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Home , Alexander Scriabin, Guillaume Connesson, Iosif Kotek, The Poem of Ecstasy

23 Season 2017-2018

Thursday, October 26, at The Philadelphia 7:30 Friday, October 27, at 2:00 Saturday, October 28, at 8:00 Stéphane Denève Conductor Gil Shaham Violin

Connesson Maslenitsa First performances

Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35 I. Allegro moderato—Moderato assai II. Canzonetta: Andante— III. Allegro vivacissimo

Intermission

Debussy Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun

Scriabin ( No. 4), Op. 54

This program runs approximately 1 hour, 50 minutes.

LiveNote®, the Orchestra’s interactive concert guide for mobile devices, will be enabled for these performances.

These concerts are part of the Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ Experience, supported through a generous grant from the Wyncote Foundation.

The October 26 concert is sponsored by American Airlines. The October 26 concert is also sponsored by Tobey and Mark Dichter. The October 27 concert is sponsored by Mrs. Elaine Woo Camarda.

Philadelphia Orchestra concerts are broadcast on WRTI 90.1 FM on Sunday afternoons at 1 PM. Visit www.wrti.org to listen live or for more details. 24

Getting Started with LiveNote®™ » Please silence your phone ringer. » Download the app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store by searching for LiveNote. » Join the LiveNote Wi-Fi network from your phone. The wireless network LiveNote should appear in the list available to you. Select that network. » Welcome to LiveNote: You should see a greeting that says you are connected to the Live Stream. Helpful Hints » Tap “View Live” to follow the original content in sync with the Orchestra. » Tap home in the top left if you are in live mode and select the piece you want by tapping the piece and then tapping the movement. Then you can swipe to the right and left. » Tap a word highlighted in yellow or hit “Glossary” to take you to an in-depth glossary. » If the live stream appears to be timed out or lapsed, hit the refresh app button in the top left of the home screen. » If you get a “Live Stream Error” touch the refresh icon in the upper left corner of the screen. Double check your network settings and that you are connected to the LiveNote Wi-Fi network.

Please note that this app will only stream live over the LiveNote Wi-Fi network. Check your Wi-Fi settings and make sure you’re connected to LiveNote. While you can explore the app without it, the best part of the experience is enjoying it in real time with The Philadelphia Orchestra.

LiveNote was funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the William Penn Foundation. 25 The Philadelphia Orchestra Jessica Griffin

The Philadelphia Orchestra Philadelphia is home and impact through Research. is one of the preeminent the Orchestra continues The Orchestra’s award- in the world, to discover new and winning Collaborative renowned for its distinctive inventive ways to nurture Learning programs engage sound, desired for its its relationship with its over 50,000 students, keen ability to capture the loyal patrons at its home families, and community hearts and imaginations of in the Kimmel Center, members through programs audiences, and admired for and also with those who such as PlayINs, side-by- a legacy of imagination and enjoy the Orchestra’s area sides, PopUP concerts, innovation on and off the performances at the Mann free Neighborhood concert stage. The Orchestra Center, Penn’s Landing, Concerts, School Concerts, is inspiring the future and and other cultural, civic, and residency work in transforming its rich tradition and learning venues. The Philadelphia and abroad. of achievement, sustaining Orchestra maintains a strong Through concerts, tours, the highest level of artistic commitment to collaborations residencies, presentations, quality, but also challenging— with cultural and community and recordings, The and exceeding—that level, organizations on a regional Philadelphia Orchestra is by creating powerful musical and national level, all of which a global ambassador for experiences for audiences at create greater access and Philadelphia and for the home and around the world. engagement with classical US. Having been the first Music Director Yannick music as an art form. American orchestra to Nézet-Séguin’s connection The Philadelphia Orchestra perform in China, in 1973 to the Orchestra’s musicians serves as a catalyst for at the request of President has been praised by cultural activity across Nixon, the ensemble today both concertgoers and Philadelphia’s many boasts a new partnership with critics since his inaugural communities, building an Beijing’s National Centre for season in 2012. Under his offstage presence as strong the Performing Arts and the leadership the Orchestra as its onstage one. With Shanghai Oriental Art Centre, returned to recording, with Nézet-Séguin, a dedicated and in 2017 will be the first- two celebrated CDs on body of musicians, and one ever Western orchestra to the prestigious Deutsche of the nation’s richest arts appear in Mongolia. The Grammophon label, ecosystems, the Orchestra Orchestra annually performs continuing its history of has launched its HEAR at Carnegie Hall while also recording success. The initiative, a portfolio of enjoying summer residencies Orchestra also reaches integrated initiatives that in Saratoga Springs, NY, and thousands of listeners on the promotes Health, champions Vail, CO. For more information radio with weekly Sunday music Education, eliminates on The Philadelphia afternoon broadcasts on barriers to Accessing the Orchestra, please visit WRTI-FM. orchestra, and maximizes www.philorch.org. 4 Music Director

