new 2019/2020 orchestra - indian hill music · 2020. 3. 9. · blackbird caf é 491 main street ......

2019/2020 ORCHESTRA CONCERT SEASON PROGRAMS

Bruce Hangen, Artistic Director & Conductor

45th Season

us

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Now in its 34th year, Indian Hill Music is a thriving regional non-profit center for music education and performance, and community outreach. We are motivated by the belief that music inspires our hearts and minds, encourages the growth and development of the whole person, and is integral to the lives of everyone we serve.

• Our Community Music School offers lessons in 30+ instruments and voice for all ages in all musical styles – from classical and jazz to rock, roots, and pop. Whether you want to perform on stage, ace an audition, or play for your own personal development and enjoyment, we are here to help you grow as a musician.

• Indian Hill Music’s professional performance season is anchored by concerts of the critically-acclaimed, 70-member Orchestra of Indian Hill, led by Artistic Director and Conductor, Bruce Hangen. We also present live concerts by celebrated contemporary performers in jazz, world music, and bluegrass as well as outstanding professional chamber ensembles and soloists.

• We believe that everyone should have the chance to participate in music! That’s why we invested over $125,000 last year in need-based student scholarships, free community events, free and low-cost educational programs for high-need public schools, free monthly concerts for seniors, and services like our unique Threshold Singers bedside choir for those in hospice care. These programs serve some 6,500+ people in 79 communities in our region.

The programs of Indian Hill Music are supported in part by a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency, and with funds from the council administered by the Local Cultural Councils.

Making Music ... Creating Community

About Indian Hill Music

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Looking to the Future:

Construction is well underway on our future world-class music education and performance center. Set on a stunning landscape in Groton, Massachusetts, the concert experience in our acoustically superb 1000-seat concert hall and 300-seat performance hall will be second to none. We are excitedly anticipating our opening in 2022, when we will bring you even more vibrant music experiences, designed to educate, energize, and enrich our communities.

Concept Rendering © Epstein Joslin Architects

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Greetings, friends!Recently, we at Indian Hill Music engaged in deep discussions about who we are and what makes us a truly unique organization. Through this process, we were delighted (though not surprised) to discover that the values each of us associates with Indian Hill Music are remarkably consistent.

We thought we would share with you what was reaffirmed as a result of this valuable exercise:

A Community of Excellence Open to AllWe maintain the highest standards in music education and performance in a stimulating and inspiring environment.

A Feeling of HomeWe are a warm, welcoming community where everyone is accepted, respected, and valued.

Vibrant ExperiencesWe energize and enrich lives through extraordinary musical experiences.

Personal GrowthWe elevate people’s lives by offering opportunities to explore, create, flourish, and achieve their goals.

Meaningful ConnectionsWe provide multiple pathways to music that encourage social interaction and create a sense of belonging.

Giving Music GenerouslyWe make music accessible to all through philanthropic community engagement.

Responsible StewardshipWe are committed to caring for the resources entrusted to us and making prudent decisions regarding our organization to ensure a strong future.

What is the key take-away from all this? As we look ahead to a future when Indian Hill Music will be a much larger and more diverse regional music destination, who we are will not change. This is the constant that has brought us this far, 34 years since our founding. These values will continue to guide our decisions, our relationships, and our commitment to you and everyone in the Indian Hill Music family, now and when we open our doors in Groton in three short years.

We are grateful for the part each of you plays in embracing and perpetuating Indian Hill Music’s core values. And we look forward to an outstanding season ahead—of learning, listening, and sharing music with each other!

Warm regards,

Lisa Fiorentino Peter AshtonChief Executive Officer Chair, Board of Directors

PHOTOS BY KAREN RIGGERT

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Welcome to Indian Hill Music

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Bruce Hangen, Artistic Director Stone Family Endowed

Music Director’s ChairViolin I Alice Hallstrom, Concertmaster The Reynolds Chair, endowed in perpetuityLi-Mei Liang, Associate Concertmaster Jane DimitryAllan Espinosa Sponsored by Randy Steere and Paul LandryEgle Jarkova-RobertsAnthony MoralesMona RashadKay Rooney-MatthewsJesus SaenzStuart Schulman Sponsored by Carole and Art PrestAnabelle Tirado HangenViolin II Stanley Silverman, Principal Lynn Basila, Assistant Principal Sponsored by Priscilla Endicott

John GuarinoTodd HamelinAngel Hernandez

Sponsored by an Anonymous Donor

Susan JensenLaura PapandreaNicki PayneSusan Turcotte-GavrielCaterina YettoViola Amelia Hollander Ames, Co-PrincipalPeter Sulski, Co-Principal Sponsored by Simon S. Jones and Richard GioiosaRobert KennedyDorcas McCallDarcy MontaldiOleg SolovievJennifer TanzerJing-Huey Wei

Cello Young Sook Lee Sponsored by Bob and Sue Lotz Joseph Gotoff, Assistant PrincipalPriscilla ChewGeorge HughenNathan KimballSusan Randazzo Sponsored by Phil and Dorothy RobbinsShay Rudolph Sponsored by Bruce and Sue BonnerAshima ScrippBassKevin Ann Green, Principal Sponsored by Sheila LaFargeRobb AistrupJoseph HigginsJustin McCartyMichael SimonJohn WallFlute Melissa Mielens, Principal Sponsored by Ted Lapres and Connie Keeran Jessica LizakPiccolo Ona Jonaityte Sponsored by Dave and Karen RiggertOboe Nancy Dimock, Principal Sponsored by David Gaynor and Bernice Goldman in memory of Toby GoldmanEnglish Horn Jennifer SlowikClarinet Hunter Bennett, Co-Principal Kelli O’Connor, Co-Principal Sandra HalberstadtBass Clarinet William Kirkley

Bassoon Hazel Malcolmson, Principal Wren Saunders Sponsored by Pam and Griff ResorContrabassoon Susannah TelseyHorn Michael Bellofatto, Principal Sponsored by John and Judy RobinsonNancy Hudgins Kimberly Harriman Laura Crook BrissonTrumpet Mary-Lynne Bohn, Principal Sponsored by John and Barbara Chickosky Mark Emery, Assistant Principal Sponsored by Bobbie and David SpiegelmanTrombone Peter Cirelli, Principal Sponsored by Mary Jennings and Jim Simko Alexei DoohovskoyBass Trombone Donald RobinsonTuba Michael Stephan, PrincipalTimpani Karl Seyferth, PrincipalPercussionMichael Ambroszewski, PrincipalHarp Deborah Feld-Fabisiewicz, PrincipalPiano Bonnie Anderson, PrincipalLibrarian Kate WeissEndowed ChairsRed Chair Society

String section musicians are listed alphabetically after the principals.

Orchestra of Indian Hill Musicians, 45th Season

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Welcome to our 45th Season!

I think we all agree that nothing can replace a live music experience. That’s why symphony orchestras like us still maintain active concert schedules, and audiences like you around the world still commit to attending live concerts. Bach’s music is even more relevant (and important!) to society today than it was 300 years ago. Rossini’s music is just as joyful, Berlioz’ just as exuberant, and Rimsky-Korsakov’s as blazingly picturesque today as when they were conceived 196, 185 and 130 years ago, respectively.

I know future audiences and performers will be saying the same thing about more recent composers as well. Take Sibelius, Saint-Saëns, Brahms, Elgar, and Dvořák, for instance. They, along with their stylistic ancestors, have so much to offer us, both as performers and listeners. Their creations are, after all, great Art (given the capital “A” out of true respect). It is Art that attracts us to them, helps us see the world as a better place, and that commands our sensibilities to approach life more meaningfully.

That’s why the Orchestra of Indian Hill continues to provide a compelling sampling of the world’s greatest symphonic music, carefully chosen from the last four centuries. Listen to tonight’s program actively, and engagingly, and you will be rewarded many times over.

Thank you for being here!

Bruce Hangen, Artistic Director & Conductor

From the Artistic Director

Above photo and cover photo by Karen Riggert.

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Add Color to Your Orchestra!

Join our Red Chair Society by sponsoring an Orchestra of Indian Hill musician.

