SUNDAY 29 NOVEMBER 3:00PMOLD MUSEUM BUILDING

2015 SEASON / METRO #5

CONCERTPROGRAM

SIBELIUSKarelia Suite Op.11

VAUGHAN WILLIAMSThe Lark Ascending

SAMUEL DICKENSONA Little Prayer (world premiere)

INTERVAL

SIBELIUSFinlandia Op.26

SIBELIUSThe Swan of Tuonela Op.22 No.2

LISZTLes Préludes

BRISBANEPHILHARMONICORCHESTRA

VIOLIN 1Cameron Hough*(Concertmaster)Yvette McKinnonDanielle LangstonKeith GamblingTove EastonEmma ErikssonPeter NichollsMatthew Harkness

VIOLIN 2Amy Phillips*Amanda LugtonLauren JonesAnna JenkinsRyan SmithAilsa NicholsonEmily ClarkBec JohnsonJane Mousley

VIOLASarah Parrish^Katrina GreenwoodAnna JackDaniel Tipping

CELLOHelen Dolden*Mathilde VliegEdward BrackinGabriel DumitruNicole KancachianCharmaine Lee

BASSSamuel Dickenson*Amelia GrimmerGlenn HollidayHarry MulhallMike Watson

FLUTEJessica Sullivan*Cassie Slater

PICCOLOThomas Melton*

OBOEGabrielle Knight*Sadah Webster

COR ANGLAISAnton Rayner*

CLARINETDaniel Sullivan*Kendal Alderman

BASS CLARINETMelissa Baldwin* BASSOONCarl Bryant*Sarah Johnson

CONTRABASSONAshley Nott^

HORNLaura-Nicole Guiton^Emma HoldenElisha EdwardsChris JensenAmy Thomson

TRUMPETChris Baldwin*Marissa ClarkeMichael Gray

TROMBONEPhil Davis^Nicholas Whatling

BASS TROMBONENeale Connor^

TUBAMichael Adams^

PERCUSSIONKerry Vann*Michael StegemanCraig RabnottLucie Allcock

HARPJohn Connolly*

*denotes principal**denotes co-principal^denotes acting principal#denotes guest performer

BPO is delighted to be working once again with respected conductorChen Yang.

Chen Yang has held the position asconcertmaster of the Queensland TheatreOrchestra (QTO) after graduating from theQueensland Conservatorium of Music withdistinction in violin performance. He laterjoined the Queensland Symphony Orchestra(QSO) for many years.

Chen performs regularly as leader &conductor of both The Sinfonia of StAndrew’s Orchestra and The Corda SpiritusOrchestra of Brisbane. Last year he wasinvited as guest conductor for a successfulGala Concert with The Northern Rivers

Symphony Orchestra celebrating their 20thanniversary.

Chen has worked in music education formany years with his association with theQueensland Youth Orchestra (QYO) leadingtheir Junior String Ensemble (JSE) consistingof up to 70 talented young string players. Atpresent he is also conductor and stringteacher at St Hilda’s School, Southport.

His other musical interests include playingbaroque violin with The Badinerie Players ofBrisbane.

ConductorCHEN YANG

Cherin Lee, aged fourteen, began playing the violin at four years old.

She has been a firstprize winner in variouscompetitions including the AUSTA QConcerto Competition and the Junior StringChampionships in the Redlands Eisteddfod.She was awarded the Most Promising StringPlayer in the Redlands Eisteddfod in 2011and won the Encouragement Award in theSoutheast Queensland Aria and ConcertoCompetition (25 years old and under), whenshe was eleven years old. In 2014, she wasthe winner of the prestigious English FamilyPrize for Young Instrumentalists and as partof her prize, performed the Tchaikovsky ViolinConcerto with the Queensland SymphonyOrchestra. At the age of ten, Cherin wasawarded her AMusA with Distinction in violinand achieved her LMusA with Distinction inviolin in the following year, at eleven yearsold. Consequently, she was invited to performat the 2012 AMEB Annual Diploma Concert.In 2014, she performed as soloist with theQueensland Pops Orchestra at the NewYear’s Eve Gala Concert at QPAC, followed

