conductor - Vancouver Symphony Orchestra

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MAGAZINE OF THE VANCOUVER SYMPHONY
SEPTEMBER 25–NOVEMBER 9, 2010–VOLUME 16–ISSUE 1
Anne-Sophie
Mutter
Opening Night with
Bramwell Tovey
and Avan Yu
The Music of
Gilbert & Sullivan!
Han-Na Chang
Extraordinary cellist plays Elgar
Chantal Kreviazuk
Pop superstar performs
with the VSO
a traditionaL
christmas
TICKETS ALWAYS SELL OUT EARLY, GET YOURS TODAY!
Bramwell Tovey conductor
Christopher Gaze host
UBC Opera Ensemble
EnChor
The Lower Mainland’s most beloved
Holiday music tradition! This season,
Music Director Bramwell Tovey
leads the orchestra in a celebration
of the Holiday spirit, with carols,
heartwarming Christmas music, and
plenty of audience sing-a-longs!
Christopher Gaze narrates.
St. Andrew’s Wesley CHURCH, Vancouver
Thursday, December 9, 7:30pm
Friday, December 10, 7:30pm
Saturday, December 11, 4pm & 7:30pm
Bell Performing Arts Centre, Surrey
Sunday, December 12, 4pm & 7:30pm
South Delta Baptist Church, DELTA
Wednesday, December 15, 4pm & 7:30pm
Michael J. Fox Theatre, BURNABY
Thursday, December 16, 7:30pm
Centennial Theatre, North Vancouver
Friday, December 17, 4pm & 7:30pm
Kay Meek Theatre, West Vancouver
Saturday, December 18, 4pm & 7:30pm
Bramwell Tovey
Tickets online at
Christopher Gaze
vancouversymphony.ca
or call VSO Customer Service at
604.876.3434
The VSO’s Traditional Christmas
Concerts have been endowed bY
a generous gift from Sheahan and
Gerald McGavin, C.M., O.B.C.
PRESENTING SPONSOR
MEDIA PARTNER
vancouver symphony orchestra
BRAMWELL TOVEY MUSIC DIRECTOR
KAZUYOSHI AKIYAMA CONDUCTOR LAUREATE
JEFF TYZIK PRINCIPAL POPS CONDUCTOR
* Pierre Simard ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR
Marsha & George Taylor Chair
* SCOTT GOOD COMPOSER-IN-RESIDENCE
first violins
Dale Barltrop,
Concertmaster
Joan Blackman,
Associate Concertmaster
Jennie Press, Second
Assistant Concertmaster
Robin Braun
Mary Sokol Brown
Mrs. Cheng Koon Lee Chair
Jenny Essers
Jason Ho
Akira Nagai, Associate
Concertmaster Emeritus
Xue Feng Wei
Rebecca Whitling
Yi Zhou
Nancy DiNovo ◊
Kimi Hamaguchi ◊
Paul Luchkow ◊
Ruth Schipizky ◊
second violins
Brent Akins, Principal
Karen Gerbrecht,
Associate Principal
Jim and Edith le Nobel Chair
Jeanette Bernal-Singh,
Assistant Principal
Adrian Shu-On Chui
Daniel Norton
Ann Okagaito
Ashley Plaut
Alana Chang ◊
Maya De Forest ◊
DeAnne Eisch ◊
Angela Goddard ◊
Pamela Marks ◊
violas
Neil Miskey, Principal
Andrew Brown,
Associate Principal
Stephen Wilkes,
Assistant Principal
Lawrence Blackman
Estelle & Michael Jacobson Chair
Angela Schneider
Professors Mr. and Mrs.
Ngou Kang Chair
Ian Wenham
Chi Ng ◊
Reginald Quiring ◊
Marcus Takizawa ◊
Michael & Estelle Jacobson Chair
Ahilya Ramharry ◊
piccolo
Ahilya Ramharry ◊
Hermann & Erika Stölting Chair
oboes
Roger Cole, Principal
Wayne and Leslie Ann Ingram Chair
Beth Orson,
Assistant Principal
Karin Walsh
english horn
Beth Orson
cellos
Chair in Memory of
John S. Hodge
Nezhat and Hassan
Khosrowshahi Chair
clarinets
Lee Duckles, Principal
Janet Steinberg,
Associate Principal
Zoltan Rozsnyai,
Assistant Principal
Olivia Blander
Natasha Boyko
Mary & Gordon
Christopher Chair
Richard Mingus,
Assistant Principal
trumpets
Larry Knopp, Principal
Marcus Goddard,
Associate Principal
Christopher Mitchell ◊
W. Neil Harcourt in memory of
Frank N. Harcourt Chair
trombones
Nathan Zgonc, Principal
Gregory A. Cox
bass trombone
Douglas Sparkes
Arthur H. Willms Family Chair
tuba
Ellis Wean, Principal
Jeanette Jonquil,
Principal §
Cris Inguanti,
Acting Principal
Marie-Julie Chagnon,
Acting Assistant Principal ∆
Michelle Goddard ◊
timpani
e-flat clarinet
Elizabeth Volpé, Principal
Heidi Krutzen ◊
Aaron McDonald, Principal
percussion
Vern Griffiths, Principal
Martha Lou Henley Chair
Tony Phillipps
harp
Joseph Elworthy
Charles Inkman
Cristian Markos
Ariel Barnes ◊
Michelle Goddard ◊
basses
Julia Lockhart,
Principal
Sophie Dansereau,
Assistant Principal §
Gwen Seaton
Ingrid Chiang ◊
Carter (Family) Deux Mille
Foundation Chair
contrabassoon
Ron & Ardelle Cliff Chair
Dylan Palmer,
Principal
Chang-Min Lee,
Associate Principal
David Brown
Patricia Hutter
J. Warren Long
Frederick Schipizky
Christopher Light ◊
Leanna Wong ◊
flutes
§Leave of Absence
∆One-year Position
◊Extra Musician
Rosanne Wieringa,
Acting Assistant Principal
Christie Reside,
Principal
bass clarinet
Marie-Julie Chagnon ∆
bassoons
Sophie Dansereau §
french horns
Oliver de Clercq,
Principal
Joy Branagan
Werner & Helga Höing Chair
David Haskins,
Associate Principal
Benjamin Kinsman
Winslow & Betsy Bennett Chair
piano, celeste
Linda Lee Thomas,
Principal
personnel manager
Lawrence Blackman
music librarian
Minella F. Lacson
master carpenter
Pierre Boyard
master electrician
Leonard Lummis
piano technician
Thomas Clarke
*Supported by The Canada
Council for the Arts
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MAGAZINE OF THE VANCOUVER SYMPHONY
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SEPTEMBER 25–NOVEMBER 9, 2010–VOLUME 16–ISSUE 1
A S E RI E S F O R E V E RY TA S T E
CLASSICS MASTERWORKS GOLD / MASTERWORKS DIAMOND / MASTERWORKS SILVER ON A
LI G H T ER N OT E M U S I C A L L Y S P E A K I N G / B A C H & B E Y O N D V S O P O P S MATINEES TEA &
TRUMPETS / SYMPHONY SUNDAYS R OA D T RI P S V S O A T T H E R O U N D H O U S E / N O R T H
S H O R E C L A S S I C S / S U R R E Y N I G H T S K ID S RULE! TINY TOTS / KIDS’ KONCERTS S P E C I A L S
8
AVAN YU
30
MARC-ANDRÉ HAMELIN
8
30
14
34
CONCERTS
SEPTEMBER 25, 26, 27
Goldcorp Masterworks Gold
Symphony Sundays
Bramwell Tovey conductor
Avan Yu piano
OCTOBER 2, 4
Masterworks Diamond
Jesús López-Cobos conductor
Han-Na Chang cello
18
OCTOBER 7
Pacific Arbour Tea & Trumpets
Gilbert & Sullivan
Bramwell Tovey conductor
Christopher Gaze host
Jill Pert mezzo-soprano
Richard Suart baritone
22
OCTOBER 8, 9
London Drugs VSO Pops
An Evening of Gilbert & Sullivan
Bramwell Tovey conductor
Tracy Dahl soprano
Jill Pert mezzo-soprano
Philippe Castagner tenor
Richard Suart baritone
UBC Opera Ensemble
26
OCTOBER 10
Spectra Energy Kids’ Koncerts
Inspector Tovey Investigates Composing
Bramwell Tovey conductor
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14
HAN-NA CHANG
OCTOBER 15, 16, 18
Bach & Beyond
Surrey Nights
Bramwell Tovey conductor
Marc-André Hamelin piano
OCTOBER 23, 25
PricewaterhouseCoopers Masterworks Silver
Günther Herbig conductor
Dale Barltrop violin
40
OCTOBER 27
Specials
Chantal Kreviazuk with the VSO
Pierre Simard conductor
46
OCTOBER 30*, NOVEMBER 1
