carnegie Hall, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Ravinia Music
Festival, among many others. His latest recording Two x Four on Cedille
Records was released in April 2014 to great acclaim, and the CD was
nominated for a Grammy Award in multiple categories. In 2013 his choral
work, The New Colossus, was selected to open the private prayer service
for President Obama and his cabinet at his second Inauguration. NPR
Music named Ludwig as one of the "Top 100 Composers Under Forty in the
World." More information at davidludwigmusic.com.
Erik Nielsen's compositional catalog includes works for chorus, orchestra, wind ensemble, solo instruments, chamber music of many configurations, works for dance, film and electronic music. His works have been performed in Canada, Europe, Asia, South America and Australia as well as many locations in the United States and have been performed by ensembles including A Far Cry, the Amabile, Chiara, Emerson and Ying String Quartets; the National Symphony Orchestra; the Killington and Manchester Chamber Players; Bread and Puppet Theater; the Vermont Contemporary Music Ensemble; Vermont Opera Theater, Vermont Symphony; Vermont Youth Orchestra and Village and Northern Harmony. He has won awards from ASCAP, the Vermont Arts Council, and in 1991 was chosen Vermont Composer of the Year by the Vermont Music Teachers Association. Recent commissions include Glimpses of Azure, commissioned by the Boston-based string orchestra, A Far Cry; Voices in the Wind, a set of duets for flute and viola; The Crane Maiden for chamber ensemble, narrator and three actors; two song cycles, Trajectory of Flight for mezzo-soprano and strings and The Falling of Trees for baritone and piano quartet; his Quartet for Strings #2; and Cinque Amici, a work for flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano. In 2002 he received the National Symphony Orchestra's composition prize for Vermont. The resulting commissioned work, Mr. Nielsen's Quintet for Clarinet and Strings, was premiered at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D. C. on March 20, 2004. In October, 2000, his opera, A FLEETING ANIMAL: An Opera from Judevine, a collaboration with poet/playwright David Budbill, was premiered to great acclaim in several locations in Vermont. He was a 1994-95 recipient of a Vermont Council on the Arts Fellowship in music. In 1995 his piano quintet was performed at Carnegie Hall by the Manchester Chamber Players. He has been a recipient of ASCAP Standard Panel (now ASCAP PLUS) awards annually since 1993. Mr. Nielsen is Senior Composition Mentor with Music-COMP (formerly the Vermont MIDI Project). He also teaches music theory and composition with the Vermont Youth Orchestra, the Monteverdi School and privately. Mr. Nielsen, who lives in Brookfield, had this to say about his Fanfare in Bb:
“I found writing a fanfare with such strict time demands an interesting challenge. I decided that the best approach was to use a short melodic idea stated first in the brass, and then slow things way down to give the woodwinds and strings a chance to enter in a more mysterious way. That gave me room then to increase the intensity to bring the work to a suitably bright finish. My hope is that the piece will get the concert off to a rousing start.”
Born in Burlington, Jon grew up in Richmond. His father played bassoon as well, and Jon’s childhood ambition was to be a professional musician. Jon now lives with his wife Kathy and cat Phoebe in S. Royalton, where he is Ellis Music’s ace repair technician. He started playing with the VSO back in 1995.
Last book read:We Go as Captives by Neil Goodwin
Favorite movie:Pulp Fiction
Favorite composer: Mahler
Favorite vice: Vermont micro beer
Jon is into vintage automotive restoration as well. His preferred way to spend an evening is “wrenching in the garage.” He enjoys riding a motorcycle on gravel roads and snowboarding. But when he needs a real thrill ride, he plays contra with the VSO!
Ethan Duncan is 12 years old and lives in Williston. He
is currently an 8th grader at Williston Central School. For the past five
years, Ethan has been studying both piano and euphonium. He played with the
Vermont Youth Orchestra's Youth Winds Brass Ensemble for two years and has
participated in the District III Music Festival as a 7th and 8th grader.
Ethan began composing music
about five years ago and for the past two years, he has been doing so as part
of Music-COMP. Pieces written by Ethan and chosen for performance as part of
Music-COMP include Serenata, Scottish Sailor Song, and Arab March. Ethan was
VPR Classical's Student Composer of the Month in September 2014. In addition to
music, Ethan enjoys taekwondo and math.
Music-COMP (Music Composition Online Mentoring Program), formerly known as the Vermont MIDI Project, is a non-profit organization supporting student composers in schools and music organizations like the VYOA and the VMTA. Music-COMP is grateful to the VSO for the opportunity for student compositions to be performed by professional musicians. Many former Music-COMP students have or are pursuing careers as composers, musicians and educators. Some have won regional and national awards for their work. For more information, visit music-comp.org.
The Vermont Symphony Orchestra is pleased to be playing the work of Gabriela Lena Frank, a young, contemporary composer. After hearing her piece, Elegia Andina, music director Jaime Laredo was impressed with the flute and percussion sections in particular and thought it would be a perfect fit for the musicians of the VSO.
