st. louis symphony program - jan. 10-11

7/27/2019 St. Louis Symphony Program - Jan. 10-11

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CONCERT PROGRAMJanuary 10-11, 2014

Andrey Boreyko, conductor

Adele Anthony, violin

STEPHANIE BERG Ravish and Mayhem (2012) (b. 1986)

NIELSEN Violin Concerto, op. 33 (1911) (1865-1931) Praeludium: Largo Allegro cavalleresco Poco adagio Rondo: Allegretto scherzando

Adele Anthony, violin

INTERMISSION

BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 7 in A major, op. 92 (1811-12) (1770-1827)

Poco sostenuto; Vivace Allegretto Presto; Assai meno presto

Allegro con brio


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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Andrey Boreyko is the Stanley J. Goodman Guest Artist.

Adele Anthony is the Sid and Jean Grossman Guest Artist.

The concert of Friday, January 10, is underwritten in part by a generous gift fromMs. Phoebe D. Weil.

The concert of Saturday, January 11, is underwritten in part by a generous giftfrom Mr. Stuart and Ms. Susan Keck.

Pre-Concert Conversations are sponsored by Washington University Physicians.

Large print program notes are available through the generosity of DelmarGardens and are located at the Customer Service table in the foyer.

These concerts are part of the Wells Fargo Advisors series.


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FROM THE STAGEChris Carson, Assistant Principal Double Bass, on Beethovens Symphony No. 7:If

you look at Beethovens nine symphonies, you see that all are extremely indi-vidual, all are identiable as separate pieces. The Seventh is known for beinga dance symphony. Its a very kinetic piece, with a lot of toe-tapping rhythm.Its a justiably popular symphony, but also physically taxing to play. By thelast movement there is a lot of playing that just keeps on going.

A danger of the piece if nding it too easy to start the tempo. There canbe a monotony to it. The challenge is nding a way to make the rhythmicrepetition interestingto create a tension you can sustain.

SCOTTFER

GUSON

Chris Carson


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TIMELINKS

1811-12BEETHOVENSymphony No. 7 in Amajor, op. 92Napoleons forces invade

Russia

1911NIELSENViolin Concerto, op. 33Gustav Mahler dies inVienna

2012STEPHANIE BERG

Ravish and MayhemPresident Barack Obamawins re-election

Symphony orchestras are often accused of wor-

shipping long-dead composers while shunningthe breathing ones. Yet programs that featureunfamiliar music created by unknowns seldomdo well at the box ofce. As a species, we gravi-tate to the tuneful and recognizable. The struc-ture of classical music shapes our listening expe-rience. Conventional sonata form, for example,allows us to make certain predictions about thedirection of a movement and then feel satised

when our expectations are fullled, or pleasantlysurprised when our expectations are subtly sub-verted. Form means that we arent simply beingled around dark woods by our ears. But if concertmusic is to remain vital, we need to clear somespace in the concert schedule for living compos-ers and their unfamiliar, unpredictable, expecta-tion-defying work. Tonights program offers three

perspectives on the new: a very recent overture bya woman who is not yet 30; a 100-year-old violinconcerto that tests the boundaries of neoclassi-cism; and one of the most popular symphoniesby a composer whose works so dominate therepertory that at least one critic has proposedbanning him from concert programs until we canhear him anew.

STEPHANIE BERGRavish and Mayhem

CONTRAST AND UNITY Modernism is oldacentury old, at least. Is it still possible to pater labourgeoisie? On a purely pragmatic level, offend-ing the patrons seems unwise. Few living com-posers are lucky enough to hear their work per-formed by a major orchestra. Should they alienateaudiences of today in the hopes of impressingmusic historians of the future? Achieving rele-vance is a careful balancing act: challenging listen-ers without annoying them, acknowledging thepast without slavishly repeating it, being originalwithout being off-putting. As Stephanie Berg suc-cinctly explains on the home page of her website,

MAKING IT NEWBY REN SPENCER SALLER


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Composition, I nd, is much like cooking: its allabout proportion, balance, and the interplay ofcontrast and unity. But at the end of the day, nomatter how complex your ideas are, how innova-tive your dish is, it still has to taste good.

