Bso overture jan feb2015

Marin Alsop, Music Director

January – February 2015

A magazine for the patrons of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

A Classical Heritage Off the Cuff highlights the musical lineage of

The Bach family

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Renowned Mezzo -Soprano Jamie Barton comes to the BSO Save the Date for Mozart ’s “Great Mass” Musician and Dad: A visit with cellist Bo Li

{

contents

The Bach musical family tree The Bach legacy of musical genius spanned at least four generations

Departments 2 ) Letter from the President & CEO 4 ) In Tempo: News Of Note 6 ) BSO Live: Calendar of Events 7) Orchestra Roster 43) Donors List 48) Impromptu: Bo Li, Assistant Principal Cello

Program Notes 12) Beethoven’s Ninth January 2 & 4

10

18) The Rite of Spring

8

January 8

24) Off the Cuff: The Rite of Spring January 10

25) Bruckner Symphony No. 8 January 16 & 18

28) An Evening with Jason Alexander January 23, 24 & 25

4

29) Mahler’s Third Symphony January 29 & 30

32) Garrick Ohlsson

Features

February 6 & 7

8) Vox

Plays Rachmaninoff

35) Off the Cuff: The Bach Family

by Martha Thomas

A visit with renowned mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton, who will perform as a soloist in Mahler’s Third Symphony.

February 14

38) All-Bach

February 15

39) Patti Austin Sings Ella and the Duke

Singulari

10) A

February 20, 21 & 22

40) The Firebird Suite

Classical Heritage

by Christianna McCausland

Off the Cuff highlights the musical lineage of The Bach family.

February 27

On the Cover

July 2014 saw the first-ever BSO Music Educators Academy, an all-new program specifically designed for aspiring and experienced music educators.

Be Green: Recycle Your Program!

Please return your gently used program to the Overture racks in the lobby. Want to keep reading at home? Please do!

Just remember to recycle it when you’re through.

January–February 2015 |

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overture The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra 2014–2015 Season 410.783.8000 BSOmusic.org The Baltimore SyMphony ORchestra Marin Alsop Music Director Barbara M. Bozzuto Chair Paul Meecham President & CEO Eileen Andrews Vice President, Marketing & Communications Teresa Eaton Director of Public Relations & Publications Alyssa Porambo Public Relations & Social Media Manager Janet E. Bedell Program Annotator Baltimore magazine Design and Print Division Director Ken Iglehart iken@baltimoremagazine.net 443.873.3916

{ from the president

Welcome

On behalf of Marin Alsop, the musicians, staff and board of the BSO, may I extend warm Happy New Year wishes to you! Our New Year’s resolution is to guarantee you some electrifying performances during this second half of the 2014–2015 season.

And the electricity starts in early January, when Marin Alsop presents The Rite of Spring, whose sensational premiere in 1913 in Paris induced a riot. Hear Marin describe the event and how this stunning work changed the course of music in her Off the Cuff program, January 9 and 10 at the Meyerhoff and at Strathmore. Later in the month (January 22–25), the BSO Superpops welcomes Jason Alexander, aka George Our New Year’s Costanza from the award-winning sitcom “Seinfeld.” resolution is to He joins Jack Everly for a program of reminiscences and music from several Broadway favorites, including guarantee you some electrifying Music Man, Pippin and Merrily We Roll Along.

A special gala concert on February 5 marks the performances 10th anniversary of the BSO’s second home at The Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda.

February is also an important month for the BSO’s education programs: We honor AfricanAmericans such as Duke Ellington and Harriet Tubman as part of Black History Month, and we host the third annual Howard County Side-by-Side when BSO musicians and students from the Howard County Gifted and Talented Orchestra share the stage at the Meyerhoff.

And March is definitely the month of madness for the BSO. In between the much-awaited debut of distinguished Japanese conductor Masaaki Suzuki conducting an all-Mozart concert, and the SuperPops presentation of the classic movie Singin’ in the Rain with live orchestra under Jack Everly’s baton, the BSO with Marin Alsop announce its 2015 –2016 centenary season! Wow! There’s so much to enjoy, and I look forward to seeing you at the Meyerhoff many times during 2015!

Art Director Vicki Dodson Senior Graphic Artist Michael Tranquillo

Paul Meecham President and CEO, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra D e an Ale x an d er

Contributing Writers Laura Farmer Christianna McCausland Martha Thomas Research Rebecca Kirkman Advertising Account Representatives Lynn Talbert ltalbert58@gmail.com 443.974.6892 Baltimore magazine Design and Print Division 1000 Lancaster Street, Suite 400 Baltimore, MD 21202 410. 873. 3900

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www. bsomusic .org

Follow your favorite Symphony orchestra beyond the stage visit the all-new BSOmusic.org

“ I’m always on the

hunt for the perfect swimming hole.

And when I find one, I just have to take a plunge, whatever the season.”

Gabrielle Finck, Associate Principal Horn Read Gabrielle’s story at BSOmusic.org/GabrielleFinck

{ IN tempo The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

NEWS OF NOTE

{I n Touc h}

The BSO welcomes Victor Holmes as the 2014–2015 orchestra fellow.

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BSO WELCOMES Orchestra Fellow Victor Holmes In September 2014, bassist Victor Holmes was named the 2014 –2015 season BSO orchestra fellow. The fellowship is intended as a year-round mentorship program for talented young musicians of color. While in residence with the BSO, Mr. Holmes performs concerts with the Orchestra and works with education and community engagement initiatives including OrchKids, OrchLab and the Baltimore Symphony Youth Orchestras. He is mentored by BSO Principal Bass Bob Barney in preparation for the several orchestral auditions he plans to take this year.

Get to know Victor a bit better here, and be sure to keep an eye out for him on upcoming concerts such as Mahler’s Third Symphony, Haydn & Ravel and Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony!

How long have you been studying bass? I began playing bass in an after-school string program run by my mother in the fifth grade. From fifth grade through senior year of high school, I played the bass solely in the public school string program and did not receive formal lessons until I was a freshman at Texas Christian University.

How are you enjoying working with the BSO so far? I find that I have been more motivated in these first few months than I have been in the past couple of years because of the opportunity to sit side-by-side with professional musicians on a regular basis.

You’ve only been in the city for a few months, but what’s your favorite thing about Baltimore? I like the sense of community in my neighborhood and I like visiting areas like Fells Point and the Harbor. It is nice to be near water and have access to great seafood. I hope to explore more in the future.

How does it feel to be mentored by Principal Bass Bob Barney? I feel privileged. Bob Barney is very skilled and experienced as a bass player, principal and as a member on audition committees. With my priority being auditioning for a full-time position of my own, our time spent together is valuable because his advice and musical suggestions are full of insight that is directed towards me being successful in winning a full time job of my own.

www. bsomusic .org

{I n H i story}

On February 11, 1916

(99 years ago!), the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra played its first concert at the Lyric Theatre. The BSO was the first municipal symphony orchestra in the country when the Baltimore City Council appropriated $6,000 for six concerts held at the Lyric.

The BSO in 1916

{I n P l ay}

OrchKids & BSYO to Perform at the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage!

Join the Baltimore Symphony Youth Feb. 6 Orchestras and OrchKids for their first-ever 6pm performance at the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage, Friday, February 6 at 6pm! A total of 100 students from both programs will perform an hour-long concert, featuring BSYO's Concert Orchestra under the baton of MaryAnn Poling and the OrchKids rhythm ensemble. Both groups will also perform a mash-up of symphonic and pop music!

{I n S t ep}

Save the Dates!

WHAT: The Baltimore Symphony Associates' 39th Annual Decorators' Show House!

WHERE: Oak Acre in Guilford (4309 North Charles St.) WHEN: April 26 through May 27, 2015 Tickets will be available for purchase through the BSO Box Office on February 17, 2015.

For more information, call the BSA office at 410-783-8023.

Oak Acre

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{ BSOlive MArch/April

upcoming key events

All concerts are held at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall unless otherwise noted.

Shakespeare in Love & Simon Trpcˇeski

Off the Cuff

Fri, Mar 6, 2015, 8 pm

Tchaikovsky: Mad But for Music

Sun, Mar 8, 2015, 3 pm

Sat, Apr 11, 2015, 7pm

Cristian Macelaru, conductor Simon Trpcˇeski, piano

Marin Alsop, conductor Didi Balle, writer and director

Stravinsky: “Divertimento” from The Fairy’s Kiss Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 1 Tchaikovsky: The Tempest, Fantasy–Overture Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet, Fantasy–Overture

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5

The BSO meets the Bard in an evening of fantasy, magic and romance! Shakespeare inspires Tchaikovsky’s epic Tempest, Fantasy–Overture and the seductive Romeo and Juliet, Fantasy– Overture. Also, Simon Trpcˇeski plays Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 1.

Mozart’s Great Mass Fri, Mar 13, 2015, 8 pm Sat, Mar 14, 2015, 3 pm Masaaki Suzuki, conductor Augustin Hadelich, violin University of Maryland Concert Choir Mozart: Don Giovanni Overture Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 5 Mozart: Mass in C minor Founder of the renowned Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki makes his BSO debut as he leads an all-Mozart program, including the Fifth Violin Concerto with Augustin Hadelich. The University of Maryland Concert Choir and soloists perform Mozart’s sublimely beautiful “Great” Mass.

Masaaki Suzuki

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Singin’ in the Rain

Family Series Concert

Mr. Smith’s Composition

BSO SuperPops

Singin’ in the Rain Fri, Mar 27, 2015, 8 pm

Sat, Mar 21, 2015, 11 am

Sat, Mar 28, 2015, 8 pm

Marin Alsop, conductor

Sun, Mar 29, 2015, 3 pm

Marin Alsop brings her unique touch to the BSO family series, leading the orchestra in this delightfully humorous program. Gregory Smith’s Mr. Smith’s Composition takes the audience on a journey into the mind of Mr. Smith as he composes. This program also includes selections from Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony.

Jack Everly, conductor

Haydn and Ravel Fri, Mar 20, 2015, 8 pm Sat, Mar 21, 2015, 8 pm Marin Alsop, conductor Sol Gabetta, cello Ravel: Valses nobles et sentimentales Haydn: Cello Concerto in C Major Ravel: La Valse R. Strauss: Rosenkavalier Suite Would you like to dance? In orchestral technicolor, Marin Alsop and the BSO bring to life the lighter and darker sides of the waltz as imagined by Ravel and Strauss in pre- and post-WWI Europe. After her triumphant 2012 debut, star cellist Sol Gabetta returns to perform Haydn’s sparkling concerto.

If Beethoven’s Fifth is “Fate knocking at the door,” wrote a commentator, Tchaikovsky’s Fifth is “Fate trying to get out.” Things just got interesting.

Marin Alsop and Playwright-inResidence Didi Balle join forces once again to guide audiences through Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony, a heady mix of drama, vigor and passion.

Enjoy dramatic interpretation on the stage that breaks down the musical elements that give this masterpiece its hyper-Romantic character.

Needleman

The American Film Institute’s No. 1 greatest movie musical comes to the big screen with live accompaniment by the BSO SuperPops. Singin’ in the Rain, starring Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor and Debbie Reynolds, features a lighthearted downpour of iconic dance and magnificent songs including “Make ‘Em Laugh,” “Fit As a Fiddle” and more!

Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony

Pictures at an Exhibition

Thursday, Apr 9, 2015, 8 pm

Fri, Apr 17, 2015, 8 pm

Marin Alsop, conductor Adam Walker, flute

Sun, Apr 19, 2015, 3 pm

Shostakovich: Festive Overture Kevin Puts: Flute Concerto (East Coast Premiere) Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 The Fifth, the second masterpiece of Tchaikovsky’s great final symphonic trilogy, takes us on a passionate journey from self-doubt to seeming triumph, embracing in a moment of inner repose the slow movement’s famous, wistful, horn solo. An extraordinary talent, Adam Walker makes his BSO debut with the East Coast Premiere of Kevin Puts’ Flute Concerto.

Peter Oundjian, conductor Katherine Needleman, oboe Haydn: Symphony No. 96, “Miracle” Vaughan Williams: Oboe Concerto Mussorgsky (arr. Ravel): Pictures at an Exhibition Few works can match the orchestral color, sonic impact or sheer excitement of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. Experience it live, along with Vaughan Williams’ Oboe Concerto performed by BSO Principal Oboe Katherine Needleman.

{ orchestra roster

2014–2015 Season

Marin Alsop — Music Director, Harvey M. and Lyn P. Meyerhoff Chair

Jack Everly: Principal Pops Conductor, Yuri Temirkanov: Music Director Emeritus

First Violins

Jonathan Carney ∫ Concertmaster, Ruth Blaustein Rosenberg Chair Madeline Adkins † Associate Concertmaster, Wilhelmina Hahn Waidner Chair Rui Du Acting Assistant Concertmaster James Boehm Kenneth Goldstein Wonju Kim Gregory Kuperstein Mari Matsumoto Gregory Mulligan Rebecca Nichols E. Craig Richmond Ellen Pendleton Troyer Andrew Wasyluszko

Peter Minkler Sharon Pineo Myer Delmar Stewart Jeffrey Stewart Mary Woehr

Cellos

Dariusz Skoraczewski † ∫ Principal, Joseph and Rebecca Meyerhoff Chair Chang Woo Lee Associate Principal Bo Li ∫ Acting Assistant Principal Seth Low Susan Evans Esther Mellon Kristin Ostling Paula Skolnick-Childress Pei Lu**

Second Violins

Qing Li Principal, E. Kirkbride and Ann H. Miller Chair Ivan Stefanovic † ∫ Associate Principal Angela Lee ∫ Assistant Principal Leonid Berkovich Leonid Briskin Julie Parcells Christina Scroggins Wayne C. Taylor James Umber Charles Underwood Minsun Choi**

Violas

Lisa Steltenpohl ∫ Principal, Peggy Meyerhoff Pearlstone Chair

Basses

Robert Barney Principal, Willard and Lillian Hackerman Chair Hampton Childress Associate Principal Owen Cummings Mark Huang Jonathan Jensen David Sheets Eric Stahl

Flutes

Emily Skala Principal, Dr. Clyde Alvin Clapp Chair Marcia Kämper

Piccolo

Laurie Sokoloff

Oboes

D e an Ale x an d er (Al so p);

Noah Chaves Associate Principal Karin Brown Assistant Principal Rebekah Newman Richard Field Viola Principal Emeritus

Katherine Needleman Principal, Robert H. and Ryda H. Levi Chair Melissa Hooper Assistant Principal Michael Lisicky

English Horn

Jane Marvine Kenneth S. Battye and Legg Mason Chair

Clarinets

Steven Barta Principal, Anne Adalman Goodwin Chair Christopher Wolfe Assistant Principal William Jenken

E-flat Clarinet Christopher Wolfe

Bassoons

Fei Xie Principal Julie Green Gregorian Assistant Principal Schuyler Jackson**

Contrabassoon David P. Coombs

Horns

Philip Munds Principal, USF&G Foundation Chair Gabrielle Finck Associate Principal Lisa Bergman Mary C. Bisson Bruce Moore* Jeanne Getz**

Trumpets

Andrew Balio Principal, Harvey M. and Lyn P. Meyerhoff Chair René Hernandez Assistant Principal Nathaniel Hepler

Trombones

Aaron LaVere Principal, Alex Brown & Sons Chair James Olin* Co-Principal John Vance

Bass Trombone Randall S. Campora

TUBA

Seth Horner**

Timpani

James Wyman Principal Christopher Williams Assistant Principal

Percussion

Christopher Williams Principal, Lucille Schwilck Chair John Locke Brian Prechtl

{ M usic D i r e c tor}

Marin Alsop

Harp

Marin Alsop is an inspiring and powerful voice in the international music scene, a music director of vision and distinction who passionately believes that “music has the power to change lives.” She is recognized across the world for her innovative approach to programming and for her deep commitment to education and to the development of audiences of all ages.

Marin Alsop made history with her appointment as the 12th music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO). With her inaugural concerts in September 2007, she became the first woman to head a major American orchestra. Her success as the BSO’s music director has garnered national and international attention for her innovative programming and artistry.

Her success was recognized when, in 2013, her tenure was extended to the 2020 –2021 season.

Alsop took up the post of principal conductor of the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra in 2012, and became music director in July 2013. There, she steers the orchestra in its artistic and creative programming, recording ventures and its education and outreach activities.

In the summer of 2014, Maestra Alsop served her 23rd season as music director of the acclaimed Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in California.

In September 2013, she made history as the first female conductor of the BBC’s Last Night of the Proms in London.

When Musical America named Maestra Alsop the 2009 Conductor of the Year, they commented, “[Marin Alsop] connects to the public as few conductors today can.”

Sarah Fuller**

Piano

Lura Johnson** Sidney M. and Miriam Friedberg Chair

DIRECTOR OF ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL Nishi Badhwar

ASSISTANT PERSONNEL MANAGER Jinny Kim

Librarians

Mary Carroll Plaine Principal, Constance A. and Ramon F. Getzov Chair Raymond Kreuger Associate

Stage Personnel Ennis Seibert Stage Manager Todd Price Assistant Stage Manager Charles Lamar Audio Engineer Mario Serruto Electrician * On leave ** Guest Musician Performing with an instrument (†) or a bow (∫) on loan to the BSO from the private collection of the family of Marin Alsop.

The musicians who perform for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra do so under the terms of an agreement between the BSO and Local 40-543, AFM.

Ken Lam: Artistic Director of BSYO & Associate Conductor for Education Nicholas Hersh: Assistant Conductor Michael Repper: BSO-Peabody Conducting Fellow

January–February 2015 |

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One onOne { What does the day before the performance involve?

Mostly rest: I try to do as much sleeping in as possible. I’m a night owl, so to sleep in and not have to worry about an alarm going off is good for me. Beyond that, I don’t have much of a routine. I’m an easy person when it comes to my routine before a performance. I drink plenty of water, the normal stuff, but nothing from too far out in left field.

You don’t sound at all like a diva.

I’m a mezzo number one. Sopranos tend to run away with the diva reputation. I think it exists to some extent, but mostly because people expect a diva kind of presentation.

These days, you see more of a down-home diva. You don’t get the impossible-to-workwith, stuck-up kind of singer anymore.

We travel too much. We’re away from our homes and our beds and our pets and our families too much to give each other that kind of trouble.

A visit with renowned mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton, who will perform as a soloist in Mahler’s Third Symphony.

by Martha Thomas

A

native of Georgia, mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton has been described by The Guardian as “a great artist … with an imperturbable steadiness of tone and a nobility of utterance.”

Her roles have ranged from Fricka in The Ring Cycle with the Houston Grand Opera to Mrs. Teavee in The Golden Ticket, based on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. She’s performed with opera companies and orchestras throughout the U.S. and internationally, and recently appeared at Wolf Trap as Julia Child in Bon Appétit! Barton will perform with the BSO as a soloist in Mahler’s Third Symphony (January 29–31).

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You’re exercising your voice in an extreme way.

We’re trained to do this. I spent seven years in school and two more in a professional training program. We’re trained to have our voices shoot over an orchestra. The chords work in an extreme way; hopefully, you’ve had the right voice teachers and you can do that in a healthy way.

Like a ballerina en pointe.

If you tried to put me on pointe, there’d be broken toes.

What about when you’re in a production? Do you sing every night?

If you’re in a production, the busiest time is the month leading into the actual show.

You’ll be rehearsing about six days a week,

S tace y Bo d e

Vox Singulari

Ricola, yes or no?

I don’t really like the taste. If I were trying to keep swelling down and moisture up, I’d probably pop something like that, but luckily our performances tend to be spread out, so it’s fairly easy to recover.

up to six hours a day. When the actual show opens, you’re often under contract to do several performances. You do one, you have a couple of days off. People who have large roles that tax them quite a bit need the time to recover.

I didn’t realize that opera performances were spaced out like that.

In repertory, there will be four or five shows going on at the same time. Every night there will be something. But if you look at the schedule, you’ll see there are two and three days in between a particular opera.

You’ll be singing in Mahler’s Third with the BSO. You sing the poem in the fourth movement, so you won’t have any trouble singing a few nights in a row?

Yes, the fourth and a bit of the fifth. It’s a bit of an easy gig for me. I also did the piece in Reykjavik and Caracas.

I understand the symphony isn’t done very often.

The big difficulty is it pulls from a lot of resources. You have an extended orchestra, soloists, and, on top of it, you need a children’s choir. It’s an undertaking.

You’re a newcomer to Baltimore right?

This will be my first time spending any time there. I’ve heard nothing but wonderful things about the orchestra and the music scene. I visited Charm City Cakes when I was recently visiting my partner in D.C. Can you tell me about doing the Third Symphony in Reykjavik and Caracas?

They were both so interesting in very different ways. Caracas was the first time I did the symphony, and I learned it for them in about a day. It was very last minute. They decided to do it as thank-you to the maestro who had begun the youth orchestra El Sistema. They wanted to incorporate all the students, including the vocal ones, so this was an obvious choice.

It was such a wonderful experience. El

In perfect harmony.

Sistema is, I would venture to say, the best youth orchestra in the world.

And what about Iceland?

Iceland was wonderful. That is one hell of an orchestra. Osmo Vänskä, who is the music director at Minnesota Orchestra, conducted. It was amazing.

And you have performed in the Julia Child opera.

It’s a 20-minute opera—you can do it with piano or a small wind quintet. It’s Julia Child baking a cake in one of her television episodes. Le Gâteau au Chocolat L’Éminence Brune. You get up there and are Julia Child, and you bake a cake. In this part, I bring in all the familiar mannerisms we’re used to, which is not so much Julia Child as it is Julia Child meets Meryl Streep, meets Dan Aykroyd— any of the lineage of actors who have impersonated her.

How do you manage a role like that without parody? As an opera singer, do you practice method acting or does character development involve a more superficial approach?

I studied the episode and worked on putting in the inflections, and had to translate them into singing. Part of it is being an actress, getting into it, putting in the focus to create a persona that will translate as Julia. I’ve done it three times and it’s been very successful.

How did you decide to become an opera singer?

I was always interested in music. My family listened to a lot of music but none of it was classical. They put me in piano lessons when I was young, and I got to hear classical music and I fell in love. So, when I was a teenager, I decided to let that be my rebellion, to start collecting as much classical music, classical art, and classical literature as I could possibly find. Through that, I found opera. But opera wasn’t my first choice as a career—I was into musical theater, but I couldn’t dance.

For 25 years, we’ve been a strong, stable senior living community that keeps you connected to family, friends and your favorite traditions.

Call 410-415-9034 to learn more

www.NorthOaksLCS.com

725 Mount Wilson Lane Pikesville, MD 21208 699365

CELEBRATING 140 YEARS OF MUSIC MAKING Herbert Greenberg, violin celebrating 65 years

Ann Schein, piano celebrating 75 years

Ludwig van Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 7, Op. 30, No. 2 William Walton: Sonata for Violin and Piano Ludwig van Beethoven: Grosse Fuge, Op. 133 Ludwig van Beethoven: Catavina from String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat major, Op. 130

Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 8:00 pm Miriam A. Friedberg Concert Hall

$15 Adults, $10 Seniors, $5 Students For tickets, call 410-234-4800 or visit peabody.jhu.edu/events.

