Program: A Tribute to Amadeus

A Tribute to Amadeus 26 + 27 November 2021 / 7:30PM Jack Singer Concert Hall

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program Wolfgang Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), K. 492 Amadeus Overture Mozart Deh vieni, non tardar

5’ 5’

Don Giovanni, K. 527

Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute), K. 620

Voi avete un cor fedele 6’ (You Have a Faithful Heart), K. 217

I. Allegro con brio II. Andante III. Menuetto IV. Allegro

Overture Vedrai, carino

Overture Ach, ich fühl’s, es ist verschwunden

7’ 3’

7’ 3’

Symphony No. 25 in G Minor, K. 183 24’

© Andreanne-Gauthier

Karl Hirzer Associate Conductor

Anna-Sophie Neher Soprano

Karl Hirzer, a conductor and pianist from New Westminster, British Columbia, has been Resident/ Associate Conductor with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra since 2016. Active internationally, Hirzer has led performances with ensembles such as the Sczcecin Philharmonic, Symphony Nova Scotia, Regina Symphony Orchestra, Gstaad Festival Orchestra, Orchestra Senzaspine, and the Orchestra Giovanile Italiana. He works regularly with new music titans Land’s End Ensemble, most recently in collaboration with American composer John Corigliano, who said: “Mr. Hirzer brought a combination of detailed accuracy and intense musical feeling to the work [Mr. Tambourine Man], resulting in an absolutely marvelous performance.” Hirzer previously acted as Assistant Conductor for the National Academy Orchestra of Canada, and the McGill Contemporary Music Ensemble.

He was a faculty member at the 22nd Morningside Music Bridge program in Warsaw. Hirzer has performed with renowned soloists including Evelyn Glennie, Chris Botti, Agata Szymczewska, Jonathan Crow, and Owen Pallett. A trained pianist, he holds bachelor’s (University of Victoria) and master’s (McGill University) degrees in performance, as well as an Associate of the Royal Conservatory of Toronto diploma.

Canadian-German soprano Anna-Sophie Neher is a member of the prestigious Ensemble Studio of the Canadian Opera Company. While in the program, she appeared in different performances as Gretel, the Sandman, and the Dewfairy in Hänsel und Gretel; the First Woodsprite in Rusalka; and she created the role of Lavia in the world premiere of Rufus Wainwright’s Hadrian. Neher is the first prize winner of the OSM Manulife Competition (2017), the Wirth Vocal Competition (2017), the Christina and Louis Quillico Competition (2019), and the Prix Étoile Stingray (2017). In the 2020/2021 season, Neher appeared in concert in Montreal at the Bach Festival in Cantatas BWV 32 and 51 and with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra in a virtual presentation of the Vivaldi Gloria and excerpts from Handel’s Messiah. Praised for her “gleaming tone and excellent agility” (Ludwig van Toronto), she has sung orchestra concert repertoire ranging from Bach and Mozart to Pärt and Williams. Neher earned her master’s degree from McGill University and her bachelor’s degree from the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal.

about the pieces

A Tribute to Amadeus Music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 1756 to 1791 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s fortunes rose and fell not only during his all-toobrief life, but also in the 230 years since he died. For lengthy periods — believe it or not — only a few of his compositions were performed widely, such as the ‘Jupiter’ Symphony, No. 41. Many people dismissed him as a lightweight, a dandy writing superficial music.

His reputation received a major shot in the arm with the release of the movie Amadeus, a box office titan and the winner of eight Academy Awards including Best Picture. It introduced Mozart and his music to a global audience, many of whom had likely not heard a note of his music. It blew the dust off his previously saintly reputation and made him much more a person like us in many ways.

Some of his personal qualities were exaggerated for dramatic effect — that laugh, the bathroom humour! — but what you saw and heard was inspired by reliable eye-witness reports. Wolfy, the highest point of your career had arrived.

At this concert you’ll receive a hearty helping of his music both for the stage and the concert hall. He was a natural-born composer for the theatre. His operas stand head and shoulders above those of any other composer of the period (and beyond). Among those operatic also-rans was Antonio Salieri, the moderately talented villain in Amadeus. He used to be accused of poisoning Mozart. He didn’t, at least not physically, but he used his enormous influence in the musical circles of Vienna to undermine Mozart’s career whenever he could.