Chris Lee Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin is now confirmed to lead The Philadelphia Orchestra through the 2025-26 season, an extraordinary and significant long-term commitment. Additionally, he becomes the third music director of the Metropolitan Opera beginning with the 2021-22 season, and from 2017-18 is music director designate. Yannick, who holds the Walter and Leonore Annenberg Chair, is an inspired leader of The Philadelphia Orchestra. His intensely collaborative style, deeply rooted musical curiosity, and boundless enthusiasm, paired with a fresh approach to orchestral programming, have been heralded by critics and audiences alike. The New York Times has called him “phenomenal,” adding that under his baton, “the ensemble, famous for its glowing strings and homogenous richness, has never sounded better.”

Yannick has established himself as a musical leader of the highest caliber and one of the most thrilling talents of his generation. He is in his 10th and final season as music director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic, and he has been artistic director and principal conductor of Montreal’s Orchestre Métropolitain since 2000. In summer 2017 he became an honorary member of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. He was also principal guest conductor of the London Philharmonic from 2008 to 2014. He has made wildly successful appearances with the world’s most revered ensembles and has conducted critically acclaimed performances at many of the leading opera houses.

Yannick and Deutsche Grammophon (DG) enjoy a long-term collaboration. Under his leadership The Philadelphia Orchestra returned to recording with two CDs on that label. He continues fruitful recording relationships with the Rotterdam Philharmonic on DG, EMI Classics, and BIS Records; the London Philharmonic for the LPO label; and the Orchestre Métropolitain for ATMA Classique. In Yannick’s inaugural season The Philadelphia Orchestra returned to the radio airwaves, with weekly Sunday afternoon broadcasts on WRTI-FM.

A native of Montreal, Yannick studied piano, conducting, composition, and chamber music at Montreal’s Conservatory of Music and continued his studies with renowned conductor Carlo Maria Giulini; he also studied choral conducting with Joseph Flummerfelt at Westminster Choir College. Among Yannick’s honors are a appointment as Companion of the Order of Canada; Musical America’s 2016 Artist of the Year; Canada’s National Arts Centre Award; the Prix Denise-Pelletier; and honorary doctorates from the University of Quebec in Montreal, the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, and Westminster Choir College of Rider University in Princeton, NJ.

To read Yannick’s full bio, please visit philorch.org/conductor.

09.17 Bio.indd 4 8/29/17 1:47 PM 26 Principal Guest Conductor

Jessica Griffin Stéphane Denève recently extended his contract as principal guest conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra through the 2019-20 season. He spends multiple weeks each year with the ensemble, conducting subscription, Family, tour, and summer concerts. His 2017-18 subscription season appearances include four weeks of concerts, with a special focus on the music of Guillaume Connesson; two Family concerts; and the Orchestra’s annual New Year’s Eve concert. Mr. Denève has led more programs with the Orchestra than any other guest conductor since making his debut in 2007, in repertoire that has spanned more than 100 works, ranging from Classical through the contemporary, including presentations with dance, theater, film, and cirque performers. Mr. Denève is also music director of the Philharmonic and director of its Centre for Future Orchestral Repertoire, and music director designate of the St. Louis Symphony. From 2011 to 2016 he was chief conductor of the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra and from 2005 to 2012 music director of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Recent engagements in Europe and Asia include appearances with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Orchestra Sinfonica dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, the Vienna and NHK , the Munich and Czech philharmonics, and the Orchestre National de . In North America he made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2012 with the Boston Symphony, with which he is a frequent guest. He appears regularly with the Cleveland Orchestra, the New York and Los Angeles philharmonics, and the San Francisco and Toronto symphonies. Mr. Denève has won critical acclaim for his recordings of the works of Poulenc, Debussy, Ravel, Roussel, Franck, and Connesson. He is a triple winner of the Diapason d’Or de l’Année, was shortlisted in 2012 for Gramophone’s Artist of the Year award, and won the prize for symphonic music at the 2013 International Classical Music Awards. A graduate of, and prizewinner at, the Conservatory, Mr. Denève worked closely in his early career with Georg Solti, Georges Prêtre, and Seiji Ozawa. He is committed to inspiring the next generation of musicians and listeners and has worked regularly with young people in the programs of the Tanglewood Music Center and the New World Symphony. 27 Soloist

