Masur Conducts Beethoven This season, we’re fortunate to hear six of Beethoven’s symphonies. Tonight, we begin that journey with his first two excursions in the genre; they serve as both an homage and a tschüß to the 18th century. In between, the MSO’s horn section moves to the front of the orchestra for Robert Schumann’s delightful Conzertstück.

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Baptized 17 December 1770; Bonn, Germany Died 26 March 1827; Vienna, Austria

Symphony No. 1 in C major, Opus 21 Composed: 1799-1800 First performance: 2 April 1880; Vienna, Austria Last MSO performance: September 2011; Edo de Waart, conductor Instrumentation: 2 flutes; 2 oboes; 2 clarinets; 2 bassoons; 2 horns; 2 trumpets; timpani; strings Approximate duration: 26 minutes

At age 21, Beethoven left his native city of Bonn – never once to return – to study in Vien- na. There he worked with the immortal Franz Joseph Haydn, the renowned Antonio Salieri, the veteran theatre composer Johann Schenk, and the preeminent pedagogue J.G. Altbrechtsberger. By the time he set pen to paper to begin his Symphony No. 1, he was 28 years old and had accu- mulated an impressive catalogue that included a dozen piano sonatas, two cello sonatas, three violin sonatas, three piano trios, and a set of six string quartets. It is interesting to note that Beethoven’s first full-blown essay in the symphonic form came just half-a-decade after Haydn’s Symphony No. 104 (his last) and a dozen years after Mozart’s “Jupiter” Symphony. It serves in many ways as a summing up of the Classical style they so peerlessly exemplified; the young Rhinelander’s First Symphony is, stated Donald Francis Tovey, “a farewell to the eighteenth century.” In his later symphonies, we meet a distinctively different composer. Beethoven himself led the premiere, on a monster concert that included his divertimento- like Septet, Op. 20, masterful improvisations at the piano, and one of his piano concertos, probably No. 1. As if that weren’t enough, a Mozart symphony and an aria and duet from Haydn’s The Creation were also on the program. Masur Conducts Beethoven PROGRAM NOTES

Composed:

