27 Season 2013-2014

Thursday, September 26, at 8:00 The Philadelphia Orchestra Friday, September 27, at 2:00 Saturday, September 28, Yannick Nézet-Séguin Conductor at 8:00 Christine Brewer Soprano Mihoko Fujimura Mezzo-soprano Christian Elsner Tenor Shenyang Bass-baritone Westminster Choir and Westminster Symphonic Choir Joe Miller Director

Beethoven Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage, Op. 112, for chorus and orchestra

Muhly Bright Mass with Canons I. Kyrie II. Gloria III. Sanctus and Benedictus— IV. Agnus Dei World premiere of orchestrated version—Commissioned by The Philadelphia Orchestra

Intermission

Beethoven Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 (“Choral”) I. Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso II. Molto vivace—Presto III. Adagio molto e cantabile—Andante moderato—Tempo I IV. Presto—Allegro assai—Presto (Recitativo)— Allegro assai—Allegro assai vivace: alla marcia—Andante maestoso—Allegro energico—Allegro ma non tanto—Poco adagio—Poco adagio, strigendo il tempo— Prestissimo

This program runs approximately 1 hour, 55 minutes.

Philadelphia Orchestra concerts are broadcast on WRTI 90.1 FM on Sunday afternoons at 2 PM. Visit www.wrti.org to listen live or for more details.

3 Story Title 29 The Philadelphia Orchestra Jessica Griffin

The Philadelphia Orchestra community itself. His concerts to perform in China, in 1973 is one of the preeminent of diverse repertoire attract at the request of President orchestras in the world, sold-out houses, and he has Nixon, today The Philadelphia renowned for its distinctive established a regular forum Orchestra boasts a new sound, desired for its for connecting with concert- partnership with the National keen ability to capture the goers through Post-Concert Centre for the Performing hearts and imaginations of Conversations. Arts in Beijing. The Orchestra audiences, and admired for annually performs at Under Yannick’s leadership a legacy of innovation in Carnegie Hall while also the Orchestra returns to music-making. The Orchestra enjoying annual residencies in recording with a newly- is inspiring the future and Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and at released CD on the Deutsche transforming its rich tradition the Bravo! Vail festival. Grammophon label of of achievement, sustaining Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring Musician-led initiatives, the highest level of artistic and Leopold Stokowski including highly-successful quality, but also challenging transcriptions. In Yannick’s Cello and Violin Play-Ins, and exceeding that level, by inaugural season the shine a spotlight on the creating powerful musical Orchestra has also returned Orchestra’s musicians, as experiences for audiences at to the radio airwaves, with they spread out from the home and around the world. weekly Sunday afternoon stage into the community. Music Director Yannick broadcasts on WRTI-FM. The Orchestra’s commitment Nézet-Séguin triumphantly to its education and Philadelphia is home and opened his inaugural community partnership the Orchestra nurtures an season as the eighth artistic initiatives manifests itself important relationship not leader of the Orchestra in numerous other ways, only with patrons who support in fall 2012. His highly including concerts for families the main season at the collaborative style, deeply- and students, and eZseatU, Kimmel Center but also those rooted musical curiosity, a program that allows full- who enjoy the Orchestra’s and boundless enthusiasm, time college students to other area performances paired with a fresh approach attend an unlimited number at the Mann Center, Penn’s to orchestral programming, of Orchestra concerts for Landing, and other venues. have been heralded by a $25 annual membership The Orchestra is also a global critics and audiences alike. fee. For more information on ambassador for Philadelphia Yannick has been embraced The Philadelphia Orchestra, and for the U.S. Having been by the musicians of the please visit www.philorch.org. the first American orchestra Orchestra, audiences, and the 8 Music Director

Nigel Parry/CPi Yannick Nézet-Séguin triumphantly opened his inaugural season as the eighth music director of The Philadelphia Orchestra in the fall of 2012. His highly collaborative style, deeply-rooted musical curiosity, and boundless enthusiasm, paired with a fresh approach to orchestral programming, have been heralded by critics and audiences alike. The New York Times has called Yannick “phenomenal,” adding that under his baton “the ensemble … has never sounded better.” In his first season he took the Orchestra to new musical heights. His second builds on that momentum with highlights that include a Philadelphia Commissions Micro-Festival, for which three leading composers have been commissioned to write solo works for three of the Orchestra’s principal players; the next installment in his multi-season focus on requiems with Fauré’s Requiem; and a unique, theatrically-staged presentation of Strauss’s revolutionary opera Salome, a first-ever co-production with Opera Philadelphia.

Yannick has established himself as a musical leader of the highest caliber and one of the most exciting talents of his generation. Since 2008 he has been music director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic and principal guest conductor of the London Philharmonic, and since 2000 artistic director and principal conductor of Montreal’s Orchestre Métropolitain. In addition he becomes the first ever mentor conductor of the Curtis Institute of Music’s conducting fellows program in the fall of 2013. He has made wildly successful appearances with the world’s most revered ensembles, and has conducted critically acclaimed performances at many of the leading opera houses.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Deutsche Grammophon (DG) enjoy a long-term collaboration. Under his leadership the Orchestra returns to recording with a newly-released CD on that label of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring and Leopold Stokowski transcriptions. Yannick continues a fruitful recording relationship with the Rotterdam Philharmonic for DG, BIS, and EMI/Virgin; the London Philharmonic for the LPO label; and the Orchestre Métropolitain for ATMA Classique.

