yale philharmonia
Peter Oundjian principal conductor
Friday, January 24, 2020 | 7:30 pm Woolsey Hall
Robert Blocker, Dean
Program Ludwig van Beethoven 1770–1827
Fantasia in C minor for piano, chorus, and orchestra, Op. 80 I. Adagio II. Finale III. Allegretto, ma non troppo Nicole Leung, soprano I Laura Nielsen, soprano II Julia Orosz, alto JongHyun Park, tenor I Ricky Feng Nan, tenor II Alireza Tousi, bass Boris Berman, piano Yale Glee Club
Concerto in C major for violin, cello, and piano, Op. 56 I. Allegro II. Largo III. Rondo alla Polacca Sunmi Chang, violin Paul Watkins, cello Melvin Chen, piano
intermission
Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, Op. 55, “Eroica” I. Allegro con brio II. Marcia funebre. Adagio assai III. Scherzo. Allegro vivace – Trio IV. Finale. Allegro molto
As a courtesy to others, please silence all devices. Photography and recording of any kind is strictly prohibited. Please do not leave the hall during musical selections. Thank you.
Artist Profiles Peter Oundjian, principal conductor 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.
and conducts master classes throughout the world. Born in Moscow, he studied at Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory with Lev Oborin. A Grammy nominee, he has recorded all the solo piano works of Prokofiev and Schnittke, the complete sonatas of Scriabin, and works by many other composers. He is the author of two books: Notes from the Pianist’s Bench and Prokofiev’s Piano Sonatas: A Guide for the Listener and the Performer. » borisberman.com Yale Glee Club
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. Boris Berman, piano Boris Berman, Professor of Piano and Coordinator of the Piano Department at the Yale School of Music, has performed in more than fifty countries on six continents
From its earliest days as a group of thirteen men from the Class of 1863 to its current incarnation as an eighty-voice all-gender chorus, the Yale Glee Club, Yale’s principal undergraduate mixed chorus and oldest musical organization, has represented the best in collegiate choral music. In recent seasons, the Glee Club’s performances received rave reviews in the national press, from The New York Times to The Washington Post. The students who sing in the Yale Glee Club are drawn from all academic areas of the university, and the group’s repertoire embraces a broad spectrum of choral music from the 16th century to the present, including Renaissance motets, contemporary choral works, large choral orchestral works, and music of world folk traditions. Committed to the creation of new music, the Glee Club presents frequent premieres of newly commissioned works. One of the most traveled collegiate choruses in the world, the Glee Club traveled on its first international tour in 1928, and has since appeared before enthusiastic audiences on six continents.
Artist Profiles, cont. Sunmi Chang, violin As the laureate of both the 2007 International Markneukirchen and Sion-Valais International Violin Competitions, Sunmi Chang has performed widely to much acclaim throughout North America and Europe as a soloist and chamber musician. In 2008, she was the soloist on the Yale Philharmonia’s tour to Seoul, Beijing, and Shanghai, performing the Beethoven Concerto. She studied at the Yehudi Menuhin School in England and at the Hanns Eisler Musikhochschule in Berlin with Prof. Eberhard Feltz. An active chamber musician, Ms. Chang won first prize at the Plowman Chamber Music Competition and has collaborated with many renowned artists. She was invited to take part in the Rising Stars Series at Caramoor, Music@Menlo, and Chamber Music Northwest. She completed her studies with Peter Oundjian and Ani Kavafian in 2009, earning the artist diploma and the master of music degree at the Yale School of Music, where she won the Woolsey Hall Concerto Competition in 2006. She was a tenured full-time member of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra from 2009 to 2015. Currently, she is pursuing the doctor of musical arts degree at the University of Michigan.
1997 to 2013 and joined the Emerson String Quartet in 2013. He serves as Artistic Director of the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival in Detroit, and, since winning the 2002 Leeds Conducting Competition, has conducted major orchestras around the world. Melvin Chen, piano Pianist Melvin Chen has performed at major venues in the United States, Canada, and Asia, and has collaborated with such renowned artists as Ida Kavafian, David Shifrin, Pamela Frank, and Peter Wiley, and with the Shanghai, Tokyo, Miami, Penderecki, and Miró string quartets. Chen has a doctorate in chemistry from Harvard University and a double master’s degree from The Juilliard School in piano and violin. He received a bachelor of science degree in chemistry and physics from Yale University. Chen is the Director of the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival and is Professor in the Practice of Piano and Deputy Dean at the Yale School of Music. Yale Philharmonia
Paul Watkins, cello
The Yale Philharmonia 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.
