Program Notes for
An Evening with the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra

The Cowboys Overture by John Williams (b. 8 February 1932).  Composed in 1971.

Elegie op. 24 for cello and orchestra by Gabriel Faure (b. 12 May 1845; d. 4 November 1924). Composed in 1880 for cello and piano, orchestrated in 1896.

Zigeunerweisen op. 20 by Pablo de Sarasate (b. 10 March 1844; d. 20 September 1908). Composed in 1878.

Capriccio Espagnole op. 34 by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov (b. 18 March 1844; d. 21 June 1908). Composed in 1887.

Academic Festival Overture op. 80 by Johannes Brahms (b.7 May 1833; d. 3 April 1897).  Composed in 1880.

Fandango for trumpet, trombone and wind band by Joseph Turrin (b. 4 January 1947).  Composed in 2000.

An American in Paris by George Gershwin (b. 23 September 1898; d. 11 July 1937).  Composed in 1928

For most audience members a symphony orchestra is an apparently unified entity, an assemblage of musicians joined in singular purpose for the creation of great music.  Much of the protocol and practice of an orchestra actually serves to reinforce the singularity of identity of the orchestra rather than the plurality of the musicians that constitute the whole.  Musicians are grouped by section, dress uniformly, practice to bow and breathe together, and most importantly are willing to subvert their individualist tendencies for the sake of a greater whole.  In fact, it is often the willingness to relinquish the urge to assert individual identity that results in the most sublime types of performance experience, for both listener and player.  All this of course is underscored by the very intensely individualistic process that musicians experience in attempting to achieve a level of proficiency that will allow them to engage in the generally self-effacing role of orchestral musician.  Professional musicians spend long, solitary hours practicing and honing their craft, subject themselves to sometimes harsh individual criticism by teachers, conductors, and peers, and hold themselves to high standards of both technical and artistic excellence.  The contrast between the profoundly personal and the transcendent communal experience of an orchestral musician is consequently a fascinating paradox.  Few audience members know the individual members of the orchestra, but all appreciate the communal effort.  With this in mind, it is interesting to consider a program of works that highlights the uniqueness and individuality of some of the players of the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra while being supported by their colleagues.  Half of this program of music features one or more section leaders of the orchestra, while the other half serves to display the brilliance of the whole ensemble.

Perhaps the most recognizable name in Hollywood composers is that of John Williams, whose reputation as a leading composer for movies and television was already well established before the incredible success of the movie Star Wars in 1977.  Williams had already built up a long list of credits including an early collaboration with Stephen Spielberg in the blockbuster film, Jaws (1975).  A few years earlier, Williams composed a popular soundtrack to the John Wayne Western, The Cowboys, which he later arranged as an orchestral suite.  The Cowboys Overture, in typical Williams fashion, manages to capture the mood and spirit of both the film and the American West in general.  The overture is broadly in three main sections.  The opening section presents a series of characteristic themes marked by vigorous rhythms, comical winds, and sweeping string melodies.  The middle section contrasts with a slower tempo and a more wistful and sentimental main theme.  The overture concludes with the return of the music of the opening section.

Today, French composer Gabriel Faure is known most for his frequently performed Requiem and for a relatively small number of chamber works and important body of songs.  Despite the relative lack of familiarity with his music by concert audiences, Faure was an important and influential musical figure of the late 19th and early-20th centuries.  His career developed slowly, not achieving broad recognition until in his forties.  Nonetheless, he earned positions at the Paris Conservatoire—eventually becoming director—where he was teacher to students such as Maurice Ravel and Nadia Boulanger.  Among his more familiar brief works is the Elegie op. 24 for Cello and Orchestra. The work was originally conceived as part of sonata for cello and piano in 1880 but has remained a single movement since its first performance in 1883.  The word elegy signifies a poem or song of mourning and Faure’s work does embody this sorrowful character.  The opening section presents a long, winding, descending melody in the solo cello with restrained accompaniment in the orchestra.  A more agitated middle section contrasts with solo winds, clarinet then oboe, introducing a new theme taken up by the cello.  The cello becomes more active moving to the higher register of the instrument before returning to the opening theme, now an octave higher than originally heard but continually descending until the piece ends with the cello holding out its lowest note till the last measure.

Ziguenerwiesen, op. 20, by Spanish violinist and composer, Pablo de Sarasate, embodies two significant trends in the music of the late-19th century: the rise of the concert virtuoso and the fascination with “gypsy” music.  The era saw the appearance of the first generations of great concert soloists such as Nicolo Paganini and Franz Liszt.  Performers such as Paganini, Liszt, and Sarasate became international celebrities through their frequent performances and sensational virtuosity.  Musicians like Sarasate gave concerts throughout continental Europe, England, and even in North and South America. At the same time composers were mining the musical culture of the European Romany (gypsies) to add “exotic” character to their own works.  Perhaps most familiar among the works exploiting this musical style is the Hungarian Dances of Johannes Brahms, who also used so-called “gypsy” themes in a number of his other works.  Sarasate was one of the great violin virtuosos of the late-19th century and his character piece for violin and orchestra, Zigeunerweisen, translates to “Gypsy airs.”  The long first portion of the piece in a slow, rhapsodic tempo explores the more expressive and lyrical character of gypsy music. The concluding section exhibits the fiery dancing style, marked by extreme virtuosity of technique by the violinist.

