YEAR OF THE VIOLIN 2018–2019 SEASON MARKAND THAKAR MUSIC DIRECTOR president’s welcome!

Welcome to Baltimore Chamber Orchestra’s 2018-2019 season: BCO’s 36th year and our Year of the Violin! We are delighted to bring you once again five outstanding concerts this season! This is a special season for BCO, one of Baltimore’s musical treasures. We are conducting a search for our next concertmaster and are privileged to have four extraordinary violinists, who will demonstrate their technical and musical mastery over the course of the year. Each violinist will perform a concerto with us and will sit first chair for part of a concert. We invite you to help us assess each of the soloists and help us choose BCO’s next great concertmaster. Share your thoughts! We provide compelling performances of outstanding music in a comfortable, beautiful setting that’s easily accessible. Our specialty is music for smaller orchestral ensembles from the extensive classical canon. In addition to providing fresh and inspiring interpretations of familiar classics, BCO plays less well-known masterpieces ignored by larger orchestras. BCO is Baltimore’s Intimate Classical Orchestra, striving to create musical intensity at every performance. Our Sunday afternoon audiences are passionate about our concerts, and our strong reviews reflect the artistry of the orchestra. Thank you for your generous financial contributions that enable BCO to present outstanding classical music each season. Ticket revenues provide a small portion of the orchestra’s operating budget. Your donations also sustain BCO’s commitment to music education of young people, including All Students Free All the Time at concerts. Live Wire String Quartet, BCO’s educational- outreach ensemble, touched the lives of more than 1,600 students last season. We are continuing our development of The Listening Lab, BCO’s second music-education project for older, elementary-school students. We are helping to create the next generation of classical music lovers! Please join us for the final nights of Music Director Markand Thakar’s exciting conducting programs each winter and summer. Aspiring young conductors come from around the world to work with BCO and hone their craft under Maestro Thakar’s tutelage. Donors and subscribers are invited to observe these revelatory sessions; we would love for you to attend the evenings with full orchestra. Our next conducting program will be in December. This is a unique experience available to BCO supporters. Share the joy! Bring your friends and neighbors and introduce them to our performances. Bring students and give them a great musical experience (free for students). If you have ideas about how we can continue to build audiences and support for the orchestra, please let us know your thoughts. On behalf of Baltimore Chamber Orchestra and its Board of Trustees, thank you for joining us. Savor the music!

Kim Z. Golden, President

Board of Trustees 1 Board of Trustees Kim Z. Golden / President contents Investment Manager John A. Roberts, Esq. / Vice President/ Secretary 1 President’s Welcome Attorney at Law Kim Z. Golden Justin C. Lefevre / Treasurer Pricewaterhousecoopers 3 Music Director’s Welcome Sima Blue Markand Thakar Trillium Ltd.

Sponsors Douglas M. Fambrough, Ph.D. 4 Johns Hopkins University Kevin Hirano Open Society Institute Markand Thakar 5 Christine M. Hurt, CPA, MBA Ayers Saint Gross, Inc. BCO Roster Michael A. Jacobs, M.D. 9 Good Samaritan Hospital James T. McGill, Ph.D. 10 BCO History Independent Consultant Steven E. Norwitz T. Rowe Price and Associates Patron Information 12 Brooke Pollack Christine Snyder BD Life Sciences Programs / Annotation 16 Jason T. Vlosich

16 October Concert Brown Advisory 24 November Concert 32 February Concert Staff March Concert Lockwood Hoehl 40 Executive Director 48 May Concert Ken Bell Operations Manager Donors 56 Craig Teer Stage Manager

David Zeit  WBJC’s Jonathan Palevsky House Manager leads PRE-CONCERT CONVERSATIONS at Composer in Residence 2:15 pm before each concert Jonathan Leshnoff in Kraushaar Auditorium music director’s welcome!

Welcome to Baltimore Chamber Orchestra’s 36th season: Year of the Violin! While we miss our former concertmaster Madeline Adkins, stolen so unceremoniously by Utah Symphony (and without apology, I might add), we are excited by the prospects of a new era for BCO! We welcome four stellar candidates for the concertmaster position: Netanel “Nati” Draiblate, currently concertmaster of the orchestras of Annapolis and Lake Forest (IL); Karen Johnson, currently concertmaster of The White House Chamber Orchestra; Audrey Wright, associate concertmaster of Baltimore Symphony (Madeline’s successor); and Peter Sirotin, concertmaster of Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra. We also welcome William McGregor, the eighteen- year-old, virtuoso double-bass soloist and 2017 Stulberg International String Competition gold medalist. Our programs bring violin concertos of Mozart, Beethoven, and Mendelssohn; symphonies of Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert, and Prokofiev; popular works by Dvořák, Rossini and Mozart; plus gems by Aaron Copland, Carl Nielsen, and of course by our much-loved Composer in Residence, Jonathan Leshnoff. We look forward to hearing your thoughts on who you’d like as our next concertmaster and, by all means, stop backstage after the concerts to say hello to all of us.

Markand Thakar music director

3 special thanks!

BCO Baltimore’s Intimate Classical Orchestra is grateful to its sponsors and partners for their extraordinary support of BCO’s 36th season.

Season Sponsors Concert Sponsors Soloist Sponsors Baltimore County BD Life Sciences Concertmaster Search Sponsors: C ommission on Arts Kim Z. Golden and Jean Suda Ashworth Guest Soloist Fund and Sciences Kim Z. Golden and Jean Suda Greenspring Associates, Inc. Kim Z. Golden and Jean Suda John Roberts and Naden/Lean, LLC Susan Shaner Maryland State Arts Council Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC Mr. McGregor is sponsored by: John Roberts and Susan Shaner Lutherville Complex Stulberg International Markand Thakar and String Competition Victoria Chiang Special Partners Sponsor in honor of WBJC-FM Jonathan Leshnoff: Towson University Live Wire String Quartet The Listening Lab

Baltimore Chamber Orchestra is funded by an operating grant from the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency dedicated to cultivating a vibrant cultural community where the arts thrive. Funding for the Maryland State Arts Council is also provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, which believes that a great nation deserves great art.

4 about markand thakar music director

A former assistant conductor of New York Philharmonic, Music Director Markand Thakar’s appearances include concerts and a national radio broadcast with that orchestra, as well as concerts with National, San Antonio, Charlotte, Wichita, Knoxville, Colorado Springs, Illinois, Maryland, National Gallery, Waterbury, and Annapolis symphony orchestras; Ulsan (South Korea) Philharmonic; Boston Pro Arte, National, and Cleveland chamber orchestras; and opera productions with Baltimore Opera Theater, Teatro Lirico d’Europa, and Duluth Festival Opera. A frequent guest conductor at Aspen Music Festival, Mr. Thakar has appeared with Yo-Yo Ma and Colorado Symphony Orchestra and with Itzhak Perlman and Boulder Philharmonic. He is a winner of Geraldine C. and Emory M. Ford Foundation Award. He is a frequent commentator for NPR’s Performance Today and has appeared on CBS This Morning and CNN conducting Colorado Symphony. With BCO, Thakar has recorded three CDs for the Naxos label, including disks of concertos by Classical Era masters Stamitz, Hoffmeister, and Pleyel and music by Jonathan Leshnoff. BCO traveled to China to perform a series of Viennese New Year’s concerts. A recent a performance in New York earned a review from The New York Times, which praised the group’s “warmth and substance.” During his 12-year’s tenure with Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra, DSSO saw dramatic growth in both audience and artistic prominence to what Minnesota Public Radio called “Minnesota’s other great orchestra.” Noted internationally as a pedagogue, Maestro Thakar’s two annual, intensive conducting programs with BCO have drawn conductors from five continents. His students have won significant conducting positions across North America and internationally, including music directorships with Hartford, Winnipeg, Oklahoma

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City, Sioux Falls, and Grande Ronde extend – even possibly from the very first symphony orchestras; staff conducting sound of a movement through the very last. positions with The Metropolitan Opera and In such an extended ‘magic moment’ we the orchestras of Philadelphia, New York, experience a remarkable transcendence: Los Angeles, Cincinnati, Dallas, Seattle, we accept the sound; we absorb the sound; Saint Louis, Portland (OR), Phoenix, we become the sound; and in so doing we Charlotte, Kansas City; and numerous transcend everyday consciousness of time collegiate positions. and space; we touch our conscious soul in a Formerly associate conductor of most remarkable way. My driving interest Colorado Symphony Orchestra and has been an exploration of the conditions conductor of Eugene Symphony’s – from the composer, from us performers, “NightMusic” pops series, Maestro Thakar and from the listener – that allow this most was music director and conductor of profoundly exquisite, life-affirming Amadeus Chamber Orchestra in New York experience.” City, Barnard-Columbia Philharmonia, Thakar is the author of three seminal Classical Symphony of Cincinnati, Penn’s books. On the Principles and Practice of Woods Philharmonia, and National Festival Conducting (University of Rochester Press, Orchestra of Great Lakes Festival of 2016) is a manual for acquiring necessary Musical Arts. and invaluable skills and understandings. Thakar was awarded a Fulbright Looking for the “Harp” Quartet; An fellowship for study of orchestral Investigation into Musical Beauty conducting in Romania and is a past winner (University of Rochester Press, 2011) is a of the national Exxon Conductors Program journey through the experience of musical auditions. He earned a bachelor’s degree in beauty from the standpoint of the composition and violin performance from composer, performer, and listener. The The Juilliard School; a master’s degree in book is described as “a 225-page tour de music theory from Columbia University; force,” and “an exercise in academic and a doctorate in orchestral conducting excellence and a seminal contribution for from Cincinnati College-Conservatory. He personal, professional, and academic undertook special studies in orchestral classical music studies” (Midwest Book conducting at Curtis Institute and Ciprian Review). Counterpoint: Fundamentals of Porumbescu Conservatory in Bucharest, Music Making (published by Yale University Romania. Other conducting studies were Press, 1990) uses species counterpoint to with Gustav Meier, Max Rudolf, and promote an understanding of how both Peter Perret. composer and performer contribute to the Most significant was his work experience of musical beauty. conducting Munich Philharmonic under the Thakar lives in Baltimore with his mentorship of Sergiu Celibidache, the wife, violist Victoria Chiang, and their legendary, former music-director of Berlin son, Oliver. Philharmonic. “From Celibidache I came to understand that the ‘magic moments’ that we all experience from time to time can

