BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA W BOSTON % James Levine, Music Director / SYMPHONY \ Bernard Haitink, Conductor Emeritus I ORCHKSTRA \ JAMES LEVINE Seiji Ozawa, Music Director Laureate Musk Director 127th Season, 2007-2008

CHAMBER TEA V

Friday, April 11, at 2:30 Writ.

COMMUNITY CONCERT VIII Sunday, April 13, at 3, at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem This free concert is generously supported by The Lowell Institute.

THOMAS MARTIN, clarinet RICHARD RANTI, bassoon DANIEL KATZEN, horn »KB SHEILA FIEKOWSKY, (Kl KB JULIANNE LEE, violin ROBERT BARNES, MICKEY KATZ, cello BENJAMIN LEVY, double bass

SCHUBERT Octet in F, D.803, for clarinet, horn, bassoon, two , viola, cello, and double bass Adagio—Allegro Adagio ftf$S Allegro vivace; Trio Ill Andante 3aJ Menuetto: Allegretto; Trio Andante molto—Allegro

mV Week 23

Franz Schubert (1797-1828) Octet in F, D.803, for clarinet, horn, bassoon, two violins, viola, cello, and double bass

Schubert composed his Octet for winds and strings in February 1824 on a commission from Ferdinand, Count Troyer, who was a clarinetist in the musical establishment of Beethoven's friend and pupil Archduke Rudolph. Troyer evidently requested that Schubert model the work on Beethoven's famous Septet for winds and strings (Opus 20; composed 1799), which at that time was still the most popular of all of Beethoven's instrumental works, far outdistancing the symphonies and concertos. Schubert followed instructions, mimicking the older master's work so closely in

I

jm mm:'-*.

?wr fSm^BBm

scoring, layout of movements, and musical character that this must have been

obvious to everyone who heard the piece and they would have enjoyed it all the more for that very reason. Schubert began with the same instrumental ensemble as Beethoven, augmented only by the addition of a second violin. He planned his Octet in six movements, fashioned like the old classical divertimento, just as Beethoven had done. He wrote an Adagio (a tempo mark he rarely used) following Beethoven, and an Andante theme-and-variations set. He imitates Beethoven, too, in preparing the finale with a slow introduction in the minor mode. And the harmonic relationship between suc- cessive movements in the two works is absolutely identical. Yet no work shows more clearly the truth of the notion that the originality of a genius becomes most apparent precisely when he is copying someone else, espe- cially a great older master: though the spirit of the classical divertimento remains, Schuberfs music is nonetheless absolutely his own in color, harmony, and melodic character. The characteristic classical gestures of the martial and the pastoral, which

were still very much alive when Beethoven wrote his Septet, are here subsumed into a new spirit. The Andante theme that serves as the basis of the variation set is from a love duet, "Gelagert unter'm hellen Dach der 'Bourne" ("Sheltered beneath the bright cover of trees") in his Singspiel Die Freunde von Salamanka. Despite the obvious "symphonic" possibilities of the large chamber ensemble, the Octet remains utterly and deliriously a work of throughout. —Steven Ledbetter

Thomas Martin served as principal clarinet of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra before joining the Boston Symphony in the fall of 1984. Born in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Mr. Martin graduated from the Eastman School of Music, where he was a student of Stanley Hasty and Peter Hadcock. He participated in master classes with Guy Deplus of the Paris Conservatory. Mr. Martin performs frequently as a reritalist and chamber musician and has been heard on "Morning Pro Musica" on WGBH radio. He has appeared in the Chamber Prelude series at Symphony Hall, on the Friday Preludes at Tanglewood, at the Longy School of Music, and at the Gardner Museum.

Associate principal bassoonist Richard Ranti joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra at the start of the 1989-90 season; he is also principal bassoonist of the Boston Pops Orchestra. Born in Montreal, Mr. Ranti started bassoon at age ten, studying with Sidney Rosenberg and David Carroll. After graduating from Interlochen Arts Academy, he studied with Sol Schoenbach at the Curtis Institute of Music. At nineteen he won the second bassoon position in the ; he spent six years with that orchestra, the last as acting associate principal. A 1982 Fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center, Mr. Ranti has also participated in the H Spoleto and Marlboro festivals. He won second prize in the 1982 Toulon Interna- tional Bassoon Competition and is the recipient of two Canada Council grants. Mr. Ranti can be heard frequently in Boston-area chamber performances with groups such as the Walden Chamber Players, with whom he has recorded an album of bassoon and string music. He is on the faculty of both the New England Conservatory and School for the Arts.

Daniel Katzen has been second horn of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 1979 and has been on the faculties of the New England Conservatory and Boston Uni- HI

versity since 1980. The 2007-08 BSO season will be his last as an orchestra member: as of September 2008 he will take up the position of Associate Professor of Horn at the University of Arizona in Tucson. He observes that "The BSO has been the main focus of my career; and I have felt fortunate to be involved with music-making and camaraderie at the highest possible level." In addition to his new duties in academia, Mr. Katzen also performs and records with Los Angeles-area orchestras and film studios. His schooling included the Eastman School Preparatory Department (receiving his diploma "with honors" under Milan Yancich), Indiana University (receiving his bachelor of music degree "with distinction" under Philip Farkas), the Salzburg Mozarteum (one year of study under Michael Holtzel), and Northwestern University (receiving his master of music degree under Dale Clevenger). In addition he studied privately with Morris Secon, Peter Damm, and Fred Fox.