You’ll hear the overtures to three of Mozart’s greatest operas, and one soprano aria from each. The matchless romantic comedy The Marriage of Figaro debuted in 1786. Susanna, Figaro’ fiancée, sings this rapturous aria in anticipation of meeting with an unnamed lover. The central character in the brilliant seriocomedy Don Giovanni (1787) brags that he has seduced some 1,200 women, in several countries. By opera’s end he finally receives the come-uppance he has long deserved. In this aria, the young woman Zerlina offers to soothe her lover’s wounds with love. The next time you watch Amadeus, take the time to consider the theatre where the première of Don Giovanni takes place. It’s the actual theatre where the opera made its real-life debut, beautifully restored to its original glory.

The Magic Flute (1791) was one of Mozart’s final creations. His sublime music elevated its farcical, almost Broadway-style plot to a completely different level of quality. In this aria, Pamina expresses dismay that her lover Tamino is ignoring her. She doesn’t know that he has taken a vow of silence as part of his initiation into a sacred order. You will also hear an aria, Voi avete un cor fedele, that Mozart created for insertion in another composer’s opera, a widespread practice of the day.

The big piece on this program is Symphony No. 25 in G Minor. Its pulsating opening bars form the perfect background for the startling opening titles of Amadeus the film. It was first truly significant symphony, as well as the earliest of his symphonies that receives regular concert performances. Its current popularity dates from the 20th century, as it was little known and seldom performed prior to that period. The 17-year-old composer completed it in October 1773, seven months after he had returned to his native Salzburg from Italy. He wasn’t happy to be back in a city that he considered backward and unappreciative of his talents. His feelings may have coloured this piece.

By Don Anderson ©2021

Orchestra First Violins Diana Cohen Concertmaster

John Lowry

Associate Concertmaster

Donovan Seidle

Assistant Concertmaster

Edmund Chung Hangyul Kim Olga Kotova Bonnie Louie Genevieve Micheletti Maria van der Sloot Hojean Yoo TBD TBD

Second Violins

Celli

Horns

Arnold Choi Josue Valdepenas Kathleen de Caen Thomas Megee David Morrissey Daniel Poceta TBD TBD

Robert McCosh Jennifer Frank-Umana TBD Maxwell Stein Heather Wootton

Basses Sam Loeck Kyle Sanborn Mathew Heller Trish Bereti-Reid Patrick Staples Jonathan Yeoh

Lorna Tsai Stephanie Soltice-Johnson Erin Burkholder Jeremy Gabbert Hyewon Grillet-Kim Craig Hutchenreuther Minnie Min Kyung Kwon Theresa Lane Adriana Lebedovich Steven J. Lubiarz

Flutes

Violas

David Sussman

Laurent Grillet-Kim Marcin Swoboda Arthur Bachmann Jeremy Bauman Peter Blake Michael Bursey Alisa Klebanov Jesse Morrison

principal associate principal assistant principal

Sara Hahn-Scinocco Gwen Klassen

Piccolo Gwen Klassen

Oboes Alex Klein David Sussman

English Horn Clarinets Slavko Popovic Jocelyn Colquhoun

Bassoons Antoine St-Onge Michael Hope

Trumpets Adam Zinatelli Miranda Cairns

Trombones James Scott TBD

Bass Trombone David Reid

Tuba Tom McCaslin

Timpani Alexander Cohen

Percussion TBD

Harp Tisha Murvihill

Librarian Rob Grewcock

Assistant Librarian TBD

Personnel Manager Michael Thomson

About the Calgary Phil The Calgary Philharmonic celebrated 65 years as a pillar of Calgary’s vibrant arts community in 2020 and has grown to be one of Canada’s most celebrated live music ensembles.

Led by Music Director Rune Bergmann, the Calgary Phil presents classical standards, pop favourites, bold collaborations, and cutting-edge new works, and attracts world-renowned guest artists and conductors. In a typical Season, the Orchestra welcomes over 100,000 visitors to the concert hall and reaches audiences around the world through its free and accessible digital programming and live-stream initiative —an immersive, online concert experience that launched in 2017.

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