MUSIC
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Audience Information
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Cover Design: Lisa Baron | Cover Photo: Mark Teague
MUSIC
Emory Youth Symphony Orchestra
20th Anniversary Season
Paul Bhasin, conductor
Ryan Han, piano
Winner of the 2025 EYSO Concerto Competition
Wednesday, May 7, 2025, 8:00 p.m.
Emerson Concert Hall
Schwartz Center for Performing Arts
Program
Totenfeier, Symphonic Poem for Large Orchestra (1888) Gustav Mahler (1860–1911)
Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, op. 18 (1901) Sergei Rachmaninoff I. Moderato (1873–1943)
Ryan Han, piano
Winner of the 2025 EYSO Concerto Competition
Prelude to 49th Parallel (1941) Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958)
Symphonic Metamorphosis on Themes of Paul Hindemith Carl Maria von Weber (1943) (1895–1963)
I. Allegro
II. Turandot, Scherzo: Moderato
III. Andantino
IV. Marsch
Program Notes
Notes on the Program by
Ken Meltzer
Totenfeier, Symphonic Poem for Large Orchestra (1888)
In January of 1888, Gustav Mahler began to sketch an orchestral movement he entitled Totenfeier (Funeral Rites). Mahler had just conducted the successful Leipzig premiere of his completion of Carl Maria von Weber’s opera, Die drei Pintos. Flowers from various well-wishers bedecked Mahler’s room. His friend, Natalie Bauer-Lechner, recalled that while composing Totenfeier, Mahler (who always harbored a morbid preoccupation with mortality) had a vision in which he was “dead, laid out in state, beneath wreaths and flowers.”
Mahler completed Totenfeier that August. It appears that the composer intended from the outset that Totenfeier would be the opening movement of his Second Symphony (Mahler had completed his Symphony No. 1, “Titan,” in March of 1888). The original score bears the work’s title, as well as the designations “Symphony in C Minor” (crossed out) and “Movement I” (not crossed out).
In March of 1891, Mahler was appointed conductor of the State Theater in Hamburg. That September, Mahler approached the eminent conductor and leader of the Hamburg Orchestra, Hans von Bülow. Mahler asked Bülow to hear Totenfeier, which had still not been performed.
The meeting was a disaster. Bülow had the utmost respect for Mahler as a conductor, but did not care for the young man’s compositions. Mahler played a piano reduction of the score for Bülow. Although Bülow repeatedly covered his ears, he still urged the increasingly agitated composer to continue. Finally, as Mahler related to his friend, composer Josef Foerster:
When I had finished I awaited the verdict silently. But my only listener remained at the table silent and motionless. Suddenly, he made an energetic gesture of rejection and said: “If that is still music then I do not understand a single thing about music.”
We parted from each other in complete friendship, I, however, with the conviction that Bülow considers me an able conductor but absolutely hopeless as a composer.
Mahler seemed to abandon the idea of making Totenfeier part of a multi-movement symphony. A month after the unfortunate meeting with Bülow, Mahler sent a letter to his publisher, referring to Totenfeier as a “symphonic poem.” It was not until almost three years later, in June of 1894, that Mahler completed the work known as his “Resurrection” Symphony. During the process of completing the Symphony No. 2, Mahler made numerous revisions to Totenfeier, most notably in the orchestration, but also to some degree in the structure and flow of the music.
Mahler discusses Totenfeier
The following is a description Mahler provided for a 1901 Dresden performance of the “Resurrection” Symphony:
I. Maestoso
We are standing beside the coffin of a man beloved. (Note: In a letter of March 26, 1896, Mahler informed Max Marschalk: “I have called the first movement Totenfeier, and if you would like to know, I am interring the hero of my D Major Symphony [No. 1, “Titan”], whose life I capture in a pure reflection from a higher vantage point.”)
For the last time, his life, his battles, his sufferings and his purpose pass before the mind’s eye. And now, at this solemn and deeply stirring moment, when we are released from the paltry distractions of everyday life, our hearts are gripped by a voice of awe-inspiring solemnity, that we seldom or never hear above the deafening traffic of mundane affairs. What next? it says. What is life—and what is death?
