January 25 to March 10, 2014 Volume 19, Issue 3

Sarah ChangRenowned violinist stars in the VSO’s Pacific Rim Celebration

allegroMagazine of the Vancouver Symphony

A Romantic Valentine Celebration

Andrew Von Oeyenplays Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 22

Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6, Pastoral and Symphony No. 9, Ode to Joy

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Bramwell Tovey conducts Bernstein and Tchaikovsky

Poulenc’s Gloriaat the Chan Centre

The Cocktail Hour: Music of the Mad Men Era

Amy Grant with the VSO

September 28 to November 10, 2013 Volume 19, Issue 1

Nicola Benedettiplays Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy

allegroMagazine of the Vancouver Symphony

allegroMagazine of the Vancouver Symphony

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First ViolinsDale Barltrop, ConcertmasterJoan Blackman, Associate ConcertmasterNicholas Wright, Assistant ConcertmasterJennie Press, Second Assistant ConcertmasterRobin Braun Mary Sokol BrownMrs. Cheng Koon Lee Chair

Jenny EssersAkira Nagai, Associate Concertmaster EmeritusXue Feng WeiRebecca WhitlingYi Zhou Kimi Hamaguchi ◊Ruth Schipizky ◊

Second ViolinsJason Ho, PrincipalKaren Gerbrecht, Associate Principal Jim and Edith le Nobel Chair

Jeanette Bernal-Singh, Assistant PrincipalAdrian Shu-On ChuiDaniel NortonAnn OkagaitoAshley PlautDeAnne Eisch ◊Erin Wong ◊

ViolasNeil Miskey, Principal Andrew Brown, Associate PrincipalStephen Wilkes, Assistant PrincipalLawrence BlackmanEstelle & Michael Jacobson Chair

Matthew DaviesEmilie Grimes

Angela SchneiderProfessors Mr. & Mrs. Ngou Kang Chair

Ian Wenham

CellosAriel Barnes, PrincipalNezhat and Hassan Khosrowshahi Chair

Janet Steinberg, Associate PrincipalZoltan Rozsnyai, Assistant PrincipalOlivia Blander Gerhard and Ariane Bruendl Chair

Natasha Boyko Mary & Gordon Christopher Chair

Joseph Elworthy Dr. Malcolm Hayes and Lester Soo Chair

Charles InkmanCristian Markos

BassesDylan Palmer, Principal Brandon McLean, Associate Principal Brendan Kane, Assistant Principal David BrownJ. Warren LongFrederick Schipizky

FlutesChristie Reside, Principal Nadia Kyne, Assistant Principal Rosanne Wieringa §Michael & Estelle Jacobson Chair

PiccoloNadia KyneHermann & Erika Stölting Chair

OboesRoger Cole, PrincipalWayne & Leslie Ann Ingram Chair

Beth Orson, Assistant PrincipalKarin WalshPaul Moritz Chair

English HornBeth OrsonChair in Memory of John S. Hodge

ClarinetsJeanette Jonquil, Principal Cris Inguanti, Assistant Principal Todd Cope

E-Flat ClarinetTodd Cope

Bass ClarinetCris Inguanti

BassoonsJulia Lockhart, PrincipalSophie Dansereau, Assistant Principal Gwen Seaton

ContrabassoonSophie Dansereau

French HornsOliver de Clercq, PrincipalBenjamin Kinsman Werner & Helga Höing Chair

David Haskins, Associate PrincipalAndrew MeeWinslow & Betsy Bennett Chair

Richard Mingus, Assistant Principal

TrumpetsLarry Knopp, Principal Marcus Goddard, Associate PrincipalVincent Vohradsky W. Neil Harcourt in memory of Frank N. Harcourt Chair

TrombonesMatthew Crozier, Principal Gregory A. Cox

Bass TromboneDouglas Sparkes Arthur H. Willms Family Chair

TubaPeder MacLellan, Principal

TimpaniAaron McDonald, Principal

PercussionVern Griffiths, PrincipalMartha Lou Henley Chair

Tony Phillipps

HarpElizabeth Volpé, Principal

Piano, CelesteLinda Lee Thomas, PrincipalCarter (Family) Deux Mille Foundation Chair

Orchestra Personnel ManagerDeAnne Eisch

Music LibrarianMinella F. LacsonRon & Ardelle Cliff Chair

Master Carpenter Pierre Boyard

Master ElectricianLeonard Lummis

Piano TechnicianThomas Clarke

*Supported by The Canada Council for the Arts

§ Leave of Absence ◊ Extra Musician

Vancouver Symphony OrchestraBRAMWELL TOVEY MUSIC DIRECTORKAZUYOSHI AKIYAMA CONDUCTOR LAUREATEJEFF TYZIK PRINCIPAL POPS CONDUCTOR

GORDON GERRARD ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR*Marsha & George Taylor Chair

EDWARD TOP COMPOSER-IN-RESIDENCE*

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We welcome your comments on this magazine. Please forward them to: Vancouver Symphony, 500 – 833 Seymour Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 0G4 Allegro contact and advertising enquiries: vsoallegro@yahoo.com / customer service: 604.876.3434 / VSO office: 604.684.9100 / website: vancouversymphony.ca Allegro staff: published by The Vancouver Symphony Society / editor/publisher: Anna Gove / contributors: Cover photo credit: Jonathon Vaughn / Don Anderson / art direction, design & production: bay6 creative inc. Printed in Canada by Web Impressions. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written consent is prohibited. Contents copyrighted by the Vancouver Symphony, with the exception of material written by contributors.

Allegro Magazine has been endowed by a generous gift from Adera Development Corporation.

In this IssueAdvertise in Allegro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2The Orchestra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Allegro Staff List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Government Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Message from the Chairman . . . . . . . . . . . 7 and the President & CEOVSO SpringFest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32Vancouver Symphony Foundation . . . . . . 37Patrons’ Circle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42VSO School of Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43Corporate Partners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60At the Concert / VSO Staff List . . . . . . . . . 62Board of Directors / Volunteer Council . . . 63VSO Upcoming Concerts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

allegroJanuary 25 to March 10, 2014 / Volume 19, Issue 3

27Bramwell

Tovey

21

Magazine of the Vancouver Symphony

SarahChang

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ConcertsJAN 25, 26, 27 / Mardon Group Insurance Musically Speaking / Rogers Group Financial Symphony Sundays / Surrey Nights / Courtney Lewis conductor, Andrew von Oeyen piano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9FEB 1, 3 / Air Canada Masterworks Diamond / Rossen Milanov conductor, Chad Hoopes violin . . .15FEB 8 / Pacific Rim Celebration / Chinese New Year / . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 Long Yu conductor, Wen Wei violin, Jian Wang cello, Serena Wang piano

FEB 9 / Pacific Rim Celebration / Celebrate Korea / Gordon Gerrard conductor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Sarah Chang violin, Grace Lee kayagum, Youngmi Kim soprano, Jung Soo Kim alto Kwangmin Brian Lee tenor, José Ramírez-Solano baritone, Zion Mission Choir, Stephanie Chung director

FEB 13 / Pacific Arbour Tea & Trumpets / The Best of Britain / Bramwell Tovey conductor, . . . . . . .27 Christopher Gaze host

FEB 13, 16 / VSO Chamber Players / Rebecca Whitling violin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 Nadia Kyne flute, Cris Inguanti clarinet, Terence Dawson piano, Cristian Markos cello, Matthew Davies viola, Elizabeth Volpe Bligh harp, Roger Cole oboe

FEB 14, 15 / London Drugs VSO Pops / A Romantic Valentine / . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 Gordon Gerrard conductor, Kathleen Brett soprano, Colin Ainsworth tenor

FEB 21, 22, 24 / Classical Traditions at the Chan Centre / North Shore Classics /. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 Bramwell Tovey conductor, Orion Weiss piano

FEB 23 / The Vancouver Sun Symphony at the Annex / Coming Home / . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45 Bramwell Tovey conductor, Beth Orson english horn, Robyn Driedger-Klassen soprano

MAR 1, 2 / Specials / Beethoven’s Ninth! / Bramwell Tovey conductor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49 Simone Osborne soprano, Susan Platts mezzo-soprano, David Pomeroy tenor, Russell Braun baritone, UBC University Singers, UBC Choral Union, Graeme Langager, director

MAR 8, 9, 10 / Mardon Group Insurance Musically Speaking / Rogers Group Financial . . . . . . . . . .55 Symphony Sundays / Surrey Nights / Michael Francis conductor, Viviane Hagner violin

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15Chad Hoopes

55Viviane Hagner

Andrew von Oeyen

39Orion Weiss

The Vancouver Symphony Society is grateful to the Government of Canada and the Canada Council for the Arts,Province of British Columbia and the BC Arts Council,and the City of Vancouver for their ongoing support.

The combined investment in the VSO by the three levels of government annually funds over 29% of the cost of the orchestra’s extensive programs and activities.