Musically Speaking
North Shore Classics
Bramwell Tovey conductor
Martin Chalifour violin
Vancouver Youth Symphony Orchestra*
52
62
November 6, 7, 8
PricewaterhouseCoopers Masterworks Silver
Symphony Sundays
Bramwell Tovey conductor
Stephen Hough piano
NOVEMBER 9
Specials
The Mutter, Bashmet, Harrell Trio
Anne-Sophie Mutter violin
Yuri Bashmet viola
Lynn Harrell cello
IN T H I S I S S U E
3
4
5
7
32 38
42
50
57
66
68
71
29
the orchestra
vso lottery
allegro staff list
message from the Chairman
and the President & CEO
vancouver symphony foundation
advertise in allegro
patrons’ circle
upcoming concerts
vso group sales
friends campaign
corporate partners
at the concert / vso staff list
board of directors / thanks /
volunteer council
40
62
YURI BASHMET
62
LYNN HARRELL
CHANTAL KREVIAZUK
8
BRAMWELL TOVEY
We welcome your comments on this magazine. Please forward them to: Vancouver Symphony, 601 Smithe Street,
Vancouver, BC V6B 5G1 Allegro contact and advertising enquiries: [email protected] / customer service:
604.876.3434 / VSO office: 604.684.9100 / website: www.vancouversymphony.ca Allegro staff: published by The Vancouver
Symphony Society / editor / publisher: Anna Gove / contributors: Don Anderson, Sophia Vincent / art direction, design &
production: basic elements design Pass it on: It’s the right thing to do! Please feel free to bring your Allegro Magazine
home at the end of the concert. If you do not wish to keep it, please return it to an usher. Printed in Canada by Web
Impressions. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written consent is prohibited.
Contents copyrighted by the Vancouver Symphony, with the exception of material written by contributors.
Allegro Magazine has been endowed by a generous gift from Adera Development Corporation.
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The Vancouver Symphony Society
is grateful to Premier Gordon Campbell and
the Province of British Columbia, Minister
of Canadian Heritage James Moore
and the Government of Canada,
Mayor Gregor Robertson
and the City of Vancouver.
Gordon Campbell
James Moore
Gregor Robertson
The combined investment in
the VSO by the three levels of
government annually funds over
28% of the cost of the orchestra’s
extensive programs and activities.
This vital investment enables the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra to present over 150 life-enriching
concerts in 12 diverse venues throughout the Lower Mainland, attract some of the world’s best
musicians to live and work in our community, produce Grammy® and Juno® award-winning recordings,
participate in numerous CBC Radio broadcasts – bringing the sounds of the VSO to listeners across the
country and, through our renowned educational programs, touch the lives of over 50,000 children.
Thank you!
MESSAGE FROM
vso chairman and vso president & CEO
Dear Friends,
Welcome to the opening concerts of the
Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s exciting
2010-2011 season. The VSO is proud to
have been serving the people of British
Columbia since 1919, and we are delighted
you are with us for today’s concert.
The 2009-2010 season was one of the
most successful for the VSO in recent
history. In addition to Maestro Tovey and the
Orchestra performing at a very high level to
packed houses and our educational programs
continuing to flourish, reaching over 50,000
children, significant increases in ticket sales
volume and donations from individuals,
along with prudent management of expenses
resulted in a surplus on annual operations
for the seventh consecutive fiscal year.
During the 2010-2011 season the
orchestra will perform over 150 concerts
in 12 different venues throughout the
Lower Mainland. In addition to the Orpheum
Theatre, St. Andrew’s Wesley Church, the
Vancouver Playhouse and Roundhouse
Community Centre in downtown Vancouver,
VSO presentations can be experienced at the
Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at UBC,
Centennial Theatre in North Vancouver, Bell
Centre in Surrey, Michael J. Fox Theatre and
Deer Lake Park in Burnaby, Kay Meek Theatre
in West Vancouver, South Delta Baptist
Church, and the Terry Fox Theatre in
Port Coquitlam.
This season will also see the continuation
of our extraordinary education programs,
as well as the February 2011 opening of
the Vancouver Symphony Centre and
VSO School of Music directly next to the
Orpheum Theatre.
The mission of the Vancouver Symphony
Orchestra is to enrich the quality of life in,
and bring prestige to our city, province and
country through the presentation of highquality performances of classical and
popular music, and the delivery of excellent
education and community programs.
Because of you, our audience, donors,
sponsors and government funders, we
are able to achieve these goals.
On behalf of the Board of Directors, Maestro
Tovey, our musicians, staff and volunteers,
we thank you for your commitment to the
VSO, and wish you a most delightful
2010-2011 season.
Please enjoy today’s concert.
Sincerely yours,
Arthur H. Willms
Chair, Board of Directors
Jeff Alexander
President & Chief Executive Officer
ARTHUR WILLMS
JEFF ALEXANDER
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BRAMWELL TOVEY
AVAN YU
CONCERT PROGRAM
GOLDCORP MASTERWORKS GOLD / ORPHEUM THEATRE, 8PM
saturday & monday, september 25, 27
SYMPHONY SUNDAYS / ORPHEUM THEATRE, 2PM
sunday, september 26
Bramwell Tovey conductor
◆ Avan Yu piano
Saint-Saëns Coronation March, Op. 117
◆ Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No. 5 in F Major, Op. 103 Egyptian
I.
II.
III.
Allegro animato
Andante
Molto allegro
INTERMISSION
Ravel Daphnis et Chloé: Suites Nos. 1 & 2
I. Nocturne
II. Interlude
III.War-Like Dance
IV. Sunrise
V. Pantomime
VI.General Dance
PRE-CONCERT TALKS free to ticketholders at 7:05pm, featuring VSO Musicians.
Visit the Symphony Gift Shop for CD selections
Masterworks GOLD
SERIES SPONSOR
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September 27
Concert Sponsor
This concert is being
recorded for broadcast Nov. 28
on In Concert and at a later
date on Tempo on CBC Radio 2,
105.7 in Vancouver.
Bramwell Tovey conductor
Avan Yu piano
A musician of striking versatility, Bramwell
Tovey is acknowledged around the world
for his artistic depth and warm, charismatic
personality on the podium. Tovey’s career as
a conductor is uniquely enhanced by his work
as a composer and pianist, lending him a
remarkable musical perspective. He has been
Music Director of the Vancouver Symphony
Orchestra since September 2000.
