109th Program of the 91st Season Interlochen, Michigan * WORLD YOUTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Larry Rachleff, conductor Sunday, July 15, 2018 8:00pm, Kresge Auditorium WORLD YOUTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Larry Rachleff, conductor PROGRAM Symphony No. 8 in B Minor, D. 759 “Unfinished” ........................................... Franz Schubert Allegro moderato (1797-1828) Andante con moto The Pines of Rome ...................................................................................... Ottorino Respighi The Pines of the Villa Borghese (1879-1936) The Pines Near a Catacomb The Pines of the Janiculum The Pines of the Appian Way The audience is requested to remain seated during the playing of the Interlochen Theme and to refrain from applause upon its completion. * * * PROGRAM NOTES By Amanda Sewell Symphony No. 8 in B Minor, D. 759 “Unfinished” Franz Schubert Franz Schubert was only 31 years old when he died in 1828, and he left this particular symphony unfinished at the time of his death. Although it makes a dramatic story that would parallel the composition of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Requiem, it is not true that Schubert was working on this symphony up to the moment of his death. Schubert began composing this symphony in 1822, writing only two complete movements before setting it aside. He may have returned to it later if he had lived longer, but it seems clear that he stopped working on this piece because he wasn’t interested in finishing it at the time. The two completed movements were both very typical in form and style of symphonies at the time. The first is an Allegro moderato in sonata form, and the second is an Andante con moto that alternates two contrasting themes. Schubert gave the two completed movements to Anselm Hüttenbrenner, who was the president of the Styrian Musical Society in Graz, Austria. The Society had awarded Schubert an honorary diploma, and he likely presented them with the two symphony movements in thanks. Hüttenbrenner and the Society shelved the music for decades, finally performing the two movements in 1865, more than 40 years after Schubert’s initial gift. Although some scholars have argued that Schubert intended for this symphony to have only two movements (meaning that it was actually “finished” and not “unfinished”), it seems pretty clear that Schubert planned to write a four-movement symphony but simply stopped in the middle. In the 1820s, Schubert had sketched out just over 100 measures of a scherzo movement, which would have been the third movement in a standard symphony of the period. Further, the second Andante movement is in a different key than the first Allegro movement, and no composer in the early 19th century would have started a symphony in one key (B minor) and ended it in a completely different key (E major, the major subdominant!)—perhaps the single exception being Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, which begins in C minor and ends in the parallel C major. The argument that Schubert planned a four-movement symphony was further strengthened in 2017, when six more sheets of music that Schubert wrote for the third movement were discovered. The music had been stored in an attic in Vienna, near where Schubert spent the last few days of his life. These six pages further flesh out some of the ideas that had only been seen in sketches before. The music has been independently verified by Schubert scholars as authentic: he planned to end the scherzo movement in D major, the relative major of the symphony’s key of B minor and a very standard key relationship for the third movement of a four-movement symphony of the period. Ultimately, it seems that Schubert may have just been human, losing interest or motivation for a project and setting it aside in the attic. The Pines of Rome Ottorino Respighi Between 1917 and 1928, Ottorino Respighi composed three tone poems about his home city of Rome. Each tone poem concerned particular features of the city: Fountains of Rome, Pines of Rome and Roman Festivals. Today’s performance features The Pines of Rome, the second tone poem of the trilogy, which was completed in 1924. Of this work, Respighi said (speaking of himself in the third person), “The composer uses Nature as a point of departure in order to recall memories and vision. The centuries-old trees which so characteristically dominate the Roman landscape become witnesses to the principal events in Roman life.” In other words, the piece is less about the trees themselves and more about the city of Rome in which the trees are located. The first movement is “The Pines of the Villa Borghese.” The Borghese family ruled in Rome during the 17th century, and a nearly 200-acre landscape garden in Rome now stands as a memorial to the Borghese family. In this movement, Respighi depicts the sounds of children playing amidst the pine trees in the Villa Borghese gardens. They sing nursery rhymes, pretend to be soldiers going into battle, and squeal with delight at their own games. The second movement, “The Pines near a Catacomb,” is more serious. Respighi quotes music