Programme Notes | Mahler 1 with Lahav Shani - 4, 5 & 7 November 2021

Programme Notes

MAHLER 1 WITH LAHAV SHANI THU 4 NOVEMBER 2021 • 20.15 FRI 5 NOVEMBER 2021 • 20.15 SUN 7 NOVEMBER 2021 • 14.15

PROGRAMME conductor Lahav Shani cello Nicolas Altstaedt Ernest Bloch 1880-1959 Schelomo, Rhapsodie Hébraïque for Cello and Orchestra [1915-16] Interval Gustav Mahler 1860-1911 Symphony No. 1 in D major [1884-88, revised 1906] • Langsam, schleppend (Wie ein Naturlaut) – Im Anfang sehr gemächlich • Kräftig bewegt, doch nicht zu schnell • Feierlich und gemessen, ohne zu schleppen • Stürmisch bewegt Concert ends at around 22.10/16.10

The hunter’s funeral procession. Lithography by J.F. Wentzel, c. 1850.

Gustav Mahler based the funeral march in his First Symphony on this scene.

JEWISH ROOTS

With a composer like Gustav Mahler, who puts himself at the heart of his compositions, you would expect his Jewish origins to come clearly to the fore. But that is not really the case. A more convincing Jewish sound can be heard with Ernest Bloch. You could even argue that in his ‘Jewish Cycle’ he found his own voice as a composer.

Most recent performances by our orchestra: Bloch Schelomo: Dec 2006, cello Sol Gabetta, conductor Leonard Slatkin Mahler Symphony No. 1: Jun 2017, conductor David Afkham One hour before the start of the concert, Gijsbert Kok will give an introduction to the programme, admission €5. Tickets are available at the hall, payment by debit card. The introduction is free for Vrienden. The introduction is in Dutch.

Cover: King Solomon reading the Torah, 13th century miniature, collection British Museum.

Voice Bloch composed initially in his spare time, working as he did in his father’s clock shop in Geneva, and was influenced predominantly by Debussy and Richard Strauss. He had some early successes, including the performance of his First Symphony in 1903 at a music festival in Basel.

At that event Mahler conducted his Second, which impressed the young Ernest profoundly, but this led to nothing more than a brief exchange of correspondence. When in 1911, at the age of 31, he got an appointment at the Geneva Conservatory of Music he was able to concentrate more on

composition, soon producing a series of works that later became known as his ‘Jewish Cycle’: epic, emotional works on biblical subjects. He rarely quotes actual Hebrew themes but with his tonal material, rhythms and instrumentation he never fails to reproduce a convincing Levantine atmosphere. The undoubted highlight of the cycle is Schelomo, the Hebrew Rhapsody for cello and orchestra, composed in 1915.

His mood gloomy because of the misery of the First World War, Bloch chose as his starting point the Book of Ecclesiastes, which is about all the absurdity and vanity in the world.

He wanted it to be a vocal work but Bloch had insufficient knowledge of Hebrew, and other languages were not an option. After an encounter with the Russian cellist Alexander Barjansky he discovered in the cello, with its large range and profound character, the voice of Solomon, the voice of Ecclesiastes. Despite its rhapsodic form, the piece has a clear structure, with a fast middle movement in between two slow outer movements.

In that middle movement the oboe introduces a song that Bloch’s father used to sing: Kodosh Attoh. Hope is hard to find in this music; even the ending brings no relief. But the

In the end, the music has to speak for itself, but it is evident that the protagonist in this First Symphony is the composer himself

masterpiece did put Bloch on the map as a composer.

Love affair Gustav Mahler had not yet composed a symphony when in 1888, at the age of 28, he found overnight fame.

As Kapellmeister at the Leipzig City Theatre he conducted the world premiere of Die drei Pintos, an unfinished opera by Carl Maria von Weber that Mahler had completed.

