Carl

Petersson

Born 1981 in Lund,

Sweden

Carl Petersson began playing piano at age 15. Ten years later, he graduated from

the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen, where he studied with Jose

Ribera. During his studies Petersson attended several master classes, including the

Tel-Hai International Piano Master Class, which he was awarded a scholarship to

four times. Some of Petersson’s many accolades include his winning of several

competitions such as the 24th Chopin Piano Competition in April of 2011. He was

also awarded the Isman Family Prize whilst attending the Tel-Hai Master Class.

Carl has performed as a soloist as well as with orchestras on numerous occasions

in Canada, the United States, China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Sweden, Den-

mark, Poland, France, the Czech Republic, Germany and Israel. In the autumn of

2012 he toured North America, performing Grieg’s Piano Concerto seven times

under Kerry Stratton. During his Canadian tour he also made a live recording of

Grieg’s Piano Concerto at CBC (Canadian Radio).

GRIEG:

Piano concerto in B minor on fragments by Grieg., reconst. By Helge

Evju (US Premiere)

BRUCKNER:

Symphony No. 4 in E

flat Major, “Romantic”

Magnificent Bruckner

REPERTOIRE

It’s the Grieg Piano Concerto you never expected to hear: the fragments of his

second work for piano, expertly reconstructed by Helge Evju and performed for

the first time on American shores. It’s paired with Bruckner’s powerful evocation

of the days of chivalry,

his Symphony No. 4.

Piano virtuoso, Carl Pe-

tersson, lends his expert

playing to this wonder-

ful performance con-

ducted by JoAnn Fal-

letta.

10:30am

Friday, Nov. 11

Considered to be one of the leading Romantic composers, Grieg’s use and

development of Norwegian folk music in his compositions helped to put the

music of Norway in the international spectrum and generate a national iden-

tity similar to the impacts made by Jean Sibelius and Antonin Dvorak on

Finland and Bohemia respectively.

His music is described as being ex-

pressive of the beauty of Norwegian

rural life and capture the culture of

Europe as a whole.

Edvard Grieg

Norwegian Composer and Pianist (1843-1907)

Page 2

Piano Concerto in B minor on

Fragments by Grieg, reconstructed by Helge Evju

Fragments composed aprrox. 1883, Re constructed in 1997

Grieg began working on his second piano concerto in 1883 but soon there after made the decision to

abandon the work. It’s possible this was due to his increased focus and time put into studying and col-

lection Norwegian folk music. Only fragments remain of his planned second concerto, which is a

shame indeed as his first piano concerto in A minor was very well received and beloved. Helge Evju

took up the challenge to create a new con-

cert piece with the pre-existing fragments

and elements that had been published by

the Oslo Grieg Society in 1997. Shortly

after, the piece made its premiere in June

of 1998. Rather than taking the path of an

advanced contemporary work, Evju in-

stead chose to compose a piece he felt

Grieg would have intended; a romantic,

beautiful piece, full of noble passion.

Carefully he struck the right balance of

original fragments in coalesce with his

own individual voice to create his interpretation and reconstruction of Grieg’s unfinished work.

Helge Evju

Norwegian Composer and Pianist (1942- )

Helge Evju was born into a family of musicians. He was

taught piano mainly by his aunt, the concert pianist,

Aslaug Evju Blackstad, and had his hometown debut in

1959, playing the Beethoven C major concerto. Over

the years he has gained notoriety through his many ac-

complishments as a performer and his work with the

Norwegian Opera as a pianist-repitituer where he re-

mained until his retirement in 2011. As a musician he

has made quite an impact with his lectures, arrange-

ments, orchestrations and compositions.

Movements: 1. Moderato tranquilo

2. Scherzo

3. Adagio: Grieg fragments I, ii, iii

4. Finale: presto ma non troppo

FRIDAY, NOV. 11

Bruckner was a timeless Romantic. In the best sense of the term, Anton Bruckner was a ‘late bloomer.’

His life in music began at age 4, with violin lessons from his father. Initially enthralled with Beethoven

and Schubert, Anton became a champion for Franz Liszt and especially Richard Wagner, who he re-

vered as a god among the Muses. By his 40th year, Bruckner was regarded as a virtuoso organist across

France and Germany. He later capped his devotion to teaching by an appointment at the Vienna Conser-

vatory. But from early maturity, Bruckner was troubled by emotional issues. For example: although he

was a devout Catholic, he was an occult mystic by disposition. Furthermore, he could never get it quite

right with women, making several proposals of marriage to ladies who were either far too young for him

or otherwise inaccessible. The continuing rejections ultimately led to a nervous breakdown for which he

was confined to an asylum for 10 weeks. Another issue for Bruckner was his diffidence about his own

music, which compelled him to revise almost every important work he composed, often years later. De-

spite all this, Bruckner’s finished scores are confident and charged with certitude. Goethe’s insight surely

applies:

“A man’s defects are the faults of his time, but his virtues are his own.” Bruckner’s full output comprises

nine full-bodied symphonies and about 60 sacred works, from songs to grandly scored oratorios.

.

Anton Bruckner

Austrian Composer (1824-1896)

Page 3

Symphony No. 4 in E-Flat Major, “Romantic”

Composed in 1874, 60 minute duration

Movements:

1. Bewegt, nicht zu schnell-lively, not too fast

2. Andante quasi allegretto-moderately

3. Scherzo: bewegt; trio-lively

4. Finale: bewegt, doch nicht zu schnell-Lively,

but not too fast

Composed in 1874, but as for many of Bruckner’s pieces, was sub-

ject to revisions up until 1888. Bruckner’s Symphony No. 4, one of

his most popular works, was dedicated to Prince Konstantin of

Kohentohe-Schillinsfurst. The piece made its premiere in 1881 by

Hans Richter in Vienna and was well received by critics and the

audience. Bruckner himself nicknamed this piece “Romantic” as it

was written in the height of the romantic movement.

Explore and Learn:

Bruckner, like many others on the forefront of contemporary musical radicalism,

was ridiculed for pushing the boundaries of the compositional and harmonic norms.

Many “contemporaries” of their time are not well received because they may be intro-

ducing new concepts or musical elements that people are not used to hearing. Even Bee-

thoven had works that were panned by critics at the time, despite the fact that they are

now widely considered some of the best pieces of music of all time.

Can you think of an example of modern music that may not have been well re-

ceived, despite presenting rich musical elements, because it pushed the boundaries of the

current social norms?

Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra

As Buffalo’s cultural ambassador, the Grammy Award-winning

Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, under Music Director JoAnn

Falletta, presents more than 120 Classics, Pops and Youth

Concerts each year and reaches more than 40,000 K-12

students per year across all eight counties of Western New

York.

Since 1940, the orchestra’s permanent home has been

Kleinhans Music Hall, a National Historic Landmark designed

by Eliel and Eero Saarinen with an international reputation as

one of the finest concert halls in the United States.

JoAnn Falletta, Conductor

Friday Morning

Concert Series

BUFFALO PHILHARMONIC

ORCHESTRA

education@bpo.org

Sources: Ed Yadzinski, BPO.org, Wikipedia.org