Luke Ratray American violinist Gil Shaham made his Philadelphia Orchestra debut in 1988 at the Mann Center and has performed regularly with the Philadelphians ever since. The Grammy Award-winner and Musical America “Instrumentalist of the Year” is sought after throughout the world for concerto appearances with leading orchestras and conductors as well as recital performances. Highlights of recent years include the acclaimed recording and performances of J.S. Bach’s complete and partitas for solo violin. In the coming seasons, in addition to championing these solo works, he will join his longtime duo partner, Akira Eguchi, in recitals throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. Appearances with orchestras regularly include the , , New York, and Los Angeles philharmonics; the Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco symphonies; the Orchestre de Paris; as well as multi-year residencies with the orchestras of Montreal, Stuttgart, and Singapore. Mr. Shaham has recorded more than two dozen concerto and solo CDs, earning multiple Grammys, a Grand Prix du Disque, the Diapason d’Or, and Gramophone Editor’s Choice awards. Many of these recordings appear on Canary Classics, the label he founded in 2004. His CDs include 1930s Violin Concertos, Virtuoso Violin Works, Elgar’s Violin Concerto, Hebrew Melodies, The Butterfly Lovers, and many more. His most recent recording, 1930s Violin Concertos Vol. 2, was nominated for a Grammy Award. Born in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, in 1971, Mr. Shaham moved with his parents to Israel, where he began violin studies at the age of seven, receiving annual scholarships from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation. In 1981 he made debuts with the Jerusalem Symphony and the Israel Philharmonic. In 1982, after taking first prize in Israel’s Claremont Competition, he became a scholarship student at the Juilliard School. He was awarded an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 1990 and in 2008 received the coveted Avery Fisher Prize. Mr. Shaham lives in New York City with his wife, violinist Adele Anthony, and their three children. He plays the 1699 “Countess Polignac” Stradivarius. 28 Framing the Program

Over the course of this season Principal Guest Conductor Parallel Events Stéphane Denève will lead The Philadelphia Orchestra 1878 Music in a trilogy of works by his fellow Frenchman Guillaume Tchaikovsky Sullivan Connesson. Maslenitsa, which is inspired by an Eastern Violin Concerto H.M.S. Pinafore Slavic pre-Lenten festival, unfolds in three parts. The outer Literature sections capture a celebratory carnival atmosphere while James the chorale-like middle one anticipates the solemn times Daisy Miller of Lent. Art Degas Today it is hard to believe that Tchaikovsky initially faced Singer with a considerable opposition to his Violin Concerto, which he Glove composed in his late 30s. The violinist for whom he wrote History the piece declined to perform it, which led to a delayed Edison patents premiere in distant Vienna. There the powerful music phonograph critic declared it music whose “stink you can hear.” Audiences, however, immediately responded 1894 Music to its passion, energy, and virtuoso fireworks and it did Debussy Dvořák not take long for the Concerto to become a triumphant Prelude to the Cello Concerto repertory favorite. Afternoon of a Literature Faun Kipling For the second half of the concert we return to France. The Jungle Book ’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun Art is a sensuous early example of musical Impressionism. Munch Based on a Symbolist poem by Stéphane Mallarmé, it Vampire evokes a mythic faun (satyr in ancient Greek mythology), History a woodland spirit, part man and part goat, who plays his Bureau of pan-pipes, chases nymphs, and sweetly dreams amidst a Immigration warm afternoon. created The great Russian spent 1907 Music much of his relatively brief career abroad, including Scriabin Mahler extended periods in America, Switzerland, Italy, and The Poem of Symphony France. He completed his impressive The Poem of Ecstasy No. 8 Ecstasy, which he also referred to as his Fourth Symphony, Literature in Paris in 1907. Like Debussy’s Prelude, this work owes a Gorky fundamental debt to the French Symbolist poets. Mother Art Picasso Les Demoiselles d’Avignon History Panic of 1907 causes run on banks 29 The Music Maslenitsa

