Wednesday, September BC–Saturday, September BF, B@AE

THE JAN SHREM & MARIA MANETTI SHREM B@AE RESIDENCY

Berkeley RADICAL Calendar of Events

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER BC, B@AE

A@:@@am–A:@@pm Classroom Visits: Simón Bolívar Orchestra of Building on Cal Performances’ long and productive relationship with the Berkeley Unified School District, small ensembles from the SBSOV will present concerts in three Berkeley middle schools.

D:@@–F:@@pm Open Rehearsal: Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela Zellerbach Hall Gustavo Dudamel, Music Director

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER BD, B@AE

A@:@@am–A:@@pm Classroom Visits: Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela See above for description.

H:@@pm Performance: Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela Zellerbach Hall Gustavo Dudamel, Music Director Beethoven: Overture to Egmont, Symphony No. 7, Symphony No. 8 This is a ticketed event.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER BE, B@AE

AA:@@am–E:@@pm Symposium: Beyond the Valley of the Ninth: The Afterlives of Hertz Hall Beethoven’s “Choral” Symphony Organized by Nicholas Mathew, UC Berkeley Associate Professor of Music, and featuring Andrea Bohlman (UNC Chapel Hill), Stephen Hinton (Stanford University), Alexander Rehding (Harvard University), Christopher Reynolds (UC Davis), Anicia Timberlake (Williams College), and Mina Yang.

PLAYBILL BERKELY RADICAL

G:C@pm Performance: Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela Hearst Greek Theatre Gustavo Dudamel, Music Director Beethoven: Symphony No. 9, “Choral” This is a ticketed event.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER BF, B@AE

AA:@@am–AB:@@pm Performance: Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela Zellerbach Hall Family Concert Conducted by Joshua Dos Santos; introduced by Gustavo Dudamel. Program to be announced. This is a ticketed event.

A:@@–C:@@pm Master Class with Gustavo Dudamel: UC Berkeley Symphony Zellerbach Hall Orchestra, David Milnes, music director Gustavo Dudamel conducts a master class on Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 with the UC Berkeley Symphony Orchestra.

C:C@–D:C@pm Seminario Zellerbach Hall Cal Performances hosts the first-ever Seminario at UC Berkeley, an immersive musical sharing that invites young musicians from local El Sistema music programs to rehearse and perform alongside members of the UC Berkeley Symphony Orchestra and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela. In this final session of the day, young musicians play side by side on the Zellerbach Hall stage as peers with the UC Berkeley Symphony Orchestra and SBSOV.

D:@@–E:@@pm Berkeley Talks with Gustavo Dudamel Wheeler Auditorium Gustavo Dudamel in conversation with Cal Performances Executive and Artistic Director Matías Tarnopolsky.

F:@@–H:C@pm Film: Crescendo: The Power of Music Wheeler Auditorium A film about the rise of El Sistema in the United States, directed by Jamie Bernstein and Elizabeth Kling, follows three schoolchildren— two in West Philadelphia and one in ’s Harlem—as they participate in Sistema-inspired youth orchestra programs. A talk with Ms. Bernstein and Ms. Kling, moderated by Cal Performances Associate Director Rob Bailis, will follow.

Unless otherwise indicated, these events are free and open to the public. Advance registration is requested for free, non-ticketed events.

Cal Performances extends its heartfelt thanks to Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem for their major support of Gustavo Dudamel and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela’s  residency at Cal Performances. Additional support for the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Orchestra Residency is provided by Patron Sponsors Diana Cohen and Bill Falik. Cal Performances’ – season is sponsored by Wells Fargo. Cal Performances Salutes Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem

N B@AB, then newlyweds Jan Shrem and IMaria Manetti Shrem celebrated their marriage by underwriting Gustavo Dudamel and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela’s historic first residency at Cal Performances. The residency proved to be a defining moment, and the Shrems’ leadership support has once again made it possible for Cal Performances to share the power of music with audiences of all ages. “Classical music has been in my heart from a young age,” says Maria. “I was 15 when I saw Gustavo Dudamel, Maria Manetti Shrem, and Jan Shrem Bohème with Renata Tebaldi. From that time, I Initiative in Creativity, Arts, and Learning), Cal wanted to hear the —or any music!” Performances’ commitment to three major Coincidentally, Jan’s first encounter with clas- principles: artistic literacy; the commissioning sical music began with his first viewing of the and producing of new work; and to in-depth same Puccini opera. “At the age of 19, I had programming like this residency. never heard of opera before. It was a totally new Musical training in his youth put Gustavo experience for me, and it truly transported me Dudamel on his life path, and he brings to his to spiritual heights I never dreamed of.” music-making that deep understanding of the It is this joy and love of music that we bring necessity of the arts in the fabric of our soci- to the Bay Area community through the Jan ety. We are deeply honored that Gustavo Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem 2015 Cal Dudamel continues to partner with Cal Performances Orchestra Residency. In addition Performances to combine music, learning, to featured main-stage performances at the and the sharing of ideas with our community. Hearst Greek Theatre and Zellerbach Hall, this As expressed by Maria Manetti Shrem, multiday residency will include an academic “Music lifts my soul and spirit, and I could not symposium, a Berkeley Talks event, master live without it. Young people have to learn classes, a film screening, lecture-demonstra- about it and we commend Cal Performances tions, rehearsals open to the public, classroom for this incredible idea. Between great artists visits by orchestra members, and the multime- and a great audience, it’s going to be a mar- dia dissemination of harvested knowledge on riage of great culture and great achievement.” digital platforms, including iTunes. We extend our heartfelt thanks to Jan Crucially, this residency launches Berkeley Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem for their RADICAL (Research and Development transformative support.

PLAYBILL Thursday, September 24, 2015, 8pm Zellerbach Hall

THE JAN SHREM & MARIA MANETTI SHREM B@AE ORCHESTRA RESIDENCY

Berkeley RADICAL

Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela Gustavo Dudamel, Music Director

PROGRAM

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) Overture to Egmont, Op. 84 (1810)

Beethoven Symphony No. 8 in F major, Op. 93 (1811–1812)

Allegro vivace e con brio Allegretto scherzando Tempo di minuetto Allegro vivace

INTERMISSION PROGRAM

Beethoven Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92 (1811–1812)

Poco sostenuto — Vivace Allegretto Presto Allegro con brio

The Hilti Foundation is very proud to support the talented young musicians of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela.

The Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela would like to thank the Fundación Musical Simón Bolívar, the Governing Body of the National System of Youth and Children’s of Venezuela, for its support and cooperation. Tocar y Luchar.

Cal Performances extends its heartfelt thanks to Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem for their major support of Gustavo Dudamel and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela’s  residency at Cal Performances. Additional support for tonight’s performance is provided by Patron Sponsors Diana Cohen and Bill Falik. Cal Performances’ – season is sponsored by Wells Fargo.

