program
Robert Spano, Music Director
Donald Runnicles, Principal Guest Conductor
Delta Classical Series Concerts
Thursday, Friday and Saturday, April 14, 15 and 16, 2011, at 8 p.m.
Nicola Luisotti, Conductor
Sergej Krylov, Violin
Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)
Overture to La forza del destino (1862)
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Concerto in D Major for Violin and Orchestra, Opus 35 (1878)
I. Allegro moderato
II. Canzonetta. Andante
III. Finale. Allegro vivacissimo
Sergej Krylov, Violin
INTERMISSION
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Symphony No. 4 in D minor, Opus 120 (1841, rev. 1851)
I. Ziemlich langsam; Lebhaft
II. Romanze. Ziemlich langsam
III. Scherzo. Lebhaft
IV. Langsam; Lebhaft
“Inside the Music” preview of the concert, Thursday at 7 p.m.,
presented by Ken Meltzer, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Insider
and Program Annotator.
The use of cameras or recording devices during the concert
is strictly prohibited.
Atlanta’s Performing Arts Publication 23
sponsors
is proud to sponsor the Delta Classical Series of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.
Delta is proud to be celebrating our 70th anniversary as Atlanta’s hometown airline. Delta’s
community spirit worldwide continues to be a cornerstone of our organization. As a force
for global good, our mission is to continuously create value through an inclusive culture
by leveraging partnerships and serving communities where we live and work. It includes
not only valuing individual differences of race, religion, gender, nationality and lifestyle,
but also managing and valuing the diversity of work teams, intracompany teams and
business partnerships.
Delta is an active, giving corporate citizen in the communities it serves. Delta’s community
engagement efforts are driven by our desire to build long-term partnerships in a way that
enables nonprofits to utilize many aspects of Delta’s currency — our employees time and
talent, our free and discounted air travel, as well as our surplus donations. Together, we
believe we can take our worldwide communities to new heights!
Major funding for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra is provided by the
Fulton County Board of Commissioners under the guidance of the
Fulton County Arts Council.
Solo pianos used by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra are gifts of the Atlanta Steinway
Society and in memory of David Goldwasser. The Hamburg Steinway piano is a gift
received by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in honor of Rosi Fiedotin. The Yamaha custom
six-quarter tuba is a gift received by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in honor of Principal
Tuba player Michael Moore from The Antinori Foundation.
This performance is being recorded for broadcast at a later time. Atlanta Symphony
concert broadcasts are heard each week on Atlanta’s WABE FM-90.1 and Georgia Public
Broadcasting’s statewide network.
The Atlanta Symphony records for ASO Media. Other recordings of the Orchestra
are available on the Argo, Deutsche Grammophon, New World, Nonesuch, Philips,
Telarc and Sony Classical labels.
Media sponsors: Atlanta Journal-Constitution and WSB 750 AM.
Trucks provided by Ryder Truck Rental Inc.
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Notes on the Program
By Ken Meltzer
Overture to La forza del destino (1862)
Giuseppe Verdi was born in Roncole, Italy, on October 9 or 10, 1813, and died in
Milan, Italy, on January 27, 1901. The first performance of La forza del destino took
place at the Imperial Theater in St. Petersburg, Russia, on November 10, 1862. The
Overture to La forza del destino is scored for piccolo, flute, two oboes, two clarinets,
two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, cymbals,
bass drum, two harps and strings. Approximate performance time is eight minutes.
First ASO Classical Subscription Performances: April 26, 27 and 28, 1979,
Robert Shaw, Conductor.
Most Recent ASO Classical Subscription Performances: September 8, 9 and 10, 1988,
Yoel Levi, Conductor.
I
n 1861, the famous dramatic tenor Enrico Tamberlik proposed that Giuseppe
Verdi compose an opera — based upon any story the eminent Italian composer
wished — for the Imperial Theater of St. Petersburg, Russia. Verdi finally decided
upon a sprawling 1830s Spanish play, Don Alvaro, or The Force of Destiny, by
Angel Pérez de Saavedra, Duke of Rivas. Francesco Maria Piave, Verdi’s librettist for
several works, including Macbeth, Rigoletto, and La traviata, adapted the work for
the operatic stage. The premiere took place in St. Petersburg on November 10, 1862.