One of France’s most widely-performed , Guillaume Connesson has written more than 60 works for the concert hall, stage, and screen, many of which were composed on commission. He studied piano, choral conducting, composition, and both music history and theory at the Conservatoire National de Région de Boulogne-Billancourt and orchestral conducting and at the Conservatoire National de Paris. He has received numerous awards for his compositions and was named Composer of the Year during the Victoires Guillaume Connesson de la Musique Classique 2015, an annual competition Born in Boulogne- providing artists the opportunity to gain international Billancourt, May 5, 1970 recognition. This season Connesson is composer-in- Now living in Paris residence with the Netherlands Philharmonic and the Orchestre National de Lyon. He has been professor of orchestration at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional d’-La Courneuve since 1997. Connesson cites as his creative influence a diverse range of composers, from François Couperin to , as well as the funk influence of the “Godfather of Soul,” , and the physics of Stephen Hawking. His compositional style has been described as “contemporary and relevant, colorful and expressive,” capturing, as the composer himself says, “the complex mosaic of the modern world.” Connesson and Denève Connesson’s music has attracted a strong following in recent years, but no one has championed his work more than Stéphane Denève. Denève initially developed an interest in Connesson’s music during his tenure as music director of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and since that time, conductor and composer have maintained a rich collaboration. Their close musical friendship can be seen most poignantly in Connesson’s symphonic dance Aleph, composed as a wedding gift for Denève. He performs Connesson’s works regularly on orchestral programs throughout the world and has recorded two CDs devoted exclusively to the composer’s music. Denève views the composer’s as comparable to Stravinsky and Ravel, with musical effects and timbres that have the capacity to keep orchestral music relevant in the 30

Maslenitsa was composed in 21st century, in tune with the conductor’s mission to 2011. “identify pieces of today that orchestras want to play and These are the first Philadelphia audiences want to come and hear.” Orchestra performances of the Denève recognizes Connesson’s musically narrative style, work. saying, “Every note has meaning for me; every bar has The score calls for two , a scenario. I’ll hear a melody and invent a text. I’m a very two , two , two narrative conductor and I stage the music in my head. , four horns, two Guillaume and I share a fascination for all things extra- , three , terrestrial, but especially the sense of space—that feeling , percussion (snare drum, of infinity, which maybe only music has the power to suspended cymbal, tam-tam, describe or inspire.” triangle, tubular , wood block, xylophone), and strings. A Closer Look Commissioned jointly by France’s Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine and the Orchestre Performance time is de Pau Pays de Béarn, Maslenitsa was premiered approximately eight minutes. simultaneously on February 9, 2012, by each of these orchestras at the Palais des Sports in Bordeaux and the Palais Beaumont in Pau. It is the finale of his symphonic trilogy (including Flammenschrift and E chiaro nella valle il fiume appare, both of which will be performed by the Philadelphians and Denève in April 2018) paying tribute to the music of Germany, Italy, and . Maslenitsa musically captures the Eastern Slavic religious and folk holiday celebrated the last week before the onset of the Orthodox Great Lent. The Maslenitsa festival’s roots are both Pagan and Christian, and the carnival offers the last opportunity to enjoy luxuries prohibited during Lent, as well as secular music and dancing. In the form of a symphonic in three sections, Maslenitsa is richly steeped in the compositional style of the great 19th-century Russian composers, heard in lush string melodies contrasted with precise winds and dance . The first section opens with exuberant energy and a whirlwind of seven celebratory themes played by fast and furious winds racing through musical passages. A central chorale-like section of dark and brooding lower strings is punctuated by the solemnity of chimes reminding partiers of the period of introspection and reflection to come. The Russian street carnival atmosphere returns for the closing section, as themes are superimposed over one another, and quick and animated winds, combined with a brass chorale, bring Maslenitsa to a glorious close. Connesson describes the work as “ancient Russia as dreamt by a Frenchman, a tableau blending exuberant joy and suffering in homage to the country and music that I love so much.” —Nancy Plum 31 The Music Violin Concerto

