St. Petersburg State Orchestra
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ANDERSON CENTER for the Performing Arts BINGHAMTON UNIVERSITY "Tschaikowski" St. Petersburg State Orchestra and Chief Conductor Tuesday, February 14, 2012 Osterhout Concert Theater | 8 p.m. Anderson Center for the Performing Arts Presents "Tschaikowski" St. Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra Roman Leontiev Music Director and Chief Conductor Program Richard Wagner Prelude and Liebestod from the Opera Tristan und Isolde Fryderyk Chopin Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21 Alexander Pirozhenko, pianist Gustav Mahler Symphony No. S in C-sharp minor PROGRAM SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE COLUMBIA ARTIST MANAGEMENT, LLC 1790 Broadway, 16th Floor, New York, NY 10019 Andrew S. Grossman, Senior Vice President and Senior Producer W. Seton I jams, Vice President Dr. Elena Kostyuchenko, General Director Orchestra Personnel First Violins Cellos Horns Anna Orekhova, principal Yuri Niniev, principal Maxim Kuvychko, principal Tatiana Naletskaya Vadim Kaminskiy Sergey Fausto Alexandr Anisimov Sergei Mikhailychev Anatoly Tarov Anna Yakovleva Ilya Elinson Roman Bazanov Vladimir Troitskiy Elena Bystrova Ragim Karakhmazli Maya Yudina Anastasia Golenischeva Victor Kostiuchenko Elena Ananieva Daria Morozova Olga Egorova Inna Yakupova Trumpets Lilia Elakhovskaya Alexandra Karpenko Yuri Poliakov, principal Galina Kharitonova Ilya Kulenko Vera Kharitonova Basses Nikolaj Aseev Galina Kuzmicheva Alexandr Kuznetcov, Vasily Karbyshev Maria Platonova principal Anna Prudentova Vitalii Goriachev Trombones Gleb Rezvykh Mikhail Tcimbalenko Rifat Vildanov, principal Larissa Rybakova Rustam Murtazin Alexandr Sevastianov Evgenii Zinin Kirill Benediktov Alexei Bogdanov Yulia Zorina Dmitri Perminov Victor Perevoznikov Elena Lazareva Second Violins Tuba Kristina Popova, principal Flutes Shamil Salimov Oxana Dolya Mikhail Tokarv, principal Elvira Kapustinskaya Natalia Chernousova Timpani Evgenia Karpova Anton Alexeevskii Kirill Ksenofontov Natalia Mitsura Anna Suzdalkina Inna Pivneva Percussion Elena Popova Oboes Andrei Belichkov, principal Gyuzel Sultanova Evgeny Khvalovsky, principal Vasily Katanov Praskovia Tanikova Elena Kissel Olga Kosyreva Elena Vedayko Julia Orlova Artem Chigrik Nina Zayatz Taras Tkach Daria Khvalovskaia Clarinets Anna Chertova Anton Dereza, principal Harp Vyacheslav Korshunov Olga Pilyukova Violas Anna Kochegura Elena Andreeva, principal Musheg Mikaelyan Keyboard Aliaxandr Bogdanovich Julia Grekhova Konstantin Plekhanov Bassoons Irina Morozova Anatoly Buvalenko, principal Vadim Dvoynishikov Anna Kolesnikova Irina Prodan Sergei Nikulin Tatiana Soldukhina Marina Zakharova Ksenia Ivanova Program Notes Prelude and Liebestod, from Tristan und Isolde Richard Wagner (born May 22,1813, in Leipzig; died February 13, 1883, in Venice) For a performance of the Prelude and Liebestod, Wagner referred to the story in the program notes as one of "endless yearning, longing, the bliss and wretchedness of love, world, power, fame, honor, chivalry, loyalty and friendship all blown away like an insubstantial dream; one thing alone left living — longing, longing unquenchable, a yearning, a hunger a languishing forever renewing itself; one sole redemption — death, surcease, a sleep without awakening." Wagner's masterful use of the orchestra makes the Prelude and Liebestod the most often played part of the operatic literature that can be performed without the vocal part. His ingenious use of leitmotivs tells the entire story of the opera. This pairing of the prelude to the opera with the final scene, played segue, shows the seamlessness and continuity that Wagner proselytized in his 1851 book, Oper und Drama. Referring to the score of Tristan und Isolde, Leopold Stokowski once said: "Wagner created for himself a new style, a new technique, new harmonic sequences, new combinations of timbres, and a new orchestral palette." All this is never more apparent than in the Liebestod, the climax and close of the opera that has often been called the greatest in the literature of music. At the end of the third act, Isolde is restored to her lover, Tristan, only to have him die in her arms. Isolde herself expires in the anguish of her devotion, to complete the tragedy of the love-potion. Once again, quoting Stokowski: "The music leaps toward us like a flame with burning impulsiveness. It mounts up into great climaxes of sound. The tempo is always agitated — always changing — and yet an unbroken line passes through every impulsive phrase and unifies the seemingly improvised tonal design. This love music continues its overpowering eloquence when words cannot continue, when even life cannot further express itself. It is the supreme and ultimate of the poetry of love." Source: Columbia Artists Management