by performances at their Viva Italia SupremoConcerts. In early 2015, Cherin was invited toparticipate in a masterclass with Shlomo Mintz.Cherin was the concertmaster of theQueensland Korean Orchestra Junior in 2011,and also was selected to participate in theAustralian Chamber Orchestra StringWorkshops when she was eleven years old. In2014, Cherin led the Somerville House EuropeTour Chamber Orchestra, performing solos invarious cities in Europe, receiving standingovations at every concert. She currently holdsthe concertmaster position in SomervilleHouse’s premier string orchestra, SomervilleStrings.

She also graduated as Dux of School inRobertson State School in 2012. In 2013, 2014and 2015 Cherin continued her success intohigh school at Somerville House, beingawarded Dux of her year level for threeconsecutive years. She is currently in gradeten on a scholarship at Somerville House.

SoloistCHERIN LEE

Queensland based composer, conductor and double bass playerSamuel Dickenson has been hailed as one of Australia’s most excitingand talented young composers, praised for his “singular andimaginative spark of individuality.”

During his study at the QueenslandConservatorium of Music, Samuel achievedthe Alan Lane Award for the highestachieving composition portfolio at theuniversity. Currently studying a Ph.D. incomposition at The University of Queensland,he has studied composition under theguidance of Josephine Jin, James Leger, DrGerardo Dirié and Dr Robert Davidson aswell as received mentoring from localtelevision composer Garry Smith andHollywood orchestrator and conductor TimDavies (Despicable Me, The SimpsonsMovie, Frozen).

Samuel’s music has been performed inseveral countries reaching audiences invenues such as the Singapore School of theArts, Worms Trinity Church, Würzburg St

John’s Church and the Bamberg ConcertHall. In 2013, he was admitted to theAustralian Youth Orchestras National MusicCamp program for Composition. In 2014,Queensland Youth Orchestras appointed himComposer-in-Residence, where he hascomposed seven original works for variousensembles. Samuel has also beencommissioned by the Arts Council of Darwin,Germany-based Würzburg Chamber Playersand various other ensembles such as theBrisbane Philharmonic Orchestra and theMelbourne-based Plexus ensemble.

Currently, Samuel is exploring a stylisticextension of the romantic aesthetic, with anemphasis on craftsmanship. His musicpresents digestible, generous melodies andaccessible structures.

ComposerSAMUELDICKENSON

ABOUT THE ORCHESTRA

The Brisbane Philharmonic Orchestra (BPO)is Brisbane’s leading community orchestra.The orchestra brings together up to 200musicians a year to play a variety of classicalorchestral music. Over 100 members of theincorporated association form the core of theorchestra. Other players perform as casualmusicians, but often join as full-time membersafter their first concert with BPO. Theorchestra was founded on principles ofmusical excellence and development,communal participation, and organisationalprofessionalism.

Since its creation in 2000, the BPO hasbecome the community orchestra of choicefor over 500 musicians. It is eagerly sought asa performance partner for touring choirs,festivals, and internationally acclaimedinstrumentalists and vocalists. The BPOperforms its own series of symphony concertsand participates in multiple community andfestival events throughout the year, attractingan audience of over 2,500 people.

The orchestra’s main metropolitan concertseries includes four to five symphonyconcerts at Brisbane City Hall and the OldMuseum Concert Hall. Programs varybetween concerts featuring the great

classical, romantic, and 20th centurycomposers, light concerts including filmmusic, as well as concerts with programstargeted at a younger audience. Additionally,BPO performs one chamber music concert,featuring multiple smaller groups in a moreintimate setting.

