7.) Liszt ~ Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2

The other "beloved" work on our Eastern European Folk Fest, and a great way to
close the program.

Few works in the entire classical repertoire are as immediately recognizable
as this one------yes, even I have to break down every now and then and play a
REAL, authentic war-horse!

Liszt's original was, of course, written for PIANO, and was orchestrated by
a well-known German musician of the day.  It's a very well-done transcription,
and very idiomatically adapts much of the specifically pianistic figuration to
the full orchestra.

It is VERY challenging to play this music---since it was conceived as a
SOLO PIANO work, and a very free-wheeling, improvisatory one at that. The
folk style of the Rhapsody automatically implies a great deal of "ABANDON"
in the rhtyhms, etc....easy enough for a solo pianist to do, but much more difficult to pull off with a GROUP of 75 players, who must all feel the
swing-and-sway of the music like one, gigantic GYPSY virtuoso.

The GYPSY element is actually rather questionable in its authenticity, since
Liszt was influenced by Gypsy-LIKE tunes that were actually GERMAN or
VIENNESE versions that "cultured" European society thought acceptable
for their listening pleasure.  For an idea of the REAL, unadulturated  GYPSY SOUND, listen carefully to the Bartok Romanian Dances that will
open the second half of our program (See No. 4 below on this blog).
But, authentic or not, this work is thrilling to play, and to listen to. Liszt
structures the work in the typical Rhapsody format-- a slow, passionate,
introduction (known as Lassan) , followed by the exhilarating, wild and
crazy Friska, which every Bugs Bunny, Tom & Jerry, and Woody Woodpecker
fan knows by heart.

Actually, the NSO has performed Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 9 subtitled
Carnival at Pesth, twice during my tenure; both times, the audience reaction was
ecstatic (we'll do it again sometime soon). But #2 is the one everyone
waits to hear, and I guarantee you we will not disappoint at Sunday's
performance!

I just realized that all four works on the second half of the program:
Bartok, Mlynarski, Chopin and Liszt--- were all ORIGINALLY composed
for piano and/or violin and piano--and orchestrated later by others (except for Bartok, who did his own).  So the evocative power and
color of the symphony orchestra will really be on display here in a most
unique and revealing way.

I look forward to seeing all of you at Sunday's concert--another
exciting, one-of-a-kind experience presented by the Northbrook Symphony!

Thanks for reading,

Larry R

6.) Chopin ~ Mazurka, op. 17, no. 4

Without a doubt, this is the most remarkable work on the program...and we're
only able to present it because I made the almost-sacrilegious decision to orchestrate
Chopin's piano original.

Chopin wrote about 50 Mazurkas for piano and this one stands out from the rest
in a most astounding way; it's like he was abducted by aliens the day he wrote
it, then returned to earth.

The Mazurka is, of course, a popular Polish dance...but Chopin's Mazurkas are
almost like fantasies for piano based on the style of the Mazurka; some of the
them are very high-spirited and could, in fact, be used for dancing. Others are
delicate, more intimate, etc...but this one is, as I've hinted, totally off-the-chart.

You will see why when you hear it; in fact, I'm not even going to attempt
to describe it, except to say that it exists in some shadowy, remote and
melancholy realm of the composer's soul. And the most astounding thing
about Chopin is the fact that he accomplished what he did almost
exclusively by using the PIANO----all of the amazing emotional depths
which he explored...the color, poetry, majesty, tenderness... which
revolutionized the concept of the keyboard's expressive capacity like no
other composer had dreamt of. And we in the orchestral world unfortunately
know so little of his true genius.

In transcribing this work for orchestra, I felt it was essential, above all,
NOT to "dress up" the piano original with showy instrumentation, but rather
to use only the combination of instruments which might evoke the essence
of the piece, so that the listener can clearly sense the power and imagination
of the Chopin's musical thought. I suppose we could just wheel a piano out
onstage and engage a pianist to play it for you (you'll be amazed at the
stark contrast with the Mlynarksi Mazurka that you will have just heard)...
but no, if it's going to be presented at one of our concerts, the orchestra itself
should play it.

I scored it for the most intimate, delicate complement of
instruments:  muted strings (using a string quartet for one passage), 2 flutes,
1 oboe, English Horn, 1 clarinet, 1 bassoon, and 3 muted french horns.
You will be the first audience to hear it in this version.

