Class ic sLATSHAW CONDUCTS TCHAIKOVSKYSaturday & Sunday, February 13-14, 2016Avalon Theatre

CHARLES LATSHAW, GUEST CONDUCTORJINJOO CHO, VIOLIN

MARQUEZ Danzón No. 2 GLAZUNOV Violin Concerto in A minor

I. ModeratoII. Andante SostenutoIII. Piu AnimatoIV. Allegro

Jinjoo Cho, violin INTERMISSION

TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 5 in E minorI. Andante, Allegro con animaII. Andante cantabileIII. Valse, Allegro moderatoIV. Finale, Allegro maestoso, Allegro vivace

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THE CONCERT WEEKEND IS SPONSORED BY:

Bob & Adele Suydam

GUEST CONDUCTORSPONSORED BY:

ADDITIONAL SUPPORTPROVIDED BY:

EXCLUSIVE SEASON SPONSORS:

KKCO

DID YOU KNOW?

• Danzón No. 2 was included on the program of the Simon Bolívar Youth Orchestra conducted by Gustavo Dudamel on their 2007 tour of Europe and the United States. As a result of the strong public response to the orchestra’s performance of the piece, Danzón No. 2 has established itself as one of the signature pieces performed by the orchestra.

• Glazunov began studying piano at the age of nine and began composing at 11. He was taught privately by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov who once wrote, “His (Glazunov) musical development progressed not by the day, but literally by the hour.”

• In 1897, Glazunov led the disastrous premiere of Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 1, which some say was the catalyst for Rachmaninoff’s three year depression.

ARTURO MARQUEZ (b. 1950) DANZÓN NO. 2 (1994) 10 MINUTES

Piccolo, flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns, trumpets, trombones, tuba, timpani, claves, snare drum, suspended cymbal, güiro, tom-toms, bass drum, piano and strings.

Arturo Márquez was born in Sonora, Mexico and grew up in suburban Los Angeles. He later studied composition at the Mexican Music Conservatory and the California Institute of the Arts.

Composed in 1994, Danzón No. 2 has quickly become one of the most popular orchestral pieces by a Mexican composer. “Danzón” refers to a Cuban style of dance dating back to the late 19th century, and is closely related to the Spanish Habanera. Danzón has a very specific musical and choreographic form, beginning with an 8-measure introduction and paseo, followed by a 16-measure melody. Then the introduction and paseo are repeated. In this opening section, the dancers are not dancing—they stroll to the dance floor and snap into the dance at the same moment, precisely on the last beat of the paseo, and the dance begins in earnest. Márquez’s Danzón No. 2 was inspired by an evening spent in a ballroom in Veracruz, Mexico. It was commissioned by, and premiered at the National Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico City.

ALEXANDER GLAZUNOV (1865-1936) VIOLIN CONCERTO IN A MINOR (1904) 20 MINUTES

Solo violin, piccolo, flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns, trumpets, trombones, timpani, glockenspiel, triangle, cymbals, harp and strings.

Glazunov’s Violin Concerto was composed in 1904. It was premiered in 1905, with Glazunov conducting and Leopold Auer as violinist, just before Glazunov was elected as director of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. Glazunov’s career, which peaked in the first decade of the 20th Century, came at a time when Russian music was bifurcated along two lines: Balakirev, Borodin, Mussorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov were composing “exotic” pieces on themes of Russian folklore. Tchaikovsky, Kalinnikov, and eventually Rachmaninoff were composing works closely tied to formal European traditions. Glazunov falls somewhere in between. He studied composition principally with Rimsky-Korsakov but seemed to take in the greatest parts of both camps.

The Glazunov Violin Concerto follows a fairly traditional 3-part fast-slow-fast format, but the sections are played attacca, strung together in a single movement. The piece has no introduction, but instead starts right into the soloist’s main theme-- a melody that is distinctly Russian and feels very much like folk music. The concerto is extremely virtuosic, and feels thoroughly Romantic in style.

