PROGRAM NOTES Festive Overture, Op. 96 (1954) Pictures at an Exhibition
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PROGRAM NOTES Festive Overture, Op. 96 (1954) Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) Shostakovich composed his Festive Overture for a concert on November 7, 1954 commemorating the 37th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, but its jubilant nature suggests it may also have been conceived as an outpouring of relief at the death of Joseph Stalin one year earlier. As its title suggests, the Festive Overture is a brilliant affair, full of fanfare and bursting spirits. It begins with a stentorian proclamation from the brass as preface to the racing main theme. Contrast is provided by a broad melody initiated by the horns, but the breathless celebration of the music continues to the end. Pictures at an Exhibition Modeste Moussorgsky (1839 -1867) Arr. Mark Hindsley Victor Alexandrovich Hartmann was a Russian artist and a stauch supporter of the Nationalistic artistic movement that sought to create Russian art in a glorious and contemporary light. A year after his death in 1873 at the age of 39, a commemorative exhibition of his works was shown. Russian composer Modest Moussorgsky (1839-1881) was another member of the Russian Nationalist school and a close friend of Hartmann's. When the exhibition was held, Mussorgsky had the simple but breathtaking idea of linking the images together musically in a suite by creating a promenade theme suggesting the viewer moving through the gallery between pictures. The creation is certainly his most popular work, however, it was originally composed for piano alone. Mussorgsky is at times left in the shadows of the 19th century Russian repertoire. Certainly his friend Rimsky-Korsakov was more prolific and was internationally famous in his lifetime. Tchaikovsky of course is best known and eclipses all other Russian composers from this period. But among his circles, and in a broadening admiration from his operatic success with Boris Godunov, Mussorgsky was greatly admired for his Russian realism and raw talent. His early death from alcohol abuse cut short a creative voice in which many had a tremendous belief. Pictures at an Exhibition is one such piece that exemplifies Mussorgsky's originality and creativity. It might be hard to imagine this piece for piano alone, yet in that medium it is undeniably an artistic masterpiece. Upon Mussorgsky's death, Rimsky-Korsakov set out to bring more of his works to light, often finding reams of unfinished manuscripts. Yet upon review of Pictures at an Exhibition, Rimsky- Korsakov left it completely untouched, feeling that the work could not be improved upon. But in 1922, Maurice Ravel orchestrated the work for a Koussevitsky commission. Other versions have been written, but Ravel's exceptional orchestration is by far the best known. A brief summary of the works follows: ``Gnomus'' is a wooden nutcracker fashioned into jaws of a grotesque face. ``Il vecchio castello'' is an aged Italian castle with a troubador singing in the foreground. ``Tuileries'' presents the squeal of playing children. ``Bydlo'' is an ungainly Polish ox-cart plodding down a muddy road. ``The Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks'' is a dance of two ugly figures dressed in egg-shells. ``Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuyle'' (this picture is owned by Mussorgsky) represents two Jews, a rich Goldenberg and a whining Schmuyle. ``Market Place (Limoges)'' evokes the incessant chatter and banter found in the market. `` Catacombs'' starkly begins, showing Hartmann and a friend peering into the ancient catacombs of Paris, but ``Con Mortuis in Lingua Mortua'' is Mussorgsky's own image of human skulls glowing softly from internal light. The ``Hut of Baba Yaga'' is the treacherous Russian witch living off of human bones. ``The Great Gate of Kiev'' is a fantastic and fanciful old Slavonic style arch with a bell tower and colorful mosaics. Mussorgsky here musically represents a procession of penitents passing through the gate under the symbolized glory of old Russia. Sing, Sing, Sing (1936) Louis Prima Arr. Jeff Hest "Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing)" was written 1936 by Louis Prima and first recorded by him with the New Orleans Gang and released in March 1936 as a 78 as Brunswick 7628 (with "It's Been So Long" as the B side). It is strongly identified with the big band and swing eras. It was covered by Fletcher Henderson and most famously Benny Goodman. Originally entitled "Sing Bing Sing", in reference to Bing Crosby, it was soon retitled for use in wider contexts. The song has since been covered by numerous artists.. On July 6, 1937, "Sing, Sing, Sing" was recorded in Hollywood with Benny Goodman on clarinet; Harry James, Ziggy Elman, and Chris Griffin on trumpets; Red Ballard and Murray McEachern on trombones; Hymie Schertzer and George Koenig on alto saxophones; Art Rollini and