250425 DPAA Program Book - Dvořák’s Cello Concerto
Spring / Summer
March
Dayton Philharmonic Youth Orchestra: It’s a World of Dance
March 16
Dayton Philharmonic Junior Strings & Youth Strings Spring Concert
March 23
Stained Glass Concert at Omega Baptist Church
March 23
April
Verdi’s Aida
April 4 & 6
Beethoven String Quartet
April 13
Dvořák’s Cello Concerto
April 25 & 26
Stained Glass Concert at Grace United Methodist Church
April 27
Young People’s Concert: The Orchestra Moves
April 30 May
Ann Hampton Callaway
May 3
DPYO: Spring Concert
May 4
Pointes Of View
May 9 & 10
Dayton Ballet School: Magic Mirror
May 10
Concert For Peace with Marin Alsop
May 29
June
Stained Glass Concert at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church
June 1
Michael Cavanaugh: Paul Simon, James Taylor, and Neil Diamond
June 7
Stained Glass Concert at New Season Ministry
June 8
Saint-Saëns’s Organ Symphony
June 13 & 14
Dear Friends
FROM THE LEADERSHIP
Asthe days grow longer and the world bursts into color, we invite you to the final months of our season—a celebration of opera, ballet, and orchestral brilliance. This spring and summer, our stage will come alive with performances that capture the energy of renewal, passion, and the pure joy of live performing arts.
From the soaring voices of opera to the breathtaking precision of ballet and the sweeping power of the Philharmonic, each performance is a testament to the timeless magic of music and movement. Whether you are drawn to the drama of a great aria, the athleticism of a pirouette, or the delicate moments of a symphony, this season offers something to stir the soul.
We are grateful for your presence— your enthusiasm and support breathe life into every note and every step. Join us as we bring this season to a magnificent crescendo, where the beauty of live performance is yours to experience, again and again.
We’ll see you in the audience.
Warmly,
Patrick J. Nugent President and CEO
Joseph Zehenny DPAA Board Chair
Tenor Matthew White dazzles in Dayton Opera’s ‘Three Tenors, Encore!’
First Timers’ Guide
Is this your first time at a DPAA event? If so, welcome! To ensure your visit is meaningful and enjoyable, we offer the following resources.
Box Office
The Dayton Performing Arts Alliance proudly partners with Dayton Live for its box office services. Contact the box office at (937) 228-3630 or visit the office in the Schuster Wintergarden.
Restrooms / Family Restrooms
Restrooms are available on each level of the Schuster Center and Victoria Theatre.
Accessibility
DPAA is committed to providing easy access to the arts. If you have accessibility needs or questions, please contact the box office.
Audio description is available upon request for patrons who have vision loss. Describers provide a live, objective, descriptive delivery of the visual elements of a performance in between the dialogue and/or music via a small receiver. Requests must be received two weeks prior to an event and are subject to the availability of the Describer. Please call the box office to make arrangements.
Assistive listening devices are available for all performances. Check out a device from the guest services kiosk or from a house manager in the lobby.
DPAA provides sign language interpretation upon request for performances at the Schuster Center and Victoria Theatre. Requests for sign language interpretation must be received two weeks prior to the event and are subject to the availability of the Interpreter. Please call the Box Office to make arrangements.
Age Recommendation
Our events are recommended for age 6 and up.
Military Appreciation and Discount Programs
In addition to our standard military discount, DPAA offers a Military Appreciation Program for active-duty military members, retired veterans with ID cards, and WPAFB government civilian employees in the region. Each household may
receive four free tickets annually. Contact the box office to redeem.
Group Sales
Bring a group of 10 or more; share a one-of-akind experience; and save up to 30% on tickets! Contact our Engagement & Patron Services Manager, Kate LaFollette, at (937) 535-5443.
Local Dining
Make it a night on the town! We recommend the following dining options: Blind Bob’s, Figlio Wood Fired Pizza, Jay’s Seafood, Joui, Lily’s, Manna Uptown, Meadowlark Restaurant, Mudlick Tap House, Salar Restaurant and Lounge, Spaghetti Warehouse, Table 33, The Caroline, and Troll Pub at the Wheelhouse.
Lost and Found / Security
In the event you lose an item at a performance or require assistance from the security team, call (937) 637-7366. For the safety of those in the audience, behind the scenes, and on stage, everyone who enters the performance space is required to pass through metal detectors.
Questions?