January–February 2015 |

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Johann Christian Bach

J.C. is sometimes referred to as "the London Bach" or "the English Bach,” having spent time living in the British capital, where he came to be known as John Bach. He is noted for influencing the concerto style of Mozart.

The London Bach

C l a s s i ca l H e r i tag e Off the Cuff highlights the musical lineage of

The Bach family

Born in 1710, Wilhelm Friedemann Bach was the second child and eldest son of Johann Sebastian Bach and Bach’s first wife,Maria Barbara Bach. Despite his acclaimed genius as an organist, composer, and performer, Wilhelm Friedemann died in poverty.

Wilhelm Friedemann Bach Just call me Willy

By C hristianna Mc C ausland

I

n February, the BSO will welcome a guest conductor to the popular Off the Cuff series when Nicholas McGegan, music director of Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra in San Francisco, takes the podium in an all-Bach performance.

While most audience members will be familiar with Johann Sebastian Bach’s works, the performance will also feature works by two of Johann Sebastian’s sons, highlighting a musical lineage that extends across many generations. ◗ J.S. Bach was born in 1685, the son of a string player, though there is evidence that musicians were abundant in the Bach family even earlier.

J.S. himself wrote a family genealogy tracing his musical heritage to his great-great-grandfather, Veit Bach, who played the cittern (a string instrument). When J.S.’s parents both died in close succession, the young Bach lived with his brother, a church organist who gave J.S. his first lessons on keyboard instruments.

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The Bach musical family tree The Bach legacy of musical genius spanned at least four generations: J.S. himself wrote a family genealogy tracing his musical heritage to his great-greatgrandfather, Veit Bach, who played the cittern (a string instrument). Of J.S. Bach’s 20 children, at least four showed musical prowess: Johann Christoph Friedrich, Wilhelm Friedemann, Johann Christian (J.C.) and Carl Philipp Emanuel (C.P.E.). Of these, J.C. and C.P.E. have carved out their own place in musical history.

J.S. grew to be an eminent organist in his own time as well as a composer in the baroque style. He is now considered to be one of the most important composers of all time with his masterworks — including the Mass in B minor, Fugue in D minor, and the Brandenburg Concertos, for example — comprising the lodestone of classical music. He pushed the boundaries of what musicians could accomplish with their instruments, a raising of the bar that impacted all composers to follow.

BSO Concertmaster Jonathan Carney explains that Bach’s collection of sonatas and partitas for solo violin are “the Bible for violinists.” The Chaconne (or Ciaccona) that concludes Partita

Sometimes referred to as the “Bückeburg Bach,” he wrote keyboard sonatas, symphonies, oratorios, liturgical choir pieces and motets, operas and songs, and served as harpsichordist at Bückeburg and then concertmaster for Wilhelm, Count of Schaumburg-Lippe.

Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach The Bückeburg Bach

C. P. E. Bach was an influential composer working at a time of transition between his father's baroque style and the classical and romantic styles that followed it. The Off the Cuff performance will showcase works by J.C. and C.P.E. along with those of their father, but the differences will be striking.

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach C.P.E.

The old wig.

Johann Sebastian Bach

No. 2 in D minor is one of the longest and most challenging solo pieces written for violin. Carney himself has a massive print of the Chaconne hanging on the wall of his practice room at home. “His use of counterpoint is so sophisticated, especially for the time,” says Carney. “It elevated the violin to a whole new level.”

Baroque music is highly ornamental and J.S. flourished in the rich tapestry of the style. According to Nicholas McGegan, the beauty of baroque music is its inviting tunes and its approachability, which can belie layers of underlying depth and mastery.

“Whereas some baroque music is all about the surface, the music of the really great composers is much more profound than

that,” says McGegan, “and music doesn’t get much more profound than Sebastian Bach.”

“Bach takes you to heaven,” he continues. “Other composers do that, but perhaps not for quite as long.”

It’s hard to imagine than anyone could flourish in the long shadow cast by J.S. Bach, but of his 20 children, at least four showed musical prowess: Johann Christoph Friedrich, Wilhelm Friedmann, Johann Christian (J.C.) and Carl Philipp Emanuel (C.P.E.). Of these, J.C. and C.P.E. have carved out their own place in musical history. C.P.E.’s Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments was a seminal work for generations, and J.C. is considered a significant influence on Mozart.

The Off the Cuff performance will showcase works Baroque music

by J.C. and C.P.E. along with is highly those of their father. Accord- ornamental and ing to McGegan, the differJ.S. flourished ences will be striking. From in the rich a purely practical perspective, tapestry of the three were composing in very different time periods. the style.

C.P.E. was J.S.’s eldest surviving son by his first wife, while J.C. was the youngest son by his second wife. The two brothers could have been father and son based on their ages. When Johann Sebastian Bach died, J.C. did, in fact, go to his half brother’s care. C.P.E.’s works evoke the Rococo style, while J.C.’s encompass the mannerly music of the early Classical period at the end of the 18th century.

“When you listen to Carl Philipp Emanuel’s music, which is cranky, strange, surprising, and really living on its wits and emotion, it’s hard to believe he’s the son of Johann Sebastian,” says McGegan. “And then you hear the music of Johann Christian, and it sounds like music for a Pride and Prejudice movie.”

“There’s not a ‘house’ style like you could say the House of Chanel has a look or feel to it. These are very different composers who inherited talent, not a language.”

Through the Off the Cuff presentation, McGegan expects to bring to life the family history of the Bachs with interesting stories of their time, such as how J.C. Bach played piano duets with a nine-year-old Mozart or the great credit the world owes Felix Mendelssohn for reviving interest in J.S. Bach’s music, which was largely cast aside after his death by 18th-century audiences hungry for newer music. There will no doubt be information on the fatherly influence Johann Sebastian had, or did not, on his children.

“Coming to a concert narrated by Nic McGegan and knowing how fascinating and how charming he is as a speaker, I would expect [the audience] to leave with a little gossip on the Bach family that will be crucial to understanding more about why the family turned out the way it did and, hence, why the music turned out as it did,” says Carney.

To hear the father and his sons side by side will be a chance, one could say, to hear good, very good, and great in one concert.

While history seems to have determined which is which, each listener will have the chance to make his own decision in February.

Off the Cuff: The Bach Family: Saturday, February 14, 2015—7p.m.

January–February 2015 |

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{

{ program notes Nicholas McGegan

Jo seph M eyer ho f f Sy m pho n y Hall

Beethoven’s Ninth

Friday, January 2, 2015 — 8 p.m.

Sunday, January 4, 2015 — 3 p.m.

Nicholas McGegan, Conductor Katie Van Kooten, Soprano Mary Phillips, Mezzo-Soprano Thomas Cooley, Tenor Andrew Foster-Williams, Bass-Baritone Baltimore Choral Arts Society — Tom Hall, Music Director

Ludwig van Beethoven Overture to King Stephen, opus 117

Franz Joseph Haydn

The Storm, H.XXIVa:8 BALTIMORE CHORAL ARTS SOCIETY

Ludwig van Beethoven Opferlied, opus 121b MARY PHILLIPS

BALTIMORE CHORAL ARTS SOCIETY

INTERMISSION

Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 9 in D minor, opus 125, “Choral” Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso Molto vivace Adagio molto e cantabile Presto – Allegro assai – Allegro assai vivace

KATIE VAN KOOTEN MARY PHILLIPS THOMAS COOLEY ANDREW FOSTER-WILLIAMS

BALTIMORE CHORAL ARTS SOCIETY The concert will end at approximately 10 p.m. on Friday and 5 p.m. on Sunday.

The appearance of tonight's soloists is made possible through the generosity of the Alvin and Fanny Blaustein Thalheimer Guest Artist Fund.

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As he embarks on his fourth decade on the podium, Nicholas McGegan, hailed as “one of the finest Baroque conductors of his generation” by the London Independent, is increasingly recognized for his probing and revelatory explorations of music of all periods. He has been music director of Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra for 27 years, and was artistic director of the International Handel Festival Göttingen for 20 years (1991–2011). Beginning in the 2013 –2014 season, he became principal guest conductor of the Pasadena Symphony, and in 2014 became artist in association with Australia’s Adelaide Symphony.

Visit Nic McGegan on the web at www.nicholasmcgegan.com.

Katie Van Kooten

American soprano Katie Van Kooten’s operatic and concert appearances continue to thrill audiences and earn her praise for using her “powerful, gleaming soprano” to bring vibrancy and life to all of her performances.

Notable operatic performances include Magda in La Rondine at the Metropolitan Opera and the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Elisabetta in Maria Stuarda, Mimi in La Bohème and Ellen Orford in Peter Grimes at Houston Grand Opera, Antonia in Les contes d’Hoffmann, Vitelia in La Clemenza di Tito and Elettra in Idomeneo at Oper Frankfurt; the Marschelin in Der Rosenkavalier at Minnesota Opera, and returns to Covent Garden for Antonia, Pamina, Mimi and Marguerite.

Concert highlights include appearances with the San Francisco Symphony led by Michael Tilson Thomas, Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra, Charlotte Symphony, and Louisville Symphony.

The current season will see her debut with the Atlanta Opera as well as appearances with the Tucson Symphony and the Elgin Symphony Orchestra.

Mary Phillips

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Internationally acclaimed mezzosoprano Mary Phillips is particularly high in demand in the repertoire of Wagner, Verdi, Beethoven and Mahler. She has performed most of the mezzo roles in the Ring cycle, returning to the Metropolitan Opera as Schwertleite in Die Walküre and Jezibaba in Dvořák’s Rusalka. Phillips has also made an acclaimed role debut as Brangäne Tristan und Isolde for the Dallas Opera. She has been lauded as Azucena in Il Trovatore, Princess Eboli in Don Carlo, and of her Amneris in Aida one reviewer wrote, “In this difficult role requiring agility, a wide vocal range and emotional strength, Phillips poured her heart and voice into it.”

Concert performances include Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, the National Symphony, the Hong Kong Philharmonic and the Handel&Haydn Society. Having recorded it with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Nicholas McGegan, Ms. Phillips reprises the work now, with McGegan and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.

TIMB H RE IC

Under the baton of Artistic Director Robert Shafer, The City Choir of Washington is A SOUND LIKE NO OTHER.

Mozart

CORONATION MASS Arvo Pärt

TE DEUM

Sunday, March 15, 2015 | 4:30 pm National Presbyterian Church, Washington, D.C. The City Choir of Washington | The City Choir Chamber Orchestra

•

A FRENCH CHORAL SPECTACULAR II Sunday, May 10, 2015 | 4:30 pm

Thomas Cooley

Thomas Cooley has established a reputation on both sides of the Atlantic — and beyond — possessing a lyric tenor voice of great flexibility, dynamic range, and precision. He has appeared with such conductors as Carlo Rizzi, David Robertson, Donald Runnicles, Eji Oue, Franz WelserMöst, Helmuth Rilling, Manfred Honneck, Michael Tilson-Thomas, Nicholas McGegan, Osmo Vänskä, Robert Spano, and Wolfgang Swallisch. His repertoire on the concert stage comprises works such as Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, Berlioz’s

Saint Luke Catholic Church, McLean, Virginia The City Choir of Washington Robert Shafer, conductor | Paul Skevington, organist

Robert Shafer, Artistic Director

O r d e r You r Ti c k e ts To day ! www.citychoir.org • 202-495-1613 • info@citychoir.org

January–February 2015 |

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{ program notes Requiem, Nuits d’été and L’enfance du Christ, Haydn’s Seasons, Stravinsky’s Les Noces, Handel’s Messiah, Mendelssohn’s Lobgesang, Kodály’s Psalmus Hungaricus, Britten’s War Requiem, Bach’s St. John Passion, Mozart’s Requiem, Bernstein’s Candide, and Penderecki’s Credo.

He is frequently invited to perform in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, a role that has taken him to Singapore, Japan, Germany, Italy, Spain, and throughout the U.S. In the Baroque repertoire he is a well-known interpreter of the works of Bach and Handel, especially the role of the Evangelist in Bach’s Passions and the great oratorios of Handel

RESOUNDING DISCOVERIES JOIN US! Sundays at 5:30 pm for our 2014–2015 Concert Season GIDON KREMER, VIOLIN GIEDRE DIRVANAUSKAITE, CELLO

DANIIL TRIFONOV, PIANO

January 18, 2015

JERUSALEM QUARTET

February 15, 2015

MARC-ANDRÉ HAMELIN, PIANO WITH BERNARD LABADIE, MUSIC DIRECTOR

LES VIOLONS DU ROY

March 15, 2015

RICHARD GOODE, PIANO

April 19, 2015

TICKET PRICING Regular $42 | Students $21 FOR MORE INFORMATION 410. 516.7 164 » WWW.SHRIVERCONCERTS.ORG

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Andrew FosterWilliams

Andrew Foster-Williams studied at and is now a fellow of the Royal Academy of Music, London.

Opera plans include Balstrode in Britten Peter Grimes for Theater an der Wien and Donner and Gunther in Opera North’s Wagner Ring Cycle in 2016.

Concert plans include Mendelssohn's Elijah in Boston and with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Bach’s St. John Passion (Christus) with the Concertgebouw Orchestra, Gounod's Cinq Mars with Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Beethoven's Missa Solemnis in Lisbon and Méphistophélès in Berlioz's La Damnation de Faust in Moscow.

Andrew has sung concerts with Cleveland, Philadelphia, New York, San Francisco, Netherlands Philharmonic, London Symphony, Monte Carlo and Hong Kong Philharmonic orchestras, DSO Berlin, Mozarteum Orchestra, Salzburg, Orchestra of the Age of the Enlightenment, L’Orchestre des Champs Elysée and Les Talens Lyriques as well as appearances at Washington National Opera, Opéra National de Bordeaux, Opera National de Lyon, Netherlands Opera, Opera North and Glyndebourne Festival.

Baltimore Choral Arts Society The Baltimore Choral Arts Society, now

Baltimore Choral Arts Society

in its 49th season, is one of Maryland’s premier cultural institutions. The Symphonic Chorus, Full Chorus, Orchestra and Chamber Chorus perform throughout the mid-Atlantic region, as well as in Washington, D.C., New York and Europe.

For the past 18 years, WMAR Television has featured Choral Arts in an hour-long special, Christmas with Choral Arts, which won an Emmy Award in 2006. Music Director Tom Hall and the chorus were also featured in a PBS documentary called Jews and Christians: A Journey of Faith, broadcast nationwide and on National Public Radio in 2001.

On local radio, Mr. Hall is the host of “Choral Arts Classics,” a monthly program on WYPR that features the Choral Arts Chorus and Orchestra, and he is the culture editor on WYPR’s “Maryland Morning with Sheilah Kast.”

Choral Arts has appeared with the National Symphony, and has made regular appearances with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Acclaimed artists collaborating with Choral Arts have included Chanticleer, Dave Brubeck, the King’s Singers, Peter Schickele, Sweet Honey in the Rock and Anonymous 4.

About the concert: K ing Stephen Overture

Ludwig van Beethoven Born in Bonn, Germany, December 16, 1770; died in Vienna, Austria, March 26, 1827

Both many portraits and the character of some of his music have imprinted Beethoven as “the man with the scowl” on our collective imaginations. But anyone who doubts the composer had a sense of humor should listen to the opening of his King Stephen Overture.

Its portentous opening chords leading

program notes { to one of the most inane little tunes ever penned is as good an example of comedy in music as anything by Peter Schickele (aka P.D.Q. Bach).

This overture plus nine other numbers was created in a bout of high-speed composing during the late summer of 1811 along with the overture and incidental music for The Ruins of Athens. Both King Stephen or Hungary’s First Benefactor (to give the full title) and The Ruins of Athens were brief festival plays written by August von Kotzebue to celebrate the opening of the new theater in Pest, Hungary that autumn. Both plays paid obsequious tribute to the Austrian Emperor Franz I, who was also emperor of Hungary. Canonized as a saint in 1803, Stephen was Hungary’s national hero, crowned king in 1000 A.D. and subsequently converting his people to Christianity. The subtitle “Hungary’s First Benefactor” implied that Franz I, who would be attending the performance, was the country’s modern benefactor.

Beethoven obviously did not take this commission as an opportunity for musical profundity. Vacationing at the Bohemian health spa of Teplitz, he was enjoying one of the happiest summers of his life, and the Overture’s music reflects that mood.

He seemed to be mocking his own heroic style with those fateful opening chords.

And as the music warms to Presto, a fiery syncopated tune in the Hungarian style takes the stage. Without development or emotional complexities, the music sails on to a bombastic finish, topped off with a crowd-pleasing drum roll.

The Storm

Franz Joseph Haydn Born in Rohrau, Austria, March 31, 1732; died in Vienna, May 31, 1809

In the winter of 1792, Joseph Haydn was the toast of London; he was progressively unveiling his superb London Symphonies in packed concerts organized by the German-English impresario Johann Peter Salomon. But in its January 27, 1792 issue, a critic for The Oracle decided to rain on his parade: “HAYDN, though in instrumental compositions so various

and original, has yet but slender merit as a Writer for the Voice.”

Now Haydn had not yet written his magnificent The Creation, but he had composed many operas and mass settings and felt this was an unjust slander of his abilities. In response, he chose an English text, “The Storm” by Peter Pindar (pen name of John Wolcot), set it for orchestra and chorus, and presented it at Salomon’s next concert of February 24th. The text was a canny choice, for, throughout the 18th century, the English loved musical portrayals of Nature at her most extreme.

The success of this new choral work was a better riposte than any letter to the editor.

This extremely colorful music is in two contrasting moods and keys: D minor for the furious depiction of the storm menacing the people, D Major for their slower-paced prayer for the return of calm weather. When Haydn returned to Austria, he substituted a German text and enlivened the orchestration, as we will hear, with imposing trumpets and timpani.

The text was a canny choice, for the English loved musical portrayals of Nature at her most extreme.

Opferlied, opus 121b

Ludwig van Beethoven Along with Goethe, Friedrich von Matthisson (1761–1831) was Beethoven’s favorite poet and the only one to whom he dedicated a song, his beautiful “Adelaide.”

One of Matthisson’s poems seems to have held special meaning for the composer, the “Opferlied” or “Sacrificial Song,” for he set it four times over the course of his career. In this classical verse, a youth is sacrificing to Zeus in an oak grove; he asks the god to grant him, both now and in his old age, beautiful things because he is good. Beethoven wrote its last phrase, “Das Schöne zu dem Guten!” (“The beautiful to the good”), on the manuscripts of several of his late works.

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January–February 2015 |

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Alexa F. Faraday, MD

{ program notes

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We will hear Beethoven’s final setting of this verse, made in 1823 –24 about the time he was composing the Ninth Symphony. In E Major throughout, it features a soprano soloist, who presents the solemn ceremonial theme and is echoed by the chorus for the last part of each of her two strophes. The most striking quality of this setting is perhaps the color of the instrumental ensemble Beethoven has chosen here: a plangent-sounding wind ensemble of clarinets, bassoons, and horns — but omitting the brighter toned flutes and oboes — along with strings. For the second verse, he introduces a prominent solo cello part, later expanded to all the cellos, whose mellow tone adds a poignantly personal quality to the music.

Symphony No. 9 in D Minor

Ludwig van Beethoven www.DrAlexaFaraday.com

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In the 190 years since its composition, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 has become far more than just another symphony. It is now “The Ninth”: an artistic creation, like Shakespeare’s Hamlet, in which every age and nearly every culture finds a mirror of its identity, its struggles, and its aspirations. Most listeners would agree with Michael Steinberg that, “explicitly, it seeks to make an ethical statement as much as a musical statement.”

Beethoven always believed music had a higher purpose than merely the making of beautiful sounds, that it could express and inspire human aspirations toward a more exalted life, in closer harmony with neighbors and strangers alike, and ultimately with God. In the Ninth, he drove home this message by crowning his instrumental symphony with an unprecedented choral finale: a setting of Friedrich Schiller’s poem “Ode to Joy,” in which joy is defined as a state in which “all men are made brothers.”

The Ninth Symphony comes from the visionary last years of Beethoven’s life during which he also created the Missa solemnis and his celebrated late string quartets.

He had not written a symphony since the Eighth in 1812. The years that followed had been a period of emotional struggle and artistic stasis. Only when Beethoven

resolved the battle for custody of his nephew Karl in 1820 did his creative powers flow freely again. By 1822 when he began sketching the Ninth, he was described by a Viennese contemporary, Johann Sporschil, as “one of the most active men who ever lived … deepest midnight found him still working.” Now virtually stone deaf, he had, in biographer Maynard Solomon’s words, “reached a stage where he had become wholly possessed by his art.”

Since at least the early 1790s, Beethoven had loved Schiller’s “Ode to Joy” (written in 1785 as a drinking song) and considered setting it to music. But as late as the summer of 1823, he was still considering a purely instrumental finale for the Ninth.

When he made the bold decision to risk a vocal movement, he edited the poem to make it express a higher joy for mankind than could be found in any tavern.

Beethoven had loved Schiller’s “Ode to Joy” (written in 1785 as a drinking song) and considered setting it to music.

Premiered at Vienna’s Kärtnertor Theater on May 7, 1824, the first performance reportedly moved its audience to tears as well as cheers. Beethoven was on the podium, but the real conductor was Michael Umlauf; the musicians had been instructed to follow only his beat and ignore the deaf Beethoven’s. The performance would probably have sounded terrible to us today: orchestra and singers had had only two rehearsals together of a work that many found beyond their capabilities.

And yet the magic of the Ninth somehow won out. At the end of symphony, the alto soloist, Caroline Unger, had to turn Beethoven around to see the audience’s tumult; unable to hear them, he had remained hunched over his score.

And what of the wonders of this score?

Later composers wrote longer first movements, but the Ninth’s opening movement, at just 15 minutes, seems the vastest of them all. From the opening trickle of

Ballet

Notes by Janet E. Bedell, Copyright ©2015

of

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PREMIER PROFESSIONAL BALLET COMPANY

The Modell Performing Arts Center at the Lyric and Ballet Theatre of Maryland are proud to present a new ballet collaboration.

CINDERELLA MARCH 28, 2015 7:00PM

PHOTO © NICK ECKERT

notes, seemingly born from the primordial ooze, emerges the mightiest descending theme. After moods of struggle, reverie, and provisional triumph, Beethoven appends a huge coda — one quarter of the movement — that even touches on a ghostly funeral march before the orchestra shouts the principal theme one last time in a powerful unison.

The Scherzo second movement — Beethoven’s greatest example of the fierce dance form he refashioned from the 3/4-time minuet — is built out of another descending motive, consisting of just two pitches and a dotted rhythm. From that dotted rhythm and the potential it offers to the timpani to become a major player instead of an accompanist, Beethoven creates a witty, infectious movement of relentless intensity. And if the Scherzo is the apotheosis of a rhythm, the succeeding slow movement is the apotheosis of melody. Here Beethoven builds a double variations movement out of two melodies, one slow and noble, the other like a flowing stream: a musical representation of a heavenly utopia.

The key of D Major finally triumphs over D minor in the exhilarating choral finale, famed for making the cellos and basses speak like human voices as they review the events of the previous movements and then dismiss them in favor of the sublimely simple “Joy” theme. The remainder of the finale then becomes a series of extraordinary variations on this heart-stirring melody, sung by chorus, the solo quartet, and orchestra. A particularly striking one comes early on: a jaunty military march featuring the tenor soloist.