For more information on Gabriela Lena Frank and her work:
In this work, written in 2000, Gabriela Lena Frank draws
upon the culture and music of her parents’ lives and her own experiences
traveling through South America.Like
composer/musicologists before her (the prime examples being Kodaly and Bartok),
she collects music and culture from indigenous peoples and applies Western
theoretical principles to create new worlds of sound.The composer writes:“Elegía Andina (Andean Elegy) is dedicated to
my older brother, Marcos.As children of
a multicultural marriage (our father being Lithuanian-Jewish and our mother
Chinese-Peruvian-Spanish), our early days were filled with Oriental stir-fry
cuisine and Andean nursery songs, and frequent visits from our New York-bred Jewish
cousins.As a young piano student, my
repertoire included not only my own compositions that carried overtones of
Peruvian folk music, but also rags of Scott Joplin and minuets by the sons of
Bach.It is probably inevitable then
that as a composer and pianist today, I continue to thrive on
multiculturalism.Elegía Andina is one
of my first written-down compositions to explore what it means to be of several
ethnic persuasions, of several minds.It
uses stylistic elements of Peruvian arca/ira zampoña panpipes (double-row
panpipes, each row with its own tuning) to paint an elegiac picture of my
questions.”
Holiday Pops: Fun and Games is our festive three-concert tour to Barre, Burlington, and Rutland, December 9-11. The program -- in addition to pieces showcasing the youthful side of the season -- features a composition by a Vermont student. Her name is Eileen Kocherlakota (pictured) and her piece is a musical fractured fairy tale, Jill and the Beanstalk. Keep reading for a full description of the piece, Eileen's bio, and the complete tour schedule.
Eileen Kocherlakota is 14 years old, and a freshman at Burlington High School. Music has been a big part of her life ever since she started playing violin when she was 5 years old. Currently she studies violin with Evelyn Read and plays in the Vermont Youth Orchestra Association (VYOA). She started composing with the Vermont MIDI Project (VMP) when she was in fourth grade. She recently took music theory lessons with Erik Nielson and completed the theory courses offered by VYOA. She would like to thank Ms. Greene and Ms. Nolan, her music teachers in elementary and middle school, who fostered her interest in composition. She thanks Erik Nielsen, Matt Podd, and Zach Sheets, all composer mentors with the Vermont MIDI Project and Sandi MacLeod, Executive Director of VMP. She especially thanks her family for supporting her all the way.
The Vermont MIDI Project is a non-profit organization supporting young composers through a variety of technology tools. VMP enlists professional composers to provide feedback to students in an online mentoring website and supports teachers in music composition. Live performance opportunities of student compositions are offered through the Opus concerts and with organizations such as the VSO. Visit the website for more information.
Jill and the Beanstalk is a fractured fairy tale based on “Jack and the Beanstalk.” This updated rendition is told through music with narration throughout the piece. It is like another piece Eileen Kocherlakota wrote, based on the fairytale, ”Cinderella,” which was for a small ensemble of brass, piano and percussion. In Jill and the Beanstalk, similar to Peter and the Wolf, different instruments representing different characters. Jill’s theme is played by clarinets, the witch trading beans is represented by violins 1 and 2, the giantess’ dancing is numbly highlighted with flutes and a piccolo, and the giant comes to life with timpani and low brass. Please enjoy!
2011 Holiday Pops I: "Fun & Games" The National Life Group Holiday Pops Concert Friday, December 9, 2011, 7:30 p.m. Barre Opera House, Barre Anthony Princiotti, conductor Visit the event page
2011 Holiday Pops II: "Fun & Games" Saturday, December 10, 2011, 7:30 p.m. Flynn Center for the Performing Arts, Burlington Anthony Princiotti, conductor Visit the event page
2011/2012 Sunday Matinee Series I/2011 Holiday Pops III Sunday, December 11, 2011, 3:00 p.m. Paramount Theatre, Rutland Anthony Princiotti, conductor Holiday Pops: Fun and Games Visit the event pageKeep reading!
The VSO is proud to announce the forthcoming release of Triple Doubles, a recording project spanning three years and starring the VSO, violinist Jaime Laredo, cellist Sharon Robinson, and conductors Sarah Hicks and Troy Peters. The CD features three double concerti written for Jaime and Sharon by composers David Ludwig, Daron Hagen, and Richard Danielpour. The CD is slated for release this November on Bridge Records. Pre-order your copy today!
Keep reading!
The VSO commissions a piece each year from a composer with Vermont ties for its Made in Vermont Music Festival Statewide Tour. This year, Robert Paterson composed a piece called Dark Mountains that evokes the dark facades of Vermont's mountains in the evening. Watch the video to hear Rob talk about the piece. Keep reading for the complete tour schedule.
Jaime Laredo, conductor and violin Katherine Winterstein, violin Russell Wilson, viola Luke Baker, bass
On Saturday, December 4, the VSO and the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts will co-present the second Masterworks concert installment this season. Grammy-award winning sextet eighth blackbird and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Jennifer Higdon team up for a performance of Higdon's "On A Wire" for sextet and orchestra. eighth blackbird will perform an intimate concert at the FlynnSpace on Sunday, December 5. Contact FlynnTix for a 20% discount on tickets for both events. This package must be redeemed either in person at the Flynn Box Office or by calling (802) 86-FLYNN. No other discounts apply. Only valid on new ticket purchases, while tickets are available. Single tickets for the Masterworks Series concert on Saturday, December 4, can be purchased through FlynnTix online or by calling (802) 86-FLYNN. Keep reading for the program notes for this concert.
