2016/17 SEASON

CLASSICAL SERIES

MOZART, BEETHOVEN and HAYDN Friday and Saturday, November 25-26, 2016 at 8 p.m. Sunday, November 27, 2016 at 2 p.m. BERNARD LABADIE, guest conductor ROBERT LEVIN, piano W. A. MOZART

Overture to Don Giovanni, K. 527

BEETHOVEN

Concerto No. 3 in C Minor for Piano and Orchestra, op. 37 I. Allegro con brio II. Largo III. Rondo: Allegro ROBERT LEVIN, piano

INTERMISSION W. A. MOZART

Overture to La clemenza di Tito, K. 621

F. J. HAYDN

Symphony No. 98 in B-flat Major I. Adagio - Allegro II. Adagio III. Menuet: Allegro IV. Presto

The 2016/17 season is generously sponsored by

SHIRLEY and BARNETT C. HELZBERG, JR. The Classical Series is sponsored by

Friday’s concert is sponsored by

RON and DONNA PATTON

Additional support provided by

Podcast available at kcsymphony.org



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PROGRAM NOTES by Ken Meltzer

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756-1791) Overture to Don Giovanni, K. 527 (1787) 7 minutes 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani and strings.

Don Giovanni, Mozart’s operatic setting of the Don Juan legend, was the second of three masterful collaborations between the Austrian composer and the Italian librettist, Lorenzo da Ponte — the other two being Le nozze di Figaro (1786) and Così fan tutte (1790). The premiere of Don Giovanni, ossia Il dissoluto Punito (Don Giovanni, or The Libertine Punished), Don Giovanni is took place in Prague on October 29, 1787. Mozart’s operatic The story of Don Giovanni takes place setting of the Don in Seville. The Don attempts to seduce the Juan legend. noblewoman, Donna Anna. Her father, the The opera’s Commendatore, challenges Giovanni to overture, a duel. The Don kills the Commendatore beginning with and makes his escape. Later, the Don music associated encounters a Statue of the Commendatore with Giovanni’s in a graveyard. When the Don jokingly demise, also offers invites the Statue to dinner, it accepts. a portrait of the Later, at a banquet in the Don’s home, the legendary seducer. Statue of the Commendatore appears and orders Giovanni to repent. When the Don refuses, he is dragged into the fires of hell. Mozart composed the brilliant overture to Don Giovanni just prior to the opera’s dress rehearsal. The overture opens with a Recommended Recording W.A. MOZART Overture to Don Giovanni Concertgebouw Orchestra / Nikolaus Harnoncourt, conductor Label: Teldec   Catalog #95523 32 2016/17 Season

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PROGRAM NOTES by Ken Meltzer

stunningly dramatic slow introduction, featuring music from the final confrontation between the Don and the Statue of the Commendatore. This serves as prelude to the overture’s quicktempo section, perhaps a brief character study of the Don.

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) Concerto No. 3 in C Minor for Piano and Orchestra, op. 37 (1803) 34 minutes Solo piano, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani and strings.

Beethoven was the soloist in the world premiere of his Third Piano Concerto. The concert, which took place at Vienna’s Theateran-der-Wien on April 5, 1803, also included a performance of Beethoven’s First Symphony, as well as the world premieres of his Second The concerto, in Symphony and the oratorio, Christ on the three movements, Mount of Olives. The concert was far from a juxtaposes storm total success, the result of limited rehearsal and stress that time, particularly for a program featuring foreshadows such a generous amount of new material. the great Fifth Beethoven’s pupil Ignaz von Seyfried Symphony with provided this reminiscence of the premiere: more lyrical, In the playing of the concerto playful music. movements (Beethoven) asked me to turn the pages for him; but — heaven help me! — that was easier said than done. I saw almost nothing but empty leaves; at the most on one page or the other a few Egyptian hieroglyphs wholly unintelligible to me scribbled down to serve as clues for him; for he played nearly all the solo part from memory, since, as was so often the case, he had not had time to put it all down on paper. He gave me a secret glance whenever he was at