Although Forza was a success with the public, Verdi felt the score was not sufficiently concise.
Verdi finally revised the opera for an 1869 carnival season production at the La Scala Opera
House in Milan. By that time, Piave had suffered a debilitating stroke and so, Verdi called
upon the services of Antonio Ghislanzoni to assist him in reworking the libretto. The revised
La forza del destino, which premiered at La Scala on February 27, 1869, was a resounding
triumph and continues to be the version performed in opera houses around the world.
To this day, some find Forza’s unusual length — expanded by several crowd scenes — somewhat
problematic. However, the basic tale is simple enough. Don Alvaro accidentally kills the Marquis
of Calatrava — the father of the woman he loves, Leonora di Vargas. Don Carlo, the Marquis’s
son, searches for Don Alvaro and Leonora in order to avenge his father’s death. Don Carlo
finally confronts Don Alvaro (now a priest), and challenges him to a duel. Don Alvaro mortally
wounds Don Carlo, who in turn fatally stabs Leonora when she tries to comfort her brother.
Don Alvaro curses the fates, but when he finally prays for forgiveness, Leonora dies in peace.
Verdi composed a Prelude for the original, 1862 version of La forza del destino that he
revised into the famous Overture for the 1869 La Scala production. It is a magnificent
orchestral showpiece that remains Verdi’s most popular overture in the concert hall.
Typical of overtures of the time, it incorporates various melodies from the opera. The
Overture begins with the repeated ominous brass chords that serve to open Act II. The
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strings then introduce the relentless, churning motif of destiny that, introduced in Act
I, pursues Leonora di Vargas throughout the opera. Several further melodies from the
opera — often accompanied by the fate motif — are introduced with the unerring contrast
and inexorable forward motion that are hallmarks of one of the lyric theater’s greatest
dramatists. A rousing coda brings the Overture to a stunning conclusion.
Concerto in D Major for Violin and Orchestra, Opus 35 (1878)
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born in Kamsko-Votkinsk, Russia, on May 7,
1840, and died in St. Petersburg, Russia, on November 6, 1893. The first performance
of the Violin Concerto took place in Vienna, Austria, on December 4, 1881, with Adolf
Brodsky as soloist and Hans Richter conducting the Vienna Philharmonic. In addition
to the solo violin, the D-Major Concerto is scored for two flutes, two oboes, two
clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, timpani and strings. Approximate
performance time is thirty-six minutes.
First ASO Classical Subscription Performance: January 25, 1948, Robert Harrison, Violin,
Henry Sopkin, Conductor.
Most Recent ASO Classical Subscription Performances: October 9, 10 and 11, 2008,
Robert McDuffie, Violin, Robert Spano, Conductor.
T
chaikovsky composed his only Violin Concerto during the spring of 1878. As
Tchaikovsky reported to his patroness, Nadezhda von Meck:
From the first moment that the right frame of mind came to me it has
never left me. With one’s inner life in this condition composing ceases
altogether to be work: it becomes unalloyed pleasure. While you are
writing you do not notice how time passes and if no one came to
interrupt you you would sit there and never leave your work all day.
Still, there were refinements to be made to the piece. Tchaikovsky solicited the opinions of
his friend, violinist Iosif Kotek, and the composer’s brother, Modest. Both were dissatisfied
with the original slow movement. Tchaikovsky replaced it with the beautiful Canzonetta
that forms the central movement of the Concerto (the original slow movement ultimately
became the opening Méditation of Tchaikovsky’s 1878 Souvenir d’un lieu cher, Opus
42, for violin and piano). By the middle of April, Tchaikovsky had fully orchestrated his
Violin Concerto.
