Mozart`s Birthday

Happy Birthday
Mozart!
Friday, Jan. 15
10:30am
Antonio Salieri,
Italian Composer (1750-1825)
Although Antonio Salieri is unfairly portrayed in the famous
movie Amadeus as less esteemed than his rival Mozart, in life
he had much greater stature and popular following in Vienna.
In fact, he was teacher to Beethoven, Liszt and Schubert, he
had many wealthy benefactors and enjoyed much success
thanks in large part to his many comic operas.
Overture to The Chimney Sweep
(Der Rauchfangkehrer) Composed in 1781 Duration is 3 minutes
The Chimney Sweep (or Der Rauchfangkehrer in German) was one of Salieri’s
many comic operas, a form of opera also called “opera buffa.” In contrast with
more serious operas of the day which were intended as entertainment for the
nobility, opera buffa was meant for the common people to relate to and enjoy.
REPERTOIRE
• SALIERI
Overture to Der
Rauchfangkehrer
• HAYDN
Overture to Orlando
Paladino
This opera follows the story of a young chimney sweep named Volpino who is
engaged to a servant named Lisel. They do not have enough money to marry, so
Volpino comes up with a scheme to trick two noblemen into giving him money.
He entices the two noble women of Lisel’s house to fall in love with him. The
two noblemen want to marry these two noblewomen so they pay Volpino a large
fee in exchange for rejecting the two
women and thereby securing their
hands in marriage. Volpino and Lisel
end up with enough money to marry!
• MOZART
All operas begin with an overture.
The purpose of an overture is to introduce many of the main musical
themes that will be heard throughout
the opera.
Sinfonia Concertante
Symphony No. 5
Symphony No. 39
Opera buffa always contains comic situations and characters
Joseph Haydn, Austrian Composer (1732-1809)
“Papa Haydn” as he is affectionately called in some circles, was one
of the most celebrated composers of his day. He worked in the family court of the Esterhazy family. This was at a time when very
wealthy families would have their own orchestra and music director
at the court. After his appointment there shrunk to part time, he
traveled to London to conduct his symphonies and then on to Vienna where he wrote a great deal of music. Everywhere he went,
his music was well respected and he enjoyed a great deal of success. He was already very famous
when Mozart was a child, and the two became friends and respected each other’s work tremendously.
Overture to Orlando Paladino composed in 1782, duration is 3 minutes
Haydn’s most popular opera during his lifetime was Orlando Paladino, which tells a love story full of
dramatic moments, magic and a few comic moments as well. The title character goes mad with love
for a woman with three suitors, and then is ultimately cured of his affliction by a sorceress. The music begins with three strong “knocks” from the orchestra which was a musical device used by composers at the time. It told the audience that they were about to hear a drama. You can hear these
three knocks throughout the overture.
W.A. Mozart, German Composer (1756-1791)
Mozart lived a short life--he was born on January 27, 1756, and died of
illness on December 5, 1791. He was only thirty-five years old at the
time of his death. From an early age he amazed his father with his musical talent. At the age of three he was playing the keyboard, and by the
time he was five years old he was composing simple minuets. In 1763,
Mozart’s father Leopold embarked on a three-year journey with his two
children, Mozart and Nannerl, to showcase their abilities before the nobility of Europe. Mozart gained experience as a musician and was able
to make connections to the courts of Europe which later proved to be
crucial when he began to pursue his own musical career.
After several other tours, Mozart returned to Salzburg as a court organist. Mozart disliked this position and in 1781 he resigned and moved to Vienna, where he married Constanze Weber. His life in
Vienna was a fine one--he certainly enjoyed his luxuries, and made good money. He achieved success
there with the premiering of operas such as The Abduction from the Seraglio and The Marriage of Figaro.
However, this was the turning point. Mozart's income began to drop, and he was forced to take
loans to support his finances. He made trips in an attempt to improve his fortunes, but to no avail.