With its wide-eyed, almost Coplandesqueharmonies and hectic rhythms, Ravish andMayhem neatly encapsulates Bergs approach.Dramatic brass vies with whimsical woodwinds;grand gestures are interrupted by playful pas-sages; ceremony succumbs to chaos. The sonori-ties are at once American and exotic. Accordingto Berg, Im always a bit hesitant to cite specic

regions of the world to avoid the risk of stereo-typing music, but my mind kept going to thescene of an ancient Middle Eastern street festivalof sorts as I wrote it. I wouldnt call the musicArabic, but the melodies involve a lot of trills andourishes, which seem to be a feature of musicfrom that region. I think the passion and energyof the piece suggest something a little more rawthan traditional Western literature. Plus there are

elephants in there. (Youll understand what shemeans when you hear the nale).

MISSOURI MAESTRO Originally from Kansas City,Berg holds a masters degree in composition fromthe University of Missouri, where she also earnedher bachelors degree in clarinet performance. In2012 she was selected as a resident composer forthe Mizzou International Composers Festival; anearlier version of Ravish and Mayhem was pre-miered that summer by the new music ensem-ble Alarm Will Sound. Berg lives in Columbia,Missouri, and plays clarinet with the New MusicEnsemble. Ive only been formally composing forabout four years, though Ive dabbled in it all mylife, she notes. I really have Jeanne Sinqueeldand the Mizzou New Music Initiative to thank

for turning it into a career path. After I won theSinqueeld Prize in 2009, and with some encour-agement from the composition faculty, I realizedthat composition was something that I wanted topursue formally. Everything that has happenedsince then has only reafrmed that feeling.

Born1986, in Parkville, Missouri

First PerformanceJuly 28, 2012, Alarm WillSound performed the workat the Mizzou InternationalComposers Festival inColumbia, Missouri

STL Symphony PremiereThis week

Scoringflutepiccolo

2 oboesclarinetE-flat clarinet2 bassoons2 horns2 trumpets2 trombonestubapercussionpiano

strings

Performance Timeapproximately 7 minutes


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CARL NIELSENViolin Concerto, op. 33

A HIGHER UNITY In the summer of 1911, whenCarl Nielsen began writing his Violin Concerto, he

accepted an invitation from Nina Grieg, widow ofEdvard, to stay in the lakeside cabin retreat wherethe late Norwegian composer had written muchof his lifes work. The great Dane did not take thetask of writing his rst concerto lightly. He washimself an accomplished violinist, if no virtuoso;he played second violin in the orchestra of theRoyal Theater in Copenhagen from 1889 to 1905.In a letter he wrote during the concertos compo-sition, he laid out his exacting standards: It hasto be good music and yet always show regard forthe development of the solo instrument, puttingit in the best possible light. The piece must havesubstance and be popular and showy withoutbeing supercial. These contrasts can and mustmeet and form a higher unity. He did not nishthe piece until the middle of December, several

months after he returned to Copenhagen.

DAZED AND CONFUSED Although he is anational hero in Denmark, renowned for hissix symphonies as well as his operas, choralworks, and chamber music, Nielsen is not axture in the American repertory. As Alex Rosshas noted, his habit of writing furiously fastgures and then passing them from one section

to another, relay style, can make even an ensem-ble of virtuosos sound like a mess. Audiences,for their part, often go away from Nielsen per-formances pleased but a little dazed, not surewhat hit them. The Violin Concerto, for all itsNeoclassical trappings, is similarly weird, notto mention unusually long and difcult to play.Notes ring out shrilly; harmonies collapse into

dissonances; themes collide and implode. Itsbeauty is severe and gleams like a glacier.