The other major theme of this huge finale is sung in unison by the tenors and basses at the words “Seid umschlungen, Millionen” — “Be embraced, ye millions.”

It opens an extended, awe-struck episode in which the chorus hails the loving Father, creator of the universe, and concludes in a magnificent double fugue in combination with the “Ode to Joy” theme. At the end, Beethoven drives his voices almost beyond their capacities to express his glorious vision of a new world just beyond human reach.

theatre

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For tickets call 410-547-SEAT, purchase online at ticketmaster.com, or visit the box office (M-F 10am-4pm) 410.900.1150.

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{ program notes Jo s e ph Meye rho ff Sym pho ny Hall

The Rite of Spring

Thursday, January 8, 2015 — 8 p.m.

Presenting Sponsor:

Marin Alsop, Conductor Cristina Pato, Galician Bagpipes Kayhan Kalhor, Kamancheh David Krakauer, Klezmer Clarinet Michael Ward-Bergeman, Hyper-Accordion

Samuel Barber Medea’s Dance of Vengeance, opus 23a

Osvaldo Golijov Rose of the Winds

Wah Habbibi

K’in Sventa Ch’ul Me’tik Kwadalupe

(Ritual for the Holy Mother of Guadalupe) Tancas Serradas a Muru (Walls are encircling the land) Aiini Taqtiru Tekyah CRISTINA PATO

KAYHAN KALHOR MICHAEL WARD-BERGEMAN

DAVID KRAKAUER

INTERMISSION

Igor Stravinsky The Rite of Spring, Le Sacre du printemps Part I: The Adoration of the Earth Part II: The Sacrifice

The concert will end at approximately 9:50 p.m.

The Wagner Tuben used in this concert are a gift from Beth Green Pierce in memory of her father, Elwood I. Green.

The shofars performed in Rose of the Winds are played by Rabbi/Dr. Moshe Shualy and Jack C. Crystal

The BSO premiere of Osvaldo Golijov’s Rose of the Winds is underwritten by the Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience of The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

www. bsomusic .org

Marin Alsop

For Marin Alsop’s bio., please see pg. 7.

Cristina Pato

SUNDAYS AT 7:30PM

CHAMBER MUSIC BY CANDLELIGHT

JAN 18

2015

FEB 08

eption

2015

Free Post-Concert Reception

★ U.S. PREMIERE

SUNDAYS AT 3:30PM

APR 19

2015

MAY 03

2015

Rec

Featuring members of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Rec

Hailed by The New York Times as “a virtuosic burst of energy,” Galician bagpiper, pianist and composer Cristina Pato enjoys an active professional career devoted to Galician popular and classical music, and her dual careers have led to performances on major stages throughout Europe, U.S, Africa, and Asia. Cristina has combined her love of the gaita with an extraordinary blend of jazz and Latin sounds and her touring life includes a passionate commitment to education and cultural exchange.

Cristina Pato was the first female gaita player to release a solo album, and has since collaborated on world stages with Yo-Yo Ma, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Osvaldo Golijov, World Orchestra and Paquito D’Rivera. Pato is a member of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble and a founding member of its Leadership Council, collaborating closely in tours and planning residencies. She also is the founder and artistic director of Galician Connection, a world music forum celebrated annually in Galicia.

eption

Free Post-Concert Reception ★ WORLD PREMIERES

JAN 25

MAR 08

MAR 22

APR 26

MAY 17

Dariusz Skoraczewski, Cello

Towson University Chorale & McDonogh School Concert Choir

Akiko Kobayashi & Eric Siepkes

Wonderlic Voice Finals

Amy Lin, Piano

2014

2015

2015

2015

2015

For more information call 443.759.3309 or visit CommunityConcertsAtSecond.org All concerts take place at the Second Presbyterian Church, 4200 St. Paul St., Baltimore, MD

Kayhan Kalhor

Three-time Grammy nominee Kayhan Kalhor is an internationally acclaimed virtuoso on the kamancheh, who has been instrumental in popularizing Persian music in the West and is a creative force in today’s music scene. His performances of traditional Persian music and multiple collaborations have attracted audiences around the globe. He has studied the music of Iran’s many regions and has toured the world as a soloist with various ensembles and orchestras including the New York Philharmonic and the Orchestre National de Lyon. He is co-founder of the renowned ensembles Dastan, Ghazal: Persian & Indian Improvisations and Masters of Persian Music. Kayhan

Photo by Broadmead resident: Erroll Hay

™

proudly supports the arts and the BSO. • 94 acre beautifully landscaped campus

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To request a free information kit please call 443.578.8008 or visit www.Broadmead.org 13801 York Rd. Cockeysville, MD 21030 TTY/Voice - Maryland Relay Service 1.800.201.7165

January–February 2015 |

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{ program notes Kalhor has composed works for Iran’s most renowned vocalists, and has also performed and recorded with Iran’s greatest instrumentalists. He has composed music for television and film, and was most recently featured on the soundtrack of Francis Ford Copolla’s Youth Without Youth in a score that he collaborated on with Osvaldo Golijov.

David Krakauer

Considered among the world’s greatest clarinetists, David Krakauer is recognized internationally as a key innovator in modern klezmer as well as a major voice in classical music. He has appeared with the Tokyo, Kronos, and Emerson quartets, plus as soloist with the Dresden, Seattle, and Detroit symphony orchestras, among others.

With his band Ancestral Groove, he has redefined the klezmer genre with major appearances at Carnegie Hall and internationally. His discography contains some of the past decade’s preeminent klezmer recordings, notably The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind (Golijov/ Kronos/Krakauer).

Consistently defying categorization, Krakauer has collaborated with Dawn Upshaw, Itzhak Perlman, John Zorn, Fred Wesley, Music from Marlboro, Abraham Inc, the Klezmatics, John Cage, Danny Elfman, and Socalled. His newest project, The Big Picture, explores personal identity by reimagining familiar film themes in a cinematic concert with original visuals.

Krakauer is an avid educator at Mannes (New School), the Manhattan School of Music, NYU, and the Bard Conservatory.

Michael WardBergeman

Michael Ward-Bergeman brings the 21st century to the accordion through his passion for a wide range of music. From his classical creations on the concert stages of America and Europe

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to the roots music projects of his trio Groanbox, Mr. Ward-Bergeman brings an extraordinary inventiveness, coupled with deep respect for the past, into all of his creations and collaborations.

Ward-Bergeman started his musical training on piano and violin, but it was his dedication to the accordion that led him to invent a 21st century version of the instrument called the “hyper-accordion.”

The hyper-accordion extends the acoustic accordion’s potential through creative performance technique and digital sound processing.

Michael previously collaborated with Osvaldo Golijov on the soundtrack for Francis Ford Coppola’s Youth Without Youth, wrote Damagomi commissioned

by Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble and performed at least once a day for a year as part of his GIG 365 project.

About the concert: Medea’s Dance of Vengeance

Samuel Barber

Born in West Chester, Pennsylvania, March 9, 1910; died in New York City, January 23, 1981

Martha Graham was the high priestess of American dance for more than five decades: the creator of larger-than-life female characters who would never be caught wearing toe-shoes. Beginning in the 1930s, she commissioned remarkable dance scores from many of America’s leading composers, including Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring, William Schuman’s Judith, and Samuel Barber’s Medea, the latter forming the impetus for her celebrated mythic ballet Cave of the Heart.

Perhaps the most terrifying heroine of Greek mythology, Medea is the sorceress daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis and the granddaughter of the Sun God, who falls in love with Jason and helps him to steal the Golden Fleece. After ten years, he deserts her to marry another princess, Glaucis, and she wreaks a terrible vengeance by killing Glaucis with a poisoned robe and then slaughtering the two small children she has borne Jason. Her story became one of Euripedes’ most powerful tragedies.

Celebrated for his lyrical, melodically expressive music displayed in earlier works such as the Adagio for Strings, Barber would not have seemed a natural choice for so violent a subject. But with the score he created for Graham’s ballet, performed first in 1946, then in a slightly revised version in 1947, he transformed his style, revealing a more intense contemporary voice full of harmonic bite and rhythmic drive.

Sensing his music demanded bigger forces than the 13 instruments of Graham’s pit orchestra, Barber reworked the score into a seven-movement dance suite for large orchestra premiered by The Philadelphia Orchestra in 1947. Nearly a decade later, he revised it yet again into the one-movement Medea’s Dance of Vengeance. This powerful distillation of the best of his ballet score, premiered by the New York Philharmonic on February 2, 1956, became one of his most popular concert works.

In a program note in the score, Barber described the work’s progression from passive grief to active revenge: “Tracing [Medea’s] emotions from her tender feelings towards her children, through her mounting suspicions and anguish at her husband’s betrayal and her decision to avenge herself, the piece increases in intensity to close in the frenzied Dance of Vengeance of Medea, the Sorceress descended from the Sun God.” Rose of the Winds

Osvaldo Golijov Born in La Plata, Argentina, December 5, 1960; now living near Boston, Massachusetts

There’s no more exciting composer working today than Osvaldo Golijov, whose music is as eclectic and impossible to categorize as is his own fascinating mixed heritage. One could as easily place his CD’s in the “World Music” section of a record store as into the “Classical” bins.

Writes Alex Ross in the New Yorker: “His works arouse extraordinary enthusiasm in audiences because they revive music’s elemental powers: they have rhythms that rock the body and melodies that linger in the mind.”

B A LT I M O R E C H O R A L A R T S P R E S E N T S

Born into a Russian Jewish family that had immigrated to Argentina to escape the Czarist pogroms, Golijov describes himself as a “Jewish gaucho.” His father was a physician and his mother a piano teacher who “took me to Buenos Aires to hear opera and also … Astor Piazzolla tangos. She sang to me in Yiddish, but she also got me to listen to Bach. Somehow it all came together.”

Indeed it did. Golijov’s special genius — confirmed by a coveted MacArthur Fellowship — has mixed Yiddish soulfulness with Latino rhythms and solid classical training in Argentina, Jerusalem, and at the University of Pennsylvania (where he earned a Ph.D.) into a potent brew. Now living near Boston, he divides his time between composition and teaching; he is Loyola Professor of Music at the College of Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, where he has taught since 1991. In 2000, the premiere of his Latinoflavored oratorio the St. Mark Passion won him instant fame.

Rose of the Winds was created for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and members of the Silk Road Ensemble of world musicians founded by Yo-Yo Ma; it was premiered in Chicago on April 12, 2007.

We will hear its revised version first performed under Marin Alsop’s baton at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in August 2012. This stunning 20-minute work features four ethnic instruments: the kamancheh, a bowed string instrument used in Iran and neighboring countries; the Galician bagpipes from Northern Spain; the hyper-accordion, a version of the accordion utilizing stereophonic electronic enhancements to expand its sonic possibilities developed by its performer Michael Ward-Bergeman; and the wellknown klezmer clarinet of traditional Jewish music. And in its final movement, it calls on ten members of the brass section to play shofars, the ram’s-horns blown during the Jewish high holiday services.

The title and multi-cultural dimensions of Rose of the Winds were inspired by the rose-of-the-winds compass symbol, which points not only to the four corners of the earth but in all directions. When Golijov was a child, his uncle gave him a desk

Quest for Peace Sunday, April 26, 2015 at 3 pm Kraushaar Auditorium at Goucher College

Tom Hall leads the full Chorus and string orchestra in poignant and powerful settings of Dona nobis pacem by Ralph Vaughn Williams and Pateris Vasks, as well as Arvo Pärt’s beautiful meditation, Da pacem Domine. The provocative program, which features vocal soloists Hyunah Yu and Robert Cantrell, also includes the Mid-Atlantic premiere of Jake Runestad’s Fear Not, Dear Friend, based on the poetry of Robert Louis Stevenson. Tickets: $25 – $40 A Choral Conversation follows the performance featuring Tom Hall and special guests including author and former President of the Alliance for Peacebuilding Chic Dambach, discussing the role that music and the arts play in peace-making.

Call 410-523-7070 or visit BCAsings.org Baltimore Choral Arts is also grateful for the support of The William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund, creator of the Baker Artist Awards, www.bakerartistawards.org.

Tom Hall, Music Director

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The educated choice.

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{ program notes with a map of the world painted on top bearing a compass rose over the Pacific Ocean. Gazing at it, he recalls, “I spent more time imagining what was happening — what life was like — in every one of the places on the map than doing homework.” Rose of the Winds explores different types of human experience throughout the world; Golijov comments it “provides contrast without explanation.”

The contrasts are powerful. The first movement, “Wah Habibi,” (“My Love”) is based on an Arab-Christian song for Easter Friday, which Golijov originally set for his song cycle Ayre. Though in Ayre, it sounded more Christian, here it becomes more Arabic in feeling; as Golijov explains,“With the most minute changes, one culture becomes another.

This is a song of faith and love, surrounded by outbursts of violence and anger.” Both the bagpipes and the kamancheh are featured here.

Movement two, “K’in Sventa Ch’ul Me’tik Kwadalupe” (“Ritual for the Holy Mother of Guadalupe”), was inspired by a field recording of a ritual in Chiapas, Mexico. Strings divided into many different parts imitate the voices murmuring the ritual chant over the beating of the percussion.

Also used in Ayre, “Tancas Serradas a Muru” (“Walls are encircling the land”) is a Spanish protest song, driven by the percussion section, against the feudal barons who oppress the people. The unsung words of this ecstatic yet violent song are: “Walls are encircling the land, /the land seized with greed and in haste, /if Heaven was on Earth, /they would grab it too. /Moderate your tyranny, Barons, /otherwise, I swear on my life: /I’ll bring you down from your horses! /War is now declared /against your superiority! /You have exhausted / the people’s patience.”

Rose of the Winds’ final movement is “Tekyah,” the name of a village in central Iran; in Marc Geelhoed’s words, it is “a movement of surpassing tenderness.”

Here the chief soloist is the kemancheh player. The music culminates unforgettably in the wailing of the ten shofars over the drone of strings and clarinets.

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Stravinsky

In his score, Stravinsky wrote: “Music exists if there is rhythm, as life exists if there is a pulse.”

The R ite of Spring

Igor Stravinsky Born in Oranienbaum, Russia; June 17, 1882; died in New York City, April 6, 1971

The premiere of The Rite of Spring in Paris in 1913 has come down to us as perhaps the wildest evening in the history of classical music. This was the third of the spectacular Russian ballet scores Stravinsky had created for Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes ensemble, which had become the sensation of pre-World War I Paris. The two previous ballets, The Firebird and Petrouchka, had been rapturously received.

But the music for The Rite was much more advanced: a revolutionary statement that the 19th century was gone for good. In its savage rhythms, harmonic dissonances, and orchestral effects, it brutally embodied the “fleeting vision” of pagan Russia that Stravinsky said had inspired him. “I saw in my imagination a solemn pagan rite: sage elders, seated in a circle, watched a young girl dance herself to death. They were sacrificing her to propitiate the god of spring.”

Stravinsky remembered that infamous performance on May 29, 1913 at the

Théâtre Champs-Elysées, conducted

by Pierre Monteux and with choreography by the notorious Russian dancer Nijinsky. Audience disturbances began shortly into the introduction, and when with the fierce chugging of strings the curtain rose on a group of “knockkneed, long-braided Lolitas jumping up and down,” the catcalls escalated to pandemonium. Fistfights broke out in the audience between those who liked the piece and those who didn’t.

Furious, Stravinsky rushed backstage where Nijinsky was standing on a chair shouting out the beats to the dancers and Diaghilev alternately turning the house lights on and off in a vain attempt to calm the fracas. Once the riot began, the audience was probably reacting more to the choreography or simply its own frenzy than the score itself, since the music became virtually inaudible.

The story of this catastrophe is well known. But it had an important, less-told sequel that turned the fortunes of The Rite of Spring completely around. On April 5, 1914, again in Paris, Monteux led its concert premiere — without any dancers and controversial choreography — and this time the performance was an overwhelming success. The audience erupted in a cheering ovation, and enthusiastic fans bore Stravinsky out of the hall on their shoulders.

But The Rite of Spring was and remains today a shocking work: one fit to provoke a riot. Stravinsky had a very different image of the coming of spring than we do in America. In Russia when winter’s legacy of snow and ice begins to melt and swell the streams, the effect is much more extreme than our soft breezes and flowering fruit trees. Stravinsky referred to it as “the violent Russian spring that seems to begin in an hour and was like the whole world cracking.” To express this raw elemental force and the passionate response it must have evoked in pagan Russia, he created music of unprecedented violence.

In his score, Stravinsky wrote: “Music exists if there is rhythm, as life exists if there is a pulse.” And it is indeed rhythm — in powerful repetitive ostinatos, constantly changing meters, and brutal pileups — that

dominates this score and reaches a climax of violent energy in Part II’s “Glorification of the Chosen One” and the final “Sacrificial Dance.” Throughout the 19th century, rhythm had been the stepchild of European concert music, trailing behind melodic allure and harmonic richness.

Europeans essentially looked down on intricate rhythm as belonging to more “primitive” musical cultures, such as Africa and Asia. Stravinsky showed them what they were missing.

Along with pounding percussion — and in this score even the string instruments join the percussion section — Stravinsky created his pagan world through strikingly original writing for the wind instruments: the primeval sound of a high bassoon opening the work, the cool high woodwinds setting an ominously eerie nocturnal atmosphere at the beginning of Part II, the “elderly” sounding English horn leading the penultimate “Ritual of the Old Men,” and the savagely snarling brass throughout.

Stravinsky provided his own terse scenario for The Rite: “First Part: ‘The Adoration of the Earth.’ [Daytime] The spring celebration … the pipers pipe and the young men tell fortunes. … Young girls with painted faces come in from the river in single file.

They dance the spring dance. Games start. The Spring Khorovod [round dances]. The people divide into two groups opposing each other. The holy procession of wise old men … interrupts the spring games. … The people pause trembling. … The old man blesses the earth. … The people dance passionately on the earth, sanctifying it and becoming one with it.

“Second Part: ‘The Great Sacrifice.’ At night, the virgins hold mysterious games walking in circles. One of the virgins is consecrated and is twice pointed to by fate, being caught twice in the perpetual circle. The virgins honor her, the chosen one, with a marital dance. … They invoke the ancestors and entrust the chosen one to the old wise men. She sacrifices herself in the presence of the old men in the great holy dance.”

DOWNTOWN

BALTIMORE

THE CITY IS IN YOUR POCKET. GoDowntownBaltimore.com can help you find a place to eat, a place to grab a drink, a place to see a show, and a place to call your own.

Notes by Janet E. Bedell, Copyright ©2015

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WHAT IS YOUR HEART TELLING YOU? Hearing loss occurs 54% more often in people with heart disease than those without.

Are you at riisk?

{ program notes Jo s e ph Meye rho ff Sym pho ny Hall

Off the Cuff: The Rite of Spring Saturday, January 10, 2015 — 7p.m.

Marin Alsop, Conductor

Igor Stravinsky The Rite of Spring, Le Sacre du printemps Part I: The Adoration of the Earth Part II: The Sacrifice

The concert will end at approximately 8:15 p.m.

The Wagner Tuben used in this concert are a gift from Beth Green Pierce in memory of her father, Elwood I. Green.

Support for today's performance is provided by the Governing Members of the BSO

Marin Alsop

For Marin Alsop’s bio., please see pg. 7.

helping Baltimore communicate better since 1926

Call (410) 318-6780 for an appointment or visit www.hasa.org to take the quiz.

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About the concert: For notes on the program, see pg. 22.

The Off the Cuff series is an opportunity for Maestra Alsop to explore the back story of some of the most celebrated works in classical music. The programs, which usually last about 90 minutes, begin with Maestra Alsop describing the chosen piece, its history, and its position within the broader world of classical music. She then breaks down passages, showing how themes and motifs carry through the work, often calling upon the orchestra to illustrate her points. Finally, the audience is treated to a performance of the piece in its entirety.

Dave H o ffman n

The Hearing and Speech Agency

Alsop: Off the Cuff

program notes {

Jo seph M eyer ho f f Sy m pho ny Hall

JANUARY 4, 2015 AT 4 PM

Bruckner Symphony No. 8 Friday, January 16, 2015 — 8 p.m.

Sunday, January 18, 2015 — 3 p.m.

Günther Herbig, Conductor Alon Goldstein, Piano

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major, K. 467

[Allegro maestoso] Andante Allegro vivace assai ALON GOLDSTEIN

INTERMISSION

Anton Bruckner Symphony No. 8 in C minor Allegro moderato

Scherzo: Allegro moderato - Trio: Langsam Adagio: Feierlich langsam, doch nicht schleppend

Finale: Feierlich nicht schnell

The concert will end at approximately 10:05 p.m. on Friday and 5:05 p.m. on Sunday.

The Wagner Tuben used in this concert are a gift from Beth Green Pierce in memory of her father, Elwood I. Green.

Günther Herbig

Günther Herbig left behind the challenging political environment of East Germany and moved to the United States in 1984, where he has since conducted all of the top-tier orchestras in North America. He has also led all of the major orchestras in Europe and the Far East.

Herbig has held posts that include music director of the Detroit Symphony and the Toronto Symphony; principal guest conductor of both the Dallas Symphony and the BBC Philharmonic

(ticket required) $15

Cantata 112: Der Herr ist mein getreuer Hirt Handel: Water Music Suite #1 HWV 348 At Christ Lutheran Church 701 S. Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21230

FEBRUARY 1, 2015 AT 4 PM FREE! Cantata 179: Siehe zu, dass deine Gottesfurcht nicht Heuchelei sei Violin Concerto in A minor, BWV 1041 At Christ Lutheran Church 701 S. Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21230

MARCH 1, 2015 AT 4 PM (tickets required) $33 in advance; $38 at the door

B Minor Mass

At First Lutheran Church 3604 Chatham Rd., Ellicott City, MD 21042

APRIL 5, 2015 AT 4 PM - FREE Cantata 49: Ich geh und suche emit verlangen At Zion Lutheran Church, 400 E. Lexington St., Baltimore, MD 21202

MAY, 3, 2015 AT 4 PM

(ticket required) $33 in advance; $38 at the door

Brahms Requiem

At Towson United Methodist Church 501 Hampton Ln., Towson, MD 21286

Orchestra, and general music director of both the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra and Berlin Symphony Orchestra. Former artistic advisor of the National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan, he is now their conductor laureate. He is principal guest conductor of Las Palmas in the Grand Canaries, Spain.

Recording more than 100 works, Günther Herbig has led American tours with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, including a critically acclaimed performance in Carnegie Hall. With the Toronto Symphony he toured the Far East and Europe.

JUNE 7, 2015 AT 4 PM - FREE! Bravo! Bach At Zion Lutheran Church, 400 E Lexington St., Baltimore, MD 21202

For tickets, concert information, or to audition to join the choir, please call 410-941-9262, or visit www.BachInBaltimore.org.

Bach In Baltimore is supported by a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency dedicated to cultivating a vibrant cultural community where the arts thrive.

