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EJ THOMAS HALL 40TH ANNIVERSARY CONCERT

EJ Thomas Performing Arts Hall Saturday, October 12, 2013 | 8:00 pm

Christopher Wilkins, conductor Guy Victor Bordo, guest conductor Kristina Belisle Jones, clarinet

JOHANNES BRAHMS OPENING Academic Festival NIGHT Overture, Op. 80 (1833-1897) Guy Bordo, conductor

NIKOLA RESANOVIC Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra, “Collateral Damage” (B. 1955) A Bosnian Rhapsody Funeral for a Rock Star Serbian Hoedown (The bombs fly but the band plays on)

Kristina Belisle Jones, clarinet

Intermission

RICHARD STRAUSS Ein Heldenleben (A Hero’s Life) (1864-1949) The Hero The Hero’s Critic The Hero’s Companion The Hero in Battle The Hero’s Works of Peace The Hero’s Retirement from the World

Alan Bodman, violin

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Academic Festival Overture, Festival were known to all German students; classical and Eastern European folk idioms. Op. 80 (1880) Gaudeamus Igitur (“Let us rejoice while we’re By contrast, the slower middle movement young”), basis of the Overture’s majestic coda, incorporates elements that characterize some JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833-1897) is the most famous. Even with the use of these of the popular music of the late 20th century. unsophisticated campus ditties, however, the Collateral Damage, inspired largely by the tragic 10 minutes; woodwinds work is still solidly structured and emotionally events surrounding the break-up of the former in pairs plus piccolo rich, a fine example of Brahms’ masterful Yugoslavia during the 1990s, is dedicated to the and contrabassoon, four techniques of orchestration, counterpoint and civilian victims of all modern wars. horns, three trumpets, three thematic manipulation. trombones, tuba, timpani, “The opening movement A Bosnian Rhapsody percussion and strings. the longest and most structurally complex, is Collateral Damage, Concerto for built on two contrasting themes, one faster and Artis musicae severioris in the other much slower, each set in tonalities nunc princeps Clarinet and Orchestra (2000) that are a semi-tone apart. These original “Now the leader in NIKOLA RESANOVIC (BORN IN 1955) themes incorporate harmonic and melodic of music of the idioms commonly found in the music of the more severe order” read the lofty inscription of 20 minutes; woodwinds Balkans and give the opening movement its the honorary degree, honoris causa, conferred in pairs, four horns, three distinctive ethnic flavor. Following a powerful on Johannes Brahms by the University of trumpets, three trombones, climax, each of the themes is briefly reprised. Breslau on March 11, 1879. Brahms, not fond tuba, timpani, percussion and An introspective, subdued and expressive of pomp and public adulation, accepted the strings. cadenza ends the movement. degree (he had declined one from Cambridge Nikola Resanovic, born in University three years earlier he refused to Derby, England in 1955, “The second movement features the clarinet journey across salt water) but acknowledged is of Serbian heritage; he spinning out a continuously evolving and it with only a simple postcard to Bernhard has lived in the United States as a naturalized expanding melody over a series of recurring Scholz, whom he asked to convey his thanks to citizen since 1966. Resanovic received his but shifting harmonic patterns. The title the faculty. After receiving this skimpy missive, bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Funeral for a Rock Star is a concise description Scholz, conductor of the local orchestra and School of Music of the University of Akron of the imagery and emotion that the music nominator of Brahms for the degree, wrote and his doctorate from the Cleveland Institute seeks to convey. The seemingly improvisatory back that protocol required the recipient of Music; his teachers included Rodney and unrestrained clarinet solo evokes the to provide something more substantial, a Miller for voice, Douglas Hicks, Marion Lott image of a soul freely borne aloft, while the “Doktor-Symphonie,” perhaps, or “at least a and Olga Radosavljevich for piano, Donald heavy, plodding undercurrent of low brass solemn song.” Brahms promised to compose Erb and David Bernstein for composition, and strings reveals a procession of loved ones an appropriate piece and bring it to Breslau and David Peelle for electro-acoustic music bearing the weight of a casket and a profound the following year, when he would join the technology. Resanovic is Professor of Music at grief whose consolation lies somewhere academicians in “doctoral beer and skittles.” the University of Akron, where he has taught between memory and hope. In 1880, Brahms repaired to Bad Ischl in composition and music theory since 1983 “The rousing and spirited finale Serbian the Salzkammergut, east of Salzburg, for the and also directs the school’s Electronic Music Hoedown (The bombs fly but the band plays on) first of many summers in that lovely region. Facility, which he designed and implemented. takes its inspiration from those men and There he worked on the piece for Breslau: Among his distinctions is the 2003 Cleveland women who congregated on the bridges during “a very jolly potpourri of students’ songs,” Arts Prize in Music. Resanovic’s compositions, the bombing raids in Serbia in the spring of he called the new Academic Festival Overture. which include symphonic, chamber and 1999. They often passed their time with defiant (The somber Tragic Overture was composed at electro-acoustic works, have been heard speeches and traditional folk singing and the same time, Brahms stated, to serve as an across the United States and Canada, and in dancing in the hope that the massive structure emotional balance to the exuberant Academic Great Britain, Holland, Germany, Poland, upon which they depended for their general Festival.) When Scholz discovered Brahms was Portugal, Spain, Finland, Sweden, China, livelihood and security would not be targeted preparing to serve up a medley of student Israel and Australia. Resanovic has also done and destroyed. Here the clarinet, performing drinking songs to the learned faculty at an extensive research into the sacred chant of the melodic material steeped in Serbian folk-dance august university ceremony, he asked the Serbian Orthodox Church, composed several idioms, seems to lead the orchestra through a composer if this could be true. Never one to volumes of choral liturgical music, and written series of climaxes and mishaps (even reviving deny his innate curmudgeonly nature, Brahms secular “choral rhapsodies” incorporating the ensemble at one point) as its themes are shot back, “Yes, indeed!” On January 4, 1881, the music of the former Yugoslavia that have taken up by the accompanying ensemble.” almost two years after the awarding of his been performed by Serbian choral societies degree, Doctor (!) Brahms displayed for the throughout the United States and Canada. first time his sparkling Academic Festival Overture Ein Heldenleben (A Hero’s Life), The composer writes, “Collateral Damage, to the Rector, Senate and members of the Op. 40 (1898) Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra, was Philosophical Faculty of Breslau University. composed in February and March of 2000 RICHARD STRAUSS (1864-1949) Brahms, who was not a university man, first for clarinetist and former colleague Håkan 43 minutes; piccolo, three flutes, four oboes, English became acquainted with the traditional student Rosengren. This twenty-minute work, somewhat horn, E-flat clarinet, two B-flat clarinets and songs when he visited his friend the violinist eclectic and post-modern in style, follows the clarinet, three bassoons, contrabassoon, eight horns, Joseph Joachim in Göttingen in 1853. The traditional three-movement form. The fast five trumpets, three trombones, and bass tubas, four melodies that he chose for the Academic outer movements are a blend of contemporary