Overture to Euryanthe
Carl Maria von Weber (1726-1826)
“My reception when I appeared in the orchestra to conduct the premiere of Euryanthe was the most enthusiastic that one could imagine,” wrote Weber to his wife the day after the premiere on October 25, 1823. “There was no end to it. At last I gave the signal for beginning. Stillness of death. The Overture was applauded madly, and there was a demand for a repetition, but I went ahead so that the performance might not be too long or drawn out.” After the success of its first season, the opera was doomed, handicapped by its inane libretto. But the spontaneity and imaginativeness of the music have kept the overture in the standard repertoire. Schumann was enchanted by it: “It is a chain of sparkling jewels from beginning to end—all brilliant and flawless.”
With a grandiose flourish, Weber sets the mood of his tragic opera. The brass and woodwinds announce the theme by which the hero proclaims his reliance on God and his beloved Euryanthe. In the development section, the famous ghost music is orchestrated for eight muted solo violins, and this is later combined with the majestic opening melody. The poignant progression from the tragic to the triumphant concludes definitively in a grand coda.
Weber’s works, including Euryanthe, greatly influenced the development of the Romantic opera in Germany, and anticipated Wagner. Berlioz praised his gift for orchestration in his Treatise on Instrumentation, while Debussy remarked that the sound of the Weber orchestra was obtained through the scrutiny of the soul of each instrument.
On A Wire, Concerto for Sextet and Orchestra Jennifer Higdon (1962- )
The composer writes: "Composing a concerto for one soloist and orchestra is a bit of a balancing act…so imagine throwing in five more soloists. On A Wire is eighth blackbird’s high-wire act of a concerto. Having already written two chamber works for this group, I am familiar with their ability to do all sorts of cool things on their instruments, from extended techniques, to complex patterns, to exquisitely controlled lyrical lines. I also admire the pure joy that emanates from their playing, no matter the repertoire. Written as a one-movement work, it highlights the group as an ensemble, allows each member to solo, and utilizes some of their unique staging: the players move about and perform beyond their respective primary instruments (the work begins with bowed piano). So imagine six blackbirds, sitting on a wire…." The world premiere of On A Wire took place at Symphony Hall in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 3, 2010, with soloists eighth blackbird, and Robert Spano conducting the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.
On A Wire is a co-commission by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Akron Symphony, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the West Michigan Symphony, the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts with the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, and the Cabrillo Festival.
Symphony No. 2 in D Major
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)
Jean Sibelius was born in the small Finnish town of Tavastehus, the son of a regimental doctor. A sensitive child drawn to the beauty of nature and art, his early pursuits in music on the piano, violin and in composition grew organically out of the desire of a shy child to find a comfortable way to express his inner thoughts and feelings.
Sibelius borrowed a year from his musical career in an attempt to study law, but the muse was too possessive and his parents gave their blessing to his enrollment in the Institute of Music. There he made several close friends, and one of them, Adolf Paul, gave this portrayal of him: "He did not seem to dwell on this earth. His nature was delicate and impressionable; his sensitive imagination found outlet in music at the slightest provocation. His thoughts always strayed, his head was always in the clouds, and he continually expressed such original and bizarre ideas that...in his normal mood he was like the rest of us drunk."
In 1899 Sibelius' studies took him to Berlin and Vienna, and in the latter city he met Brahms whose works at that time dominated the world of symphonic music. Sibelius' reverence for Brahms reveals itself in his early work, but a more powerful and fateful alliance was yet to be made which would make a life-long imprint on his music.
At the end of his formal training in 1891, Sibelius returned to Finland, where he joined a group of idealistic young musicians who called themselves "Young Finns." Strongly patriotic, they were committed to the movement for Finnish liberation from Russian domination. The fact that the Russian government denied freedom of speech and press did not discourage Sibelius, who was most used to speaking through his music: "...for me, music begins where words cease." Rather, this suppression of the usual forms of communication made Sibelius' music a comparative shout for freedom and national unity that stirred the hearts of all Finns.
Comfortably married and settled in a teaching position at the Musical Institute, Sibelius began to create a national Finnish music. He broke most ties with German and Russian romanticism and through extraordinary originality, fervent national identity and a profound love of nature created the completely recognizable and unduplicated genre of Finnish Romanticism. It is characterized by tonal landscapes and orchestrations which give almost visual images of the country, and emotional empathy with its natives.
The Second Symphony was written in 1901, shortly after Finlandia had firmly established him as a national hero. Georg Schneevoigt, a close friend and famous interpreter of Sibelius, ascribed a program to the work: the first movement (Allegretto) represents the quiet pastoral life of the Finns undisturbed by thoughts of oppression. The second movement (Andante, ma rubato) rings with patriotic fervor, but the threat of brutal rule over the people brings with it timidity of the soul. The scherzo of the third movement (Vivacissimo) brings the awakening of national feeling and the desire to organize in defense of rights. A long crescendo leads without pause into the final movement (Allegro moderato) which expresses the hope and comfort in the anticipated coming of a deliverer.
Sibelius composed five more symphonies between the years 1907 and 1924. He was recognized internationally as one of the greatest symphonic composers since Brahms. In 1924, tired of giving concerts and of the discomforts of travel, he retired to Arnola, to compose nothing more than a set of piano pieces in 1929. As though he had concentrated a lifetime of creativity in a few furious years, Sibelius devoted the rest of his life to small-town pleasures and the serenity of seclusion.
In this episode of Vermont Music Now, New Music Advisor David Ludwig chats with VSO Music Director Jaime Laredo about playing, conducting, and programming contemporary music.
