Season 2013-2014

27 Season 2013-2014

Thursday, December 5, at 8:00 The Philadelphia Orchestra Saturday, December 7, at 8:00 Sunday, December 8, at 2:00 Yannick Nézet-Séguin Conductor Hélène Grimaud Piano

Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 83 I. Allegro non troppo II. Allegro appassionato III. Andante—Più adagio—Tempo I IV. Allegretto grazioso—Un poco più presto

Intermission

Berlioz Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14 I. Daydreams, Passions (Largo—Allegro agitato e appassionato assai) II. A Ball (Valse. Allegro non troppo) III. In the Meadows (Adagio) IV. March to the Scaffold (Allegretto non troppo) V. Dream of a Witches’ Sabbath (Larghetto— Allegro)

This program runs approximately 2 hours, 5 minutes.

The December 7 concert is sponsored by the Louis N. Cassett Foundation.

Philadelphia Orchestra concerts are broadcast on WRTI 90.1 FM on Sunday afternoons at 1 PM. Visit www.wrti.org to listen live or for more details.

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Please join us immediately following the December 8 concert for a Chamber Postlude, featuring members of The Philadelphia Orchestra.

Brahms String Quartet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 51, No. 1 I. Allegro II. Romanze (Poco adagio) III. Allegretto molto moderato e comodo—Un poco più animato IV. Allegro Juliette Kang Violin Daniel Han Violin Che-Hung Chen Viola Yumi Kendall Cello

PO Book 12.indd 2 11/26/13 11:13 AM 3 Story Title 29 The Philadelphia Orchestra Jessica Griffin

The Philadelphia Orchestra community itself. His concerts to perform in China, in 1973 is one of the preeminent of diverse repertoire attract at the request of President orchestras in the world, sold-out houses, and he has Nixon, today The Philadelphia renowned for its distinctive established a regular forum Orchestra boasts a new sound, desired for its for connecting with concert- partnership with the National keen ability to capture the goers through Post-Concert Centre for the Performing hearts and imaginations of Conversations. Arts in Beijing. The Orchestra audiences, and admired for annually performs at Under Yannick’s leadership a legacy of innovation in Carnegie Hall while also the Orchestra returns to music-making. The Orchestra enjoying annual residencies in recording with a newly- is inspiring the future and Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and at released CD on the Deutsche transforming its rich tradition the Bravo! Vail festival. Grammophon label of of achievement, sustaining Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring Musician-led initiatives, the highest level of artistic and Leopold Stokowski including highly-successful quality, but also challenging transcriptions. In Yannick’s Cello and Violin Play-Ins, and exceeding that level, by inaugural season the shine a spotlight on the creating powerful musical Orchestra has also returned Orchestra’s musicians, as experiences for audiences at to the radio airwaves, with they spread out from the home and around the world. weekly Sunday afternoon stage into the community. Music Director Yannick broadcasts on WRTI-FM. The Orchestra’s commitment Nézet-Séguin triumphantly to its education and Philadelphia is home and opened his inaugural community partnership the Orchestra nurtures an season as the eighth artistic initiatives manifests itself important relationship not leader of the Orchestra in numerous other ways, only with patrons who support in fall 2012. His highly including concerts for families the main season at the collaborative style, deeply- and students, and eZseatU, Kimmel Center but also those rooted musical curiosity, a program that allows full- who enjoy the Orchestra’s and boundless enthusiasm, time college students to other area performances paired with a fresh approach attend an unlimited number at the Mann Center, Penn’s to orchestral programming, of Orchestra concerts for Landing, and other venues. have been heralded by a $25 annual membership The Orchestra is also a global critics and audiences alike. fee. For more information on ambassador for Philadelphia Yannick has been embraced The Philadelphia Orchestra, and for the U.S. Having been by the musicians of the please visit www.philorch.org. the first American orchestra Orchestra, audiences, and the

PO Book 12.indd 3 11/26/13 11:13 AM 8 Music Director

Nigel Parry/CPi Yannick Nézet-Séguin triumphantly opened his inaugural season as the eighth music director of The Philadelphia Orchestra in the fall of 2012. His highly collaborative style, deeply-rooted musical curiosity, and boundless enthusiasm, paired with a fresh approach to orchestral programming, have been heralded by critics and audiences alike. The New York Times has called Yannick “phenomenal,” adding that under his baton “the ensemble … has never sounded better.” In his first season he took the Orchestra to new musical heights. His second builds on that momentum with highlights that include a Philadelphia Commissions Micro-Festival, for which three leading composers have been commissioned to write solo works for three of the Orchestra’s principal players; the next installment in his multi-season focus on requiems with Fauré’s Requiem; and a unique, theatrically-staged presentation of Strauss’s revolutionary opera Salome, a first-ever co-production with Opera Philadelphia.

