PROGRAM ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-FIFTH SEASON Chicago Symphony Orchestra Riccardo Muti Zell Music Director Pierre Boulez Helen Regenstein Conductor Emeritus Yo-Yo Ma Judson and Joyce Green Creative Consultant Global Sponsor of the CSO Thursday, October 15, 2015, at 8:00 Sir Andrew Davis Conductor Evgeny Kissin Piano Bach, orch. Davis Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor, BWV 582 Stravinsky Divertimento, Suite from The Fairy’s Kiss Sinfonia Danses suisses Scherzo Pas de deux INTERMISSION Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Minor, Op. 23 Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso—Allegro con spirito Andantino semplice Allegro con fuoco EVGENY KISSIN Tonight’s concert is partially supported by a generous grant from the E. Nakamichi Foundation. Symphony Center Presents is grateful to Svet for its generous support as media sponsor of this performance. COMMENTS by Phillip Huscher Johann Sebastian Bach Born March 21, 1685, Eisenach, Thuringia, Germany. Died July 28, 1750, Leipzig, Germany. Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor, BWV 582 (orchestrated by Sir Andrew Davis) The first time this great full-orchestra arrangements by Eugene Ormandy, landmark appeared on the Ottorino Respighi, and Leopold Stokowski. programs of the Chicago Tonight, Sir Andrew Davis joins their company. Symphony Orchestra, it (Over the years, Bach’s work has been transcribed was played as an organ for everything from handbells to trombone octet.) solo, which is how Bach Bach’s score is music history’s most accom- himself performed it. The plished essay in pairing the passacaglia—the program book for the 1906 Chicago program book describes it as “a concerts of January 5 series of connected variations developed over a and 6, 1906, said that the ‘basso ostinato’—obstinate (or reiterated) bass”— Passacaglia and Fugue was “regarded universally and fugue. For his repeated bass line, Bach as one of the grandest of Bach’s works.” apparently took four measures from a passacaglia Musicians have never been able to resist the urge by French organist André Raison and expanded to transform this complex polyphonic work into a them into an impressive eight-measure theme. full orchestral showpiece, and so the next time Bach introduces the theme alone in the organ Bach’s score appeared on the Orchestra’s pro- pedals (piano and cellos in Davis’s orchestration) grams, it was performed in an orchestral arrange- and then builds a magnificently shaped and ment by the CSO’s second music director, dramatically paced sequence of twenty variations Frederick Stock. Under Stock, the Orchestra over it. (The entire passacaglia falls naturally performed the Passacaglia and Fugue often, not into three groups, each with seven statements of only in Orchestra Hall; but on tour, plus in the theme.) The passacaglia is followed, with- Milwaukee, where the Orchestra had a regular out break, by a magnificent double fugue: the series for many years; and at the final concert of first half of the passacaglia bass line is the first A Century of Progress, on September 8, 1934— subject; a transformed version of the rest of the the world’s fair that was held on reclaimed theme serves as the second subject. The whole is lakefront land near where McCormick Place an extraordinary masterpiece of compositional stands today. After Stock’s death in 1942, the dexterity, dramatic form, harmonic boldness, and Orchestra played the Bach score in popular sheer irresistible musical force. COMPOSED July 2, 1940, Ravinia Festival. INSTRUMENTATION ca. 1708–1812 Nikolai Malko conducting (Ottorino (DAVIS ORCHESTRATION) Respighi orchestration) three flutes, piccolo and alto flute, two FIRST PERFORMANCE oboes and english horn, two clarinets, date unknown MOST RECENT E-flat clarinet and bass clarinet, two CSO PERFORMANCES bassoons and contrabassoon, four FIRST CSO PERFORMANCES June 30, 1959, Ravinia Festival. Pierre horns, two trumpets, three trom- January 3 & 4, 1930, Orchestra Hall. Monteux conducting (Ottorino bones, percussion, piano, harp, strings Frederick Stock conducting (Frederick Respighi orchestration) Stock orchestration) APPROXIMATE May 26, 1973, Orchestra Hall. PERFORMANCE TIME Henry Mazer conducting (Ottorino 13 minutes Respighi orchestration) 2 Igor Stravinsky Born June 17, 1882, Oranienbaum, Russia. Died April 6, 1971, New York City. Divertimento, Suite from The Fairy’s Kiss Igor Stravinsky caught his travinsky had known and loved only glimpse of Tchaikovsky’s music from childhood— Tchaikovsky when he was certainly ever since he was taken to The just eleven years old. SSleeping Beauty for the first time at the age of Stravinsky and his mother seven or eight. Some thirty years later, acting had gone to the Mariinsky on a suggestion from Diaghilev, Stravinsky even Theatre to hear Igor’s orchestrated two passages from The Sleeping father, the acclaimed bass Beauty that Tchaikovsky had cut before the Fyodor, sing in the fiftieth