A native of Montreal, Yannick Nézet-Séguin studied at that city’s Conservatory of Music and continued lessons with renowned conductor Carlo Maria Giulini and with Joseph Flummerfelt at Westminster Choir College. Among Yannick’s honors are an appointment as Companion of the Order of Canada, one of the country’s highest civilian honors; a Royal Philharmonic Society Award; Canada’s National Arts Centre Award; the Prix Denise- Pelletier, the highest distinction for the arts in Quebec, awarded by the Quebec government; and an honorary doctorate by the University of Quebec in Montreal.

To read Yannick’s full bio, please visit www.philorch.org/conductor. 30 Soloist

Christian Steiner Soprano Christine Brewer made her Philadelphia Orchestra debut in 1991. Born in Illinois she began her professional career with the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, with which she has performed Ellen Orford in Britten’s Peter Grimes, Donna Anna in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, and the title roles in Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos and Rossini’s Armida. She has sung the roles of the Countess in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro for New York City Opera and at Covent Garden; Donna Anna at the Edinburgh Festival and in London, New York, and Florida; and Leonore in Beethoven’s Fidelio in Lisbon and San Francisco. Most recently she sang in the world premiere of Douglas J. Cuomo’s Doubt for Minnesota Opera. Ms. Brewer has appeared in concert in the United States with the Cleveland Orchestra, the Los Angeles and New York philharmonics, and the Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, Atlanta, and New World symphonies, with such conductors as Pierre Boulez, James Levine, James Conlon, Michael Tilson Thomas, David Robertson, Alan Gilbert, Christoph Eschenbach, Christoph von Dohnányi, and Gustavo Dudamel. She is a regular guest with the Saint Louis Symphony. In Europe she has sung with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Bavarian Radio Symphony with Mariss Jansons, the BBC Symphony with Jirˇí Beˇlohlávek, the London Philharmonic with Vladimir Jurowski, the London Symphony with Colin Davis, and the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia with Antonio Pappano. She has also been a regular guest at the Edinburgh Festival and the BBC Proms. Highlights of Ms. Brewer’s 2013-14 season include Britten’s Albert Herring with the BBC Symphony and War Requiem with the San Francisco Symphony; Strauss’s Four Last Songs in Tokyo with Jonathan Nott; Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music at the Lyric Opera of Chicago; and a return to the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis as Madame Lidoine in Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites. Her many recordings include Don Giovanni with Charles Mackerras; Barber’s Vanessa with Leonard Slatkin; Fidelio and Verdi’s Requiem with Mr. Davis; Ariadne auf Naxos with Richard Armstrong; the War Requiem with Kurt Masur; Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with Simon Rattle; the Four Last Songs with Donald Runnicles; and Schubert and Strauss recitals. 31 Soloist

R&G Photography Mezzo-soprano Mihoko Fujimura was born in Japan and studied at both Tokyo University and the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich. She won numerous international singing competitions before joining the ensemble of Graz Opera from 1995 to 2000, where she sang many of her signature roles for the first time. She came to international attention in performances at the 2002 Munich Opera Festival and the Bayreuth Festival and has since become a regular guest at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; the Teatro alla Scala in Milan; the Bavarian State Opera in Munich; the Vienna State Opera; the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris; the Teatro Real in Madrid; Deutsche Oper Berlin; the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino; and the Bayreuth and Aix-en-Provence festivals. She is a regular guest artist in Japan and has appeared with the world’s leading orchestras. She has sung with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Rotterdam and London philharmonics, and with The Philadelphia Orchestra both in Philadelphia with Charles Dutoit and on tour in Europe with Christoph Eschenbach. Ms. Fujimura has appeared at the Bayreuth Festival for nine consecutive seasons in the roles of Kundry (Parsifal), Brangäne (Tristan and Isolde), Fricka (Die Walküre), Waltraute (Götterdämmerung), and Erda (Siegfried). Her operatic repertoire also includes Venus in John Blow’s Venus and Adonis; Idamante in Mozart’s Idomeneo; Octavian in Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier; Princess Eboli in Verdi’s Don Carlos; Amneris in Verdi’s Aida; Azucena in Verdi’s Il trovatore; and the title role in Bizet’s Carmen. Ms. Fujimura’s concert repertoire includes Verdi’s Requiem; Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder; and Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde, Rückert Lieder, Des Knaben Wunderhorn, and Second, Third, and Eighth symphonies. Ms. Fujimura has recorded the role of Brangäne with Antonio Pappano for EMI Classics; Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder with the Bavarian Radio Symphony and Mariss Jansons; Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 with the Bamberg Symphony and Jonathan Nott; and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Christian Thielemann and the Vienna Philharmonic. For Fontec she has released two solo recital discs with pianist Wofram Rieger of works by Wagner, Mahler, Schubert, Strauss, and Brahms. 32 Soloist