Acclaimed cellist Paul Watkins enjoys a distinguished career as soloist, chamber musician, and conductor. As a soloist he performs regularly with all the major British orchestras and other celebrated orchestras around the world, and has made eight concerto appearances at the BBC Proms. Watkins was a member of the Nash Ensemble from
Performances include an annual series of concerts in Woolsey Hall, as well as Yale Opera productions in the Shubert Theatre. 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.
Text & Translation Choral Fantasy beethoven Text by Christoph Kuffner
English translation by Ron Jeffers
Schmeichelnd hold und lieblich klingen Unsers Lebens Harmonien, Und dem Schönheitssinn entschwingen Blumen sich, die ewig blühn.
Caressingly sweet and lovely are the sounds of our life’s harmonies, and from the sense of beauty spring forth flowers that bloom eternally.
Fried und Freude gleiten Freundlich Wie der Wellen Wechselspiel; Was sich drängte rauh und feindlich, Ordnet sich zu Hochgefühl.
Peace and joy flow cheerfully like the interplay of waves; pressures that were harsh and hostile are transformed into elation.
Wenn der Töne Zauber walten Und des Wortes Weihe spricht, Muss sich Herrliches gestalten, Nacht und Stürme werden Licht.
When the magic of sound reigns and the word’s solemnity speaks, something glorious must appear; darkness and storms become light.
Äußre Ruhe, innre Wonne Herrschaft für den Glücklichen. Doch der Künste Frühlingssonne Läßt aus beiden Licht entstehn.
Outer calm and inner bliss are the domain of the happy one. But the spring sun of the arts causes light to emerge from both.
Großes, das ins Herz gedrungen, Blüht dann neu und schön empor, Hat ein Geist sich aufgeschwungen, Hallt ihm stets ein Geisterchor.
Greatness that has penetrated into the heart then blossoms forth fresh and beautiful; when a spirit has soared aloft, a choir of spirits always echoes for it.
Nehmt den hin, ihr schönen Seelen, Froh die Gaben shöner Kunst. Wenn sich Lieb’ und Kraft vermählen, Lohnt dem Menschen Götter-Gunst.
Then, you beautiful souls, gladly accept the gifts of beautiful art. When love and strength are united, God’s good will rewards us all.
Program Notes by Patrick Campbell Jankowski Choral Fantasy beethoven One of the most legendary performances in musical history is the great December 1808 wartime benefit concert in Vienna that saw the premieres of Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto, parts of his Mass, his Fifth and Sixth Symphonies, and this Choral Fantasy, its grand finale. In a kind of “We are the World” moment, it brought together everyone involved, including Beethoven himself on the piano. The extensive cadenza that opens this fantasia, taken in context, must have been a thrilling thing to witness that evening after two symphonies and a concerto; intimate and meandering, it departs from its forceful C minor, opening into moments of great delicacy, all of which was actually improvised by Beethoven at the first performance. It fades into a soft, somewhat sinister march once the orchestra joins. Robust horn calls pivot us cleverly into the major mode, before the solo plays a simple and joyful theme. A set of variations ensues, and similarities to the great finale of the later Ninth Symphony are difficult to ignore: the organic growth of a modest melody to majestic heights. Following a more disparate minor mode passage, a delicately lyrical section, and some wildly exuberant horn calls, the piano dominates once again, recalling its opening solo. The march theme returns, and at last the voices enter with the choral theme heard earlier in the orchestra and piano. Soloists enter first, joined eventually by the full forces, singing a text that appears to have actually been written to fit the musical setting, rather than the other way around (as with the “Ode to Joy”
