William Davidson Neighborhood Concert Series - April/May 2022

DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA PRESENTS

2021-2022 CONCERT SERIES MADE POSSIBLE BY THE WILLIAM DAVIDSON FOUNDATION

RACHMANINOFF: SYMPHONY NO. 2

CLASSICAL MASTERS: HAYDN, MOZART, AND SAINT-GEORGES

April 28, 29, & May 1 MONROE BEVERLY HILLS

May 5-8 WEST BLOOMFIELD LIVONIA BLOOMFIELD HILLS GROSSE POINTE

April/May 2022

Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Inc. LIFETIME MEMBERS

CHAIRS EMERITI

DIRECTORS EMERITI

OFFICERS

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Directors are responsible for maintaining a culture of accountability, resource development, and strategic thinking.

As fiduciaries, Directors oversee the artistic and cultural health and strategic direction of the DSO.

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Samuel Frankel◊ Stanley Frankel David Handleman, Sr.◊

Dr. Arthur L. Johnson◊ James B. Nicholson Clyde Wu, M.D.◊

Peter D. Cummings Phillip Wm. Fisher Stanley Frankel

Robert S. Miller James B. Nicholson

Floy Barthel Chacona Baugh Penny B. Blumenstein John A. Boll, Sr. Richard A. Brodie Lois Cohn Marianne Endicott Sidney Forbes Barbara Frankel

Herman H. Frankel Dr. Gloria Heppner Ronald Horwitz Harold Kulish Bonnie Larson David McCammon David R. Nelson William F. Pickard, Ph.D. Marilyn Pincus

Lloyd E. Reuss Marjorie S. Saulson Alan E. Schwartz Jane Sherman David Usher Barbara Van Dusen Arthur A. Weiss

Mark A. Davidoff Chair

Hon. Kurtis T. Wilder (Ret.) Secretary

Shirley Stancato Officer at Large

Erik Rönmark President & CEO

Pamela Applebaum Officer at Large

James G. Vella Officer at Large

David T. Provost Vice Chair

Ralph J. Gerson Officer at Large

Faye Alexander Nelson Treasurer

Glenda D. Price, Ph.D. Officer at Large

David Assemany Governing Members Chair Elena Centeio Aaron Frankel Herman B. Gray, M.D., M.B.A. Laura Hernandez-Romine Rev. Nicholas Hood III Richard Huttenlocher

Renato Jamett Trustee Chair Daniel J. Kaufman Michael J. Keegan Arthur C. Liebler Xavier Mosquet Arthur T. O’Reilly Stephen R. Polk

WILLIAM DAVIDSON NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERT SERIES PROGRAM

Bernard I. Robertson Scott Strong Orchestra Representative Nancy Tellem Laura J. Trudeau Dr. M. Roy Wilson David M. Wu, M.D. Johanna Yarbrough Orchestra Representative

MARCH 2022

BOARD OF TRUSTEES Renato Jamett, Chair Trustees are a diverse group of community leaders who infuse creative thinking and innovation into how the DSO strives to achieve both artistic vitality and organizational sustainability.

Ismael Ahmed Richard Alonzo Hadas Bernard Janice Bernick Elizabeth Boone Gwen Bowlby Marco Bruzzano Margaret Cooney Casey Karen Cullen Joanne Danto Stephen R. D’Arcy Maureen T. D’Avanzo Jasmin DeForrest Afa Sadykhly Dworkin Peter Falzon James C. Farber Linda Forte Maha Freij Carolynn Frankel Maha Freij Christa Funk Robert Gillette Jody Glancy Malik Goodwin Mary Ann Gorlin

Donald Hiruo Michelle Hodges Julie Hollinshead John Jullens David Karp Joel D. Kellman Jennette Smith Kotila Leonard LaRocca William Lentine Linda Dresner Levy Florine Mark Anthony McCree Kristen McLennan Tito Melega Lydia Michael Lois A. Miller H. Keith Mobley Scott Monty Shari Morgan Sandy Morrison Frederick J. Morsches Jennifer Muse, NextGen Chair Nicholas Myers, Musician Representative Sean M. Neall

Eric Nemeth Maury Okun Vivian Pickard Denise Fair Razo Gerrit Reepmeyer Richard Robinson James Rose, Jr. Laurie Rosen Elana Rugh Marc Schwartz Carlo Serraiocco Lois L. Shaevsky Mary Shafer Cathryn M. Skedel, Ph.D. Ralph Skiano, Musician Representative Richard Sonenklar Rob Tanner Yoni Torgow Gwen Weiner Donnell White Jennifer Whitteaker R. Jamison Williams Margaret E. Winters Ellen Hill Zeringue

MAESTRO CIRCLE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Janet & Norm Ankers, Chairs

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Cecilia Benner

Joanne Danto

Gregory Haynes

Bonnie Larson

Lois Miller

Richard Sonenklar

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WILLIAM DAVIDSON NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERT SERIES PROGRAM 3