Conzertstück in F for Four Horns, Opus86 Conzertstück inFforFourHorns, Died 29July1856;Endenich(nearBonn),Germany 8June1810;Zwickau,Germany Born ROBERT SCHUMANN “an essayinundilutedcomedy”(Richard Osborne). rising violinscales.It’s amotivicdevicehemakesgooduseofthroughout themovement, toys withusinhisslowintroduction tothefinalAllegro moltoevivace,employingasetof the windsandscalesinstringsproviding abriefbutattractivetrio.Thecomposeragain like theoldcourtlydance.Therhythmicfeelisonebeatperbar Beethoven calledthethird movementaminuet,butintruthitisscherzo,nothingatall notes lendinglightheartednewcounterpoint. Harmoniemusik entire movementiselectric withunalloyedvitality, andthewindscalltomindoutdoor C major. Stringsintroduce thejauntymaintheme,solowindsintonesecondtheme.The the slowintroduction giveswaytotheAllegro conbriothatweare unequivocallyin the fourthmeasure, wereach Gmajor, thedominantofhomekey(V/C),butitisn’t until expect aCmajorchord, butinsteadwehearthedominant-seventhofFmajor(V7/F).By The symphonyopensratherquizzically. ForaworkinCmajor, itwould bereasonable to minor, fortissimo major inalilting3/4time.AbriefsectionCminorandmor fred, andputtingthefinaltouchesonhisoperaGenoveva and choralmusic,pianoinstrumentalworks,incidentalmusictoLor life. Hehimselfreferred toitas“mymostfruitfulyear,” atimewhenhewaswritingsongs His Conzertstück latter role, hehelpedfurtherthecareer oftheyoungJohannesBrahms. forMusic”).Inthe (“NewJournal Musik für Zeitung writer (co-founderoftheperiodicalNeue extra-musical connections.Schumannwasaprolific composer, father(eightchildren), and tic. Hismusicemphasizedself-expression, isinherently lyrical,andoftendisplaysliterary, Of thecomposersofRomanticera,RobertSchumannisquitelikelymostr orchestra combinetomakearollickingly joyfulnoise. there’s abackward glancetothegentler choraleoftheRomanze;atwork’s end,soloistsand with oneanotherandjoin together forthrillingpassagesofchor virtuosic fiorituraagainshowcase thevalvehorn’s versatility asthesoloistsbothdialogue creating anattacca The maintheme’s return iscutshortbyatrumpetcallandrobust answerfrom thestrings, minor Romanzethatfollowsisinamore somber, withalyricalchorale-likemiddlesection. new instrument’s capabilitiesintheAdagio and Allegro (Hehadrecentlywould havebeenwell-nighimpossibleonthenatural horn. exploitedthe of thenewvalvehorn’s technicalabilities.Here, he tosses around chromatic passagesthat soloists burstinwithaspiritedfanfare. IncomposinghisOp.86,Schumanntookadvantage Two orchestral chords Lebhaft(“lively”)intomotion asthe settheopeningsonata-form becausethemovements areterm relatively short. movements –fast-slow-fasttypicalofaconcerto.The composermayhavepr piece”) usuallyimpliesasingle-movementwork.Schumann’s, though,issetinthethree Recommended recording: Recommended recording : Last MSOperformance Approximate: duration : First performance : Instrumentation ofBeethoven’s predecessors. ThesongfulsecondmovementissetinF , provide contrastbefore theopeningthemereturns, withstaccato for four horns datesfrom forfourhorns 1849,afecundperiodinSchumann’s composing transitiontothefinalSehrlebhaft(“verylively”).Scales, arpeggios,and : Romantique (Archiv) Sir JohnEliotGardiner, Orchestre Révolutionnaire et MSO premiere 25 February1850;Leipzig,Germany 1849 19 minutes trumpets; 3trombones; timpani;strings 2 2 flutes;piccolo;oboes;clarinets;bassoons;horns; (Deutsche Grammophon) OrchestraChristian Thielemann, Philharmonia Nigel Black,Laurence Davies, Laurence Rogers,PeterBlake;  , Op. 70 for horn andpiano.)TheD , Op.70forhorn  Conzertstück Conzertstück . Theterm e pronounced oneinD-flat , notthree, withchords in dal harmony. Inthemiddle, d Byron’s Man- eferred this oman- (“concert 16th- Masur Conducts Beethoven PROGRAM NOTES : Instrumentation Composed: Symphony No.2inDmajor, Opus36 LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN unheard-of eventoday. concert received mixedreviews, butreportedly wasabox-office success,acombinationnot of Olives Mount the on premieres ofhisPianoConcertoNo.3andtheoratorioChrist Viennese concertthat includedthe ofhisOp.36,ona thoven ledthefirstperformance suddenly stops,itsbreaks intexture andcontinuity, itsin-your-face senseofhumor. Bee- though, itmusthavebeenshocking–bizarre, even–whatwithitsrelentless energy that The fiery rondo-finale is,toourears,unadulteratedBeethoven. Tohis1803 audience, standard symphoniclayout. Here, headmittedthatitisscherzo;insodoing,forever changedthelabelingof Haydn’s terminology, Beethovencalledhisone-in-a-bar third movementaminuet-and-trio. the touchstoneofwhatisbeautifulandchildlikeinmusic.InhisSymphonyNo.1,echoing thoven’s Larghettos” (LewisLockwood).Itslyricismprompted DonaldFrancisTovey tocallit The secondmovementisalarge-scale “one ofthemostsensuousallBee- sonata form, fortissimo bars, traverseanoctave,movingupward shiftabove.It’s inhalf-stepsastheharmonies all the coda,listenforanamazingpassageinwhichcellosanddoublebasses,acr bothgracefulandfull-bodied.In –Beethovenconstructsamovementthatisbyturns turn ond theme.Employingjustthosetwoprincipalsubjects–andthatener is presented intoneitsmartial-likesec- inthelowerstrings;clarinets,bassoons,andhorns the masterwouldcontinuetoexploitthroughout hislife.TheAllegro conbrio’s maintheme The 33-measure introduction isslowanddramatic,abundantinthesort ofpowerfulmusic a finalideal realization oftheconcepta large piecewhichhehaddeveloped.” could neverhavewrittenthiswork,”statesBeethovenscholarJosephKer Haydn’s last12symphonies–withaslowintroduction androndo finale.“AlthoughHaydn In hisSecondSymphony, Beethovenemploystheinstrumentalforces andthelayoutof disorder.) (2007),F.M. of Beethoven Death and Life The Genius: Maistatesthecomposerhadbi-polar is worldsawayfrom thedespairingmoodof theformer. (Sidebar:InhisbookDiagnosing ny No.2co-inhabitedthebrainoftheircreator: theself-confidenceevidentinlatter Heiligenstadt Testament andthe“richlytextured, emotionallyvital”(P.G. Downs)Sympho- ofBeethoven’sIt isanaffirmation genius–asthoughonewere needed–to realize thatthe the despairthatfrequently overtookhimduringthisperiodinhislife. rejected theideaofsuicide. This“HeiligenstadtTestament” isaheartbreaking testimonyto wrote adocumenttohistwo brothers describinghisdepression, butdeclaringhehadnow ginning todeteriorate.InOctober, asheprepared hecarefully toreturncentralVienna, Symphony No.2.Butthe31-year-old masterwasalready aware thathishearingwasbe- ItwasamusicallyprolificVienna). timeforhim,and there heputthefinaltouchesonhis Beethoven spentthesummerof1802invillageHeiligenstadt(nowpartlar Recommended recording: : Last MSOperformance Approximate: duration andleadstotheexultantending. : First performance Program notes by J. Mark Baker. by J. notes Mark Program George Szell,ClevelandOrchestra (Sony) 32 minutes trumpets; timpani;strings 2 2 flutes;oboes;clarinets;bassoons;horns; February 2018;StefanAsbury, conductor Austria 5 April1803;Vienna, 1801-02 getic little16th-note 턐 man, “itstandsas oss nine ger . The