symphonies of song - Central Iowa Symphony
Transcription
symphonies of song - Central Iowa Symphony
SYMPHONIES OF SONG October 10th, 2015 GUEST CONDUCTOR Jacob Harrison ORCHESTRA STAFF Eric L. McIntyre, Conductor & Music Director Jennifer Powers, Personnel Manager Mary Kay Polashek, Librarian BOARD MEMBERS Sam Wormley, President Aaron Fultz, Secretary Andrew Forbes, Treasurer Gina Folsom Alan Henson Jeffrey Prater Stan Rabe OTHER CONTRIBUTORS Dawn Budd, Artistic Designer Noelle Fultz, Standing Ovation Liaison Friends of Central Iowa Symphony (FOCIS) The Central Iowa Symphony is funded in part by local option tax funds provided by the City of Ames through the Commission on the Arts. OCTOBER 10 TH , 7:30 P.M. AMES CITY AUDITORIUM JACOB HARRISON Guest Conductor SYMPHONIES OF SONG OVERTURE TO LA FORZA DEL DESTINO Giuseppe Verdi SONGS OF A WAYFARER Gustav Mahler Mary Creswell, mezzo soprano INTERMISSION SYMPHONY NO. 8 IN G MAJOR, OP. 88 Antonin Dvorák JACOB HARRISON Jacob Harrison serves as the Director of Orchestral Activities and Associate Professor of Music at Iowa State University. In addition to conducting the ISU Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, Dr. Harrison teaches beginning and advanced undergraduate conducting. In 2014, Dr. Harrison received two awards for his teaching at ISU. At the university level, he was awarded the Early Achievement in Teaching. Additionally, he was named the 2014 Shakeshaft Master Teacher by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Dr. Harrison is an articulate and committed advocate for the performance of the great symphonic repertoire, opera and musical theater, and the music of chamber orchestras. He is also a passionate supporter of music that is created for our time, and has commissioned and premiered numerous musical works for orchestras, wind groups, and a wide variety of chamber ensembles. A sought after conductor, clinician, and educator, Dr. Harrison is a regular guest conductor with professional orchestras, honor ensembles, and music festivals throughout the country. In recent years, he has worked with orchestras in Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Tennessee, and Texas. Before moving to Iowa, Dr. Harrison lived in Phoenix, where he served as Music Director of the North Valley Chamber Orchestra and was a cover conductor for the Phoenix Symphony. Additionally, he has guest conducted such groups as the Arizona State University Symphony, Chamber, and Sinfonietta Orchestras, the Crossing 32nd Street Contemporary Music Ensemble, the Mill Avenue Chamber Players, the Scottsdale Community Orchestra, and the Arizona Repertory Orchestra. Dr. Harrison holds both the Doctoral of Musical Arts degree in Orchestral Conducting and the Master of Music Education degree from Arizona State University. At ASU, he was a teaching assistant for the orchestra program and was the Director of the ASU Sinfonietta Orchestra. He studied orchestral and opera conducting with Timothy Russell and William Reber. He earned the Bachelor of Music Performance degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Jacob and his wife, Kathleen, reside in Ames, Iowa with their son. MARY CRESWELL Mezzo-soprano Mary Creswell appears throughout the United States in opera, oratorio, and chamber music. Her active and varied performing schedule includes the operatic roles of Dorabella, Rosina, and Carmen. Her rich mezzo sound has been heard on the concert stage with the Detroit Symphony, Grand Rapids Symphony, Manchester Symphony, Des Moines Symphony, Austin Symphony, South Carolina Philharmonic, Chattanooga Symphony, and regularly with orchestras at the Interlochen Center for the Arts. The orchestrated songs of Mahler, Verdi’s Requiem, and Jeremiah Symphony by Bernstein are gems in her repertoire. She is a frequent guest soloist with the American Chamber Players and