Pacific Symphony plays Mozart & Beethoven with Elias Ackerley, piano
Carl St.Clair, conductor
Sunday, November 17, 2024 | 3PM
Soka Performing Arts Center at Soka University of America
PROGRAM
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART
Symphony No. 32 in G Major, K.318
Allegro spiritoso; Andante; Tempo I
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN
Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61, arr. by Beethoven for piano
Allegro ma non troppo Larghetto
Rondo: Allegro
Symphony No. 32 in G Major, K.318 WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART
Born January 27, 1756, Salzburg
Died December 5, 1791, Vienna
Mozart returned to Salzburg in January 1779, a failure. He had been absent for sixteen months on a long trip to Munich, Mannheim, and Paris in search of a position his family considered worthy of his talents. That effort had proven futile, and–to complete the catastrophe–his mother (sent along to keep an eye on her sometimes-irresponsible son) had died suddenly in Paris. Now he grudgingly took up his old duties for an employer he disliked (the Archbishop) in a city he disliked (Salzburg).
Yet the young man promptly wrote some splendid music, and the effects of his long trip show up in the works Mozart composed across the rest of 1779, particularly in the very unusual Symphony in G Major, which he completed on April 23 of that year. This symphony is distinctive because it is in only one movement, lasting a total of about eight minutes, and the music shows a number of influences. Mozart writes not in classical form but instead adopts a much earlier style, the Italian overture form: Italian operas of this period began with a sinfonia in a fast-slow-fast sequence in which the final section recapitulates the fast opening section. Mozart takes this older form and weds it to the brilliant orchestral style he had heard in Mannheim, full of sharp dynamic contrasts, long crescendos, and virtuoso writing. He achieves this
grander style in part by using an unusually large orchestra: two flutes, two oboes, four horns, two trumpets, timpani, and strings (the trumpet and timpani parts were written into the manuscript later, but the handwriting is Mozart’s and the additions are authentic).
The opening section, aptly marked Allegro spiritoso, leaps to life with unison fanfares and much brilliant writing for the violins; the chirping second subject is also announced by the violins. The music seems to proceed normally but stops suddenly in mid-air at the end of the development, and Mozart offers a central episode marked Andante. This music, in a slow 3/8, is graceful and nicely-shaded, and it proceeds without pause to a return of the opening Allegro. Mozart reverses expectations slightly here–the second theme appears first in this recapitulation–and then concludes with a brilliant coda, full of rolling timpani and brass fanfares, as well as a brief excursion into E minor just before the vigorous rush to the close.
Mozart scholar Alfred Einstein believed that this symphony was actually intended as the overture to Mozart’s unfinished Singspiel Zaide, on which he worked during 1779-80. Evidence for this is inconclusive, but some years later, in 1785 after he had moved to Vienna, Mozart used this symphony as the overture to a production of Francesco Bianchi’s opera buffa La villanella rapito, and certainly its brevity and brilliance make it well-suited to theatrical use. What we can say is that the
Pacific Symphony with Elias Ackerley
Symphony in G Major is the work of a 23-year-old composer, restless and confined in Salzburg, who was willing to draw upon the whole range of his musical experience–both old and recent–and to experiment brilliantly with symphonic form.
Piano Concerto in D Major, Op. 61 LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN
Born December 16, 1770, Bonn
Died March 26, 1827, Vienna
The Piano Concerto in D Major is in fact Beethoven’s own arrangement of his Violin Concerto. This introductory note will deal only with the details of that arrangement–a note for the original Violin Concerto follows.
Franz Clement gave the first performance of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto (with the composer conducting) on December 23, 1806. And there the matter might have stood, but in May 1807 the pianist-composer-publisher Muzio Clementi passed through Vienna on his way from London to Rome. In Vienna he met with Beethoven and paid the composer handsomely for the right to publish several of Beethoven’s recent works in England. He also commissioned the composer to make a piano arrangement of his Violin Concerto. Beethoven was generally not enthusiastic about such arrangements, but Clementi’s offer was generous, and he agreed. This arrangement was made sometime in 1807, though it is unclear how much of it is the work of Beethoven himself and how much he may have delegated to others.
The piano arrangement is straightforward: the pianist’s right hand is given the violin part, while the left hand is given an accompanying role; this includes some chording not possible on the violin. The most interesting aspect of the arrangement comes in its cadenzas. Beethoven had written no cadenzas for the Violin Concerto, preferring to leave them to Clement. But now–arranging this concerto for his own instrument–Beethoven composed cadenzas for the first and second movements, and the cadenza for the first movement is spectacular. Here the piano is joined along the way by the timpani, and the two engage in an impressive and at times violent dialogue–Beethoven’s dramatic cadenza makes us re-consider the entire nature of the first movement. The composer would remember this combination of piano and timpani when he composed his “Emperor” Concerto the following year.
Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61
In the spring of 1806 Beethoven finally found time for new projects. For the previous three years, his energies had been consumed by two huge works–the Eroica and the opera Leonore (later re-named Fidelio). Now with the opera done (for the moment), the floodgates opened. Working at white heat over the rest of 1806, Beethoven turned out a rush of works: the Fourth Piano Concerto, the Fourth Symphony, the three Razumovsky Quartets, and the Thirty-Two Variations in C Minor. He also accepted a
commission from violinist Franz Clement for a concerto, and–as was his habit with commissions–put off work on the concerto for as long as possible. Clement had scheduled his concert for December 23, 1806, and Beethoven apparently worked on the music until the last possible instant–legend has it that at the premiere Clement sightread some of the concerto from Beethoven’s manuscript.
Beethoven’s orchestral music from the interval between the powerful Eroica and the violent Fifth Symphony relaxed a little, and the Fourth Piano Concerto, Fourth Symphony, and Violin Concerto are marked by a serenity absent from those symphonies. The Violin Concerto is one of Beethoven’s most regal works, full of easy majesty and spacious in conception (the first movement alone lasts 24 minutes–his longest symphonic movement). Yet mere length does not explain the majestic character of this music, which unfolds with a sort of relaxed nobility. Part–but not all–of the reason for this lies in the unusually lyric nature of the music. We do not normally think of Beethoven as a melodist, but in this concerto he makes full use of the violin’s lyric capabilities. Another reason lies in the concerto’s generally broad tempos: the first movement is marked Allegro, but Beethoven specifies ma non troppo, and even the finale is relaxed rather than brilliant. In fact, at no point in this concerto does Beethoven set out to dazzle his listeners–there are no passages here designed to leave an audience gasping, nor any
that allow the soloist consciously to show off.
The concerto has a remarkable beginning: Beethoven breaks the silence with five quiet timpani strokes. By itself, this is an extraordinary opening, but those five pulses also perform a variety of roles through the first movement–sometimes they function as accompaniment, sometimes as harsh contrast with the soloist, sometimes as a way of modulating to new keys. The movement is built on two ideas: the dignified chordal melody announced by the woodwinds immediately after the opening timpani strokes and a rising-and-falling second idea, also first stated by the woodwinds (this theme is quietly accompanied by the five-note pulse in the strings). Beethoven delays the appearance of the soloist, and this long movement is based exclusively on the two main themes.
The Larghetto, in G major, is a themeand-variation movement. Muted strings present the theme, and the soloist begins to embellish that simple melody, which grows more and more ornate as the movement proceeds. A brief cadenza leads directly into the finale, a rondo based on the sturdy rhythmic idea announced immediately by the soloist. But this is an unusual rondo: its various episodes begin to develop and take on lives of their own (for this reason, the movement is sometimes classified as a sonatarondo). One of these episodes, in G minor and marked dolce, is exceptionally haunting–Beethoven
Pacific
Symphony with Elias Ackerley
develops this theme briefly and then it vanishes, never to return. The movement drives to a huge climax, with the soloist soaring high above the turbulent orchestra, and the music subsides and comes to its close when Beethoven–almost as an afterthought, it seems–turns the rondo theme into the graceful concluding gesture.
Speaking on the Violin Concerto arranged for piano, Elias Ackerley states:
ELIAS ACKERLEY PIANO
Born in Shrewsbury, England, and emigrating the following year to South Korea, Elias Ackerley began his piano studies at the age of 5. Under the guidance of Oleg, Elias won several competitions at an early age, including the junior prize at the Gumi National Piano Competition in 2012. After returning to the United Kingdom, Elias gave his debut recital in Chester, UK and has performed regularly in concerts and with orchestra throughout the country. From 2014 to 2019, Elias was a student at Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester, England where he was a pupil of Dr. Murray McLachlan, under whose tutelage Elias succeeded in becoming the youngest ever winner of the Manchester Beethoven Competition in 2015. Additional accolades included the first prize at the Scottish International Youth Piano Competition (2017), the Blue
Beethoven uses careful alterations from the original Violin Concerto - through which the timbre of the piano is highlighted. I found adapting the sound challenging but incredibly thrilling. It’s so rewarding to play one of my favorite violin concertos on the piano - an instrument with a totally different sound pallette.
