St. Louis Symphony Program - March 2, 2013

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    CONCERT PROGRAMMarch 1-2, 2013

    Sir Andrew Davis, conductorTasmin Little, violin

    DELIUS/ The Walk to the Paradise Garden: Intermezzo romarr. Beecham A Village Romeo and Juliet (1899-1901)

    (1862-1934)/ (1879-1961)

    ELGAR Violin Concerto in B minor, op. 61 (1905, 1909-10)(1857-1934)

    AllegroAndanteAllegro molto

    Tasmin Little, violin

    INTERMISSION

    BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 4 in B-fat major, op. 60 (1806)(1770-1827)

    Adagio; Allegro vivace

    AdagioAllegro vivaceAllegro ma non troppo

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    ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

    Sir Andrew Davis is presented by the Whitaker Foundation.

    Tasmin Little is the Mr. and Mrs. Whitney R. Harris Guest Artist.

    The concert of Friday, March 1, is underwritten in part by a generous gift fromMr. and Mrs. James R. von der Heydt.

    The concert of Saturday, March 2, is underwritten in part by a generous giftfrom Mr. and Mrs. Alyn V. Essman.

    These concerts are presented by the Thomas A. Kooyumjian Family Foundation.

    Pre-Concert Conversations are presented by Washington University Physicians.

    These concerts are part of the Wells Fargo Advisors Series.

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

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    TIMELINKS

    1806BEETHOVENSymphony No. 4 in B-fatmajor, op. 60Napoleon enters Berlin

    1899-1901DELIUS/arr. BeechamThe Walk to the ParadiseGarden: Intermezzo romA Village Romeo and JulietBoer War begins, Dutchand British battle orcontrol o South Arica

    1909-10ELGARViolin Concerto inB minor, op. 61Shackleton Expeditionnearly reaches South Pole

    Music, Shakespeare proposed, is the food of

    love. Certainly music and romantic feelingshave been closely connected for centuries. Inthe Middle Ages, troubadours sang long balladsabout love and lovers, and hopeful suitors haveserenaded the objects of their affections sinceperhaps even before then. Love has been thesubject of countless operas, but even instrumentalcompositions can convey, and frequently have,the subjective qualities of romantic ardor.

    The two pieces that form the rst half ofour concert do just that, one overtly, the othersecretly. The Walk to the Paradise Garden, fromFrederick Deliuss opera A Village Romeo andJuliet, is a musical evocation of the rapture ofinnocent young love. Edward Elgars ViolinConcerto is more robustly expressive, but alsoless explicit. Was it written as a secret love letter?

    That certainly is possible.Beethovens Symphony No. 4, which wehear after intermission, is not ostensibly a workabout love, though much of it is lovely; it doesnot intimate romance, though several sectionsof the work foretell the coming of Romanticismin music. But this composition doesnt need tobe about anything we can name, nor tell usanything specic. Its discourse is eloquent in

    the abstract language of music, and that is morethan enough.

    THE FOOD OF LOVEBY PAUL SCHIAVO

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    FREDERICK DELIUSThe Walk to the Paradise Garden: Intermezzo rom AVillage Romeo and Juliet

    COSMOPOLITAN COMPOSER Born in England to

    German emigrant parents, Frederick Delius wasraised in Yorkshire but spent parts of his youthin Paris, Florida, and Norway before movingto Leipzig in order to study at the conservatorythere. Eventually, he settled in France, wherehe spent most of his adult life. Deliuss musicreects his cosmopolitan background. Hisdelicate orchestration suggests his Frenchcontemporaries. Wagner, Grieg, and Debussy

    inuenced his harmonic shadings. His mostmemorable work often conveys a sense ofquiet rapture rather than the imperial pomp orRomantic effusion of his compatriot Elgar. Hewas, then, not so much an English composer asan international one.

