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Masterworks 6 Alexander Prior, conductor / Lorrain Min, piano / Greater Victoria Youth Orchestra Saturday, January 23, 8 PM, Sunday, January 24, 2:30 PM Stafylakis – Brittle Fracture, Chopin – Piano Concerto No. 1, with Larrain Min, piano Mussorgsky – Pictures at an Exhibition

Haralabos [ Harry ] Stafylakis is a Canadian-American composer based in New York City. His concert music strives for dramatic emotional and intellectual expression, integrating idioms drawn from classical and popular styles. With an intimate background in progressive metal and traditional Greek music, Stafylakis has developed a unique conception of musical temporality and rhythm, infusing his compositions with a characteristic vitality and drive.

Stafylakis’ works have been performed internationally and his music has been featured at festivals and conferences including. Awards include the Charles Ives Fellowship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and four SOCAN Foundation Awards for Young Composers. As of 2013 he is composer-in-residence with the contemporary dance group Untitled|Collective. Stafylakis holds a B.Mus. from McGill University. He is a doctoral candidate and Graduate Teaching Fellow at the City University of New York (CUNY). His doctoral research, supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada, examines the conception of rhythm and meter in progressive metal and the potential adaptation of studio production techniques to instrumental composition. In the field of materials science, the study of fracture mechanics makes a fundamental distinction between fractures that occur at different levels of tensile stress. In the case of brittle fracture, there is little or no apparent

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plastic deformation before failure occurs; in other words, cracks travel so fast that it is often impossible to tell when the material will break. Stafylakis’ composition Brittle Fracture attempts to depict this type of structural failure in musical terms. Inspired by sound manipulation techniques commonly employed in pop music production, the piece is based on a simple four-note piano theme that is performed as if it were being processed through an echo unit. The piano’s echoes are selectively captured, extended, and transformed by the orchestral instruments. Altering piano’s rhythms, melodies, volume, and changing the texture, intensifies the music. Thus the music undergoes various types and degrees of stress that attempt to disrupt the constant musical flow. At the peak of the process the music finally buckles under its own weight, causing an abrupt rupture in the structure. A series of these fractures occurs, slicing between two contrasting musical surfaces until the inevitable and complete dissolution of their constituent materials. This work was originally composed as a work for chamber orchestra (18 players) in 2013 as part of a residency with the CUNY Graduate Center’s Contemporary Music Ensemble. It was selected for the American Composers Orchestra's 2014 Underwood New Music Readings; its premiere was on June 7, 2014, and presented as part of the New York Philharmonic's 2014 Biennial. http://www.americancomposers.org/2014/04/23/harry-stafylakis/ Frederik Chopin (1810-1849) Piano Concerto no.1, opus 11, 1830 Barely had the applause died down following his performance of his first piano concerto in F minor in the spring of 1830 when Chopin began sketching his next concerto in E minor. By Easter, the Allegro maestoso (first movement) was already written. Chopin was more pleased with it than with the Allegro from the first concerto. In May, he completed the Larghetto, which he wrote in a particular mood. ‘The Adagio for the new concerto is in E major. It is not intended to be powerful, it is more romance-like, calm, melancholic, it should give the impression of a pleasant glance at a place where a thousand fond memories come to mind.’ The Concerto’s last

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movement, a Rondo, was written with some difficulty and not completed in August. In September, over three trial runs in private, he tested the sound of the whole work – first with a quartet and then with a small orchestra. Finally, in October, he presented his new concerto to the public at large, at the National Theatre. The E minor Concerto – called the First on account of its being the earlier to be published – followed the path beaten by Chopin’s actual first concerto, the F minor, with which it shares both form and texture, and above all that poetical, youthful, romantic aura. The difference is that it seems to be written with a surer hand and a more experienced ear. First and foremost, Chopin’s concertos constitute a field of interplay between the themes, shown in their pure, flawlessly beautiful form, and the waves of sonorities of the pianistic figurations – breathtaking at times – that are derived from those themes. The character of the first movement was clarified with the word ‘maestoso’ or majectically. The first theme opens the work with a particularly vigorous gesture, taken up by the orchestral tutti. The principal theme, in the main key of E minor, is presented espressivo through the sound of the singing violins. In the principal theme, we hear the very distant, but distinct echo of a polonaise. The contrasting theme – brings the aura of a nocturne and is brightened by a change of mood (from E minor to E major). Chopin did not forget about the wind instruments, but gave them a particular role: firstly, to transform themes already shown once; secondly, to accompany the piano with a discreet melodic counterpoint. The middle movement transports us into a world of acoustic magic. In the Larghetto – its character clarified in the score, following Mozart’s example, as a Romance – it is the spirit of reverie that holds sway. In a letter to Tytus Woyciechowski, the composer called it romance-like and melancholic, though he then added, to allay any doubts: ‘It is a kind of meditation on the beautiful springtime, but to moonlight’. He went on to explain to Tytus how that mood could be achieved: ‘by the playing of strings, the sound of which is muffled by sordini’ (mutes on the violins), and imparts to them a new, silvery tone’.