Bach In Baltimore acknowledges the William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund, creator of the Baker Artist Awards, www.BakerArtistAwards. org, for funding a part-time executive director position and a Working Capital Reserve for the 2013-2014 season.

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{ program notes Alon Goldstein

Alon Goldstein’s musical intelligence, artistic vision and innovative programming have made him a favorite with audiences throughout the United States, Europe, and Israel. In recent seasons, Goldstein has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, St. Louis and Vancouver symphonies, the Rhode Island Philharmonic, and orchestras on tour in Paris, Russia and Bulgaria.

His 2014–2015 season includes appearances with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Israel Chamber Orchestra, George Enescu Philharmonic, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Ars Viva Symphony Orchestra and Symphony in C. He will perform recitals in Washington, D.C, at The Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts in Chicago, The International Keyboard Institute and Festival in New York, Northeast Kingdom Classical Arts Series and concerts throughout Israel, Canada and Spain. He will perform in chamber music roles with the Ariel Quartet, and in nation-wide performances as part of both the Goldstein-Peled-Fiterstein Trio and Tempest Trio. An advocate for education, Alon will participate in teaching engagements and extended residencies across the country.

About the concert: Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major, K. 467

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Born in Salzburg, Austria, January 27, 1756; died in Vienna, December 5, 1791

During the concert season of 1784–85, Mozart was at the peak of his popularity as a piano virtuoso in Vienna. And unlike today’s concert pianists, he created his own repertoire. From 1784 to 1786, the continual demand for new works with which to dazzle his audiences brought forth 12 of the greatest piano concertos ever written — concertos in which Mozart was not content simply to cater to popular taste.

Instead, he enjoyed stretching both himself and his audiences, and his Piano Concerto

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in C Major, K. 467 is a splendid example of his ability simultaneously to seduce and challenge his listeners.

Even before Swedish director Bo Widerberg made its slow movement the theme music of his film Elvira Madigan in the 1970s, this was one of the most popular of Mozart’s concertos. But when it was premiered on March 10, 1785, the composer’s father, Leopold, was so alarmed by its dissonance that he thought the overworked copyist must have made an unusual number of mistakes. After all, his son was notorious for barely meeting his deadlines and had just completed the score the day before the premiere. But the notes were correct. In the sublime slow movement, Mozart demonstrated what the poet Baudelaire put into words a century later: “The Beautiful is always strange.”

This second movement is a soaring aria sung by pianist and orchestra, always hushed and breathing a nocturnal, dreamlike atmosphere. The orchestration is exquisite: muted strings magically blended with poignant woodwinds. But listen closely: in this song without words, soothing consonances constantly tumble into dissonances. Its harmonies always yearn toward keys far from the home key of F Major. And its gentle flow is troubled by a nervous accompaniment.

Of course, this concerto also has two other movements, and the first especially matches the slow movement’s greatness.

Expansive and leisurely, it is a remarkably subtle military march, with its stealthy opening “a tiptoed march in stocking feet” (Cuthbert Girdlestone). Listen for the charming gesture of oboe, bassoon, and flute gently beckoning the pianist onto the stage for his first solo.

The finale is a comic-opera rondo with a sly refrain and merrily mischievous contributions from the woodwinds. Here Mozart wakes his audience from the yearning dream of his slow movement and sends them home smiling.

Symphony No. 8 in C Minor

Anton Bruckner

Born in Ansfelden, Austria, September 4, 1824; died in Vienna, October 11, 1896

Anton Bruckner is perhaps the most misunderstood of the great symphonists.

In his own day, he confused both his supporters—leading them to undertake extensive editing of his works to make them conform better to contemporary norms—and his detractors, among them the redoubtable Viennese critic Eduard Hanslick who savaged most of his symphonies at their premieres. In our own day, a significant number of concertgoers react to him with incomprehension and boredom.

Labeled by his contemporaries “the Wagner symphonist,” Bruckner actually wrote symphonies that are anything but the Romantic/Wagnerian celebration of self. Instead they are spiritual quests, homages to God in whom he fervently believed and whom he sought to glorify in his music. “Each of his symphonies is in reality one gigantic arch which starts on earth in the midst of suffering humanity, sweeps up towards the heavens to the very Throne of Grace, and returns to earth with a message of peace,” writes biographer Hans-Hubert Schönzeler.

The man Bruckner was as unusual as his music. Born in rural Upper Austria to a family of sturdy peasant origins, he was the latest bloomer of all the major composers. His early life was devoted to teaching and service as organist in a series of local churches, including the great Baroque abbey of St. Florian. With great reluctance, he left his provincial sanctuary for Vienna in 1868 at the ripe age of 44. There he wrote his last eight symphonies while building a legend at the Vienna Conservatory as a belovedly eccentric teacher of music theory. So devout a Catholic was Bruckner that students recalled his interrupting classes to kneel in prayer at the sound of the Angelus bell from nearby St. Stefan’s Cathedral.

As Bruckner completed his Eighth Symphony at age 63, he was at the peak of his powers. In performances in Germany and Vienna during 1885 and 1886, his Seventh Symphony had brought him the greatest acclaim of his career. In September 1887, convinced that he had created his finest work, he sent the score of the Eighth to his friend, the noted conductor Herman Levi. But despite his admira-

program notes { tion for the Seventh, Levi found he could not comprehend this longest and most mystical of Bruckner’s scores. Regretfully, he sent word he couldn’t perform it and suggested revisions.

Bruckner was devasted. Levi’s rejection led to a crisis of confidence that lasted for years and undoubtedly prevented the aging composer from completing his Ninth Symphony. Not only did he revise his Eighth, but with the eager assistance of his pupils Josef and Franz Schalk and Ferdinand Löwe, he rewrote his First through Fourth symphonies as well. Although the revision of the Eighth, completed in 1890, did actually strengthen Bruckner’s original concept, the work on the other symphonies did more harm than good as Löwe and the Schalks took substantial cuts and made the orchestrations more sumptuous and Wagnerian. Despite his acquiescence, Bruckner still stubbornly believed in his original versions and carefully preserved them “for the future.”

In the 1930s, the International Bruckner Society, under the direction of Robert Haas, tried to straighten out the resulting mess by issuing editions of the symphonies cleansed of the cuts and embellishments made by Bruckner’s pupils. In the problematic case of the Eighth, Haas used some creative license. Recognizing that the 1890 revision was in many ways superior, he published that version but with some material in the third and fourth movements restored from the 1887 original. A later edition by Leopold Nowak took a “purer” approach by not including the 1887 material. Günther Herbig has chosen to perform a version that is a hybrid of the Haas and Nowak editions.

Listening to Bruckner

To enter into the world of a Bruckner symphony—and especially into the visionary splendor of the Eighth Symphony, the composer’s longest and by general consent his greatest — listeners must readjust their 21st-century internal clocks. Inspired by Wagner’s tremendous expansion of the operatic form, Bruckner conceived his symphonic movements on a very broad scale. Even when his tempos are not actually slow, his music still

seems leisurely. Bruckner themes are very long: built cumulatively from many elements. Fortunately, he initially presents them twice, which helps us fix them in our minds for the considerable duration of his movements. His harmonic strategies are even more protracted: harmonies often change slowly, and the home key becomes a distant goal approached by a very circuitous route. Actually, Bruckner’s model for the Eighth is less Wagner than Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.

Inspired by Wagner’s tremendous expansion of the operatic form, Bruckner conceived his symphonic movements on a very broad scale.

Bruckner has been unfairly accused of writing for immense, swollen orchestras in the manner of Wagner or Mahler. In fact, he was a master of achieving monumental effects from moderate orchestral means. For the Eighth Symphony, he employed his largest ensemble, but its only special additions are the eight horns — four of them doubling on Wagner tubas (a hybrid of horn and tuba devised for the Ring operas) — plus two harps for the second and third movements. Bruckner’s orchestral sound is unique and extraordinarily effective. Like the great organist he was, he juxtaposed contrasting blocks of wind, brass or string sound much as an organist moves to different manuals with new stop combinations.

His strategy for building his immense climaxes was to fall continually short of the summit and build again to achieve truly Olympian heights.

Just as we allow our pulse to slow when we enter a cathedral, so must we turn off our beepers and surrender ourselves to a world beyond time as we listen to this composer. In the words of Robert Simpson, Bruckner’s art has “a special appeal in our time to our urgent need for calm and sanity, for a deep stability in

the world, whatever our beliefs, religious or other.”

First Movement: The symphony begins with the characteristic Bruckner sound of hushed tremolo violins. Against this primeval background, we hear a disturbed, questioning theme leaping upward on jagged rhythms, then drooping backward.

After each pause, it grows a little more.

Bruckner interrupts its close and cadence on C minor with a more dramatic statement of the theme that veers farther from home. Violins then introduce the gentler second theme group, beginning with a rising scale; this, too, is repeated in variation and reaches a noble summit. A third and final thematic group features loud downward cascades in antiphonal groups of instruments playing together in a mighty “Bruckner unison.”

But the music soon darkens and loses its way. The movement expresses humanity’s plight on earth, and here questions are not easily answered, nor goals reached. A huge climax reprises the opening theme and marks a temporary arrival home in C minor. But subsequent events undermine this security, and the movement ends in a tragic coda, added

by Bruckner in his 1890 revision of the score. He called it the “Death Watch” and likened it to a dying man watching a clock ticking steadily as his life ebbs.

The second-movement scherzo in C Major has been transformed from its rural Austrian dance origins to something huge and cosmic. Simpson likens it to “a celestial engine”; to this writer, it sounds like a heavenly carillon or the peal of God’s laughter. Descending bell peals juxtaposed against ascending ones form the thematic substance. This scherzo encloses a lengthy trio section in A-flat. Lyrical and serene, it suggests Bruckner’s rural Austrian roots and contains some of his loveliest orchestral writing, emphasizing the warm colors of horns, strings, and harps.

Movement three, in D-flat Major, is one of the greatest Adagios created by the man Austrians dubbed the “AdagioKomponist” for his tragic eloquence in slow movements. Composed of variations of two large thematic groups, it

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Jo s e ph Meye rho ff Sym pho ny Hall

Jack Everly | Principal Pops Conductor

An Evening with Jason Alexander Friday, January 23, 2015 — 8 p.m.

Saturday, January 24, 2015 — 8 p.m.

Sunday, January 25, 2015 — 3 p.m.

Presenting Sponsor: Jack Everly, Conductor

Styne/Sondheim Overture to Gypsy Arr. Ramin/Ginzler

Styne/Comden/Green/ Overture to Peter Pan Charlap/Leigh Arr. Everly

Rodgers/Hammerstein Arr. Robert Russell Bennett

“March of the Siamese Children” from The King and I

Styne/Comden/Green Overture to Bells Are Ringing Arr. Salinger/Everly

Bernstein/Sondheim Overture to West Side Story Arr. Peress

INTERMISSION

Jason Alexander

“An Evening with Jason Alexander” Keith Harrison, Accompanist Kate Fisher, Vocals

The program will be announced from stage.

M i chael Tam maro

offers, after much striving, a fleeting vision of Heaven to the yearning soul.

Over pulsing strings, we hear a sighing melody in the violins. This grows into a labored climb toward God, plunges briefly back to the depths, then miraculously reaches a heavenly vision of radiant violins and harps. The whole process is then repeated in somewhat condensed form. Cellos next introduce the beautiful second theme group, more passionate and yearning; it also includes a wonderful, mellow passage for the horns and Wagner tubas. Two more cycles expand and develop these thematic elements.

And here we have a spectacular example of Bruckner’s climax-building technique of breaking off just short of the summit and falling back to build higher still.

When the climax is finally reached, it is followed by the most soaring version of the “vision of Heaven” music. This, too, is fleeting, but in a magnificent coda Bruckner expresses his confidence he will ultimately reach Heaven.

Buoyed by his vision and still in the key of D-flat, Bruckner opens his finale with a burst of joyous energy. Over galloping strings, horns and trombones blare out a darkly triumphant theme.

Then a pause and the contrast of a lushly contrapuntal second theme for strings.

Another pause and Bruckner brings on a sturdy clod-hopping march for his “Bruckner unison” third theme. Then the drama ensues as Bruckner undertakes the arduous search for C-minor home.

Three times the brass try to muscle their way in with the main theme, always in the wrong key. When they finally succeed, the recapitulation is tremendous with trumpets intensifying the gallop.

After a wonderful contrapuntal setting of the rustic march, brass brutally cut in with the questioning theme that opened the symphony well over an hour ago. But now questions have been answered, and Heaven is in sight. Bruckner triumphantly combines the principal themes of all four movements. With a unison shout, the entire orchestra turns the question theme into a joyous C-Major affirmation.

Jack Everly

Jack Everly is the principal pops conductor of the Indianapolis and Baltimore Symphony orchestras, Naples Philharmonic Orchestra and the National Arts Centre Orchestra (Ottawa).

He has conducted the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, The New York Pops at Carnegie Hall and appears regularly with The Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom Music Center. This

season, Maestro Everly will conduct over 90 performances in more than 20 North American cities.

As music director of the “National Memorial Day Concert” and “A Capital Fouth” on PBS, Everly proudly leads the National Symphony Orchestra in these patriotic celebrations on the National Mall. These concerts attract hundreds of thousands of attendees on the lawn and the broadcasts reach millions of viewers and are some of the very highest rated programming on PBS television.

program notes { Originally appointed by Mikhail Baryshnikov, Mr. Everly was music director of the American Ballet Theatre for 14 years. In addition to his ABT tenure, he teamed with Marvin Hamlisch on Broadway shows that Mr. Hamlisch scored. He conducted Carol Channing hundreds of times in Hello, Dolly! in two separate Broadway productions.

Maestro Everly, a graduate of the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, holds an honorary doctorate of arts from Franklin College in his home state of Indiana. He has been a proud resident of the Indianapolis community for over 12 years and when not on the podium, can be found at home with his family at home with his family which includes Max the wonder dog.

Jason Alexander

Jason Alexander is undoubtedly best known for his iconic portrayal of hapless George Costanza on the legendary hit show “Seinfeld.” The series continues to play around the world, showcasing the reason Mr. Alexander received seven Emmy nominations, four Golden Globe nominations, two American Television awards, two American Comedy awards and two Screen Actor Guild awards for his indelible work. But his career is one that defines diversity in every form— acting, producing, directing, writing and in every media.

Initially focusing on the Broadway stage, Mr. Alexander has starred in the original production of Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along as well as The Rink, Neil Simon’s Broadway Bound and Jerome Robbins’ Broadway, a musical revue that Mr. Alexander both authored and starred in, playing 14 different roles each night and for which he won a Drama Desk, Outer Critic Circle and Tony Award for Best Musical Actor. Even after moving to Los Angeles, he continued his dedication to the theater by becoming the artistic director of the Reprise Theatre Company and triumphantly starring with Martin Short in the LA production of Mel Brooks’ The Producers.

Jo s e ph Meye rho ff Sym pho ny Hall

Mahler’s Third Symphony Thursday, January 29, 2015 — 8p.m.

Friday, January 30, 2015 — 8 p.m.

Marin Alsop, Conductor Jamie Barton, Mezzo-Soprano Baltimore Choral Arts Society — Tom Hall, Music Director Peabody Children’s Chorus — Doreen Falby, Director

Gustav Mahler Symphony No. 3 in D minor

(Erwin Ratz, 1972) Kräftig, Entschieden Tempo di Menuetto. Sehr mässig Comodo. Scherzando. Ohne Hast

Sehr langsam. Misterioso Lustig im Tempo und keck im Ausdruck Langsam. Ruhevoll. Empfunden JAMIE BARTON BALTIMORE CHORAL ARTS SOCIETY PEABODY CHILDREN’S CHORUS

There will be no intermission during this program.

The concert will end at approximately 9:40 p.m.

Marin Alsop

For Marin Alsop’s bio., please see pg. 7.

Jamie Barton

The winner of both the Main and Song prizes at the 2013 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, a winner of the 2007 Metropolitan Opera National

Council Auditions and a Grammy nominee, American mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton has been described by The Guardian as “a great artist, no question, with an imperturbable steadiness of tone.”

After a 2013 –2014 season that included a triumphant Adalgisa in Norma at the Metropolitan Opera, Ms. Barton returns this season to that role for her debut at the San Francisco Opera.

She will be heard at the Lyric Opera

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{ program notes of Chicago as Giovanna Seymour in Anna Bolena and at the Houston Grand Opera as Fricka in Die Walküre, and will sing Azucena in Il Trovatore with the Cincinnati Opera. Ms. Barton’s season also includes the world premiere of Jake Heggie’s The Work at Hand with the Pittsburgh Symphony and the Verdi Requiem with the Toronto Symphony.

Baltimore Choral Arts Society For Baltimore Choral Arts Society’s bio., please see pg. 14.

Peabody Children’s Chorus

The Peabody Children's Chorus, founded in 1989, is dedicated to providing age-appropriate vocal training for young people.

The Chorus brings children together to rehearse and perform art and folk music of multiple cultures, languages, historical periods and styles. In six ensembles rehearsing in Towson or Columbia, Md., young people gain invaluable experience making music in ensemble settings, and studying ear-training and music-reading.

Four hundred children between the ages of six and 18 participate each year in three levels of training, rehearsing high-quality treble music of advancing challenge and sophistication, and performing in public concert at least twice a year.

The Peabody Children’s Chorus has performed with the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, the Baltimore Choral Arts Society, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Concert Artists of Baltimore, Lyric Opera Baltimore, the Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, the Morgan State University Choir, Peabody Conservatory’s Opera Theater and the, and the Peabody Symphony Orchestra.

The Peabody Children’s Chorus

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About the concert: Symphony No. 3

Gustav Mahler Born in Kalischt, Bohemia, July 7, 1860; died in Vienna, May 18, 1911

In June 1895, Gustav Mahler happily abandoned the pressures and politics of the Hamburg State Opera, where he was chief conductor, and headed for the village of Steinbach on the Attersee, in Austria’s beautiful Salzkammergut lake district for a summer of composing. Throughout his career, Mahler pursued a double life: for nine months of the year he was one of Europe’s greatest conductors, driving his orchestras and himself mercilessly to achieve his musical ideals; during the three summer months, he was an equally driven composer, creating his songs and symphonies. In the summer of 1895 he was particularly eager to reach Steinbach for a new symphony was fermenting inside — his Third — whose subject would be nothing less than all of Nature: from the rocks, flowers, and animals to mankind and God Himself.

Waiting for him at the edge of the Attersee lake was a tiny white-washed cottage, the first of three little studios in different rural oases he would use over his composing career. The cottage’s one room contained only a wood-burning stove, a few chairs, a writing table, and a baby grand piano. Windows on three sides gave views of the lake and a lovely flowering meadow. Every day Mahler would arrive at the cottage about 6 or 7 in the morning and be absorbed in composing till midafternoon or later. There was an unshakable rule that when the door was closed, no one was to disturb him.

Mahler was an insatiable reader, and in the 1890s he had been engrossed with the philosophers Schopenhauer and Nietzsche. The concept of nature behind his Third Symphony related more to their concepts than to a simple appreciation of nature’s beauties. “That this nature hides within itself everything that is frightful, great, and also lovely … of course no one ever understands this,” he wrote. “It always strikes me as odd that most people,

when they speak of ‘nature,’ think only of flowers, little birds, and woodsy smells.

No one knows the god Dionysius, the great Pan.” The Third, the longest of his symphonies, grew from this mystical vision of nature as a complex living being, evolving upward from the rocks, plants, animal life, and man to the divine. So powerful was this vision that he composed movements two through six of this six-movement symphony in under two months that summer and still had time to write one of his greatest songs, “Wo die schönen Trompeten blasen.” It was the most productive summer of his career.

After another year in Hamburg, Mahler returned in June 1896 to Steinbach to complete his symphony with a massive introductory movement in which sleeping nature is awakened from the prison of winter and the elemental power of Summer transforms all things into riotous life. This first movement— at nearly 35 minutes, the length of a normal symphony — poured from his pen in just six weeks.

When Bruno Walter arrived to visit and stood admiring the craggy mountain looming over the Attersee, an exultant Mahler told him, “There’s no need to look at that, for it’s all in my music.”

Mahler’s philosophical program for the Symphony tended to shift somewhat over time. In its final version, he subtitled the work “A Midsummer Morning Dream” and listed the six movements as follows: First Part: No. 1: Introduction: Pan’s Awakening and Summer Marches in (procession of Bacchus) Second Part: No 2: What the flowers of the meadow tell me No. 3: What the animals of the forest tell me No. 4: What man (night) tells me No. 5: What the angels (bells) tell me No. 6: What (divine) love tells me In Mahler’s original plan, there was also a seventh movement —“ What the child tells me”— but the composer wisely set this aside to become the soprano-solo finale of his Fourth Symphony. He stipulated that there be a long pause —10 minutes in his own performances — between the first movement and the rest of the

program notes { symphony and that movements four through six be played without pause.

In contrast to the quickness of its composition, the Third Symphony had to wait nearly six years — until June 9, 1902 — to be premiered in its entirety.

Finally, Richard Strauss invited Mahler to present the entire symphony under his baton at a festival of new German music in Krefeld near Cologne in 1902. Despite the composer’s gloomy predictions that no one would understand the “comic” aspects of a symphony he considered fundamentally happy (he had earlier given it the title “The Happy Life”), the premiere was the greatest triumph of his career to date.

Listening to the Music

The musical forces required for this work are immense: a huge orchestra with eight horns, enlarged string sections, two harps and two timpanists as well as other drums and percussion. Added to this are an alto soloist for the fourth and fifth movements, and women’s and children’s choirs for the fifth. And yet during most of the work’s 100 minutes, Mahler uses only a small portion of his forces — instead presenting chamber-like groups of instruments, combined with superb sensitivity for their colors and expressive qualities. As he wrote to Natalie BauerLechner: “The aspect of instrumentation in which I consider myself ahead of past and present composers can be summed up in a single word: clarity. … Each instrument must be employed only in the right place and for its own qualities.”

Mahler called the first movement “the wildest thing I ever wrote.” Its long D-minor introduction —“Pan Awakens” — opens unforgettably with the eight horns blaring out in unison a four-square theme Mahler called the “Waking Call.”

Sleeping nature begins slowly to stir with the rumble of drums, a mysterious swing of major and minor chords that we’ll hear later in the fourth movement, and a snarling, dissonant motive from muted trumpets. Soon one of Mahler’s signature funeral marches lumbers into action — the deadly weight of Winter. A solo trombone twice presents a fanfare-based melody. Alternating with this music is

You enjoy a first class

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an ethereal lullaby for high flutes over tremolo violins plus a tender theme for solo violin representing the sleeping Pan. As woodwind birds call, we hear the approach of a much more festive march, and the main part of this stretched-out sonata-form movement begins now in F Major. This is Summer’s march, and it has a strongly popular, even vulgar cast to it that is a characteristic feature of Mahler’s music, with a brassy melody and snare drum borrowed from military bands.

After a “Hollywood” climax with harp glissandos, the development section begins with the theme of the trombone solo played by horns. All of this gradually builds into a frenzied, loud, dissonant section Mahler labels “Das Gesindel!”— “The Mob!” An accelerated march in distant keys announces the beginning of a battle between the forces of summer and winter. Eventually, the Summer march dominates, building to a finale that is “wild” indeed.