• Sponsor a Principal or Section chair

• Memorialize or honor a loved one

• Receive recognition in Indian Hill Music publications

• Connect personally with your musician

For further information, please contact Catherine Coleman, Director of Development, at [email protected]

or (978) 261-3800 x102

Making Music ... Creating Community

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Orchestra of Indian Hill

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The Classics – How RomanticSeptember 21, 2019 at 7:30pm

Littleton High School Performing Arts Center, Littleton, MA

Bruce Hangen, Conductor

RICHARD WAGNER Prelude to Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (1813-1883)

JEAN SIBELIUS Violin Concerto in D Minor, Op. 47 (1865-1957) Rachel Barton Pine, violin Allegro moderato Adagio di molto Allegro, ma non tanto

— I N T E R M I S S I O N —

ANTONIN DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 9 (“From the New World”) (1841-1904) Adagio - Allegro molto Largo Molto vivace Allegro con fuoco

SPONSOR

GUEST ARTIST SUPPORTER

Attorney Ray Lyons

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About Our Guest Artist

Rachel Barton Pine Billboard-chart topping violinist Rachel Barton Pine is a leading interpreter of the great classical masterworks, thrilling audiences with her dazzling technique, lustrous tone, and emotional honesty. With an infectious joy in music-making and a passion for connecting historical research to performance, she transforms experiences of classical music. Ms. Pine performs with the world’s leading orchestras, including the Chicago and Vienna Symphonies, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Royal

Philharmonic, and Camerata Salzburg. She has worked with such renowned conductors as Zubin Mehta, Erich Leinsdorf, Neeme Järvi, and Marin Alsop. Her collaborators include leading artists such as Daniel Barenboim, Christoph Eschenbach, William Warfield, and Christopher O’Riley. The many contemporary composers with whom she has collaborated include David Chesky, Billy Childs, John Corigliano, Joe Deninzon, Mohammed Fairouz, Luis Jorge González, Earl Maneein, Daniel Bernard Roumain, José Serebrier, and Augusta Read Thomas. She has recorded 39 acclaimed albums. Her Avie discography includes Mozart: Complete Violin Concerto, Sinfonia Concertante with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner conducting; Bel Canto Paganini, and Elgar & Bruch Violin Concertos with the BBC Symphony, Andrew Litton conducting.

Ms. Pine is an avid performer of Baroque, Renaissance, and Medieval music on Baroque violin, viola d’amore, Renaissance violin, and rebec. Unlike many contemporary performers, she writes her own cadenzas to many of the works she performs. Her work as an editor and author highlights how the quality of her scholarship and the depth of her experience continue to distinguish her interpretations. With Carl Fischer’s publication of The Rachel Barton Pine Collection, she became the only living artist and first woman to join musicians like Fritz Kreisler and Jascha Heifetz in Carl Fischer’s Masters Collection series. A gold medalist in the J.S. Bach International Competition, Ms. Pine’s performances are heard on NPR and stations around the globe. She has appeared on NBC’s Today Show, CBS Sunday Morning, CNN, PBS NewsHour, NPR’s “Tiny Desk,” “Performance Today” and “A Prairie Home Companion” and has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times. Her Rachel Barton Pine Foundation assists young artists and runs the groundbreaking Music by Black Composers project. She performs on the 1742 “ex-Bazzini, ex-Soldat” Guarneri del Gesu, on lifetime loan from her anonymous patron.

Rachel Barton Pine appears by arrangement with MKI Artists.

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Program Notes

Prelude to Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg RICHARD WAGNER Die Meistersinger is Wagner’s penulti-mate music drama – he did not call them operas – and the only comic one of his mature years. Instead of his usual roster of gods, supermen and royalty, he recreated a medieval German town with its guilds of cobblers, bakers, goldsmiths and merchants. Wagner’s idyllic setting for the regular German Volk is not, however, as ingenuous as it seems. A polemic in disguise, Die Meistersinger was Wagner’s vehicle for declaring the superiority of spontaneous creativity over the pedantry of artistic rules and conventions. In his previous music dramas he had conceived and developed what he called the Gesamtkunstwerk (synthesis of the arts) that had radicalized nineteenth-century opera and won him devoted followers and denigrating detractors. In Die Meistersinger the composer went after the severest of the latter group, the Viennese music critic Eduard Hanslick, characterizing him as the pedantic – and, as it turns out, dishonest – scoundrel Sixtus Beckmesser (in early sketches of the opera his name was not Beckmesser but Hans Lick.) Wagner incorporated his own aesthetic into the poet-hero Walther von Stolzing who wins the town’s annual song competition over the older and more experienced mastersingers, and the hand of his beloved Eva. The text, as in all Wagner’s operas, is his own, although based on historical persons and facts, particularly the life of the medieval minnesinger Walther von der Vogelweide. The premiere took place in Munich in June 1868. Surprisingly, Wagner composed the Prelude first, laying out the themes that

became the leitmotifs for the music drama itself. On a greatly reduced scale, the themes in the Prelude follow the order of the basic plot elements. It opens with the ceremonial Meistersinger motive (based on an authentic sixteenth-century melody), followed by a motive representing the love between Walther and Eva. The middle of the Prelude is a grand contrapuntal melee representing all the conflicting personal and artistic forces in the drama. After a brief foretaste of Walther’s Prize Song, it concludes with the March of the Meistersinger.

Violin Concerto in D Minor, Op. 47JEAN SIBELIUS Sibelius was by no means a child prodigy. He began playing piano at nine, didn’t like it and took up the violin at 14. Although he also started composing at ten, Sibelius’s ambition was to become a concert violinist and throughout his adult life regretted not following his dream. Lifelong addiction to alcohol produced a persistent tremor in his hands that precluded a concert career. Sibelius’s first success as a composer came in 1892 with a nationalistic symphonic poem/cantata titled Kullervo, Op. 7. The work met with great praise but was never again performed in his lifetime. During the next six years he composed music for numerous nationalistic pageants, symphonic poems and vocal works, mostly based on the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala. In appreciation and in order to enable him to compose undisturbed, the Finnish governing council gave Sibelius a pension for life in 1897. For the next 28 years he composed the symphonies and other orchestral works that made him famous. In 1926, at the age of 60, he suddenly ceased composing for reasons

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Program Notes

never disclosed – although probably from the combined ravages of alcoholism and bipolar disorder. His pen remained silent until his death, 31 years later. Sibelius wrote the Violin Concerto as a testimony to his failed ambition to become a violinist, pouring into it every known technical difficulty and then some. Composed on a commission in 1903, its Helsinki premiere received mixed reviews and Sibelius withdrew it for revision. Violinist Karl Halir, under the baton of Richard Strauss, premiered the thoroughly revised version in 1905 in Berlin. Sibelius forbade the performance of the first version, which was eventually released by the composer’s family in 1989, when it was finally recorded. The First movement is by far the weightiest. It explores Sibelius’s particular take on sonata form with the themes evolving from one another without a true development section. The soloist opens the Concerto with a stunning theme, which is continually broken up into its motivic elements – particularly the opening three notes – and transformed throughout the movement. The orchestra introduces a second theme, which Sibelius subsequently uses as a refrain. Rather than constructing the movement as a continual dialogue between soloist and orchestra in the standard concerto style, Sibelius intersperses the movement with several cadenza-like passages, beginning with the opening. The principal cadenza at the end of the movement is based mainly on the opening theme and requires spectacular technical virtuosity. The second movement has always been considered the weakest and has been occasionally called sentimental, self-indulgent salon music. It is unusual in the

amount of music given to the violin in its lowest register and – as much as Sibelius himself would have cringed to hear it – resembles closely the expansive emotive utterings of Tchaikovsky. Predictably, the final movement is technically thrilling and exceptionally challenging. It focuses on two themes, the first introduced by the soloist accompanied only by an insistent pounding ostinato in the timpani and the basses. Its second theme has a lumbering rhythm, once described as “A Polonaise for polar bears.” Towards the end the violin repeats the first theme in eerie harmonics.

Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, Op. 95 “From the New World”ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK Antonín Dvořák’s sojourn in the United States from 1892 to 1895 came about through the efforts of Mrs. Jeanette B. Thurber. A dedicated and idealistic proponent of an American national musical style, she underwrote and administered the first American music conservatory, the National Conservatory of Music in New York. Because of Dvořák’s popularity throughout Europe, he was Thurber’s first choice for a director. The fact that he spoke no English was of little consequence since the language of musical discourse was German. He, in turn, was probably lured to the big city so far from home by both a large salary and convictions regarding musical nationalism that paralleled Mrs. Thurber’s own. Thirty years before his arrival in New York, Dvořák had read Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s Song of Hiawatha in a Czech translation and was eager to learn more about the Native American and African-IN

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Program Notes

American music, which he believed should be the basis of the American style of composition. He also shared with Mrs. Thurber the conviction that the National Conservatory should admit African-American students. One of them, Henry Burleigh, who became an important African-American composer in his own right, is credited with exposing his teacher to African-American spirituals. While his knowledge of authentic Native American music is questionable – his exposure came through samples transcribed for him by American friends and through Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show – he became familiar with African-American spirituals through Burleigh, as well as indirectly via the songs of Stephen Foster. He incorporated both of these styles into the Symphony No. 9, composed while he was in New York. Just as Dvořák never quoted Bohemian folk music directly in his own nationalistic music, he did not use American themes in their entirety. Rather, with his unsurpassed gift for melody, he incorporated characteristic motives into his own themes. Nevertheless, any listener with half an ear can discern “Massa Dear” (also known as “Goin’ Home”) in the famous English horn solo in the second movement. We can deduce the importance of these musical motives from the fact that they appear as reminiscences in more than one movement, especially in the Finale. The Symphony, however, is hardly an American pastiche; the second motive in the Largo movement is a phrase of wrenching musical longing that many listeners interpret as the composer’s nostalgia for his native Bohemia. The New York music critic and Dvořák’s friend, Henry Krehbiel, claimed that the movement was inspired

by incidents from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s The Song of Hiawatha. Which incidents, however, have never been definitively determined. Krehbiel posited the scene in which Hiawatha woos Minnehaha, while others have suggested Minnehaha’s funeral. Incidentally, Dvořák had also intended to compose an opera on Hiawatha, which never left the drawing board. The third movement as well, in its rhythmic thumping, the pentatonic scale and the orchestration dominated by winds and percussion, is meant to portray an Indian ceremonial dance described in Longfellow’s poem. Dvorák’s symphonic use of what he believed to be an authentic Native American musical idiom may have reflected his initial ideas for the opera.One of the most important features of the Symphony is its thematic coherence. Whatever the origin of the melodies, they all have a modular characteristic in that they can be mixed and matched in many different ways. In the last movement, Dvořák brings nearly all of the Symphony’s themes together, sometimes as one long continuous melody, sometimes in contrapuntal relationship to each other.

Program notes by: Joseph & Elizabeth [email protected] www.wordprosmusic.com

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TICKETS $10 • www.indianhillmusic.org • (978) 486-9524

Indian Hill MusicDiscovery Lectures

Tuesday, October 15 Music Interventions in Cognitive Ability James Gutierrez, Ph.D. Music Theorist and Educator

Tuesday, November 5 Haydn and Mozart: Apollo and Dionysus Eric Kamen Composer and Piano Faculty, Indian Hill Music School

Tuesday, January 14 All That Jazz Eric Kamen Composer and Piano Faculty, Indian Hill Music School

Tuesday, March 3 Art of the Fugue Eric Kamen Composer and Piano Faculty, Indian Hill Music School

Tuesday, April 7 Medical Maladies of Musical Masters Phillip L. Pearl, MD Director, Epilepsy and Clinical Neurophysiology William G. Lennox Chair and Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School

Tuesday, May 19 Chopin and Liszt: Rivals and Friends Eric Kamen Composer and Piano Faculty, Indian Hill Music School

Experience a new level of musical insight as our distinguished guest speakers share their knowledge of music history and culture.All lectures are at noon. Bring a lunch!

JOIN US FOR...

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Far Off Français!October 26, 2019 at 7:30pm




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JACQUES OFFENBACH Overture to La Belle Hélène (1819-1880)

CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS Piano Concerto No. 5 in F Major, Op. 103 (1835-1921) (“The Egyptian”) Aristo Sham, piano Allegro animato Andante Molto allegro


HECTOR BERLIOZ Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14 (1803-1869) Rêveries – Passions (Reveries - Passions) Un bal (A Ball) Scène aux champs (Scene in the Fields) Marche au supplice (March to the Scaffold) Songe d’une nuit du sabbat (Dream of a Night of the Sabbath)


Scheier Katin & Epstein, P.C.

LEAD SPONSOR

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Aristo Sham, piano Pianist Aristo Sham has dazzled audiences on five continents, in countries ranging from Singapore and Argentina, to Slovenia and Morocco, to China and Iceland. His upcoming appearances include the Rachmaninoff Concerto No. 3 with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Simon Rattle in Hong Kong and the Mozart Concerto No. 23 with the Utah Symphony. He has previously performed as soloist with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra conducted

by Edo de Waart, the English Chamber Orchestra under Raymond Leppard, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, and the Minnesota Orchestra. In addition, he has given recitals for the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts in Chicago and the Salle Cortot in Paris, and has performed for royalty and dignitaries such as Prince Charles, the Queen of Belgium, and ex-President Hu of China. Mr. Sham won First Prize at the 2018 Young Concert Artists International Auditions at the age of twenty-two, and numerous special prizes: the Hayden’s Ferry Chamber Music Prize, Vancouver Recital Society Prize, John Browning Memorial Prize, Paul A. Fish Memorial Prize, the Rhoda Walker Teagle New York Debut Prize, and Korean Concert Society Kennedy Center Debut Prize. Mr. Sham also won the Silver Medal at the Gina Bachauer International Artists Piano Competition, First Prize at the Charles Wadsworth International Piano Competition in 2018, First Prize and the Barenreiter Urtext Special Prize at Germany’s Ettlingen International Piano Competition, First Prize at the 2016 New York International Piano Competition, and top prizes at the Viseu (Portugal), Wideman, PianoArts, Clara Haskil, Saint-Priest and Viotti Piano Competitions as well as the Verbier Festival in Switzerland. A native of Hong Kong, Mr. Sham began playing the piano at three, and entered the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts at six. He attended the Harrow School in London, and at the age of twelve was featured in the BBC documentary “The World’s Greatest Musical Prodigies.” Currently, Mr. Sham is in a joint program of Harvard University and the New England Conservatory, pursuing a B.A. in Economics and French and an M.A. in Piano Performance. He also travels to Sweden for studies at the Ingesund School of Music. In his free time, Mr. Sham enjoys traveling, languages, gastronomy, and oenology.

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Program Notes

Overture to La belle Hélène (Helen the Beautiful)JACQUES OFFENBACH The son of a German Jewish cantor, Jacques (originally Jacob) Offenbach moved to Paris where his father thought Jews were better treated than in Germany. Trained at the Paris Conservatoire, he was a cellist and salon musician for many years until he was appointed conductor of the Théatre français where he began composing one-act operettas, satirizing the vapid social scene of Paris. In 1858, he wrote his first three-act operetta, Orphée aux enfers (Orpheus in the Underworld) that satirized the neoclassical vogue of the Second Empire under Napoleon III. La belle Hélène, composed in 1864, was an even more scathing swipe at the none-too-bright-Emperor and his even less intellectually gifted empress Eugénie. Offenbach’s operettas paved the way for Gilbert and Sullivan, Franz Lehár and the musical comedies of the twentieth century. La belle Hélène is a parody of the events leading up to the Trojan War. The marriage of Helen and King Menelaus of Mycenae is on the rocks. Enter Paris, son of King Priam of Troy, to whom Venus had promised Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world, and who now wins a game of charades with a bunch of Aegean potentates. (The French Emperor and Empress had a passion for party games.) The spoofs continue with a final scene on the beach where Menelaus spends his vacation shillyshallying over what to do about Helen and Paris (The French imperial family loved to go on vacations at a time when tensions between France and Prussia approached the boiling point, resulting finally in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71). Offenbach lampooned

not only the royal couple but also popular composers of the period – including himself. Wagner, Rossini and Auber are among his principal victims. Not surprisingly, there have been a number of attempts to update the libretto.

Piano Concerto No. 5 in F Major, Op. 103 “The Egyptian”CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS Camille Saint-Saëns was a man of wide culture, well-versed in literature, the arts and scientific developments. He was precocious and gifted in astronomy, mathematics, ancient philosophy, and literature. As a child, he wrote his first piano compositions at age three and at ten made his formal debut at the Salle Pleyel in Paris, playing Mozart and Beethoven piano concertos. In his youth he was considered an innovator, but by the time he reached maturity he had become a conservative pillar of the establishment, trying to maintain the classical tradition in France and expressing open disdain for the “new” trends in music, including the “malaise” of Wagnerism. His visceral dislike of Debussy made continuous headlines in the tabloid press. As a performer – he premiered his five piano concertos – his technique was elegant and effortless, but neither his compositions nor his playing were pinnacles of emotion. Berlioz noted that Saint-Saëns “...knows everything but lacks inexperience.” In 1872, Saint-Saëns received a large bequest from the estate of the director of the French Post Office, who felt that a gifted composer should not have to work to supplement his income. Despite his financial security, he was a consummate craftsman and a compulsive worker. “I produce music the way an apple tree produces apples.” Although he was a 23

