Yale Philharmonia & Frankl

THE PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA OF YALE sep tember 2 4, 2 0 10 · f rid ay, 8 pm · wools e y h all

Shinik Hahm conductor

gioachino rossini Overture to William Tell

ludwig van beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58 I. Allegro moderato II. Andante con moto III. Rondo (Vivace) Peter Frankl piano

Intermission

hector berlioz Symphonie fantastique I. Rêveries – Passions II. Un bal III. Scène aux champs IV. Marche au supplice V. Songe d'une nuit de sabbat

As a courtesy to others, please silence all cell phones and devices. Photography of any kind is strictly prohibited. Please do not leave the hall during musical selections. Thank you.

Robert Blocker, Dean

pro g ram no tes

Gioachino Rossini » 1792-1868

Ludwig van Beethoven » 1770-1827

In 1829, at the young age of thirty-eight, Gioachino Rossini retired as the most popular composer of operas in history. While Rossini would continue to compose sporadically for the rest of his long life, he produced little other than short piano pieces intended for private consumption. His thirty-ninth and final opera was Guillaume Tell (William Tell), a grand opera that runs over four hours in its entirety, and which can be seen as a synthesis of many of the elements that had made Rossini the world’s most successful dramatic composer.

Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Concerto Nº 4 was written in the years 1805 and 1806, during a period of great compositional fertility. At this point in his life, Beethoven was still struggling without a steady income, instead having to rely largely on the generosity of royal patrons.

Often, Beethoven would present his music in private concerts held at the houses of noblemen. It was at one such event, in March of 1807 at the home of Prince Franz Joseph von Lobkowitz, that the Fourth Concerto was premiered. The concerto would not be heard by the general public until December 22nd, 1808, on an epic, four-hour program that also included the premieres of the Fifth and Sixth Symphonies, along with the Choral Fantasy and sections of the Mass in C.

Overture to William Tell

Based on a play by Friedrich Schiller, the opera tells the story of William Tell, who was instrumental in liberating Switzerland from its Austrian rulers in the fourteenth century.

While the work has largely retained its popularity and is still performed frequently (both in the original French and also in an Italian version, but almost always in an abridged form), it is the concert overture to the opera that has become firmly entrenched in the public consciousness. Known to many through its frequent use in movie and television soundtracks (particularly as the theme music for The Lone Ranger), the William Tell Overture may be Rossini’s best-known work.

Concerto Nº 4 in G major, Op. 58

During that infamous program, the orchestra was often in shambles and the audience was bitterly cold. Beethoven realized almost no financial benefit from his massive endeavor.

After that inauspicious beginning, the concerto was not performed again until after Beethoven’s death, when the young Felix Mendelssohn resurrected it in Leipzig in 1836. Robert Schumann said of that concert, “I sat in my place without moving a muscle or even breathing.”

Like the sprawling four-act opera, the overture is in four distinct sections. It begins with an inspired prelude for five cellos, accompanied only by the basses. Berlioz said that this music suggests “the calm of profound solitude, the solemn silence of nature when the elements and human passions are at rest.” Nature is not content to rest for long, however, as a violent storm soon erupts in the full orchestra. After the tumult of this section, the music recedes to a gently lilting tune in the English horn.

This simple melody is based on a Swiss herdsmen’s song called a ranz des vaches. Finally, familiar trumpet fanfares usher in the finale, a thrilling representation of a cavalry charge that has left audiences cheering for nearly two hundred years.

Perhaps Schumann’s reaction can be attributed to the fact that where Beethoven’s earlier concertos were brilliant, extroverted works, the Fourth Concerto is primarily a work of great serenity. It begins with one of the more striking gestures in the entirety of Beethoven’s output.

After the solo piano plays a series of simple chords in the tonic key of G major, the orchestra enters in the distant key of B major, creating a major mediant substitution. This startling harmonic shift becomes a hallmark of the first movement, which runs a heroic length of twenty minutes. The second movement has often been compared to Orpheus taming the Furies at the gates of Hades, while the rondo finale sparkles with mischievousness and wit.

