Elginsymphony.Org Table of Contents
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Grades 1 through 8 Tuesday, March 17, 2020 (Middle School Day) Wednesday, March 18, 2020 Thursday, March 19, 2020 Friday, March 20, 2020 Presented at the Hemmens Cultural Center in Elgin. ElginSymphony.org Table of Contents Program ........................................................................3 Also Sprach Zarathustra, by Richard Strauss .......................4 The Planets Mars, Bringer of War by Gustav Holst .................5 Jupiter Symphony Movement 3, Menuetto by W.A. Mozart ......6 Celestial Swim by Elizabeth Start ......................................8 Famous Women Composers ..............................................9 Flute Concerto in D Major by Carl Reinecke ....................... 10 Miguel Rodriguez, flute soloist / interview. 10 Mothership by Mason Bates ............................................13 Star Wars by John Williams ..............................................15 Etiquette for Concert Goers ............................................16 Stephen Squires, Resident Conductor ...............................17 Special Thanks ..............................................................17 About the Elgin Symphony Orchestra .................................18 Worksheet: 5/4 Meter ....................................................19 Worksheet: Listening .....................................................20 Worksheet: Star Wars Rhythms ........................................21 Thank you to our Sponsors: Ainsworth Family Bear Family (Bear Family McDonalds) Fox Valley Arts Hall of Fame Elgin Symphony Orchestra Symphony in Space Page 2 PRoGRAM Also Sprach Zarathustra opening Richard Strauss (2001 Space Odyssey Theme) The Planets Gustav Holst Mars, the Bringer of War Jupiter Symphony W. A. Mozart Movement 3: Menuetto Celestial Swim Elizabeth Start Flute Concerto in D Major Carl Reinecke Movement 3: Moderato featuring Miguel Rodriguez, flute Mothership Mason Bates Star Wars Opening Theme John Williams Elgin Symphony Orchestra Symphony in Space Page 3 ALSO SPRACH ZARATHUSTRA By Richard Strauss b. June 11, 1864 d. September 8, 1949 Fun facts about Strauss: 1. He wrote his first composition at age 6! 2. Strauss wrote the famous theme heard in the 1968 film “2001: A Space Odyssey.” 3. He was born and raised in Munich, Germany. In WWII, Strauss used his influence to protect his Jewish daughter-in-law and grandchildren from persecution and being sent to concentration camps. 4. He wrote his oboe concerto upon the request of American soldier and oboist John de Lancie who was in the unit stationed at and protecting Strauss’ home after the end of WWII. 5. Strauss’ music, so important in the instrumental orchestral literature, is asked to be played on nearly every string audition for professional orchestras. What’s cool about this music: Also Sprach Zarathustra translated means “Thus Spoke Zarathustra” which is the title of a novel written by existentialist Friedrich Nietzsche. What you will hear on the concert is just a very short portion of this piece, which in form is defined as a tone poem. A tone poem is a piece of music for symphony orchestra which illustrates the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting, landscape or other subject. The piece is divided into nine sections. Each section highlights the major life moments of the character Zarathustra. We will hear the Introduction, or Sunrise as it is sometimes called. It is only about 3 minutes in length. FOLLOW THIS LINK to hear a recording of the Introduction to Also Sprach Zarathustra by Richard Strauss Why do you think Stanley Kubrick, director of the film “2001: A Space Odyssey”, chose this piece of music for the theme music for his movie? What makes it feel like ‘space music’? Elgin Symphony Orchestra Symphony in Space Page 4 THE PLANETS MARS, THE BRINGER OF WAR By Gustav Holst b. September 21, 1874 d. May 25, 1934 Fun facts about Holst: 1. Holst was interested in astrology. It was this, not astronomy that inspired him to write ‘The Planets’. 2. Suffering from neuritis, he was unable to play piano for any duration. He studied trombone as an alternative, also as therapy for his asthma. 3. He supplemented his income by playing the trombone, even playing under the baton of Richard Strauss at one point. 4. He was a strict vegetarian. 5. A very shy personality, he did not welcome the fame that came after the success of ‘The Planets’. He preferred to be left alone to teach and compose. What’s cool about this music: The Planets is a seven-movement suite. The movements are named for the planets of our solar system and their corresponding astrological character. The suite begins with Mars and is followed by Venus, Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. WATCH THIS PERFORMANCE of Mars, the Bringer of War by Gustav Holst WORKSHEET: 5/4 Meter WORKSHEET: Listening A movement is a self-contained part of a musical composition or form. While individual movements are sometimes performed separately, a performance of the complete work requires all of the movements to be performed in succession. A suite in Western classical music is an ordered set of pieces. The movements are often thematically or tonally linked. Elgin Symphony Orchestra Symphony in Space Page 5 JUPITER SYMPHONY MOVEMENT 3, MENUETTO By W. A. Mozart b. January 27, 1756 d. December 5, 1791 Fun facts about Mozart: 1. Just like Richard Strauss, he was composing at age 6! 