BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

James Levine, Music Director BOSTON I SYMPHONY Bernard Haitink, Conductor Emeritus I ORCHESTRA. \ JAMES JIEVJNE / Seiji Ozawa, Music Director Laureate 124th Season, 2004-2005 1» CHAMBER MUSIC TEA V

Friday, April 1, at 2:30

CHAMBER PRELUDE II Saturday, April 2, at 6 COMMUNITY CONCERT VI Sunday, April 3, at 3, at the Peabody-Essex Museum, Salem

This concert is made available free to the public through the generosity of State Street Foundation.

THOMAS ROLFS and BENJAMIN WRIGHT, JONATHAN MENKIS, horn NORMAN BOLTER, MIKE ROYLANCE,

J.S. BACH Contrapunctus No. 9 from The Art of the Fugue, arranged for

BOLTER Mystery Dreams: Cydonia for two trumpets, horn, trombone, and tuba

SAMPSON Morning Music for brass quintet

EWALD Quintet in B-flat minor, Opus 5, for brass quintet Moderato Adagio non troppo lento Allegro moderato

Week 22

Notes on the Program

The Art of Fugue, probably begun around 1738, was one of the last pieces J.S. Bach (1685-1750) worked on at the end of his life. An inscription in the manuscript of the final fugue, in the handwriting of Bach's son Carl Philip Emanuel Bach, reads (in German), "While working on this fugue, where the name B.A.C.H. appears in the countersubject, the composer died." (B-A-C-H, in German nomenclature, translates to our B-flat-A-C-B-natural: Bach's musical "signature.") This is one of several Bach works that fulfills an almost encyclopedic role in the demonstration of various compositional techniques. Already in Bach's middle life, during his time at Cothen in the early 1720s, we find his unsurpassed music for solo violin, the six cello suites, and the Brandenburg Concertos, collections that exemplify their genres. Of his later works besides The Art of the Fugue, the Goldberg Variations and A Musical Offering, along with the forty-eight Preludes and Fugues of The Well-tempered Clavier (written over the course of many years and compiled by 1742), explore the furthest reaches of contrapuntal art for the keyboard. The Art of the Fugue, a virtuosic display of formal contrapuntal genres, consists of eighteen extant canons and fugues and one incomplete fugue. The manuscript does not indicate instrumentation, and there is no conclusive evidence as to whether the work was even intended for performance. Some scholars have considered the piece a kind of encyclopedia of contrapuntal technique, a compositional meditation, designed more for study or for the "inner ear" than for performance. On the other hand, Bach was a consummately practical musician; would he have written music for abstract posterity, even at this late stage of his life? "Contrapunctus IX" is a double fugue—more completely, a double fugue in double counterpoint at the twelfth—in D minor. The first subject, beginning in the alto voice, is eight bars long, a leap of an octave followed by a descending scale, a rising passage of short sequences, and another descending passage of short figures.

The second subject, starting in the topmost voice in the thirty-fifth measure, is the familiar one that recurs throughout The Art of Fugue: a leap of a fifth, descending major third, descending minor third (all outlining the D minor triad), followed by a four-note ascending scale beginning from the leading tone and a descending scale back to the tonic. This is presented in tandem with a further statement of the first subject of Contrapunctus IX, and the two are worked out together over the remain- ing course of the fugue. —Robert Kirzinger *****

Boston Symphony Orchestra second trombonist Norman Bolter (b.1955) has composed music from a very early age, with the last eleven years witnessing an outpouring of new works winning him acclaim as a composer in the U.S. and

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Boston Symphony and Boston Pops fans with access to the Internet can visit the orches-

tra's official home page (http://www.bso.org). The BSO web site not only provides up-to-

the-minute information about all of the orchestra's activities, but also allows you to buy

tickets to BSO and Pops concerts online. In addition to program listings and ticket prices,

the web site offers a wide range of information on other BSO activities, biographies of