DETROIT DETROIT SYMPHONY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ORCHESTRA AA COMMUNITY-SUPPORTE D ORCHESTRA COMMUNITY-SUPPORTED ORCHESTRA

JADER BIGNAMINI MUSIC DIRECTOR JADER BIGNAMINI MUSIC DIRECTOR

DETROIT DETROIT SYMPHONY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ORCHESTRA AA COMMUNITY-SUPPORTE D ORCHESTRA COMMUNITY-SUPPORTED ORCHESTRA

JADER BIGNAMINI MUSIC DIRECTOR JADER BIGNAMINI MUSIC DIRECTOR

JADER BIGNAMINI, Music Director

Music Directorship endowed by the Kresge Foundation

JEFF TYZIK

Principal Pops Conductor

FIRST VIOLIN Kimberly Kaloyanides Kennedy

ACTING CONCERTMASTER Katherine Tuck Chair

Hai-Xin Wu

ACTING ASSOCIATE CONCERTMASTER Schwartz and Shapero Family Chair

Jennifer Wey Fang ASSISTANT CONCERTMASTER Walker L. Cisler/Detroit Edison Foundation Chair

Marguerite Deslippe* Laurie Goldman* Rachel Harding Klaus* Eun Park Lee* Adrienne Rönmark* Laura Soto* Greg Staples* Jiamin Wang* Mingzhao Zhou*

SECOND VIOLIN Adam Stepniewski ACTING PRINCIPAL The Devereaux Family Chair

Will Haapaniemi*

David and Valerie McCammon Chairs

Hae Jeong Heidi Han*

David and Valerie McCammon Chairs

Sheryl Hwangbo Yu* Sujin Lim* Hong-Yi Mo~ Alexandros Sakarellos*

Drs. Doris Tong and Teck Soo Chair

TERENCE BLANCHARD

LEONARD SLATKIN

NEEME JÄRVI

Fred A. Erb Jazz Creative Director Chair

Music Director Laureate

Music Director Emeritus

CELLO Wei Yu PRINCIPAL

Abraham Feder

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL Dorothy and Herbert Graebner Chair

Robert Bergman* Jeremy Crosmer*

Victor and Gale Girolami Cello Chair

Henry and Patricia Nickol Chair

Glenn Mellow Hang Su Shanda Lowery-Sachs Hart Hollman Han Zheng Mike Chen

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Jack Walters

PVS Chemicals Inc./ Jim and Ann Nicholson Chair

TIMPANI Jeremy Epp

PRINCIPAL Richard and Mona Alonzo Chair

James Ritchie ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

PERCUSSION Joseph Becker

Una O’Riordan*

E-FLAT CLARINET Laurence Liberson

Andrés Pichardo-Rosenthal

BASS CLARINET Shannon Orme

James Ritchie

Mary Ann & Robert Gorlin Chair

Cole Randolph*

BASS Kevin Brown PRINCIPAL Van Dusen Family Chair

Stephen Molina ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

Christopher Hamlen Brandon Mason Nicholas Myers

HARP Patricia Masri-Fletcher PRINCIPAL Winifred E. Polk Chair

FLUTE Hannah Hammel PRINCIPAL Alan J. and Sue Kaufman and Family Chair

Amanda Blaikie

Jeffery Zook

Caroline Coade

PRINCIPAL Robert B. Semple Chair

PRINCIPAL

Shannon Orme

Joanne Deanto and Arnold Weingarden Chair

VIOLA Eric Nowlin

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

CLARINET Ralph Skiano

TUBA Dennis Nulty

Laurence Liberson

Sharon Sparrow

James VanValkenburg

Shari and Craig Morgan Chair

David LeDoux* Peter McCaffrey*

Marian Tanau* Alexander Volkov* Jing Zhang*

PRINCIPAL Julie and Ed Levy, Jr. Chair

ENGLISH HORN Monica Fosnaugh

Morton and Brigitte Harris Chair ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL Bernard and Eleanor Robertson Chair

PICCOLO Jeffery Zook

Shari and Craig Morgan Chair

OBOE Alexander Kinmonth

PRINCIPAL Jack A. and Aviva Robinson Chair

Sarah Lewis ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

Monica Fosnaugh

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

Barbara Frankel and Ronald Michalak Chair

BASSOON Michael Ke Ma

PRINCIPAL Ruth Roby and Alfred R. Glancy III Chair ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL William Cody Knicely Chair

LIBRARIANS Robert Stiles PRINCIPAL

Ethan Allen

ACTING PRINCIPAL

Marcus Schoon^ Jaquain Sloan §

CONTRABASSOON Marcus Schoon^ HORN Karl Pituch PRINCIPAL

Johanna Yarbrough Scott Strong

Ric and Carola Huttenlocher Chair

David Everson ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

Mark Abbott

PERSONNEL MANAGERS Patrick Peterson

DIRECTOR OF ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL

STAGE PERSONNEL Dennis Rottell STAGE MANAGER

Ryan DeMarco

DEPARTMENT HEAD

Noel Keesee

DEPARTMENT HEAD

Steven Kemp

DEPARTMENT HEAD

Matthew Pons

DEPARTMENT HEAD

Michael Sarkissian

TRUMPET

DEPARTMENT HEAD

Hunter Eberly PRINCIPAL Lee and Floy Barthel Chair

Kevin Good Stephen Anderson ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

