Scan the code or visit lubbocksymphony.org/education for recordings of musical excerpts from our program, recommended listening, information about the arts in Lubbock, and more!
A NIGHT OF BRAHMS CONCERT TICKETS VOUCHER
Get up to two free tickets to the full LSO performance of A Night of Brahms on Nov. 16, 2024 at 7:30 PM in The Buddy Holly Hall, with a special performance at 5:30 PM by the Hannah Jackson Band.
• Visit bit.ly/lsobrahms and select your seats on eTix
• Select “Guidebook” in the dropdown menu next to each ticket in the price column.
• After you add your tickets, you will be asked to enter a password. The password is BRAHMSED24.
• Call the LSO Box office at (806) 762-1688 if you have any questions!
CONCERT ETIQUETTE
We are so excited to have you join us for this wonderful musical experience. The musicians you will see in the upcoming performance depend on you for their success. An audience that pays attention and doesn’t cause distractions will help their performance!
BASIC CONCERT RULES
• Use the bathroom before the concert if needed
• The concert will start when the lights dim
• Don’t make noise during the concert
• Stay in your seat until your teachers give you instructions to leave
WHEN TO CLAP
In classical music, you clap at the very beginning of the concert and at the very end when it is over. Classical songs may start and stop a lot, so you don’t need to clap every time it stops!
It’s okay to clap...
• When the concertmaster violinist comes on stage
• When the conductor walks to the podium
• When the conductor takes a bow at the end
DO YOU PLAY AN INSTRUMENT? JOIN US!
As the K-12 counterpart of Lubbock Symphony, LYO provides a fun and challenging music experience for students of various skill levels. We have three orchestras (Prelude, Philharmonic, and Symphony) and a Winds Ensemble. For more information, visit lubbockyouthorchestras.org.
ALL ABOUT THE SYMPHONY
If you love music, we have just the place for you: a symphony concert! If you have never attended a symphony concert before, no worries! There is nothing quite like getting to hear live music. This will be a special experience for you and your friends and family. First, let’s learn more about the symphony.
A symphony is who we are and what we play! The term symphony is short for “symphony orchestra.” This is a talented group of musicians of all ages and backgrounds. The musicians play a variety of instruments that you will learn about in this book.
ABOUT THE LUBBOCK SYMPHONY
Lubbock Symphony Orchestra (LSO) began as a volunteer orchestra in 1946 and became a professional orchestra in 1967. It has over 100 members who perform classical masterworks, chamber music, and “pops” concerts each season. LSO also oversees educational outreach programs such as this education concert.
MAESTRO DAVID CHO
David In-Jae Cho is the Music Director/ Conductor (also referred to as “Maestro”) of the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra. He is an accomplished pianist and conductor, and has been with LSO since 2012!
A symphony is also a type of music that the orchestra plays. Professional orchestras have been performing symphonies for over 200 years! Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, and Tchaikovsky all wrote amazing symphonies that are still popular today. When you attend a symphony concert, you will hear a variety of music by composers from around the world.
Which composers are some of your greatest musical influences? I love virtually all of the music I get to play. Brahms is absolutely one of my favorite composers, and one of the greatest composers to ever live. The Violin Concerto is one of his best pieces, and I think it’s maybe the most dramatic and epic violin concerto in the repertoire.
What inspired you to start playing the violin? Do you come from a musical family? I first heard the violin live when I was 3 and was so taken with it that I started begging my parents for a violin! I don’t come from a family of musicians, but my family enjoys music and my siblings are really musically talented.
If you were not a professional violinist, what other career would you I am a total nature nut. I used to answer this question by saying I’d love to be a national geographic photographer, but now I think I’d be a landscape architect.
What advice would you give to young musicians interested in a performance career? My motto is “enjoyment over achievement!” It’s really easy to fall into the trap of practicing because you want to achieve something, like winning a competition, getting into a school, etc. If you practice for your own enjoyment of the music and the instrument, you will sound better, and you will always be fulfilled, rather than relying on the judgment of others for fulfillment.
