2023 Fall Series Concerts

Additional Notes on the Program

Prelude String
Symphonette
Debut
Junior
Youth

Prelude String Orchestra

Dramatic Essay – Mark Williams

Prelude’s program starts off with a bold statement: strong, lush, and slow-moving chords in the orchestra set the stage for Mark Williams’s ‘Dramatic Essay,’ an exciting work with two major themes.

The first theme is the aforementioned slow, choral-sounding idea where the instruments play mostly together. The work then develops into its second theme, a faster-moving rhythm in the lower strings, with voices in the orchestra splitting off to explore new highs & lows over the grounded, repeated eighth-note pattern.

With the two contrasting musical ideas established, ‘Dramatic Essay’ then moves back and forth between its moods, certainly painting the imagery of drama that Williams includes in the work’s title.

An English Folksong – arranged by Terry McQuilkin

Prelude’s second piece is an interesting telling and re-setting of a traditional English song. Arranger Terry McQuilkin takes this opportunity to show off his compositional chops by re-telling the main folk song through different instrumentations.

To begin, lower strings lightly pluck to give the upper strings the chance to announce the main theme, the folk song which inspires the work. Listen to how the lower strings then shift their style and texture, while the original song is repeated over the top.

Continue listening in this manner for the main theme as it is passed around the orchestra, and how when everything underscoring that main theme changes, the work evolves and expands in new ways.

Toccatina by William Hofeldt

William Hofeldt’s ‘Toccatina’ closes out Prelude’s program this evening — and it’s easy to hear why almost immediately after the work begins. “Toccatina” is a thematic title referencing the musical form “toccata”—which translates literally to “touch”—a style of music which showcases a musicians’ ability to play quickly and nimbly.

The main melodic theme is a biting, running scalar pattern punctuated by repeated eighth notes. Listen to how the voices across the orchestra all take on this repeated eighth-note motive in turns, passing around the thematic ideas in an ebb and flow that builds up into a more passionate, lyrical section.

Hofeldt, though he changes the texture and atmosphere of the work by varying short, staccato-like passages with more melodic, legato ideas, never loses the repeated-notes theme from the work’s introduction. This pattern maintains its presence throughout the entire work, until the orchestra plays this pattern in unison to signal the end of this exciting piece.

Symphonette Orchestra

Symphony No. 36 “The Linz,” First Movement — Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, arranged by Richard Meyer

Mozart’s 36th Symphony is thematically titled after the Austrian city of Linz, a city equally well known during this time for almond pastries and the illustrious court of Count Johann Thun-Hohenstein. Count Thun-Hohenstein was friendly with Mozart’s family. When Mozart arrived in Linz after a disastrous introduction between his new wife and his father, he was reportedly intercepted by the Count’s men and re-directed from the inn they planned to reside in to the official home of the court. And, of course, since Mozart was a pop star of sorts during this time, they expected a performance. The only problem? Mozart had no symphony with him to perform. Thus began the 4-day compositional process of his 36th Symphony.

The first movement, performed today, starts off with slow, more drawn-out notes in the top voices of the orchestra. This was slightly unusual for Mozart, who typically began his works with bombast and pomp. It doesn’t take long, though, for the movement to become typically playful and march-like. Arranger Richard Meyer adds the snare drum to this movement to give the added urgency of a march.

These snare-like bursts pronounce the main theme — listen to how the snare returns even though the orchestra explores slower, more melodic ideas. With the snare, the orchestra plays proudly in similar rhythms; when it disappears, the orchestra peels off into different ideas and textures. The first movement moves back and forth playfully between the snare-infused march and the slower, melodical sections, until it builds into its exciting conclusion.

Genesis — Rossano Galante*

Note, today’s program includes a misspelling. The composer’s first name is ‘Rossano.’

Conductor Amy Stevenson’s passion for exciting, cinematic works shines through in the middle of Symphonette’s program this afternoon. ‘Genesis’ begins from a land far away, with one high, held note from the back of the orchestra. The winds lead us with a triumphant, exploratory theme, like a spaceship traveling between galaxies. The strings carry the ship with their airy, repeated sixteenth notes, providing the wind and energy for our journey like an engine. Listen to how the orchestra passes these roles back and forth— the strings will take on the hero’s theme, and then pass it right back to the winds and brass.

