Yale Philharmonia, Peter Oundjian, Sep 16, 2016

the philharmonia orchestra of yale

peter oundjian

principal conductor

September 16, 2016 • Friday at 7:30 pm Woolsey Hall

mikhail glink a

Overture to Ruslan and Ludmilla (1842)

béla bartók

Concerto for Orchestra, Sz. 116

I. II. III. IV. V.

Introduzione: Andante non troppo Presentando le coppie: Allegro scherzando Elegia: Andante non troppo Intermezzo interrotto: Allegretto Finale: Pesante — Presto

intermission

ludwig van beethoven

Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92

I. II. III. IV.

Poco sostenuto — Vivace Allegretto Presto Allegro con brio

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

Robert Blocker, Dean

prog gra ram m Notes no tes Pro

Mikhail Glinka » 1804—1857 Overture to Ruslan and Ludmilla (1842)

Béla Bartók » 1881—1945 Concerto for Orchestra, Sz. 116

Considered by many to be the father of Russian classical music, Mikhail Glinka exerted a powerful influence on many important composers who emerged in Russia in the latter half of the 19th century. His works, while belonging to the western European tradition, are nonetheless characterized by the musical inspirations of his native land.

Glinka, who was largely self-taught, embarked in 1830 on a trip to Italy, where he would live for three years. He studied at the conservatory in Milan and met such notable composers as Berlioz and Mendelssohn but ultimately decided that his true calling was to return to Russia to develop a uniquely Russian musical style. Although his first opera, A Life for the Tsar, is distinctly Italianate in musical style, his second, Ruslan and Ludmilla, incorporates material from folk songs and makes use of such novel harmonic devices as the whole-tone scale (listen for it descending in the trombones near the end of the overture) to create a distinctly Russian atmosphere.

Many of Glinka’s innovations became stock musical symbols in Russian Romantic composition, such as his use of paired dominant seventh chords related by a common tone to signify fantastical subject matter (also used in Stravinsky’s The Firebird). While the music of Ruslan and Ludmilla is widely praised for its distinctiveness and its many coloristic innovations, the plot of the opera is generally considered a dramatic mess. The work is based on a story by Pushkin, who had intended to fashion the libretto for Glinka until his life was cut short in a duel. The task fell to Konstantin Bakhturin, who drew up a dramatic outline that had to be filled in by Glinka with poetic contributions from the composer’s friends.

The shoddy quality of the libretto has been a major factor in the infrequency of performances of the opera, particularly outside of Russia. However, the brilliance of Glinka’s orchestral writing has forever assured the Overture to Ruslan and Ludmilla a place on concert programs across the globe.

— Kevin Zakresky

Distraught over his native Hungary’s coziness with Nazi Germany, Bartók emigrated to the United States in 1940 while war raged in Europe. He settled in New York where he faced a barrage of new problems, including ailing health, financial hardship, a declining career as a solo pianist, and a public that was increasingly indifferent to his music. In the spring of 1943, conductor Serge Koussevitzky learned of Bartók’s situation and, knowing the composer would be too proud to accept any form of charity, commissioned Bartók to compose something for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which premiered the Concerto for Orchestra with overwhelming success on December 1, 1944. The title “Concerto for Orchestra” seems to be an oxymoron, as a concerto is traditionally scored for a soloist with orchestral accompaniment. Bartók, however, evokes the genre by treating an array of individual instruments and sections of the orchestra as soloists.

The virtuosity expected of concerto soloists is especially apparent in the brass playing during the fugato sections of the first movement and the devilishly fast sixteenth-note passages that the strings execute in the Finale.

The second movement, “Presentando le coppie” (“Presentation of the Couples”), reflects the duo-concertante style. Five pairs of instruments (bassoons, oboes, clarinets, flutes, and muted trumpets) introduce themes in counterpoint, with members of each pair separated by a different interval. Bartók’s fascination with folk music pervades every movement of the work. Themes in the first movement, pentatonic and rhythmically free, are typical of early Hungarian folk songs. The second movement imitates the Yugoslav kolo (round dance), inspired by the folkloric duet performed on a pair of sopile (folk oboes). “Elegia,” the third movement, uses Romanian mourning songs, and the fourth movement’s Lydian mode is characteristic of Slovak folksongs. The irregular rhythms of the Finale evince Romanian instrumental folk music, traditionally played on the bagpipe, violin, and peasant flute.

