Brahms & Sibelius Sunday, October 16, 2011 • 3:00 PM First Free Methodist Church

Orchestra Seattle Seattle Chamber Singers Jayce Ogren, conductor

JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833–1897) N¨anie, Op. 82

JOHANNES BRAHMS Gesang der Parzen, Op. 89

JOHANNES BRAHMS Schicksalslied, Op. 54

—Intermission—

JEAN SIBELIUS (1865–1957) Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 43

Allegretto—Poco allegro—Tranquillo—Poco largamente—Tempo I—Poco allegro Tempo andante, ma rubato—Andante sostenuto—Andante con moto ed energico Vivacissimo—Lento e suave—Tempo I—Lento e suave— Finale: Allegro moderato—Meno moderato—Tempo I—Molto largamente

Please disable cell phones and other electronics. The use of cameras and recording devices is not permitted during the performance.

Orchestra Seattle • Seattle Chamber Singers • George Shangrow, founder PO Box 15825, Seattle WA 98115 • 206-682-5208 • www.osscs.org Guest Artist Mr. Ogren made his subscription debut with the Cleveland Orchestra and, in August of that year, made his debut at the Jayce Ogren is rapidly developing a reputation as one of the Blossom Festival. finest young conductors to emerge from the United States Mr. Ogren previously served as a conducting appren- equally at home in both symphonic and operatic repertoire. tice with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, In recent seasons he has conducted the Boston Symphony, working with chief conductor Alan Gilbert. As a result, Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, St. Paul he conducted the orchestras of Gavle,¨ Helsingborg and Chamber Orchestra, New World Symphony and the Grand Norrkoping,¨ the SAMI Sinfonietta, Swedish National Or- Rapids Symphony. Mr. Ogren also made his New York de- chestra Academy and Stockholm’s Opera Vox. He has also but in two programs with the International Contemporary conducted Finland’s Vaasa City Orchestra. In the U.S. he Ensemble under the auspices of the Miller Theater, resulting has appeared with the New World Symphony, Boston’s Cal- in an immediate re-invitation. In addition, he stepped into lithumpian Consort, the Harvard Group for New Music and a last-minute cancellation for James Levine, conducting the the New England Conservatory Opera Theater. Boston Symphony Orchestra in a challenging program that Jayce Ogren received a bachelor’s degree in composi- included the world premiere of Peter Lieberson’s song cy- tion from St. Olaf College in 2001 and a master’s degree in cle Songs of Love and Sorrow (with Gerard Finley). European conducting from the New England Conservatory in 2003. guest engagements have included the Deutsches Symphonie Aided by a U.S. Fulbright Grant, he completed a postgradu- Orchester Berlin, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Aarhus Sym- ate diploma in orchestral conducting at the Royal College of phony and the Asturias Symphony. Music in Stockholm, Sweden. He has been invited to partic- On the opera stage, Mr. Ogren made his Canadian ipate in conducting courses and master classes in both the Opera Company debut with Stravinsky’s The Nightingale U.S. and Europe, including two summers at the American & Other Short Fables. Following an invitation from New Academy of Conducting at Aspen. His principal teachers York City Opera to conduct a staged production of Mozart’s have been Steven Amundson, Jorma Panula, Charles Peltz Magic Flute, he was subsequently re-invited last season for and David Zinman. a critically acclaimed new production of Bernstein’s A Quiet Mr. Ogren is also a published composer whose music Place, which was a resounding success. has been premiered at venues including the Royal Dan- This season, Mr. Ogren will make his debuts with the ish Conservatory of Music, the Brevard Music Center, the Copenhagen Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic Concert Midwest Clinic in Chicago, the American Choral Directors Orchestra, Napa Valley Symphony, Berkeley Symphony Association Conference and the World Saxophone Congress. and—following a highly successful debut with the Asturias His Symphonies of Gaia has been performed by ensembles Symphony—he will return to that orchestra during two on three continents and serves as the title track on a DVD separate periods (with pianist Joaqu´ın Achucarro´ and bari- featuring the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra. tone Gerald Finley). Mr. Ogren’s critically acclaimed per- Jayce Ogren is the founder of Young Kreisler, a band formances with New York City Opera have led to another performing Ogren’s own work, as well as music ranging re-invitation and he will return there to conduct the world from Mahler to Piazzolla to Kurt Cobain. Devoted to ed- premiere of Rufus Wainwright’s opera Prima Donna. ucation, Mr. Ogren has worked with student musicians A native of Hoquiam, Mr. Ogren concluded his tenure throughout the United States, appearing as a guest com- in 2009 as assistant conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra poser/conductor at the 2004 Washington All-State Music and as music director of the Cleveland Youth Orchestra, Festival. In 2001, the Minnesota Music Educators Associa- having been appointed by Franz Welser-Most.¨ In May 2009, tion named Jayce Ogren their Composer of the Year.