6 about jonathan leshnoff composer in residence

Distinguished by The New York Times as “a leader of contemporary American lyricism,” composer Jonathan Leshnoff attracts audiences with his music’s gripping embrace of tonality. His compositions have earned international acclaim for their striking harmonies, structural complexity, and powerful themes. The Baltimore-based composer’s works have been performed by more than 60 orchestras worldwide in hundreds of orchestral concerts, He has received commissions from Carnegie Hall and orchestras including Atlanta, Baltimore, Dallas, Kansas City, and Nashville symphonies, Buffalo Philharmonic, and IRIS and Philadelphia Orchestras. Leshnoff’s compositions have been performed by classical music’s most celebrated stars, such as Gil and Orli Shaham, Roberto Díaz, and Manuel Barrueco, and have been conducted and embraced by esteemed music directors including Markand Thakar, Marin Alsop, Giancarlo Guerrero, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Robert Spano, and Michael Stern. Leshnoff has been ranked among the most performed living composers by American orchestras in recent seasons, and upcoming seasons are comparably active with musical activity and collaborations. Highlights for the 2018-19 season include Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s premiere of Leshnoff’s Concerto for Clarinet and Bassoon; Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra’s premiere of Leshnoff’s Suite for Cello, Strings, and Timpani featuring the eminent cellist Johannes Moser; and the start of a multi-year residency with Fairfax Symphony. Orchestras from Knoxville Symphony to Colorado Springs Philharmonic also perform works from Leshnoff’s robust oeuvre. Leshnoff has released four albums to date, all on the Naxos American Classics

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label. Featured recordings include Violin 2019, with Nashville Symphony performing Concerto No.1 with Charles Wetherbee and his Guitar Concerto with Jason Vieaux and Baltimore Chamber Orchestra – selected his recently premiered Symphony No.4. among Naxos’ Top 40 CDs the year of its Celebrated by Fanfare magazine as “the release – and Symphony No.1, conducted by real thing,” Leshnoff’s music has been lauded Michael Stern with IRIS Chamber by Strings magazine as “distinct from any- Orchestra, along with Leshnoff’s chamber thing else that’s out there” and by The music. An all-Leshnoff recording of Atlanta Baltimore Sun as “remarkably assured, Symphony performing Symphony No. 2 and cohesively constructed and radiantly lyrical.” Zohar oratorio was released in November Leshnoff’s catalog is vast, including several 2016. In December 2017, the recent band symphonies and oratorios, numerous arrangement of his Clarinet Concerto was concertos, solo, and chamber works. featured with Philadelphia Orchestra Leshnoff is Professor of Music at principal Ricardo Morales in a recording Towson University. with United States Marine Band. A new all-Leshnoff release is expected in early

8 bco roster 2018 –2019 season

Violin Cello Bassoon concertmaster candidates Seth Low Bryan Young Netanel Draiblate principal principal Karen Johnson Peter Kibbe Holden McAleer Audrey Wright Todd Thiel Peter Sirotin Horn Bass Ken Bell Kristin Bakkegard Laura Ruas principal Celeste Blase principal Paul Hopkins Andrea Boecker Anne Fontenella Flute Trumpet Heather Haughn Kristin Winter-Jones Brent Flinchbaugh Hanbing Jia principal principal Linda Leanza Chester Burke Ted Jones Sharon Oh Lauren Rausch Oboe Timpani/ Collette Wichert Fatma Daglar Percussion principal Barry Dove Viola Joseph Deluccio Chiara Dieguez principal Clarinet Joan Bob William Jenken Annie Chang-Center principal Nana Vaughn Edna Huang

9 history of bco baltimore’s intimate classical orchestra

Baltimore Chamber Orchestra’s first performance, led by Maestra Anne Harrigan, was on January 29, 1984. She introduced the audience to a classical orchestra offering virtuoso performances that touch the heart.

From its beginning, Baltimore Chamber Orchestra has grown to occupy an essential niche in the thriving arts scene of greater Baltimore. The orchestra is the actual size for which the classical repertoire was originally composed. BCO remains a group of exceptional musicians who are passionate about their performances. Indeed, the orchestra strives to meet the same standard established at its inception in 1984: to provide accessible, high-quality, classical music with an intimate touch. BCO’s 21st season marked the final phase of its search for a music director to replace founder Anne Harrigan. BCO selected Markand Thakar for the position of music director in June 2004. Maestro Thakar made his debut with New York Philharmonic in 1997 and has since appeared with that orchestra numerous times, along with National, San Antonio, Winnipeg and Charlotte Symphony Orchestras, among others. A frequent guest conductor at Aspen Music Festival, Mr. Thakar has shared the stage with some of the world’s great artists, including Yo-Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman. Formerly music director of Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra and principal conductor of Duluth Festival Opera, he was a long-time member of the graduate conducting faculty of Peabody Conservatory.

10 Jonathan Leshnoff joined the orchestra as Composer in Residence in 2007, and BCO welcomed Baltimore Symphony associate concertmaster Madeline Adkins as our concertmaster in 2009. BCO continues to achieve new heights. In recent seasons the orchestra has recorded three CDs that were released by Naxos, given five concerts on tour in China, presented a New York debut praised by The New York Times, performed on University of Delaware Masterplayers series, and hosted workshops for young conductors from around the world. The orchestra comprises forty of the area’s best professional musicians. As the only professional orchestra with a subscription series in Baltimore County, BCO plays in the 973-seat Kraushaar Auditorium, Goucher College, where the audience is treated to an intimacy with the orchestra and soloists and to nuances and clarity in the music that can’t be achieved in a huge symphony hall. A committed and enthusiastic Board of Trustees includes community leaders, philanthropic advisors, and music lovers. Creative partnerships with businesses and media in the region contribute to the visibility and accessibility of the orchestra.

11 bco patron

how to order tickets:

ONLINE MAIL Visit www.thebco.org. Mail your ticket request and payment to: BOX OFFICE Baltimore Chamber Orchestra On performance days only, the Box Office at 11 West Mount Vernon Place Kraushaar Auditorium opens 75 minutes before Baltimore, Maryland 21201 the concerts. FEES PHONE $3 for each order. Tickets may be purchased by calling GROUP DISCOUNTS 410.685.4050, Monday through Friday, 10–4. Groups of 10 or more receive a discount, subject to availability. Please call BCO for details. TICKET EXCHANGES Subject to availability, season subscribers may exchange tickets by 4pm Friday afternoon before each concert. Please note: tickets will not be exchanged after the performance has taken place.

VISIT US ONLINE! thebco.org or follow us on Facebook!

12 information

concert information:

LATE SEATING ELECTRONIC DEVICES Out of consideration for musicians and Patrons are asked to turn off cell phones audience, ushers will seat latecomers at their and all other sound-emitting devices before discretion, usually between pieces. Similarly, the start of the concert. audience members who must leave during the SPECIAL SERVICES concert are asked to do so only when there is a Taped program notes are available for the pause in the program. vision impaired. Call 410.685.4050 to request. RESTROOMS Loops for the hearing impaired are available Restrooms in Kraushaar Auditorium are for Kraushaar Auditorium performances. located on the lower level, accessed by the Please request them at the Goucher box stairs at the back of the Rosenberg Gallery. office the day of the performance. Handicapped facilities are located in the lobby. WEBSITE WHEELCHAIR SEATING For the latest information on programs, Kraushaar Auditorium is wheelchair personalities, and other news regarding accessible. the orchestra, visit BCO at www.thebco.org. CAMERA/RECORDING DEVICES CONTACT INFORMATION The use of cameras and recording devices We are committed to customer service at Baltimore Chamber Orchestra concerts is and welcome your feedback. strictly prohibited. Telephone: 410.685.4050 Email: [email protected]

 ALL PROGRAMS AND PERFORMERS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE

13 bco loves music education

Baltimore Chamber Orchestra is dedicated to providing musical experiences for students of all ages.

ALL STUDENTS FREE ALL THE TIME BCO welcomes all students free to all BCO’s concerts. CONDUCTING PROGRAMS Music Director Markand Thakar presents his Winter Conducting Workshop in December and his Summer Conducting Seminar in June. Dozens of early-career, professional conductors from around the world come to Baltimore to develop their conducting skills and musicianship by working with Maestro Thakar and BCO musicians. The final two evenings are open free to the community to observe the learning process of young conductors leading a full orchestra. If you would like to attend, please contact BCO for more information at [email protected]. LIVE WIRE STRING QUARTET Live Wire String Quartet brings music to low-income, younger, elementary-school students in small settings, usually classrooms, to enhance academic achievement in core curricula. Presentations by Live Wire feature instruction, performances, student activities and participation, and interaction with the musicians and their instruments. Live Wire reached 1,637 students in 35 school visits in the 2017-2018 school year. THE LISTENING LAB The Listening Lab, presented by Rebecca Smithorn, BCO’s Education Conductor, teaches students concentration, awareness, and intentional listening- skills techniques through music and offers students live performances in their own schools. about bco’s concertmaster search

An orchestral concertmaster serves a vital role. She or he sits in the first chair of the first violins and is a kind of conduit between the conductor and the ensemble. This includes facilitating communication from the conductor to the ensemble and from the ensemble to the conductor. Concertmasters perform violin solos within an orchestral work and regularly stand in front of the orchestra to perform as a concerto soloist.

Our concertmaster must be:  a first-rate violinist with impeccable technique and unassailable musicianship;  widely respected personally and professionally by the BCO community; and  a consummate solo artist.

As our audience well knows, Madeline Adkins, our former concertmaster was – and is, in her current role as concertmaster of Utah Symphony – a model practitioner! Succeeding Madeline will be no easy task. But, fortunately, BCO has four exceptional candidates, each clearly possessing the necessary technical, musical, and personal qualities. Each candidate will perform a concerto as soloist in the first half of a concert and, in the second half, will assume the first chair in the orchestra. The down side of four such top-flight candidates is that we anticipate a very difficult decision at the end of the season. Critical to the choice will be the response of the music director, trustees, and musicians – especially the response from the other principal players, who work particularly closely with the concertmaster. And, we are absolutely interested in your thoughts as well!

PROGRAM ANNOTATOR Andrew Sauvageau is a classical singer, free-lance writer, and history buff. A former long-time resident of Baltimore, he is now based in Washington, DC. This is his fourth season writing notes for Bravo!.

