Symphony Soup

John DeMain | Conductor May 4, 2010

Overture Center for the Arts 10AM | 12:15PM

Madison Symphony Orchestra Proudly Presents

Teacher Resource Guide

Symphony Soup

Dear Teacher: The Madison Symphony Orchestra welcomes you to the 2010 Symphony Soup Concerts! Symphony Soup is a special way for children in Kindergarten to third grade to learn about music through the experience of a live symphony concert. The idea of “soup” conveys the way ingredients, spices, and flavors combine in a delicious bowl of soup, just as musical instruments come together to create beautiful music that can lift and refresh the soul. It is possible to eat a single noodle from a bowl of soup, and so too can parts of music be separated out of the orchestra. However, to fully appreciate music (or a bowl of soup!) all the parts must be heard as one. Each piece in the concert is between two and five minutes long and includes music from across styles, genres and centuries. This guide includes some background information about the songs, composers and orchestra, with the goal of enriching the concert experience in an age-appropriate way. Bon appétit!

{Please feel free to copy any part of this booklet for student use}

Special Thanks to our Sponsor: Madison Community Foundation encourages, facilitates and manages long-term philanthropy. Since 1942, the Foundation

staff has helped people realize their philanthropic goals, allowing them to support charitable interests anywhere in the world. The

Community Foundation also awards grants throughout Dane County to strengthen and enhance community assets.

Madison Symphony Orchestra has benefitted from the work of the Foundation in many ways. For 10 years, Symphony Soup was

presented as part of the OnStage Series, first at the Madison Civic Center and then at the Overture Center. This season, for the first

time, the MSO is independently producing the concert and needed special funding for it to continue. The Madison Community

Foundation stepped in with a significant grant to preserve this important performance for the 2009-2010 Season. Symphony Soup is one of three core youth concerts the MSO presents each season, and it is the culmination of our nationally recognized Up Close and Musical® Program. We can’t thank the Madison

Community Foundation enough. More information can be found at their website:

madisoncommunityfoundation.org.

Symphony Soup Madison Symphony Orchestra

John DeMain, Conductor May 4, 2010

10AM | 12:15PM Overture Hall

Barber of Seville: Overture

The Four Seasons, “Spring”, Mvt. I

Symphony No. 94 in G Major, “Surprise”, Mvt. II

Tale of the Tsar Salton:

Flight of the Bumblebee

“Habanera” from Carmen (Suite 2, #7)

Fantasia on “Greensleeves”

Serenade for Strings, Mvt. IV. Presto

The Maple Leaf Rag

Gioachino Rossini

Antonio Vivaldi

Joseph Haydn

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

Georges Bizet

Ralph Vaughn-Williams

Pyotr Tchaikovsky

Scott Joplin

Table of Contents: | Program:

Program.......................................1

Meet the Symphony................2

Barber of Seville........................3

The Four Seasons.....................4

“Surprise” Symphony..............5

Flight of the Bumblebee…......6

Habanera....................................7

Fantasia......................................8

Serenade for Strings................9

The Maple Leaf Rag...............10

Activities...................................11

Symphony Musicians……......12

Symphony Soup Page 1

Meet the Madison Symphony Orchestra What is a “symphony”?

A symphony has two different meanings. One of these meanings is a group of musicians—or a “music ensemble”—that uses string, woodwind, brass, and percussion instruments. In this case, you would say, “I am going to see the symphony.” The other meaning of “symphony” is a piece of music written for the orchestra. This kind of symphony usually has three or four different sections, which are called movements. You could say, “The piece of music I am listening to is a symphony.”

A symphony orchestra is made up of musicians playing many different instruments. String Section (up to 50 musicians): Brass Section (12 musicians): Violin Horn Viola Trumpet Cello Trombone Bass Tuba Harp Percussion Section (5 musicians): Woodwind Section (12 musicians): Timpani Flute Triangle Piccolo Snare Drum Oboe Cymbals English horn Glockenspiel Clarinet Bass Drum Bass Clarinet Xylophone Bassoon Piano

So how do all of these musicians manage to play a piece of music together? They are led by the conductor. The Madison Symphony Orchestra is led by Maestro DeMain. His job is to choose the music that the orchestra will play, and then to stand at the front of the orchestra and lead the musicians through the music. You will see him using a baton to keep the beat, and cuing instruments to begin playing. He also has signals that tell the orchestra how to play the music—loudly, softly, smoothly, and so on.