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PROGRAM NOTES by Ken Meltzer

the end of one of the invisible pages and my scarcely concealable anxiety not to miss the decisive moment amused him greatly and he laughed heartily at the jovial supper that we ate afterwards. Over time, of course, the Third Concerto has become one of the mainstays of the piano and orchestra repertoire. There is no question that Beethoven intended the Third Piano Concerto to display his unique talents as a concert pianist. The stormy opening movement looks forward to another work in the key of C minor, the immortal Fifth Symphony (1808). The secondmovement evokes first-hand accounts describing Beethoven’s ability to move audiences to tears through the sheer beauty of his playing. The finale, on the other hand, reveals a lighter, even more humorous side of Beethoven that is too often overlooked. Recommended Recording BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 3 Robert Levin, piano Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique / John Eliot Gardiner, conductor Label: Archiv Produktion (Dg)   Catalog #457608

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756-1791) Overture to La clemenza di Tito, K. 621 (1791) 5 minutes 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani and strings.

In the final year of Mozart’s tragically brief life, he composed two full-length operas: Die Zauberflöte and La clemenza di Tito. The Clemency of Titus is based upon a play by Metastasio, concerning the Roman emperor’s pardon of those who sought to assassinate him. Mozart composed La clemenza di Tito for the coronation of Emperor Leopold II as King of Bohemia. He completed the opera in approximately four weeks, placing the finishing touches on the work in August 1791. The premiere took place at the Prague 36 2016/17 Season

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PROGRAM NOTES by Ken Meltzer

National Theater on September 6. Twenty-four days later, Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) had its premiere at the Theater auf der Wieden in Vienna. The overture to La clemenza di Tito begins with a grand orchestral fanfare, leading directly to a sequence juxtaposing a nimble, staccato violin figure with the ensemble’s forte response. After a brief pause, the flute and oboe introduce the gentle second theme. An extended development section leads to a recapitulation of the central themes, but now in reverse order. A brief, energetic coda brings the overture to a close. The brief overture sets the stage for the tale of the Roman emperor’s pardoning of the enemies who sought to assassinate him.

Recommended Recording W.A. MOZART Overture to La clemenza di Tito Zurich Opera Orchestra / Nikolaus Harnoncourt, conductor Label: Teldec   Catalog #95523

FRANZ JOSEPH HAYDN (1732-1809) Symphony No. 98 in B-flat Major (1792) 28 minutes Flute, 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, harpsichord and strings.

It was at the invitation of Johann Peter Salomon, a German-born violinist, composer, and impresario residing in London, that Austrian composer Franz Joseph Haydn made two visits to England (1791-1792, 1794-1795). Haydn acknowledged that the London journeys provided him with the happiest years of his life. They were certainly years of tremendous productivity. Haydn composed numerous works for performance by the superb London musicians at his disposal, including 12 magnificent symphonies (Nos. 93-104). Collectively, the 12 “London” Symphonies form one of the great monuments of the Classical era. Haydn’s Symphony No. 98 received its premiere as part of a March 38 2016/17 Season

Kansas City Symphony

PROGRAM NOTES by Ken Meltzer

2, 1792, Salomon concert, held at London’s Hanover Square. As was the custom for these events, Salomon played first violin, and Haydn directed the ensemble while seated at the keyboard. In fact, the finale of the Symphony No. 98 contains a dashing keyboard solo that apparently made quite an impression on London audiences. English composer Samuel Wesley recalled: “In the Finale of one The Symphony, in of his Symphonies is a Passage of attractive four movements, Brilliancy, which he has given to the Piano culminates in a Forte, and which the Writer of this Memoir sparkling finale remembers (Haydn) to have executed with that includes the utmost Accuracy and Precision.” In his a dashing diary, Haydn proudly noted that the first harpsichord and final movements of his new Symphony solo, played by were encored at the March 2 concert. Haydn at the Symphony No. 98 is in four movements. 1792 premiere. The first opens with a brooding, slowtempo introduction that finally resolves to the principal Allegro. In the second movement, the violins sing a melody whose contour recalls the English anthem “God Save the King.” The third-movement Minuet and its reprise frame a more serene central Trio section. The Finale, cast in a sprightly 6/8 rhythm, features violin and harpsichord solos, played at the premiere, respectively, by Salomon and Haydn. Recommended Recording F.J. HAYDN Symphony No. 98 Cleveland Orchestra / George Szell, conductor Label: Sony   Catalog #68779

Read program notes or listen to podcasts at kcsymphony.org.

