Masur Conducts The music of Mendelssohn bookends today’s concert, opening with his youthful “Trumpet” and concluding with the ever-popular “Italian” . In between, Orion Weiss plays ’s Mozart-influenced No. 2, then joins the string section for Dall’Ongaro’s evocation of springtime. Brass music tailored for Venice’s Basilica of St. Mark rounds out the program.

FELIX MENDELSSOHN Born 3 February 1809; , Died 4 November 1847; Germany

Overture in , Opus 101, “Trumpet” Composed: 1826; revised 1833 First performance: Unknown Last MSO performance: MSO premiere Instrumentation: 2 flutes; 2 oboes; 2 ; 2 bassoons; 2 horns; 2 trumpets; 3 ; timpani; strings Approximate duration: 8 minutes

Felix Mendelssohn’s Overture in C Major dates from his teenage years. It follows such early successes as the 13 string sinfonias, the for Strings, Opus 20, and the in , Opus 18. Just a few months after its composition, he penned his most popular work, the overture to Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It is unclear why the Opus 101 acquired the “Trumpet” moniker. (Sidebar: In Mendels- sohn’s case, numberings indicate the order of publication, not the order in which they were composed.) Though trumpets are included in the scoring, they are shown no special favor, either singly or as a section. And in terms of brass, it’s the horn section that has the more interesting passages. Set in form, the work is marked Allegro vivace and the music is unrelentingly boisterous – always energetic and always vital. In other words, it is an ideal concert opener. Recommended recording: , Leipzig ( )  Masur Conducts Mendelssohn PROGRAM NOTES

Concerto No.2inB-flatmajorforPianoandOrchestra, Opus19 Died 26March Austria 1827;Vienna, Baptized 17December1770;,Germany disgrace youtoprintit.” B-flat concerto,somewhatcoquettishly, “Idonotconsideritoneofmybest.Still,will InalettertotheLeipzigpublisherF.A.printed inVienna. Hoffmeister, Beethovensaidofthe The workwasfirstpublishedinLeipzig1801,justshortlyafterhisCmajorconcerto ing 6/8meter, themovement’s interludesprovide engagingcontrast totheopeningrefrain. to themainrefrain ofthefinalMoltoallegro. Setin (ABACABA)andina rondo form rollick- A short-longrhythmicfigure, calleda“Scotchsnap,”lendsdistinctive,irresistible quality tion: Apparently, hehadnotwrittenoutthepianopartpriortofirstperformance. becomes increasingly more elaborate,givingusaglimpseofBeethoven’s giftforimprovisa- nant keyofE-flatmajor. Asthemovementprogresses, thepianist’s filigree-like passagework tuneful, butsomewhatsomber, theAdagioisathree-part (ABA)setinthesubdomi- form solo cadenza–onethathewrote out,butprobably yearsafterthepremiere. Beautifully among equals.Beethovenemploysthemaintheme’s bouncydottedrhythmagaininthe Mozart. And,asintheAustrianmaster’s latepianoconcertos,thesoloist’s role isthatoffirst The openingAllegro with anorchestral conbrioiscastinsonata form, introduction, àla leading composerofpianoconcertos.” long, notesscholarLewisLockwood,“Beethoventookcenterstageasvirtuosoandthe the Burgtheater. Previously, hehadbeenheard onlyinthenobility’s privatesalons.Before tional muscles.Itwasthevehiclefor24-year-old composer’s at publicdebutinVienna, same time,however, wesensetheyoungRhinelanderbeginningtoflexhis own composi- model. Indeed,there isaMozartian–some mightsayHaydnesque–flavoraboutit.Atthe In hisB-flatmajorpianoconcerto,BeethoventookMozart’s lateworksinthegenre ashis orchestral cuespenciledin, survives.) ond, because,atage13,BeethovenpennedanE-flatmajorwork;onlythepianopart,with was publishedbefore theB-flatmajor. Inonesense,theB-flatconcertoactuallyishissec- Symphony andtheFirstPianoConcerto.(Composedin1795,Cmajorpianoconcerto 19. ThePianoConcertoNo.2washisfirstmajororchestral work,predating boththeFirst the yearsitwouldundergo anynumberofrevisions before eventuallybecominghisOpus withtheBonnHofkapelle.Firstdraftedbetween1787and1789,acrossplanned toperform na. Asateenager, hehadbegunworkonapianoconcertoinB-flatmajorthathimself At age21,BeethovenlefthisnativecityofBonn–neveroncetor Recommended recording: Last MSOperformance: Approximate duration: First performance: Instrumentation: Composed: 1787-95; revised 1798 Orchestra (Sony) ;,RoyalConcertgebouw 28 minutes strings flute; 2oboes;bassoons;horns; Joseph Kalichstein,piano October 2010;EdodeWaart, conductor; 29 March Austria 1795;Vienna,  - –tostudyinVien eturn Masur Conducts Mendelssohn PROGRAM NOTES

