Connecticut Youth Symphony

T. Clark Saunders, Acting Dean
Hartt Community Division
Noah Blocker-Glynn, Director
Presents
Connecticut Youth Symphony
Sunday, May 10, 2015
7:30 p.m.
Overture from Rienzi
Millard Auditorium
Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
Cello Concerto No. 1, op. 33
I. Allegro non troppo
II. Allegretto con moto
III. Tempo Primo
Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921)
Kaila Piscitelli, cello
Intermission
Symphony No. 4, op. 36
Pytor Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
I. Andante sostenuto—Moderato con anima
II. Andantion in modo di Canzone
III. Scherzo. Pizzicato ostinato. Allegro
IV. Finale. Allegro Con Fuoco
Kaila Piscitelli has studied cello for 13 years, along with performing in
chamber ensembles and orchestras at the Hartt Community
Division. Currently a student of Professor Mihai Tetel, Kaila serves as the
principal cellist of the Connecticut Youth Symphony and I Giovani Solisti, the
high school honors chamber orchestra in the West Hartford Public
Schools. Notable performances as an orchestral musician include Carnegie
Hall, as a member of the orchestra Opus '89, and a concert tour in Italy with I
Giovani Solisti. She was a two-time recipient of the John Jorgensen
Memorial Scholarship, an audition-based scholarship awarded yearly to an
outstanding young cellist.
An active chamber musician, Kaila has performed in numerous
ensembles, among them string quartets, a piano trio, and a clarinet quintet. For
the 2013 and 2014 school years, her chamber ensembles have been selected as the
Hartt Community Division's Honors Ensemble. Her groups have performed at
the Hartt Gala, the Simsbury Chamber Music Festival, and on the People's
Bank Concert Series.
Kaila has participated in many masterclasses, including those led by the
Borromeo String Quartet, the Emerson String Quartet, the Adaskin String Trio,
Sybarite5, and the Lions Gate Trio. She has attended summer programs
including the Ithaca Suzuki Institute, the Greenwood Music Camp, the David
Einfeldt Chamber Music Seminar, and the Boston University Tanglewood
Institute. She has played for church services on special occasions since she was
9 years old.
This fall, Kaila will pursue a double major in cello performance and liberal arts.
Connecticut Youth Symphony
Violin I
Priscilla Back
Kayla Bryan
Joyce Cheng
Samantha Cohen
Olivia Di Poi
Karina Heye-Smith
Mobey Irizarry Lambright
Anysia Lee^
Olivia Moaddel
Clara Tang
Sara Zahorodni
Gloria Zhu
Eric Barrett
Violin II
Jeanne Bidon
Deanna Casey
Kevin Chen
Elodie Currier
Shayamal Datta
Gioia Gedicks
David Hua
Jung Kwon
Chloe Li**
Daniel Luo
Una Shea
Nimrita Singh
Yi Lin Wang
Viola
Katelyn Byrne
Colby Johnson
Daniel Melody
Eric Selzer
Katherine Stoll
Rui Rui Zhang
Austin Zhu**
Violoncello
Julia Dornelas
Daniel Hardiman
Katie Hughes
Jillian Klucznik
Will Ocampo
Madeleine Olson
Kaila Piscitelli**
Bass
John DeMartino**
Giana DiNatale
Nick Giamalis
Kathryn Knox
Emery Wegh
Clarinet
Emily Guersch**
Kate Jessen
Bassoon
Leila Benmamoun
Emily Kane**
Horn
Eleanor Johnson**
Andrew Kelbley
Jordan Mingo
Molly Sullivan
Trumpet
Robert Ciaffaglione
Justin Drisdelle**
Micah Donley
Sarah Jessen
Tuba
Jackie McDougall
Timpani
Will Burns
Flute
Christopher Grossack**
Cathrina Kothman
Percussion
Angela Luo
Keith Sales
Oboe
Logan Kissane
Amanda Samuel**
**Section Principal Player
^Concertmaster
(Personnel is listed alphabetically)
Congratulations to the Class of 2015!
