st. louis symphony program nov. 25, 26, 2011

8/3/2019 St. Louis Symphony Program Nov. 25, 26, 2011

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Concert Program for November 25 and 26, 2011

David Robertson, conductorCeleste Golden Boyer, violin

Juan Carmona, guitar

CHABRIER Espaa (1883) (1841-1894)

SAINT-SANS Introduction and Rondo capriccioso for Violin and(1835-1921) Orchestra, op. 28 (1863)

Celeste Golden Boyer, violin

RAVEL Rapsodie espagnole (1907-08) (1875-1937) Prlude la nuit

Malaguea

HabaneraFeria

Intermission

JUAN CARMONA Sinfonia Flamenca (2006) (b. 1963) Part I

Part IIPart III

Juan Carmona, guitar

RAVEL Bolero (1928)

David Robertson is the Beofor Music Director and Conductor.Juan Carmona is brought to you through the generosity of the Whitaker Foundation as part of the

Whitaker Guest Artist Series.The concert of Friday, November 25, is underwritten in part by a generous gift from

Linda and Paul Lee.The concert of Saturday, November 26, is underwritten in part by a generous gift from

Mary Strauss.These concerts are presented by the Thomas A. Kooyumjian Family Foundation.Pre-Concert Conversations are presented by Washington University Physicians.These concerts are part of the Wells Fargo Advisors Series.


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David Robertson Beofor Music Director and ConductorA consummate musician, masterful programmer, anddynamic presence, David Robertson has establishedhimself as one of todays most sought-after Americanconductors. A passionate and compelling communicator

with an extensive knowledge of orchestral and operaticrepertoire, he has forged close relationships with majororchestras around the world through his exhilaratingmusic-making and stimulating ideas. In fall 2011,

Robertson began his seventh season as Music Director of the 132-year-oldSt. Louis Symphony, while continuing as Principal Guest Conductor of theBBC Symphony Orchestra, a post he has held since 2005.

Robertsons guest engagements in the U.S. include performances

with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, SeattleSymphony, Orchestra of St. Lukes, Ensemble ACJW, and the New YorkPhilharmonic, where Robertson is a regular guest conductor. In May2012, Robertson returns to the Metropolitan Opera to conduct BrittensBilly Budd with Nathan Gunn and James Morris in the leading roles.Internationally, guest engagements include the Royal ConcertgebouwOrchestra, where Robertson appears regularly, the Symphonieorchesterdes Bayerischen Rundfunks, as part ofMusic Viva, and several concerts withthe BBC Symphony. In addition to his fresh interpretations of traditional

repertoire, this season Robertson conducts world premieres of GrahamFitkins Cello Concerto with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and cellist Yo-Yo Ma; John Cages Eighty with the Symphonieorchester des BayerischenRundfunks; Providence, a newly commissioned work by Dutch composerKlaas de Vries, with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra; and new worksby Yann Robin and Michael Jarrell with the New York Philharmonic.

A champion of young musicians, Robertson has devoted time toworking with students and young artists throughout his career. OnFebruary 5, 2012, he conducts the Orchestra of St. Lukes and a chorus ofNew York City students in the Carmina Burana Choral Project at CarnegieHalls Stern Auditorium. The program will include Orffs cantata, as wellas new works written by three high school-aged composers based onmusical themes ofCarmina burana.

MichaelTaMMaro


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Celeste Golden BoyerCeleste Golden Boyer joined the St. Louis Symphonyas Second Associate Concertmaster at the start of the2011-12 season. She began her musical studies at theage of three. When she was nine years old, she became

a student of Arkady Fomin, violinist in the DallasSymphony, and at 15, Celeste was accepted into theCurtis Institute of Music, studying with Jaime Laredoand Ida Kavaan. She completed her Bachelor of Music

degree at Curtis in 2005, and in 2007, she received a Master of Musicdegree from the Cleveland Institute of Music where she studied with DavidCerone and Paul Kantor.