Ribbon at the National Eisteddfod (2017) and the Epta UK Piano Competition (2018). In 2018 he was a keyboard finalist in the BBC’s Young Musician of the Year and took the second prize in the Roma International Piano Competition. In 2019, Elias began his studies at the Curtis Institute of Music under the tutelage of Gary Graffman and Meng-Chieh Liu, with additional study under Yefim Bronfman. While at Curtis, Elias was a prize winner at the 2023 Aarhus International Piano Competition in Denmark, as well as being a finalist at the 2024 Montreal International Piano Competition.
In 2022, Elias was accepted into the Kumho Young Artist Concert Programme in South Korea, where he gave his debut recital in the Kumho Arts Centre in Seoul, as well as in Daejon and Busan. From 2019 to 2023, Elias was a recipient of the Dr. KR Weir Legacy Award, which generously supported him through the Keyboard Charitable Trust in
Program notes by Eric Bromberger © 2024
London. Through their recent, Elias recently toured throughout the eastern United States, performing in New York, Philadelphia, D.C. Virginia, and Delaware.
Following his graduation from the Curtis Institute of Music, Elias is currently studying for his master’s degree at The Juilliard School under Robert McDonald. Elias has also participated in masterclasses with Sir Andras Schiff, Stephen Hough and Richard Goode.
PACIFIC SYMPHONY
CARL ST.CLAIR MUSIC DIRECTOR
Currently celebrating its 46th anniversary season, the Symphony is the largest orchestra formed in the U.S. in the last 50 years and is recognized as an outstanding ensemble making strides on both the national and international scene, as well as in its own community of Orange County.
In April 2018, Pacific Symphony made its debut at Carnegie Hall as one of two orchestras invited to perform during a yearlong celebration of composer Philip Glass’ 80th birthday, and the following month the orchestra toured China. The orchestra made its national PBS debut in June 2018 on Great Performances with Peter Boyer’s Ellis Island: The Dream of America, conducted by St.Clair. Presenting more than 100 concerts and events a year and a rich array of education and community engagement programs, the Symphony reaches
more than 300,000 residents—from school children to senior citizens.
In both 2005 and 2010, the Symphony received the prestigious ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming. Also in 2010, a study by the League of American Orchestras, Fearless Journeys, included the Symphony as one of the country’s five most innovative orchestras. The Symphony’s awardwinning education and community engagement programs benefit from the vision of St.Clair and are designed to integrate the orchestra and its music into the community in ways that stimulate all ages.
The Symphony’s Class Act program has been honored as one of nine exemplary orchestra education programs by the National Endowment for the Arts and the League of American Orchestras. The list of instrumental training initiatives includes Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra, Pacific Symphony Youth Wind Ensemble,
Pacific
Symphony with Elias Ackerley
Pacific Symphony Santiago Strings, and Pacific Symphony Youth Concert Band.
The Symphony also spreads the joy of music through arts-X-press, Class Act, Heartstrings, Lantern Festival Orchestra, Symphony on the Go!, and Symphony in the Cities.
Carl St.Clair Music Director, Pacific Symphony © Texas Classical Review
Pacific Symphony Announces Alexander Shelley as next Artistic & Music Director, beginning in 26-27 Season
Alexander Shelley has been appointed as Pacific Symphony’s next Artistic and Music Director, commencing in the 2026–27 season. This marks a historic transition as Carl St.Clair, who has led the orchestra for over three decades, steps into the role of Music Director Laureate in 2025–26. Shelley will serve as Music Director Designate during the 2025–26 season, ensuring a smooth handover of artistic leadership.
Known for his dynamic artistry and innovative programming, Shelley brings extensive experience from his roles as Music Director of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Canada, Principal Associate Conductor of London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and Artistic and Music Director at Artis—Naples. He is celebrated for his operatic productions and groundbreaking multimedia projects, including Life Reflected, which honors Canadian female pioneers, and the ballet-focused Encount3rs
Shelley is a staunch advocate for community engagement and education, demonstrated by initiatives like the NAC Mentorship Program and Germany’s awardwinning “Future Lab.” His appointment signals an exciting new era for Pacific Symphony, building on its legacy of musical
excellence, education, and cultural contributions to Southern California.
Shelley’s vision for Pacific Symphony includes expanding its reach through inclusive programming, fostering new connections, and celebrating the role of music in uniting communities. His deep respect for the orchestra’s artistic foundation, paired with his forward-thinking leadership, promises to usher in a vibrant and innovative chapter for the ensemble.
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SOKA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
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Concessions
A wide variety of wine, beer, soft drinks and freshly prepared snacks will be available before the concert.
Artist Drink Pick
Sauvignon blanc
We asked the artist for their favorite drink pick to feature at concessions! Sauvignon blanc was selected by Elias Ackerley and will be available for purchase before the performance.
Pre-order your concessions and skip the line! Click
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