Anne Hoffmann Born in Freiburg in southern Germany, tenor Christian Elsner studied singing with Martin Gründler, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, and Neil Semer and had prize-winning successes at various international competitions. As a concert singer he is a regular guest performer at international festivals and in all the major concert halls around the world, from Berlin, Vienna, Milan, and London to New York and Tokyo. He has worked with such conductors as Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Herbert Blomstedt, Adam Fischer, Carlo Maria Giulini, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Thomas Hengelbrock, Marek Janowski, Mariss Jansons, Fabio Luisi, Neville Marriner, Simon Rattle, and David Zinman. He makes his Philadelphia Orchestra debut with these current performances. Mr. Elsner has sung the role of Siegmund in Wagner’s Die Walküre in three concert versions with Mr. Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic. Other performance highlights include Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde with the Rotterdam Philharmonic and Yannick and with the Tonhalle Orchestra and Mr. Zinman (also for CD); Beethoven’s Missa solemnis and Mendelssohn’s “Lobgesang” with the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony under Jun Märkl; the Missa solemnis with the Munich Philharmonic conducted by Lorin Maazel; the title role in Wagner’s Parsifal at the Staatstheater Kassel under Patrick Ringborg, and in his debut at the Leipzig Opera conducted by Ulf Schirmer; his debut as Loge in a concert version of Wagner’s Das Rheingold with the Berlin Radio Symphony under Mr. Janowski (also for CD); song recitals in Baden-Baden and Würzburg; Bruckner’s Te Deum with the Dresden Philharmonic under Sebastian Weigle; and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Bamberg Symphony under Jonathan Nott. Mr. Elsner has been involved in numerous radio productions and CD recordings. Accompanied by pianists including Hartmut Höll, Graham Johnson, Gerold Huber, and Burkhard Kehring, Mr. Elsner has performed lieder recitals in Brussels, Frankfurt, Cologne, Dresden, Lucerne, and London, and at the Ravinia Festival and the Schubertiade Feldkirch. Mr. Elsner is a professor of classical singing at the University of Music in Würzburg. He is also an enthusiastic writer of children’s books. 33 Soloist

Montblanc-Johannes Ifkovits Twenty-nine-year-old bass-baritone Shenyang was the winner of the 2007 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition, a 2008 winner of the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award, and a 2010 winner of the Montblanc New Voices at Stars of the White Nights Festival. He also has won First Prize at the International Opera Competition in Verona, the 2007 Verona Orfeo Singing Competition, and the 2005 Verona Don Giovanni Singing Competition. Born in Tianjin, China, Shenyang studied with Ping Gu at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. He is an alumnus of the Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Young Artist Development Program and of the Juilliard School Opera Center. He made his Philadelphia Orchestra debut in 2011. During the 2013-14 season Shenyang returns to the Metropolitan Opera for Julie Taymor’s production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, conducted by Jane Glover, and for Rossini’s La Cenerentola under the baton of the Met’s principal conductor, Fabio Luisi. On the concert stage he joins Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic, and Gianluigi Gelmetti and the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic for Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Other upcoming highlights include a return engagement with Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony for Beethoven’s Mass in C; Verdi’s Requiem with the Huangzhou Philharmonic; and, in his conducting debut, an orchestral program of Dvorˇák and Smetana with the Shanghai Philharmonic. Last season featured Shenyang’s debut as Figaro in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro in a new production at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing and a return to the Beijing Music Festival for Jing Xiang’s opera Yuan Ye, conducted by Long Yu. Shenyang gave the world premiere of the orchestral song cycle Song of Farewell, written for him by Xiaogang Ye and performed in Beijing and at the Philharmonie in Berlin with the China National Symphony. As artist in residence of the Shanghai Symphony in 2011-12, he performed in numerous programs conducted by Long Yu with repertoire ranging from Bach and Mozart to Rachmaninoff and Mahler. Reflecting his emerging stature as a musical and cultural figure in Asia and elsewhere, Shenyang is a brand ambassador for Montblanc luxury products. 34 Choruses

Peter Borg The Westminster Choir and Westminster Symphonic Choir are composed of students at Westminster Choir College of Rider University in Princeton. Led by conductor Joe Miller, director of choral activities at the college, the Westminster Choir has been the chorus-in-residence for the Spoleto Festival USA since 1977, performing both in concert and as the opera chorus. It also forms the core of the Westminster Symphonic Choir, which has recorded and performed with major orchestras under virtually every internationally acclaimed conductor of the past 78 years. The Westminster Symphonic Choir made its Philadelphia Orchestra debut in 1934 with Leopold Stokowski in Bach’s Mass in B minor; last season the Choir was featured in performances of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion and Verdi’s Requiem under the baton of Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who studied choral conducting at Westminster Choir College. In addition to these current performances, highlights of the Westminster Symphonic Choir’s 2013-14 season include Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Vienna Chamber Orchestra conducted by Mark Laycock; Handel’s Messiah with the New York Philharmonic and Andrew Manze; Rouse’s Requiem with the New York Philharmonic and Alan Gilbert; and a return to Verizon Hall in February for Rachmaninoff’s The Bells with The Philadelphia Orchestra and Vladimir Jurowski. The Westminster Symphonic Choir has sung more than 350 performances with the New York Philharmonic alone. Recent seasons have also included concerts with the Berlin Philharmonic and Simon Rattle, the Dresden Staatskapelle and Daniel Harding, the Lucerne Festival Orchestra and David Robertson, the San Francisco Symphony and Michael Tilson Thomas, the Staatskapelle Berlin and Pierre Boulez, the Bavarian Radio Symphony and Mariss Jansons, the London Philharmonic and Esa- Pekka Salonen, the Simón Bolívar Symphony and Gustavo Dudamel, the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra and Daniel Barenboim, and the Westminster Festival Orchestra conducted by Dr. Miller. The Westminster Choir has made two recordings with Dr. Miller: Noël, a collection of French Christmas music and sacred works; and Flower of Beauty, which received four stars from Choir and Organ magazine and earned critical praise from American Record Guide as “the gold standard for academic choirs in America.” 34A Framing the Program