Boyer is a laureate of several national and international competitions.Most notably, she was the Bronze Medalist at the International ViolinCompetition of Indianapolis in 2006. Boyer has appeared as soloist withnumerous symphony orchestras around the world, including the LatvianChamber Orchestra in Riga, Latvia, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, andthe Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. As a chamber musician, she hasappeared in series and festivals such as the Jupiter Symphony ChamberPlayers, the Festival de San Miguel de Allende, the Chamber Music Festivalof Lexington, the Innsbrook Institute Music Festival, the Aspen MusicFestival and School, and the Marlboro Music Festival. Boyer won a three-

year fellowship to the Aspen Music Festival and School in 2004, and wassubsequently awarded the Dorothy Delay Memorial Fellowship by thefestival, an award given to only one violin student each summer.

Boyer was the concertmaster of the New York String OrchestraSeminar in 2005 with concerts at Carnegie Hall. She also performedas concertmaster for the Orchestra of St. Lukes in the New York Citypremiere of John Adamss opera A Flowering Tree at Lincoln Center in2009. Boyer was a member of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra from2010-11, and currently performs regularly with the IRIS Orchestra in

Germantown, Tennessee.Celeste Golden Boyer makes her St. Louis Symphony solo subscription

debut with these concerts.


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Spanish Rhythms, French AccentsBY LAURIE SCHULMAN

Ideas at Play

Do French composers write better Spanish music than Spaniards? Thisprogram argues persuasively that the French are formidable challengers.To be sure, Spain has its native sons: Albniz, de Falla, Granados, andRodrigo come immediately to mind. But the seductive pull of Iberianculture has captivated a remarkable number of French musical geniusesas well. We hear several of them this weekend: starting with EmmanuelChabriers Espaa. This vibrant rhapsody for orchestra was trailblazingin its encapsulation of Spanish avor, setting a standard for decades ofFrenchand Spanishcomposers who followed.

Camille Saint-Sanswas writing for the sensational young Spanish violinist Pablo de Sarasate when he composed the Introduction andRondo capriccioso. This splendid showpiece is loosely patterned afterthe Italian operatic formula of recitative and ariabut what an aria!The reworks are a spine-tingling reminder of the superb virtuoso thatSarasate must have been.

Maurice Ravel is surely the most celebrated of all French composerswho wrote in a Spanish vein. His works inspired by Spanish culture

include the opera Lheure espagnole (The Spanish Hour, 1907-09) and theshowpiece Alborada del gracioso (1918). Music Director David Robertsonhas chosen two of the most seductive orchestral examples: Rapsodieespagnole (1907-08) and the ever popular Bolero (1928).

Flamencos central importance to Spanish music is apparent in everywork on this program. Its culmination tonight is the Sinfonia Flamenca byJuan Carmona, a reigning master of amenco guitar who is also the soloistin his ambitious work. Born in France, Carmona has Gypsy blood, and hisidentication with the amenco music of Andalusia is complete. Sinfonia

Flamenca merges the sounds, rhythms, and air of southern Spain withthe splendor of full orchestraenhanced by a dancer and guitar ensemble.

In this Spanish (or is it French?) program, it is worth consideringtwo prominent dance rhythms on display this evening. Both fandangoand bolero are Spanish dances in triple time. Fandangos, which are rstmentioned in Spanish literature at the beginning of the 18th century, aretraditionally danced by a couple with accompaniment of castanets andguitar, often with singing as well; the balletic appeal of such a traditionis obvious. By contrast, the bolero is a more recent development, notappearing until the last quarter of the 18th century. Rarely moving at morethan a moderate tempo (whereas thefandango can range from moderate tofast), boleros allowed for more intricate choreography incorporating somehighly stylized traditional poses.