OSSCS 2011–2012 Season Russian Masters Easter Oratorio Sunday, February 5, 2012 • 3:00 PM Palm Sunday, April 1, 2012 • 3:00 PM Pulcinella Meany Hall • University of Washington Darko Butorac, conductor Sunday, November 13, 2011 • 3:00 PM Eric Garcia, conductor J.S. Bach Easter Oratorio Joseph Pollard White, conductor Shostakovich Festive Overture Sibelius Valse Triste Nick Masters, double bass Prokofiev Suite from Lt. Kij´e R. Strauss Suite from Der Rosenkavalier Handel Concerto Grosso, Op. 6, No. 1 Borodin Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor Stravinsky Suite from The Firebird Vanhal Double Bass Concerto in D Major Bruckner & Beethoven Vaughan Williams Mass in G Minor Sunday, May 13, 2012 • 3:00 PM Whitacre Five Hebrew Songs Jonathan Pasternack, conductor Beyer Short Stories WORLDPREMIERE English Masters Stravinsky Suite from Pulcinella Sunday, March 11, 2012 • 3:00 PM Mozart Kyrie in D Minor Alastair Willis, conductor Bruckner Te Deum Beethoven Symphony No. 3 in E[ (“Eroica”) Handel Zadok the Priest Christmas Oratorio Vaughan Williams Five Variants of All concerts (except February 5, 2012) take place at Sunday, December 18, 2011 • 3:00 PM “Dives and Lazarus” First Free Methodist Church. Advance tickets avail- Hans-J ¨urgenSchnoor, conductor Britten Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes able online at www.osscs.org or by calling Brown J.S. Bach Christmas Oratorio Walton Belshazzar’s Feast Paper Tickets at 1-800-838-3006. Orchestra Seattle Genevieve Schaad Flute Horn Robert Shangrow Virginia Knight Barney Blough Violin Karoline Vass Shari Muller-Ho* Don Crevie Susan Beals Sam Williams* Matthew Kruse Lauren Daugherty Oboe Jim Hendrickson Dean Drescher Cello Lesley Bain Stephen Hegg Kaia Chessen David Barnes* Trombone Susan Herring Peter Ellis Moc Escobedo* Jason Hershey Patricia Lyon Clarinet David Holmes Manchung Ho Katie Sauter Messick Alan Lawrence Chad Kirby Maria Hunt Douglas Aaron Nation Steven Noffsinger* Fritz Klein** Annie Roberts Tuba Pam Kummert Valerie Ross Bassoon David Brewer Jim Lurie Morgan Shannon Jeff Eldridge Gregor Nitsche Matthew Wyant* Judith Lawrence Timpani Stephen Provine* Dan Oie Theo Schaad Bass Contrabassoon Kenna Smith-Shangrow Jo Hansen* Michael Murray Harp Ericka Kendall Melissa Walsh Viola Nick Masters Trumpet Deborah Daoust Kevin McCarthy David Cole Katherine McWilliams Steven Messick Rabi Lahiri ** concertmaster Hakan˚ Olsson Janet Young* ** principal

