Notes on the Program by Ken Meltzer DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, on September 25, 1906, and died in Moscow, Russia, on August 9, 1975. The first performance of the Festive Overture took place at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow on November 6, 1954, with Alexander Melik-Pashayev conducting the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra. The Festive Overture is scored for piccolo, two flutes, three oboes, three clarinets, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, triangle, snare drum, cymbals, bass drum, and strings.
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mitri Shostakovich composed his Festive Overture in the autumn of 1954. The premiere took place at Moscow’s Bolshoi Theater on November 6, 1954. Shostakovich composed the Festive Overture as part of the celebrations of the 37th anniversary of the October Revolution. But some commentators have suggested that the work’s energy and high spirits express Shostakovich’s reaction to the death the previous year of his long-time nemesis, Soviet Dictator Joseph Stalin. Concerto for Violin and Orchestra No. 2 in G minor, Opus 63 (1935)
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n his autobiography, Sergei Prokofiev recalled the circumstances surrounding the creation of his Violin Concerto No. 2: In 1935 a group of admirers of the French violinist (Robert) Soëtans asked me to write a violin concerto for him, giving him exclusive rights to perform it for one year. I readily agreed since I had been intending to write something for the violin at that time and had accumulated some material. As in the case of the preceding concertos, I began by searching for an original title for the piece, such as “concert sonata for violin and orchestra,” but finally returned to the simplest solution: Concerto No. 2. Nevertheless, I wanted it to be altogether different from No. 1 both as to music and style. Despite Prokofiev’s apparent desire that his Second Violin Concerto stand in sharp contrast to the First, most commentators have noted the similarly elegant and lyric nature of the two works. Regardless of Prokofiev’s stated intent, what emerged is a work of enduring charm and grace that demands the highest level of technical mastery from the soloist.
The Concerto is in three movements. SERGEI PROKOFIEV was born in This concert features the opening moveSontsovka, Russia, on April 23, 1891, ment (Allegro moderato), based upon two and died in Moscow, Russia, on March 5, themes, both introduced by the soloist. 1953. The first performance of the Violin Concerto No. 2 took place in Madrid, Spain, on December 1, 1935, with Robert Soëtans as soloist and Enrique Arbos conducting the Madrid Symphony Orchestra. In addition to the solo violin, the Concerto is scored for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two trumpets, two horns, triangle, suspended cymbal, castanets, snare drum, bass drum, triangle, and strings.
Romeo and Juliet, Fantasy Overture (1870, rev. 1880) PETER ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY was born in Kamsko-Votkinsk, Russia, on May 7, 1840, and died in St. Petersburg, Russia, on November 6, 1893. The first performance of the Romeo and Juliet, Fantasy Overture took place in Moscow, Russia, at a concert of the Musical Society on March 16, 1870, with Nikolai Rubinstein conducting.
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ASO | 5.26 | program
Festive Overture, Opus 96 (1954)