The second movement, “What the flowers of the meadow tell me,” provides complete contrast. Mahler loved the flower-filled meadow outside his composing cottage, and it inspired this lovely minuet in A Major. The middle trio section features faster, slightly more intense music with whirling sixteenth notes and fuller, but still transparent orchestration. “It is the most carefree piece I have ever written,” Mahler wrote to Natalie Bauer-Lechner. “It is carefree as only flowers can be. Everything hovers in the air with grace and lightness, like flowers bending on their stems and being caressed by the wind.”

The third-movement scherzo, “What the animals of the forest tell me,” is longer and more emotionally complex.

It begins innocently with a perky, birdlike melody in the woodwinds, taken from Mahler’s song “Ablösung in Sommer” (“Relief in Summer”) which mourns the cuckoo who fell to its death from the tree and was replaced by the mellifluous nightingale. The music is a polka with typical polka slides in the brass, inspired

by Mahler’s Bohemian childhood. A middle section introduces a solo posthorn that seems to represent man as the hunter;

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{ program notes it sings a benign and very nostalgic melody as if from a distance. The animals react to this by returning to their polka, reaching a point of near riot before the now more distant posthorn returns, this time magically answered by first violins in high register. But all this loveliness cannot tame the animals, who react with an amazing orchestral crescendo from pianissimo to triple forte in just a few measures.

Again a huge contrast as the fourth movement, “What man tells me,” begins very slowly with an oscillating motive in muted cellos and basses and the alto soloist gravely intoning the words of Nietzsche’s “Midnight Song” from Thus Spake Zarathustra. The entire movement swings between D Major and D minor, representing the two poles of Lust or “joy” and Weh or “woe”— mankind’s hope vs. his earthly condition.

Fifth Movement: Suddenly the joyous voices of children imitating bells break in as the women’s chorus launches a bright, naive chorus taken from the German poetry collection Mahler loved, Des Knaben Wunderhorn (“The Child’s Magic Horn”).

Women and children represent the angels above mankind, and they offer a message of celestial comfort and salvation. Midway through, the alto soloist enters pleading for mercy for her sins, but the angels tell her not to weep.

Sixth Movement: Symphony No. 3 ends with a long, intensely beautiful slow movement, “What love tells me,” referring to nature’s highest plane: the divine love of God. The comfort offered now is much deeper than the angels’ innocent assurances. This D-Major movement is in the form of a theme (actually more than one) with continuous variations. It begins with strings alone presenting the first of the themes, all of which aspire upward toward the divine. Gradually instruments are added, and the movement builds to two climaxes in which the heavens almost seem to open. But the greatest climax is saved for the final moment: a glorious blaze of D Major that brings this monumental symphony to a cathartic close.

Notes by Janet E. Bedell, Copyright ©2015

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Jo s e ph Meye rho ff Sym pho ny Hall

Garrick Ohlsson Plays Rachmaninoff Friday, February 6, 2015 — 8 p.m.

Saturday, February 7, 2015 — 8 p.m.

Marin Alsop, Conductor Garrick Ohlsson, Piano

Sergei Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, opus 18 Moderato Adagio sostenuto Allegro scherzando

GARRICK OHLSSON

INTERMISSION

Ottorino Respighi Church Windows The Flight into Egypt

Saint Michael Archangel The Matins of Saint Claire

Saint Gregory the Great

Ottorino Respighi The Pines of Rome The Pines of the Villa Borghese Pines near a Catacomb The Pines of the Janiculum The Pines of the Appian Way The concert will end at approximately 10 p.m.

The appearance of Garrick Ohlsson is made possible through the generosity of the Alvin and Fanny Blaustein Thalheimer Guest Artist Fund.

Marin Alsop

For Marin Alsop’s bio., please see pg. 7.

Garrick Ohlsson

Since winning the 1970 Chopin International Piano Competition, pianist Garrick Ohlsson has established himself worldwide as a

musician of magisterial interpretive and technical prowess. Ohlsson is noted for his masterly performances of the works of Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert, and Romantic repertoire. Although long regarded as one of the world’s leading exponents of the music of Frédéric Chopin, Ohlsson commands an enormous repertoire of more than 80 concertos, ranging from Haydn to works of the 21st century.

program notes { An exponent of Busoni’s rarely programmed piano concerto, Ohlsson performed it with the National Symphony and London’s Barbican with the BBC Symphony Orchestra this past fall. This January marks the centenary of the death of Alexander Scriabin whose piano music Ohlsson will present in a series of recitals in London, San Francisco, Chicago and New York. He will also return to the orchestras of San Francisco, Detroit, Dallas, Baltimore, BBC Scotland, and Prague where he is a frequent guest.

About the concert: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor

Sergei Rachmaninoff

Born in Oneg, Russia, April 1, 1873; died in Beverly Hills, California, March 28, 1943

Composers have dedicated their works to many different sorts of people: royal patrons, family members, soloists, conductors. But, to the best of this writer’s knowledge, only one work has been dedicated to the composer’s psychiatrist: Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto to Dr. Nikolai Dahl, who, by freeing Rachmaninoff of his creative block, had made this work possible.

In 1897, Rachmaninoff’s First Symphony — a work in which he had great faith — was given a dreadfully inept premiere in St. Petersburg. Unable to separate a promising new work from a bad performance, the critics gave the sensitive 23-year-old composer reviews that would devastate even a more seasoned artist. César Cui’s wrote: “If there were a conservatory in Hell, if one of its talented students were instructed to write a program symphony on the ‘Seven Plagues of Egypt,’ and if he were to compose a symphony like Mr. Rachmaninoff’s, then he would have fulfilled his task brilliantly and would delight the inhabitants of Hell.” Rachmaninoff withdrew the symphony and would never let it be performed again. He sank into a deep depression. Despite a standing commission from the London Philharmonic to write a piano concerto, for several years he created almost nothing.

Dr. Nikolai Dahl was an internist who dabbled in the infant practice of psychiatry, including hypnosis. He was also a gifted amateur viola and cello player. In March 1900, Rachmaninoff’s relatives brought the composer to Dr. Dahl, who put him into a light trance during which he repeated over and over: “You will begin your concerto — You will work with great facility — The concerto will be excellent.” Over several sessions this mantra, combined with sympathetic talk with a wise and cultivated man, produced a cure. By summer, Rachmaninoff’s creative juices were pouring into the new concerto, which was completed the following spring. Premiered

by Rachmaninoff with the Moscow Philharmonic on October 24, 1901, its immediate success has never faded.

The first movement’s opening is one of the most justly famous in the repertoire: a series of nine chords in the piano, underpinned by the tolling of a deep F, that crescendos from pianissimo to fortissimo and leads directly into the first theme, played low in the strings and clarinets.

Surely this is an evocation of the great bells of Russian churches, which fascinated Rachmaninoff from his childhood and inspired many stunning moments in his music. Also influenced by Russian Orthodoxy is the melancholy principal theme, which moves chant-like within a narrow range. The piano introduces the even lovelier second theme, pure Rachmaninoff and full of romantic yearning. After a brief development section (announced by a brass fanfare) featuring both themes, the chant theme returns in the strings, but now with the piano providing an incisive march tread beneath.

A quiet prelude by muted strings opens the slow movement and moves the tonality from C minor to a very distant E Major. The movement’s main theme is oddly introduced: over a piano arpeggio a solo flute presents a little phrase that turns out to be the theme’s ending. Then the solo clarinet offers the theme proper, a subdued, repetitive tune that will only find passionate release when the piano takes it on late in the movement. Rachmaninoff saves his loveliest music for the

close: the woodwinds singing birdcalls mesh magically with the piano while the violins complete the melody.

Another bridge prelude opens the finale. Here in the midst of much bold, aggressive music comes a surprise: the marvelous soaring melody, first heard in the plangent tones of solo oboe and viola, for which this concerto is so beloved. This tune almost lost its dignity forever when Tin Pan Alley highjacked it in the 1940s for the sentimental love song “Full Moon and Empty Arms.” The work ends with one last sweeping statement by full orchestra and soloist of the big tune, then hustles to an exciting finish.

Church Windows

Ottorino Respighi Born in Bologna, Italy, July 9, 1879; died in Rome, April 18, 1936

Ottorino Respighi’s very beautiful but rarely performed tone poem Church Windows merges the two very different sides of his musical personality: his fascination with the powers of a large modern orchestra and his love for early music.

As a young man, Respighi had lived in St. Petersburg where he became principal violist in the opera orchestra and a student of Rimsky-Korsakov, the Russian virtuoso of brilliant, sensual orchestration.

Respighi learned well from Rimsky and decades later used his orchestral mastery to create three spectacular tone poems saluting his adopted city of Rome: The Fountains of Rome, The Pines of Rome and Roman Festivals. All promoted with passion by Arturo Toscanini, they won him immediate and lasting celebrity with international concert audiences.

Strangely, the equalling dazzling Church Windows of 1926 has never equalled their fame. For here Respighi drew on his lifelong interest in early music — and specifically with Gregorian chant — to create a showpiece for the Boston Symphony Orchestra and its music director Serge Koussevitzky, commissioner of the score. It grew from his Three Preludes on Gregorian Melodies for piano written in 1919. His wife, Elsa Respighi,

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remembered that composition’s birth on the Island of Capri: “[It] reflects Respighi’s state of mind at the time: the joyous wonder of a revelation [his discovery of Gregorian chant] and at the same time the mystic exultation of profound religious feeling.”

Respighi essentially re-conceived these piano preludes for an enormous orchestra and added a new final movement saluting Pope Gregory the Great (540 to 604 A.D.), who is traditionally credited with codifying Gregorian chant and its use in the Catholic liturgy. However, he only decided after he completed the score what precisely each movement was about, with advice from his librettist Claudio Guastalla. Guastalla wrote the descriptions for each of these “windows,” which do not exist in any church, only in the imagination.

The Flight into Egypt: “The little caravan proceeded through the desert in the starry night, bearing the Treasure of the World.” On a slow, irregular rhythm like the swaying of a camel, this quiet nocturnal music materializes from a haunting melody based on Gregorian chant in the clarinet. Decorative arabesques in the woodwinds lend it an exotic MiddleEastern atmosphere.

Saint Michael the Archangel: “And a great battle was made in the heavens; Michael and his angels fought with the dragon and his angels. But these did not prevail, and there was no more place for them in Heaven. (Homily XII of St. Gregory)” An immense orchestral whirlwind summons St. Michael, the warrior angel, into action. His battle theme, roared out by trombones, is a transformation of the gentle chant theme from the first movement. Yet another transformation of this melody is played offstage by a solo trumpet in the more lyrical middle section. But Michael soon returns to triumph over Satan.

Matins of St. Clare: “But Jesus Christ her bridegroom, not wishing to leave her thus disconsolate, had her miraculously transported by angels to the church of St. Francis to be at the service of Matins (The Little Flowers of St. Francis).” St. Clare was a contemporary of St. Francis

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The BSO

Its four interlocking movements are like picture postcards of Roman scenes transmuted into sound… in 13th-century Assisi and the founder of the Poor Clares order of nuns. When she was too ill to go herself, angels transported her to matins. Flutes and bassoons introduce a new chant melody, and bells toll quietly at the end in tribute to her miraculous journey.

Saint Gregory the Great: “Behold the Pontiff! ... Bless the Lord. ... Sing the hymn to God. Alleluia!” The whole orchestra mimics the solemn tolling of bells. Then the horns proclaim the chant for the “Gloria” of Mass No. 8. Respighi expands this theme into a spectacular fantasia to portray Gregory in all his papal magnificence. A brief drawing back before the end allows him to build the orchestra’s power higher still.

The Pines of Rome

Ottorino Respighi

Ottorino Respighi had a love affair with Rome. Though raised in the proud university city of Bologna, he lost his heart upon moving to the Eternal City in 1913 to assume a professorship at the prestigious Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia, and he reveled in its beauty, rich history, and vibrant contemporary life until his premature death in 1936. He created three love

Ch r is Lee

{ program notes letters to the city: The Fountains of Rome (1914–16), The Pines of Rome (1923–24), and Roman Festivals (1927–28). Of these, The Pines of Rome was the most popular and Respighi’s own favorite.

Its four interlocking movements are like picture postcards of Roman scenes transmuted into sound — imaginatively using every timbral resource of a very large 20th-century orchestra. The giant percussion section includes piano, organ, harp, and many bell-like instruments. For the last movement — an epic vision of ancient Rome — Respighi called for six bucelli, the old Roman war trumpets, but allowed modern flugelhorns to take their place.

And most unusual of all — especially in 1924 — was his use of a gramophone to play the nightingale’s silvery song at the close of movement three.

Respighi wrote these brief poetic descriptions for The Pines of Rome: I. The Pines of the Villa Borghese.

“Children are at play in the pine groves of Villa Borghese; they dance round in circles, they play at soldiers, marching and fighting, they are wrought up by their own cries like swallows at evening, they come and go in swarms. Suddenly the scene changes, and …

II. Pine Trees Near a Catacomb.

“We see the shades of the pine trees fringing the entrance to a catacomb. From the depth rises the sound of mournful psalm-singing, floating through the air like a solemn hymn, and gradually and mysteriously dispersing.”

III. The Pines of the Janiculum. “A quiver [piano] runs through the air: the pine trees of the Janiculum stand distinctly outlined in the clear light of a full moon. A nightingale is singing.”

IV. The Pine Trees of the Appian Way. “Misty dawn on the Appian Way: solitary pine trees guarding the magic landscape; the muffled, ceaseless rhythms of unending footsteps. The poet has a fantastic vision of bygone glories: trumpets sound and, in the brilliance of the newly risen sun, a consular army bursts forth toward the Sacred Way, mounting in triumph to the Capitol.”

Notes by Janet E. Bedell, Copyright ©2015

program notes { Nicholas McGegan

For Nicholas McGegan's bio., please refer to page 12.

Jo seph M eyer ho f f Sy m pho ny Hall

Off the Cuff: The Bach Family

Ch r is Lee

Jonathon Carney

Saturday, February 14, 2015 — 7p.m.

Nicholas Mcgegan, Conductor Jonathan Carney, Violin Madeline Adkins, Violin Rui Du, Violin Dariusz Skoraczewski, Cello Emily Skala, Flute Michael Lisicky, Oboe

Johann Sebastian Bach Orchestral Suite No. 4 in D Major, BWV 1069 Overture

Johann Christian Bach Sinfonia Concertante for Flute, Oboe, Violin and Cello in C Major, C. 43 Allegretto RUI DU

DARIUSZ SKORACZEWSKI EMILY SKALA MICHAEL LISICKY

Johann Sebastian Bach Concerto for Two Violins in D minor, BWV 1043 Vivace Largo ma non tanto Allegro

JONATHAN CARNEY MADELINE ADKINS

Ca ssi dy D u h o n

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Symphony in E-Flat Major, Wq 179 (H. 654) Prestissimo Larghetto Presto

Concertmaster Jonathan Carney is in his 14th season with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) after 12 seasons in the same position with London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

After completing his studies with Ivan Galamian and Christine Dethier, he was awarded a Leverhulme Fellowship to continue his studies in London at the Royal College of Music. Solo performances have included concertos by Bruch, Korngold, Khatchaturian, Sibelius, Nielsen, the Brahms Double Concerto and Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending, which was featured as a live BBC broadcast from London’s Barbican Hall. He has made a number of recordings, including concertos

by Mozart, Vivaldi and Nielsen, sonatas

by Brahms, Beethoven and Franck, and a disc of virtuoso works by Sarasate and Kreisler with his mother Gloria Carney as pianist.

Madeline Adkins

Madeline Adkins was appointed to the position of associate concertmaster of the BSO by Maestro Yuri Temirkanov in 2005. She has appeared frequently as soloist with the BSO, performing works by Beethoven, Vaughan Williams, Bach, Mendelssohn, Mozart and Prokofiev. Ms. Adkins also performs as concertmaster of the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra. She has served as guest concertmaster of the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Oregon Symphony, and the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra in Chicago, as well as concertmaster of the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra under Seiji Ozawa.

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{ program notes Rui Du

Ch r is tian Co lb erg

Ch r istian Co lb erg

Rui Du joined the BSO in 2012 as fourth chair first violin, and was soon after appointed acting assistant concertmaster. He was formerly concertmaster of the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, and also served as associate concertmaster of the Aspen Festival Orchestra for two years at the Aspen International Music Festival and School. He has performed as a soloist with orchestras in concert halls throughout the world, including those in Turkey, Singapore and Shanghai. He has also been featured as an artist with the Qingdao Symphony Orchestra, Shanghai Opera Symphony Orchestra and the Fuzhou Symphony Orchestra, and was also soloist at the Baroque Evening Concert Series in the 2011 Aspen Music Festival under the direction of Nicholas McGegan.

Dariusz Skoraczewski

Principal Cello Dariusz Skoraczewski has delighted audiences of many concert halls in America and Europe with his great artistic and technical command. As a soloist he performed with numerous orchestras in the U.S. including the Montgomery Symphony, Alexandria Symphony, Arlington Philharmonic, Lancaster Symphony and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. In November 2005, he gave his Carnegie Hall debut, which was sponsored by the La Gesse Foundation. Skoraczewski is also a member of the critically acclaimed Monument Piano Trio.

Dariusz is a laureate of various international competitions such as the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, the Leonard Rose Competition in Washington, D.C. and the Rostropovich Competition in Paris.

Emily Skala

Emily Skala’s passion for the flute has led her all over the country and beyond. Her range of experiences encompasses engagements

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long and short with nine professional orchestras on three continents. Her critically acclaimed CD of music by Brahms and Schubert (Summit Records, 2001) is frequently aired on radio stations nationwide.

Ms. Skala has appeared as soloist with such internationally renowned maestri as Marin Alsop, Juanjo Mena, David Zinman and Mario Venzago in some of the most demanding repertoire from Corigliano to Rouse, Bach to Takemitsu. She has also performed on numerous recordings under the direction of David Zinman and Marin Alsop since her appointment in 1988.

Michael Lisicky

Michael Lisicky has been performing with the BSO since 2003, and has been praised by critics for his “magical nuances” (Baltimore Sun), “tonal purity” (Richmond Times-Dispatch) and “quite wonderful musicianship” (The Boston Globe). Before coming to Baltimore, he was a member of the Richmond Symphony. While in Richmond, Mr. Lisicky served on the faculty of the University of Richmond and performed as a soloist with the RSO on six occasions. He is also an English hornist and founding member of Trio La Milpa, an oboe trio comprised of himself, BSO Principal Oboe Katherine Needleman and his wife Sandra Gerster.

In August 2007, the trio became the first American ensemble to tour Greenland.

About the concert: Orchestral Suite No. 4 in D Major, BWV 1069 Concerto for Two Violins in D minor, BWV 1043

Johann Sebastian Bach

Born in Eisenach, Thuringia, now Germany, March 21, 1685; died in Leipzig, Saxony, July 28, 1750

In the intellectual rigor of his fugues and the spiritual depth of his passions and cantatas, J. S. Bach seems to represent the loftiest state to which music can aspire.

But this formidable German had his lighter side as well, and his four orchestral suites show him as a master entertainer, wielding the courtly dance forms of his day with wit and panache.

Scholars are still not sure when and where the Suites were written. Their secular nature and courtly style would seem to place them in the period of 1717 to 1723 when Bach served as Kapellmeister at the princely court of Cöthen and primarily created secular instrumental works, notably the six Brandenburg Concertos. But Prince Leopold’s orchestra was of modest size and presumably unable to provide the exceptionally sumptuous complement of three trumpets required by Suites 3 and 4. Therefore, though Bach may have composed earlier versions of these works at Cöthen, most likely the Suite we hear tonight was created in the late 1720s or early 1730s during his long service in Leipzig.

In addition to his primary duties providing music for St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, from 1729 to 1737 Bach directed that city’s Collegium Musicum, a voluntary association of professional musicians and university students. The Collegium gave weekly concerts — in summer in an outdoor square and in winter at Zimmermann’s coffee house.

Here Bach could put aside sacred texts and exercise his secular genius.

The festive quality of the suite comes from the opening Overture’s connection with Christmas: this music was also used for the first movement of Bach’s Cantata No. 110, “Unser Mund sei voll Lachens” (“Our mouths shall be filled with laughter”), composed for the Christmas Day service.

Like all the Orchestral Suites, No. 4 opens with the traditional Overture, by far the longest movement. In the French style, this is proud and stately music built on elegant dotted rhythms. The lighter middle section is a bouncing triple-beat dance similar to a gigue in character. Especially striking in this Overture is how Bach plays off the contrasting colors of his large ensemble against each other.

Instead of the traditional formal dances that usually comprised the Baroque suite, here Bach opts for lighter alternative

program notes { dances known as galanterien. So we hear a pair of high-spirited Bourées; an elegant, highly rhythmic Gavotte with charming antiphonal effects; and a pair of very rapid Minuets omitting the trumpets and timpani. The second Minuet is for strings only and features an odd-couple duet between the first violins and cellos. The concluding “Réjouissance” is a tour de force of joyous rhythmic games.

soloists and orchestra are sometimes reversed so that the soloists lead the opening tutti and then later imitate an orchestral accompaniment with energetic chords.

And in his 3/4 meter, Bach happily accents any beat, or portion thereof, in an infectious display of rhythmic vivacity.

Concerto for Two Violins

Born in Weimar, Germany, March 8, 1714; died in Hamburg, Germany, December 14, 1788

At Cöthen, Bach created much of his finest secular instrumental music, including concertos for solo instruments in the manner of Vivaldi. Since these were intended as ephemeral pieces to be quickly replaced by newer concertos, only a few survive today.

In fact, we would not have the superb Concerto for Two Violins in D minor if Bach had not later arranged it for two harpsichords in Leipzig in the early 1730s; fortunately, the original violin parts were preserved as well.

Bach had closely studied the music of Vivaldi and the other Italian masters, and he took Vivaldi’s concerto form of three movements in fast-slow-fast tempos and enriched it with his own stronger contrapuntal and architectural gifts. The Baroque concerto placed far less emphasis on virtuoso solo display than would the concertos of the Classical and Romantic periods.

Movement one opens with an elaborate tutti emphasizing rich contrapuntal play between the orchestral string parts.

Thus, the soloists present the illusion of less complexity as well as welcome airiness when they enter. The tutti and the soloists each have distinct themes: the orchestra’s beginning with a rising four-note scale, the soloists’ with descending scales and angular upward leaps.

Focusing on the soloists, the slow movement is one of the most sublime movements Bach ever wrote: a love duet in which the two violins curve around each other in dance-like imitative phrases.

The poignant expressiveness of this music derives from the stings of dissonance between the instruments resolving into sweet consonance.

The lively third movement is one of Bach’s most ingenious. Here the roles of

Symphony in E-flat Major, Wq 179

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach

The thoroughly cosmopolitan C.P.E. Bach was the most successful and prolific of all Johann Sebastian Bach’s musical sons.

Boasting a university education in the law and humanities from the Universities of Leipzig and Frankfurt, he borrowed from the latest French and Italian styles to keep his music au courant with the times. For nearly 30 years, he served at the Berlin court of Frederick the Great of Prussia, a hotbed of cultural and especially musical life in mid-18th-century Europe. Frederick was a keen amateur flutist, who performed at concerts several times a week, usually with C.P.E. as his keyboard accompanist.