— Julia Clancy

art ist p ro f i le s

Ludwig van Beethoven » 1770–1827 Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92 Beethoven often sought to capitalize on the spirit of the moment, and the premiere of his Seventh Symphony, conceived as the tide turned decisively against Napoleon’s eastern conquest, was no exception. The Seventh was first performed on December 8, 1813. The program also included the premiere of Beethoven’s “Battle Symphony” Wellington’s Victory, a piece often dismissed as a trifle of campy militarism. In what must have been a sight to behold, some of Beethoven’s most prominent contemporaries—Hummel, Meyerbeer, Spohr, and Salieri—performed in the orchestra under the composer’s direction.

The event was promoted as a benefit for injured Austrian soldiers. Scored in the especially bright key of A major, the Seventh is arguably the most rhythmically energetic of Beethoven’s nine symphonies. Like the First, Second, and Fourth, the Seventh Symphony opens with an extended, stately introduction before launching into the Vivace. The somber second movement, perhaps the work’s most recognizable, is an Allegretto in A minor.

The finale’s fiddle tunes and blazing horn entrances—among the most forceful horn material in any Beethoven symphony—close the work with what has been described as the sound of manic joy. Beethoven completed his Seventh Symphony in 1812, which Carl Czerny cited as the year the composer’s deafness prevented him from perceiving speech or hearing music normally. In the Seventh’s extreme emotional breadth, some have perceived a reflection of Beethoven’s inner turmoil as he neared the end of his second compositional period. The work’s rousing spirit was welcomed by Vienna’s war-weary souls, prompting additional performances in the weeks following the premiere. The solemnity of the Symphony’s second movement, which was given an encore at the premiere, seems to have struck a particular nerve. Beethoven’s Seventh has since proven an enduring inspiration to composers. Wagner famously lauded the work, describing it as “the apotheosis of the dance.”

— Michael Gilbertson

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a rt st Prof p rofiles A rt iist iles

Peter Oundjian, principal conductor A dynamic presence in the conducting world, Toronto-born conductor Peter Oundjian is renowned for his probing musicality, collaborative spirit, and engaging personality.

Oundjian’s appointment as Music Director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) in 2004 reinvigorated the orchestra with numerous recordings, tours, and acclaimed innovative programming as well as extensive audience growth, thereby significantly strengthening the ensemble’s presence in the world.

He recently led the TSO on a tour of Europe which included a sold-out performance at Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw and the first performance of a North American orchestra at Reykjavik’s Harpa concert hall.

Oundjian was appointed Music Director of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) in 2012. Under his baton, the orchestra has enjoyed several successful tours including one to China, and has continued its relationship with Chandos Records. This season, Oundjian and the RSNO opened the Edinburgh Festival with the innovative Harmonium Project to great critical and audience acclaim.

Few conductors bring such musicianship and engagement to the world’s great podiums — from Berlin, Amsterdam, and Tel Aviv to New York, Chicago, and Sydney. He has also appeared at some of the great annual gatherings of musicians and music-lovers: from the BBC Proms and the Prague Spring Festival to the Edinburgh Festival and the Philadelphia Orchestra’s Mozart Festival, where he was Artistic Director from 2003 to 2005.

Oundjian was Principal Guest Conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra from 2006 to 2010 and Artistic Director of the Caramoor International Music Festival in New York between 1997 and 2007. Since 1981, he has been a visiting professor at the Yale School of Music, and in 2013 he was awarded the school’s Samuel Simons Sanford Award for distinguished service to music.

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from yale philharmonia

On October 14, principal conductor Peter Oundjian leads the Yale Philharmonia in a sublime program that features flute soloist Joanna Wu, winner of the Woolsey Hall Concerto Competition.

A b ou t Yal e Ph ilh a rm onia

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.

Performances include an annual series of concerts in Woolsey Hall, as well as Yale Opera productions in the Schubert Theater.