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proponent of “art for art’s sake,” his views on expression and passion in art conflicted with the prevailing Romanticism. While his music was often perceived as passé, he was open to original ideas that conformed to his aesthetic. He was the first composer to write an original film score in 1908 for L’assassinat du Duc de Guise (The assassination of the Duke of Guise), and the Fifth Piano Concerto freely incorporates non-Western musical idioms. The combined income from his bequest, together with his publications and performance fees allowed Saint-Saëns to indulge a passion for travel. Tours for both work and pleasure took him to Brazil, the United States, Russia, and Ceylon (Sri Lanka) but most of his trips were to North Africa, primarily in the French colonies of Algeria and Morocco. He composed his Piano Concerto No. 5 in 1896 in Luxor, Egypt and premiered it to celebrate the 50-year anniversary of his debut at the Salle Pleyel. While the title “Egyptian” is traditionally appended to the concerto because of the country of its birth, it is not Saint-Saëns’ own. Rather, the composer referred to the Concerto as a sea voyage, and one hears in it the echoes of the ethnic music of Spain, the Far East, and North Africa. From a pianistic point of view, Saint-Saëns pulled out all the stops and was clearly more interested in virtuosic display than in thematic development. After only a few introductory notes from the orchestra, the piano jumps in with the Concerto’s first theme followed a couple of short motives, one resembling a Baroque fanfare, the other a rising sequence, designed to herald the pianist’s technical wizardry. Saint-Saëns’ world cruise begins in the exotic Andante second movement, a cadenza-like introduction using authentic

North African modes evoking an Algerian market. There follows a Spanish folksong that concludes with a haunting oboe solo. Saint-Saëns then “travels” to Bali with a pentatonic tune accented with a gong in imitation of the Balinese gamelan. The energetic Finale returns ”home” in a classic sonata form. Although Saint-Saëns omits the customary formal cadenza, the pianist has ample opportunity for virtuosic display in the development of this movement.

Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14HECTOR BERLIOZ Being a rebel without independent means makes life difficult for an artist. Hector Berlioz, the son of a physician, was sent by his family to Paris to study medicine, but at 21 gave it up to become a musician. To make ends meet as a composer, he became a prolific writer on music, musicians, conducting, and orchestration, as well as a sharp-tongued music critic for Paris newspapers. Berlioz was a master of orchestration. He freed the brass, making it the equal of the other orchestral sections. He experimented with new instruments, including the bass clarinet and valve trumpet, and pioneered the use of the English horn as one of the orchestra’s most expressive solo instruments. He paid only lip service to conventional musical form and was the foremost advocate of program music. Every one of his compositions is narrative, related in some way to a story or literary text. This approach to art was the natural outcome of his belief in the inseparability of music and ideas. For Berlioz, music and literature were inextricably connected as the quintessential expression of human

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Program Notes

imagination and emotion. As if Romantic literature didn’t present enough Sturm und Drang, Berlioz’s person-al life added a subsequent entanglement. Around 1827, he attended productions in Paris of Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet, performed by the great British actor, David Garrick, and the apparently somewhat less talented actress, Harriet Smithson. Despite the fact that the young composer didn’t know English, he fell madly in love with Smithson, developed an obsessive fixa-tion on her that inspired the Symphonie fantastique, and married her six years later, ultimately making both of them miserable. The Symphonie fantastique is the first example of a narrative symphony. Berlioz composed it in 1830 as a musical testament to his infatuation. The symphony is united by what the composer himself termed an “idée fixe,” a theme introduced in the first movement symbolizing the obsession with the beloved. The movement describes a young musician encountering his ideal woman for the first time. His fervor is so great that by the end of the movement the theme turns religious. In the second movement, a lilting waltz, the artist attends a ball where among the dancing couples, he becomes conscious of his beloved’s presence, with the sudden reappearance of the idée fixe. In the third movement the artist goes for an outing in the pastoral countryside, in the midst of which he suddenly remembers his beloved. The movement opens with a haunting echo duet for English horn and oboe. There follows a violent storm, in which the thunder symbolizes and foreshadows the disastrous denouement of the affair. By the fourth movement the artist’s desperation grows, as does his irrationality. In an opium-induced fantasy, he murders

his beloved and is condemned to the guil-lotine. Before the blade falls, the idée fixe is imprinted on his memory. The Finale describes an after-death experience, the Witches’ Sabbath. The idée fixe now reappears in a grotesquely screeching clarinet solo, the ideal beloved now the object of ridicule. At this point Berlioz quotes the Dies irae, the Catholic chant for the dead describing the terrors of the Day of Judgment. He contrapuntally combines the witches’ dance with the plainchant melody in one of his signature musical devices, which he called “the reunion of two themes;” the two melodies are presented separately, then combined, no matter how musically incompatible they may be, to create a kind of musical irony, and the work ends in a wild orchestral climax.


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Life, Love, Legacy January 18, 2020 at 7:30pm



ANTONIN DVOŘÁK Carnival Overture Op. 92, B. 169 (1841-1904)

PETER LIEBERSON Neruda Songs (1946-2011) Britt Brown, mezzo-soprano I. Si no fuera porque tus ojos tienen color de luna (“If your eyes were not the color of the moon” II. Amor, amor, las nubes a la torre del cielo (“Love, love, the clouds went up the tower of the sky”) III. No estés lejos de mí un solo día, porque cómo (“Don’t go far off, not even for a day”) IV. Ya eres mía. Reposa con tu sueño en mi sueño (“And now you’re mine. Rest with your dream in my dream”) V. Amor mío, si muero y tú no mueres (“My love, if I die and you don’t”)


JOHANNES BRAHMS Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 68 (1833-1897) Un poco sostenuto — Allegro Andante sostenuto Un poco allegretto e grazioso Adagio —Allegro non troppo, ma con brio

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Britt Brown, mezzo soprano Boston-based mezzo-soprano Britt Brown has toured with the Boston Pops and Keith Lockhart for their holiday concerts and the Boston premiere of Stefan Weisman’s The Scarlet Ibis. She recently premiered the role of Tatlanthe in composer Andy Vores’s new opera Chrononhotonthologos with Guerilla Opera and sang in Odyssey Opera’s New England premiere of Verdi’s Giovanna d’Arco. She also debuted as The Leading Player in Pippin with Music on Norway Pond and as Gretchen in Rumpelstiltskin in Bos-

ton and New York City with Guerilla Opera. Last season she sang the solo in Bernstein’s Jeremiah Symphony with Orchestra of Indian Hill. Ms. Brown’s past season performances include appearances with Boston Midsummer Opera, Boston Opera Collaborative, MetroWest Opera, the Boston Lyric Opera, and Odyssey Opera. She premiered several pieces with Juventas New Music Ensemble, including Dream Songs with internationally acclaimed violinist Olga Patramanska-Bell. Ms. Brown also had the pleasure of perform-ing in recital with members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in the Curtisville Con-sortium in the Berkshires. She is a staff singer with St. Andrew’s Episcopal in Wellesley, and a cantorial soloist at Temple Sinai in Sharon. A graduate of Stetson University and the Boston Conservatory, Ms. Brown teaches and performs locally as a sought-after new and sacred music singer.

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Carnival Overture, Op. 92ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK It took Antonín Dvořák a long time to establish his name outside his native Bo-hemia but, by 1891, he had achieved fame throughout Europe. He had premiered his Seventh and Eighth Symphonies to great success and his chamber music was in great demand. His reputation had spread across the ocean, eliciting an invitation from Mrs. Jeanette B. Thurber, a dedicated and idealistic proponent of an American national musical style, to head the first American music conservatory, the Na-tional Conservatory of Music in New York. Just before he embarked on his “New World” adventure, Dvořák composed three overtures, originally titled Nature, Life and Love, later renaming them In Nature’s Realm, Carnival, and Othello. The three are united by a recurring musical theme, although in Carnival it appears only fleet-ingly in the slow middle section. These works were not composed as overtures to plays or operas, but were more in the nature of mood-setting concert openers. According to one scholar, Dvořák want-ed to illustrate with the three overtures different aspects of nature and her power for good and evil. Aged 50 at the time, he was somewhat disillusioned with love but retained an unflagging zest for life, seeking tranquility in nature. The composer’s optimistic side comes through in the Carnival Overture with the explosive energy of the opening bars. The overture follows the traditional symphonic sonata-allegro form, but as is often the case in Dvořák’s most upbeat music, it bears a tinge of melancholy in its second theme and in the addition of a separate Andante section – a poetic English horn solo – be-fore the development.