PLAYBILL PROGRAM NOTES

Ludwig van Beethoven (AGG@–AHBG) over evil, of light over darkness, is portrayed Overture to Egmont, Op. HD through the overall structure of the work: major tonalities replace minor at the moment Composed in 1810. Premièred on June 15, 1810, of victory; bright orchestral sonorities succeed in . somber, threatening ones; fanfares displace sinuous . Devoid of overtly dramatic “The first casualty when war comes,” observed trappings, it is the same emotional road he Senator Hiram Johnson in 1917, “is truth.” So travelled in the Fifth and Ninth . when Napoleon invaded Vienna in May 1809, The Overture compresses the action of the convinced that the Austrian Empire was the play into a single musical span. A stark uni- major stumbling-block to his domination of son begins the introduction. Twice, stern Europe, it is not surprising that censorship of chords from the strings are answered by the literature, of the press, and of the theater were lyrical plaints of the woodwinds. An uneasy instituted immediately. The months until the hush comes over the last measures of this French departed in October were bitter ones solemn opening. The main body of the for the Viennese. The value of the national Overture commences with an ominous currency dwindled, food was in short supply, in the cellos. A storm quickly gathers and freedoms were limited. Soon after the first (note the timpani strokes), but clears to allow of the year, with Napoleon’s forces gone, the the appearance of the contrasting second director of the Hoftheater, Josef Härtel, theme, a quicker version of the material from arranged for the production of a series of re- the introduction. The threatening mood re- vivals of the dramas of Schiller and Goethe, turns to carry the music through its develop- the great figures of the German stage. mental central section and into the Appropriately, two plays that he chose dealt recapitulation. The second theme is extended with the oppression of a noble people by a for- to include passages cloaked in the burnished eign tyrant, and of the eventual freedom the sound of horns and winds. A falling, unison patriots won for themselves—Schiller’s fourth followed by a silence marks the moment William Tell and Goethe’s Egmont. of Egmont’s death. Organ-like chords from the Beethoven was commissioned to write the winds sustain the moment of suspense. Then, music for Goethe’s play. (Adalbert Gyrowetz beginning almost imperceptibly but growing was assigned William Tell. Rossini’s setting of with an exhilarating rapidity, the stirring song the tale was still two decades in the future.) of victory is proclaimed by the full orchestra. Egmont, based on an incident from 1567, de- Tyranny is conquered. Right prevails. picts the subjugation of the Netherlands to the tyrannical Spanish rulers, the agony of the Beethoven people, and their growing defiance and Symphony No. H in F major, Op. IC dreams of liberty, and ends with Count Egmont’s call for revolution and his vision of Composed in 1811–1812. Premièred on eventual victory in the moments before his ex- February 27, 1814, in Vienna, conducted by ecution. Beethoven approached his task with the composer. zeal, out of both his unmitigated respect for the author and his humanist’s belief in the In early October 1812, the Linzer freedom and dignity of man. Musikzeitung carried the following an- The theme of political oppression over- nouncement: “We have had the long-wished- thrown in the name of freedom was also for pleasure of having in our metropolis for treated by Beethoven in his only opera, Fidelio, several days the Orpheus and greatest musi- and the musical process employed there also cal poet of our time....” This “Orpheus” was served well for Egmont. The triumph of good Beethoven, and he had descended on Linz as PROGRAM NOTES the last stop in a summer spent taking the wa- Symphony, perhaps more than any other of ters at Karlsbad, Franzensbrunn, and Töplitz the nine, is a portrait of the author in his daily in an attempt to relieve various physical ail- life, in his habit as he lived; the more it is stud- ments. His interest in Linz, however, extended ied and heard, the more will he be found there beyond the mineral baths into the private life in his most natural and characteristic person- of his younger brother, Johann. It seems that ality.” Certainly this work presents a different Johann had acquired a housekeeper, one view of Beethoven than do its immediate Therese Obermeyer, and that her duties ex- neighbors, and it is this very contrast that tended to, as the composer’s biographer helps to bring the man and his creations more Thayer put it, “something more.” Perhaps as fully into focus. much from jealousy as from moral indigna- The lighthearted quality of the music is re- tion, the bachelor Beethoven did not approve inforced by another bit of biographical mis- of either the situation or this particular female cellany that attaches to the second movement (he later dubbed her “Queen of the Night”), of the Eighth Symphony. Beethoven had be- and he took it upon himself, Thayer contin- friended Johann Nepomuk Mälzel, best ued, “to meddle in the private concerns of his known as the inventor of the metronome, but brother, which he had no more right to do famous in his own day as a creator of all sorts than any stranger.” He stirred up a terrific row of mechanical curiosities. (It was for Mälzel’s over this matter, and, after taking his concern clangorous “Panharmonicon” that Beethoven to the local authorities, actually was awarded wrote his Wellington’s Victory.) Mälzel and a decision to have Therese thrown out of Beethoven had appeared at the same dinner town. Johann had had about enough by this party in Vienna some time before the compo- time, and the upshot of all of Ludwig’s intru- sition of the Eighth Symphony, and Beethoven sions was that his younger brother married had scratched out a little vocal canon that the housekeeper after all. evening to parody the tick-tock of the inven- (As an interesting aside about the relation- tor’s immortal creation. All the guests joined ship between the brothers Beethoven, Olin in a rendition of the round during that soirée Downes recounted the following anecdote: “It using a silly text: “Ta, ta, ta [referring to the was Johann who, having acquired a handsome tick of the metronome], my dear Mälzel, fare property, called on his brother leaving a card thee well, very well....” The Gemütlichkeit of that was inscribed, ‘Johann van Beethoven, that evening carried over into the Eighth Gutsbesitzer [“land proprietor”],’ which card Symphony, and lies at the heart of the spirit of Beethoven quickly returned, after writing on the second movement, the shortest in all of the back, ‘Ludwig van Beethoven, Hirnbesitzer Beethoven’s symphonies. [“brain proprietor].’”) Beethoven referred to this work as his “lit- Beethoven had been installed in an attrac- tle Symphony” in F major. As regards the tive room in Johann’s house overlooking the elapsed time, he was right—only the First Danube and the surrounding countryside Symphony is of comparable brevity in his upon his arrival, and he worked on the Eighth symphonic output. In effect, however, the Symphony throughout all this unnecessary work is rather more concentrated than simply domestic kerfuffle. Not the slightest hint of short, and it has a greater impact than its du- the turmoil crept into the music, however. It is ration would seem to allow. Part of the effec- actually the most humorous and “unbut- tual size of the Symphony is achieved by the toned,” in the composer’s own description, of multiplicity of musical events that it contains, all the symphonies. At that time in his life (he and John N. Burk observed that the quick was 42), Beethoven was immensely fond of a changes from one idea to another carry with certain rough fun and practical jokes, and Sir them the underlying current of humor that George Grove believed that “the Eighth characterizes the work. “Moods in music,”

