Yale Philharmonia, Apr 21, 2017

the philharmonia orchestra of yale peter oundjian

Principal Conductor

April 21, 2017 • Friday at 7:30 pm Woolsey Hall

ludwig van beethoven Overture from Egmont, Op. 84 David Yi, conducting fellow olivier messiaen Poèmes pour Mi (1936) I. Action de grâces II. Paysage III. La maison IV. Épouvante V. L’épouse VI. Ta voix VII. Les deux guerriers VIII. Le collier IX. Prière exaucée Jin-Xiang Yu, soprano intermission john adams Naive and Sentimental Music (1988) I. Naive and Sentimental Music II. Mother of the Man III. Chain to the Rhythm

Robert Blocker, Dean

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.

p rog ra ram notes P m N otes

Ludwig van Beethoven » 1770–1827 Overture from Egmont, Op. 84

Olivier Messiaen » 1908–1992 Poèmes pour Mi (1936)

“Whatever is fitted in any sort to excite the ideas of pain, and danger, that is to say, whatever is in any way terrible,” Edmund Burke writes, “is a source of the sublime; that is, productive of the strongest emotion which the mind is capable of feeling.”

In 1932, Olivier Messiaen married his first wife, Claire Delbos, a violinist and composer. Her nickname, “Mi”—the Solfege name for E, the highest string on the violin—served not only as a basis for the Poèmes but also as material for his wedding gift to Delbos, a Theme and Variations for Violin and Piano based on “Mi.” Written in 1936 at the couple’s idyllic summer estate in the French countryside, Poémes pour Mi was originally scored for violin and piano, with its orchestration occurring the following year. The work is divided into nine movements containing poetry written by Messiaen himself.

The composer’s devout Catholic faith undergirds the song-cycle, which constantly adverts to the sacrament of marriage in the Catholic Church, itself a representation of Christ’s union with his beloved, the church. The songs are divided into two books. The first centers on leaving behind one’s earthly home and solitary life to focus on the beauty of nature, and it closes with "Épouvante," or terror, a ghastly depiction of hell, heaven’s antonym.

The second book, depicting a man and wife on their journey towards heaven, opens with "L’épouse," or “The Wife”, a poem that draws directly from the book of Matthew. Its opening phrase, translated as “Go where the Spirit leads you,” employs a beautiful upward leap in the soprano each time it returns, and its close features an ascent into the heavenly realm on the first violin, an almost audible imitation of the “extension” in the last line of the poem.

"Les deux guerriers," or “The two warriors,” again borrows from biblical texts, this time referencing the “armor of Christ” from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. In "Le collier," or “The Necklace,” Messian’s only poem of physical affection, one can almost hear the pictorialism of the necklace’s rounded shape, later revealed as a description of his lover’s arms around his neck, in the piece’s repetitive melodic structure.

The piece closes with “Prayer Answered,” a composition whose joyful exuberance is depicted not only through the active texture in the orchestra, but also through the use of tubular bells in the percussion, reminiscent of church bells.

– Danielle Wiebe Burke

Composed in 1809, Beethoven’s incidental music to Goethe’s drama Egmont indexes an ongoing shift in early-Romantic compositional style toward capturing in music what Edmund Burke calls the “beautiful” and the “sublime” in his eponymous treatise. Beginning in F minor with a series of dark, shuddering chords, the overture’s opening depicts the struggle between Egmont, a Dutch warrior, and the Spanish Duke of Alba. The slow, deep chords employ the rhythm of a Sarabande, subtly acknowledging the Spanish oppression of the Flemish with this antique dance form, its slow triple-meter enhanced by the chords’ long-long-short progression. Even as the work spins out into its major-mode, fast-paced section, the subliminal threat of Goethe’s “storm and stress” persists, as consistent repeated notes in the lower strings foreground the overture. Although the opening rhythm returns in this faster tempo, now in the major mode, to represent a sort of victory, the movement comes to an abrupt halt with a dolorous cry in the violins shortly thereafter. What follows is a solemn chorale in the winds that gives way to a joyous yet anxious coda that in its euphoria perhaps most concretely carries the contours of the sublime: its sense of motion is consistently catalyzed by fast-paced notes throughout the orchestra, while the melodic material feels frantic, almost nervous, in its exuberance. Nowhere in this overture is the audience released from the impassioned-grip of the sublime, as even its ecstatic, victorious melodies emanate from a mercurial place of wonderment and oppression.

art ist Pprof ro file i les s Artist

John Adams » b. 1947 Naive and Sentimental Music (1998) Although the American composer John Adams embraced the minimalist label early in his career, he has never been content to approach composition with the zen-like simplicity practiced by minimalism’s originalists, like Philip Glass. Adams’ penchant for spectacular, virtuosic orchestration demonstrates both his background as an orchestral clarinetist (he performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at a young age) and his experience conducting many of the world’s leading ensembles. Though he began his career as an anti-establishment figure, resisting the prevailing winds of twentieth-century modernism in favor of a lush harmonic language, he now finds himself atop the American musical scene.