is engaged with them in prestigious concert series spanning the country. Lauded for her extremely versatile voice, Ms. Creswell effortlessly makes the transition from opera house and orchestra hall to chamber music and song recital. She has been described as having an inner pliability on stage, which transcends all boundaries. Her programs flow from Brahms and Ravel to folk songs and humor without missing a beat. She has also been a champion of new music and featured on several recordings under the Albany Label. She received her early training at the University of Michigan where she was the recipient of the Elisabeth Schwarzkopf-Walter Legge Scholarship for graduate study. Her teachers at Michigan were Beverley Rinaldi and Eugene Bossart. The Metropolitan Opera chose her as a regional finalist, and she has been a guest performer in New York City’s Avery Fisher Hall. Recent performances include the roles of Jade Boucher in Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, Rychtářka in Janáćek’s Jenůfa with the Des Moines Metro Opera, and Brahms songs with the Front Range Chamber Players, Colorado. An enthusiastic teacher of singing, Ms. Creswell served on the faculty of the Interlochen Summer Arts Camp for twenty seasons. She is now Associate Professor of Music at Iowa State University where she teaches voice and directs opera. Her students have been finalists in The Metropolitan Opera Auditions and are heard on Broadway stages and in opera houses throughout the country and Europe. PROGRAM NOTES Between 1839 and 1893 Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) composed twenty-eight Italian grand operas. His fame as an operatic composer has never been equalled, and he shares with Richard Wagner the honor of being one of the two most important composers for the stage in the late nineteenth century. Verdi’s operas, especially those from his middle period onward (roughly from 1850), have never been out of Giuseppe Verdi the mainstream of the operatic repertoire. His highly popular middle-period works such as Rigoletto, Il Trovatore, La Traviata and La Forza del Destino are some of the most regularly performed works in virtually all the great international opera houses. The first version of La Forza del Destino (‘The Force of Destiny’) was completed in 1861 on commission from the Russian Imperial Theater, and the premiere took place in St. Petersburg in November 1862. Verdi, however, was not happy with the original version and completely revised it for an 1869 performance at La Scala in Milan. In the process of revision, Verdi composed a new overture that included a number of the major melodies used within the opera. The tragic plot of the opera (Milan version) revolves around two starcrossed lovers (Leonora and Don Alvaro) who are forced to separate by Alvaro’s accidental killing of Leonora’s father. Leonora runs away to live alone in a cave and Don Alvaro enters a monastery. Leonora’s brother, Carlo, bent on avenging his father’s death, finds Alvaro and the two men duel. In a strange twist of destiny, the duel takes place outside Leonora’s cave. Carlo is fatally wounded by Alvaro, but when Leonora comes out to aid her brother, Carlo stabs her in revenge and both die. This leaves Alvaro alone seeking redemption. The overture opens with the brass section playing the “fate” motive (the pitch ‘E’ played six times). Then the strings enter with agitated motives that recur in many places and in various guises throughout the entire overture. The piece also features a troubling theme taken from the Act III duet between Alvaro and Carlo, Leonora’s prayer theme from Act II, and a theme from Act II when Leonora is about to enter the cave, intending to spend the rest of her life there as a hermit. A bright coda employing the previous themes brings the piece to a close. Although the overture was intended to be a