Juilliard Orchestra Marin Alsop, Conductor Daniel Ficarri, Organ Daniel Hass, Cello
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Saturday Evening, January 25, 2020, at 7:30 The Juilliard School presents Juilliard Orchestra Marin Alsop, Conductor Daniel Ficarri, Organ Daniel Hass, Cello SAMUEL BARBER (1910–81) Toccata Festiva (1960) DANIEL FICARRI, Organ DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH (1906–75) Cello Concerto No. 2 in G major, Op. 126 (1966) Largo Allegretto Allegretto DANIEL HASS, Cello Intermission CHRISTOPHER ROUSE (1949–2019) Processional (2014) JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833–97) Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73 (1877) Allegro non troppo Adagio non troppo Allegretto grazioso Allegro con spirito Performance time: approximately 1 hour and 50 minutes, including an intermission This performance is made possible with support from the Celia Ascher Fund for Juilliard. The taking of photographs and the use of recording equipment are not permitted in this auditorium. Information regarding gifts to the school may be obtained from the Juilliard School Development Office, 60 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023-6588; (212) 799-5000, ext. 278 (juilliard.edu/giving). Alice Tully Hall Please make certain that all electronic devices are turned off during the performance. Juilliard About the Program the organ’s and the orchestra’s full ranges. A fluid approach to rhythm and meter By Jay Goodwin provides momentum and bite, and intricate passagework—including a dazzling cadenza Toccata Festiva for the pedals that sets the organist’s feet SAMUEL BARBER to dancing—calls to mind the great organ Born: March 9, 1910, in West Chester, music of the Baroque era. Pennsylvania Died: January 23, 1981, in New York City Cello Concerto No. 2 in G major, Op. 126 DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH In terms of scale, pipe organs are Born: September 25, 1906, in Saint Petersburg different from every other type of Died: August 9, 1975, in Moscow musical instrument, and designing and assembling a new one can be a challenge There are several reasons that of architecture and engineering as complex Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 2 has as the creation of the building that houses been overshadowed for its entire history it. Given the massive investment of by his first, none of them good. In fact, it is time, effort, and money involved in the precisely the areas of stylistic divergence birth of each one, it’s no surprise that from the first that make the second the there is a deep catalog of compositions more fascinating work of the pair. Where commissioned specifically to christen new the earlier work is heroic and extroverted, organs upon delivery, designed to literally Concerto No. 2 is moody, ruminative, and pull out all the stops and show off what enigmatic. Where the first concerto is full they can do. Barber’s Toccata Festiva is of overtly virtuosic music for the soloist, just such a work, written in 1960 for the the later one more organically integrates unveiling of a massive yet movable new the cello with the orchestra—the composer organ for Philadelphia’s Academy of Music, even once referred to the piece as a the home of the Philadelphia Orchestra. “symphony with a cello part.” And where Philanthropist Mary Curtis Zimbalist, a the first unfolds in four relatively concise major supporter of the arts in the city and and focused movements, No. 2 takes a a longtime patron of Barber’s, footed the significantly longer time to progress through bill for the organ ($150,000 at the time, just three, a brief Allegretto bookended by or $1.3 million in 2020 dollars) and also expansive opening and closing movements commissioned Barber to write a piece for that unhurriedly explore vast emotional Eugene Ormandy and the orchestra, with terrain. Throughout, the music exudes a Paul Callaway as organist, to perform at the sense of mystery, its thoughts punctuated instrument’s inauguration. always by question marks. Though the Toccata Festiva serves up Composed in the last decade of generous helpings of the showy, virtuosic Shostakovich’s life, the second concerto organ writing to be expected in this genre, premiered in 1965 on the composer’s it exceeds many such works in its ambition, 60th birthday. Legendary Russian cellist sophistication, and expressivity. In one Mstislav Rostropovich, a close friend and sprawling movement and calling for a huge artistic confidante of Shostakovich’s, was orchestra to match the power of the organ, the soloist. A wonderful recording of the it captures Barber at his best, combining occasion survives, and it is a testament soaring lyricism with interesting timbral to the power of the music that everyone and textural combinations that use both involved had clearly dedicated themselves Juilliard to mastering the challenging new score, (BSO) family and the Baltimore