1791, the last year of Mozart's short life, saw a burst of productivity. It was around this time that he
composed what are regarded to be among his finest symphonies, Nos 39, 40 and 41. Other famous
compositions of this year include The Magic Flute, the last Piano Concerto No. 27 in B-Flat, and of
course, the unfinished Requiem Mass in D Minor. Mozart's health began to decline—he died DecemPage 2 ber 1, 1791 and was buried in a common unmarked grave outside Vienna. -M. Yamaguchi
FRIDAY, JAN. 15
Page 3
Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra
composed in 1779, duration is 30 minutes
This three movement work is very operatic in nature, with the violin and viola playing lyrical as well as
virtuosic roles throughout the piece. The first movement, Allegro finishes off with a double cadenza
featuring the two soloists. The second, quieter Andante movement follows with a more intimate
sound. The final movement, Presto is a fast dash that shows off the virtuosity of the two soloists.
Valerie Heywood, principal viola
The BPO's own principal violist Valerie Heywood joined the orchestra during
the 1984-85 season and has worked with four of our illustrious music directors since that time. During the summer Valerie performs at the Grand Teton
Music Festival and was previously a member of the Santa Fe Opera, New Mexico. She is also a champion of chamber music and is a founding member of the
Chamber Music on Elmwood Festival in Buffalo. She has degrees from the University of Michigan and The Juilliard School and is
an avid teacher.
Symphonies No. 5 and No. 39
Dennis Kim, concertmaster
Born in Korea, raised in
Canada, educated in the
United States, having
worked in Asia for a
decade and now working
in Europe and the United
States, newly-appointed
Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra concertmaster
Dennis Kim is truly a
citizen of the world. Mr. Kim was first appointed Concertmaster of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra at the age of 22. He has
since served as Concertmaster of the Hong
Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, and after holding this
Valerie
Heywood,
viola Orposition in the
Tampere Philharmonic
chestra in Finland he has recently been
named Concertmaster of the BPO. After
making his solo debut at the age of 14 with the
Toronto Philharmonic Orchestra, Mr. Kim has
gone on to perform as a soloist with every
major orchestra in China and Korea. Kim is a
graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and
the Yale School of Music.
composed in 1765, duration is 9 minutes
composed in 1788, duration is 27 minutes
Wolfgang Amadeus was just 9 years old when he
composed his Symphony No.5 in December of
1765.! At the time, he was in Holland to perform at
The Hague with his sister, Nannerl, during one of
their well-known childhood tours. In particular, the
work was written to demonstrate Wolfgang’s prodigious gifts for the many admirers who anticipated
the arrival of the extraordinary siblings. It should be
noted that in the Finale, the melody played by the
high horns, is a signature moment for opera buffs:
twenty years later, Mozart borrowed the phrase for
the very beginning of the Final scene for Act II of
The Marriage of Figaro!
Mozart wrote his last three symphonies (Nos.
39, 40 and 41) during a six-week interval in the
summer of 1788. He wrote them all in ink with no
corrections or revisions; composed for the sake of
the music alone; placed on the storage shelf; never
to be heard by their creator. It is known for certain
that Wolfgang Amadeus possessed what we describe as a photographic memory, which explains in
part how he could compose without making corrections. - Ed Yadzinski
These two symphonies give us bookends to his musical life.
Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra
As Buffalo’s cultural ambassador, the Grammy Award-winning
Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, under Music Director JoAnn
Falletta, presents more than 120 Classics, Pops and Youth
Concerts each year and reaches more than 40,000 K-12
students per year across all eight counties of Western New
York.
JoAnn Falletta, Conductor
BUFFALO PHILHARMONIC
ORCHESTRA
Since 1940, the orchestra’s permanent home has been
Kleinhans Music Hall, a National Historic Landmark designed
by Eliel and Eero Saarinen with an international reputation as
one of the finest concert halls in the United States.
Friday Morning
Concert Series
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Explore and Learn:
This program features several important musical forms found in classical music, the overture, the concerto and the symphony.
OVERTURE
CONCERTO
SYMPHONY
What are the differences between these three forms? What is similar
between them?
Which anniversary of Mozart’s life are we celebrating
this year?