BSO musicians and guest artists, current press releases, historical facts and figures, helpful telephone numbers, and information on auditions and job openings. Since the BSO web

site is updated on a regular basis, we invite you to check in frequently. abroad. Besides his own recordings of his works, his compositions have appeared on International Horn Society, the Chicago Chamber Players, and the American Brass recordings by trombonists Joseph Alessi, Ronald Barron, Douglas Yeo, and James Quintet, among others. Recent works include Hommage: JFK, commissioned and pre- Miller. His music has been performed throughout the world, including in Asia, Aus- miered by the National Symphony Orchestra; Monument, commissioned by the Bar- Zealand, South America, Europe and the U.S. tralia, New low Endowment for the Memphis Symphony; his Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, In his numerous compositions (more than 100 to date), Mr. Bolter explores creat- commissioned by the Bergen Foundation and premiered by the New Jersey Sym- atmospheres through music inspired by the natural worlds the ing tangible and phony Orchestra, and Triptych for and orchestra, commissioned by Ray- human story, using a broad range of instrumentation, including solo instruments mond Mase and the International Trumpet Guild, premiered by Mase at the Aspen tuba, , flute, didjeridoo, ram's horn, (trombone, trumpet, serpent, and Music Festival, and also performed by Mase and the American Composers Orchestra others), brass ensemble, trombone choir, concert band, brass band, mixed chamber at Carnegie Hall. orchestra. has written music for the trombone than ensemble, and He more any other Sampson's music is represented by numerous recordings, including the American composer, and has received commissions from numerous organizations and individu- Brass Quintet's recording of Morning Music for the Summit label. Sampson also re- Orchestra, the als, including the Pro Arte Chamber Zellmer-Minnesota Orchestra cently co-authored a new trumpet method with Raymond Mase, published by G. Trombone Competition, the University of St. Thomas, the Online Trombone Journal, Schirmer. He has served on the Board of the Composers Guild of New Jersey, is a New York Philharmonic principal trombonist Joseph Alessi, and several BSO col- member of Solid Brass, and is the Founding President of the "Hardly Any Sampson" leagues. His conducting includes New England Conservatory trombone ensemble Music Festival. and chamber music groups as well as the Frequency Band. Morning Music was premiered by the at the Aspen Music Mr. Bolter serves on the faculties of the New England Conservatory of Music and Festival in summer 1987. For the American Brass Quintet's recording of the piece, Longy School of Music. Many of his students hold positions in major symphony Sampson provided the following note: orchestras, chamber music groups, and universities around the world. Besides con- Morning Music for brass quintet, written for the American Brass Quintet, is a se- ducting regular master classes, he also holds special workshops, Frequency Band quel to a previous work of mine titled In Memoriam: W.E.S. for woodwind quin- "retreats," co-conducted with psychologist Dr. Carol Viera, designed to offer a sanc- tet written in 1981. The subject of that piece was the murder of my brother by tuary for musicians and an enhanced ecology for the expression of atmospheric music. the Ku Klux Klan and American Nazis in 1979. Morning Music deals with my Mr. Bolter is also co-author, with Dr. Viera, of several papers and booklets, including thoughts and feelings seven years later. As you will hear, the anguish over the Methods Effective Practice, High Range Exercises, It's Not All in the Air, Composing: A of death is as intense as ever, but a certain sense of strength and hope will emerge Frequency Band Approach, and Metronome Meditation. from these ashes. There is even beauty. The work is in one movement with sev-