For additional ticket questions or information, contact our Engagement & Patron Services Manager, Kate LaFollette at (937) 535-5443.
Artistic Directors
Neal Gittleman
Artistic Director, Philharmonic
The 2024–2025 season is my 30th on the DPO podium, following founder Paul Katz, Charles Wendelken-Wilson, and Isaiah Jackson. Next year Keitaro Harada takes over. Until then, I’ll be surrounded by fabulous musicians and fabulous music. Favorite pieces by favorite composers. A world premiere and a U.S. premiere. A ballet I’ve conducted more than a hundred times (The Nutcracker) and one I’ve never conducted before (Cinderella). One of my favorite operas (Amahl and the Night Visitors). And my first-ever concert of country music! But what keeps popping into my head again and again as I think about this last year as your conductor? Song titles by my favorite band, The Beatles: “The Long and Winding Road,” “Come Together,” “We Can Work It Out.” And again and again, these lines: “And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.” Except for me, it’s “… equal to the music you make.” And of course, “P.S. I Love You!”
Kathleen Clawson,
Artistic Director, Opera; Dr. Ron Anderson and Robb Sloan-Anderson Chair
Kathleen Clawson begins her fifth season as Dayton Opera Artistic Director and Dr. Ron Anderson and Robb Sloan-Anderson Chair. Clawson began directing for the Opera in 2009 and has directed 19 productions since, including serving as dramaturg and stage director for the world premiere of Finding Wright
An acclaimed opera director, she directed The Santa Fe Opera’s world premiere of Shoes for the Santo Niño (2011) and was stage director and dramaturg for their world premiere of UnShakeable (2016).
A mezzo-soprano, Clawson’s credits include soloist with the Dayton Philharmonic, productions with The Santa Fe Opera and Dallas Opera, recording de Falla’s “El Amor Brujo” for Maria Benitez’ Teatro Flamenco tour, and singing “Mother Abbess” in Debby Boone’s international tour of The Sound of Music.
Brandon Ragland
Artistic Director, Ballet; Sponsored by Dr. Troy Tyner and Dr. Ingrid Brown
Brandon Ragland has more than a decade of professional experience as a dancer, choreographer, and educator. He trained in Birmingham, AL, and has a bachelor’s degree in Dance-Arts Administration from Butler University. After graduation, Ragland danced with Alabama Ballet, followed by Louisville Ballet in 2010, spending 13 years as a leading artist. A respected choreographer, Ragland choreographed works for Louisville Ballet, Alabama Ballet, Ballet Arkansas, AROVA Contemporary Ballet, Next Generation Ballet, Sedona Chamber Ballet, and The Perla Ballet. In 2017, Ragland was honored to perform with the Black Iris Project at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., as part of the Kennedy Center’s Dance Across America Program. He has received numerous awards, including “Best Artist” in Louisville Magazine and The Lift a Life Foundation’s “Emerging Leader in the Arts Award” from The Fund for the Arts.
Keitaro Harada
Music and Artistic Director Designate, Philharmonic; Sponsored by Barbara O’Hara
Named Music and Artistic Director Designate for Dayton Philharmonic for the 2024–25 season, Keitaro Harada will begin a five-year tenure as Music and Artistic Director with the 2025–26 season. As Music and Artistic Director of the Savannah Philharmonic since the 2020–21 season, Harada has transformed the orchestra and energized its audiences throughout the community with his imaginative programs and charismatic presence.
Harada is a recipient of the 2023 Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award. In 2024, he was named Permanent Conductor of the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra and Principal Guest Conductor and Artistic Partner for the Aichi Chamber Orchestra. Harada was Associate Conductor for four years at the Cincinnati Symphony and Pops, where he regularly assisted Music Director Louis Langrée and collaborated with James Conlon and Juanjo Mena at the orchestra’s annual May Festival.