finale of the Ninth). A kind of hybrid between a concerto, symphonic variation set, and a choral work, this piece knows few equals. Triple Concerto beethoven At the time that he wrote this Triple Concerto, Beethoven knew that he was creating something quite novel. For his esteemed student (and generous benefactor) the Archduke Rudolph of Austria, he produced this unprecedented concerto, with the Archduke playing the piano part alongside a pair of highly skilled soloists. Despite its resonance with the sinfonia concertante genre (a kind of hybrid between a symphony and Baroque concerto grosso, featuring a few soloists rather than one), there was no equivalent concerto for violin, cello, and piano in the repertoire. Beethoven achieves throughout the work an exceptional balance between the parts, and each soloist has its own moments for expression and flourish, while also being interwoven into a chambermeets-orchestral setting. The sense of “piano trio” with orchestral accompaniment is strongest in the songful middle movement, wherein the violin and cello are featured most prominently in sweeping lyrical lines. The piano churns below in accompanying arpeggiations. A subtle foreboding sneaks in here and there, in pulsations from the orchestra. This rhythmic drive eventually spills into the final movement, which begins without pause. The lively and playful closing movement, with its air of (then very trendy) Polish dance, balances soloists against orchestra in continuously ricocheting dialogue. Beethoven saves a great
surprise for the end, when, after the dissolution of the texture to the lone solo violin, he outright changes meters, and what once was in a syncopated three is recast as a twostep: an impulsive drive which then settles once again into the robust triple dance. “Eroica” Symphony beethoven The opening moments of this symphony are a kind of microcosm for the whole experience. Two lightning claps from the entire orchestra, a simple triadic theme in the opening cellos atop a slightly agitated rhythmic accompaniment, and an entirely unexpected and all-too-soon chromatic pivot: a slither to C-sharp. Confidence and boldness play against instability, fragility, and angst in this symphony and in this new phase of Beethoven’s composition, now known as his “heroic” period. They meet head-on at the climax of the massive opening movement: a point in its develop ment when two different keys and competing metrical weights (the orchestra divided to the extreme) clash, then dissolve into smoke clouds to reveal a poignant new theme in the minor mode. Only at the movement’s conclusion does the orchestra regain the unity of its opening bars. The second movement acts as a kind of funeral march to some imagined or real hero; the third, an energetic and somewhat anxious scherzo framing an enthusiastic and chivalrous trio (quite literally) for the horns. Beethoven’s finale is proportionately massive: a fitting end to a work whose opening movement alone was longer than many entire fourmovement symphonies that preceded it. A set of variations meandering from heroism
to melancholy and back, it showcases Beethoven’s capacity to draw together the full spectrum of human emotions into one work: the ultimate Romantic gesture. Much has been made – both anecdotally and analytically – of Napoleon’s impact on this symphony, but challenge yourself to take a broader, more universal listen to this “Heroic Symphony composed to celebrate the memory of a great man.”
Yale Philharmonia Peter Oundjian, principal conductor Violin I Elena Kawazu Cameron Daly Kate Arndt Pei Wen Liao Julia Mirzoev Yoon Be Kim Cheuky Tse Dustin Wilkes-Kim Eva Wetzel Beatrice Hsieh Shenae Anderson Jisun Lee Violin II Michael Ferri Wei Zhu Ariel Horowitz Xiaoxuan Shi Yebeen Seo Ye Jin Yoon Rebecca Benjamin James Poe Yun Jae Choi Albert Yamamoto Viola Charlie Galante Minkyoung Lee Minji Kim Arjun Ganguly Alex McLaughlin Rubina Lee Bethany Hargreaves Emma Wernig Cello Guilherme Nardelli Monegatto Sein Lee Ha eun Song Miriam Liske-Doorandish Megan Yip Hongli Diao Bo Bae Lee Sophie Yu
Bass Ross Wightman Matt Peralta Sam Zagnit Max Mulpagano Flute Brendan Dooley 3 Jungah Yoon 1 2 Oboe Elise Conti Jillian Honn 1 Amelia Merriman 3 Lauren White 2 Laurel Wellman Clarinet Claudia Ng 1 2 Ziqi Yue 3 Bassoon Philip McNaughton Mateen Milan Molly Murphy 1 Andrew Sledge 2 Tamara Snyder 3 Horn Henry Bond 1 Griffin Botts Nivanthi Karunaratne 3 Gabriel Mairson Olivia Martinez Nathan Peebles Kyle Thompson 2 Trumpet Kenny Chauby 1 Connor Holland 2 Connor Jenkinson 3 Brian Voelz Timpani Arlo Shultis
Philharmonia Staff Manager Jeffrey M. Mistri Assistant Manager Samuel Bobinski Conducting Fellow Ryan Tani Office Assistant Andrew Sledge Stage Crew HĂŠloĂŻse Carlean-Jones Gabriel Mairson Andrew Sledge Lucas Guedes Oliveira Arlo Shultis Cameron Daly Anna Leunis William Karceski Matt Peralta Michael Fleming Nathan Peebles Chris Rogers-Beadle Seojin Kim Tamara Snyder David Lassila Library Alex McLaughlin Aidan Zimmermann Jillian Honn Elise Conti Sam Zagnit Claudia Ng