    TRAGIC YOUNG LOVE Delius wrote six operasover the course of his career. The nest isA VillageRomeo and Juliet, which tells of a young couplein rural Switzerland. They have grown up nearto each other, and their childhood friendship hasripened into love. But a bitter feud has dividedtheir fathers. With any hope of an open unionbetween them impossible, the young pair setsout for an old riverside inn called the ParadiseGarden. There they come to understand that

    their ardor cannot exist in a corrupt world, andthey choose to drown together in the river, theirlove-death uniting them forever.

    Composed between 1899 and 1901,A VillageRomeo and Juliet waited until early 1907 for itsrst performance. At this time the composerrealized the necessity of an entracte to cover ascene change just before the end of the opera. Hemet that need by writing a short tone poem, The

    Walk to the Paradise Garden. It pictures the younglovers alone together, intoxicated with love,walking toward the river and their destiny. Theirpassion is a gentle one, the music tells us, andthe softly radiant sensuality they feel is entirelyin harmony with the beautiful countryside theywalk through.

    BornJanuary 29, 1862, Bradord,

    EnglandDiedJune 10, 1934, Grez-sur-Loing,France

    First performanceFebruary 21, 1907, at the BerlinKomische Oper, conductedby Fritz Cassirer

    STL Symphony PremiereNovember 12, 1942, VladimirGolschmann conducting

    Most Recent STL SymphonyPerformanceOctober 3, 2008, DavidRobertson conducting

    Scoring2 utesoboe

    English horn2 clarinets2 bassoons4 horns2 trumpets3 trombonestimpaniharpstrings

    Performance Timeapproximately 8 minutes

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    EDWARD ELGARViolin Concerto in B minor, op. 61

    A MYSTERIOUS DEDICATION Edward Elgar beganwriting his Violin Concerto in the spring of 1909,

    but the piece took shape slowly. Only in Augustof the following year did it reach completion. Thecomposer prefaced the completed score with anenigmatic motto in Spanish. Translated, it reads:Here is enshrined the soul of..

    Those ve dots posed a mystery, and notfor the rst time in one of Elgars orchestralworks. The composer had already admitted theexistence of a secret theme and dark saying inhis famous Enigma Variations, provoking reamsof speculation about what these might be. Withthe Violin Concerto, though, there is moreevidence as to Elgars cryptic meaning, and itpoints convincingly to one Alice Stuart-Wortleyas the unnamed soul invoked in the preface.

    The daughter of painter John Everett Millaisand wife of a music-loving member of Parliament,

    Mrs. Stuart-Wortley met Elgar in 1902. Overthe next seven years she and her husbandoccasionally visited and corresponded with theElgars. By 1909, their letters had become frequentand warm in tone. Their visits also grew morefrequent. This was just when Elgar was beginningconcentrated work on the Violin Concerto, whichnow developed in tandem with his friendshipwith Alice Stuart-Wortley. Indeed, she seems to

    have played a crucial role in inspiring the work.

    WINDFLOWER Evidence for this inspiration lies inElgars letters to Alice, which repeatedly discussedthe concerto, solicited her opinions about it andurged her to visit and hear new passages as hecompleted them. Moreover, the composer took tocalling Alice Windower and began referring to

    several of the concertos melodies by that term. InApril 1910, for example, in a letter addressed toMy dear Windower, he wrote her: I have beenworking hard at the Windower themes, but allstands still until you come & approve!

    But if it is Alice Stuart-Wortleys soul thatthe Violin Concerto enshrines, just what wereElgars feelings for her? Here the clues areless certain. Upon completing the score, the

    BornJune 2, 1857, Lower

    Broadheath, near Worcester,England

    DiedFebruary 23, 1934, Worcester,England

    First PerformanceNovember 10, 1910, inLondon, Fritz Kreisler wasthe soloist with the LondonPhilharmonic Orchestra,

    conducted by the composer

    STL Symphony PremiereNovember 27, 1992, PinchasZuckerman was soloist, withLeonard Slatkin conducting

    Most Recent STL SymphonyPerformanceJanuary 14, 2006, Gil Shahamwas soloist, with David

    Zinman conductingScoringsolo violin2 utes2 oboes2 clarinets2 bassoonscontrabassoon4 horns2 trumpets

    3 trombonestubatimpanistrings

    Performance Timeapproximately 48 minutes

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    composer wrote to a friend that The Concerto is full of romantic feeling,but declined to elaborate. It is striking that the melodies Elgar designatedas Windower themes are among the most ardent ideas in the work. ThatAlice and Elgar were romantically involved must therefore be counted as apossibility, one that the unexplained disappearance of many of their letters

    makes no less likely. Still, nothing proves such a liaison, and both partieswere devoted to their respective spouses. Ultimately, this matter, like somuch else about Elgar, remains unsettled, the truth perhaps encoded safelyin the music of the Violin Concerto.

