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07-31 Denk_Gp 3.qxt 7/20/15 10:02 AM Page 1 Friday and Saturday Evenings, July 31–August 1, 2015, at 6:30 m a Pre-concert Recital r g Orion Weiss , Piano o r P BRAHMS Klavierstücke, Op. 118 (1893) Intermezzo in A minor Intermezzo in A major e Ballade in G minor h Intermezzo in F minor T Romanze in F major Intermezzo in E-flat minor Please make certain all your electronic devices are switched off. These performances are made possible in part by the Josie Robertson Fund for Lincoln Center. Steinway Piano Avery Fisher Hall 07-31 Denk_Gp 3.qxt 7/20/15 10:02 AM Page 2 Mostly Mozart Festival I Notes on the Program By Paul Schiavo m Klavierstücke, Op. 118 (1893) a JOHANNES BRAHMS r Born May 7, 1833, in Hamburg, Germany g Died April 3, 1897, in Vienna o r Approximate length: 23 minutes P In his last years, Brahms abandoned the kind of large-scale compositions that had established his reputation as one of the great musical creators of his e time. Instead, he sought a deep intimacy through songs, chamber music, and h especially several series of short piano pieces. t The latter pieces are brief, most lasting between two and four minutes, their n tone intimate and spontaneous; however, they are too substantial to truly o rank as keyboard miniatures. Their musical world is indeed compressed, but it is nevertheless rich in melodic ideas, far-ranging harmonies, moods, and s keyboard sonorities. The formal simplicity of these pieces—like so many e 19th-century piano solos, they generally follow an uncomplicated A-B-A t plan—serves to heighten their emotional immediacy and to throw into sharp o relief the fine compositional craftsmanship they embody. Clara Schumann, to whom Brahms showed each work before he published it, did not exaggerate N in calling the series “an inexhaustible treasure.” The six compositions collected as Brahms’s Op. 118 appeared in 1893, though some of the music may have originated earlier. Of these half-dozen pieces, four bear the title Intermezzo . The first, in A minor, is especially con - centrated since it lacks the usual contrasting central episode based on new thematic material. Brahms counters this first piece with one that seems its opposite in every way. Whereas the first piece feels taut, the second con - veys a relaxed spaciousness; against the first’s dark A-minor tonality, the sec - ond is set in the parallel major key; and the turbulent character of the initial piece is countered with music of serene tenderness in the second. The third piece in the set, which Brahms calls a Ballade , has about it the feel of a robust scherzo. Intimations of the main theme in the central episode pro - vide a thoughtful unifying touch. Next comes a third Intermezzo , followed by a Romanze whose song-like outer sections frame a surprisingly light and florid central episode. In the final Intermezzo , Brahms strikes a particularly Romantic tone at the outset, where spare melodic phrases are colored with mysterious har - monies. The dark, introspective quality of this music makes the heroic decla - mations in the central episode all the more effective. —Copyright © 2015 by Paul Schiavo 07-31 Denk_Gp 3.qxt 7/20/15 10:02 AM Page 3 Friday and Saturday Evenings, July 31–August 1, 2015, at 7:30 m a r Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra g Louis Langrée , Conductor o Jeremy Denk , Piano r P BACH (trans. BRAHMS) Chaconne in D minor for piano left hand e (1720/1877) h MOZART Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K.466 (1785) T Allegro Romanze Rondo: Allegro assai Mr. Denk will perform Brahms’s cadenza. Intermission BRAHMS Symphony No. 4 in E minor (1884–85) Allegro non troppo Andante moderato Allegro giocoso Allegro energico e passionato Please make certain all your electronic devices are switched off. These performances are made possible in part by the Josie Robertson Fund for Lincoln Center. Steinway Piano Avery Fisher Hall 07-31 Denk_Gp 3.qxt 7/20/15 10:02 AM Page 4 Mostly Mozart Festival The Mostly Mozart Festival is made possible by Sarah Billinghurst Solomon and Howard Solomon, Rita E. and Gustave M. Hauser, Chris and Bruce Crawford, The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Inc., Charles E. Culpeper Foundation, S.H. and Helen R. Scheuer Family Foundation, and Friends of Mostly Mozart. Public support is provided by the New York State Council on the Arts. Artist Catering provided by Zabar’s and zabars.com MetLife is the National Sponsor of Lincoln Center United Airlines is a Supporter of Lincoln Center WABC-TV is a Supporter of Lincoln Center “Summer at Lincoln Center” is supported by Diet Pepsi Time Out New York is a Media Partner of Summer at Lincoln Center