Symphony in B Flat Major 11 Min Wilhelm Friedemann Bach

Andrew Manze, conductor

Johann Georg Pisendel:

Symphony in B flat major

I Allegro di molto

11 min

II Andantino III Tempo di menuet

Wilhelm Friedemann Bach: Adagio and Fugue in D minor Fk 65

10 min

9 min

I Adagio II Fugue

Jan Dismas Zelenka Antonio Vivaldi:
Hipocondrie Overture in A major Concerto for the Dresden Orchestra in 12 min G minor RV 576

I Allegro II Larghetto III Allegro

INTERVAL 15 min

Antonio Lotti:

Crucifixus (arr. Andrew Manze)

4 min

Dmitri Shostakovich: (arr. Rudolf Barshai)
Chamber Symphony in C minor, Op. 110bis

I Largo

23 min

II Allegro molto III Scherzo (Allegretto) IV Largo V Largo

Interval at about 7.55 pm. e concert ends at about 20.45 pm. Broadcast live on YLE Radio 1 and the Internet (www.yle.ﬁ)

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Music from Dresden

Sometimes known as “the Florence on the Elbe”, ern Germany. By contrast, the Elector was more

Dresden grew in the ﬁrst half of the 18th century in favour of the French style while his son, Crown into a city of Baroque palaces, art and music with a Prince Friedrich August II, preferred the Italian. thriving court culture. It was to the German-speak- On the death of his father, the Crown Prince be-

ing regions of Europe what Florence had been to came Elector of Saxony and King August III of Po-

Renaissance Italy.

land in 1733.

e credit for Dresden’s golden era goes to Au-

Despite his debts, August III continued the grangust II the Strong (1670–1733), who in 1694 be- diose court culture established by his father. He

came Elector of Saxony. August II had travelled the lacked his father’s brilliance, both as a ruler and

length and breadth of Europe, soaking up ideas. He as a patron, but he did succeed in keeping many was impressed by the court and palace of the Sun of the institutions and practices alive. In 1756 the

King Louis XIV at Versailles and wanted something war that was to last for seven years broke out and

similar in Dresden. To this end he invited artists the city ﬁnally fell to the Prussians. e ﬁnal blow

of various kinds to the city, collected art and set to Dresden’s golden era was the death of August

building projects in motion. His court in time ac- III in 1763.

quired a reputation for being one of the most splendid in Europe.
e subsequent centuries have likewise seen the rise and fall of Dresden’s fortunes. e most devas-
Music occupied a leading position at the court in tating blow came in February 1945, when the city Dresden. August II enticed some of the very best was almost totally destroyed by the Allies’ bombs.

musicians from all over Europe to enter into his e centre became a pile of smouldering ashes – the

service and his court orchestra became one of the Zwinger Palace, the dearly-loved Frauenkirche, the ﬁnest of its day. Whereas in 1709 he had some 30 Gothic Sophienkirche and one of the great monumusicians, by 1719 their number had risen to over ments to the city’s 19th century architecture, the 40. Music in Dresden was coloured by a certain ten- Semper Opera House. Dresden has risen from the sion between the national styles. e majority of ashes and the old centre has been restored. Despite

the musicians had inherited the ideals of North- its wounds, it is once again the Florence on the Elbe.

Johann Georg Pisendel (1687–1755): Symphony in B flat major

Pisendel arrived in Dresden in 1712 and stayed ship, and on his return to Dresden, Pisendel

for the rest of his life. He got a job as a vio- widely performed Vivaldi’s music. e compos-

linist in the court orchestra and was appoint- er in turn held Pisendel in such high esteem as

ed its leader in 1728. His stay in Dresden was a violinist that he wrote works for him. e few

interrupted by the periods he spent studying compositions by Pisendel are of a high stand-

in France, Berlin and Italy. His visit to Ven- ard. It is not known when he wrote his only

ice, where he lived for nine months and stud- symphony, but it represents the earliest atied with Vivaldi, made the biggest impression tempts in this genre, before the formal ideals on him. e two musicians struck up a friend- became established.