A member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 1975, Sheila Fiekowsky was born in and began studying violin at nine, when she was offered a violin through a public school program. Her musical studies quickly progressed when her teacher, a bass player, insisted she begin lessons with Emily Mutter Austin, a violinist in the Detroit Symphony. Her summers were spent at the Meadowmount School of Music, where she studied with Ivan Galamian and studied chamber music with Joseph Gingold. She appeared as soloist with the Detroit Symphony at sixteen and that same year won the National Federation of Music Clubs Biennial Award. Ms. Fiekowsky attended the Curtis Institute of Music, where she studied with Ivan Galamian and Jaime Laredo. In chamber music classes she worked with and members of the . She holds a master's degree in music from , where her teacher was Joseph Silverstein. Her chamber music experience includes performances at the Marlboro Music Festival, the Norfolk Festival, and the Aspen Festival. Ms. Fiekowsky is a regular performer in Symphony Hall Chamber Concerts and Tanglewood Prelude Concerts, and has been heard in numerous chamber and solo concerts in the Boston area. Solo appearances have included concerts with the Newton Symphony, the North Shore Symphony, the Mystic Valley Orchestra, and the Boston Pops Orchestra. Ms. Fiekowsky plays a Hieronymus Amati violin made circa 1670 in Cremona, Italy.

A member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra violin section since the fall of 2006, Julianne Lee is a recent recipient of the Presser Music Award. Ms. Lee made her solo debut at seven with the Lake Placid Symphonietta, subsequently appearing as soloist with the KBS Symphony Orchestra in Korea and the Baden-Baden Phil- harmonie in Germany. Her chamber music collaborations have included concerts with such renowned artists as Joseph Silverstein, Peter Wiley, Roger Tapping, Samuel Rhodes, and Arnold Steinhardt. In the summer of 2006 she participated in the Marlboro Music Festival, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, and a European tour as guest principal violist with the Australian Chamber Orchestra. Ms. Lee received a bachelor's degree in violin performance and a diploma in viola per- formance from the Curtis Institute of Music, studying with Victor Danchenko, Joseph Silverstein, and Joseph DePasquale. She is currently pursuing her master's degree as a student of Donald Weilerstein and Kim Kashkashian at the New England Conservatory of Music.

Violist Robert Barnes was born in Lexington, Kentucky, and grew up in Detroit, . He began studying violin at five and gained extensive chamber music 1

experience from his earliest years, with his musidan-parents and as a student of Michael Bistritzky. As a young man he attended the summer program at Interlochen and the Congress of Strings in Puerto Rico. In 1961, while a freshman at Wayne State University, he joined the Detroit Symphony Orchestra as a violinist. In 1966, after performing chamber music as a violist, he decided to take up the viola per- manently; he played his last year in the Detroit Symphony as a member of the viola section. Mr. Barnes joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1967 and has continued to be active in chamber music, in ensembles including the Cambridge and Francesco string quartets and Collage New Music. He has also taught exten- sively throughout his career. Besides maintaining a class of private students, he has coached viola students and chamber groups at the Tanglewood Music Center, Brown University, Wellesley College, and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute.

A native of Israel, cellist Mickey Katz joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra in September 2004, having previously been principal cellist of Boston Lyric Opera. Mr. Katz has distinguished himself as a solo performer, chamber musician, and contemporary music specialist. His numerous honors include the Presser Music Award in Boston, the Karl Zeise Prize from the BSO at Tanglewood, first prizes in the Hudson Valley Philharmonic Competition and the Rubin Academy Competition in Tel Aviv, and scholarships from the America Israel Cultural Foundation. A passion- ate performer of new music, he premiered and recorded Menachem Wiesenberg's Cello Concerto with the Israel Defense Force Orchestra and has worked with composers , Gyorgy Kurtag, John Corigliano, Leon Kirchner, and Augusta Read Thomas in performing their music. A Tanglewood Music Center Fellow in 2001, he was invited back to Tanglewood in 2002 as a member of the New Fromm Players, an alumni ensemble-in-residence that works on challenging new pieces and collaborates with young composers. An active chamber musician, he has performed in important venues in the United States, Europe, and Israel, and has participated in the Marlboro Festival and Musicians from Marlboro tour, collaborating with such distinguished players as Pinchas Zukerman, Tabea Zim- mermann, Kim Kashkashian, and Gilbert Kalish. A graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music, he completed his mandatory military service in Israel as a part of the "Distinguished Musician Program," playing in the Israel Defense Force String Quartet, performing throughout Israel in classical concerts and in many outreach and educational concerts for soldiers and other audiences. aK Double bass player Benjamin Levy was born in Cooperstown, New York, in 1980 and grew up in Pennsylvania and Colorado. While in high school he studied with David Potter, and spent two summers studying with Stuart Sankey at the Aspen Music Festival. Mr. Levy has appeared in performance with soprano Dawn Upshaw, the Borromeo String Quartet, and the Hawthorne String Quartet. In 2002, while a Fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center, he was the recipient of the Maurice Schwartz Prize and was reviewed in the New York Times for his performance of Jacob Druckman's Valentine for solo double bass. A graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music, and now on the faculty of the Boston Conservatory of Music, he joined the BSO's bass section in 2003 at Tanglewood. His teachers have also included Todd Seeber, Timothy Pitts, and Paul Ellison. Benjamin Levy was the recipient of the 2002 New England Conservatory George Whitefield Chadwick Medal.