This vital investment enables the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra to present over 150 life-enriching concerts in 16 diverse venues throughout the Lower Mainland and Whistler, attract some of the world’s best musicians to live and work in our community, produce Grammy® and Juno® award-winning recordings, tour domestically and internationally, and, through our renowned educational programs, touch the lives of over 50,000 children annually.

Thank you!Christy Clark, Premier of British Columbia

Shelly Glover, Minister of Canadian Heritage

and Official Languages

Gregor Robertson, Mayor of Vancouver

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FRED G. WITHERS JEFF ALEXANDER

Dear Friends,

Thank you for joining us for today’s concert. We are delighted to have you with us.

This past October, the Board of Directors approved a new Strategic Plan for the organization with a refreshed purpose: To enrich and transform lives through music. We strive to fulfill this purpose every day by presenting passionate, high-quality performances of classical, popular and culturally diverse music; creating meaningful engagement with audiences of all ages and backgrounds wherever we perform; and developing and delivering inspirational education and community programs.

Half way through the 2013–2014 Season we are pleased to report the year is going well. Tens of thousands of people of all ages and backgrounds have heard the orchestra perform since the season opened in September, and we have enjoyed a wide variety of outstanding concerts and guest artists in the Orpheum Theatre and numerous venues throughout the Lower Mainland.

Our educational activities continue to flourish as well, with our first set of concerts for Elementary School students taking place in November to packed houses, and the VSO Connects program in full swing, culminating in close to 100 in-school visits by Maestro Tovey and members of the orchestra this year.

The Annual General Meeting of the Vancouver Symphony Society also took place in November, with reports given on the extraordinary level of activities carried out by the orchestra during the 2012–2013 Season, including a small surplus on financial results for the ninth time in the past ten years.

We announced that Maestro Tovey will continue as our Music Director through the 2017–2018 Season, and remain an important part of the organization as Music Director Emeritus starting in 2018–2019, the orchestra’s centenary. We look forward to continuing to benefit from Bramwell’s artistic and community leadership for many years to come.

In December we presented close to thirty concerts to large and enthusiastic audiences, including our fifteen Traditional Christmas Concerts in seven different venues, annual performances of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at U.B.C, Tiny Tots presentations at the Playhouse Theatre in Vancouver and Terry Fox Theatre in Port Coquitlam, and a performance of Handel's Messiah with the Vancouver Bach Choir.

We are grateful to all of our subscribers, single ticket buyers, donors, sponsors, the three levels of government, as well as the hundreds of volunteers who work together to make the VSO one of the most active and successful performing arts organizations in North America.

Please enjoy today’s concert.

Sincerely yours,

Fred G. Withers Chair, Board of Directors

Jeff Alexander President & Chief Executive Officer

Message from the VSO Chairman and President & CEO

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VISIT THE SYMPHONY GIFT SHOP IN THE ORPHEUM THEATRE FOR CD SELECTIONS

MARDON GROUP INSURANCE MUSICALLY SPEAKING ORPHEUM THEATRE, 8PM

Saturday, January 25ROGERS GROUP FINANCIAL SYMPHONY SUNDAYSORPHEUM THEATRE, 2PM

Sunday, January 26SURREY NIGHTS BELL PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE, 8PM

Monday, January 27Courtney Lewis conductorAndrew von Oeyen piano

ELGAR In the South (Alassio), Op. 50

MOZART Piano Concerto No. 22 in E-flat Major, K. 482 I. Allegro II. Andante III. Rondo: Allegro

INTERMISSION

MOZART Don Giovanni, K. 527: Overture

TCHAIKOVSKY Francesca da Rimini, Op. 32

Concert Program

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THE VSO’S SURREY NIGHTS SERIES HAS BEEN ENDOWED BY A GENEROUS GIFT FROM WERNER AND HELGA HÖING.

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Courtney Lewis conductor

Hailed by the Boston Phoenix as “…both an inspired conductor…and an inspired programmer,” Courtney Lewis is quickly becoming recognized as one of today’s top emerging talents. He is founder and music director of Boston’s acclaimed Discovery Ensemble, a chamber orchestra with the mission of introducing inner-city school children to classical music while bringing new and unusual repertoire to established concert audiences. Lewis is also Associate Conductor of the Minnesota Orchestra, where he regularly conducts Young People’s concerts, outdoor concerts, and other performances, making a successful subscription debut in the 2011/12 season.

In November 2008 Lewis made his major American orchestra debut with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra.

Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Lewis attended the University of Cambridge, during which time he studied composition with Robin Holloway and clarinet with Dame Thea King, graduating with starred first class honors. After completing a master’s degree with a focus on the late music of György Ligeti, he attended the Royal Northern College of Music, where his teachers included Sir Mark Elder and Clark Rundell.

Andrew von Oeyen piano

Andrew von Oeyen has already established himself as one of the most captivating pianists of his generation. Since his debut at age 16 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Esa-Pekka Salonen, Mr. von Oeyen has performed to critical acclaim in recital and orchestral appearances around the world.

Commanding an extensive and diverse repertoire, Mr. von Oeyen has performed the major concertos of the keyboard literature – Bartok, Barber, Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Liszt, Gershwin, Grieg, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff, Ravel, Schumann, Shostakovich, and Tchaikovsky.

2011 saw the release of an award-winning album of Liszt works under the Delos label, including the Sonata in B minor, Vallée

d'Obermann and Wagner and Verdi opera transcriptions.

Born in the U.S. in 1979, Andrew von Oeyen began his piano studies at age five and made his solo orchestral debut at age ten. An alumnus of Columbia University and graduate of The Juilliard School, where his principal teachers were Herbert Stessin and Jerome Lowenthal, he has also worked with Alfred Brendel and Leon Fleisher. Mr. von Oeyen lives in New York and Paris.

Sir Edward Elgar b. Broadheath, England / June 2, 1857 d. Worcester, England / February 23, 1934

In the South (Alassio), Op. 50 In November 1903, Elgar and his wife embarked upon a two-month holiday in the town of Alassio on the Italian Riviera. This exuberant and richly scored overture presents his impressions of the region and its history. He conducted the premiere in London during March 1904. Precise inspiration came during an afternoon stroll near Alassio: “I was by the side of an old Roman way. A peasant stood by an old ruin and in a flash it all came to me – the conflict of armies in that very spot long ago, where now I stood – the contrast of the ruin and the shepherd.”

The exultant opening theme was originally inspired by his friend George Robertson Sinclair’s bulldog Dan, previously immortalized in the “Enigma” Variations. Next comes a gentle portrait of “a shepherd with his flock straying about the ruins of the old church – he piping softly & reedily and occasionally singing.” This is followed by a massive, menacing march-like section that Elgar intended to portray “the relentless and domineering forces of the ancient day, and to give a sound-picture of the strife and wars, the ‘drums and tramplings’ of a later time.” The most lovely sort of contrast follows in a nocturne-like interlude. The theme, inspired by Neapolitan song, is introduced by solo viola. Numerous requests led to its separate publication under the title In Moonlight. Elgar developed all the main themes and crowned them with a truly grandiose conclusion.

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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart b. Salzburg, Austria / January 27, 1756 d. Vienna, Austria / December 5, 1791

Piano Concerto No. 22 in E-flat Major, K. 482 In May 1781, Mozart relocated from Salzburg to Vienna and launched into the career of a freelance composer, pianist and teacher. Vienna valued Mozart the pianist most. Responding to this preference, he composed twelve superlative piano concertos between February 1784 and December 1786. They are deeper in feeling, broader in scope and richer in colour than any written before.

He hoped that this concerto would help reverse the recent decline in his fortunes with Viennese audiences. To this end, he made it as “listener friendly” as possible. The result was an expansive (it is the longest concerto he ever wrote) and truly glorious work. He completed it on December 16, 1785. He played the solo part at the premiere himself, either on that same day or shortly thereafter. It did not, alas, have any lasting effect upon his downward spiral.

Both of the themes upon which the first movement is based are exceptionally gracious. The second bears an added degree of winsomeness. The slow movement, the most remarkable portion of the concerto, offers marked contrast. Set in a minor key and featuring muted strings, this theme and variations is not merely melancholy but borders on authentic tragedy. The concluding movement is a relatively relaxed affair by Mozart’s standards. The recurring refrain resembles a country dance, heavy-footed but mischievous.

Don Giovanni, K. 527: Overture The callous Spanish libertine Don Juan made the transition from figure out of folklore to crystallized dramatic character in the early seventeenth century. His ribald escapades have been the subject of numerous treatments. Mozart’s masterful serio-comic opera premiered in Prague in 1788. The overture ingeniously places the opera’s dark and light qualities side-by-side. It opens in chilling starkness with the music for the

“stone guest” who will lead Don Giovanni to his punishment in hell at the end of the opera. A brisk, charming Allegro follows, depicting the Don’s many amorous escapades.

Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky b. Kamsko-Votkinsk, Russia / May 7, 1840 d. St. Petersburg, Russia / November 6, 1893

Francesca da Rimini, Op. 32 In 1876, Tchaikovsky read Dante Alighieri’s thirteenth-century poem, The Divine Comedy. An episode from the Inferno section fired his imagination. Francesca, the daughter of Guido da Polenta, the Lord of Ravenna, has been condemned to eternal damnation because of an illicit love affair. Part of the attraction for Tchaikovsky may have been the fact that he was undergoing similarly intense tribulations of the heart. The homosexual composer longed to marry, in hopes of concealing his sexual orientation. His wish would be granted within a year of composing Francesca, to his rapid and severe dismay.

He first thought of using Dante’s story as the basis for an opera (his protégé, Sergei Rachmaninoff, would do so in 1904), but he decided on an orchestral setting instead. It mirrored Dante’s narrative closely. The poet’s spirit is guided towards the second circle of hell. After a sombre, unsettling introduction, Tchaikovsky vividly depicted the harsh winds that howl relentlessly through this region. Once the second circle has been reached, the music dies away to a whisper. A pathetic theme on solo clarinet launches Francesca’s tale. In love with the handsome Paolo, she was given in marriage to his hateful, hunchbacked brother Gianciotto instead. Francesca and Paolo continued an affair for years, unbeknownst to Gianciotto, until one day he came upon them together and killed them. This expansive central portion of the music builds a long crescendo of passion, and displays Tchaikovsky’s mastery of orchestral colour at its most effective. A violent episode depicts the lovers’ deaths. The driving winds of hell return, eventually bringing the piece to a stark conclusion. ■Program Notes © 2013 Don Anderson

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VISIT THE SYMPHONY GIFT SHOP FOR CD SELECTIONS

AIR CANADA MASTERWORKS DIAMOND ORPHEUM THEATRE, 8PM

Saturday & Monday, February 1 & 3Rossen Milanov conductorChad Hoopes violin

BRAHMS Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80

MENDELSSOHN Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64 I. Allegro molto appassionato II. Andante III. Allegretto non troppo – Allegro molto vivace

INTERMISSION

KORNDORF The Smile of Maud Lewis

SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 9 in E-flat Major, Op. 70 I. Allegro II. Moderato III. Presto IV. Largo V. Allegretto – Allegro

PRE-CONCERT TALKS free to ticketholders at 7:05pm.

Concert Program

ROSSEN MILANOV

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MASTERWORKS DIAMOND SERIES SPONSOR

CHAD HOOPES

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Rossen Milanov conductor

Rossen Milanov is the newly appointed Principal Conductor of Orquesta Sinfonica del Principado de Asturias in Spain. He also serves as the Music Director of the Princeton Symphony Orchestra as well as the nationally recognized training orchestra — Symphony in C. Respected and admired by audiences and musicians alike, Maestro Milanov has established himself as a conductor with a considerable international presence.

During his eleven-year tenure with The Philadelphia Orchestra he conducted more then 200 performances with that great orchestra, both as Associate Conductor and Artistic Director of the Orchestra’s summer home at The Mann Center for the Performing Arts.

Rossen Milanov studied conducting at The Juilliard School (where he received the Bruno Walter Memorial Scholarship), the Curtis Institute of Music, has a degree in oboe from Duquesne University and the Bulgarian National Academy of Music. Former Chief Conductor of the Bulgarian National Radio Orchestra (2003-2008), Mr. Milanov is a recipient of the Bulgarian Ministry’s Award for Extraordinary Contribution to Bulgarian Culture and an ASCAP award in 2011 for his programing with Princeton Symphony Orchestra. In 2005, he was chosen as Bulgaria’s Musician of the Year.

Chad Hoopes violin

Eighteen-year-old American violinist, Chad Hoopes, has been appearing with numerous ensembles throughout the world since he won the first prize at the Young Artists Division of the Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition. His exceptional talent and magnificent tone are acclaimed by critics worldwide.

Chad is a frequent guest artist at the Menuhin Festival in Gstaad, Switzerland, since his debut in August 2009. He has appeared at the Tuscan Sun Festival in Cortona, Italy, performing Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, Festival del Sole in Napa Valley, and Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, where he has

just recently been named the winner of the prestigious audience award. In October 2012 he was signed by the French label NAIVE (Gramophone award label of the year 2012).

Chad began his violin studies in Minneapolis. He later studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music under David Cerone and Joel Smirnoff and has additionally studied at Ottawa’s NAC Young Artists Program and at the Heifetz Institute. Chad plays the 1713 Antonio Stradivari Cooper; Hakkert; ex Ceci violin, courtesy of Jonathan Moulds.

Johannes Brahms b. Hamburg, Germany / May 7, 1833 d. Vienna, Austria / April 3, 1897

Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80 Brahms composed this merry work in 1880, as a gesture of thanks for an honorary degree that the University of Breslau bestowed upon him. His ironic sense of humour – and his low opinion of institutions of higher learning, born of his never having attended one – led him to make the piece as jolly and informal as the university was serious and stuffy.

The bustling introduction appears to be original Brahms. The main section is founded on four traditional German student songs. After a soft timpani roll, the brass proudly proclaim We Had Built a Stately House. This is followed in turn by Most Solemn Song to the Father of the Country (a heartfelt tune first heard in the strings); What Comes There From on High (a satiric ditty on the bassoons); and at the climax, regally clothed in the largest orchestra Brahms ever used, Gaudeamus igitur, a solemn medieval hymn in praise of student life.

Felix Mendelssohn b. Hamburg, Germany / February 3, 1809 d. Leipzig, Germany / November 4, 1847

Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64 In 1835, Mendelssohn took up the post of Music Director of the Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig. Under his patient, exacting supervision, only a few years passed before its concerts came to be considered the finest given anywhere in Europe. The concertmaster, Ferdinand David, made

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important contributions to that upgrading process. In gratitude, Mendelssohn composed this concerto for him. David performed the premiere, in Leipzig on March 13, 1845.

The concerto is a beautifully polished work of art, combining sureness of construction with passion, warmth and playfulness. In a nod to Romantic practice, Mendelssohn directed that the three sections be played without any breaks between them. This gives the concerto greater cohesiveness and momentum. The majority of dramatic content plays out in the urgent first movement. The following section is an interlude of gentle melodic beauty. A brief bridge passage then ushers in the impish finale. Its solo fireworks are backed by the kind of featherylight orchestration which was a Mendelssohn trademark.

Nikolai Korndorf b. Moscow, Russia / January 23, 1947 d. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada / May 30, 2001

The Smile of Maud Lewis Korndorf graduated from the Moscow Conservatory in 1973 with a Ph.D. in composition. He joined the Conservatory’s staff in 1972 and taught a variety of subjects for 20 years. In 1976, he won a major conducting competition. This led to guest conducting engagements throughout the USSR and in Boston. He moved to Vancouver in 1991, where he continued to compose until his untimely death.

He wrote The Smile of Maud Lewis, one of his final works, in 1998. With its bright, airy textures and innocent, joyous mood, it reflects the artistry of the celebrated Nova Scotia painter Maud Lewis (1903-1970), whom Korndorf admired deeply. At the time of the premiere, he stated, “First of all, I have to say that discovering the art of Maud Lewis was one of the most important cultural experiences since my moving to Canada. I was most impressed by three things. First, I was fascinated by her art: simple, ingenuous, but very cordial, open-hearted, moving, gentle and full of light. Second, I was struck by the circumstances of her very hard and unhappy life. It seemed that everything was against her. But in spite of that, her art was full of belief in love and it inhales optimism and

light. And the third thing, I was enchanted by her smile. In spite of her specific facial features – she did not have the lower jaw – her smile was full of gentleness and affability. There is a saying that a smile is the mirror of the soul. If indeed it is true, Maud Lewis’s smile, and her art alike, showed that she possessed a lofty, beautiful and rich soul, and therefore I called my piece this name.”

Dmitry Shostakovich b. St. Petersburg, Russia / September 25, 1906 d. Moscow, Russia / August 9, 1975

Symphony No. 9 in E-flat Major, Op. 70 Shostakovich regularly ran afoul of Soviet cultural authorities. The main reason was his desire for his music to express the many, contrasting facets of life, positive and negative, rather than just the simple, uplifting sentiments that the bureaucrats expected composers to express.

At the beginning of 1945, he began writing a grand, heroic symphony celebrating the impending victory over the Axis powers. He became dissatisfied with it and put it aside. He began an entirely new symphony in July and completed it in August. Instead of a long, serious work that the bureaucrats hoped would somehow be related in spirit to the Ninth Symphony of Beethoven, Shostakovich provided a compact, sarcastic, neo-classical piece scored for an orchestra not much bigger than the one Beethoven had used. Audiences showed their approval, but the “official” response was savagely negative.