For his substantial and widely varied output over the course of a nearly fifty-year career, he is considered among the most significant composers of our time.

In his contributions to the orchestral repertoire, Adams sometimes draws inspiration from his predecessors. The title of his three-movement orchestral work Harmonielehre (1986) refers to the harmony treatise of the same name by Arnold Schoenberg, and his more recent concerto for string quartet and orchestra, Absolute Jest (2012), is based on material from Beethoven’s late string quartets. In Naive and Sentimental Music, premiered by the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1999, Adams aims to capture the dramatic sweep of Bruckner’s symphonies. The title for what Adams describes as “my Brucknerian symphony” is drawn from Schiller, who claimed that artists fall into one of two categories: the naive (spontaneous and impulse) and the sentimental (deliberative and historically conscious).

In a particular effort to depict the “naive,” Adams begins his work with a meandering melody in the woodwinds, accompanied by nonchalant, strummed chords. The second movement features an electric guitar set against motionless, sustained tones in the strings. The closing movement’s buzzing rhythmic activity progressively builds to a dramatic finale. Structural parallels with Bruckner’s work are apparent in all three movements, with carefully built (dare I say, sentimental) climaxes that rival the thrills of romanticism’s symphonic masters.

– Michael Gilbertson

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 that included a sold-out performance at Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw and the first performance by 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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Jin-Xiang Yu, soprano Jin-Xiang Yu is a Chinese/Russian/Korean soprano raised in Japan. She grew up in a musical family speaking Japanese, English, and Mandarin Chinese while learning Spanish and being an avid athlete at international schools. She holds a degree in theater dance from The American Musical and Dramatic Academy, a bachelor of arts degree in linguistics, and a bachelor of music degree in vocal performance from CUNY Queens College, and a master of music degree from the Yale School of Music. Following her recent appearance as Elle in Poulenc’s La voix humaine, she was praised by the New York Classical Review as being “a robust soprano with secure amber tone … a beautiful sense of phrasing and formidable French diction.” Parterre described her performance as “a startling departure as Elle … remarkable for its conviction, guts, and endurance.” And The New York Times hailed her “compelling performance that traced the shifting moods vividly.”

She is a recipient of the Jack Kent Cooke Graduate Arts Award, the Joan Thornton McManus Memorial Prize, the Presser Foundation Scholarship, the William Orr Dingwall Foundation’s Korean Ancestry Grant, and the Cantor S. Katz Endowment Award. She was a semi-finalist at the Young Concert Artist Competition and the first-place winner of the Art Song Division of the Lyra New York International Vocal Competition in 2016 and was a soloist with the Yonkers Philharmonic under Maestra Tong Chen in 2017. Previously a fellowship artist at the Toronto Summer Music Festival, Vancouver International Song Institute, and Atlantic Music Festival, this summer she will be joining SongFest’s Recital Fellowship program with pianist Jeremy Chan and playing the role of Setsuko in Jack Perla’s An American Dream at Opera Maine (formerly PORTopera).

She is delighted to be back at Yale and sincerely grateful to have this opportunity to perform with the Yale Philharmonia and Maestro Oundjian. She dedicates this performance to her beloved husband, Bill.

Previous roles/appearances include Kaede in the world premiere of Mumyo and Aizen (Merkin Hall), Tehillim with Face the Music and Alarm Will Sound (le poisson rouge), Domina in A Funny Thing Happened On The

Way To The Forum (Kupferberg Center), Bloody Mary in South Pacific, Constance in Dialogues des Carmélites, Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi, and Tytania in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Yale Opera, Shubert Theater).

She has performed in scenes as Magda in La Rondine, Juliette in Roméo et Juliette, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, and Bystrouška in Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen with Yale Opera. As a 2015 Bonfils-Stanton Apprentice Artist at Central City Opera, she played Annina in La traviata and la Japonaise in Boismortier’s Don Quichotte chez la Duchesse and covered Aldonza in Man of La Mancha.