Although Tchaikovsky ultimately triumphed with his Violin Concerto, which became one of his most beloved and frequently performed compositions, its path to success was unusually discouraging and came during a period of deep personal crisis. The turmoil began with his ill-considered marriage to a student in July 1877, undertaken to quiet gossip about his homosexuality. After a few weeks together Tchaikovsky left his wife and fled Russia to spend the next eight months wandering Europe. Intense work on two masterpieces came in the immediate wake of the marriage fiasco: the Fourth Symphony and the operaEugene Onegin. Born in Kamsko-Votkinsk, As Tchaikovsky’s mental state stabilized, however, he found Russia, May 7, 1840 it increasingly difficult to compose and wrote mainly trifles. Died in St. Petersburg, November 6, 1893 Seeking “Musical Beauty” In March 1878 Tchaikovsky settled in Clarens, Switzerland, where he was visited by a former student, a young violinist named Iosif Kotek who was studying in Berlin with , for whom Schumann, Brahms, Dvořák, and others wrote concertos. The two played through some violin literature together and Tchaikovsky was particularly delighted with Eduard Lalo’s , which inspired him to compose his own Violin Concerto in the space of just some three weeks. What he admired was that Lalo, “in the same way as Léo Delibes and Bizet, does not strive after profundity, but he carefully avoids routine, seeks out new forms, and thinks more about musical beauty than about observing established traditions, as the Germans do.” This comment is very revealing of Tchaikovsky’s musical values and his antipathy toward the gloried German tradition exemplified at the time by Brahms and Wagner. Tchaikovsky preferred composers who are now considered minor figures, such as Delibes (remembered best for his ballet Coppélia and opera Lakmé) and Bizet. “I think that music’s entire future is now in France,” Tchaikovsky declared after playing through a four-hand arrangement of Brahms’s brand new First Symphony, which elicited his comment: “God, what a loathsome thing it is.” It is in this spirit that Tchaikovsky set about to write an attractive concerto that would please listeners, and yet initially the work did not completely please anyone. The first 32

discouraging response came from Kotek and Tchaikovsky’s brother Modest, who liked the first and third movements, but not the middle one. Tchaikovsky decided to write a new slow movement. The next blow came from his extremely generous patroness, Madame , to whom over the years he would send most of his works and who usually reacted enthusiastically. In this instance, however, she expressed some dissatisfaction with the opening movement. Tchaikovsky responded by thanking her for her honesty but saying “I must defend the first movement of the Concerto a little. Of course there is much that is cold and calculated in any piece written to display virtuosity, but the ideas for the themes came spontaneously to me and, indeed, the whole shape of the movement came in a flash. I still hope you will come to like it.” Premiere Troubles Things got much worse with the scheduled premiere of the Concerto in March 1879. The dedicatee, the distinguished violinist Leopold Auer, declared the piece unplayable and refused to take it on. Tchaikovsky later recalled: “A verdict such as this from the authoritative St. Petersburg virtuoso cast my poor child for many years into the abyss, it seemed, of eternal oblivion.” There may have been a performance of the published violin and piano version in New York in 1879 played by Leopold Damrosch, but no details survive and the real premiere was still nowhere in sight. It took Tchaikovsky some time to find a willing violinist in Adolf Brodsky, who gave the much delayed orchestral premiere in December 1881 with the Vienna Philharmonic under Hans Richter. That under-rehearsed performance evidently left a good deal to be desired and led to an infamous review from the powerful critic Eduard Hanslick, who condemned the vulgarity of the Concerto, especially its lively folk-like finale: “We see plainly the savage vulgar faces, we hear curses, we smell vodka. Friedrich Vischer once observed, speaking of obscene pictures, that they stink to the eye. Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto gives us for the first time the hideous notion that there can be music that stinks to the ear.” Modest Tchaikovsky said no review more hurt his brother, who could recite it word for word until his death. Tchaikovsky was himself often ambivalent about the quality of his compositions, and it must not have helped when friends, family, and critics were unsupportive. In the case of the Violin Concerto, however, public enthusiasm came quickly and it did not take long for the piece to emerge triumphant in the standard repertoire. Leopold Auer, in fact, 33