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PROGRAM NOTES By Charles Latshaw

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PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893) SYMPHONY NO. 5 IN C MINOR (1888) 46 MINUTES

Piccolo, flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns, trumpets, trombones, tuba, timpani and strings.

First performed by the GJSO on October 18, 1994 under the direction of Kirk Gustafson.

The Fifth Symphony was composed in 1888, when Tchaikovsky had just returned to Russia after a successful trip to Germany. It is dedicated to the German conductor Theodor Avé-Lallemant, who had conducted a number of Tchaikovsky’s works in Hamburg.

It is difficult to discuss Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony without also mentioning his Fourth. Although composed ten years apart, in 1878 and 1888, the two are very closely linked. Both of these extraordinary works deal with issues of Fate. In letters and diaries, Tchaikovsky described Fate in the Fourth Symphony as “The Sword of Damocles,” forever hanging above the composer’s head, ready to drop at any moment, and especially when things seem to be going well. Fate appears as a loud, blaring fanfare in the brasses—one that regularly interrupts the music and brings things to a crashing halt. The Fate motive returns again and again, largely unchanged. Musically, the finale of the fourth symphony is a representation of rising to be at one’s best, despite the constant interference and interruptions of Fate.

The Fifth Symphony takes a new view of the composer’s struggles with Fate. Tchaikovsky wrote in his diary that the beginning of the work, a gloomy theme in the clarinets, is “a complete resignation before fate.” But unlike the Fourth Symphony, this new Fate theme is not some outside force interrupting the music. Instead it is the piece. All four movements of the Fifth Symphony incorporate this same Fate theme, and as the work progresses, the sound of Fate grows and changes along with it. In the first movement Fate is still glum, the sound of regrets. By the second movement it has morphed into an angry outburst of frustration. In the third movement it reappears as a wistful waltz. And, finally, in the fourth movement it is transformed into a great anthem of triumph and optimism. This symphony takes Fate as its companion and turns it from a source of weakness and strife into one of joy, power, and strength.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Like the Symphony No. 4, the Fifth is a cyclical symphony, with a recurring main theme. Unlike the Fourth, however, the theme is heard in all four movements, a feature Tchaikovsky had first used in the Manfred Symphony, which was completed less than two years before the Fifth.

• Some critics, including Tchaikovsky himself, have considered the ending of his 5th Symphony, insincere or even crude. After the second performance, Tchaikovsky wrote, “I have come to the conclusion that it is a failure”. Despite this, the symphony has gone on to become one of the composer’s most popular works. The second movement, in particular, is considered to be classic Tchaikovsky: well crafted, colorfully orchestrated, and with a memorable melody for solo horn.

• It is said that Annie’s Song by John Denver was based in part by the first horn theme in the second movement. When Denver sang it in Russian in a 1985 concert, the first five notes of the Russian portion of the song and the theme share the same rhythm.

ABOUT JINJOO CHOCritically acclaimed violinist Jinjoo Cho has established herself as one of the most vibrant, engaging and charismatic violinists of her generation. Gold Medalist of the 2014 Ninth Quadrennial International Violin Competition of Indianapolis, Jinjoo made her first appearance on the international music scene when she garnered the First Grand Prize and Radio Canada’s People’s Choice Award at the 2006 Montreal International Musical Competition at age 17. Times Argus of Montreal proclaimed her performance of the Shostakovich Violin Concerto as possessing

“an undeniable charisma and depth...with an intense lyricism and heartfelt tenderness that sent shivers up the spine.”

Jinjoo has concertized throughout North and South America, Asia, and Europe, performing as a soloist with such prestigious orchestras as The Cleveland Orchestra, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Orchestre symphonique de Québec, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra and Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional (Argentina) among many others. She has been privileged to perform with renowned artists Yoel Levi, Kent Nagano, Peter Oundjian, Michael Stern, James Gaffigan, Robert McDuffie, Jaime Laredo, Sharon Robinson, Paul Neubauer, Roger Tapping and Anton Nel.