Surely the symphony’s sheer irreverence and intentional banality was the main reason behind the censure. It sports a sharp, satiric edge born of the anger and despair Shostakovich felt toward Soviet authority. The restless, melancholy second movement and the stern declamations and mournful bassoon mediations of the fourth, provide interludes of calm between the spirited goings-on and circus tunes of the odd-numbered sections. The final three movements are played without interruption. ■Program Notes © 2013 Don Anderson

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Saturday, February 8 Chinese New Year: Celebrating the Year of the HorseLong Yu conductorWen Wei violinJian Wang celloSerena Wang piano

LI HUANZHISpring Festival Overture

BEETHOVENPiano Concerto No. 1, Op. 15, C Major I. Allegro con brio II. Largo III. Rondo: Allegro

CHEN GANG / HE ZHANHAOButterfly Lovers Concerto for Violin and Orchestra

INTERMISSION

CHEN QIGANG Reflet d’un temps disparu (for Cello and Orchestra)

Concert Programs

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Pacific Rim Celebration

CONCERT ONE ORPHEUM THEATRE, 7:30PM

JIAN WANG

VISIT THE SYMPHONY GIFT SHOP FOR CD SELECTIONS

FEBRUARY 8 CHINESE NEW YEARPRE-CONCERT DINNER SPONSOR

LONG YU

SERENA WANGWEN WEI

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Long Yu conductor

The preeminent Chinese conductor with an established international reputation, Maestro Long Yu is currently Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the China Philharmonic Orchestra, Music Director of the Shanghai and Guangzhou Symphony Orchestras, and Artistic Director of the Beijing Music Festival.

Long Yu was born in 1964 into a family of musicians in Shanghai. He received his early musical education his grandfather Ding Shande, a composer of great renown, and went on to study at the Shanghai Conservatory and the Hochschule der Kunst in Berlin.

In 2000, Long Yu co-founded the China Philharmonic Orchestra and was appointed Artistic Director and Principal Conductor. Now entering his 11th season with the China Philharmonic, he has maintained the high standard of orchestral performance and artistic administration. In 2003, Long Yu was appointed the Music Director of the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra.

Long Yu is a Chevalier dans L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and the recipient of the 2002 Arts Patronage Award of the Montblanc Cultural Foundation. In 2005 President Berlusconi honored Maestro Long Yu with the title of L’onorificenza di commendatore.

Wen Wei violin

Prize winner of the Sibelius International Violin Competition, Wieniawski International Violin Competition and Sarasate International Violin Competition, Wen Wei is one the most sought-after Chinese violinists, and is named one of the Top Ten Young Violinists by China Central TV. Wen Wei is an active soloist performing with top orchestras in China such as the China Philharmonic Orchestra, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, and leading orchestras around the world including the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. In 2013, she toured China with Maestro Long Yu and the China Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as a fourteen-city recital tour. Wen Wei records for Universal Music, and is the first Chinese violinist to release an album under the Decca label. Her debut album, simply titled Violin Recital, was released in December 2012 to critical acclaim.

Jian Wang cello

Jian Wang began to study the cello with his father when he was four. While a student at the Shanghai Conservatory, he was featured in the celebrated documentary film From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China. Mr Stern's encouragement and support paved the way for him to go to the United States, and in 1985 he entered the Yale School of Music under a special programme where he studied with the renowned cellist Aldo Parisot.

Jian Wang’s first professional engagement was in 1986, at New York’s Carnegie Hall. Since then he has embarked on an international career, early highlights including concerts with

the Mahler Youth Orchestra/Claudio Abbado and with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra/Riccardo Chailly (in Amsterdam and on tour in China). He has an extensive discography with DGG and his most recent release is of the Elgar Concerto, recorded live with Sydney Symphony and Ashkenazy (Decca/ABC Classics). His instrument is graciously loaned to him by the family of the late Mr. Sau-Wing Lam.

Serena Wang piano

Born in October, 2004, Serena Wang (Wang Yalun in Chinese) started playing the piano under Sumi Nagasawa at the age of four. In 2010, at the age of five, she became the youngest prize winner of the Bach Piano Competition held by Berkeley University. In the same year, she won the first prize at the Northern California China Music Teacher Institute Piano Competition and was invited to perform at the awards concert.

With the recommendation by Mr.Xu Pei Dong, the chairman of Chinese Musicians Association, Serena was introduced to professor Dan Zhao Yi and began her tutorship in 2010.

In November, 2011, Serena Wang was highly honored to attend "World Champion's Piano Educator, Dan Zhaoyi” series tour concerts. She has also performed piano concertos with the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra at the National Grand Theatre during the 3rd Beijing International Piano Festival, no doubt an important milestone in her musical road. ■

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Sunday, February 9 Celebrate KoreaA concert celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between the Republic of Korea and Canada

Gordon Gerrard conductorSarah Chang violinGrace Jong Eun Lee kayagum Youngmi Kim sopranoJung Soo Kim altoKwangmin Brian Lee tenorJosé Ramírez-Solano baritoneZion Mission Choir, Stephanie Chung director

GRACE JONG EUN LEE Song of Love for Kayagum and Orchestra

YOUNG JO LEE Whang Jinie: Cheongsanri Byukgesuya

VERDI La forza del destino: Pace, pace, mio Dio!

KOREAN FOLK SONGS Including: Long for Mountain Gum-Kang

INTERMISSION

DE CURTIS Non ti scordar di me

BRUCH Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26 I. Prelude: Allegro moderato II. Adagio III. Finale: Allegro energico

JUNE-HEE LIM Song of Arirang: I. Ari-arari II. Let's Sing A Song of Arirang

Concert Programs

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Pacific Rim Celebration

CONCERT TWO ORPHEUM THEATRE, 7:30PM

FEBRUARY 9 CELEBRATE KOREA CONCERT SPONSOR

SARAH CHANG

GRACE JONG EUN LEE

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Gordon Gerrard conductor

For a biography of Gordon Gerrard please refer to page 36.

Sarah Chang violin

Sarah Chang is recognized as one of the world’s great violinists. Since her debut with the New York Philharmonic at the age of eight she has performed with the greatest orchestras, conductors and accompanists internationally in a career spanning more than two decades.

Last season, Ms. Chang premiered a new arrangement of Bernstein West Side Story Suite by David Newman which she will tour further in the US and Europe. Ms. Chang appears regularly in the Far East and returned to Seoul for concerts with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and to Guangzhou to perform with the Symphony Orchestra as part of the Asian Games Opening Festival.

In 2005, Yale University dedicated a chair in Sprague Hall in Sarah Chang’s name and in 2012 Harvard University gave her the 'Distinguished Leadership in the Arts Award'. For the June 2004 Olympic games, she was given the honor of running with the Olympic Torch in New York, and that same month, became the youngest person ever to receive the Hollywood Bowl's Hall of Fame award. Chang has been named the US Embassy’s Artistic Ambassador from 2011.

Grace Jong Eun Lee kayagum

Grace Jong Eun Lee is a composer and a performer dedicated to inter-culturalism. She received her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music from the University of British Columbia (Piano and Composition). Currently, she teaches the Kayagum (Korean Zither) and new Korean music as well as directs and performs in the School of Music Korean Ensemble at the Vancouver Community College. She is an Associate composer of the Canadian Music Centre, and her compositions have been performed at the Vancouver Art Gallery, and for the Canadian Society of Asian Arts, Festival Vancouver, Socan, and the CBC Orchestra.

Her compositions reflect a combination of Korean, Chinese (Erhu) and Western instruments (flute, clarinet, piano, string and percussion). She is strongly influenced by the sounds of nature and often uses them in her works to convey the East Asian sense of space and emptiness. She also received Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Award (Best Cultural Music Award) from Korea in 2008.

Youngmi Kim soprano

Young-Mi Kim, internationally acclaimed soprano, earned both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Conservatory and Academy of Santa Cecilia in Rome, Italy. She has won the numerous awards from Verona International Contest, Giacomo Puccini Contest in Lucca and Maria Callas International Voice Competition in Milan, Italy. The singer was also awarded the Dante Prize at the Reggio Emilia Opera House and the top prize of Luciano Pavarotti International Voice Competition in Philadelphia, U.S.A.

Ms. Kim’s lyric soprano voice has captivated audiences around the world with operatic roles such as Mimi, Cio-Cio San, Violetta, Norma, Adina, Liu, Desdemona, Adriana and Leonora.

Her repertoire embraces spirituals and cross-over as well as classical music.

Ms. Kim is the recipient of an Order of Cultural Merits from the Government of Korea and a professor at the Korean National University of Arts.

GORDON GERRARD YOUNGMI KIM

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Jung Soo Kim alto

Jung Soo Kim received her Masters' in Music from the DongDuk Women’s University in Seoul, where she is now a guest lecturer on music, vocals and sight-singing. Jung Soo has performed in the Korean Shin-Chun Concert and various other recital programs, and she is currently a member of Solien, a Vancouver women’s soloist ensemble.

Jung Soo has also conducted for many years, for the Seoul HyoSung Pedestrian Church

Gloria Choir (1984-2001) and for the Korean Women’s Missionary Choir (1997-2001). She has served for the Praise Program at FEBC (Far East Broadcasting Corporation) and currently conducts for the Vancouver Central Presbyterian Church Hosannah Choir.