Neruda Songs PETER LIEBERSON American composer Peter Lieberson came to his musical talents naturally: his mother was the ballerina and choreog-rapher Vera Zorina, his father, Goddard Lieberson, president of Columbia Records. Lieberson studied composition at Colum-bia University, later moving to Colorado to study Tibetan Buddhism. After he became a master and Buddhist trainer, he received a PhD in composition from Brandeis University and subsequently taught at Harvard. In 1997, during rehearsals for his opera Ashoka’s Dream at the Santa Fe Op-era, he met his future wife, versatile mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt, who became the inspiration for a string of vocal works until her untimely death in 2006. One of Lieberson’s final works for his wife in 2005 was Neruda Songs. Chil-ean poet and Nobel Prize winner, Pablo Neruda (1904-1973) is considered one of the greatest poets of the twentieth century. Lieberson chose five of Neruda’s passionate love sonnets.

“…although these poems were written to another, when I set them I was speak-ing directly to my own beloved Lorraine.“Each of the five poems that I set to music seemed to me to reflect a dif-ferent face in love’s mirror. The first poem, ‘If your eyes were not the color of the moon,’ is pure appreciation of the beloved. The second, ‘Love, love, the clouds went up the tower of the sky like triumphant washerwomen,’ is joyful and also mysterious in its evocation of nature’s elements: fire, water, wind, and luminous space. The third poem, ‘Don’t go far off, not even for a day,’ reflects the anguish of love, the fear and pain of

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separation. The fourth poem, ‘And now you’re mine. Rest with your dream in my dream,’ is complex in its emotional tone. First there is the exultance of passion. Then, gentle, soothing words lead the beloved into the world of rest, sleep, and dream. Finally, the fifth poem, ‘My love, if I die and you don’t,’ is very sad and peaceful at the same time. There is the recognition that no matter how blessed one is with love, there will still be a time when we must part from those whom we cherish so much.”

These songs are through-composed, each line of poetry set to new music reflecting the meaning of the words. The songs are atonal but still lyrical. Lieberson uses the orchestra to highlight particular lines.

Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 68JOHANNES BRAHMS “You don’t know what it is like always to hear that giant marching along behind me,” Brahms wrote to the conductor Hermann Levi, in reference to Beethoven. As a classically oriented composer who revered Beethoven, Brahms found writing a symphony a daunting proposition. It took fame, respectability, middle age, and numerous false starts before he finally fin-ished his First Symphony at age 43, after at least 14 years’ gestation. An earlier attempt at a symphony, in 1854, ended up, after numerous transformations, as part of the D Minor Piano Concerto and the German Requiem. Despite Brahms’s reputation and the positive anticipation of the public, the Symphony, premiered in 1876, was at first coolly received. The rigorous classical form baffled the public and critics, who expected

something more romantic and innovative. Wagner, Liszt, and programmatic music were all the rage and most critics consid-ered the classical form backward looking and reactionary. But it was not long before the Symphony’s riveting power was recog-nized, along with its own contribution to symphonic innovation. If, indeed, the First Symphony cannot strictly be considered program music, it nevertheless unfolds with great drama – even, one might say, a musical plot. While the typical classical symphony gives the greatest weight to the first movement, ending with a faster rousing finale, often a dance, Mozart, in his last three sympho-nies, and Beethoven in the Third, Fifth and especially the Ninth Symphonies, recast the pattern. In these works, the finale provides the culmination to the entire symphony. When listening to Brahms’s First, one can easily imagine the composer’s reticence at treading in the great man’s shadow. Nevertheless, his combined sense for musi-cal drama and structure prevailed as he launched what conductor Hans von Bülow called “The Tenth.” Only Mendelssohn in his Symphony No. 3, “The Scottish,” had trod that path. The ominous pounding of the timpani under slow ascending and descending chromatic scales, fragmentary motives and the ambiguous tonality of the Introduction poses a musical question – actually more of a demand – that remains unresolved until the final movement. It is one of the most spine-chilling introductions in all of classical music. The following Allegro fleshes out motives from the Introduction into full-fledged themes, first by combin-ing them contrapuntally, then developing them with an almost savage energy. The middle two movements are a respite

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from the drive of the first. The second movement, a classic ABA form although with a highly modified repeat, is remi-niscent of Beethoven’s variations in the slow movement of the Ninth Symphony. The movement also contains allusions to thematic material from the first and hints at the main theme of the third movement to come. The third movement, a modified scherzo, is more of an intermezzo that opens with a lilting clarinet theme, already foreshadowed in the preceding movement. The contrapuntal accompaniment to the repeat of the clarinet theme, after the Trio section, foreshadows the principal theme from the Finale. Rumbling timpani now reassert to the serious mood of the first movement, re-minding the listener of unresolved issues. Suddenly, as if from behind a cloud, an alpenhorn calls out, answered by the flute, turning the turgid C Minor into a resound-ing C Major chorale melody. Brahms clearly modeled the effect on Beethoven’s Ninth. The alpenhorn solo has its own little history. In 1868, eight years before the Symphony was premiered, Brahms had quarreled with his friend, and probably se-

cret love, Clara Schumann, about whether she should cut back on her concertizing to spend more time at home with her eight children. That September, he sent her a mollifying postcard with the alpenhorn theme scrawled on it to the words ”High on the mountain, deep in the valley, I greet you a thousand fold.” Unlike Beethoven, whose choral Finale was a set of variations, Brahms’s chorale tune does battle with the music from the stormy introduction to emerge triumphant in an exultant coda.


Program Notes

Hear recent Orchestra of Indian Hill performances on Instant Encorethe world’s leading resource for enjoying live classical music. Visit www.instantencore.com and enter Orchestra of Indian Hill in the search box.

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Bringing Life to Music!The critically-acclaimed Orchestra of Indian Hill, under the direction of Maestro Bruce Hangen, is comprised of 70 experienced professional musicians who also perform and teach in high-caliber organizations and ensembles throughout New England.

The Orchestra performs symphonic classics as well as works by living composers, such as Lera Auerbach, Tan Dun, Oliver Knussen, and Rodion Shchedrin. Guest soloists have included principal musicians from the Boston, Philadelphia, and St. Louis Symphonies, plus international soloists Eliot Fisk, Ryu Goto, Irina Muresanu, R. Carlos Nakai, Anoushka Shankar, James Walker, and the Quartetto Gelato.

Our concerts offer an interesting and diverse range of repertoire, from well-known works by your favorite composers to lesser-known gems and new works that we think you will enjoy. Our distinctive concert experience represents a partnership between our artists and our audience as we embark on a musical journey together. Our pre- and post-concert events, and Maestro Hangen’s engaging commentary, are all aimed at helping you understand the music, the intentions of the composers, the rationale for our programming, and the personalities of our musicians. We don’t want you just to be a passive recipient of the music; we want you to engage with the creative process and find the joy that comes from a deeper understanding of the artistic product.

The achievements of the Orchestra of Indian Hill have been recognized through numerous grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, major corporations and foundations, and the National Endowment for the Arts. The Orchestra is a member of the League of American Orchestras.

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Leap Year SoiréeFebruary 29, 2020 at 7:30pm



GIOACHINO ROSSINI Overture to Semiramide (1792-1868)

Performance by the Indian Hill Music School Concerto Competition Winner

HOWARD HANSON Symphony No. 6 (1896-1981) Andante – Allegro scherzando – Adagio – Allegro assai – Adagio – Allegro

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G Major, BWV 1049 (1685-1750) Marco Granados, Melissa Mielens, flutes Alice Hallstrom, violin Allegro – Andante – Presto


BENJAMIN BRITTEN Soirées Musicales, Op. 9 (‘Rossini Suite No.1’) (1913-1976) March – Canzonetta – Tirolese – Bolero Tarantella

RANSOM WILSON, arr. Carmen Fantasy (on Themes from Bizet’s Opera) (b. 1951) for Flute and Orchestra (based on Fantaisie sur ‘Carmen’ by Francis Borne) Marco Granados, flute

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About Our Guest Artists

Marco Granados, flute Marco Granados is one of the world’s leading flutists on Lat-in American music with a diverse repertoire spanning from folk to classical music. Since his debut recital at Carnegie Hall in 1991, he has performed with many of the prominent orchestras in Venezuela, his native country. His solo appear-ances have taken him all over the world, including South Africa, Slovenia, Scotland, Japan, and China. Mr. Grana-dos has served as principal flute with The New York City Symphony Orchestra, Opera Northeast, and L’Orchestra

in the Berkshires, and as associate principal flute with the Venezuelan Symphony Orches-tra. In New York City, he performed with the Mostly Mozart Festival, and on Broadway for the musicals Miss Saigon, Annie, Showboat, and The Sound of Music. An avid chamber musician, Mr. Granados has performed at The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and with such distinguished artists as clarinetist Paquito D’Rivera, flutist William Bennett, flutist Ransom Wilson, harpist Nancy Allen, and oboist Heinz Holliger. He is a founding member of the chamber ensemble Classical Jam and has been a member of other acclaimed ensembles, such as Triangulo and Quintet of the Americas. His recordings include Music of Venezuela; Luna, a romantic serenade of songs from Venezuela and South America for flute and guitar; Tango Dreams, works by Astor Piazzolla; and Amanecer, a collection of Venezuelan flute favorites. A devoted educator, Mr. Granados has presented and developed programs for Lincoln Center Education, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, The New York Philharmonic, and Carnegie Hall. He has been on faculty at the Longy School of Music and is the founder of The Granados Music Institute, a training program to educate young professional flutists in 21st century skills.