– Jordan Kuspa

– Jordan Kuspa

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Hector Berlioz » 1803-1869 Symphonie fantastique Few compositions have come to epitomize the essence of a composer as Symphonie fantastique has come to symbolize Berlioz. Subtitled “An Episode in the Life of an Artist,” the piece reflects the increasingly literary concerns of 19thcentury music. Composed “furiously,” with the composer’s mind “boiling over,” the work was premiered in Paris in 1830, to a surprisingly moderate though generally positive critical reception. This work dates from only three years after the death of Beethoven. First impressions of Berlioz’s symphony suggest a world of difference between the two composers.

Yet Berlioz’s debt to Beethoven was profound, and his most strikingly innovative music was made possible by the older master’s legacy. But rather than falling victim to Harold Bloom’s “anxiety of influence,” Berlioz reacted optimistically, reinterpreting and capitalizing on these aesthetic developments.

Among the Symphonie fantastique’s radical qualities is an entirely original approach to orchestration. Berlioz’s shift in emphasis towards a programmatic style encouraged him to harness the orchestra’s coloristic resources extravagantly and freely. He also introduced instruments from the opera house and military band that soon became permanent members of the orchestra: the English horn, E-flat clarinet, harps, bells, and other percussion, not to mention the obnoxious and now largely defunct ophicleide, a kind of keyed bass-bugle whose part is now usually played by the tubas. Most important is the extent to which the programmatic element defines the musical narrative.

For the first performance, Berlioz provided an outline of the plot: the lovesick hero (himself ) is plagued by images of his beloved and troubled by the peculiar spiritual sickness once described as le vague des passions. He finds himself in several unrelated settings, including nature, balls, and towns. Yet he is constantly visited by her image, accompanied by various extreme emotional reactions. In the third movement, disillusionment sets in. He poisons himself with opium to assuage the anguish of unrequited love. Delirium sets in, and he descends into the horrific dream world of the fourth and fifth movements.

To create dramatic coherence, Berlioz employs a novel organizing device throughout the symphony, the idée fixe. It begins as a graceful melodic idea, first heard in the soaring violin

and flute line immediately after the slow introduction of the first movement. This melody is of vital structural and programmatic significance, the theme that represents Harriet Smithson, the object of Berlioz’s affection. The idée fixe recurs in each movement, transformed according to the changes of mood and character suggested by the program.

The first movement, “Reveries, Passions,” is cast in a sonata form with an overwhelming sense of fantasy. The second movement is a waltz with the middle portion devoted to the idée fixe. This movement functions as the symphony’s scherzo. The slow movement, as in Beethoven’s sixth symphony, is a pastoral setting that includes thunder (sounded by the timpani) and shepherd pipers. Here Berlioz represents the dialogue and echo of Alpenhorns using a Swiss cowherd’s horn call (English horn and offstage oboe). The idée fixe appears in the oboe and flute in this movement. During the fourth movement, the man dreams that he has killed his beloved, is condemned, marched to the guillotine, and executed. At the conclusion of this “March to the Scaffold,” the clarinet reminds us of the beloved’s theme just before the slam of a guillotine, the thump of a head falling into a basket, and the cheers of a crowd.

The finale is the apotheosis of the work. During this “Witches Sabbath,” the hero envisions his own funeral, with a requiem in the form of a burlesque. The C and E-flat clarinets caricature the idée fixe , representing its satanic transformation in the witches dance. Bells toll solemnly; violas and oboe attempt to start a dance, only to be silenced. The ominous melody of the Dies irae, from the mass for the dead, is heard, followed by low strings announcing an ironically academic fugue. This is the round dance of the witches. These themes ultimately combine in a portrayal of religious alienation and death. The diabolical sounds include the strings playing col legno (with the wood of the bow), a bone-rattling sound that helps evoke a macabre scene. The music rushes headlong to its conclusion as the Dies irae and idée fixe collide and collapse into each other in an orgiastic orchestral implosion.