Inc., 1998, edited by Elizabeth E. Torres Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21 Fryderyk Chopin (born March 1,1810, in Zelazowa Wola, Poland; died October 17,1849, in Paris) Chopin's Piano Concerto in F minor, known as the "Second" Piano Concerto, was written in 1829, one year before the so-called Concerto No. 1 in E minor, but published later. The work was premiered on March 17, 1830, at the National Theater in Warsaw, along with the composer's Fantasia on Polish Airs. As was the practice at the time, the first movement was separated from the other two by another piece, in this instance a divertissement for solo horn. The performance was a great success; a review of the concert stated: "Chopin knows what sounds are heard in our fields and woods, he has listened to the song of the Polish villager, he has made it his own and has united the tunes of his native land in skillful composition and elegant execution." The adulation was so great that the concert was repeated five days later. In Polish eyes, Chopin was a Polish national composer. The first movement is marked maestoso and is in common time. Chopin patterned the first movements of his concerto on the style of Hummel, who was in vogue at the time. The exposition is in the "classic" manner, first stated by the orchestra and then by the soloist. The principal subject played by the strings is followed by a second theme in A-flat major, which is presented by the oboe, then repeated by the strings. After a few introductory measures, the piano enters abruptly with the first subject and then extends it. A transitional section leads to the reappearance of the second subject. A short orchestral tutti introduces the development section, based on the first four notes of the principal theme. With the recapitulation, the first theme is again presented, this time in a truncated version. The second subject is restated, then transposed to C minor. The movement ends with an orchestral tutti. In the second movement, in A-flat major, the theme is stated and embellished by the soloist. A middle section in declamatory style is followed by a return of the first theme in a more florid form. A short coda ends the movement. Chopin's inspiration for this movement was his affection for a young singer, Constantia Gladkowska. Calling her "my ideal . whom I dream of," he wrote in a letter to a friend in 1829: "while my thoughts were with her, I composed the adagio (actually a larghetto) of my concerto." The piece is dedicated, however, to another singer, Countess Patocka. Liszt, an ardent supporter of Chopin, wrote of this movement: "Passages of surprising grandeur may be found in the adagio of the Second Concerto . the accessory designs are in his best manner, while the principal phrase is of an admirable breadth. It alternates with a recitative, which assumes a minor key, and which seems to be its antistrophe. The whole of the piece is of a perfection almost ideal; its expression, now radiant with light, now full of tender pathos." The third movement, marked Allegro vivace, begins with the soloist announcing the principal subject. Following an orchestral section, the theme returns. After much development and dialogue between the orchestra and soloist, the second theme is presented by the soloist, with an understated accompaniment in the strings. A horn solo announces the final section, notable for the triplet figures in the piano part. Unlike some composers, Beethoven and Wagner, for example, Chopin's compositional style did not develop as he grew older; the elements found in pieces written in his teens, such as this concerto, are evident also in those works from later in his life. Because the concerto is by nature a large work, elements from smaller works can be found in various sections. The listener can detect throughout the piece the lyricism of a nocturne, the vitality of a mazurka and the technical difficulty of an etude. Following the 1830 performances, Chopin left Warsaw, never to return. Source: Columbia Artists Management Inc., 1998 Symphony No. 5 in C-sharp minor Gustav Mahler (born in Kalischt, Bohemia, on July 7,1860; died in Vienna, May 18, 1911) Mahler composed his Symphony No. 5 in C-sharp minor between 1901 and 1902; it was completed during a brief summer holiday that gave Mahler respite from the demands of leading the Vienna State Opera. This came at a time when Mahler was being gradually accepted as a composer, while his fame as a conductor increased in geometric proportion. He hoped to hear this new symphony in a congenial environment, performed by an orchestra able to cope with the technical and spiritual complexities of the score; this was fulfilled in Cologne. The work received its first public performance in that city at the famous Gurzenich concert hall on October 18,1904, with the composer conducting. The work was next heard