SCRIABIN THE POEM OF ECSTASY R. STRAUSS ALSO SPRACH ZARATHUSTRA ALSO SPRACH SEATTLE SYMPHONY THOMAS DAUSGAARD RICHARD STRAUSS Also sprach Zarathustra (“Thus Spake Zarathustra”), TrV 176, Op. 30 Einleitung (“Introduction”)— ...........................................................1:38 Von den Hinterweltlern (“Of the Backworldsmen”)— ............ 3:16 Von der großen Sehnsucht (“Of the Great Longing”)— ........ 1:45 Von den Freuden und Leidenschaften (“Of Joys and Passions”)— .........................................................2:02 Das Grablied (“The Song of the Grave”)— ...............................2:30 Von der Wissenschaft (“Of Science”)— .....................................4:26 Der Genesende (“The Convalescent”)— .................................. 5:10 Das Tanzlied (“The Dance-Song”)— ........................................... 7:14 Nachtwandlerlied (“Song of the Night Wanderer”) ................4:06 ALEXANDER SCRIABIN Le Poème de l’extase (“The Poem of Ecstasy”) Op. 54 .........20:16 TOTAL TIME ............................................................... 52:23 SEATTLESYMPHONY.ORG � & © 2020 Seattle Symphony Media. All rights reserved. Unauthorized copying, hiring, lending, public performance and broadcasting of this record prohibited without prior written permission from the Seattle Symphony. Benaroya Hall, 200 University Street, Seattle, WA 98101 MADE IN USA Photo:Brandon Patoc SEATTLE SYMPHONY Led by Music Director Thomas Dausgaard and recognized as one of the “most vital American orchestras” (NPR), the Seattle Symphony is internationally acclaimed for its inventive programming, community-minded initiatives and superb recordings on the Seattle Symphony Media label. With a strong commitment to new music and a legacy of over 150 recordings, the orchestra has garnered five Grammy Awards, 26 Grammy nominations, two Emmy Awards and was named Gramophone’s 2018 Orchestra of the Year. In recent years, recordings made by the orchestra with Thomas Dausgaard have earned critical acclaim and international honors, including a 2017 Gramophone Award nomination for Mahler’s Symphony No. 10, and a 2019 Best Orchestral Performance Grammy Award nomination for Nielsen’s Symphonies Nos. 3 and 4 — the first installment in the orchestra’s cycle of Carl Nielsen’s symphonies. The Symphony performs in Benaroya Hall in the heart of downtown Seattle from September through July, reaching over 500,000 people annually through live performances and radio broadcasts. Photo: Karya Schanilec Photo: Karya THOMAS DAUSGAARD CONDUCTOR Music Director of the Seattle Symphony, Danish conductor Thomas Dausgaard is esteemed for his creativity and innovative programming, the excitement of his live performances, and his extensive catalogue of critically acclaimed recordings. He is also Chief Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Conductor Laureate of the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, and Honorary Conductor of the Orchestra della Toscana and the Danish National Symphony Orchestra. Performing internationally with many of the world’s leading orchestras, Dausgaard has appeared at the BBC Proms, Edinburgh International Festival, the Salzburg Festival, Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival, Tanglewood and the George Enescu Festival; and with the Munich Philharmonic, Berlin Konzerthaus Orchester, Vienna Symphony, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and the Philharmonia Orchestra. In North America he has worked with the New York Philharmonic, The Cleveland Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and with the Toronto and Montreal symphonies. Guest engagements in Asia and Australia have included performances with the New Japan Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, and the Sydney and Melbourne symphonies. Among many honors, Dausgaard has been awarded the Cross of Chivalry by the Queen of Denmark and elected to the Royal Academy of Music in Sweden. Laura DeLuca Christopher Stingle ASSISTANT PERSONNEL Caitlin Kelley, violin SEATTLE SYMPHONY Joseph Crnko Associate Conductor for Choral Activities Dr. Robert Wallace Michael Myers MANAGER Victoria Parker, violin 2019–2020 SEASON Lee Mills Douglas F. King Associate Conductor Clarinet Keith Higgins Libby Phelps, violin Lina González-Granados Conducting Fellow TROMBONE Amber Archibald-Sesek, THOMAS DAUSGAARD Ludovic Morlot Judith Fong Conductor Emeritus Eric Jacobs Ko-ichiro Yamamoto LIBRARY viola Harriet Overton Stimson Music Director Gerard Schwarz Rebecca & Jack Benaroya Conductor Laureate E-FLAT CLARINET Principal Jeanne Case Aaron Conitz, viola Laura DeLuca David Lawrence Ritt Associate Librarian Allison Farkas, viola FIRST VIOLIN Michael Miropolsky CELLO Supported by David Stephen Fissel Robert Olivia Kayleigh