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Maestro DeMain

The Barber of Seville: Overture Gioachino Rossini

“The Barber of Seville” is an opera buffa, or Italian comedic opera. It is perhaps the most famous of all comedic operas and one of the most performed operas in the United States.

Gioachino Rossini was born into a family of musicians in the small town of Pesaro, Italy. His musical career began at the age of 6, when he played triangle in his father’s musical group! By the time he was 18, Rossini had written 7 one-act operas, and his first two-act opera. “The Barber of Seville” is his most famous work, seconded by “La Cenerentola,” which was based on the classic Cinderella story, but without the magical parts. Rossini’s operas were magical enough without supernatural elements. His musical talent combined with his humor and command of stage drama made him a great success all over the world. His “William Tell Overture” is also very recognizable. In 1815, he was made the musical director of two theaters in Naples. As he grew older, he wrote very little, and he died in 1868 at the age of 76.

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Rossini wrote “The Barber of Seville,” including all of the music, in only 3 weeks! Some of the music was borrowed from operas he had written previously.

“The Barber of Seville” is a love story about Rosina and Count Almaviva. They must secretly see each other so that Rosina’s uncle will not find out. Figaro, a barber, helps the couple communicate and fall in love. Without the help of Figaro the Barber, Rosina and Count Almaviva would have been separated from each other forever!

Seville is a city in Spain that is over 2,000 years old! It is famous for its museums,

historical buildings, festivals, flamenco dancing, and bull

fighting.

Antonio Vivaldi began playing the violin as child and played du-ets with his father. He began his adult career as a priest, but he soon left the church and began teaching music at an orphanage for girls. His students quickly became well-known all over Europe. Vivaldi wrote much of his music for his students. He was even commissioned by the French King, Louis XI, to compose special music. Vivaldi’s music became unpopular, making him very poor. He sold many of his manuscripts at low prices, so his music was rarely heard until the 1900s. In 1740, Vivaldi moved to Vienna to work for Charles VI. However, soon after Vivaldi arrived in Vienna, Charles died, leaving Vivaldi with no work. A year later, Vivaldi fell ill and died. Vivaldi was a busy composer, writing over 500 concertos, 46 operas, and 73 sonatas.

The Story of Springtime Vivaldi wrote a poem to go along with his concerto. The

song tells us the story of what it feels like on the very first day of spring.

     

 

Listen for the birds’ songs, the gentle murmuring of the wind and stream, and the thunder and lightning of the big storm. When the storm is over, listen for the return of the

birds singing.

The Four Seasons, “Spring”, I Antonio Vivaldi

Spring has come and is rejoicing. The birds greet it with happy songs. The streams softly murmur to the wafting of gentle breezes. But the sky suddenly grows black; 

lighting and thunder speak out. Then they fade away to silence, and the birds sing once again in the peaceful 

spring day. 

Signs that spring has come! Flowers bloom.

Birds Sing. Snow melts.

Thunderstorms roar. Grass grows.

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Symphony No. 94 in G Major, “Surprise”, II Joseph Haydn

Born in Austria in 1732, Franz Joseph Haydn was the son of a wheelwright who was also an amateur harpist. At the age of 5, Haydn went to school to study violin, singing, and music. When he was 8, he was brought to St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna to sing; he stayed there until 1749. It was not until 1759 that he finally got his first job as an orchestra director in the house of a nobleman. After this orchestra disbanded, Prince Paul Anton offered Haydn a job at the palace; this job included composition, conducting, directing operas, and performing chamber music. It was during this time that Haydn wrote his first great symphonies, and his fame spread throughout Europe. Haydn was great friends with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and later taught Ludwig van Beethoven. “The Seasons” was one of his last compositions (first performed in 1801), and he died in 1809.

Why is this symphony called “The Surprise Symphony”? The music is played softly for a long time, then suddenly it is played very

LOUDLY! The sudden change in dynamics makes this symphony surprising!

Dynamics means the level of volume or intensity of the music. It can be loud, soft, or in between.

Piano means the music is played softly. This little “p” is the symbol that tells the musicians to play piano.

Fortissimo [fohr-TEE-see-moh] means the music is played very loudly. The double “f” symbol signals the musicians to play fortissimo.