Alice Hallstrom, violin A third-generation musician, violinist Alice Hallstrom serves as concertmaster of the Orchestra of Indian Hill. She is also principal second violinist with Camerata New England and performs with the Camerata New England Piano Trio. Ms. Hallstrom has appeared with the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic, Atlanta Symphony, Utah Symphony, Orchestra at Temple Square, and Nashville Chamber Orchestra. Her featured solo performances include concerti with the Juilliard Baroque Ensemble, and Chamber Orchestra of Tennessee. She has

also recorded with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square, Josh Groban, Natalie Cole, Chamber Music Atlanta, Train, Ephraim’s Harp, and The Cartoon Network. Ms. Hallstrom received her master’s from The Juilliard School in 2004 where she was a student of Robert Mann, founding first violinist of the Juilliard String Quartet. She graduated summa cum laude with a B.M. from SUNY Purchase, where she studied with Laurie Smukler.

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Program Notes


Melissa Mielens, fluteHailed in reviews for her “eloquence” and “ethereal flute lines,” Melissa Mielens is principal flutist of Orchestra of Indian Hill and has also played principal flute with the Vermont Symphony, Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, Rhode Island Philharmonic, Springfield Symphony, and Portland Symphony. She has toured abroad with various orchestras, including Japan with the Pacific Music Festival Orchestra, the United Kingdom with the New World Symphony, and Europe and South America with the Jeunesses Musicales World Orchestra. She has also appeared in live radio per-

formances on WGBH and WVPR. A prizewinner in national and regional competitions, including the James Pappoutsakis Flute Competition and the National Flute Association Young Artist Competition, Ms. Mielens received her B.M. and M.M. from New England Conservatory, both with distinction in performance. As one of the youngest recipients of a Fulbright Grant, she studied in Paris with Alain Marion. Ms. Mielens is on the faculty of Phillips Exeter Academy and maintains an active private studio.

Program Notes

Overture to Semiramide GIOACHINO ROSSINI One of the most prolific opera composers of all time, Gioachino Rossini wrote nearly 40 operas, both serious and comic, by the time he was 37 – then quit. For the rest of his long life he composed only sporadically and, except for church music, mostly small works he tossed off for the entertainment of his friends. He published over 150 musical miniatures in a collection that he called Péchés de vieillesse (Sins of old age). Semiramide was one of Rossini’s ventures into opera seria. Written on commission for Venice’s famed Teatro La Fenice, it was his last opera for the Italian stage before moving to France. Based on Voltaire’s play Semiramis, it is an Oedipal tale about the Babylonian queen

who connives with her lover to kill her husband but in turn falls in love with a young general, Arsace, who, unknown to Semiramide or himself, is actually her son Prince Nina. It ends with Arsace killing the guilty queen, condemning her lover to death and ascending the throne. According to his contract, Rossini had 40 days to write the opera, but it took him only 33. The overture took him just a few hours – perhaps why it sounds so spontaneous and fresh. It is one of the few overtures Rossini wrote that actually “belongs” to the opera it precedes, not borrowed from another one. In the long, slow introduction, four French horns intone a hymn-like passage from Act I, while the main body of the Overture begins with a theme from the introduction to the opera’s final scene.

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Program Notes

Symphony No. 6 HOWARD HANSON American composer, conductor and teacher, Howard Hanson was an unabashed neo-romantic who always cited Grieg and Sibelius as the most powerful influences on his style. His colorful orchestration resulted from studies with Ottorino Respighi during a three-year stay in Rome as the recipient of the prestigious Prix de Rome. Elliot Carter, the dean of avant-garde American Classi-cal music in the twentieth century, called Hanson’s music reactionary but commented how skillful and ambitious he was. Hanson used his long-time position (1924-1964) as first director of the Eastman School of Music and conductor of its orchestra to further the cause of American music, premiering, and recording many works of his contemporaries. Hanson wrote his Sixth Symphony in 1967-68 on a commission from the New York Philharmonic to celebrate the orches-tra’s 125th anniversary. It is traditional in its harmony but not in its structure, consist-ing of six connected movements unified by a three-note motive that opens the work. Although the tempi of the six movements conforms to Classical norms, the Symphony is completely through-composed, without the structure and repeated elements of the standard sonata model.

Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G Major, BWV 1049 JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH The six Brandenburg Concerti stand at the crossroads in musical history, where chamber music and orchestral music went their separate ways. These Concerts à plusieurs instruments (Concerti for various instruments) as Bach named them, were dedicated to Christian Ludwig, Margrave of Brandenburg, who employed a modest

orchestra that was in all probability too small and inexpert to play all the Concertos. The Dedication Score, including an obsequious cover letter by Bach, has been preserved and is now in the Deutsche Staatsbibliothek in Berlin. The mint condition of the manuscript indicates that in all probability the Margrave’s orchestra seldom if ever performed them. The Concerti were composed between 1718 and 1721, although parts may have been written as early as 1708. They were not composed as an independent group, but rather assembled from various orchestral works Bach had already composed over the years; they may be described as courtly entertainment music on the highest level. The fourth Concerto is a concerto grosso in style. The first movement ritornello in-volves the three soloists, who exchange roles upon the repeat. But the rapid passagework for the violin, a distinctly Vivaldi-like touch, has led some to refer to the concerto as a “disguised” violin concerto. Noteworthy is that the two flutes always play as a pair with no solos of their own in this movement. Bach permits an occasional breakout for the individual flutes in the second, Andante movement. Here, the soloists’ parts are written out, a practice that was not always the case; slow movements of the Baroque period often only included a skeleton nota-tion, leaving the elaboration of the upper lines to the soloist. A brief solo flute cadenza leads into the fugal third movement. A bravura episode, which could have come right off the pen of Vivaldi, puts the violin through its paces, leaving the flutes in the dust. Some twenty years later, Bach converted an earlier version of this Concerto into a Concerto for Harpsichord and Strings in F Major (BWV 1057), retaining the two solo flutes.

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Soirées musicales, Op. 9 (‘Rossini Suite No.1’) BENJAMIN BRITTEN In the 1930s, the British General Post Office (GPO) had a small film production unit, which produced documentaries ad-vertising various aspects of the postal ser-vice. During the years 1935-39, Benjamin Britten worked for the unit, writing the soundtracks for over 20 films. This work was good training for a budding composer, rendering his approach to composition eclectic, the music adapted to the situation and forces at hand. Some of Britten’s early film music was transcriptions and adaptations of the music by other composers. In the fall of 1935, Britten was asked to adapt some vocal pieces by Rossini for a film on the GPO’s savings bank. The result pleased everyone, and a year later Britten re-orchestrated some the pieces into the five-movement suite. He called it Soirées musicales after a collection of solo arias and duets Rossini had published in 1835 and had become an instant triumph as popular salon music. But despite adopting the title, only the three middle movements are based on songs from this collection. The first movement, March, is the “Soldiers March” from the 1829 opera Guglielmo Tell, and the last, Tarantella, is based on a sacred song from 1844.

Carmen Fantasy (on Themes from Bizet’s Opera) for Flute and Orchestra (based on Fantaisie sur ‘Carmen’ by Francis Borne) RANSOM WILSON, ARR. Based on a contemporary novella by Prosper Merimée, Carmen is the story of a promiscuous seductress who ensnares an innocent young soldier into a passion leading inexorably to his desertion, degradation and finally a jealous murder on stage. While other

French composers – Daniel François Auber and Ambroise Thomas – routinely presented such characters on stage, they were handled discreetly and in accordance with prevailing morality in which the guy with the black hat mended his ways, the hero resisted tempta-tion and the poor but virtuous girl remained virtuous. By contrast, Bizet retained Meri-mée’s realism, giving the characters darker emotions and poor self-control. Audiences and critics alike considered Carmen as scandalous and immoral (al-though that didn’t stop it from enjoying the longest run of any of Bizet’s stage works). But when the critics panned it for its “filth” and suggested that the police courts inter-vene, Bizet was crushed, sank into depres-sion and succumbed to a chronic throat ailment followed by a heart attack. Within three months of the premiere, he was dead. After a short run following the composer’s death in 1875, Carmen did not make it again to the Paris stage until 1883; a production in Vienna in October of 1875 led to its worldwide triumph, relegating it to the standard repertory for nearly every opera company. Recently, it weighed in as the most performed opera in the repertory. François Borne was a French flutist remembered today for his contributions to the technical improvement of the flute and for his composition of the Fantasie. Originally for flute and piano, it has been orchestrated numerous times. Bourne, as expected, makes it a showpiece for the flute, joining the most memorable themes from the opera seamlessly.


