Program Notes
Concert 3
Overture to Die Fledermaus Johann Strauss, Jr. (1825-1899)
Opera overtures often function similarly to that of a movie trailer: The tone, plot, and most enticing moments of the story capture the audience’s attention in an effort to create maximum excitement for the story that is to come. Such is the case for the overture to Johann Strauss’ Die Fledermaus, first performed in Vienna in 1874. Practical jokes and mistaken identities abound in Strauss’ love letter to merry Vienna and its mischievous pranksters. Musical material from the operetta comprises nearly every note of the overture, including the famous waltz from Act II. Rapid-fire changes in tempo and mood occur throughout the piece, expertly illustrating the witty, unpredictable energy of the show.
Cello Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 33 Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921)
According to music critic and writer Harold Schonberg, French composer Camille Saint-Saëns was “an exponent of purity, clarity, refinement, and Classicism.” Such distinctions are evident in his Cello Concerto No. 1, first performed in 1873 by Belgian cellist Auguste Tolbecque at the Paris Conservatoire.
Saint-Saëns’ first cello concerto is noteworthy, among many reasons, for its innovative use of form. Instead of adhering to the traditional concerto format consisting of three separate movements, Saint-Saëns tightly organized this concerto into three distinct sections within in one continuous movement. This piece is also cyclical; thematic material first presented in one section reappears in later sections, often transformed to fit the current character and tone of the piece. Above all else, the concerto is a remarkable showcase for the soloist, who is able to exhibit the range and possibilities of the cello through a variety of virtuosic techniques and elegant, memorable melodies.
The
Walk to the Paradise Garden Frederick
Delius
from
A Village Romeo and Juliet (1862-1934)
Frederick Delius has often been called “The one-man melting pot.” Considering that he was born in England to a family of German heritage, briefly worked in the United States, studied music in Germany, and eventually lived in France, such a term is quite fitting! His musical influences are no less eclectic; the chromatic harmonies of Richard Wagner, lush orchestrations of Claude Debussy, and rustic, folk-inspired melodies of Edvard Grieg are present in his works, particularly in “The Walk to the Paradise Garden,” an interlude from his opera A Village Romeo and Juliet.
The opera, completed in 1901 and first performed in 1907, echoes Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet in the telling of young love doomed by the feuding of rival families; Delius’ opera, however, sets its lovers in rural Switzerland amidst two farming families fighting over an adjoining piece of land between their respective properties. “The Walk to the Paradise Garden” was not originally in the opera, but was later added as an orchestral interlude to link the opera’s final two scenes. The Paradise Garden, not the idyllic vista of flowers and plants the name seems to reference, is a run-down inn to which the lovers escape in order to decide the fate of their relationship. The music, highlighting principal themes from the opera, is a tender, melancholy testament to their love.
Suite from The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66a Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
The Sleeping Beauty, the second of Tchaikovsky’s three ballets, premiered in St. Petersburg in 1890 and has been a perennial favorite in the repertory ever since. The ballet recounts the familiar story of Princess Aurora, from her cursed birth to her gallant rescue by Prince Florimund to their joyous wedding.
The suite from the ballet does not aim to summarize the plot nor does it present itself in chronological order. The suite is a showcase of the ballet’s most beloved melodies and dances, which are as follows:
* Introduction: The Lilac Fairy. The ballet’s bombastic introduction serves as the theme of the evil fairy Carabosse, who places a curse on the newborn Princess Aurora: on her 16th birthday, Aurora will prick her finger on a needle and die. Music from the finale of Act I follows; the good Lilac Fairy appears as promised. She reminds the King and Queen of her gift given to Aurora at birth: Aurora will not succumb to Carabosse’s curse and die, but will merely sleep until awakened by true love’s kiss. The Lilac Fairy casts a spell on everyone in the kingdom, who will awake from their slumber only when Aurora first awakes.
* Adagio: Four royal suitors bestow roses to Princess Aurora on her 16th birthday.
* Character Dance: Puss in Boots and the White Cat. Puss in Boots, one of the many fairy tale characters invited to the wedding celebration of Aurora and Florimund, dances with another cat. The exchange between double reeds and tremolo strings depict the meows and hisses between Puss and the White Cat.
* Panorama: A vision of Aurora inspires Prince Florimund to rescue her from her slumber. Persistent repeated notes from the winds amidst the languid melody from the strings depict Florimund’s eager heart as he travels on a placid boat ride to the royal castle.
* Waltz: The villagers joyfully dance in anticipation of Princess Aurora’s 16th birthday celebration.