Hadelich Performs Sibelius Two great Romantic-era works comprise the bulk of this weekend’s concerts – Tchaikovsky’s “fateful” Symphony No. 4 and Sibelius’s tuneful violin concerto. Kaija Saariaho’s arresting evocation of the winter sky opens the program

KAIJA SAARIAHO Born 14 October 1952; Helsinki, Finland

Ciel d’hiver [Winter Sky] Composed: 2013 First performance: 7 April 2014; Paris France Last MSO performance: MSO premiere Instrumentation: 2 flutes; piccolo; 2 oboes; 2 clarinets; 2 bassoons (2nd doubling contrabassoon); 4 horns; 2 trumpets; 2 trombones; tuba; timpani; percussion (crotale, glass chimes, shell chimes, triangle, tam tam, suspended cymbals, vibraphone, small bells, bass drum): harp; celeste; piano; strings Approximate duration: 10 minutes

The Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho studied at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and later in Freiburg, Darmstadt, and Paris. The latter has, for the most part, been her home since 1982. At the IRCAM research institute there, she became adept at working on tape and with live electronics. This, in turn, fashioned her approach to orchestral composition, partic- ularly regarding the shaping of dense sound masses in slow transformations. In addition to orchestral music, Saariaho has composed extensively for the voice, with operas, an oratorio, and song cycles in her catalogue. Dawn Upshaw, Kartia Mattila, and Gerald Finley are among the singers for whom she has written. Her acclaimed opera L’Amour de loin (“Love from Afar,” composed in 2000) was staged at New York’s Metropol- itan Opera in 2016, the first opera by a woman to have been performed there since Dame Ethel Smyth’s Der Wald in 1903. Orion (2002), a tryptich that calls for a Mahler-sized orchestra, is one of Saariaho’s most frequently programmed works. In 2013, she rescored its middle movement, Winter Sky, for a smaller orchestra, giving it the same title – but in French, Ciel d’Hiver, to set it apart from the original. Commissioned by Musique Nouvelle en Liberté, an organization whose mis- sion is to bring contemporary music to a larger audience, Ciel d’Hiver joins several others of Saariaho’s works that, one way or another, take their inspiration from things in sky and space. (Orion refers to the constellation, named after the hunter in Greek mythology, that appears in the northern hemisphere’s winter sky.) Hadelich Performs Sibelius PROGRAM NOTES

Died 20September1957;Jarvenpää,Finland 8December1865;Hämeenlinna,Finland Born JEAN SIBELIUS Violin ConcertoinDminor,Violin Opus47 distinct andpleasanttimbre. piece concludesinashimmeringcloudofsound,withthepiano’s treble register lendinga from toptobottom,tinydetails comeforth–suchasthebriefcellosolonearend.The chords withcontinuallyfluctuating tonecolors.Evenastheentire orchestra isexploited, texture thanmelody, asthethree- notemotifistransmogrifiedintoasuccessionofdense related melodies,initiated bythefirstviolins.Thesecondhalfofpieceismore about and mutedtrumpet.Thenbeginsamulti-voicedlayeringofthethree-note ideaandseveral orchestral background unfolds,asoloviolintakesupthemotif,followedbyclarinet,oboe, ing three-note figure comprisedofahalf-stepfollowedbytritone(G-flat,F, B).Asthe ering soundscape.Firstcomesthepiccolo,playingwork’s seminalmotif–adescend- At theoutsetofCield’Hiver,soloinstrumentssuccessivelylimnmelodiclinesontoaquiv- the piecetoUnitedStates. Strauss, withsoloistKarlHalir, on19October1905.Thenextyear, MaudPowellintroduced demands. Thenew(andpresent) haditspremiere form inBerlin underthebatonofRichard vised theworknextyear, makingitmore compactandslightlylesseningitstechnical The composerrewas thesoloistandSibelius conductedtheHelsingforsPhilharmonic. - Nováček wasgivenatHelsingfors(Helsinki)inFebruary1904. Victor The firstperformance bouts ofheavydrinking.)Deeplyoffended, refused Burmester evertoplaytheconcerto. Sibelius wrote theviolinconcertowassomewhatturbulent,withaccumulatingdebtsand mester’s schedule.(Mostprobably, the“circumstances” were moneywoes:Thetime when circumstances causedthecomposertosetanearlierdate,onethatdidnotwork forBur the concertoduring1903andsettledonapremiere dateinMarch 1904.Unfortunately, Sibeliuscrafted Sibelius towriteaviolinconcerto;hehopedgive the firstperformance. Burmester, virtuosoWilly It wastheGerman astudentofJosephJoachim,whoencouraged ment forthesoloviolin.” stylefortheorchestra,his normal whileatthesametimefashioningaperfectaccompani - own idiomaticvoice.Hisnaturalpreference forlow, himtowritein darksonoritiespermits intoagratuitousdisplayoftechnicaltricksattheexpensecomposer’sdoes itturn work soundsasmuchlikeSibeliusitdoesaviolinconcerto.Inotherwords, atnopoint only completedconcertoforanyinstrument.AsmusicwriterDavidHurwitzpointsout,“the not oftheilkthatproduced theflashyconcertos ofhisday, andtheviolinconcertoishis Of solemndisposition,Sibeliuswasnotdrawntocomposingconcertos.Certainlyhe Philharmonic. the Vienna he wasastudentthere (1890–91),andeven auditioned–albeitunsuccessfullyforaseatin theless becameproficient enoughtoplayin theorchestra Conservatorywhen oftheVienna uncle) wasprovincial atbest–andhehada propensity anxiety. forperformance Henever the instructionavailabletoyoungJohan(helaterGallicizedhisname,emulatingan ized: Bytheageof14,manywould-bevirtuososare already seasonedplayers.Additionally, wish, myoverridingambition,tobecomeagreatvirtuoso.” Sadly, hisgoalremained unreal- thecomposerwrote,olin tookmebystorm,” “andfor thenexttenyearsitwasmydearest Jean Sibeliusbeganplayingthepianoatagenine.Hedidn’t likeit.At14,however, “thevi- Hannu Lintu,FinnishRadioSymphony Recommended recording: efrac: January2016;ChristopherSeaman,conductor;Karen Last MSOperformance: Approximate duration: First performance: 2 2flutes;oboes;clarinets;bassoons;4horns; Instrumentation: Composed: 1903 Orchestra (Ondine) trumpets; 3trombones; timpani;strings Gomyo, violin 8 February1904;Helsinki,Finland 31 minutes 턐 - - Hadelich Performs Sibelius PROGRAM NOTES

