yale philharmonia Peter Oundjian, Principal Conductor
Peter Oundjian principal conductor
Friday, February 22, 2019 | 7:30 pm Morse Recital Hall in Sprague Memorial Hall
Robert Blocker, Dean
Program Zoltán Kodály 1882–1967
Dances of Galánta (1933) I. Lento II. Allegretto moderato III. Allegro con moto, grazioso IV. Allegro V. Allegro vivace
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 1756–1791
Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466 I. Allegro II. Romanza III. Rondo. Allegro assai Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner, piano
intermission
Antonín Dvořák 1841–1904
Symphony No. 6 in D major, Op. 60 I. Allegro non tanto II. Adagio III. Scherzo (Furiant). Presto IV. Finale. Allegro con spirito
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Artist Profiles Peter Oundjian, principal conductor
Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner, piano
Toronto-born conductor Peter Oundjian has been an instrumental figure in the rebirth of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra since his appointment as Music Director in 2004. In addition to conducting the orchestra in dynamic performances that have achieved significant artistic acclaim, he has been greatly involved in a variety of new initiatives that have strengthened the ensemble’s presence in the community and attracted a young and diverse audience.
“Poetic, electrifying” (Michigan Live), “a gifted virtuoso” (San Francisco Chronicle), “masterful technique and a veritable deluge of sonorities” (La Presse Montreal), and “mesmerizing artistry and extraordinary ability to communicate” (The Post-Standard), describe Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner for performances that stir the humanity and intellect of his audiences on five continents.
In addition to his post in Toronto, from which he stepped down in 2018, Oundjian served as Principal Guest Conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra from 2006 to 2010 and played a major role at the Caramoor International Music Festival in New York between 1997 and 2007. In 2012 he was appointed Music Director of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Oundjian was the first violinist of the renowned Tokyo String Quartet, a position he held for fourteen years. Since 1981, he has been on the Yale School of Music faculty. He was awarded the School’s Samuel Simons Sanford Medal for distinguished service to music in 2013, and named Principal Conductor of the Yale Philharmonia in 2015. He is Professor (adjunct) of Music and Orchestral Conducting at the School of Music.
Named a Gilmore Young Artist in 2014, Sanchez-Werner’s unique, multi-faceted artistry has been featured on NPR, CNN International, the Wall Street Journal, and WDR-Arte. Sanchez-Werner received the Atlantic Council Young Global Citizen Award recognizing his dedication to social action through music in countries such as Iraq, Rwanda, France, Canada, and the United States. General Petraeus commended his “courageous humanitarian contributions through the arts…strengthening the ties that unite our nations.” Sanchez-Werner received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Juilliard with a Kovner Fellowship. Principal teachers include Yoheved Kaplinsky and Ilya Itin, as well as composition with Lowell Liebermann. Sanchez-Werner is completing his Artist Diploma at the Yale School of Music with Boris Berman. >> llewellynsanchezwerner.com
Program Notes Dances of Galanta Kodály Patrick Campbell Jankowski
Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor mozart Patrick Campbell Jankowski
These “Dances Of Galánta” form a kind of unbroken suite: one which alternates between instances of almost improvisational freedom and tight synchrony. It is music with a lot of humanity in it, and we never forget that this is music for dancing, even when no dances were ever meant to join it. The human element makes sense, as Kodály himself grew up in the town of Galánta, in modern-day Slovakia. He recalled hearing the town band, made up mostly of migrant musicians from south and east, performing these thrilling improvised dances in the town square. Upon receiving a commission to celebrate the Budapest Philharmonic’s 80th year, he turned to his past for inspiration.
This piano concerto, Mozart’s first minor mode excursion in the form, is suffused with operatic drama. This becomes evident even before the piece begins: trumpets and timpani sit on stage – not unparalleled, although uncommon – to punctuate moments of high drama. Few concertos of the classical era contain such a blatantly protagonistic soloist, engaged in interaction and conflict with their surroundings. Its dramatic tone made it a suitable work for inclusion at a memorial tribute concert, between the acts of Mozart’s opera seria La Clemenza di Tito in 1795. The soloist in that concert was Beethoven, who in many ways helped to secure the concerto’s enduring reputation well into the Romantic era.
Folk music played a vital role in Kodály’s life, and he, along with Bela Bartók, are among the first ethnomusicologists in the modern sense. Kodály not only sought out folk music in Eastern Europe, but studied it so as to understand what made it both unique and parallel to other traditions. Many of the dance melodies themselves came from printed editions that had existed for at least a century already, though were seldom explored in grand orchestrations. The Hungarian music style known as verbunkos, with its unpredictable changes and tempo fluctuations, saturates these dances. Syncopated rhythms underpin the melodic material, keeping the overall character effervescent, as though always suspended in mid-air.
The concerto foreshadows Romanticism through unpredictable turns, dramatic juxtapositions, and its scale and scope. Take, for instance, the central episode of the middle movement: a dramatic change into rapid triplets against the introspective serenity of its surroundings. This reflection calls upon the tension of the opening with a sense of cohesion and artistry. There is no structural “need” for such an extreme juxtaposition, yet it invites reflection against the entirety of the framework in a way that Beethoven’s symphonies would later emulate. The dramatic mood of the first movement returns in the finale, creating symmetry and narrative: the unnamed protagonist has completed their cycle, and returned once more to the start.
