Program: Bergmann + Beethoven are Back

Bergmann + Beethoven are Back 17 + 18 September 2021 / 7:30PM Jack Singer Concert Hall calgaryphil.com | 403.571.0849

program Rune Bergmann, conductor Kelly-Marie Murphy, composer

Kelly-Marie Murphy

On Rethinking Heroism in the 21st Century

15’

Ludwig van Beethoven

Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 55 (Eroica)

47’

I. Allegro con brio II. Marcia funebre: Adagio assai III. Scherzo: Allegro vivace IV. Finale: Allegro molto

© Alan Dean

Rune Bergmann Music Director

Kelly-Marie Murphy Composer

Norwegian conductor Rune Bergmann is Music Director of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Szczecin Philharmonic in Poland, and Music Director of Switzerland’s Argovia Philharmonic.

Highlights of Bergmann’s 2021/2022 Season include the opening of a new concert hall for the Argovia Philharmonic, returning to the Baltimore Symphony and Odense Symphony, and debuting with the Colorado Symphony and Utah Symphony. Bergmann also regularly conducts distinguished orchestras and opera houses, including the Oslo Philharmonic, Norwegian National Opera, Bergen Philharmonic, Wroclaw Philharmonic, Orquesta de Valencia, and the Mainfranken Theater Würzburg, as well as the Symphony Orchestras of Malmö, Helsingborg, Bergen, Kristiansand, Stavanger, Trondheim, and Karlskrona, and Lisbon’s Orquestra Sinfonica Portuguesa. In North America, he has appeared with the Alabama, Baltimore, Detroit, Edmonton, Grand Rapids, Pacific, Houston, and Toledo Symphony Orchestras, as well as the Brevard Music Festival. Bergmann has been Artistic Director of Norway’s innovative Fjord Cadenza Festival since its inception in 2010, and his former posts include Deputy-General Musik Direktor with the Augsburger Philharmoniker and Theater Augsburg in Germany.

With music described as “breathtaking” (KitchenerWaterloo Record), “imaginative and expressive” (National Post), “a pulse-pounding barrage on the senses” (Globe and Mail), and “Bartók on steroids” (Birmingham News), Kelly-Marie Murphy’s voice is well known on the Canadian music scene. She has created memorable works for some of Canada’s leading performers and ensembles, including the Toronto, Winnipeg, Vancouver, and Calgary Symphony Orchestras, the Gryphon Trio, James Campbell, Shauna Rolston, the Cecilia and Afiara String Quartets, and Judy Loman. Murphy was born on a NATO base in Sardegna, Italy, and grew up on Canadian Armed Forces bases across Canada. She began her studies in composition at the University of Calgary with William Jordan and Allan Bell, and later received a PhD in composition from the University of Leeds, England, where she studied with Philip Wilby.

After living and working for many years in the Washington D.C. area, where she was designated “an alien of extraordinary ability” by the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service, she is now based in Ottawa, quietly pursuing a career as a freelance composer.

about the pieces

On Rethinking Heroism in the 21st Century Kelly-Marie Murphy b. 1964 Beethoven wrote his third symphony, Eroica, in 1803. It was inspired by the ideals of the French Revolution, and was initially dedicated to its hero, Napoleon Bonaparte. Beethoven thought that Napoleon embodied the principles of freedom and was a man of the people. In 1804, when Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of France, Beethoven was outraged. He violently removed the dedication of the third symphony with a knife, leaving holes in the title page.

The Bonaparte Symphony became simply the Eroica, and is essentially a piece about what it means to be human — facing one’s own challenges, continuing forward, and allowing a broader understanding of what it is to be a hero. In a response to Beethoven’s Eroica, I wanted to further explore this idea of humanism and heroism. For much of our history and literature a hero was someone who loudly emerged from a battle; a person who conquered; eradicated the enemy; pillaged; assimilated the vanquished. The core values reflected the loud majority. And what of heroism today? What if it is quiet, elegant, persistent? What if it is standing up for something rather than standing on top of something? Musically, I repurpose some of Beethoven’s iconic ideas for this goal: powerful, direct, and persistent.

By Kelly-Marie Murphy ©2019

Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 55 (Eroica) Ludwig van Beethoven 1770 to 1827 In 1802, Beethoven declared to a friend, “I am not satisfied with my works up to the present time. From today I mean to take a new road.” On the symphonic front, he did so by composing his third. It is an astonishing watershed in the history of orchestral music; a stirring declaration of artistic and spiritual independence; and in both physical size and visionary spirit a model for countless compositions by later composers.

A dedicated humanitarian such as Beethoven heartily endorsed the French Revolution and the early career of Napoleon Bonaparte. He composed the third symphony during the summer of 1803. His friend Ferdinand Ries relates that a draft of the title page originally bore simply the words “Bonaparte” at the top, and “Ludwig van Beethoven” at the bottom, with the balance to be filled in later.

On May 20, 1804, Bonaparte declared himself Emperor of France. Ries recalled that Beethoven “flew into a rage and cried out: ‘Then he, too, is nothing but an ordinary mortal! Now he, too, will trample on the rights of man and indulge only his own ambition! He will raise himself above all others and become a tyrant!’

Beethoven went to the table, took hold of the title page by the top, tore it apart and flung it on the ground. The first page was rewritten and not until then was the symphony entitled Sinfonia eroica (Heroic Symphony).”

By Don Anderson ©2019

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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