THIS PERFORMANCE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY
THIS PERFORMANCE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY
THIS PERFORMANCE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY
City of Houston through the Miller Theatre Advisory Board GUARANTOR
THE HOUSTON SYMPHONY WOULD LIKE TO THANK OUR GENEROUS SEASON SPONSORS
Principal Corporate Guarantor Official Airline
Official Health Care Provider
The Houston Symphony is funded in part by the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance.
Preferred Jewelry Partner
THE HOUSTON SYMPHONY WOULD LIKE TO THANK OUR GENEROUS SERIES SPONSORS
Gold Classics
Favorite Masters
RAND G ROUP
Great Performers
POPS Series
Family Series
On Today’s Program Y. CHEN Shuo, for String Orchestra MOZART Divertimento in D major for Strings, K.136 I. Allegro II. Andante III. Presto ELGAR Serenade in E minor, Opus 20 I. Allegro piacevole II. Larghetto III. Allegretto J. MONTGOMERY Starburst HOLST/S. ADLER “Jupiter” from The Planets
ABOUT THE MUSIC
Y. CHEN SHUO, FOR STRING ORCHESTRA
YI CHEN COMPOSER (b. 1953) • Composer and violinist Yi Chen holds the distinction as the first Chinese woman to receive a Master of Arts in composition from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. Throughout her five-decade career, she has written hundreds of pieces for orchestra, chorus, band, and chamber ensemble. • This work begins with a reimagination of an earlier quartet she composed in the 1980s, quickly transcending into a glimmering amalgam of native Chinese folk song. A lyrical viola cadenza opens the piece, echoed by the violins during its dazzling finale.
ABOUT THE MUSIC
MOZART DIVERTIMENTO IN D MAJOR FOR STRINGS, K.136
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART COMPOSER (1756–1791) • Not much is known about the history of this piece as it was written in the winter of 1772 when Mozart was at his home in Salzburg (he did not write many letters unless he was traveling abroad.) • At the time of its composition, Mozart was the Concertmaster of the Salzburg Court Orchestra, so it was most likely written for a salon party at one of the city’s many socialites’ homes. • The piece follows the traditional fast-slow-fast format popularized by Italian sinfonias, leading to a colloquial reference of the piece as one of Mozart’s “Salzburg sinfonias.” It was, in fact, written after he returned from two extended stays in Italy.
ABOUT THE MUSIC
ELGAR SERENADE IN E MINOR, OPUS 20
EDWARD ELGAR COMPOSER (1857–1934) • Written and first performed privately in 1892 at the Worcester Ladies’ Orchestral Class, this piece would not be debuted publicly until 1896. Elgar dedicated it to notable organ builder Edward Whinfield. • The work was conceived relatively early in Elgar’s career and while there are notes of “youthful charm” throughout, indications of his masterful and mature skill are present throughout. • The second movement, Larghetto, is regarded as the piece’s finest writing and is among the most frequently performed of all Elgar’s works.
ABOUT THE MUSIC
J. MONTGOMERY S TA R B U R S T
JESSIE MONTGOMERY COMPOSER (b. 1981) • A leading figure in today’s contemporary composer circle, Jessie Montgomery’s works focus on the vernacular, improvisation, language, and social justice through music. • She is heavily involved with the Sphinx Organization, which supports young African American and Latinx musicians, having served as the composer-in-residence for the touring arm of the organization. • Starburst lends itself to the literal explosion of a new star galaxy as swiftly evolving musical colors juxtapose with “gentle fleeting melodies to create multidimensional soundscapes.”
ABOUT THE MUSIC
HOLST/S. ADLER “JUPITER” FROM THE PLANETS
GUSTAV HOLST COMPOSER (1874–1934) • Composed as a seven-movement orchestral suite, The Planets conceptualizes the astrological, not the astronomical. Holst intended to convey ideas and emotions instilled on the human psyche from the actual planetary bodies, not their Roman god namesakes. • In its early days, the work was seldom performed in its entirety, much to Holst’s dismay. It was common to end a performance with Jupiter to leave the audiences with happy feelings; however, Holst did not agree with this concept, stating, “in the real world the end is not happy at all.” • Often described as a quite “English Jupiter,” this movement is by far the piece’s most popular and most often performed. It begins with a jovial burst of energy from the strings, quickly giving way to a fanfare. The middle section contains nods to quintessential Elgar style.
ARTIST BIOS YUE BAO CONDUCTOR TING TSUNG AND WEI FONG CHAO FOUNDATION CONDUCTING FELLOW Conductor Yue Bao serves as conducting fellow of the Houston Symphony. In May 2019, she completed a two-year tenure as the Rita E. Hauser Conducting Fellow at the Curtis Institute of Music, closely working with Maestro Nézet-Séguin during her studies in Philadelphia. At Curtis, she was active as both a conductor and assistant, working with Michael Tilson Thomas, Osmo Vänskä, Gilbert Varga, Giancarlo Guerrero, and Miguel Harth-Bedoya. Yue was the Bruno Walter Memorial Foundation Conducting Fellow at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in 2019. In 2018, she served as the David Effron Conducting Fellow at the Chautauqua Music Festival, where her concerts with the Festival Orchestra received major accolades from audiences and musicians. Prior to her time at Curtis, in 2015, she served as a conducting fellow at the Eastern Music Festival under Gerard Schwarz. She has worked extensively in the United States and abroad. She served as an assistant for the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra under JoAnn Falletta and David Lockington (2015–17), making her conducting debut with Buffalo in 2016. Yue has also assisted Vänskä at the Minnesota Orchestra and Varga at the St. Louis Symphony. Recent appearances include the Shanghai Opera Symphony Orchestra, the Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra, and the New Symphony Orchestra. Equally at home with both symphonic and operatic repertoire, her credits include Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, Bizet’s Carmen, Kurt Weill’s Mahagonny: Ein Songspiel, and Gian Carlo Menotti’s The Medium. She is also active as a pianist, recently playing for a production of Les contes d’Hoffmann by Jacques Offenbach at the National Centre for the Performing Arts. Along with her Artist Diploma from The Curtis Institute of Music, she holds Bachelor of Music degrees in orchestral conducting and collaborative piano from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, and a Master of Music degree in orchestral conducting from the Mannes School of Music.
