BOSTON CHAMBER PLAYERS Sunday, November 16, 2003, at 3 p.m. at Jordan Hall

BOSTON SYMPHONY CHAMBER PLAYERS Malcolm Lowe, violin John Ferrillo, oboe Haldan Martinson, violin William R. Hudgins, Steven Ansell, viola Richard Svoboda, Jules Eskin, Charles Schlueter, Edwin Barker, Ronald Barron, trombone with , conductor WILL LeBOW, narrator and BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA MEMBERS Elizabeth Ostling, Ann Hobson Pilot, harp Timothy Genis, percussion

SCHUBERT String Trio No. 1 in B-flat, D.471 (Allegro)

Messrs. LOWE, ANSELL, and ESKIN

RANDS Concertino, for solo oboe and ensemble (1998) JOHN FERRILLO, oboe Ms. OSTLING; Mr. HUDGINS; Ms. HOBSON PILOT; Messrs. LOWE, MARTINSON, ANSELL, and ESKIN GIL ROSE, conductor

INTERMISSION

STRAVINSKY LHistoire du soldat, a Moral Fable by C.F. Ramuz English adaptation by Judith Cohen

The Soldier's March

Music to Scene I The Soldier's March

Music to Scene II

Music to Scene III The Soldier's March The Royal March The Little Concert Three Dances: Tango, Waltz, Ragtime The Devil's Dance The Little Chorale The Devil's Song Great Chorale Triumphal March of the Devil

WILL LeBOW, narrator Messrs. LOWE, BARKER, HUDGINS, SVOBODA, SCHLUETER, BARRON, and GENIS

^DiHHHH .

Franz Schubert (17974828)

String Trio No. 1 in B-flat, D.471 (Allegro)

Schubert began two trios for the combination of violin, viola, and cello, both in the key of B-flat. The first was composed, though left incomplete, in September 1816; the second, his only finished string trio, followed it exactly a year later. Both were among the many Schu- bert works that remained almost entirely unknown after the composer's premature death.

The earlier trio, D.471, remained unpublished until 1890. It is a relatively unprepossessing work illustrating the kind of lighthearted that Schubert wrote in his youth, largely for use in the circle of his family and friends, where active music-making was a regular pastime. Yet it also seems to be aiming at a rather more elevated style, and it is probably significant that Schubert wrote it at about the same time as an overture in B-flat, in which he was consciously trying on Beethovenian wings. (The chamber work and the overture grow out of a similar Allegro theme.) Lyrical throughout, and covering a remarkably wide range of emotion, the completed movement shows the young genius—not yet out of his teens—aiming at a very high mark indeed. After completing the Allegro, Schubert wrote only a few bars of a slow movement marked "Andante sostenuto" and then—for reasons unknown—dropped the work. He never returned to it again. —Steven Ledbetter

Bernard Rands (b.1934) Concertino, for solo oboe and ensemble (1998)

Bernard Rands is established as a major figure in contemporary music. His work , premiered by Paul Sperry, Zubin Mehta, and the , won the 1984 Pulitzer Prize in Music. His large orchestral suites, he Tambourin, won the 1986 Kennedy Center Freidheim Award. His music has been programmed by many of the world's leading conductors, including Barenboim, Boulez, Berio, Maderna, Marriner, Mehta, Muti, Ozawa, Rilling, Salonen, Sawallisch, Schiff, Schuller, Schwarz, Silverstein, Sinopoli, Slatkin, Dohnanyi, and Zinman, among others. Mr. Rands was composer-in-residence with the

Philadelphia Orchestra for seven years, from 1989 to 1995. The first three years were sup- ported by the Meet the Composer Residency Program, the final four being funded by the

Coming Concerts* .