Yale Philharmonia Spring 2019 Symphony No. 6 DvoŘ ák Patrick Campbell Jankowski Although Dvořák’s compositional voice is unique, he is well indebted to the work of past composers, and especially to Johannes Brahms. It was Brahm’s enthusiasm for the young Dvořák that helped to accelerate his rise to fame throughout Europe, and we can hear traces of Brahmsian inspiration in the Czech composer’s music on any scale. This sixth symphony was especially pivotal for Dvořák in that it exemplifies his development into a mature composer. The opening theme is an easygoing, pastoral melody atop light syncopation. This melody becomes the subject of numerous transformations, and the opening movement meanders between moments of triumph and ease. The gentle yet somewhat somber second movement carries through the pastoral, “natural” character with evocative solos for oboe, horn, and flute. The triple meter furiant, with its playful syncopation and rhythmic manipulation, is the most overtly “Czech” movement in the symphony, imparting a uniquely folk style into a model “stormy scherzo.” The finale begins as though emerging over a distant hill. A humming melody builds to a triumphant statement, punctuated by the enthusiastic thump of the tympani. An episode of cheeky woodwind solos and ricochet ostinatos follows, and a series of builds and retreats continues to add an element of unpredictability to the form. An energized presto closes the symphony with a grand and dramatic push to the finish: brass, drums, and all.
APR 5
Carolyn Kuan, guest conductor Copland: Fanfare for the Common Man and Appalachian Spring (Suite from the Ballet); Plau: Concerto for Tuba and Strings, with tubist Jacob Fewx; Stravinsky: Symphony in Three Movements
APR 26
Peter Oundjian, principal conductor Reinecke: Flute Concerto in D major, with flutist Jungah Yoon; Brahms: Symphony No. 1 in C minor
Yale Philharmonia Peter Oundjian, principal conductor Violin I Kate Arndt Pei Wen Liao Matthew Woodard Yebeen Seo Dongsoo Cha Xiaoxuan Shi Lauren Bennett Jessie Chen Albert Yamamoto Jisun Lee Violin II Gregory Lewis Anna Leunis Ariel Horowitz Xiaofan Liu Beatrice Hsieh Dustin Wilkes-Kim Cheuk Ching Tse Yun Jae Choi Viola Marlea Simpson Alex McLaughlin Rimbo Wong Bethany Hargreaves Abby Elder Rayna Chou Cello Valentina Crnjak Samuel Walter Bo Bae Lee Yun Han Sein Lee
Noah Kay 3 Lauren White
Manager Jeffrey M. Mistri
English Horn Leonardo Ziporyn
Assistant Manager/ Librarian Samuel Bobinski
Clarinet Michael Moy 1, 3 Richard Adger Bassoon Dana Brink 1 Kristy Tucker 2, 3 Horn Esteban Garcia 1 Steven Harmon 2 Griffin Botts Stephen Newberry 3 Trumpet Chloe Swindler 1 Kenny Chauby Brian Garcia Rodriguez 2 Eric Rizzo Oscar Mason 3 Melissa Munoz trombone Danny Alford 3 Lyman McBride bass trombone Jordan Crimminger tuba Jake Fewx
Bass Amy Nickler Russel Thompson Kohei Yamaguchi
Timpani Young Kyoung Lee 1, 2 Arlo Shultis 3
Flute Maria Luisk 1, 2 Hannah Creswell 3
Percussion Arlo Shultis 1 Russell Fisher
Oboe Leo Ziporyn 1 Elliot Lichtenberg 2
1 2 3
Principal on Kodály Principal on Mozart Principal on Dvorák
philharmonia office assistant Kristy Tucker Stage Crew Héloïse Carlean-Jones Cameron Daly Jisu Jung YoungKyoung Lee Gabriel Mairson Lucas Oliveira Arlo Shultis Andrew Sledge Russel Thompson Daniel Vaitkus Rimbo Wong Aidan Zimmerman Music Librarians Antonia Chandler Brandon Garbot Bora Kim Marta Lambert Gregory Lewis Alex McLaughlin Leonardo Ziporyn
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Upcoming Events feb 24 Steven Isserlis, cello, and Robert Levin, fortepiano Collection of Musical Instruments “Put them together and something magical happens” — Gramophone 3 p.m. | Collection of Musical Inst. Tickets $30, Yale staff and seniors and museum associates $25, students $15
mar 31 Quicksilver Baroque: Violini a due Collection of Musical Instruments The period-instrument chamber ensemble explores the musical styles of 17th-century Italy. 3 p.m. | Collection of Musical Inst. Tickets $30, Yale staff and seniors and museum associates $25, students $15
feb 26 Jordi Savall and members of Le Concert des Nations Oneppo Chamber Music Series Viola da gamba virtuoso Jordi Savall leads an ensemble in a program of music from film Tous les Matins du Monde. 7:30 p.m. | Morse Recital Hall Tickets start at $28, students $13
apr 5 Carolyn Kuan, guest conductor Yale Philharmonia Carolyn Kuan conducts the Yale Philharmonia in Copland’s suite from Appalachian Spring and more. 7:30 p.m. | Woolsey Hall Tickets start at $12, Yale faculty/ staff $8, students $5
mar 1 Renee Rosnes Quartet Ellington Jazz Series Pianist and composer Renee Rosnes performs selections from her albums Written in the Rocks and Beloved of the Sky. 7:30 p.m. | Morse Recital Hall Tickets start at $22, Students $10
apr 16 A Far Cry Oneppo Chamber Music Series The chamber orchestra collective presents a program of music by Pärt, Xenakis, Aaron Jay Kernis, and Bartók. 7:30 p.m. | Morse Recital Hall Tickets start at $28, students $13
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