Its enormous success and the enthusiasm of the composer’s grandson – who had given him the commission – and, even more, that of his wife Marion, with whom Gustav had a secret, passionate affair, soon led to a burst of creation: he committed virtually the entire First Symphony to paper within six weeks. It was originally conceived as a symphonic poem in five movements, but the second movement, a declaration of love to Marion entitled Blumine, was later discarded. The relationship came to an end as well: Mahler was waiting at the station, train tickets in his hand, to elope with her when she called it off. It must have reminded him of an unhappy love affair in 1884, which he had portrayed in his Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen. He quoted two of those songs in his First Symphony.

The optimistic Mahler hoped that he could now earn a living as a composer, but the premiere of the symphony in Budapest in 1889 was a fiasco. The audience was unable to understand the music and he revised the score thoroughly on several occasions.

Not only did he alter the form and the orchestration, he also appended programmes and titles to the piece, only to scrap them later. In the end, the music has to speak for itself, but it is evident that the protagonist in this First Symphony is the composer himself.

Daring At the beginning of the symphony – representing the awakening of nature – the clarinet imitates the call of the cuckoo. This interval of a descending fourth subsequently turns into the cornerstone of the symphony. It gives rise to the theme in the celli from the song Ging heut’ Morgen übers Feld.

This same interval recurs in the third movement as timpani accompaniment when the double bass plays the mournful canon of the funeral march.

If the symphony can be thought of as reflecting the life of the young Gustav, what is represented here could be the months that he spent at the deathbed of his beloved brother Ernst. And as for the prominent role of the double bass, could it be mere coincidence that his first music teacher was the double bass player in the local band?

In the finale, which begins with a terrifying scream, the hero has to overcome quite a few hurdles, but all ends happily. In fact, the original title ‘Dall’ Inferno al Paradiso’ was appropriate, given the quotations from Liszt’s Dante Symphony and Wagner’s Parsifal. In the earlier movements the composer quotes predominantly from his own early

works. In this symphony, Mahler is evidently searching for his roots, albeit that the influence of his Jewish identity remains somewhat muted.

The interruption of the funeral march, whose use of the edgy sound produced by the E flat clarinet brings to mind Klezmer music, is the most that could be interpreted as being of a Jewish tradition. Mahler’s written instruction at this point in the score is ‘mit Parodie’; he says nothing himself about Jewish musicians, but refers rather to Bohemian musicians.

With their jovial but superficial melodies, they form a painful contrast to the funeral cortège being led by monotonous, miserable instrument players. It made people laugh, whereas the composer had intended it to have a heart-rending effect.

Mahler’s origins must have been more of a burden for him than a blessing.

Although restrictions on Jews had increasingly been lifted since his youth, to occupy a prestigious position as conductor he had to convert to Catholicism.

The First Symphony eventually achieved success and Mahler conducted the piece frequently. But it remained a problem child, even though he always regarded it as the most spontaneous and daring of his symphonies.

Eelco Beinema

Nicolas Altstaedt, Cello Born: Heidelberg, Germany Education: Musik-Akademie Basel with Ivan Monighetti; Academy of Music Hanns Eisler Berlin with Boris Pergamenschikow and Eberhard Feltz Awards: Borletti Buitoni Fellowship (2009), Credit Suisse Young Artist Award (2010), BBC New Generation Artist (2010-12) Breakthrough: 2010, debut with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra under Gustavo Dudamel, Lucerne Festival

Photo Marco Borggreve

Lahav Shani, Conductor Born: Tel Aviv, Israel Current position: chief conductor Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra; music director Israel Philharmonic Orchestra

Subsequently: Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic, Tokyo Metropolitan Orchestra, Vienna Symphony Orchestra; Artist in Residence Zermatt Festival, Artist in Resonance at Musikkollegium Winterthur; artistic director Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival Chamber music partners: Janine Jansen, Vilde Frang, Alexander Lonquich, Martin Fröst, Pekka Kuusisto, Quatuor Ébène Instrument: Giulio Cesare Gigli, Rome 1789 Debut Rotterdam Philharmonic: 2016

Before: principal guest conductor Vienna Symphony Orchestra from 2017 to 2020 Education: piano at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music Tel Aviv; conducting and piano at the Academy of Music Hanns Eisler Berlin; mentor: Daniel Barenboim Breakthrough: 2013, after winning the Gustav Mahler International Conducting Competition in Bamberg Subsequently: Staatskapelle Berlin, Berlin State Opera, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Staatskapelle Dresden, Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra, Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Debut Rotterdam Philharmonic: 2016 Photo Marco Borggreve.