Have we any continuing existence? Is it all an empty dream, or has this life of ours, and our death, a meaning?
If we are to go on living, we must answer this question.
In the 1896 letter to Marschalk, Mahler concludes: “this answer I give in the last movement” (i.e., of the “Resurrection” Symphony).
Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, op. 18 (1901)
When Sergei Rachmaninoff completed his First Symphony in August of 1895, he was 22, and brimming with all the confidence of youth. “I imagined that there was nothing I could not do and had great hopes for the future,” he later recalled. Rachmaninoff’s First Symphony received its premiere in St. Petersburg on March 28, 1897, with Alexander Glazunov
conducting. The performance was a disaster, and immediately after the final notes sounded, Rachmaninoff “fled, horrified, into the street.”
While Rachmaninoff was able to escape the confines of the theater, he still had to face the wrath of the critics. Russian composer César Cui wrote in the St. Petersburg News:
If there were a conservatory in Hell, if one of its many talented students were instructed to write a programme symphony on the “Seven Plagues of Egypt,” and if he were to compose a symphony like Mr. Rachmaninoff’s, then he would have fulfilled his task brilliantly and would delight the inhabitants of Hell.
Rachmaninoff lapsed into a profound depression: Rachmaninoff’s friends, alarmed by his state, tried all forms of cures. Finally, they convinced Rachmaninoff to consult Dr. Nikolai Dahl, a doctor who had gained some prominence for his employment of hypnosis. Between January and April of 1900, Rachmaninoff visited Dahl on a daily basis. Rachmaninoff told Dahl that he had promised to compose a Piano Concerto. Dahl set about treating his patient:
I heard the same hypnotic formula repeated day after day while I lay half asleep in the armchair in Dr. Dahl’s study. “You will begin to write your Concerto . . . You will work with great facility . . . The Concerto will be of an excellent quality . . .” It was always the same, without interruption. Although it may sound incredible, this cure really helped me. Already at the beginning of the summer I began again to compose. The material grew in bulk, and new musical ideas began to stir within me—far more than I needed for my Concerto.
Rachmaninoff completed the final two movements of his Second Piano Concerto in the autumn of 1900, and performed them at a Moscow charity concert on October 14. Rachmaninoff added the opening movement in the spring of the following year and appeared as soloist in the November 9, 1901 premiere of the entire Second concerto. The composer readily acknowledged Dahl’s role in the creation of one of the most popular works of the 20th century, and dedicated the Concerto to him.
The Concerto No. 2 is in three movements. The first (Moderato), featured in this concert, opens with a series of tolling chords by the soloist, leading to the surging principal melody, marked con passione.
After a brief, capricious flight by the soloist and a forceful orchestral statement, the pianist introduces the second theme, another of those unforgettable expansive melodies that are a hallmark of Rachmaninoff’s genius. The development, prominently featuring the pianist, builds to a climax. This leads to a recapitulation in which the orchestra’s repetition of the opening theme is juxtaposed with a martial proclamation by the soloist. The movement concludes with a terse, powerful coda.
Prelude to 49th Parallel (1941)
49th Parallel is a feature-length movie by writer Emeric Pressburger and director Michael Powell. The film concerns a German U-boat crew that infiltrates Canada and the United States. Pressburger and Powell hoped that the movie might help to encourage the neutral United States to join the war then raging in Europe. 49th Parallel, starring Eric Portman, Laurence Olivier, Leslie Howard, and Raymond Massey, won an Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Story. The great English composer, Ralph Vaughan Williams, composed the movie’s score at the invitation of conductor Muir Mathieson. Mathieson and the London Symphony Orchestra performed Vaughan Williams’s music for the soundtrack, including the resplendent Prelude that accompanies the opening credits.
