WEBER Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2 Tamdot Siana Die Drei Pintoe

Queensland Phiharmonic Orchestra John Georgiadis, Conductor Carl Maria von Weber (1786 - 1826) Symphony No. 1 in C Major, J. 50 Symphony No. 2 in C Major, J. 51 Turandot Overture, J. 75 Silvana, J. 87 Die Drei Pintos It was natural that there should be an element of the operatic in the music of Weber. The composer of the first great Romantic German opera, Der Freischutz, spent much of his childhood with the peripatetic theatre-company

directed~ ~~~~ bv his father. Franz Anton Weber. uncle of MozarYs wife Constanze

and like hLq brother. atone time amember- ~-- bf the~~ famous ~ Mannheim orchestra. At the tme of Weoer s b nh hls fatner was still n the serv ce of the Bsnop of Ljoeclcano odr ngtne courseoi an emended vEuryanthe, described as a grand heroic-Romantic opera, with a libretto by the blue-stocking authoress of Rosamunde, for which Schubert provided incidental music, had a mixed receotion. In spite of deteriorating health, the result of tuberculosis, Weber accepted a commission from Covent Garden for an English opera, Oberon, which was first performed there in April 1826 under the direction of the composer. A pioneer in the use of the conductor's baton. his first aooearance with this Dotential weaponca~sedn t,alalarmamong Eng ish mus clansathlsposs 0 y aggress ve mrentlons Tne Eng sn wealher cou d only funner oamage nls nea tn an0 he a~eddJnng the nlgnl of 4tn J~neon tne eve of hls ontended deparlLre for Germany ~eoe>sacn.evemen1 was bolh consderabe and nfl~enlalIn German opera he nad opened a new and r ch ve n that subseqJenr composers were to exp ore as an orcnestrator he demonslraled new poss o I Ies, panlc~iary in the handling of wind instruments: as a conductor and director of performances he instituted a number of reforms, as he had first anempted as an adolescent Kapellmeister in Breslau. In style his music follows classical principles of clarity, with a particular lyrical facility shown both in his operas and his instrumental and vocal compositions. Weber comoleted his twosvmohonies in 1807. durino the Deriod he mentat Carlsr~hen tie service of DJ~i~gen, himse fata enieo enough obo it. The scor ng ofthe sympnon es ,so ctated by rhecomplementoflne oucalorcheslra. The wind section of flute, with pairs of oboes, bassoons, homs and trumpets with drums, but lackina clarinets, is used with particular skill, while the string scoring allows the double basses occasional freedom from bondage to the 3 8.550928 cellos Symphony No 1 in C malor was dedicated, on lts puolcallon n 1812, loGotIfr eo Weber, whooefriended Weber after h solsm ssalfrom W~Memoerg in 1810. He described the first movement as more of an overture than a symphonic movement and expressed his own preference for the inner movements.-- - findino that there was room for imorovement in the workina out of Ine f naie. inesykphony s very mJcn in lhe'style of the lime, ~naffectedby Ine cnanges that Beethoven was effecting n tne form, a tno~ghtnere are clear signs of the operatic. The first movement. markedANeoroconhom. starts with an immediate and bnefsummonstoanenuon,oeloretni~nexpoc~edanos nJoLstneme nlrodJce0 by the lower strlngs and echoed by tne flrsl v oilns The Slngsprel I ke secono s~becralows tne sklled wlnd players of the Dbke's orchestra scope for interplay in a movement that fits well enough its composer's later view of its structute. The second movementAndante, in the key of C minor, is introduced by the solemn sounds of trumpets and horns and a theme entrusted first to

cellos-~~ ~- and~~ ~ double basses. before it is taken UD bv flute and bassoon. Once anain the wind instruments are skilfullv deoloved'in a movement that almost ;:

~ reoeated. before-~ - - t& kboe.~~~~. ihe ~ Duke's-~ ~ ~ instrument. introduces the orincioal 1heme.answered by lheoassoon. ~he~renchhom,~ilhspareaccompanimenl ones the second s~bject. The central development s intmdJced by French horns and then trumpets repeating the rhythm of the opening figure, before the flute ushers in the main subject,-now in E minor. The section comes to a 8.550928 4 drarnatlcconcl~son, fo lowed oy a recapltu allon that rtses lo adynam~cc lmax n concl~slon Frencn horns lntroouce tne F malor Adagro, In whlch tne man theme isat Ilrst glven toa so o v~ola.fo lowed oy asolooooe rlere agaln suoUe use is made of the wind instruments, a reminder of the proficiency of the wind- players at Carlsruhe for whom Weber was writing. The third movement is describedasaMinuet.although in asolemn Cminor, withaC maior Trioscored principally for solo oboe anditrings. The last movement, with the less usual direction Scherzo presto, is witty. varied in scoring and energetic. It ends with an unexpected addition from bassoons and lower strings, after the whole orchestra seems to have had the last word. Weber's comic opera Die Drei Pintos was left incomplete, to be finished 67 years later by Gustav Mahler in a collaboration that brought its own difficulties. Basedonasto~.DerBrautkam~f,bvCarl Seidel, itdeals withthecomplications of the proposed'marriageof & heroine. Clarissa, whose father has decided she must marry a man neither of them have ever seen, Don Pinto, son of Don Nunno Mansos de Fonseca, descendant of a hero of the Spanish wars of conquest. An adventurer seeks to impersonate Don Pinto, but is induced to help Clarissa's beloved Don Gomes, who himself assumes the r6le. The appearance of the real Don Pinto, a ridiculous character, causes difficultiesthat are finally resolved to the satisfaction of the hero and heroine. It seems that Weber abandoned work on Die Drei Pintos after virtually completing the first act, although he claimed that he had nearly finished the whole work. It has been pointed out that he normally made a distinction between what had been "comoosed and what had been written down. Mahler's rewortung of tne exlsbng materlal and slcelches by Weberm Joesan Entr'acte between 1ne Irs1 two acts Weoer's inc dental mJs c for Sch ller's verslon of Gozz 's Turandone was wr nen for Jse In St~ngann 1809 Tne slov of the cold-nearted Ch nese prmcess is nel enoLgn dnown, not east from Pucc8n's later treatrnenl of tne tale. The overture sets the atmosphere with its use of a Chinese tune found in Rousseau's Dicfionnaire de Musique, where it was wrongly transcribed from Jean Baptiste du Halde's important and influential history of China, first oublished in Paris in 1735 and then translated into other EuroDean lanouaaes. ?he nentatonic melodv is oiven a curious twist bv the intrusio" of an alien Gte. -r- -~-~ -~~ , -= - ~ ~~ ~~ In tnls form 1was ater used by h noem th in h s kymphonrc~eramorphos,son Themes by Weber Of the six n~mberswritten by Weoer tne Overlurc, a revision of an earlier Chinese overture, the FuneralMarch and the second act March all use the altered Chinese melody. Weoer startea word on h s roman1c opera Srlvana In 1808, complehng tin 1810. when it was staged in Frandf-rl am Man, aHer tne Weoers' expLlson from St~nqart The stov is of S gana. uno. LnJsJally for an operat c rlero ne, is dumb, and her beloved Rudolf, about to be forced into marriage with Mechtilde, herself in love with Albert. All ends happily when it turns out that Silvana. who has lived for vears in the woods. is in fact the lono lost sister of ~echtde, so Inat ,marriage wtn Co~ntR-oof w II sat is factor!^ al y tno rwo lam es, as Co~ntAoe nan. father of tne g rls, nas oes red The oances, Tanz dzr Eaelknaben(Dance of me YoJng No0 ltyl an0 Fackel Tanz(Torch Dancej. provide an elegantly celebratory element to a drama in which all ends well Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra During the twenty years of its existence, the Queensland Philharmonic Orchestrahaspresentedsometwohundredperformancesannually,supporting the Queensland professional opera, ballet and theatre and offering its own concert series. With a nucleus of 31 players, augmented when necessary, the ensemble is the Resident Orchestra for the Queensland Performing Arts Complexand in 1991 undertookthe firstforeign tour by aQueenslandorchestra with a series of concerts in Japan.

John Georgiadis

-.Born nt Sollthend-on-Sea.~ - Esseu..~- John Georoiadis-~~ e~~~~~~ studied the violin at the Roya Academy of Music and atler wo and a ha f years as leaaer of tne C ly of Elm? ngham Sympnony Orcnestra move0 lo !he -ondon Syn~pnonyOrcnestra, which he led for some eleven years, through two periods between 1965 and 1979. An early interest in ~conducting,~supportedby study with Sergiu Celibidache, brought an international career in this role and appointment in 1991 as PrincipaiGuest Conductor oftheQueensland PhilharmonicOrchestra. His connection with the London Symphony Orchestra has been continued with conducting engagements with the orchestra in London and in tours to the United Statesand elsewhere. Since its foundation in 1972 JohnGeorgiadis has been Music Director and Conductor of the London Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra and from 1987 to 1990 played first violin in the Gabrieli Quartet. 8.550928 WEBER pEEc Playing Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2 Time: Turandot: Overture and Marches 64'36" Silvana: Dances Die Drei Pintos: Entr'acte Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra John Georgiadis, Conductor

Symphony No. 1 in C Major, [HI Finale: Scherzo presto (2:17) J. 50 Turandot, J. 75 Allegro con fuoco (7:56) overture (4:19) Andante (6:20) Funeral March from Act V (2:27) Scherzo and Trio (4:06) March from Act I1 (2:23) Finale: Presto (6:42) Silvana, J. 87 Symphony No. 2 in C Major, der Edelknaben (156) J. 51 Fackel Tanz (3:OO) Allegro (10:23) Adagio ma non troppo (4:34) Die Drei Pintos, Anh. 5 Menuetto and Trio (150) Entr'acte (5:50)

Recorded in Brisbane from 20th to 23rd February, 1994. Producer: Hans May Eneineer: Robert Hobson ~uiicNotes: Keith Anderson Cover Painting by Carl. C. Carus ~eutscherc en i Playing Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2 Time: Turandot: Overture and Marches 64'36" Silvana: Dances Die Drei Pintos: Entr'acte Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra John Georgiadis, Conductor

Symphony No. 1 in C Major, f81 Finale: Scherzo presto (2:17) J. SO Turandot, J. 75 Allegroeonfoocw) 17:56) Overture (4:19) Andante (6:20) Funeral March from Act V (2:27) [31 Schem and Trio (4:06) March from Act II (2:W) Fide:Presto (6:42) Silvana, J. 87 Symphony No. 2 in C Major, Tra ea-n J. 51 (156) Fackel Tam (3:OO) flegr0 (1023) ma -wpp (454) Die Drei Pintos, Anh. S Mennetto and Trio (1:50) Entr'acte (550)

Recolded in Brirbane from 20th to 23rd Wbtuary, 1994.

Music Notes: Keith Anderson CoverPaiatingbyCadG.Caros