William Lucas TROMBONE Kenneth Thompkins PRINCIPAL

David Binder

WILLIAM DAVIDSON NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERT SERIES PROGRAM

LEGEND * These members may voluntarily revolve seating within the section on a regular basis ^ On sabbatical ~ Extended leave § African American Orchestra Fellow

MARCH 2022

DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA A COMMUNITY-SUP PORTE D ORCHESTRA

JADER BIGNAMINI MUSIC DIRECTOR

DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA A COMMUNITY-SUP PORTE D ORCHESTRA

JADER BIGNAMINI MUSIC DIRECTOR

JADER BIGNAMINI, Music Director

Music Directorship endowed by the Kresge Foundation

JEFF TYZIK

Principal Pops Conductor

TERENCE BLANCHARD

LEONARD SLATKIN

NEEME JÄRVI

Fred A. Erb Jazz Creative Director Chair

Music Director Laureate

Music Director Emeritus

WILLIAM DAVIDSON NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERT SERIES

RACHMANINOFF: SYMPHONY NO. 2 Thursday, April 28, 2022 at 7:30 p.m. at Seligman Performing Arts Center Friday, April 29, 2022 at 8 p.m. at Meyer Theater, Monroe Community College Sunday, May 1, 2022 at 3 p.m. at Seligman Performing Arts Center KAHCHUN WONG, conductor MICHELLE CANN, piano Samuel Barber Adagio for Strings (1910 - 1981) Florence Price Piano Concerto in One Movement (1887 - 1953) Intermission Sergei Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27 (1873 - 1943) I. Largo - Allegro moderato II. Allegro molto III. Adagio IV. Allegro vivace

The William Davidson Neighborhood Concert Series is made possible by a generous grant from the William Davidson Foundation. WRCJ 90.9 FM also supports the Series. dso.org

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WILLIAM DAVIDSON NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERT SERIES PROGRAM 5

PROGRAM NOTES Adagio for Strings Composed 1936 | Premiered 1938

SAMUEL BARBER B. March 9, 1910, West Chester, PA D. Jan 23, 1981, New York, NY

Scored for strings. (Approx. 7 minutes)

W

hile other composers of his generation largely turned away from the 19th century romanticism that looked less palatable after the horrors of two world wars, Samuel Barber held firm to tradition. Although Barber increasingly experimented with dissonance, chromaticism, and even 12-tone rows, he never did so in a way that compromised tonality or lyricism, with the result that his newest compositions quickly became popular and enjoyed frequent performances.

Composed in 1936 as the second movement of Barber’s String Quartet, the Adagio has become one of the most beloved American compositions and a national song of mourning. Its elegiac depth has offered solace at times of national crisis, early on gracing the state funerals of both Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy. When words fail, the piece has filled the emotional void.

This expression of pathos has likewise been used in film scores to movies such as Platoon, The Elephant Man, The Scarlet Letter, Amélie, and others.

An avid reader, Barber found inspiration in Virgil’s “Georgics,” in a passage that describes how a rivulet gradually becomes a broad river. The overall shape of the work is a long arc that begins quietly, slowly building to a climactic apex, and recovering towards a quiet end.

Barber constructs the long, spiraling theme from a traditional musical device— the sequence—when a thematic gesture of notes is repeated starting slightly lower or, in this case, higher. (Imagine a pianist’s fingers playing the same pattern, but shifting up and down the keyboard.) The genius of the piece,

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though, is that Barber builds a work of great emotional intensity from the simplest of ideas.

Starting at the threshold of silence, as the sequence flows upward its volume gradually increases, reinforcing the emotional tension. Transported to shimmering melodic heights, the musical arc collapses, falling precipitously to stasis and silence. When the theme resurfaces in sotto voce splendor, the piece becomes a paean to hope and of the will to go on, built of smaller arching gestures that fade into the future.

The DSO most recently performed Barber’s Adagio for Strings in November 2020, conducted by Enrico Lopez-Yañez.

The DSO first performed the piece in January 1945, conducted by Karl Krueger.

Piano Concerto in One Movement Premiered 1934

Florence Price B. April 9, 1887, Little Rock, AR D. June 3, 1953, Chicago, IL

Scored for solo piano, flute, oboe, 2 clarinets, bassoon, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, timpani, percussion, and strings. (Approx. 19 minutes)

F

lorence Beatrice (Smith) Price was the most widely known African American female composer from the 1930s until her death in 1953. She was also the first Black female composer to have a symphony performed by a major American orchestra: her Symphony No. 1 in E minor, premiered by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on June 15, 1933.