PLAYBILL PROGRAM NOTES

Burk wrote, “are never to be matched by moods late pianist and an excellent commentator on outside of it, and humor is no exception. It the music of Beethoven’s time, observed the seems to consist in this Symphony of sudden passing of an era with this music. “The civi- turns in the course of an even and lyrical flow, lized gaiety of the classical period,” he wrote breaking in upon formal, almost archaic peri- in The Classical Style, “perhaps already some- ods. It is a sudden irregularity showing its head what coarsened, makes its last appearances where all is regular—an altered , an here and in some of the last quartets. After explosion of fortissimo, a foreign note or an un- that, wit was swamped by sentiment.” related tonality.... Each incongruity becomes The third movement abandons the right and logical with use; indeed here lies the of Beethoven’s other symphonies and returns true individuality and charm of the to the archaic dance form of the minuet. Its Symphony.” Pitts Sanborn saw a more univer- central trio features horns and clarinets over sal quality in Beethoven’s style in the Eighth an arpeggiated accompaniment in the cellos Symphony: “It is the laughter of a man who to produce a sonority much admired by has lived and suffered and, scaling the heights, Stravinsky for its clear texture and adventur- achieved the summit.... Only here and there ous timbre. does a note of rebellion momentarily intrude “One of Beethoven’s most gigantic cre- itself; and here and there, in brief lyrical re- ations,” is Sir Donald Tovey’s estimation of the pose we have…an intimation of Divinity more finale. Its length is almost equal to that of the than the ear discovers.” preceding three movements combined, and it The compact sonata form of the opening does carry a great relative importance in the movement begins without preamble. The work’s total structure because of the diminu- opening theme (F major), dance-like if a bit tive size of the internal movements. In mood heavy-footed, appears immediately in a vigor- it is joyous, almost boisterous; in form, it is ous triple meter. The second theme, built on sonata-allegro, with enough repetitions of the short sequentially rising figures, enters in the main theme thrown in to bring it close to a surprising tonality of D major, but quickly rondo. The extensive coda actually occupies rights itself into the expected key of C major. more time than the development, and main- The closing group consists of a strong two- tains the Symphony’s bustling energy and high beat figure alternating with a swaying, legato spirits to the end. line for the woodwinds. The development is concerned with a quick, octave-skip motive Beethoven and a rather stormy treatment of the main Symphony No. G in A major, Op. IB theme. This central section ends with one of the longest passages of sustained fortissimo in Composed in 1811–1812. Premièred on the entire Classical literature to herald the re- December 8, 1813, in Vienna, under the com- capitulation with a great wave of sound. The poser’s direction. long coda comes close to being a second de- velopment section in its mood and the- In the autumn of 1813, Johann Nepomuk matic manipulation. Mälzel, the inventor of the metronome, ap- The second movement is a sonatina—a proached Beethoven with the proposal that sonata form without a development section. the two organize a concert to benefit the sol- The imitation of Mälzel’s metronome is initi- diers wounded at the recent Battle of Hanau— ated by the woodwinds, which spend most of with, perhaps, two or three repetitions of the the movement pecking away at their single- concert to benefit themselves. Beethoven was minded rhythm. The violins present an im- eager to have the as-yet-unheard A major peccable music-box melody that has as much Symphony of the preceding year performed, charm as it does humor. Charles Rosen, the and thought the financial reward worth the PROGRAM NOTES trouble, so he agreed. The concert consisted of is that of , who called the work this “Entirely New Symphony” by Beethoven, “the apotheosis of the Dance in its highest as- marches by Dussek and Pleyel performed on pect...the loftiest deed of bodily motion incor- a “Mechanical Trumpeter” fabricated by porated in an ideal world of tone.” Couching Mälzel, and an orchestral arrangement of his observation in less highfalutin language, Wellington’s Victory, a piece Beethoven had John N. Burk believed that its rhythm gave this concocted the previous summer for yet an- work a feeling of immense grandeur incom- other of Mälzel’s musical machines, the mensurate with its relatively short 40-minute “Panharmonicon.” The evening was such a length. “Beethoven,” Burk explained, “seems to success that Beethoven’s first biographer, have built up this impression by willfully driv- Anton Schindler, reported, “All persons, how- ing a single rhythmic figure through each ever they had previously dissented from his movement, until the music attains (particu- music, now agreed to award him his laurels.” larly in the body of the first movement and in The orchestra for this important occasion the Finale) a swift propulsion, an effect of cu- included some of the most distinguished mu- mulative growth which is akin to extraordi- sicians and composers of the day: Spohr, nary size.” Schuppanzigh, Dragonetti, Meyerbeer, A slow introduction, almost a movement in Hummel, and Salieri all lent their talents. itself, opens the Symphony. This initial section Spohr, who played among the violins, left an employs two themes: the first, majestic and un- account of Beethoven as conductor. adorned, is passed down through the winds “Beethoven had accustomed himself to indi- while being punctuated by long, rising scales in cate expression to the orchestra by all manner the strings; the second is a graceful melody for of singular bodily movements,” wrote Spohr. oboe. The transition to the main part of the “So often as a sforzando [a sudden, strong at- first movement is accomplished by the superbly tack] occurred, he thrust apart his arms, controlled reiteration of a single pitch. This de- which he had previously crossed upon his vice not only connects the introduction with breast. At piano [soft] he crouched down the exposition but also establishes the dactylic lower and lower as he desired the degree of rhythm that dominates the movement. softness. If a crescendo [gradually louder] then The Allegretto scored such a success at its entered, he slowly rose again, and at the en- première that it was immediately encored, a trance of the forte [loud] jumped into the air. phenomenon virtually unprecedented for a Sometimes, too, he unconsciously shouted to slow movement. Indeed, this music was so strengthen the forte.” popular that it was used to replace the brief The Seventh Symphony is a magnificent slow movement of the Eighth Symphony at creation in which Beethoven displayed several several performances during Beethoven’s life- technical innovations that were to have a pro- time. In form, the movement is a series of found influence on the music of the 19th cen- variations on the heartbeat rhythm of its tury: he expanded the scope of symphonic opening measures. In spirit, however, it is structure through the use of more distant tonal more closely allied to the austere chaconne of areas; he brought an unprecedented richness the Baroque era than to the light, figural vari- and range to the orchestral palette; and he gave ations of Classicism. a new awareness of rhythm as the vitalizing The third movement, a study in contrasts force in music. It is particularly the last of these of sonority and dynamics, is built on the for- characteristics that most immediately affects mal model of the scherzo, but expanded to in- the listener, and to which commentators have clude a repetition of the horn-dominated Trio consistently turned to explain the vibrant (Scherzo–Trio–Scherzo–Trio–Scherzo). power of the work. Perhaps the most famous In the sonata-form finale, Beethoven not such observation about the Seventh Symphony only produced music of virtually unmatched

PLAYBILL PROGRAM NOTES rhythmic energy (“a triumph of Bacchic fury,” “Many a listener has come away from a hear- in the words of Sir Donald Tovey), but did it in ing of this Symphony in a state of being such a manner as to exceed the climaxes of the punch-drunk. Yet it is an intoxication without earlier movements and make it the goal to- a hangover, a dope-like exhilaration without ward which they had all been aimed. So in- decadence.” To which the composer’s own toxicating is this music that some of words may be added. “I am Bacchus incar- Beethoven’s contemporaries were sure he had nate,” boasted Beethoven, “appointed to give composed it in a drunken frenzy. An en- humanity wine to drown its sorrow.... He who counter with the Seventh Symphony is a divines the secret of my music is delivered heady experience. Klaus G. Roy, the distin- from the misery that haunts the world.” guished musicologist and former program an- notator for the Cleveland Orchestra, wrote, © 2015 Dr. Richard E. Rodda Friday, September 25, 2015, 7:30pm Hearst Greek Theatre

THE JAN SHREM & MARIA MANETTI SHREM 2015 ORCHESTRA RESIDENCY

Berkeley RADICAL

Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela Gustavo Dudamel, Music Director

Mariana Ortiz, J’nai Bridges, mezzo-soprano Joshua Guerrero, Soloman Howard,

Kevin Fox, chorus director

Chamber Chorus of the University of and Alumni Marika Kuzma, Director

Pacific Boychoir Academy Kavin Fox, Founding Artistic Director

San Francisco Girls Chorus Valerie Sainte-Agathe, Music Director & Principal Conductor

Cal Performances extends its heartfelt thanks to Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem for their major support of Gustavo Dudamel and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela’s 2015 residency at Cal Performances.

Cal Performances’ 2015–2016 season is sponsored by Wells Fargo. PROGRAM

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, “Choral” (1822–1824)

Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso Molto vivace — Presto — Molto vivace Adagio molto e cantabile Finale: Presto — Allegro ma non troppo — Vivace — Adagio cantabile — Allegro — Allegro assai

This concert will be performed without intermission.

The Hilti Foundation is very proud to support the talented young musicians of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela.

The Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela would like to thank the Fundación Musical Simón Bolívar, the Governing Body of the National System of Youth and Children’s Orchestras of Venezuela, for its support and cooperation. Tocar y Luchar. PROGRAM NOTES

Ludwig van Beethoven (AGG@–AHBG) movement, but not as the finale: his tentative Symphony No. I in D minor, Op. ABE, plan called for voices in the slow movement. “Choral” With much still unsettled, Beethoven was forced to lay aside this rough symphonic Composed in 1822–1824. Premièred on May 7, scheme in 1818 because of ill health, the dis- 1824, in Vienna, conducted by Michael Umlauf tressing court battle to secure custody of his under the composer’s supervision. nephew, and other composing projects, no- tably the monumental Missa Solemnis. “I’ve got it! I’ve got it! Let us sing the song of The awesome Missa dominated Beethoven’s the immortal Schiller!” shouted Beethoven to life for over four years. By the end of 1822, the Anton Schindler, his companion and eventual Missa was finished except for the scoring and biographer, as he burst from his workroom some minor revisions, so Beethoven was one afternoon in October 1823. This joyful again able to take up the symphony sketches announcement meant that the path to the and resume work. The chronology of these completion of the Ninth Symphony—after a compositions—the great Mass preceding the gestation of more than three decades—was fi- Symphony—was vital to the creation of the nally clear. Symphony and is indispensable to under- published his poem An standing the last years of Beethoven’s creative die Freude (“Ode to Joy”) in 1785 as a tribute life. The American critic Irving Kolodin to his friend Christian Gottfried Körner. By wrote, “The Ninth owes to the Missa Solemnis 1790, when he was 20, Beethoven knew the the philosophical framework, the ideological poem, and as early as 1793 he considered atmosphere, the psychological climate in making a musical setting of it. Schiller’s poem which it breathes and has its existence.... appears in his notes in 1798, but the earliest Unlike the Missa, however, it is a celebration musical ideas for its setting are found among of life, of man’s earthly possibilities rather than the sketches for the Seventh and Eighth sym- his heavenly speculations.” The 1822 sketches phonies, composed simultaneously in 1811– show considerable progress on the Symphony’s 1812. Though these sketches are unrelated to first movement, little on the Scherzo, and, for the finished Ode to Joy theme—that went the first time, some tentative ideas for a choral through more than 200 revisions (!) before finale based on Schiller’s poem. Beethoven was satisfied with it—they do show At this point in the creation of the work, in the composer’s continuing interest in the text November 1822, a commission from the and the gestating idea of setting it for chorus Philharmonic Society for a new sym- and orchestra. The Seventh and Eighth sym- phony arrived. Beethoven accepted it. For sev- phonies were finished by 1812, and Beethoven eral months thereafter, he envisioned two immediately started making plans for his next completely separate works: one for London, composition in the genre, settling on the key entirely instrumental, to include the sketched of D minor but getting no further. It was to be first movement and the nearly completed another dozen years before he could bring this Scherzo; the other to use the proposed choral vague vision to fulfillment. movement with a German text, which he con- The first evidence of the musical material sidered inappropriate for an English audience. that was to figure in the finished Ninth He took up the “English Symphony” first, and Symphony appeared in 1815, when a sketch most of the opening movement was drafted for the theme of the Scherzo emerged among during the early months of 1823. The Scherzo Beethoven’s notes. He took up his draft again was finished in short score by August, eight in 1817, and by the following year much of the years after Beethoven first conceived its the- Scherzo had been sketched. It was also in 1818 matic material; the third movement was that he considered including a choral sketched by October. With the first three

