Harrisburg Symphony OrchestraYoung Person’s Concerts

November 8, 2013Featuring: The Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Maestro Stuart Malina

SPONSORED BY:Penn National Insurance

The Children’s Home Foundation, Inc.The Charles A. & Elizabeth Guy Holmes Foundation

The Educational Programs of the HSO are funded in part by a generous grant from the Donald B. and Dorothy L. Stabler Foundation

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Three very different pieces of music comprise the program you will hear on the November 8, 2013 Young Person’s Concert, performed by the Harrisburg Symphony with Maestro Stuart Malina conducting.

Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme by Richard Strauss, composed in 1912

Ancient Airs and Dances, Suite No. 1 by Ottorino Respighi, composed in 1917

Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D major by Johann Sebastian Bach, composed around 1720

While the Strauss and the Respighi pieces were written approximately 100 years ago, Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto was written almost 300 years ago. What a listening treat to hear great music spanning hundreds of years all in one morning!

Johann Sebastian Bach was a prolific composer who wrote music of many different types at the height of the Baroque period. Bach and his colleagues in the late Baroque period may be credited with the development of orchestral music. The Brandenburg Concerto No 5 you will hear in the Young Person’s Concert is considered some of Bach’s most famous work. The Baroque period was the time that many instruments we hear today in our orchestra were created and works like the Brandenburg Concertos were some of the first pieces that listed specific instrumentation, that is, the orchestra was directed to have certain musicians playing particular instruments.

What is a Concerto? Usually a concerto is considered a piece of music written for a solo instrument accompanied by orchestra. It’s usually in three movements and the first movement often has a very elaborate passage (called a cadenza) for the solo instrument. In the case of the Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, it’s actually a concerto for three instruments: harpsichord, violin, and flute.

As you listen to the three movements of Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, can you pick out the sound of the three “solo” instruments – the harpsichord, a plucked string instrument (as opposed to a hammered string instrument, the piano) - the violin, a bowed string instrument - the flute, a woodwind instrument? Try listening to the first movement and use this exercise: When you hear the harpsichord sound, gently play air keyboard. When you hear the violin, show us your best violin bowing. And when you hear the flute, play air flute, that is pretend you’re a piper, playing a flute. Do this exercise without making any sounds yourselves. Remember, it’s a listening exercise.

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Music / concert lesson

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Brandenburg Concerto No. 5Johann Sebastian BachBorn: March 21, 1685Died: July 28, 1750

Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer. He came from a long line of composers - over 300 years’ worth of Bachs all worked as musicians. By the time Johann was 10 both his parents had died, so he was brought up by his older brother, who was a church organist. Johann became a very good organist, too.

When he was older, Johann worked first for a duke, then for a prince, and finally became choirmaster of the St. Thomas Church and School in Leipzig, Germany, a position he held for 30 years. Bach wrote much of his famous music there. In his spare time, he enjoyed playing music with other younger people at Zimmerman’s Coffeehouse. During his lifetime, people thought of Bach as an ordinary working musician. No one really knew much about his music until another composer, Felix Mendelssohn, started performing Bach’s music 100 years after he died. Bach wrote all kinds of music - for organ, orchestras, choirs and many different instrument combinations. Some of his best known works are the Toccata and Fugue in D Minor and the Brandenburg Concertos. He is now seen as one of the greatest geniuses in music history.

Concerto GrossoNo, not a gross concerto. Literally, this term means great, or large, concerto. Bach and many other composers in the Baroque period wrote pieces in this style. In a concerto grosso two groups alternate. They are called the concertino (small ensemble) and the ripieno (a larger group). When everyone plays together, it is called tutti. Do you ever see the word tutti in your band music? Where are the concertino and the ripieno in the Brandenburg Concerto No. 5? Can you find them?

Smaller chamber ensemble - “concertino”Larger chamber ensemble - “ripieno”

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Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme (The Would-Be Gentleman)

Richard Strauss wrote a lot of different types of music in the early 1900s, but his work with the French name, Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, (The Would-Be Gentleman), while written in 1917, had a distinctly Baroque feeling. If you’ve been following along this historical concert journey, you will recall that we started talking about Bach, a composer from the Baroque period of music. And now, we have a 20th century composer, Strauss, creating a beautiful piece of music that refers back to the style of 200 years prior. If you think about it, that’s quite a compliment Richard Strauss was paying to the Baroque composers. In particular, Strauss’ music referred back to a Baroque composer named Lully.

So Richard Strauss wrote Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme as a suite for orchestra in a style that reminded people of the period of music that was 200 years prior. It is called neo (new)-classical - taking an older style of classical music and adding touches that make it entirely new. Can you think of any other Neo Classical things that we might come across in our every day lives?