    Adhering to traditional concerto design, Elgar begins the work with anorchestral exposition. This passage begins straightway with the melody thatforms the principal subject of the rst movement. Soon a timpani roll supportsthe statement of the rst Windower theme. Elgar only hints at a serene

    third subject during this orchestral introduction, leaving its full presentationto the solo instrument, which soon takes the lead in expanding these variousthematic ideas.

    The central Andante opens calmly, but the music grows increasinglyimpassioned, climaxing in a passage bearing one of Elgars favored characterindications: Nobilmente. The composer closes the movement by returningto the mood and material of its opening measures, at one point combining thetwo principal melodies of the Andante in counterpoint. Years later, he condedto a friend: This is where two souls merge and melt into one another.

    From a formal standpoint, the nale is unusual. It begins as a spiritedromp through a series of thematic ideas. The central portion of the movementbrings an unusual cadenza soliloquyunusual because the featured instrumentreceives accompaniment from the orchestra, and because this passage usesthemes from the opening movement. Elsewhere, the orchestra recalls theAndante also, making this a thoroughly retrospective nale.

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    LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVENSymphony No. 4 in B-fat major

    STANDING BETWEEN GIANTS Were BeethovensFourth Symphony the work of any other

    composer active during the rst decade of the19th century, it would establish its author as oneof the major musical gures of his day. As it is,this work stands between two of its creators mostdramatic and popular compositions, his Thirdand Fifth symphonies, and rather in their shadow.Robert Schumanns metaphoric description ofthis work as a slender Greek maiden betweentwo Norse giants leaves much to be desired ascharacterization, but it does suggest the enduringperception that the Fourth represents somethingof a lesser achievement among Beethovensmiddle-period symphonies.

    It is unfortunate that the towering stature ofits neighbors should obscure the virtues of thissymphony, which Beethoven composed in 1806.It is a nely crafted and beautiful work that lls

    the formal outline of the Classical symphonywith music often quite Romantic in character.Nowhere is this Romantic element more

    evident than in the opening Adagio, a somberfantasy that ventures to say more than we wouldexpect from an introduction to a symphonic rstmovement. Through forty spellbinding measuresit explores dark and mysterious tonal regions,then suddenly breaks forth with two loud chords

    and a motif of insistently rising scales into thebrilliant light of the Allegro.

    Beethoven launches directly into theprincipal theme of this, the main body of the rstmovement, with the full weight of his orchestralforces. The second subject, by contrast, is givenout in a succession of woodwind solos. A slendermelody announced by the clarinet and echoed

    by the bassoon completes the exposition of themovements themes. Following the obligatorydevelopment passage, in which a lovelycountermelody plays against the rst subject,a concise recounting of the movements severalthemes closes this initial portion of the work.

    The ensuing Adagio is among the loveliestmovements Beethoven ever wrote. Typically,it juxtaposes two principal melodies. The rst

    BornDecember 16, 1770, Bonn

    DiedMarch 26, 1827, Vienna

    First PerformanceMarch 1807, in Vienna withBeethoven conducting,although the time and placeo the frst perormance othis symphony is uncertain

    STL Symphony PremiereNovember 21, 1924, RudolGanz conducting

    Most Recent STL SymphonyPerformanceOctober 23, 2010, NicholasMcGegan conducting

    Scoringute2 oboes2 clarinets2 bassoons2 horns2 trumpetstimpanistrings

    Performance Timeapproximately 34 minutes

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    appears in the violins over a gently rocking accompaniment in the strings;the second is introduced by the clarinet. Beethoven weaves the extensions,variations, and recollections of these ideas into an exquisite dreamlike fantasy.