The BPO maintains many communitypartnerships including with the QueenslandMusic Festival, 4MBS Festival of Classics,Brisbane City Council, and The BrisbaneAirport Corporation. These partnershipsprovide essential connections in artistic,educational, professional, and socialprograms and cater to the association’sincreased responsibility to culturally enhancelocalities and bring a diversity of peopletogether in a fast-paced, ever-impersonalglobal village. Unusually for a communityorchestra, entry to the BPO is by auditionand the ensemble is the only communityorchestra within the city that rotates guestconductors by invitation rather thanestablishing a permanent Music Director.Uniquely, this allows a variety of the finestlocal professional conductors to deliverdiverse and innovative programming toartistically stimulate members of theorchestra.

deliberately folk-influenced and ‘rustic’ andincludes a large contingent of percussionplayers as well as a full orchestra.

The first movement Intermezzo is taken froma scene of the pageant depicting aprocession of Karelian foresters on their wayto a royal festival, with shimmering stringsand horn calls creating an anticipatory moodbefore the central section is a radiant brass-led chorale, which subsides back to theshimmering mood of the opening.

The second movement Ballade depicts adeposed king sitting in a castle listening to abard singing (played initially by cor anglaisand then taken up by the other orchestralsections and elaborated). With each iterationof the theme the orchestration and moodsubtly changes.

The jaunty Alla marcia third movement is arobust and energetic march depictingsoldiers marching to besiege a castle -slightly incongruous at first for such a happy-sounding work, although the robust centralsection with loud brass passages, fanfaresand crashing percussion does suggest amore-martial atmosphere.

In the late 19th century Finland was part of theRussian Empire and dominated culturally andpolitically by Russian interests. Towards theclose of the century there was a great swellingof Finnish nationalism and identity, whichRussia tried unsuccessfully to quell, andSibelius found himself at the forefront ofrepresenting Finnish national identity throughhis music.

After the success of his first major orchestralwork Kullervo, based on the national epic theKalevala, he was commissioned to write musicby the Viipuri Student Society at the Universityof Helsinki for a pageant celebrating theculture of Karelia - the region between Finlandand St Petersburg that was culturally Finnishbut is now largely part of Russia.

Sibelius produced an overture and a suite ofeight movements of incidental music for thepageant, which was enormously popular andsold-out. The music was particularly well-received and Sibelius later published theoverture as the Karelia Overture (Op 10) andthree movements of the incidental music asthe Karelia Suite (Op 11). The music is

Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)

Karelia Suite, Op.11 (1983)

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PROGRAM NOTES

He drops the silver chain of sound,Of many links without a break,In chirrup, whistle, slur and shake.For singing till his heaven fills,‘Tis love of earth that he instils,And ever winging up and up,Our valley is his golden cupAnd he the wine which overflowsto lift us with him as he goes.Till lost on his aerial ringsIn light, and then the fancy sings.

Few pieces can be said to have embodiedthe end of an era as much as VaughanWilliam’s “pastoral romance” for violin andorchestra based on the poem by GeorgeMeredith.

Begun in the summer of 1914, one of themost beautiful summers in living memory, thecarefree world that it was intended to depictwas brutally interrupted by the outbreak ofWorld War One. Vaughan Williams enlistedas a stretcher-bearer and ambulance driverand barely composed throughout the war;when he picked up the work again post-warto revise and lengthen it, the piece now wasindelibly changed into a bittersweet musicaldepiction of a lost era.

Before the war, Vaughan Williams wasviewed as an ‘up-and-coming’ youngcomposer; post-war he found himselfconsidered one of the senior figures in theBritish musical scene, which was haunted bythe losses of the war - for example VaughanWilliam’s friend Butterworth (composer of AShropshire Lad), killed at the Somme. Thesurvivors faced the challenge of how to moveon with their lives and find new ways ofexpressing themselves. Some, like Elgar,

had a jarring change in their musicallanguage (compare the almost-despairingmelancholy of the Cello Concerto with thenoble optimism of the Enigma Variations orthe First Symphony); Vaughan Williams stylewas less-changed but he still facedchallenges in forging his new musicaloutlook.