eral clearly delineated sections ending with a fast-paced coda. I dedicated this "Mystery Dreams: Cydonia" work to my mother, certainly the strongest individual I have ever known. In June 1976, the Viking Orbiter shot a photograph of the surface of the planet Mars that has potently stirred both wonder and controversy from that day forward. This photo revealed, in an area of Mars called Cydonia, what appeared to be a "face" very Music was an avocation for Victor Ewald (1860-1935). Born in St. Petersburg, similar to that of the sphinx in Egypt, and nearby were structures resembling pyra- Russia, Ewald trained as a civil engineer, a career in which he earned considerable mids. After careful study by a team of interested scientists, impressive mathematical distinction; from 1895 to 1915 he was a professor at the Institute of Civil Engineering. data were collected strongly supporting the theory that these structures were delib- An engineer and teacher throughout his life, he kept music as a pastime, playing erately and intelligently constructed. And despite the ensuing rebuttal and ongoing cello and French horn. Such musical dilettantism was common in Russia at that debate over the validity of this theory and what these structures may or may not really time: Borodin (a chemist), Rimsky-Korsakov (a navy inspector) and Mussorgsky (a be, this haunting discovery continues to promote awe and wonder in those whose civil servant) were all in Ewald's circle. Ewald participated in amateur chamber minds can stretch beyond the known, stirring the unlimited imagination. Following music evenings and wrote a number of chamber pieces. Like other composers in the many long hours, during which the composer immersed himself in "mystery dream- early years of the twentieth century he also was active as an ethnomusicologist, ing" about this breathtaking wonder, the music Mystery Dreams: Cydonia came into participating in expeditions in the north of European Russia to collect folk songs. being, an expression of the composer's personal connection to this mysterious domain Written in 1910, the Quintet No. 1, Opus 5, is one of three pieces for brass quintet and the accompanying atmosphere that appeared with it. by Ewald. It would have originally been scored for two , E-flat horn, eupho- The lyrical melodies and pulsing rhythms were clearly in- —Norman Bolter nium, and bass trombone. fluenced by Russian folk music. Set in three movements, the quintet is a staple in the literature, requiring strong individual and ensemble performance skills. Composer and trumpeter David Sampson (b.1951) studied at the Curtis Insti- —Jonathan Menkis tute of Music, Hunter College, the Manhattan School of Music, and Ecoles d'Art Americaine, working with such teachers as Karel Husa, Henri Dutilleux, and John A native of Sioux City, Iowa, Thomas Rolfs joined the BSO trumpet section in 1991. Corigliano. He has been recognized with numerous grants from such organizations He is now associate principal trumpet of the BSO and principal trumpet of the Boston as ASCAP, the NEA, and the New Jersey State Council for the Arts, and is the recipi- Pops Orchestra. As a student, Mr. Rolfs was a Tanglewood Music Center Fellow in ent of numerous commissions, including those from Chamber Music America, the 1978, going on to earn his bachelor of music degree from the University of Minnesota and a master of music degree from Northwestern University. He returned to to win the prestigious Walter H. Naumberg Award in Chamber Music. Besides Minnesota in 1986 for a five-year tenure as a member of the Saint Paul Chamber appearing on BSO, Boston Pops, and recordings, he is also heard as Orchestra. Mr. Rolfs has been a soloist with the Boston Symphony, the Boston Pops principal trombonist on recordings with the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine Orchestra, and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and a guest artist with the Na- and is soloist and conductor on two recordings of his own compositions, "Experi- tional Arts Centre Orchestra of Ottawa. At John Williams's request, he was a fea- ments in Music" and "Anew at Home." Mr. Bolter is on the faculties of the Longy tured soloist on Mr. Williams's Grammy-nominated soundtrack to the Academy School of Music and the New England Conservatory of Music. Award-winning film Saving Private Ryan. His varied musical background includes performances with the Minnesota Orchestra, the Vienna Philharmonic, the Empire Mike Roylance became the BSO's tuba player at the start of the 2003 Tanglewood Brass, and the Philharmonic, as well as teaching at Boston Univer- season. Born in Washington, DC, he attended the University of Miami and received