Yale Glee Club Jeffrey Douma, music director Soprano I Loren Bass-Sanford Angela Gong Sarah Grube Maya Ingram Sophie Latham Mary Clare McMahon Avery Mitchell Shreya Pathak Lara Schull Charlotte Winkler Angela Zhao Soprano II Rachel Ababio Laura Clapp Aria Falcone Lena Goldstein Sofia Laguarda Brooke Milosh Elisabeth Moore Hannah Morrison Eliza Poggi Alexa Vaghenas Malini Wimmer Isa Zou Alto I Chloe Benzan-Duval Ece Bozkurt Isabel Guarco Lucy Ellis Ryan Howzell Eleanor Iskander Mahima Kumara Emily Lau Hanah Leventhal Ruby Park Raquel Sequeira
Alto II Kayla Bartsch Mehana Daftary Amelia Haynes Ella Henry SungMi Johnson Annli Nakayama Lauryn Phinney Helen Rouner Sasha Thomas Rianna Turner Divine Uchegbu Kathryn Yeager Tenor I James Applegate John Cooper Zev Kazati-Morgan Ethan Lester Jack McAuliffe Max Moe Jack Softcheck Yiming Zhang Tenor II Pablo Causa Josh Czaczkes Eric Duong Justin Ferrugia Andrés Gómez-Colunga Christopher Irsfeld Kevin Li Calvin Schwartzberg Peter Sykes Alex Whittington Tavi Wolfwood David Zhu
Bass I Andrew Ballard Brendan Campbell Robert Hill Emery Kerekes Julian Manresa Ethan McBride Kohsuke Sato Ethan Seidenberg Matthew Sutermeister William Suzuki Daniel Tucker Bass II Josh Brooks Emmett Chen-Ran James Hawes Anthony Hejduk Jonathan Jalbert Nicholas Jones Corin Katzke Eric Linh Dustin Zhao Devin O’Banion Louis Sokolow Yale glee club staff operations and production Manager T. Sean Maher Assistant conductor Daniel Tucker student Conductors Brooke Milosh Emery Kerekes
Yale Philharmonia 2019–2020 Season Feb 28
Philharmonia in Sprague* YSM conducting student Ryan Tani leads the Yale Philharmonia, with percussionist Jisu Jung, in a concert in Morse Recital Hall.
MAR 8 Sun 4 pm free
David Hill, guest conductor David Hill leads the London Bach Choir, Yale Schola Cantorum, baritone David Pershall, faculty pianist Robert Blocker, and the Yale Philharmonia in a performance of Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on the “Old 104th” Psalm Tune, Stanford’s Song to the Soul, Op. 97b, and Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast.
Apr 3
Carlos Kalmar, guest conductor Carlos Kalmar, whose Carnegie Hall debut with the Oregon Symphony was described by The New Yorker’s Alex Ross as “one of the most gripping events” of that season, leads the Yale Philharmonia in a performance of faculty composer Aaron Jay Kernis’ “Too Hot” Toccata, Bartók’s Violin Concerto No. 2, with Woolsey Hall Concerto Competition winner Emily Switzer, and Schoenberg’s orchestral arrangement of Brahms’ Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor.
Fridays at 7:30 pm in Woolsey Hall unless noted music.yale.edu/philharmonia
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Upcoming Events Brentano String Quartet Oneppo Chamber Music Series A performance of Bruce Adolphe’s Coiled and the work on which it’s based, Beethoven’s “Serioso” Quartet, along with music by Bach, Mendelssohn, and Shostakovich. 7:30 pm | Morse Recital Hall Tickets start at $28, students $13 jan 28
feb 12
Hung-Kuan Chen Horowitz Piano Series Faculty pianist Hung-Kuan Chen pays tribute to Beethoven with a performance of the composer’s last six sonatas. 7:00 pm | Morse Recital Hall Tickets start at $15, students $7
feb 14 Florencia en el Amazonas feb 15 Yale Opera feb 16 Christopher Franklin conducts the Yale Philharmonia and Candace Evans directs the cast in a new production of Daniel Catán’s Florencia en el Amazonas. fri & sat 8 pm | sun 2 pm Shubert Theatre Tickets start at $19 • shubert.com
feb 15
Guitar Extravaganza A daylong immersion in the classical guitar, including concerts, workshops, demos, and more. Headline performance by David Russell. All-Day passes and 3-Concert passes available now. music.yale.edu/guitar-extravaganza
Zukerman Trio Oneppo Chamber Music Series “Their combination of outsized string sound, exciting ensemble precision, and compelling interpretation puts them at the head of the Piano Trio division in the Chamber Music Major League.” — The San Diego Union-Tribune 7:30 pm | Morse Recital Hall Tickets start at $28, students $13 feb 18
mar 4
Lucille Chung and Alessio Bax Horowitz Piano Series A performance of the piano fourhands arrangement of Stravinsky’s Petrushka and Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun (arr. Ravel), and music by Lutoslawski and Poulenc. 7:30 pm | Morse Recital Hall Tickets start at $23, students $11
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