What about in clothing… Have you ever seen someone wear an item of clothing that was “old school”… something that someone might have worn many years ago, but they are wearing it today. Ever see someone wear a formal looking velvet blazer with jeans? That’s the idea. Do you know anybody who dresses in a way that refers to the past?

The nine movements of Strauss’ Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme are here for your listening pleasure:

Mvt. 1 Strauss Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme Overture www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSLJyTxVGWs

Mvt. 2 Minuet www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXk8hbBXkKg

Mvt. 3 The Fencing Master www.youtube.com/watch?v=__1C9JIhczM

Mvt. 4 Entry and Dance of the Tailors www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1wFWUU_le0

Mvt. 5 Lully’s Minuet www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcnzBH7wsZ4

Mvt. 6 Courante www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgVjP0nJL4E

Mvt. 7 Entry of Cleonte www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfdC9TlX5h8

Mvt. 8 Intermezzo www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7iASdu2-KI

Mvt. 9 The Dinner www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tiy-XItR-Wo

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Ancient Airs and Dances, Suite No. 1

Continuing on our musical journey, but staying in the early 20th Century, we meet Ottorino Respighi, an Italian musician (he played the violin and viola), composer and conductor, who was also a musicologist. What a talented guy! Can you guess what someone who is a musicologist does? He or she studies music. And so you might imagine that this Mr. Respighi knew about the history of music, since it was a topic he had studied.

As it happens, Respighi had a great passion and high regard for Italian music of the 16, 17th and 18th centuries. It might be expected then that in Respighi’s music, sometimes we hear influence of some earlier music. Remember, Respighi was composing in the 1900s, yet the music we hear in such works as Ancient Airs and Dances takes us back to a much earlier time when Baroque (there’s that word again!) musicians such as Vivaldi and Monteverdi were composing.

Studying the past – learning about the history and the music of an earlier time – was very influential in Ottorino Respighi’s development as a composer and a musician. Remember when we talked about Richard Strauss’ music, Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, we called him a Neo-Classical composer because his work reflected back to an earlier time. While you might call Respighi, the composer of Ancient Airs and Dances, a Neo-Classical composer as well, Respighi’s work was almost pre-Classical. He liked to use musical references to the beautiful music of the Baroque and even earlier music from the Renaissance period. You may listen to his Ancient Airs and Dances, Suite No. 1.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSqymoJeV6s Does it make you feel like dancing?

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WELCOME

to the

hso

Concert Etiquette

What does THAT mean? Etiquette is a big word that means “manners.”

When you attend a concert, such as the Young Person’s Concert at the Forum with the Harrisburg Symphony, did you know that YOU will have an important part in the concert? Don’t worry too much that you haven’t been practicing your violin quite enough. Your part in the concert is the very important role of being a member of the audience. Without an audience, the musicians in the orchestra performing on stage have no reason to perform. So you see that the AUDIENCE is key to the success of the concert program.

Sometimes Maestro Malina will ask the audience questions and then, it’s great if you have an idea or if you know the answer to raise your hand to respond to his question. At other times, and especially when the orchestra is playing the music, the best plan is to sit quietly in your seat and listen attentively to the music being performed.

Watch “The Concert Etiquette Rap” on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytiDEan_WKc

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Concert Etiquette Tips

Many times, those new to classical music are apprehensive about attending concerts. Relax, classical music isn’t as intimidating as you think! Use these tips to help you have the full Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra experience, whether it is your first time attending an orchestral concert or if you are a seasoned concertgoer.

Be comfortableApplause:Learning when it is proper to applaud is often tricky. When the conductor drops his arms and turns around, it usually indicates that this is the end of a piece. If you feel are not sure, take a cue from those around you.

Be promptThose attending the Young Person’s Concert at the Forum arriving by bus will be greeted at the bus and escorted to their assigned seats by a concert volunteer. Please walk quickly from your bus into the Forum auditorium, following your teacher or chaperone and staying with your group.

Be courteousElectronic devices:Cell phones, watch alarms, pagers, cameras, and other electronic devices should be turned off prior to performances in the concert hall. These devices could cause a disturbance and are a distraction to musicians and other patrons. Best not to bring any electronics to the Young Person’s Concert!

Talking:Even the quietest whispers can be heard in the concert hall and can prove to be a distraction to patrons and musicians alike. Save your comments until after the concert; it will give you and your friends much more to discuss.

Let the Young Person’s Concert be your opportunity to let everyone know that you have great audience skills! P.S. HAVE YOU SEEN THE ETIQUETTE RAP?........www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytiDEan_WKc