Yannick has established himself as a musical leader of the highest caliber and one of the most exciting talents of his generation. Since 2008 he has been music director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic and principal guest conductor of the London Philharmonic, and since 2000 artistic director and principal conductor of Montreal’s Orchestre Métropolitain. In addition he becomes the first ever mentor conductor of the Curtis Institute of Music’s conducting fellows program in the fall of 2013. He has made wildly successful appearances with the world’s most revered ensembles, and has conducted critically acclaimed performances at many of the leading opera houses.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Deutsche Grammophon (DG) enjoy a long-term collaboration. Under his leadership the Orchestra returns to recording with a newly-released CD on that label of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring and Leopold Stokowski transcriptions. Yannick continues a fruitful recording relationship with the Rotterdam Philharmonic for DG, BIS, and EMI/Virgin; the London Philharmonic for the LPO label; and the Orchestre Métropolitain for ATMA Classique.

A native of Montreal, Yannick Nézet-Séguin studied at that city’s Conservatory of Music and continued lessons with renowned conductor Carlo Maria Giulini and with Joseph Flummerfelt at Westminster Choir College. Among Yannick’s honors are an appointment as Companion of the Order of Canada, one of the country’s highest civilian honors; a Royal Philharmonic Society Award; Canada’s National Arts Centre Award; the Prix Denise- Pelletier, the highest distinction for the arts in Quebec, awarded by the Quebec government; and an honorary doctorate by the University of Quebec in Montreal.

To read Yannick’s full bio, please visit www.philorch.org/conductor. 30 Soloist

Mat Hennek/DG French pianist Hélène Grimaud was born in 1969 in Aix-en-Provence where she began her piano studies. She was accepted into the Paris Conservatory at age 13 and in 1987 made her recital debut in Tokyo. That same year Daniel Barenboim invited her to perform with the Orchestre de Paris, marking the launch of Ms. Grimaud’s musical career—one highlighted by concerts with most of the world’s major orchestras and many celebrated conductors. She has been an exclusive Deutsche Grammophon (DG) artist since 2002, and her recordings have been awarded numerous accolades, among them the Cannes Classical Recording of the Year, the Choc du Monde de la Musique, the Diapason d’Or, the Grand Prix du Disque, and, most recently, the 2013 ECHO Klassik Award for her recording Duo, a collaboration with cellist Sol Gabetta. Brahms has featured prominently in Ms. Grimaud’s programming repertoire throughout the past year. In September DG released her album of the two Brahms piano concertos, the first with Andris Nelsons conducting the Bavarian Radio Symphony and the second recorded with the Vienna Philharmonic. Performance highlights of 2013 have included appearances in the U.S., the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Russia, Brazil, China, and Japan playing with ensembles including the Czech, St. Petersburg, and Los Angeles philharmonics; the Cleveland and Russian National orchestras; and the City of Birmingham Symphony. Ms. Grimaud is also an ardent chamber musician who performs frequently at the most prestigious festivals and cultural events with a wide range of musical collaborators. In addition to her many musical milestones, Ms. Grimaud has established herself as a committed wildlife conservationist, human rights activist, and writer. Between her debut in 1995 with the Berlin Philharmonic under Claudio Abbado and her first performance with the New York Philharmonic under Kurt Masur in 1999, she established the Wolf Conservation Center in New York State. Her love for the endangered species was sparked by a chance encounter with a wolf in northern Florida. Ms. Grimaud is also a member of Musicians for Human Rights, a worldwide network of people working in the music field to promote a culture of social change. She made her Philadelphia Orchestra debut in 2000.