Kwangmin Brian Lee tenor

Tenor Kwangmin Brian Lee has a Master in Opera Performance with UBC. He has sung main roles in such opera as Cosi fan Tutte, Street Scene, Die Zauberflöte, Don Giovanni, The Merry Widow, La Bohème, Carmen, Die Fledermaus, Rusalka, Land of Smile La Cenerentola with Vancouver Opera, Vancouver Opera in Schools, UBC Opera Ensemble, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, European Music Academy, Prince George Orchestra and many others. He recently finished singing the role of Hoffmann in Les contes D’Hoffman with UBC Opera Ensemble with Vancouver Opera Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Leslie Dala. He has worked with many renowned singers and coaches such as Ben Heppner, Judith Forst, and Stuart Hamilton.

JUNG SOO KIM KWANGMIN BRIAN LEE

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He also sang in many performances such as Marriage of Figaro, Faust, Macbeth, Eugene Onegin, Carmen, Magic Flute, Norma, Nixon in China, Madama Butterfly, The Tea, La Traviata, Tosca and The Masked Ball with Vancouver Opera and UBC Opera Ensemble. He had his Vancouver Opera debut with a role in Salome in May of 2009 and will be singing in 2013–14 productions with same company.

José Ramírez-Solano baritone

Baritone José Ramírez-Solano is originally from Oaxaca, Mexico. He received his Bachelor of Music from the School of Music at the University of British Columbia and is currently finishing his Masters of Music. José’s repertoire includes a variety of leading roles such as: Doctor Miracle in Les Contes D’Hoffman, Conseiller Lindorf in Les Contes D’Hoffman, Escamillo in Carmen, John Proctor in The Crucible, Don Giovanni in Don Giovanni, Marcello in La Bohème, Louis Riel in Louis Riel, Don Alfonso in Cosi Fan Tutte, Vater in Hansel Und Gretel, Schaunard in La Bohème, Guglielmo in Cosi Fan Tutte, and Dancaïro in Carmen. In addition to his successful career at UBC as one of the leading baritones in the opera ensemble, José has sung in collaboration with the VSO at their Tea & Trumpets concerts and in artistic venues such as Bard on the Beach under the direction of Christopher Gaze and Maestro Leslie Dala.

Zion Mission Choir, Stephanie Chung director

The Vancouver Zion Mission Choir (VZMC) was formed as a non-profit, non-denominational Christian organization in 1982. The Choir’s purpose is to bring glory to God and spread the Gospel around the world through music.

The VZMC has grown tremendously under the directorship of Dr. Stephanie Chung. Dr. Chung has brought the VZMC to the world stage, garnering standing ovations at many prestigious venues. Highlights include performing at the 28th Far East Broadcasting Company Choir Festival at Sejong Cultural Centre in Seoul, Korea, the Vancouver Multicultural Choral Festival (2010), Milal Hymn Festival at Carnegie Hall, New York City (2011), and Voices Together at Rogers Arena (Canada Day, 2013). The VZMC and Dr. Chung were also invited to perform at the Korean Presidential Palace in 2010. Most recently, they performed in Ottawa at the invitation of the Canadian Government as part of the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Canada, where the prime ministers from both countries enjoyed a spectacular performance at The Government of Canada Conference Centre.

Fundraising through annual benefit concerts has enabled the VZMC to contribute towards various initiatives, including the World Famine Relief Fund, the Paraguay Orphanage Mission, First Steps Canada’s Soy Milk and Radios for North Korea Mission, and Global Aid Network’s Tanzanian Water Well Initiative. The VZMC is a proud recipient of the Korean President’s medal for its contributions to humanity. ■

ZION MISSION CHOIRJOSÉ RAMÍREZ-SOLANO

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VISIT THE SYMPHONY GIFT SHOP FOR CD SELECTIONS

TEA & TRUMPETS SERIES SPONSOR

PACIFIC ARBOUR TEA & TRUMPETSORPHEUM THEATRE, 2PM

Thursday, February 13

The Best of BritainBramwell Tovey conductorChristopher Gaze host

COATES London Suite: Knightsbridge March

GRAINGER Country Gardens

WALTON Spitfire: Prelude and Fugue

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS English Folk Song Suite

ELGAR Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1

ELGAR Enigma Variations: Nimrod and Finale

TEA & COOKIES Don’t miss tea and cookies served in the lobby one hour before each concert, compliments of Tetley Tea and LU Biscuits.

Concert Program

CHRISTOPHER GAZE

BRAMWELL TOVEY

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Bramwell Tovey, O.C. conductor

A musician of striking versatility, Grammy® Award winning conductor Bramwell Tovey is acknowledged around the world for his artistic depth and his warm, charismatic personality on the podium. Tovey’s career as a conductor is uniquely enhanced by his work as a composer and pianist, lending him a remarkable musical perspective. His tenures as music director with the Vancouver Symphony, Luxembourg Philharmonic and Winnipeg Symphony Orchestras have been characterized by his expertise in operatic, choral, British and contemporary repertoire.

Mr. Tovey who is entering his fourteenth season as Music Director of the Vancouver Symphony, also continues his association with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, and as founding host and conductor of the New York Philharmonic’s Summertime Classics series at Avery Fisher Hall. In 2008, both orchestras co-commissioned him to write a new work, the well-received Urban Runway, subsequently programmed by a number of orchestras in the US and Canada. He was honoured with the Best Canadian Classical Composition Juno® Award in 2003 for his Requiem for a Charred Skull.

An esteemed guest conductor, Mr. Tovey has worked with major orchestras in Europe and North America, including the London Philharmonic, London Symphony and Frankfurt Radio Orchestra. His trumpet concerto, Songs of the Paradise Saloon, commissioned by Toronto Symphony received its premiere in winter of 2009, and a preview of his first full-length opera The Inventor premiered in Calgary in winter 2011. Other recent engagements included visits to the Nashville and Montreal symphonies as well as a return to Australia where he has already worked with the symphonies in Perth, Sydney and Melbourne.

Touring is an important aspect of his artistic leadership with the Vancouver Symphony and, in the winter of 2013 they embarked on a west coast US tour. Finally, to his already busy summer schedule this year he added return visits to the Philadelphia Orchestra in

Saratoga, NY, and the Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom Music Center.

Mr. Tovey has been awarded honorary degrees, including a Fellowship from the Royal Academy of Music in London, honorary Doctorates from the universities of Winnipeg, Manitoba, British Columbia, and Kwantlen University College, as well as a Royal Conservatory of Music Fellowship in Toronto. In 1999, he received the M. Joan Chalmers National Award for Artistic Direction, a Canadian prize awarded to artists for outstanding contributions in the performing arts. In 2013, he also received an honourary appointment as an "Officer of the Order of Canada" for his outstanding achievements as a conductor and composer, and for his commitment to promoting new Canadian music.

Christopher Gaze host

Born and educated in England, Christopher Gaze was inspired to come to Canada in 1975 by his mentor, legendary Shakespearean actor Douglas Campbell. He spent three seasons at the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake then moved to Vancouver in 1983. After a couple of experiences with other outdoor Shakespeare events, Christopher recognized the potential in blending excellent Shakespeare productions with Vancouver’s spectacular location. In 1990 he founded Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival where Bard’s signature open-ended performance tent allowed the actors to perform against a backdrop of the city’s skyline and mountains.

A gifted public speaker, Christopher frequently shares his insights on the theatre and Shakespeare out in the community with school groups, service organizations and local businesses.

Christopher’s many honours include induction into the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame, Canada’s Meritorious Service Medal (2004), Honorary Doctorates from UBC & SFU, the BC Community Achievement Award (2007), the Gold Medallion from the Children’s Theatre Foundation of America (2007), the Mayor’s Arts Award for Theatre (2011) and the Order of British Columbia (2012). ■

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VSO CHAMBER PLAYERS ALAN AND GWENDOLINE PYATT HALLDR. H.N. MACCORKINDALE STAGE VSO SCHOOL OF MUSIC

Thursday, February 13, 7:30pm

Sunday, February 16, 2pm

MILHAUD Suite for Violin, Clarinet and Piano, Op.157b

Rebecca Whitling violinCris Inguanti clarinetTerence Dawson piano

VILLA-LOBOS The Jet Whistle for Flute and Cello

Nadia Kyne fluteCristian Markos cello

DEBUSSY Sonata for Flute, Viola and HarpNadia Kyne fluteMatthew Davies violaElizabeth Volpe Bligh harp

INTERMISSION

LOEFFLER Two Rhapsodies for Oboe, Viola and Piano

Roger Cole oboeMatthew Davies violaTerence Dawson piano

JOLIVET Chant de Linos for Flute, Violin, Viola, Cello and Harp

Nadia Kyne fluteRebecca Whitling violinMatthew Davies violaCristian Markos celloElizabeth Volpe Bligh harp

Concert Program

REBECCA WHITLING

NADIA KYNE

ROGER COLE

WITH SUPPORT FROM

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2MONDAY, MAR 31RACH TWORACHMANINOFF VocaliseRIMSKY-KORSAKOV ScheherazadeRACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor*

1 SATURDAY, MAR 29ROMANTIC MELODIESRACHMANINOFF Prelude in C-sharp minorRACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 1 in F-sharp minor*RACHMANINOFF Symphony No. 2 in E minor

4MONDAY, APR 7RHAPSODIC RACHMANINOFFBACH/STOKOWSKI Toccata and Fugue in D minor

RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 4 in G minor*BALAKIREV Islamey

RACHMANINOFF Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini*

3 SATURDAY, APR 5PRELUDES & PICTURESRACHMANINOFF Prelude in G minorMUSSORGSKY/RAVEL Pictures at an ExhibitionRACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor*

Bramwell Tovey conductor Alexander Gavrylyuk piano*

ALL CONCERTSORPHEUM THEATRE 8PM

Tickets from $25 per concert! Or order a FESTIVAL PASS for all four concerts and SAVE 25% OVER SINGLE CONCERT PRICES!