January 11, 2004 LUTOSLAWSKI Chain 1 • NIELSEN Wind Quintet • DVORAK String Quintet in G, Opus 77

March 7, 2004 with Garrick Ohlsson and Robert Spano, pianos • MOZART Piano Quartet in G minor, K.478; Sonata in D for two pianos, K.375a; Clarinet Quintet in A, K.581 * SCHUMANN Andante and Variations in B-flat for horn, two , and two pianos, Opus 46

April 18, 2004 HARBISON Six American Painters • BRAHMS Trio in E-flat for horn, violin, and piano, Opus 40; Serenade No. 1 in D minor, Opus 11, arranged for nine winds and strings by Alan Boustead

Single tickets at $30, $22, and $ 1 7 can be purchased at the Symphony Hall box office, by

calling SymphonyCharge at (617) 266- 1 200, or at www.bso.org. On the day of the con- cert, tickets are available only at the Jordan Hall box office.. Philadelphia Orchestra. He wrote several major works for that orchestra during his resi- a shoestring and perform almost anywhere. He chose a plot line adapted from a story by recording by Afanasiev involving encounters between the Devil dency there. Rands 's works are widely performed and recorded. A and a nameless soldier, an Everyman. of his Canri d'Amor won a Grammy Award in 2000. The story was worked out with a Swiss writer, C.F. Ramuz, into an hour-long theater piece Born in England in 1934, Rands emigrated to the United States in 1975 and became a involving a narrator, a pair of actors, and a dancer, accompanied by an ensemble of seven citizen in 1983. He has been honored by the American Academy and Institute of Arts and instruments, divided in such a way as to have one high and one low instrument from each Letters, BMI, the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, Meet family: clarinet and bassoon, cornet a piston and trombone, violin and double bass, plus a the Composer, and the Barlow, Fromm, and Koussevitzky foundations, among many others. percussionist playing high- and low-pitched side drums, bass drum, cymbals, tambourine, Recent orchestral commissions have come from the Suntory Concert Hall in Tokyo, the New and triangle. York Philharmonic, Carnegie Hall, the Cincinnati Symphony, , The first performance took place in Lausanne, Switzerland, on September 28, 1918. The Philadelphia Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Internationale Bachakademie evening was a success, but the work could not be repeated when the great worldwide 1918 Stuttgart, Eastman Wind Ensemble, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He has also influenza epidemic closed the theaters. Stravinsky quickly adapted the music as a concert written many chamber works to fulfill commissions from major ensembles and festivals suite which was first performed under Ernest Ansermet in London on July 20, 1920, around the world. His chamber opera Belladonna was commissioned by the Aspen Festival retaining most of the larger musical numbers; it is through performances of the suite that for its fiftieth anniversary in 1999. This past May, Daniel Barenboim conducted the Stravinsky's work is most often heard. Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in the premiere of Rands's latest large-scale Though derived from Russian stories, the plot of L'Kistoire du soldat (The Soldier's Tale) work, apdkryphos for soprano, chorus, and orchestra, a Chicago Symphony commission. was adapted into a wider cultural framework with some reflection of the traditional Faust A dedicated and passionate teacher, Rands has been a guest composer at many interna- stories. The Devil is a master of disguises who is willing to employ any trick to obtain the tional festivals and composer-in-residence at the Aspen and Tanglewood festivals. Since soldier's violin (which symbolizes his soul). He buys it in return for a magic book that fore-

1988 he has taught at , where he is the Walter Bigelow Rosen Professor tells the future, but the soldier soon becomes disillusioned with the wealth he can acquire of Music. The Boston Symphony Orchestra has twice commissioned significant works from through his knowledge, and he tries to get the fiddle back. In one encounter he plays