PO Book 12.indd 4 11/26/13 11:13 AM 31 Framing the Program

Hector Berlioz and Johannes Brahms more or less held Parallel Events opposite views on what kind of music to write. They 1830 Music met a few times and, somewhat surprisingly, admired Berlioz Bellini one another. Recognition of creative genius apparently Symphonie I Capuleti e i transcended profoundly differing aesthetic positions. fantastique Montecchi Literature Brahms, as the “Classical Romantic,” furthered the tradition Tennyson of Felix Mendelssohn and of his mentor Robert Schumann. Poems, Chiefly He believed in so-called absolute music and his pieces Lyrical typically shunned descriptive titles or programmatic stories. Art Today we hear his magnificent Second Piano Concerto, a Delacroix work Eduard Hanslick, the celebrated Viennese music critic Liberty Guiding and ardent Brahms supporter, called a “symphony with the People piano obbligato.” While the four-movement structure indeed History points toward the genre of the symphony, the hallmark Revolution in of concerto form—the interaction between soloist and Paris ensemble—is unforgettably established at the very opening 1881 Music when a lyric horn melody is gracefully answered by the Brahms Borodin piano leading into a dazzling keyboard cadenza. Piano Concerto String Quartet At age 27 Berlioz premiered one of the most remarkable No. 2 No. 2 first symphonies ever written. But rather than play to Literature the expectations of his audience by casting it in four James movements and identifying the work with a number, key, The Portrait of a and opus number, he called it: Épisode de la vie d’un artiste, Lady Art Symphonie fantastique en cinq parties (Episode in the Life Böcklin of an Artist: Fantastic Symphony in Five Movements). Die Toteninsel Such program music, which came to dominate musical History Romanticism for the rest of the century, drew inspiration Vatican archives from literature, history, nature, and other extra-musical opened to sources. For his Symphony Berlioz not only indicated scholars titles but also devised an elaborate semi-autobiographical program, which was published in newspapers and handed out at the premiere. The result was a truly fantastic symphony in multiple senses, one that had dramatic qualities usually associated with opera and that deployed an enormous orchestra to spectacular effect. A brief musical motif, the idée fixe associated with the artist’s beloved, appears in each of the five movements and lends a larger unity to the work.

PO Book 12.indd 5 11/26/13 11:13 AM 32 The Music Piano Concerto No. 2

“My concerto here has been a brilliant and decisive—flop.” So Brahms informed his close friend Joseph Joachim, the celebrated violinist, after the premiere of the First Piano Concerto in January 1859. He went on to predict: “In spite of it all, the Concerto will be well liked some day when I have improved its anatomy, and a second one will certainly sound different.” Although Brahms did not do any major surgery on the work, it nonetheless went on as he predicted to achieve great popularity. Moreover, he did produce a Second Piano Concerto that sounds quite Johannes Brahms different, even if it took him some 22 years to do so. Born in Hamburg, May 7, 1833 The fiasco with the First Piano Concerto generally soured Died in Vienna, April 3, 1897 Brahms on orchestral music for quite some time and proved one of the various contributing factors for his long delay in composing a symphony. In the late 1870s, after finally having written his first two symphonies and the Violin Concerto, Brahms took up the challenge of another piano concerto, completing it in the summer of 1881. First Reactions With typical humorous self-deprecation Brahms informed his friend Elisabet von Herzogenberg that he had “written a tiny, tiny piano concerto, with a tiny, tiny wisp of a scherzo.” In fact, the Concerto was the longest ever written to that point and remains one of the most demanding in the standard repertory. The scherzo, moreover, is one of its most unusual features—an added second movement that lends the work notable symphonic dimensions. The famous conductor and pianist Hans von Bülow put his Meiningen Court Orchestra at Brahms’s disposal to test out the Concerto before the public premiere with another orchestra and conductor in Budapest on November 9, 1881, with the composer as soloist. The English composer Charles Stanford heard an early performance and commented that Brahms’s playing “was not so much that of a finished pianist as that of a composer who despised virtuosity.” The notoriously difficult Concerto appears to have defeated the composer to a certain extent: “There were handfuls of wrong notes.” Yet Stanford discerned deeper qualities in Brahms’s performance: “Never since have I heard such a rendering of the Concerto, so complete in its outlook or so big in its interpretation. The wrong notes did not really matter,