David Yi, conducting fellow David Yi is currently the conducting fellow at the Yale School of Music and assists Peter Oundjian, the principal conductor of the Yale Philharmonia.

David has conducted the Philharmonie BadenBaden, Jenaer Philharmonie, Filharmonie Hradec Králové, Filharmonie Teplice, Karlovarsky Symphony Orchestra, New England Conservatory Symphony Orchestra, and Gyeonggi Philharmonic Orchestra.

In 2016, he was one of fourteen candidates invited to the Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition in Bamberg, Germany. He has participated in master classes with conductors Riccardo Muti and Myung-Whun Chung.

David Yi studied conducting at the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt Weimar, Germany, and at the New England Conservatory. His teachers include Peter Oundjian, Nicolás Pasquet, Markus Frank, and Hugh Wolff.

A bo u t Ya l e Philharmo nia

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 samuel bobinski Assistant Manager david yi Assistant Conductor

the philharmonia orchestra of yale violin i Dae Hee Ahn Marianne Di Tomaso Diomedes B. Saraza, Jr. Laura Park Sissi Yuqing Zhang Kyung Min Lee Manaka Matsumoto Kevin Zheng Ruda Lee Jiwon Sun Yuqi Li Ji Soo Lee violin ii Sophia Mockler David Loke Kai-Yuan Alyssa Blackstone Sirena Huang Bora Kim Gaga Won Martin Peh Hyunjae Bae Linda Lee Jung Eun Kang viola Josip Kvetek Joshua Newburger Alexandra Simpson Florrie Marshall Thomas Duboski Wei Peng Yang Li cello Eric Adamshick Allan Hon Samuel DeCaprio Yeji Yoo James Rosamilia Justin Park Bitnalee Pong Yiqui Chen

bass Jordan Calixto Will Robbins Luke Stence Mariya-Andoniya Andonova Lee Starovich Kaden Hall Henderson flute Evan Fojtik Meera Gudipati 1 Felice Doynov Benjamin Morency 3 Helen Hye Jin Park Leo Sussman 2 oboe Lydia Consilvio 3 Timothy Feil 2 Michelle Nguyen 1 Lauren Williams english horn Timothy Feil 2 Lauren Williams 3 clarinet Giovanni Bertoni 1 Eric Braley 2 Jesse McCandless Elisha Willinger 3

contrabassoon Patrick Broder

piano Fantee Jones 3

horn Luke Baker 2 Antonia Chandler Reese Farnell 1 Matthew Gray 3 Cody Halquist Scott Leger Valerie Sly Joshua Thompson

keyboard Benjamin Wallace 3 celeste Dong Won Lee 3 guitar Gulli Bjornsson 3 1

Principal on Beethoven Principal on Messiaen Principal on Adams

trumpet Allan Dean Aaron Plourde 2 Andrew Stadler 3 Theo Van Dyck 1

2

trombone Grant Futch 3 Alexander Walden 2 William Wortley

music librarians Emily Brandenburg Sophie Cash-Goldwasser Antonia Chandler Allan Hon Bora Kim Laura Park Lauren Williams

bass trombone Eliud Garcia 2 Zachary Haas 3 tuba Jacob Fewx 3 Joseph Guimaraes 2

bass clarinet Giovanni Bertoni Eric Braley

timpani Kramer Milan 1 Georgi Videnov 3

bassoon Patrick Broder Francisco J. Joubert Bernard 1 Matthew Gregoire 3 Dillon Meacham Yang Mingyuan Hanul Park 2

percussion Matthew Keown YoungKyoung Lee Kramer Milan Dmitri Nilov Sam Seyong Um harp Margaret Davis Shin Young Yu

3

office assistant Valerie Sly

stage crew Lydia Consilvio Margaret Davis Thomas Duboski Reese Farnell Christopher Garwood Ashley Hale Nozomi Imamura Pall Quinn Kalmansson Matthew Keown Young Kyoung Lee Hillary Simms Andrew Stadler Sam Seyong Um Georgi Videnov Cheuk Yin Clement Luu

