for the Performing Arts at LIU Post Saturday, April 25, 2015 at 8 pm

Mozart Orchestra of New York Gerard Schwarz, Music Director and Conductor

Program Mozart

Symphony No. 39 in E-flat, K. 543 Allegro Andante con moto Menuetto Allegro

Mozart

Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550 Molto allegro Andante Menuetto: Allegretto Allegro assai

Intermission Mozart

Symphony No. 41 in C Major, K. 551 (Jupiter) Allegro vivace Andante cantabile Menuetto: Allegretto Molto allegro

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N OT E S O N T H E P RO G R A M The following program notes are copyright Susan Halpern, 2015.

Symphony No. 39 in E-flat, K. 543 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Born: January 27, 1756, in Salzburg Died: December 5, 1791, in Vienna At the time that this and his other two last symphonies were written, Mozart was more and more burdened by debt and financial concerns about his career. He was living in Vienna, and the year before he had given up teaching, which was a necessary supplement to his small income, in order to prepare Don Giovanni for its premiere in Prague. Don Giovanni did not become the financial success he had hoped for in Prague; in Vienna the opera was a complete financial failure. Upon Gluck’s death in 1787, Mozart expected Emperor Joseph II to appoint him to replace Gluck to the well-paid post of court-composer, but his expectations in that were also disappointed. Emperor Joseph did want Mozart’s services, but he scaled down the job. Mozart was only appointed chamber-composer at a meager salary and was expected only to write minuets, waltzes and country-dances. Mozart, piqued, observed that was “too much for what I do; too little for what I could do.” In desperate need, he was 2

obliged to write a letter seeking to take large loans from his friend and fellow Mason, Puchberg. Mozart composed the great trilogy of his last symphonies in a remarkably short time between June 26 and August 10, 1788. Until then, he had composed at least one symphony almost every year since he was eight, but after he completed these three, no more followed in the three and a half years that remained of his short life. Further, no record of any performances of these symphonies during his lifetime exists, and no mention of their first performances has been preserved. Even more mysterious is why the composer would be prompted to write three symphonies in such short order when there is no evidence of a commission for any of them. If he did not compose them for financial reasons, could an inner compulsion to express his musical thoughts have been the sole reason for their writing? Regardless of why Mozart composed the work, his Symphony No. 39 has received kudos from commentators for the last two centuries and has become one of Mozart’s best loved and most recognized symphonies. The composer Richard Wagner could not praise it too highly:

The longing sigh of the great human voice, drawn to him by the loving power of his genius, breathes from his instruments. He leads the irresistible stream of richest harmony into the heart of his melody, as though with anxious care he sought to give it by way of compensation for its delivery by mere instruments, the depth of feeling and ardor which lies at the source of the human voice as the expression of the unfathomable depths of the heart. The E-flat Symphony is different from the other two symphonies contemporaneous with it. Regardless of the circumstances in which Mozart found himself during the period of its composition, most of the symphony breathes a spirit of joy and gaiety, especially in the latter half. Also, the scoring of this symphony departs from the usual. Mozart had been becoming increasingly interested in the clarinet, although his famous clarinet quintet and the clarinet concerto were yet to be written; here, in place of oboes, Mozart uses two clarinets in this symphony. The clarinet appears throughout the work and has a specially memorable effect in the trio of the minuet where the first clarinet establishes the melodic

theme, and the second clarinet embellishes that line with arpeggios. This ebullient symphony has a slow introduction, Adagio, that is meditative and solemn in character but harmonically audacious, a favorite device with Haydn, but relatively uncommon in Mozart. It expands the proportions of the vigorous Allegro first movement, an intense, dramatic and romantic opening to a serious work. The violins introduce the first theme, which is restful and melodious. The second subject is a cantabile melody of beauty and grace, divided between the violins and clarinets. The development section is relatively short and does not manipulate the principal musical material very intensively. The slow movement, Andante con moto, is not very slow but is one of the longest movements in all of Mozart’s symphonies. It begins with a simple folk-song like subject; the second part has a passionate theme. At the close of the theme, there is a harmonically interesting section in which the bassoons play an important part. The end of the development of the themes recalls a style familiar from the twelve great piano concertos of 1784 to 1786. The Minuet, Allegretto, begins cheerfully and has fluent writing for 3

the still new and “modern” instrument, the clarinet. The rustic sounding dance may be musically related to or even derived from the kind of dance music that Mozart was then composing. The symphony comes to an end with a brilliant and light-hearted Finale, Allegro, an extended movement built, like some of Haydn’s, on a single theme, in this case made up of nine notes. In this movement the composer allows his humor and fancy to play freely, especially in the merry development in which a variety of gay, sunny thoughts are expressed. The themes of the movement are less important than the fanciful, elaborate structure for which they function as foundation. The movement ends dramatically and suddenly. The score calls for flute, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani and strings.

Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart An anonymous critic of this symphony once wrote, “There are few things in art that are perfect. The G minor Symphony is one of them.” In 1788, at a time of terrible misfortune and

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disappointment, Mozart wrote this work; it was a particularly hard time because his wife was ill, and his finances were at an all-time low. He wrote his friend Puchberg for a loan, explaining that he was in a period “prey to gloomy thoughts, which I must repel with all my might.” Instead of reflections of the composer’s unhappy condition, however, the symphony is a powerfully assertive work. Perhaps Mozart’s troubles caused him to turn inward and to discover within himself, consciously or unconsciously, music of an emotional depth that no one had ever before imagined possible. Mozart presumably had none of the usual reasons for writing this symphony that he had in the past: there was no commission and no promise of a concert date, and no publisher waiting to receive it. At that time, composers rarely wrote solely from inspiration, but some historians believe this work was conceived purely from an inner, emotional, expressive impulse. As with the other last symphonies, no official record exists of the symphony’s premiere; the only evidence that it may have been played during his lifetime is that he re-orchestrated it, adding two clarinets to the orchestra

and revising the two oboe parts to fit the enlarged wind section. The occasion for the revision may have been a pair of concerts at the Imperial and Royal Court Theater for the benefit of the widows and orphans of musicians, on April 16 and 17, 1791, less than eight months before Mozart’s death. As Mozart also changed the orchestration of two passages of the second movement, his recent biographer, Robert Gutman, believes that such modifications could have only followed as results of specific performances; Gutman thus concludes that the popular idea that Mozart never heard this symphony is a myth. This symphony’s first movement, Molto allegro, full of melancholy passion, begins with its first theme in octaves in the violins. A strong and forceful subsidiary theme sounds before the second wistful theme enters. The poise, the elegance and the beautiful proportions of the second movement, Andante, begin with an elegiac first theme in the violins, emerging from the rhythmic figure of the opening measures. Unlike most symphonic slow movements, this movement is in sonata form. Mozart called the third movement a Minuet and marked it Allegretto, but it is not a graceful ballroom minuet. Instead, it is vigorous and animated, full of

syncopated rhythm and clashing dissonance, with a contrasting relaxed and direct central Trio. The final Allegro assai, the most spirited of the symphony’s four movements, in sonata form, opens with a theme whose first eight notes are identical to the first eight notes of the initial theme of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, but the rhythm is so different that the ear does not easily sense the similarity. The strings and then the woodwinds introduce the lyrical second theme. The symphony is scored for one flute, two oboes, two clarinets (in the revised edition), two bassoons, two horns and strings.

Symphony No. 41 in C Major, K. 551 (Jupiter) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart No one doubts that this brilliant and powerful final symphony of Mozart’s is anything but optimistic and triumphant. No one is sure who gave the symphony the name Jupiter or when, but it may have been the Anglo-German pianist and composer, Johann Baptist Cramer (1771-1858), who was a friend of Beethoven’s and a man who admired Mozart greatly. He supposedly gave the symphony the title Jupiter because of what he 5

labeled the work’s “loftiness of ideas and nobility of treatment.” Another theory that Mozart’s son suggested is that Johann Peter Salomon, the German violinist who was Haydn’s impresario in London, might have given it the subtitle. In confirmation of this, Vincent Novello, Mozart’s son’s friend, said in his diary, “Mozart’s son said he considers the Finale to his father’s Sinfonia in C — which Salomon christened the Jupiter — to be the highest triumph of Instrument Composition, and I agree with him.” In any case, the name first appeared officially in a concert program in Edinburgh in 1819, ten years before Novello’s diary entry, when it was already familiar to audiences there, before it spread to the continent. In a notebook that he had started in 1784, Mozart listed it under August 10, 1788, simply as “a symphony,” and then wrote out the opening measures of music. Schumann referred to it as the Mozart symphony with the fugal finale, pronouncing it to be a work above discussion. By the standards of the time, it is a huge work, imposing in the dimensions of its expressiveness and long in duration too, although its length is variable in modern performance according to the conductor’s feelings 6

about the passages marked for repetition. The dramatic intensity, wit and pathos of the minor key sections as well as Mozart’s interest in thematic development make this late work significantly different than his early attempts at composing symphonies. The magnificent first movement, Allegro vivace, may be described as fitting the standard scheme: ideas in two related keys are stated, discussed and restated in the same key, but the ideas are monumental, and the development complex and extraordinarily imaginative. There are many different elements in the first theme alone: the virile first measures for full orchestra, the strings’ gentle answer, the martial rhythm in the winds accompanied by powerful chords of the strings and then a big orchestral tutti. After a long, sustained chord, the violins return to the opening figure, but quietly this time, while winds play a new contrapuntal melody that ends as a few repeated chords. All this exposition happens in a very short space of time, and more musical invention still precedes the dramatic richness of the second and third themes. For the third theme, Mozart utilizes an excerpt from a comic bass aria from Un bacio di mano (A Kiss on the Hand) that he had recently written