Last things first: Today’s performance of Beethoven’s Parallel Events monumental Ninth Symphony under the direction of Music 1814 Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin inaugurates a two-year Beethoven Schubert cycle of the composer’s complete symphonies with The Calm Sea and Symphony No. 2 Philadelphia Orchestra. Beethoven’s final Symphony sets Prosperous Literature Friedrich Schiller’s “Ode to Joy,” a poem with a powerful Voyage Austin Enlightenment message that has continued to resonate Mansfield Park and inspire for nearly two centuries. Art Goya An earlier Beethoven choral work opens the concert: The Second of his atmospheric but rarely performed Calm Sea and May 1808 Prosperous Voyage. This brief cantata for chorus and History orchestra sets two poems by Goethe that depict a British ship becalmed at sea in deadly stillness that turns to forces burn celebration as the winds pick up and land becomes visible. Washington, D.C. Beethoven’s works frame the world premiere of Nico 1824 Music Muhly’s newly-orchestrated Bright Mass with Canons Beethoven Mendelssohn for chorus and orchestra, and featuring the Fred J. Symphony Concerto for Cooper Memorial Organ. This is the first time a piece No. 9 Two Pianos by the prominent young American composer has Literature been performed by The Philadelphia Orchestra, which Scott commissioned the orchestration of the work, originally Redgauntlet written for choir and organ. Art Ingres Vow of Louis XIII History Erie Canal finished 34B The Music Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage

It is hardly surprising that Beethoven, like Schubert and other contemporaries, set the words of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe more often than those of any other poet. Goethe was the preeminent literary figure of the time, an imposing presence whose influence on European cultural and intellectual life would be hard to exaggerate. Beethoven’s enduring admiration for Goethe, his senior by 21 years, was deeply felt. The poet’s understanding of music, while keen, was limited and yet he clearly Ludwig van Beethoven recognized Beethoven’s genius. The two met a few Born in Bonn, probably times during the summer of 1812 in Teplitz, the site December 16, 1770 of a fashionable Bohemian spa. Writing to his friend, Died in Vienna, March 26, composer Johann Friedrich Zelter, Goethe declared that 1827 Beethoven’s “talent amazed” him, but described the man as “an utterly untamed personality, not at all in the wrong if he finds the world detestable, but he thereby does not make it more enjoyable either for himself or others.” For his part, Beethoven thought Goethe enamored by power and privilege, remarking to a publisher, “Goethe delights far too much in the court atmosphere, far more than is becoming in a poet.” From Poems to Cantata Beethoven’s compositional engagement with Goethe’s writings ranged from modest songs to grander projects, including incidental music for the tragic play Egmont. His choral work Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage sets two Goethe poems that would later inspire a mesmerizing song from Schubert and an impressive overture from Mendelssohn. Beethoven premiered the brief cantata on a Christmas Day concert in 1815 and published it seven years later bearing a dedication to Goethe. While the poet’s diary registers receiving the score, he chose not respond to Beethoven, who contacted him again nine months later in a letter that also went unanswered: Still living as I have lived from my youthful years in your immortal, never-aging works, and never forgetting the happy hours spent in your company, it nevertheless happens that I must recall myself to your recollection. I hope that you received the dedication to Your Excellency of Calm Sea and 34C

Prosperous Voyage, composed by me. Because of their contrast they seemed to me adaptable for music in which the same quality appears; how gladly would I know whether I have fittingly united my harmonies with yours. … A few words from you would fill me with happiness. A Closer Look The eight-minute Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage charts a course from darkness to light, a psychological trajectory that Beethoven also explored in his Fifth Symphony, Fidelio, the Egmont Overture, and other works. The atmospheric mood at the beginning brilliantly captures the scary stillness of the sea, where the lack of any wind stalls ships and can lead to death. (Goethe apparently based the poem on a personal experience he had off the coast of Capri in 1787.) “Meeres Stille” is usually translated as “Calm Sea,” but in context perhaps better understood at “Becalmed at Sea”:

Tiefe Stille herrscht im Deep stillness rules the Wasser, water, ohne Regung ruht das Meer, the sea rests motionless, und bekümmert sieht der and the sailor looks Schiffer anxiously glatte Fläche at the smooth surface ringsumher. all around him. Keine Luft von keiner Seite! No wind from any direction! Todesstille fürchterlich! A terrible deathly stillness! In der ungeheuern Weite In the entire vast expanse reget keine Welle sich. not a single wave rises.