"... . ", Bernard Rands. The first, body and shadow. . was a joint commission with Boston cards with the Devil, and plies him with wine until finally the Devil falls unconscious University to celebrate that institution's 150th anniversary. It was premiered by the BSO and he is able to make off with the instrument. He uses it to cure an invalid princess, under Seiji Ozawa in February 1989. The BSO also commissioned Rands's Cello Concerto who dances to his music and falls into his arms. When the Devil attempts to seize him for concerts celebrating Mstislav Rostropovich's 70th birthday. Rostropovich was soloist again, he plays wild music on the fiddle, forcing the Devil into contortions and driving with the BSO and Seiji Ozawa in the work's first performances, in April 1997. him away from the kingdom. Only after he has been married to the princess for several years and she urges him to take her to visit his old home does the Devil get his due; as The following note on Bernard Rands's Concertino was provided by the composer: soon as the soldier crosses the border, the Devil gets control of the violin and marches Concertino is in one continuous movement divided into two principal formal sections: the the soldier away triumphantly. first of some five minutes' duration and the second of approximately twice that length. Each Stravinsky himself commented that L'Histoire has a characteristic "sound"—"the of the principal sections consists of several subsections; for example, the work begins with scrape of the violin and the punctuation of the drums/' the former representing the sol- an extended, cadenza-like oboe solo which exposes the material from which the entire dier's soul and the latter the diablerie. He composed the score in self-contained musical piece is generated. The soloist is then joined by the harp in a passage which leads to the units, most of which he later assembled into the familiar concert suite. When heard as part engagement of the entire ensemble in a fast, strident, complex, and virtuosic development of a complete performance, with narrator and possibly stage action, some of these are of the initial ideas. repeated ("The Soldier's March," for example, recurs frequently). These fill out and give The second large section is made up of alternating slow, lyrical music (mainly in the shape to the scenes of the play and also give a special feeling to each scene. The nanator, of high register of the ensemble) and progressively quicker, dramatic music culminating in course, recounts the tale as it unfolds, so that the music becomes more directly illustrative. a return to the fast, strident, complex, and virtuosic character found at the end of the Steven Ledbetter first principal section. — Concertino was commissioned by the Philadelphia Network for New Music with ARTISTS generous support from Anni Baker. The premiere performance was given by oboe soloist Richard Woodhams and members of the Philadelphia Orchestra in Philadelphia, One of the world's most distinguished chamber music ensembles sponsored by a major sym- November 15, 1998. phony orchestra and made up of that orchestra's principal players, the Boston Symphony Concertino is dedicated to Richard Woodhams and to the memory of . Chamber Players include the Boston Symphony's first-desk string, woodwind, brass, and percussion players. Founded in 1964 during Erich Leinsdorf's tenure as BSO music director, Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) the Chamber Players can perform virtually any work within the vast chamber music litera-

L'Histoire du soldat (The Soldier's Tale) ture; they can expand their range of repertory by calling upon other BSO members or enlist- ing the services of such distinguished guest artists as pianists Emanuel Ax, Paul Badura- During the first World War, Igor Stravinsky was living in Switzerland, cut off from his fam- Skoda, and Andre Previn. The Chamber Players' activities include an annual four-concert ily estates by revolution in Russia and from performance royalties of his notorious and pop- series in Boston's Jordan Hall at the Conservatory of Music, regular appear- ular ballet scores by the impossibility of keeping the Ballets Russes functioning in wartime. ances at Tanglewood, and a busy schedule of touring and recording. In addition to appear- The idea occurred to him of creating a small-scale theatrical production that could tour on ances throughout the United States, the group has toured Europe and Japan on numer- as Harpagon in The Miser, in Birthday Party, Birdboot in The Real Inspector ous occasions; they have also performed in South America and the Soviet Union. Among Goldberg The Hound, Truscott in at the in York. His film the Chamber Players' recordings en Nonesuch are the Beethoven Septet and Schubert and Loot Comedy Stage Company New and Octet; Smetana's G major piano trio and Dvorak's string sextet; the Brahms string quin- television credits include Next Stop Wonderland, Second Sight, the NBC special "The Dis- Sylvan; a Copland album covery," and featured roles in "Spenser for Hire" and "Miller's Court." For six seasons he tets; John Harbison's Words from Paterson with baritone Sanford with pianist Gilbert Kalish; and a disc of music by Leon Kirchner. For Philips the ensemble was "seen" as Stanley, the good doctor's bar buddy, in the Cable Ace Award-winning ani- has recorded the quintets for clarinet and strings by Mozart and Brahms with former BSO mated series "Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist." He also narrated the Boston Pops premiere principal clarinet, the late Harold Wright. Deutsche Grammophon has recently reissued, of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." on a single compact disc, the Chamber Players' recordings of Stravinsky's Octet for Winds, Pastorale, Ragtime, and Concertino for Twelve Instruments, and Johann Strauss waltzes as arranged for chamber ensemble by Schoenberg, Berg, and Webern.