for somebody else’s opera buffa. After that, elaborate development follows, joining the virile, the more feminine and the martial all together. The second movement, Andante cantabile, with its stately melodies, offers not just lyrical contrast, but a new set of dramatic tensions and releases, with an orchestral texture whose rhythmic and dynamic complexity was then unprecedented. Under the charming surface, the listener feels suppressed agitation. Relief comes with the sense of lighthearted serenity in the third movement, Minuet, Allegretto, whose music is dignified. The trio brings forth sophisticated humor as Mozart teases his listeners with an apparent confusion of beginning and ending, always making one expect what is the opposite of what is given, but he finale, Molto allegro, renews the elevated discourse with energy and intensity.

tially enriched the works of Mozart’s last years; Bach’s influence is especially evident in the finale in which he intricately combines the classical structure he uses in the first movement with Bach-like fugal procedures. The principal theme is the little melody of just four notes that the first violins play at the beginning of the movement; this little figure, almost a cliché, is found in a dozen of Mozart’s other compositions and in the works of many other composers. Its importance is not in what it is, but in the monument Mozart builds of it. By the coda, Mozart has taken what grows out of it, all the themes of the movement, and combined them contrapuntally, allowing the symphony to end in a triumphant tour-de-force. The Jupiter Symphony is scored for flute, two oboes, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani and strings.

All the contrapuntal writing in the first three movements prepares the listener for the last movement. Shortly after settling in Vienna, around six years before, Mozart discovered the music of Bach, which had revealed to him the expressive potential of counterpoint, especially fugues. This understanding substan-

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MEET THE ARTISTS Gerard Schwarz Internationally recognized for his moving performances, innovative programming and extensive catalog of recordings, American conductor Gerard Schwarz serves as Music Director of the All-Star Orchestra, an ensemble of top musicians from America’s leading orchestras featured in a television series that aired throughout the United States on public television. As in baseball, Schwarz has created an “all-star” team of top musical athletes for an eight episode series created to encourage a greater understanding and enjoyment of classical music. The series will also be released by Naxos as a DVD. Schwarz also serves as Music Director of the Eastern Music Festival in North Carolina and Conductor Laureate of the Seattle Symphony. With more than 300 world premieres to his credit, Schwarz has always felt strongly about commissioning and performing new music. A new initiative with the Eastern Music Festival, the Bonnie McElveen Hunter Commissioning Project, will bring ten new world premieres from American composers to the festival over a period of ten years. Richard Danielpour’s A Prayer for Our Time was featured

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in summer of 2013 and John Corigliano’s work for violin and orchestra was performed in 2014. During Schwarz’s tenure with the festival, he has expanded audiences to the largest in its history, incorporated a composer-in-residence program, developed three new concert series and increased the focus on new works with fifteen world premieres over the last three seasons.

English Chamber Orchestra, Juilliard Orchestra, London Symphony, Los Angeles Chamber Symphony, New York Chamber Symphony, Orchestre National de France, Philadelphia Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Tokyo Philharmonic and Eastern Music Festival.

A prolific recording artist, Schwarz’s total discography numbers nearly 350 on more than eleven labels. His pioneering cycles of American symphonists such as William Schuman, David Diamond and Howard Hanson have received high critical praise, as have his acclaimed series of Stravinsky ballets, symphony cycles of Robert Schumann, Gustav Mahler and Dmitri Shostakovich as well as his orchestral works of Richard Wagner, Richard Strauss and RimskyKorsakov. More than 50 discs featuring Gerard Schwarz and the Seattle Symphony — with works by 54 composers ranging from the Baroque to contemporary periods — were released in the last two years. In addition to his numerous recordings with the Seattle Symphony, he has also recorded with the Berlin Radio Symphony, Czech Philharmonic,

He is also known for his operatic performances, having appeared with the Juilliard Opera, Kirov Opera, Mostly Mozart Festival, San Francisco Opera, Seattle Opera and Washington National Opera. He has led 21 productions with the Seattle Opera.

A sought-after guest conductor, Schwarz has led many of the world’s greatest orchestras.