Composed:

Canzona personare No.2 Canzon PrimiToni ToniCanzon Septimi à8 (No. 2) Died August1612;Venice, Italy c1553-56;Venice,Born Italy GIOVANNI GABRIELI La primavera[Spring] 16November1957;Rome, Italy Born MICHELE DALL’ONGARO today’s concert. calls foronlyfourmusicians,butasanaddedtreat, alleightplayersjointogetheron to play”),andprobably isthemostpopularofGabrieli’s worksinthegenre. Thescore The Canzonapersonare No.2istakenfrom the1608collectionCanzoni per sonare G toG;primitoni(“firstmode”)istheDorianmode,piano’s whitekeysfrom DtoD. septimi toni(“seventhmode”)istheMixolydianmode,orwhitekeysonpianofrom “major” and “minor,”the terms their titles tell us the old church mode in which they are set: eight brassinstruments(twogroups offourplayers).Sincetheypredate ourregular useof Toni are from acollectionofpiecescalledSacrae symphoniae and are contrapuntalintexture. BoththeCanzonSeptimiToni No.2andtheCanzonPrimi positions, however. Theytypicallycommencewithalong-short-short(dactylic) rhythm instrumental arrangementofapolyphonicchoralpiece.Gabrieli’s canzoniare originalcom- devoted toteaching,, andpromoting newmusic. president andsuperintendentofthatvenerableinstitution. Muchofhiscareer hasbeen where hestudiedattheConservatoryofSantaCecilia. Since2015,hehasservedasthe Italian composer, musicologist, andconductorMicheleDall’Ongaro inRome, wasborn canzon The term mass movements,instrumentalensemblemusicandorgan works,aswellc create spezzati cori noble edifice,usingcontrastinggroups ofsingersandplayersinitstwofacingbalconiesto for therest ofhislife.Muchsacred ceremonial musicexploitsthearchitecture ofthat In hisearly30s,Gabrielibecametheorganist atSt.Mark’s BasilicainVenice, apostheheld er HeinrichSchütz(1585-1672)wasamonghismanypupils. far-reaching Europe; andsignificant,especiallyinnorthern thegreat early-Baroque compos- the apexofHighRenaissanceVenetian School.Gabrieli’s fameandinfluencewere inVeniceGiovanni Gabrieliwasborn andspentmost ofhislifethere. Hismusicrepresents Recommended recording: Last MSOperformance: Last MSOperformance: Approximate duration: Approximate duration: First performance: First performance: Instrumentation: Instrumentation: Instrumentation: isadaptedfrom theFrench word chanson Composed: (“broken ”)effects. Hiscompositionaloutputincludesmotetsand Chicago BrassEnsemble(Sony) Philadelphia BrassEnsemble;Cleveland late 1500s,early1600s 5 minutes strings MSO premiere 20 January2004;Bari,Italy 2003 10 minutes 4trumpets;2trombones2 horns; MSO Premiere Venice, Italy (“song”)andreferenced an (1597)andare scored for  30 madrigals. (“songs (“songs Masur Conducts Mendelssohn PROGRAM NOTES