Tchaikovsky dedicated his Concerto to Leopold Auer, the great Hungarian-born violinist,
who was living and teaching in St. Petersburg. Auer, for whom Tchaikovsky also composed
his Sérénade mélancolique, Opus 26 (1875), declined to play the Concerto. As Tchaikovsky
recalled some years later:
I do not know whether Auer was flattered by my dedication — only
that, despite his sincere friendship towards me, he never wanted to
master the difficulties of this concerto, deemed it awkward to play —
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and that a verdict such as this from the authoritative St. Petersburg
virtuoso cast my poor child for many years into the abyss, it seemed,
of eternal oblivion.
It was violinist Adolf Brodsky who took up the cause for Tchaikovsky’s Concerto, serving
as soloist for the first performance, which took place in Vienna on December 4, 1881. Hans
Richter conducted the Vienna Philharmonic. Tchaikovsky greatly appreciated the courage
displayed by Brodsky in premiering the work:
He has not yet fully established his position in Vienna and I know very
well that it was difficult and nerve-wracking for him to appear before
a Viennese audience with a concerto by an unknown composer, and a
Russian one to boot. For that reason I am doubly grateful to him for
the service he has rendered me.
“A brutal and wretched jollity of a Russian holiday”
The extent of Brodsky’s courage becomes even clearer when the circumstances of the
premiere are examined. The reaction by the audience and critics was unfavorable, to say the
least. The performance inspired the prominent Viennese critic, Eduard Hanslick, to write
one of the most (in)famous reviews in music history. For several months after the concert,
Tchaikovsky carried with him a copy of the review and, to the end of his days, could recite
verbatim Hanslick’s caustic prose:
The Russian composer Tchaikovsky is surely not an ordinary talent, but
rather an inflated one, with a genius-like obsession without discrimination
or taste. Such is also his latest, long and pretentious Violin Concerto. For a
while it moves soberly, musically, and not without spirit. But soon vulgarity
gains the upper hand, and asserts itself to the end of the first movement.
The violin is no longer played; it is pulled, torn, drubbed. The Adagio is
again on its best behavior, to pacify and win us. But it soon breaks off to
make way for a finale that transfers us to a brutal and wretched jollity of a
Russian holiday. We see plainly the savage vulgar faces, we hear curses, we
smell vodka. Friedrich Visser once observed, speaking of obscene pictures,
that they stink to the eye. Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto gives us for the
first time the hideous notion that there can be music that stinks to the ear.
Still, Brodsky persevered in his advocacy of the Concerto, playing it throughout Europe.
In time, the merits of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto became clear. Even Leopold Auer
finally performed the work, as did such protégés as Mischa Elman and Jascha Heifetz. But
it was Adolf Brodsky to whom Tchaikovsky dedicated this beloved masterpiece.
Musical Analysis
I. Allegro moderato — The Concerto begins with an orchestral introduction, during which
the violins foreshadow the movement’s main theme. The soloist enters and, after a brief
opening passage, presents the flowing, principal melody. There are some playful flights for
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the soloist, followed by the presentation of another expressive, lyrical theme. A stunningly
virtuoso passage by the soloist leads to a grand orchestral proclamation of the principal
melody, soon incorporated once again by the solo violin. After another orchestral statement
of the theme, there is a fiery development section and a grand cadenza for the soloist. Over
the soloist’s trills, the flute ushers in the recapitulation of the principal themes. The stunning
coda again features the soloist in breathtaking display.
II. Canzonetta. Andante — The brief and extraordinarily beautiful Canzonetta begins with
a passage for winds. The muted solo violin soon enters with the soulful principal melody,
which is echoed by the clarinet and flute. There is a contrasting, more wide-ranging theme
for the soloist, followed by a reprise of the opening melody. A variant of the movement’s
introductory measures serves as a bridge to the Finale, which follows without pause.
III. Finale. Allegro vivacissimo — A boisterous orchestral statement and brief cadenza serve
as prelude to the soloist’s introduction of the energetic principal theme. The soloist — over
emphatic accompaniment by the cellos and bassoon counterpoint — plays the rustic second
theme. A lyrical interlude twice serves as contrast to the repetition of the principal melodies.