    The third movement is a scherzo in all but name, with a contrastingepisode, or Trio, heard twice, with Beethoven juxtaposing the wind and

    string choirs to ne effect. The concluding measures offer a surprise fromthe horns.

    The nale gives us many of Beethovens most characteristic gestures:sudden dynamic contrasts, abrupt offbeat accents, contrapuntal echoes ofthematic fragments. The movement races along in moto perpetuo guration toits coda, where the composer, in high humor, draws the principal theme out inslow motion before dashing to the nal measure.

    Program notes 2013 by Paul Schiavo

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    SIR ANDREW DAVISWHITAKER GUEST ARTIST

    The English conductor Sir Andrew Davis is MusicDirector and Principal Conductor of Lyric Opera

    of Chicago, a position he has held since 2000.Daviss contract with Lyric Opera of Chicago wasrecently extended through the 2020-21 season.He conducts Strausss Elektra, Verdis SimonBoccanegra, Massenets Werther, and WagnersDie Meistersinger von Nrnberg during Lyrics2012-13 season. In the 2011-12 season Davisled performances of Boris Godunov, Ariadneauf Naxos, and The Magic Flute at Lyric Opera,as well as a subscriber appreciation concertfeaturing soprano Rene Fleming (Lyrics creativeconsultant) and baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky.The season also brought Sir Andrew to theMetropolitan Opera, Melbourne, London,Bamberg, Edinburgh, and Toronto.

    Davis was recently named Chief Conductorof the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, a

    position he began in January 2013. He isConductor Laureate of the Toronto SymphonyOrchestra (having previously served as PrincipalConductor), Conductor Laureate of the BBCSymphony Orchestra (having previously had thelongest tenure as Chief Conductor since BBCSOfounder Sir Adrian Boult) and former MusicDirector of Glyndebourne Festival Opera.

    In 1992 Davis was bestowed with the title of

    Commander of the British Empire for his servicesto British music, and in 1999 he was made aKnight Bachelor in the New Year Honours List.In 1991, he received the Royal PhilharmonicSociety/Charles Heidsieck Music Award. A nativeof Hertfordshire, Davis studied at Kings College,Cambridge, where he was an organ scholar beforetaking up the baton. He lives in Chicago with his

    wife Gianna Rolandi, director of the Patrick G.and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Operaof Chicago.

    Sir Andrew Davis mostrecently conducted the

    St. Louis Symphony inNovember 2009.

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    TASMIN LITTLEMR. AND MRS. WHITNEY R. HARRIS GUEST ARTIST

    Tasmim Little has played with many of theworlds greatest orchestras in a career that has

    taken her to every continent of the world. Inaddition to her regular solo performances, shehas play/directed orchestras such as RoyalPhilharmonic, Seattle Symphony, London MozartPlayers, English Chamber Orchestra, NorwegianChamber, European Union Chamber Orchestra,and Britten Sinfonia.

    In March 2012 Little gave the world premiereof the completed version of Roxanna PanufniksFour World Seasons with the London MozartPlayers. This live national broadcast on BBCRadio 3 was the opening concert of the MusicNation weekend, marking the beginning of thecultural events leading up to the London 2012Olympic Games.

    Performances in 2012-13 include her debutswith the Wisconsin Symphony and her return

    to Warsaw for two performances of BrahmssViolin Concerto, return performances in Perthand Tasmania, her second curation of a three-dayfestival of chamber music at Londons Kings Place,a celebrity recital in Manchesters BridgewaterHall with Martin Roscoe, performances inLondons South Bank Centre, and ve recordingprojects for Chandos Records.

    In 2012, Little became an OBE (ofcer of

    the Order of the British Empire ) for servicesto music, announced as part of the QueensDiamond Jubilee Birthday Honors List.