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Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (1710–1784): Adagio and Fugue in D minor Fk 65

e Bach dynasty, spreading as it did across sev- an organ built by the German master Gottfried en generations, was so vast and inﬂuential that Silbermann. Wilhelm Friedemann also comsome of its members found their way to Dres- posed religious vocal and instrumental music.

den. In 1733 the post of organist at the So- In time, he nevertheless got fed up with the job. phienkirche became vacant and attracted ap- In 1746 he therefore moved to the Liebfrau-

plications from three musicians. One of them enkirche in Halle, leaving Dresden behind. He

was the oldest son of Johann Sebastian, Wil- most probably wrote the Adagio and Fugue in D

helm Friedemann Bach. e appointments minor in the early 1740s. e profound and el-

board considered him by far the best.

evated Adagio is followed by a four-part Fugue

Wilhelm Friedemann Bach took up the post that, though quick, is still serious in tone.

in 1733. Awaiting him at the Sophienkirche was

Jan Dismas Zelenka (1679–1745): Hipocondrie Overture in a major (1723)

ough conditions for musicians were better in harmony. e Hipocondrie Overture dates from

Dresden than elsewhere, there was still some 1723, when Zelenka was staying in Prague. It

discontent at court. Bohemian Zelenka was one well illustrates his distinctive style. e overall

of these. Most of his output consists of music form is that of a French overture. At the heart for the church, which he wrote for the court’s is an unusual quick, contrapuntal section in tri-

Catholic liturgy. e style is utterly Baroque, ple metre and at the end a slow section in sim-

and he was praised by his contemporaries for ple time coloured by harmonic tensions and dihis command of counterpoint and richness of minished chords.

Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741): Concerto for the dresden orchestra in G minor RV 576

e publication by the prestigious Estienne certos, enjoy the potential aﬀorded by a large

Roger of Amsterdam of L’estro armonico, a col- court orchestra. Whereas he normally had to

lection of 12 concertos, in 1711 was to make conﬁne the orchestral parts of his concertos to Antonio Vivaldi the most popular concer- strings only, he had many woodwinds at his disto composer of his day. It is therefore no sur- posal in Dresden. He was also inspired by the

prise that the Vivaldi concertos ended up in the solo musicians, for he had Pisendel, whom he

hands of the Dresden violinist and composer greatly respected, on the violin, and he proba-

J.G. Pisendel. After visiting Venice in 1716–17, bly got to know the oboist Johann Christian Pisendel began recommending Vivaldi’s music, Richter during a visit to Venice by Richter and

and Dresden gradually became the main Vivaldi a few of the other Dresden court musicians in

stronghold in German-speaking Europe. Vivaldi composed a number of works for the Dresden court orchestra. He could, in the con-
1716–17.

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Antonio Lotti (1667–1740): Crucifixus (arr. Andrew Manze)

Vivaldi never visited Dresden, but many oth-

In his operas Lotti favoured dramatic eﬀects

er Italian composers and musicians did in and experimented with bold harmonies, but in the 18th century. One of them was a Vene- his church music he adhered to a more tradi-

tian by the name of Antonio Lotti, who trav- tional line. Cruciﬁxus – one of his three settings

elled there in autumn 1717 at the invitation of of the same text and possibly his best-known Crown Prince Friedrich August II. Lotti was or- work – dates from the Dresden years. It is part

ganist at St Mark’s and conscientiously com- of the longer Credo movement of his full-length

posed music for the church, but he also won ac- Missa Sancti Christofori and is scored for choir

claim as an opera composer. His operas were and continuo. e instrumental transcription

what took him to Dresden, and while he was to be heard in this concert is by Andrew Manze.

there, he composed three more. Despite the

fame and glory they brought him, he neverthe- Kimmo Korhonen (abridged) less returned to his old job in Venice after their performance.

Dmitri Shostakovich (arr. Rudolf Barshai): Chamber Symphony in C minor, Op. 110bis

e Chamber Symphony is by Shostakovich, but his personal feelings. e eighth string quartet he wrote it for a string quartet, not an orches- of 1960 is a veritable masterpiece, and the on-

tra. e transcription for string orchestra of the ly one he mentions in his memoirs.

String Quartet no. 8 in C minor is by violist-con-

e String Quartet no. 8 and the Chamber

ductor Rudolf Barshai, for many years conduc- Symphony seem to be direct reﬂections of Shos-

tor of the Moscow Chamber Orchestra. Tran- takovich’s fate and the way his work has been

scriptions of quartets for string orchestra are interpreted at diﬀerent periods in time. It is not usually very earth-shattering: most of the macabre to think that the origin of the heartmusic can be left in the original. e arranger rending Jewish melody so vital to the strucmerely has to decide how many instruments to ture of the work was never mentioned in the assign to each part. Since a string quartet does programme notes of the Soviet era. But peo-

not have a double bass, a new part based on ple generally knew. e initial stimulus for the

that of the cello is usually invented. Sometimes quartet came during a visit by Shostakovich to the arranger may also add parts to ﬁll out the Dresden in the late 1950s, when the city was texture and make full use of the orchestra’s po- just being resurrected from the ashes. His mu-

tential. Barshai’s transcription keeps so close- sic was inﬂuenced by what he saw: the spirit-

ly to the scoring of Shostakovich’s quartet that ual bliss of the slow sections is associated in the fact that it is an arrangement is often not the listener’s mind with the grief engendered even mentioned. e resulting work is simply by war, and the self-destructively energetic mu-

called Shostakovich’s Chamber Symphony. e sic of the ﬁrst quick movement would appear to

transcription was authorised by Shostakovich, allude to war. At the border between the third

who was familiar with and approved it.