The writing for the soloist throughout the Finale is brilliant, perhaps nowhere more so than
in the thrilling closing pages.
Symphony No. 4 in D minor, Opus 120 (1841, rev. 1851)
Robert Schumann was born in Zwickau, Germany, on June 8, 1810, and died
in Endenich, Germany, on July 29, 1856. The first performance of the Symphony No.
4 took place at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Germany, on December 6, 1841, with
Ferdinand David conducting. The Symphony No. 4 is scored for two flutes, two oboes,
two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani and
strings. Approximate performance time is twenty-nine minutes.
First ASO Classical Subscription Performances: November 20, 21 and 22, 1969,
James Levine, Conductor.
Most Recent ASO Classical Subscription Performances: January 28, 29 and 30, 1999,
Roberto Abbado, Conductor.
“My most beloved young wife!”
O
n September 12, 1840, the German composer Robert Schumann wed his
beloved Clara Wieck (1819-1896). The courtship had been a long and
stressful one, for Clara’s father, Friedrich Wieck, vehemently opposed any union
between his daughter and Robert. Friedrich Wieck did everything within his
power to prevent the marriage. Nevertheless, the day after the wedding (which
was also Clara’s birthday), Robert wrote the following in the couple’s joint diary:
My most beloved young wife! Let me greet you with a tender kiss on
this special day, the first of your womanhood, the first of your twentyfirst year. The little book which I open herewith has a very particular,
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intimate meaning; it is to record everything that affects us together in
our household and married life, our wishes, our hopes…your fair hopes
and mine — may heaven bless them; your anxieties and mine…in short,
all our hopes and sorrows…
Robert’s union with Clara (a virtuoso pianist and accomplished composer in her own right)
seemed to inspire his creative powers. In the year of their marriage, Robert Schumann composed
some 150 songs, including the glorious cycles Frauenliebe und -leben (A Woman’s Love and
Life) and Dichterliebe (A Poet’s Love). In 1841, Schumann focused his energies upon orchestral
music. In the early portion of that year, Schumann completed his joyous “Spring” Symphony
(No. 1 in B-flat Major, Opus 38). Schumann then composed his Overture, Scherzo and Finale,
Opus 52. In May, Schumann penned a single-movement Fantasy in A minor for piano and
orchestra. Four years later, Schumann added an Intermezzo and Allegro vivace, transforming
that Fantasy into the great, three-movement Piano Concerto in A minor, Opus 54.
“Emerging from the depths of his soul”
In that same productive year of 1841, Schumann composed the original version of his
D-minor Symphony. On May 31, Clara wrote in her diary:
Robert’s mind is very creative now, and he began a symphony yesterday
which is to consist of one movement, but with an Adagio and finale. I
have heard nothing of it as yet, but seeing Robert’s doings, and from
hearing a D minor echoing wildly in the distance, I know in advance that
this will be another work that is emerging from the depths of his soul.
Robert continued to work on the D-minor Symphony throughout the late summer and
early fall of 1841. During that time, another blessed event occurred for Robert and Clara
Schumann. Their first child, Marie, was born on September 1.
The premiere of Schumann’s D-minor Symphony took place at the Leipzig Gewandhaus
on December 6, 1841. The conductor was Ferdinand David, the concertmaster of the
Gewandhaus Orchestra. The new Symphony inspired a mixed reaction. As one critic wrote:
Robert Schumann’s works claim our undivided attention; this poetic and
spiritual composer will no doubt soon become one of our most celebrated
masters if our nation does not forget the joy that can be had in genuinely
spiritual creations. He offers no Philistine trivialities or petty bourgeois
forms; within him is a deep, effervescent and invigorating fountain that
pours out of him in a thousand noble and magnificent streams.
Nevertheless, that same critic observed: “The audience was visibly surprised by his…
symphony…since he linked the movements together, thus confusing many concert-goers.
Some of them, in their musical devotion, believed that the entire symphony was one rather
long movement.”
Despite the lukewarm reception, Schumann maintained his faith in the D-minor Symphony.