The following is a short conversation between composer and Middlebury College professor Peter Hamlin and the VSO's Executive Director, Alan Jordan. They consider new music and help you understand barriers involved in bringing it to the stage, the politics behind it, and how the classical realm functions in regards to the new stuff. What do you think? Are you open to new works or just a fan of the classics?
I was thinking about new music and how audiences react to it. And also thinking what that says about the health of classical music today.
It seems to me that there are two opposite things happening in the national classical music scene that are both not good. One is a hunger by audiences for certain kinds of accessible music but no real mechanism for getting that music more widely created, supported and heard. I really do feel that there are “gatekeepers” (funding agencies, critics, etc.) who are not helpful to the creation of “populist” new music, and I think a big part of the “crisis” of modern music is that people aren’t writing popular new music in nearly enough numbers. Made in Vermont is a wonderful program that addresses this need, but nationwide there isn’t enough of it. It struck me how passionate and excited audiences have been about Don Jameson’s piece. This is a success story that we should replicate as much as possible.
The opposite concern is that audiences also don’t seem to understand the importance of avant-garde and experimental music. Like “pure research” in science, it may not make immediate connections with large audiences, but it is an important laboratory that continues to reinvigorate music. For orchestras to flourish and remain relevant, they need to be, at least in part, a crucible for new ideas.
These seem to be conflicting positions, but I actually think they can reinforce each other. I think part of the intolerance audiences have for more challenging music is that it is so rare for them to hear a new piece that they can genuinely and deeply fall in love with.
For what it’s worth, I’ll tell a favorite story about an orchestral premiere of mine in New Hampshire some years back. Before the concert, a guy in the audience overheard that I was the composer of the new work, and he turned around and gave me a long and impassioned speech about why he hated new music, how the new pieces were always the worst ones on the program, and on and on. After the piece, he turned to me and said, “Congratulations, I didn’t hate it!”
Peter S. Hamlin, Middlebury
* * * * *
Peter:
What a great e-conversation starter. You're right--nobody wants to fund new pops music (although there have been some efforts by several larger orchestras to co-commission new pops programs, but I think that effort is as much about sight as it is sound). In many places, orchestras and other presenters have formed commissioning clubs: groups of individuals who contribute a set amount to be part of a commissioning process. The group occassionally meets with the composer and perhaps orchestra artistic personnel to get a "report" on progress. This sometimes includes some "give and take" feedback with the audience. Talk about getting folks "invested!"
We are looking into commissioning a violin concerto for our concertmaster, Katherine Winterstein, by Kenji Bunch, who is well-known in Vermont through the Craftsbury Chamber Players. It's a major project the VSO cannot undertake on its own. The price tag will probably be around $25,000. I wonder if we might be able to create a commissioning club in Vermont for such projects?
I don't see any problem with incorporating both thorny and beautiful/ethereal into the same work. Movie and TV composers do it all the time. David Ludwig's symphony certainly did that too. What turned a generation of audience off was 40 minutes of non-stop thorniness!
The 2010 Made in Vermont Music Festival Statewide Tour (it's a mouthful, huh?) hits the road this Thursday, September 23. Check out the complete schedule in the right sidebar. Visit the VSO website to see information about tickets. The tour features a smaller orchestral force than other presentations during the year, making for an intimate concert experience at some of the smaller venues in smaller communities around the state. Click the following Keep reading! link to read the program notes for the concert.
Harp Concerto in Bb, Op. 4 No. 6
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
An English (naturalized) composer of German birth, Handel’s stature as one of the greatest composers of the Baroque era, in both vocal and instrumental music, has always been recognized. He was a cosmopolitan and eclectic artist, drawing impartially on German, Italian, French, and English traditions. On February 19, 1736, King’s Theater in London played host to a remarkable gala musicale. Four of Handel’s full-scale concert pieces were heard that evening for the first time: his Ode for St. Cecilia’s Day, his Alexander’s Feast Concerto Grosso, his Organ Concerto in g minor, and--something quite remarkable for its time--a concerto for harp and orchestra. The harp concerto was later published as a work for organ and orchestra, and indeed it is most often heard today performed on the organ. But its pared-down orchestration, muted violins, and pizzicato bass parts are clear signs that it was originally conceived for the quieter and gentler solo instrument.
The piece is in three movements, following the then-emerging practice of fast-slow-fast as in modern concertos. Another indication that the concerto was not written for organ is that the harp part, while certainly soloistic, is less virtuosic than the flashy, flamboyant writing Handel created when he composed with himself as the performer in mind. The opening movement, Andante allegro, is transparent in texture, with a main theme built from seven broken-up, individual gestures. The Larghetto offers a more integrated melody, as the harp muses improvisatorially over repeated dotted figures in the accompaniment. The concluding Allegro moderato, with its bouncing 3/8 meter, is wholly dance like.
Vocalise, Op. 34, No. 14
Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1949)
Vocalise is the last of Rachmaninoff’s Fourteen Songs, which were published in 1912. Originally written for voice (either soprano or tenor) with piano accompaniment, it is most often heard with soprano. As with many classical vocal pieces, it has been transposed into a variety of keys, allowing performers to choose a vocal range more suited to their natural voice. The vocal version contains no words, but is sung using any one vowel of the singer’s choosing. Vocalise’s extreme popularity has also resulted in arrangements for nearly any instrumental combination you can think of, including one for orchestra which was done by the composer himself. Some particularly intriguing forces include: piano trio, jazz ensemble, 24 cellos (the London Cello Orchestra), tuba and piano, solo accordion, and theremin. Today we will hear a version for string orchestra and French horn.