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Brahms composed his Second they did not disturb the audience any more than it did Piano Concerto from 1878 to the composer.” Bülow, who conducted the performance, 1881. was completely won over and stated that the “new piano Richard Buhlig was the soloist concerto is absolutely first rate and sounds wonderful, and, and Carl Pohlig the conductor moreover, he plays it with matchless beauty—with clarity, in the first Philadelphia weight, and richness.” Orchestra performances of the Not long after this Franz Liszt, representative of almost B-flat Concerto, in November 1907; the most recent everything Brahms felt was wrong with music at that time, performances on a subscription got a copy of the published score and wrote admiringly to concert were in October 2009, the composer: “I beg you to forgive my delay in thanking with pianist Yefim Bronfman you for so kindly sending me your Concerto. If I may speak and Charles Dutoit. Some of frankly, at first reading this work seemed to me a little grey the great pianists who have in tone; I have, however, gradually come to understand it. It performed it in Philadelphia possesses the pregnant character of a distinguished work include Olga Samaroff, Vladimir of art in which thought and feeling move in noble harmony.” Horowitz, Arthur Rubinstein, Rudolf Serkin, Claudio Arrau, A Closer Look Eduard Hanslick, the noted Viennese Van Cliburn, Gary Graffman, music critic and ardent Brahms supporter, called the Maurizio Pollini, Vladimir Concerto a “symphony with piano obbligato.” While the four- Ashkenazy, Alfred Brendel, and movement structure may indeed point toward the genre of André Watts. the symphony, the hallmark of concerto form—interaction between soloist and ensemble—is unforgettably established The Orchestra has recorded the work five times, all with Eugene at the very opening of the first movement (Allegro non Ormandy: in 1945, 1956, and troppo), when a lyric horn melody is gracefully answered 1960, with Serkin for CBS; by the piano. The dialogue between the dreamlike horn and in 1965 with Eugene Istomin the subtle keyboard soloist leads to a mighty piano cadenza for CBS; and in 1971 with that sets up the energetic drama of much of the movement, Rubinstein for RCA. balancing the intimacy of the recurring opening material The score calls for two flutes (II with the fierce intensity of the contrasting themes. doubling piccolo), two oboes, The added scherzo (Allegro appassionato) also has two clarinets, two bassoons, an abundance of moods, especially in the middle section two trumpets, timpani, and where elegant Handelian counterpoint seamlessly shifts strings, in addition to the solo to Lisztian chromatic passagework, back to shades of the piano. Baroque, and then on to a dreamy texture one might find in The Second Concerto runs a Chopin nocturne. The third movement Andante begins approximately 50 minutes in with a memorable song without words for the solo cello—a performance. melody that is related to Brahms’s later song “Immer leiser wird mein Schlummer” (Ever fainter grows my slumber). As musicologist Constantin Floros has noted, there is a brief reference to another song, “Todessehnen” (Yearning for death), which may support an autobiographical reading of the Concerto that some scholars have proposed. The sparkling finale (Allegretto grazioso) makes passing use of the Hungarian style that Brahms employed in most of his concertos and in various chamber compositions, not to mention in his famous Hungarian Dances. —Christopher H. Gibbs

PO Book 12.indd 7 11/26/13 11:13 AM 34 The Music Symphonie fantastique

Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, according to statistics compiled by the League of American Orchestras, emerged in the 1990s as the most frequently performed orchestral work in the United States. Like Beethoven’s “Eroica” Symphony and Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, Berlioz’s amazing first symphony is a revolutionary composition that eventually triumphed over all objections and became enshrined as a concert favorite, a warhorse. It requires some historical imagination, therefore, to recapture the most shocking aspects of the work, written by a composer Hector Berlioz just in his mid-20s at the time, and appreciate the various Born in La Côte-St.-André, ways in which it helped to change the subsequent history Isère, December 11, 1803 of music. Died in Paris, March 8, 1869 Romantic Innovations Not only is the Symphonie fantastique today ubiquitous in performance and on recordings, it turns up in nearly every music history textbook as the quintessential example of musical Romanticism. Premiered in 1830, just three years after Beethoven’s death, some of its novel features seem to point far into the future, building on Beethoven’s own innovations. (Berlioz briefly alludes to the Ninth Symphony in the Symphonie’s third movement, which owes a considerable debt to the “Pastoral” Symphony as well.) Beethoven had found remarkable ways to unify large, multi-movement works, especially in his Fifth and Ninth symphonies, through recycling motifs. Such “cyclicism” had an enormous impact on later Romantic composers, who took the concept even further by ingeniously transforming themes. One strategy Berlioz uses to unify the Symphonie fantastique is to have a melody, which he calls an idée fixe(fixed idea), appear in each of the five movements, sometimes in quite different guises. These musical procedures support a programmatic and ultimately a personal goal. Romanticism saw a new relationship between music and literature. Berlioz in particular adored the works of Virgil, Shakespeare, and Goethe, which found expression not only in symphonic works and operas, but also in his delightful memoirs and other writings. In the Symphonie fantastique, Berlioz tells a story. He devised a program (excerpted below) that he made sure was handed out at performances. Indeed, the