The beauty of nature is still there, but viewedthrough a lens of melancholy for theunnatural carnage that had been unleashedon the world and had destroyed theinnocence of pre-war life. The Lark, in itsway, has something of the feel of a requiemor lament, while even at the same timeemphasising the natural beauty whichtranscends human failings.

Vaughan Williams originally composed thework with the violinist Marie Hall in mind, andshe gave the premieres of both the originaland the revised versions. Originallycomposed for violin and piano, he revised itfor orchestra in 1921 and Hall again gave thepremiere of the version with orchestra, whichis now the most-commonly performedversion.

Although well-received enough at the time,Vaughan Williams showed a surprisingapathy towards the work, and it wasovershadowed by his other works for manyyears, before rising to immense popularity inthe late 20th century after being used inseveral movies. Since then it has been votedlisteners’ most favourite work for many yearsrunning in BBC Classic FM’s annual pollsand shows no signs of being dislodged.

Vaughan Williams had studied with Ravelpre-war and was one of the foremostcollectors of English folk songs, so it isnatural that the Lark has groundings both infolk music (through the use of pentatonicmelodies) as well as some “impressionistic”orchestral textures, even though it only callsfor a medium-sized orchestra (bereft oftrumpets, timpani and other “martial”instruments). The solo part feels very

Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-

1958)

The Lark Ascending (1914/1921)

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PROGRAM NOTES (CONT.)

the winds. At the end the soloist’s trills slowdown and move seamlessly into a return ofthe second section’s melody, now played bythe soloist and with a slightly-moremelancholy mood, until a remarkablemoment where there is a sudden change ofchord and the soloist plays an eerie-sounding sequence of double stoppednotes - parallel fifths, which firmly “break therules” of traditional composition, but heremake this section sound ethereal. Theparallel fifths are framed between three“swells” of rhapsodic sound from theorchestra, the third of which leads into thefinal section which is a return of the “main”theme.

The main and second themes arepresented again with subtle changes ofmood and character, until the section “windsdown” with the soloist, horn and clarinetplaying a sequence of notes (moving in 4 -per bar against the prevailing 6/8 metre)which subside to a held chord.

The work finishes with yet anotherunaccompanied violin cadenza, slightlylonger and with a different character -perhaps as if the lark is settling back into itsnest and fluffing its feathers after a day’sflight - with the trills and chirrups ascendingup to the same two note cadence thatfinished the second cadenza where thesoloist, playing softly and at the top of thefingerboard, finally has “ascended” to bringthe piece to a close.

“organic” in the way it intertwines and mesheswith the orchestral parts - sometimes soaringabove, sometimes flying in formation, butalways feeling unhurried and expansive.

After a brief introduction that is little more thanestablishing the underlying tonality of the work- G major - the soloist enters with a solocadenza, with trills and grace notes evokingbirdsong. The serene, timeless atmosphere iscreated by the held note of the orchestralaccompaniment and the cadenza beingwritten without bar lines, allowing the soloist tounfold the “silver chain of sound” at theirleisure, sounding as if improvised, andeventually ascending up to play the maintheme of the work unaccompanied at the topof the instrument’s range, before descendingdown again and being joined by the orchestraas the work proper starts.

The gently-rolling 6/8 main theme has acharacteristic dotted rhythm that will recurthroughout the work, with the use of clarinetand oboe in the accompaniment providing abucolic, pastoral atmosphere. A second,more-expansive melody is initially introducedby the orchestral strings and then taken overby the soloist playing a double-stoppedversion of the melody in one of the mosttechnically-difficult parts of the work.

The first section ends with another violincadenza, a shortened version of the openingcadenza, which ascends up to a highcadence point played by the soloist alone.

The second section, in 2/4 is slightly fasterand more-energetic, with another folk-songmelody introduced by the flute. The soloisttakes over and plays more-rapidly withecstatic flourishes and runs of notes, as ifdepicting the lark swooping across the valley.