The overall effect of ‘Genesis’ is journey-like; though the main movie-like theme will be passed around the orchestra, the repeated sixteenth notes carrying it never disappear, though by the end of the work, they slow themselves down to signal, perhaps, our voyager landing in a new, undiscovered location.

The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) — Robert Wells & Mel Torme, arranged by Robert Krogstad

It wouldn’t right to have a December concert without a little holiday flare. Listen for this heartwarming Christmas classic, filled with lots of fun and passion in its setting for full orchestra.

You won’t immediately recognize the tune, as arranger Robert Krogstad gives the ensemble its chance to be big and full before it turns sentimental. The trumpet is the first to get this classic Christmas tune, which is then shared by everyone in the orchestra—because, as with most things this time of year, the joy comes from sharing with others.

Krogstad adds a whole load of flair and character to this classic work in how he arranges what happens under the classic melody audiences will easily recognize. Listen for fun, syncopated rhythms, and passionate, dramatic percussion to turn the flare of this holiday work up a couple notches. Oh, and don’t be afraid to sing along.

Debut Symphony Orchestra

Night in Mexico — Paul Creston

With a brief, rhythmic introduction from the upper strings, Paul Creston’s homage to the kinetic, bustling Mexican nightlife wastes no time kicking off its flare. And, just like one could imagine, Creston’s work is filled with music that will make you want to get out of your seat and dance.

Percussion really sets the tone for this work — listen for dance-like rhythms in the orchestra punctuated by the dazzling flare of the tambourine and castanets. The orchestra will pass dance playfully over these instruments for almost the work’s entirety.

Though the melody will move back and forth from a short and biting energy to a long and elegant legato line, the Latin flare from the percussion never dissipates. Like any exciting dance performance—or any fun celebration—there is a prolonged build among all the happiness and joy. The orchestra, then, bursts into its conclusion.

Komm, Süßer Tod — Johann Sebastian Bach, arranged by Leopold Stokowski

A classic song originally for voice by revered composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1760) shifts the tone of Debut’s program this evening. Arranger Leopold Stokowski, famed British conductor and music director of some of the world’s greatest symphonic institutions, takes great effort to deepen the work’s dark, emotionally-rich intention in a setting for the orchestra.

Bach, as music director of the church in Leipzig, Germany, often wrote works for voice and organ to be performed during worship. ‘Komm, Süßer Tod’ (German translated to ‘come, sweet death’) is an excerpt from one of these collections of songs. The translated lyrics are as follows:

‘Come, sweet death, come blessed rest! / Come lead me to peace / For I am weary of the world / Oh come! I wait for you, / Come soon and lead me, / Close my eyes. / Come, blessed rest!’

As an employee of the church, and thus a voice for the divine, Bach was tasked as much with celebrating the glory of God as highlighting the intensity of the human experience — wedding the listener to both the massiveness of life and the profound meaning of death in one’s journey toward re-connecting with their creator. Thus, ‘Komm, Süßer Tod’ is rich with passion and suffering, and longs for conclusion both in subject matter and in its resolution of harmony.

Bach is revered by musical academics today for his ability to complicate and expand melody with countless layers of unique voices moving in their own directions. Listen to how Stokowski expertly employs the orchestra to complete this task — swells of heart-wrenching chords play out in almost every corner of the orchestra, with the entire body moving toward some unified end. There is, indeed, a swell, a burst of passion, of human will, until the most dramatic of endings — the orchestra does not pronounce nor defy in its last moments, but rather exhales every last bit of air until it withers away toward a less sweet, and more bittersweet, end.

Finale from Symphony No. 5 — Dmitri Shostakovich, arranged by Stephen Bulla

Dmitri Shostakovich (1906 -1975) is one of the most well-renowned composers of the 20th century. His works are somehow simultaneously delicately balanced and oblong; discordant and lush; but ultimately unafraid, and often quite militaristic in nature.

Shostakovich found himself constantly at the critical whim of the USSR, a government which sought, like many nations in the 20th century, to define itself through fantastical and often delusional celebrations of its past. Reverence and desperate claim of anything that could be considered salient to a nation’s identity were the worldwide norm.