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Did You Know?Nearly 60% of Orchestra of Indian Hill musicians have been playing with us for over 10 years!

30+ years—Susan Randazzo, cello; Stuart Schulman, violin; Susan Turcotte-Gavriel, violin; Jane Dimitry, violin; Nathan Kimball, cello; Robert Kennedy, viola; Stanley Silverman, violin; Kevin Green, bass; Don Robinson, trombone; Laura Papandrea, violin

25+ years—Dorcas McCall, viola; George Hughen, cello; Melissa Mielens, flute; Mary-Lynne Bohn, trumpet; Joe Higgins, bass; Jennifer Slowik, oboe & English horn; Karl Seyferth, timpani; Bonnie Anderson, piano & celeste; Deb Feld-Fabisiewicz, harp; Sandra Halberstadt, clarinet; Peter Cirelli, trombone

20+ years—Priscilla Chew, cello; Nancy Dimock, oboe; Nancy Hudgins, French horn; Darcy Montaldi, viola

15+ years—Jennifer Tanzer, viola; Kimberly Harriman, French horn; Todd Hamelin, violin; Shay Rudolph, cello; Oleg Soloviev, viola; Jin-Huey Wei, viola; Jessica Lizak, flute; Lynn Basila, violin; Mark Emery, trumpet

10+ years—Mona Rashad, violin; William Kirkley, clarinet; John Wall, bass; Allan Espinosa, violin; Wren Saunders, bassoon; Alexei Doohovskoy, trombone

Musicians are listed alphabetically by number of years.

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Happy Birthday, J.S. BachMarch 21, 2020 at 7:30pm



JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH Magnificat in D Major, BWV 243 (1685-1750) The Spectrum Singers John W. Ehrlich, Music Director

Jessica Cooper, soprano IHannah Murray, soprano II

Elizabeth Eschen, mezzo-sopranoNeal Ferreira, tenor

Mark Andrew Cleveland, bass


JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH Ricercar a 6 (Six-voice Fugue) arr. Webern (1685-1750) From Musikalisches Opfer (Musical Offering, BWV 1079)

WILLIAM WALTON The Wise Virgins Suite (1902-1983) based on music of J. S. Bach

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor, BWV 582 (1685-1750) arr. Stokowski

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Randy Steere & Paul Landry

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The Spectrum Singers: John W. Ehrlich, Music Director The Spectrum Singers is an acclaimed Boston-area chorus that performs worthy music—both famous and unknown—from the Renaissance to the present day. Music Director John W. Ehrlich formed the ensemble in 1980 and continues to lead his gifted singers in concerts at the First Church Congregational in Harvard Square. The chorus is frequently joined by leading guest soloists and has shared the stage with Emmanuel Music, Cantata Singers,

and Boston Landmarks Orchestra. In recent seasons, The Spectrum Singers has performed music by Lukas Foss and Charles Ives, given a New England premiere of a new work by Mo-hammed Fairouz, and offered a rich program of Handel masterpieces with acclaimed soloists and a full Baroque orchestra. Now in their 40th season, they are in the midst of a three-season series of Joseph Haydn Masses. Mr. Ehrlich has been active as a singer and conductor in the Boston and Cambridge areas for more than thirty-five years. He studied music and conduct-ing while attending the Hartt School of Music, Trinity College, and both Harvard and Boston Universities.

About Tonight’s Soloists:

Jessica Cooper, sopranoPraised for a voice that is “agile, attractive and full of charac-ter,” Jessica Cooper has made solo appearances with numerous ensembles, including the Boston Cecilia, Handel and Haydn Society, Bach Collegium San Diego, Tucson Chamber Artists, Emmanuel Music, and the Portland Symphony Orchestra. A finalist in the New England Regional Metropolitan Opera National Council for Auditions, she was also a first place win-ner of the New England National Association of the Teachers

of Singing National Competition. Ms. Cooper is a lecturer at the University of Massachu-setts-Boston, where she has taught applied voice and musical theater history.

Hannah Murray, sopranoHannah Murray received her M.M. from Westminster Choir Col-lege with additional studies at Connecticut College (B.A.), Royal Academy of Music in London, and Middlebury College. She is a frequent soloist throughout the Northeastern U.S., including sing-ing with Symphony New Hampshire, Trinity United Methodist Church in Springfield, and the Paul Madore Chorale. Ms. Murray teaches voice at Concord Community Music School and St. Paul’s School in Concord, NH. She is an active member of the National

Association of Teachers of Singing and a Trustee (faculty representative) at Concord Community Music School.

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To order tickets or season subscriptions:By Phone: 978.486.9524 x116In Person: Indian Hill Music, 36 King Street, Littleton, MA Monday–Friday, 9am – 8pm | Saturday, 9am – 3pmOnline: www.indianhillmusic.org (additional fees apply on online orders)

Recycle Your Concert TicketsWhile subscribers may exchange their tickets for another Orchestra concert within the season, tickets are non-refundable for single ticket buyers. If you find you cannot attend a concert as planned, please notify us in advance (978.486.9524 x116) to make your seats available to other patrons (or please share them with friends!).

For the Enjoyment of AllLate Seating or Re-Entry: In consideration of both artists and audiences, latecomers and patrons seeking re-entry into the hall will be seated only after the completion of a work. Quiet Please: Be sure mobile phones and other devices are silenced during the performance.Other Notes: Smoking is prohibited in all areas of our concert venues. Our concerts are appropriate for children ages six and up. Cameras, video and recording equipment may not be brought into the concert venue.

For Your Comfort and ConvenienceRestrooms are located on the main level. The concert venue is fully accessible. For more information, please call 978.486.9524.

For Your SafetyIn the event of a building emergency, patrons will be notified by an announcement from the stage. Should the building need to be evacuated, please exit via the nearest exit, or according to instructions.

Before and After the Concert

Preferred Restaurants: The Orchestra of Indian Hill has partnered with select area restaurants to offer a 15% discount on meals the day of the concert when you present your Orchestra ticket or ticket confirmation. See page 6 for details.

Know the Score features Artistic Director Bruce Hangen in an informal talk about the concert program at 6:30 pm in the cafeteria. Open to all concert-goers.

Encore Café serves complimentary coffee and desserts in the cafeteria after the concert. Enjoy a casual Q&A with Bruce, Orchestra musicians, and guest artists.

Orchestra Concert Patron Information

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Headliners Series at Indian Hill

Celebrated contemporary performers from jazz, world music, bluegrass, and beyond.

Orchestra of Indian Hill 45th Season

Sensational Symphony! Enjoy enduring classics, stunning modern works, remarkable rising stars, and acclaimed guest artists in symphonic performances led by Maestro Bruce Hangen.

More of a

Good Thing!You asked for it! This

season we’re bringing you

more of what you love,

from our sensational

professional symphony

to intimate concerts with

world-class talent in jazz,

roots, chamber music,

and more. Join us!

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Kalliroscope Gallery Chamber Series

Hear renowned chamber ensembles and soloists perform at the beautiful studio of artist Paul Matisse, which features perfect acoustics and intimate seating.

Chamber Music at Indian Hill

Explore a diverse assortment of composers and themes with outstanding professional chamber ensembles.

Jazz at Indian Hill

Kick off your weekends with exciting jazz performances!

Traditional Music at Indian Hill

Toe-tapping traditional music, from bluegrass, to Celtic, to American roots. Listen, play, or dance!

Learn more and buy tickets: www.indianhillmusic.org or (978) 486-9524

44

Elizabeth Eschen, mezzo-sopranoElizabeth (Liz) Eschen sings regularly with Boston Baroque, Music at Marsh Chapel, Cantata Singers, Bach Akademie Char-lotte, and Vox Futura recordings. She has also appeared with Boston Lyric Opera, Lorelei Ensemble (as a founding member), Ampersand, Manhattan Chorale, and Convergence Ensemble. Ms. Eschen loves the depth and humanity in the music of J.S. Bach and sings with the Oregon Bach Festival, Charlotte Bach Festival, Rilling Bach Choir, and the Weimar Bach Acad-

emies. She has earned degrees from Boston University (M.M. in Choral Conducting) and Providence College (B.A), and holds faculty positions at Harvard University and Gordon College.