Regarded as the leading exponent of the North German empfindsamer Stil or “sensitive style,” C.P.E. wrote music that is much lighter and more entertaining than his father’s. The empfindsamer Stil was borrowed from the French taste for music influenced by literature. In his solo keyboard and orchestral music, C.P.E. transferred this approach from vocal music to instrumental music — music expressing emotions without words.

He was also a pioneer in the still very young genre of the concert symphony,.

Rather brief in comparison to later symphonies and always in three movements — fast-slow-fast — these works were nevertheless considerable advances on the Italian sinfonia of the Baroque period.

In the words of Bach scholar Christoph Wolff, a C.P.E. symphony “must sound arresting and audacious in its first movement, meditatively beautiful in its second, and cheerful or innocent in its third.”

These words perfectly describe the Symphony in E-flat Major, composed for

the Berlin court orchestra in 1757. The first movement seizes our attention at once with its furious ascending and descending theme for the violins, delivered at a breakneck Prestissimo tempo. Many passages played together in unison underline the intensity of this high-octane music, which only eases occasionally for some gently plaintive responses in the strings.

C.P.E. liked to link his movements together, and so a transitional passage bridges directly to the second movement.

This subtle Larghetto in G minor for the strings alone epitomizes the “sensitive style.” Here the composer makes wonderful use of dissonance to color the melodic line; considerable rhythmic freedom within and between each instrumental part also contributes to the expressive clashes. Again the close of this movement prepares the way for the next.

The last movement is much simpler: a jaunty hunting-theme finale on a galloping-horses rhythm.

Sinfonia concertante for Flute, Oboe, Violin and Cello in C Major

Johann Christian Bach

Born in Leipzig, Saxony, now Germany, September 5, 1735; died in London, January 1, 1782

Johann Christian Bach was Johann Sebastian’s youngest son, born when his father was 50 and thus a composer of the Classical era of Haydn and Mozart rather than of the Baroque. When his father died in 1750, the adolescent J.C. moved to Berlin to live with his brother C.P.E., 21 years his senior, and also studied with him. But unlike his father and brother, his career would be made outside of Germany.

After beginning his career in Italy, he arrived in London in 1762 to fulfill an operatic commission. His operatic career flourished, and he stayed on in that city for the rest of his life, becoming known as “the London Bach.” His subscription concerts there with the viola da gambist Carl Friedrich Abel attracted the British aristocracy and even the royal family for nearly two decades.

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{ program notes In 1764, the eight-year-old Mozart and his father arrived in London to demonstrate his prodigious keyboard talent and developed an instant friendship with J.C. Bach.

Mozart adored the amiable composer both for his warm personality and for his charming music, and they remained in contact for the rest of J.C.’s life. Upon hearing of Bach’s death in 1782, Mozart exclaimed that this was “a loss to the musical world” and promptly memorialized J.C. in his Twelfth Piano Concerto.

Mozart also honored J.C. Bach by composing two Sinfonia concertantes, inspired

by J.C.’s love of this genre, a mixture of symphony and concerto that somewhat resembles the Baroque concerto grosso for groups of soloists (epitomized by J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos). During the 1770s, J.C. composed more than dozen works in this style, designed to feature many of the leading London soloists who appeared at his Bach-Abel concerts.

J.C. Bach was a master of the midcentury galant style: music intended to be pleasing, elegant, witty, and tuneful, without too much complexity. And we hear all these qualities in his Sinfonia concertante in C Major, which with its mixed pairs of soloists — two woodwinds, two strings — also demonstrates his fine ear for instrumental colors. Its vivacious Allegro first movement is launched by a bold flourish in unison proclaiming the chord of C Major, which will be the movement’s most prominent motive. Also listen for the beautifully colored second theme introduced by clarinets and bassoons.

J.C. was famous in his day for the beauty and sensitivity of his slow movements as the Larghetto second movement in F Major demonstrates. He chose the oboe with its poignantly expressive tone to introduce the lovely, gracious main theme. This movement, however, is particularly striking for the many luscious dueting passages created for each solo pair.

The soloists acting together as a quartet present the finale’s cheerful refrain theme.

In between its many returns, they are given finely crafted opportunities to show off their individual brilliance.

About the concert:

Notes by Janet E. Bedell, Copyright ©2015

For bios, please see pg. 36.

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Jo s e ph Meye rho ff Sym pho ny Hall

All-Bach

Sunday, February 15, 2015 — 3 p.m.

Nicholas Mcgegan, Conductor Jonathan Carney, Violin Madeline Adkins, Violin Rui Du, Violin Dariusz Skoraczewski, Cello Emily Skala, Flute Michael Lisicky, Oboe

Johann Sebastian Bach Orchestral Suite No. 4 in D Major, BWV 1069 Overture

Bourrée I & II

Gavotte Minuet Rejouissance

Johann Sebastian Bach Concerto for Two Violins in D minor, BWV 1043 Vivace Largo ma non tanto Allegro

JONATHAN CARNEY MADELINE ADKINS

INTERMISSION

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Symphony in E-Flat Major, Wq 179 (H. 654) Prestissimo Larghetto Presto

Johann Christian Bach Sinfonia Concertante for Flute, Oboe, Violin and Cello in C Major, C. 43 Allegro Larghetto Allegretto RUI DU

DARIUSZ SKORACZEWSKI EMILY SKALA MICHAEL LISICKY The concert will end at approximately 4:50 p.m.

For program notes, please see pg. 36.

program notes {

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Friday, February 20, 2015 — 8 p.m.

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{ program notes Jo seph M eyer ho f f Sy m pho n y Hall

Bournemouth symphony orchestras, and the Royal Liverpool and BBC philharmonic orchestras; and to Australia to conduct the Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney symphony orchestras.

Louis Lortie

The Firebird Suite

Friday, February 27, 2015 — 8 p.m.

Yan Pascal Tortelier, Conductor Louis Lortie, Piano Hector Berlioz

Le corsaire, opus 21

Maurice Ravel Trio in A minor Orchestration by Yan Pascal Tortelier Modéré Pantoum. Assez vif Passacaille. Très large

Finale. Animé

INTERMISSION

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major, K. 488 Allegro Adagio Allegro assai LOUIS LORTIE

Igor Stravinsky The Firebird Suite (1919) Introduction and Dance of the Firebird

Dance of the Princesses Infernal Dance of King Kashchei

Berceuse

Finale The concert will end at approximately 9:50 p.m.

Pianist Louis Lortie has attracted critical acclaim throughout Europe, Asia, and the United States. He has extended his interpretative voice across a broad range of repertoire rather than choosing to specialize in one particular style. The London Times has described his artistry as “a combination of total spontaneity and meditated ripeness that only great pianists have.”

Lortie has performed complete Beethoven sonata cycles at London’s Wigmore Hall, Berlin’s Philharmonie, and the Sala Grande del Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi. A pianist and conductor with the Montreal Symphony, he has performed all five Beethoven concertos and all of the Mozart concertos. Lortie has also won widespread acclaim for his interpretation of Ravel and Chopin. In 2014–2015, he returns to the Sydney and Adelaide Symphony Orchestras and the Chicago Symphony, the Warsaw Philharmonie, the Toronto Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony and the San Diego Symphony; and presents recitals in London’s International Piano Series, Berlin, Milan, Calgary and Brussels.

About the concert:

Yan Pascal Tortelier

Yan Pascal Tortelier enjoys a distinguished career as guest conductor of the world’s most prestigious orchestras. He began his musical career as a violinist and at 14 made his soloist debut with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. He was principal conductor of the Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra from 2009–2011, and currently holds the position of guest conductor of honour.

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Le corsaire Overture, opus 21 Following his outstanding work as chief conductor of the BBC Philharmonic, he was given the title of conductor emeritus and continues to work with the orchestra regularly. He also holds the position of principal guest conductor at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

Highlights of the 2014–2015 season and beyond include returns to the United States to conduct the orchestras in Pittsburgh, Montreal, San Francisco, Minnesota and Baltimore; European performances with the Iceland and

Hector Berlioz

Born in La Côte-Saint-André, France, December 11, 1803; died in Paris, March 8, 1869

The year 1844 was an exhausting and demoralizing one for Hector Berlioz.

After a long period of deterioration, his “dream” marriage to the Irish actress Harriet Smithson finally collapsed. As fans of the composer’s Symphonie fantastique will remember, Berlioz fell madly in love with her in 1827 after seeing her

program notes { in Paris performances of Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet, and that spectacular program symphony expressed his frustrated passion for her. His fatal mistake was to marry her in 1833, a union that went south almost from day one and taught him it was far better to sublimate desire into music.

Furthermore, Berlioz had just organized and conducted one of his mammoth concerts — mobilizing more than 1,000 performers! — to celebrate the close of the international Festival of Industrial Products in Paris on August 1.

At this extravaganza before an audience of 8,000, he nearly collapsed on the podium, and his doctor immediately ordered a rest cure in the warm sunshine of Nice on the French Riviera. There the composer regained both his health and creative energies. composing the last of his colorful concert overtures, the fiery Le Corsaire (“The Pirate”).

In his three mature overtures — Benvenuto Cellini, Roman Carnival and Le corsaire — the radical Berlioz developed a very personal, iconoclastic formal approach that shattered the sonata-form template for 19th-century overtures. In C Major, Le Corsaire opens with arresting gestures: a virtuosic whirlwind of string scales that collides with the intricate syncopations of the equally agitated woodwinds. Then Berlioz presents a slow Adagio section, featuring a pensively beautiful melody in A-flat Major.

All too soon this lovely music is broken off, the orchestra cranks itself back to C Major, and the main Allegro section ensues with a reprise of the whirling string scales and syncopations. The brass hints at the swashbuckling principal theme, but the violins finally unfurl it. Almost unrecognizable in the faster tempo, the Adagio melody then returns for contrast. Despite the lack of an orthodox development section, Berlioz keeps revisiting his bold theme in new and exciting ways, the best being the brass’s dashing, totally uninhibited proclamation just before the end.

Trio in A minor

Maurice Ravel

Born in Ciboure, Basses-Pyrenées, France, March 7, 1875; died in Paris, December 28, 1937 Arranged for Orchestra by Yan Pascal Tortelier

Maurice Ravel was born in the French Basque country near the Spanish border, and he retained a great love for this region all his life. One of his favorite places for combining relaxation with composition was the seaside resort of St. Jean-de-Luz. There he wrote his greatest chamber work, the Trio for Piano, Violin and Cello, during the summers of 1913 and 1914.

But his idyll at St. Jean-de-Luz was shattered on August 4, 1914 when the start of World War I was announced; the news propelled him into overdrive to complete the Trio so he could enlist. “I think I shall go mad or lose my mind,” he wrote a friend shortly before finishing the score.

“I have never worked so hard, with such insane, heroic rage.”

In its original form, this work, despite being scored for just three instruments, frequently suggests an orchestra with its rich, coloristic writing. Thus it is one of the chamber music pieces best suited to an orchestral arrangement. In reconceiving it for a very large orchestra, Yan Pascal Tortelier draws on the type of instrumentation Ravel himself used in such technicolor works as Daphnis et Chloé and La Valse.

The first movement, “Modéré,” is shaped by the irregular meter of 8/8, subdivided into three beats + two beats + three beats; we hear it in the swaying, folkloric opening theme, introduced by the flutes. Ravel described this music as in “Basque color,” and this rhythm resembles the Basque dance the zortzico. A solo flute shadowed by solo cello presents the wistful, exquisitely lyrical second theme, which plays an equally prominent role.

Movement two is called “Pantoum” for the Malayan poetic form of that name, which was occasionally adopted by the French poets Victor Hugo and Charles Baudelaire. Pianist Lois Shapiro writes “In a pantoum, virtually two independent poems with independent subject matter are interwoven within one poetic framework, with an integration of the two poetic ideas saved for the climactic last line.” And this

is exactly what Ravel does in this virtuosic Scherzo. Two very different musical ideas are presented against each other: a glittering, brittle dance introduced by the xylophone and a swooning romantic waltz for strings and harps. In the middle or trio section, Ravel adds yet another clash: a suave new dance for violins in 4/2 time against pattering woodwinds and percussion remaining in 3/4 time.

Roger Nichols describes the deeply moving “Passacaille” as being “imbued with a nostalgia, a sense of loss,” as Ravel expresses his anguish as Europe tumbled toward war. The form is a passacaglia or variations on a repeated theme, here a gravely meditative melody heard first in the double basses at the very bottom of the orchestra. Its repetitions follow an arch shape: gradually rising in pitch and textural richness to a shattering climax, then descending just as gradually back to the lower regions for a brooding close.

From this darkness, the lights flicker on again as shimmering violins, harps, and celesta open the “Final.” An exotic, quasipentatonic melody sparkles in flutes and piccolos; its irregular pulse of 5/4 and 7/4 again recalls Basque dance rhythms. Proud brass fanfares over sustained trills in strings and woodwinds form a second theme. The fanfares and trills build to a spectacular conclusion, with the orchestra fulfilling all the color and grandeur the original three instruments were striving to achieve.

Piano Concerto No. 23, K. 488

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Born in Salzburg, Austria, January 27, 1756; died in Vienna, December 5, 1791

Mozart essentially invented the classical piano concerto, epitomized by the 12 keyboard masterpieces he wrote between 1784 and 1786. Each is a world unto itself, and one of the loveliest and most refined of these worlds is that of Piano Concerto No. 23, completed on March 2, 1786.

Sounding like an intimate conversation between close friends, the A-Major is also one of the most vocal of the concertos.

This is not surprising, for simultaneously Mozart was completing his vivacious comic

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{ program notes opera, The Marriage of Figaro. Busy creating arias and ensembles for a castle-full of characters, Mozart apparently had plenty of melodic ideas left over, for this concerto is propelled by its melodies, some high-spirited, some heart-wrenching. Here the soloist is asked not so much to display his digital dexterity as to play the great opera singer, especially in the sublime slow movement.

As in most of the late concertos, the pianist also must share the spotlight with the orchestra’s woodwind section. Mozart became more and more intrigued with how woodwind colors could blend and contrast with the piano, and for this concerto he had a pair of his favorite wind instruments, the round-toned, fruity clarinets, to exploit.

Concerto No. 23 is also filled with an emotional quality very characteristic of Mozart: the mood of smiling through tears. This is heard best in the first movement, which sounds outwardly serene, but immediately disturbs the atmosphere at the second chord with its dissonant note troubling the A-Major harmony. “The light of the movement is one of a March day — the month in which it was composed — when a pale sun shines unconvincingly through fleeting showers,” is how Mozart scholar Cuthbert Girdlestone poetically described it. The second theme, introduced soon by the violins, is rather melancholy and grows more so as a bassoon and flute join in. As the exposition section closes, listen for a quiet, chin-up closing theme in the strings; from it Mozart will build an expressive development section.

Smiles give way to tears for the slow movement, one of Mozart’s greatest and his only one in the key of F-sharp minor.

The soloist opens with a poignant melody featuring large intervals in the manner of a virtuosic 18th-century diva. The orchestra answers with a more anguished melody, with achingly beautiful dissonances created by its clashing contrapuntal lines. Flutes and clarinets try to brighten the mood in the middle section. But the tears persist as the opening music returns and is capped by a heartbreaking closing coda.

The brilliant rondo finale at last dries all tears. And finally the pianist can play the virtuoso as he leads off with the sparkling rondo theme. But this is just

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one of a quiver-full of melodies Mozart has ready, and he keeps on shooting fresh ones at us in a movement of non-stop vivacity and invention.

The Firebird Suite (1919)

Igor Stravinsky

Born in Oranienbaum, Russia, June 17, 1882; died in New York City, April 6, 1971

Igor Stravinsky’s score for the fairy-tale ballet The Firebird, particularly in its suite adaptation, is far and away his most popular work. For nearly six decades, the composer conducted it hundreds of times, even though he had since moved on to more radical styles. In fact, it became almost impossible to believe that this fearless modernist had actually once written such a lush and sensual score: a grand summation of the 19th-century Russian fascination with fantastic plots and opulent instrumental colors.

The Firebird’s music needed to be lush for it was written for Serge Diaghilev’s spectacular Ballets Russes, which was dazzling Paris during the seasons immediately preceding World War I. Diaghilev had a genius for assembling the greatest Russian dancers as well as designers, poets, and composers from Russia and France to create ballet extravaganzas that looked as colorful as they sounded. In 1909 seeking a composer to replace Anatoli Liadov (dropped after he failed to meet his deadline), Diaghilev had the happy inspiration to try the 27-year-old Stravinsky, who had previously worked for him only as an orchestrator. The Firebird was Stravinsky’s first major commission. “Take a good look at him,” Diaghilev told his leading ballerina Tamara Karsavina during rehearsals. “He is a man on the eve of celebrity.” And indeed, when The Firebird premiered at the Paris Opéra on June 25, 1910 to tumultuous applause, Stravinsky became one of the hottest composers of the day.

The Firebird is a beloved creature in Russian folklore, and she corresponds to the Phoenix in classical mythology as a symbol of rebirth. The Russian folklorist Afasyev describes her: “The feathers of the Firebird are effulgent with silver and gold

… her eyes shine like crystal, and she sits in a golden cage. At darkest midnight, she flies into the garden and lights it as brightly as if with a thousand burning bonfires. Just one of her tail feathers holds such magical power that it is worth more than a kingdom.”

At this concert, we will hear the 20-minute suite Stravinsky drew from his 45-minute complete ballet score, which serves as a kind of promotional trailer for this gorgeous work. In the murky and mysterious Introduction, he conjures the dangerous realm of the evil ogre Kashchei’s castle with ominous scales in muted low strings and menacing trombone snarls. Soon we hear the eerie sound of the Firebird’s wings: an otherworldly effect created by the strings playing natural harmonics. Prince Ivan climbs over the castle wall to try to capture her. He briefly succeeds in The Firebird’s Dance and Variations: here is some of Stravinsky’s most ingenious music, glinting with darting rhythms and prismatic, lighter-than-air colors from high woodwinds. The Firebird escapes, but leaves the Prince with one of her magical feathers.

More earthbound is the Round Dance of the Princesses, who like Ivan are ordinary mortals and captives of Kashchei. They dance a traditional Russian khorovode or female round dance, and the Prince falls in love with the most beautiful of them.

Next comes the stunning “Infernal Dance of King Kashchei”; Stravinsky’s rhythmic vitality is on display in this brutal dance built from syncopations.

In the nick of time, Prince Ivan remembers the magic tail feather and summons the Firebird. She forces Kashchei and his minions to dance until they drop in exhaustion. Lulling them to sleep with the rocking “Berceuse” led by solo bassoon, the Firebird tells the Prince that Kashchei’s soul lives in a buried egg; if he can crush that, he will kill the ogre and break the spell that binds the princesses. The Prince accomplishes this and in the majestic Finale weds his Princess. Its melody, introduced by solo horn, is another authentic Russian folksong.

The melody spreads through the orchestra, and the ballet ends in a blaze of bell-tolling Russian splendor.

Notes by Janet E. Bedell, Copyright ©2015

T h e B a ltimo r e S y mp h o n y O r c h e st r a

Symphony fund Honor Roll August 15, 2013 – October 24, 2014 We are proud to recognize the BSO’s Symphony Fund Members whose generous gifts to the Annual Fund between August 15, 2013 and October 24, 2014 helped the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra further its mission: “To make music of the highest quality, to enhance Baltimore and Maryland as a cultural center of interest, vitality and importance and to become a model of institutional strength.”

The BSO is funded by an operating grant from the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency dedicated to cultivating a vibrant cultural community where the arts thrive.

The Citizens of Baltimore County

The Century CLub The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is deeply grateful to the individual, corporate, foundation and governmental donors whose cumulative annual giving of $100,000 or more plays a vital role in sustaining the Orchestra’s magnificent tradition of musical excellence.

Marin Alsop Donna and Paul Amico The Paul M. Angell Family Foundation The Baltimore Orioles Georgia and Peter Angelos The Baltimore Symphony Associates Sandy Feldman, President Mayor and City Council of Baltimore The Citizens of Baltimore County BGE

Henry and Ruth Blaustein Rosenberg Foundation and the Estate of Ruth Marder* Kenneth W. DeFontes, Jr. and Donna C. DeFontes Hecht-Levi Foundation Ryda H. Levi* and Sandra Levi Gerstung Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development Maryland State Arts Council

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Joseph & Harvey Meyerhoff Family Charitable Funds Robert E. Meyerhoff and Rheda Becker Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County and Montgomery County Maryland National Endowment for the Arts Linda and Stanley* Panitz PNC

Bruce and Lori Laitman Rosenblum Alena and David M. Schwaber The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company Mr.* and Mrs. Willard Hackerman

$25,000–$49,999 The Kenneth S. Battye Charitable Trust in honor of Kenneth S. Battye Charlotte A. Cameron / The Dan Cameron Family Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Robert Coutts Adalman-Goodwin Foundation Hilda Perl Goodwin and Douglas* Goodwin, trustees Mr. and Mrs. Kingdon Gould, Jr.

Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin H. Griswold, IV Mr.* and Mrs. E. Phillips Hathaway Hoffberger Family Philanthropies Mr. and Mrs. Stephen M. Lans The Huether-McClelland Foundation George and Catherine McClelland Dr. and Mrs.* Thomas Pozefsky Rifkin, Livingston, Levitan and Silver, LLC Mr. and Mrs. Alan M. Rifkin

Lainy LeBow-Sachs and Leonard R. Sachs The Salmon Foundation The Honorable Steven R. Schuh Mr. and Mrs. Stephen D. Shawe The Speedwell Foundation David and Chris Wallace Dr. Ellen Yankellow and Mr. Bill Chapman

Joel and Liz Helke Dr. and Mrs.* Murray Kappelman Barbara Katz Sarellen and Marshall Levine Howard Majev and Janet Brandt Majev Morris Shapiro Family Foundation Hilary B. Miller and Dr. Katherine N. Bent Judy and Scott Phares Mr.* and Mrs. Michael P. Pinto Arnold and Diane Polinger Alison and Arnold Richman Mr. George A. Roche Esther and Ben Rosenbloom Foundation Michelle G. and Howard Rosenbloom Dr. and Mrs. Charles I. Shubin Richard C. and Julie I. Vogt

$10,000–$14,999 Anonymous Erin Becker Dr. Emile A. Bendit and Diane Abeloff Mr. and Mrs. Ed Bernard Mr. and Mrs. A.G.W. Biddle, III Diane and Leland Brendsel Ms. Mary Catherine Bunting Ms. Kathleen A. Chagnon Mr. and Mrs. H. Chace Davis, Jr. Chapin Davis Investments Judith and Mark D. Coplin Mr. and Mrs. James L. Dunbar Doris T. and Bill Fader Mr. Mark Fetting Joanne Gold and Andrew A. Stern The Sandra and Fred Hittman Philanthropic Fund Drs. Riva and Marc Kahn Mrs. Barbara Kines

Dr. and Mrs. Yuan C. Lee Harriet and Jeffrey Legum In memory of James Gavin Manson Sayra and Neil Meyerhoff Sally S. and Decatur H. Miller Mr. and Mrs. Bill Nerenberg Dr. Selvin Passen Gar and Migsie Richlin John and Dawn Sadler The Honorable and Mrs. James T. Smith, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Gideon N. Stieff, Jr. Ms. Harriet Stulman The Louis B. Thalheimer and Juliet A. Eurich Philanthropic Fund Aaron and Joanie Young The Zamoiski-Barber-Segal Family Foundation

Individuals founders circle $50,000 or more The Charles T. Bauer Foundation The Bozzuto Family Charitable Fund Jessica and Michael Bronfein The Annie E. Casey Foundation Mark and Pat Joseph Dr. and Mrs. Solomon H. Snyder Ellen W.P. Wasserman

Individuals maestra’s circle $15,000–$24,999 Anonymous (2) Herbert Bearman Foundation, Inc. Dr. Sheldon and Arlene Bearman David and Pat Bernstein Robert H. Boublitz “In memory of Harry A. Boublitz” Mr. and Mrs. George L. Bunting, Jr. Caswell J. Caplan Charitable Income Trusts Constance R. Caplan The Dopkin-Singer-Dannenberg Foundation, Inc. Mrs. Margery Dannenberg Rosalee C. and Richard Davison Foundation Alan and Carol Edelman Sara and Nelson Fishman Sandra Levi Gerstung Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Hamilton Michael G. Hansen and Nancy E. Randa

* Deceased

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Membership Benefits 2014– 2015 season

A contribution to the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra qualifies you for special events and exclusive opportunities to enhance your BSO experience throughout the season: $75– $149 Bach Member Benefits include: • BSO Membership Card—10% discount on music, books, and gifts at the Symphony Store and An die Musik • Admission for two to the Annual Donor Appreciation Concert (R) • Invitation to one Open Rehearsal (R) • Opportunity to purchase tickets prior to public sale* $150 –$249 Beethoven Member All of the above, plus…

• Invitation to a second Open Rehearsal (R) • Two complimentary drink vouchers $250 – $499 Brahms Member All of the above, plus…

• 10% discounts on tickets to BSO performances* • Admission for two additional guests to the Annual Donor Appreciation Concert (R) $500 – $1,199 Britten Member All of the above, plus…

• Invitation to the Premium Evening Open Rehearsal (R) • Donor recognition in one issue of Overture magazine • Two additional complimentary drink vouchers • Four complimentary dessert vouchers • Invitation to the Opening Night Celebration Cast Party (R) $1,200 – $1,999 Symphony Society Silver All of the above, plus…

• Private Backstage Hall Tour (R) • Invitation to the Season Opening Gala (R/$) • Priority access to Premium Seating • Year-long recognition in Overture magazine • Invitations to all Cast Parties (R) • Two complimentary passes to the BSA Decorators’ Show House • Two one-time passes to the Georgia and Peter Angelos Governing Members Lounge • Additional admission for two guests to the Annual Donor Appreciation Concert (R) $2,000 –$2,999 Symphony Society Gold All of the above, plus…

• Invitation to Allegretto Dinners (R/$) • Trip Invitations (R/$) • An additional pass to the Georgia and Peter Angelos Governing Members Lounge • Exclusive email updates with insider information and news about the BSO $3,000 – $4,999 Governing Member Silver All of the above, plus…

• Exclusive season sneak preview • Quarterly edition of the GM Insider newsletter • On-Stage Rehearsals (R) • Complimentary parking (upon request) • VIP Ticket Concierge Service • NEW! Invitation to the Annual State of the Orchestra Address • Invitation to After Hours with the BSO event (R) • Invitation to social events with BSO musicians (R/$) • Special recognition at GM concert sponsorship celebrations • Season-long access to the Georgia and Peter Angelos Governing Members Lounge • Opportunity to serve on Governing Members Steering Committee • Priority box seating at the Annual Donor Appreciation Concert (R) $5,000 –$9,999 Governing Member Gold All of the above, plus…

• Signed CD of all BSO recording releases • Musician Concierge program (upon request) • Sponsor a Break with the BSO ($/upon request)

$10,000+ Maestra’s Circle All of the above, plus…

• Exclusive and intimate events catered to this special group including post-concert receptions with some of the top artists in the world who are performing with the BSO • Formal Salon Dinner- Be our guests at the Springtime Soiree: Chamber Music & Dinner with Maestra Alsop & the BSO. Enjoy an Exclusive Maestra Circle event at a very special location.

• One complimentary use of the GM Lounge facilities for hosting personal or business hospitality events ($)

Support the BSO and make a donation today!

Email membership@BSO music.org or call 410.783.8124 (R) Reservation required $ Admission Fee * Some concerts excluded

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Dr. Jeanne Dussault and Mr. Mark Woodworth with BSO Principal Timpani James Wyman at a Cast Party.

Governing Members Gold $5,000 – $9,999 Anonymous (2) Dr. and Mrs. Thomas E. Allen Dr. and Mrs. Mandell Bellmore Deborah and Howard M. Berman Linda and Barry Berman John and Bonnie Boland Ms. Shirley Brandman and Mr. Howard Shapiro Steven and Ann Loar Brooks Ms. Mary Catherine Bunting Mr. and Mrs. Robert Butler Nathan and Suzanne Cohen Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Elbert Cole Judith and Mark Coplin Mr. and Mrs. Albert R. Counselman, The RCM&D Foundation and RCM&D, Inc. Mr. and Mrs. William H. Cowie, Jr. Faith and Marvin Dean Ronald E. Dencker Drs. Sonia and Myrna Estruch Ms. Margaret Ann Fallon Andrea and Samuel Fine Susan Fisher Susan W. Flanigan John Gidwitz Sandra and Barry Glass Frances Goelet Charitable Trust Dr. and Mrs. Philip Goelet Betty E. and Leonard H. Golombek Mr. and Mrs. J. Woodford Howard, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. H. Thomas Howell Susan and David Hutton Susan and Stephen Immelt Mr. and Mrs. Harry Kaplan Mr. William La Cholter Dr. David Leckrone and Marlene Berlin Dr. James and Jill Lipton Susan Liss and Family Joseph H. and Eileen A. Mason Dan and Agnes Mazur / Norfolk Southern Foundation Mrs. Kenneth A. McCord Margot and Cleaveland Miller Jolie and John Mitchell Dr. and Mrs. C.L. Moravec Elizabeth Moser Mr. and Mrs. Peter Muncie Mrs. Joy Munster David Nickels and Gerri Hall Dr. A. Harry Oleynick Dr. and Mrs. David Paige William and Kathleen Pence Marge Penhallegon Jan S. Peterson & Alison E. Cole Helene and Bill Pittler The Rabin Family Dr. Scott and Frances Rifkin Mr. and Mrs. William Rogers Mike and Janet Rowan Neil J. and JoAnn N. Ruther Dr.* and Mrs. Marvin M. Sager M. Sigmund and Barbara K. Shapiro Philanthropic Fund Mr. and Mrs. J. Mark Schapiro Jacob S. Shapiro Foundation Jane and Stan Rodbell, and James Shapiro Francesca Siciliano and Mark Green The Sidney Silber Family Foundation Daniel and Sybil Silver Mr. and Mrs. Harris J. Silverstone Melissa and Philip Spevak Ms. Patricia Stephens Mr. Peter Van Dyke and Ms. Judy Van Dyke Ms. Mignon Yvette Velie* Mr. and Mrs. Loren Western Dr. Brian Woolf and Ms. Amy (Webb) Woolf Mr. Edward Wiese Susan Wolman Laurie S. Zabin Danielle and Jeffrey Zoller Governing Members Silver $3,000 – $4,999 Anonymous (6) Mr. and Mrs. Edward J. Adkins Julianne and George Alderman The Lavagnino Family Frederick Apfel and Meredith Pattin Mr.* and Mrs. Alexander Armstrong Jackie and Eugene Azzam Mr. and Mrs. Thomas H.G. Bailliere, Jr. Susan and David Balderson Ms. Penny Bank Donald L. Bartling Dr. and Mrs. Theodore M. Bayless Eric* and Claire* Beissinger Dr. and Mrs. Mandell Bellmore Donna and Stanley Ber Alan and Bunny Bernstein Dr. and Mrs. Mordecai P. Blaustein Dr. and Mrs. Paul Z. Bodnar Ms. Carol Bogash Carolyn and John Boitnott

Both Meyerhoff and Strathmore donors enjoyed the On-Stage Rehearsal of Mozart’s Flute Concerto No. 1 in October.

Mr. and Mrs. John M. Bond, Jr. Dr. Helene Breazeale Dr. Rudiger and Robin Breitenecker Dr. Nancy D. Bridges Mr. and Mrs. Thomas H. Broadus, III Dr. and Mrs. Donald D. Brown Number Ten Foundation Mr. and Mrs. S. Winfield Cain Lt Gen (Ret) Frank B. and Karen Campbell James N. Campbell, M.D. and Regina Anderson, M.D. Michael and Kathy Carducci Ms. Susan Chouinard Geri and David Cohen Mr. Harvey L. Cohen and Ms. Martha Krach Wandaleen and Emried Cole Dr. Elizabeth H. Jones & Steven P. Collier Mr. and Mrs. John W. Conrad, Jr. David and Ellen Cooper Robert A. and Jeanne Cordes Jane C. Corrigan Mrs. Rebecca M. Cowen-Hirsch Alan and Pamela Cressman Mr. and Mrs. Edward A. Dahlka, Jr. Linwood and Ellen Dame Dr. and Mrs. Cornelius Darcy Mr. and Mrs. William F. Dausch Dr. Karlotta M. Davis Kari Peterson, Benito R. and Ben De Leon Dr. and Mrs. Daniel Drachman Mr. and Mrs. Larry D. Droppa Bill and Louise Duncan Mr. and Mrs. Laurence Dusold Dr. Sylwester J. Dziuba Donna Z. Eden and Henry Goldberg Deborah and Philip English Ms. Marietta Ethier J. Fainberg Michaeline Fedder and Susan Arisman Sherry and Bruce Feldman Mr. and Mrs. Maurice R. Feldman David and Merle Fishman Winnie and Bill Flattery Dr. and Mrs. Jerome L. Fleg Ms. Lois Flowers Mr. and Mrs. John C. Frederick Jo Ann and Jack Fruchtman John Galleazzi and Elizabeth Hennessey Mr. Robert Gillison and Ms. Laura L. Gamble Mrs. Ellen Bruce Gibbs Mr. and Mrs. Joseph S. Gillespie, Jr. Helaine and Louis Gitomer Ms. Jean M. Suda and Mr. Kim Z. Golden Dr. Diana Griffiths Ms. Mary Therese Gyi Carole Hamlin and C. Fraser Smith Mr. Gary C. Harn Melanie and Donald Heacock John P. Healy Mr. and Mrs. Edward Heine Sandra and Thomas Hess Mr. Thomas Hicks Betty Jean and Martin* S. Himeles, Sr. Bruce and Caren Beth Hoffberger Ms. Marilyn J. Hoffman Betsy and Len Homer Donald W. and Yvonne M. Hughes Bill and Ann Hughes Elayne and Benno Hurwitz Mrs. Wendy M. Jachman In memory of John T. Ricketts, III Dr. and Mrs. Richard T. Johnson Richard and Brenda Johnson Susan B. Katzenberg Louise and Richard Kemper Townsend and Bob Kent Suzan Russell Kiepper Richard Kitson and Andrew Pappas Dr. and Mrs. Richard A. Kline Paul Konka and Susan Dugan-Konka Dr. Morton D. Kramer Miss Dorothy B. Krug Marc E. Lackritz and Mary DeOreo Sandy and Mark Laken Dr. and Mrs. Donald Langenberg The Lavagnino Family Anna and George Lazar Burt and Karen Leete Mr. and Mrs. Howard Lehrer Ruth and Jay Lenrow Richard W. Ley Mr. and Mrs. Vernon L. Lidtke Dr. Frances and Mr. Edward Lieberman Darielle and Earl Linehan June Linowitz & Howard Eisner Dr. Diana Locke and Mr. Robert E. Toense Mr. James Lynch Ms. Louise E. Lynch Louise D. and Morton J. Macks Family Foundation, Inc. Diane and Jerome Markman Howard and Linda Martin Donald and Lenore Martin Dr. Marilyn Maze and Dr. Holland Ford

Drs. Edward and Lucille McCarthy Mr. and Mrs. Scott A. McWilliams Paul Meecham and Laura Leach John Meyerhoff, M.D. and Lenel Srochi-Meyerhoff Northern Pharmacy and Medical Equipment--Judy and Martin Mintz Mr. and Mrs. Humayun Mirza Ms. Patricia J. Mitchell Drs. Dalia and Alan Mitnick Mr. and Mrs. Charles O. Monk, II Dr. Mellasenah Y. Morris Dr. William W. Mullins Rex Myers Roy and Gillian Myers Roger Nordquist and Joyce Ward In memory of the Rev Howard G. Norton and Charles O. Norton Kevin and Diane O’Connor Anne M. O’Hare Drs. Erol and Julianne Oktay Mrs. Bodil Ottesen Frank W. Palulis & Chris Ahlberg Beverly and Sam Penn Ms. Diane M. Perin Dr. and Mrs. Anthony Perlman Joan Piven-Cohen and Samuel T. Cohen Martin and Henriette Poretsky David and Lesley Punshon-Smith Peter E. Quint Dr. Jonas Rappeport and Alma Smith Louise Reiner Nathan and Michelle Robertson Mr. and Mrs. Richard Roca Rona and Arthur Rosenbaum Robert and Lelia Russell Ilene and Michael Salcman Ms. Doris Sanders Lois Schenck and Tod Myers Marilyn and Herb* Scher Dr. and Mrs. James L. Scott Ida & Joseph Shapiro Foundation and Diane and Albert Shapiro Mr. Stephen Shepard Dr. and Mrs. Ronald F. Sher Thom Shipley and Chris Taylor Francine and Richard Shure Dr. and Mrs. Frederick Sieber Drs. Ruth and John Singer Ellwood and Thelma Sinsky Rev. Joseph and Barbara Skillman Ms. Leslie J. Smith Ms. Nancy E. Smith Patricia Smith and Dr. Frances Lussier Cape Foundation, Turner and Judy Smith Mr. and Mrs. Lee M. Snyder Dr. and Mrs. John Sorkin Dr. and Mrs. Charles S. Specht Joan and Thomas Spence Don Spero and Nancy Chasen Anita and Mickey Steinberg Mr. Edward Steinhouse James Storey and Janice Collins Dale and Roma* Strait Mr. Alan Strasser & Ms. Patricia Hartge Alan V Asay and Mary K Sturtevant Susan and Brian Sullam Mr. James Sutherlin Mr. and Mrs. Robert Taubman Mr. and Mrs. Terence Taylor Dr. Ronald J. Taylor Sonia and Carl Tendler Dr. and Mrs. Carvel Tiekert Mr. and Mrs. Paul G. Tolzman Dr. Jean Townsend and Mr. Larry Townsend In Memory of Jeffrey F. Liss, Dr. & Mrs. Henry Tyrangiel Dr. Frank C. Marino Foundation John & Susan Warshawsky Martha and Stanley Weiman Dr. and Mrs. Matthew R. Weir Mr. and Mrs. David Weisenfreund Ms. Beverly Wendland and Mr. Michael McCaffery Mr. and Mrs. Christopher West Ms. Camille B. Wheeler and Mr. William B. Marshall Dr. Edward Whitman Ms. Louise S. Widdup In Memory of Carole L. Maier, Artist Mr. and Mrs. Barry F. Williams Mr. and Mrs. T. Winstead, Jr. Laura and Thomas Witt Mr. and Mrs. Richard Wolven Drs. Yaster and Zeitlin Chris and Carol Yoder Mr. and Mrs. Michael Young Dr. and Mrs. Robert E. Zadek Symphony Society Gold $2,000 – $2,999 Anonymous (4) Dr. and Mrs. Robert J. Adams George and Frances Alderson

S y mp h o n y f u n d Ho n o r Roll

Corporate SPonsors

Soprano Tamara Wilson greets donors at the Opening Night Cast Party.

Mr. Paul Araujo Robert and Dorothy Bair Msgnr. Arthur W. Bastress Leonard and Gabriela Bebchick Barbara and Ed Brody Dr. Robert P. Burchard Loretta Cain Brad and Kate Callahan Campbell & Company Marilyn and David Carp Ernie and Linda Czyryca Arthur F. and Isadora Dellheim Foundation, Inc. Walter B. Doggett, III and Joanne Doggett Mrs. Nancy S. Elson Kenneth R. Feinberg Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Flach Dr. and Mrs. Donald S. Gann Constance A. Getzov Bruce Yale Goldman John and Meg Hauge Lloyd Helt and Ruth Gray Betsy and George Hess Paula K. and Martin S. Himeles Barbara and Sam Himmelrich Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Hoefler Fran and Bill Holmes Mr. and Mrs. A. C. Hubbard, Jr. Dr. Helmut Jenkner and Ms. Rhea I. Arnot Mr. Max Jordan Dr. Phyllis R. Kaplan Mr. Daniel Klein Marie Lerch and Jeff Kolb Mr. Charles Miller Herbert and Mirium Mittenthal Mr. and Mrs. Robert C. Neiman Thomas P. Perkins, III Dr. & Mrs. Jonathan D. Philipson Mr. and Mrs. John Brentnall Powell Dr. Thomas Powell Mrs. Randall S. Robinson Bill and Shirley Rooker Mr.* and Mrs. Nathan G. Rubin Roger and Barbara Schwarz Norman and Leonora Sensinger Ronald and Cathi Shapiro Ronnie and Rachelle Silverstein Karen and Richard Soisson Jennifer Kosh Stern and William H. Turner William and Salli Ward Michael White and Rena Gorlin Mr. and Mrs. Sean Wharry Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Wilcoxson Dr. and Mrs. E.F. Shaw Wilgis Ms. Anne Worthington Symphony Society Silver $1,200 – $1,999 Anonymous (4) Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Abell Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Abrams Charles Alston and Susan Dentzer Mr. & Mrs. W. Michael Andrew Robert and Martha Armenti Phyllis and Leonard J. Attman Mr. William J. Baer and Ms. Nancy H. Hendry Mrs. Jean Baker Dr. and Mrs. Bruce Barnett Caroline W. and Rick Barnett Ms. Franca B. Barton and Mr. George G. Clark Karl Becker Mr. and Mrs. John W. Beckley Arthur and Carole Bell Mrs. Elaine Belman Mr. and Mrs. Alan and Lynn Berkeley Mr. and Mrs. Charles Berry, Jr. Mr. Edward Bersbach Mr. and Mrs. Albert Biondo Roy Birk Drs. Lawrence and Deborah Blank Mr. and Mrs. John Blodgett Stephen F. Bono Mr. and Mrs. Charles R. Booth Honorable and Mrs. Anthony Borwick Elizabeth W. Botzler David E. and Alice R. Brainerd Drs. Joanna and Harry Brandt Dr. and Mrs. Mark J. Brenner Mr. Richard H. Broun & Ms. Karen E. Daly Gordon F. Brown Jean B. Brown Robert and Patricia Brown Ms. Elizabeth J. Bruen Mrs. Edward D. Burger Frances and Leonard Burka Dr. and Mrs. Arthur L. Burnett Charles and Judy Cahn Mr. and Mrs. David Callahan Marla Caplan Mr. and Mrs. John Carey Mr. and Mrs. John Carr Mr. James T. Cavanaugh, III Ms. Jennifer Cawthra David P. and Rosalie Lijinsky Chadwick Cecil Chen & Betsy Haanes

Dr. Mark Cinnamon & Ms. Doreen Kelly Mary D. Cohen Mr. Harvey A. Cohen and Mr. Michael R. Tardif Jane E. Cohen Mr. and Mrs. Jonas M. L. Cohen John and Donna Cookson Catherine and Charles Counselman, Jr. Ms. Sally Craig Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Crooks James Daily Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Darr Richard A. Davis and Edith Wolpoff-Davis Mr. and Mrs. William C. Dee Rev. and Ms. DeGarmo Dr. and Mrs. Thomas DeKornfeld Nicholas F. Diliello Mr. John C. Driscoll Dr. Jeanne A. Dussault and Mr. Mark A. Woodworth Mr. and Mrs. Stuart Elsberg & The Elsberg Family Foundation Chuck Fax and Michele Weil Dr. Edward Finn Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Fitzpatrick Mr. and Mrs. Arthur P. Floor Dr. and Mrs. William Fox Virginia K. Adams andNeal M. Friedlander, M.D. Mr. and Mrs. Roberto B. Friedman Mr. and Mrs. Stanford Gann, Sr. Mary Martin Gant Mr. George Garmer Mr. and Mrs. Austin George Dr. and Mrs. Frank A. Giargiana, Jr. Mary and Bill Gibb Mr. Price and Dr. Andrea Gielen Peter Gil Joan de Pontet Dr. and Mrs. Sanford Glazer George and Joni Gold Dr. and Mrs. Harvey R. Gold Joanne and Alan Goldberg Dr. & Mrs. Morton Goldberg Drs. Joseph Gootenberg and Susan Leibenhaut Mr. Jonathan Gottlieb and Ms. Valerie Omicoili Judith A. Gottlieb Mr. Alexander Graboski Robert Greenfield Donna and Gary Greenwald Mrs. Ann Greif Mr. Charles H. Griesacker David and Anne Grizzle Mark & Lynne Groban Joel and Mary Grossman Mr. and Mrs. Donald Gundlach Mr. and Mrs. Norman M. Gurevich Sandra and Edward J. Gutman Mary Hambleton John and Linda Hanson Sara and James A. Harris, Jr. Mr. Fred Hart and Ms. Elizabeth Knight Mr. David L. Heckman Ms. Jennifer Heller Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Herman Ellen and Herb Herscowitz David A. and Barbara L. Heywood Gina and Daniel Hirschhorn Annette Hopkins Herbert H. Hubbard Alexandra Huff and James BonTempo Madeleine and Joseph Jacobs Mr. and Mrs. Scott Jacobs Betty W. Jensen Honor and John Johnson Mrs. Harry E. Karr Richard M. Kastendieck and Sally J. Miles Dr. and Mrs. Richard Katz Mr & Mrs. Christopher Keller Virginia and Dale Kiesewetter Ms. Kristine Kingery Rev. Elmer J. Klein George and Catherine Klein Marcel and Barbara Klik Ms. Kathleen Knepper Dr. John Boronow & Ms. Adrienne Kols, In Memory of John R. H. & Charlotte Boronow Barbara and David Kornblatt Robert W. Krajek Dr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Kremen Francine and Allan Krumholtz Mr. Charles Kuning Marcia Diehl and Julie Kurland Dr. and Mrs. James LaCalle Andrew Lapayowker and Sarah McCafferty Dr. Edward and Ms. Rebecca Lawson Peter Leffman Darrell Lemke and Maryellen Trautman Mr. Ronald P. Lesser Dr. Harry Letaw, Jr. and Mrs. Joyce W. Letaw Len and Cindy Levering Dr. and Mrs. Bernard Levy Ms. Joanne Linder Drs. David and Sharon Lockwood

$100,000 or more

$50,000 or more

$25,000 or more

Upcoming Member Events Morning Open Rehearsal Thursday, January 8 9:15am Light refreshments 10am Rehearsal Available for Bach level members and higher ($75+) Get a sneak peek of the BSO performing Stravinsky’s powerful Rite of Spring and Osvaldo Golijov's Rose of the Winds at our first Open Rehearsal of 2015!