4CONCERTSMARCH 29

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Featuring the music of RACHMANINOFF

alexandergavrylyuk.com

here’s a new festival in Vancouver’s Arts and Culture scene: The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra's SPRING FESTIVAL!

A new annual fixture on the Festival calendar in late-March to early-April, the VSO SPRING FESTIVAL will feature a different composer or musical era each year, and launches in this 95th anniversary season with a four-concert focus on the lush, Romantic music of Sergei Rachmaninoff.

The first VSO SPRING FESTIVAL features sensational Russian pianist Alexander Gavrylyuk performing all five of Rachmaninoff’s works for piano and orchestra. The festival also features two famous orchestral arrangements of compositions for piano; music by composers who influenced Rachmaninoff; and four of Rachmaninoff’s orchestral masterpieces. Bramwell Tovey conducts all four concerts.

The VSO SPRING FESTIVAL includes Pre-Concert Talks each night with Maestro Bramwell Tovey, and Post-Concert “Deconstructing Rachmaninoff” discussions with Alexander Gavrylyuk and Maestro Tovey.

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Bramwell Tovey

Alexander Gavrylyuk and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra perform all five of Rachmaninoff's works for piano and orchestra: The four Piano Concertos and Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.

Tickets online at vancouversymphony.caor call 604.876.3434@VSOrchestra

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VISIT THE SYMPHONY GIFT SHOP FOR CD SELECTIONS

LONDON DRUGS VSO POPS ORPHEUM THEATRE, 8PM

Friday & Saturday, February 14 & 15A Romantic ValentineGordon Gerrard conductorKathleen Brett sopranoColin Ainsworth tenor

PROKOFIEV Romeo & Juliet Suite No. 2: Dance of the Knights

BIZET Carmen Suites No. 1 & 2: selections

SONDHEIM Sweeney Todd: Johanna

SONDHEIM A Little Night Music: Send in the Clowns

BERNSTEIN West Side Story: Maria

BERNSTEIN West Side Story: Balcony Scene

INTERMISSION

SAINT-SAENS Samson & Delilah: Danse bacchanale

MASCAGNI Cavalleria rusticana: Intermezzo

TCHAIKOVSKY Fantasy-Overture: Romeo & Juliet

RODGERS Carousel: If I Loved You

RODGERS My Funny Valentine

GERSHWIN Shall We Dance: Let's Call the Whole Thing Off

LOEWE My Fair Lady: I Could Have Danced All Night

Concert Program

VSO POPS RADIO SPONSOR

VSO POPS SERIES SPONSOR

KATHLEEN BRETT

COLIN AINSWORTH

GORDON GERRARD

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Gordon Gerrard conductor

Gordon Gerrard has established a unique place in the new generation of Canadian musicians as one of its fastest rising stars. Trained first as a pianist and subsequently as a specialist in operatic repertoire, Gordon brings a fresh perspective to the podium. His passion and his dedication to producing thrilling musical experiences have endeared him to his fellow musicians and the public alike.

A passionate and gifted educator, Gordon has been engaged as a conductor and lecturer by many institutions, including McGill University, the University of Manitoba and Iowa State University. In 2012, Gordon conducted a production of Don Giovanni for Opera McGill. He has served as conductor for Opera Nuova (Edmonton) for the past ten years, and on the music staffs of the Opera as Theatre Programme at the Banff Centre for the Arts, the Canadian Vocal Arts Institute (Montreal), Halifax Summer Opera Workshop and the Undergraduate Opera Studio at the Manhattan School of Music.

Gordon is delighted to be in his second season with Maestro Bramwell Tovey and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra as Assistant Conductor.

Kathleen Brett soprano

Canadian soprano, Kathleen Brett is cherished by audiences in North America and Europe not only for the beauty of her tone and stylistic instinct but also for her natural stage presence and dramatic skills. Miss Brett has enjoyed a long artistic collaboration with the Canadian Opera Company portraying a variety of roles including Susanna Le Nozze di Figaro, Romilda, in Stephen Wadsworth’s acclaimed production of Xerxes, and the Governess The Turn of the Screw. Critically acclaimed debuts include Blanche The Dialogues of the Carmelites and Gretel Hansel and Gretel at Arizona Opera and at Utah Opera, Micaela Carmen at Edmonton Opera and Musetta La Bohème with Vancouver Opera. Her San Francisco Opera debut as Kristina

The Makropulos Case, directed by Lotfi Mansouri, was highly acclaimed and she features in the role on DVD (Canadian Opera Company).

A commensurate concert artist of great charm, Miss Brett is frequently found on the concert platform with many Canadian and American symphony orchestras including those of Toronto, Montreal, Chicago, Minnesota, Detroit, Vancouver, Cincinnati, Utah and Philadelphia. She appears frequently at the festivals of Ravinia, Chicago, Riverbend, Cincinnati and Meadowbrook, Detroiit.

Colin Ainsworth tenor

Canadian tenor Colin Ainsworth has distinguished himself as an up and coming tenor by his exceptional singing and diverse repertoire. Acclaimed for his interpretations of the major Classical and Baroque tenor roles, his many roles have included the title roles in Orphée et Euridice, Pygmalion, Castor et Pollux, Roberto Devereux and Albert Herring; Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Ernesto in Don Pasquale, Rinnucio in Gianni Schicchi, Fenton in Falstaff, Tonio in La Fille du Régiment, Nadir in Les Pêcheurs de Perles, Pylades in Iphigénie en Tauride, Renaud in Lully’s Armide, Tom Rakewell in The Rake’s Progress, and Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Mr. Ainsworth’s growing discography includes Vivaldi’s La Griselda (Naxos), Castor et Pollux (Naxos), Schubert Among Friends (Marquis Classics), Gloria in Excelsis Deo with the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra (CBC Records), the collected masses of Vanhal, Haydn, and Cherubini with Nicholas McGegan (Naxos), and the premiere recording of Derek Holman’s The Heart Mislaid which was included on the Alderburgh Connection’s Our Songs (Marquis Classics). ■

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$3,500,000 or moreGovernment of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage Endowment Incentives Program

$1,000,000 or moreMartha Lou HenleyProvince of BC through the BC Arts Renaissance Fund under the stewardship of the Vancouver Foundation

$500,000 or moreWerner (Vern) and Helga HöingWayne and Leslie Ann Ingram

$250,000 or moreCarter (Family) Deux Mille FoundationRon and Ardelle CliffMr. Hassan and Mrs. Nezhat KhosrowshahiThe Tong and Geraldine Louie Family FoundationHermann and Erika StöltingArthur H. Willms Family

$100,000 or moreMary and Gordon ChristopherJaney Gudewill and Peter Cherniavsky In memory of their Father Jan Cherniavsky and Grandmother Mrs. B.T. RogersMalcolm Hayes and Lester SooIn memory of John S. HodgeMichael and Estelle JacobsonS.K. Lee in memory of Mrs. Cheng Koon LeeKatherine Lu in memory of Professors Mr. and Mrs. Ngou Kang

William and Irene McEwen FundSheahan and Gerald McGavin, C.M., O.B.C.McGrane-Pearson Endowment FundNancy and Peter Paul SaundersKen and Patricia ShieldsGeorge and Marsha TaylorWhittall Family Fund

$50,000 or moreAdera Development CorporationWinslow and Betsy BennettBrazfin Investments Ltd.Mary Ann ClarkLeon and Joan TueyRosemarie Wertschek, Q.C.