The premiere brought instant recognition and accolades to Price, yet much of her music eventually fell into neglect due to “a dangerous mélange of segregation, Jim Crow laws, entrenched racism, and sexism.” (Women’s Voices for Change, 2013).

Price’s compositions reflect a

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romantic nationalist style, while incorporating African American musical forms.

Her Piano Concerto in One Movement was premiered in Chicago in 1934 with the composer as soloist. Although one movement, as the title makes clear, the concerto is comprised of three clearly discernible sections. The moderato opens with a brief orchestral introduction followed by a piano cadenza. Both echo the traditional spiritual overtones that were the hallmark of Price’s musical sensibilities, with developmental dialogue between soloist and orchestra. In the adagio, the soloist moves forward with a lyrical theme. The concluding allegretto is modeled after the Juba, an antebellum folk dance which also inspired the third movement of Price’s Symphony No. 3 in C Minor, as well as her very first Symphony in E Minor. — Excerpts adapted from Kyle Gann, kylegann.com, under Creative Commons license.

The DSO most recently performed Florence Price’s Piano Concerto in One Movement at a Classical Roots concert on March 4, 2022, conducted by William Eddins and featuring pianist Lara Downes.

Symphony No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 27 Composed 1907 | Premiered 1908

SERGEI RACHMANINOFF B. April 1, 1873, Semyonovo, Russia D. March 28, 1943, Beverly Hills, California

Scored for 3 flutes (1 doubling piccolo), 3 oboes (1 doubling English horn), 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, and strings. (Approx.

43 minutes)

S

ergei Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony was first performed in St. Petersburg, Russia on January 26, 1908. In November 1906, Rachmaninoff moved his family to Dresden, which had a rich musical life and where he

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quickly began to put notes on paper.

Still nursing scars from the fiasco that greeted the premiere of his First Symphony, Rachmaninoff almost lost heart when word leaked out that he was at work on a second. But now there was no turning back.

Rachmaninoff lays out his first movement along the lines set down in Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique Symphony: a long, pregnant introduction, followed by a quicker section based on motifs drawn from it. He is in no hurry here, and his habit of building up slowly to a climax, often with much repetition, has tempted many conductors to make cuts in the score. But for the listener willing to put aside inherited ideas about symphonic pace and architecture, the movement offers rich pleasures.

Even in the Scherzo, Rachmaninoff cannot resist a second, yearning theme, one too delicious to abandon before he has wrung out every drop of emotion.

Such indulgences have brought down the wrath of some traditionalists, but here, the composer returns quickly to his more severe main subject, which is based on the melody that haunted him all his life: the sequence Dies Irae from the Mass for the Dead.

What can words add to the Adagio?

One is either swept along on the flood tide of melody, or sits with arms folded, coldly disapproving. A generation ago, it was fashionable to dismiss Rachmaninoff’s slow movements altogether. With Romanticism now in fashion again, even the professors of music are allowed to hum along (quietly) with the rest of the audience. Only one pleasure is still denied all of us: breaking into applause after the movement, as Rachmaninoff’s audiences surely did.

The finale has a Scherzo-ish feel to it, and it is altogether the most successful movement in the symphony. Surely it will not spoil anyone’s enjoyment to point out that the main theme here is derived from the second movement, and no one needs a nudge in the ribs to recognize the sublime reference to the third. A less confident Rachmaninoff might not have been able to handle such a cornucopia,

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PROGRAM NOTES but here he finds just the right device to pull it all together.

In the midst of a whirl of triplets, he introduces, quietly at first, a bell-like figure that becomes more and more insistent. Finally, writes Patrick Piggott, in his BBC Music Guide on Rachmaninoff’s orchestral music, “it is as if a thousand bell-towers were ringing out a clamorous celebration of some great religious or national occasion. The sound of bells had a perennial fascination for Rachmaninoff

and was often echoed in his music, but in no other work, with the exception of his choral symphony The Bells, written a few years later, did he equal in originality and excitement this strange passage.”

— Michael Fleming The DSO most recently performed Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2 in E minor in May 2017, conducted by Cristian Mǎcelaru. The DSO first performed the piece in February 1922, conducted by Ossip Gabrilowitsch.

KAHCHUN WONG

Wong had the privilege of sharing the podium with him on multiple occasions in his final years. In 2016-17, he was invited to the Los Angeles Philharmonic as a Dudamel Fellow, participating in a prestigious program for burgeoning young conductors. He received a Master of Music degree in orchestral and operatic conducting at the Hanns Eisler Musikhochschule in Berlin.