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Tale of the Tsar Salton: Flight of the Bumblebee Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov was born in Russia on March 18, 1844, into an aristocratic family. Though he showed musical talent at an early age, he went to school at the Russian Imperial Naval College and then joined the Navy. It was only when he met composer Mily Balakirev that he began to think more seriously about music. Balakirev taught Rimsky-Korsakov about music and composing while he was not at sea. He wrote a symphony, an opera, and an orchestral piece before leaving the Navy. In 1871, Rimsky-Korsakov became a professor of music at the St. Petersburg Conservatoire. In 1905, he was fired for political reasons, which caused other professors to quit their jobs in protest. Rimsky-Korsakov was soon reinstated. At the end of his life, Rimsky-Korsakov suffered heart disease, and he died in 1908.

The sixteenth notes above are played very quickly. These fast notes in “Flight of the Bumblebee” sound like a buzzing, crazy bee flying around! Think about how a bee flies. It does not fly in a straight line but buzzes around and around, up and down! It is this erratic pattern of flight that Rimsky-Korsakov manages to recreate with his music. While listening to “The Flight of the Bumblebee,” imagine a busy bee flying around among the orchestra! That is the image that Rimsky-Korsakov wants the audience to imagine.

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In the opera from which “Flight of the Bumblebee” comes, the song is played when a

magical Swan turns the main character into an insect so that he can fly away to find his father.

The opera is based on a poem by the poet Alexander Pushkin. Because of the very fast

speed of the song, it is often used as a demonstration of a musician’s talent, many

times played by violin soloists. It is a famous and easily-recognized song that has been

adapted many times, even by popular bands and in television and movies.

Disney’s “The Bee Movie”

“Habanera” from Carmen (Suite 2, #7) Georges Bizet Born into a musical family in France in 1838, Georges Bizet received good musical training from a very early age and was accepted to the Paris Conservatory at age nine. There, he became a skilled pianist and composer. When he was 17, he composed “Symphony in C,” though it was not heard until 1935. He turned down a position as a teacher at the Conservatory so that he could focus on writing. However, he was only moderately successful during his life. Later, he was forced to serve in the Franco-Prussian war and suffered from health problems. In 1875, he completed the opera “Carmen,” which turned out to be controversial and did not last long on the French stage. Less than three months later, on June 2, 1875, Bizet died of a heart attack. Five years later, “Carmen” returned to Paris after having great success elsewhere in Europe and remains one of the most well-known operas to this day.

The “Habanera” is a kind of popular dance music that originated in Cuba. Bizet thought that he was using parts of a folk song for his “Habanera” in “Carmen.” He later discovered that the song had been written only ten years earlier, and so he made sure to give credit to the composer.

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Melody

Ostinato

Cuba

Fantasia on “Greensleeves” Ralph Vaughn-Williams

Ralph Vaughn-Williams was born in rural England in 1872. As a child, he played piano and violin. He went to Trinity College in Cambridge and later the Royal College of Music. He was one of the first to travel the British countryside, collecting folk songs and putting them to paper. He volunteered with the Field Ambulance Corps during World War I. In 1918 he was appointed Director of Music, First Army, which helped him transition back to music after the war. After the war, he began to write a lot of music, including many of his most famous works. Though he declined a knighthood, he was appointed to the Order of Merit. He wrote all kinds of music, including symphonies, operas, choral music, and film scores—he even arranged a song for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II! He continued composing until his death in 1958, at age 82.

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“Fantasia on Greensleeves” is based on a popular folk tune that goes all the way back to the 1500s—that means it is over 500 years old! Ralph Vaughn-Williams used the tune in one of his operas, called “Sir John in Love,” before he used it in “Fantasia on Greensleeves.”

The “Greensleeves” folk tune is often recognized as a popular Christmas carol. The composer

William Chatterton Dix used the tune to write the carol “What Child is This,” just after the

American Civil War. Can you hear that familiar song when you listen to Vaughn-Williams’

“Fantasia on Greensleeves”?

The word fantasia (or fantasy) can be used in several different ways. A fantasy is a daydream. In music, it means something different. A fantasia is a piece of music that does not follow a set form or pattern. It can also describe a song that is based on another musical work—like “Fantasia on Greensleeves” is based on the folk tune “Greensleeves.”