$25,000 or moreJeff and Keiko AlexanderMrs. May Brown, C.M., O.B.C.The Bruendl FoundationMrs. Margaret M. DuncanW. Neil Harcourt in memory of Frank N. HarcourtDaniella and John IckePaul Moritz Mrs. Gordon T. Southam, C.M.Maestro Bramwell Tovey and Mrs. Lana Penner-ToveyAnonymous (1)

$10,000 or moreMrs. Marti BarregarKathy and Stephen BellringerMrs. Geraldine BielyK. Taryn BrodieRobert G. Brodie and K. Suzanne Brodie

Douglas and Marie-Elle CarrothersMr. Justice Edward Chiasson and Mrs. Dorothy ChiassonDr. Marla KiessChantal O’Neil and Colin ErbDan and Trudy PekarskyBob and Paulette ReidNancy and Robert Stewart Beverley and Eric WattAnonymous (2)

$5,000 or moreCharles and Barbara FilewychEdwina and Paul HellerKaatza FoundationProf. Kin LoRex and Joanne McLennanMarion L. Pearson and James M. OrrMollie Massie and Hein PoulusMelvyn and June Tanemura

$2,500 or moreIn memory of Lynd ForgusonStephen F. GrafJohn and Marietta HurstHarvey and Connie PermackRobert and Darlene SpevakowWinfred Mary (Mollie) SteeleAnonymous (1)

The Vancouver Symphony gratefully acknowledges the support of those donors who have made a commitment of up to $2,500 to the Vancouver Symphony Foundation. Regretfully, space limitations prevent a complete listing.

Bequests to the Vancouver Symphony Foundation

$500,000 or moreJim and Edith le NobelKathleen Margaret Mann

$100,000 or moreSteve FlorisJohn Rand

$50,000 or moreWinslow Bennett Margaret Jean PaquinRachel Tancred RoutMary Flavelle Stewart

$25,000 or moreDorothy Freda BaileyPhyllis Celia FisherMargot Lynn McKenzie

$10,000 or moreKaye Leaney

$5,000 or moreAnne de Barrett AllworkClarice Marjory BankesLawrence M. CarlsonMuriel F. GilchristJ. Stuart KeateGerald NordheimerAudrey M. PiggotRonald Albert TimmisJan Wolf Wynand

Bequests to the Vancouver Symphony Society

$250,000 or moreRuth Ellen Baldwin

$100,000 or moreDorothy Jane BoyceRoy Joseph FietschHector MacKay

$50,000 or moreRita AldenFritz Ziegler

$25,000 or moreLillian Erva Hawkins Florence Elizabeth Kavanagh Mary Fassenden LawGeraldine OldfieldAlice RumballAnne Ethel Stevens

$10,000 or moreJohn Devereux Fitz-Gerald Dorothea Leuchters Robert V. OsokinElizabeth Jean Proven Freda Margaret RushDoris Kathleen Skelton

$5,000 or moreRaymond John Casson Alfred KnowlesGordon McConkeyEvelyn Ann van der Veen Joan Marion WassonDorothy Ethel Williams

$1,000 or morePhyllis Victoria Ethel BaillyJoyce BashamDoris May BondKathleen Grace BoyleJean HaszardLewis Wilkinson HunterAnnie Velma PickellJean SempleWilhelmina Stobie ■

Ensure the VSO’s future with a special gift to the Vancouver Symphony Foundation, established to secure the long term success of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.

Vancouver Symphony Foundation

The Vancouver Symphony family extends its sincere thanks to these donors, whose gifts will ensure that the VSO remains a strong and vital force in our community long into the future.

Bequests The Vancouver Symphony extends its sincere thanks to all those who left a bequest in their will from 2000 to 2013.

Tax creditable gifts of cash, securities and planned gifts are gratefully received and your gift is enhanced with matching funds from the Federal Government.

Please call Mary Butterfield Director of Individual & Legacy Giving at 604.684.9100 ext. 238or email mary@vancouversymphony.ca to learn more

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CLASSICAL TRADITIONS CHAN CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS, 8PM

Friday & Saturday, February 21 & 22NORTH SHORE CLASSICS CENTENNIAL THEATRE, NORTH VANCOUVER, 8PM

Monday, February 24Bramwell Tovey conductorOrion Weiss piano

ROSSINI The Barber of Seville: Overture

MOZART Piano Concerto No. 27 in B-flat Major, K. 595 I. Allegro II. Larghetto III. Allegro

INTERMISSION

BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68 Pastoral I. Allegro ma non troppo (Awakening of Happy Feelings upon Arriving in the Country) II. Andante molto mosso (Scene by the Brook) III. Allegro (Merry Gathering of Country Folk) IV. Allegro (Thunderstorm) V. Allegretto (Shepherd’s Song; Happy, Thankful Feelings Following the Storm)

Concert Program

BRAMWELL TOVEY

THE PRESENTATION OF THE CLASSICAL TRADITIONS SERIES IS MADE POSSIBLE, IN PART, THROUGH THE GENEROUS ASSISTANCE OF THE CHAN FOUNDATION AT UBC, AND THE CHAN CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS.

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ORION WEISS

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Bramwell Tovey conductor

For a biography of Maestro Tovey please refer to page 29.

Orion Weiss piano

One of the most sought-after soloists in his generation of young American musicians, pianist Orion Weiss has performed with the major American orchestras, including the Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and New York Philharmonic. His deeply felt and exceptionally crafted performances go far beyond his technical mastery and have won him worldwide acclaim.

Weiss released a recital album of Dvorák, Prokofiev, and Bartók in spring 2012, and also spearheaded a recording project of the complete Gershwin works for piano and orchestra with his longtime collaborators the Buffalo Philharmonic and JoAnn Falletta.

Weiss's impressive list of awards includes the Gilmore Young Artist Award, an Avery Fisher Career Grant, the Gina Bachauer Scholarship at the Juilliard School and the Mieczyslaw Munz Scholarship. A native of Lyndhurst, OH, Weiss attended the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with Paul Schenly, Daniel Shapiro, Sergei Babayan, Kathryn Brown, and Edith Reed. In 2004, he graduated from the Juilliard School, where he studied with Emanuel Ax.

Gioacchino Rossini b. Pesaro, Italy / February 29, 1792 d. Passy, France / November 13, 1868

The Barber of Seville: Overture The Barber of Seville (1816) is Rossini’s best-loved opera. The story involves the Spanish nobleman Count Almaviva, who with the aid of his wily assistant, the barber Figaro, manages to abduct his lady love, Rosina, from under the nose of her stuffy, jealous guardian, Dr. Bartolo. The piece known as the Overture to the Barber of Seville actually dates from several years earlier. Rossini had already used it to introduce two other operas, both of them dramas. Even though not a note of it recurs in the Barber, it captures the opera’s merry spirit to perfection.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart b. Salzburg, Austria / January 27, 1756 d. Vienna, Austria / December 5, 1791

Piano Concerto No. 27 in B-flat Major, K. 595 Among Mozart’s many talents, Viennese audiences loved his piano playing above all. One way in which he responded to this preference was to compose twelve superlative piano concertos, Nos. 14 to 25, between February 1784 and December 1786. They offer more in terms of emotion, breadth and colour than any composer’s concertos written prior to that time. They would serve as models of their kind, ones to which Beethoven, Brahms and other similarly high-minded composers would turn for inspiration.

Two further piano concertos followed. Mozart completed No. 26 in D Major, K. 537, in February 1788. It earned the nickname “Coronation” through the unconfirmed possibility that it was premiered at an all-Mozart concert that formed part of (or shortly followed) the festivities marking the coronation of Leopold II, Emperor of Austria, as Holy Roman Emperor in 1790.

This final concerto appeared at the beginning of Mozart’s final year. By then, his popularity had largely evaporated. Thus the premiere of the new concerto didn’t take place at one of his own subscription concerts, but at an event whose featured performer was clarinettist Joseph Bahr.

Mozart’s health was failing badly, too. These unhappy developments show themselves, to varying degrees, in much of the music he composed during that last year of his life. In some pieces, such as the Clarinet Concerto and the unfinished Requiem, a sense of resignation is clearly detectable. In others, this concerto included, the poignancy makes itself felt more indirectly, but no less profoundly.

Its restraint is evident from the opening measures. The first movement deftly balances brilliance and humour with mellowness. Throughout, Mozart allows us glimpses of the heartbreak lurking behind the music’s graceful surface. A gentle slow movement

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follows, angelic in its tenderness and artless simplicity. The solo piano launches the finale, a rondo. In keeping with the concerto’s overall conception, the celebrations are more elevated than rustic.

Ludwig van Beethoven b. Bonn, Germany / baptized December 17, 1770 d. Vienna, Austria / March 26, 1827

Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68 PastoralBeethoven’s friends and biographers have left ample evidence of his deep love of nature. When residing in Vienna, hardly a day passed that he didn’t take a long walk through the woods and fields surrounding the city, drinking in the sights and sounds of the countryside. He found that setting ideal for thinking through whatever piece he was composing.

The main musical manifestation of this love is his Sixth Symphony. He began sketching it as early as 1802, but he only buckled down to concentrated effort between 1807 and 1808. The premiere took place, along with that of Symphony No. 5, at a marathon all-Beethoven concert in Vienna at the close of the latter year. He thought of it this way: “Pastoral Symphony, in which is expressed not tone-painting, but feelings that are awakened by one’s enjoyment of the country; in this work some impressions of country life are portrayed.”