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We are transported into a world of soft, intimate music. On its first appearance, the cantabile theme sounds against complete silence, simply and with reticent calm. It subsequently returns just the same, and yet not the same, decked with garlands of embellishments. The mood of this daydream is suddenly interrupted. The third theme, agitato (in C sharp minor), brings a brief moment of perturbation and passion, before disappearing from view. Then again we witness the magic of sonorities that are ever more subtle and thoughtful. The Rondo follows attacca, without a pause, rousing us from cogitation with the pungency of its dance rhythm. It draws us into dancing, amusement and play. The piano dallies with the orchestra, and the themes stand against the piano’s frenzied figurations. The Rondo’s refrain bears the traits of a krakowiak: its rhythm, distinct articulation, liveliness and wit. After the first performance, Chopin wrote: ‘Yesterday’s concert was a success’, wrote Chopin on 12 October 1830 to his friend Tytus. ‘A full house!’ Later in Paris, Chopin performed the work again as it was also enthusiastically received. François–Joseph Fétis, the influential editor of the Revue musicale, wrote the next day: ‘There is spirit in these melodies, there is fantasy in these passages, and everywhere there is originality’. Adapted from: http://en.chopin.nifc.pl/chopin/composition/detail/id/47 Modest Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition (1874) orchestrated by Maurice Ravel (1922) BACKGROUND: In Russia during the 1860s, Balakirev gave four other amateur musicians lessons in the craft of composition. Balakirev was by profession a mathematician, Rimsky- Korsakov followed a career as a sailor, Borodin was a chemist and Cui and Mussorgsky had both been soldiers. The aim of the group was to write Nationalistic music that was essentially Russian in flavour and not influenced by the prevailing taste for Germanic composers. The group became known as ‘The Mighty Handful’ or the ‘Russian Five.’

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Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881) came from a well to do family and was the son of a rich Russian landowner. As his grandfather had been in the Imperial Guards, Mussorgsky was sent to a military academy. However, he also studied the piano becoming a brilliant performer and made friends with many

Russian musicians including Balakirev. As a result of this, Mussorgsky gave up his military aspirations to pursue a career as a composer. As this occupation was precarious and paid little money, Mussorgsky had to take on a government office job just to make ends meet. Following the death of his mother,

Mussorgsky’s life became marred by bouts of excessive drinking. He lost his government post and died at the relatively young age of 42 in a charity hospital. His music was often left incomplete and was criticized for being brash and crude. His friend Rimsky-Korsakov was left to complete and orchestrate much of the music and to iron out the many errors and roughness of Mussorgsky’s orchestrations. It seems that Mussorgsky composed on the spur of the moment and was not concerned about achieving perfection in his scores. As Tchaikovsky said of him, ‘As far as talent is concerned, Mussorgsky is the most important of them all, but he never seeks perfection. He is convinced of his own genius and seems proud of his ignorance….But truly his absolutely original talent is shown everywhere in his music. He speaks a new language’. Following the death in 1873 of Mussorgsky’s friend Victor Hartmann, who had been a famous artist, architect and stage designer, a memorial exhibition was staged showing hundreds of pictures, drawings and sketches. Mussorgsky attended the exhibition and was inspired by what he saw to compose ten solo piano pieces, each describing one of the exhibits in music. This was to be his only large-scale piano work and was later orchestrated in the version we commonly hear today by Maurice Ravel. Linking most of the movements is a Promenade (from the French verb promenader meaning to stroll), rather like a prelude designed to take the listener from one picture on to the next. Some paintings were clearly next to each other in the gallery as they lack this musical promenade link!

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Promenade:

The opening contrasts a single line of musical texture played by the trumpet, with full chords played by four horns, three trumpets, three trombones and tuba. It is also interesting to note that the theme is metrically unusual, with 5/4 time alternating with 6/4 time. This five beat rhythm pattern is a characteristic of Russian folk music as is the pentatonic scale upon which the theme is based. Regular straight rhythms of most of the movement provide a solid feel of a stately ‘left- right’ walking motion to carry the listener from one picture to the next. The promenade theme returns varied several more times in the course of the piece serving as transitions between the different themes or moods of the pictures. 1. The Gnome: The music depicts a goblin like creature that shuffles along, rather like Gollum from The Lord of the Rings! The repeated scrabbling seven note phrases in octaves heard throughout the music in the lower strings and lower woodwind, suggest the wild movements of the creature. Listen out for some effective percussive effects on the cymbals, rattle and whip! Eerie glissandi (sliding) effects can also be heard on the violins. Trills and slides feature in the music too. The movement ends with a flourish as the Gnome scampers away. Promenade returns (much quieter) 2. The Old Castle: The picture here is of a troubadour singing a mournful tune outside a medieval castle. To create this medieval flavour, Mussorgsky uses a drone-like accompaniment and the repeated tonic notes (G sharp) form a tonic pedal underpinning the musical texture. The haunting ‘song’ of