Tchaikovsky composed the became a champion (he slightly edited the solo part), as did Violin Concerto in 1878. many of his celebrated students, including Jascha Heifetz, Fritz Kreisler was soloist in the Mischa Elman, Nathan Milstein, and Efrem Zimbalist (who first Philadelphia Orchestra long served as president of the Curtis Institute of Music). performances of the Concerto, A Closer Look The opening Allegro begins with the in February 1905; Fritz Scheel violins quietly stating a noble tune (not heard again) that conducted. The piece’s soon ushers in the lilting appearance of the soloist. Both most recent appearance on subscription concerts was in of the principal themes in the long movement are lyrical, January 2016, with violinist the second one marked “con molto espressione.” Although Christian Tetzlaff and Fabio the themes do not contrast, ample variety is provided Luisi. by interludes, including a majestic one with a , and by a brilliant coda of virtuoso fireworks to The Orchestra has recorded conclude. the work five times: in 1946 for CBS with Bronislaw Huberman The brief Canzonetta: Andante projects a plaintive mood and Eugene Ormandy; in 1949 and proves a satisfying substitute for Tchaikovsky’s original for CBS with Isaac Stern and thoughts. (He published his rejected slow movement as Alexander Hilsberg; in 1958 for Méditation for violin and piano, the first of three pieces CBS with Stern and Ormandy; in Souvenir d’un lieu cher, Op. 42.) The energetic finale in 1959 for CBS with David (Allegro vivacissimo) bursts forth without a break. Oistrakh and Ormandy; and A brief orchestral introduction leads to the soloist’s in 1978 for EMI with Itzhak unaccompanied entrance in a cadenza-like passage that Perlman and Ormandy. The Concerto also appears on The teasingly tips over into a dazzling rondo theme that keeps Philadelphia Orchestra: The returning and gives further opportunities for virtuoso display. Centennial Collection (Historic —Christopher H. Gibbs Broadcasts and Recordings from 1917-1998) in a 1961 performance with violinist Michael Rabin and William Smith. The score calls for pairs of flutes, oboes, clarinets, and bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, , and strings, in addition to the solo violin. The Concerto runs approximately 35 minutes in performance. 34 The Music Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun

Artists, writers, and composers are rarely pleased with, let alone embrace, the handy labels applied to their creations and times. Such terms tend to be ones of convenience, often applied retrospectively, and initially as an insult. “Baroque” first denoted a misshapen pearl and was not meant as a compliment in descriptions of art. Nor was “atonal,” which rejected in favor of “pantonal.” The familiar fin-de-siècle French label “Impressionism” was associated with a painting by Claude Monet called Impression: Sunrise, first exhibited in 1872. It Claude Debussy was later used to describe the music of Claude Debussy, Born in Saint-Germain- who called it ‘‘a convenient term of abuse.’’ en-Laye, France, August 22, 1862 Yet history, as the philosopher Hegel declared, has its Died in Paris, March 25, cunning. Baroque captures well decorative excesses that 1918 are at odds with the preceding Renaissance and later Classical styles. After centuries of music centered around a tonal center, “atonal” seems a fair enough shorthand for the innovations of Schoenberg & Co. Few pieces so exemplify the mood of “Impressionism” as well as Debussy’s Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune (Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun). From Poem to Music Debussy’s masterpiece, long considered a key work heralding musical , drew from innovations in contemporary literature. It is a “Prelude” to a famous Symbolist poem by Stéphane Mallarmé (1842-98). Debussy became friends with the poet, 20 years his senior, and regularly attended the legendary Tuesday evening salons he hosted at which many prominent artistic figures gathered. Debussy had already set other poems by Mallarmé and the Symbolists when he turned to The Afternoon of a Faun around 1892. The 10-minute Prelude was apparently originally intended as part of a larger work that might be staged together with the poem, including interludes and ending with a final “paraphrase.” Although this was not realized, the Prelude was later used as the basis for famous ballets, including by Vaslav Nijinsky and Jerome Robbins. After the piece’s premiere in 1894 Mallarmé wrote to the composer: “I have just come from the concert, deeply moved: what a marvel! Your illustration of The 35