Soprano Alto Seattle Chamber Singers Barb Anderson Sharon Agnew Hilary Anderson Julia Akoury Thiel Kyla DeRemer Jane Blackwell Laurie Medill Cinda Freece Suzanne Fry Annie Thompson Kiki Hood Deanna Fryhle Bass Jill Kraakmo Rose Fujinaka Tenor Andrew Danilchik Peggy Kurtz Pamela Ivezicˇ Ron Carson Doug Durasoff Lila Woodruff May Ellen Kaisse Alex Chun Stephen Keeler Nancy Shasteen Jan Kinney Alvin Kroon Dennis Moore Liesel van Cleeff Lorelette Knowles Jon Lange Stephen Tachell Pat Vetterlein Theodora Letz Tom Nesbitt Slosson Viau Suzi Means Victor Royer Richard Wyckoff

Vocal Texts and Translations N¨anie Auch das Schone¨ muß sterben! The beautiful, too, must die! Das Menschen und Gotter¨ bezwinget, That which subjugates men and gods Nicht die eherne Brust ruhrt¨ es des stygischen Zeus. does not stir the brazen heart of the Stygian Zeus. Einmal nur erweichte die Liebe den Schattenbeherrscher, Only once did love melt the Lord of Shadows, Und an der Schwelle noch, streng, and just at the threshold, rief er zuruck¨ sein Geschenk. he strictly yanked back his gift. Nicht stillt Aphrodite dem schone¨ Knaben die Wunde, Aphrodite does not heal the beautiful boy’s wound, die in den zierlichen Leib grausam der Eber geritzt. which the boar ripped cruelly in that delicate body. Nicht errettet den gottlichen¨ Held die unsterbliche Mutter, Neither does the immortal mother save the divine hero Wann er, am skaischen¨ Tor fallend, sein Schicksal erfullt.¨ when, falling at the Scaean Gate, he fulfills his fate. Aber sie steigt aus dem Meer mit allen Tochtern¨ des Nereus, She ascends from the sea with all the daughters of Nereus, Und die Klage hebt an um den verherrlichten Sohn. and lifts up a lament for her glorious son. Siehe, da weinen die Gotter,¨ es weinen die Gottinnen¨ alle, Behold! the gods weep; all the goddesses weep, Daß das Schone¨ vergeht, daß das Vollkommene stirbt. that the beautiful perish, that perfection dies. Auch ein Klaglied zu sein im Mund der Geliebten, But to be a dirge on the lips of loved ones ist Herrlich, can be a marvelous thing; Denn das Gemeine geht klanglos zum Orkus hinab. for that which is common goes down to Orcus in silence. Gesang der Parzen Es furchte¨ die Gotter¨ Let the race of mankind Das Menschengeschlecht! fear the gods! Sie halten die Herrschaft For they hold dominion In ewigen Handen,¨ over them in their eternal hands, Und konnen¨ sie brauchen, and can demand Wie’s ihnen gefallt.¨ what they please of us.

Der furchte¨ sie doppelt Doubly so should those fear them Den je sie erheben! who have been exalted by them! Auf Klippen und Wolken On cliffs and clouds Sind Stuhle¨ bereitet stools stand ready Um goldene Tische. around golden tables.

Erhebet ein Zwist sich, If a dispute arises, So sturzen¨ die Gaste,¨ the guests are pitched down, Geschmaht¨ und geschandet¨ abused and shamed, In nachtliche¨ Tiefen, into the deep dark of night; Und harren vergebens, and they wait futilely, Im Finstern gebunden, bound in the dark, Gerechten Gerichtes. for justice to be served.

Sie aber, sie bleiben But they [the gods] remain In ewigen Festen at their eternal feast An goldenen Tischen. at the golden tables. Sie schreiten vom Berge They step from mountain Zu Bergen hinuber:¨ to mountain, up above: Aus Schlunden¨ der Tiefe from the abysses of the deep Dampft ihnen der Atem steams the breath Erstickter Titanen, of suffocating Titans, Gleich Opfergeruchen,¨ like a burnt offering, Ein leichtes Gewolke.¨ a light mist.

Es wenden die Herrscher The rulers turn away Ihr segnendes Auge their blessed eyes Von ganzen Geschlechtern from entire races of people, Und meiden, im Enkel shunning the sight in their descendants Die ehmals geliebten, of those formerly beloved and Still redenden Zuge¨ silently speaking features Des Ahnherrn zu sehn. of our ancestors.