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Emmanuel Chabrier Espaa

Born: Ambert, Puy de Dme, France, January 18, 1841 Died: Paris, September13, 1894 First performance: November 4, 1883 in Paris; Charles Lamoureuxconducted at the Thtre du Chteau dEau as part of the Socit de Nouveaux

Concerts series STL Symphony premiere: March 13, 1906, Alfred Ernstconducting Most recent STL Symphony performance: November 17, 2006,David Robertson conducting Scoring: Two utes and piccolo, two oboes, twoclarinets, four bassoons, four horns, four trumpets, three trombones, tuba,

timpani and other percussion, two harps, and strings Performance time:Approximately eight minutes

Chabrier, 1880,portrait by Manet

In Context 1883 Karl Marx dies; Brahms Symphony No. 3

premieres; Bruckner composes his Symphony No. 7Emmanuel Chabriers name is inextricably linkedwith this brilliant rhapsody. Espaas popularity haseclipsed Chabriers other music, which remains aslittle known as the details of his fascinating life. Anaccomplished composer of operas, songs, and dozensof solo piano works, Chabrier was also one of the mostintellectual and culturally astute men of his day. Heassociated with many of Frances prominent literary

gures, numbering the poets Jos-Marie de Hrdia, Catulle Mends,and Paul Verlaine among his close friends. Verlaine collaborated withChabrier as librettist for two operas.

Chabriers links with the visual arts were even stronger. He cultivatedthe artists of the day and patronized them as well, particularly EdouardManet and Edgar Degas, who were both his good friends. At Chabriersdeath in 1894, his personal collection of oil paintings alone included sixManets (among them the masterpiece Bar aux Folies-Bergre), six Monets,

two Renoirs, two Sisleys, and a Czanne.He was equally at home among his musical contemporaries, whoserespect he enjoyed not only because of his diverse intellectualism, but alsobecause of his formidable gifts as a pianist and improviser. Henri Duparc,Ernest Chausson, Gabriel Faur, and Vincent dIndy were his colleaguesin the Parisian salons of the Second Empire and the post-Napoleonic era.

Chabriers formal training included music from his early years, buthis father was a lawyer and it was assumed that young Emmanuel wouldadopt law as his profession. After concluding his legal education he took

a position with the Ministry of the Interior, but continued his musicalpursuits. Following his parents deaths, both in 1869, Chabriers artisticactivity increased, and by 1880 he had resigned his government postto devote himself to composition. This decision concerned many of hisfriends, who still considered him a gifted amateur. Espaa changed all that.

Chabrier and his wife spent the second half of 1882 touring Spain.The composer was greatly taken with the country, jotting down rhythmsand harmonies that seemed to surround him everywhere. He wasparticularly struck by the folk music of Andalusia. Upon his return to


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Chabrier

France, he immediately set to work on a composition that would capturehis impressions of the trip. The resulting piece, which received its premierein Paris in November 1883, was an instant success.

The Music Originally written for solo piano, Espaa was Chabriers rst

major orchestral canvas. It is a remarkable achievement. We often think ofFrench composers as having an extended gift for the culture and aura of theIberian peninsula, but in 1883 nothing like Chabriers work had ever beenheard before; only Bizets Carmen even came close. Espaa was seminal,stimulating the rash of Spanish-inuenced music that swept France in thelate 19th and early 20th centuries. Maurice Ravel acknowledged his debtto Chabrier, claiming that no other composer had inuenced him more.

Espaa merges the primitive and atavistic aspects of Andalusian

culture and folksong with modern orchestral dress. Two popular Spanishsong/dance forms in triple meter, the jota and the malaguea (a varietyoffandango), dominate the music, which sparkles like sunlight on waterfrom beginning to end.