15 artist biography 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

Netanel Draiblate violin has been hailed as “an extremely gifted violinist with a strong stage personality and charisma.” He has concertized across four continents. He performs as a soloist, chamber musician, and recording artist. The Washington Post called him “a violinist who combines confidence and virtuosity with a playful musical personality.” The cadenza for Mendelssohn Concerto, which Mr. Draiblate plays in this concert, is a 2012 addition that he wrote. It replaces the original cadenza and will be the Maryland Premier when performed with BCO.

Netanel’s violin: I play on a modern violin made in New York City by a very talented Polish maker named Lukas Wronski. The violin was made in 2007 and is a copy of the “Canon” made by Guarneri. It is quite a beast. We tested it against a Strad in a hall; it was quite evenly matched. The great thing about having a modern violin and a living luthier is the ability to constantly update, tweak, and upgrade the violin’s capabilities. My bow is a Victor Fetique.

Draiblate is currently concertmaster of Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, Lake Forest Symphony, and Washington, DC-based PostClassical Ensemble, which performs works created after 1900. He has served as concertmaster for Tel-Aviv Soloists, World Youth Orchestra, Israel Young Philharmonic, and played in West Eastern Divan Orchestra under the direction of Daniel Barenboim. In 2012, Draiblate created ND-Publishing Foundation in November. He recently toured to publish his original compositions as well as with pianist Lura Johnson, as Times Two, in a cadenzas for celebrated concertos. Last program dedicated to Brahms. season saw the world premiere of his newly Perspectives, Draiblate’s debut solo published cadenzas for Beethoven and recording, was recognized by American Brahms violin concerti. Record Guide as “very exciting and Draiblate’s recent and upcoming engaging.” It features works by Mendelssohn, highlights include appearances with Brasilia Prokofiev, Elgar, Grieg, and Kreisler. Concert Society Orchestra and Lancaster As a teacher, Draiblate is Director of and Annapolis Symphonies. He marked his Chamber Music at Georgetown University second summer as artist-in-residence at and serves on the faculty of Annapolis Young Aruba Symphony Festival, where he was Artists Program and The Levine School. featured in Bach’s Concerto for Violin and His awards include first prize in Oboe. Last season, he appeared as soloist Jerusalem Academy Solo Competition; with AACC Symphony Orchestra in its Ben-Haim Competition; finalist in Young Kennedy Center debut. This season, he will Artists Competition in Haifa; and a major be featured in Bach’s Concerto for Two prize in Peabody Conservatory’s Yale Violins with Lake Forest Symphony. Solo Gordon Competition. He was the first engagements include his debut with violinist to be supported by Ilona Feher American Symphony at Carnegie Hall, Israel Foundation. Early in his career he was Chamber Orchestra, and Turkey’s Bursa honored to play on the personal violin of Ms. Symphony Orchestra. He appeared as Feher. As child, Draiblate was asked to play soloist with Baltimore Chamber Orchestra for Isaac Stern during a master class in on tour in China. Jerusalem. Following the class, Stern As a chamber musician, Draiblate has arranged to give him a 7/8 violin, with a note collaborated with Pinchas Zukerman, Yo-Yo saying “he would like me to have it until I Ma, ltzhak Perlman, Jaime Laredo, and Cho grew out of it.” Liang Lin. Last season, he joined members of When not concertizing, Mr. Draiblate New York Philharmonic as part of Lancaster enjoys cooking and watching and playing International Piano Festival and served on its soccer. For more information, visit www. faculty. He will be featured on a special netaneldraiblate.com. concert for the America-Israel Cultural

17 what’s all that italian mean?

They are tempo indications that describe the character of the motion of the music.

Adagio: rather slow Moderato: moderate

Allegretto: gently moving Molto: very

Allegro: quick, lively; faster Moto perpetuo: than allegretto but slower perpetual motion than presto Pezzo: piece Assai: very Piacevole: pleasant Espressivo: conveying thought or feeling Poco: little

Larghetto: fairly slow Presto: very fast

Lento: very slow Ritmico: rhythmic

Ma non troppo: but not Scherzo: (literally: joke; jest) too much light or playful

Marcia: march Tenuto: sustained

Meno: less Vivace: lively SUNDAY, 30 SEPTEMBER 2018 | 3PM Kraushaar Auditorium, Goucher College mendelssohn concerto, leshnoff, beethoven

Markand Thakar conductor Netanel Drablaite violin, concertmaster candidate

FOUR DANCES Concert Sponsor Jonathan Leshnoff Naden/Lean LLC Commissioned by Eileen Williams and Judah Gudelsky Concertmaster in honor of Jonathan Leshnoff and his excellence in Search Sponsors musical creativity! Ashworth Guest Soloist Fund VIOLIN CONCERTO Kim Z. Golden and Felix Mendelssohn Jean Suda Allegro molto appassionato John Roberts and Susan Shaner Andante Allegretto non troppo – Allegro molto vivace Sponsor in honor of Mr. Draiblate Jonathan Leshnoff Towson University

INTERMISSION Season Sponsors  Baltimore County SYMPHONY NO.2 IN D MAJOR, OP.36 Commission on Arts and Sciences Ludwig van Beethoven Adagio molto – Allegro con brio  Kim Z. Golden and Larghetto Jean Suda Scherzo. Allegro vivo Allegro molto  Maryland State Arts Council

 John Roberts and Susan Shaner

 Markand Thakar The concert will end at approximately 5pm and Victoria Chiang

19 program notes 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

JONATHAN LESHNOFF b. 1973 New Brunswick JONATHAN LESHNOFF Four Dances, 2014 Commissioned by Eileen Williams and Judah Gudelsky in honor of Jonathan challenged listeners with extreme dissonance and atonality, the 21st century Leshnoff and his excellence in musical is something of a gentler age for its strains creativity! of concert music. Dissonance still adds Baltimore Chamber Orchestra is proud sheen and interest to any music worth to inaugurate Year of the Violin with its listening to, but it is not the vehicle that favorite living composer, Jonathan Leshnoff. drives this century’s works. Leshnoff If you attended last season’s opening embraces lyricism and tonality in his music, concert, you heard his Cello Concerto. allowing melodies to sweep and bloom BCO’s relationship with Leshnoff began throughout many of his collected works. with a performance of his Violin Concerto in His music beckons the listener to lean in 2006. He began as Composer in Residence and consider something new without fear in 2007. Since then, BCO has performed or intimidation. The effect is welcoming or recorded several of his compositions, and encourages a naturally emotional including Distant Reflections, Requiem response. for the Fallen, Trombone Concerto, and Four Dances, Leshnoff’s most recent String Quartet No.3. We’re not alone in our work for string quartet, was written in 2014 appreciation of him; Leshnoff is currently and was premiered by Carpe Diem String one of the most frequently programmed Quartet in 2015. Because it has yet to be living composers by American orchestras. recorded, many of you will certainly hear If you are unfamiliar with Leshnoff’s it for the first time today; in fact, this is the work and feeling apprehensive about chamber-orchestra premiere. We are very contemporary music, there is no reason to pleased to introduce it to those who have fear. While the 20th century had various not yet heard it and to share it again with schools of composers that deliberately those who have.

20 FELIX MENDELSSOHN may have doubted his ability to finish it b. 1809 Hamburg; d. 1847 Leipzig properly or he may have been distracted by other projects. Whatever caused the Violin Concerto, 1844 delay, Mendelssohn told Ferdinand David (Mr. Draiblate wrote the cadenza he will play.) (1810-1873) – the soloist who premiered the work – that the opening melody gave Felix Mendelssohn is another of history’s him no peace and he ultimately completed tragically short-lived composers. There the concerto in 1844. It premiered six is no dearth of young musicians who months later, but Mendelssohn was unable did not reach the age of forty and to conduct the premiere himself due whose music tantalizes posterity with a to illness. The resulting masterpiece is sense of truncated possibility. Though explosively dramatic and a staple of violin Mendelssohn’s life was over too quickly, he repertoire. began performing publicly around the age Part of the appeal to soloists of Violin of nine as an already consummate pianist. Concerto is its unrelenting difficulty. So, his almost 30-year career rivals that Concerti usually operate as a dialogue of some composers who lived longer but between soloist and orchestra, much like started performing later in life. a kind of musical interview. The ensemble Mendelssohn’s earliest surviving typically opens with an inspired question, compositions begin when he was eleven followed by ingenious expostulation from or twelve. As is natural, many of them the soloist. This pattern repeats until centered on his principal instrument, a climactic close. In this concerto, the the piano, but he quickly expanded orchestra only gets a measure and a half into composing for strings and salon- appropriate ensembles. One such early work is a prototype violin concerto for soloist and string orchestra written when he was 13. It is among his WoO (Werke ohne Opuszahl) compositions, mostly from his teenage years. They are brilliant, precocious pieces, but most weren’t published during Mendelssohn’s lifetime. He wouldn’t attempt another violin concerto for years. When he finally returned to the genre, it took him six years to complete this mature work. He

FELIX MENDELSSOHN

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LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN b. 1770 Bonn; d. 1827 Vienna Symphony No.2 in D Major, Op.36, 1802 Beethoven – along with the other two members of the “Three Bs” of German music: Johann Sebastian Bach and Johannes Brahms – comes down to posterity as an old man. This is rather undeserved for Beethoven, who died when he was only 56. More than his trips around the sun, his late reputation as a surly, irritable character are closely linked to the great tragedy of his life: his premature deafness, beginning when he was 28 or younger and progressively worsening for the rest of his life. This loss of one of the most important assets to his professional career as a

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN musician was, obviously, frustrating. As anyone who has suffered from personal hearing loss or the deafness of a friend or into its opening remark before the soloist loved one can attest, it is one of the most blasts into the first virtuosic line. From socially isolating experiences a person can that impassioned beginning, the solo line face. Beethoven managed his disability will pause for a mere handful of moments as well as he could through his thirties, until it careens into the finish line. The but as he progressed into his forties and orchestra is compelled to follow the solo fifties, he left us with the wild-haired, violin as it flies to the absolute extremes scowling image that graces so many of its range with mercurial agility. pianos and mantles. When he began Symphony No.2, he

was still a young man of 31. His deafness hadn’t gone away and he was suffering from tinnitus. It had such a profound effect on him that he wrote a testament later that year outlining his wishes to his brothers in the event of his death. Suicide was a romantic device in the early 19th-century but, instead of following moment, nearly two minutes into the first through with any fantasy of self-harm, movement, that will sound oddly familiar Beethoven poured his efforts intoEroica is almost identical to the opening theme Symphony, which follows the one you will of Symphony No.9, right down to the key. hear today. When that culminating symphony entreats Though Symphony No.2 doesn’t share “not these sounds” in its fourth movement, as much of the modern spotlight as his Beethoven may have been speaking to later symphonies, it is still a powerhouse his younger self during one of the lowest from a master of the genre. Each of emotional moments in his life. Beethoven’s nine symphonies exhibits different characteristics but, like siblings, they share a wide range of common traits. Even if you’re less familiar with this symphony than with some of his other symphonies, you may experience a case of déjà entendu very near the beginning of this work. You’re not imagining things. The

Though Symphony No.2 doesn’t share as much of the modern spotlight as his later symphonies, it is still a powerhouse from a master of the genre.