Miller, viola Noah Geller John & Carmen Delo Efe Baltacıgil and Shelley Hovind BASS CLARINET Associate Librarian Eric Jacobs BASS TROMBONE Laura Renz, viola David & Amy Fulton Associate Principal Marks Family Foundation Jeffrey Barker ■ Rachel Swerdlow Stephen Fissel Emily Hu, cello Concertmaster Second Violin Principal Cello Associate Principal BASSOON Assistant Librarian Charles Jacot, cello Open Position Kathleen Boyer Meeka Quan DiLorenzo Judy Washburn Kriewall Seth Krimsky TUBA TECHNICAL DIRECTOR Sarah Rommel, cello Clowes Family Associate Assistant Principal Associate Principal Zartouhi Dombourian-Eby Principal John DiCesare Joseph E. Cook Sam Casseday, bass Concertmaster Gennady Filimonov Nathan Chan Principal PICCOLO Luke Fieweger Masaru Podgorny, bass Eduardo Rios Evan Anderson Assistant Principal ARTIST IN ASSOCIATION Robin Peery, flute Zartouhi Dombourian-Eby Associate Principal TIMPANI First Assistant Sydney Adedamola ▲ Eric Han Dale Chihuly Alicia Suarz, flute Robert & Clodagh Ash Paul Rafanelli James Benoit Concertmaster Natasha Bazhanov Bruce Bailey Dan Williams, oboe Piccolo Principal HONORARY MEMBER Simon James ** Brittany Breeden Roberta Hansen Downey HORN Angelique Poteat, clarinet Matthew Decker Cyril M. Harris † Second Assistant Stephen Bryant Walter Gray OBOE Jeffrey Fair Dana Jackson, bassoon Assistant Principal Concertmaster Linda Cole Vivian Gu Mary Lynch Charles Simonyi + Resident Edward Burns, bassoon Jennifer Bai Xiao-po Fei Joy Payton-Stevens Principal Principal Horn PERCUSSION † In Memoriam Francine Peterson, bassoon Mariel Bailey Artur Girsky David Sabee Supported by Mark Robbins Michael A. Werner ** On Leave Joe Berger, horn Associate Principal Cecilia Poellein Buss Andrew Yeung BASS anonymous donors Principal 2019–2020 Season Rodger Burnett, horn Timothy Garland Ben Hausmann Supported by Stephen Michael Clark ■ Principal on Scriabin Cara Kizer, horn VIOLA Jordan Anderson Leonid Keylin Mr. & Mrs. Harold H. Heath Associate Principal Whyte Matthew Decker ▲ Temporary musician Joshua Paulus, horn Andy Liang Susan Gulkis Assadi Chengwen Winnie Lai Jonathan Karschney 2019–2020 Season Justin Emerich, trumpet PONCHO Principal Viola Principal String Bass HARP Mae Lin Joseph Kaufman Stefan Farkas Assistant Principal Carson Keeble, trombone Mikhail Shmidt Arie Schächter Jenna Breen Valerie Muzzolini Peder MacLellan, tuba Associate Principal ENGLISH HORN Thanks to the following Clark Story Associate Principal John Turman Principal Jose Martinez, tuba Jonathan Burnstein Stefan Farkas musicians who also John Weller Mara Gearman Danielle Kuhlmann Gunnar Folsom, percussion Assistant Principal Jennifer Godfrey KEYBOARD performed on this Jeannie Wells Yablonsky CLARINET Joseph Adam, Organ + Rob Tucker, percussion Timothy Hale Travis Gore TRUMPET recording: Arthur Zadinsky Benjamin Lulich Blayne Barnes, violin Sophie Baird-Daniel, harp Wes Dyring Jonathan Green David Gordon Mr. & Mrs. Paul R. Smith PERSONNEL MANAGER Jennifer Caine Provine, Christina Siemens, keyboard SECOND VIOLIN Will Langlie-Miletich Sayaka Kokubo Principal Clarinet Boeing Company Scott Wilson violin Elisa Barston Daniel Stone FLUTE Emil Khudyev Principal Trumpet Kelly Farris, violin Principal Rachel Swerdlow Demarre McGill Associate Principal Alexander White Adriana Hulscher, violin Principal Associate Principal STRAUSS & SCRIABIN mainly by Nietzsche himself. Out of the text, Strauss distilled a description of Man’s BY THOMAS DAUSGAARD evolution from a state of unawareness, dependent on religious institutions, science and self-indulgence — to a heightened awareness (that of a Superman) symbolized by the How to express our beliefs most powerfully? Is there an alternative to expressing hermit philosopher Zarathustra. them in words? Can music communicate truths and philosophy? Two extraordinary orchestral works composed around the turn of the 20th century stand out with this So, how to communicate such formidable concepts in music? The two monumental ambition: Alexander Scriabin’s The Poem of Ecstasy and Richard Strauss’ Also sprach works share a late Romantic soundworld (Strauss being the more experimental) of Zarathustra. Scriabin proclaims how ultimate freedom is to be able to say “I am” — a gigantic orchestra, producing larger-than-life sounds, yet within a highly compact while Strauss salutes Friedrich Nietzsche’s proclamation of Man being a bridge to a form. The extensive length of another visionary’s works, Gustav Mahler (whose second bigger goal: the self-reflecting Superman as the meaning of our life on the earth. symphony graced Strauss’ writing desk), was gone, replaced by concentrated power Scriabin combines his music with a poem, originally called “Orgiastic Poem.” It and free symphonic shaping. Scriabin and Strauss would inspire a host