INTERLUDES VIRTUAL CONCERT SERIES

Symphony Tacoma presents That’s a “Wrap” Saturday, February 27 | 7:30 pm

Daniel Partridge, principal horn Sandon Lohr, assistant principal horn David McBride, third horn Larry Vevig, fourth horn

Der Freischütz Fantasie-Quartet Horn Quartet No. 1 (2015) Carl Maria von Weber (1786–1826) Gina Gillie Arr. by A. E. Harris I. Slow and legato – Allegro

Quartet in B-flat for Four Waldhorns, op. 38 Fanfare for Barcs (1989) Friedrich Constantin Homilius (1813–1902) Kerry Turner I. Alla marcia II. Andante III. Presto

Six Horn Quartets Nikolai Tcherepnin (1873–1945) I. Nocturne Videography: Seago Media II. Ancienne chanson allemande Video Editing: Seago Media III. La chasse Sound Mixing: Bill Levey IV. Un chant populaire russe Recording Location: University Place V. Un Choral Presbyterian Church

PERFORMANCE SPONSORS THE MUSICIANS

Daniel Partridge, principal David McBride, third horn horn Mr. McBride is a native of Mr. Partridge is principal horn Seattle and attended Western of Symphony Tacoma and the Washington University where Vancouver (WA) Symphony he earned a Bachelor of Mu- and also plays regularly with sic degree in composition. He the Oregon Symphony, earned his Masters Degree Portland , Oregon from New England Conser- Ballet Theater and Chameleon vatory, graduating Summa Winds. He earned a PhD in music theory from the cum Laude. He lived in Chicago, Boston, Germany Graduate Center of the City University of New York and the Netherlands before returning to the Pacific (CUNY). Mr. Partridge teaches horn at Portland State Northwest and beginning his horn career in earnest University and Clark College and is also the manag- in the mid-90s. Besides Symphony Tacoma, he has er of music editorial at Oregon Catholic Press. He is appeared with Pacific Northwest Ballet, Seattle raising two daughters with his wife, Katie. Symphony, Northwest to name a few.

Sandon Lohr, assistant Larry Vevig, fourth horn principal horn Mr. Vevig has played with Originally from Pullman, WA, Symphony Tacoma since 1988. Mr. Lohr studied horn He also works as a support performance at Carnegie engineer for Flowroute, a Mellon University and the communications firm in Seattle. New England Conservatory His music journey began in the before returning to the fifth grade with the trumpet, Northwest to join Symphony eventually evolving to the Tacoma. He also plays with other groups in the horn in middle school. “The band director said he region, including the Boise Philharmonic and the needed another horn player so I figured what the Spokane Symphony. heck!” Mr. Vevig also plays with Olympia Symphony Orchestra and often finds himself rehearsing or playing six nights a week.

UPCOMING VIRTUAL PROGRAMS MINI MAESTROS March 7 Fiddler on the Hoof

FACEBOOK LIVE March 13 From the Back Row: Live Chat with the Low Brass Section

INTERLUDES SERIES March 27 Percussion Quartet: To the Max!