– Liam Viney, ed. Dana Astmann

art i st p ro files

Peter Frankl piano

Shinik Hahm conductor

Pianist Peter Frankl made his London debut in 1962 and his New York debut with the Cleveland Orchestra under George Szell in 1967.

Since that time he has performed with many of the world’s finest orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Concertgebouw, Israel Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, all the London orchestras, and the major American orchestras.

He has collaborated with such eminent conductors as Abbado, Boulez, Davis, Haitink, Maazel, Masur, Muti, Salonen, and Solti. His world tours have taken him to Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, and he also frequently appears at European and American festivals. His many chamber music partners have included Kyung Wha Chung, Peter Csaba, Ralph Kirshbaum, and the Tokyo, Takacs, Guarneri, Bartók, Fine Arts, and Lindsay quartets.

A sought-after guest conductor, Professor Hahm has led major North American, South American, European, and Asian orchestras. In 2006 Maestro Hahm completed his tenure as artistic director/principal conductor of Daejeon Philharmonic Orchestra (DPO) in Korea, which he led in major concert halls on tour in the United States and Japan. He was music director of the Abilene Philharmonic Orchestra (1993–2003) and the Green Bay Symphony Orchestra (1995–2000), elevating these community orchestras to professional regional orchestra status. Professor Hahm served as music director of Yale Symphony Orchestra from 1995 to 2004.

Among his recordings are the complete works for piano by Schumann and Debussy, Bartók and Chopin solo albums, a Hungarian anthology, concertos and four-hand works by Mozart, the two Brahms piano concertos, the Brahms violin and clarinet sonatas, the Brahms trios, Bartók pieces for violin and piano, and the piano quintets by Brahms, Schumann, Dvorák, Martinu, and both Dohnányis. Peter Frankl studied at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest with Professors Hernádi, Kodály, and Weiner and won first prizes at several international competitions. In recognition of his artistic achievements, he was awarded the Officer’s Cross and Middle Cross by the Hungarian Republic. He is an honorary professor of the Liszt Academy and is on the faculty of the Yale School of Music.

This season, Peter Frankl celebrates his 75th birthday with four performances, beginning tonight and continuing with a solo recital on Feb. 2, Schubert piano trios on Nov. 2, and Schumann’s piano concerto with the Yale Symphony Orchestra on Apr. 23.

As a guest conductor, he has led the orchestras of Atlanta, Los Angeles, Warsaw, Prague, Bilbao, New York, Bangkok, Fort Worth, Louisville, Toronto, Omaha, Hartford, Alabama, Boulder, and Colorado Springs and other orchestras in the United States, France, Switzerland, Hungary, Austria, Spain, Japan, and Mexico.

The Korean National Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra has engaged him every year since 1992, and he directed its 1995 North American tour. An active opera conductor, he has led numerous productions with the Silesian National Opera in Poland.

He has collaborated with prominent musicians including Salvatore Accardo, Emanuel Ax, Joshua Bell, Yefim Bronfman, and Sarah Chang, and has recorded with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra for Vision and Britstar. Hahm studied conducting at Rice University and the Eastman School of Music. His honors include the Fourth Gregor Fitelberg International Competition, the Walter Hagen Conducting Prize (Eastman School of Music), and the Shepherd Society Award (Rice University). In 1995 he was decorated by the Korean government with the Arts & Culture Medal.

a b o ut yal e p h ilharmonia

The Philharmonia Orchestra of Yale is one of America’s foremost music school ensembles. The largest performing group at the Yale School of Music, the Philharmonia offers superb training in orchestral playing and repertoire.

shinik hahm Conductor

Performances include an annual series of concerts in Woolsey Hall, as well as Yale Opera productions in the Shubert Performing Arts Center. The Yale Philharmonia has also performed on numerous occasions in Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall in New York City and at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. The orchestra undertook its first tour of Asia in 2008, with acclaimed performances in the Seoul Arts Center, the Forbidden City Concert Hall and National Center for the Performing Arts (Beijing), and the Shanghai Grand Theatre.