At twenty-three years of age, Canadian
pianist Avan Yu has performed in recital and
as soloist with orchestras on four continents,
consistently captivating audiences with his
extraordinary musicianship. Avan made
his New York debut at Carnegie Hall’s Weill
Recital Hall in the fall of 2008 after winning
Silver Medal at the 16th Paloma O’Shea
Santander International Piano Competition
in the same year. He first came to national
Tovey garnered a 2008 Grammy® Award and
attention by winning first prize at the
®
a 2008 Juno Award for his recording with
Canadian Chopin Competition at the age of
violinist James Ehnes and the Vancouver
seventeen, and is the only pianist to win
Symphony. Recently named Principal Guest
Conductor for the Los Angeles Philharmonic at First Prize in both the Junior and Senior
the Hollywood Bowl, he works frequently with Divisions of the Missouri Southern
International Piano Competition.
the Toronto Symphony, Montreal Symphony,
Born in Hong Kong and raised in Vancouver,
Royal Philharmonic and the Bournemouth
he currently studies at the University of Fine
Symphony Orchestras, among many others.
Arts in Berlin with Klaus Hellwig. In Vancouver,
He has presided as host and conductor of
he began his studies with Kut Kau Sum,
the New York Philharmonic’s Summertime
and since 2003 has been working with the
Classics series at Avery Fisher Hall since
Canadian Duo Ralph Markham and Kenneth
its founding in 2004.
Broadway.
As a composer, he was honoured with
the Best Canadian Classical Composition
Juno® Award in 2003 for his Requiem for a
Charred Skull. New works include a cocommission for the New York and Los Angeles
Philharmonics’ 2008 summer seasons as well
as a full-length opera for the Calgary Opera,
The Inventor, to première in January of 2011.
Tovey has been awarded honorary degrees,
including a Fellowship from the Royal
Academy of Music in London, honorary
Doctorates of Law from the universities
of Winnipeg and Manitoba, and Kwantlen
University College, as well as a Royal
Conservatory of Music Fellowship in Toronto.
In 1999, he received the M. Joan Chalmers
National Award for Artistic Direction,
a Canadian prize awarded to artists
for outstanding contributions in the
performing arts.
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Camille Saint-Saëns
b. Paris, France / October 9, 1835
d. Algiers, Algeria / December 16, 1921
Coronation March, Op. 117
Music was only the foremost of Saint-Saëns’
many interests. This nineteenth-century
Renaissance man also developed a working
knowledge of several sciences, published
volumes of poetry, saw his plays produced
on the stage, and wrote reams of newspaper
articles on many different topics, while
somehow finding time to travel extensively.
He led a full musical life, as well. During a
period when French composers’ reputations
rested first of all with their degree of success
in the emotional world of the theater,
Saint-Saëns proved himself a maverick by
preferring the cooler, more abstract realm of
instrumental music.
Like many Frenchmen of his era, SaintSaëns was an ardent Anglophile, a lover of
all things British. British audiences returned
the interest. As a result, he visited England
on a regular basis to revel in the popularity
his music enjoyed there. He was received
several times by Queen Victoria, and it
was the London Philharmonic Society who
commissioned and premièred his most
celebrated orchestral work, the spectacular
“Organ” Symphony (1886).
citation, Commander of the Order of Victoria,
a short time later.
Camille Saint-Saëns
Piano Concerto No. 5 in F Major,
Op. 103 Egyptian
Saint-Saëns had made his public debut
as a pianist in 1846, age eleven. To honor
the fiftieth anniversary of that event, a gala
concert was to be staged at the Salle Pleyel
in Paris. For the occasion, he composed a
One of his most popular operas was based
new piano concerto, his fifth, and played the
on the life of King Henry VIII. In it he quoted a solo part himself at the premiere on June 3,
centuries-old English melody which he had
1896. He had written it during the previous
uncovered in the music library at Buckingham winter, while on vacation in North Africa. He
Palace. In 1902, he composed a march in
had often visited that locale since his first trip
honour of the upcoming coronation of King
there in 1873. The concerto contains several
Edward VII, and in it he quoted the same
impressions of his journeys: the blinding
melody. The future king’s bout of appendicitis brightness of an Egyptian morning (first
postponed the event, making it impossible
movement), the twilight croaking of frogs in
for Saint-Saëns to attend. The march was
the Nile valley (second movement), and in the
performed in Westminster Abbey during a
finale, the sound of a ship’s propellers. The
morning concert on the day of the coronation second movement is particularly evocative,
ceremonies. The composer received a royal
including as it does a Nubian love song that
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Saint-Saëns heard sung by boatmen, then
jotted down on his shirt cuff. Together, these
reminiscences have earned the concerto its
nickname, Egyptian.
The first movement’s simple, gentle opening
offers the key to its basic nature. To be
sure, it contains moments of drama, and the
orchestral colouring is fairly exotic, but on
the whole this is a restrained creation. The
rhapsodic reverie of the second movement
opens with bold flourishes, after which the
solo piano introduces the languorous, highly
ornamented principal theme. Virtuosity and
animation, having so far played relatively
minor parts in the concerto, at last make their
presences felt in the finale. This is a playful,
charming movement that concludes with a
burst of bravura from the soloist.
Maurice Ravel
b. Ciboure, France / March 7, 1875
d. Paris, France / December 28, 1937
Daphnis and Chloé: Suites Nos. 1 and 2
Ravel’s lengthiest composition, the ballet
Daphnis et Chloé is widely considered his
masterpiece. It epitomized his impeccable
craftsmanship and superlative sense
of atmosphere. In 1909, he accepted
a commission from the noted Russian
impresario, Sergei Diaghilev. Mikhail Fokine,
Diaghilev’s principal choreographer, chose
for a subject a story by Longus, a Greek poet
of the third or fourth century, B. C., about the
love between a shepherd, Daphnis, and a
maiden, Chloé. The ballet premiered in Paris
in June 1912. It won only a modest success.
Many observers praised the music, but found
the scenario, choreography and décor of
lesser value. The music makes its greatest
effect in the concert hall, where listeners
can conjure up their own imagery to match
the glorious colours and sensuous moods of
Ravel’s music.
He arranged two concert suites from it,
consisting of the second and third of its three
scenes. The events depicted in the first suite
take place in a meadow on the edge of a
forest which is sacred to the god Pan. Among
the young people present are the lovers
Daphnis and Chloé. Daphnis fends off the
unwanted attention that the oafish cowherd
Dorcon has been paying to Chloé by defeating
him in a dance contest. Chloé and her friends
enter running, pursued by a band of pirates.
The ruffians abduct the girls, leaving Daphnis
behind, unconscious.
Suite No. 2 opens with a glittering, ecstatic
depiction of sunrise over a meadow. Daphnis
and Chloé are joyfully reunited. They dance a
pantomime retelling the amorous encounter
between the god Pan and a maiden, Syrinx.
The score concludes with the delirious strains
of a bacchanalian General Dance. ■
Programme Notes © 2010 Don Anderson
MUSIC LESSONS FROM
MEMBERS OF THE VSO
Musicians of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
make up the core faculties of music in many of
the region’s universities, colleges, academies
and studios.
If you are interested in arranging lessons
for yourself, a child, friend or family member,
and would like a referral, please contact
Larry Blackman at 604.684.9100 ext. 231
or [email protected]
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HAN-NA CHANG
JESÚS LÓPEZ-COBOS
CONCERT PROGRAM
MASTERWORKS DIAMOND / ORPHEUM THEATRE, 8PM
saturday & monday, october 2, 4
Jesús López-Cobos conductor
◆ Han-Na Chang cello
Wagner Tannhäuser: Overture
◆ Elgar Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85
I. Adagio – Moderato
II.Lento – Allegro molto
III. Adagio
IV. Allegro
INTERMISSION
DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 7 in D minor, Op. 70
I. Allegro maestoso
II. Poco adagio
III. Scherzo: Vivace
IV.Finale: Allegro
PRE-CONCERT TALKS free to ticketholders at 7:05pm, featuring VSO Musicians.