prologue to the opera, it is a strong piece in its own rite, and is often performed alone as a concert piece. In the early 1880s, the young apprentice conductor and composer Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) first became acquainted with a book of German folk poetry entitled Des Knaben Wunderhorn: Alte deutsche Lieder (‘The Boy’s Magic Horn: old German songs’). This book, first published in Heidelberg (1805), contained song texts dealing with the pain of Gustav Mahler youth and love, soldiers’ lives, and stories of wanderers and children. This poetry became extremely popular in German-speaking lands during the nineteenth century, and was praised and revered by such great Romantic-era literaries as Goethe. Mahler’s discovery of these old texts had a major influence on his compositional life for more than a decade. The Mahler four-song cycle Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, often translated ‘Songs of a Wayfarer’ (probably more accurately ‘Songs of a Travelling Journeyman’), contained the composer’s first musical settings of ‘Wunderhorn-inspired’ texts (the texts Mahler employed in Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen were actually his own adaptations). It is likely he started work on the original songs for voice and piano as early as 1884, but then spent several more years editing and revising them. In the early 1890s Mahler orchestrated the piano accompaniments, producing the orchestral songs we will hear this evening. This orchestral version was first performed in 1896 and published in 1897. Two of the Mahler melodies composed for Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen also appear in his Symphony No.1, and the ‘Wunderhorn’ texts had a great influence on Mahler’s composition of his first four symphonies. — Text-Translation — I. “Wenn mein Schatz Hochzeit macht” (‘When my sweetheart marries’) Wenn mein Schatz Hochzeit macht Fröhliche Hochzeit macht, Hab’ ich meinen traurigen Tag! Geh’ ich in mein Kämmerlein, Dunkles Kämmerlein, Weine, wein’ um meinen Schatz, Um meinen lieben Schatz! When my sweetheart has her wedding, Her joyful wedding, I will have my day of sorrow! I will go to my little room, Dark little room, Weep, weep over my sweetheart Over my dear sweetheart! Blümlein blau! Verdorre nicht! Vöglein süß! Du singst auf grüner Heide. Ach, wie ist die Welt so schön! “Ziküth! Ziküth!” Little blue flower! Don’t wilt! Sweet little bird! You sing on the green heath. O, how the world is so beautiful! “Chirp! Chirp!” Singet nicht! Blühet nicht! Lenz ist ja vorbei! Alles Singen ist nun aus! Des Abends, wenn ich schlafen geh’, Denk’ich an mein Leide! An mein Leide! Don’t sing! Don’t bloom! Springtime is certainly past! All singing has stopped now! In the evening, when I go to sleep, I think on my sorrow! On my sorrow! II. “Ging heut’ Morgen übers Feld” (‘I walked across the field this morning’) Ging heut’ Morgen übers Feld, Tau noch auf den Gräsern hing; Sprach zu mir der lust’ge Fink: “Ei du! Gelt? Guten Morgen! Ei gelt? Du! Wird’s nicht eine schöne Welt? ‘Zink! Zink!’ Schön und flink! Wie mir doch die Welt gefällt!” I walked across the field this morning, Dew still hung on the grass; A merry finch spoke to me: “Hey, is that you? Good Morning! Hey, isn’t it? You! Isn’t it a beautiful world? ‘Chirp! Chirp! Fair and brisk! How the world simply delights me!” Auch die Glockenblum’ am Feld Hat mir lustig, guter Ding’, Mit den Glöckchen, klinge, kling, Ihren Morgengruß geschellt: “Wird’s nicht eine schöne Welt? Kling, kling! Schönes Ding! Wie mir doch die Welt gefällt! Heia!” Also the bluebells in the field Joyfully (such a good thing), With their little bells, ‘ding, ding’, Rang out their morning greetings to me: Isn’t it a beautiful world? ‘Ding, ding!’ A beautiful thing! How the world simply delights me! Wahoo!” Und da fing im Sonnenschein Gleich die Welt zu funkeln an; Alles Ton und Farbe gewann Im Sonnenschein! Blum’ und Vogel, groß und Klein! “Guten Tag, ist’s nicht eine schöne Welt? Ei du, gelt? Schöne Welt!” And there in the sunlight The world started to glitter; Everything became sound and color In the sunlight! Flowers and birds, great and small! “Good day, Isn’t it a beautiful world? Hey you, isn’t it? A beautiful world!” Nun fängt auch mein Glück wohl an? Nein, nein, das ich mein’, Mir nimmer blühen kann! Now will my good fortune begin? No, no, the good fortune I seek, Can never bloom for me! III. “Ich hab’ ein glühend Messer” (‘I have a glowing knife’) Ich hab’ein glühend Messer, Ein Messer in meiner Brust, O weh! Das schneid’t so tief in jede Freud’ und jede Lust. Ach, was ist das für ein böser Gast! Nimmer hält er Ruh’, nimmer hält er Rast, Nicht bei Tag, noch bei Nacht, wenn ich schlief! O weh! I have a glowing knife, A knife in my breast, The pain! It cuts so deep Into every joy and every delight. O, what an evil guest! It never stops for a moment’s peace, It never stops for a moment’s rest, Neither by day or night, Even when I sleep! The pain! Wenn ich den Himmel seh’, Seh’ich zwei blaue Augen stehn! O weh! Wenn ich im gelben Felde geh’, Seh’ich von fern das blonde Haar Im Winde weh’n! O weh! If I look into the heavens, I see two blue eyes there! The pain! If I go into a yellow field, I see blonde hair in the distance, Waving in the wind! The pain! Wenn ich aus dem Traum auffahr’ Und höre klingen ihr silbern Lachen, O weh! Ich wollt’, ich läg auf der Schwarzen Bahr’, Könnt’ nimmer die Augen aufmachen! When I am startled awake from a dream, And hear the sound of her silver laugh, The pain! I would that I might lay on a Black bier, And never open my eyes again! PROGRAM NOTES IV. “Die zwei blauen Augen” (‘The two blue eyes’) Die zwei blauen Augen von meinem Schatz, Die haben mich in die weite Welt geschickt. Da mußt ich Abschied nehmen vom allerliebsten Platz! O Augen blau, warum habt ihr mich angeblickt? Nun hab’ ich ewig Leid und Grämen! The two blue eyes, Of my sweetheart, They have sent me Into the wide world. There must I say farewell to this best of all places! O blue eyes, Why did they gaze upon me? Now I have eternal sorrow and grief! Ich bin ausgegangen in stiller Nacht wohl über die dunkle Heide. Hat mir niemand Ade gesagt Ade! Mein Gesell’ war Lieb und Leide! I went out In the still night, Far across the dark heath. No one bade me adieu, Adieu! My companion was love and sorrow! Auf der Straße steht ein Lindenbaum, Da hab’ ich zum ersten Mal im Schlaf geruht! Unter dem Lindenbaum, Der hat seine Blüten über mich geschneit, Da wußt’ ich nicht, wie das Leben tut, War alles, alles wieder gut! Alles! Alles, Lieb und Leid Und Welt und Traum! On the road stands a linden tree, There for the first time I slept in peace! Under the linden tree Whose blossoms Snowed over me, I didn’t know how life could go on, But everything, everything was good again! Everything! everything, love and sorrow, And world and dream! PROGRAM NOTES The great Czech composer Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) wrote his Symphony No.8, op.88 in only two and a half months during the summer and fall of 1889. The work was dedicated to the Bohemian Academy of Science, Literature and the Arts to which Dvořák had been recently elected. The premiere took place in Prague in February 1890 with the composer conducting. The Eighth Symphony is basically Antonín Dvořák a cheerful and optimistic work with its roots in the Bohemian folk music that Dvořák loved, and it has long been a favorite with audiences and performers alike. The work is in the standard four symphonic movements. Some commentators have written, however, that the work is less a traditional symphony than a work that belongs with the composer’s tone poems or Slavonic Rhapsodies because of its