Program Notes
Coriolan Overture
(1807)
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
According to legend, Coriolan was a Roman nobleman unjustly exiled in the
early fifth century B.C. The bitter Coriolan raises an army of Volsci against his
own Roman people only to be met by his mother, Volumnia. She pleads for
mercy—twice, and in the end Coriolan realizes he can neither attack Rome nor
return to the Volsci. As truly befits such a tragic figure, Coriolan commits suicide
rather than be captured (though in Shakespeare’s telling, he is killed by the
Volsci).
In this eight-minute overture, written for a production written by Heinrich von
Collin, Beethoven captures the main plot elements. Unlike other pieces written in
Beethoven’s middle stylistic period (such as the Fifth Symphony) the overture
does not end triumphantly, but rather in tragic resignation.
Our Town
Aaron Copland (1900-1990)
(1940)
Our Town was written at a time of great change in America. Thornton Wilder’s
Pulitzer prize-winning play has been one of the most successful and performed in
all American dramatic theatre. In 1940, as the country braced itself against the
increasing threat of war, the film version was produced with Aaron Copland
providing the music.
The universal themes of life, love, and death are explored in the fictitious town
of Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire. Copland’s music during this period include
some of his most famous and enduring: Fanfare for the Common Man, music for
the film Of Mice and Men, and his ballet for Martha Graham, Appalachian Spring.
Pictures at an Exhibition
(1874/1922)
Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881)
orchestration by Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Originally for solo piano, Mussorgsky’s magnum opus has been orchestrated
several times for orchestra, band, and other ensembles. None is as well-known
or oft-performed as Maurice Ravel’s from 1922.
Click here for some of the images that inspired Mussorgsky.
Promenade
Mussorgsky unifies his pictures through several promenades, that is,
musical descriptions of his feelings as he arrives at the exhibition and wanders
amongst the art.
1. Gnomus
Literally, gnome. Hartmann’s drawing is of a shrieking wooden
nutcracker.
Promenade
2. Il vecchio castello
A troubadour (traveling minstrel singer) sings before an ancient,
crumbling castle.
Promenade
3. Tuileries
Hartmann’s picture as seen by the childless Mussorgsky—one can
only wonder what Mussorgsky thought of children! Children innocently play and
argue in the Parisian garden while consoling mothers mediate.
4. Bydlo
Ravel inserts his musical perspective here. Rather than depicting a
motionless ox-cart, as did Hartmann and Mussorgsky, Ravel gives it direction.
We first hear the ox-cart from afar, but soon it approaches. Once it passes, we
follow it until it disappears in the distance.
Promenade
5. Ballet des poussins dans leurs coques
The picture of the costume designed for the ballet of the unhatched
chicks in their shells.
6. Samuel Goldenberg und Schmuyle
This movement was originally called “Two Jews: one rich, the other
poor.” It was inspired by pictures Hartmann drew of the Warsaw ghetto.
7. Limoges--Le Marche
This movement depicts the flurry of activity in the French
marketplace.
8. Catacombae--Sepulcrum Romanum
In the drawing, Hartmann is being led through the underground
Roman catacombs.
Cum mortuis in lingua mortua
“With the dead in a dead language”—this is a transformation of the
promenade theme.
9. La Cabane sur des pattes de poule (Baba-Yaga)
This music depicts the wild ride of the Russian folktale witch BabaYaga as she collects human bones to make her supper.
10. La grande porte de Kiev
The Great Gate was never constructed, but we hear the grandeur of
Hartmann’s design. The bells at the end of the music recall the pealing bells
celebrating the return of triumphant troops through the gate.