Notes on the Program by Ken Meltzer Suite from (1922, rev. 1947) was born in Lomonosov, Russia, on June 17, 1882, and died in New York on April 6, 1971. The first performance of the , Pulcinella, took place at the Opéra in , France, on May 15, 1920, with Ernst Ansermet conducting. The first performances of this work by the Charlotte took place on February 23 & 24, 1974 with Jacques Brourman conducting at Dana Auditorium. The third and most recent performance set took place on February 18, 20 & 23, 1997 with Janna Hymes-Bianchi conducting at various churches in Charlotte. In the second decade of the 20th century, Igor Stravinsky rose to international prominence with a trilogy of the young Russian composer wrote for ’s — (1910), Pétrouchka (1911) and (1913). Each succeeding ballet was marked by increased rhythmic complexity and dissonance. In fact, the often barbaric music of The Rite of Spring so shocked some of those in attendance at the May 29, 1913 premiere, fistfights broke out in the Paris Champs-Elysées Theater. Stravinsky’s first collaboration with Diaghilev after World War I created a stir once again, but for a quite different reason. In the spring of 1919, Diaghilev suggested Stravinsky consider writing music for a ballet concerning the amorous escapades of the fictional harlequin, Pulcinella. The music would be based upon works by the 18th- century Italian composer, Giovanni Pergolesi (1710-1736), whose music Stravinsky “liked and admired immensely.” Diaghilev assembled an extraordinary creative team for Pulcinella. In addition to Stravinsky, Diaghilev employed the great dancer, Leonide Massine, to choreograph the ballet and the title role. Pablo designed the scenery and costumes. The premiere of Pulcinella took place at the Opéra on May 15, 1920. Ernst Ansermet conducted the performance, which, according to Stravinsky, “ended in a real success.” A few years later, Stravinsky created a Pulcinella concert suite, featuring music from the ballet. The premiere of the Suite from Pulcinella took place on December 22, 1922, with (who also led the first performances of Pétrouchka and The Rite of Spring) conducting the Boston Symphony. Stravinsky’s Pulcinella—both in its complete ballet and concert suite form—continues to engage audiences with its lyric charm, infectious energy, and piquant orchestral sonorities. Subsequent discoveries that much of the music attributed to Pergolesi was actually written by other composers have, of course, done nothing to diminish Stravinsky’s achievement. Stravinsky’s Pulcinella Suite comprises eight brief movements: I. Sinfonia (Ouverture). Allegro moderato II. Serenata. Larghetto III. (a) Scherzino, (b) Allegro, (c) Andantino IV. V. . Allegro VI. Gavotta; Allegro moderato (Variazione Ia: Allegretto, Variazione IIa: Allegro più tosto moderato) VII. Vivo VIII. (a) Minuetto. Molto moderato, (b) Finale. Allegro assai

The score calls for piccolo, two flutes, two , two , two horns, , and strings. Duration: ca. 21 minutes

Concerto No. 1 in C Major for Piano and , Opus 15 (1798)

Ludwig van Beethoven was baptized in Bonn, Germany, on December 17, 1770, and died in Vienna, Austria, on March 26, 1827.

The first performance of this work by the Charlotte Symphony took place on November 21, 1960 with Henry Janiec conducting at Ovens Auditorium. The fifth and most recent performance set took place on March 6 & 7, 1998 with Peter McCoppin conducting in the Belk Theater of the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center.

It was as a pianist that Ludwig van Beethoven first ascended to prominence in Viennese musical circles. Audiences accustomed to the elegant and refined brilliance of such virtuosos as Mozart and Muzio Clementi were stunned by the elemental force of Beethoven’s attacks upon the delicate fortepianos of the day.

Of course, Beethoven’s keyboard artistry consisted of far more than displays of brute strength. Pianist and composer Carl Czerny recalled that audience members were reduced to tears by the sheer eloquence of Beethoven’s improvisational powers, “for apart from the beauty and originality of his ideas, and his ingenious manner of expressing them, there was something magical about his playing.”

The work known as Beethoven’s First Piano Concerto, Opus 15, was actually the second in order of composition (if one excludes the youthful E-flat Concert pour le Clavecin ou Fortepiano, circa 1784). While the C-Major Concerto was completed in 1798, the B-flat Concerto, Opus 19, now known as the Second, was finished in 1795. However, Beethoven revised the B-flat Concerto and withheld submitting the work to his publisher until 1801, remarking, “I do not give it as one of my best.” By that time, the C-major Piano Concerto had already been published as Beethoven’s First. The C-Major Concerto probably received its premiere at a 1798 concert in Prague, with the composer as soloist.