So sangen die Parzen; So sang the Fates; Es horcht der Verbannte, the banished one listens In nachtlichen¨ Hohlen¨ in his night-dark lair Der Alte die Lieder, to the songs of the ancient ones, Denkt Kinder und Enkel thinks of his children and grandchildren Und schuttelt¨ das Haupt. and shakes his head.

Schicksalslied Ihr wandelt droben im Licht You wander above in the light Auf weichem Boden, selige Genien! on soft ground, blessed genies! Glanzende¨ Gotterl¨ ufte¨ Blazing, divine breezes Ruhren¨ Euch leicht, brush by you as lightly Wie die Finger der Kunstlerin¨ as the fingers of the player Heilige Saiten. on her holy strings. Schicksallos, wie der schlafende Fateless, like sleeping Saugling,¨ atmen die Himmlischen; infants, the divine beings breathe, Keusch bewahrt in bescheidener Knospe, chastely protected in modest buds, Bluhet¨ ewig blooming eternally Ihnen der Geist, their spirits, Und die seligen Augen and their blissful eyes Blicken in stiller gazing in mute, Ewiger Klarheit. eternal clarity.

Doch uns ist gegeben, Yet there is granted us Auf keiner Statte¨ zu ruhn; no place to rest; Es schwinden, es fallen we vanish, we fall— Die leidenden Menschen the suffering humans— Blindlings von einer blind from one Stunde zur andern, hour to another, Wie Wasser von Klippe like water thrown from cliff Zu Klippe geworfen, to cliff, Jahrlang ins Ungewisse hinab. for years into the unknown depths. —translations ©1995 Emily Ezust