2. He’s probably the most famous composer from the Classical era of musical composition. 3. Mozart wrote his first great Mass at age 12. 4. Beethoven, at age 16, went to study with Mozart for a 2-week period. 5. In his summer residence outside Vienna, Mozart hung out with a young Marie Antoinette. 6. He was named by TIME magazine as one of the “greatest people of the Millennium”. What’s cool about this music: The Jupiter Symphony was not named after the planet Jupiter, but after the chief god of the ancient Roman Pantheon. The god Jupiter possessed qualities that were present in Mozart’s music which included humor and boundless energy. Jupiter, god of the sky, was also the most powerful god. Jupiter is the largest planet, and the ancient Romans thought it was a fitting name. FOLLOW THIS LINK to listen to a recording of Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony Movement #3, Menuetto What to listen for: The portion of the symphony you will hear at the concert is the third movement. This movement is a minuet, which was the most popular ballroom dance of Mozart’s era. Minuets are written in ¾ time. Conduct while you listen: Follow the arrow on the image to the right. The red arrow is the downbeat, the first beat of the measure, or the strongest beat. Beats 2 (blue) and 3 (green) are lighter, and have an upward movement leading back to the downbeat. Mozart lived and composed during the Classical Period which took place approximately from 1730 to 1820 and falls between the Baroque and Romantic periods. During the Classical period, form and structure were emphasized. Notice that the piece begins with a descending melody in the violins. This theme is repeated with similar melodies. There is a contrasting middle section to the dance. See if you can pick out where this section begins. You may notice that instruments from another section of the orchestra introduce contrasting material. Soon you will recognize the return of the melodies from the beginning. This is called ABA form: opening (A), contrasting (B), opening (A). Elgin Symphony Orchestra Symphony in Space Page 6 Wordsearch: Musical words from the Classical era ALBERTI BASS, ALLEGRO, BEETHOVEN, CONCERTO, DEVELOPMENT, EXPOSITION, EUROPE, FORM, GAVOTTE, HARMONY, HAYDN, MELODY, MENUETTO, MOTIF, MOVEMENT, MOZART, OVERTURE, PIANOFORTE, RECAPITULATION, SCHUBERT, SYMPHONY, THEME, TRIO Learn more about the classical era here: Classical Music Period Facts for Kids Kids Music Corner: the Classical Period Elgin Symphony Orchestra Symphony in Space Page 7 CELESTIAL SWIM By Elizabeth (Betsy) Start This year we are pleased to present a work by an Elgin Symphony Orchestra musician. Elizabeth Start (aka Betsy) holds bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and cello from Oberlin, master’s degrees in cello and theory/composition from Northern Illinois University, and a PhD in composition from the University of Chicago. She spent 15 years living and free-lancing as a cellist, composer and teacher in the Chicago area, teaching at many institutions, including DePaul University, Elgin Suzuki, McHenry County Music Center, McHenry County College and Columbia College. As a performer, she has premiered over 100 works. As a composer, she has received numerous grants and commissions and over 500 performances of over 140 works in the U.S. and abroad. While living in Chicago, in addition to orchestral work, she performed on many concerts with Ralph Shapey’s Contemporary Chamber Players, chamber concerts of new music at Orchestra Hall with members of the CSO, for American Women Composers, CUBE, and New Music Chicago. She returned to her hometown of Kalamazoo, MI in 2001, where she is a cellist with the Kalamazoo Symphony, Executive Director of the Michigan Festival of Sacred Music (a 501(c)(3) arts organization), and Secretary- Treasurer of the Kalamazoo Federation of Musicians, Local 228, AFM. She continues her activities in Illinois with the Elgin Symphony, Chicago Philharmonic, and as a member of Musicians Club of Women and the Chicago Composers’ Consortium. She recently completed a commission from the Kalamazoo Symphony to create a piece for their 100th anniversary season in 2020-21, which will feature a new commissioned work on every concert, including a concerto for orchestra by Andre Previn. www.elizabethstart.com “Fun facts about me” from Betsy Start: 1. When I was growing up, it was normal for people to have the newspaper delivered to their homes, and I had a paper route where I delivered newspapers to 140 homes every day. 2. When I was 8 years old, my father went to Europe on business for 5 months, and the whole family went with him, taking our schoolbooks with us--traveling over and back on an ocean liner, and all over the UK in a camper and Europe on trains. I wrote a little piano piece at the time which I called “The Sleek Slim Ocean Liner”.