In Shostakovich’s case, this backwards-looking obsession often led conversations down a trail right to composers like 19th-century beast Tchaikovsky, who literally depicted Russian supremacy with works like his second symphony — known coloquially as the “Little Russian,” depicting a propaganda-like tableau of Russia’s occupation of Ukraine; or the widely-performed 1812 Overture, a wartime anthem whose orchestration called for literal canons.

Shostakovich’s symphonies, were they not considered “proper” celebrations of Russian culture — read: too “modern” in their conception, discordant, or experimental — were blacklisted by Russian critics subject to the will of the USSR themselves. Thus, Shostakovich had no choice but to appease the government who oversaw the very air he breathed as he wrote.

The Fourth movement of Shotskovich’s Fifth Symphony is bombastic and war-like. Listen to how the orchestra winds up and beats relentlessly against itself in a chaotic fashion for the first portion of the movement. It is colorful, bright, and jarring — until the floor falls out and the orchestra is punctuated by an anemic solo from a singular flute. There is a widespread sense of both chaos and suffering.

But, the movement’s end is where Shostakovich looks backwards—and, perhaps forward with a wince. Like Tchaikovsky’s ‘1812 Overture,’ which famously ends with a massive codetta blasting a triumphant theme over non-stop notes in the key of D Major, Shostakovich too has his low voices repeat the same note endlessly. It’s as if we have reached victory, but it is a relentless, endless victory — the sickly sweetness of eating too much cake at a party.

Junior Symphony Orchestra

Toccata — Miguel del Águila

Three-time Grammy nominated composer Miguel del Águila’s ‘Toccata’ kicks off Junior Symphony Orchestra’s program this evening.

‘Toccata’ translates to “to touch” – and is a common name for musical works—often for piano or keyboard—which showcase a performer’s quickness and dexterity. Many works with this name are quick & light-footed. Del Águila throws listeners a curveball by starting his work just the opposite: high, sustained notes present an eery atmosphere, allowing the ostinato rhythm on which the work’s foundation is built to materialize through the fog.

Though we could write plenty about this dramatic, exciting work, we’ll let del Águila, joining us here for this evening’s concert, explain his techniques:

The rhythmic inspiration of this piece is the Uruguayan Candombe –a fast and rhythmic Afro-American dance. In Toccata the performer uses his hands on the piano similar to the way the candombe drums player would play his instrument. The rhythmic ostinato becomes increasingly loud and intense to culminate in a dramatic climax after which the piece sinks in darkness and fades away as a last recitando statement gives a last sad farewell.

Intermezzo to ‘Pagliacci’ — Ruggero Leoncavallo

An excerpt from Ruggero Leoncavallo’s (1857-1919) clown-themed opera ‘Pagliacci’ forms the center of Junior’s program this evening. ‘Pagliacci’ received mixed reviews from critics upon its release, but was widely beloved by audiences immediately upon its release. It remains as arguably the sole opera of Leoncavallo’s which is still performed today.

‘Pagliacci’ is based on an actual crime which took place in 19th-century Italy. It centers on the story of Canio, an Italian performer of the nationally-renowned art form commedia dell’arte. Commedia dell’arte is a performance style utilizing a number of theatrical tropes and characters. Performances typically include audience involvement and improvisation from the actors who are embodying the canonical character types. The opera follows Canio and his wife Nedda, members of a dell’arte troupe, and chronicles the conditions which ultimately led him to murder his wife Nedda and her lover.

Today’s Intermezzo is performed between the opera’s two acts. It includes dominant themes from the opera, and expands upon them along with other ideas in one cohesive movement. It opens with a few pronounced, unison chords. These would have been designed to hush the audience after the intermission. Particularly prevalent in the work is the opera’s most-famous aria, performed by the tenor Tonio. It emerges after slow, wistful chords in the upper strings, pushing and pulling the audience toward the work’s dramatic second half.