Please share one of your most memorable performances. I have had many memorable performances, for many different reasons! I’ll never forget playing right by the beach in California and hearing sea lions bark super loudly whenever the brass section would play. The hardest I’ve laughed on stage was in Slovenia. The most remote place I’ve played was in Manaus, Brazil, which is the capital of Amazonas, in the middle of the Amazon! I played at a festival in Alta, Norway, which is north of the arctic circle, and we went on a ride through the Norwegian forest on sleds pulled by dogs on our off day. Musically, I remember almost all of my performances. The music that I get to play is so powerful and moving that it’s like experiencing a major life event when I get to perform it. Brahms’s Violin Concerto is one of the most dramatic and moving pieces in the violin repertoire--I know this performance with the Lubbock Symphony will be extremely memorable for me!
JOHANNES BRAHMS
ALL ABOUT BRAHMS
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) was a composer, conductor and pianist from Hamburg, Germany. He grew up in a musical family and showed talent for music at a young age. By age 7, Brahms had started piano lessons, and would also learn cello, horn, and music theory. As a young composer, Brahms was greatly influenced by the music of Bach, Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. Brahms included a variety of styles in his music, and wrote symphonies, string quartets, and concertos.
Brahms is considered a Romantic composer. The Romantic Period took place from around 1820-1900. Composers of this period experimented with harmony and wrote music that expressed various emotions. The music of Brahms does this and it is amazing to listen to!
VIOLIN CONCERTO
NO. 60 SPECKSTRASSE, HAMBURG. BRAHMS’S BIRTHPLACE
Today we will explore Brahms’s Violin Concerto. A concerto is music written for a solo instrument accompanied by an orchestra. Remember that a concerto typically has three parts, or movements to it. Check out the chart on the next page!
Brahms wrote Violin Concerto in D Major in 1878 while he was in Austria. He dedicated the piece to his friend, Joseph Joachim, a famous Hungarian violinist of the time. They would continue working together and performing concerts throughout their lives. The official premiere was January 1st, 1879. Surprisingly, it was not received well by all audiences. Some people criticized that the concerto sounded too much like a symphony! But over time, the concerto would become one of the most famous pieces for violin repertoire. Over a century after the premiere, it is still studied and performed by professional violinists all over the world.
As we know, a concerto has three movements. Below are the movements for Brahms’s Violin Concerto. Although Brahms was a German composer, the title of each movement is in Italian, which is common for many musical works:
• Allegro non troppo (Fast, but not too much)
• Adagio (Slowly)
• Allegro giocoso, ma non troppo vivace (Fast and playful, but not too much)
BRAHMS AND JOACHIM, 1855.
MOVEMENTS OF A CONCERTO
1st Fast & Dramatic
2nd Slow & Expressive
3rd Fun & Energetic
This is a massive musical work for a violinist. The entire piece usually takes almost 40 minutes to play! It requires intense energy and concentration from the soloist. The first movement alone is about 20 minutes, and the soloist enters after a grand introduction played by the orchestra. Below is an excerpt from the first movement featuring the dramatic opening notes of the solo violinist:
The first movement also includes an amazing cadenza for the soloist. A cadenza is a challenging solo passage played without the orchestra. It is so interesting to hear and often sounds like the soloist improvised or made up the music on the spot! The original cadenza for this piece was written by Joachim and is still used today. Below is an excerpt from the cadenza:
Brahms’s Violin Concerto truly has it all. It is an incredible mix of heartfelt melodies and technical fireworks from the soloist. There are moments of intense drama and joyful energy. You will also hear that the soloist and the orchestra both have demanding parts. It is a truly unique piece that you will not forget. We hope you enjoy the upcoming performance by violin master, William Hagen!
NO. 60 SPECKSTRASSE, HAMBURG. and BRAHMS AND JOACHIM, 1855. from THE LIFE OF JOHANNES BRAHMS, VOL. 1 by Florence May (1905).