CUTTING AND EASY TO GRASP The ViolinConcerto comprises four movements: rstslow, then quick, then slow, then quick. Unlikehis work from just a few years later, it is rmlyNeoclassical and strongly melodic. The openingPraeludium is tranquil and undeniably pretty

BornJune 9, 1865, Sortelung, onthe Danish island of Funen

DiedOctober 3, 1931, Copenhagen

First PerformanceFebruary 28, 1912, PederMller was soloist, with thecomposer conducting theRoyal Danish Orchestra inCopenhagen

STL Symphony PremiereJanuary 5, 2001, Kurt Nikkanen

was soloist, with Hans Vonkconducting

Most Recent STL SymphonyPerformanceOctober 27, 2002, Yang Liuwas soloist, with RobertSpano conducting

Scoring2 flutes

piccolo2 oboes2 clarinets2 bassoons4 horns2 trumpets3 trombonestimpanistrings



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in places. But there is a sharpness beneath thesweetness, a keen Scandinavian rigor that resiststhe urge toward the sentimental. My ideal isto be able to write music like a clean and sharpsword, he wrote, cutting and easy to grasp. The

Allegro cavalleresco that follows is an exuberantromp for full orchestra; the solo violin jousts andparries with the other instruments, culminatingin a brilliant if somewhat acidulous cadenza. Thedark Adagio is a meditation on mutability, asearlier themes shift and reveal themselves fromdifferent angles. With the concluding Scherzo, alightly mocking rondo, the Concerto has shaken

off any vestiges of virtuosity and, in Nielsens ownwords, renounces everything that might dazzleor impress.

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVENSymphony No. 7 in A major, op. 92

LOST IN THE CANON According to the most

recent Orchestra Repertoire Report, which coversin exhaustive statistical detail the offerings of 137American orchestras from 2009 to 2010, Ludwigvan Beethoven was performed more often thanany other composer: 457 times, to be precise.Of the top twenty most performed works, hisNinth, Seventh, and Fifth symphonies wereranked rst, second, and third, respectively. The457 scheduled performances represent a stagger-ing 7 percent of the total works performed. (Byway of contrast, just 0.7 percent were works byfemale composers.) Beethovens ubiquity notonly crowds out space on the program for otherworthies; it threatens to make the great man dis-appear, his essential strangeness obscured by thefog of the familiar. Repeated listening desensi-tizes us to the daring experiments that typify even

his seemingly straightforward works.

RESTLESS ICONOCLAST The Seventh may seemlike a spontaneous expression of joy, a univer-sally beloved celebration of love and freedom,but it is also a groundbreaking, iconoclasticwork. Although audiences went wild at its pre-miere, in 1813, more than a year after Beethovennished the symphony, it shocked many of his

BornDecember 16, 1770, in Bonn

DiedMarch 26, 1827, in Vienna

First PerformanceDecember 8, 1813, in Vienna,under the composersdirection

STL Symphony PremiereDecember 3, 1908, Max Zachconducting

Most Recent STL SymphonyPerformanceJanuary 30, 2011, SemyonBychkov conducting



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contemporaries. The piano seller, teacher, and critic Friedrich Wieck, whoattended the rehearsals, reported that all those present believed that Beethovenmust have composed it while drunk. For Carl Maria von Weber the incessantdroning bass line in the rst movements coda suggested that the composerwas ripe for the madhouse. Even today, scholars marvel over his innovative

approach to key relationships, the way the work shifts from its home key ofA major to the far-ung C major and F major, rather than the expected domi-nant (E major). As Phillip Huscher writes, We dont need a course in harmonyto recognize that Beethoven has taken us through the looking glass, and thateverything is turned on its head.