PLAYBILL PROGRAM NOTES movements nearing completion, Beethoven At one moment, he stretched to his full height, found himself without a finale. His thoughts at the next he crouched down to the floor. He turned to the choral setting of An die Freude flailed about with both his hands and feet as lying unused among the sketches for the though he wanted to play all the instruments “German Symphony,” and he decided to incor- and sing all the chorus parts.” The audience’s porate it into the work for London, language reaction was overwhelming. Beethoven, com- notwithstanding. The “English Symphony” and pletely deaf and enraptured by the sounds in the “German Symphony” had merged. The his mind, did not realize that the music had Philharmonic Society eventually received the ended and the applause begun. One of the symphony it had commissioned—but not until soloists, the alto Karolina Unger, turned him a year after it had been heard in Vienna. toward the audience and the house erupted. Beethoven had one major obstacle to over- The police had to be called to ensure that order come before he could complete the was maintained. Beethoven, totally exhausted, Symphony: how to join together the instru- had to be helped home, where he slept through mental and vocal movements. He pondered the night and most of the next day in the the matter during his summer stay in Baden clothes he had worn to the première. in 1823, but had not resolved the problem The Ninth Symphony begins with the in- when he returned to Vienna in October. It was terval of a barren open fifth, suggesting some only after more intense work that he finally hit awe-inspiring cosmic void. Thematic frag- upon the idea of a as the connecting ments sparkle and whirl into place to form the tissue. A recitative—the technique that had riveting main theme. A group of lyrical sub- been used for generations to bridge from one ordinate ideas follows. After a great climax, operatic number to the next—that would be the open-fifth intervals return to begin the perfect, he decided. And the recitative could highly concentrated development section. A include fragments of themes from earlier complete recapitulation and an ominous coda movements—to unify the structure. “I’ve got arising from the depths of the orchestra bring it! I’ve got it!” he shouted triumphantly. this eloquent movement to a close. The form Beethoven still had much work to do, as the of the second movement is a combination of sketches from the autumn of 1823 show, but scherzo, fugue, and sonata that exudes a lusty he at last knew his goal. The composition was physical exuberance and a leaping energy; the completed by the end of the year. When the central trio is more serene in character but final scoring was finished in February 1824, it forfeits none of the contrapuntal richness of had been nearly 35 years since Beethoven first the Scherzo. The Adagio is one of the most considered setting Schiller’s poem. sublime pieces that Beethoven, or anyone else, The première on May 7, 1824, was a splen- ever wrote, and its solemn profundity is en- did affair. Not only was the Ninth Symphony hanced by being placed between two such ex- heard for the first time, but three movements troverted movements as the Scherzo and the from the Missa Solemnis were also given their finale. Formally, this movement is a variation Viennese première. The Consecration of the on two themes, almost like two separate kinds House Overture filled out the evening. of music that alternate with each other. Beethoven was, understandably, at fever pitch The majestic closing movement is divided for the concert. Joseph Böhm, a violinist in the into two large parts: the first instrumental, the orchestra that night, recalled of the composer, second with chorus and soloists. Beethoven “Beethoven himself conducted, that is, he chose to set about two-thirds of the original 96 stood in front of a conductor’s stand (the ac- lines of Schiller’s poem, and added two lines of tual direction was in Michael Umlauf’s hands; his own for the baritone soloist as a transition we musicians followed his baton only) and to the choral section. A shrieking dissonance threw himself back and forth like a madman. introduces the instrumental recitative for PROGRAM NOTES cellos and basses that joins together brief the- The Ninth Symphony is “one of the greatest matic reminiscences from the three preceding achievements of the human spirit,” according movements. The wondrous Ode to Joy theme to musicologist Edward Downes. “It stands appears unadorned in the low strings, and it is taller, strides longer, reaches higher toward the subject of a set of increasingly powerful the Infinite than any work remotely like it,” variations. The shrieking dissonance is again wrote critic Irving Kolodin. And it was hurled forth, but this time the ensuing recita- Frédéric Chopin, probably the Romantic tive is given voice and words by the baritone composer least influenced by Beethoven but soloist. “Oh, friends,” he sings, “no more of one who certainly knew well the possibilities these sad tones! Rather let us raise our voices of musical expression, who told a friend, together, and joyful be our song.” The song is “Beethoven embraced the universe with the the Ode to Joy, presented with transcendent ju- power of his spirit.” bilation by the chorus. Many sections based on the Ode follow, some martial, some fugal, all © 2015 Dr. Richard E. Rodda radiant with the glory of Beethoven’s vision.

PLAYBILL Saturday, September 26, 2015, 11am Zellerbach Hall

THE JAN SHREM & MARIA MANETTI SHREM B@AE ORCHESTRA RESIDENCY

Berkeley RADICAL

Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela Joshua Dos Santos, conductor

FAMILY CONCERT

PROGRAM

Excerpts from the symphonies of Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)

Today’s program will be announced from the stage and performed without intermission.

The Hilti Foundation is very proud to support the talented young musicians of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela.

The Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela would like to thank the Fundación Musical Simón Bolívar, the Governing Body of the National System of Youth and Children’s Orchestras of Venezuela, for its support and cooperation. Tocar y Luchar.

Cal Performances extends its heartfelt thanks to Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem for their major support of Gustavo Dudamel and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela’s  residency at Cal Performances. Cal Performances’ – season is sponsored by Wells Fargo. ORCHESTRA ROSTER

SIMÓN BOLÍVAR SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA OF VENEZUELA

José Antonio Abreu Founding Director Eduardo Méndez Executive Director Valdemar Rodríguez Executive Deputy Director Gustavo Dudamel Musical Director Antonio Mayorca General Manager Manuel Moya Deputy Manager

VIOLINI Israel Méndez Luis Mata Alejandro Carreño José Guedez Mónica Frías Boris Suárez Juan Pérez Ricardo Corniel Carlos Vegas Oswaldo Martínez Roberto Pérez Jesús Pinto Patricio Meriño Yackson Sánchez Eduardo Salazar Ronnie Morales Douglas Isasis William López CONTRABASS Anna Virginia González Jairo González Claudio Hernández Daniela Becerra Freddy Adrian Ebert Ceballo VIOLA Jorge Ali Moreno Emirzeth Henríquez Ismel Campos Luis Peralta Felipe Rodríguez Luís Aguilar Oscar Luque Gregory Carreño Carlos Corales Carlos Rodríguez Héctor Robles David Peralta Ismer Bolívar Janeth Sapienza Fabiana Alvarez Luís Martínez Jorge Velásquez Greymar Mendoza Glen Rodríguez José Laurencio Silva Jhoanna Sierralta Héctor Barreto Luis Adolfo González Juan Chacón Luis Barazarte Luis Fernández FLUTE Luis Navarro Luz Cadenas Katherine Rivas María José Oviedo Mary Francis Alvarado Aron García Nicole Rodríguez Miguel Jeréz Diego Hernández Oriana Suárez Pedro González Engels Gómez Verónica Balda Samuel Jiménez Etni Molletones Wilfredo Pérez Néstor Alvarez Fernando Martínez Kenneth Jones Mabel Rodríguez Mariaceli Navarro Pedro Rondón Yaritzy Cabrera VIOLINII Omar Pérez Emily Ojeda Moises Medina Richard Urbano Alexis Angulo Alirio Vegas William González CELLO OBOE Gregory Mata Edgar Calderón Frank Giraldo Adriana Von Buren Aimon Mata Elly Saúl Guerrero Alessandro Lugo Carlos Ereú Hairin Colina Anderson Briceño Abner Padrino Luis González Carlos Luís Perdomo César Giuliani Néstor Pardo Daniel Herrera Enn René Díaz Daniel Vielma Daniel Marin Frank Valderrey Rosmery Vargas Daniel Sánchez Gabriela Jiménez Eduardo Gomes Jean Carlos Coronado ENGLISHHORN Enrique Carrillo Jhonn Rujano Elvis Romero Gleirys Gómez Juan Méndez Imanuel Sandoval Leandro Bandrés

