THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY College of Music presents
Members of the University Philharmonia
Alexander Jiménez, Music Director & Conductor
Thursday, October 3, 2024
7:30 p.m. | Opperman Music Hall
PROGRAM
Pelleas et Mélisande Suite, Op. 46 Jean Sibelius
At the Castle Gate (1865–1957)
Mélisande
A Spring in the Park
The Three Blind Sisters
Pastorale
Mélisande at the Spinning Wheel
Entr’acte
The Death of Mélisande
— Brief Pause —
Symphony No. 104 in D Major “London” Franz Joseph Haydn
Adagio-Allegro (1732–1809)
Andante
Minuet and Trio: Allegro
Finale: Spiritoso
To Ensure An Enjoyable Concert Experience For All…
Please refrain from talking, entering, or exiting during performances. Food and drink are prohibited in all concert halls. Recording or broadcasting of the concert by any means, including the use of digital cameras, cell phones, or other devices is expressly forbidden. Please deactivate all portable electronic devices including watches, cell phones, pagers, hand-held gaming devices or other electronic equipment that may distract the audience or performers.
Recording Notice: This performance may be recorded. Please note that members of the audience may at times be included in this process. By attending this performance you consent to have your image or likeness appear in any live or recorded video or other transmission or reproduction made in conjunction to the performance.
Florida State University provides accommodations for persons with disabilities. Please notify the College of Music at (850) 644-3424 at least five working days prior to a musical event to request accommodation for disability or alternative program format.
Sibelius – Pelléas et Melisande Suite
These days, when we hear of the doomed lovers Pelléas and Mélisande, we most often think of Claude Debussy’s opera, but there were other composers who took up the story by Maurice Maeterlinck.
In Maeterlinck’s 1893 play, Golaud finds Mélisande in the woods and marries her. After a while, however, she finds Golaud’s brother Pelléas to be of interest and after they are seen caressing in the woods, Golaud kills his brother and mortally wounds Mélisande, who later dies in childbirth, producing a very small baby girl. It’s a basic triangle love story that goes wrong, but Maeterlinck has given Mélisande a backstory that makes it all the more tragic. Mélisande is in the wood because she’s just escaped from a traumatizing earlier marriage – she cannot remember her past. By the time she’s dying at the end, she doesn’t remember Pelléas either, nor does she seem to realize that she’s dying. She’s not the conniving wife that the basic story line could make her, mostly she just seems confused.
In the musical world, in addition to Debussy’s 1902 opera, a number of composers wrote incidental music for performances of the play, or symphonic poems on it, including Gabriel Fauré, Arnold Schoenberg, and Jean Sibelius
Sibelius’ 1905 incidental music for Maeterlinck’s play Pelléas und Mélisande was commissioned by the Swedish Theatre. Although Schoenberg’s tone poem had been released two months before Sibelius’ March 1905 premiere, there’s no evidence the Schoenberg had any influence on Sibelius’ work – it was far more indebted to the current fashion for Maeterlinck. When critics compared it to Debussy’s 1898 opera, they found that Sibelius had a different way to ‘clothe his own tone pictures in a subdued, gentle and restrained atmosphere’ than Debussy has with his ‘pianissimo mannerisms.’ The original incidental music had 10 parts and 9 of them found their way into the suite that Sibelius later arranged (tonight you will hear 8 of the nine parts).
– Reprinted from Pelléas and Mélisande: How It Inspired Five Non-Debussy Composers (interlude.hk)
Haydn – Symphony No. 104 in D Major “London”
Haydn’s twelve “London Symphonies” emerged during two extended visits to the English capital in the early 1790s. Commissioned by Johann Peter Salomon, a prominent violinist and concert organizer, these symphonies solidified Haydn’s status as a luminary in London’s musical scene. Premiered in venues like the Hannover Square Rooms and later the King’s Theater, these symphonies were met with enthusiastic audiences of around 500, making them major cultural events. The increasing size of London’s orchestras, with up to 60 musicians featuring double woodwinds, allowed Haydn to broaden the scope of his compositions. Despite being financially successful, Salomon’s concert series eventually faced challenges, prompting Haydn to collaborate with other presenters.
Amidst this musical ferment, Symphony No. 104, often dubbed the “London Symphony,” took its place as the twelfth and final work in this remarkable series. Its premiere in 1795 marked the culmination of Haydn’s symphonic output and solidified his reputation as a musical trailblazer in a city teeming with artistic fervor. The symphony not only encapsulates the spirit of the time but also serves as a testament to Haydn’s ability to captivate and innovate, leaving an enduring legacy that resonates far beyond the London of the 1790s.
The Adagio—Allegro opens with a grand introduction in D minor, leading into a joyful Allegro in D major. Haydn’s signature wit and unpredictability are evident as the symphony unfolds. The second movement, an Andante, unveils a lyrical melody in the strings undergoing enchanting variations, while a brief episode adds nuances through the minor mode. In the third movement, a lively D major Menuetto is paired with a modest Trio in the oboe and bassoon. The symphony concludes with a spirited Finale, featuring a folklike melody long assumed to be quoting from the streetsong “Hot Cross Buns,” but has since been identified as “Oj Jelena,” a ballad sung by the Croatians living in Eisenstadt that Haydn must have heard during his earlier years with the Esterházy family. The symphony’s exuberant finale, with these folk-inspired elements, resonates with the diverse cultural tapestry of 18th-century London.
– Benjamin P. Skoronski
Violin 1
Will Purser‡
Rose Ossi
Myra Sexton
Amanda Marcy
Noah Johnson
Peter Fenema
Eden Rewa
Abigail Jennings
Samuel Ovalle
Violin 2
Mariana Reyes Parra*
Olivia Leichter
Quinn French
Elina Nyquist
Sarita Thosteson
Sean Hartman
Kali Henre
University Philharmonia Personnel
Alexander Jiménez, Music Director
Thomas Roggio, Graduate Associate Conductor
Viola
Abigayle Benoit*
Jonathan Taylor
Emma Patterson
Cello
Param Mehta*
Sydney Spencer
Caroline Keen
Jaden Sanzo
Jake Reisinger
Zoe Thornton
Sophie Stalnaker
Bass
Emma Waidner*
Garner Brant
Paris Lallis
Flute
Paige Douglas*
Kathryn Lang
Cameron McGill
Oboe
Sarah Ward**
Alec McDaniel**
Samantha Osborne
Clarinet
Daniel Gonzalez*
Dawson Huynh
Bassoon
Timothy Schwindt**
Hannah Farmer**
Diego Crisostomo
Robert Kennedy
Horn
Allison Kirkpatrick*
Vincent Aldoretta
Trumpet
Sharavan Duvvuri*
Brian Ratledge
Percussion
Ian Guarraia*
Gabby Overholt
Will McCoy
Orchestra Manager
Za’Kharia Cox
Orchestra Stage Manager
Sierra Su
Orchestra Librarians
Guilherme Rodrigues
Tom Roggio
Library Bowing Assistant
Victoria Joyce
‡ Concertmaster
* Principal
** Co-Principal