Visit the Symphony Gift Shop for CD selections
October 2 Concert Benefactor
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Platinum Baton Club Sponsors of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
Jesús López-Cobos conductor
Spanish-born Jesús López-Cobos recently
completed his tenure as Music Director of
the Teatro Real in Madrid. He is Conductor
Emeritus of the Cincinnati Symphony
Orchestra, having served as the orchestra’s
Music Director from 1986-2001. Under his
leadership for fifteen seasons, the orchestra
earned international acclaim for its tour
performances and its extensive catalogue of
recordings for Telarc. Mr. López-Cobos has
previously served as General Music Director
of the Deutsche Oper Berlin and Music
Director of the famed Lausanne Chamber
Orchestra in Switzerland.
Mr. Lopez-Cobos’ recent guest conducting
appearances in North America have included
ten performances of Massenet’s Thais at
the Metropolitan Opera as well as concerts
with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the
symphony orchestras of Montreal, Atlanta,
Seattle, St. Louis, Dallas, New Jersey and
Cincinnati. Other recent highlights have
included a production of Manon with the
Metropolitan Opera and a production of
Rigoletto with the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Among the many awards bestowed upon
him, most recently, in 2001 he was presented
with the Medal of Bellas Artes (“Gold Medal
of the Fine Arts”) by Spain’s King Juan Carlos
and Queen Sophia in 2001. Mr. López-Cobos
also holds an Honorary Doctorate from the
University of Cincinnati.
Han-Na Chang cello
Cellist Han-Na Chang has established an
extraordinary international career, performing
regularly on the most prestigious concert
stages of Europe, North America and Asia.
She first won recognition for her exceptional
musical gifts in 1994 when at the age of
eleven she won both the First Prize and
the Contemporary Music Prize at the Fifth
Rostropovich International Cello Competition
in Paris. Since that time, her superb artistry
and virtuosity coupled with the astonishing
depth of her interpretations have placed
Han-Na Chang at the forefront of the world’s
new generation of artists.
Her recording Romance presents rarely
performed works for cello and orchestra by
much loved late-Romantic composers such
as Lalo, Tchaikovsky, Glazunov, Saint-Saens
and Dvořák. In 2008, her much anticipated
recording of seven Vivaldi Cello Concertos
was released to critical acclaim.
Han-Na Chang has studied privately
with both Mischa Maisky and Mstislav
Rostropovich. She has studied philosophy at
Harvard University, and is currently studying
conducting with Lorin Maazel.
Richard Wagner
b. Leipzig, Germany / May 22, 1813
d. Venice, Italy / February 13, 1883
Tannhäuser: Overture
Wagner conducted the premiere of his fifth
opera, Tannhäuser und der Sängerkrieg
auf Wartburg (Tannhäuser and the Singers’
Contest on the Wartburg), in Dresden on
October 19, 1845. After an uncertain debut,
it quickly found success in all of Europe’s
major musical centres. The title character is
a thirteenth-century German minstrel knight.
His affections are divided between Elisabeth,
the saintly niece of a local nobleman, and
Venus, the ancient goddess of love, who since
the fall of classical antiquity has withdrawn
to the interior of a nearby mountain. Despite
Tannhäuser’s many transgressions, he
is eventually redeemed by the purity of
Elizabeth’s love.
Wagner introduces the opera with what is
virtually a symphonic poem. Constructed
from the score’s principal musical themes,
the overture also summarizes the plot. In it
are heard the uplifting hymn sung by pilgrims
on their way to Rome to be blessed by the
Pope; Tannhäuser’s passionate ode in praise
of Venus; and the bacchanalian revels danced
by the love goddess’s followers. The return
of the pilgrims’ exalted music brings the
overture to a glorious conclusion, predicting
the redemption that the title character will
achieve after his death.
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Sir Edward Elgar
b. Broadheath, England / June 2, 1857
d. Worcester, England / February 23, 1934
Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85
Several musical movements sprang up
or came to full flood in the wake of the
First World War. Elgar represented those
composers who longed for the comfortable
optimism of the past, but sensed that the
horrific conflict which had engulfed Europe
for the preceding four years had banished
it forever. He gave voice to his world’s
saddening, to its growing inwardness and
pessimism. In the warm, noble voice of
the cello, he found the perfect medium to
express his brooding, nostalgic emotions.
He composed the Cello Concerto, his final
instrumental masterwork, at his home in the
rural county of Sussex. The premiere took
place in London on October 27, 1919. Elgar
himself conducted, and Felix Salmond – the
performer who had given him technical
advice on it, and to whom it is dedicated –
played the solo part.
It is a restrained piece, at least in comparison
with the more outgoing virtuoso concertos
of the nineteenth century. After a brief
introduction, the first movement is founded
on two themes, both melancholy in character.
The scherzo-like second movement follows
without a pause. For all its brilliance, it is
far from carefree. The succeeding section
is an interlude of searching meditation. The
concerto then concludes with an energetic, if
hardly exuberant, final rondo. A heartfelt coda
recalls earlier material, before the concerto
ends with a final statement of the rondo’s
main subject.
Antonín Dvořák
b. Nelahozeves, Bohemia / September 8, 1841
d. Prague, Bohemia / May 1, 1904
Symphony No. 7 in D minor, Op. 70
For Dvořák, music’s primary function was to
praise the many aspects of life which gave
him joy. As he put it in a letter he wrote to a
friend during the composition of his Seventh
Symphony, “Today I have just finished the
second movement of my new symphony, and
am again as happy and contented in my work
as I always have been and, God grant, may
always be, for my slogan is and always shall
be: God, love and country! And that alone can
lead to a happy goal.”
By the mid-1880s, the Slavonic Dances and
other works inspired by the folk music of
his native country had won him a following
throughout Europe. A token of this renown
came in June 1884, when the Philharmonic
Society of London bestowed an honorary
membership upon him. In return, he agreed to
write them a new symphony.
He decided to take the opportunity to satisfy a
goal which had been occupying his thoughts
for some time: a desire to expand his creative
range. This wish sprang from his realization
that the folkbased style he had been
cultivating had its limitations. In order to win
recognition as a great composer, regardless
of origin, he knew he would have to write
music which, like the works of his friend and
mentor, Brahms, communicated universal
sentiments through international musical
language.
He completed Symphony No. 7 on March
17, 1885. He traveled to London to conduct
the first performance, and to accept his
Philharmonic membership. Emotionally
powerful and richly scored, the symphony is a
work of which any composer might be proud.
The folk-like elements which play such an
important role in much of his output are here
displayed less prominently.
After the emotional tempests of the opening
movement, the second begins in a mood
of tranquil reverie. Solace proves elusive,
however. Troubling emotions intrude upon
this idyll at regular intervals. The scherzo is
driven by bracing dance rhythms, but here it
wears what is for Dvořák an unusually stern
expression. The dark mood in which the finale
opens recalls the first movement. After much
dramatic energy is expended, it eventually
ends on a note of triumph, one snatched at
the last possible moment from the jaws of
defeat. ■
Programme Notes © 2010 Don Anderson
allegro 17
CONCERT PROGRAM
PACIFIC ARBOUR TEA & TRUMPETS / ORPHEUM THEATRE, 2PM
thursday, october 7
Bramwell Tovey conductor
Christopher Gaze host
Jill Pert mezzo-soprano
Richard Suart baritone
UBC Opera Ensemble
Gilbert & Sullivan
HMS PINAFORE
We Sail The Ocean Blue
I’m Called Little Buttercup
Now Give Three Cheers
When I Was A Lad
PIRATES OF PENZANCE
When Frederic Was A Little Lad
Climbing Over Rocky Mountains
I Am The Very Model Of A Modern Major General
PATIENCE
Am I Alone – If You’re Anxious So To Shine
Sad Is That Woman’s Lot
So Go To Him
MIKADO
Behold The Lord High Executioner
As Some Day It May Happen
Comes a Train Of Little Ladies
Alone, And Yet Alive
Willow, Tit Willow
There is Beauty In The Bellow of The Blast
Tea & Cookies Don’t miss tea and cookies served in the lobby one hour
before each concert. Compliments of Tetley Tea and Peek Freans.