Program Notes As the poem concludes, the gods and goddesses bewail the inevitable fading of Beauty and the death of Perfection, but Johannes Brahms Schiller observes that a threnody in the mouth of a loved Nanie¨ , Op. 82 one is a lordly thing, for common people descend to the Brahms was born in Hamburg on May 7, 1833, and died Underworld without a lament being sung for them. in Vienna on April 3, 1897. He made sketches for this “Lament” Brahms found in Schiller’s “Nanie”¨ the perfect text for a during the summer of 1880, but composed most of the work the musical memorial to the neo-Classical painter Anselm Feuer- following summer, completing it by August 22 and conducting bach, a friend of his who often painted scenes from Greek the premiere with the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra on December 6 mythology. Brahms might have heard Hermann Goetz’ set- of that year. In addition to SATB chorus, Brahms calls for pairs of ting of the poem at a performance in Vienna during Febru- woodwinds, 2 horns, 3 trombones, timpani, harp and strings. ary 1880, within a month of Feuerbach’s death. In July of The Latin word “nenia” (“Nanie”¨ in German) refers to that year, Brahms wrote to his friend Elisabet von Herzogen- a funeral song, usually performed in praise of a deceased in- berg that Biblical texts did not fire his imagination because dividual by professional female mourners or by the recently they failed to be “heathenish enough” for him, but he did departed’s female relatives, to the accompaniment of one or recall Schiller’s poem with its references to the myths of an- more instruments. In 1799, the celebrated German author, cient Greece. When Brahms completed his choral-orchestral dramatist and poet Friedrich Schiller (on whose “Ode to setting of the poem a year later, he dedicated the work to Joy” Beethoven based the final movement of his Ninth Sym- Henriette Feuerbach, the artist’s stepmother. phony) composed the poem “Nanie,”¨ in which he employs A sweetly singing oboe introduces a tranquil, undu- 6 allusions to Greek myths to lament the transitory nature of lating melody in D major and 4 meter as the work begins. even the most perfect beauty that conquers both gods and This melody, so beautiful that its death is almost unthink- humans. The poem’s first section refers to the death of the able, is sung first by the sopranos and then by other voices, handsome hero Adonis, adored by Aphrodite, the goddess weaving a rich contrapuntal tapestry that decorates the path of love. The myth of Orpheus and Eurydice describes how of Orpheus and his beloved Eurydice as they make their Zeus, ruler of the Greek pantheon and hence lord of the “Sty- way toward the light, before Zeus snatches back Orpheus’ gian” realm—the Underworld across the River Styx—had bride. Tenors and basses—imitated by sopranos and altos— once permitted a loved one to leave the world of the dead. describe Aphrodite’s attempt to heal Adonis’ wounds. The But Orpheus, in his anxiety about his wife Eurydice, glanced voices join together to anoint his injured body, but cannot behind him to see if she was following him to the Upper save the youth, and neither can a shield of somewhat mar- World, and so lost her forever. Aphrodite, however, is not tial music protect Achilles as he falls, with the musical line, allowed to heal the wounds of Adonis. The last section of at the gate of Troy. In the composition’s central section—as the poem references the inability of the sea nymph Thetis Achilles’ mother, Thetis, and her sisters rise from the sea to to rescue her god-like son Achilles, who is slain in battle join their voices with those of the gods in chromatic lamen- at Troy’s Scaean Gate. The grief-stricken Thetis rises from tation that features emotional octave leaps from sopranos— the Mediterranean Sea with the other daughters of Nereus, the musical texture becomes homophonic, and the meter 4 one of the Titans, to mourn in song the death of her son. shifts to 4 and the key to a consoling F# major. With an initial crescendo of protest that soon diminishes into hushed Schicksalslied, Op. 54 resignation, the chorus reiterates that beauty fades and the Brahms began sketching his “Song of Destiny” in 1868, com- perfect die, before Brahms rounds out the work in A–B–A pleting a preliminary version by May 1870. He conducted the form by a return to the original key, meter and thematic work’s premiere in Karlsruhe on October 18, 1871. In addition material. As the work concludes, Brahms affirms that— to SATB chorus, Brahms employs pairs of woodwinds, 2 horns, 2 although ordinary mortals descend silently to the grave—an trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani and strings. elegy in the mouth of a loved one is “a marvelous thing.” This powerfully dramatic work for four-part chorus and an orchestra has as its text German lyric poet Friedrich Gesang der Parzen, Op. 89 Holderlin’s¨ 1798 poem “Hyperions Schicksalslied,” orig- Brahms composed his “Song of the Fates” during the sum- inally part of the novel Hyperion, or The Hermit in Greece. mer of 1882, completing it by the end of July. He conducted the While visiting some friends at Wilhelmshaven in 1868, premiere in Basel, Switzerland, on December 10 of that year. In Brahms discovered Holderlin’s¨ poem in a book of verse addition to six-part (SAATBB) chorus, Brahms calls for pairs of and was “stirred to his depths.” The poem has three verses woodwinds (with one flute doubling piccolo) plus contrabassoon, that form two parts, the first (verses one and two) describing 