Concerto for Flute in d minor
C.P.E. Bach (1714-1788)
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach was the second surviving son of Johann Sebastian Bach and his first wife, Maria Barbara. The most famous and most prolific of the Bach sons, he held positions of great influence in Berlin and Hamburg, and was widely esteemed as a keyboard player and theorist as well as a composer.
There is some debate about whether C.P.E. was responsible for the solo flute version of this piece, but the work itself has been authenticated as a harpsichord concerto which he definitely did compose. Certainly he had an affinity for the flute, as he was in the employ of Frederick the Great (a monarch whose quite good if not completely professional flute playing was his way of resting from the prosecution of unprecedented social reforms and international warfare) for nearly 30 years.
Thematic material in the first movement is introduced by the orchestra: a driving principal theme and a lighter melody suited to ornamentation. The solo flute enters with more grace than drama, and then proceeds to develop both themes in a highly ornamented style. This virtuosic writing for the solo instrument sends it through a rapid and unusual chain of keys: E, F, Bb, d minor, E again, and a minor.
The second movement, Un poco andante, in marked contrast to the more agitated slow movements written by Bach later in his career, flows smoothly and elegantly. A hint of the composer’s future boldness is seen as more dramatic solo passages emerge from the charming song-like character as the movement progresses.
The last movement is a workout for the soloist! The flute hurtles down two and a half octaves in a single short flight, then rapidly ascends several long scales. The sheer delirium of the writing exceeds anything the composer’s father attempted, presaging the storm and stress of Haydn’s symphonies and even some of the wildness of the early Romantics. The intense Allegro di molto brings the work to a thrilling conclusion.
It Is Time [World Premiere Commission]
Don Jamison (1956- )
The title of my piece is from a short poem called “Autumn Day” by the 20th century German poet Rainer Maria Rilke. Here are the opening lines:
Lord, it is time. The summer was immense.
Lay your shadow now on the sundials
and let the wind loose on the fields.
As the cold winds of fall begin to blow, the afterglow of summer is still in the air. Maybe it’s a melancholy time, as the surging, burgeoning growth of summer begins to die back--but it also can be a time of alertness and renewal. For me, it is sometimes the beginning of an energetic part of the year that can last almost until spring, if I can keep the summer sun burning on in my heart and mind.
The music looks back at what summer brought, then forward with resolve toward the cold times that are coming. It begins with alternating waves of sound from the strings and winds which unfold the harmonies and bits of melody that will be explored. The flute introduces a melody made of a few simple motifs that then move through the orchestra for the next few minutes, changing and growing as they go, without much looking back. It’s a rendering of nature’s transformations that happen all around us through the summer. Then the music circles in place for a moment on a major chord that turns minor, and out of this the horns announce a theme that is related to what we’ve heard so far, but which is more determined and extended. It’s a kind of lopsided dance in a simple AAB form. Three variations follow: the first features the flute and a solo violin; the second features the oboes; the third brings back the horns, now in their high and powerful register, and the piece ends in an upward sweep.
I’m grateful to the VSO for the chance to write this piece, and I hope you enjoy it!
--Don Jamison
Symphony No. 29 in A Major, K. 201
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
After a trip to Vienna with his father during the winter of 1773-74, the eighteen year-old Mozart returned to Salzburg and, in a burst of new year creativity, wrote this piece almost at one sitting. One of the most striking works of its period, the Symphony No. 29 shows some traces of Viennese influence in its four-movement form, and in the increased seriousness that modifies Mozart’s early Italianate charm. There may also have been some influence from one of Mozart’s neighbors, Michael Haydn. Although overshadowed by his brother Joseph, “ the other Haydn” was quite a respectable composer who wrote a symphony in A Major that appears to have been Mozart’s model in creating his twenty-ninth symphony. Mozart seemed to prize this work, for in 1782 he scheduled it again on one of his distinguished concerts in Vienna.
I. Allegro moderato. First violins immediately state the first theme, an ingenious idea that consists of a descending octave and tightly-knit repeated half-steps. This latter part of the theme is seen as an early example of the chromatic expression that Mozart developed more fully in his adult life. A graceful second theme, again presented by the first violins, provides a foil to the first idea. Concise development leads to the restatement of the themes and the close of the movement.
II. Andante. Muted strings reveal both themes of this sonata form movement; generally the expression of the Andante is that of an operatic serenade. At the end, the winds take over for a few measures while the strings remove their mutes in preparation for the movement’s solid closing measures.
III. Menuetto. Filled with the spirit of 18-century Vienna, this minuet and trio transcend the polite Salzburg traditions and begin to suggest the grandeur of later symphonic expression.
IV. Allegro con spirito. The finale brims with vital scale passages and bustling strings. A certain opera buffa quality emerges as this sonata form movement flies to its closing coda.
Well, I guess this episode slipped under the Blog radar! It was supposed to be up here way back in May. This was a particularly entertaining taping for Vermont Music Now. Sarah Hicks and host David Ludwig have some history, which opened the door for lots of joking around. Enjoy! Read more to watch the video.
The VSO takes it on the road this month with a stellar program featuring a World Premiere of David Ludwig's Symphony No. 1, "Book of Hours," a performance of Beethoven's Emperor Concerto played by world-renowned pianist André Watts, and Mendelssohn's Hebrides. Jaime Laredo leads the charge in Bellows Falls (1/29), Burlington (1/30), and Rutland (1/31). Read the program notes and watch a multimedia program note on David's piece after the jump.