Serenade for Strings, Mvt. IV. Presto Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born in 1840, in a western province of Russia. He studied law in St. Petersburg and also took music classes at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. In 1866, he became the teacher of harmony at the Moscow Conservatory. It was here that Tchaikovsky wrote his first operas, concertos and symphonies. In 1876, he met Madame Nadejda von Meck, who became his patron for the next 14 years. During this time, Tchaikovsky wrote some of his most famous works, including “Swan Lake” and “Sleeping Beauty.” Between 1887 and 1891, he went on several very successful concert tours and was well-received in Europe and the United States. In 1891-92, he wrote “The Nutcracker” ballet and suite. In 1893, Tchaikovsky wrote Symphony #6 in B Minor (also known as “Pathetique”), but it was not well-received. Only 9 days later, he died of cholera.

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Tchaikovsky wanted to write “Serenade for Stings” in the style of Mozart’s work, because he was a role model for Tchaikovsky. He wrote in a letter to his patron that “this is a piece from the heart” and “I am violently in love with this work and cannot wait for it to be played.” Though in many ways different than Mozart’s style of music, “Serenade for Strings” was written as a tribute to the man who was Tchaikovsky’s musical model.

Throughout “Serenade for Strings,” Tchaikovsky uses themes from Russian folk tunes, which were catalogued by his fellow composer Mily Balakirev (who was also friends with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov!). This gives the piece a dance-like feel. Tchaikovsky often used tunes from Russian folk dances in his music, perhaps most famously in “Trepak” from “The Nutcracker.”

Two of Tchaikovsky’s most famous

works are ballets. One is “Swan Lake,” and the other is “The Nutcracker.”

Both of these ballets are still produced by companies all over the world, and the music is easily recognized. The stories and music are even used in television and movies worldwide. Swan Lake The Nutcracker

The Maple Leaf Rag Scott Joplin

Scott Joplin was born in Texas, sometime in late 1867; his exact birth date is unknown. By the time he was 7, Joplin could play banjo and was learning to play the piano. As a young man, he traveled the Midwest playing piano in bars and saloons, until he settled in St. Louis in about 1890. It was here that Joplin began to study ragtime, a genre of music combining European and African American styles. In 1893, Joplin moved to Sedalia, Missouri, where he worked at the Maple Leaf Club, which was the inspiration for his most famous work, “The Maple Leaf Rag.” In 1911, he moved to New York, where he wrote “Treemonisha,” the first opera written by an African American. It was unsuccessful at the time. In April 1917, Joplin died of syphilis. 59 years later, in 1976, “Treemonisha” won the Pulitzer Prize.

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“The Maple Leaf Rag” is a piece of ragtime music, which was a popular American style of music in the early 1900s. It is a modification of marches and jigs, which combine to make dance music. The popularity of ragtime music diminished as jazz music became more popular around 1917. Ragtime is often said to be the American version of dance music by Mozart, Chopin and Brahms. Ragtime music is very upbeat and is usually played on the piano.

Ragtime music is characterized by syncopated beats. Syncopation means that the musical beats do not follow the regular measured rhythm. It is the interruption of the normal flow of rhythm. At the time when ragtime music was very popular, syncopation was being used in new and exciting ways.

Activities Learn to Conduct the Orchestra! A conductor moves his baton in special patterns, depending on the beat of the music. One of the simplest patterns is a repetition of four beats. Here is how to move the baton: Beat 1: Straight down Beat 2: Swoop up and to the left Beat 3: Straight across, left-to-right Beat 4: Swoop to the left and up Now you try! Use your pointer finger as your baton. Count slowly to four out loud, moving your hand in the conductor’s pattern. Once you have the pattern down, try it a little faster! At the Symphony Soup Concert, pay attention to how Maestro DeMain uses his baton!

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Let’s feel the RHYTHM! Have you ever sat very still and felt your heart beat? Your heart beat is similar to the beat or pulse in music. Sometimes fast or slow, it is always very steady. Rhythm is how we divide up the beats in music; how long or short the notes are.

Let’s listen to the “Habanera” from Bizet’s Carmen and see if we can clap the rhythm played by the cellos (low string voices). We call this short rhythmic pattern an “Ostinato.” This Ostinato is repeated over and over again throughout the entire piece.