The Yale Philharmonia has also performed on numerous occasions in Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall in New York City and at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts 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.

peter oundjian

Principal Conductor philharmonia staff: jeffrey m. mistri

Manager roberta senatore

Assistant Manager david yi

Assistant Conductor

the philharmonia orchestra of yale violin i Sissi Yuqing Zhang Sophia Mockler Marianne Di Tomaso Sirena Huang Marina Aikawa Bora Kim Yu-Ting Chen Michael Tropepe Dae Hee Ahn Wynton Grant TzuTi Chang Je Young Kim Chang Hoon Bae Dhyani Dharmawati Heath violin ii Alyssa Marie Blackstone Elliot Lee Laura Yeonsoo Park Rachel Ostler Kevin Zheng Jung Eun Kang Renyu Martin Peh Yuqi Li Cheuk Yin Luu Linda Lee Jiale Peng Suyoun Han viola Emily Brandenburg Danielle Burke Wei Peng Florrie Marshall Joshua Newburger Thomas Duboski Ye In Son Josip Kvetek Alexandra Simpson Yang Li

cello Eric Adamshick Yiqiu Chen Jiyoung Choi Samuel DeCaprio Allan Hon Pall Quinn Kalmansson Nayeon Kim Jenny Kwak Justin Yoohyung Park Bitnalee Pong bass Luke Stence Kohei Yamaguchi Kaden Hall Henderson Mariya-Andoniya Andonova Joshua Jay DePoint Jordan Calixto Erez Meyuhass Lee Starovich flute Evan Fojtik 3 Meera Guidipati 2 Leo Sussman 1 oboe Lydia Consilvio Timothy Feil Noah Kay Michelle Nguyen 3 Winona V.R. Van Alstyne 1 Lauren Williams 2 clarinet Sam Boutris 2 Graeme Steele Johnson 3 Elisha Willinger 1

bassoon Patrick Broder Matthew Gregoire 1, 2 Francisco Joubert Bernard 3 Yang Mingyuan horn Luke Baker 1 Antonia Chandler Reese Farnell Matthew Gray 3 Cody Halquist Scott Leger Valerie Sly 2 Joshua Thompson trumpet Ashley Hale Nozomi Imamura 3 Aaron Plourde Jonathan Shadle 1 Andrew Stadler 2 Theodore Van Dyck trombone Grant Futch Eliud Garcia Zachary Haas Hillary Simms 2 William Wortley 1 tuba Joseph Guimares 2 timpani Matthew Keown 1 Kramer Milan 3 Georgi Videnov 2

percussion Young Kyoung Lee Dmitrii Nilov Se Um harp Margaret Davis Shin Young Yu administrative assistant Valerie Sly music librarians Mariya-Andoniya Andonova Emily Brandenburg Sophie Cash-Goldwasser Antonia Chandler Bora Kim Allan Hon Laura Park Lauren Williams stage crew Lydia Consilvio Margaret Davis Thomas Duboski Ashley Hale Reese Farnell Christopher Garwood Nozomi Imamura Pall Quinn Kalmansson Matthew Keown Young Kyoung Lee Cheuk Yin Luu Hillary Simms Andrew Stadler Georgi Videnov Se Um 1 Principal on Glinka 2 Principal on BartĂłk 3 Principal on Beethoven

Upc o m i n g Even t s SEPT 17

CAROL JANTSCH, tuba Faculty Artist Series Morse Recital Hall | Saturday | 3 pm Featuring Castérède’s Sonatine for Tuba and Piano, along with arrangements of works by Debussy, Fauré, and Saint-Saëns, with Michael Djupstrom, piano

Free Admission

SEPT 21

BORIS BERMAN Horowitz Piano Series Morse Recital Hall | Wednesday | 7:30 pm Faculty pianist Boris Berman performs Debussy’s enchanting 24 Preludes

Tickets start at $13 • Students $7

SEPT 27

BRENTANO AND FRIENDS Oneppo Chamber Music Series The Brentano String Quartet is joined by members of the Argus Quartet and YSM faculty violist Ettore Causa for a program of works by Haydn and Mendelssohn

Tickets start at $26 • Students $13

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