If I were to choose the three most revolutionary composers of the
19th-century, they would be Beethoven, Wagner....and Frederic Chopin,
a composer that we all know and admire for a handful of his most
popular, melodic pieces but who, in fact, blazed a trail of profoundly
original, influential musical thought.

And he did it all by using...almost exclusively.... the piano.

Thanks for reading.

Larry R

5.) Mlynarksi - Mazurka in G Major

Now we encounter the composer on the program who is totally unfamiliar to most
music lovers....but, as we often discover at the NSO, these unsung masters usually
produce immensely appealing music---at first hearing!  In fact, the Basque
Rapsodie by Gabriel Pierne on our September 30th French concert was the highlight
for some of the folks with whom I spoke.

AND SO IT MAY BE HERE, since the Mazurka by Emil Mlynarski is a totally delightful
work. Mlynarski was the founder of the Warsaw Symphony Orchestra, and also
conducted in Scotland during the early 20th-century. In fact......

Do you recall the impressive work by Elgar-- POLONIA----which we performed a year
ago, which Elgar had written to aid in the Polish relief effort in World War I?  Elgar
quoted several Polish songs, which a trio of ladies from Chicago's Lyra Ensemble
performed on our stage before we played the full work. WELL....it was Emil
Mlynarski who had approached Elgar with the idea of writing Polonia in the
first place. So we have plenty to thank him for.

Mlynarksi's MAZURKA is an early work, written for violin and piano; apparently
it is VERY well-known to young violinists, as one of the first "serious" works they
play as students. I first heard it in the summer of 2011; I play percussion in the
Whiting (IN) Festival Orchestra (a professional group made up of mostly Chicago
players), and the conductor programmed the orchestrated version as part of an
Eastern European salute; I immediately fell for it, and decided then and there
that I must program it ASAP.

Thus, you will be the first to hear it in the Northbrook area.

The Mazurka is a well-known Polish dance, very much like a fast waltz. Chopin
wrote many mazurkas for piano (hint......), and it figures prominently in Polish
folk culture. The orchestrated version we will use is by Lucien Cailliet, who served
for many years as arranger for the Philadelphia Orchestra, and did some pretty
heavy-duty orchestrating in Hollywood during the late 40's and 50's (check out
his credentials on IMDB). He also did a MASSIVE orchestration of Mussorgsky's
Pictures at an Exhibition in 1937 for Stokowski and the Philly Orch.

Cailliet's orchestration of Mlynarski's lovely Mazurka is also a tad MASSIVE....
so I took the liberty of thinning it out here and there.

But it is a WONDERFUL work......robust, bright, sweeping, joyous...the sort
of music that makes you glad to be alive. It evokes the magnificent, OLD-WORLD
elegance of Poland in a brilliant way.....and I am thrilled to be able to present it
as part of our tribute to Eastern European music.

However, it is followed on our program by a surprisingly different sort of
mazurka.......stay tuned!

Thanks for reading,

Larry 

4.) Bartok - Romanian Folk Dances, s. 76

Yes, I realize that the name of Bela Bartok causes some people to recoil in horror,
but every once in a while, a legitimate arts organization has a responsibility to
present the works of the truly great creators, especially one like Bartok, whose
music embodies a sort of cosmic humanism.

That being said, these 7 short dances are among Bartok's most enjoyable and

accessible works. Who could fail to be moved by his undying passion and
commitment for collecting and preserving the pure, authentic FOLK MUSIC
of the Hungarian empire....which, at the time, included Rumania, Slovakia,
Serbia and Croatia.

 

Imagine Bartok and his friend, composer Zoltan Kodaly, travelling through the
backwoods of rural Hungary to every tiny, primitive village they could find, then
asking all of the oldest peasants to sing the songs they remembered from their
childhood into Bartok's miniature Edison wax-cylinder phonograph; what a clash
of cultures!  But Bartok and Kodaly realized that, without their pursuit of these
old songs, an important part of their cultural past would be lost forever---since
none of these songs were written down; they existed only in the memories of the
peasants who sang them.

Bartok's entire voice as a composer changed because of his work "in the field";
what an incredibly fascinating synthesis between the raw, unadorned folk
material and Bartok's own rugged, uncompromising...but thoroughly human....
musical personality.