A graduate of The Juilliard School, Schwarz joined the New York Philharmonic in 1972 as co-principal trumpet, a position he held until 1977. Schwarz’s numerous previous positions include Music Director of New York’s Mostly Mozart Festival, Music Director of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Music Director of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and New York Chamber Symphony. Schwarz, a renowned interpreter of 19th-century German, Austrian and Russian repertoire, in addition to his

noted work with contemporary American composers, completed his final season as music director of the Seattle Symphony in 2011 after an acclaimed 26 years — a period of dramatic artistic growth for the ensemble. Maestro Schwarz was instrumental in the building of Benaroya Hall, amassed a critically acclaimed discography of more than 140 recordings; numerous television programs and concert broadcasts; implemented music education programs including new series and the successful Soundbridge Center and significantly increased audience attendance. In his nearly five decades as a respected classical musician and conductor, Schwarz has received hundreds of honors and accolades including two Emmy Awards, thirteen Grammy nominations, six ASCAP Awards and numerous Stereo Review and Ovation Awards. He holds the Ditson Conductor’s Award from Columbia University, was the first American named Conductor of the Year by Musical America and has received numerous honorary doctorates. Most recently, the City of Seattle recognized his outstanding achievements and named the street alongside Benaroya Hall “Gerard

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Schwarz Place,” and the State of Washington gave him the honorary title of “General” for his extraordinary contributions as an artist and citizen.

Mozart Orchestra of New York Acclaimed as an outstanding ensemble of distinguished musicians, the Mozart Orchestra of New York performs a diverse repertoire in creatively programmed concerts. This 45-piece orchestra performed its debut concerts this season and will tour throughout the United States in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons together with the violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg and cellist Julian Schwarz. The Mozart Orchestra of New York was created as a collaborative project between the distinguished American conductor Gerard Schwarz — who serves as its Music Director — and the New York Chamber Soloists, who act as the principal players. Schwarz was first involved with the New York Chamber Soloists thirty years ago as a virtuoso trumpeter — including in the performances of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos that opened Philharmonic Hall (now Avery Fisher Hall) at Lincoln Center — so it is particularly meaningful for the Chamber 10

Soloists to join forces with him again. Over the past few years, the New York Chamber Soloists have performed concerts as a conductorless chamber orchestra together with such distinguished soloists as the violinist Rachel Barton Pine, pianist Menahem Pressler, clarinetist Richard Stoltzman, and guitarist Sharon Isbin at major venues like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, UCLA Live, Mondavi Center and the Kravis Center. The formation of the Mozart Orchestra of New York has allowed the ensemble to focus on an even broader range of repertoire. Recognized for his moving performances, innovative programming and extensive catalogue of recordings, American conductor Gerard Schwarz additionally serves as Music Director of the All-Star Orchestra and Eastern Music Festival in North Carolina, the Conductor Laureate of the Seattle Symphony, and Conductor Emeritus of Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival. Schwarz has led most of the world’s major orchestras as a guest conductor, won three Emmy Awards, been nominated for fourteen Grammy Awards, made over 350 recordings, and received numerous honorary doctorates — including from his alma mater, The Juilliard School.

The New York Chamber Soloists have maintained a unique niche in the chamber music world for over five decades. They have added substantially to the catalog of 20th-century chamber works, with more than 25 compositions written for them by such significant composers as Gunther Schuller, Mario Davidovsky, Ezra Laderman and Mel Powell. The ensemble has compiled an impressive record of repeat engagements in North America and abroad, including eleven European tours, six Latin American tours and numerous tours of Asia and the South Pacific. In the United States, the Chamber Soloists have appeared frequently in New York City at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Lincoln Center, in Washington at the Library of Congress, the National Academy of Sciences, the Kennedy Center, and the National Gallery of Art, at major universities across the country from Boston to Berkeley, and at the Mostly Mozart, Sun Valley and Caramoor festivals.

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Mozart Orchestra of New York Gerard Schwarz, Music Director and Conductor FIRST VIOLIN

BASS

Miki Sophia Cloud, Associate Concertmaster Emily Popham Gillins, Associate Concertmaster Rob Taylor Katherine Manker Alex Fortes Omar Chen Guey

Tomoya Aomori Samuel Suggs

FLUTE Jennifer Grim

OBOE Randall Ellis Virginia Brewer

SECOND VIOLIN Linda Quan April Johnson Wanzhen Li John Zion Rebecca Anderson

VIOLA Ynez Lynch Jack Rosenberg Colin Brookes Edwin Kaplan

CLARINET Allen Blustine Wojciech Komsta

BASSOON Harry Searing Melissa Kritzer

FRENCH HORN Sharon Moe Ian Donald

CELLO

TRUMPET

Adam Grabois Peter Seidenberg Julia Kang

Tristan Clarke Samuel Jones

TIMPANI Chihiro Shibayama

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