strong reliance on Bohemian folk-like themes. In addition, these themes, especially those in the first movement, are not developed traditionally. Louis Biancolli quotes an unnamed Czech biographer who puts it this way — “This symphony is not profound, . . . it awakens no echo of conflict or passion. It is a simple lyric singing of the beauty of our country for the artist’s consolation. It is a lovable expression of a genius who can rejoice with the idyllicism of his own forebears.” — Jeffrey Prater MUSICIANS VIOLIN 1 Kevin Amidon, concertmaster Kathryn Penning Carol Weber Laura Norman Donald Sieberns Ashley Hanson Amelia Fiscus Beau Henson VIOLIN 2 Sarah Goplin* Carin Forbes Kate Orngard Maggie Glasscock Ruth Fiscus Beth Martin Suzanna Gilbert Olivia Wong FLUTE Shon Stephenson * Marianne Malinowski Chair Alexis Hall Heather Imhoff OBOE Kevin Schilling* Janet Dixon ENGLISH HORN Janet Dixon CLARINET Charles Bogner* Michael Van Ommeren BASSOON VIOLA Janet Baldwin* Mary Kay Noelle Fultz Polashek* Jennifer Powers Andrew Weihrauch Julienne Krennrich CELLO Alan Henson* Amy Andreotti Christian Roettger Kay Nelson Kevin Deitzel Fox Henson B A S S Gerald Johnson Cara Stone Daniel Andreotti H A R P Kristin Maahs FRENCH HORN PERSONNEL Pam Schwab * MANAGER Stephani Scherbart Jennifer Powers Gale Webb Brian Bunn ORCHESTRA LIBRARIAN TRUMPET Mary Kay Polashek Jason Kirke* Bion Pierson * Denotes section TROMBONE principal Bradley Harris* Clayton Murphy Michael Albarracin TUBA James Kilmer* T I M PA N I Dan Krumm* PERCUSSION Aaron Fultz Ryan Pearson A special Thanks to Everts for the flower arrangements. CRESCENDO! 2014-15 SEASON PATRONS MAESTRO’S CIRCLE SUPPORTERS $150-$299 $2500+ Paula Forrest Rebecca Fritzsche Ruth & Jake Graves Kay & Roger Berger Ames Golf & Country Club Barb & Karl Gwiasda Deborah & A.M. Fink Carol & Ted Bailey Jane Lohnes In Memory of Susan Sara & Gerald Chase Nancy Marks Walters Mary Darrow & Craig Charlotte Matheus Janet & Erv Klaas Mushel Kay Nelson In Memory of Duffie Lorr Peggy Earnshaw & Paul In Memory of William Tanaka Nelson Jane Frerichs Mary Lois Nelson SPONSORS Katherine & Herbert Marlys Potter $1000-$2499 Fromm Dorothy & Robert Rust In Memory of Dick Janet & David Stephenson The Alben F. Bates & Clara Zbaraski In Memory of Larry G. Bates Foundation Noelle & Aaron Fultz Hansen Carol & Eric Weber Sara Goplin Deanne & Robert Joan Welch Marge Gowdy Summerfelt Cheryl Lawson & Sam In Memory of Mike Bobbie Warman Wormley Gowdy In Honor of Sam Wormley Alan Henson Marlene Weisshaar B E N E FA C T O R S Willa & David Holger Chris & Jeff White $500-$999 Elizabeth Keys Joy Williams Deanna & James Kilmer Lee Anne & Stephen George Burnet & Martha Doris & Lowell Kilmer Willson Anderson Julienne & Frank Krennrich Suzanne Zaffarano Jan Flora & Cornelia Flora Janet & John Lott In Memory of Dan Linda Hansen Audrey & Steve Marley Zaffarano In Memory of Larry Donita & Richard McCoy Hansen Kathryn & John Miller Marianne Malinowski Wayne Maak Orngard Financial Named Chair In Memory of Karen Management Helen McRoberts Janet & Erv Klaas Patricia & Louis Banitt Pam & Chuck Schwab Fund Mary Kay & Emil Polashek Ron Fuchs Named Chair Mary & Jeff Prater PAT R O N S George Seifert $300-$499 The Alben F. Bates Julie Stroud & Clara G. Bates Wayne P. Davis & Ferne G. Ruth & Clayton Swenson Foundation Bonomi Connie & Roger Carin & Andrew Forbes Underwood Underwriting Support Margaret Johnson Sandra & George Deborah & A.M. Fink FRIENDS McJimsey Janet & Erv Klaas $50-$149 Helen McRoberts Betty & Tom Barton Beverly Baum Programs Gladys & Peter Colwell Carol & Robert Deppe Pioneer Communications, Peggy & Greg Dieter Inc. CRESCENDO! 