Beethoven conveys a static quality, a lack of motion, and beyond that, a haunting, deathly stillness. The music for this first part, more than half the piece, is played almost entirely softly. There is some effective text-painting on the word Weite (expanse), when everything explodes in volume on a sustained dissonant chord with the sopranos reaching their highest note and the basses their lowest. As he mentioned in the letter to Goethe, Beethoven exploits the rich possibilities for contrast with the second poem, “Glückliche Fahrt” (Prosperous Voyage). He changes the meter to a flowing 6/8 and accelerates the tempo to Allegro vivace. As the wind picks up, there is a transition from motionless calm to joyful journey and ultimate homecoming. Beethoven’s music here conveys an exciting energy he had already deployed in the finale to Fidelio and that he later refined in the fourth movement of the Ninth Symphony. The second poem reads: 34D

Beethoven composed Calm Die Nebel zerreissen, The mist is clearing, Sea and Prosperous Voyage der Himmel ist helle, the sky grows bright, from 1814 to 1815. und Aeolus löset and Aeolus loosens Eugene Ormandy and das ängstliche Band. the constraining bond. the Mendelssohn Club of Es säuseln die Winde, The winds are sighing, Philadelphia gave the first, es rührt sich der Schiffer. the sailor is roused. and only other, Philadelphia Geschwinde! Geschwinde! Quickly! Quickly! Orchestra performance of the Es teilt sich die Welle, The waves divide, work, on the Opening Night es naht sich die Ferne. the distance draws near Concert in September 1970. Schon seh’ ich das Land! already I see land! The score calls for pairs of flutes, oboes, clarinets, and —Christopher H. Gibbs bassoons; four horns; two trumpets; timpani; strings; and mixed chorus. Performance time is approximately 10 minutes. 35 The Music Bright Mass with Canons

One of the most eminent young composers of our day, Nico Muhly runs the gamut from pop-music arrangements to avant-garde collaborations, film soundtracks, and major choral and orchestral compositions. He has worked with eclectic artists including Björk and Rufus Wainwright, and yet has also written pieces for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, violinist Hilary Hahn, and the Royal Ballet. He counts among his compositions a full-length opera—Two Boys, produced at the English National Opera and this fall at the Metropolitan Opera—and a chamber opera Nico Muhly (Dark Sisters, a joint commission with Opera Philadelphia), Born in Randolph, Vermont, but can also be heard in performances at New York’s August 26, 1981 experimental-music hub, the Kitchen. He has written Now living in New York City numerous orchestrations and arrangements of works by other musicians ranging from William Byrd to the popular rap artist Usher. Among his film scores, Muhly wrote the original music for the 2008 Oscar-winning film The Reader, winning him the “Discovery of the Year” award from the World Soundtrack Academy. A Love of Choral Music As a young boy Muhly sang in a church choir in Providence, Rhode Island, and he freely acknowledges a lasting, deep affinity with the choral tradition. “Working with choral music is one of my greatest pleasures in life,” he has noted, and pieces for choir constitute a significant share of his prolific output. His composition teachers included John Corigliano and Christopher Rouse, but he also recognizes the impact of the minimalist and post-minimalist procedures of John Adams and Philip Glass (for whom he worked as an editor, MIDI programmer, and keyboardist for several years). Muhly combines these influences with the centuries-long tradition of English scared choral music, from the 20th-century liturgical pieces of Herbert Howells back to Byrd and Tallis in the 16th century. Bright Mass with Canons is a relatively early work, composed in 2004 just after Muhly graduated with a master’s degree from Juilliard. It was written for the choir of St. Thomas Church in New York City and its director of music, John Scott, who led the premiere in 2005, and has since become one of Muhly’s most frequently-performed compositions. The Philadelphia Orchestra commissioned 36

the orchestration of this work, which was originally written for choir and organ, and these current performances represent the premiere of this new orchestral version. The “canons” in the composition’s title refer to imitative repetitions that permeate almost every measure of the Mass, sometimes overt but frequently hidden among the rich textures and contrapuntal vocal lines. What might not be so obvious is why Muhly titled this a “bright” Mass. Much of the vocal writing, which dominates the sparse accompaniment, is long-breathed, and the work’s temperament is often subdued. In keeping with the tradition of many Anglican Mass settings, he has omitted the Credo (which because of its length is frequently spoken rather than sung in Anglican services), creating a four-movement Mass that consists exclusively of prayers petitioning God for mercy and peace. And yet behind the imploring texts and within the sparse accompaniment, Muhly frequently includes flashes of dynamism and vitality. Chirping motifs, brief fanfare images, and demarcating punctuations from the orchestra contrast with the sustained vocal lines, like flickering shimmers of gold leaf on an illuminated page of scripture. In Bright Mass with Canons, Muhly attempts to “rediscover the tropes and moments that brightened [his] childhood music-making.” In that spirit, he notes, the piece is constructed around “little fetishes” such as a particular turn of phrase from a favorite liturgical work, an affecting vocal leap, or an antiphonal effect, all drawn from earlier choral repertories. A Closer Look The Kyrie opens with trumpet fanfares that quickly soften into sustained, plaintive lines. But the orchestral motifs in the background outline the secondary layer of energy and animation that lurks beneath the choir’s repeated appeals for mercy. That energy is expressed more overtly by the choir in the Gloria where the canonic imitations (heard at the outset between the women’s voices) are also more apparent. In a mid-20th- century style not far removed from Maurice Duruflé, or Gerald Finzi, Muhly creates an arch form that builds toward “exactly the kind of outrageous, suspended climax” that he loved to sing as a choirboy. Near the beginning of the Sanctus, the choir women are asked to sing in their own rhythm and tempos, creating aleatoric clusters over a steady accompaniment. At the same time, Muhly alludes to the style of Herbert Howells in the “long, unctuous lines” of the men’s voices. Minimalist 37