23 artist biography 18 NOVEMBER 2018

William McGregor bass, age eighteen, began his double-bass studies at age two with Derek Weller in Ann Arbor. In 2009, he was accepted into The Juilliard School Pre-College Division, where he studied for nine years with Albert Laszlo.

William’s bass: My bass is by an unknown Chinese manufacturer, refinished by Aaron Reiley at Guarneri House in Hudsonville, Michigan. I have played on this bass for five years. It is modeled after Larry Hurst’s bass. Mr. Hurst is formerly of Jacobs School at Indiana University. My bass is called a Larry Hurst model, although I call him George!

William has performed in master classes with Edgar Meyer, Harold Robinson, Tim Cobb, Ranaan Meyer, David Murray, Eugene Levinson, Anthony Stoops, and John Kendall. William was invited by John Kendall to play in a master class at University of Michigan in a celebration honoring Mr. Kendall. In 2011, William became a fellowship-scholarship student at Aspen Music Festival and School, where he was the youngest full-time student at the Festival. William was selected to perform in Spotlight Recital at Aspen and performed with Aspen Concert Orchestra.

24 William returned to Aspen for summer In 2015, William was invited to solo with 2012, where he performed with Philharmonic Allentown Symphony under the baton of Orchestra and was selected to perform at Diane Wittry. String Showcase Recital. In January 2016, William won, for the In 2012, William won The Juilliard second time, The Juilliard Pre-College Open School Pre-College Open Concerto Competition and performed solo with The Competition and performed with The Juilliard Pre-College Orchestra in February Juilliard Pre-College Symphony at Peter J. 2016 under the baton of George Stelluto. Sharpe Theater at Lincoln Center. Later, In May 2017, William won the gold medal William won the grand prize at Ensemble at Stulberg International String Competition 212 Young Artist Competition and and he performed with Kalamazoo Symphony. performed his solo concerto with Ensemble In 2018, William was named a National 212 at Kaufman Center’s Merkin Concert YoungArts Foundation Finalist and attended Hall in New York City. National YoungArts Week in Miami. In November 2012, William made his Additionally, William was named a U.S. Carnegie Hall debut, performing Paganini’s Presidential Scholar in the Arts and performed Mosé in Egitto. at The Kennedy Center. William will perform In October 2013, William was the 1st Prize in 2019 with Grand Rapids Symphony. Winner in Salome Chamber Orchestra Young William began study with Harold Artist Competition in New York City. He also Robinson and Edgar Meyer at Curtis Institute received Most Promising Young Artist award of Music this fall. with Salome. He performed as soloist with William’s hobbies are all sports and Salome Chamber Orchestra at Carnegie Hall collecting baseball cards. in February 2014.

25 Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC 2350 West Joppa Road | Greenspring Centre Lutherville, MD 21093

410.494.6800 | 1.800.777.8714

2018-2019 SEASON Brian Bartoldus, Artistic Director and Conductor

Handel Messiah Heav'nly Lux Aeterna: 7:30 pm Saturday Harmony Songs of Comfort Dec. 15, 2018 4:00 pm Sunday and Hope Grace United Methodist Mar. 10, 2019 4:00 pm Sunday Church, 5407 N. Charles St, The Church of the Apr. 28, 2019 Baltimore 21212 Redeemer, 5603 N. Charles The Church of the 3:00 pm Sunday Street, Baltimore 21210 Redeemer, 5603 N. Charles Dec. 16, 2018 Handel Choir and organist Street, Baltimore 21210 St. Mark Catholic Church, Jeremy Filsell celebrate Handel Choir of Baltimore 30 Melvin Ave, English poets and the music and guest artists Catonsville 21228 that brings their deft and Brian Bartoldus conductor Handel Choir and Handel subtle verse to life! Period Instrument Orchestra Handel Choir of Baltimore with acclaimed soloists Jeremy Filsell organ INFO & TICKETS HANDELCHOIR.ORG Brian Bartoldus conductor Brian Bartoldus conductor 667.206.4120 SUNDAY, 18 NOVEMBER 2018 | 3PM Kraushaar Auditorium, Goucher College all about that bass

Markand Thakar conductor Jonathan Palevsky narrator William McGregor double bass Gold Medalist, 2017 Stulberg International String Competition

SERENADE NO.6, K.239 (SERENATA NOTTURNA) Concert Sponsor Wolfgang Amadé Mozart Greenspring Associates, Inc.

CONCERTO FOR DOUBLE BASS IN E MAJOR Soloist Sponsor Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf Stulberg International Allegro moderato String Competition Adagio Allegro Season Sponsors Mr. McGregor  Baltimore County Commission on Arts MOSES VARIATIONS and Sciences Niccolò Paganini  Kim Z. Golden and Mr. McGregor Jean Suda

INTERMISSION  Maryland State Arts Council

SYMPHONY NO.31 IN D MAJOR (HORNSIGNAL)  John Roberts and Joseph Haydn Susan Shaner Allegro  Markand Thakar Adagio and Victoria Chiang Minuet – Trio Finale: Moderato molto

The concert will end at approximately 5pm

27 program notes 18 NOVEMBER 2018

WOLFGANG AMADÉ MOZART b. 1756 Salzburg; d. 1791 Vienna WOLFGANG AMADÉ MOZART Serenade No.6, K.239 Serenata Notturna, 1776 artist: brilliant, reckless, and misunderstood Mozart’s life has as much appeal for by the world around him. modern audiences as his music. If we When he wrote Serenade No.6 in early follow his path for a moment, we begin 1776, he was two years into his tenure in with a precocious child who quickly Salzburg. For a young man who gained masters several instruments and becomes international renown before the age of ten, the toast of Europe. We then watch as being suddenly trapped in his hometown the marvel of his youth wears off and chafed him. He and his father spent three he is forced to take a job he dislikes months in Vienna and another three in in a town that is much too small for Munich over two trips to find the younger his cosmopolitan upbringing. He tries Mozart work in a bigger city, but had no multiple times to find work elsewhere, concrete offers. In spite of the frustration quits his position, only to take it up again and disappointment he felt around the time as his repeated attempts fail. When he of his 20th birthday, he still managed to keep finally does regain some of the notoriety his music jovial, light, and fun. he had as a child – moving to a large Serenades have no strict rules as to capital city with greater opportunities form. They can be of any length, with no – he still strains against the social and set ensemble or number of movements. economic forces in his life, restlessly They were usually party music. Just as we considers other options in different would queue up a playlist today, 18th-century cities, and is finally stricken by illness and patrons would commission a live playlist for carried off in his mid-thirties. a gathering or celebration. Serenades would In a revolutionary time in history, punctuate important parts of the evening Mozart had a revolutionary spirit. Never or waft pleasantly in the background. We satisfied with the status quo, he pushed no longer know the occasion for which the boundaries of music, sometimes to his Mozart wrote this piece, but it may have own personal or financial disadvantage. He been for a New Year’s, Twelfth Night, or fulfills the romantic, dramatic ideal of an Epiphany celebration. The prominent use and very capable Viennese composer whose of timpani among so many strings evokes talents are somewhat eclipsed by the other fireworks. The host may have planned literal luminaries who shared his time and place. pyrotechnics or he may have asked Mozart His friends and acquaintances included to insert a musical alternative. Gluck (1714-1784), Haydn (1732-1809), and Mozart (1756-1791); the latter two joined him CARL DITTERS VON and another player occasionally to play DITTERSDORF string quartets. The three Austrians are b. 1739 Vienna; d. 1799 Deštná, reunited in today’s concert. Dittersdorf orchestrates this concerto Czech Republic cleverly. Even though there is healthy Concerto, double bass in E Major, late representation from the winds and the other 18th-century strings, he is careful to quiet the surrounding The double bass is among those giants that instruments or strip them away entirely hide at the back of the orchestra and only when the soloist has an important line. This occasionally get solo moments to shine. It way, the featured instrument can blossom usually adds nuance and color to the sound without having to compete. He sets a high, of an orchestra. But, because its sound is florid double-bass line against the other so low, it is sometimes difficult for a solo instruments only when they are at rest or double-bass to balance against other strings. playing piano or pianissimo in their middle In large orchestras, it may take as many as registers. By varying the texture in this way, eight double basses to produce enough he eliminates some of the challenges and sound to be heard properly. creates an elegant dialogue among equals. In its lower registers, the double bass usually bottoms out at E1, or sometimes

C1, only an octave above the extremes of what humans are capable of hearing. As it moves into its upper registers, the demands on the player become greater. Because the instrument is so large, the player has to contort over it in high octaves, which makes the normally challenging task of manipulating its thick strings that much more taxing. In spite of all the difficulties that come with bringing the double bass to the fore, there are still notable examples of bass solo works, especially in the 18th and 20th CARL DITTERS VON DITTERSDORF centuries. Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf wrote two such concerti. Dittersdorf was a prolific continued on page 30 

29 continued from page 29 

NICCOLÒ PAGANINI Theme by Paganini, but several other b. 1782 Genoa; d. 1840 Nice composers also paid him homage in the same way. Three of Paganini’s own works Moses Variations, 1819 borrow from Rossini (1792-1868). Because the options for solo double-bass Paganini met the younger composer in are somewhat limited, the best players 1818 and wrote three sets of variations the borrow music originally written for other next year on selections from Rossini’s operas, instruments to augment their repertoire. namely La Cenerentola, Tancredi, and Mosè Some of those pieces are devilishly tricky in Egitto. Moses Variations is occasionally for the original instrument – in this case, the called Sonata “a Preghiera,” as the theme violin – so when transposed for the violin’s is taken from a moment of prayer in Mosè massive cousin, the skill required to play in Egitto. When the fleeing Israelites are them is staggering. blocked by the Red Sea in the biblical tale, It is nearly impossible to discuss violin they pause to invoke divine assistance. The music without considering the virtuosic melody that passes from voice to voice within violinists that punctuate the history of the operatic scene is the theme that appears that instrument. One of the most famous within Paganini’s derivative fantasy. He holds violin virtuosi, Niccolò Paganini, was also true to the source material throughout one of the most flamboyant. His strikingly the first half of this piece, showing off long hands and easy agility made him a with various extended techniques before rock star of his time. Part of his apotheosis splintering off into something decidedly stemmed from wild musical stunts, more lively than prayerful. including purposefully breaking strings during performances to show off his skills. He would prepare weakened strings that snapped under enough pressure, change to the remaining strings to accommodate, then sometimes break a second string or even a third to augment the effect.Moses Variations may have been one of the pieces Paganini played after he had rendered his instrument nearly unplayable. Paganini was a champion of musical variations and made a career of borrowing themes for those variations from other composers. It’s fitting that his reputation was further enhanced by future composers borrowing his themes and writing NICCOLÓ PAGANINI variations of their own. The most famous may be RachmaninoffRhapsody on a