2015-16 SEASON PATRONS MAESTRO’S CIRCLE SUPPORTERS $2500+ $150-$299 FRIENDS $50-$149 Ames Golf & Country Club Beverly Baum Kay & Roger Berger Charles Orngard Financial SPONSORS Management $1000-$2499 Sara & Gerald Chase Gladys & Peter Colwell Martha Anderson & In Memory of Wayne George Burnet Davis Jean Earle Felix Carin & Andrew Forbes In Memory of Martha Felix Jane Frerichs Nebgen Marge Gowdy Jean Earle Felix In Memory of Mike Gowdy In Honor of Pamela Willa & Dave Holger Schwab Judy & Tom Jackson Carol & Eric Weber Dee & Jim Kilmer Joan E. Welch Donita & Dick McCoy Kathryn & John Miller Mary Kay & Emil Polashek Sostrini String Quartet: Esther Lee B E N E FA C T O R S Tiffany Loe $500-$999 Joanna Held Deborah & A.M. Fink Fox Henson Cornelia & Jan Flora Klier String Quartet: In Memory of Carroll & Jana Kim May Fleming Butler Olivia Wong Wayne Maak Beau Henson In Memory of Karen Grace Kim Helen F. McRoberts In Memory of Liz Keys Pam & Chuck Schwab Cheryl Lawson & Sam Wormley Carol & Ted Bailey Betty & Tom Barton Peggy & Greg Dieter Gina Folsom Mary L. Frahm Barbara & Karl Gwiasda Jane Johnson Nancy Marks Kay Nelson Mary Lois Nelson Frankie & Jim Oleson K.L. Outka Mary Jane Pearson Dorothy & Robert Rust Phyllis Seim Mary Anne & Steiner Silence Deanne & Bob Summerfelt Marlene Weisshaar Lee Anne & Stephen Willson Janet & Erv Klaas PAT R O N S $300-$499 Carol & Robert Deppe In Honor of Mary Kay Polashek Linda Hansen In Memory of Larry Hansen Peg Johnson Marianne Malinowski Named Chair Janet & Erv Klaas Underwriting Support Contact us today! Programs Pioneer Communications, Inc. CRESCENDO! Crescendo! is our donor rewards program. Did you know that nearly 60 percent of our concert funding comes from individual donors like you? It takes a community of dedicated musicians and lovers of live music to support an orchestra. Your generous support is deeply appreciated! Sponsor Levels: Student (K-12) Friend Supporter/Gala Sponsor Patron Benefactor Sponsor Maestro’s Circle $20 + $50 + $150 + $300 + $500 + $1,000 + $2,500 + Name(s) as you wish it to appear in the program: Amount: I would like to contribute to the following named chairs: £ Marianne Malinowski Chair I would like to name my gift in honor/in memory of (circle one): Address: Email: Daytime Phone: Please make checks payable to: Central Iowa Symphony Please mail all contributions to: P.O. Box 1080 Ames, IA 50014 Central Iowa Symphony is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. All donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. Dear Central Iowa Symphony patron, When you think of classical music in Ames and Central Iowa, you know that the Central Iowa Symphony consistently brings you entertainment from some of Central Iowa’s finest musicians. Throughout the year, we bring you high quality performances of some of your favorite pieces of musical literature. In addition, Central Iowa Symphony helps you to expand your musical horizon by introducing you to some of the newest pieces of music and novel musical collaborations. Without your consistent support, we would not be able to bring you the high quality performances you have come to expect. Gifts in the amounts of $150, $300, $500, $1000, or $2500 can significantly help us achieve our goal of fostering quality performances, offering satisfying musical experiences, and nurturing educational and cultural growth in Central Iowa. As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, your donations are tax deductible. We sincerely hope you consider Central Iowa Symphony in your planned giving. Sincerely, The Board of the Central Iowa Symphony Friends of the Central Iowa Symphony (FOCIS) is an auxiliary formed to support the orchestra. FOCIS will facilitate concert related activities like receptions and will recruit ushers. CIS wishes to thank tonight’s ushers. We welcome your involvement too! Please let us know if you would like to support the orchestra and become a member of FOCIS. This space intentionally left blank for Standing Ovations This space intentionally left blank for Standing Ovations