------------
Bartok's Romanian Dances originated with seven authentic folk-dance tunes
he collected, which he then arranged and harmonized in his own unique,
exotic style. He wrote them first for piano, then orchestrated them (there's also
a version for violin solo and piano).

They last barely 5 minutes in total....and each is like a superb and fascinating
miniature "audio clip" of Romania's distant past, thankfully preserved for us by
the great composer. Each dance has a title----most are descriptive of the purpose
or the function that the dance served in daily life. Apparently the first dance,
stately and joyous in nature, was danced with some sort of stick resembling a
baseball bat; Bartok's title is literally Dance with Bat, which I've changed to
Dance with Wooden Bat in the program; all seven of these dance melodies come
from the Transylvania region of Romania, and I wouldn't want anyone to think
that "Dance with Bat" had anything to do with Transylvania's most infamous,
legendary Count.

A wonderful way to open the second half of our concert on Sunday; you will
enjoy getting to know the "lighter" side of the great Bela Bartok.

Thanks for reading,

Larry R 

3.) Smetana ~ The Moldau

One of the two works on the program that fall into the "beloved" category,
this magnificent work was one of the very first classical pieces I learned. In
my 7th grade class---way back in the 1960's---our new church organist also
taught music in the classrooms. Once a week, he would come in with a little
old phonograph and play LP recordings; once I had heard Moldau, I was
hooked.

It's important to realize that Smetana was one of Bohemia's national leaders
in the 1860's-70's, when the Czech culture and language were in danger of
being swallowed up by German influence in the region. Smetana's greatest
orchestral work is his group of SIX symphonic poems Ma Vlast ("My Country"),
of which Moldau is the second and most popular. Moldau is the Germanic
name of the river Vltava,  which runs through the center of Prague in its 
course through the countryside of Bohemia; it has come to symbolize the
very soul of that great nation.

Smetana's uncanny ability to represent the river in orchestral terms is no
more evident than in the very opening, where the two flutes perform a
delicate, swirling little duet (marked lusingando, or "alluring", "caressing"
in Italian) that gives the impression of two tiny, sparkling rivulets that
spring forth from the mountains and from which the entire river flows.

From there, the orchestral fabric grows and expands in masterly fashion,
until the entire string section is swaying back and forth to create the
actual physical sensation of gently cascading waves (Smetana writes the
Italian word ondeggiate here---"rolling, undulating").  And then, the
great THEME of the Moldau appears in the first violins.....

The river travels past scenes of great beauty---woods filled with the sounds
of hunting horns, a robust peasant wedding with polka, a moonlit scene
with dancing water nymphs, and a turbulent, violent storm scene.

The NSO and I rehearsed this work last night (Monday), and the sound
of the flute, clarinet and string "waves" was, I felt, perfectly captured by
our players. You will hear for yourselves on Sunday.

Also, I feel that Smetana's tragic loss of hearing about the time he wrote
this work may have affected his writing of the Storm scene, which is
scored in a rather cluttered and heavy-handed way; it's almost impossible
to distinguish the main thematic elements over the rest of the orchestral
din (had he actually heard the work in performance, I think he might have
thinned out some of the orchestration).  But through careful re-balancing
of the parts, I think the textures will be about as clean and distinguishable
as you are likely to hear in a live performance of this work.

I recall when flying to Prague a number of years ago, that the second
the plane's tires hit the runway upon landing, all of the people on board
instantaneously burst into applause while, magically, the very first sound
of the little flute "rivulets" of The Moldau were heard on the plane's
sound system; the work was played in its entirety as we "de-planed".
A very moving tribute to the great city of Prague and the Czech nation.
Within a few days, I was standing on the Charles Bridge watching the
mighty Vltava flowing under and all around.

 A magnificent work which definitely deserves it popularity.

FYI--- I had originally programmed the fourth of the Ma Vlast symphonic
poems, From Bohemia's Meadows and Forests, which is actually my favorite
of the six (we also did the 6th poem Blaink, along with Moldau, during my
first season with the NSO). But No. 4 contains some very complex string
passages which would have required more rehearsal time than I felt we
had; so...as I often do....I erred on the side of caution and substituted
the familiar Moldau, which I am glad to have done. We'll do Bohemia's
Meadows sometime in the near future; it's a fabulously enjoyable work.