Priscilla Back
Eric Barrett
Will Burns
Samantha Cohen
Elodie Currier
John DeMartino
Olivia Di Poi
Justin Drisdelle
Christopher Grossack
Emily Guersch
Daniel Hardiman
Katie Hughes
Mobey Irizarry Lambright
Anysia Lee
Eleanor Johnson
Emily Kane
Cathrina Kothman
Jackie McDougall
Daniel Melody
Olivia Moaddel
Kaila Piscitelli
Eric Selzer
Katherine Stoll
Clara Tang
Sara Zahorodni
Rui Rui Zhang
Austin Zhu
Gloria Zhu
Program Notes
Wagner: Overture from Rienzi
Richard Wagner (1813-1883) was a German composer most well known for his
operas including Tristan und Isolde, the Ring cycle and Parsifal. This overture
comes from one of Wagner’s third opera entitled Rienzi, der Letzte der
Tribunen (often shortened to Rienzi). The opera is based off of the life of Cola
di Rienzi, a medieval Italian political leader. Wagner was inspired to write the
opera after reading a book by author Edward Bulwer-Lytton. Rienzi, a grand
opera in five acts, was the first of Wagner’s operas to be successfully staged. It is
considered to be Wagner’s only grand opera and the composer wrote it with the
intention of “outdo[ing] all previous examples.” The opera premiered in
Dresden, Germany in 1842 and was very well received.
Saint-Saëns: Cello Concerto No. 1, op. 33
Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 -1921) was a leading French composer, pianist, organist
and writer. Although French, he was influenced by many German and Austrian
composers such as Bach, Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Schumann. He
contributed extensively classical repertoire during his time composing
everything from chamber music to symphonies to concertos. One of his most
notable and well-known works is his Cello Concerto No. 1. The cello concerto
does not have distinct movements, but can be divided in to three sections. These
three sections take on different characters – the first section begins with is a
fiery and powerful theme introduced by the solo cello. The orchestra eventually
takes this theme over later in the section and it is passed between orchestra and
solo cello throughout. The second section relaxes and takes on a more serene
character. It includes a cadenza in the solo cello part. The third section
reintroduces themes from the first section and ends the piece with excitement.
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4, op. 36
Pytor Ill’yich Tchaikovsky (1840 -1893), a Russian composer, was one of the
leading composers in the romantic style. His Symphony No. 4 is among one of
the most well known and widely played pieces of symphonic repertoire today.
This four-movement work was completed during the time after Tchaikovsky’s
two month long marriage fell apart. The influence of this event on Tchaikovsky
is evident in this symphony. The first movement of the work is massive begins
with a fanfare in the French horns. This fanfare is known as the “fate motive”
and provides roots on which the entire symphony is based. In a letter to his patroness, Nadezhda von Meck, Tchaikovsky wrote about his Fourth Symphony
saying:
“The introduction is the seed of the whole symphony, undoubtedly the
main idea. This is fate, that fatal force which prevents the impulse to
happiness from attaining its goal, which jealously ensures that peace
and happiness shall not be complete and unclouded, which hangs above
your head like the sword of Damocles, and unwaveringly, constantly
poisons the soul.”
The second movement, marked Andantino in modo di canzona, which roughly
translates to “in the way of song”, is slow and melancholy. The melody begins
with an oboe solo that is eventually joined by the strings and passed to the clarinet. The third movement is a lighthearted Scherzo and trio. The movement requires the string players to play pizzicato (plucking the strings) throughout. The
strings being the movement and are later interrupted and joined by the winds
and brass. The fourth movement is marked Allegro con fuoco, which roughly
translates to “upbeat with fire”. The movement flies with its quick tempo and
scalar passages in the string parts. The fate motive reappears towards the end of
this movement reminding the listener of the opening of the piece and tying the
theme of fate in to the last movement.