Camille Saint-Sans Introduction and Rondo capriccioso, op.28

Born: Paris, October 9, 1835 Died: Algiers, December 16, 1921 Firstperformance: Date uncertain, but sometime between 1863 and 1870, violinistPablo de Sarasate performed the work in Paris STL Symphony premiere: March9, 1917, Mischa Elman was soloist, with Max Zach conducting Most recentSTL Symphony performance: June 16, 1995, Jennifer Koh was soloist, withHarvey Felder conducting a SummerFest concert Scoring: Solo violin and pairsof utes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns, and trumpets, with timpani, and

strings Performance time: Approximately 10 minutes

Saint-Sans in 1919

In Context 1863 Mexico City occupied by French troops; patent granted for a process to make color photographs;Bizets The Pearl Fisherspremieres in Paris

When Camille Saint-Sans died in 1921 at the ageof 86, the trendy Parisian avant-garde considered himan outmoded conservative. French critics damned hiscompositions with faint praise, calling it la mauvaisemusique biencritebad music that was well-written. DuringSaint-Sanss heyday, however, he enjoyed enormous

popularity both as a virtuoso pianist and as a championof pure instrumental music. In a world that increasingly embraced theartistic ideals of Richard Wagner, Saint-Sanss emphasis on instrumentalcomposition distinguished him from most of his contemporaries.

Saint-Sans composed the work we hear in 1863 for the Spanish virtuoso Pablo de Sarasate (1844-1908). It was published in 1870. Itwas among the earliest in his series of single-movement, concerto-likecompositions featuring a solo instrument with orchestra. Most of these

smaller concerted pieces bear the title Romance or Morceau de Concert.


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The Music As its name implies, the Introduction and Rondo capricciosoconsists of two principal sections. The Introduction opens with asentimental melody, but Saint-Sans doesnt waste much time beforeproviding the soloist with an opportunity to dash off a few virtuosicteasers as a hint of what is coming.

With the rondo section, we are treated to a full-blown show-off vehicle.Always the craftsman rst, Saint-Sans unfolds a comprehensive expositionof two delicious, memorable themes before the reworks commence.Rondo form, with its periodic restatement of the main theme, provides aconvenient reminder that this composer was a master melodist. During theinterludes separating the rondo statements, the violinist dazzles us withtechnical wizardry. We never lose sight of the principal theme. At the sametime, Saint-Sans seems to constantly introduce new ones, in a proigacy

of melodic richness that recalls Mozart. A brief cadenza-like passage nearthe end heralds a spectacular coda in major mode. Saint-Sans makes asuperb coloratura soprano of his violin soloist, yet he does so in a way thatis unfailingly violinistic and great fun for the audience as well.

Maurice Ravel Rapsodie espagnole

Born: Ciboure, France, March 7, 1875 Died: Paris, December 28, 1937 Firstperformance: March 15, 1908, at the Thtre du Chtelet in Paris, EdouardColonne conducting the Orchestre Colonne STL Symphony premiere: December8, 1922, Rudolph Ganz conducting Most recent STL Symphony performance:April 14, 2001, Robert Spano conducting Scoring: Two utes and two piccolos,two oboes and English horn, two clarinets and bass clarinet, three bassoons

and contrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba,

timpani and other percussion, two harps, celesta, and strings Performancetime: Approximately 16 minutes

Ravel in 1912

In Context 1907-08 Finland becomes frst European countryto give women right to vote; Pierre Cartier acquires the HopeDiamond; Mahlers Symphony No. 7 premieres in Prague

Though he spent most of his life in Paris, Ravels rootswere in the Basque country of southwestern France, wherehe was born. His mother, to whom he was very attached,spent a considerable portion of her youth in Spain, andRavel acknowledged her impact. Manuel de Falla met

Ravel during the summer of 1907 and was startled bywhat he called the subtly genuine Spanishness of Ravel,

particularly as manifested in the Rapsodie. De Falla later wrote: Ravelswas a Spain he had felt in an idealized way through his mother.... Thisexplains not only the attraction exerted on Ravel, since his childhood, bya country he so frequently dreamt of, but also that later, when he wantedto characterize Spain musically, he showed a predilection for the habanera,the song most in vogue when his mother lived in Madrid.