 Akron Symphony Orchestra www.AkronSymphony.org timpani, percussion, two harps and strings. “No man is perhaps a hero to his valet; but Strauss is evidently a hero to himself.” The autobiographical nature of Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben did not slip past Philip Hale, nor has it been less than obvious to anyone else. Literary autobiography and self-portraiture (à la Rembrandt) had been acceptable artistic genres for centuries. So why not music? So why not Strauss? In 1898, the year of Ein Heldenleben, Strauss was the most talked-about composer in the world. This work was the seventh of his orchestral tone poems, each new arrival greeted with a flurry of international interest by press and public alike. They (Don Juan, Death and Transfiguration, Also sprach Zarathustra, et al.) were sensational works that carried programmatic music and the art of orchestration to heights which no one else, except Berlioz, had conceived. Strauss was also one of the preeminent conductors of the day, and when he composed Ein Heldenleben he was principal conductor of the Berlin Court and past music director of the Berlin Philharmonic. He parlayed all these activities into an immense income, and it is almost certain that he was the wealthiest composer of concert music ever. With all this, he had a right to be proud. Early in 1898, Strauss undertook to portray a general overview of the heroic spirit in a tone poem. He painted six aspects of this spirit in Ein Heldenleben. The first three sections portray the participating characters: “The Hero” (“his pride, emotional nature, iron will, richness of imagination, inflexible and well-directed determination supplant low-spirited and sullen obstinacy” noted the modest composer); “His Adversaries” (Strauss said nothing about them the cackling, strident music speaks for itself); and “His Beloved” (“It’s my wife I wanted to show. She is very complex, very feminine, a little perverse, a little coquettish”). The fourth section, in which the hero girds his loins to do battle against his enemies, was considered the height of modernity when it was new. Section five is an ingenious review of at least thirty snippets from nine of Strauss’ earlier works. The finale tells of the hero’s withdrawal from the earthly struggles to reach “perfection in contemplative contentment,” in the obscure words of the composer. For Strauss’ appearance as guest conductor with the New York Philharmonic in 1921, Lawrence Gilman offered the following synopsis of Ein Heldenleben, to which the composer gave his approval:

Akron Symphony Orchestra www.AkronSymphony.org  “1. The Hero. We hear first the theme of the Hero, the valorous opening subject for the low GUY VICTOR BORDO strings and horns. Subsidiary themes picture #/.$5#4/2 different aspects of the Hero’s nature his pride, depth of feeling, inflexibility, sensitiveness, imagination. Guy Victor Bordo is Director of Orchestral “2. The Hero’s Adversaries. Herein are pictured Studies at The University of Akron School the Hero’s detractors an envious and malicious of Music. In this role he conducts the crew, filled with all uncharitableness. The University of Akron Symphony Orchestra theme of the Hero appears in sad and and teaches Advanced Orchestral meditative guise. But his dauntless courage Conducting. The University Symphony soon reasserts itself, and the mocking hordes Orchestra performs a wide range of rep- are put to rout. ertoire with many featured faculty soloists as well as residencies and performances “3. The Hero’s Companion. A solo violin with renowned composers Randy Newman introduces the Hero’s Beloved. She reveals and Marvin Hamlisch, pianists Michael herself as capricious, an inconsequent trifler, Chertock and Spencer Myer, and violin- an elaborate coquette. After an earnest phrase ists Maria Bachmann, Ilya Kaler, and heard again and again, the orchestra breaks Andres Cardenes. Last season featured into a love song of heroic sweep and passion. performances of works by Beethoven, As the ecstasy subsides, the mocking voices of Tchaikovsky, Hanson, Holst, Glass, Ravel the foe are heard remotely. and Mozart. The UASO recently performed its first series of Children’s Concerts “4. The Hero’s Battlefield. But suddenly the call sponsored by Akron’s Children’s Concert Society. to arms is heard, and it may not be ignored. Mr. Bordo has been the Music Director and Conductor of the Richmond Symphony Distant fanfares (trumpets behind the scenes) Orchestra in Indiana since 1997. The RSO has built a strong reputation for innovative summon the Hero to the conflict. The programming and attracted many fine musicians in the region. Using the group’s orchestra becomes a battlefield; the music stability and strong musicianship, Mr. Bordo has the freedom to expand the orches- ‘evokes the picture of countless and waging tra’s repertoire by programming challenging works, both classical and contemporary. hosts, of forests of waving spears and clashing Having a strong interest in contemporary music, Mr. Bordo and the RSO have pre- th st blades,’ wrote James Huneker of this section. sented a wide range of 20 and 21 century compositions. A highlight in this area Through the dust and uproar we are reminded was the October 2001 residency of the great American composer John Corigliano. of the inspiration of the Beloved, which The RSO, with soloist Maria Bachmann, performed his composition Chaconne from sustains and heartens the champion, whose the film The Red Violin, for which he won an Academy Award. theme contests for supremacy with that of his adversaries. A triumphant orchestral outburst Mr. Bordo is also Music Director and Conductor of Akron Baroque, a professional, proclaims at last his victory self-governing orchestra that draws musicians from Akron, Canton, and the Cleveland area. The orchestra performs a season of masterworks from the Baroque era at its “5. The Hero’s Works of Peace. Now begins home, First Congregational Church of Akron. The 13-14 Season will feature works by a celebration of the Hero’s victories of Bach, Albinoni, Vivaldi, Handel, Telemann and Corelli. The orchestra will again per- peace, suggesting his spiritual evolution and form on the 5@5 Series hosted by Westminster Presbyterian Church. achievements. We hear quotations of themes from Strauss’ earlier works: reminiscences of At home with a wide variety of styles and concert formats, Mr. Bordo has conducted Death and Transfiguration, Don Quixote, Don Juan, prominent soloists including Yakov Kasman, Ilya Kaler, Lorin Hollander, Andres Till Eulenspiegel, Macbeth, Also sprach Zarathustra, Cardenes, Anton Nel, Steven Burns, William Wolfram, and Mark Kosower as well as the music-drama Guntram, and the exquisite popular artists Aretha Franklin, Marvin Stamm, The Beach Boys, and Wynonna Judd. song Traum durch die Dämmerung (‘Dream at Active as a guest conductor, Mr. Bordo made his European debut in 1994 with the Twilight’). Lithuanian National Opera Theatre in Vilnius, conducting Verdi’s La Traviata. He “6. The Hero’s Retreat from the World, and was invited to return in 1997 where he conducted the State Symphony Orchestra, the Fulfillment. The tubas mutter the uncouth and St. Christopher Chamber Orchestra, and the Kaunas Opera Theatre in a production sinister phrase which voices the dull contempt of Verdi’s Rigoletto. Additional engagements include Light Opera Works in Chicago of the benighted adversaries. Furiously, the and orchestras in Lexington (KY), Cheyenne (WY), Waterloo/Cedar Falls (IA), Fort Hero rebels, and the orchestra rages. But his Collins (CO), the Westshore (MI) Symphony Orchestra, the Virginia Symphony, the anger subsides. Over a persistent tapping of the Omaha Symphony, the Elmhurst Symphony (IL), and the Cleveland Philharmonic. kettledrum, the English horn sings a pastoral This season includes appearances with the Akron Symphony Orchestra and the version of his theme. An agitated memory of Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic. strife again disturbs his mood. But the violin Mr. Bordo earned a Doctorate in Orchestral Conducting as a student of Victor reminds him of the consoling presence of the Yampolsky at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, as well as Bachelors and Beloved One. Peace descends upon the spirit Masters Degrees in Music Education from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. of the Hero. The finale, majestic and serene, He has studied conducting with Gustav Meier at the Tanglewood Music Center; Carl recalls the words of Shankara: ‘For the circling St. Clair, Music Director of the Pacific Symphony Orchestra; and Elizabeth Green, world is like a dream, crowded with desires and author of The Modern Conductor. hates; in its own time it shines as real, but on awakening it becomes unreal.’” ©2013 Dr. Richard E. Rodda