Learn to sing the Ostinato rhythm as a class, using ||:O-STI-NA-TO; O-STI-NA-TO:||

Now let’s focus on another part of the song. Listen to the Melody played by the violins (high string voices). As a class, learn to sing the higher melody using “la-la-la.”

When the class is very comfortable singing both the Ostinato and Melody parts, divide the class into two groups; an Ostinato group and a melody group. Sing the two parts together as a class. Be sure to switch parts so that all children have the opportunity to sing both parts.

Cellos play the Ostinato

O - sti-na-to O - sti-na-to O - sti-na-to O - sti-na-to O - sti-na-to...

La-la la-la-la la-la la la-la la-la...

Violins play the Melody

VIOLIN I Tyrone Grieve Suzanne Beia Leanne Kelso League Huy Luu Olga Pomolova Hyunsil Roh Eleanor Bartsch John Patek Tim Kamps Edith Hines Jon Vriesacker Kathryn Taylor Sara Chazin Ka Ming Tan Anna Carlson Melissa Chan VIOLIN II Xavier Deblack Wendy Buehl Rachel Hauser Erica Sanders Rolf Wulfsberg Elisa Mon Garcia Geri Toole Warren Emery Matthew Dahm Robin Ryan Michelle Kaebisch Wes Luke Roy Meyer Beth Larson VIOLA Christopher Dozoryst Katrin Talbot Diedre Buckley Renata Hornik Elisabeth Ellenwood Nicholas Jeffery Janse Vincent Jen Paulson Marika Fischer Hoyt Daniel Kim Cynthia Edwards Gwen Miller

CELLO Karl Lavine Sean Taubner Karen Cornelius Andrea Kleesattel Lisa Bressler Margaret Townsend Alison Rowe Laurie Riss Melissa Honigman Jamie Davis BASS Fredrick Schrank Robert Rickman Carl Davick Zachary Betz Steve Kasprzak August Jirovec Peter Lawson Michael Hennessy FLUTE Stephanie Jutt Elizabeth Marshall Joanna Messer OBOE Marc Fink Jennifer Morgan Andrea Gross Hixon ENGLISH HORN Jennifer Morgan CLARINET Linda Bartley Nancy Mackenzie BASS CLARINET Gregory Smith BASSOON Cynthia Cameron-Fix Amanda Szczys Carol Rosing CONTRABASSOON Carol Rosing

HORN Linda Kimball Ricardo Almeida Michael Szczys William Muir Anne Aley TRUMPET John Aley Frank Hanson Dave Cooper TROMBONE Joyce Messer Katie Kretschman Michael Allsen TUBA Paul Haugan TIMPANI John Jutsum PERCUSSION Tony DiSanza HARP Karen Beth Atz Mary Ann Harr STAFF

Richard H. Mackie, Jr. Executive Director Ann H. Bowen General Manager Robin Johnson Development Director Ann Miller Marketing Director Michelle A. Kaebisch Education Director Chris Salzwedel Subscription Manager Nicole Wittlin Associate Development Director Evelyn Dale Office Manager Samuel C. Hutchison Organ Curator Anna Bose Marketing Specialist Casey Oelkers Development Associate Alexis Carreon Personnel Manager Kathryn Taylor Librarian Abby Ballain Marketing Intern Lisa Lach Education Intern Diane Nixon Volunteer Associate

MADISON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA John DeMain, Music Director

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Written By: Michelle Kaebisch, Education Director

Lisa Lach, Education Intern

Symphony Soup

This teacher resource guide addresses the following Wisconsin State Model Academic Standards for Music:

D.4.4 Explore, in large group settings, compositional devices using sound effects

F.4.1 Identify phrases and sections of music that are the same, similar, and/or different

F.4.6 Respond through purposeful physical movement to selected prominent music characteristics or to specific music events while listening to music

F.4.8 Identify simple musical devices such as form, contrast and texture

I.4.1 Demonstrate audience behavior appropriate for the context and style of music performed

Join us for the 2010-2011 Youth Concerts! Fall Youth Concerto Concert

October 9, 2010

Fall Youth Concerts

November 23, 2010 at 9:15am | 11:15am | 1:00pm

High School Concerto Competition

December 11, 2010

Spring Young People’s Concert

March 17, 2011 at 10 am

Symphony Soup Concert

May 17, 2011