Beethoven’s C-Major Piano Concerto bears comparison with his First Symphony (1800), in that both appear in form and content to be descendents of the Classical-era works of Mozart and Haydn. However, the bold rhythmic profile, adventurous harmonic modulations, and sharp dynamic contrasts of these early Beethoven works foreshadow the revolutionary figure soon to emerge in such works as the “Eroica” Symphony (1803).

The Concerto No. 1 is in three movements. The first (Allegro con brio) opens with the traditional orchestral introduction of the principal thematic material. When the soloist finally enters, he first appears to be introducing new material. Soon, however, it becomes apparent that the pianist is restating in somewhat improvisational fashion the themes already introduced by the orchestra. The slow second movement (Largo) recalls the pianist who moved audiences to tears through the beauty of his playing. The Rondo finale (Allegro scherzando) opens with the introduction of the playful central theme. The initial high spirits are maintained throughout, as the pianist and orchestra offer contrasting sections in spirited dialogue. Toward the Rondo’s conclusion, Beethoven provides two brief . In the final measures, the orchestra at first seems puzzled as to its next step, but then dashes headlong to the finish.

In addition to the solo piano, the score calls for flute, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two , timpani, and strings.

Duration: ca. 36 minutes

Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Opus 92 (1812)

Ludwig van Beethoven was baptized in Bonn, Germany, on December 17, 1770, and died in Vienna, Austria, on March 26, 1827. The first performance of the Seventh Symphony took place in the Hall of the University of Vienna on December 8, 1813, with the composer conducting.

The first performance of this work by the Charlotte Symphony took place on February 8, 1935 with Guillermo S. de Roxlo conducting at Alexander Graham Middle School. The eleventh and most recent performance set of this work took place on November 5 & 6, 2010 with Christopher Warren-Green conducting in the Belk Theater of the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center. Ludwig van Beethoven completed his Seventh Symphony in 1812. The work received its premiere on December 8, 1813, at the grand Hall of the University of Vienna, as part of a concert for the benefit of wounded Austrian and Bavarian soldiers. Beethoven served as conductor. Because of Beethoven’s participation in the concert and its philanthropic mission, several of Vienna’s most eminent musicians agreed to play in the orchestra. The concert proved to be one of the great public triumphs of the composer’s career. The audience insisted upon an encore of the Seventh Symphony’s Allegretto. By popular demand, the entire concert was repeated four days later, raising another 4,000 florins for the wounded soldiers. Still, Beethoven’s reliance in the Seventh upon the briefest of rhythmic motifs—often presented with relentless, and even frightening energy—inspired some negative reactions. Musician Friederich Wieck, father of Clara Wieck Schumann, attended the first rehearsal of the Beethoven Seventh. Wieck recalled that the general consensus among musicians and laymen alike was that Beethoven must have composed the Symphony, particularly its outer movements, in a drunken state (“trukenen Zustande”). Carl Maria von Weber, after hearing the Symphony for the first time, was reported to have exclaimed that Beethoven was now “quite ripe for the madhouse.” On the other hand, Richard Wagner, in one of the most famous appreciations of a Beethoven Symphony, celebrated the finale as the “apotheosis of the dance.” Two centuries after the premiere, Beethoven’s Seventh continues to amaze audiences with its dramatic fire. It remains one of the most powerful of all symphonic creations. The Beethoven Seventh is in four movements. The first begins with the most ambitious slow introduction (Poco sostenuto) of any Beethoven Symphony. The flute offers premonitions of what develops into the central theme of the ensuing Vivace, a sprightly dance in 6/8 time. The theme’s dotted eighth/sixteenth/eighth-note nucleus provides the foundation for virtually all that ensues in this remarkable movement. The slow second movement (Allegretto), in the character of a somber march, opens and closes with a foreboding chord. By contrast, the vibrant third-movement (Presto) exhibits both extraordinary energy and power. The finale (Allegro con brio) is a miraculous combination of academic structure (sonata form) and Dionysian abandon. It is not until the terse final measures that the whirlwind of activity comes to a stunning halt. The scores calls for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani, and strings. Duration: ca. 36 minutes