Capriccio espagnol, Op. 34 — Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s (1844-1908) epic masterwork for orchestra ‘Capriccio espagnol’ closes this evening’s concert. It is a work in five movements:

I. Alborada; II. Variazioni; III. Alborada; IV. Scena e canto gitano; V. Fandango asturiano

It is important to note that Rimsky-Korsakov himself was especially pleased of the work, and for reasons critics would echo as proof of his virtuosity as a composer. Rimsky-Korsakov was renowned as an orchestrator, a skillful manipulator of the varied voices across the orchestra, and an expert in leveraging them to meet his storytelling needs. Of ‘Capriccio espagnol,’ Rimsky-Korsakov wrote:

“It is intended as a brilliant composition for the orchestra. The change of timbres, the felicitous choice of melodic designs and figuration patterns, exactly suiting each kind of instrument, brief virtuoso cadenzas for solo instruments, etc., constitute here the very essence of the composition and not its garb or orchestration. The Spanish themes of dance character furnished me with rich material for putting in use multiform orchestral effects. All in all, the Capriccio is undoubtedly a purely external piece, but vividly brilliant for all that.”

The work was initially intended to be a Fantasy for violin and orchestra. You’ll hear this in a number of earworm-like violin solos that appear throughout the work. There’s so much to listen to in this epic work — pay attention for how many different instruments get to shine with their own melodies, to the massive and eclectic percussion, and to the celebratory, dance-like eagerness prevalent in every movement. It is truly a delight of a piece, and a perfect piece to close Dr. Yuchi Chou’s first concert series leading a SYSO orchestra.

Youth Symphony Orchestra

Sensemayá — Silvestre Revueltas

Silvestre Revueltas (1899-1940) was a Mexican composer of works for both live orchestras and film, as well as an accomplished violinist and conductor. Revueltas was part of a talented family of artists, particularly well-known and renowned in Mexico during their time. Youth will open their program with his Sensemayá, arguably one of the most significant symphonic works in the Latin-American canon.

Sensemayá was originally written for chamber orchestra. Our best guess is because of how absolutely complex it is in its structure. Rhythm is the dominant device in Revueltas’s unique work for orchestra. Time meters constantly shift, and to areas atypical to the classical canon: 7/8, 5/8, 9/8, 5/16, and 7/16 meters* are woven together in an unpredictable and dangerous manner — creating a work that keeps you on the edge of your seat with uncertainty and intrigue. These rhythms will layer upon themselves by the work’s end, creating a complex and fascinating picture.

If you’re not a musician yourself, but are unsure how bad these meters can possibly be, just read them in succession to the closest musician in your life and see if their brow doesn’t furrow a bit.

In 1937, Revueltas heard Afro-Cuban poet Nicholas Guillén’s recitation of his Sensemayá , and was taken by the text and rhythm of the poem. Guillén’s poem depicts the sacrifice of a snake, considered a sacred symbol of renewal, fertility and wisdom. Modern analysis asks whether Revueltas musically depicted a literal translation through his music, or if it was a general blue-print for the composition. Perhaps you can be the judge as Maestro Molano leads our flagship orchestra through their first performance of the 2023-24 season.

This Midnight Hour — Anna Clyne

Anna Clyne is a British composer (featured on today’s program cover!) based in The New York Times describes Clyne as “Immediate, mystical, and vibrant” — we love this description because it so perfectly captures the noir mystique of this afternoon’s performance of ‘This Midnight Hour.’

The work is inspired by a number of poems which spark intrigue in their duality: violins wail in sadness, suns drown in blood, and skies become altars. Clyne does not seek to write for the orchestra in its traditional, formal sense: she turns it into a poetic canvas, one capable of wildly vast colors and textures.

We always default to what composers themselves say of their own creations. Of the work, Clyne says:

The opening to This Midnight Hour is inspired by the character and power of the lower strings of L’Orchestre national d’Île de France. From here, it draws inspiration from two poems – one by Charles Baudelaire and another by Juan Ramón Jiménez. . Whilst it is not intended to depict a specific narrative, my intention is that it will evoke a visual journey for the listener.

La musica** – by Juan Ramón Jiménez (translated by Robert Bly):**

Music –
a naked woman
running mad through the pure night

This immediately struck me as a strong image and one that I chose to interpret with outbursts of frenetic energy – for example, dividing the strings into sub-groups that play fortissimo staggered descending cascade figures from left to right in stereo effect. This stems from my early explorations of electroacoustic music.