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the troubadour is played on an alto saxophone, an instrument Mussorgsky certainly would not have used if he had orchestrated the piece himself! 3. The Tuileries: The Tuileries used to be the gardens of the French Royal Palace. The Palace was later destroyed and these gardens became a fashionable venue for Parisians to enjoy. The music is in ternary form (ABA structure), in which the first section repeats. Mussorgsky writes a fast first section in which the music depicts children running around, chatting and playing games heard in the flutes and oboes. The middle B section, by contrast, is more reflective and the strings play a refrained melody more akin to the world of adults in conversation or strolling casually through the gardens. 4. Bydlo (The Ox Cart): The picture here shows a lumbering peasant driving home his ox-cart after a hard day’s work. The music brings the picture to life by starting very softly yet pesante (heavy) then building to a massive fortissimo (very loud) as more instruments are gradually added to the orchestral texture. The illusion is of the ox-cart approaching the listener, then the music gradually dies away again as the oxcart seems to pass off into the distance again. The basses of the orchestra imitate the slow plodding feet of the peasant and the tuba cleverly depicts the heavy plodding of the weary peasant drawing his ox-cart. As the music become quieter, the solo tuba returns again as at the start of the piece. Promenade returns 5. Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks: Canary Chicks in their Shells; a Costume Sketch for Gerber’s Ballet Trilbi The orchestration is light and delicate with some ‘clucking’ sounds created with the acciaccaturas on the flutes, oboes, clarinets and piccolo. There is quite a lot of chromatic writing too which adds a sense of spice to the music. The

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music is fast and helps to conjure up an image of a ballet scene, in which the chicks are furiously pecking their way out of the shells. 6. Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuÿle: A Rich Jew in a Fur Hat and A Poor Jew The music depicts paintings of two Polish Jews - one rich and one poor, who engage in conversation

on a street corner. Samuel Goldenberg’s strong voice is represented by the unison strings and woodwinds (at the opening of the movement). In contrast to this, the whining muted trumpets imitate the pleadings of the destitute Schmuÿle.

Promenade (only in the piano version) 7. Limoges – market in the south of France. The market place at Limoges is a hive of feverish activity! Housewives quarrel with market traders who are crying out for customers to buy their wares. The music uses lots of quick rhythms. The strings, woodwind and brass can be heard in dialogue. The melodies soar up and down in scales and the majority of the movement is performed at a loud dynamic level. Following a change of time signature from 4/4 to 3/4, the music subsides to a piano dynamic before a gradual crescendo as the music reaches fff. The music ascends skywards to run abruptly into the low blast of trombones and tuba which herald the murky depths of the music of Catacombs.

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8. Catacombs: Paris Catacombs (including Hartmann, V. Kenel and guide with lantern) Hartmann’s drawing shows a guide holding up a lamp as the artist and a friend explore the Catacombs beneath the city of Paris. This movement is scored mainly for brass and woodwinds; there are no strings except the bases. Promenade: (Con moruis in Lingua Mortua – with the dead in a dead language) A halo of strings covers the promenade theme; this is Mussorgsky speaking the “language of the dead.” 9. The Hut on Fowl’s Legs: Baba-Yaga’s Hut on Hen’s Legs; Sketch for a Clock in Russian Style

The picture here represented a clock in the form of a cottage belonging to the Russian witch Baba Yaga. This witch grinds up human bones to eat using a mortar and pestle, which also serves as her broom for flying. In the picture, perched on top of the hut are two cockerels’ heads and the whole thing stand on fowls’ legs. The hut could fly away and pursue its prey whenever the witch so desired. The opening pounding rhythms suggest movement of the hut, played in strong octaves. The trumpet figure suggests a triumphal war cry as the hut takes off. The hut loses speed and lands again as the witch continues to stalk her victim

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(represented in the music by the opening hopping phrases accompanied by sinister sounding trembling woodwind). Sudden fortissimo chords on violins, celesta, harp and xylophone send the hut off again and a dramatic chord represents the victim being seized by the witch. The music from the first section then returns as the hut takes off and the music goes straight into the final picture: 10. The Great Gate of Kiev Design for Kiev City Gate: Main Façade Hartmann’s design was to include an elaborate Gate topped with a dome in the shape of a Slavonic helmet. The whole structure was to be made of stone and contain a small church. The Great Gate was to commemorate the escape of Czar Alexander II from an assassination attempt on April 4th, 1866 and was due to be a commission from Kiev City Council. However the gate was never built. The music combines two Russian melodies. The opening great fortissimo chorale (hymn) contrasts with a pianissimo plainchant melody from the Russian Orthodox Church. The reprise of the main tune adds tubular bells imitating the bells of Kiev ringing out across the city. Added scales in the violins enhance the triumphant feeling at the end. Adapted from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/discoveringmusic/listeningnotes/ln_mussorgsky_pictures.shtml