Bright Mass with Canons was ostinatos occasionally emerge in this movement, most composed for mixed chorus noticeably in the Benedictus. Then, the brief Agnus and organ in 2004, and was Dei—a prayer that, like the Kyrie, is primarily a plea for orchestrated in 2013. mercy—ends the mass solemnly “with only the slightest tilt of the head upwards,” the composer notes, “as a semi- These are the world premiere chorus outlines, with appoggiaturas, an ascending scale.” performances of the orchestrated version, which —Luke Howard was commissioned by The Philadelphia Orchestra. Kyrie eleison. Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. Muhly scored the piece Christe eleison. for piccolo, two flutes, two Kyrie eleison. Lord have mercy. oboes, two clarinets, bassoon, contrabassoon, two horns, Gloria in excelsis Deo Glory to God in the highest two trumpets, two trombones, et in terra pax hominibus And on earth peace to men bass trombone, timpani, bonae voluntatis of goodwill. percussion (bass drum, crotales, glockenspiel, sleigh Laudamus te. We praise Thee. bells, tam-tam, triangle, tubular Benedicimus te. We bless Thee. bells, vibraphone), harp, organ, Adoramus te. We adore Thee. strings, and mixed chorus. Glorificamus te. We glorify Thee. Gratias agimus tibi propter We give thanks to Thee for The work runs approximately magnam gloriam tuam. Thy great glory. 13 minutes in performance. Domine Deus, Rex coelestis, O Lord God, heavenly King, Deus Pater omnipotens. O God, Father almighty, Domine Fili unigenite O Lord, son of the Father, Jesu Christe. Jesus Christ.

Domine Deus, Agnus Dei, Lord God, Lamb of God, Filius Patris. Son of the Father.

Qui tollis O Thou, who takest away peccata mundi, the sins of the world, miserere nobis. have mercy upon us. Qui tollis O Thou, who takest away peccata mundi, suscipe the sins of the world, deprecationem nostram. receive our prayer. Qui sedes ad O Thou, who sittest at the dexteram Patris, right hand of the Father, miserere nobis. have mercy upon us.

Quoniam tu solus sanctus, For Thou only art holy, tu solus Dominus, Thou only art the Lord, tu solus Altissimus, Thou only art most high, Jesu Christe. Jesus Christ.

Please turn the page quietly. 38

Cum Sancto Spiritu, in With the Holy Ghost, in the gloria Dei Patris. glory of God the Father. Amen. Amen.

Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus Holy, holy, holy, Dominus Deus Sabaoth. Lord God of Sabaoth. Pleni sunt caeli et terra Heaven and earth are full of gloria tua. Thy glory. Hosanna in excelsis. Hosanna in the highest.

Benedictus qui venit in Blessed is he who cometh nomine Domini. in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in excelsis. Hosanna in the highest.

Agnus Dei, qui tollis Lamb of God, who takest peccata mundi, away the sins of the world, miserere nobis. have mercy upon us. Agnus Dei, qui tollis Lamb of God, who takest peccata mundi, away the sins of the world, dona nobis pacem. grant us peace. 39 The Music Symphony No. 9 (“Choral”)

Throughout his career, Beethoven was a fervent believer in Enlightenment values and sought ways to express his beliefs in many of his compositions. One of the reasons for the broad and sustained appeal of his Ninth Symphony is that people enjoying or seeking freedom see this work as exquisitely expressing a message they wish loudly to proclaim. The message is simple, one we learn as children: People should live together in joyous brotherhood. An Enlightenment Testament As a child of the Ludwig van Beethoven Enlightenment, Beethoven grew up during the American and French revolutions. He followed political events throughout his life and experienced war close at hand when Napoleon’s troops invaded Vienna in 1805 and again in 1809. His first large-scale composition, written at the age of 19, was an impressive cantata commemorating the death of Emperor Joseph II, who had done so much to liberalize the Austrian empire during the early 1780s. Years later Beethoven wrote his lone opera, Fidelio, which tells the story of a loving wife’s brave efforts to save her husband, an unjustly jailed political prisoner. Through her heroic deeds he is rescued and tyranny exposed. For his final symphony Beethoven turned to a lengthy poem by Friedrich Schiller that he had long wanted to set to music: the “Ode to Joy” (1785). Schiller’s famous words state that in a new age the old ways will no longer divide people; “all men shall become brothers.” Since the premiere of the Ninth Symphony in Vienna in May 1824, performances of the work have become almost sacramental occasions, as musicians and audiences alike are exhorted to universal fraternity. The Ultimate Symphony On a purely musical level, few pieces of music have exerted such an impact on later composers. How, many wondered, should one write a symphony after the Ninth? Schubert, Berlioz, Brahms, Wagner, Bruckner, Mahler—the list goes on and on—all dealt with this question in fascinating ways that fundamentally shaped 19th-century music. Schubert, who most likely attended the 1824 premiere, briefly quoted the “joy” theme in his own final symphony, written the following year. Most Bruckner symphonies begin 40