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2 ABOUT THE MUSIC

Carl Maria von Weber features the third horn and first horn in a soloistic (1786–1826) dialogue. The final movement, like the finales of all Der Freischütz Fantasie-Quartet four of Mozart’s Horn Concertos, is in a rollicking 6/8 Arr. by A. E. Harris that evokes the origins of the instrument as a hunting One of the most important horn through the topic of La chasse (“the chase”). representatives of early German romanticism, Weber Nikolai Tcherepnin is credited with creating the (1873–1945) genre of German Romantic Six Horn Quartets opera (Italian having been the predominant operatic For this program, we are language until then). His were hugely presenting five of the six influential on subsequent generations of German quartet movements, short but composers, including Giacomo Meyebeer and effective character pieces that Richard Wagner, and his piano music influenced were published in 1910. Frederic Chopin and Franz Liszt. Der Freischütz, Tcherepnin was a native premiered in 1821, is considered by many to be the Russian who moved to in 1921 after the first great German-language opera. The Fantasie- Bolshevik revolution. The set is written in a traditional Quartet on this program highlights two important manner; despite the musical experimentation themes from the opera: the mysterious slow happening elsewhere in Europe, these short pieces introduction, evoking the supernatural elements of are very tonal and draw upon the by-then familiar the story, and the rousing “Hunter’s Chorus” which, tropes of horn writing. The beautiful, song-like in the opera itself, features four hunting horns and Nocturne starts the set, showcasing the deep bass men’s choir to convey a rustic out-of-doors character. tones of the fourth horn, which anchors the ensemble. The second movement, which translates Friedrich Constantin Homilius (1813–1902) as “ancient German song” is pastoral in nature; it Quartet in B-flat for Four Waldhorns, op. 38 often features the horns in pairs, using a device Not much is known about Homilius but that he called horn fifths to mimic pairs of alphorns high in was born just outside Dresden and migrated to St. the mountains. The third movement draws on the Petersburg, as a young man, where he spent familiar topic of the chase and features the third and most of his career as a horn player in a military band fourth horn with the melody at the beginning while while composing and teaching. He wrote this horn the first and second horn provide a rhythmic motor quartet around 1835, a relatively early piece not element. The fifth movement is a popular Russian only in terms of his own compositional output but song: with the tune presented starkly at the outset, also with regard to the technical development of the by first horn alone and then taken up in turn by all horn. The designation Waldhorn literally means four voices, one can easily imagine the barren “forest horn” in German and indicates that Homilius beauty of the Russian steppes. The work ends with a was still writing for the valveless natural (hunting) setting of the famous Lutheran chorale tune, “ horn. The piece addresses several familiar topics Wachet auf” (“Wake, O Sleeper”) written by Philipp in which horns were then used, including marches Nicolai in 1599 and famously set by J.S. Bach in his and hunting calls. The first movement is a vigorous cantata of the same name. It is a fitting benediction march, full of snappy sextuplets and dotted rhythms. for a marvelously crafted set of miniatures. The second movement is song-like, with lovely sustained notes in the accompanying voices, and

3 Gina Gillie notes available on the instrument. We are especially Horn Quartet No. 1 (2015) pleased to include this work on the program Commissioned by John because it showcases a local Tacoman composer Hargreaves, this work is and educator (Gillie teaches at Pacific Lutheran intended to stand alongside University). a great pillar of the horn quartet repertoire, the Sonata Kerry Turner for Four Horns (1952) by Paul Fanfare for Barcs (1989) Hindemith. Like the Der The finale of this program was Freischütz Fantasy that began written by one of the most the program, Gillie’s work starts slowly and well-known contemporary mysteriously. A sinuous melody, based on the twelve composers for horn. Turner was notes of the chromatic scale, begins the work. She born in 1960 and has had an does not treat this tone row serially, as Arnold illustrious performing career, Schoenberg might have, but rather harmonizes especially in Europe where, it with lush, romantic chords after its initial with three other expatriate presentation. The brooding introduction then gives Americans living and working there, he founded the way to an energetic march, replete with a cascading American Horn Quartet (AHQ), one of the premiere sextuplet figure (twice as fast as those heard in the horn ensembles worldwide. This fanfare was written Homilius quartet) that gets passed among the four for the AHQ to commemorate their success at the players. Material from the slow introduction returns Fourth International Philip Jones Brass Chamber in the guise of the ongoing march toward the end Music Competition in Barcs, Hungary. It is vigorously of the movement, effectively unifying the two formal rhythmic and highly syncopated. The four parts are sections of the piece. The movement ends with a often independent of one another, the various real flourish: the first horn has a “rip” (horn jargon dovetailing and over-layering of motivic material that means glissando) up to one of the highest making the coordination of the performance tricky.