As he wrote to a friend, “I know (it is) not at all inferior to the First, and must succeed
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sooner or later.” However, ten years would elapse before Schumann would again turn
his attention to the work (by that time, Schumann had composed two more Symphonies,
and so, the D-minor was ultimately published as his Fourth). In 1851, Schumann penned
extensive revisions to the D-minor Symphony.
The revised version of Schumann’s D-minor Symphony received its premiere under the
composer’s baton, in Düsseldorf on March 3, 1853. The premiere, and subsequent performances,
proved to be highly successful, establishing the Schumann Fourth as a Romantic symphony
of the highest inspiration. The lack of pauses between movements, which so confused the
audience at the 1841 premiere, soon became recognized as one of the work’s strengths. This
technique, coupled with the return and metamorphoses of thematic material throughout the
Symphony, create an orchestral journey of remarkable unity and dramatic momentum.
Musical Analysis
I. Ziemlich langsam; Lebhaft (Quite slowly; Lively) — The Symphony begins with a
brooding, slow introduction (Ziemlich langsam), featuring motifs that will serve as the basis
for thematic material throughout the work. The music accelerates into the restive, principal
theme (Lebhaft), introduced by the strings, flutes and oboes. On ominous chord serves to
herald the development section, which features the expected manipulation of the central
theme. But, the development also presents new thematic material — an aggressive, fanfarelike motif, played fortissimo by the winds, as well as a flowing, dolce melody, initially sung
by the first violins. The themes interact throughout the remainder of the movement, finally
leading to a grand climax, featuring a glorious transformation of the dolce melody. The
second movement follows without pause.
II. Romanze. Ziemlich langsam (Romance. Quite slowly) — The opening section of the brief
Romanze is based upon two themes. The first is a plaintive melody, offered by the oboe and
cellos. The strings then reprise music from the opening movement’s slow introduction. That
music also serves as the basis for the Romanze’s central portion, featuring an enchanting violin
solo. The oboe melody returns to conclude the movement, leading directly to the Scherzo.
III. Scherzo. Lebhaft (Lively) — The Scherzo’s forceful, principal theme, played by the violins, is
again based upon music from the slow introduction to the opening movement. The woodwinds
punctuate this theme with the fanfare motif from the first movement’s development section.
The contrasting Trio section features a serene variant of the Romanze’s violin solo. A reprise
of the Scherzo and Trio sections leads, without pause, to the final movement.
IV. Langsam; Lebhaft (Slow; Lively) — Music from the slow introduction to the first
movement now serves as the basis for the mysterious transition (Langsam) to the finale’s
vigorous, quick-tempo, principal section (Lebhaft), in D Major. The arresting opening theme
of the Lebhaft portion is, once again, an ingenious synthesis of motifs from the opening
movement. The exposition also features more lyrical themes that predominate throughout
the remainder of the movement, as the Symphony proceeds to a whirlwind close.
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Nicola Luisotti, Conductor
H
ailed as San Francisco Opera’s “ideal new
maestro” by The New York Times, Italian
conductor Nicola Luisotti was recently awarded the Premio
Puccini Award from the Fondazione Festival Pucciniano di Torre
del Lago in conjunction with the 100th anniversary performances
of La fanciulla del West at The Metropolitan Opera.
Opera engagements for the 2010–11 season also include
Nicola Luisotti
a new production of Attila at Milan’s La Scala; Tosca and
Die Zauberflöte at Dresden Opera; and Aida, Le nozze di Figaro and Madama Butterfly
with San Francisco Opera. Equally at home on the concert stage, his 2010–11 orchestral
schedule includes engagements with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Frankfurt’s
Hessischer Rundfunk Orchestra and Alte Oper Orchestra, the orchestra of Rome’s
Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Milan’s Filarmonica della Scala and the Tokyo
Symphony, where he is principal guest conductor. During Luisotti’s inaugural season as music director of San Francisco Opera, he conducted
acclaimed performances of Il trovatore, Salome and Otello (fall 2009) and led La fanciulla
del West (Jun 2010). Triumphant performances of Salome at Bologna’s Teatro Comunale,
Così fan tutte in semi-staged performances with the Tokyo Symphony, and a new production
of Aida with the Royal Opera were among the major highlights of the 2009–10 season.