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani and strings. the blissful immortality of the gods, and the second (verse For this compact, thick-textured, darkly chromatic three) contrasting this serenity with the tumultuous suffer- work—his last piece for chorus and orchestra—Brahms ings of human beings. Brahms struggled over the course chose a seven-stanza text describing the helplessness of hu- of three years to arrive at a satisfactory manner in which to manity in the face of the gods’ implacable power. It comes conclude his setting of this text, finding that the despair in from a monologue in Act 4 of the 1779 drama Iphigenie auf which the poet ends his work clashed with the composer’s Tauris, a reworking by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, one desire to glimpse dawn’s hopeful glow beyond the poem’s of Germany’s most illustrious literary figures, of Euripides’ desolate darkness. Moreover, the text’s bipartite intellec- tragedy. Brahms dedicated the work to Duke Georg von tual architecture was at odds with his inclination to shape Sachsen-Meiningen, in gratitude for his hospitality when the music into a balanced ternary form that pleased him Hans von Bulow,¨ conductor of the famous Meinigen Court structurally. Orchestra, made the ensemble available to Brahms for re- The solution to this conundrum was Brahms’ recapit- hearsals. ulation, in the orchestral coda, of music from the work’s A largely homophonic work, Gesang der Parzen takes warmly radiant instrumental introduction, with its gently the form of a five-part rondo (A–B–A0–C–A00) introduced pulsating timpani triplet figures. The altos first meet the by a menacing, harmonically unstable orchestral prelude blissful gods in the realm of eternal light, but the other that warns mortals to fear the ruthless gods, whose will voices soon join them in softly glowing harmonies. As must not be contravened. In the A section, chorus sings the two-verse initial section ends, an ominously unsettling the first three verses of the text—initially by the men with woodwind chord shakes the E[ major tonality of the first women answering, and then by all the voices together—in section into the tempestuous C minor of the second part, an unhurried, relentless marching rhythm that emphasizes in which the entire chorus cries out in agonized defiance the gods’ power and cruelty. The B section (verse four of against the blindness, suffering and rootlessness that char- the text) moves from a somber D minor tonality to a lighter acterize the human condition. Its chords crash against our F major as the gods continue to feast at their golden tables, ears like a cataract hurtling from one cliff to another while to the accompaniment of dance-like motives tossed from the strings seethe and swirl and the triple meter’s shifting the lower voices to the upper and back again. A chromatic accents further unsettle those who can find no resting place. gloom descends, however, at the mention in the fifth verse The chorus finally staggers into the silence of the unknown of the deep abysses from which steams the Titans’ acrid depths, but the music of the orchestra’s opening returns, breath; the minor mode of the work’s A section then re- this time in C major, to provide a measure of solace—will turns with the text of the poem’s first verse. A sudden shift the gods have mercy upon tormented mortals after all? 4 3 from 4 to 4 meter and a brighter D major tonality occurs —Lorelette Knowles as section C begins, as if Brahms could not bear to present the painful words of the sixth verse of the poem without Jean Sibelius clothing them in a comforting musical garb reminiscent of a Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 43 gentle waltz, thus mitigating the melancholy mood of the Sibelius was born in Tavestehus, Finland, on December 8, text. The stark concluding section echoes the D minor tonal- 1865, and died at J¨arvenp¨a¨aon September 20, 1957. He began ity and the funeral-march–like rhythms of the A section. work on this symphony in early 1901, completing it a year later. The opening melodic figures appear in the violins, while the Sibelius conducted the Helsinki Philharmonic in the first perfor- voices of the chorus chant the phrases of the poem’s grim mance on March 8, 1902. The score calls for pairs of woodwinds, final stanza through an unusual harmonic cycle of major 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani and strings. thirds (D–F#–B[–D). The exile, banished by the Fates, shakes In March 1900, Jean Sibelius received an anonymous his head in despair, and the music sinks into a mysterious letter from an admirer of his music. The writer suggested silence. that the composer title one of this recent compositions Fin- landia and—after some revisions to the work—Sibelius did though the Almighty had thrown the pieces of a mosaic so. That summer, when the Helsinki Philharmonic (accom- down from the floor of heaven and told me to put them panied by Sibelius) set sail on a tour to the Paris World’s together,” the composer once wrote. The symphony opens Fair, the mysterious correspondent showed himself at the with the first of these pieces, a sequence of three chords pier. Finlandia proved a rousing success and, after returning spread across 11 notes in the strings. Woodwinds answer home, Sibelius finally discovered the identity of his anony- with a dance-like melody, interrupted by horns with a duple- 6 mous admirer: Baron Axel Carpelan. A Swedish-speaking meter phrase that questions the prevailing 4 time signature. Finn (as