The rst movement starts slowly and majestically, a much longer intro-duction than was usual for Beethoven or any of his predecessors. This Pocosostenuto interlude maps out the tonal terrain, preparing us for the aforemen-

tioned shifts in key. After 61 repeated E notes, it transitions to Vivace, and itsrelentless driving rhythms, reminiscent of peasant dances, generate a urry ofswift dynamic changes and sudden modulations. The second movement, in Aminor, is marked Allegretto, but it is slow compared with the pell-mell rush ofthe other movements. The most famous part of the symphony, it begins withan unsettling chord carried by the woodwinds and horns, which ushers in asolemn march led by the violas, cellos, and double basses. The third move-ment, which borrows a theme from an Austrian folk song, contrasts a livelyscherzo with a trio section that starts off deceptively placid and gradually

becomes more emphatic. The nale opens with two fortissimo chords andreestablishes the home key of A major in a frenzy of forward momentum.

Program notes 2014 by Ren Spencer Saller


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ANDREY BOREYKOSTANLEY J. GOODMAN GUEST ARTIST

Andrey Boreyko holds the position of MusicDirector of the Orchestre National de Belgique

and the Dsseldorfer Symphoniker. With theOrchestre National de Belgique, he ended the2012-13 season with a highly successful concertat Amsterdams Concertgebouw with pianistNikolai Lugansky, and this season sees the orches-tra tour Germany with pianist Boris Berezovsky,presenting a Dvok Festival in May 2014 andcompleting the tour at the Concertgebouw. InNorth America, Boreyko is also Music DirectorDesignate of the Naples Philharmonic (hisinaugural concert was a gala with Sarah Changin November 2013) and he additionally holdsthe position of Principal Guest Conductor of theOrquesta Sinfnica de Euskadi.

Highlights of the 2013-14 season includeperformances with the New York Philharmonic,Los Angeles Philharmonic, and London

Philharmonic, and with the Toronto andHouston symphony orchestras. Further ahead hewill work with WDR Sinfonieorchester Kln andDeutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin.

Boreykos previous positions include ChiefConductor of the Jenaer Philharmonie (where heis now Honorary Conductor) and the WinnipegSymphony Orchestra, as well as the BernerSymphonieorchester, Hamburger Symphoniker,

and the PoznaPhilharmonic Orchestra. He wasalso Principal Guest Conductor of the VancouverSymphony and Music Director of the Ural StatePhilharmonic Orchestra.

Andrey Boreyko was born in St. Petersburgwhere, at the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory,he studied conducting and composition withElisabeta Kudriavtseva and Alexander Dmitriev,

graduating summa cum laude. While with theJenaer Philharmonie, Boreyko received awardsfor the most innovative concert programmingin three consecutive seasons from the GermanMusic Critics Association.

Andrey Boreyko mostrecently conducted the

St. Louis Symphony inNovember 2012.

ARCHIV

KUNSTLER


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Adele Anthony makes herSt. Louis Symphony debut

with these concerts.

MARIA

CIRIELLO

ADELE ANTHONYSID AND JEAN GROSSMAN GUEST ARTIST

Since her triumph at Denmarks 1996 CarlNielsen International Violin Competition, Adele

Anthony has enjoyed an acclaimed and expand-ing international career. Performing as a soloistwith orchestra and in recital, as well as beingactive in chamber music, Anthonys careerspans the continents of North America, Europe,Australia, India, and Asia.

Highlights from recent seasons haveincluded performances with the symphonyorchestras of Houston, San Diego, Seattle,Buffalo, Dayton, Ft. Worth, Indianapolis, LongBeach, Milwaukee, Virginia, Wichita, and theIRIS Chamber Orchestra. Being an avid chambermusic player, Anthony appears regularly at LaJolla SummerFest and Aspen Music Festival andSchool. Abroad, she has performed with theBudapest Philharmonic Orchestra, DenmarksAalborg and Aarhus Symphony Orchestras,

Finlands Kuopio Symphony Orchestra, theGothenburg Symphony Orchestra, IcelandSymphony Orchestra, Leipzig GewandhausOrchestra, NDR Orchestra Hannover, and theOrchestre Philharmonique de Radio France.Anthonys wide-ranging orchestral reper-toire extends from the Baroque of Bach andVivaldi to all the classical war horses includingBeethoven, Tchaikovsky, and Sibelius to con-

temporary composers Ross Edwards, Arvo Prt,and Phillip Glass.