in the manner of the Ninth. Mendelssohn, Mahler, and Shostakovich followed the model of a choral finale. Wagner was perhaps the composer most influenced by the work, arguing that in it Beethoven pointed the way to the “Music of the Future,” a universal drama uniting music and words that, in short, was realized in Wagner’s own operas. Composers are not the only people who have become deeply engaged with the Ninth, and struggled with its import and meaning. For nearly two centuries the work has surfaced at crucial times and places, appropriated for widely diverse purposes. As the ultimate “feel-good” piece, the Ninth has been used to open the Olympic Games and bring nations together in song. Yet during the Nazi era it was often performed to celebrate Hitler’s birthday. Its melody is the official anthem of the European Union—but it was also the anthem of Ian Smith’s racist regime in Rhodesia during the 1970s. Within more recent memory, we have heard protestors playing recordings of the Ninth in Tiananmen Square in Beijing and jubilant students also chose it as their theme as the Berlin Wall fell in 1989. There were commemorative performances in the wake of 9/11, when the Ninth was once again enlisted for its hopeful message. A Resisted Masterpiece In a penetrating essay, “Resisting the Ninth,” music historian Richard Taruskin has pointed to ways in which some musicians and listeners have from the beginning resisted the Ninth Symphony, embarrassed by what they consider its naive optimism. This Symphony, Taruskin states, “is among connoisseurs preeminently the Piece You Love to Hate, no less now than a century and a half ago. Why? Because it is at once incomprehensible and irresistible, and because it is at once awesome and naive.” Those who revere the Ninth Symphony may be surprised to hear that some have resisted it now or at any time. Undoubtedly its message has been “neutered” as it has been trivialized in movies and TV commercials, and often treated by musicians in purely musical terms rather than in humanistic ones. For some modern listeners, Taruskin argues, its message may be difficult to take seriously anymore: “We have our problems with demagogues who preach to us about the brotherhood of man. We have been too badly burned by those who have promised Elysium and given us gulags and gas chambers.” Yet Beethoven understood that great works of art matter, in part because they constitute a threat to tyrants. Beethoven strove for ways to express a deeply-felt political vision. 41

Beethoven composed his Ninth A Closer Look The opening of the first movement Symphony from 1822 to 1824. (Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso) The Philadelphia Orchestra grows out of a void. Against the murmurings of the low performed the first three strings emerge falling fifths in the violins that build to movements of Beethoven’s a loud and imposing first theme. It has been likened to Ninth Symphony in March the creation of the world; certainly no symphony before 1902. The Orchestra’s first had sounded anything like it. Beethoven switched the complete performance of expected order of movements (another feature later the work, with Fritz Scheel composers would imitate) by following the allegro with conducting, took place in the scherzo (Molto vivace). A favorite with audiences March 1903. The most recent from the beginning (especially the prominent role given to subscription performances the timpani), it projects both humor and power. The lyrical were in May 2006, with slow movement (Adagio molto e cantabile) seems to Christoph Eschenbach, Marina explore more personal, even spiritual realms. Mescheriakova, Jill Grove, Vinson Cole, Alan Held, and The Presto finale opens with what Wagner called the the Philadelphia Singers “terror fanfare,” a dissonant and frantic passage that leads Chorale. to a “recitative” (so marked in the score) for the cellos and The Orchestra has recorded basses. Fragments from the previous three movements the Symphony five times: in pass in review—a few measures of the opening theme 1934 with Leopold Stokowski of each—but are in turn rejected by the strings. After for RCA; in 1945, 1962, and this strange, extended instrumental recitative comes an 1964 with Eugene Ormandy aria-like melody: the famous “Ode to Joy” tune to which for CBS; and in 1988 with later will be added words. After some seven minutes the Riccardo Muti for EMI. movement starts over again: The “terror fanfare” returns, The work is scored for piccolo, this time followed by a true vocal recitative, with the bass two flutes, two oboes, two soloist singing “O friends, not these tones! But rather, let clarinets, two bassoons, us strike up more pleasant and more joyful ones.” The contrabassoon, four horns, two chorus and four vocal soloists take up the “joy” theme, trumpets, three trombones, which undergoes a series of variations, including a brief timpani, percussion (bass section in the Turkish manner, with cymbals, triangle, drum, cymbals, triangle), drum, piccolo, and trumpets. The music reaches a climax strings, four vocal soloists, and with a new theme: “Be embraced, ye millions, … above a four-part chorus. the starry canopy there must dwell a loving Father,” which The Ninth Symphony runs is later combined in counterpoint with the joy theme and approximately 70 minutes in eventually builds to a frenzied coda. performance. —Christopher H. Gibbs

Text/translations begin on next page. 42

Bass Bass O Freunde, nicht diese Töne! O friends, not these tones! Sondern lasst uns But rather, let us angenehmere strike up anstimmen, und more pleasant and more freudenvollere. joyful ones.