Up co ming Event s APRIL 26

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YALE CELLOS YSM Ensembles Aldo Parisot, director Featuring music by Bach, Rachmaninoff, Schumann, and more Morse Recital Hall | Wednesday | 7:30 pm Tickets start at $10 • Students $5 THE BEAR & LE PAUVRE MATELOT Yale Opera Doris Yarick Cross, artistic director Yale Opera presents a new double bill of Walton’s The Bear and Milhaud’s Le pauvre matelot (The Poor Sailor) with music direction

by Doug Dickson and Timothy Shaindlin Morse Recital Hall Friday & Saturday | 7:30 pm Tickets start at $10 • Students $5 COMPETITION WINNERS Oneppo Chamber Music Series Featuring winners of YSM’s annual student chamber music competition Morse Recital Hall | Tuesday | 7:30 pm Tickets start at $10 • Students $6

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olivier messiaen Poèmes pour Mi (1936) I. Action de grâces

I. Thanksgiving

Le ciel, Et l’eau qui suit les variations des nuages, Et la terre, et les montagnes qui attendent toujours, Et la lumière qui transforme.

The sky, And the water that follows the variations of the clouds, And the earth, and the mountains that always wait, And the light that transforms.

Et un œil près de mon œil, une pensée près de ma pensée, Et un visage qui sourit et pleure avec le mien, Et deux pieds derrière mes pieds, Comme la vague à la vague est unie.

And an eye close to my eye, a thought close to my thought, And a face that smiles and weeps with mine, And two feet behind my feet, As the wave to the wave is united.

Et une âme, Invisible, pleine d’amour et d’immortalité, Et un vêtement de chair et d’os qui germera pour la résurrection, Et la Vérité, et l’Esprit, et la grâce avec son héritage de lumière.

And a soul, Invisible, filled with love and with immortality, And a garment of flesh and bone that will sprout for the resurrection, And Truth, and Spirit, and grace with her heritage of light.

Tout cela, vous me l’avez donné.

Et vous vous êtes encore donné vous-même Dans l’obéissance et dans le sang de votre Croix, Et dans un Pain plus doux que la fraîcheur des étoiles, Mon Dieu.

Alléluia.

All of this, you have given to me, And you even gave yourself In the obedience and in the blood of your Cross, And in a Bread sweeter than the freshness of the stars, My God. Alleluia.

II. Paysage

II. Landscape

Le lac comme un gros bijou bleu.

The lake like a big blue jewel.

La route pleine de chagrins et de fondrières, Mes pieds qui hésitent dans la poussière,

The road full of grief and ruts, My feet that hesitate in the dust,

Le lac comme un gros bijou bleu.

The lake like a big blue jewel.

Et la voilà, verte et bleue comme le paysage!

Entre le blé et le soleil je vois son visage: Elle sourit, la main sur les yeux.

And there she is, green and blue like the landscape!

Between the wheat and the sun I see her face: She smiles, the hand on the eyes.

Le lac comme un gros bijou bleu.

The lake like a big blue jewel.

III. La maison

III. The House

Cette maison nous allons la quitter: Je la vois dans ton œil.

Nous quitterons nos corps aussi: Je les vois dans ton œil.

This house we will leave: I see it in your eye.

We will leave our bodies also: I see them in your eye.

Toutes ces images de douleur qui s’impriment dans ton œil, Ton œil ne les retrouvera plus: Quand nous contemplerons la Vérité, Dans des corps purs, jeunes, éternellement lumineux.

All these images of pain that are imprinted in your eye, Your eye won’t find them anymore: When we will contemplate the Truth, In bodies pure, young, eternally bright.

IV. Épouvante

IV. Terror

Ha, ho!

N’enfouis pas tes souvenirs dans la terre, tu ne les retrouverais plus.

Ne tire pas, ne froisse pas, ne déchire pas.

Ah! Oh! Don’t bury your memories in the earth, you wouldn’t find them anymore.

Don’t tug on them, don’t crumple them, don’t tear them.

Des lambeaux sanglants te suivraient dans les ténèbres Comme une vomissure triangulaire, Et le choc bruyant des anneaux sur la porte irréparable Rythmerait ton désespoir Pour rassasier les puissances du feu.

The bloody tatters would follow you into the darkness Like a triangular vomit, And the noisy shock of the rings on the irreparable door Would give rhythm to your despair To feed the powers of fire.

Ha, Ho! Ha!

Ah, oh! Ah!

V. L’épouse

V. The Wife

Va où l’Esprit te mène, Nul ne peut séparer ce que Dieu a uni, Va où l’Esprit te mène, L’épouse est le prolongement de l’époux, Va où l’Esprit te mène, Comme l’Église est le prolongement du Christ.