Visit the Symphony Gift Shop for CD selections
TEA & TRUMPETS SERIES SPONSOR
18 allegro
BRAMWELL TOVEY
CHRISTOPHER GAZE
JILL PERT
RICHARD SUART
Bramwell Tovey conductor
Jill Pert mezzo-soprano
For a biography of Maestro Tovey please
refer to page 9.
Jill’s early training and experience was
in Canada, where she appeared in opera,
concerts and oratorio. She returned to
England in 1979 and as a member of the
D’Oyly Carte Opera Company she played
many principal roles throughout the U.K. and
on tours of Australia and New Zealand.
Christopher Gaze host
Host of our Tea & Trumpets series and the
Christmas concerts, Christopher Gaze is
best known as Artistic Director of Bard on
the Beach Shakespeare Festival, which
has just celebrated its 21st season. Born in
England and trained at the Bristol Old Vic
Theatre School, Christopher has performed
in England, the USA and across Canada,
including Shaw Festival. He came to Canada
in 1975 and moved to Vancouver in 1983. In
1990 he founded Bard on the Beach, which
he has nurtured to one of the most successful
not-for-profit arts organizations in North
America.
His honours include induction into the
BC Entertainment Hall of Fame, Canada’s
Meritorious Service Medal, Honorary
Doctorates from UBC and SFU, the BC
Community Achievement Award, the
Children’s Theatre Foundation of America’s
Gold Medallion, and a Jessie Award for Best
Supporting Actor for Equus at The Playhouse.
A gifted public speaker, Christopher frequently
shares his insights on Shakespeare and
theatre with students, service organizations
and businesses. This fall he will play Henry in
The Fantasticks for The Playhouse.
She has appeared at English National Opera
(Street Scene, Clarissa, Princess Ida), on tour
throughout the UK as the Mother Abbess
in The Sound Of Music, at the Chichester
Festival in Robert And Elizabeth, and played
leading roles in regional theatres all over the
country in My Fair Lady, Oklahoma!, Candide,
Alice In Wonderland, Nunsense and Carousel,
among many others. Above all, however, she
is known for her interpretation of the G & S
major contralto roles, originally for the D’Oyly
Carte company, with whom she has also
recorded them, and subsequently elsewhere.
In 2009 she appeared for Holland Park Opera
as Juno in a new production of Orpheus
In The Underworld, and also appeared for
Raymond Gubbay Ltd in a star-studded
concert performance.
Richard Suart baritone
Richard Suart was born in Lancashire
and has worked for all the major British
opera houses – for English National Opera;
The Pirates of Penzance (Major-General),
The Mikado (Ko-Ko), The Merry Widow
(Baron Zeta), Agrippina (Lesbo) and Die
Fledermaus (Frank): for Welsh National Opera;
allegro 19
UBC OPERA ENSEMBLE
The Yeomen of the Guard (Jack Point), also
at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden:
for Opera North; Playing Away (Stan Stock),
Of Thee I sing (French Ambassador), Let ‘em
eat cake (General Snookfield) and Paradise
Moscow (Barabashkin).
Work abroad includes The Mikado (City
Opera, New York, Venice, Vancouver), Iolanthe
(San Francisco Symphony), After Life (Der
Nederlands Oper and L’Opera Nationale de
Lyon), Playing Away and Paradise Moscow
(Bregenz), Le Grand Macabre (Salzburg
Festival ), Candide at The Hollywood Bowl .
He has recorded several Savoy Operas
with WNO under Sir Charles Mackerras;
other recordings include Greek, The Geisha,
Candide, The Maid of the Mountains, The
Fairy Queen, and The Little Prince.
He is a regular visitor to the International G&S
Festival in Buxton and is a Fellow of the Royal
Academy of Music.
UBC Opera Ensemble
The University of British Columbia Opera
Ensemble was founded by Canadian lyric
coloratura Nancy Hermiston in 1995.
Beginning with a core of seven performers,
Ms. Hermiston has built the program to a
70-member company, now performing three
main-stage productions at UBC every season,
seven Opera Tea Concerts, and several
engagements with local community partners.
The Ensemble’s mission is to educate
young gifted opera singers preparing them
for international careers. Past main-stage
productions have included Le Nozze di
Figaro, Die Zauberflöte, Die Gärtnerin aus
Liebe, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Robert
Ward’s The Crucible based on the Pulitzer
Prize winning play by Arthur Miller, Gianni
Schicchi, Suor Angelica, La Bohème, Dido
and Aeneas, The Merry Widow, The Bartered
Bride, Manon, Eugene Onegin, Florence Lady
with the Lamp, Dreamhealer, Falstaff and the
Western Canadian Premiere of Harry Somer’s
Louis Riel. In the 2010-2011 Season, the
Ensemble presents Mozart’s Don Giovanni,
and Benjamin Britten’s Albert Herring, in the
renewed Old Auditorium and Massenet’s
Cendrillon in the Chan Centre. ■
CONCERT PROGRAM
LONDON DRUGS SYMPHONY POPS / ORPHEUM THEATRE, 8PM
friday & saturday, october 8, 9
Bramwell Tovey conductor
Tracy Dahl soprano
Jill Pert mezzo-soprano
Philippe Castagner tenor
Richard Suart baritone
UBC Opera Ensemble
An Evening of Gilbert & Sullivan
HMS PINAFORE
We Sail The Ocean Blue
I’m Called Little Buttercup
Now Give Three Cheers
When I Was A Lad
PIRATES OF PENZANCE
When Frederic Was A Little Lad
Climbing Over Rocky Mountains
Stop Ladies Pray
Oh, Is There Not One Maiden Breast
Poor Wandering One
I Am The Very Model Of A Modern Major General
PATIENCE
Am I Alone – If You’re Anxious So To Shine
Sad Is That Woman’s Lot
So Go To Him
I ntermission
MIKADO
If You Want To Know Who We Are
A Wandering Minstrel I
Behold The Lord High Executioner
As Some Day It May Happen
Comes a Train Of Little Ladies
Three Little Maids From School
The Sun Whose Rays
Mi-Ya Sa-Ma
Alone, And Yet Alive
Willow, Tit Willow
There is Beauty In The Bellow of The Blast
Finale
Visit the Symphony Gift Shop for CD selections
VSO POPS SERIES SPONSOR
22 allegro
RADIO SPONSOR
BRAMWELL TOVEY
TRACY DAHL
Bramwell Tovey conductor
For a biography of Maestro Tovey please
refer to page 9.
Tracy Dahl soprano
With her 2006 debut at La Scala as Zerbinetta
in Ariadne auf Naxos, Canada’s premier
coloratura soprano Tracy Dahl has taken
another milestone in a career that has
brought her together with such opera houses
24 allegro
JILL PERT
PHILIPPE CASTAGNER
as the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco
Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Santa Fe Opera,
Canadian Opera Company, and the Chatelet
in Paris, to name a few. Her “superlative
coloratura” (Globe and Mail), “deliciously
accurate, stratospheric” (Opera), is regularly
singled out by critics. “Her extreme high
notes, and she threw in a lot of them, are
easy and spectacular.” (Boston Globe). In
2009 she was awarded the prestigious Opera
Canada Award.
the Philharmonic in both Avery Fisher and
Carnegie Halls.
Richard Suart baritone
For a biography of Richard Suart please
refer to page 19.
UBC Opera Ensemble
RICHARD SUART
UBC OPERA ENSEMBLE
Her discography includes A Disney
Spectacular with the Cincinnati Pops
(Telarc), Glitter and Be Gay with the Calgary
Philharmonic (CBC), A Gilbert and Sullivan
Gala with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra
(CBC), and Love Walked In, a Gershwin
collection with the Bramwell Tovey Trio (Red
Phone Box Company).