The Hebrides (Fingal’s Cave), Op. 26
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
By the time Mendelssohn was in his late teens, he had already achieved two compositional triumphs: his Overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream and his Octet for Strings. His talents and gifts extended beyond music as well: in 1826 he enrolled at the University of Berlin, studying a variety of subjects from geography to aesthetics. He was quite a sketcher of landscapes, and he loved to travel.
It was on one particular trip to Scotland that Mendelssohn received the inspiration for The Hebrides. Along with his friend Karl Klingemann, Mendelssohn stopped first in Edinburgh, and then continued west to the Inner Hebridean islands, sketching landscapes as he went. On a sea voyage to the island of Staffa, Mendelssohn had his first glimpse of the spectacular Fingal's Cave, named for a hero of Scotch and Irish legend. Visitors can be rowed directly into the cave, two hundred and twenty-seven feet long, richly decorated with seaweeds, lichens, and stalactites, where the constant murmuring of the waves has given it another Gallic name, “the cave of music.” The story goes that Mendelssohn, upon first seeing the grandeur of the cave with its organ-like pillars of red-brown basalt and hearing the musical sounds made by the rushing water, immediately began to draft the opening melodies of the overture right there in the boat. In actuality, Mendelssohn's correspondence suggests that the themes occurred to him on the mainland of the Inner Hebrides before embarking. (While on board, Klingemann's writings confirm, Mendelssohn was much too seasick to be inspired!) In his letters, the composer refers to the work both as “The Hebrides” and “The Solitary Isle.” The first published score was entitled “Fingal’s Cave,” but the orchestra parts said “The Hebrides.” It has become customary to use both of the last designations.
The beginning motive, which reappears throughout, suggests the sound of waves rolling in and out of the cavern. In his three revisions of the piece, Mendelssohn tinkered extensively with the development section, which he worried "tastes more of counterpoint than of whale oil and seagulls." An exciting coda brings to a close a work which Wagner asserted to be "one of the most beautiful pieces we possess."
Symphony No. 1, "Book of Hours"
David Ludwig (1972- )
I. Matins & Lauds: i thank You God for most this amazing* – E.E. Cummings (1894-1962)
i thank You God for most this amazing
day: for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes
(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun's birthday; this is the birth
day of life and love and wings: and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)
how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any-lifted from the no
of all nothing-human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?
(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)
II. Prime: from The Book of Hours – Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926)
Ich lebe mein leben im wachsenden Ringen,
die sich über die Dingen ziehen.
Ich werde den letzen vielleicht nicht vollbringen,
aber versuchen will ich ihn.
Ich kreise um Gott, um den uralten Turm,
und ich kreise jahrtausendelang;
und ich weiß nocht nicht: bin ich ein Falke, ein Sturm
oder ein großer Gesang.
I live my life in growing rings
which spread around the things about me.
I might never accomplish the last one,
but that is what I will try to do.
I make circles around God, around that most ancient tower,
and I circle a thousand years long;
and I still do not know: am I a falcon, a storm
or a great song.
III. Terce: Sand – Sara Goudarzi (b. 1976)
If my memories were sand
with every wave they'd start anew
And dance
unconscious of earlier strikes to their grain
And journey
to every shell
coral
and cranny
They'd sit on a child's foot and play in the Sun
or castle in the blue
They'd forget the once river rock they were
banging head with every curve
shattering each day
If my memories were sand
they'd merrily play wave after wave
and forget each spot every few
IV. Sext: The winds have died, but flowers go on falling; – Ryokan (1758-1831)
The winds have died, but flowers go on falling;
birds call, but silence penetrates each song.
The Mystery! Unknowable, unlearnable.
The virtue of Kannon.
V. None: Zwielicht – (“Twilight”) Joseph von Eichendorff (1788-1857)
(Music from R. Schumann’s Liederkreis)
Dämmrung will die Flügel spreiten,
Schaurig rühren sich die Bäume,
Wolken ziehn wie schwere Träume -
Was will dieses Grau'n bedeuten?
Hast ein Reh du lieb vor andern,
Laß es nicht alleine grasen,
Jäger ziehn im Wald und blasen,
Stimmen hin und wieder wandern.
Hast du einen Freund hienieden,
Trau ihm nicht zu dieser Stunde,
Freundlich wohl mit Aug' und Munde,
Sinnt er Krieg im tück'schen Frieden.
Was heut müde gehet unter,
Hebt sich morgen neu geboren.
Manches bleibt in Nacht verloren -
Hüte dich, bleib wach und munter!
Twilight begins to spread its wings,
The trees stir ominously,
Clouds come like heavy dreams --
What does this gloominess mean?
If you have a favorite little deer,
Do not let it graze alone;
Hunters roam the forest and blow horns,
Voices wandering in and out.
If you have a friend down here below,
Do not trust him in this Hour;
He might he seem friendly in eye and mouth,
But he makes plans for war in treacherous peace.
What today descends wearily down,
Will lift itself tomorrow born anew.
Many things at night go lost--
Guard yourself--be awake and alert!
VI. Vespers: from the Book of John 1:5
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The same was in the beginning with God.
All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
VII. Compline: Hashkiveinu (“Lay us down”) – traditional
Hashkiveinu Adonai Eloheinu l'shalom,
v'haamideynu malkeinu l'chayim,
Grant us, oh God, that we lie down in peace
and raise us up, our Guardian, to life renewed.
