Program Notes
Coriolan, continued:
Star Spangled Banner
The contrasting, tender E-flat major theme could
John Stafford Smith/ arr. Arturo Toscanini. The Star Spangled Banner has been the national anthem of the USA since 1931; Francis Scott Key's lyrics were set to a popular tune by John Stafford Smith of London. Arturo Toscanini was an internationally renowned Italian conductor and one of the first and most influential radio, film, and television stars of classical music. His meteoric career began at age 19 and he was appointed principal conductor at Milan’s famed opera house La Scala in 1898. Toscanini came to the United States 10 years later to direct performances for New York’s Metropolitan Opera; he conducted the New York Philharmonic from 1928 to 1936. Renouncing his home country's fascist regime, Toscanini's passionate embrace of the United States' national anthem during World War II made a strong statement. With this arrangement of the Star Spangled Banner, written originally for the NBC Orchestra, he offered a compelling personal tribute to his new home.
Brian Balmages: Eagles Among Us Eagles Among Us is a powerful overture-style work
represent the mercy plea of Volumnia, the protagonist’s mother or Coriolanus’ sudden epiphany of affection for his home city. Unlike the Fifth Symphony, the Coriolan ends in tragedy, with Coriolanus' death. The music grows in agony as Coriolanus faces his ultimate fate. In the end we hear only string pizzicati, representing his last heartbeats.
Edvard Grieg: Peer Gynt Suites I & II Ibsen wrote Peer Gynt in 1867 as a dramatic poem, rather than as a work for the stage. Seven years later he asked his friend Grieg, already firmly established as Norway's leading composer, to collaborate in adapting the work for the stage by setting the text to music to create a melodrama. The work is based on old folk legends and tells the often complex life story of Peer Gynt, including his marriage to Solveig, encounters with trolls and other strange beings, and eventual death. The two orchestral suites were published in 1888 and 1893 respectively and were an immediate success; so much so that Grieg complained that as a result his publishers were no longer interested in printing the full score! Much
with cinematic overtones. The music reflects the vision
of the music's appeal lies in Grieg's ability to encapsulate
of the world from the eyes of an eagle in flight. The
a situation or character perfectly in no more than a few
music includes dramatic fanfares juxtaposed with
phrases, and this is well demonstrated by the four short
moments of lyricism that range from calming to
pieces that make up this suite. It may, however, come as
soaring, and seeks to portray the majestic qualities of
something of a surprise to discover that the celebrated
this magnificent creature.
'Morning Song' was not intended to depict a fresh spring
morning in the Norwegian mountains, but was actually
Brahms: How Lovely is Thy Dwelling Place Originally for choir and orchestra, this flowing movement from Brahms' longest work, his German Requiem, translates beautifully for orchestra alone.
Navarro: España Cañi The stirring Spanish style is immediately recognizable, particularly in this, the most famous of paso dobles. The paso doble is a stylized
written to accompany a sunrise in the Sahara desert, where part of the action takes place. Perhaps the underlying message is that wherever Peer went he took with him his essential Norwegian-ness. In the famous 'Hall of the Mountain King' Peer is greeted by assembled trolls, in mounting uproar at the imminent seduction of their princess.
Spanish couple dance modeled after the matador's entrance or his final dramatic passes at the bull.
-By Richard Thompson. Used with permission of The Brandon Hill Chamber Orchestra of Bristol, UK
Ludwig van Beethoven: Coriolan Overture, Op. 62 Viennese poet and playwright Heinrich Joseph von Collin (1771-1811) wrote the tragedy Coriolan in 1804, telling the story of the fifth century BC Roman general Gaius Marcus Coriolanus, who unsuccessfully attempted to wage war against his home city. Despite von Collins’ attempt at writing in a classic Shakespearian style, the tragedy was largely unsuccessful, especially when compared to Shakespeare’s own play, Coriolanus, also based on the legendary military leader. The manuscript to Beethoven’s overture reads, “Based on the drama Coriolan.” Beethoven’s motive for writing the overture, years after the von Collin tragedy had become dormant, remains unclear. The story of Coriolanus, a fateful hero intriguingly fits somewhat into the narrative of Beethoven’s middle period. The opening C minor key, full of nervous energy, represents Coriolanus’ war-like resolve and could possibly foreshadow the Fifth Symphony, composed the following year.
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