This leads into a third section, now in F majorand back in 6/8 time, with the soloist playingan extended sequence of trills over the top ofa birdsong-like melody played by Program notes by Cameron Hough

This piece was initially born out of a shortimprovisation, similar to several other worksof mine. During a late night at the keyboardback in 2014 I thought of a very short themeand recorded it. A while after this motifmanifested I approached the BrisbanePhilharmonic Orchestra about the prospect ofwriting a piece for them—a prospect whichwas generously accepted. It was then Ibegan to conceive that the piece would becomprised of two related materials whichreflected two personally influential styles ofcomposition; hymns and music of theromantic period. This represented bothsecular and sacred music coming together asone. There is much to be said about theintertwining of these two styles; after all,much of the romantic period owes itself tochorale writing and techniques exemplified inhymns. There are also plenty of examples ofborrowing from hymns that can be detectedin the romantic repertoire—a tradition thatis now continued by me in a small way forthose with a keen ear to detect.

This piece was written over the course of ayear, from a small collection of pencilsketches scribbled in transit tolarger orchestrations written out at the pianoand computer. Over the year many thingschanged and ideas developed, one of thembeing the hymn themes. In July of 2015 anonline friend from a small community I waspart of passed away. This greatly affected allwho knew him as a cheerful and positiveperson within the scene. As the days passedafter the news I conceived a second hymntheme which is prominently featuredthroughout, first in the flutes, clarinets andstrings, and later with the lower brass andcontrabassoon joining in. Due to thedramatic effect he had on the completion ofthe work, I have dedicated this to Marck-Antoine Simoneau, along with a final farewellat the end of the piece labelled In Memoriam!signifying the little prayer of this work.

Despite the inspirations of this work, it endson a positive note and is ultimately acelebration of life. Hopefully the message ofthis little prayer can lift your spirits and allowyou to understand the musical story from mypoint of view.

Samuel Dickenson (1992-)

A Little Prayer (2015)

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Program notes by Samuel Dickenson

PROGRAM NOTES (CONT.)

texture, and Sibelius calls for some unusualplaying techniques, such as playing tremolopassages col legno (that is, with the wood ofthe bow rather than the hair), which gives adark, ethereal sound. The bass drum isusedwith restraint to produce a dull ominous“rumble”, while the harp plays almost entirelyin its lower register, sounding funereal ratherthan rhapsodic.

The layering of orchestral texturesthroughout the work gives it an almosttimeless air – despite all of Lemminkäinen’sintentions, the swan continues to float on thestill waters – accentuated by the long,slowly-unfolding cor anglais solos, while aneerie effect is achieved by the unevenascending passages begun by solo cello andseamlessly continued by solo viola.

Pizzicato strings create a sense ofanticipation, before a muted fanfare of brasswith harp flourishes provides a brief burst ofwarmth– almost like a solitarysunbeam lighting the lake and breakingthrough the gloomy chill – but the light isswiftly removed and the piece turns cold andreserved again. The uneven ascendingphrase (passed smoothly from bassoon tosolo cello to solo violin) marks the return tothe gloomy depths of the water, before onefinal ascending phrase on solo cello bringsthe tone poem to a melancholy close.

Finlandia is a rare thing in music – theexpression of a national identity through asingle piece, and became the musicalsymbol of Finland’s struggle forindependence from Russia in the early 20thcentury (“Hot with the spirit of revolt” was thedescription of one critic!), and has sincebecome virtually Finland’s second nationalanthem.

Originally titled “Finland Awakens”, the tonepoem has its origins in music Sibelius wrotebased on the poem The Melting of the Iceon the Ulea River, which was later recycled

Sibelius’s music is steeped in the traditionsand myths of his native Finland, so much sothat even in non-programmatic music thereseems to be some echo of the ancient sagasand legends. He wrote many works inspiredby the Kalevala, the Finnish national epic,and began a grand Wagnerian opera “TheBuilding of the Boat” inspired by scenes fromthe Kalevala. The piece now known as theSwan of Tuonela had its genesis in theorchestral prelude to the opera.