SYMPHONY NO. 1
The title of this guidebook is Brahms: The Visionary. After hearing the music of Brahms, it is easy to understand why! He was a gifted pianist and composer and wrote music that takes the listener on a journey. He had a vision for music and was inspired by great composers such as Bach, Beethoven, Haydn and Mozart. Throughout history, Brahms has been considered a master composer. However, Brahms did not believe that about himself during his career. For years, he was afraid to write a symphony because he did not want to be compared to Beethoven. Brahms once said, “You have no idea how someone like me feels when he hears such a giant marching behind him all the time!” It took him almost 20 years to complete his first symphony. We are so glad that he did!
Symphony No. 1 in C Minor premiered in 1876 in Karlsruhe, Germany. Brahms was 43 years old at the time. The audience enjoyed the performance! Of course, many compared it to Beethoven’s symphonies. But Brahms wanted to honor Beethoven with his work. Parts of the symphony have a Beethoven quality to it. Some have even given the symphony a nickname of “Beethoven’s 10th,” since Beethoven only composed 9 symphonies during his career. Brahms would compose 4 symphonies throughout his career.
As we learned earlier, a symphony has 4 parts or movements. Below are the movements for Brahms’s Symphony No. 1. The titles for these are also written in Italian:
• Un poco sostenuto-Allegro (A little sustained-Fast)
• Andante sostenuto (Walking pace, sustained)
• Un poco allegretto e grazioso (A little fast and graceful)
• Adagio-Piu andante-Allegro non troppo, ma con brio-Piu allegro (Slowly- More walking pace-Fast, but not too much-Faster)
KARLSRUHE PALACE, C. 1910
Similar to the concerto, Symphony No. 1 is another epic musical work! The piece typically takes 40-45 minutes to perform. All instruments in the orchestra have challenging parts throughout the symphony. If you enjoy drama and excitement in music, then this is the piece for you! Below is an excerpt from the opening of the first movement. It’s bold and powerful and the steady beat of the timpani adds another level of drama:
The second movement has a completely different character than the first. It starts very calm and peaceful. This is great because we need to catch our breath after the first movement! Listen for the beautiful melody found first with the oboe and then with the solo violin and horn.
The third movement starts relaxed and then becomes more upbeat. The melodies in this movement are graceful and charming. Listen for the melody in the clarinets.
TIMPANI
VIOLIN
VIOLA
CELLO
BASS
OBOE
CLARINET
Throughout the symphony, Brahms uses something called syncopation. This means that music is not played on the beat. Check out the excerpt below. Listen for the way the rhythm changes in the strings:
The fourth movement has many tempo changes. It begins slowly, but then quickly picks up speed. There is also a beautiful theme that sound a little like something Beethoven would write. In Beethoven’s Symphony no. 9, there was a famous tune in the 4th movement called “Ode to Joy”. Brahms created a similar theme to honor Beethoven. He also changes the key from C Minor to C Major. This creates a triumphant character to the music. Check out the excerpt below. The strings have the melody first, followed by the winds:
Although he was compared to Beethoven during his career, Brahms found his own unique musical style. He was truly a visionary and would become one of the most famous composers in the world. We are so excited to have you with us for the Teen Education Concert. Remember to listen to all musical excerpts found on our website, lubbocksymphony.org/education. Enjoy the show!
VIOLIN
VIOLA
CELLO
BASS
VIOLIN
VIOLA
HEY STUDENTS! GET TWO FREE TICKETS to both performances, Ticket Voucher information on Page. 1!
David Cho Music Director
Galen Wixson President & CEO
Kea Beasley Education Director
Callie Watson Guidebook Designer
This concert was made possible in part through a grant from the City of Lubbock, as recommended by Civic Lubbock, Inc.
All performances are at the Buddy Holly Hall of Performing Arts & Sciences unless stated otherwise. Special Ticket Voucher information is included inside.