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flyer states that distribution of the program to the audience is “indispensable for a complete understanding of the dramatic outline of the work.” At a time well before printed programs were regularly distributed at concerts, such an idea was unusual. Beethoven’s “Pastoral” Symphony is often pointed to as an earlier programmatic model. But Beethoven was quite clear about what he was doing—he wrote in sketches for the work: “more an expression of feeling than painting” and “painting carried too far in instrumental music loses its effect.” In other words, he sought to express and convey an atmosphere, not to be realistic. Berlioz wanted to do both—to express emotions and feelings but also to tell a story, much as an opera did. He did not shy away from representing concrete events in his music. Romantic Passions Berlioz chose not any old story: It was autobiographical. The subjectivity of the Romantic artist is commonplace—the urge for self-expression and release. The Symphony is called “Episode in the Life of an Artist,” and that young artist is clearly Berlioz himself. In September 1827 his consuming passion for Shakespeare led him to attend performances at the Paris Odéon Theater of Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet that featured the young Irish actress Harriet Smithson. He soon fell hopelessly in love, even though he could barely understand a word of these English-language productions. “By the third act, half suffocated by emotion,” he wrote of Smithson’s portrayal of Juliet, “with the grip of an iron hand upon my heart, I cried out to myself, ‘I am lost! I am lost!’” The initial course of this passion (to cut to the chase: they later married, but eventually separated) coincided with the genesis of the Symphonie fantastique and left its mark on the story. Berlioz heard gossip, for example, that Miss Smithson was having an affair with her manager. This led to real flights of Romantic fancy in the Symphony. Berlioz has his musical “hero” take an overdose of opium (very much in fashion at the time, as evident in Thomas De Quincey’s Confessions of an Opium Eater), but this induces a “bad trip” in which he murders his former beloved, is sentenced to be executed, and dreams of a wild witches’ Sabbath. This combination of sex, drugs, and the Gothic was typically Romantic and Berlioz brings it off with startling brilliance. From the very first performance, in December 1830, the final two movements—the execution march and witches’ Sabbath—have proved the most popular. Berlioz had, in fact, written the “March to the Scaffold” some years earlier for an unfinished opera and decided to incorporate it in the

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Symphony by adding a brief coda in which we hear the idée fixe, followed by the slice of the guillotine, the head bouncing to the ground, and the cheers of the crowd. It is all very graphic and fantastic. A New World of Sound There is another musical point that helps to define the extraordinary historical importance of this Symphony: the sound world that Berlioz creates. The composer’s own instrument was the guitar and this no doubt influenced the way he conceived of chords and colors. Berlioz was a master conductor and the author of a famous treatise on orchestration. He often wrote for enormous ensembles—he at one point specified 220 players for the Symphonie fantastique—and used individual instruments with extreme precision. He employs some unusual ones in this piece: cornets, English horn, the small E-flat clarinet, ophicleides (precursor to the modern bass tuba), and church bells. Even familiar instruments are asked to produce special effects with mutes, slides, and bowing techniques. In the visual arts we recognize that certain painters produce much of their power not from the subjects they paint, or even from the formal design, but from color and texture. Just as a black and white photograph of an Impressionist painting tends to lose crucial aspects of its effect, so, too, a piano arrangement of Berlioz’s Symphony would inevitably do the work a greater injustice than one of a Beethoven symphony. (That Liszt made just such a keyboard transcription of the Symphonie fantastique in 1833, and that Robert Schumann could write a brilliant review of the Symphony based only on this arrangement, speaks to the imaginative powers of all three composers.) It should be noted that Berlioz revised the Symphony many times before its first publication in 1845 (Liszt’s transcription was the only printed source available for years), and that in the process he changed the orchestration, as well as some of the formal elements of the piece. We are not exactly sure what the music sounded like at the 1830 premiere, and it may not have been quite as bold as the piece we now know so well. A Closer Look: Berlioz’s Program Berlioz also wrote multiple versions of the program for the Symphonie fantastique, which differ in minor as well as significant ways. The earliest one appeared in selected newspapers in advance of the work’s premiere, but was different from what was actually distributed at the concert, and different still from ones used at later performances. In 1832 Berlioz wrote a sequel to the Symphony called Lélio, or the Return