Composed: FELIX MENDELSSOHN Symphony No.4inAmajor, Opus90,“Italian” this delightfullyexuberantworkseemstoendbefore itevenbegan. pianism tellusthatthewholeofnature isquiveringwithnewlife.Before weevenrealize it, notes from bothpianoandstringsensue,thenportamentomore pointillistic and colorfulpianochords andfigurationacross thewholeofkeyboard. Streams of16th frequent. Therainstirsnature toawaken,withperpetualmotionfrom thepluckedstrings pointillistic interjectionsfrom thepianoseemtoevokeraindrops, whichbecomeevermore primaveraLa Aires on aconcertthatalsoincludedAstorPiazzolla’s of Buenos Seasons Four The for Spring.Itisdedicatedtotheensemble’s conductor, RinoMarrone, wholedthepremiere Franco Tamponi (Autumn),andAndrea To Marena (Winter). Dall’Ongaro felltheassignment posers tocreate soundpictures ofthefourseasons.TheseincludedGiovanniFabi(Summer), In 2003,theCollegiumMusicumdiBari,achamberorchestra, commissionedfourItaliancom- cessions hewitnessedinNaples andelsewhere. “Italian” symphony. OthersmaintainthatMendelssohn wasinfluencedbythe religious pro- the themeofaCzechpilgrim songinthismovement.Thatseemsanoddchoice foran friend, theBohemiancomposer andvirtuosopianistIgnazMoscheles,thecomposer used point, asthestringsandwindsplayaboveawalking bass line.According toMendelssohn’s Bittersweet andsolemn,theD-minorAndanteconmoto beginswithtwo-voicecounter theme; thethird theme,tingedwiththeminormode,istreated contrapuntally. the violinsabovepulsingwoodwinds.Asoloclarinet introduces themore relaxed second in6/8meter–launcheswithavivacious andsuccinctmaintheme,statedby are developedtellsusthatMendelssohnknewhisBeethoven.Theopeningmovement –a classicists.Likewise,itsthemes areby theViennese largely symmetrical,andthewaythey In itslayout,the“Italian”Symphonyadheres tothesequenceofmovementsestablished tion withtheItalianpeopleandvigorwhich they embracedlife. works ofartandthebeautifulsceneryheencountered, butalsofrom hispleasantinterac- assortment ofimpressions andfeelingswere brought tobearinit,notonlyfrom thegreat completed inBerlinthewinterof1832.Bycomposer’s ownreckoning, abroad Work onthe“Italian”Symphony–Mendelssohn’s mostpopularworkinthegenre –was inOctoberof1831. spent twomonthsinSwitzerland,finallyarrivingbackGermany Pompeii, thenbacktoFlorence onhisway to GenoaandMilan.AfterdepartingItaly, he that hebeganworkonthe“Italian”symphony. From Rome,hetraveledtoNaplesand andGraztoVenice, viaVienna journeyed thenbywayofFlorence toRome.Itwasthere gestion ofhisfriendJohannWolfgang vonGoethe,hesetoutonanItalianadventure. He His firstdestinations,in1829,were EnglandandScotland.Thefollowingyear, atthesug- At age20,encouragedbyhisparents, Mendelssohn embarkedontravelsacross Europe. upper-middle-class homeprovided anenvironment steepedintheartsandlearning. influenced byMoses’s erudition.AbrahamMendelssohn,Felix’s father, wasabankerwhose known philosophersoftheEnlightenmentera;youngFelix’s educationwassignificantly financially secure. grandfather, Hispaternal MosesMendelssohn,wasoneofthebest- Felix Mendelssohnwasfortunatetohavegrown upinafamilythatwaswell-educatedand Recommended recording: Last MSOperformance: Approximate duration: First performance: Instrumentation: issetforsolopianoandstringorchestra. Atitsoutset,pizzicatostringsand Veneto (Stradivarius) Aldo Arvieto;Marco Angius,Orchestra diPadovaedel 27 minutes 2 trumpets;timpani;strings 2 flutes;oboes;clarinets;bassoons;horns; September 2012;GilbertVarga, conductor 13 March 1833;London, England 1832-33  . - Masur Conducts Mendelssohn PROGRAM NOTES

music, it’s easytoimaginedancersdoingjustthat. minor equalssad,thisisit.TheItalianverbsaltare an examplewere neededtodisprove thehackneyednotionthatmajorequalshappyand pressed tociteamajor-key symphonywhosefinaleissetinaminorkey, here’s one.Ifever The Finaleisasaltarello seem topresage from theNocturne hisincidentalmusicforA Midsummer Night’s Dream minuet andtrio.Itsmoodisoneofgracefulnessserenity. passagesinthetrio Thehorn Though Mendelssohnneverlabeleditassuch,theConmotomoderatois,infor Recommended recording: , a Neapolitan dance form in6/8meter., aNeapolitandanceform Thoughwewouldbehard- Program notes by J. Mark Baker. by J. notes Mark Program Kurt Masur, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra (Eurodisc) (Eurodisc) Orchestra Kurt Masur, Gewandhaus Leipzig means“tojump.”Hearingthisvigorous m, a  .