JULY 15, 2014 @ 7:30 PM
This concert was regrettably CANCELLED at 5:25 PM due to severe weather concerns.
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), Corolian Overture, Op. 62 (1807)
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), Octet for winds in E-flat major, Op. 103 (1792/93)
I. Allegro
II. Andante
III. Menuetto
IV. Presto
Intermission
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21 (1800)
I. Adagio molto – Allegro con brio
II. Andante cantabile con moto
III. Menuetto: Allegro molto e vivace
IV. Adagio – Allegro molto e vivace
WQXR HOST: Naomi Lewin
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Orpheus is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts; the NY State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the NY State Legislature; and the NY City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
Orpheus is represented in North America exclusively by Baker Artists, LLC, and in Europe by Konzertdirektion Schmid. Orpheus has recorded for Deutsche Grammophon, Sony Classical, EMI Classics, BMG/RCA Red Seal, Decca, Nonesuch, Verve, Avex Classics, and its own label Orpheus Chamber Orchestra Records.
Musical Notes – By Aaron Grad
Beethoven was born in Bonn and he died in Vienna. For his Coriolan Overture, Op. 62
Duration: Approximately 8 minutes
Composed: 1807
First Performance: March 1807, in Vienna
The core musicians are:
Julietta Curenton, flute; James Austin Smith, oboe; Sarah Beaty, clarinet; Cynde Iverson, bassoon; Angela Cordell Bilger, horn; Carl Albach, trumpet; Maya Gunji, timpani; Renée Jolles, violin; Eriko Sato, violin; Mark Holloway, viola; Pitnarry Shin, cello; Karl Doty, double bass
Origins
Heinrich Joseph von Collin’s play Coriolan—not to be confused with Shakespeare’s Coriolanus, based on the same story from Plutarch—debuted in Vienna in 1802. The drama follows a Roman general who defects to the enemy camp and raises an army against Rome, reaching the gates of the city before his mother convinces him to stop. The play was dormant by the time Beethoven wrote his overture in 1807, and his motivation for undertaking the project remains unclear. It may have been meant to draw the attention of the new managers of the imperial theater, including Prince Lobkowitz, who hosted the private concert in March at which Beethoven first offered the overture; it is also possible that Beethoven was courting the playwright for a new opera collaboration. Aside from a one-night revival of Coriolan that April, featuring Beethoven’s music in advance of the play that inspired it, the overture came to audiences as a concert work, encapsulating the dramatic thrust in a single movement.
Beethoven’s condensed portrait of a tortured hero quivers with the taut, muscular energy that is typical of his “middleperiod” scores. The choice of key, C minor, foreshadows the fateful Fifth Symphony, composed the following year. Like that symphony, the Coriolan Overture generates powerful emotions from elemental material. The signature motive is a drawn-out C bursting into a short, explosive chord. The unresolved harmonies, like hanging questions, suggest a battle waging within the protagonist’s own conscience. The contrasting theme, a lyrical line in E-flat major, could represent the entreaties of the general’s mother, or his own repressed tenderness for his home city. After a developmental sequence of brittle motives over a running bass line and a return of the opening material, a final whiff of the sweet counter-theme gives way to even more brutal chords and pauses. The last phrases bow out quietly, ending with barren plucks on the keynote.
For Beethoven’s Wind Octet in E-flat Major, Op. 103, Duration: approximately 23 minutes
Composed: 1792-93
First Performance: 1793
The core Musicians are:
Matt Dine, oboe; Benjamin Fingland, clarinet; Cynde Iverson, bassoon; Stewart Rose, horn
Origins
Of murky origin, this piece is believed to have been composed in the early 1790s when Beethoven was living in Bonn. It was dedicated to the skilled court musicians of Maximilian Franz, a patron of many in the arts and a backer of the system that Beethoven worked throughout his lifetime to shatter. Beethoven’s woodwind chamber works are all early pieces; the late opus number of this work comes from a much later publication date.
Over the course of four relatively short movements, Beethoven lays out a symphony in miniature. Beginning with a first moment in sonata form, Beethoven shows his already adventurous nature by modifying the recapitulation to eliminate many measures to allow for development of the second theme. The second movement Andante is a play of contrasts, both in melodic materials and the dialogue nature of the pairing of the oboe and bassoon. The following Menuetto is another of Beethoven’s early attempts to advance the minuet-trio style to the later scherzo form he would champion. And the final movement is a quick rondo that contrasts solo passages with group moments of joyous outbursts.
For Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21,
Duration: Approximately 25 minutes
Composed: 1800
First Performance: April 1800, in Vienna
The core Musicians are:
Tanya Witek, flute; Matthew Dine, oboe; Sarah Beaty, clarinet; Harrison Hollingsworth, bassoon; Stewart Rose, horn; John Dent, trumpet; Maya Gunji, timpani; Kyu-Young Kim, violin; Renée Jolles, violin; Dov Scheindlin, viola; Melissa Meell, cello; Karl Doty, double bass
Origins
Sketches of Beethoven’s first symphony appear as early as 1797 with the first performance taking place in 1800 in Vienna in a concert that also included his Septet and Piano Concerto No. 2 alongside a symphony by Mozart and selections from Haydn’s The Creation. While this work owes a great deal to Beethoven’s then teacher (the aforementioned Haydn), its experimental elements, including a more prominent use of independent wind instruments, are evidence of just how crucial Beethoven would be to the evolution of the symphonic form.
The first movement begins with a slow introduction, reminiscent of Haydn, but in a strikingly new way – with a dissonant chord. This dominant tension, relative to the tonal center of both the movement and the symphony, plays a role in each of the upcoming movement, as well. The second movement opens with a courtly theme first in the second violins that is then passed between the other instruments, in a fugal style. Although labeled a Minuet, the third movement is a true scherzo, containing the typical fast triple meter and varied character that is later associated with the form. The final movement, echoing the first, begins with an unusual, slow Adagio introduction which delays the start of the classic sonata-allegro form. The balance of the movement is in a fast tempo and pays tribute to the final movements found in the symphonies of Haydn.
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
A standard-bearer of innovation and artistic excellence, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra is one of the world’s foremost chamber orchestras. Orpheus was founded in 1972 by Julian Fifer and a group of like-minded young musicians determined to combine the intimacy and warmth of a chamber ensemble to the richness of an orchestra. With 71 albums, including the Grammy Award-winning Shadow Dances: Stravinsky Miniatures, and 42 commissioned and premiered original works, Orpheus rotates musical leadership roles for each work, and strives to perform diverse repertoire through collaboration and open dialogue.
Performing without a conductor, Orpheus presents an annual series at Carnegie Hall and tours extensively to major national and international venues. The upcoming 2014-2015 Season will include debut appearances by pianist Fazil Say and violinists Jennifer Koh and Augustin Dumay, and also includes three newly commissioned works. The season will also continue an ongoing exploration of Beethoven in performance with pianist Jonathan Biss, while new looks at favorites from the Orpheus catalog of recordings, including Haydn’s Symphony No. 80, Grieg’s Holberg Suite, and Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll, demonstrate how these musicians have evolved over decades of playing together.