Wong believes in the power of music to inspire young musicians and foster their growth, mirroring his own journey as a musician from a young Southeast Asian country. In 2016, he co-founded Project Infinitude with Marina Mahler, the granddaughter of Gustav Mahler. Over the next few years, he worked closely with Child at Street 11, a nonprofit Singaporean agency supporting more than 100 children from underserved and diverse backgrounds. In 2019, together with BR-Klassik and Stadtsparkasse Nürnberg, he conceived and led PACHELBEL.VIER.NULL, a collaborative television project that raised donations for Sternstunden e.V., a nonprofit association for children in Germany. During the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, he convened over 1,000 international musicians to perform a digital sing-along of Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” for ChildAid, an annual charity event in Singapore, raising close to two million dollars for the Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund and Business Times Budding Artists Fund.

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ingaporean conductor Kahchun Wong is Chief Conductor of the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra and the newly appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra.

Praised by Musical America for the “depth and sincerity of his musicality,” he first came to international attention as the winner of the Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition in 2016.

Highlights in 2021-22 include notable debuts with the Cleveland Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Dresden Philharmonic, and Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony, in addition to re-engagements with the Bamberg Symphony, Orquesta de Valencia, and Tokyo Philharmonic, where – ru he curated a special gala featuring To Takemitsu’s rarely performed Arc cycle.

Celebrated by the press for his recent debuts with the New York Philharmonic, Czech Philharmonic, and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Wong has also appeared with the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Orchestre national d’Île-deFrance, Osaka Philharmonic, Tokyo Symphony, and Yomiuri Nippon Symphony during the 2020-21 season.

A protégé of the late Kurt Masur,

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PROFILE In December 2019 at age 33, Wong became the first artist from Singapore to receive the Order of Merit by the Federal President of Germany for his dedicated service and outstanding achievements in Singaporean-German cultural relations and the advancement of German musical culture abroad.

MICHELLE CANN “A compelling, sparkling virtuoso” (Boston Music Intelligencer), pianist Michelle Cann made her orchestral debut at age fourteen and has since performed as a soloist with numerous orchestras including The Philadelphia Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra.

A champion of the music of Florence Price, Cann performed the New York City premiere of the composer’s Piano Concerto in One Movement with The Dream Unfinished Orchestra in July 2016 and the Philadelphia premiere with The Philadelphia Orchestra in February 2021, which the Philadelphia Inquirer called “exquisite.”

Highlights of her 2021-22 season include debut performances with the Atlanta, Detroit, and St. Louis symphony

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orchestras, as well as her Canadian concert debut with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa. She also receives the 2022 Sphinx Medal of Excellence, the highest honor bestowed by the Sphinx Organization, and the 2022 Andrew Wolf Chamber Music Award.

Embracing a dual role as both performer and pedagogue, her season includes teaching residencies at the Gilmore International Keyboard Festival and the National Conference of the Music Teachers National Association.

Cann regularly appears in solo and chamber recitals throughout the United States, China, and South Korea. Notable venues include the National Centre for the Performing Arts (Beijing), the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (Washington, D.C.), Walt Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles), and the Barbican Centre (London). She has also appeared as co-host and collaborative pianist with NPR’s From the Top. An award winner at top international competitions, in 2019 she served as the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s MAC Music Innovator in recognition of her role as an African American classical musician who embodies artistry, innovation, and a commitment to education and community engagement.

Cann studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Curtis Institute of Music, where she holds the inaugural Eleanor Sokoloff Chair in Piano Studies.

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DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA A COMMUNITY-SUP PORTE D ORCHESTRA

JADER BIGNAMINI MUSIC DIRECTOR

DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA A COMMUNITY-SUP PORTE D ORCHESTRA

JADER BIGNAMINI MUSIC DIRECTOR

JADER BIGNAMINI, Music Director

Music Directorship endowed by the Kresge Foundation

JEFF TYZIK

Principal Pops Conductor

TERENCE BLANCHARD

LEONARD SLATKIN

NEEME JÄRVI

Fred A. Erb Jazz Creative Director Chair

Music Director Laureate

Music Director Emeritus

WILLIAM DAVIDSON NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERT SERIES

CLASSICAL MASTERS: HAYDN, MOZART, AND SAINT-GEORGES

Thursday, May 5, 2022 at 7:30 p.m. at Berman Theater Friday, May 6, 2022 at 8 p.m. at Adlai E. Stevenson High School, Livonia Saturday, May 7, 2022 at 8 p.m. at Kirk in the Hills Presbyterian Church Sunday, May 8, 2022 at 3 p.m. at Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Church YUE BAO, conductor PABLO FERRÁNDEZ, cello Joseph Bologne, Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 11, No. 2 Chevalier de Saint-Georges (Overture to L’Amant annonyme) (1745 - 1799) Franz Joseph Haydn Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in C major (1732 - 1809) I. Moderato II. Adagio III. Allegro molto Pablo Ferrández, cello Intermission William Grant Still Danzas de Panama for String Orchestra (1895 - 1978) I. Tamborito II. Mejorana-Y-Socavon III. Punto IV. Cumbia -Y-Congo Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Symphony No. 35 in D major, K. 385, (1756 - 1791) “Haffner” I. Allegro con spirito II. Andante III. Menuetto IV. Presto

The William Davidson Neighborhood Concert Series is made possible by a generous grant from the William Davidson Foundation. WRCJ 90.9 FM also supports the Series.

