Saturday, January 12, 2008
Eclipse Chamber Orchestra
Sylvia Alimena, music director
Serenade for Strings, Op. 20
Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934)
Allegro piacevole
Larghetto
Allegretto
Solaris
Tudor Dominik Maican (b. 1988)
Allegro Molto
Adagio
Allegro
Intermission
String Quartet in d minor, D. 810 ("Death and the Maiden
Franz Schubert (1797-1828), arranged by Gustav Mahler
Allegro
Andante con moto
Scherzo - Allegro
Presto
Notes on the Program
Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934)
Serenade for Strings in E Minor, Op. 20 [1892]
Although he ended up with “Sir” before his name, Edward Elgar was born into very modest circumstances just outside of Worcester in June, 1857. His father was a church organist who also operated a music store, Elgar Brothers, and who tuned pianos for wealthy clients on the side. Elgar’s mother was a Roman Catholic, and his father, in a show of loyalty, became Catholic, as well. The seven Elgar children grew up wilt music all around, although a serious and formal musical education for the youngsters was beyond the financial grasp of the Elgar family. Edward became quite accomplished on the violin. He expected to become a professional player at some point; meanwhile, at age 16, he started teaching in order to support himself between performing jobs. Elgar conducted the Worcester Glee Club; he was bassoonist in a wind ensemble; he taught band at a home for the mentally ill; he composed some pieces. Eventually, he got a seat in an orchestra in Birmingham, where some of his own compositions were played, and he taught at the Worcester Home for the Blind. When he could afford it, he took the three-hour train trip to London to hear concerts. Such was the respectable— but hardly distinguished—life of Edward Elgar.
At the age of 32, Elgar married one of his students, Caroline Alice Roberts. The well-bred daughter of an army officer and Lady Roberts, Alice had published a novel and written poems; she was 40. Alice’s family was less than thrilled to see her attached to a decidedly lower-middle class music teacher—one eight years her junior, the son of a shop owner, and a Roman Catholic, too. Some aunts disinherited her. Still, it was the beginning of a truly happy partnership that would last until Alice’s death in 1920. The new Mrs. Elgar was convinced of her husband’s creative genius, and she made it her job to help him succeed. Alice helped prepare manuscript paper for Edward. She wrote verses that he would set to music. It was she who thought a move to London would improve Edward’s professional standing, a decision that they would both soon regret. While they enjoyed the London art galleries and other cultural outlets, Edward’s prospects did not get much better, and the couple hated the weather. Returning to Worcestershire in the spring of 1891, the Elgars settled in a little house they called “Forli,” grandly named after Renaissance artist Melozzo da Forli.
The next spring, in 1892, Elgar showed signs of a more energetic return to composing. The couple seemed excited over a friend’s invitation to travel later that summer to Bayreuth, home of Wagner’s musical extravaganzas, and the anticipated adventure apparently gave the composer the sustenance needed to complete the Serenade for Strings, Op. 20, heard on tonight’s program. In the manuscript there is a significant little notation, dated May 13, 1892, in which Elgar reveals something of his relationship with Alice. Referring to his wife by her pet name, Elgar succinctly declares: “Braut helped a great deal to make these little tunes.”
The three-movement Serenade begins with a movement marked Allegro Piacevole (“pleasing”). The initial gentle tunes form the basis of rich development, drawing on rhythmic variety and textural innovation. The following Larghetto features an exceptional violin theme, perhaps showing Elgar’s affection for his instrument, and surely demonstrating his ability to write idiomatically for it. The concluding Allegretto brings back motives from the Allegro, drawing things to a neat and satisfying close. The composer’s evident skill with form (albeit simple in this case), texture, and melodic inspiration make this one of his best early works, and a fitting taste of works to come.
Elgar would rise to real prominence during the next few years. The “Enigma” Variations, performed in 1899, ushered in lasting success. By 1904, Elgar—who never earned a university degree—would be the “owner” of an honorary doctorate from Cambridge. In a relatively short time, he was knighted, became professor at Birmingham University, and was appointed Master of the King’s Musick. Indeed, Alice recognized genius when she saw it.
