July 2

Miller Outdoor Theatre

C. SIMON Fate Now Conquers SCHUMANN Cello Concerto FARRENC Symphony No. 3

Lina Gonzáles-Granados, conductor 20 | Houston Symphony Gabriel Martins, cello

PRESENTED BY

GUARANTOR

City of Houston through the Miller Theatre Advisory Board

The Houston Symphony's Miller Outdoor Theatre concerts are endowed by The Brown Foundation, Inc. in memory of Hanni Orton and Stewart Orton

The Houston Symphony's sound shell ceiling is made possible through the generosity of the Beauchamp Foundation and the Fondren Foundation

Fate Now Conquers

• Carlos Simon is an American performer and composer of numerous works for film, chamber groups, and symphonies. Over the course of his career, Simon has earned numerous accolades, including a 2021 Sphinx Medal of Excellence, a Sundance Composer Fellowship, and his current position as composer-in-residence at the Kennedy Center.

• Simon began composing Fate Now Conquers at the request of his mentor, former Houston

Symphony composer-in-residence Gabriela

Lena Frank, who asked him to write a piece inspired by Beethoven’s 4th, 7th, and 8th Symphonies, to be premiered by the

Philadelphia Orchestra in September 2020. He was inspired by a passage from the Iliad which

Beethoven wrote in his personal notebook: But

Fate now conquers; I am hers; and yet not she shall share In my renown; that life is left to every noble spirit And that some great deed shall beget that all lives shall inherit.

Below are Simon’s own notes on the work:

• “Using the beautifully fluid harmonic structure of the second movement of Beethoven’s Seventh

Symphony, I have composed musical gestures that are representative of the unpredictable ways of fate. Jolting stabs, coupled with an agitated groove with every persona. Frenzied arpeggios in the strings that morph into an ambiguous cloud of free-flowing running passages depict the uncertainty of life that hovers over us.

• “We know that Beethoven strived to overcome many obstacles in his life and documented his aspirations to prevail, despite his ailments.

Whatever the specific reason for including this particularly profound passage from the Iliad, in the end, it seems that Beethoven relinquished [himself] to fate. Fate now conquers.”

Cello Concerto in A minor, Opus 129

• Schumann composed his only cello concerto toward the end of his life, completing the work in just two weeks in 1850. Despite a lack of solo repertoire for the cello at the time, Schumann had some difficulty getting it published, and the concerto wasn’t performed during his lifetime. It has since earned recognition for its masterful orchestration, which Schumann carefully constructed so as not to bury the soloist beneath the sound of the orchestra.

• The concerto begins with three tentative chords in the strings, which introduce a hauntingly beautiful melody in the cello. The soloist yields to the orchestra momentarily before returning with a sensitive secondary theme, which is interrupted by a return of the primary initial melody. These two themes are developed slowly, building in intensity without breaking the sense of restraint pervades the movement. Finally, the orchestra fades away, blending into the texture of the second movement.

• The second movement begins with a delicate duet between the soloist and a single cellist from the orchestra. The soloist then takes over with a tender melody played with double stops, a technique in which the performer plays two strings at once. The opening duet returns, followed by a recollection of the opening theme of the concerto in the woodwinds, before ending with a pensive, but increasingly energetic cello solo which continues into the finale.

• The final movement is the liveliest of the three and opens with the same three chords from the beginning of the concerto. The cello then begins a virtuosic dialogue with the woodwinds, which transitions into a lush secondary theme.

A dynamic cadenza heralds the end of the piece, in which the orchestra enters in force, climbing upward before crashing down for a dramatic conclusion.

Symphony No. 3 in G minor, Opus 36

• Louise Farrenc was a French composer, pianist, and pedagogue. In addition to her groundbreaking role as a female symphonic composer and pedagogue (she was the only female faculty member at the Paris Conservatoire for more than a century), she was also focused on instrumental music at a time when most French composers wrote for the opera, due to the lack of support for orchestras at the time.

• Much of Farrenc’s early compositions were devoted to the piano, and it wasn’t until 1840 that she began to seriously compose for the symphony. From this point, Farrenc would compose many chamber works, two overtures, and three symphonies, the last of which she completed in 1847. It wouldn’t be premiered until 1849, on a program that also included Beethoven’s Fifth

Symphony.

• The symphony begins with a tentative introduction by the oboe before the strings are introduced and begin to build toward a bustling allegro. The first theme is presented in unison in the strings, before transitioning to an airy secondary theme, presented by the woodwind section. These two themes are developed and contrasted, before returning in full and ending with a fiery coda.

• The graceful second movement begins with an aria-like melody in the clarinet, before blossoming into a soaring string melody. Masterful woodwind writing and flowing arpeggiated accompaniment characterize this movement, which ends with a gradual diminuendo heralded by a gentle horn call.

• The third movement takes the form of a lively scherzo, with a scurrying primary theme that gives way to a stately trio section driven by repeated chords in the horns and arpeggio figures in the woodwinds before recalling the opening material once more.

• The finale opens with a brisk unison melody in the strings, which gives way to a soaring melody in the violins. Multiple themes make their entrance throughout the movement, which is characterized by sudden, dramatic shifts in tone, often separated by massive unison chords in the orchestra.

Colombian-American Lina González-Granados has recently been appointed resident conductor by the LA Opera; she will hold the position through June 2025. Praised for her "attention to orchestral colors" (OperaWire) and ability to create "lightning changes in tempo, meter, and effect" (Boston Musical Intelligencer), Lina has distinguished herself as a talented young conductor of symphonic and operatic repertoire. Her spirited interpretations of the orchestral repertoire, as well as her dedication to highlighting new and unknown works by Latin- American composers, have earned her international recognition, most recently as the recipient of the 2021 Sphinx Medal of Excellence, the Third Prize and ECHO Special Award of La Maestra Competition, and the 2020 and 2021 Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award.

As winner of the Fourth Chicago Symphony Orchestra Sir Georg Solti International Conducting Competition, Lina became the new Solti Conducting Apprentice under the guidance of Maestro Riccardo Muti, 2020 through June 2022. She has held positions as conducting fellow of the Philadelphia Orchestra and Seattle Symphony. Her 2021-22 season highlights included returns to the New York Philharmonic and Rochester Philharmonic, as well as debuts with the National Symphony, Gulbenkian Orchestra, Spanish National Orchestra, Barcelona Symphony, Nürnberger Symphoniker, Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini, Kristiansand Symphony, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Polish National Radio Symphony, Orquesta del Principado de Asturias, Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León, and Tenerife Symphony. She also led the production of Il Barbiere di Siviglia at the Dallas Opera. Lina is a fervent proponent of new works for chamber and large orchestra, especially music from Latin-American composers. She is the founder/artistic director of Unitas Ensemble, a chamber orchestra that performs the works of Latinx composers, and provides access to free community performances for underserved communities.

Born and raised in Cali, Colombia, Lina made her conducting debut in 2008 with the Youth Orchestra of Bellas Artes in Cali. She holds a master’s degree in conducting with Charles Peltz, a graduate diploma in choral conducting from New England Conservatory with Erica Washburn, and a doctor of musical arts in orchestral conducting from Boston University. Her principal mentors include Marin Alsop, Bernard Haitink, Bramwell Tovey, and Yannick Nézet- Séguin.