Anthony studied at the Conservatory ofthe University of Adelaide with Beryl Kimberuntil 1987, and continued her studies at NewYorks Juilliard School, where she worked withthe eminent teachers Dorothy DeLay, FelixGalimir, and Hyo Kang. She made her Australian

debut with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestrain 1983, and since then has appeared with allsix symphonies of the Australian BroadcastingCorporation (Sydney, Melbourne, Queensland,West Australian, Tasmanian, and Adelaide).

Adele Anthony performs on an AntonioStradivarius violin, crafted in 1728.


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MY INSTRUMENT:CHRIS CARSON, ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL DOUBLE BASS

When I was 12 I was in junior high inSouth Bend, Indiana. This was 1960.Back then there was so much supportfor the arts in the South Bend PublicSchools that there were three levels ofstring orchestras. C orchestra was begin-ners. A was most advanced.

There was a girl in the A orches-tra who was an accomplished violin-ist. I wanted to be in A where she was.I asked my friends the best way to getinto the advanced orchestra. They saidthere was always a need for basses.Playing bass was a good path for getting

from C to A orchestra.Then she wasnt all that into me,but I kept playing the bass.

DAN

DREYFUS

Chris Carson

A BRIEF EXPLANATIONYou dont need to know what andante means or what a glockenspiel is toenjoy a St. Louis Symphony concert, but its always fun to know stuff. For

example, what is Allegro cavalleresco?

Allegro cavalleresco: cavalleresco is an Italian word meaning knightly,chivalrous, or noble, so Carl Nielsens tempo for the second movementof his Violin Concerto calls for the musicians to play fast, but in a noblemanner


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YOU TAKE IT FROM HEREIf these concerts have inspired you to learn more, here are suggested sourcematerials with which to continue your explorations.

sjbvc7.wix.com/stephaniebergVisit the website of composer/clarinetist Stephanie Berg

mizzounewmusic.missouri.eduNew music is happening at Mizzou,learn about the Mizzou NewMusic Initiative, supported by the

Sinqueeld Charitable Foundation

carlnielsen.dk/pages/biography.phpThe Carl Nielsen Society provides lotsof information and resources

John Suchet,Beethoven: The Man Revealed

Atlantic Monthly PressA recent bio by host of popular ClassicFMradio show in the U.K.

Read the program notes online atstlsymphony.org/planyourvisit/programnotes

Keep up with the backstage life of the St. Louis Symphony, as chronicled by

Symphony staffer Eddie Silva, via stlsymphony.org/blog

The St. Louis Symphony is on


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DONOR SPOTLIGHTSAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY MUSEUM OF ART

The Saint Louis University Museum of Art (SLUMA) enhances the cultural

opportunities of a SLU education by displaying diverse works and by sponsor-ing educational programs related to the arts.

In addition, the museum presents historical art and artifacts and exhib-its work by students, faculty, staff, alumni, benefactors, and friends of theUniversity. It has also hosted special collaborations, such as chamber concertswith the St. Louis Symphony.

A new exhibition at SLUMA, No Place Like Home: American Scene Paintingin the Sinquefeld Collection, includes paintings, drawings, and lithographsfrom the private collection of Rex and Jeanne Sinqueeld. The exhibit featuresacclaimed works by Thomas Hart Benton, Joe Jones, Grant Wood, John RogersCox, and other prominent artists of the American Scene Painting movement.

Rex Sinqueeld grew up in St. Louis and attended Saint Louis University,where he earned an undergraduate business degree. Today, he is one of theregions most important civic leaders, serving on numerous boards includingthose of SLU and the St. Louis Symphony.

Sinqueeld met his wife, Jeanne, at the University of Chicago, where hepursued an MBA as she was completing her doctorate in demography. Today,

Jeanne Sinqueeld is widely noted for her long history of supporting organiza-tions that enhance music, art, and education, especially for children.For many years, the successful couple lived in California. Their rst foray

into art collecting began with European post-impressionist artists. However,as the Sinqueelds began to re-identify with their Midwestern roots, theybegan building a collection that celebrates the city of St. Louis, the state ofMissouri, and the importance of the Midwest region in the national story ofAmerican art.