PLAYBILL ORCHESTRA ROSTER

CLARINET TRUMPET PERCUSSION David Medina Tomás Medina Félix Mendoza Ranieri Chacón Gaudy Sánchez Ramón Granda Demian Martínez Andrés Ascanio Acuarius Zambrano Víctor Mendoza Andrés González Edgardo Acosta Freeman Ramírez Arsenio Moreno Juan Carlos Silva Giancarlo Carvajal David Pérez Jesús Pérez Gerald Chacón Luis Trejo CLARINET Jonathan Rivas Matias Azpurua Carlos Escalona Leafar Riobueno Simón González Luis Alfredo Sánchez Víctor Villarroel BASSOON Miguel Albornóz Gonzalo Hidalgo Miguel Tagliafico HARP Daniel García Oscar López Annette León Edgar Monrroy Román Granda Galaxia Zambrano Aura Moreno Víctor Caldera Rodolfo Sarabia Anaís Gómez Werlink Casanova Adel Solórzano Wilfrido Galarraga CONTRABASSOON PIANO Aquiles Delgado TROMBONE Vilma Sánchez Pedro Carrero HORN Alejandro Díaz ORGAN Daniel Graterol Edgar García Pablo Castellanos Danny Gutiérrez Jackson Murillo Edgar Aragón Joel Martínez TOUR MANAGER José Giménez Leudy Inestroza Arlette Dávila José Melgarejo Lewis Escolante Luis Castro COORDINATION Reinaldo Albornoz BASS TROMBONE César Marval José León Francisco Blanco Enmanuel Hidalgo Alexander Medina SECRETARY Jhonder Salazar Yerusca González Lisandro Laya STAGE CREW COORDINATOR TUBA Ramón Vega Lewis Pantoja Igor Martínez STAGE CREW Edgar Camacho José Campuzano Naudy Nares Eric Delgado

LIBRARIAN Richard Santafé CHORUS ROSTER

Chamber Chorus of the University of California BASS Marika Kuzma, Director Aviel Ballo Jacob Andreas SOPRANO Alexander Ewing† Angela Arnold* Gregory Fair* Sophia Artis Bret Hart† Katelan Bowden† Max Krall Karen Chang Yonatan Landau* Felicia Chen* Franklin Lee† Jessica Clarkson* Micah Lubensky* Christine Gold Jeff Phillips* Celeste Riepe Benjamin Taube Alyssa Kim† Kenric Taylor* Victoria Lim† Christopher Thompson Sasha Kudler Juan Zepeda† Alison Mackey Alma-Sophia Mescher† * Chamber Chorus alumni Christina Swindlehurst-Chan† † Guest singer Madeline Wolf

ALTO Pacific Boychoir Academy Jean Ahn Kevin Fox, Founding Artistic Director Rita Barakat Henry Abrahamson Kira Bartholomew* Moses Abrahamson Emily Cogsdill Calvin Achorn Ike Alexander Emma Dowd James Applegate Nancy Hall* Nathaniel Ashley Carolyn Hawkshaw Noah Boonin Stephanie Lin Arthur Bowling-Dyer Delanie Lowe Joroen Breneman Kim Rankin* Robert Buckner Diana Rha Liam Cochrane Jane Seung Zachary Cohen Tara Scown† Leo Corzo-Clark Maxim Culbeaux Markayla Stroubakis J. D. Dale Yumi Tomsha* Skyler Dale Daniel Debare TENOR Quentin Diakhate-Palme Chase Atiga Andrew Dogaru Davide Bianculli† Neil Evans Ching Chang* Sivan Faruqui Alex Crossley† Quinn Freidenburg Theo Frey Casey Glick Tristan Friet Victor Gold Julian Gandhi Jevon Heath George Goodhead Nathaniel Hodson Eric Getreuer Nicholas Koo* David Gibbs Henry Milner Collin Hockridge Dylan Moore* Evan Holloway Charlie Satterfield* Calin Hurley Roger Tsui Kayman Jeffley † Emmet Keady Anthony White Sasha Kourjanski Atom Lai Costa Matthew Lee Elijah Levy Owen Liquori

PLAYBILL CHORUS ROSTER Calla Kra-Caskey William Lundquist Claire Levinson Evan Losito Maggie Lu Nick Main Emma MacKenzie Draven McGill Margaret Martin Ocean Lola Miller-Henline Cameron Miya Milo Mohr Eleanor Murphy-Weise Thomas Mosley Ella Nelson Julian Nesbitt Sarah Ng Noah Patton Natalie Pierce Louis Pecceu Emma Powell Daniel Pliskin Lauren Ramlan Josiah Raffel-Smith Elisabeth Rothenbuhler Andrew Reinfranck Caroline Sloan Max Ruiz Nia Spaulding Zachary Salsburg-Franck Abraham Sanchez Renée Theodore Aaron Sanchez Gabriella Vulakh Nathan Savant Viola Yasuda David Schneidinger Brendan Singer Liam Skeen Additional Singers Gabriel Stamper-Kurn Jameson Wang Ryan Wang SOPRANO Ethan Yoshino Yuhi Combatti Elizabeth Kimble Kate Offer San Francisco Girls Chorus Joanna Taber Valérie Sainte-Agathe, Music Director & Angelique Zuluaga Principal Conductor ALTO Jungah Ahn Brielle Marina Nielsen Sarah Ancheta Leandra Ramm Isabella Carlucci Danielle Reutter-Harrah Audrey Chandler Cindy Wyvill Isabela Colmenar Carrie Zhang AnaKatrina Cortado Alison Dart TENOR Mia David Seth Arnopole Lucy Downes Thomas Busse Rachel Durney Fausto Daos Elisabeth Easton Mike Desnoyes Carolyn Engargiola Joshua Diamant Charlotte Ensley Adam Flowers Nina Erickson Kevin Gibbs Barbara Fairweather Paul Ingraham Anna Gray Todd Jolly Charlotte Hall Michael Peterson Glenna Harris Arianna Hee BASS Kathleen Isaza Adam Cole Marie Johnson Richard Mix Jones Chung-Wai Soong Allegra Kelly Michael Taylor ABOUT THE ARTISTS Gerardo Gómez Gerardo

HE SIMÓN BOLÍVAR Symphony Orchestra Festival Hall, the Konzerthaus in Vienna, the Tof Venezuela (SBSOV), founded by maes- Teatro Alla Scala in Milan, the Salle Pleyel in tro José Antonio Abreu, is the flagship or- , the Accademia Nazionale di Santa chestra of the National System of Youth and Cecilia, the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, and Children’s Orchestras and of other top concert halls in Oslo, Stockholm, St. Venezuela. Its 180 members—who have been Petersburg, , Warsaw, Athens, named UNESCO Artists for Peace—were Granada, Madrid, Barcelona, Zurich, , trained under the El Sistema’s Orchestral Seoul, Tokyo, , Chicago, Philadelphia, Academic Program. They have also taken , San Francisco, Los Angeles, master classes with internationally renowned Toronto, Montreal, Bogotá, , , professors and performing under famous and the Caribbean islands. maestros such as Sir Simon Rattle, Claudio In January 2013, the SBSOV recorded the Abbado, Daniel Barenboim, Krzysztof soundtrack of the film by Alberto Arvelo Penderecki, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Lorin Libertador, composed by maestro Gustavo Maazel, among others. Dudamel. It was followed by two appearances During the last decade, the SBSOV success- in Paris and its Middle East début with con- fully toured internationally, winning high praise certs in Oman and Abu Dhabi. In February, from both critics and audiences. They appeared the orchestra traveled to California for a resi- at the world’s major festivals such as the BBC dency and joint concerts with the Los Angeles Proms in London, the Edinburgh International Philharmonic for a Tchaikovsky festival. Festival, the Schleswig-Holstein Festival, the The SBSOV and Mr. Dudamel record for Semperoper of the Sächsische Staatsoper Deutsche Grammophon, and have released , the Lucerne Festival, the Salzburg recordings of Beethoven’s Symphonies Nos. 5 Festival, Carnegie Hall’s “Berlin in Lights” and 7; Mahler’s Symphony No. 5; the superhit Festival, and the Istanbul Music Festival. CD Fiesta, with works by Latin American Likewise, the most prestigious venues in composers; and a Tchaikovsky album featur- Europe, Asia, and the Americas have wel- ing his Symphony No. 5 alongside Francesca comed the SBSOV. Among them are the Royal da Rimini.