Acclaimed conductor Gil Rose is the founding artistic director of the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP), a symphony orchestra devoted to the performance of 20th- and

21st-century music. In its first six years BMOP's unique programs and high performance standards have attracted national recognition including six ASCAP awards for Adven- turous Programming. Mr. Rose was recently appointed to the additional post of music director of Opera Boston, a professional company resident in the historic Majestic Theatre. Active as a guest conductor, Mr. Rose has led the West Bohemian Symphony Orchestra in the Czech Republic, the Warsaw Philharmonic, the American Composers Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra of the Ukraine, and the Cleveland Chamber Symphony. This past season Mr. Rose made his guest debut with the Netherlands Radio Symphony conducting three world premieres as part of the Holland Festival. In 2002 he made his Tanglewood debut conducting BMOP in Lukas Foss's opera Griffelkin, a work he recorded for Chandos records and released in 2003 to rave reviews. Recognized for his recordings of American orchestral and operatic repertoire, Gil Rose's discography includes premiere recordings of music by George Rochberg, Eric Chasalow, Tod Machover, and Arthur Berger. Forthcoming discs include music by Lee Hyla, Steven Mackey, Bernard Rands, Stephen Paulus, and Gunther Schuller, as well as Samuel Barber's opera Vanessa. Based on their successful co-production of Vanessa, BMOP and Opera Boston launched the critically hailed Opera Unlimited, a festival of contemporary opera. As the founding artistic direc- tor, Gil Rose led performances of operas by Ruehr, Ades, and Harbison in the 2003 festival. Mr. Rose received his undergraduate training at the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. His Master of Fine Arts degree and Artist Diploma are from Carnegie Mellon University, where his teachers were Samuel Jones, Lukas Foss, Juan Pablo Izquierdo, and Robert Page.

Will LeBow's recent A.R.T credits include Highway Ulysses, President of the Senate in Lysistrata, Marat in MaratlSade, Brabantio/Lodovico in Othetto, Dantly in Animals and BOSTON Plants, the Father in Nocturne, Sir Ralph Bloomfield Bonington in The Doctor's Dilemma, jjlL Tanglewood Gregory Smirnov and Gonov in Three Farces and a Funeral, and Heiner Miiller in Full Cir- cle, which earned him the Elliot Norton Award for best actor. This season he appears as Egeus and Peter Quince in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Also at A.R.T. he has appeared in THE BSO ONLINE Ivanov, We Won't Pay! We Won't Pay!, The Cripple oflnishmaan, The Marriage ofBette and Boston Symphony and Boston Pops fans with access to the Internet can visit the orches- Boo, The Merchant of Venice, The Imaginary Invalid, The Taming of the Shrew, The Bacchae, tra's official home page (http://www.bso.org). The BSO web site not only provides up-to- Shlemiel the First, Woyzeck, The Wild Duck, The King Stag, Six Characters in Search of an the-minute information about all of the orchestra's activities, but also allows you to buy Author, Alice in Bed, Ubu Rock, Tartuffe, The Tempest, Demons, Henry V, The Oresteia, tickets to BSO and Pops concerts online. In addition to program listings and ticket prices, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, and Henry IV, parts 1 2. Mr. LeBow is well known to & Boston the web site offers a wide range of information on other BSO activities, biographies of audiences for his countless performances in all the male roles in the long-running Shear BSO musicians and guest artists, current press releases, historical facts and figures, helpful Madness. He has also appeared as Malvolio in Twelfth Night at Merrimack Rep; as Nat in telephone numbers, and information on auditions and job openings. Since the BSO web I'm Not Rappaport and in Brian Friel's Faith Healer at Gloucester Stage; in the title role of Hamlet site is updated on a regular basis, we invite you to check in frequently. and as Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing at Boston Shakespeare Company; and