Saint-Sans


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The Spanish composers trenchant observations zero in on theseminal third segment of the Rapsodie, which is a reworking of a Habanerafor piano that Ravel composed in 1895. Its smooth integration into thelarger orchestral workincredibly, Ravels rst major orchestral scoreisone of the Rapsodies most impressive features.

The Music Rapsodie opens with a sultry Prlude la nuit, unashamedlysensual music that evokes the languid heat of the Spanish night. Itis dominated by an insistent four-note descending motive that playsas an ostinato against the lush sound of the strings. Ravel follows thisatmospheric opening with a Malaguea, a variety of fandango indigenousto the region of Mlaga in southern Spain; this one wavers irtatiouslybetween A major and A minor, and spotlights the English horn.

Next is the Habanera, which lacks the now-familiar four-note ostinatoof the opening movement, but is imbued with the characteristic swayof the dance whose name it bears. To conclude the set, Ravel pulls hisRapsodie out of the shadows and onto center stage, with a burst of brilliantorchestral color in Feria. After the muted strings and quasi-oriental avorof the preceding three sections, this ending is doubly effective.

Juan Carmona Sinfonia Flamenca

Born: Lyon, France, in 1963 First performance: STL Symphony premiere: Thisweek Scoring: Two utes and piccolo, two oboes, two clarinets, bassoon andcontrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani

and other percussion, harp, solo guitar, ensemble guitars, vocals, and strings

Performance time: Approximately 30 minutes

Juan Carmona

In Context 2006 Nationwide ban on smoking in workplace

goes into effect in Spain; Spanish judge hands downindictments for 2004 Madrid train bombings; popularSpanish singer and actress Roco Jurado dies from pancreaticcancer in Madrid

Flamenco evokes the image of a sultry Spanishbeauty with long skirts, eet feet, sinuous moves, and akeen sense of rhythm. Dance and music are inseparablein amenco, which is more than a style: it is an entirerepertory. Its origins are unknown (and hotly debated),

but probably consist of elements from Northern Africa as well as India, byway of Gypsies. The amenco style is strongly associated with the regionof Andalusia in southern Spain. Its rhythms, dances, and characteristicscale patterns have had a powerful impact on the works of de Falla,Albniz, Granados, Turina, as well as those of the French composers onthis evenings program.

Juan Carmonas Sinfonia Flamenca combines the verve and tradition ofamenco artistry with the resources of the modern symphony orchestra.

Ravel

ckrTe


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Maurice Ravel Bolero

First performance: November 22, 1928, with the Troupe of Ida Rubinsteinperforming at the Paris Opra STL Symphony premiere: February 28, 1930,Eugene Goossens conducting Most recent STL Symphony performance:March 3, 2009, Family Concert, with David Robertson conducting Scoring:Two utes and two piccolos, two oboes, oboe damore, and English horn, two

clarinets, E-at clarinet, and bass clarinet, soprano and tenor saxophone, two

bassoons and contrabassoon, four horns, four trumpets, three trombones,

tuba, soprano and tenor saxophones, timpani and other percussion, celesta,

harp, and strings Performance time: Approximately 13 minutes

Ravel in 1946

In Context 1928 Stalin orders Leon Trotsky banished from the

Soviet Union; Charles Lindbergh awarded CongressionalMedal of Honor; George Gershwins An American in Parispremieres at Carnegie Hall

The Polish-born composer Alexandre Tansman oncetold musicologist Roger Nichols:

Bolro was rst performed as a ballet by Ida Rubinstein,commissioned by her, and it was not a musical success.

And then Toscanini came with the New York Philharmonic

and played it much faster. And Ravel was not pleasedat all. We were in the same box and he wouldnt stand up whenToscanini tried to get him to take a bow. Then he went backstage andtold Toscanini, Its too fast, and Toscanini said, Its the only way tosave the work.