Although Sibelius swiftly becamedisenchanted with the Wagnerian style andabandoned the opera, he resurrected someof the music as the Lemminkäinen Suite,Op.22, which illustrates four episodes fromthe Kalevala, following its central hero,Lemminkäinen.

Lemminkäinen has been given a quest byLouhi, the Mistress of the Northland: to gainher daughter’s hand in marriage, he musttravel to Tuonela, the land of the dead, andkill the Swan of Tuonela. Lemminkäinen isunsuccessful, and is killed by a poisonedarrow, but is brought back to life by the magicof his mother.

The Swan of Tuonela is the second of thefour tone poems, and is a deeplyatmospheric and evocative piece evoking theethereal swan gliding on a pitch-black lakesurrounding the island of the dead.

Sibelius demonstrates his absolute masteryof orchestral texture in this piece, from itsdeliberately reduced orchestration (oboe,bass clarinet, bassoon, horns, trombones,timpani, bass drum, harp and strings, plus aprominent cor anglais solo part), which givesthe work a dark and mystical nature.

The orchestral strings are muted throughout,which contributes to the dark and melancholy

Finlandia (1900)

......................................................

Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)

The Swan of Tuonela, Op.22

(1895)

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section, which is based around a fervent,hymn-like theme, introduced by woodwindsover a shimmering accompaniment ofhushed strings, and then expanding into amajestic version played by the strings.

The central section has indeed beenadapted as a hymn (“Be Still My Soul”) andhas been used (or proposed) for nationalanthems and patriotic songs for othercountries. Its triumphant return at the end ofthe work marks the emotional high point ofFinlandia, culminating in a mood of hopefultriumph – a vision of the future independentFinland?

Finlandia shares with all of Sibelius’ work hisdeep love of Finland, and in words hehimself wrote to the central “hymn tune” heextols the beauty of a land of “great longhills, where tempests brood and gather,primeval earth beneath primeval sky”, andexpresses his great longing for his countryto have freedom.

for a public fund-raising event intended tosupport establishment of a free Finnish pressat a time when Russian control of culturalaffairs was strong.

Finlandia formed the finale of the event andwas received with resounding success, beingfrequently performed in the following years(although due to censorship it was usuallyslipped into the programme under a differentname!).

It is interesting for those who view Sibelius assomething of a conservative composer to seeSibelius the radical through the medium ofFinlandia – foreshadowing perhaps some ofthe 20th century’s later “political protest”music.

The emotional structure of the work reflectsthe theme of “awakening” – the openingminutes are deeply dark and turbulent,evoking the current dark politicalatmosphere, rising in intensity and volumebefore subsiding to reveal the famous central

PROGRAM NOTES (CONT.)

Liszt was the originator of the form of thesymphonic poem (at least by that name), inwhich an extra-musical idea is givensymphonic treatment, although the genre hasits roots in the concert overtures ofMendelssohn, Beethoven and others. LesPreludes is the third of Liszt’s thirteensymphonic poems, and the first of them to betitled as such; it is also by far the mostpopular of his symphonic poems and the onlyone to have entered the standard orchestralrepertoire. The published score includes thistext in the preface:

What else is our life but a series of preludesto that unknown Hymn, the first and solemnnote of which is intoned by Death?—Love isthe glowing dawn of all existence; but what isthe fate where the first delights of happinessare not interrupted by some storm, the mortalblast of which dissipates its fine illusions, thefatal lightning of which consumes its altar;and where is the cruelly wounded soul which,on issuing from one of these tempests, doesnot endeavour to rest his recollection in thecalm serenity of life in the fields?Nevertheless man hardly gives himself up forlong to the enjoyment of the beneficentstillness which at first he has shared inNature's bosom, and when "the trumpetsounds the alarm", he hastens, to thedangerous post, whatever the war may

be, which calls him to its ranks, in order atlast to recover in the combat full knowledgeof himself and his full strength.