Recent and upcoming engagements include her Carnegie Hall Stern Auditorium concerto debut with the New York String Orchestra in addition to appearances with the Greensboro, Grand Junction, North Carolina, Indianapolis, Vermont, Phoenix, KBS (Korea) and Orquestra Sinfônica de Minas Gerais (Brazil) symphonies. Jinjoo’s recitals at Bard College, Brattleboro Music Center, Dame Myra Hess, Indiana University, Mercyhurst University, La Jolla Music Society, Linton Chamber Music, Chamber Music International, Rockefeller University and the Mainly Mozart Festival in Miami will culminate in a Carnegie Hall Stern Auditorium recital debut in June 2016.

Jinjoo’s biggest passion is arts education and audience engagement. As a result, she is the founder of a new chamber music program for high school and college students in Cleveland, Ohio named the Encore Chamber Music Institute. The institute will have its inaugural season in the summer of 2016. Starting with the 2015-16 school year, Jinjoo has also accepted a part-time appointment at Oberlin Conservatory teaching violin and coaching chamber music. Another project of hers on the opposite side of the globe is Classical Revolution Korea, where musicians travel all across Korea to give free concerts and meet audiences in cafés.

Born in Seoul, Korea, Jinjoo moved to Cleveland, Ohio at the age of 14 to study at the Cleveland Institute of Music as a Young Artist Program student. Jinjoo finished her Bachelor of Music degree both at the Curtis Institute of Music and the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) with Joseph Silverstein, Pamela Frank, and Paul Kantor, who has been her mentor since 2001. She received her Master of Music and Professional Studies degree from CIM, having studied with Jaime Laredo. Jinjoo has spent the summers at the Aspen Music Festival, Perlman Music Program Chamber Music Workshop, Music@Menlo and the Chamber Music Residency Program at The Banff Centre with her pianist Daniel H.S. Kim as Duo Istas. Duo Istas regularly tours in North America with intensely creative programs that feature seldom played works and contemporary repertoire.

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MEET THE GUEST CONDUCTOR:CHARLES LATSHAW

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Charles Latshaw is the director of Orchestral Studies and the Kent/Blossom Music Festival at Kent State University. He previously served as artistic director and conductor of the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra in Indiana. Latshaw has also held conducting positions with the Indianapolis Symphony, Columbus Indiana Philharmonic, Washington Sinfonietta, and Ars Nova Chamber Orchestra. In 2007, he was selected by members of the Vienna Philharmonic as the Herbert von Karajan conducting fellow in residence at the Salzburg Festival. He holds a master’s degree and doctorate in instrumental conducting from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

Latshaw is firmly dedicated to bringing orchestral music to new audiences, especially young people. He has taught band, choir, general music, and musical theater to students of all ages. He has served as faculty for summer music programs, including the Rocky Ridge Music Center, Columbus Indiana Philharmonic Strings Camp, and Palace Theatre summer programs. He has led and prepared “Side by Side” concerts for high school students with the Cleveland Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony, Columbus Indiana Philharmonic, and the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra. An enthusiastic advocate of new music, Latshaw enjoys programming accessible and exciting contemporary works, often of his own commission. He has premiered more than thirty new works for ensembles ranging from chamber groups to youth orchestras to full symphonies.

Latshaw’s performances are not limited to the podium. He has held the position of principal trumpet in orchestras in Ohio, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. He has performed with jazz bands as a trumpet player, vocalist, and band leader. He has appeared in acting and singing roles with the Palace Professional Theater of Manchester and the New Hampshire State Opera. Performance tours have brought him to Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic, as well as across the United States.

When he isn’t conducting or studying scores, Latshaw is an avid experimenter, with electronics, bread-making, and cheese making. Along with his wife, Kelley, and their dog, he enjoys spending time in the woods, camping, hiking, and skiing. More information is available at www.CharlesLatshaw.com.