Symphonic Metamorphosis on Themes of Carl Maria von Weber (1943)
In 1938, German composer Paul Hindemith left his native country. He first moved to Switzerland, and then, in February of 1940, to the United States. The following month, Hindemith attended a performance by a ballet company led by the famous dancer and choreographer, Leonide Massine. After the performance, Massine told Hindemith that he wanted to stage a new ballet, featuring arrangements of music by the German early-Romantic composer Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826). Because of strong artistic differences between Hindemith and Massine, the project never came to fruition.
After the fallout with Massine, Hindemith used the intended ballet music as the basis for his most popular work, the Symphonic Metamorphosis on Themes of Carl Maria von Weber. Hindemith completed the orchestral piece in the summer of 1943. The Symphonic Metamorphosis received its premiere at New York’s Carnegie Hall on January 20, 1944. Artur Rodziński conducted the New York Philharmonic. The audience greeted the work (and the composer, who was in attendance) with a stirring ovation.
For the 1944 premiere, Hindemith refused to disclose the precise origin of the various Weber melodies included in the Symphonic Metamorphosis. Subsequently, various musicologists identified the pieces, which are noted below.
I. Allegro—The first movement, a vigorous Allegro, is based upon Weber’s piano duet, opus 60, No. 4.
II. Turandot, Scherzo: Moderato—The second movement employs music from Weber’s 1809 Overture to Turandot. The original Weber piece was part of incidental music he composed for Friedrich Schiller’s translation of Carlo Gozzi’s 1762 play (Gozzi’s Turandot, the story of a Chinese princess, also served as the inspiration for Giacomo Puccini’s final opera). In contrast to the opening movement, the Scherzo begins quite delicately, but soon generates its own momentum and power. In addition to the evocation of Chinese atmosphere, jazz elements make an engaging appearance.
III. Andantino—The work’s slow-tempo movement, based upon the second of the six Pieces faciles for piano duet, opus 10a, features an extended and beguiling flute solo.
IV. Marsch—The finale, a boisterous march, features music from Weber’s piano duet, opus 60, No. 7.
Emory Youth Symphony Orchestra
The Emory Youth Symphony Orchestra (EYSO) program was founded in 2005. As one of the finest pre-college programs in the region, EYSO provides comprehensive orchestral performance opportunities while supporting the pedagogy of school directors and private teachers. All students and parents are offered the opportunity for pre-college counseling, assistance with college and scholarship applications, diverse master class and seminar offerings, and financial aid advice. EYSO students go on to study a variety of disciplines at the college level, including top conservatories as well as at nationally-ranked liberal arts colleges and universities. Students are coached by Emory faculty including members of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Opera and Ballet, as well as the Vega Quartet.
Emory Youth Symphony Orchestra
Flute and Piccolo (listed alphabetically)
Beige Bae (Lambert High School)
Eunice Kim (North Gwinnett High School)
Chloe Park (Walton High School)
Oboe and English Horn (listed alphabetically)
Benjamin Lee (Johns Creek High School)
Subeen Lee (Northview High School)
Chloe Rhee (Duluth High School)
Clarinet and Bass Clarinet (listed alphabetically)
Jiho Jun (Lambert High School)
Joseph Lee (Duluth High School)
Suzanne Smith (Mill Creek High School)
Charlie Zhang (Westminster)
Saxophone
Adonis Diaz-Romero (Buford High School)
Bassoon (listed alphabetically)
Declan Johnston (Buford High School)
Connor Stewart (Pope High School)
Horn (listed alphabetically)
Aarush Gandhi (South Forsyth High School)
Blake Kuhn (Forsyth Central High School)
Daichi Takimoto (Johns Creek High School)
Sarah Woodall (Kennesaw Mountain High School)
Trumpet (listed alphabetically)