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WILLIAM DAVIDSON NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERT SERIES PROGRAM

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PROGRAM NOTES Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 11, No. 2 (Overture to L’Amant annonyme) JOSEPH BOLOGNE, CHEVALIER DE SAINTGEORGES B. December 25, 1745, Baillif, Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe D. June 10, 1799, Paris, France

Scored for 2 oboes, bassoon, 2 horns, and strings. (Approx. 8 minutes)

J

oseph Bologne, Chevalier de SaintGeorges was a highly accomplished composer and violinist known for his virtuosic solo repertoire, symphonic masterpieces, and leading many renowned orchestras in Paris throughout the mid-18th century. Bologne possessed outstanding talent and excelled at every activity he pursued from a very young age. Although he was incredibly well-accomplished, having commissioned and premiered six symphonies by Joseph Haydn and possessing an extensive list of musical accomplishments, he is seldom mentioned in music history.

He was the son of Anne (known as Nanon), an enslaved woman of Senegalese origin, and Georges de Bologne Saint-Georges, a wealthy plantation owner and Nanon’s enslaver.

Despite Nanon being the enslaved servant to his wife Elisabeth, Georges de Bologne acknowledged paternity of Joseph and gave him his surname, part of which—“de Saint-Georges”—was named after his plantations in Guadeloupe.

Bologne graduated from the Royal Academy in 1766 and was named an officer in the court of King Louis XV shortly after, bestowing him the title of “Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges.” This title came with an abundance of connections, which Bologne used to pursue his musical career and begin playing violin in

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the Concert des Amateurs in 1769, a renowned orchestra consisting of the finest musicians from Paris and beyond.

He eventually became the director of this ensemble and organized concerts featuring himself as the soloist. Bologne was a sought-after teacher and counted Marie Antoinette among his former students.

Bologne’s musical career continued to flourish, and he went on to compose several string quartets, concertos, symphonies, and operas. His name was considered to be the obvious choice to take over as the next director of the Paris Opéra by aristocrats in 1776, but Bologne withdrew his application upon learning about a petition made by several leading ladies in the opera, who claimed that they could not submit to his orders because of his race.

The rise of the French Revolution posed moral challenges to Joseph Bologne, since the majority of his life consisted of being a member of the aristocracy. However, Bologne ultimately decided to side with the Revolution and serve as a military leader for a legion of soldiers of color, later known as the “Légion Saint-Georges.” Bologne fought alongside General Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, the father of renowned Black novelist Alexandre Dumas. He came out of the Revolution as heroic, but was soon denounced and imprisoned due to rising paranoia from the war. The majority of his music was lost during the Revolution, and what had survived was soon forgotten. Fortunately, within the last few decades, the world has begun to once again remember, appreciate, and celebrate his work.

Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de SaintGeorges’s Symphony No. 2 in D major is a three-movement work reminiscent of melodies by Haydn, for whom he premiered and commissioned many works. This symphony was composed for a small chamber orchestra, and the first movement is frequently performed alone, because Bologne used an excerpt of this music to form an overture for his opéra comique, L’Amant annonyme. The second

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PROGRAM NOTES movement of this symphony consists of a solitary melody in a canon form, giving each voice in the string section the melody throughout the movement. The third and final movement serves as a Presto finale, reminiscent of the finale of Bologne’s first symphony, but lacking the allusions to Haydn. This movement is dance-like and lively, and the preserved engraved parts in the manuscript score from 1780 contain a simplified beginning, and serve as the superior source of reference for modern-day performance.

The DSO most recently performed Chevalier de Saint-Georges’s Symphony No. 2 in D major in April 2021, conducted

by James Conlon.

Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in C major Composed 1761-1765

JOSEPH HAYDN B. March 31, 1732, Rohrau, Austria D. May 31, 1809, Vienna, Austria

Scored for solo cello, 2 oboes, 2 horns, and strings. (Approx. 25 minutes)

O

f the three Viennese classical masters, Haydn—who otherwise had much less interest in the concerto than either Mozart or Beethoven—was the only one to write works for cello and orchestra. The most likely explanation for this is that, as Kapellmeister to Prince Nikolaus Esterházy, Haydn worked closely with many excellent instrumentalists in the prince’s orchestra. Concertos were welcome additions to the programs of the twice-weekly musical “academies,” for which so many of Haydn’s symphonies were written. (It should be noted that many of Haydn’s early symphonies also contain extended, almost concerto-like, instrumental solos.)

The Concerto in C major, the first of Haydn’s two cello concertos, was written about two decades before the D-major work. For many years, this concerto was

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thought to be lost; only its first two measures were known from the handwritten catalog Haydn had kept of his own works. Even more frustrating, this catalog contained not one but two almost identical incipits (opening measures) for concertos in C major. In 1961, Czech musicologist Oldřich Pulkert discovered a set of parts in Prague that corresponded to one of the two incipits.