Nicloai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio Espagnole, op. 34 shares certain qualities with Sarasate’s Zigeunerweisen.  First, Sarasate was a Spaniard and Rimsky’s work is a set of Russian impressions of Spanish music.  This difference is, of course, significant but interestingly, a major component of each work is again the fascination with the character of gypsy music.  In fact, Rimsky originally had in mind a work for solo violin and orchestra, but decided to make a work that ultimately turned into a kind of “concerto for orchestra.”  He demands virtuosic playing by soloists and sections throughout the orchestra, though clearly the solo first violin has a prominent role.  In fact, this Capriccio is one of a set of three great orchestral works composed by Rimsky that exemplifies his mastery of orchestration (the other two were played by the Tulsa Symphony on recent programs: the Russian Easter Festival and Scheherazade).  The Cappricio is in five movements grouped into two large sections: I. Alborada, a set of Variations, and the return of the Alborada; and II. Scene and Gypsy Song, and Fandango of the Asturias.  The term alborada signifies a Spanish morning song, often sung on the occasion of a religious festival or wedding.  A fandango is among the most popular forms of Spanish dance, typically in triple meter and usually featuring castanets, guitar, and rhythmic hand clapping.  Rimsky’s Fandango is identified with Asturias in the northern coastal region of Spain.

In 1879 Johannes Brahms was honored by the University of Breslau for his achievements as a distinguished German composer.  The following year he composed a work as a musical “thank you” after being told a letter of appreciation was insufficient.  That work turned out to be the Academic Festival Overture, op. 80.  Brahms decided that the best way to commemorate this occasion was not to create an ode to the high-minded ideals of classical education, but rather to celebrate the life of the student.  He does this by using four familiar student songs, three German and one Latin: Wir haben gebauet ein stattliches Haus (“We have built a stately house”), Landesvater (“Father of his country”), Was kommt dort von der Hohe? (What comes from there on high?), and finally the recognizable Gaudeamus igitur (“Let us rejoice while we are still young”).  The officials of the university were perhaps surprised at these selections since their familiarity arises not from solemn collegiate occasions but rather more mundane aspects of college life, i.e. drinking and carousing.  It is undoubtedly a sign of Brahms’ own sense of humor that the overture begins seriously but soon breaks out into a more raucous character before climaxing on the closing Gaudeamus igitur in the work’s final pages.

The next work on the program continues with the Spanish theme and particularly with the fandango.  Joseph Turrin is a contemporary composer who has had a long association with the N. Y. Philharmonic, composing a number of works for that orchestra.  The Fandango was commissioned for the University of New Mexico Wind Symphony and soloists Joseph Alessi and Philip Smith, principal trombonist and trumpeter respectively, with the N. Y. Philharmonic.  According to the composer “The work divides itself into three sections: The first is a combination of lively melodic and articulated interplay between the trumpet, trombone and wind symphony.  There is a stately chorale in the woodwinds that opens section two. The trombone adds itself to this material culminating in a short cadenza leading into the third section. Section three is a basic recap of the opening material, but this time the soloists work the themes into a canon. There is a brief return of the chorale, this time for full ensemble, and then a fast coda reiterating the work's various rhythmic elements.”

One of the most well-known and successful American composers was George Gershwin.  Gershwin laid the essential foundation for “American” concert music by creatively weaving together a variety of strands of contemporary musical culture into a cohesive and meaningful whole.  His own career spans a variety of genres from Tin Pan Alley and Broadway to orchestral works and opera.  Along the way Gershwin fuses an unerring ear for melodic invention with the colors of American popular song, jazz, and contemporary concert musical idioms.  His most famous works, Rhapsody in Blue, Porgy and Bess and An American in Paris, epitomize this uniquely American diversity.

An American in Paris was composed in 1928 following Gershwin’s last visit to Europe.  The work, an example of a classical tone poem, is a programmatic depiction of a young American’s experiences and impressions while walking the streets of the great French capital.  The opening captures the sense of excitement and cacophony of a Parisian street scene juxtaposing the confident “American” theme with bustling crowds and traffic, depicted in the car horns (Gershwin actually brought a set of horns home from Paris for the first performance of the work).  In 1951 Gene Kelly starred in a Hollywood adaptation of Gershwin’s engaging score.  The film proved extremely successful and further solidified An American in Paris as a true American classic.
 

© 2008 Robert S. Katz, Ph.D.