Luisotti has earned enthusiastic praise from audiences and critics for his work at the
Royal, Metropolitan, Paris and Vienna State operas; Genoa’s Teatro Carlo Felice; Venice’s
Teatro La Fenice; Munich’s Bavarian State Opera; Frankfurt Opera; Stuttgart State Opera;
Madrid’s Teatro Real; Los Angeles Opera; Canadian Opera Company; Seattle Opera;
Bologna’s Teatro Comunale; Teatro San Carlo in Naples; and Tokyo’s Suntory Hall.
On the concert stage, Luisotti has led many of the world’s most acclaimed orchestral ensembles,
including the Berlin Philharmonic, London Philharmonia, San Francisco Symphony, Atlanta
Symphony, Tokyo Symphony, NHK Symphony, Dresden’s Staatskapelle, Munich’s Bavarian
Radio Orchestra, Rome’s Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Torino’s Orchestra Sinfonica
Nazionale della RAI, and the orchestras of Hamburg, Budapest and Zagreb. The conductor’s
discography includes a complete recording of Stiffelio (Dynamic) with the orchestra of
Trieste’s Teatro Verdi and the critically acclaimed Duets (Deutsche Grammophon), featuring
Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón. He is also on the podium of a DVD recording of the
Met’s La bohème, starring Angela Gheorghiu and Ramón Vargas (EMI).
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Sergej Krylov, Violin
B
orn in Moscow into a family of musicians,
Sergej Krylov started studying the violin at age
five and made his debut with an orchestra at 10, performing
in Russia, China, Finland and Germany. At a very young age
he won first prize at the international competition R. Lipizer
and, after studying with Salvatore Accardo, he was awarded
first prize at both the A. Stradivari Competition and the
prestigious Fritz Kreisler International Violin Competition
in Vienna.
Sergej Krylov
He has since developed a highly successful career, performing at the Berlin and Munich
philharmonie, the Musikverein and Konzerthaus in Vienna, Theatre des Champs-Elysees
in Paris, Athens’ Megaron, Brussels Bozar, Tokyo’s Suntory Hall, Teatro Colon in Buenos
Aires, Teatro La Fenice in Venice and Teatro alla Scala in Milan.
Krylov has appeared with such prestigious world orchestras as the Vienna Symphony,
Dresden Staatskapelle, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra,
Camerata Academica Salzburg, English Chamber Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra,
Czech Philharmonie, Orchestra “Giuseppe Verdi” in Milan, Filarmonica Toscanini,
Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg and Copenhagen Philharmonic.
His friendship with Russian cellist and conductor Mstislav Rostropovich is a significant
moment in Krylov’s artistic life. He has appeared with many other conductors as well:
Vladimir Ashkenazy, Nicola Luisotti, Valery Gergiev, Yuri Temirkanov, Mikhail Pletnev,
Vladimir Jurowsky, Frühbeck de Burgos, Andrey Boreyko, George Pehlivanian, Jutaka
Sado, Saulus Sondezkis, Zoltan Kocsis and Yuri Bashmet, among them. His chamber music
collaborations include work with Yuri Bashmet, Bruno Canino, Itamar Golan, Aleksandar
Madzar, Maxim Vengerov, Misha Maisky, Yefim Bronfman, Stefania Mormone, Mikhail
Rudy, Nabuko Imai and Lilya Zilberstein.
In 2009, Krylov was nominated music director of the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra,
following Saulius Sondeckis, and works regularly with the ensemble as soloist and
conductor.
His discography, in addition to the recent publication of the Paganini 24 Caprices, includes
recordings for EMI, Melodya and Agorà.
Krylov plays the Stradivari “Scotland University” (1734) from the Sau-Wing Lam
Collection, courtesy of “Fondazione A. Stradivari” in Cremona.
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