Caleb Cannon (Homeschool)
Ben Githanga (Marietta High School)
Shihyun Kim (Chattahoochee High School)
Steven Li (Wheeler High School)
Trombone and Bass Trombone (listed alphabetically)
Dallin Peoples (Flowery Branch High School)
Emory Youth Symphony Orchestra
Trombone and Bass Trombone (continued)
Ugochukwu Nwakanma (Cambridge High School)
Gabriel Silva (Buford High School)
Tuba
Zoë Herring (Walton High School)
Timpani and Percussion (listed alphabetically)
Harrison Buck (Morgan County High School)
Eve Gordon (Westminster)
Jueon Kim (East Coweta High School)
Isaac Lee (North Gwinnett High School)
Piano and Celeste
Michelle Feng (Johns Creek High School)
Harp (listed alphabetically)
Myron Leonard (Charles R Drew Charter School)
Tej Panchal (South Forsyth High School)
Violin (listed alphabetically)
Jaina Alexander (Westminster)
Gabriel Bravo (Harrison High School)
Leonardo Castro-Balbi (Westminster)
Ashley Chang (Duluth High School)
Ellain Chen (Alpharetta High School)
Elena Dagostino (Sequoyah High School)
Ethan Fu (The Paideia School)*
Ryan Han (Lambert High School)
Soel Han (Northview High School)
Dominic Hantula (Pace Academy)
Caroline Huang (Chattahoochee High School)
Brady Huesken (Holy Innocents Episcopal School)
Abhinav Ivaturi (Alpharetta High School)
Ethan Jones (GSMST)
Alexis Kim (GSMST)
Gabriella Kim (Peachtree Ridge High School)
Emory Youth Symphony Orchestra
Violin (continued)
Yejoe Kim (North Gwinnett High School)
Sophia Knudsen (Chattahoochee High School)**
Ellen Kolesnikova (Decatur High School)
Audrey Lee (North Gwinnett High School)
Geonhee Lee (Johns Creek High School)
Ethan Leong (Dunwoody High School)
Amber Li (Johns Creek High School)
Rebecca Ma (Alpharetta High School)
Ellie Millette (Artios Academies of Gwinnett)
Satomi Ono (Northview High School)
David Park (Lambert High School)
Jiyoon Park (McIntosh High School)
Mei Takuno (Northview High School)
Juan Valencia (Duluth High School)
Jiayu Wang (Northview High School)
Olivia Wei (Westminster)
Shicheng Wei (South Forsyth High School)
Ezekiel Werner (Decatur High School)
Evan Xue (Johns Creek High School)
Harry Yang (Walton High School)
Hayden Yi (North Gwinnett High School)
Jaden Yim (Johns Creek High School)
Aniston Zhang (Chattahoochee High School)
Jiyu Zhang (Northview High School)
Viola (listed alphabetically)
Sonayon Ayeni (Duluth High School)
Noah Bang (Northview High School)
Achyut Deshpande (Chattahoochee High School)
Shay Hendrickson (Decatur High School)
Victor Huang (Alpharetta High School)
Anika Kailasam (Decatur High School)
Hayoung Kim (McIntosh High School)
Jiyu Kim (Peachtree Ridge High School)*
Joanne Kim (Brookwood High School)
Yujin Kim (GSMST)
Emory Youth Symphony Orchestra
Viola (continued)
Manu Sankaran (Lambert High School)
Jaydon Sritongkham (GSMST)
Athena Yang (GSMST)
Katie Yau (Chattahoochee High School)
Cello (listed alphabetically)
Matthew Chung (McIntosh High School)
Priya Gingrich (Homeschool)
Eric Jiang (Westminster)
Abigail Kim (Johns Creek High School)*
Elijah Kim (Johns Creek High School)
Jason Kim (North Gwinnett High School)
Sophia Madani (McIntosh High School)
Caleb Mani (Lanier High School)
Ethan Nie (Johns Creek High School)
Joshua Park (North Gwinnett High School)
Arun Piyasena (Woodward Academy)
Jonathan Roaquin (Collins Hill High School)
Yaocen Shen (Walton High School)
Nile Solomon (Northview High School)
David Zoblisein (Harrison High School)
Bass (listed alphabetically)
Irene Achanti (Alpharetta High School)
Jordan Archer (Decatur High School)
Jakob deRoode (Midtown High School)
Yusef Henry (Campbell High School)
Alex Na (Westminster)
Bianca Nicolae (GSMST)
Vivien Panturu (Mill Creek High School)
Hazel Patty (Decatur High School)*
** Concertmaster
* Principal
Paul Bhasin, conductor