sity. On July 4, 2001, Mr. Rolfs was soloist in John Williams's Summon the Heroes for a bachelor of arts degree from Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. At Rollins, he the nationally televised Boston Pops concert on the Esplanade. served on the faculty conducting the brass ensemble and directing the Pep Band. He was professor of tuba and at the University of Central Florida, and BSO trumpet player Benjamin Wright represents his family's fifth generation of did graduate studies in the master of music program at DePaul University in trumpet players; in the 1800s his great-great-grandfather was bandleader and first Chicago. After moving to Chicago, he was invited to play with the Chicago Sym- in Buffalo Bill Cody's Circus Band. Mr. Wright started music as a three-year- phony, the Minnesota Orchestra, and the Seattle Symphony. For the 2001-02 season old Suzuki violinist, switching to trumpet at ten. In high school he attended the In- he was principal tubist with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, having previously terlochen Center for the Arts and the Interlochen Arts Academy, and was a finalist spent fifteen years as a freelance musician and teacher in Orlando, Florida, per- in the Seventeen Magazine /General Motors Concerto Competition. He earned a forming on tuba and electric bass in orchestras, chamber groups, Dixieland bands, bachelor's degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music with Michael Sachs. While in big bands, and Broadway show ensembles. He was a member of Walt Disney Cleveland he won the International Trumpet Guild and National Trumpet Compe- World's "Future Corps" and principal tubist with the Walt Disney World Orchestra, titions, as well as the school's Concerto Competition, and, upon graduation, the as well as a member of the Rosie O'Grady Dixieland Jazz Band. His career has Bernard Adelstein Prize for Trumpet Performance. He then left Cleveland to con- also included performances in Europe, with the Classical Festival Orchestra in tinue his studies in New York City with Mark Gould. Mr. Wright has performed Vienna and with the Sam Rivers Rivbea Jazz Orchestra in Portugal; and in Japan, with the National Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, and the Tan- where he appeared as soloist and taught master classes. Mike has studied with glewood Music Center Orchestra. During his two summers as a Tanglewood Music such notable players as former University of Miami professor Connie Weldon, Center Fellow he was awarded the CD. Jackson Prize and Wynton Marsalis Fel- James Jenkins of the Jacksonville Symphony, Bob Tucci of the Bavarian State Opera, lowship, and performed in the 50th-anniversary production of Britten's Peter retired BSO tuba player Chester Schmitz, Gene Pokorny of the Chicago Symphony, Grimes. A former member of the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra and of and retired San Francisco Symphony tuba player Floyd Cooley. He currently teaches the Chicago Symphony, he joined the BSO trumpet section in July 2002 and is cur- at the Boston Conservatory, Boston University, and the New England Conserva- rently a faculty member at the New England Conservatory of Music, the Longy tory of Music. School of Music, and the Boston Conservatory.

Originally from West Orange, New Jersey, and now living in Lincoln, Massachusetts, Jonathan Menkis received his bachelor's degree from Ithaca College in 1981, then joined the Sacramento Symphony Orchestra as its associate principal horn. He became assistant principal horn with the New Orleans Philharmonic the following season and was appointed to the Boston Symphony Orchestra horn section in 1984. Mr. Menkis has been a member of the Colorado Philharmonic Orchestra, the Col- Symphony Shopping orado Music Festival Orchestra, and the American Wind Symphony Orchestra. He is the on faculty of the New England Conservatory of Music. Mr. Menkis is an occa- sional soloist in the Boston area and performs chamber music frequently. Visit the Symphony Shop Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, BSO second trombone Norman Bolter began his in the Cohen Wing formal trombone studies at nine with Ed Von Hoff of the St. Paul Public School at the West Entrance System, later studying with Ronald Rickets and Steven Zellmer of the Minnesota on Huntington Avenue. Orchestra and with John Swallow at the New England Conservatory of Music. An alumnus of the Tanglewood Music Center, where he won the CD. Jackson Hours: Award, he joined the BSO in 1975 at twenty becoming the BSO's youngest mem- Tuesday through Friday, 1 1-4 BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ber at that time. He is also principal trombonist of the Boston Pops Orchestra and Saturday, 12-6; and from one hour was a founding member of the Empire Brass Quintet, the first brass ensemble ever before each concert through intermission. 99