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United States, as well as for programs in Sweden (Hammarkullen) and Scotland (Raploch). At the Los Angeles Philharmonic, where he spends extensive periods in both the fall and spring, it is not only the breadth of the audience reached, but also the depth of the programming performed under Mr. Dudamel that is remark- able. Programs at the Los Angeles Philharmonic continue to represent the best and the boldest, including numerous world premières, com- missions, and a spring tour to Europe, kicked off by two New York appearances at Lincoln Gustavo Dudamel (Music Director) is defined Center. The 2015–2016 Los Angeles by his untiring advocacy of access to music for Philharmonic season begins by once again all. As a symphonic and operatic conductor, his uniting the Philharmonic and the SBSOV, this music making on four continents continues to time for a complete Beethoven cycle. inspire audiences of all ages. Currently serving In his 17th season as Music Director of the as Music & Artistic Director of the Los Angeles entire El Sistema project in Venezuela, Philharmonic and Music Director of the Simón Mr. Dudamel continues to lead the SBSOV in Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, the his native Venezuela, as well as on tour around impact of his musical leadership is felt interna- the globe. In summer 2015, he brings tionally. While his commitment to these posts the SBSOV to La Scala performing La Bohème accounts for the major portion of his yearly for the World Expo, as well as several concerts schedule, Mr. Dudamel also guest conducts in the famed Italian opera house. Later in the with some of the world’s greatest musical insti- season, he tours the SBSOV to London and tutions, including the Vienna Philharmonic, then Europe. His work in Venezuela serves as which he returns to lead in Vienna and on tour. the cornerstone of his work with young peo- This season, opera features prominently in his ple, and he steadfastly commits some 25 weeks schedule with an August performance of La of his annual schedule to his work with the El Bohème at Teatro alla Scala with the SBSOV, Sistema orchestras and children, both in followed by a return to the Berlin State Opera Caracas and around the country. for a new Marriage of Figaro production, and A Deutsche Grammophon artist since 2005, an April 2016 début con- Grammy Award-winner Mr. Dudamel has nu- ducting a new production of Turandot. merous recordings on the label. Having writ- Now entering his seventh season as Music & ten the score for the motion picture Libertador, Artistic Director of the Los Angeles the sound track was released in summer 2014; Philharmonic, Mr. Dudamel has seen his con- the monumental and highly celebrated work tract extended through the 2021–2022 season. by , The Gospel According to the Under his leadership the Los Angeles Other Mary, commissioned and played by the Philharmonic has expanded its diversified Los Angeles Philharmonic, was released that outreach through many projects, most notably spring. As part of a major Mahler recording Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA), influ- project over the past few years, DG has re- enced by Venezuela’s widely successful El leased Mahler’s Symphony No. 7 with the Sistema. With YOLA and additional educa- SBSOV in 2014, Mahler’s Symphony No. 9 tional expansion in Los Angeles, Mr. Dudamel with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Mahler’s brings music to children in the underserved Symphony No. 5 with the SBSOV, as well as communities of Los Angeles, and also serves as Dudamel: Mahler 8: Symphony of a Thousand an inspiration for similar efforts throughout the Live from Caracas (DVD+Blu-Ray), featuring ABOUT THE ARTISTS the combined forces of the Los Angeles was given the Q Prize from Harvard University Philharmonic and the SBSOV. In 2013, there for extraordinary service to children. was an international release of an all-Strauss Named one of Time’s 100 most influential CD with the , and in people in 2009, Mr. Dudamel was born in 1981 2012 an LP of Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 3 in Barquisimeto, Venezuela. He began violin with the Vienna Philharmonic. Recently, lessons as a child with José Luis Jiménez and Mr. Dudamel has independently produced an Francisco Díaz at the Jacinto Lara all-Wagner recording with the SBSOV, exclu- Conservatory. He continued his violin studies sively for digital download. with Rubén Cova and José Francisco del Many DVD video releases capture the ex- Castillo at the Latin American Academy of citement of important live concerts in Violin. His conducting studies began in 1996 Mr. Dudamel’s musical life with the Los with Rodolfo Saglimbeni, and that same year, Angeles, Berlin, and Vienna philharmonics, he was given his first conducting position, and the SBSOV. In June 2011, a documentary, Music Director of the Amadeus Chamber Let the Children Play, featuring Dudamel, was Orchestra. In 1999, he was appointed Music shown in over 500 Fathom movie theaters na- Director of the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra tionwide. Mr. Dudamel has been featured and began conducting studies with the orches- three times on CBS’s 60 Minutes and appeared tra’s founder, Dr. Abreu; in 2004, Mr. Dudamel on a 2010 PBS special, Dudamel: Conducting was brought to international attention by win- a Life, with Tavis Smiley. He appeared on ning the inaugural Bamberger Symphoniker Sesame Street with Elmo in February 2012. Competition. He then went on Mr. Dudamel is one of the most decorated to become Music Director of the Gothenburg conductors of his generation. He received the Symphony (2007–2012), where he currently 2014 Leonard Bernstein Lifetime Achievement holds the title Honorary Conductor. His early Award for the Elevation of Music in Society musical and mentoring experiences molded his from the Longy School; was named Musical commitment to music as an engine for social America’s 2013 Musician of the Year, one of change—a lifelong passion. the highest honors in the classical music in- Access to music for all has been the corner- dustry; and was voted into the Gramophone stone of Mr. Dudamel’s philosophy both pro- Hall of Fame. In October 2011, he was named fessionally and philanthropically. He has now Gramophone’s Artist of the Year, and in May further expanded this commitment via the of the same year, was inducted into the Royal Gustavo Foundation, the goal of which is to ex- Swedish Academy of Music in consideration pand opportunities to experience music for as of his “eminent merits in the musical art.” The many children and communities as possible— previous year, he received the Eugene the mission by which Mr. Dudamel lives. McDermott Award in the Arts at MIT. For more information about Mr. Dudamel, Dudamel was inducted into L’Ordre des Arts visit www.gustavodudamel.com. et des Lettres as a Chevalier in Paris in 2009, and received an honorary doctorate from the Thirty-nine years ago, the Fundación Musical Universidad Centroccidental Lisandro Simón Bolívar—the National System of Alvarado in his hometown of Barquisimeto. Youth and Children Orchestras and Choirs of He also received an honorary doctorate from Venezuela (“El Sistema”)—was merely a the University of Gothenburg in 2012. In dream of some eleven young musicians. It was 2008, the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra was a book written in future tense by José Antonio awarded ’s prestigious annual Prince of Abreu. Today, the lines of the book are written Asturias Award for the Arts and, along with in present tense, and the dream has been his mentor, José Antonio Abreu, Mr. Dudamel realized considerably. This program has a