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to Life, which was meant to be performed on the same concert after the Symphonie fantastique. In this case the entire earlier symphony is cast under the haze of a drug- induced fantasy from which the “hero” emerges at the start of Lélio. Below is a condensed version of the program published in the first printed edition of the full score of the Symphony in 1845: The composer’s intention has been to develop, insofar as they contain musical possibilities, various situations in the life of an artist. The outline of the instrumental drama, which lacks the help of words, needs to be explained in advance. The following program should thus be considered as the spoken text of an opera, serving to introduce the musical movements, whose character and expression it motivates. First Movement: Daydreams, Passions The composer imagines that a young musician, troubled by that spiritual sickness which a famous writer has called the emptiness of passions, sees for the first time a woman who possesses all the charms of the ideal being he has dreamed of, and falls desperately in love with her. … The beloved vision never appears to the artist’s mind except in association with a musical idea, in which he perceives the same character— impassioned, yet refined and diffident—that he attributes to the object of his love. This melodic image and its model pursue him unceasingly like a double idée fixe. That is why the tune at the beginning of the first Allegro constantly recurs in every movement of the Symphony. … Second Movement: A Ball The artist is placed in the most varied circumstances: amid the tumult of a party; in peaceful contemplation of the beauty of nature—but everywhere, in town, in the meadows, the beloved vision appears before him, bringing trouble to his soul. Third Movement: In the Meadows One evening in the country, he hears in the distance two shepherds playing a pastoral song; this duet, the effect of his surroundings, the slight rustle of the trees gently stirred by the wind … all combine to bring an unfamiliar peace to his heart, and a more cheerful color to his thoughts. He thinks of his loneliness; he hopes soon to be alone no longer. … But suppose she deceives him! This mixture of hope and fear, these

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Berlioz composed the thoughts of happiness disturbed by a dark foreboding, Symphonie fantastique in form the subject of the Adagio. At the end, one of 1830. the shepherds again takes up the song. The other The first Philadelphia Orchestra no longer answers. … Sounds of distant thunder … performances of the work were solitude … silence. conducted by Fritz Scheel in Fourth Movement: March to the Scaffold The March 1903. Most recently on artist, now knowing beyond all doubt that his love is a subscription series it was led by Charles Dutoit, in October not returned, poisons himself with opium. The dose 2009. of the narcotic, too weak to take his life, plunges him into a sleep accompanied by the most horrible The Orchestra has recorded visions. He dreams that he has killed the woman he the Symphonie three times: loved, and that he is condemned to death, brought with Eugene Ormandy in 1950 to the scaffold, and witnesses his own execution. and 1960 for CBS, and with The procession is accompanied by a march that is Riccardo Muti in 1984 for EMI. sometimes fierce and somber, sometimes stately and Berlioz scored the piece for brilliant. … At the end of the march, the first four bars two flutes (II doubling piccolo), of the idée fixe recur like a last thought of love. two oboes (II doubling English horn), two clarinets (doubling Fifth Movement: Dream of a Witches’ Sabbath C, A, and E-flat clarinet), four He sees himself at the Witches’ Sabbath, in the midst bassoons, four horns, two of a ghastly crowd of spirits, sorcerers, and monsters trumpets, two cornets, three of every kind, assembled for his funeral. Strange trombones, two ophicleides, noises, groans, bursts of laughter, far-off shouts to timpani, percussion (bass drum, which other shouts seem to reply. The beloved tune cymbals, snare drum, two bell appears once more, but it has lost its character of plates), two harps, and strings. refinement and diffidence; it has become nothing Performance time is but a common dance tune, trivial and grotesque; it is approximately 50 minutes. she who has come to the sabbath. … A roar of joy greets her arrival. … She mingles with the devilish orgy. … Funeral knell, ludicrous parody of the Dies irae, Sabbath round dance. The sabbath dance and the Dies irae in combination. —Christopher H. Gibbs