Neither Ravel nor Toscanini could possibly have foreseen the enormouspopularity thatBolero would achieve. Even before Blake Edwardss lm 10(1979) assured it a permanent place in every pop record collection, Bolero

was one of the most frequently performed compositions in any concerthall, readily recognized by non-musicians. Something about its insistent,understated (and deceptively simple) rhythm and magnicent, controlledcrescendo to the ultimate orchestra climax has captured audienceimaginations for six decades. With Bolero, Ravel secured an enviable spotin the permanent repertoire.

Ironically, he had very mixed feelings about the work, dismissing itas a crescendo on a commonplace melody in the genre of Padilla; Bolero:seventeen minutes of orchestra without any music. He told Michel

Calvocoressi that it was an experiment:

Orchestral tissue without music. There are no contrasts, and thereis practically no invention save the plan and the manner of execution.The themes are altogether impersonal, folk tunes of the usual Spanish-Arabian kind, and the orchestral writing is simple and straightforwardthroughout, without the slightest attempt at virtuosity.


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Nextwith the St. Louis SymphonyVivaldis The Four Seasons

Fri, December 2, 2011 at 10:30am (Coffee Concert)Fri, December 2, 2011 at 8pmSat, December 3, 2011 at 8pmSun, December 4, 2011 at 3pm

Ward Stare, conductorJennifer Koh, violin

SCHUBERT Symphony No. 5GOLIJOV SidereusVIVALDI The Four Seasons

It is hard to believe that Vivaldis most popular work was almost forgottenuntil a revival brought it back to the publics attention in the mid-twentiethcentury. Written in 1725, these four vivid concertos stand out among themore than two hundred violin concertos he wrote. Jennifer Koh joins theSTL Symphony for Vivaldis masterwork that puts the soloist and ensembleon virtuosic display.

Jennifer Koh

JanetteBeckman


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MICHAEL W. SMITHS CHRISTMASFri, December 9, 2011 at 7pmSat, December 10, 2011 at 7pm

For more than 25 years, Michael W. Smith has been the reigning king ofcontemporary Christian music. For these very special Christmas concerts,Smith joins the STL Symphony for live performances of songs from his

enormously popular Christmas recordings.

Michael W. Smith


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HOLIDAY CELEBRATIONFri, December 16, 2011 at 2pmSat, December 17, 2011 at 2pmSat, December 17, 2011 at 7pmSun, December 18, 2011 at 2pm

Ward Stare, conductorHoliday Festival Chorus

Kevin McBeth, director

Its St. Louis favorite holiday tradition. Powell Hall is transformed to amagical place for all ages complete with egg nog, hot chocolate and visitsfrom Santa. Join us for your favorite holiday songs, including The FirstNoel, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, Joy to the World and somany more that dene the spirit of the season. See why thousands of St.Louisans make this their annual holiday tradition.

Powell Hall decorated for the holidaystodddavis


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MOVIE MUSIC OF JOHN WILLIAMSThu, December 29, 2011 at 7pmFri, December 30, 2011 at 7pm

David Robertson, conductorSt. Louis Symphony Chorus

Amy Kaiser, directorThe St. Louis Childrens Choirs

Barbara Berner, director

The music of John Williams has transported us beyond our imaginations,

to new worlds through heart-pounding adventures. David Robertson leadsthe STL Symphony in a program of favorite signature Williams moviemusic including selections from Close Encounters, Raiders of the Lost Ark,Saving Private Ryan and of course, Star Wars.

M&I Wealth Management

NEW YEARS EVE CELEBRATIONSat, December 31, 2011 at 7:30pm

David Robertson, conductor

Join Music Director David Robertson and the St. Louis Symphony for thesixth annual New Years Eve celebration. Full of musical surprises anddelights, this concert is one of the highlights of the entire year.

David Robertson

st. louis symphony program nov. 25, 26, 2011

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