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Venezuelan stamp, and has become a peda- SOLOISTS gogical model with export quality. El Sistema is both a social and cultural pro- Mariana Ortiz (so- gram from the Venezuelan state, belonging to prano) studied singing the Simón Bolívar Music Foundation. It was at the Conservatory of founded in 1975 by Dr. Abreu. Currently, it Music of Aragua, has 371 “orchestral centers” or branches Venezuela, with maestra throughout the national territory, where Lola Linares. She holds 500,000 children and adolescents are taught a degree in music edu- by an academic staff of 6,400 teachers. El cation from the Sistema comprises 828 youth, children’s, and University of Carabobo preschool children’s orchestras; 364 youth and and earned a master’s degree in voice at the children’s choirs; 27 academic centers for in- Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel in Belgium. strument-making and repair; eight centers She studied voice and interpretive refinement with correctional facility orchestral programs; with Sara Catarine, William Alvarado, and 16 “orchestral centers” with special edu- Florentina Adams, and Pedro Liendo, and has cation programs. participated in master classes with internation- Performance and dissemination of ally renowned Margarida Natividade Venezuelan traditional music stand out in El and Freni Mirella and tenor Vittorio Terranova. Sistema through the Alma Llanera Program, Among her roles are Poppea in which is present in all the country’s branches. L’Incoronazzione di Poppea, the Countess in It also has several hospital programs, where The Marriage of Figaro, Donna Elvira in Don care is given to children and youth who suffer Giovanni, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, Violetta from chronic diseases; as well as the program in La Traviata, Micaela in Carmen, Mimi in of new members, where newborns benefit La Bohème, Liù in Turandot, Salud in Falla’s from music as of an early age. La vida breve, and Manuela Saenz in El Sistema has sought of finding new music Milhaud’s Bolívar. In the genre of zarzuela she possibilities and the Simón Bolívar has performed Lota in The Pharaoh’s Court, Conservatory of Music has performed a wide Aurora in Las Leandras, and Duchess Carolina variety of music genres of popular music, in- in Luisa Fernanda, the latter in a co-produc- cluding jazz, symphonic rock, Latin tion of the Teresa Carreno Theater, Teatro American, and Caribbean music, as well as Real Madrid, and SaludArte Foundation, Afro-Venezuelan . under the direction of Pablo Mielgo. She also The impact El Sistema has had worldwide performs and recitals. has placed Venezuela and its young musicians Ms. Ortiz has sung under the baton of such in the most prestigious stages in the world. conductors as Gustavo Dudamel, Christian They have been awarded with the Prince of Vasquez, Diego Matheuz, Alfredo Rugeles, Asturias Award for the Arts and UNESCO’s Rodolfo Saglimbeni, René Jacobs, Lars Ulrik International Music Prize. El Sistema has in- Mortensen, Simon Rattle, Evelino Pidò, Rafael spired over 65 countries in Europe, America, Frühbeck de Burgos, Edmon Colomer, Asia, and Africa, where the Venezuelan model Helmuth Rilling, Stefan Lano, Jose Miguel has already been replicated, showing it is a real Rodilla, Roberto Tibiriça, Andrés Orozco- and sustainable alternative for education, Estrada, Fabio Mechetti, and Enrique peace and progress in favor of the children of Diemecke. Recently, she was a guest soloist in today and the future. the recording of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 under the baton of Mr. Dudamel, for Deutsche Grammophon. ABOUT THE ARTISTS

J’nai Bridges (mezzo- Joshua Guerrero soprano), noted for her (tenor) is a member of “alluring dusky voice,” the Domingo-Colburn- is quickly becoming Stein Young Artist one of the most Program. In the 2012– sought-after talents of 2013 season, he was a her generation. Ms. soloist in the concert Bridges recently com- An Evening of Zarzuela pleted a three-year res- and Latin American idency with the distinguished Patrick G. and Music. His Los Angeles Opera appearances in Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera 2013–2014 include his mains-tage Los of Chicago. Highlights of her tenure at the Angeles Opera début as Normanno in Lucia di Lyric include Inez in Il trovatore under the Lammermoor, followed the role of Steve baton of Asher Fisch; Vlasta in Mieczysław Hubbell in A Streetcar Named Desire. He also Weinberg’s The Passenger, conducted by Sir appeared in the Cathedral production of Jonah Andrew Davis; Flora in La Traviata; and two and the Whale. In summer 2014, he made his student matinee performances of Rosina in Il role début as Don José in Carmen with the barbiere di Siviglia. Aspen Opera Theater. In 2013, he made his In the 2015–2016 season, Ms. Bridges re- début at the Ravinia Festival with the Chicago turns to Lyric Opera of Chicago to sing the role Symphony Orchestra under the baton of of Carmen in the world première of Bel Canto, James Conlon, singing the role of the an opera by Jimmy Lopez, based on the novel Messenger in Aida. He has performed Don by Ann Patchett. Ms. Bridges also performs Ottavio in Don Giovanni and the title role in Suzuki in with San Diego Orpheus in the Underworld for Opera UCLA, Opera, the mezzo-soprano solo in Beethoven’s and he also performed in the Britten Art Song Symphony No. 9 with Gustavo Dudamel and Prelude at the Colburn School. He previously the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Simón appeared as the Chevalier in Opera UCLA’s Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela in production of Dialogues of the Carmelites. He Berkeley, the mezzo-soprano solo in Mahler’s has been a featured tenor soloist in Palm Springs Symphony No. 2 (“Resurrection”) with the Opera Guild’s annual Opera in the Park. In Lexington Philharmonic, and Ravel’s 2011, he studied intensively in Payerbach, Shéhérezade with Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Austria, with Vladimir Chernov. He is a former NDR Symphony Orchestra in Hamburg. member of the Santa Fe Opera’s Apprentice Highlights of recent seasons include per- Artist program. In October 2015, he will be the formances of Ravel’s Chansons Medécasses tenor soloist for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Yo-Yo Ma and members of the Chicago with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Simón Symphony Orchestra; the title role of Carmen Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, with Finger Lakes Opera; and Beethoven’s under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel. Symphony No. 9 with the Santa Fe Symphony, the Symphony, and also in Caracas, A recent graduate of Venezuela, under the baton of Mr. Dudamel. Washington National She has performed Suzuki in Madama Opera’s Domingo- Butterfly with Wolf Trap Opera and Adalgisa Cafritz Young Artist in Norma with Knoxville Opera. Program, a program of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Soloman Howard (bari- tone) is garnering su- perlatives from the press

PLAYBILL ABOUT THE ARTISTS for his vivid performances on the opera and CHORUS concert stages. His voice is called “sonorous” by , “superhuman” by The Kevin Fox (chorus director) Denver Post, and “spectacular” by has been involved with Theatre Guide. boy’s choirs since the age of Mr. Howard’s 2014–2015 operatic season eight. He holds degrees in was marked by several high-profile débuts, music (with honors) and most notably with the as economics from Wesleyan the King in Verdi’s Aida conducted by Marco University, where he stud- Armiliato. Additionally, Mr. Howard débuted ied voice with tenor Wayne with Los Angeles Opera under the baton of Rivera, conducting with Music Director James Conlon as Doctor Grenvil Mel Strauss, composing with Neely Bruce, and in La Traviata and at the Glimmerglass Festival, received the Lipsky Prize for outstanding where he performed Banquo in Verdi’s Macbeth scholarship in choral studies. He studied music and Sarastro in Mozart’s The Magic Flute. In a at the University of Oxford with Edward return engagement to North Carolina Opera, Higginbottom and choral conducting at the bass also reprises his acclaimed portrayal of Westminster College in Princeton with the title role in Approaching Ali. Jim Jordan and Vincent Metallo. He has served Mr. Howard sang Joe in Show Boat in as Proctor for the American Boychoir, work- Francesca Zambello’s production for ing with Jim Litton and Craig Denison, and has Washington National Opera and at the sung with the choirs of Trinity Church in New Denver Center for the Performing Arts under Haven, Trinity Church in Princeton, American the auspices of Central City Opera in per- formances led by Hal . He also sang the Bach Soloists, the Philharmonia Baroque Commendatore in Don Giovanni and the Chorale, and the Grace Cathedral Choir of High Priest of Baal in Nabucco at Washington Men and Boys in San Francisco, where he also National Opera. As a part of Washington worked as Interim Assistant Choirmaster. National Opera’s American Opera Initiative, Under his direction, the Pacific Boychoir Mr. Howard created the role of Muhammad Academy (PBA) has grown from six to 150 Ali in the world première of Approaching Ali choristers in four treble choirs and one alumni by composer D. J. Sparr. Of his performance, choir. Working with the PBA staff, Mr. Fox has The Washington Post noted, “the accom- developed a proprietary music reading and plished young bass Soloman Howard, a music theory training program comparable to Washington native, gave powerful voice to university-level music classes. In 2010, Mr. Fox Muhammad Ali with equal parts humor and accepted the Grammy Awards for Best Classical proud bluster.” Album and Best Choral Performance for the His concert performances have included PBA’s participation on Mahler’s Symphony numerous appearances with the Baltimore No. 8 with the . Symphony Orchestra, including Handel’s Mr. Fox has been on over 50 tours with boys Messiah, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, and Fauré’s choirs to almost all 50 states including Alaska . He has sung Porgy in Porgy and Bess and Hawai’i, as well as to Brazil, , with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra Taiwan, China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and in Tippett’s A Child of Our Time at New France, , Wales, Ireland, , the York’s Cathedral of Saint John the Divine. , Germany, Austria, Mr. Howard is a graduate of the Manhattan Switzerland, Canada, Spain, and South Africa. School of Music and Morgan State University. Mr. Fox served as Chorus Director for the 2014 Ojai Music Festival. ABOUT THE ARTISTS