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About BERNARD LABADIE, guest conductor FOUNDER AND MUSIC DIRECTOR of Les Violons du Roy and La Chapelle de Québec, Bernard Labadie has established himself worldwide as one of the leading conductors of the Baroque and Classical repertoire. With these two ensembles he regularly tours Canada, the United States and Europe, performing in major venues such as Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Kennedy Center, Concertgebouw and the Barbican, among others. Ever since his triumphant debut with the Minnesota Orchestra in 1999, Labadie has led major North American orchestras in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Colorado, Detroit, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Montreal, New York, Philadelphia, St. Louis, San Francisco and Toronto, among others. Internationally, Labadie has conducted the Academy of Ancient Music, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, BBC Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of the Collegium Vocale Ghent, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Swedish Chamber Orchestra, WDR Sinfonieorchester (Cologne) and Zurich Chamber Orchestra. On the opera podium, he has served as artistic director of L’Opéra de Québec and L’Opéra de Montréal. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut during the 2009-10 season with Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, a work he also led at the Cincinnati Opera in 2011. He has conducted Handel’s Orlando with Glimmerglass Opera, Mozart’s Così fan tutte at the Mostly Mozart Festival, and Mozart’s Lucio Silla with Santa Fe Opera. He also has performed Handel’s oratorios Theodora and Samson to critical acclaim. Labadie’s discography includes recordings on the Dorian, ATMA and Virgin Classics labels, including Handel’s Apollo e Dafne and a collaborative recording of Mozart’s Requiem with Les Violons du Roy and La Chapelle de Québec. His other recordings include C.P.E. Bach’s complete cello concertos with Truls Mørk and Les Violons du Roy; J.S. Bach’s complete piano concertos with Alexandre Tharaud, both by Virgin Classics; and Haydn’s piano concertos with Marc-Andre Hamelin as soloist, released by Hyperion. Canada appointed Labadie as “Officer of the Order of Canada” in 2005, and his home province named him a “Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Québec” in 2006.  40 2016/17 Season

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About ROBERT LEVIN, piano PIANIST AND CONDUCTOR Robert Levin has been heard throughout the United States, Europe, Australia and Asia. His solo engagements on Steinway pianos have included appearances with the orchestras of Atlanta, Berlin, Birmingham, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Los Angeles, Montreal, Utah and Vienna with such conductors as Semyon Bychkov, James Conlon, Bernard Haitink, Sir Neville Marriner, Seiji Ozawa, Sir Simon Rattle and Esa-Pekka Salonen. On period pianos he has appeared with the Academy of Ancient Music, English Baroque Soloists, Handel & Haydn Society, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, with Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Christopher Hogwood, Sir Charles Mackerras, Nicholas McGegan and Sir Roger Norrington. Renowned for his improvised embellishments and cadenzas in Classical period repertoire, Levin has made recordings for DG Archiv, CRI, Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, ECM, New York Philomusica, Nonesuch, Philips and SONY Classical. These include a Mozart concerto cycle for Decca; a Beethoven concerto cycle for DG Archiv (including the world premiere recording of Beethoven’s arrangement of the Fourth Concerto for piano and string quintet); and the complete Bach harpsichord concertos with Helmuth Rilling, as well as the six English Suites (on piano) and both books of the WellTempered Clavier (on five keyboard instruments) as part of Hänssler’s 172-CD Edition Bachakademie. The first recording in a Mozart piano sonata cycle has also been released by Deutsche Harmonia Mundi. A passionate advocate of new music, Levin has commissioned and premiered a large number of works. He is a renowned chamber musician and a noted theorist and musicologist. His completions of Mozart fragments are published by Bärenreiter, Breitkopf & Härtel, Carus, Peters, and Wiener Urtext Edition, and recorded and performed throughout the world. 

Read program notes or listen to podcasts at kcsymphony.org.



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