Jill Pert mezzo-soprano
For a biography of Jill Pert please
refer to page 19.
Philippe Castagner tenor
Canadian-American tenor Philippe Castagner
is recognized for his beautiful and natural
sound, as well as a fresh and appealing
presence on symphonic, operatic and recital
stages. Born in Canada and raised in New
Jersey, Mr. Castagner joined The Metropolitan
Opera Lindemann Young Artist Development
Program in 2002 and made his Metropolitan
Opera debut that season as the First Prisoner
in Fidelio and, later, as Beppe in I Pagliacci.
Though only in his fourth professional
season, Mr. Castagner has already made a
number of auspicious debuts with a wide
variety of operatic and symphonic repertoire.
He has bowed as both Iopas and Hylas in
Les Troyens, Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore,
Ferrando in Così fan Tutte, and Tamino in
Die Zauberflöte, to name a few. He sang
Freddy in the New York Philharmonic’s
production of My Fair Lady with Kelli O’Hara
and Kelsey Grammar and the tenor roles
in Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortileges with
For a biography of UBC Opera Ensemble
please refer to page 21. ■
BRAMWELL TOVEY WITH THE VSO
CONCERT PROGRAM
SPECTRA ENERGY KIDS’ KONCERTS / ORPHEUM THEATRE, 2PM
sunday, october 10
Bramwell Tovey conductor / piano
Scott Good narrator / trombone
Inspector Tovey Investigates Composing
Scott Good/Dwight SChenk An Ocean Called Owen (World Premiere)
Inspector Tovey returns to investigate how music gets from the page to your ears!
VSO Instrument Fair The Kids’ Koncerts series continues with the popular VSO Instrument
Fair, which allows music lovers of all ages (but especially kids!) to touch and play real
orchestra instruments in the Orpheum lobby one hour before concert start time. And don’t miss
the special Composition Table, where kids can “write” their own music—and have it played by
a member of the VSO! All instruments are generously provided by Tom Lee Music.
Visit the Symphony Gift Shop for CD selections
KIDS’ KONCERTS SERIES Co-Sponsor
PREMIER EDUCATION PARTNER
The VSO’s Kids’ Koncerts have been endowed by a
generous gift from the William & Irene McEwen Fund.
26 allegro
SCOTT GOOD
Bramwell Tovey conductor
For a biography of Maestro Tovey please
refer to page 9.
Scott Good
Dwight Schenk
An Ocena Called Owen (World Premiere)
Several years ago, songwriter Dwight Schenk
and composer Scott Good got together to
make some music. A few “jams” and a typo
led to their first collaboration – a tribute
concert to the novels of Kurt Vonnegut.
An Ocean Called Owen is their second
collaboration.
Owen lives deep down in the dirt, where the
roots don’t reach and the sun don’t shine.
This work, made for enjoyment for all ages,
tells the tale of Owen searching for that
something that keeps calling, taking him out
of the ground, into the wide world. Through
several encounters, Owen learns the valuable
lesson that “You can’t move on without a
push from the lessons of the past”.
Scored for full symphony orchestra, it
features narrator Scott Good (with some help
from his trombone), and Bramwell Tovey
playing the 88’s. ■
Programme Notes © 2010 Scott Good
allegro 27
vancouver symphony foundation
Ensure the VSO’s future
with a special gift to the
Vancouver Symphony
Foundation, established
to secure the long term
success of the Vancouver
Symphony Orchestra.
Tax creditable gifts of cash, securities and planned gifts are
all gratefully received by the Vancouver Symphony Foundation, and your gift is enhanced by the availability of matching
funds from the Federal Government.
Please call Leanne Davis at
604.684.9100 extension 236
or email [email protected] to make a gift or
learn more about the naming opportunities that are available
to honour a family member, celebrate the memory of a loved
one or simply recognize your generosity.
Support the Power of Music We extend our sincere thanks to these donors, whose gifts will ensure the
Vancouver Symphony Orchestra remains a strong and vital force in our community long into the future:
$1,000,000 or more
Martha Lou Henley
Government of Canada through the
Department of Canadian Heritage
Endowment Incentives Program
Province of BC through the BC Arts
Renaissance Fund under the stewardship
of the Vancouver Foundation
$500,000 or more
Wayne and Leslie Ann Ingram
The Estate of Jim and Edith le Nobel
$250,000 or more
Carter (Family) Deux Mille Foundation
Chan Foundation of Canada
Ron and Ardelle Cliff
Werner (Vern) and Helga Höing
Mr. Hassan and Mrs. Nezhat Khosrowshahi
The Tong and Geraldine
Louie Family Foundation
Hermann and Erika Stölting
Arthur H. Willms Family
$100,000 or more
Estate of Winslow W. Bennett
Mary and Gordon Christopher
Estate of Steve Floris
Janey Gudewill and Peter Cherniavsky in
memory of their Father Jan Cherniavsky
and Grandmother Mrs. B.T. Rogers
In memory of John S. Hodge
Michael and Estelle Jacobson
S.K. Lee in memory of Mrs. Cheng Koon Lee
Katherine Lu in memory of Professors
Mr. and Mrs. Ngou Kang
William and Irene McEwen Fund
Sheahan and Gerald McGavin, C.M., O.B.C.
Mrs. Yvonne R. McGrane
Estate of John Rand
Nancy and Peter Paul Saunders
Ken and Patricia Shields
George and Marsha Taylor
Whittall Family Fund
$50,000 or more
Adera Development Corporation
Brazfin Investments Ltd.
Mary Ann Clark
Estate of Rachel Tancred Rout
Estate of Mary Flavelle Stewart
Leon and Joan Tuey
In memory of John Wertschek,
Cello Section Player
$25,000 or more
Jeff and Keiko Alexander
Estate of Dorothy Freda Bailey
Mrs. May Brown, C.M., O.B.C.
Mrs. Margaret M. Duncan
W. Neil Harcourt in memory of
Frank N. Harcourt
Daniella and John Icke
Mollie Massie and Hein Poulus
Estate of Margot Lynn McKenzie
Paul Moritz
Mrs. Gordon T. Southam, C.M.
Maestro Bramwell Tovey and
Mrs. Lana Penner-Tovey
Anonymous (1)
$10,000 or more
Mrs. Marti Barregar
Kathy and Stephen Bellringer
Robert G. Brodie and K. Suzanne Brodie
Douglas and Marie-Elle Carrothers
Mr. Justice Edward Chiasson and
Mrs. Dorothy Chiasson
Dr. Marla Kiess
Chantel O’Neil and Colin Erb
Dan and Trudy Pekarsky
Bob and Paulette Reid
Estate of Alice Ruamy Rumball
Nancy and Robert Stewart
Anonymous (1)
$5,000 or more
Estate of Clarice Marjory Bankes
Charles and Barbara Filewych
Estate of Muriel F. Gilchrist
Edwina and Paul Heller
Kaatza Foundation
Prof. Kin Lo
Rex and Joanne McLennan
Marion L. Pearson and James M. Orr
Melvyn and June Tanemura
Beverley and Eric Watt
$2,500 or more
Mr. Gerald A. Nordheimer
Harvey and Connie Permack
Robert and Darlene Spevakow
Winfred Mary (Mollie) Steele
Estate of Jan Wolf Wynand
Anonymous (1)
Due to space limitations, donations
of $2,500 or more are listed, but every
gift is sincerely appreciated and
gratefully received. THANK YOU.
allegro 29
MARC-ANDRÉ HAMELIN
CONCERT PROGRAM
BACH & BEYOND / CHAN CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS AT UBC, 8PM
friday & saturday, october 15, 16
SURREY NIGHTS / BELL PERFORMING CENTRE FOR THE ARTS, 8PM
monday, october 18
Bramwell Tovey conductor
♦ Marc-André Hamelin piano
Schubert Symphony No. 8 in B minor, Unfinished
I.