30 JOSEPH HAYDN b. 1732 Rohrau, Austria; d. 1809 Rohrau Symphony No.31 in D Major, 1765 When Haydn was born at the end of March 1732, George Washington (1732-1799) was all of one month old. While the American was destined to become “Father of His Country,” Haydn would grow to be “Father of the Symphony.” Ironically, neither great man ever enjoyed actual fatherhood. Washington definitely had no children. Haydn’s case JOSEPH HAYDN is somewhat less absolute; he certainly never acknowledged any. That absence of offspring opened both “fathers” to nurture Only five years into his tenure, Haydn something that moved beyond progeny. was still a relative newcomer. Not yet After a boisterous youth, Haydn began elevated to the post of Kapellmeister, he serving as music director or vice director for had churned out more than 20 symphonies various members of the Austro-Hungarian for the princes, among other works. Since aristocracy. It was in these positions all the musicians Haydn worked with were that he first had regular access to an technically household staff, the number orchestra and the means whereby to begin of players at his disposal were subject to writing symphonies. He wrote his earliest vacancies. The horn section had an empty symphonies while holding his first full-time seat for at least two years and another job under Count Morzin, several of which following the death of a second member. are in the older three-movement style of the Haydn lobbied to have the two gaps 1750s. After a few years, he was hired by the filled and finally had a complete section fabulously wealthy princes of Esterhazy as a of four players in the middle of 1765. In leading member of their musical staff. celebration, he featured all four of them in In the early years of his employment Symphony No.31. under the Esterhazys, Haydn had no control The result is impressive to modern ears over what happened to his compositions; and boggling by 18th-century standards. The his first contract stipulated that all his four horns, which would have been valveless output was the property of his employers. and notoriously temperamental in Haydn’s Eventually, the terms of his contract were day, may have outnumbered all the lower renegotiated, and Haydn was allowed to strings at the premiere. Most of Haydn’s publish his own works. He quickly became symphonies use only two horns, if any at all, the most famous musical servant in Europe yet here is a full, virtuosic quartet. The result and strode the line between continental must have shaken the windows of Schloss celebrity and rural isolation on the Esterhazy and filled the listener’s minds with Esterhazy estates. memories of their latest hunt. artist biography 10 FEBRUARY 2019

Karen Johnson violin performs as a soloist and as a chamber and orchestral musician. Her playing has been applauded for its “balance and precision” and her “enthusiastic showmanship of impressive energy and accuracy” by The Washington Post and hailed as “virtuosically energized and broadly lyrical” by Richmond Times-Dispatch. In a review of her solo CD (Brioso Records) with pianist Joanne Kong, American Record Guide stated, “It is a real pleasure to discover a violinist of the caliber of Karen Johnson.... Her tone is broad and pure, her attacks are flawlessly incisive, her vibrato nicely modulated, and her intonation infallible….”

Karen’s violin: My violin was made by Carlo Ferdinando Landolfi in 1727 (Milan) and I’ve been playing on it since 2005. When I first started playing it, I was immediately overwhelmed by the brilliance of sound and large array of musical colors. Over a decade later, I know the instrument so much better but yet there are still times when I get the violin out of the case to play and, in one note, the beauty and depth of sound captures me all over again. I feel very blessed to have this instrument be my voice.

32 artist biography

10 FEBRUARY 2019 Ms. Johnson has performed in Juilliard School as the pupil of Joel concerts throughout the United States Smirnoff and was first-prize winner of and Europe and has worked with local and national competitions, including renowned conductors and musicians, such Juilliard Sibelius Violin Concerto as James DePreist, Sergiu Comissiona, Competition. She completed her Masters Yuri Temirkanov, Victor Yampolsky, degree at University of Maryland - Gerard Schwarz, and Joseph Silverstein. College Park studying with William From 2002-2011, Karen was Preucil, Concertmaster of Cleveland Concertmaster of Richmond Symphony Orchestra and former first violinist of Orchestra. She was invited as guest Cleveland Quartet. Concertmaster with Seattle Symphony, Ms. Johnson is a regular performer in Phoenix Symphony, and Oregon the Washington, DC area. She performs Symphony. Ms. Johnson was recently as Concertmaster of The White House featured as soloist at WCVE-FM’s Orchestra, as a soloist, and as a chamber celebration of Robert Schumann’s musician. She is a founding member of bicentennial. Phillips Camerata, presenting chamber Ms. Johnson began her musical music concerts at The Phillips Collection studies in her hometown of Gilbert, and National Gallery of Art. Arizona at the age of 4. At age 10, she Karen resides in Stafford, Virginia became the pupil of Dr. William Magers at with husband Karl Johnson and their Arizona State University. Under his five children. tutelage, she won Corpus Christi International Young Artist Competition, Midland-Odessa National Young Artist Competition, and National MTNA Yamaha String Competition. Ms. Johnson earned her Bachelor of Music degree at The

33 BCO_Bravo_ad2018_Duotone629_K.indd 1 9/10/18 9:58 AM

thank you!

To make a donation to Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, visit thebco.org/support SUNDAY, 10 FEBRUARY 2019 | 3PM Kraushaar Auditorium, Goucher College mozart 5th concerto, copland, schubert

Markand Thakar conductor Karen Johnson violin, concertmaster candidate

APPALACHIAN SPRING Concert Sponsor Aaron Copland Kim Z. Golden and Jean Suda

VIOLIN CONCERTO NO.5 IN A MAJOR, K.219 Concertmaster Search Wolfgang Amadé Mozart Sponsors Allegro aperto – Adagio – Allegro aperto Ashworth Guest Adagio Soloist Fund Kim Z. Golden Rondeau – Tempo di minuetto and Jean Suda Ms. Johnson John Roberts and Susan Shaner INTERMISSION Season Sponsors

SYMPHONY NO.5  Baltimore County Franz Schubert Commission on Arts and Sciences Allegro Andante con moto  Kim Z. Golden Menuetto. Allegro molto and Jean Suda Allegro vivace  Maryland State Arts Council

 John Roberts and Susan Shaner

 Markand Thakar and Victoria Chiang

The concert will end at approximately 5pm

35 program notes 10 FEBRUARY 2019

AARON COPLAND b. 1900 Brooklyn; d. 1990 Sleepy Hollow, New York Appalachian Spring, 1944 AARON COPLAND During his long career, Aaron Copland composed in diverse styles. His output Darius Milhaud.) Copland originally called included scores for films (The Red it Ballet for Martha, but Graham gave it Pony, Our Town, The Heiress), works its final title after a poem by Hart Crane, incorporating jazz (Piano Concerto, although the ballet bears no relation to the Music for the Theater) and the 12-tone text of the poem. The size limitations of the technique (Piano Quartet, Piano Fantasy). stage at Library of Congress dictated a small In the mid-1930s, he began to feel “an ensemble. Consequently, the original version increasing dissatisfaction with the was scored for 13 instruments (flute, clarinet, relation of the music-loving public and bassoon, piano, and strings). Soon after the living composer.” To reach a wider the successful premiere, however, Copland audience, he simplified his style to make extracted a somewhat shortened suite from it more accessible, yet without sacrificing the ballet for full orchestra, the version sound artistic values. The first work in this heard today. more popular vein was El Salón México, In the preface to the score of the suite, finished in 1936. This was followed by the Copland summarized the story of the ballet works by which he is best known today: using the words of a New York Herald his three American ballets Billy the Kid, Tribune review by Eric Denby, written Rodeo, and Appalachian Spring. after the New York premiere: “...A pioneer Copland composed Appalachian celebration in spring around a newly-built Spring in 1944 for Martha Graham, the farmhouse in the Pennsylvania hills in the great pioneer of modern dance, to be early part of the last century. The bride-to- performed at an evening of modern ballet be and the young farmer-husband enact the at Library of Congress. (Other ballets on emotions, joyful and apprehensive, their new the program were by Paul Hindemith and domestic partnership invites... A revivalist and his followers remind the new Among them are a handful of 18th-century householders of the strange and terrible musical rarities, including six original aspects of human fate. At the end the couple manuscripts by Mozart and a letter to his are left quiet and strong in their new house.” sister. The oldest of those six manuscripts The sections of the suite merge into is Violin Concerto No.5. As you listen to each other without pause, but reflect this piece today, the original copy resides distinctly different moods and scenarios. in a building less than fifty miles away. The haunting but peaceful opening gives It is interesting to compare the letter way suddenly to an outburst of excitement in Library of Congress, dated 1770, to this comprising several different musical motives, concerto, written five-and-a-half years demonstrating the open octaves and fifths later at the end of 1775. The letter is in that became the hallmark of Copland’s the florid, slightly sloppy handwriting of “American” style. After building up to a a teenager who hasn’t quite mastered frenzied climax, a solo clarinet interrupts his pen. He actively apologizes for his plaintively with the Shaker tune, Simple bad penmanship in a letter written a few Gifts. Copland uses the song as the theme months later. With broad strokes and a for a set of variations, which themselves little too much ink, he talks about all the increase in intensity as more and more exciting things he has seen in Milan around instruments are added with each new Carnival and asks his sister to kiss their variation. Then, with another sudden shift in mother a billion times. By contrast, the mood, we are transported back to the quiet hand that set this violin concerto to paper introduction, and the Suite ends as it began. is mature, assured, and clear. Though there Simple Gifts was composed by Shaker is evident haste in the pen strokes, the Elder Joseph Brackett, Jr. in 1848 for dancing whole manuscript is completely legible, during Shaker worship. Copland’s five with almost no corrections. There are fewer variations never veer far from the original accidents with ink than there are with what melody, which he found in a 1940 collection appear to be little spills of wine or food of Shaker songs compiled by Edward D. scattered on select pages. Even though Andrews. While the tune was certainly perfect Mozart was famous for a puerile sense of for Graham’s choreography, it didn’t exactly humor throughout his life, the clarity in his fit the story line, as the Shakers themselves scores demonstrates great adult skill as a were dedicated to a life of celibacy. nineteen-year-old. The unofficial title for this concerto is (Copland note by Joseph & Elizabeth Kahn) The Turkish, mostly for the musical idioms that appear in the third movement. The WOLFGANG AMADÉ MOZART Ottoman Empire threatened Western b. 1756 Salzburg; d. 1791 Vienna Europe for centuries, often abducting foreign children and raising them in Violin Concerto No.5 in A, K.219, 1775 Janissary armies. A period of peace in the Library of Congress in Washington, DC 18th century quieted the threat and brought has a collection of treasures in its archive. Turkish trade and culture into vogue. The