    She is an Ambassador for the PrincesFoundation for Children and the Arts, is aFellow of the Guildhall of Music and Drama,and has received Honorary Degrees from theUniversities of Bradford, Leicester, Hertfordshire

    and City of London.She plays a 1757 Guadagnini violin and has,on kind loan from the Royal Academy of Music,the Regent Stradivarius of 1708.

    Tasmin Little makes herSt. Louis Symphony debut

    with these concerts.

    PaulMitchell

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    CONCERT PROGRAMMarch 3, 2013

    Live at Powell Hall

    Richard Kauman, conductor

    AFTERNOON AT THE OSCARS

    ENNIO MORRICONE Theme rom The Untouchables

    BARRY/ Flying Over AfricaromOut of Africaorch. Woodbury

    RZSA Parade of the CharioteersromBen-Hur

    ROTA Godfathers WaltzromThe Godfather

    ROTA Love ThemeromThe Godfather

    RANDY NEWMAN The NaturalSuite

    E. BERNSTEIN Theme romTo Kill a Mockingbird

    BRUCE BROUGHTON Theme romSilverado

    INTERMISSION

    JOHN WILLIAMS The Shark Themerom JawsJAN A.P. KACZMAREK Finding NeverlandSuite

    STEINER CasablancaSuite

    JARRE/ Prelude andLaras ThemeromDoctor Zhivagoarr. Palmer

    JERRY GOLDSMITH Patton

    JERRY GOLDSMITH Poltergeist

    JERRY GOLDSMITH End TitleromStar Trek: The Motion Picture

    JOHN WILLIAMS Yodas ThemeandMain TitleromStar Wars

    This afternoons concert is sponsored by Marilyn and Sam Fox.

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    RICHARD KAUFMAN

    Richard Kaufman has devoted much of hismusical life to conducting and supervisingmusic for lm and television productions, as

    well as performing lm and classical musicin concert halls and on recordings. The 2012-13 concert season marks his 22nd season asPrincipal Pops Conductor of Orange CountysPacic Symphony. He also holds the permanenttitle of Pops Conductor Laureate with the DallasSymphony, and is in his eighth season with theChicago Symphony Orchestra concert series,Friday Night at the Movies.

    He regularly appears as a guest conductorwith symphony orchestras throughout theUnited States and around the world includingCleveland, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Houston, theNational Symphony in Washington D.C.,London, Calgary, Edmonton, Liverpool, theRTE Concert Orchestra in Dublin, Rotterdam,and the Malaysian Philharmonic. In addition to

    conducting traditional concert presentations,he often leads performances of complete lmscores in concert, synchronizing the music tothe actual lm as it is shown on the screen abovethe orchestra. These legendary lm titles includeThe Wizard of Oz, Psycho, Casablanca, The Brideof Frankenstein, Pirates of the Caribbean, andvarious silent lms.

    Born in Los Angeles, he began violin studies

    at age seven, played in the Peter MeremblumCalifornia Junior Symphony, and was amember of the Young Musicians FoundationDebut Orchestra. He attended the BerkshireMusic Festival at Tanglewood in the Fellowshipprogram, and earned a B.A. in Music fromCalifornia State University Northridge. He lives insouthern California with his wife, Gayle, a former

    dancer in lm, television, and on Broadway. Hisdaughter, Whitney, is a graduate (with honors)from Chapman University in Orange, California,and for two and half years was a member of thecast of the National Tour ofMama Mia.

    Richard Kauman is in his22nd season as Principal

    Pops Conductor o thePacifc Symphony.

    eric

    Stoner

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    ST. LOUIS SYMPHONYYOUTH ORCHESTRA

    March 10

    Ward Stare, conductorBIZET LArlsienneSuite No.1

    INGRAM MARSHALL Kingdom ComeBRAHMS Symphony No. 4

    Tickets are free with $1 service fee

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    LIVE AT POWELL HALL

    THE MATRIX

    APRIL 5-6

    Enter the alternate reality ofThe Matrixas the STL Symphony performs thefuturistic soundtrack of the science-ction thriller. Machine rebellions andraining computer code create a dream world that questions reality in thismodern classic.

    The Matrixis presented by the Whitaker Foundation.

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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

    vary, 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

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    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

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