II.
Allegro moderato
Andante con moto
♦ Mozart Piano Concerto No. 24, K. 491
I. Allegro
II. Larghetto
III. Allegretto
INTERMISSION
Mozart Symphony No. 39 in E-flat Major, K. 543
I. Adagio-Allegro
II. Andante con moto
III. Menuetto & Trio: Allegretto
IV.Finale: Allegro
Visit the Symphony Gift Shop for CD selections
RADIO SPONSOR
30 allegro
The presentation of the Bach & Beyond
Series is made possible, in part, through
the generous assistance of the Chan Centre
for the Performing Arts of the University of
British Columbia.
The VSO’s Surrey Nights
Series has been endowed
by a generous gift from
Werner and Helga Höing.
Officer of the Order of Canada in 2003 and
a Chevalier de l’Ordre du Québec in 2004;
he is also a member of the Royal Society of
Canada. He makes his home in Boston.
Franz Schubert
b. Vienna, Austria / January 31, 1797
d. Vienna, Austria / November 19, 1828
BRAMWELL TOVEY
Bramwell Tovey conductor
For a biography of Maestro Tovey please
refer to page 9.
Marc-André Hamelin piano
Marc-André Hamelin’s unique blend of
musicianship and virtuosity brings forth
interpretations remarkable for their freedom,
originality, and prodigious mastery of the
piano’s resources. Long known for his bold
exploration of unfamiliar pianistic terrain,
Mr. Hamelin has increasingly turned his
attention to the established masterworks
of the piano literature, in performances and
recordings of the piano sonatas of Haydn,
major works by Mozart, Schumann, Brahms,
Chopin and others.
Under exclusive contract with Hyperion
Records, Mr. Hamelin has received 8
Grammy® nominations including a 2008
nomination for Marc-André Hamelin in a
state of jazz. His latest solo release Haydn:
Piano Sonatas, Vol. 2, follows up the critically
acclaimed first installment. In the fall,
Hyperion releases a disc of Hamelin’s own
compositions, Etudes and other works.
Mr. Hamelin was recently presented with a
lifetime achievement prize by the German
Record Critic’s Award (Preis der deutschen
Schallplattenkritik) and was made an
Symphony No. 8 in B minor, Unfinished
Franz Schubert was the ultimate tragic poet
of music. With his death at the very young
age of thirty-one passed possibly the greatest
writer of melody the world has known before
or since – only surpassed by Mozart and
Beethoven, if at all.
By the time of his death, Schubert had written
a staggering total of nearly one thousand
works, including some of the most beloved
works in the Classical repertoire. His was not
always an appreciated genius, not even to
himself: it was not until after his death that
his music was rediscovered, collected and
published.
Mostly self-taught (one of his only teachers
was the famous Antonio Salieri, and another
famously stated about the ten-year old
Schubert, “…I merely conversed with him
and watched him with silent astonishment.”),
the preternaturally-gifted Schubert produced
many masterpieces for full orchestra,
chamber ensembles, extraordinary vocal
works, and piano.
In an unfinished life, stands the “Unfinished”
Symphony No. 8. It is unclear why the work
remained unfinished, especially given that the
two completed movements represent some
of the finest writing of Schubert’s career.
It is, however, most likely that composition
stopped when the composer contracted
syphilis in November of 1822 (the two
completed movements of the work were
composed in October and November of that
allegro 31
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year). Indeed, perhaps the music itself is the
greatest clue, as it is suffused with agitation,
stark tonal contrast, and a somber underlying
mood. Though a short major key interlude
shines through the thunderclouds of the first
movement, it is dominated by contrasting
ideas and a mood of uneasiness that can’t be
shaken.
The second movement starts off peacefully
enough, and ends this way as well – but
in between, the music is agitated and
the somber mood prevails. A brilliant and
complex, yet unfinished work, perhaps this
symphony is tragic foreboding of a brilliant,
complex and unfinished life.
Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart
b. Salzburg, Austria / January 27, 1756
d. Vienna, Austria / December 5, 1791
Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, K. 491
Symphony No. 39 in E-flat Major, K. 543
It is intriguing to theorize that the
compositional form of piano concerto can be
used to trace the development of Mozart’s
musical style – and, indeed, the Classical
style itself, as the twenty-seven concerti for
piano and orchestra that Mozart wrote span
his entire career.
The very first concerti are adaptations of
Baroque sonatas, while the last handful
foreshadow the passion of the Romantic
movement about to appear. His Piano
Concerto No. 24 in C minor is one of only
two of his twenty-seven concerti written in
a minor key (the other being the D minor No.
20) and is one of Mozart’s most important
works. Considered by some to be his greatest
and most complete concerto, the work
dramatically foreshadows the Romantic era
about to be ushered in by Beethoven – and
indeed, Beethoven himself was strongly
influenced by this concerto.
An aspect of Mozart’s music that is not often
shown creeps into this work early and often:
a passionate, brooding, almost tragic feeling
permeates the concerto, an underlying
presence from beginning to end. The work
opens ominously, the principal theme
announced stridently (this theme strongly
inspired Beethoven’s C minor Concerto No.
3) by the orchestra, before the piano enters
singing a different tune; the soloist soon
comes around to the principal theme setting
the tone for the movement, a tone that
marches forward without distraction.
The second movement is dreamy, yet sad and
nostalgic, the principal theme weaving itself
throughout the fabric of the movement in one
form or another.
A set of eight variations carried by different
sections of the orchestra and the soloist,
the finale is one of sparkling brilliance that,
again, never loses its patina of sadness;
especially as the piano introduces the last of
the variations and the minor key takes us to a
dramatic yet ambiguous ending.
“Mozart’s symphonies
shine with their own particular
brilliance...”
Though all of Mozart’s symphonies shine
with their own particular brilliance, the final
great trio of symphonies, 39 to 41, truly rise
above. Symphony No. 39 in E-flat is the least
known of this last trio; it is a work that is
not as dramatic as the 40th, and one that
doesn’t have the shining brilliance the Jupiter
symphony. But it was created on an heroic
scale, in a climate of nobility foreshadowing
The Magic Flute. Though this symphony is
the one most obviously indebted to Joseph
Haydn, the end result of the combination of
forms and devices is completely Mozart.
The nobility is restrained, the humour
refined, the orchestration and melodies
crisp and efficient, yet flush with brilliance
and innovation – all typical characteristics
of Mozart’s music. The piece does stray
somewhat from Mozart’s normal modus
operandi, though, in its unusual ending:
a compact, open-ended idea dominates
the finale, posing a question rather than a
resolution – leaving
the audience anticipating more. ■
Program notes ©2010 Sophia Vincent
allegro 33
GÜNTHER HERBIG
DALE BARLTROP
CONCERT PROGRAM
PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS MASTERWORKS SILVER / ORPHEUM THEATRE, 8PM
saturday & monday, october 23, 25
Günther Herbig conductor
♦ Dale Barltrop violin
Beethoven Coriolan Overture, Op. 62
♦ Schumann Violin Concerto in D minor
I. In kräftigem, nicht zu schnellen Tempo
II.Langsam
III.Lebhaft, doch nicht schnell
INTERMISSION
Shostakovich Symphony No. 10 in E minor, Op. 93
I.
II.
III.
IV.
Moderato
Allegro
Allegretto
Andante – Allegro
Visit the Symphony Gift Shop for CD selections
Masterworks Silver SERIES SPONSOR
34 allegro
VIDEO SCREEN SPONSOR
VIDEO PRESENTATION SPONSOR
Günther Herbig conductor
Günther Herbig left behind the challenging
political environment of East Germany
and moved to the United States in 1984,
where he has since conducted all of the
top-tier orchestras, including the New York
Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, the
Cleveland Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra,
and the Chicago, Boston, and San Francisco
Symphony Orchestras.