It was published and, of course, immediately taken up by cellists everywhere. As for the other C major incipit, it could have been a simple mistake (Haydn could have notated the theme from memory and didn’t remember it exactly) or a discarded variant.

On stylistic grounds, scholars have dated the C major concerto from between 1762 and 1765; it is certainly an early work, from the first years of Haydn’s tenure at Eszterháza (1761-1790). It belongs to that transitional period between Baroque and Classicism whose greatest representative, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788), had a strong influence on the young Haydn. The continuity of the rhythmic pulse and the numerous identical repeats of the first movement’s main theme are definitely Baroque features, while the shape of the musical gestures points to the emergence of a new style that would later be known as Classicism.

The original cello part shows that the soloist was expected to play along with the orchestra during tutti passages, reinforcing the bass line. The solo part is extremely demanding, with rapid passagework that frequently ascends to the instrument’s highest register. The second-movement Adagio, in which the winds are silent, calls for an exceptionally beautiful tone, and the last movement for uncommon brilliance and stamina. Surely the first cellist of Haydn’s orchestra, Joseph Weigl, must have been one of the outstanding players of his time.

The DSO most recently performed Haydn’s Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in C major in June 2018, conducted by Teddy Abrams and featuring cellist Joshua McClendon. The DSO first

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performed the piece in November 1964, conducted by Sixten Ehrling and featuring cellist Mihaly Virizlay.

Danzas de Panama WILLIAM GRANT STILL B. May 11, 1895, Woodville, MS D. December 3, 1978, Los Angeles, CA

Scored for strings. (Approx. 13 minutes)

W

illiam Grant Still is remembered as a pioneering musician of the modern age. He was the first living African American composer whose work was performed by a major symphony orchestra, and his most popular work—the “Afro-American” Symphony—was the most-performed work by an American composer (African American or otherwise) for more than 20 years in the midsection of the 20th century. He composed more than 150 concert works, including symphonies, ballets, operas, chamber works, choral and solo vocal works, and arrangements of Negro spirituals. Still synthesized his musical experiences into a career that saw many firsts for African American composers, and throughout his career he wrote constantly about the challenges facing America’s Black citizens in contemporary society.

Still’s Danzas de Panama reflect his inspiration from traditional Panamanian folk music recordings collected by Elisabeth Waldo, an ethnomusicologist specializing in recreating music from Meso-American cultures. Composed in four parts, each movement showcases the many thrilling dance forms present within the Panamanian culture. The first movement, Tamborito, is spectacular, opening with instrumentalists percussively striking their instruments to generate a driving, rhythmic groove accompanied by a highly chromatic melody, and quickly transitioning into a much slower and sorrowful tempo. These two dance styles are juxtaposed throughout the movement, ending with a

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surprisingly soft glissando. The second movement, Mejorana, is reminiscent of a Panamanian waltz with a forceful middle section representing an ominous dance.

The third movement, Punto, is slow and gentle, influenced by sounds from Mexico. This piece ends with Cumbia y Congo, bringing back the percussive hand-pounding by the instrumentalists and a high-spirited, fast-paced dance.

This movement seamlessly blends an African beat with a Latin melody to create a striking finale. Each of these movements could be programmed alone and serve as an effective encore, but together they form a thrilling masterpiece.

This performance marks the DSO premiere of the entirety of Still’s Danzas de Panama.

Symphony No. 35 in D major, K. 385, “Haffner” Composed 1782

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART B. January 27, 1756, Salzburg, Austria D. December 5, 1791, Vienna, Austria

Scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, and strings. (Approx. 17 minutes)

M

ozart’s Symphony No. 35 was written in Vienna, but it has strong ties to the composer’s hometown of Salzburg: it grew out of a serenade originally written for the namesake Haffner family, longtime friends of the Mozarts. In 1782, two years after the serenade’s commission, Mozart’s father requested a new piece to celebrate the ennoblement of Sigmund Haffner. Though he was busy with the opening of The Abduction from the Seraglio and his upcoming marriage to Constanze Weber, Mozart agreed reluctantly to his father’s request for a new work: “Well, I must just spend the night over it, for that is the only way, and

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PROGRAM NOTES to you, dearest father, I sacrifice it. You may rely on having something from me by every post. I shall work as fast as possible and, as far as haste permits, I shall write something good.”

Unable to complete the work in time for the ceremony, Mozart sent his father only the opening Allegro and a suggestion to draw from the earlier Haffner Serenade for the remainder of the program. The entire work was later completed and set in the mold of the traditional four-movement Viennese symphony.

Mozart was quite pleased with it; on receiving the full score back from his father he remarked: “My new Haffner symphony has positively amazed me, for I had forgotten every single note of it. It must surely produce a good effect.”