AGENDA Fri 12 November 2021 • 20.15 conductor Jukka-Pekka Saraste soprano Helena Juntunen baritone Tommi Hakala choir YL Male Voice Choir Sibelius Kullervo Sun 14 November 2021 • 14.15 conductor Jukka-Pekka Saraste soprano Helena Juntunen baritone Tommi Hakala Sibelius Orchestral Songs Sibelius The Bard Sibelius Lemminkäinen Suite Fri 3 December 2021 • 20.15 conductor Lahav Shani piano Yuja Wang Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 Berlioz Symphonie fantastique Wed 1 December 2021 • 14.00 and 16.00 Sint Sing-Along (3+) members of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra together with Hofplein Rotterdam Sinterklaas songs Fri 17 December 2021 • 19.30 Sat 18 December 2021 • 19.30 Sun 19 December 2021 • 13.30 conductor Jonathan Cohen soprano Emöke Baráth counter tenor Andreas Scholl tenor Andrew Staples baritone Matthew Rose choir Groot Omroepkoor Handel Messiah Wed 29 December 2021 • 13.15 and 15.00 Thu 30 December 2021 • 13.15 and 15.00 The Nutcracker (4+) conductor Adam Hickox actors Eric Jan Lens, Christiaan Koetsier and Sanne Franssen scenography Kathelijne Monnens and Cynthia Borst staging Fons Merkies Tchaikovsky The Nutcracker (selection)

MUSICIANS Chief Conductor Lahav Shani Honorary Conductor Valery Gergiev Yannick Nézet-Séguin First violin Igor Gruppman, concertmaster Marieke Blankestijn, concertmaster Quirine Scheffers Hed Yaron Meyerson Saskia Otto Arno Bons Mireille van der Wart Shelly Greenberg Cor van der Linden Rachel Browne Maria Dingjan Marie-José Schrijner Noëmi Bodden Petra Visser Sophia Torrenga Hadewijch Hofland Annerien Stuker Alexandra van Beveren Koen Stapert Second violin Charlotte Potgieter Cecilia Ziano Frank de Groot Laurens van Vliet Tomoko Hara Elina Staphorsius Jun Yi Dou Bob Bruyn Letizia Sciarone Eefje Habraken Maija Reinikainen Sumire Hara Wim Ruitenbeek Babette van den Berg Melanie Broers

Viola Anne Huser Roman Spitzer Maartje van Rheeden Galahad Samson Kerstin Bonk Lex Prummel Janine Baller Francis Saunders Veronika Lénártová Rosalinde Kluck León van den Berg Cello Emanuele Silvestri Joanna Pachucka Daniel Petrovitsch Mario Rio Gé van Leeuwen Eelco Beinema Carla Schrijner Pepijn Meeuws Yi-Ting Fang Double bass Matthew Midgley Ying Lai Green Jonathan Focquaert Robert Franenberg Harke Wiersma Arjen Leendertz Ricardo Neto Flute Juliette Hurel Joséphine Olech Désirée Woudenberg Oboe Remco de Vries Karel Schoofs Hans Cartigny Anja van der Maten Oboe/cor anglais Ron Tijhuis Klarinet Julien Hervé Bruno Bonansea Jan Jansen

Clarinet/ bass clarinet Romke-Jan Wijmenga Bassoon Pieter Nuytten Marianne Prommel Bassoon/ contra bassoon Hans Wisse Horn David Fernández Alonso Wendy Leliveld Richard Speetjens Laurens Otto Pierre Buizer Trumpet Giuliano Sommerhalder Alex Elia Simon Wierenga Jos Verspagen Trombone Pierre Volders Alexander Verbeek Remko de Jager Bass Trombone/ contrabass trombone Ben van Dijk Tuba Hendrik-Jan Renes Timpani/ percussion Randy Max Danny van de Wal Ronald Ent Martijn Boom Adriaan Feyaerts Harp Charlotte Sprenkels