The Chamber Chorus of the University of Marcus Shelby Jazz Orchestra, Lithuanian California is the University’s premier concert State Orchestra, Ian Bostridge, Tom Krell choir ensemble. The Chorus’s concert engage- Midtown Social, John Vanderslice, University ments have included appearances throughout of Michigan and Harvard Men’s Glee Clubs, the Bay Area as well as concert tours to Yale Whiffenpoofs, Vienna Boys Choir, the East Coast, Canada, and Europe. Drakensberg Boys Choir, and the choirs and Performances by the Chamber Chorus have orchestras of University of California, both at been featured in broadcasts of the Voice of Berkeley and Davis. America, Public Radio International, and A regular touring schedule has taken PBA Austrian Radio. Among Chamber Chorus throughout the United States and to countries recordings, Handel’s Susannah on the on six continents, included appearances in Harmonia Mundi label won a Grammy France, China, Italy, , South Africa, Award, and Icons of Slavic Music is known in Spain, and the Czech Republic, on Public Eastern Europe as well as the United States. A Radio International, Danish National Radio, select group of some 30 singers, it is particu- at community events such as the Bay Bridge larly acclaimed for its readings of early music Opening and the Oakland Athletics playoffs, and contemporary music. It has often per- and also several self-produced concerts annu- formed with the Philharmonia Baroque ally. PBA has also performed on television in Orchestra in productions with the Mark simultaneous civic memorial services for Morris Dance Group. In the realm of contem- Nelson Mandela, both at San Francisco City porary music, it has recently performed Steve Hall and at the National Cathedral with Vice Reich’s Desert Music; Morton Feldman’s President Joe Biden, and has sung on NBC’s Rothko Chapel; James MacMillan’s Seven Last America’s Got Talent and The Blacklist, has Words with Berkeley Symphony under Joana sung as the voice of the Yahoo yodel and with Carneiro; and Lou Harrison’s La Koro Sutro. comedian Zach Galifianakis. As part of its outreach efforts, PBA also performs for sev- Pacific Boychoir Academy (PBA) is a eral Bay Area schools each year and serves as Grammy Award-winning, independent choir San Francisco Opera teaching artists. school for boys in grades four through eight, The Pacific Boychoir has developed a rep- with seven after-school choirs for boys in pre- utation for presenting challenging works such kindergarten through high school. Founded as Mozart’s Requiem entirely with male in Oakland, California, in 1998 by Artistic voices, and Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil Director Kevin Fox, PBA serves over 170 cho- performed for the first time in America with risters a season, has released seven independ- boy sopranos and altos. In addition to their ent albums, tours internationally each year, Grammy-winning recordings of Mahler’s and has garnered three Grammy Awards with Symphonies Nos. 3 and 8 with SFS, the choir’s the San Francisco Symphony (SFS). The only own recordings feature Bach’s No. North American boychoir school outside of 150, Britten’s Ceremony of Carols, two of the East Coast, PBA offers unique and rigor- Bach’s “Lutheran” Masses, and two recordings ous choral and academic programs, produc- of American spirituals, That Promised Land ing confident, engaged young men and artists. and Show Me the Way. PBA has also performed with esteemed Hear, watch, and learn more at artists such as Kronos Quartet, Omaha PacificBoychoir.org. Symphony, Oakland-East Bay Symphony, Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, For more than 30 years, the San Francisco American Bach Soloists, San Francisco Opera, Girls Chorus (SFGC) has been recognized as Youth Orchestra of the Americas, National one of the world’s most respected vocal en- Symphony Orchestra of Brazil, Moscow sembles. Its level of training, performance, Chamber Orchestra, Magik Magik Orchestra, quality, range, and leadership in commission-

PLAYBILL ABOUT THE ARTISTS ing music for treble voices are lauded by mu- girls from their first introduction to the art of sicians, critics, and audiences. San Francisco choral singing through a full course of choral Symphony Music Director Michael Tilson and vocal instruction. This comprehensive Thomas says, “The San Francisco Girls music education includes the study and de- Chorus is a treasure. Their training, musical- velopment of choral artistry, vocal technique, ity, and vibrant spirit are evident whenever music theory, music history, and performing they perform. I have enjoyed our long associ- style. The discipline, teamwork, and concen- ation and look forward to many years of tration young girls learn in the Chorus School collaboration.” rehearsals and performances instill in them SFGC’s 30th anniversary season, 2008– the values necessary for high achievement in 2009, culminated in a performance in music and in life. President Obama’s swearing-in ceremony, and SFGC’s discography continues to grow with a début concert at Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln a two-disc set entitled and Earth. The Center in New York. music represents some of the greatest sacred Founded in 1978, the San Francisco Girls and secular repertoire ever written for treble Chorus has become a regional center for voices. Their other recordings include Voices of choral music education and performance for Hope and Peace, a recording with many excit- girls and young women ages five to 18. 400 ing SFGC commissions; Christmas, featuring singers from 45 Bay Area cities participate in diverse holiday selections; Crossroads, a collec- this internationally recognized program, tion of world folk music; and Music from the deemed “a model in the country for training Venetian Ospedali, a disc of Italian Baroque girls’ voices” by the California Arts Council. music. The Chorus can also be heard on sev- The organization consists of a professional eral San Francisco Symphony recordings, in- level performance, recording and touring cluding five Grammy Award-winners. ensemble and the Alumnae Chorus; the four- level Chorus School training program; and FAMILY CONCERT a Preparatory Chorus for five- to seven- year-olds. Known as one of the SFGC has won many honors, including most experienced the prestigious Margaret Hillis Award and two young conductors of ASCAP Awards for Adventurous the National System of Programming in 1999, 2004, and 2011. The Youth Orchestras of Girls Chorus is invited annually to perform Venezuela, Joshua Dos with musical organizations, including San Santos (conductor) was Francisco Opera, San Francisco Symphony, born in Caracas in Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. The 1985, and took his first Chorus has been honored to sing at many na- musical steps in the tional and international venues, including the University of Carabobo’s Centro de Estudios World Choral Symposium in Kyoto, in 2005. Musicales Gustavo Celis Sauné, under the tute- SFGC has been featured at the American lage of Alba Pérez Matos, Marieva Laguna, and Choral Directors Association Western Nieves de Acosta. In 1995, he was admitted to Division Convention in Salt Lake City and the Carabobo Conservatory, where he studied represented in the prestigious cello and piano with Tiziana Vieira, Carmen World Vision Children’s Choir Festival in Rosa Rodriguez, and Marta Infante. Seoul, and in the Gateway to Music Festival at At age eleven, Mr. Dos Santos was selected the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing. to be a member of the National Children’s The Chorus School offers a program of un- Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, with paralleled excellence, designed to take young which he toured through Europe and Latin America. He then moved back to Caracas and programs. The ensemble went on to tour in joined the Latin American Cello Academy France, where he gained accolades for his in- under the tutelage of William Molina. He terpretation of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring began conducting at age 15, and is a conduct- and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5. ing protégé of Maestro José Antonio Abreu. He has received numerous awards, includ- His work with countless youth and children’s ing “Young Person of the Year” from the news- symphony orchestras across Venezuela con- paper El Carabobeño (2007), and municipal tinues, whilst participating in conducting recognition from the Naguanagua Council for courses offered by FESNOJIV with Mario his ample social work alongside the National Benzecry, Sung Kwak, Eduardo Marturet, and System of Youth and Children Symphony Gustavo Dudamel. Orchestras of Venezuela in the Province of In 2001 he was appointed Musical Director Carabobo (2008). of the Vargas Youth Orchestra, and the Mr. Dos Santos currently lives in Caracas following year he returned to Valencia to con- and is a regular guest conductor with the duct the newly formed Youth Symphony country’s principal symphony orchestras, in- Orchestra of Carabobo, with which he per- cluding the Simón Bolívar Symphony formed for a number of social and educational Orchestra of Venezuela.

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