There is also a lot of evocative sensory imagery in Baudelaire’s Harmonie du Soir, the first stanza of which reads as follows (translated by William Aggeler):

The season is at hand when swaying on its stem
Every flower exhales perfume like a censer;
Sounds and perfumes turn in the evening air;
Melancholy waltz and languid vertigo!

I riffed on the idea of the melancholic waltz about halfway into This Midnight Hour – I split the viola section in two and have one half playing at written pitch and the other half playing 1/4 tone sharp to emulate the sonority of an accordion playing a Parisian-esque waltz.

Harmonie du soir
translated by William Aggeler:

The season is at hand when swaying on its stem
Every flower exhales perfume like a censer;
Sounds and perfumes turn in the evening air;
Melancholy waltz and languid vertigo!

Every flower exhales perfume like a censer;
The violin quivers like a tormented heart;
Melancholy waltz and languid vertigo!
The sky is sad and beautiful like an immense altar.

The violin quivers like a tormented heart,
A tender heart, that hates the vast, black void!
The sky is sad and beautiful like an immense altar;
The sun has drowned in his blood which congeals…

A tender heart that hates the vast, black void
Gathers up every shred of the luminous past!
The sun has drowned in his blood which congeals…
Your memory in me glitters like a monstrance!

“This Midnight Hour” is a rich, immersive, and imaginative work. Every corner of the orchestra is involved, and capable of both lush melody and bold-faced anger.

Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98 — Johannes Brahms

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) is a composer who needs very little introduction. One of the greatest voices in the Western symphonic canon, though constantly doubting of his skill, Brahms single-handedly continued the German symphonic tradition with bold-faced talent and a virtuosic understanding of melody. He is considered a master melody writer, equally as well known for his works for the orchestra as his works for piano, chamber settings, and especially voice.

It seems there was a beautiful relationship Brahms had to poetry: Brahms could take the dramatic, personal character of the voice as an instrument, and elevate it to indescribable heights by pairing it with poetry and text that inspired him. Yes, we know we’re talking today about his 4th and final symphony, but there’s a reason we’re sharing this detail about his approach as an artist.

We included Johannes Brahms right next to Anna Clyne on today’s concert program, to capture thematically the connections between the power of Brahms’s compositional pen and modern composer Anna Clyne’s. Both composers viscerally understand the dramatic depth of the orchestra, and seek to both celebrate and examine it with their massive works. Both used the tangible and the intangible in poetry to inspire pieces with complex and fascinating sound. Both represent a profound connection between the human experience and the ethereal, and the delicate nexus art provides us in our journey to understand our existence.

Now, about the 4th Symphony:

Brahms wrote his final symphony at age 52, nearing retirement age. He sought to employ a vast number of techniques and skills he had learned throughout his successful career. It takes place in four movements:

I. Allegro non troppo; II. Andante moderato; III. Allegro giocoso; IV. Allegro energico e passionato

Brahms was particularly drawn to the music of composers Bach and Händel. From this fascination, he developed an appreciation for the musical form the ‘Passacaglia’ — one repeated motive, a bass, or “head”, which is embellished with added voices and statements. The final movement celebrates this form with the solemn eight chords from Bach’s ‘Nach, dir Herr.’ Brahms doesn’t just state melancholy, he explores it in absolute totality with 32 variations and re-statements. Listen to how complicated these chords become in their repetitiveness; and listen to, how by the end of the work, after massive sound and winding drama, there is no strong sense of relief or calm.

Brahms sets himself against the grain of tradition by ending his work on a solemn, despairing note. It is perhaps the only way a post-Romantic artist could deepen the brooding sadness salient to the artistic period. But, there is rarely a feeling of loss after Brahms’s music concludes, but always a sense of excitement and awe. The art, taken to depths of sadness and intensity, reveals new highs and prismatic angles.

Brahms and Clyne, we think they would’ve enjoyed conversation about art over a cup of tea.

Additional Notes on the Program

Prelude String Orchestra

Symphonette Orchestra

Note, today’s program includes a misspelling. The composer’s first name is ‘Rossano.’

Debut Symphony Orchestra

Junior Symphony Orchestra

Youth Symphony Orchestra

If you’re not a musician yourself, but are unsure how bad these meters can possibly be, just read them in succession to the closest musician in your life and see if their brow doesn’t furrow a bit.

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