was Sibelius), Carpelan had a title but no money. These elements repeat and intermingle before a bassoon His parents had thwarted his plans to become a violinist, fanfare leads to an impassioned violin phrase. Pizzicato so in protest he smashed his instrument, refused to attend strings soon drive the tempo faster (to poco allegro) and the university and took up a habit of writing letters of advice music surges forth in earnest. The initial musical ideas re- and praise to artists in whom he identified the potential for turn again and again, but always modified or developed greatness. to some extent, from the full brass section taking up the Carpelan managed to function as something of a pa- bassoon fanfare at the movement’s climax, to the quiet coda, tron for Sibelius by recruiting wealthy individuals to the in which the strings recall the symphony’s opening gesture. cause. Even before their first face-to-face meeting in October The second movement—beginning in D minor to con- 1900, Carpelan wrote in one of his many letters that Sibelius trast with the cheerier D major of the symphony’s opening— should travel to Italy, as the country had provided great originated with Sibelius’ Don Juan sketches. A timpani roll 3 inspiration for Tchaikovsky and Richard Strauss. “Every- leads to an extended pizzicato passage in 8 time for double thing there is beautiful—even the ugly,” Carpelan insisted, basses, which yield to cellos. Bassoons, playing in octaves, 4 in spite of the fact that he himself had never traveled outside challenge the established meter with a theme in 4 over the Scandinavia. pizzicato triplets. The music builds in urgency, then sub- Sibelius arrived in Rapallo, near Geonoa, in February sides for a magical passage of hushed strings that introduces 1901, remaining there until May. The Italian scenery proved a key change to F] major. Much of the rest of the music devel- beneficial both to his spirit and to his compositional out- ops the string theme, shedding a tragic light on the initially put. He began sketches for what he initially envisioned as hopeful melody. 6 a suite of four tone poems on the subject of Dante’s Divine Strings launch the frenetic scherzo—in 8 time but with Comedy, and also worked for a time on a project related to one beat to each bar—over which woodwinds chime in with Don Juan. But after his return to Finland these disparate ele- duple-meter phrases that struggle to form a theme. Solo tim- ments evolved into a four-movement symphony devoid of pani provides a bridge from G minor to the trio’s exotic key overt programmatic associations. On November 9, Sibelius of G[ major. Solo oboe, answered by clarinets, intones a re- 12 reported to Carpelan that the symphony was nearing com- laxed melody in 4 time over sustained chords in horns and pletion, and he delivered the score to a copyist in early bassoons. Strings attempt to join in, but the oboe melody 1902. The premiere of the work, which Sibelius dedicated returns briefly until trumpets shatter the calm by announc- to Carpelan, resulted in immediate and resounding acclaim, ing a return to the scherzo. The fragmentary woodwind with one reviewer describing it as “a definitive masterpiece, motive finally resolves into a complete theme as the strings one of the few symphonic creations of our time that points generate ever more frenzy. A return of the trio and its oboe 12 in the same direction as Beethoven’s symphonies.” theme is short-lived, but this time the music remains in 4 , While the symphony does bear some hallmarks of building inevitably and powerfully to the opening bar of Beethoven’s approach to symphonic form, it differs in the fourth movement. important—often miraculous—ways. Beethoven typically The symphony’s finale begins triumphantly and ends began a work with fully laid-out themes that then un- even more so. Not long after the work’s premiere, some dergo deconstruction in an extended development section. listeners set forth an interpretation of the symphony as a Sibelius, by contrast, introduces building blocks—sequences musical evocation of the battle for Finnish independence, of chords or short musical motives—that he later combines with the D major finale representing a victorious conclu- and extends into longer-lined thematic statements. “It is as sion to the struggle. The composer himself discounted such notions, preferring to think of his most famous and endur- ing symphony in purely absolute terms. Program or not, the work’s conclusion remains among the most beloved passages in all of Sibelius’ music. The contrast of this composition with Sibelius’ fairly traditional Symphony No. 1, premiered three years earlier, is striking. 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The above list includes gifts received between August 1, 2010, and October 1, 2011. Orchestra Seattle and the Seattle Chamber Singers rely upon support from you, our loyal listeners, to continue our mission of bringing great music to life. Contributions to OSSCS, a non-profit 501(c)3 arts organization, are fully tax-deductible. Please see a volunteer in the lobby this afternoon, visit our Web site at www.osscs.org or call 206-682-5208 to make a donation or learn more about supporting Orchestra Seattle and the Seattle Chamber Singers.

' $ Please visit www.osscs.org to subscribe to our e-mail newsletter, follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and learn more about Orchestra Seattle and the Seattle Chamber Singers and our exciting 2011–2012 OSSCS season.

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