Neal Ferreira, tenorPraised for his “rich, powerful voice,” Neal Ferreira most re-cently appeared with Boston Lyric Opera in Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti. In 2018, he performed at Tanglewood with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in a concert performance of La Bohème under Maestro Andris Nelsons. As an oratorio soloist, Mr. Fer-reira has appeared in Haydn’s The Creation with soprano Jayne West, as well as noted performances in Orff ’s Carmina Burana, Bach’s Mass in B Minor, Mozart’s Requiem, and Dvořak’s Stabat

Mater. A student of world-renowned tenor, Frank Lopardo, Mr. Ferreira holds an M.M. in Vocal Performance from New England Conservatory and a B.A. from Providence College.

Mark Andrew Cleveland, bassWith extensive credits as a soloist with many of the premiere choral ensembles in the Northeast, Mark Cleveland has also performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion under Bernard Haitink. He has recorded for Telarc with Boston Baroque and participated in a GRAMMY-winning recording of Barber’s opera Antony and Cleopatra with the Spoleto Festival Chorus and Orchestra. In addition, he has appeared with the Vermont Symphony, Bach Choir of Bethle-

hem (PA), Southwest Florida Symphony, and with the Westminster Choir in Charleston (SC) and Spoleto, Italy. A graduate of Westminster Choir College, Mr. Cleveland is a senior adjunct faculty member at University of Massachusetts-Lowell, and also teaches at St. Paul’s School and Phillips Exeter Academy.

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Program Notes

Magnificat in D Major, BWV 243 JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH During his five years as Kapellmeister at the court of Anhalt-Cöthen, Johann Sebas-tian Bach was required by his royal patron to supply primarily instrumental music for the court musicians. But in 1723, with his move to Leipzig to serve as Kantor of the Thomaskirche, he was expected, among his myriad duties, to continually supply new music for the church service, including cantatas for Sunday services and liturgical feasts. For his first Christmas season in his new post, Bach supplied a number of new cantatas and a setting of the Latin evening Canticle of the Virgin, Magnificat anima mea Dominum (Luke 1:46-55). Following a local Christmas tradition, he expanded the setting by interpolating four German and Latin Laudes (songs of praise). He took advantage of the large forces at his disposal and scored the work for a five-part chorus and an orchestra that included three trum-pets, timpani, two recorders, two oboes, strings, and basso continuo. Sometime between 1732 and 1735, Bach revised the Magnificat into a liturgical work suitable for any festive occasion, the form we are familiar with today. He modified the instrumentation by replacing the record-ers with transverse flutes, changed the key from E-flat to D and deleted the four special Christmas movements. The text of the Magnificat, the response of the Virgin to the Annunciation, is one of the most important in the Catholic liturgy and concludes the daily Vespers service. During the Middle Ages and Renaissance, polyphonic settings of the Magnificat were second in number only to those of the ordi-nary of the Mass. Protestant churches also

adopted the Magnificat, usually in German, but the Thomaskirche performed it in Latin during the Christmas season, while using the German version for regular services. The Magnificat is divided into twelve musical sections, one for each of the ten verses plus the doxology, the formula that concludes the prayers sung in monastic orders and convents. Bach provides a dif-ferent vocal and instrumental combination for each of the verses, a practice common in the cantatas as well. Most of the arias and small ensembles open with substantial ritornelli that feature a solo instrument or instrument combination plus continuo. Always the musical rhetorician, Bach in-cludes tone painting throughout the work, for example, a long melisma on the word “magna” (great) in the bass aria Quia fecit mihi magnam. He also creates a musical pun, using the same music for the end of the doxology as in the opening to accom-pany the words sicut erat in principio (as it was in the beginning).

Magnificat anima (Chorus) Et exultavit spiritus meus

(Soprano II)Quia respexit humilitatem

(Soprano I)Omnes generationes (Chorus)Quia fecit mihi magna (Bass)Et misericordia (Mezzo-soprano, Tenor)Fecit potentiam (Chorus)Deposuit potentes (Tenor)Esurientes implevit bonis

(Mezzo-soprano)Suscepit Israel (Soprano I, Soprano II,

Mezzo-soprano)Sicut locutus est (Chorus)Gloria Patri. Amen.

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Ricercar a 6 (Six-voice Fugue) arr. Webern From Musikalisches Opfer (Musical Offering, BWV 1079)JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH In May 1747, Johann Sebastian Bach traveled to Potsdam to visit his son, Carl Philipp Emanuel, harpsichordist and cham-ber musician to Frederick II (the Great), Prussia’s flute-playing monarch. Frederick displayed his wealth of keyboard instru-ments, which Bach tested out, improvising on a theme the king gave him. Four months after returning home to Leipzig, Bach sent the king the Musikalisches Opfer, a large compendium which exhaustively explores the contrapuntal possibilities of Frederick’s theme. In only one of the 13 parts, the Trio Sonata, is the instrumentation specified. Frederick never acknowledged this monu-mental gift, and there is no evidence that he ever looked at the manuscript, much less had the work performed. Ricercar (or ricercare), meaning “to search by following,” is an earlier term for a fugue or canon that was invented during the Renaissance. The more modern term, fugue, encompasses the larger musi-cal scope of the Baroque form, with its episodic passages of new musical ideas. The Ricercar a 6 is a six-voice fugue and is con-sidered, in its complexity, the heart of the Musikalisches Opfer. In performance today, it is usually played by solo harpsichord, but Baroque composers in general, and Bach in particular, arranged their music for whatever forces were at hand. Bach’s other trio sonatas, for example, are also scored for organ. Like all the sections of the original, it opens with a simple statement of the thema regium (the royal theme). In 1934-35 Anton Webern (1883-1945) one of the three pillars of the Second

Viennese School (described by one writer as “The aficionado of musical intellectual-ity”), arranged it for orchestra. In a letter to conductor Hermann Scherchen he com-mented: “My orchestration is intended ... to reveal the inter-relation of motifs. This was not always easy. Beyond that, of course, it also seeks to show how I see the character of the work.” Webern reveals the complexity of the counterpoint by giving each line to dif-ferent instruments, but it is not a sextet, as Webern continually switches out the instrumentation. It should also be noted that the arrangement is more “romantic” in nature than Webern’s sparse, terse original compositions.

The Wise Virgins Suite based on music of J. S. Bach WILLIAM WALTON In June 1923, the young William Walton burst on the English musical scene with his tongue-in-cheek Façade, a witty, highly eccentric setting for reciter and chamber ensemble of poems by Edith Sitwell. While Façade gave him notoriety as an enfant ter-rible, Walton went on to compose a steady stream of works in all genres, but generally far more conservative, earning him many honors, including various medals and a knighthood. Walton’s most enduring works are the oratorio Belshazzar’s Feast and the concertos for Violin, Cello and Viola. He also composed two symphonies, an opera and fourteen film scores, four of them to Shakespeare’s plays starring Laurence Olivier. The Wise Virgins is a cooperative effort. In 1940, Frederick Ashton, choreographer of what was to become the Royal Ballet, decided to read the bible cover-to-cover.

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Program Notes

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While reading the parable of the wise and foolish virgins (Matthew XXV 1-13), he visualized a dance set to the music of J. S. Bach. Composer and conductor Constant Lambert was given the job of finding ap-propriate music from Bach’s cantatas and chorale preludes, then they turned the job of orchestration over to Walton. One of Ashton’s stipulations was that the pious-sounding Sheep may safely graze be included, thinking it was a religious subject. In fact, it is an aria from a secular cantata, BWV 208, lauding a local duke for his benevolence. The parable recounts how ten virgins, five wise and five foolish, prepare lamps as they await the Bridegroom. The wise vir-gins have brought oil for their lamps while the foolish ones have not and try to borrow it from their wise companions. The ballet consists of six movements most of whose titles have little to do with the texts of the original sources:

1. What God hath done is rightly done (Cantata 99)

2. Lord, hear my longing from Chorale Prelude Herzlich tut mich, also the Passion Chorale from St. Matthew Passion

3. See what His love can do (tenor aria from Cantata 85)

4. Ah, how ephemeral (Cantata 26) 5. Sheep may safely graze 6. Praise be to God (Cantata 129)

Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor, BWV 582 arr. Stokowski JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH Composed in 1707, the Passacaglia and Fugue is Bach’s only wo

new 2019/2020 orchestra - indian hill music · 2020. 3. 9. · blackbird caf é 491 main street ......

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