continued on page 38 

37 continued from page 38 

col legno beating in the strings and the melodic structures that appear in the last movement evoke the percussive music that accompanied the Janissaries. This concerto is the last piece Mozart wrote in 1775. He hadn’t finished anything else since October but completed this work just before Christmas. Thanks to good recordkeeping while he was alive and care for his legacy after he died, we know that this kind of gap is fairly common for Mozart. He dated many of his works, and he often took a break from composing FRANZ SCHUBERT or at least finishing works as the weather started getting cooler. By odd coincidence, he would become fatally ill in November, Schubert’s massive outpouring of songs or sixteen years later. At nineteen, he had two Lieder. He wrote around 400 pieces more thirds of his output yet to write, but his life than Mozart did but about 600 are songs. was already more than half over. He had There are a number of reasons that no way of knowing that, so this piece is still over half of his output is on a small scale, filled with youthful zeal and exotic flair. the most pressing of which is probably his living situation. For much of his life, he FRANZ SCHUBERT shared apartments with friends or lived b. 1797 Vienna; d. 1828 Vienna out of their houses. Since he moved so frequently, it was likely easier to dedicate Symphony No.5, 1816 time to works he knew he could finish Schubert and Mozart lived very different quickly. This sense of urgency may have lives but share several commonalities. Both been compounded by a fear of mortality lived short lives and died of uncertain around the time he abandoned Symphony or indeterminate causes. Both started No.8, the so called Unfinished, six years after composing as children and produced he completed Symphony No.5. Whatever huge volumes of work. Because they both the root cause, he never fully finished any worked extensively in Vienna within a few of his later symphonies. After the sixth, he decades of each other, they knew several of either abandoned them or left parts of the the same musical luminaries. orchestration undone. Though Mozart started earlier than When he wrote Symphony No.5 in 1816, Schubert and lived four years longer, he was nineteen and newly moved out Schubert was the more prolific of the two of his father’s house. At the time, he was in sheer numbers. In part, this is due to obsessing over Mozart’s music. He had

38 poured out his passion for Mozart’s work It’s fairly easy to conclude that this into his diary a few months earlier and may is at least partially an homage to one the have had him in mind as he wrote. Indeed, previous generation’s musical celebrities. had Mozart lived until 1816, his music may Though there are markers that clearly assign have evolved into something similar to this it to its own time in history, it’s impossible symphony. Schubert deliberately pares to deny the influence one young genius had down his orchestra to strings and just seven upon another. wind instruments in similar configuration to Mozart’s later symphonies. artist biography 24 MARCH 2019

Audrey Wright violin joined Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in September 2016 and is now associate concertmaster. A versatile performer in solo, chamber music, and orchestral realms, Audrey has previously held positions with Excelsa Quartet and New World Symphony. Her repertoire spans early 17th-century to modern day and her performing experience includes the full spectrum of these musical styles from Baroque performance- practice to the premiering of new and personally commissioned works.

Audrey’s violin: My violin was made in 2004 by Marilyn Wallin, and I have had the joy of performing on it since 2005, as its first owner. What I love most about playing on this instrument is the incredible range of color I am able to draw out, from deep, rich tones on the lower strings to brilliant ones on the upper strings. It has aged beautifully and compliments my playing style. I am very grateful to play a violin that I regard as an old friend and trusted musical partner.

40 artist biography

24 MARCH 2019 While a member of Excelsa Quartet, Heiss, and John Gibbons, and with pianist Audrey traveled throughout North Christopher O’Riley on NPR’s From the America and Europe giving concerts and Top. Most recent festival appearances competing in international competitions. include Verbier Festival, Manchester The quartet worked closely with members Summer Chamber Music, Great Lakes of Guarneri, Emerson, St. Lawrence, and Summer Chamber Music Festival, Kneisel Juilliard quartets and, in 2015, it Hall School of Music, and McGill commissioned and gave the world International String Quartet Academy. premiere of John Heiss’s Microcosms. In addition to performing, Audrey is Audrey has been a participant of Verbier also passionate about teaching and Festival (Switzerland) for the past six coaching chamber music. She was Director years and has been a member of the of Homewood Chamber Music Seminar at festival’s Chamber Orchestra, directed by Johns Hopkins University from 2017-18 Gábor Takács-Nagy since 2014. At and maintains a small studio of private Verbier Festival, she has performed as students. Previously, she coached chamber concertmaster under the direction of music at University of Maryland School of Gábor Takács-Nagy, Kent Nagano, Iván Music and held teaching positions at Fischer, and Charles Dutoit. She has International School of Music, Beechwood performed in such chamber orchestras as Knoll Elementary School, and Panama Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and Jazz Festival in Panama City, Panama. Discovery Ensemble and has appeared as Audrey completed her undergraduate guest artist with St. Lawrence String studies in 2011 with Lucy Chapman at New Quartet, Axelrod String Quartet, England Conservatory, earning the Borromeo String Quartet, and Boston prestigious Chadwick Medal, and she Trio. Audrey has appeared on many received a Master of Music from NEC in concert series in the area, including 2013, studying with Lucy Chapman, Bayla Community Concerts at Second, Pro Keyes, and Jennifer Frautschi. She is Musica Rara, and Smithsonian Chamber currently a Doctor of Musical Arts Society, where she has performed on the candidate at University of Maryland, exquisite instruments within Smithsonian studying with David Salness. Audrey’s Instrument Collection. She has violin bow, generously on loan from The collaborated with artists such as Mayron Maestro Foundation, was made by Paul Tsong, Paul Watkins, Roger Tapping, John Siefried in 2000.

41 CONCERT SEASON 2018 - 2019 SUNDAYS @3:30PM SUNDAYS @7:30PM SEP 16, 2018 CHAMBER MUSIC BY BENJAMIN PASTERNACK, PIANO CANDLELIGHT Featuring members of the SEP 30, 2018 Baltimore Symphony Orchestra MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY CHOIR OCT 27, 2018 (5:00PM) SEP 23, 2018 DAVID SIMON: A TRIBUTE CONCERT OCT 21, 2018 NOV 04, 2018 ZODIAC TRIO NOV 11, 2018 JAN 27, 2019 KINGA AUGUSTYN, VIOLIN FEB 10, 2019 FEB 24, 2019 MAR 17, 2019 SAM POST & KASSIA MUSIC COLLECTIVE MAR 10, 2019 MAR 31, 2019 MICHAEL ADCOCK, PIANO MAY 12, 2019 APR 28, 2019 WONDERLIC VOICE CONCERT JUN 09, 2019 (7:00PM) MAY 19, 2019 CHRYSTAL E. WILLIAMS, For more information call 443.759.3309 MEZZO-SOPRANO or visit CommunityConcertsAtSecond.org

2018–2019 CONCERT HIGHLIGHTS

The Music of World War I: A Centennial Comemmoration Sunday, Nov. 11, 3 p.m. I Can See the Light: Songs of Hope and Contemplation Sunday, Dec. 2, 3 p.m. Prism: A Musical Collage VISIT US ONLINE! Saturday, April 13, 8 p.m. Bill & Helen Murray Jazz Residency thebco.org or follow 10th Annual Concert Tuesday, April 23, 8 p.m. us on Facebook! TICKETS: tuboxoffice.com 410-704-2787 | events.towson.edu SUNDAY, 24 MARCH 2019 | 3PM Kraushaar Auditorium, Goucher College mozart 3d concerto, nielsen, dvořák

Markand Thakar conductor Audrey Wright violin, concertmaster candidate

LITTLE SUITE, OP.1 Concert Sponsor Carl Nielsen Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC Lutherville Complex

VIOLIN CONCERTO NO.3 IN G MAJOR, K.216 Concertmaster Search Wolfgang Amadé Mozart Sponsors Allegro Ashworth Guest Adagio Soloist Fund Rondeau Kim Z. Golden and Jean Suda Ms. Wright John Roberts and Susan Shaner INTERMISSION Season Sponsors

SERENADE FOR STRINGS  Baltimore County Antonin Dvořák Commission on Arts and Moderato Sciences Menuetto: Allegro con moto  Kim Z. Golden and Jean Scherzo: Vivace Suda Larghetto Finale: Allegro vivace  Maryland State Arts Council