renata steve Librarian

krista johnson Managing Director

roberta senatore Production Assistant adrian slywotzky Assistant Conductor yang jiao Assistant Conductor

The Philharmonia Orchestra of Yale violin 1 Alexander Read, concertmaster Sun Kyung Ban David Radzynski Yeseul Ann Sung Mao Liang Yeseul Ann Hyewon Kim Nayeon Kim Youngsun Kim Won Young Jung Edson Scheid Laura Keller Holly Piccoli Jiwon Kwark Edward Tan violin 2 Hyerin Kim, principal Geoffrey Herd Seok Jung Lee Soo Ryun Baek Joo Hye Lim Liesl Schoenberger Hyun Sun Sul Sae Rom Yoo Tammy Wang Naria Kim Jiin Yang Ju Hyung Shin viola Edwin Kaplan, principal On You Kim Eleanor James Eve Tang Amina Tebini Min Jung Chun Janice Lamarre Colin Meinecke Kristin Chai Eren Tuncer Timothy Lacrosse cello Arnold Choi, principal Jeonghwan Kim

Shinae Kim Jurrian Van Der Zanden Weipeng Lu Philo Lee Sung Chan Chang Ying Zhang Soo Jin Chung Neena Deb-Sen Alvin Yan Ming Wong bass Michael Levin, principal Nicholas Jones Eric Fischer NaHee Song Paul Nemeth Gregory Robbins Aleksey Klyushnik flute Cho-Long Kang, 1 (piccolo), 2*, 3 (piccolo) Ginevra Petrucci, 1*, 3* oboe Alexandra Detyniecki, 2* Emily Holum, 3 (English horn) Rebecca Kim, 1* Joseph Peters, 3* Jeffrey Reinhardt, 2 Kaitlin Taylor, 1 (English horn) clarinet Soo Jin Huh, 3 In Hyung Hwang, 3* Wai Lau, 1*, 2 Ashley Smith, 1, 2* bassoon SaMona Bryant, 3 Thomas Fleming, 3 Jennifer Hostler, 3* Helena Kranjc, 3 Meryl Summers, 1*, 2* Scott Switzer, 1, 2

horn Christopher Jackson, 1, 2* Jessica Lascoe, 1 Andrew Mee, 2, 3* Jamin Morden, 1*, 3 Elizabeth Upton, 1, 3 Mimi Zhang, 3 trumpet Paul Florek, 3 Paul Futer, 1, 2 Ryan Olsen, 1*, 3 Andreas Stoltzfus, 3* David Wharton, 2*, 3 trombone Ruben Rodriguez, 1, 3* Matthew Russo, 1*, 3 bass trombone Craig Watson, 1, 2 tuba Jerome Stover, 3* Landres Bryant, 3 percussion Yun-Chu Chiu, 1 (timpani) John Corkill, 3 (timpani) Leonardo Gorosito Ian Rosenbaum, 3 (timpani) Adam Rosenblatt, 2 (timpani) harp Kristan Tockzo, 3 Maura Valenti, 3*

1- Performer in Rossini 2- Performer in Beethoven 3- Performer in Berlioz *- Denotes Principal Player

up co ming ev ents

http://music.yale.edu SEP 27

Schubert: Winterreise yale opera 8 pm | Sprague Hall | Free Ed Parks ’08mma, baritone • Ken Noda, piano

SEP 28

Tokyo String Quartet chamber music society 8 pm | Sprague Hall | $25–$35 • Students $15 Music by Schubert, Webern, and Mozart With Ettore Causa, viola

OCT 13

Schumann Piano Duos horowitz piano series 8 pm | Sprague Hall | $12-22 • Students $6 Boris Berman and Eteri Andjaparidze, piano

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