Kate Rivers
Tudor Dominik Maican (b. 1988)
Solaris [2007]
The idea for “Solaris” came out of a trip I took to Romania. I had the opportunity to go on a two-day trip into the heart of the mountains, where the people and their culture are virtually untouched by contemporary civilization. I spent time with the villagers, listening and watching as they sang and danced. It was one of the most incredible moments in my life. Their music, their costumes, and their dances went directly to my heart and I knew right there that coming back home the fascination would continue and I would be inspired for a new piece.
The word “Solaris” reflects the light of the sunset I saw on their faces as they sang and danced. My intent is for the music to be a constant alternation between dramatic and lyric moments. The first movement, energetic and dynamic, is a perfect example of this alternation. The second movement brings a suave melody which I hope evokes the beautiful moment of a slow dance that I saw in that village. The dramatic feeling can easily be heard throughout the intense harmonies and constant dialogues between voices. The third movement evokes the joy, laughter, and humor of these people of all ages who were dancing like it was the last evening of their lives.
Dominik Maican
June, 2007
Franz Schubert (1797-1828) / Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)
String Quartet No. 14 in D Minor (D. 810) (Death and the Maiden) [1824] arranged for String Orchestra by Mahler [1894?]
The existence of Mahler’s string orchestra arrangement of Schubert’s “Death and the Maiden” Quartet is almost accidental. Written—or at least skectched out—around 1894, there was no surviving score nor a set of parts for the string orchestra version as executed by Mahler. Not quite a century after her father elaborated on Schubert’s original, Anna Mahler unearthed a published edition of the quartet. Written there on the printed music, in Gustav Mahler’s hand, were the composer’s notations indicating how he would expand the quartet for a larger string ensemble. Anna contacted noted scholars David Matthews and Donald Mitchell, whose many painstaking works on Mahler educated a generation of serious students. Mitchell and Matthews worked with Mahler’s markings, notes, and annotations, and successfully produced a faithful orchestral setting of “Death and the Maiden;” the London of firm Joseph Weinberger published the new version in 1984.
Mahler actually conducted an orchestral version of the Andante of the Schubert quartet on November 19, 1894, in Hamburg. His arrangement of the one movement was criticized rather sternly for stripping the intimate qualities out of Schubert’s original setting. Mahler, who was then director of the Hamburg Opera, apparently gave up any further notion of performing the full work. Composers arranging the works of others was a popular endeavor at the end of the 19th century and into the 20th. Conductor Leopold Stokowski certainly carried on this accepted tradition, popularizing the works of Bach in a dramatic way. The practice was seen as a legitimate way of bringing smaller-scale works to the attention of larger audiences, in larger settings. Stokowski actually went about his arrangements in the same way that Mahler’s “Death and the Maiden” came into being: Stokowski would take a printed edition of the earlier composition, make his notes on the page, and then give the score over to a copyist, who would extract orchestral parts and editions. Mahler’s own arrangements included a piano-four hands version of Bruckner’s Third Symphony; the reorchestration of Schumann’s Fourth Symphony; a reworking of Beethoven’s F Minor String Quartet, Op. 95, and his Quartet in C-sharp Minor, Op. 131. Perhaps most daring was Mahler’s 1909 arrangement of Bach: two movements taken from the Baroque master’s Suite No. 2 and two from his Suite No.3, combined into one work that Mahler conducted in New York; included in the performance was a piano part (played by Mahler) on an instrument which had been altered to sound like a harpsichord.
Mahler’s treatment of Death and the Maiden is a logical next step in the evolution of Schubert’s music. In its earliest incarnation, written in 1817, Schubert’s song Death and the Maiden (Der Tod und das Mädchen) is set for female voice and piano; the singer portrays a dramatic scene in which a young maiden is approached by Death, whom she begs to leave her alone. The vocalist takes on both parts in the tense musical dialogue, while the chordal accompaniment to “Death” actually becomes the theme of the song. Towards the end of his life, Schubert incorporated his earlier piece into the slow movement of the D Minor String Quartet, expanding the instrumentation and thematic workings to cover the four quartet players. It isn’t a huge departure from Schubert’s layout of the quartet, which itself doubles themes at octave intervals, to the fuller string orchestra version envisioned by Mahler. The quartet often strains at its boundaries, wishing for more room to state its case. Mahler heard the original’s cry for a richer, more sonorous palette, and obliged with a work that offers a wider variety of contrasts, textures, and dynamic possibilities.