from two different medieval masses to convey the religious setting of the catacombs themselves. These medieval chants are presented in the trombones and horns, instruments whose low range suggests that priests are intoning these chants. To convey the fact that catacombs are located below the ground, Respighi orchestrated this movement with very low pitches in the rest of the orchestra. The third movement, “The Pines of the Janiculum,” is set on Janiculum Hill, the second-tallest hill in modern Rome. In Roman mythology, the town of Janiculum was founded by the Janus, the two-faced god of doors, gates and new beginnings. The movement is set at night during the full moon. The third movement contains specific instructions from Respighi that a recording of a nightingale’s song be played at the movement’s conclusion. At the premiere of The Pines of Rome, the orchestra used a recording of nightingales that Respighi himself had made. In the published score, Respighi recommended that performers use a commercial phonograph recording of a nightingale from the Concert Record Gramophone Company in the performance. The fourth and final movement is “The Pines of the Appian Way.” In ancient Rome, the Appian Way connected Rome and Brindisi. Respighi’s music suggests the procession of an ancient army along the Appian Way. To musically create the quaking effect of a huge approaching army, the organ plays some of the lowest notes it can possibly produce. Brass instruments permeate the movement’s sounds, evoking the trumpets that the army would have blown upon their approach. Respighi calls for six buccine, a valveless circular brass instrument that the Roman army would have used, but these parts are almost always played on modern flugelhorns or trumpets. * * * LARRY RACHLEFF is the Walter Kris Hubert Professor of Orchestral Conducting and Music Director of the Shepherd School Symphony and Chamber Orchestras. He recently completed 21 years as Music Director of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra, and formerly served as Music Director of the San Antonio Symphony. Additionally, he served as Artistic Advisor of the Grand Rapids Symphony. “A take-charge maestro who invests everything he conducts with deep musical understanding” (Chicago Tribune), Rachleff is in constant demand as a guest conductor. Recent engagements include the Utah Symphony, Houston Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, Kansas City Symphony, Phoenix Symphony, Dayton Philharmonic and Toledo Symphony among many others. Summer festival engagements include Tanglewood, Aspen, Interlochen, Chautauqua, Brevard Music Festival, Music Academy of the West, Opera Theatre of Lucca, Italy and the Grand Teton Music Festival. In 1993, he was selected as one of four American conductors to lead the Cleveland Orchestra at Carnegie Hall under the mentorship of Pierre Boulez. In fall 2017, Rachleff was inducted into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame (ACMHF). A former faculty member of Oberlin Conservatory, where he was Music Director of Orchestras and Conductor of the Contemporary Ensemble, he also served as conductor of the Opera Theatre at the University of Southern California. He has conducted and presented master classes all over the world, including the Chopin Academy in Warsaw, the Zurich Hochschule, the Sydney and Queensland, Australia conservatories, The Juilliard School, the New England Conservatory and Royal Northern College in the United Kingdom. Larry Rachleff is an enthusiastic advocate of public school music education. He has conducted All-State orchestras and festivals in virtually every state in the United States as well as throughout Europe and Canada. He has also served as principal conducting teacher for the American Symphony Orchestra League, the Conductors’ Guild and the International Workshop for Conductors in the Czech Republic. As a dedicated advocate of contemporary music, Rachleff has collaborated with leading composers including Samuel Adler, the late Luciano Berio, George Crumb, Michael Daugherty and John Harbison among others. Larry Rachleff holds honorary doctorates in music from both Roger Williams University and Providence College, Rhode Island. He resides in Houston with his wife, soprano Susan Lorette Dunn and their son, Sam. * * * SECTION FACULTY Violin – Margaret Batjer, Celeste Golden Boyer, Martin Chalifour, David Coucheron, Dennis Kim, Jeff Thayer Viola – Michael Ouzounian / Leonard Schranze Cello – Jonah Kim / David Garrett Double Bass – DaXun Zhang / Brian Powell / Lawrence P. Hurst Flute – Matthew Roitstein / Alexa Still Oboe – Linda Strommen / Dwight Parry Clarinet – Anton Rist / Yao Guang Zhai Bassoon – Patricia Rogers / Eric Stomberg Horn – Bruce Henniss / Bradley Gemeinhardt Trumpet – John Aley / Vincent DiMartino Trombone/Tuba – Mark Lusk / Gerry Pagano Harp – Joan Raeburn Holland / Sylvia Norris Percussion – Keith A. Aleo Strings are listed alphabetically after principals. Remaining sections are listed by chair. WYSO Roster Denotes + Denotes concertmaster ^ Denotes principal > Denotes offstage brass for The Pine of Rome *Denotes Interlochen Orchestral Scholar.