Dayton Ballet Company Dancers
Dayton
Artists-In-Residence
Connor Barak Claire Bergman Nicolas Bierwagen Erin Blair Harrison Broadbent
Tomasin Corrente Emma Duncan
Alyssa Eyster Hailey Flanagan Jasmine Getz
Katy Gilliam Isaac Jones
Patrick Lennon
Tarique Logan Kyan Park
Lukas Pringle Francisco Rivera Belle Urben Catherine Voorhees
Jalen Williams
Opera
Gabrielle Flannery
Isabel Randall Carl Rosenthal
Randell McGee Clara Passmore
Dayton Ballet Studio Company
Xochitl Atienza Sara Beth Austin
Daniela Bennetti Analiese Capponi
Amber Huggett
Ryan Norman Elizabeth Sabol
Dvořák’s Cello Concerto
April 25 & 26, 2025 • Schuster Center
ARTISTS
Neal Gittleman, conductor
Adrian Daurov, cello
Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra
PROGRAM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Antonín Dvořák
Igor Stravinsky
Overture from Don Giovanni
Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104, B. 191
1. Allegro
2. Adagio ma non troppo
3. Finale: Allegro moderato
Adrian Daurov, cello
- INTERMISSION
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Petrushka: Burlesque in Four Scenes (1947)
Scene 1: The Shrovetide Fair
Scene 2: Petrushka's Room
Scene 3: The Moor's Room
Scene 4: The Shrovetide Fair (Evening)
Adrian Daurov is the Erma R. and Hampden W. Catterton Endowed Guest Artist. The Media Sponsor is Discover Classical 88.1 WDPR/89.1 WUSO/89.9 WDPG. Microphones on stage are for recording purposes only.
Support Neal's 30th Anniversary!
Join us in honoring Maestro Neal Gittleman’s extraordinary legacy as he concludes his 30th and final season with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra. Neal’s vision has transformed Dayton’s cultural landscape, from shaping the Philharmonic’s sound to uniting ballet, opera, and orchestra under the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance. Whether your gift is $10 or $10,000, help us raise $300,000 to support Neal’s final Masterworks season and ensure his farewell is as unforgettable as his tenure.
About the Artist
Adrian Daurov
Cello
A native of St. Petersburg, Russia and now living in New York City, cellist Adrian Daurov is one of the most dazzling artists of his generation. Adrian Daurov, at the age of 15, made his debut as soloist with the St. Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra. Subsequently, he earned top honors at three international competitions— Bulgaria’s First International Music Competition “Coast of Hope” (First Prize, 1996); The Netherlands’ Peter De Grote International Music Competition (Grand Prix, 2002); New York City’s LISMA International Music Competition (First Prize, 2004). In 2004, he toured as soloist with the St. Petersburg Chamber Orchestra, performing in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Warsaw, and throughout Germany, and was appointed to the dual position of principal cellist and soloist with the Bayreuth Youth Festival Orchestra, under the baton of Peter Gulke.
After studying at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, Adrian Daurov was awarded the Jerome L. Greene Scholarship for advanced studies at The Juilliard School with renowned cello pedagogues André Emelianoff and David Soyer, where he completed his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. While still in school, he was appointed principal cellist of The Chamber Orchestra of New York, a position he still holds. Daurov has also collaborated in chamber music programs with pianist Alexander Ghindin, violinist Mark Peskanov, and flutist Eugenia Zukerman. Recent seasons have included debuts with the Dayton and Massapequa philharmonic orchestras, the Berkshire Symphony; the symphony orchestras of Altoona, Bozeman, Glacier, Kalamazoo, Longmont, Longwood, Ridgefield, Westerville and Wyoming; and the Chamber Orchestra of New York (at Carnegie Hall). In 2012, he teamed up with the award-winning pianist Spencer Myer to form the Daurov/Myer Duo.
Passionately devoted to the music of our own time, Adrian Daurov has already presented the world premieres of two important works: in 2008, Fountains of Fin for flute, violin and cello by the Persian composer Behzad Ranjbaran, and, in 2009, The Epistle – Concerto for Cello & Chamber Choir by the Siberian composer Yuri Yukechev, written for Daurov and the Russian Chamber Chorus of New York, Nikolai Kachanov, Artistic Director.
Adrian Daurov’s artistry has been heard on several radio and television stations, including WNYC, WQXR, and NTVAmerica. He is also featured on a recent album by the young New York Citybased jazz star Romain Collin.
Adrian Daurov performs on a magnificent 1989 cello crafted by John Terry in Florence, Italy.
Program Notes
Overture from Don Giovanni
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)
Don Giovanni is truly one of the greatest operas ever written, and its Overture alone is a masterpiece. Its premiere was an ecstatic success and the opera is now a cornerstone in the repertoire for its outstanding music and exceptional lyrics by Lorenzo Da Ponte.