Mozart’s use of the winds in octaves lends a special sound to this symphony— the doubling probably a result of Mozart’s late addition of flutes and clarinets to the original serenade orchestration. The first movement shows an economy of musical material, the opening gesture of strong octave leaps introducing the only true theme of the movement. This simplicity shows the influence of Haydn and is also a

sign of the work’s original purpose as background music. The movement overall is tightly drawn; the introduction of only one theme eliminates the need for internal repeats. The theme’s asymmetrical structure creates interest and energy.

The Andante and Minuet are delicate and showcase Mozart’s instinct for graceful melody. The music is certainly suited to a celebration of nobility, and one can easily imagine the merriment and dancing of the Salzburg aristocracy. The final movement is drawn from Mozart’s recently premiered (and highly successful) opera The Abduction from the Seraglio. According to Mozart, it “should go as fast as possible.” Perhaps as a nod to the newly ennobled Haffner, Mozart borrowed the Seraglio tune in which Osmin, the keeper of the harem, sings “Ha! What triumph will be mine now!”

The DSO most recently performed Mozart’s “Haffner” Symphony in February 2017, conducted by Leonard Slatkin. The DSO first performed the piece in February 1923, conducted by Bruno Walter.

YUE BAO

and Itzhak Perlman.

Bao made her subscription debut with the Houston Symphony on their opening night concert of the 2020-21 season and conducted the orchestra in summer 2021 concerts at the Miller Theater. She made her Chicago Symphony Orchestra debut at the 2021 Ravinia Festival. Upcoming highlights include debuts with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Oviedo Filarmonia, and the San Francisco Symphony.

Bao was the Bruno Walter Memorial Foundation Conducting Fellow at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in 2019. In 2018, she served as the David Effron Conducting Fellow at the Chautauqua Music Festival, where her concerts with the Festival Orchestra received accolades from audiences and

C

onductor Yue Bao serves as the Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao Foundation Assistant Conductor of the Houston Symphony, assisting Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada. In May 2019, she completed a two-year tenure as the Rita E. Hauser Conducting Fellow at the Curtis Institute of Music, working closely with Yannick NézetSéguin. She has been active as both a conductor and assistant, working with conductors including Michael Tilson Thomas, Osmo Vänskä, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Marin Alsop, David Robertson,

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PROFILES the musicians. She participated in the online iteration of the 2020 Tanglewood Conducting Seminar.

She has worked extensively in the United States and abroad. In 2019, Bao toured China with the Vienna Philharmonic, assisting Andrés OrozcoEstrada. She served as an assistant for the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra under JoAnn Falletta and David Lockington, making her conducting debut with the orchestra in 2016. Bao has also assisted Osmo Vänskä at the Minnesota Orchestra and Gilbert Varga at the St. Louis Symphony. Recent appearances include the Shanghai Opera Symphony Orchestra, the Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra, and the New Symphony Orchestra. Equally at home with both symphonic and operatic repertoire, she has conducted Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, Bizet’s Carmen, Kurt Weill’s Mahagonny: Ein Songspiel, and Gian Carlo Menotti’s The Medium. She is also active as a pianist, recently playing for a production of Les contes d’Hoffmann at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing.

Along with her Artist Diploma from The Curtis Institute of Music, Bao holds Bachelor of Music degrees in orchestral conducting and opera accompanying from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, following her studies of composition, and a Master of Music degree in orchestral conducting from the Mannes School of Music.

PABLO FERRÁNDEZ

P

rizewinner at the XV International Tchaikovsky Competition and SONY Classical exclusive artist, Pablo Ferrández announces himself as a musician of stature. A captivating performer, “Ferrández has the lot: technique, mettle, spirit, authority as a soloist, expressivity and charm” (El Pais).

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In March 2021, he released his highly acclaimed debut album under SONY Classical, Reflections, a work that reflects his musical roots and the unexpected similarities between Russian and Spanish music at the beginning of the 20th century. The album earned him the Opus Klassik Award 2021 in the Young Artist of the Year category.

Recent highlights include debuts at the Hollywood Bowl with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel, with Bayersichen Rundfunk Symphony Orchestra under Daniele Gatti, performances of Brahms’s Double Concerto and Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with Anne-Sophie Mutter, and appearances with the London Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony, and Orchestre National de France, among others.

The 2021-22 season will bring debuts with the Santa Cecilia Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic, Seoul Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and returns with Basel Symphony, RTE National Orchestra, Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini, Borusan Philharmonic, and Spanish National Orchestra, among others. He will also appear with the Youth Russian National Orchestra under Gustavo Dudamel, performing Beethoven’s Triple Concerto alongside Anne-Sophie Mutter and Daniil Trifonov; celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Moscow Philharmonic Society; and perform chamber music with Anne-Sophie Mutter at Carnegie Hall.

Born in Madrid in 1991 into a family of musicians, Ferrández joined the prestigious Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía when he was 13 to study with Natalia Shakhovskaya. After that, he completed his studies at the Kronberg Academy with Frans Helmerson and became scholar of the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation.

Ferrández plays the Stradivarius “Lord Aylesford” (1696) thanks to the Nippon Music Foundation.

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