Go where the Spirit leads you, No one can separate what God has united, Go where the Spirit leads you, The wife is the extension of the husband, Go where the Spirit leads you, As the Church is an extension of Christ.

VI. Ta voix

VI. Your Voice

Fenêtre pleine d’après-midi, Qui s’ouvre sur l’après-midi, Et sur ta voix fraîche (Oiseau de printemps qui s’éveille).

Window full of afternoon, Which opens over the afternoon, And on your fresh voice (Bird of spring that awakens).

Si elle s’ouvrait sur l’éternité Je te verrais plus belle encore.

Tu es la servante du Fils, Et le Père t’aimerait pour cela.

Sa lumière sans fin tomberait sur tes épaules Sa marque sur ton front.

Tu complèterait le nombre des anges incorporels.

If it opened on eternity I would see you even more beautiful.

You are the servant of the Son, And the Father would love you for that.

His light without end would fall on your shoulders His mark on your forehead.

You would complete the number of incorporeal angels.

À la gloire de la Trinité sainte Un toujours de bonheur élèverait ta voix fraîche (Oiseau de printemps qui s’éveille):

To the glory of the Trinity holy An infinite happiness would elevate your fresh voice (Bird of spring that awakens):

Tu chanterais.

You would sing.

VII. Les deux guerriers

VII. The Two Warriors

Du deux nous voici un. En avant!

Comme des guerriers bardés de fer!

From two, now as one. Onward!

Like the warriors bedecked with iron!

Ton œil et mon œil parmi les statues qui marchent, Parmi les hurlements noirs, les écroulements de sulfureuses géométries.

Nous gémissons: ah! écoute-moi, je suis tes deux enfants, mon Dieu!

Your eye and my eye amongst the statues that march, Amongst the dark howling, the collapse of sulfurous shapes We moan: ah! listen to me, I am your two children, my God!

En avant, guerriers sacramentels!

Tendez joyeusement vos boucliers.

Lancez vers le ciel les flèches de dévouement d’aurore: Vous parviendrez aux portes de la Ville.

Onward, sacramental warriors!

Joyously tighten your shields.

Fire through the sky the arrow of devotion of dawn: You will reach the doors of the City.

VIII. Le collier

VIII. The Necklace

Printemps enchaîné, arc-en-ciel léger du matin, Spring enchained, rainbow light of the morning, Ah! mon collier! Ah! mon collier!

Ah! my necklace! Ah! my necklace!

Petit soutien vivant de mes oreilles lasses, Collier de renouveau, de sourire et de grâce, Collier d’Orient, collier choisi multicolore aux perles dures et cocasses!

Little living support of my weary ears, Necklace of renewal, of smiles and grace, Necklace of Orient, necklace choicely multicolored of pearls tough and comical!

Paysage courbe, épousant l’air frais du matin, Ah! mon collier! Ah! mon collier!

Landscape curved, married to the fresh air of morning, Ah! my necklace! Ah! my necklace!

Tes deux bras autour de mon cou, ce matin.

Your two arms around my neck, this morning.

IX. Prière exaucée

IX. Prayer Answered

Ébranlez la solitaire, la vieille montagne de douleur, Que le soleil travaille les eaux amères de mon cœur!

O Jésus, Pain vivant et qui donnez la vie, Ne dites qu’une seule parole, et mon âme sera guérie.

Shake the solitude, the old mountain of pain, The sun works the bitter waters of my heart!

O Jesus, living Bread and who gives life, Just say one word, and my soul shall be healed.

Ébranlez la solitaire, la vieille montagne de douleur, Que le soleil travaille les eaux amères de mon cœur!

Donnez-moi votre grâce, Donnez-moi votre grâce, Donnez-moi votre grâce!

Shake the solitude, the old mountain of pain, The sun works the bitter waters of my heart!

Give me your grace, Give me your grace, Give me your grace!

Carillonne, mon cœur, Que ta résonance soit dure, et longue, et profonde!

Frappe, tape, choque pour ton roi!

Frappe, tape, choque pour ton Dieu!

Voici ton jour de gloire et de résurrection!

Ring, my heart, May your resonance be hard, and long, and deep!

Strike, slap, shock for your king!

Strike, slap, shock for your God! Here is your day of glory and of resurrection!

La joie est revenue.

Joy has returned.

Text by Olivier Messiaen

Translations by Jin-Xiang Yu