UPCOMING MOSTLY MOZART FESTIVAL EVENTS: Saturday Night, August 1, at 10:00 in the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse A Little Night Music Alexei Lubimov , Piano DEBUSSY: Selected Préludes; L’isle joyeuse SATIE: Prelude to Act I of Le fils des étoiles ; Petite ouverture à danser; Gymnopédie No. 1; Excerpts from Sports et divertissements ; Gnossienne No. 5 Monday Evening, August 3, at 7:30 in Alice Tully Hall Emerson String Quartet Jean-Yves Thibaudet , Piano MOZART: String Quartet in G major, K.387 BEETHOVEN: String Quartet in F major, Op. 135 FAURÉ: Piano Quartet No. 1 Pre-concert recital by the Emerson String Quartet at 6:30 Tuesday and Wednesday Evenings, August 4 –5, at 7:30 in Avery Fisher Hall Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra Cornelius Meister , Conductor M|M Sol Gabetta , Cello M|M MOZART: Overture to Le nozze di Figaro HAYDN: Cello Concerto in C major BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 4 Pre-concert recitals by the Anderson & Roe Piano Duo at 6:30 M|M Mostly Mozart debut For tickets, call (212) 721-6500 or visit MostlyMozart.org. Call the Lincoln Center Info Request Line at (212) 875-5766 to learn about program cancellations or request a Mostly Mozart brochure. Visit MostlyMozart.org for full festival listings. Join the conversation: #LCMozart We would like to remind you that the sound of coughing and rustling paper might distract the performers and your fellow audience members. In consideration of the performing artists and members of the audience, those who must leave before the end of the performance are asked to do so between pieces. The taking of photographs and the use of recording equipment are not allowed in the building. 07-31 Denk_Gp 3.qxt 7/22/15 10:13 AM Page 5 Mostly Mozart Festival Welcome to Mostly Mozart I am pleased to welcome you to the 49th Mostly Mozart Festival, our annual celebration of the innovative and inspiring spirit of our namesake composer. This summer, in addition to a stellar roster of guest conductors and soloists, we are joined by composer-in-residence George Benjamin, a leading contemporary voice whose celebrated opera Written on Skin makes its U.S. stage premiere. This landmark event continues our tradition of hearing Mozart afresh in the context of the great music of our time. Under the inspired baton of Renée and Robert Belfer Music Director Louis Langrée, the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra delights this year with the Classical repertoire that is its specialty, in addition to Beethoven’s joyous Seventh Symphony and Haydn’s triumphant Creation. Guest appearances include maestro Cornelius Meister making his New York debut; Edward Gardner, who also leads the Academy of Ancient Music in a Mendelssohn program on period instruments; and Andrew Manze with violin - ist Joshua Bell in an evening of Bach, Mozart, and Schumann. Other preemi - nent soloists include Emanuel Ax, Matthias Goerne, and festival newcomers Sol Gabetta and Alina Ibragimova, who also perform intimate recitals in our expanded Little Night Music series. And don’t miss returning favorite Emerson String Quartet and the International Contemporary Ensemble, our artists-in- residence, as well as invigorating pre-concert recitals and lectures, a panel discussion, and a film on Haydn. With so much to choose from, we invite you to make the most of this rich and splendid festival. I look forward to seeing you often. Jane Moss Ehrenkranz Artistic Director 07-31 Denk_Gp 3.qxt 7/20/15 10:02 AM Page 6 Mostly Mozart Festival I Words and Music Master of Music By Henry Van Dyke Glory of architect, glory of painter, and sculptor, and bard, Living forever in temple and picture and statue and song,— Look how the world with the lights that they lit is illumined and starred, Brief was the flame of their life, but the lamps of their art burn long! Where is the Master of Music, and how has he vanished away? Where is the work that he wrought with his wonderful art in the air? Gone,—it is gone like the glow on the cloud at the close of the day! The Master has finished his work, and the glory of music is— where? Once, at the wave of his wand, all the billows of musical sound Followed his will, as the sea was ruled by the prophet of old: Now that his hand is relaxed, and his rod has dropped to the ground, Silent and dark are the shores where the marvellous harmonies rolled! Nay, but not silent the hearts that were filled by that life-giving sea; Deeper and purer forever the tides of their being will roll, Grateful and joyful, O Master, because they have listened to thee,— The glory of music endures in the depths of the human soul.

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