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4 THE HISTORY OF THE HORN AND THE HORN QUARTET AS AN ENSEMBLE

This program loosely follows the technical A mechanical piston development of the horn from its origins as an valve to change the over-the-shoulder coiled length of flared brass pitch for trumpets cylinder (for signaling across the forest during the and horns was first hunt) to the assemblage of sinuous tubing and patented in German valves that defines the modern instrument. Once the around 1815, but was hunting horn was removed from the outdoors and bulky and inefficient brought into the concert hall, the ability of the horn and was not fully player to manipulate the sound of the natural horn adopted until further with the hand in the bell made it the most flexible of refinements were the brass instruments in terms of tone color (timbre), made in the 1830s. balance, and pitch selection. It was the first brass Like any new instrument to be regularly incorporated into standard technology, it had concert orchestration and can be found throughout its share of early the works of J.S. Bach, G. F. Handel, and Joseph adopters (Wagner, for example) and curmudgeonly Haydn. These valveless horns most often appeared hold-outs (Brahms famously continued to write for in pairs until the mid-1800s when four horns became natural horns well into the 1890s). And also like any the standard instrumentation for symphonic literature new technology, there were many design styles (although Hadyn’s experimental Symphony no. 31 of conceived to utilize the new valves. In various guises, 1765 was dubbed “Mit dem Hornsignal” because it however, fully chromatic horns were available and in was scored for four horns). use by the mid-1800s. Older hand horn techniques

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5 continued to inform performance practice well into such as Robert Schumann and Franz Schubert were the early 20th century, however. writing works for horn quartet and men’s chorus.

Two leading ways of Like a string quartet, the horn quartet has the full constructing the horn range of a four-part choir, from bass to soprano coil, called the “wrap” voices. Because of this, and with the examples of the (which inspired the four-horn chorales of Weber’s Der Freischütz (1821) name of this concert), and Rossini’s Semiramide (1823)—and Schumann’s emerged around slightly later but celebrated Konzertstück for Four the turn of the 20th Horns, op. 86 (1949)—composers began to write century: a model by standalone horn quartets by the middle of the Fritz Kruspe was patented in 1900 in Germany and a nineteenth century. The later twentieth century, model by Carl Geyer, a German-born American, was however, began a golden age for original in production by around 1910. These two styles of compositions for this ensemble. Paul Hindemith’s wrapping the “double” horn were taken up by most Sonata for Four Horn (1952) is a seminal work and horn makers worldwide. Much like the Mac vs. PC elevated the ensemble to truly virtuosic levels. debate in the computer world, many horn players Later horn quartet works by Michael Tippett, Carlos today not only have fierce allegiances to the Kruspe Chávez, Frigyes Hidas, Kerry Turner, and Tacoma’s vs. Geyer methods of horn wrapping but also to the own Gina Gillie build on the new level established metal used (nickel-silver vs. brass horns) and by Hindemith’s work. whether the horn should be lacquered (shiny finish) or unlacquered (matte finish). For those keeping — Program notes written by Daniel Partridge track at home, our Symphony Tacoma section uses mostly handcrafted German-made Geyer-wrapped yellow brass horns: Daniel Partridge plays a Ricco ABOUT SYMPHONY TACOMA Kühn 393X triple horn, Sandon Lohr plays a Hans Hoyer 802 double horn, David McBride plays an Building community Alexander 103 double horn (a modified Kruspe through music. Inspiring wrap), and Larry Vevig plays an Engelbert Schmid audiences with live double horn. musical experiences that transcend tradition, Symphony Tacoma has been a vital part of The development of the horn quartet as a stand- Tacoma’s cultural landscape for more than 70 years. alone ensemble matches, to some degree, the We are committed to the belief that the community technological developments of the instrument itself. is made stronger and more vibrant by experiencing In the days before the telephone, pairs of horns great music together. The ongoing COVID-19 were commonplace as signaling instruments when pandemic has compelled the Symphony to develop used outdoors, especially for the hunt, and were three virtual series to deliver musical experiences: similarly deployed in symphonic contexts, often the Interludes Series of chamber performances, lending a rustic element to the concert hall. German the Encore Series rebroadcasts of favorite past and Italian operas of the early 1800s, such as those concerts and a Facebook Live Series of behind- by Carl Maria von Weber and Giaochino Rossini, the-scenes conversations with musicians, guest respectively, used four horns to take advantage of artists and community members. a larger tonal palette. Some of the first true horn quartet writing comes from these operas. By the Karina A. Bharne, executive director 1830s, four horns was the standard instrumentation Sarah Ioannides, music director in the concert orchestra as well, and composers symphonytacoma.org

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