 John Roberts and Susan Shaner

 Markand Thakar and Victoria Chiang

The concert will end at approximately 5pm

43 program notes 24 MARCH 2019

CARL NIELSEN b. 1865 Nørre Lyndelse, CARL NIELSEN Denmark; d. 1931 Copenhagen Little Suite, Op.1, 1888 When one hears Little Suite, Op.1, Globally, Carl Nielsen is perhaps less well- the listener is struck by the seeming known than his very near contemporaries precociousness of such a strong first work. Richard Strauss and Jean Sibelius; in his This is somewhat deceptive, because it was native Denmark, his stature is much more written when he was twenty-three and is not heroic. Unlike the other two composers, his first composition. Though Nielsen wrote he had few extended periods in the larger over 400 works, he was selective with the culture capitals of Europe and spent most pieces to which he assigned an opus number. of his life in Denmark. He also never gained Of all his compositions, he only gave that astronomical popularity or a great following distinction to 58, with a 59th opus number during his lifetime. It took a later generation assigned posthumously. Op.1 is still an early to understand the full impact of his work. piece in his career as a composer, Though his songs and vocal repertoire so the perceived precociousness is contributed to a stronger Danish identity in somewhat deserved. the face of German aggression during World Because the countries of Scandinavia War II, his music didn’t reach peak notoriety share close cultural ties, it is easy to until almost thirty years after his death. compare Little Suite to other music of the Nielsen was born to a poor family and region. The first movement is cold and spent much of his early life eking out his introspective, with little flashes of passion. living with various musical gig-work and It is also the shortest of the suite’s three teaching. He played brass instruments in an movements and it quickly gives way to a army band as a young man, but his principal sensual, waltzing intermezzo. The protracted instrument was violin. It comes as no surprise finale makes up almost half of the whole that roughly three quarters of his earliest suite. It first returns with the same icy feel works include violin. as the opening introduction before ripping open into sweeping, ecstatic romanticism. WOLFGANG AMADÉ MOZART so this was a dip from his normal output in b. 1756 Salzburg; d. 1791 Vienna a four-month period as a mature composer. The three concerti he wrote during that Violin Concerto No.3 in G, K.216, 1775 time are still regularly performed and are If you attended the February concert this all scored for similar ensembles. In spite of season, you heard another of Mozart’s violin all the trouble he had with the nobleman concerti, written only a few months after who paid his salary, Mozart had an admiring this one. Though the autograph copies of circle of friends in Salzburg and he may some of his works were dated and re- have enjoyed working with the orchestral dated, all five of Mozart’s violin concerti musicians he wrote for there. were probably written in 1775. Mozart was He probably wrote each of these pieces nineteen at the time and employed by the with himself in mind as the soloist and took Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg, Hieronymus a formulaic approach with the structure of von Colloredo. Colloredo was a puritanical all five concerti. Each begins with a fast, prelate; among his almost protestant allegro movement, followed by an andante reforms in his archdiocese, he reduced the or adagio slow movement, and ending with extravagant ceremony of the mass to its another fast movement, often a rondo. necessities, which explains why so many Even though Mozart was probably anxious Mozart mass settings are so short. to realize his greater potential elsewhere, Mozart was just as musically stifled as evidenced by this sudden slump in the outside his church obligations. He had volume of his musical output, there is still just written a successful opera during a a great deal of joy in each of these recent visit to Munich, but there were no youthful pieces. opportunities to write opera in Salzburg. Colloredo closed the court theater and ANTONIN DVOŘÁK there were no other ready options for b. 1841 Nelahozeves, Czech a resident opera composer. The Prince- Republic; d. 1904 Prague Archbishop and the young composer found Serenade, 1875 every opportunity to antagonize each other, either deliberately or by accident. The Antonin Dvořák has a success story that one begrudged the young man’s frequent should hearten any late bloomer. After absences from court while the other hated scraping his way through adolescence being restrained by his employer. and his twenties with subsistence jobs Mozart’s recourse in 1775 was to have that barely covered his expenses, he as much fun musically as possible and violin finally gained international success in his was his brief obsession. From September to mid-thirties and became one of the most December, he wrote three of his five violin celebrated Czech composers in history. concerti and almost nothing else. Mozart He spent much of his twenties in and wrote more than 600 works in thirty years, around Prague playing viola in various

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orchestras, teaching piano lessons, and trying desperately to secure an organist position. At twenty-three, his income was so small that the only way he could manage his rent was by sharing an apartment with five other tenants. Through this hard decade of his life, he began composing, writing his first official opus in 1861 and completing at least two dozen works in ten years. It wasn’t until he reached thirty that he had an opportunity to perform publicly the few early pieces of which he was proud. In 1874, he finally had the job he sought as an organist and was married and expecting his first child. His new personal life and growing family may have been part of the impetus to apply to Austrian Prize for the stipend it offered. He submitted fifteen pieces – catching the eye of notable jury members, including Johannes Brahms – won the prize in early 1874 and again in 1876 ANTONIN DVOŘÁK and 1877. His submissions granted him two important opportunities: the encouragement which is in ABA form. It will also make a of Brahms – who opened doors with his cameo appearance in the fifth movement to connections – and the money needed to put a bow on the whole work. dedicate more time to composition. Each movement is highly elegant, with Serenade for Strings was written its own flair. The first movement is deeply shortly after his first grant from Austrian romantic; the second is a somewhat pensive, Prize in 1875. The relief he must have felt almost melancholic waltz; the third is by after becoming financially solvent for the turns coquettish, enraptured, and joyful; first time in his life shines through in the and the fourth movement is serene and obvious emotions that pour out in this work. richly powerful. Finally, the fifth movement The opening theme is among his most ties elements of each preceding emotion recognizable, tossed between violins and into one outcry of thanks, ascending and low strings and underpinned with a driving, descending, lighting again on the original breathless viola accompaniment. There theme, and then slamming toward the finish are several iterations of this lush musical with a jubilant presto. moment throughout the first movement,

46 The Baltimore Community Foundation REMEMBER THE ONES YOU has been helping people who love Baltimore for 40 years. You’d be surprised at the variety of creative ideas people have come up with, L VE and the range of charitable plans we’ve Friends ... Family ... Baltimore helped them design and bring to life.

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Baltimore Community Foundation 2 East Read Street, Baltimore, MD Tel. 410.332.4171 | www.bcf.org artist biography 5 MAY 2019

Peter Sirotin violin has performed hundreds of concerts as a chamber musician, soloist, and concertmaster in Europe, North America, and Asia since his debut at the age of fourteen, performing Paganini Concerto No.1 with Kharkiv Philharmonic in his native Ukraine. After graduating with honors from Moscow’s Central Music School, Mr. Sirotin became the youngest member of the GRAMMY Award-winning Moscow Soloists chamber ensemble. With this group he has toured extensively, performing in the major music centers such as Royal Albert Hall in London, Pleyel Hall in Paris, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and Beethoven Hall in Bonn.

Peter’s violin: I am extraordinarily fortunate to have both an old and a new instrument. For many years I have performed on a Matthias Albanus violin made in 1706 but, a few years ago, one of my oldest friends and a former colleague from my “Moscow Soloists” days, Leonid Ferents, began making instruments. I have found his acoustical concept with the unusual responsiveness of his instruments very appealing and have been lately playing mostly on a violin made by him.

48 artist biography

5 MAY 2019 Mr. Sirotin’s performances as a Zhukov; Alexei Lubimov; violinist Earl concertmaster include a wide range of Carlyss, formerly of Juilliard String Quartet; projects from concerts in Carnegie Hall, cellist Natalia Gutman; flutist Claudio Kennedy Center, and Verizon Hall to the Arrimani; and harpsichordist Arthur Haas. performances of Verdi Requiem, Bach St. His performances have been described by John Passion, and Beethoven Missa critics as “stylistically refined,” “electrifying,” Solemnis with Cathedral Choral Society in and “brilliant.” Recently, Mr. Sirotin National Cathedral in Washington, DC. He performed Beethoven Violin Concerto in is currently Concertmaster of Harrisburg Parmer Concert Hall with Messiah College Symphony Orchestra and Artistic Director Symphony Orchestra. With Ya-Ting Chang, of Market Square Concerts in Harrisburg. he appeared as soloist in the world premiere An active educator, Mr. Sirotin is of Ching-Ju Shih Double Concerto for artist-in-residence at Messiah College in Violin, Piano, and Orchestra at National Grantham, PA, where he co-founded Concert Hall in Taipei. Chamber Music in Grantham, a summer Depending on the repertoire, Mr. Sirotin chamber-music and composition program performs either on a violin made by Leonid for young musicians. He has given Ferents in 2013 or on a violin made by masterclasses in U.S. and abroad and has Matthias Albanius in 1706. served as an adjudicator in competitions. In 1997, Mr. Sirotin and his wife, pianist Ya-Ting Chang, founded Mendelssohn Piano Trio. They have performed more than 500 concerts in U.S., Europe, and Asia and recorded fifteen CDs, including the complete Haydn Piano Trios on Centaur Records. Mr. Sirotin has collaborated in performance with pianists Ann Schein; Igor

49 2018–19 SEASON “THIS WAS SUBLIME MUSIC-MAKING.” —The Baltimore Sun

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PACIFICA QUARTET HAGEN QUARTET MARC-ANDRÉ HAMELIN, JÖRG WIDMANN, CLARINET PIANO Works by Dvorˇák, Works by Beethoven, Jörg Widmann, Mozart Marc-André Hamelin, Schumann Mar 24 Oct 21

PIOTR ANDERSZEWSKI, PIANO IMOGEN COOPER, PIANO Works by Bach, Beethoven Works by Haydn, Thomas Adès, Apr 7 Beethoven, Schubert Nov 11 ARCANGELO JONATHAN COHEN, ARTISTIC JENNIFER KOH, VIOLIN DIRECTOR, HARPSICHORD, ORGAN SHAI WOSNER, PIANO JOÉLLE HARVEY, SOPRANO Works by Beethoven, Vijay Iyer Works by Handel, Bach, Jan 27 Buxtehude May 12

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EXPLORE THE FULL SEASON! SHRIVERCONCERTS.ORG | 410.516.7164 Student tickets available · For venue details, please visit shriverconcerts.org SUNDAY, 5 MAY 2019 | 3PM Kraushaar Auditorium, Goucher College beethoven concerto, mozart, rossini, prokofiev

Markand Thakar conductor Peter Sirotin violin, concertmaster candidate

OVERTURE: THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO Concert Sponsor Wolfgang Amadé Mozart BD Life Sciences Concertmaster VIOLIN CONCERTO Search Sponsors Ludwig van Beethoven Ashworth Guest Allegro ma non troppo Soloist Fund Larghetto Kim Z. Golden and Rondo. Allegro Jean Suda John Roberts and Mr. Sirotin Susan Shaner

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 Kim Z. Golden and CLASSICAL SYMPHONY Jean Suda Sergei Prokofiev Allegro  Maryland State Arts Larghetto Council Gavotta: Non troppo allegro  John Roberts and Finale: Molto vivace Susan Shaner