Vido Musso on tenor saxophone; Jess Stacy on piano; Allan Reuss on guitar; Harry Goodman on bass; and Gene Krupa on drums. The song was arranged by Jimmy Mundy. Unlike most big band arrangements of that era, limited in length to three minutes so that they could be recorded on one side of a standard 10-inch 78- rpm record, Goodman band version was an extended work. The 1937 recording lasted 8 min 43 seconds, and took both sides of a 12-inch 78. At its longest, a live recording (with impromptu solos) was recorded and took 12 min 30 sec. Mundy's arrangement incorporated "Christopher Columbus", a piece written by Chu Berry for the Fletcher Henderson band, as well as Prima's work. Benny Goodman is quoted as saying, "'Sing, Sing, Sing' (which we started doing back at the Palomar on our second trip there in 1936) was a big thing, and no one-nighter was complete without it". Goodman's 1938 Carnegie Hall jazz concert was different from the commercial release and from subsequent performances with the Goodman band. The personnel of the Goodman band for the Carnegie Hall concert were the same as in the 1937 recording session, except Vernon Brown replaced Murray McEachern on trombone, and Babe Russin replaced Vido Musso on tenor sax. Casey at the Bat Randol Alan Bass Casey at the Bat is a baseball poem written in 1888 by Ernest Thayer. First published in the San Francisco Examiner on June 3, 1888, it was later popularized by DeWolf Hopper in many vaudeville performances. The poem was originally published anonymously (under the pen name "Phin", based on Thayer's college nickname, "Phineas"). The author's identity was not widely known at first. A number falsely claimed to have authored the poem, and Thayer's efforts to set the record straight were often ignored. Synopsis: A baseball team from the fictional town of Mudville (implied to be the home team) is losing by two runs with two outs in their last inning. Both the team and its fans (in the poem, about 5,000 attended the game) believe they can win "if only" they could somehow get "Mighty Casey" (Mudville's star player) up to bat. However, Casey was scheduled to be the fifth batter of the inning – the first two batters (Cooney and Barrows) did not reach base, while the next two batters (Flynn and Jimmy Blake) were perceived to be weak hitters with little chance of reaching base to allow Casey an at bat. Surprisingly, Flynn hits a single, and Jimmy Blake follows with a double (Flynn reaching third on the play). Both runners were now in scoring position and Casey represented the potential winning run. However, Casey is so confident in his abilities that he doesn't swing at the first two pitches, both strikes. On the last pitch, the overconfident Casey strikes out, ending the game and sending the crowd home unhappy. This arrangement of Casey at the Bat was commissioned by the Dallas Symphony and was given its first performance by that ensemble in April, 2001, with Pat Sajak serving as the narrator. The composer subsequently arranged the work for wind ensemble at the request of Col. Michael Colburn, director of the “President’s Own” Marine Band in Washington, DC. The King and I Harold Arlen (1905-1986) Arr. Robert Russell Bennett Book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein (1895-1960), music by Richard Rodgers (1902-1979), compiled and transcribed by Robert Russell Bennett The King and I is based on the book Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon. The plot comes from the story written by Anna Leonowens, who became school teacher to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in the early 1860s. The story tells of the conflict and compassion between an English school teacher and the “uncivilized” king. The musical opened on Broadway in 1951 and was the sixth collaboration for the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It ran for 1,246 performances, winning the Tony Award for Best Musical, among other awards. It spawned numerous revivals and a popular 1956 film version. Man of La Mancha Mitch Leigh/Joe Darion Arr. Frank Erickson Man of La Mancha was adapted from Wasserman's non-musical 1959 teleplay I, Don Quixote, which was in turn inspired by Miguel de Cervantes's seventeenth century masterpiece Don Quixote. It tells the story of the "mad" knight, Don Quixote, as a play within a play, performed by Cervantes and his fellow prisoners as he awaits a hearing with the Spanish Inquisition. The original 1965 Broadway production ran for 2,328 performances and won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The musical has been revived four times on Broadway, becoming one of the most enduring works of musical theatre. The signature song, "The Impossible Dream", became a standard. The musical has played in many other countries around the world, with productions in German, Hebrew, Japanese, Icelandic, Gujarati, Uzbekistani, Magyar, Slovenian, Swahili, Finnish, Ukrainian and nine distinctly different dialects of the Spanish language.