NEW! Backstage Hall Tour Monday, January 12 2pm Available for Symphony Society Silver members and higher ($1,200+) Ever wonder about the intricacies of orchestra operations and what it takes to put on a performance and keep the hall running? Join us for the second of four private hall tours this season and get a behind-the-scenes look at the Meyerhoff.

Tours are expected to last approximately 1.5 hours and can accommodate up to 25 people.

Governing Members Sponsored Concerts Saturday, January 10 and Friday, February 20 7pm Light refreshments in the Governing Members Lounge Open to all GMs, no response required.

Join us in the GM Lounge pre-concert and during intermission for a special celebration to recognize the impact of GMs on the concert season.

For tickets to this concert, please contact Tim Lidard at 410-783-8005.

Events subject to change. Please RSVP to MemberEvents@BSOmusic.org or 410.783.8074.

January–February 2015 |

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BSO Receives $1 Million in Bequests from Loyal Friends Over the past year, the BSO has learned of two generous unrestricted bequests totaling $1M from long-time, devoted friends of the Symphony. The first, from Sergiu and Robinne Comissiona is estimated at $500,000, or 1/6 of their estate, and is directed in support of the BSO’s unrestricted endowment. Sergiu Comissiona, who died in 2005, served as music director of the Orchestra from 1969 to 1984, achieving a reputation as an orchestra builder. Steven Wigler, a critic for the Baltimore Sun, wrote that “the modern Baltimore Symphony was created by Sergiu Comissiona.” Robinne Comissiona, who died in May, 2014, was very active in the ballet community during the couple’s time in Baltimore, co-founding with Elspeth Udvarhelyi Pointe-on-Strings which later merged with the Maryland Ballet Company.

Upon hearing the news of their generous bequest, BSO President and CEO Paul Meecham noted “We are deeply honored that Sergiu and Robinne have remembered the BSO so generously in their estate plans, funds we will steward as part of the Symphony’s permanent Endowment Trust, providing income for BSO priority initiatives in perpetuity.”

A second bequest of $500,000 from Martha and Albert Walker, both deceased, also came as a surprise. Albert Walker served on the Board of Directors in the early 1990s, and was encouraged by fellow Board members to include the BSO in his estate plans at the time of the founding of the Legato Circle. The bequest includes the sale of their Baltimore home, and is being added to the Baltimore Symphony Endowment Trust with the income directed for unrestricted support of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.

Make a Musical Difference in

the Lives that Follow Include the BSO in your will, trust or IRA. Whether large or small, each legacy gift to the BSO serves as an important building block to help secure our second century of musical excellence. Join the Centennial Challenge, an initiative to add 100 new or increased estate donors by our 2016 Centenary. If you have already taken this step, we would like to thank you!

If you wish to learn more about ways to include a charitable gift to the BSO in your will, trust, IRA, life income gift, life insurance or donor advised fund, please contact Kate Caldwell, director of philanthropic planning at kcaldwell@BSOmusic.org or 410.783.8087.

To learn more about tax-wise giving with community impact, visit www.baltimoresymphony.plannedgiving.org

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Dr. and Mrs. Peter C. Luchsinger Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Lynch Michael & Judy Mael Ms. Janet L. Mahaney Susan J. Mathias Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Mathews Mr. Winton Matthews Mrs. Linda M. McCabe Marie McCormack Jim and Sylvia McGill David and Kay McGoff Mr. and Mrs. David Menotti Mr. Timothy Meredith Benjamin Michaelson, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Charles R. Miller Dr. and Mrs. Stanley R. Milstein Ms. Zareen T. Mirza Mr. and Mrs. Glenn Miyamoto Mr. Howard Moy Marita K. Murray Douglas and Barbara Norland Ms. Irene E. Norton and Dr. Heather T. Miller Dr. Antonella Nota Noah* and Carol C. O’Connell Minkin Ms. Margaret O’Rourke and Mr. Rudy Apodaca Mrs. S. Kaufman Ottenheimer Mary Frances Padilla Mr. & Mrs. Ellis Parker Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Parr Dr. and Mrs. Arnall Patz Dr. and Mrs. Frederick Pearson Mrs. J. Stevenson Peck Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Petrucci Dr. Sally Pinkstaff Mr. and Mrs. Morton B. Plant Herb and Rita Posner Ms Deborah Lou Potee Dr. G. Edward Reahl, Jr. Mr. Charles B. Reeves, Jr. Richard and Melba Reichard Dorothy Reynolds Mr. and Mrs. B. Preston Rich Carl and Bonnie Richards Mr. & Mrs. Herbert Ridder Dr. and Mrs. Gerald Rogell Mr. and Mrs. Barry Rogstad Stephen Root and Nancy Greene Joellen and Mark Roseman Mr. and Mrs. Frank B. Rosenberg John B. Sacci and Nancy Dodson Sacci Beryl and Philip Sachs Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Schapiro Mrs. Barbara K. Scherlis Estelle D. Schwalb Mrs. Phyllis Seidelson Laura H. Selby Donald M. Simonds Dr. and Mrs. Jeffrey R. Singer Marshall and Deborah Sluyter Mr. and Mrs. Miles T. Smith Mr. and Mrs. Scott Smith Mr. and Mrs. Richard D. Spero Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey L. Staley Margot & Phil Sunshine Mr. and Mrs. Richard Swerdlow Mr. and Mrs. William J. Tate Mr. & Mrs. Richard Tullos Robert and Sharonlee Vogel Mr. and Mrs. Charles L. Wagandt, II Ms. Joan Wah and Ms. Katherine Wah Charles E. Walker Mr. and Mrs. Kent Walker Dr. Robert F. Ward Drs. Susan and James Weiss David Wellman & Marjorie Coombs Wellman John Hunter Wells Mrs. Margaret Wheeler Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Wickenden Mr. and Mrs. Jack Wilen Dr. Ann M. Willis Dr. and Mrs. Donald E. Wilson Sylvia and Peter Winik Mr. George H. Winslow Mr. Sander L. Wise Marc and Amy Wish Mr. John W. Wood Dr. S. Lee Woods Dr. and Mrs. Howard and Barbara Woolf Dr. Richard Worsham and Ms. Deborah Geisenkotter H. Alan Young and Sharon Bob Young, Ph.D. Drs. Paul and Deborah Young-Hyman

Corporate

$10,000 or more American Trading & Production Corporation Baltimore Ravens Bank of America Chesapeake Employers’ Insurance Company Gordon Feinblatt LLC Legg Mason Macy’s Saul Ewing LLP Shugoll Research Total Wine & More Venable $5,000 – $9,999 City Cafe D. F. Dent & Company DLA Piper US LLP Georgetown Paper Stock of Rockville SC&H Group, LLC Wells Fargo Zuckerman Spaeder LLP $2,500 – $4,999 Federal Parking, Inc. S. Kann Sons Company Foundation Amelie and Bernei Burgunder $1,000 – $2,499 Constantine Commercial Construction Eagle Coffee Company Ellin & Tucker, Chartered Eyre Bus, Tour & Travel

Gailes’ Violin Shop Independent Can Company J.G. Martin Company, Inc. Medifast Murthy Law Firm

Foundations

$50,000 or more The Paul M. Angell Family Foundation William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund Creator of the Baker Artist Award www.bakerartistawards.org The Charles T. Bauer Foundation The Annie E. Casey Foundation The Hearst Foundation, Inc. Hecht-Levi Foundation Ryda H. Levi* and Sandra Levi Gerstung The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Joseph & Harvey Meyerhoff Family Charitable Funds Henry and Ruth Blaustein Rosenberg Foundation and the Estate of Ruth Marder* $25,000 – $49,999 The Kenneth S. Battye Charitable Trust “In Honor of Kenneth S. Battye*” Jacob and Hilda Blaustein Foundation Ruth Carol Fund The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation Sander & Norma K. Buchman Foundation The Goldsmith Family Foundation Peggy & Yale Gordon Trust Young Artist Sponsor Hoffberger Family Philanthropies Ensign C. Markland Kelly, Jr. Memorial Foundation The Salmon Foundation The Speedwell Foundation $10,000 – $24,999 Anonymous (1) Baltimore Women’s Giving Circle Dr. Sheldon and Arlene Bearman, Herbert Bearman Foundation Clayton Baker Trust Bunting Family Foundation Charlotte A. Cameron / The Dan Cameron Family Foundation The Getty Education and Community Investment Grant Program Supported by The League of American Orchestras and The Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation LaVerna Hahn Charitable Trust Betty Huse MD Charitable Trust Foundation John J. Leidy Foundation, Inc. The Letaw Family Foundation Macht Philanthropic Fund of the AJC Ronald McDonald House Charities of Baltimore, Inc. Cecilia Young Willard Helping Fund Wright Family Foundation $5,000 – $9,999 Anonymous (1) The Eddie C. and C. Sylvia Brown Family Foundation Cameron and Jane Baird Foundation Clark Winchcole Foundation The Charles Delmar Foundation Rogers-Wilbur Foundation, Inc. Jim and Patty Rouse Charitable Foundation $2,500 – $4,999 ALH Foundation, Inc. The Campbell Foundation, Inc. Edith and Herbert Lehman Foundation, Inc. $1,000 – $2,499 Anonymous (1) ACMP Foundation Charlesmead Foundation Margaret O. Cromwell Family Fund Dimick Foundation The Harry L. Gladding Foundation Ralph and Shirley Klein Foundation, Inc. Ethel M. Looram Foundation, Inc. Government Grants Mayor and City Council of Baltimore The Citizens of Baltimore County Carroll County Government & the Carroll County Arts Council Commonwealth Foundation Fund of The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region Howard County Government & the Howard County Arts Council Maryland State Arts Council Maryland State Department of Education Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County National Arts and Humanities Youth Program National Endowment for the Arts

Endowment

The BSO gratefully acknowledges the generosity of the following donors who have given Endowment Gifts to the Sustaining Greatness and / or the Heart of the Community campaigns.

Anonymous (6) Diane and Martin* Abeloff AEGON USA Alex. Brown & Sons Charitable Foundation Dr. and Mrs. Thomas E. Allen Eva and Andy Anderson Anne Arundel County Recreation and Parks Department William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund Mr. H. Furlong Baldwin Baltimore Community Foundation Baltimore County Executive, County Council, and the Commission on Arts and Sciences The Baltimore Orioles Georgia and Peter Angelos

S y mp h o n y f u n d Ho n o r Roll

Th e Baltimore Sym phony Orch estr a

The Baltimore Symphony Associates, Marge Penhallegon, President Patricia and Michael J. Batza, Jr. Henry and Ruth Blaustein Rosenberg Foundation The Jacob and Hilda Blaustein Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Bruce I. Blum Dr. and Mrs. John E. Bordley* Jessica and Michael Bronfein Mr. and Mrs. George L. Bunting, Jr. Laura Burrows Dr. and Mrs. Oscar B.* Camp Carefirst BlueCross BlueShield CitiFinancial Constellation Mr. and Mrs. William H. Cowie, Jr. Richard A. Davis and Edith Wolpoff-Davis Rosalee C. and Richard Davison Foundation Mr. L. Patrick Deering*, Mr. and Mrs. Albert R. Counselman, The RCM&D Foundation and RCM&D, Inc. DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary US LLP Carol and Alan Edelman Dr. and Mrs. Robert Elkins Deborah and Philip English Esther and Ben Rosenbloom Foundation France-Merrick Foundation Ramon F.* and Constance A. Getzov John Gidwitz The Goldsmith Family Foundation, Inc. Joanne Gold and Andrew A. Stern Jody and Martin Grass Louise and Bert Grunwald H&S Bakery Mr. John Paterakis Harford County Hecht-Levi Foundation Ryda H. Levi* and Sandra Levi Gerstung Betty Jean and Martin* S. Himeles, Sr. Hoffberger Foundation Howard County Arts Council Harley W. Howell Charitable Foundation The Huether-McClelland Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Richard E. Hug Independent Can Company Beth J. Kaplan and Bruce P. Sholk Dr. and Mrs. Murray M. Kappelman Susan B. Katzenberg Marion I. and Henry J. Knott Scholarship Fund The Zanvyl and Isabelle Krieger Fund Anne and Paul Lambdin Therese* and Richard Lansburgh Sara and Elliot* Levi Bernice and Donald S. Levinson Darielle and Earl Linehan Susan and Jeffrey* Liss Lockheed Martin E. J. Logan Foundation M&T Bank Macht Philanthropic Fund of the AJC Mrs. Clyde T. Marshall Maryland Department of Business & Economic Development The Maryland State Arts Council MD State Department of Education McCarthy Family Foundation McCormick & Company, Inc. Mr. Wilbur McGill, Jr. MIE Properties, Inc. Mr. Edward St. John Mercantile-Safe Deposit & Trust Joseph & Harvey Meyerhoff Family Charitable Funds Sally and Decatur Miller Ms. Michelle Moga Louise and Alvin Myerberg* / Wendy and Howard* Jachman National Endowment for the Arts Mr. and Mrs. Bill Nerenberg Mrs. Daniel M. O’Connell Mr. and Mrs. James P. O’Conor Stanley* and Linda Hambleton Panitz Cecile Pickford and John MacColl Dr. Thomas and Mrs.* Margery Pozefsky Mr. and Mrs. T. Michael Preston Alison and Arnold Richman The James G. Robinson Family Mr. and Mrs. Theo C. Rodgers Mr. and Mrs. Randolph S. Rothschild* The Rouse Company Foundation Nathan G.* and Edna J. Rubin The Rymland Foundation S. Kann Sons Company Foundation, Inc. B. Bernei Burgunder, Jr. Dr. Henry Sanborn Saul Ewing LLP Mrs. Alexander J. Schaffer Mr. and Mrs. J. Mark Schapiro Eugene Scheffres and Richard E. Hartt* Mrs. Muriel Schiller Dorothy McIlvain Scott* Mrs. Clair Zamoiski Segal and Mr. Thomas Segal Ida & Joseph Shapiro Foundation and Diane and Albert Shapiro Mr. and Mrs. Earle K. Shawe The Sheridan Foundation Richard H. Shindell and Family Dr. and Mrs. Solomon H. Snyder The St. Paul Companies Barbara and Julian Stanley T. Rowe Price Associates Foundation, Inc. The Alvin and Fanny Blaustein Thalheimer Guest Artist Fund Alvin and Fanny B. Thalheimer Foundation, Inc. TravelersGroup The Aber and Louise Unger Fund Venable LLP Wachovia Robert A. Waidner Foundation The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company Mr. and Mrs. Willard Hackerman Mr. and Mrs. Jay M. Wilson / Mr. and Mrs. Bruce P. Wilson The Zamoiski-Barber-Segal Family Foundation * Deceased

Board of Directors & Staff Board of Directors Officers Chair Barbara M. Bozzuto* Secretary Kathleen A. Chagnon, Esq.*

Board of Trustees— Baltimore Symphony Endowment Trust Benjamin H. Griswold, IV Chairman Terry Meyerhoff Rubenstein Secretary

Richard Spero Community Liaison for BSO at Strathmore

Evinz Leigh Administration Associate

Janie Szybist Research & Campaign Associate Sarah Weintraub Executive Assistant and Office Manager

Barbara M. Bozzuto

EDUCATION

President and CEO Paul Meecham*

Kenneth W. DeFontes, Jr. Paul Meecham

Nicholas Cohen General Manager of OrchKids and BSYO

Board Members A.G.W. Biddle, III Constance R. Caplan August J. Chiasera Robert B. Coutts Alan S. Edelman* Sandy Feldman† President, Baltimore Symphony Associates Sandra Levi Gerstung Michael G. Hansen* Denise Hargrove † Governing Members Co-Chair Robert C. Knott Stephen M. Lans Ava Lias-Booker, Esq. Howard Majev, Esq. Liddy Manson

The Honorable Steven R. Schuh Calman J. Zamoiski, Jr.

Annemarie Guzy Director of Education

* Board Executive Committee † Ex-Officio

Johnnia Stigall Education Program Coordinator

Staff Paul Meecham President and CEO Leilani Uttenreither Executive Assistant John Verdon Vice President and CFO Eileen Andrews Vice President of Marketing and Communications Carol Bogash Vice President of Education and Community Engagement Jack Fishman Vice President of External Affairs, BSO at Strathmore Matthew Spivey Vice President of Artistic Operations

Hilary B. Miller*

Jeff Wright Director of Information Technology

MARKETING & PUBLIC RELATIONS

Chris Bartlett

Vice Chair Lainy LeBow-Sachs*

Treasurer The Honorable Steven R. Schuh*

Donna Waring Payroll Accountant

Larry Townsend Education Assistant

Derek Chavis Marketing Coordinator Teresa Eaton Director of Public Relations & Publications Justin Gillies Graphic Designer Anna Hoge Digital Content Coordinator Derek A. Johnson Senior Marketing Manager

Mollie Westbrook Education Assistant

Theresa Kopasek Marketing and PR Associate

OrchKids Dan Trahey Artistic Director

Bryan Joseph Lee Marketing & PR Manager, BSO at Strathmore

Nick Skinner Director of Operations

Ricky O'Bannon Writer in Residence

Camille Delaney-McNeil OrchKids Site Manager, Lockerman-Bundy Elementary School

Erin Ouslander Senior Graphic Designer

Jaclyn Dorr OrchKids Site Coordinator

Alyssa Porambo Public Relations and Social Media Manager

Rafaela Dreisin OrchKids Senior Site Manager, Mary Winterling Elementary School

Adeline Sutter Group Sales Manager

Lisa Philip OrchKids Artistic Coordinator

Rika Dixon White Director of Marketing and Sales

E. Albert Reece, M.D.

ARTISTIC OPERATIONS Nishi Badhwar Director of Orchestra Personnel

Kay Sheppard OrchKids Site Manager, Booker T. Washington Middle School for the Arts

TICKET SERVICES

Barry F. Rosen

Toby Blumenthal Director of Rentals & Presentations

Mairin Srygley OrchKids Site Coordinator

Timothy Lidard Manager of VIP Ticketing

Ann L. Rosenberg Stephen D. Shawe, Esq. The Honorable James T. Smith, Jr. Solomon H. Snyder, M.D.* Andrew A. Stern* Gregory W. Tucker Amy Webb Jeffrey Zoller † Chair, Baltimore Symphony Youth Orchestras

Life Directors

Tiffany Bryan Manager of Front of House Patrick Chamberlain Artistic Coordinator Tabitha Pfleger Director of Operations and Facilities Evan Rogers Operations Manager Meg Sippey Artistic Planning Manager and Assistant to the Music Director

Peter G. Angelos, Esq.

Amy Bruce Director of Ticket Services

Juliana Marin Senior Ticket Agent for Strathmore

Baltimore Symphony Youth Orchestras Ken Lam Artistic Director and Conductor of YO MaryAnn Poling Conductor of CO

Peter Murphy Ticket Services Manager Michael Schultz Senior Ticket Agent, Special Events Michael Suit Ticket Services Agent

Alicia Kosack Operations Manager

Thomas Treasure Ticket Services Agent

Nana Vaughn Conductor of SO

Rheda Becker

DEVELOPMENT

H. Thomas Howell, Esq.

FACILITIES OPERATIONS

BALTIMORE SYMPHONY ASSOCIATES

Jessica Abel Grants Program Manager

James Brown Housekeeper

Sandy Feldman President

Jordan Allen Institutional Giving Coordinator

Shirley Caudle Housekeeper

Florence McLean Secretary

Katie Applefeld Director of External Affairs, OrchKids

Alvin Crawley Facilities Technician

Barbara Kelly Treasurer

Megan Beck Manager of Donor Engagement and Special Events

Rose Ferguson Housekeeper

Kitty Allen Parliamentarian

Bertha Jones-Dickerson Senior Housekeeper

Marge Penhallegon Immediate Past President

Curtis Jones Building Services Manager

Kitty Allen Vice President, Communications

Renee Thornton Housekeeper

Regina Hartlove Vice President, Education

Frank Wise Housekeeper

Carolyn Stadfeld Vice President, Meetings/Programs

Yo-Yo Ma Harvey M. Meyerhoff Robert E. Meyerhoff Decatur H. Miller, Esq. Linda Hambleton Panitz

Directors Emeriti Barry D. Berman, Esq. Murray M. Kappelman, M.D.

Katharine H. Caldwell Director of Philanthropic Planning

M. Sigmund Shapiro

Sara Kissinger Development Operations & Membership Coordinator

Chairman Laureate

Mary Maxwell Manager of Annual Giving, BSO at Strathmore

Michael G. Bronfein

Emily Montano Annual Fund Assistant

Kenneth W. DeFontes, Jr. Calman J. Zamoiski, Jr.

Stephanie Moore Director of the Annual Fund Joanne M. Rosenthal Director of Principal Gifts & Government Relations

Katherine Holter, Receptionist

Alice H. Simons Director of Institutional Giving

FINANCE and INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Sarah Beckwith Director of Accounting Sophia Jacobs Senior Accountant Janice Johnson Senior Accountant

Barbara Dent Vice President, Recruitment/ Membership JoAnn Ruther Vice President, Special Services/Events Larry Albrecht Vice President, Symphony Store Louise Reiner Office Manager

January–February 2015 |

O v ertur e

47

{ impromptu

48 O v ertur e |

L aura Farmer

Bo Li

Assistant Principal Cello

A Dad on the run.

Some days, BSO Acting Assistant Principal Cello Bo Li feels like a taxi driver. That’s because, like many a harried parent still in the thick of child-rearing, Bo and his wife Mary shuttle their two talented children, Mia, 10, and Ryan, eight, to a host of activities each week.

“I don’t have any hobbies right now,” says the amiable dad. “My kids are my hobby.”

Mia’s activities, for example, include piano and cello lessons, orchestra rehearsal with the Howard County Gifted and Talented (GT) Orchestra, swim practices and meets, and Chinese class. Ryan’s current passion is soccer, which requires two practices and one game per week. Plus, he’s also in the GT Orchestra, also takes piano lessons, as well as studying violin with the BSO’s own Wonju Kim, and also joins his sister for Chinese class.

“When the kids were younger, my wife and I could manage the various dropoffs and pickups between the two of us,” says Li. “But now we need to collaborate with other parents to do carpools. My wife is a lot better at keeping all of this organized than me.

She sends me a memo practically every day of when to get whom and where.”

The obvious question: Can the kids drop some of these activities to simplify life a bit? The answer right now is “not really.”

“We ask what they want to drop, but they enjoy all of it so much,” says Li. “It’s tough to ask them to cut back when they are doing what they love, it doesn’t interfere with their schoolwork, and all of their friends also take part in these activities.” But there’s reward in it for the parents, too.

M itro H o o d

“Over the years, I feel my fulfillment has come less from what I am doing and more from my kids,” he says. “When they win a game, their achievement gives me more joy than anything I do on my own. It’s all worth it. If they practice and succeed, it gives me pleasure for them.”

www. bsomusic .org

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