and fourth movements Shostakovich has even

Shostakovich wrote his 15 string quartets be- introduced a persistent note like the distant tween 1938 and 1974. ey should not, howev- droning of a bomber. er, be taken as an autobiographical “documentary” set, though they do give some account of Jouni Kaipainen (abridged)

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Andrew Manze

e past few years have seen Andrew Manze’s is Principal Guest Conductor of the Norweemergence as one of the most stimulating and gian Radio Symphony Orchestra and assumes inspirational conductors of his generation, and the role of Associate Guest Conductor of the one driven by a passion for music from the Ba- BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra from the

roque to the contemporary. He is also one of 2010/11 season. He was Artistic Director of

the world’s leading Baroque violinists, allowing e English Concert from 2003 to 2007 and has him to draw upon a specialist knowledge of pe- been Principal Conductor of the Helsingborg riod performance. As a guest conductor Manze has regular re-
Symphony Orchestra since September 2006. Manze’s award-winning CDs include Mozart

lationships with a number of leading interna- violin concertos, Handel arias with Mark Pad-

tional orchestras, including the Deutsches Sym- more, Mozart’s Eine kleine Nacht Musik and phonie-Orchester Berlin, Munich Philharmon- concertos by Bach, Handel and Geminiani. His ic, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, City of Bir- long-standing collaboration with his duo partmingham Symphony, Mahler Chamber Orches- ner Richard Egarr won great acclaim with their tra, and the Scottish and Swedish Chamber Or- recordings of sonatas by Bach, Handel, Pandolﬁ, chestras. Future guest conductor engagements Rebel, Biber, Mozart and Schubert. ese discs include the Gothenburg Symphony, Oslo Phil- have won many prizes, among them two Gram-

harmonic, Danish Radio Symphony, Residen- ophone Awards, a BBC Music Magazine Award

tie Orkest (the Hague) and the Hallé. Manze and a 2003 Grammy nomination.

The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra

e Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (FRSO), servatory (now the Sibelius Academy) Hall. is

the orchestra of the Finnish Broadcasting Com- recording is the only known document of Sibepany (YLE), celebrated its 80th anniversary in lius in the role of conductor.

autumn 2007. Its Chief Conductor is Sakari Oramo, who assumed the post in 2003 after ed music by Bartók, Hakola, Lindberg, Kaipai-

nine years as its conductor. nen, Kokkonen and others, and the debut disc

With Sakari Oramo the FRSO has record-

e Radio Orchestra of ten players founded of the opera Aslak Hetta by Armas Launis. Its in 1927 grew to a full-size symphony orchestra discs have won many prestigious distinctions,

in the 1960s. Its chief conductors have been such as Gramophone and BBC Music Magazine

Toivo Haapanen, Nils-Eric Fougstedt, Paavo awards. Its most recent honour, a MIDEM Clas-

Berglund, Okko Kamu, Leif Segerstam and Juk- sical Award, was for the recording of the Lind-

ka-Pekka Saraste.

berg and Sibelius Violin Concertos with Lisa Ba-

Contemporary music is a major item in the tiashvili as the soloist in 2008. Another record-

repertoire of the FRSO, which each year pre- ing of Lindberg’s orchestral pieces was select-

mieres a number of YLE commissions. All in all ed as the record of the year 2008 by the New the FRSO has so far premiered more than 500 York Times.

works. Its programme for the 2010/11 season

e FRSO has been on major tours all over

features six world and many Finnish premieres. the world and given more than 300 concerts
e FRSO recordings now number over 100, abroad. It has visited Japan four times. During

on the Ondine and other labels. One historic the 2010/11 season it will be visiting Edinburg,

gem is the Andante festivo conducted by the Frankfurt, Zurich and Dortmund.

composer, Jean Sibelius, at the Helsinki Con-

All the FRSO concerts, both in Finland and

5

abroad, can be heard on the FRSO’s home chan- live and can also be heard worldwide via the Innel, YLE Radio 1. ey are usually broadcasted ternet (yle.ﬁ/rso).

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