Thanks for reading,

Larry R

 

2.) Dvorak - Romance for Violin and Orchestra, op. 11

Continuing my daily commentary on this Sunday's concert ("Eastern European

Folk Fest"), here are a few thoughts on the second work on the program.

 

You will see that Sunday's concert is predominantly filled with fast,
robust, energetic and extroverted music; I just returned from a full
rehearsal, and believe me, it's quite a workout for both me and the orchestra.

Incidentally, when we arrived at Maple School for our rehearsal tonight (Oct 29),

we found that we had been moved into one of their two GYMS, due to a
scheduling conflict. The temperature in the gym was quite chilly, which I
loved (since I work very hard in rehearsal), and the sound was....well...
like a gym: boomy. But the orchestra, as always, really dug in and overcame
the difficult acoustics; the rehearsal was a very good one.

Anyway, there are TWO soft, slow, lyrical works on the program, to provide

contrast. The first is Dvorak's lovely, wistful Romance, written early in his
career when he was just starting to overcome his Wagner-fixation (a common
condition with composers of the day). Here, Dvorak's sweet, earthy CZECH
voice clearly begins to emerge.

Finding the right artist to play the solo violin part in this work is a bit of a

challenge, since it requires the utmost in lyrical purity of sound and the
ability to caress and nuance each phrase. I had the pleasure of hearing
a number of extremely talented young violinists last January in auditions
at the Music Institute of Chicago's Winnetka campus. In searching for
a young soloist, I asked Jim Setapen of the Institute to send me the
notes I had taken down while listening to the auditions. Here is what
I wrote for violinist Claire Bourg, who played the Khachaturian Concerto:

Everything is there in her playing; I'd call it "total command" of music

and instrument. Sense of style and character is excellent. Folk-like
lilt of 2nd theme floats and sings; contrast and "SHAPE" in her playing
is extraordinary......"

And I continued to gush on....

Needless to say, this was the PERFECT choice for the Dvorak Romance,

as you will hear on Sunday. (FYI-- I will meet with Claire to rehearse
with piano this Thursday, Nov 1st; she will then join us with the NSO
that evening).

Please check Claire Bourg's bio on our website; just click on her pic.

She is obviously one talented young lady.

Thanks for reading.

larry

1.) Tchaikovsky - Dance of the Jesters and Tumblers from The Maid of Orleans

Sunday, October 28
COUNTDOWN TO NOVEMBER 4th!

One week from today, Sunday, November 4th, our second concert will set a new standard for excitement and outright FUN at an NSO concert.

The program, entitled EASTERN EUROPEAN FOLK FEST, features SEVEN (7) colorful and exciting works, which I will PREVIEW here, one-per-day.

1.) Tchaikovsky - Dance of the Jesters and Tumblers from The Maid of Orleans
OK-- so here's yet another totally unknown work, which I am using it to open the
concert. But believe me...when we finish this 4-minute musical riot, I guarantee
you'll want to hear it again.

About 20 years ago, I took a chance (as I often do) and bought an LP of unfamiliar
orchestral dances by Tchaikovsky, all written for his largely-obscure OPERAS.
The performance was by Colin Davis and the Covent Garden Opera Orchestra,
a high-quality production on the Phillips label.  At the cut-out price of $3.99, what
could I lose?

Well...of the many unfamiliar dances on this album, ONE of THEM stood out
WAY, WAY above the rest.

It's a comic dance from Tchaikovsky's 1879 opera on the Joan of Arc legend.
Who knows what this dance has to do with the solemn tale of The Maid of
Orleans? It's obviously an interlude intended to satisfy the Parisian craze
for ballets in their operas.

No matter; I was determined to find and present this work when the opportunity
arose. So, after a lot of searching and frustrating attempts to identify this piece
with the publisher, I was able to rent it ESPECIALLY for this concert.

It is Tchaikovsky as robust, dashing, and NUTTY as you ever could have imagined,
and you will be the FIRST to hear it; the orchestra had a blast playing though it at
our first rehearsal last Monday. AND... it's just the opening work on a concert that
promises to leave you in a state of musical bliss.

Tomorrow's blog entry......the first of two beloved Bohemians on the program,
plus an introduction to a phenomenal young solo artist.

Stay tuned.
Thanks for reading, 
Larry