Posts Herbig has held include music director
of the Detroit Symphony and the Toronto
Symphony, Principal Guest Conductor of
both the Dallas Symphony and the BBC
Philharmonic Orchestra, and general music
director of both the Dresden Philharmonic
Orchestra and Berlin Symphony Orchestra.
Currently he is Artistic Advisor of the National
Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan and Principal
Guest Conductor of Las Palmas in the Grand
Canaries, Spain.
Key figures in his musical training include
Hermann Abendroth, Hermann Scherchen,
and Herbert von Karajan. He has recorded
over 100 works with a variety of East German
orchestras, Toronto Symphony, Orchestre de
Paris, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal
Philharmonic Orchestra, and others.
Dale Barltrop violin
Hailing from Brisbane, Australia, Dale Barltrop
has performed across North America, Europe
and Australia. He served as Principal Second
Violin in the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
for six years prior to being appointed
Concertmaster of the Vancouver Symphony.
As a soloist, Barltrop has performed with the
Bloomington Symphony, Maryland Chamber
Orchestra, University of Maryland Symphony
and back home with the Queensland
Orchestra and Queensland Pops Orchestra.
He served as Associate Concertmaster of the
Akron Symphony Orchestra and 1st violinist
of the Verklärte Quartet, which won the grand
prize at the 2003 Fischoff National Chamber
Music Competition.
Barltrop moved to the United States in
1998 to attend the University of Maryland
as a student of Gerald Fischbach and the
Guarneri Quartet. He continued his studies
at the Cleveland Institute of Music with
William Preucil. Barltrop has a keen interest
in teaching and has served on the faculty of
the National Orchestral Institute and worked
regularly with the Greater Twin Cities Youth
Symphonies.
Ludwig van Beethoven
b. Bonn, Germany / December 15, 1770
d. Vienna, Austria / March 26, 1827
Coriolan Overture, Op. 62
According to Plutarch, an historian of ancient
Rome, Coriolanus was a general whose
troops defeated a neighbouring tribe, the
Volscians. Coriolanus’ hatred of the uncouth
citizens who ruled his native city led him to
insult them, resulting in his exile. Driven by
his need for revenge, he joined the Volscians
to attack Rome. The city lay at his mercy, until
his foes sent his wife, mother and young son
to plead with him for clemency. Coriolanus
relented, and the Volscians, feeling betrayed,
slew him.
William Shakespeare used Plutarch’s writings
as the basis for a play, Coriolanus. Coriolan,
Heinrich Joseph von Collin’s stage version
of the story, opened in Vienna in 1802.
Beethoven composed his stirring Coriolan
Overture in 1807. By that time, Collin’s
play had vanished from the stage. It was
remounted the next month, however, largely
in order to profit from Beethoven’s superbly
dramatic musical evocation.
Robert Schumann
b. Zwickau, Germany / June 8, 1810
d. Endenich, Germany / July 29, 1856
Violin Concerto in D minor
Schumann composed this concerto in
September and October 1853. It took him
just 13 days, a typical result of his profoundly
manic-depressive condition. Four months
later, he attempted suicide by jumping into
the Rhine. He spent the remaining years of his
life confined to an asylum.
allegro 35
He had composed the concerto for the
celebrated soloist, Joseph Joachim, for whom
Johannes Brahms would create his concerto
twenty-five years later. He sent the autograph
manuscript to Joachim, who did nothing with
it at first. Following a rehearsal two years
after the composer’s death, Joachim, Brahms
and Schumann’s widow, Clara, decided
that releasing a piece which they held to be
inferior would damage Robert’s reputation.
Joachim deposited the manuscript in the
Prussian State Library in Berlin, with the
stipulation that the concerto not be performed
until 100 years after Schumann’s death.
During the 1930s, Joachim’s great-niece,
the violinist Jelly d’Aranyi, became aware
of the concerto’s existence, allegedly
through contact with Schumann through
the spirit world. She pressed to be granted
the premiere. So did Yehudi Menuhin, who
received permission to do so after the work
was published in 1937. Both artists were
over-ridden by Nazi officials, who claimed
copyright on the concerto and insisted that a
German violinist give the first performance.
Georg Kulenkampf was the soloist at the
premiere, in Berlin in November 1937.
The concerto is more concerned with
expressiveness and poetic fantasy than
virtuosity and simple excitement. An
orchestral introduction presents the main
themes of the opening movement. The
first is forceful, and the second, lyrical. The
second movement is a sweet, gentle reverie
in the manner of Schumann’s songs. The
cheerful finale, featuring delightful writing for
woodwinds, follows on without a break.
Dmitry Shostakovich
b. St. Petersburg, Russia / September 25, 1906
d. Moscow, Russia / August 9, 1975
Symphony No. 10 in E minor, Op. 93
Shostakovich spent many of his most
productive years under the oppressive regime
of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. Following
Stalin’s death in 1953, Shostakovich quickly
set to work on a new symphony, his first in
eight years. He completed Symphony No. 10
on October 25. Yevgeny Mravinsky conducted
the premiere in Leningrad on December
17. The debate over its merits, which was
eventually resolved in his favour, played a
role in the reinstatement of increased artistic
expression in the USSR.
When he was asked if the new symphony
had a program, Shostakovich replied, “No,
let them listen and guess for themselves,”
adding that he wanted simply “to portray
human emotions and passions.” Testimony,
the controversial book of memoirs published
in 1979, gives quite a different account,
stating “It’s about Stalin and the Stalin
years. The second part, the scherzo, is a
musical portrait of him, roughly speaking.
Of course, there are other things in it, but
that’s the basis.” Whatever its inspirations,
this dramatic and forceful work, sparked
by slashes of dark wit, is one of his finest
achievements.
The first movement is the longest of the four.
Opening with sober, desolate ruminations,
it rises to a prolonged climax of searing
intensity. The music winds down slowly, to
end as bleakly as it began. In the final pages,
two piccolos warble forlornly as dusk falls
over a battle-scarred landscape.
Harshly scored and driven by relentless,
maniacal energy, the brief second movement
delivers one of the most concentrated
outbursts of fury in all music.
Enigmatic and unsettling, the third movement
refuses to offer consolation for what has
preceded it. It features a series of expressive
solos for wind instruments and a bitter, ironic
climax that borders on hysteria.
The finale opens with a mournful introduction
in slow tempo, once again featuring wind
solos. But then clarinet and strings announce
a merry dance tune, at last allowing a ray
of sunlight to brighten the scene. There can
be no possibility of unclouded optimism;
shadowed moments crop up, and at times the
rejoicing takes on an almost frenzied edge.
This music does not so much celebrate the
present as it expresses a wish for freer, less
troubled days ahead. ■
Programme Notes © 2010 Don Anderson
allegro 37
patrons’ circle
The Vancouver Symphony is grateful for the generosity shown by the following individuals and
foundations, whose annual investment in the VSO has helped this orchestra reach new heights
and garner national and international recognition.
PLATINUM BATON
$50,000 and above
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$25,000—$49,999
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In memory of John Hodge*
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Anonymous (1)
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$2,500—$4,999
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and Mrs. Dorothy Chiasson*
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Dave Cunningham
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Ms. Marian M. Hingston
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In memory of Betty Howard
Jon and Lisa Greyell
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C.V. Kent
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Mrs. Lorraine Redmond,
Ross Foundation
in loving memory of Mrs. M. Quast
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L. Thom
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Anonymous (1)
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$1,500—$2,499
Anonymous* (1)
Anonymous (4)
Gordon and Minke Armstrong
The Honourable Jack Austin and
* Members of the Patrons’ Circle who have
Ms. Natalie Freeman
made an additional gift to the VSO’s endowment
Mr. R. Paul and Mrs. Elizabeth Beckmann
campaign, for which we are most thankful.
Roberta Lando Beiser*
For more information about the patrons’ circle and the exclusive benefits a