 Akron Symphony Orchestra www.AkronSymphony.org KRISTINA BELISLE JONES #,!2).%4

The 2013-2014 season orchestras/wind ensembles throughout Arkansas and NorthEast marks Kristina Belisle Ohio. She has won numerous awards including the William C. th Jones’ 13 year as Byrd National Young Artist Award for Winds and Brass and the Principal Clarinetist of Ima Hogg National Young Artist Award. As a chamber musician, The Akron Symphony she has performed with the Renaud Chamber Music Series, the Orchestra. During the Chamber Music Society of Ohio, the Fontana Festival of Music summers, Jones serves and Art, the Norfolk, Bowdoin, and Garth Newel Chamber Music as Principal Clarinetist Festivals. As a founding member of Southspoon Winds, a wood- of the Blossom Festival wind quintet based in New York City, she received top prizes in Band and the Blossom the Fischoff and Yellow Springs Competitions and Honorable Festival Orchestra. Mention in the prestigious Concert Artist Guild Competition. She is the Professor Internationally, Kristina Belisle Jones has performed solo recitals of Music (Clarinet) in Japan, Italy, and China and given masterclasses in China and at The University of Taiwan. She recently served as Secretary of the International Akron, clarinetist of the Solaris Wind Quintet, and has freelanced Clarinet Association, performing yearly at the organization’s with The Cleveland Orchestra. An active soloist, Jones has per- International ClarinetFests. Jones holds Doctor of Musical Arts formed concertos with the Akron Symphony Orchestra - most and Master of Music degrees from Michigan State University recently during last year’s Gospel Meets Symphony concert and where she studied with Elsa Ludewig-Verdehr. Her undergradu- during the 2010-1011 season - the Houston Symphony, the Flint ate work was completed at The University of Georgia where she Symphony, the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, the Akron Youth was a student of Theodore Jahn. She can be heard in CD with Symphony, the Conway Symphony Orchestra and university Solaris in “American Quintets II”, released by Capstone Records.

ALAN BODMAN 6)/,).

Alan Bodman began violin study at age Bodman toured four with his father, Lyman Bodman, throughout Professor Emeritus of Violin and Viola at the Northwest. Michigan State University. He received his He has been B.M., magna cum laude from Michigan featured as State University and his M.M. from the soloist in several University of Michigan. His major violin recordings for studies include work with Ivan Galamian National Public and Dorothy Delay, Paul Makanowitzky Television, and Walter Verdehr. After 13 years on the and was a frequent guest with the faculty of Washington State University, he Gabrielli Trio of the University of Akron. returned east to join the faculties of The Formerly Principal Violist of the Akron University of Akron and the Meadowmount Symphony Orchestra, Mr. Bodman now School of Music in New York where he has has performed as Concertmaster for the taught for the past 27 years. Many of past 19 years. He has also served as his former students now hold positions Concertmaster for the Akron Baroque at universities across the country and Orchestra since its founding in 2006. In pursue active careers as performers and 1988 he and his wife, Juilliard trained orchestral musicians. Mr. Bodman has violinist Amy Barlowe, formed the duo ² performed extensively in solo recitals in [AB] (AB-squared) and subsequently collaboration with such renowned pianists released a world premiere CD on the as Anne Epperson and Ralph Votapek, Azica record label. Reviews in the as well as in solo and chamber music American Record Guide stated, “Their tonal performances with illustrious artists such production is flawless, and musically they as Joshua Bell, Joseph Silverstein, Donald meet the highest standards.” The Strad Weilerstein, James Buswell and Gerardo magazine attributes Mr. Bodman’s playing Ribeiro. As a member of the Kimbrough with the comments “...delectable sound Trio and the WSU Chamber Players, Mr. ...silken-toned ...musically introspective.”

Akron Symphony Orchestra www.AkronSymphony.org