COMPOSED 1787
PREMIERE
October 1787; Prague, Czech Republic
LAST DPO
PERFORMANCE
February 2010
APPROXIMATE DURATION
7 minutes
Mozart’s Giovanni tells the tale of the fabled but fictitious Spanish womanizer, Don Juan (Don Giovanni in Italian), who whisks through numerous romantic conquests and other adventures with his comical sidekick, Leporello. But Giovanni’s reckless ego eventually leads to his murdering the Commendatore (Knight Commander), the father of one of his seductions. The opera’s final scene brings the Commendatore back from the dead to drag the unrepentant Giovanni down into the fires of Hell.
A foreshadowing of Giovanni’s tragic end is where the Overture begins. Opening with fortissimo and menacing chords in the full orchestra—a heralding of the terror to come—the winds then echo those chords quietly, while the upper strings pulse like a nervous, beating heart. Tension builds until the flutes and first violins begin a series of eerily ascending and descending scales that amplify a feeling of dread. But just as Giovanni so often turned his gaze from the pain he had caused, the music does the same. The Overture suddenly springs musically into the gaiety of Giovanni’s life, full of his twinkling bravura and tempestuous ego and all those complicated romantic entanglements. The energy never stops as Mozart captures a gallantry and exuberance all the way until the last, defiant chords.
Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104, B. 191
Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904)
Czech composer Antonin Dvořák's Cello Concerto was the first great concerto to convincingly use the cello as soloist, exploiting its ability for long, lyrical lines, as well as being a work filled with lush and tuneful themes.
COMPOSED 1894–1895
PREMIERE
March 1896; London, United Kingdom
LAST DPO
PERFORMANCE
April 2021
APPROXIMATE DURATION
40 minutes
The first movement begins with two beautiful themes from the orchestra, but when the solo cello enters, the Concerto truly begins to radiate with passion. The movement progresses through quickly-shifting moods with increasing demands of virtuosity from the cellist, but Dvořák also makes room for quiet reflection. One such moment occurs at about ten minutes in, with a beautiful cello and flute duet.
The second movement begins with a quietly contemplative tune first introduced by the clarinet and then quickly taken up by the cellist. The tune comes from a song
that Dvořák wrote in 1888, “Kéž duch můj sám” (“Leave me alone”), and he uses it here as a tribute to his sister-in-law, Josefina Kaunitzová, who loved the song and had become gravely ill. As sung by the cello, this song is immensely moving.
The final movement begins with a rustic Czech folkdance-like theme. The soloist joins the merriment, and from here, the finale alternates between majesty and magic. The ending was to be an energetic explosion, but when Dvořák learned of Josefina’s death, he rewrote it to include a hushed reverence. The final bars build up quickly again and conclude this great Concerto with a flash of magisterial triumph.
Petrushka: Burlesque in Four Scenes (1947)
Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971)
After their great success with The Firebird in 1910, Stravinsky and the Ballets Russes (in Paris) collaborated again on a second Russian-centric ballet—this one about a beloved folk puppet named Petrushka. The premiere in 1911 was another titanic success and Stravinsky made several revisions of the music afterwards. This performance is the revised 1947 version of the ballet score.
COMPOSED 1910–1911
PREMIERE
June 1911; Paris, France
LAST DPO
PERFORMANCE
April 2021
APPROXIMATE DURATION
40 minutes
Scene 1. The story opens with the tumult of a crowd in St. Petersburg, just before Lent. The Master of Ceremonies bellows invitations (timpani, strings), an organ grinder plays (clarinets), and a woman dances about while beating a triangle. Drums draw the crowd’s attention to an old Magician who brings three puppets to life with a magic flute: a Moor, a Ballerina, and the ugly clown Petrushka (his awakening is portrayed by piccolo chirps). The Magician then commands the puppets to dance (the famous Russian Dance— Petrushka’s part portrayed by solo piano), and the drums herald a scene change.
Scene 2. The sadistic Magician has locked Petrushka into a dark cell where he discovers that he has the full range of human emotions (the “Petrushka chord,” which signifies his puppet/human duality, is first heard in the clarinets). Petrushka curses (trumpets) the Magician, until the pretty Ballerina is let into his cell for a visit. Though he is in love with her, she is disgusted by his ugliness and leaves. Petrushka tries to escape by bashing on his cell wall, which opens a window allowing him to see into the Moor’s cell. The drums signal the next scene.
Scene 3. The Moor puppet is handsome but dumb. Petrushka sees the Ballerina arrive, hoping she can seduce the Moor by playing a tune and dancing (trumpet and snare drum). Wild with jealousy, Petrushka breaks through the wall and attempts to separate the two puppet lovers, but the Moor boots him out of the room.