The Prelude to the Afternoon Afternoon of a Faun—not in the slightest discord with my of a Faun was composed from text, except that it goes further, truly, in nostalgia and light, 1892 to 1894. so delicate, disquieting, and rich. I grasp your hands with Fritz Scheel conducted the great admiration.” first Philadelphia Orchestra Debussy provided his own explanation of the dreamy plot performances of the Prelude, of his piece about a mythical faun—an ancient woodland in January 1907. Most recently creature from Roman mythology (satyr in Greek), part on subscription concerts, it appeared in March 2011, with man and part goat, with horns, pointed ears, hooves, and Stéphane Denève. a short tail—who plays his pipes during a lovely afternoon but, failing to lure frolicking nymphs, falls asleep to sweet The Orchestra has recorded dreams of them: “The music of this Prelude is a very free the piece six times: in 1924, illustration of Mallarmé’s beautiful poem. By no means 1927, and 1940 with Leopold does it claim to be a synthesis of the poem. It consists Stokowski for RCA; in 1947 rather of a series of backdrops through which pass the and 1959 with Eugene Ormandy for CBS; and in desires and dreams of the faun in the warmth of the 1971 with Ormandy for RCA. afternoon. Then, tired of pursuing the fearful flight of the The work can also be found in nymphs and naiads, he succumbs to intoxicating sleep, in The Philadelphia Orchestra: which he can finally realize his dreams of possession in The Centennial Collection universal Nature.” (Historic Broadcasts and A Closer Look While Mallarmé’s poem is 110 lines and Recordings from 1917-1998), Debussy’s score 110 measures, it is not cast as a realistic in a performance led by Bruno Walter from March 1947. depiction and the narrative does not line up—rather it creates a vivid impression of the poem. Most realistic is The score calls for three flutes, the prominence given to the , which opens the work two oboes, English horn, two and recurs throughout. The Prelude unfolds in a large- clarinets, two bassoons, four scale ABA arc. The solo flute begins the piece by playing horns, antique cymbals, two a chromatic melody down a tritone—the dissonant interval harps, and strings. called the “Devil in Music” during the Middle Ages—and The Prelude runs approximately then up again. Oboes, clarinets, horns, and harp enter and 10 minutes in performance. then there is complete silence. The opening flute melody returns, played several times in varied ways, even more improvisational. Over the course of the piece the opening melody is heard nine times, usually stated by the flute. The contrasting middle section uses a fuller orchestration for a broad Romantic melody, which is pentatonic (five notes, and associated with Asian music that fascinated Debussy around this time). The dynamic level for much of the piece is soft, but here it briefly builds to a fortissimo climax. When the opening flute melody returns for the fifth time it has a new rhythm and longer note values, slowing the piece to a somewhat more leisurely pace. Debussy evokes marvelous colors throughout using a rather small orchestra, omitting brass except for four horns, and percussion except for magical moments with antique cymbals. —Christopher H. Gibbs 36 The Music The Poem of Ecstasy

The popular image of Alexander Scriabin casts him as a Russian mystic who strove in ever more imaginative and grandiose ways to compose the ultimate music of the spheres. His great unfinished—indeed unfinishable— project was called , envisioned as a multimedia feast for the senses featuring orchestra, chorus, vocal soloists, and Scriabin as pianist, along with projected colors, dance, and even perfumed smells. He variously referred to it as his “ultimate work” and “main work,” and it consumed his energies for years. Alexander Scriabin Born in , As a young man Scriabin had become interested in January 6, 1872 philosophy, particularly the writings of , Died there, April 27, 1915 and was involved as well with Theosophy. He was hardly a provincial Russian—he lived for much of his career in France, Switzerland, and Italy, and traveled widely, including an extended trip to the United States in 1906-07. He felt the best place to present Mysterium would be India and went so far as to buy land there. From Virtuoso to Mystic Scriabin began his career conventionally. Aristocratic parents cultivated his musical gifts and sent him to the , where he studied piano (coming in second place in final exams behind Rachmaninoff) and composition with Tchaikovsky’s student . As a virtuoso pianist he thrilled audiences in Russia and abroad playing both traditional Romantic repertory and his own music, including an exciting . Keyboard compositions—10 magnificent sonatas as well as many and small pieces—account for most of his output. Scriabin also cultivated orchestral music with five symphonies, works that got progressively more experimental. The First Symphony (1900) calls for vocal soloists and chorus in its finale. It was with his Third Symphony (1904) that we see the influence of Scriabin’s mystical interests combine with his exposure to the Symbolist movement in France. The work is subtitled Le Divin Poème (The Divine Poem). There followed the piece we hear today, his fourth symphony, Le Poème de l’extase (The Poem of Ecstasy), which became his best known composition. The final fifth symphony, entitledProméthée: 37