Bass and Chorus Bass and Chorus Freude, schöner Joy, thou lovely spark of Götterfunken, the gods, Tochter aus Elysium, daughter of Elysium; wir betreten feuertrunken, drunk with fire, we tread Himmlische, thy holy realm, dein Heiligtum! O heavenly one! Deine Zauber binden wieder, Thy magic joins again was die Mode streng that which custom has torn geteilt; apart; alle Menschen werden Brüder all men become brothers wo dein sanfter Flügel wherever thy gentle wings weilt. are spread.

Wem der grosse Wurf He who has had the great gelungen, fortune eines Freundes Freund zu sein, of being a friend’s friend, wer ein holdes Weib he who has won a gracious errungen, wife, mische seinen Jubel ein! let him join the celebration! Ja, wer auch nur eine Seele Yes, even he who can call sein nennt auf dem only one soul on earth his Erdenrund! own! Und wer’s nie gekonnt, And let the one who could der stehle, never do this weinend sich aus diesem steal from our midst in Bund! tears!

Freude trinken alle Wesen All living beings drink joy an den Brüsten der Natur; at Nature’s breast; alle Guten, alle Bösen all good things, all evil things folgen ihrer Rosenspur. walk her rose-strewn path. Küsse gab sie uns She gave us kisses, she und Reben, gave us vines, einen Freund, geprüft im she gave us a friend true to Tod; the grave; Wollust war dem wantonness was given to Wurm gegeben, the worm, und der Cherub steht and the cherub stands vor Gott. before God. 42A

Tenor and Chorus Tenor and Chorus Froh, wie seine Sonnen Happily, as his suns fliegen fly durch des Himmels across heaven’s prächt’gen Plan, magnificent expanse, laufet, Brüder, eure Bahn, brothers, run your course freudig, wie ein Held zum joyfully, like a hero to Siegen. victory.

Chorus Chorus Seid umschlungen, Millionen! Be embraced, ye millions! Diesen Kuss der ganzen This kiss goes to all the Welt! world! Brüder über’m Brothers, above the starry Sternenzelt canopy muss ein lieber Vater there must dwell a loving wohnen. Father.

Ihr stürzt nieder, Do you fall prostrate, Millionen? O millions? Ahnest du den Do you worship the Schöpfer, Welt? Creator, O world? Such’ ihm über’m Look for Him above the Sternenzelt, starry canopy; über Sternen muss er He must live above the wohnen. stars.

English translation by Paul J. Horsley

Program notes © 2013. All rights reserved. Program notes may not be reprinted without written permission from The Philadelphia Orchestra Association and/or Luke Howard. 42B Musical Terms

GENERAL TERMS describes the combination and recapitulation, the Aleatory: A term of simultaneously sounding last sometimes followed applied to music whose musical lines by a coda. The exposition composition and/or Dissonance: A is the introduction of performance is, to a combination of two or more the musical ideas, which greater or lesser extent, tones requiring resolution are then “developed.” In undetermined by the Meter: The symmetrical the recapitulation, the composer grouping of musical exposition is repeated with Antiphonal: Works in rhythms modifications. which an ensemble is Op.: Abbreviation for opus, THE SPEED OF MUSIC divided into distinct groups, a term used to indicate (Tempo) performing in alternation the chronological position Adagio: Leisurely, slow and together of a composition within a Alla marcia: March time Appoggiatura: A composer’s output. Opus Allegro: Bright, fast “leaning-note.” As a numbers are not always Andante: Walking speed melodic ornament, it reliable because they are Cantabile: In a singing usually implies a note one often applied in the order style, lyrical, melodious, step above or below the of publication rather than flowing “main” note. composition. Energico: With vigor, Aria: An accompanied Ostinato: A steady bass powerfully solo song (often in ternary accompaniment, repeated Maestoso: Majestic form), usually in an opera over and over Moderato: A moderate or oratorio Recitative: Declamatory tempo, neither fast nor Canon: A device whereby singing, free in tempo and slow an extended melody, stated rhythm Prestissimo: As fast as in one part, is imitated Scherzo: Literally “a possible strictly and in its entirety in joke.” Usually the third Presto: Very fast one or more other parts movement of symphonies Recitativo: In declamatory Cantata: A multi- and quartets that was style, free in rhythm and movement vocal piece introduced by Beethoven tempo consisting of arias, to replace the minuet. The Strigendo: Hurrying, recitatives, ensembles, and scherzo is followed by a speeding up choruses and based on a gentler section called a trio, Vivace: Lively continuous narrative text after which the scherzo is Chord: The simultaneous repeated. Its characteristics TEMPO MODIFIERS sounding of three or more are a rapid tempo in triple Assai: Much tones time, vigorous rhythm, and Ma non tanto: But not Coda: A concluding humorous contrasts. too much so section or passage added Sonata form: The form in Ma non troppo: But not in order to confirm the which the first movements too much impression of finality (and sometimes others) Molto: Very Contrapuntal: See of symphonies are usually Un poco: A little counterpoint cast. The sections are Counterpoint: A term that exposition, development, 42C October The Philadelphia Orchestra

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