PO Book 12.indd 12 11/26/13 11:13 AM 39 Musical Terms

GENERAL TERMS instruments to muffle the humorous contrasts. Cadence: The conclusion tone Sonata form: The form in to a phrase, movement, Obbligato: Literally, which the first movements or piece based on a “obligatory.” A term that (and sometimes others) recognizable melodic refers to an essential of symphonies are usually formula, harmonic instrumental part that is not cast. The sections are progression, or dissonance to be omitted. exposition, development, resolution Op.: Abbreviation for opus, and recapitulation, the Cadenza: A passage or a term used to indicate last sometimes followed section in a style of brilliant the chronological position by a coda. The exposition improvisation, usually of a composition within a is the introduction of inserted near the end of a composer’s output. Opus the musical ideas, which movement or composition numbers are not always are then “developed.” In Chord: The simultaneous reliable because they are the recapitulation, the sounding of three or more often applied in the order exposition is repeated with tones of publication rather than modifications. Chromatic: Relating to composition. Tonic: The keynote of a tones foreign to a given Rondo: A form frequently scale key (scale) or chord used in symphonies and Coda: A concluding concertos for the final THE SPEED OF MUSIC section or passage added movement. It consists (Tempo) in order to confirm the of a main section that Adagio: Leisurely, slow impression of finality alternates with a variety of Agitato: Excited Counterpoint: A contrasting sections (A-B- Allegretto: A tempo term that describes A-C-A etc.). between walking speed the combination of Scale: The series of and fast simultaneously sounding tones which form (a) any Allegro: Bright, fast musical lines major or minor key or (b) Andante: Walking speed Dissonance: A the chromatic scale of Appassionato: combination of two or more successive semi-tonic Passionate tones requiring resolution steps Grazioso: Graceful and Idée fixe:A term coined Scherzo: Literally “a easy by Berlioz to denote joke.” Usually the third Larghetto: A slow tempo a musical idea used movement of symphonies Largo: Broad obsessively and quartets that was Presto: Very fast Legato: Smooth, even, introduced by Beethoven without any break between to replace the minuet. The TEMPO MODIFIERS notes scherzo is followed by a Assai: Much Meter: The symmetrical gentler section called a trio, Non troppo: Not too grouping of musical after which the scherzo is much rhythms repeated. Its characteristics Più: More Mute: A mechanical are a rapid tempo in triple Un poco: A little device used on musical time, vigorous rhythm, and

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Philadelphia Orchestra Musicians in Concert The Dolce Suono Ensemble, whose roster includes many Philadelphia Orchestra musicians, performs a concert on Sunday, December 15, at 3:00 PM, at Gould Rehearsal Hall, Lenfest Hall, Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. “Russia Revisited” features music by Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Weinberg (US premiere), Finko (world premiere), and Sharlat. Tickets are $25.00 general, $20.00 senior, $10.00 student. For more information, call 267-252-1803 or visit www.dolcesuono.com. 1807 & Friends presents a concert by the Wister Quartet on Monday, December 16 at 7:30 PM, at the Academy of Vocal Arts, 1920 Spruce Street, Philadelphia. The Quartet includes retired Orchestra Assistant Concertmaster Nancy Bean, Philadelphia Orchestra violinist Davyd Booth, retired Assistant Principal Cello Lloyd Smith, and violist Pamela Fay. The performance includes works by Corelli, Delius, Schubert, and Dvorˇák. Single tickets are $17.00; a four- concert subscription is $55.00. For more information, please visit www.1807friends.org or call 215.438.4027 or 215.978.0969. The Lower Merion Symphony, led by Philadelphia Orchestra Co-Principal Bassoon Mark Gigliotti, presents the second concert of its 2013-14 season on Sunday, January 19, at 3:00 PM at Lower Merion High School, 315 East Montgomery Ave., Ardmore. Philadelphia Orchestra Principal Second Violin Kimberly Fisher and violinist Madison Marcucci are the concert’s guest artists in Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins; the remainder of the program is Mahler’s Symphony No. 5. For more information, please e-mail [email protected]. Philadelphia Orchestra Concertmaster David Kim and First Associate Concertmaster Juliette Kang join pianist Natalie Zhu for a concert on Monday, January 13, at 8:00 PM. The concert, presented by the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, takes place at the American Philosophical Society, 427 Chestnut Street, and includes works by Leclair, Milhaud, Prokofiev, Rodrigo, Kreisler, and Sarasate. Tickets are $24.00. For more information visit www. pcmsconcerts.org or call 215.569.8080.

PO Book 12.indd 14 11/26/13 11:13 AM 41 December/January The Philadelphia Orchestra

Jessica Griffin Enjoy the ultimate in flexibility with a Create-Your-Own 4-Concert Series today! Choose 4 or more concerts that fit your schedule and your tastes. Hurry, before tickets disappear for this exciting season.