Paul Bhasin serves as Director of Orchestral Studies at Emory University where he holds the Donna and Marvin Schwartz Professorship in Music. In this capacity, he conducts the Emory University Symphony Orchestra and Emory Youth Symphony Orchestra, oversees music research programs, and teaches conducting. Praised for his “crisp, clear” conducting and “highly expressive” interpretations, Bhasin’s career began when he won the Yamaha Young Performing Artist Competition in 1998. As a conductor, composer/arranger, and instrumentalist, Bhasin has collaborated with diverse institutions including the San Francisco Symphony, Virginia Symphony, “President’s Own” US Marine Band, the International Computer Music Conference, St. Louis Opera, New World Symphony, Interlochen Arts Academy, International Dvořák Festival (Prague, Czechia), and Chicago Civic Orchestra. Bhasin has performed on National Public Radio, Detroit PBS-TV, and at the Aspen, Tanglewood, Grand Teton, and Ravinia music festivals. Bhasin has recorded as a trumpeter and conductor for the Centaur, ACA, and Interscope record labels.
Bhasin also serves as Music Director and Conductor of the DeKalb Symphony Orchestra and Atlanta Chamber Music Festival. An avid educator, Bhasin has collaborated with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Musicorps program, the Grammy-winning sextet Eighth Blackbird, led honor orchestras and bands (including at the All-State level), and has presented at national conferences including the Midwest Orchestra Clinic and the National Music Teachers Association Conference. Bhasin’s trumpet students have won first prize at major competitions including the National Trumpet Competition.
Bhasin composed and conducted the orchestral scores to the motion picture Sister Carrie (recently premiered at the Gene Siskel Center in Chicago) and Hogtown (award winner at the Berlin, Los Angeles, and Nashville International Black Film festivals) which was named a “Critic’s Pick” and one of the “Top 10 Films of 2016” by the New York Times (both films stream on Amazon Prime Video). He received his musical education from Northwestern University, the University of Michigan, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Ryan Han, piano
Ryan (Seungwoo) Han, a senior at Lambert High School, began playing the piano at the age of six. Born in South Korea, he studied piano under the guidance of professor Jisun Kim until the age of twelve. After moving to the United States at age fourteen, he continued to play piano independently, while actively engaging with his community as a pianist in his church and school orchestra.
As a result of his passion for piano, Han was named as one of six pianists of the 2024 Georgia Governor’s Honors Program. He spent his last summer at the program at Georgia Southern University where he studied piano under the guidance of Dr. Jerico Vasquez and had the opportunity to perform in a master class with Dr. Benjamin Warsaw. Currently, Han continues his piano studies with Dr. Yoonkyoung Jang, and is also a member of NOTEWORTHE Music, a non-profit organization that brings student musicians to senior living communities and brain health programs aimed to enhance people’s lives.
Aside from his dedication for piano, Han extends his passion for music through playing the violin. Having learned the violin for three years with Dr. Jian Shang, Han has been selected to play in the GMEA All-State Orchestra for two years, and the Emory Youth Symphony Orchestra for two years. Additionally, as the concertmaster of the Lambert High School Chamber Orchestra, he has performed at the 2025 GMEA In-Service Conference and the 2025 ASTA National Conference. In his spare time, he spends his time tutoring students, playing soccer, and working out.
Music at Emory brings together students, faculty, and world-class artists to create an exciting and innovative season of performances, lectures, workshops, and master classes. With more than 150 events each year across multiple Emory venues, audiences experience a wide variety of musical offerings.
We hope you enjoy sampling an assortment of work from our student ensembles, community youth ensembles, artists in residence, professional faculty, up-and-coming prodigies, and virtuosos from around the world.
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