first performance. Stravinsky’s next work, the anniversary production of opera Mavra, was dedicated to “the memory Glinka’s Ruslan and Ludmila. During the first of Tchaikovsky, Glinka, and Pushkin,” and intermission, when they stepped from their box, prompted by Diaghilev’s Sleeping Beauty revival. his mother suddenly said: “Igor, look—there is And so, in 1928, when Stravinsky was asked Tchaikovsky.” As Stravinsky later recalled, “I to compose a ballet inspired by Tchaikovsky’s looked and saw a man with white hair, large music for Ida Rubinstein’s new company, shoulders, a corpulent back, and this image has Stravinsky jumped at the challenge. The ballet remained in the retina of my memory all my life.” was to be produced in November 1928, on the When Tchaikovsky died two weeks later, thirty-fifth anniversary of Tchaikovsky’s death. Stravinsky was deeply moved (when he broke the For his subject, Stravinsky turned to Hans news of Tchaikovsky’s death to his fellow class- Christian Andersen, whose powerful and fantas- mates, one of them asked what grade he was in). tic tales had been part of Stravinsky’s childhood, Igor would always remember the program book for along with Tchaikovsky’s music. He picked a memorial concert he and his mother attended, Andersen’s “The Ice Maiden,” apparently finding which had Tchaikovsky’s portrait, framed in black, in Tchaikovsky’s creative life (branded by the on the cover. It may well have reminded him of Muse’s kiss) a parallel with the tale of a boy who the photograph signed by Tchaikovsky that hung is doomed by the kiss of the Ice Maiden. The in his father’s studio, “the most treasured object” ballet was described as an allegory. among many musical treasures. He also knew that, Having already breathed new life into music in a letter to Nadezhda von Meck, Tchaikovsky by Pergolesi in Pulcinella, here Stravinsky had praised the elder Stravinsky’s singing. In fact, decided to use music by Tchaikovsky, limiting Igor’s father was one of Tchaikovsky’s pallbearers, himself only to works not written for orches- the one who placed the wreath on the grave. tra. But where Pulcinella fashioned something COMPOSED MOST RECENT INSTRUMENTATION 1928: The Fairy’s Kiss, complete ballet CSO PERFORMANCES three flutes and piccolo, two oboes June 28, 1992, Ravinia Festival. James and english horn, three clarinets 1934: Divertimento, suite drawn Levine conducting and bass clarinet, two bassoons, from ballet four horns, three trumpets, three February 17, 18 & 19, 2011, Orchestra trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, FIRST PERFORMANCE Hall. Gianandrea Noseda conducting harp, strings November 27, 1928; ballet CSO PERFORMANCE, APPROXIMATE FIRST CSO PERFORMANCES STRAVINSKY CONDUCTING PERFORMANCE TIME January 17 & 18, 1935, Orchestra Hall. July 8, 1965, Ravinia Festival. The 23 minutes The composer conducting composer conducting the complete ballet score July 5, 1962, Ravinia Festival. Walter CSO RECORDING Hendl conducting 1958. Fritz Reiner, conductor. RCA 3 THE FAIRY’S KISS: A BRIEF SYNOPSIS OF THE COMPLETE BALLET The Divertimento draws music separated from her child, who is happiness in the future, she takes him from the first three scenes. The first found and kissed by a fairy. A group to a mill. movement includes most of scene 1; of villagers passing by discovers the SCENE 3. There he finds his fiancée the second movement is identical abandoned child and takes him away. surrounded by her friends. The lovers with the opening of scene 2; the third SCENE 2. Eighteen years later, the dance together, but when his fiancée movement is a shortened version of young man and his fiancée are taking retires to put on her bridal dress, the the beginning of scene 3; the fourth part in a village fête. They join in the fairy reappears disguised as the bride movement consists of the last three country dances. When his fiancée and and carries him off to her everlasting numbers of the pas de deux in scene 3 the villagers have gone home, the dwelling place. with a concert ending. young man is approached by the fairy SCENE 4 (EPILOGUE). She then SCENE 1 (PROLOGUE). Pursued disguised as a gypsy. After reading kisses him again, this time on the sole by spirits in a storm, a mother is his hand and promising him great of his foot. been too busy finishing the music to check out the dancing. The music is prime Stravinsky, largely based on lesser Tchaikovsky. Only two Tchaikovsky works are used complete; the rest are excerpts. Most are taken from little-known songs and piano minia- tures. Stravinsky’s handling of borrowed material runs the gamut: he merely assigns instruments to the notes of Tchaikovsky’s popular Humoresque for piano, but much of the original music is so totally transformed that it’s easy to understand Stravinsky’s not remembering which music was whose. As early as 1931, Stravinsky approved play- Sergei Diaghilev (left) and Igor Stravinsky, 1921 ing excerpts from the forty-five-minute ballet score as a concert-hall suite.