Le Poème de feu (: The Poem of Fire), was completed in 1910, four years before his death at age 43. During his last years he was largely preoccupied with the Mysterium project. Ecstasy: Sensual and Spiritual The Poem of Ecstasy took some four years to compose, beginning with a lengthy poem that Scriabin started in the summer of 1904. The 32-year-old composer and his wife, Vera, were then living in Switzerland, where they were joined by Tatiana Schloezer, a 21-year-old sister of a close friend. She had already been Scriabin’s lover for the past year. A letter to her a few months later proclaimed: I have just written a monologue with the most divine colors. Again I am swept up by an enormous wave of creativity. I choke for breath, but oh, what bliss! I am creating divinely. I am working out a new style, and what joy it is to see it take shape so well! The very meter kindles the meaning. Sometimes the poem’s effect is so potent that no content is needed. I am expressing what will be one and the same in the music. I am writing it for you, my dearest joy! Scriabin originally entitled it Orgiastic Poem and in it, as his biographer Faubion Bowers notes, “the line between physical and religious ecstasy has been blurred.” The poem begins: The Spirit/Winged with thirst for life/Is drawn into flight/On the summits of negation./There, under the rays of its dream/Emerges a magical world/ Of heavenly forms and feelings./Spirit playing/Spirit desiring./Spirit creating all with a dream./Surrenders to the bliss of love. Over the course of three years Scriabin worked on this poem of some 300 short lines. He was finally satisfied, indeed “delighted,” because “it outlines the main points of my view of the world.” He had 500 copies printed in Geneva at his own expense and distributed them among friends and colleagues. His new symphony, begun in May 1906, thus grew out of his own words. Like many composers— Mahler is a famous example—Scriabin was somewhat ambivalent about whether he wanted listeners to know his original idea when hearing the music. At one point he stated that the poem should be sold at performances so that the audience would understand the music better, but then retreated. For the premiere, which took place in New York City in December 1908, he told the conductor: “I will send you a short resume of the poem that I ask you to translate into English. I would like it in the program 38

Scriabin composed The Poem notes to help the listeners.” In any case, the relationship of Ecstasy from 1906 to 1908. between poem and music was not meant to be exact. After conducted the composition was finished, he and a friend compared the first Philadelphia Orchestra the Symphony with the words and Scriabin was allegedly performances of the work in pleased because “he felt the music was fully free yet October 1917. The most recent followed the development of the text.” subscription performances of A Closer Look The Poem of Ecstasy is in one continuous the Poem were in May 2012 with Charles Dutoit. movement lasting about 20 minutes. It begins rather mysteriously with a soft solo theme alternating between the The Orchestra has recorded the flute and violin. Scriabin’s evocative performance indications work three times: with Leopold (all in French) start here—the soloists should play “with Stokowski for RCA in 1932; longing, languidly.” The musical language mixes Wagnerian with Eugene Ormandy for RCA and yearning sequences with more playful in 1970; and with Riccardo passages reminiscent of Debussy. Muti for EMI in 1990. The Poem of Ecstasy is scored The principal theme that binds the entire piece together for three flutes, piccolo, three is stated by the —it is a theme that returns almost oboes, English horn, three continuously. Although the ranges from slow to clarinets, bass , three relatively fast, the continuity is never lost. Along the way bassoons, , other sections are marked “sensuously pleasurable,” and eight horns, five trumpets, the work builds to a climax “with a sensuous pleasure three trombones, tuba, timpani, becoming more and more ecstatic.” Although there are no percussion (, chimes, direct references to the poem, the lines “I am the instant cymbals, orchestra bells, illuminating eternity/I am the affirmation/I am Ecstasy” tam-tam, triangle), two harps, seem quite close to the climax near the end. The organ celesta, organ, and strings. joins in for a final revelation, which may reflect the last lines Performance time is of the original poem: “And thus the universe resounds/With approximately 20 minutes. joyful cry/I AM!” —Christopher H. Gibbs

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