It dates from Liszt’s period at Weimar, wherehe was the music director of the court,settling down and focussing on compositionafter a tumultuous early career being fetedacross Europe as the foremost concertpianist of his generation - the focus of“Lisztomania”!

The piece was partially inspired by the poetLamartine (particularly the line “what is lifebut a series of preludes...”), although later onLiszt downplayed the connection toLamartine and suggested that it also hadautobiographical tendencies - viewed as ayoung man’s journey to maturity, or else asLiszt’s own journey to being a composer.

It was originally conceived as an orchestralprelude to and contains musical materialfrom a prior choral song cycle by Liszt titled“The Four Elements”, and is structured inseveral sections, scored for full Romanticorchestra with tuba, harp and largepercussion section. Despite the largeorchestra, some sections have a verychamber-music like intimacy, particularly thevery effective writing for the four horns, theinterplay between the harp and the winds,and in the textures available from theorchestral strings frequency playing divisi,with the ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ players of eachdesk playing different (and independent)parts.

Franz List (1811-1886)

Les Preludes (1854)

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However, the unsettled mood does not lastlong, and the love theme returns, heraldingthe next section - Pastoral Life - where themood becomes bucolic and carefree withharp and expansive horn solos leading intoa rollicking 6/8 section with pastoral clarinetand flute. The strings join in the festivities,with interplay between the strings and windsleading into a restatement of the ‘pastoral’theme previously heard in the secondsection, now with a more playful and upbeataccompaniment (itself reusing some of themusic from the transition section betweenthe love theme and the pastoral theme).

The music grows in intensity and the melodyis restated with different instrumentation,becoming more joyous and energetic eachtime, until a series of abrupt chords heraldthe next section - Battle and Victory, whereunderneath scurrying scales of semiquaverspassing between the violins, the brassintone a call to arms - a fanfare againderived from the question motif. This robustsection includes extensive use of the brassand percussion underneath shimmeringsemiquavers in the strings, and grows intothe finale, in which the full ‘question theme’is restated by the full orchestra, with thefanfare now returning triumphantly andleading to a magnificent conclusion.

The return of the question - “regaining fullknowledge and strength” and now answeredin the final bars, and the use of this“thematic transformation” (a key feature ofLizst’s work) is dramatically effective andshows off his compositional mastery -especially how the melody of each section isrelated to the initial ‘question’ - as if sayingthat each of life’s experiences is ultimatelyrelated to and is part of the ultimatequestion: all of life is itself a prelude towhatever comes next.

The first section, the “question” beginssearchingly with two pizzicato notes by thestrings and then the first quotation of the“question motif” with its characteristic dottedrhythm and rising-and-falling melodic line,played by the strings, which is answered byanother motif in the winds - the notes C-B-E.which are the opening phrases of the “love”motif later in the work.

The interplay between the strings and windscontinues, with each successive statement ofthe ‘question’ becoming more-insistent andmore-expansive until after an extendedsequence of notes the full ‘question theme’ isplayed majestically on lower strings and brassunderneath a brilliant torrent of notes playedby the upper strings.

The running semiquavers form a seamlesstransition into the second section, “Love”,where the love theme is finally heard for thefirst time, played by the cellos and offset bystatements of the question theme by thebassoons. Although quoting from the “Stars”movement of the “Four Elements”, this lovetheme is also a transformation of the questiontheme - having the same opening intervals.

The love theme is then itself transformed intoa more pastoral version - again using thesame intervals - and played by the horns, andthen stated for the second time by horns andoboe against a harp accompaniment andoffset by violin countermelodies. After furtherdevelopment of the melodic material, the lovetheme is heard again by horn and then flute(with a partial quote from the pastoral themeon top).

After a brief pause, the cellos introduce thenext section - the Storm, which is again atransformation of the question theme, andrapidly grows in intensity via a scurryingseries of notes until the full fury of theorchestra is unleashed in a turbulent sectionwith chromatic torrents of notes and amalevolent brass fanfare.

PROGRAM NOTES (CONT.)

Program notes by Cameron Hough

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