community, delivering a technically polished, subtly serving as the BSO’s composer in shaded, and overwhelmingly moving residence in 1986 and new music advisor performance that left no doubt about the from 1989 to 2000. value of the work. In a note accompanying a BSO concert The concerto begins ominously with the honoring Rouse shortly after his death, cello alone, rumbling out a dark, brooding tonight’s conductor and BSO music melody near the bottom of its range. As director Marin Alsop wrote: the orchestra slowly joins in, the solo- ist continues to feel his way forward “Chris Rouse’s passing is an enormous through the shadows until, gradually, the loss, both as an artist and a dear friend. momentum and tension build to what I was able to spend time with him Rostropovich called “an immensely pow- these last weeks, and he was irreverent erful climax when the cello literally tears at and profound, as always! Chris had an one’s soul.” The movement also includes encyclopedic knowledge of music (and a striking passage for the cello and bass many other things, too!) from rock ’n’ roll drum—the first sign of the concerto’s and pop to many overlooked composers unusually prominent incorporation of per- of the past. I loved going over to his cussion. The second movement is a sort house and chatting about all kinds of crazy of manic scherzo, its main theme based music. We reminisced recently about a on a Ukrainian folk song (“Come and buy recording session where the orchestra just my bagels”). In this setting, the jaunty couldn’t play loud enough for him. Finally tune takes on a disturbing intensity as its I said, ‘OK, brass—STAND UP and play melody is subjected to exaggerations and right into the microphones.’ Chris shouted distortions that conjure something of the from the booth with glee, ‘That’s it!’ And grotesque. The third movement proceeds our recording of Gorgon was born! I first without pause and continues where the fell in love with his Trombone Concerto scherzo left off, threatening brass fanfares in the early ’90s. In memory of Leonard driving the cello to increased heights of Bernstein, it remains one of the most anxiety and desperation. After a final, difficult pieces I ever tackled. But, wow, frenzied surge of energy, the music sud- what a payoff! That’s how I would describe denly returns to the hushed, ambiguous most of Chris’ music: really challenging but combination of lyricism and contemplation worth every second of work required. I with which it began, eventually coming to became obsessed with his music and think a haunted, and haunting, end. I remain the only conductor to program an all-Rouse concert! But his music is not Processional just wild and crazy, it also grabs our hearts CHRISTOPHER ROUSE at the most fundamental and human core Born: February 15, 1949, in Baltimore and moves us to feel the profundity of Died: September 21, 2019, in Baltimore our existence. When I first listened to his Concerto per Cordes, I admired its Tonight’s performance of Processional is gnarly and mischievous qualities and then dedicated to the memory of Christopher suddenly it breaks into a Mahleresque Rouse, a member of Juilliard’s composition release and I remember feeling the tears faculty from 1997 until his death. The streaming down my face and thinking Baltimore native was a treasured member ‘this is what music is all about!’ Chris of both the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra started collecting composers’ signatures Juilliard when he was a kid and amassed what I homage to Beethoven that nonetheless imagine is the largest private collection of speaks unmistakably with Brahms’ composers’ autographs in the world. He individual new voice and is, as infamous knew how much I loved Brahms and gave critic Eduard Hanslick pronounced upon me his Brahms autograph last week … its premiere, “one of the most individual kind-hearted to the end.” and magnificent works of the symphonic literature.” The following summer, Brahms Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73 went on vacation to Pörtschach, an idyllic JOHANNES BRAHMS lakeside resort town nestled among the Born: May 7, 1833, in Hamburg, Germany Alps in southern Austria. Smitten and Died: April 3, 1897, in Vienna inspired by the beauty of the place, he wrote that there were “so many melodies When it came to the composing of flying around that you have to be careful symphonies, Johannes Brahms was for not to tread on them.” There, where he many years a haunted man. Beethoven’s was surrounded by friends and brimming symphonies—which had already become with hard-won confidence, a second legendary fixtures of the repertoire symphony as splendid as the first leaped by the time Brahms began writing his out of the Brahms’ pen in just a few mature works in the 1850s—cast such months’ time—astonishingly fast for the a long shadow over the genre that most meticulous composer. mid–19th-century composers dared not attempt their own.