Spread over us the shelter of your peace.
Guide us with Your good counsel; for your Name’s sake, be our help.
Shield and shelter us beneath the shelter of your wings.
Defend us against our adversaries,
illness, war, famine, and sorrow,
Remove evil from before us and behind us.
For you, God, watch over us and deliver us.
For you, God, are gracious and merciful.
Guard our going out and coming in,
to life and to peace, for eternity.
Spread over us the shelter of your peace.
Blessed are you, oh God, whose shelter of peace is spread over us.
Over all of your people of Israel and over Jerusalem.
A thousand years ago, you would find a “Book of Hours” in many homes. It was an illuminated prayer book, helping the reader keep God in mind during the hours of the day with prayers, psalms, and biblical excerpts. Some were quite simple, with modest illustrations and text. Others were luxuriously decorated and adorned in gilt illumination.
I think about the importance of prayer in our lives–more as a function of hope than as of a religious expression, even though that is its principal source. Prayer is common to all societies and to people in all walks of life, in some form or another. There are basic kinds of prayer: supplication, exaltation, those that show our humility, and those that ask for great things from the ether. But whatever the purpose, all prayer unites us as human beings. As we seem to perilously catapult into the 21st Century, I decided that my first symphony should be like a contemporary Book of Hours; a kind of musical “magical realist’s” take on what this prayer book would look like today, and, ultimately, a reflection of hope.
Taking my musical cues from the form of a traditional “Book of Hours,” I set the piece in seven movements from the Liturgy of the Hours that the Book helped to maintain. I then chose accompanying poems from different times, places, and cultures to inspire the piece. Some are religious meditations, while others are taken directly from scripture. Others, still, are modern invocations of desires or dreams. And so, as the times of day are kept in these poems–from the early morning and bright breaking of dawn to the black of night–so too does my own Book of Hours take the journey from brightness to darkness over the course of its twenty-five minutes.
The first movement, informed by the Cummings poem “i thank You God for most this amazing,” opens with the idea of the quiet solitude before dawn, represented in orchestral unity. This unison motive introduces each movement, one way or another, throughout the piece, but is not fully realized until the very end. After the brightness of the first movement are the hopeful sentiments of Rilke’s poem from a collection of his early works–also called “The Book of Hours.” Rings in the shapes of the music reflect the importance of the rings in his life-affirming words. The third movement is more contemplative, as is the poem “Sand,” by the wonderfully gifted Persian-American writer Sara Goudarzi. A bell is heard in the opening of the piece to bring the listener into focus on the words; string chords wash over each other in the background while a solo cello wanders through the music.
The fourth movement uses the words of Zen poet Ryokan as a departure point to invoke the driving sound of Japanese taiko drumming (with slight adjustments made to the timpani!). This is a transition to the looming darkness of the fifth: an orchestration and arrangement I have made of Schumann’s “Twilight”–itself a setting of poem by his contemporary Joseph Eichendorff. This darkness descends into a kind of madness in the sixth movement, which is a frenetic fugue inspired by the words from the opening of the Gospel of John. At the end of the movement, the music plunges finally into chaos.
Order is found again at the last part of the work as the solo horn ushers in the final seventh movement, the “Hashkiveinu.” This is a traditional Hebrew prayer--something of the equivalent of “Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep.” I was both introduced to this liturgy and taught the translation and meaning of the words by Rabbi Daniel Sklar. Dan also gave me a greater understanding of the importance of this text. The night time prayer of antiquity was an earnest one–in the meagerness of life in ancient times even surviving the night was not a given. How can we be sure that the sun will come up tomorrow? But it does, and it always does, and so the ending of the Book of Hours is about not only the sun rising again, but of hope that we may continue to be reborn in our own lives, defiant of pain and violence, and stronger in our humanity together.
--David Ludwig
Piano Concerto No. 5, Op. 73, “Emperor”
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Beethoven actually wrote seven works which could be called piano concertos. The first was a manuscript of 32 pages, composed when he was all of fourteen years old. There is, as well, a version of his violin concerto that he arranged for piano and orchestra. The five piano concertos we accept as representative works were all written after the young composer had made Vienna his home. Between 1798, the year that Beethoven composed and performed his first piano concerto, and 1809, the year he composed his final piano concerto, considerable changes had take place in both Beethoven and Vienna.
In 1808, Beethoven had premiered his Piano Concerto No. 4, with himself as the maestro and soloist as usual. The event was chilling, both physically and emotionally. The program was four hours long, the theater was freezing cold, and the conductor/soloist was deaf. An eyewitness account by Ludwig Spohr described the debut of the piano concerto: “It was by no means enjoyment, for, in the first place, the piano was woefully out of tune, which, however, troubled Beethoven little, for he could hear nothing of it; and, secondly, of the former so much admired excellence of the virtuoso scarcely anything was left, in consequence of his total deafness.…I felt moved with the deepest sorrow at so hard a destiny.”
By 1809, Vienna too was suffering a hard destiny under the siege and occupation of Napoleon after his victory at Wagram. Beethoven would find refuge in his brother Carl’s basement when the bombardment grew too loud, covering his head with pillows to protect what little hearing he had left. His republican sentiments betrayed by the predations of Napoleon and his financial situation eroded by the devaluation of Austrian currency, Beethoven had no love for the French invaders. Seated in his favorite coffee house one day, he shook his fist at the back of a passing French officer. “If I as a general,” he said, ”knew as much about strategy as I the composer know about counterpoint, I’d give you fellows something to think about.”