There’s still time to subscribe and receive exclusive subscriber benefits! Choose from over 40 performances including:

David Kim Plays Tchaikovsky December 12 & 14 8 PM December 13 2 PM Pablo Heras-Casado Conductor David Kim Violin Ravel Rapsodie espagnole Tchaikovsky Sérénade mélancolique, for violin and orchestra Tchaikovsky Valse-scherzo, for violin and orchestra Stravinsky Petrushka Tchaikovsky Week 1: Symphony No. 4 January 10 & 11 8 PM January 12 2 PM Robin Ticciati Conductor Stephen Hough Piano Liadov The Enchanted Lake Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4

TICKETS Call 215.893.1999 or log on to www.philorch.org PreConcert Conversations are held prior to every Philadelphia Orchestra subscription concert, beginning 1 hour before curtain. All artists, dates, programs, and prices subject to change. All tickets subject to availability.

PO Book 12.indd 15 11/26/13 11:13 AM 1642 Story Title Tickets & Patron Services

TICKETS & PATRON PreConcert Conversations: Ticket Philadelphia Staff SERVICES PreConcert Conversations are Gary Lustig, Vice President held prior to every Philadelphia Jena Smith, Director, Patron Subscriber Services: Orchestra subscription concert, Services 215.893.1955 beginning one hour before curtain. Dan Ahearn, Jr., Box Office Call Center: 215.893.1999 Conversations are free to ticket- Manager holders, feature discussions of the Catherine Pappas, Project Fire Notice: The exit indicated by season’s music and music-makers, Manager a red light nearest your seat is the and are supported in part by the Michelle Parkhill, Client Relations shortest route to the street. In the Wells Fargo Foundation. Manager event of fire or other emergency, Mariangela Saavedra, Manager, please do not run. Walk to that exit. Lost and Found: Please call Patron Services 215.670.2321. Gregory McCormack, Training No Smoking: All public space in Specialist the Kimmel Center is smoke-free. Web Site: For information about Samantha Apgar, Business The Philadelphia Orchestra and Operations Coordinator Cameras and Recorders: The its upcoming concerts or events, Elysse Madonna, Program and taking of photographs or the please visit www.philorch.org. Web Coordinator recording of Philadelphia Orchestra Patrick Curran, Assistant Treasurer, concerts is strictly prohibited. Subscriptions: The Philadelphia Box Office Orchestra offers a variety of Tad Dynakowski, Assistant Phones and Paging Devices: subscription options each season. Treasurer, Box Office All electronic devices—including These multi-concert packages Michelle Messa, Assistant cellular telephones, pagers, and feature the best available seats, Treasurer, Box Office wristwatch alarms—should be ticket exchange privileges, Patricia O’Connor, Assistant turned off while in the concert hall. guaranteed seat renewal for the Treasurer, Box Office following season, discounts on Thomas Sharkey, Assistant Late Seating: Latecomers will not individual tickets, and many other Treasurer, Box Office be seated until an appropriate time benefits. For more information, James Shelley, Assistant Treasurer, in the concert. please call 215.893.1955 or visit Box Office www.philorch.org. Tara Bankard, Lead Patron Accessible Seating: Accessible Services Representative seating is available for every Ticket Turn-In: Subscribers who Jayson Bucy, Lead Patron Services performance. Please call Ticket cannot use their tickets are invited Representative Philadelphia at 215.893.1999 for to donate them and receive a Meg Hackney, Lead Patron more information. You may also tax-deductible credit by calling Services Representative purchase accessible seating online 215.893.1999. Tickets may be Julia Schranck, Lead Patron at www.philorch.org. turned in any time up to the start Services Representative of the concert. Twenty-four-hour Alicia DiMeglio, Priority Services Assistive Listening: With the notice is appreciated, allowing Representative deposit of a current ID, hearing other patrons the opportunity to Megan Brown, Patron Services enhancement devices are available purchase these tickets. Representative at no cost from the House Maureen Esty, Patron Services Management Office. Headsets Individual Tickets: Don’t assume Representative are available on a first-come, first- that your favorite concert is sold Brand-I Curtis McCloud, Patron served basis. out. Subscriber turn-ins and other Services Representative special promotions can make last- Scott Leitch, Quality Assurance Large-Print Programs: minute tickets available. Call Ticket Analyst Large-print programs for every Philadelphia at 215.893.1999 or subscription concert are available stop by the Kimmel Center Box in the House Management Office Office. in Commonwealth Plaza. Please ask an usher for assistance.

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