 Markand Thakar and Victoria Chiang

The concert will end at approximately 5pm

51 program notes 5 MAY 2019

WOLFGANG AMADÉ MOZART b. 1756 Salzburg; d. 1791 Vienna Overture: The Marriage of Figaro, 1786 WOLFGANG AMADÉ MOZART The two overtures in this concert have much in common. Both precede a staple of both. The first play had already been masterwork of operatic literature and adapted for the operatic stage, so Mozart arguably each composer’s best – or, at least, campaigned to set the much more populist most famous – contribution to the genre; Le Mariage de Figaro to music. The five-act each ensuing plot unfolds around the same play was banned in France and Austria set of characters; and neither overture bears for its scathing critique of the nobility’s any motivic similarity to the musical drama prerogatives. Mozart and his librettist, that follows it. Lorenzo Da Ponte, smoothed out the harsh The Figaro Trilogy is a set of French plays political points and the Italian version passed written by Pierre Beaumarchais between the Austrian censors. 1772 and 1792. The first play illuminates the Within the opera, Mozart and Da Ponte antics of Figaro as he helps Count Almaviva work hard to keep the actors busy and woo and wed Rosina. In the second play, the involved. Mozart does the same for his love between the Count and now Countess orchestra in the overture. Every instrument Almaviva has already cooled, and Suzanne that appears in the score – excepting the – Figaro’s exceptionally clever fiancée – keyboard that accompanies the recitatives has to ward off the nobleman’s advances – has a vigorous, often soloistic, role to play throughout her wedding day. The third play, in this frantic, presto piece. Apart from written months before France abolished its the instrumentation, it is unique among monarchy, trails glumly and a little nervously Mozart’s most celebrated overtures in its after the two glittering farces that came musical independence from the opera for before it. which it was written. By contrast, there are Only the first two plays were written obvious motifs in both of the remaining in Mozart’s lifetime, and he was a great fan Da Ponte collaborations and several other Mozart operas that are introduced in those Violin Concerto is a longer work than overtures that then reappear at important some of Beethoven’s symphonies and the dramatic moments. The overture to The mammoth first movement often eclipses Marriage of Figaro shares no thematic the entire running length of Symphony content with the rest of the work, but its No.1, depending upon the length of the unrelenting demands result in an exciting cadenza. Beethoven himself reworked the auditory journey and evocative picture for piece for piano and orchestra after the poor anyone who has tried to plan a wedding. reception of the violin version and inserted a long piano cadenza at the end of the first LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN movement. When the original version was b. 1770 Bonn; d. 1827 Vienna revived in 1844, the tradition to add a new cadenza sprang from Beethoven’s example. Violin Concerto, 1806 Though there are certain favorite cadenzas 1806 was a relatively light year for that are used regularly, no less than thirty- Beethoven in terms of volume, but not in two violinists or composers have written terms of compositional importance. That their own contributions to the piece. year, he completed the first of his middle Because the work is so long, the third symphonies (No.4), a revised version of his movement is occasionally extracted as a opera, Leonore (later Fidelio), his second- standalone excerpt, so it may be the most to-last piano concerto (No.4), Piano Sonata familiar part of the whole work. In itself, it No.23 (Appassionata), the three Rasumovsky is an excellent example of a solo concerto. string quartets, and his only violin concerto. There is a triumphant interplay between Beethoven had written solo pieces for soloist and ensemble throughout; both act violin before, but nothing on the scale of as equal partners. Beethoven stays close Violin Concerto. He wrote it for a colleague, Franz Clement, for a Christmastime concert in Vienna. The premiere went badly and the work was shelved for years, perhaps discouraging Beethoven from writing other violin concerti. Conjecture abounds about why the premiere flopped; the most commonly assumed reason is a lack of rehearsal. Either Beethoven took too long to deliver the finished work or Clement refused to rehearse it thoroughly enough to guarantee its success. Mendelssohn would revive the concerto almost forty years later and place it back among some of the strongest violin repertoire of the early 19th-century. LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN

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to the main theme throughout the entire dell’arte: with the help of a clown, the ardent movement and foreshadows the miraculous young lover saves the charming maiden economy that opens Symphony No.5, already from the inappropriate advances of the old in development when Violin Concerto man. Beaumarchais’s heroines are often premiered. wiser and more resourceful than their male counterparts, a distinction that keeps Rosina GIOACHINO ANTONIO ROSSINI (The Barber of Seville) and Susanna (The b. 1792 Pesaro, Papal States of Marriage of Figaro) relatable to at least half Italy; d. 1868 Paris of modern opera lovers. Like Mozart’s overture to The Marriage Overture: The Barber of Seville, 1813 of Figaro, Rossini’s overture to The Barber Imagine for a moment that you had very of Seville has no motivic relation to the rest little exposure to classical music. If you grew of the opera, but for a completely different up with Bugs Bunny, you might recognize reason. Because the overture in 1816 was still at least part of the overture to The Barber an invitation to audiences to find their seats, of Seville. Much of this opera has made its it was practical to have an urgent, exciting way into popular culture, so even listeners piece to get them to settle in and turn their who haven’t had the pleasure of watching attention toward the stage. the famous rabbit giving Elmer Fudd a particularly savage spa treatment might have SERGEI PROKOFIEV some contact with the eponymous Barber. b. 1891 Sontsivka, Ukraine; d. 1953 The opera itself is the first installment in Moscow The Figaro Trilogy. Its plot is pure commedia Classical Symphony, 1917 If you are a concertgoer who likes to study the scores before attending a performance, you might have noticed an immediate similarity between the Mozart overture in this concert and this symphony. Both pieces are scored for the same forces. Aside from being written in the same key, you might also note some stylistic similarities with the Haydn symphony that appeared earlier this season. You’re not imagining things; these similarities are deliberate. When Prokofiev wrote his first symphony in 1916-17, he composed it as an homage to Haydn and accidentally initiated a new movement: GIOACHINO ANTONIO ROSSINI Neoclassicism.

54 The practice of writing in an older style to give a piece a sense of antique familiarity existed well before the 20th century. Composers from Bach to Brahms used old- fashioned musical ideas to evoke nostalgia, poke fun at older generations, or give works a sense of gravity and immediate longevity. There are multiple examples of this across several centuries of music, but it isn’t until the period between the two world wars that neoclassicism crystalized into a cohesive trend. The world changed drastically in the first half of the 20th century, and SERGEI PROKOFIEV music changed with it. Some music breaks free from any previous moorings into experimental new waters, while other pieces more than makes up for in personality. After cling to the past with new strength. a short introduction, the pert, playful theme Prokofiev first studied at Saint of the first movement appears in the violins, Petersburg Conservatory as a teenager but accompanied by a duenna-like bassoon line. returned for further studies at the outbreak After the exposition, the first movement of war. He was in this second course of follows all the structural components of study when he began work on his first sonata form. But, for some of the harmonic symphony. By then, he had already explored language, it could almost be mistaken for polytonality and other modern styles some recently rediscovered treasure from that would pervade much of his output, an Esterhazy closet. The remaining three so Classical Symphony is something of a movements all challenge the listener to departure. A professor of conducting at the guess their age. The seductive second conservatory used 18th-century symphonies movement warps between 1917 and 1787; the as examples; the original idea for the work diminutive third movement dances through may have sprung from there. Compared the air so quickly it could be from anywhere; to the mammoth symphonic works of his while puckish fourth movement almost contemporaries, this compact little gem is sounds like a proud Mendelssohn wrote it. In quite short. In fact, almost all of Prokofiev’s spite of all the masks it wears, Prokofiev still later symphonies are at least twice as long. gives little hints throughout to remind the What this symphony lacks in length, it listener that this work is very much his. season donors

WE ARE PROUD to acknowledge the sponsors and contributors whose gifts between August 1, 2017 and July 31, 2018 helped BCO continue its education programs and its vision of intimate and affordable performances for the greater Baltimore community. Hats off to you!

BENEFACTOR The Jim and Patty Rouse VIRTUOSO More than $10,000 Charitable Foundation, Inc. $501 to $1,000 Baltimore County Aimee and Steven Adashek Commission on Arts MAESTRO Leon and Donna Berg $2,501 to $5,000 and Sciences Douglas Fambrough and Kim Z. Golden and Jean Suda Greenspring Associates, Inc. Savitri Gauthier Maryland State Arts Council T. Rowe Price Foundation, Inc. Lockwood Hoehl John Roberts Susan G. Waxter Mary D. Hoehl and Susan Shaner H.R. LaBar Family Foundation Markand Thakar CONDUCTOR Fund of The Greater and Victoria Chiang $1,001 to $2,500 Cincinnati Foundation Naden/Lean, LLC Peter Leffman Brenda K. Ashworth Wright Family Foundation Joanne Lindberg and Donald Welsh The Reginald F. Lewis Mark and Mary Finn Foundation, Inc. IMPRESSARIO Patricia Krenzke Jeffrey and Laura Thul Penza $5,001 to $10,000 and Michael Hall George A. Roche Becton, Dickenson Sylvia and James McGill The Shelter Foundation, Inc. and Company William C. Trimble, Jr. Carvel and Lorraine Tiekert Lois and Philip Macht Family Jason Vlosich Philanthropic Fund and Shauna Sappington

56 SOLOIST Mrs. Donna Suwall Rose J. Hudson $251 to $500 Mr. and Mrs. Stanley J. Wales Linda Huganir Mr. and Mrs. H. Ronald Zielke Mary Angela Hull Caren and Bruce Hoffberger Polly Huston Paternayan-Ramsden Fund Marc and Riva Kahn Marlene E. Rogers, M.D. FIRST CHAIR Richard and Gladys Kremen Doris Sanders Up to $100 Dorothy B. Krug Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. Marilyn J. Abrahams Mr. and Mrs. Robert Lagas William J. Sweet, Jr. Hillary Barry and Peter Eleanora L. Marshall Mr. and Mrs. Donald W. Babcox Zurwelle Carol and Donald Boardman Marge Mitchell Mr. and Mrs. A. Stanley Dr. and Mrs. Brian Morris CONCERTMASTER Brager, Jr. Tom Myers and Katherine Myers $101 to $250 Ethel and William Braverman William J. Camarinos - in Ursula and John Pierce Rae and Jim Cumbie memory of Mark Peter Catherine L. Reese John and Cheryl Dawson Krasselt Susan and Herbert Shankroff Dr. Stephen J. Gandel Gislin Dagnelie - in loving Carole Silver Leslie Greenwald memory of Mark Peter Ruth and Richard Smith Edward and Elsbeth Haladay Krasselt Mrs. Anne L. Stiff Pat W. Kingman Dr. and Mrs. John W. Charlotte Sullivan Dr. Frank C. Marino Dawson, Jr. Kim Sulzer Foundation, Inc. Margaret and Donn Eck Brian Thiel Steve and Sue Norwitz Edwin Gabler Nanny and Jack Warren Yvonne Ottaviano Jeanne Gilmore Christine Wells Nancy Rucker, in honor Lee and Abraham Golden of Brian Rucker, former Sue Hafner Board Member Forest Hansen Riva and Dr. Al Shackman and Valerie Lamont Edith Stern and Allan Barbara and Donald Hoover Spradling iii