Symphony No.4inFminor, Opus36 Died 6November1893;St.Petersburg, Russia 7May1840;Kamsko-Votkinsk,Born Russia PIOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY few program-notes writers canresist quoting. British musicologistSirDonaldFrancisTovey as“apolonaiseforpolarbears,”adescription in thetimpaniandbasses.Itssecondthemehasalumberingrhythm,oncedescribedby theme isintroduced bythesoloist,accompaniedonlyaninsistentpoundingostinato colorings are wistful,seductive,andsophisticated.TheclosingAllegro, manontanto’s first (“sonorous andexpressive”) ofvastbreadth. issimple(ABA),buttheorchestral Theform movement (Adagiodimolto),abourbon-huedcontraltovoicesingsanaffecting melody extensive cadenzareplacing wouldbethedevelopmentsection.Inslow whatnormally restraint withpassagesof great intensityandforce. butwithan Itiscastinsonataform, The lengthyfirstmovement(Allegro moderato)contrastspassagesofmelancholyand Brahms. and orchestra characteristic oftheviolinconcertosof,say, Beethoven,Mendelssohn,and ping dancerhythm.Interestingly, wedon’t heartheclose-knitdialoguebetweensoloist human emotion–whetherinanItalianatemelody, amelancholydaydream, orafoot-tap- sical expression. Sibeliusessentiallycaststheviolinistasasinger, conveyingthegamutof Full ofRomantic-erapassionfrom starttofinish,theconcertoaffords awiderangeofmu- the composerwrote: throughout thelarge-scale firstmovement;listenforitsreturn inthe finale aswell.Ofthis, The FMinorSymphonyopenswithanominousbrass fanfare –the“fate”motifthatrecurs hearing thesecontrastsinthemusicitself. between melancholyandexuberance,optimism andresignation. Onecan’t help circumstances, thesedisparateexternal it’sties. With littlewonderthecomposervacillated that, thoughtheyneveractuallymet,provided aneededemotionaloutletforbothpar 13-year associationwithhispatroness NadehzdavonMeck;itwasafelicitousrelationship posing theoperaEugeneOnegin.HisworkonOp.36alsocoincideswithstart-upofa His FourthSymphonydatesfrom period, 1877-78, thesametimehewascom- thisstormy Western Europe. that ledTchaikovsky toanervousbreakdown, anattemptedsuicide,andahastyretreat to student from whomhehadreceived awrittendeclarationoflove.Their unionwasadisaster he madearashanddesperatedecision:HemarriedAntoninaMilyukova,Conservatory age 37,thinkingmarriage,domesticity, andasympatheticwomanthepossiblesolution, All hisadultlife,Tchaikovsky struggledwithhishomosexualityandits attendantguilt.At Augustin Hadelich;HannuLintu,RoyalLiverpool Recommended recording: efrac: September2013;Andreas Delfs,conductorInstrumentation: Last MSOperformance: Approximate duration: above usliketheSword ofDamocles...Ouronlychoiceistosurrender toit... hanging well-being shouldeverbe attained incompleteanduncloudedform, piness from entirely achievingitsgoal,forever onjealousguard lestpeace and theme. ThisisFate,i.e.,that fatefulforce thatprevents theimpulsetoward hap- The introduction istheseedofwholesymphony, undoubtedlythecentral First performance: Composed: 1877-78 OrchestraPhilharmonic (Avie) drum, cymbals,triangle);strings 2 trumpets;3trombones; tuba;timpani;percussion (bass 2 flutes;piccolo;oboes;clarinets;bassoons;4horns; 4 March 1878;Moscow, Russia 44 minutes 턐

- Hadelich Performs Sibelius PROGRAM NOTES

end thismuch-lovedsymphonyinresplendent jubilation. first movementisrevived asadisquietingpresence, butthemusic’s momentumreturns to folksong (“Inthefieldstoodabirch tree”) asoneofitsthemes.Thebrassfanfare from the fire,” combinesrondo, Tchaikovsky sonata,andvariationform. incorporatesanoldRussian the pluckedstringstobringmovementaclose.Thefinalmovement,Allegro “with and isslightlyintoxicated.”Woodwinds andbrassprovide contrast,thenjointogetherwith pricious arabesques,vaguefigures thatslipintotheimaginationwhenonehastakenwine Playful pizzicatostringsdominatethescherzo.According tothecomposer, “Here are ca- arises. Itissad,yetsweet,toloseone’s selfinthepast.” at nightinthehouseexhaustedbywork,”Tchaikovsky wrote. ofreminiscences “Aswarm in thefirstmovement.“Here isthatmelancholyfeelingenwrapsonewhenhesitsalone oboesolo;thepassionateclimaxisaremindermournful ofthelamentingphrasesprevalent Thetunefulsecondmovement,Andantino“inthemannerofasong,”beginswith Evgeny Mravinsky, LeningradPhilharmonic Recommended recording: Program notesbyJ.Mark Baker. (Deutsche Grammophon) 턐