The collection will be on display through Sunday, Feb. 2. Visit sluma.slu.

edu for more information.


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COMMUNITY & EDUCATION:SYMPHONY IN THE CITY

SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY MUSEUM OF ART

JANUARY 21 7:30 p.m. Free

Join Helen Kim and Ann Fink, violins, Nathan Schram, viola, and David Kim,cello, for a string quartet concert that celebrates American music against thebackdrop of the current SLUMA exhibition No Place Like Home: AmericanScene Painting in theSinquefeld Collection.

Presented by Commerce Bank

Helen Kim Nathan SchramAnn Fink David Kim


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AUDIENCE INFORMATION

BOX OFFICE HOURS

Monday-Saturday, 10am-6pm; Weekdayand Saturday concert evenings through

intermission; Sunday concert days12:30pm through intermission.

TO PURCHASE TICKETS

Box Ofce: 314-534-1700Toll Free: 1-800-232-1880Online: stlsymphony.org

Fax: 314-286-4111A service charge is added to alltelephone and online orders.

SEASON TICKET EXCHANGE POLICIES

If you cant use your season tickets,simply exchange them for another

Wells Fargo Advisors subscriptionconcert up to one hour prior to yourconcert date. To exchange your tickets,please call the Box Ofce at 314-534-1700 and be sure to have your tickets

with you when calling.

GROUP AND DISCOUNT TICKETS

314-286-4155 or 1-800-232-1880 Anygroup of 20 is eligible for a discount ontickets for select Orchestral, Holiday,or Live at Powell Hall concerts. Callfor pricing.

Special discount ticket programs areavailable for students, seniors, andpolice and public-safety employees.

Visit stlsymphony.org for moreinformation.

POLICIES

You may store your personalbelongings in lockers located on the

Orchestra and Grand Tier Levels at acost of 25 cents.

Infrared listening headsets are availableat Customer Service.

Cameras and recording devices aredistracting for the performers andaudience members. Audio and videorecording and photography are strictly

prohibited during the concert. Patronsare welcome to take photos before theconcert, during intermission, and afterthe concert.

Please turn off all watch alarms, cellphones, pagers, and other electronicdevices before the start of the concert.

All those arriving after the start of the

concert will be seated at the discretionof the House Manager.

Age for admission to STL Symphonyand Live at Powell Hall concerts

varies, however, for most events therecommended age is ve or older. Allpatrons, regardless of age, must havetheir own tickets and be seated for all

concerts. All children must be seatedwith an adult. Admission to concerts isat the discretion of the House Manager.

Outside food and drink are notpermitted in Powell Hall. No food ordrink is allowed inside the auditorium,except for select concerts.

Powell Hall is not responsible for

the loss or theft of personal property.To inquire about lost items, call314-286-4166.

POWELL HALL RENTALS

Select elegant Powell Hall for your nextspecial occasion.

Visit stlsymphony.org/rentalsfor more information.


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BOUTIQUE

WHEELCHAIR LIFT

BALCONY LEVEL(TERRACE CIRCLE, GRAND CIRCLE)

GRAND TIER LEVEL

(DRESS CIRCLE, DRESS CIRCLE BOXES,GRAND TIER BOXES & LOGE)

MET BAR

TAXI PICK UPDELMAR

ORCHESTRA LEVEL(PARQUET, ORCHESTRA RIGHT & LEFT)

WIGHTMAN

GRAND

FOYERTICKET LOBBY

CUSTOMER

SERVICE

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LOCKERS

WOMENS RESTROOM

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ELEVATOR

BAR SERVICES

HANDICAPPED-ACCESSIBLE

FAMILY RESTROOM

Please make note of the EXIT signs in the auditorium. In the case of an emergency,proceed to the nearest EXIT near you.

st. louis symphony program - jan. 10-11

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