So it came to pass that the premiere of the Piano Concerto No. 5 was two years after the composition of the work; it was neither conducted nor performed by Beethoven; and it was not in Vienna. It was first heard in Leipzig on November 28, 1811, under the baton of Johann Philipp Christian Schulz, with Friedrich Schneider as soloist. The Allgemeine Musik Zeitung of the following January called the work “one of the most original, imaginative, and most effective, but also one of the most difficult of all existing concertos…. It could not have been otherwise than that the crowded audience was soon put into such a state of enthusiasm that it could hardly content itself with the ordinary expressions of recognition and enjoyment.”
The Vienna debut at the hands of Carl Czerny a couple months later was not as successful, with accusations thrown at Beethoven that he could be “understood and appreciated only by connoisseurs.” It was this performance, however, which may have been the source of the concerto’s nickname, as a French army officer was supposed to have been overheard acclaiming the work as “an emperor among concertos.” Most likely the nickname was endowed by an early publisher in an effort to convey the work’s “grand dimensions and intrinsic splendor.” Certainly the name was not given by Beethoven: he had no love for emperors of any sort, and was particularly stung by the behavior of his former hero, Napoleon.
I. Allegro – After three sweeping introductory chords with piano flourishes, the principal theme is introduced by the orchestra. A subsidiary theme is presented in pizzicato strings in Eb minor, and then heard in the horns in Eb Major. The piano enters and offers its versions of the themes. Development and dialogue lead to the point where a closing cadenza would be expected. Here Beethoven instructs the pianist: “Don’t make a cadenza here, but attack what follows immediately.” It is actually Beethoven’s written-out version of a cadenza on the main two themes, and the orchestra accompanies the latter half of the cadenza in a closing coda.
II. Adagio un poco mosso – Muted violins present a hymn-like melody, which is followed by “quasi-variations” in the piano (as Sir George Grove characterizes them). After the third variation, the bassoons sustain a B-natural, and then the entire orchestra unceremoniously sinks a half step to a B-flat, over which the piano starts to toy with the rondo theme of the finale that follows. There is no break between this movement and the finale.
III. Rondo: Allegro – In a brilliant and unique invention, Beethoven presents interwoven rondo and sonata forms. The surging opening theme is the refrain of a rondo, and the repeats of this first subject encompass the introduction and development of a second, more singing subject. The intricacies of form are rendered invisible by the impression of complete spontaneity throughout the movement, which closes as piano chords descend and die away over a repeated rhythm in the timpani.
--Hilary Hatch
André Watts, piano
André Watts burst upon the music world at the age of 16 when Leonard Bernstein chose him to make his debut with the New York Philharmonic in their Young People's Concerts, broadcast nationwide on CBS-TV. Only two weeks later, Bernstein asked him to substitute at the last minute for the ailing Glenn Gould in performances of Liszt's E-flat Concerto with the New York Philharmonic, thus launching his career in storybook fashion. More than 45 years later, André Watts remains one of today's most celebrated and beloved superstars.
A perennial favorite with orchestras throughout the US, Mr. Watts is also a regular guest at the major summer music festivals including Ravinia, the Hollywood Bowl, Saratoga, Tanglewood and the Mann Music Center. Recent and upcoming orchestral engagements include appearances with the Philadelphia and Minnesota Orchestras, New York and Los Angeles Philharmonics, and the St. Louis, Atlanta, Detroit, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Dallas, Seattle and National symphonies. During the 2009/10 season he travels to Japan in July to appear as a featured artist at the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo and returns in the fall for an extensive tour of recital and orchestral appearances.
André Watts has had a long and frequent association with television, having appeared on numerous programs produced by PBS, the BBC and the Arts and Entertainment Network, performing with the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center among others. His 1976 New York recital, aired on the program Live From Lincoln Center, was the first full length recital broadcast in the history of television and his performance at the 38th Casals Festival in Puerto Rico was nominated for an Emmy Award in the category of Outstanding Individual Achievement in Cultural Programming. Mr. Watts’ most recent television appearances are with the Philadelphia Orchestra on the occasion of the orchestra’s 100th Anniversary Gala and a performance of the Brahms Concerto No.2 with the Seattle Symphony, Gerard Schwarz conducting, for PBS.
Mr. Watts’ extensive discography includes recordings of works by Gershwin, Chopin, Liszt and Tchaikovsky for CBS Masterworks; recital CD’s of works by Beethoven, Schubert, Liszt and Chopin for Angel/EMI; and recordings featuring the concertos of Liszt, MacDowell, Tchaikovsky and Saint-Saens on the Telarc label. He is also included in the Great Pianists of the 20th Century series for Philips.
A much-honored artist who has played before royalty in Europe and heads of government in nations all over the world, André Watts was selected to receive the Avery Fisher Prize in 1988. At age 26 he was the youngest person ever to receive an Honorary Doctorate from Yale University and he has since received numerous honors from highly respected schools including the University of Pennsylvania, Brandeis University, The Juilliard School of Music and his Alma Mater, the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University. In June 2006, he was inducted into the Hollywood Bowl of Fame to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his debut (with the Philadelphia Orchestra).
Previously Artist-in-Residence at the University of Maryland, Mr. Watts was appointed to the newly created Jack I. and Dora B. Hamlin Endowed Chair in Music at Indiana University in May, 2004.Keep reading!
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