The work’s first movement is tightly constructed from short themes that build a sense of rhythmic intensity, and, ultimately, lend a feeling of grief. As the themes develop, they appear simultaneously. The slow movement, built on the earlier, namesake song, takes the original piano accompaniment as its main, anguished idea for a set of five variations. Schubert brings another work of his into the scherzo movement—an earlier German dance, number six from D. 790. Following a more peaceful trio section, the finale is an edgy whirlwind, with Schubert’s chordal foundations and themes presented in octaves, proving ripe ground for Mahler’s invention.
Kate Rivers
About the Artists
Eclipse Chamber Orchestra was founded in 1992 by 22 members of the National Symphony Orchestra who enjoy exploring the different repertoire of a smaller chamber orchestra. Its musicians have been featured as soloists in all of the finest recital series, including the Corcoran, the Phillips Collection, The Dumbarton Concert Series, the Fortas Series, the Library of Congress and also as concerto soloists with the National Symphony Orchestra. Eclipse takes great pride in showcasing at least one of its members as a concerto soloist for each concert. This season, the orchestra will complete a 3 CD recording project for Naxos of America which will include the overtures of Florian Gassmann, works of Mark Adamo and works of Truman Harris.
Executing its mission of enhancing the visibility and accessibility of musicians in the community and making world-class performances available to listeners of every economic level, the orchestra has become well known for its exceptional performances and diverse repertoire. It has been highly acclaimed by the Washington Post and the Baltimore Sun. In 1995, Eclipse was presented by the John F. Kennedy Center in a Terrace Theater debut and was the first chamber orchestra ever to be presented by the Dumbarton Concert Series. The artistry and mastery of its membership was featured in a series of WETA 90.0 FM broadcasts in October 2002 and 2007.
Its educational initiative is realized through its sponsorship of the Brass of Peace Scholarship Program which trains students for careers in music performance.
Sylvia Alimena, Music Director and conductor, also has an active conducting schedule throughout the area as music director and conductor of Eclipse Chamber Orchestra, the Brass of Peace, and the McLean Orchestra. A native of Long Island, New York, she began playing the french horn in the Hicksville Public Schools at the age of nine.
In 1980, Ms. Alimena began her professional career in Boston as a member of the Boston Ballet Orchestra, the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, and the Beacon Brass Quintet, and as Principal horn of the Boston Lyric Opera and the New Hampshire Symphony. She was critically acclaimed for her solo and offstage playing in the Boston Lyric Opera’s 1983 New York and Boston productions of Wagner’s Das Ring Des Nibelungen. After spending one year in the Utah Symphony under the baton of Joseph Silverstein, Ms. Alimena arrived in Washington in the fall of 1985 to take her current post as second horn of the National Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Alimena has appeared as guest conductor of the University of Maryland Symphony Orchestra, the Peabody Symphony and has conducted a series of “National Symphony Orchestra In Your Neighborhood” concerts with the Eclipse Chamber Orchestra on behalf of the National Symphony Orchestra. In 1999, she was the backstage conductor for an Aspen production of the final act of Die Gotterdammerung with James Conlon conducting as well as on-stage auxilliary conductor for a production of Wozzeck also with James Conlon conducting.
Tonight’s Orchestra
Violins
Eilsabeth Adkins, Concertmaster
Lina Bahn
Natasha Bogachek
Zino Bogachek
Carole Tafoya Evans
Heather LeDoux Green
Lily Kramer
Regino Madrid
Susan Midkiff
Kim Miller
Linda Schroeder
Violas
Tsuna Sakamoto, principal
Beth Dunkel
Uri Wassertzug
Cellos
Mark Evans, principal
Amy Butler
Steven Honigberg
Bass
Jeffrey Weisner, principal
Ira Gold