His sketchbook for the final period of the symphony’s composition contain such further musings on this subject as “leave the listeners to work out the situations for themselves,” and “all tone-painting will lose its effect in instrumental music if pushed too far.” The suggestive movement titles, and most importantly the music itself, are all that listeners need to summon up whatever impressions of country life they may see fit.

The first movement, Awakening of Cheerful Thoughts Upon Arriving in the Country, proceeds at a leisurely pace; even its climaxes are restrained. The following Scene by the Brook unfolds with aptly flowing grace. At the very end, Beethoven has woodwinds imitate specific birds: flute, nightingale; oboe, quail; clarinet, cuckoo.

The remaining three movements are played without pauses between them. For his scherzo, Merry Gathering of Country Folk, Beethoven summoned a band of rustics for a cheerful group of dances. A vivid thunderstorm intrudes violently, but the symphony’s opening mood of serenity is restored by the final, uplifting Shepherds’ Song of Thanksgiving.

“The entire finale seems an ecstatic hymn of thanks to some pantheistic god, to nature with a capital ‘N,’ to whatever beneficent power one can perceive in a universe that seemed as dark and terrifyingly irrational in Beethoven’s days as it can in ours,” wrote musicologist Edward Downes. “That a man of sorrow and self-inflicted injuries like Beethoven could glimpse such glory and, by the incomprehensible alchemy of his art, lift us to share his vision – even if only for a few moments – is a miracle that remains as fresh as tomorrow’s sunrise.” ■Program Notes © 2013 Don Anderson

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SYMPHONY AT THE ANNEX ORPHEUM ANNEX, 8PM

Sunday, February 23Bramwell Tovey conductorBeth Orson english hornRobyn Driedger-Klassen soprano

DEREK CHARKE 13 Inuit Throat Song Games

BRIAN CURRENT Inventory

BRAMWELL TOVEY The Progress of Vanity

INTERMISSION

EDWARD TOP Family Songs

ARNOLD SCHOENBERG Chamber Symphony No. 1 in E major, Op. 9 Kammersymphonie

Concert Program

BRAMWELL TOVEY

BETH ORSON

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ROBYN DRIEDGER-KLASSEN

EDWARD TOP VSO COMPOSER-IN-RESIDENCE

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Bramwell Tovey conductor

For a biography of Maestro Tovey please refer to page 29.

Beth Orson english horn

Beth Orson has played Assistant Principal Oboe and English Horn with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra since 1990. As a chamber musician, Ms. Orson often performs with the Turning Point Ensemble and in recital at the University of British Columbia. Principal Oboe of the NY Symphonic Ensemble from 1988–2005, she completed nineteen tours to Japan with this renowned chamber orchestra, performing in every major concert hall in Japan, often as oboe soloist.

Ms. Orson has recorded for CBC Records, Deutsche Grammophon, Essay, New World, Parnassus and Technics Records. A graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory and winner of the Oberlin Concerto Competition, Ms. Orson's principal teachers were Laurence Thorstenberg, James Caldwell, and Elaine Douvas. Before moving to Vancouver, Ms. Orson worked as a freelance musician in New York City where she often performed with the orchestras of the Metropolitan & New York City Operas, the Orchestra of St.Luke’s, Philharmonia Virtuosi, and on Broadway.

Robyn Driedger-Klassen soprano

Robyn Driedger-Klassen is well known on opera, recital and concert stages. Recent operatic appearances include: Sophie in Massenet’s Werther, Naiad in Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos, Marzelline in Beethoven’s Fidelio, Alexandra in the Canadian premiere of Marc Blitzstein’s Regina, Bubikopff in Viktor Ullmann’s Der Kaiser von Atlantis, the Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro the Governess in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw and the Female Chorus in The Rape of Lucretia.

Also in high demand for solo work, she is a frequent performer of recitals and specializes in contemporary works. Robyn teaches at the Vancouver Academy of Music and the Vancouver Community College and is a founding member of the SongFire Theatre Alliance, creator of the Art Song Theatre and Apprenticeship program at the Vancouver International Song Institute (VISI). Last

season’s performances included Kaija Saariaho’s Lonh for the Modulus Festival, Jocelyn Morlock’s Involuntary Love Songs, Arnold Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire with Music on Main and American composer, Jake Heggie’s, At the Statue of Venus for the SongFire Festival.

This season holds many performances of new music, including world premieres of Crystallography by Kati Agocs with Standing Wave, Family Songs by Edward Top with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and Peruqueries by Jocelyn Morlock. Robyn juggles her busy performing and teaching schedule with motherly duties to her adorable two-year-old son who, for the moment, despises her singing.

Program Notes With the Kammersymphonie Op.9, Schoenberg was leaving the home of tonality moving to the dissonance of expressionism. Over a hundred years later we come home to Arctic Canada and a Toronto shoe store in playful, frenetic and at times absurdist works by Derek Charke and Brian Current. Even closer to home, Vancouver composers Bramwell Tovey and Edward Top show how tonality is quite easily adopted by their own musical ways of expression.

Derek Charke b. Fredericton, New Brunswick / October 2, 1974

13 Inuit Throat Song Games I am drawn north for some inexplicable reason. In the late 1990’s I had the opportunity to live in Inuvik, Northwest Territories for just over a year. To this day I still find the North fascinating. The origins of the 13 Inuit Games for String Orchestra began in 2002. I stumbled on a technique that emulated the guttural sounds I had heard in Inuit throat singing, or Katajak. To produce the desired effect, string players grip the bow with a fist-like grip and bow in circular or vertical movements. Katajak can involve a melody, or they can be imitations of animal or natural sounds: geese, dogs, water, etc. The game is normally performed between two women. The sound is rhythmic and continuous. The game is over when one laughs, or when the sound causes a tickle in the throat. There is a similarity between the breathing in and out of the singers and

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circle bowing between the string players. In this work, the string orchestra is scored as a Concerto Grosso, with a concertino ensemble of five string soloists (the first chair players in each section) and the ripieno consisting of everyone.Program Notes © 2013 Derek Charke

Brian Current b. London, Ontario / May 4, 1972

Inventory For amplified soprano and ensemble “The most unconventional piece was Inventory, with music by Brian Current and a libretto by Anton Piatigorsky, a ten-minute monologue for a young woman at a shoe store whose mind wanders as she does an inventory of shoes with wonderful names, like Mai Tai Nutmeg platform wedges. Here the mostly slow-moving, prolonged vocal lines were set against a frenetic instrumental background.” Anthony Tommasini, New York Times.

Inventory was composed in 2006 for Patricia O’Callaghan and the Soundstreams ensemble, conducted by Brian Current. It was later presented at the New York City Opera Festival, 2010 where it was performed by Lisa Vroman with the NYCO orchestra conducted by Carolyn Kwan.

Inventory will be released on the Naxos Label in 2014.Program Notes © 2013 Brian Current

Bramwell Tovey b. Ilford Essex, England / July 11, 1953

The Progress of Vanity For English horn and chamber orchestra The title comes from a poem by John Webster (c1580-c1630): Vanitas Vanitatum. Preliminary ideas about a new English horn concerto were brewing between Bramwell Tovey and English horn player Beth Orson since 2008, when Tovey was working on his opera The Inventor for Calgary Opera.

In 2011 Beth was invited to perform at the International Double Reed Society Conference 2012 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to premiere a new work, and Bramwell, who had completed the opera, agreed to write a piece for English horn and chamber orchestra. The premiere took place on July 11, 2012 at the

IDRS Conference and was sponsored by the Loree Oboe Company of Paris.Program Notes © 2013 Bramwell Tovey

Edward Top Composer-in-Residence of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestrab. Ommen, Overijssel, Holland / January 1, 1972

Family Songs For soprano and chamber orchestra In Family Songs it was my objective to move towards simplicity and away from my usually complex and maximalist style. The texts, in both Dutch – my mother tongue - and English, are all chosen and written to express the honesty of life, love and memory of parent- and childhood. As such, upon reading, they almost dictated the music in an intuitive and folk-music-like way.Program Notes © 2013 Edward Top

Arnold Schoenberg b. Leopoldstadt, Austria / September 13, 1874 d. Los Angeles, California, USA / July 13, 1951

Chamber Symphony No. 1 in E Major, Op. 9 Kammersymphonie In the ‘Kammersymphonie’, Schoenberg turned away from post-Romantic gigantism towards, according to himself, the first attempt to create a chamber orchestra. It is one of the last works Schoenberg composed within traditional key signatures, before leaving home: moving away from tonality. However, the Kammersymphonie already has clear signs of an urge to burst out of the restraints of the ‘tonal’ framework. Other than using the whole-tone scale and augmented harmonies, which had already blurred tonality in the post-Romantic repertoire, the famous opening theme in the two French horns after the slow introduction in Kammersymphonie - which later recurs in the Adagio - is an ascending arpeggio in fourths rather than, traditionally, thirds. Also, the omnipresence of accidentals all over every page suggests how the composer wanted to break away from the key signature. This constant state of change and an urge to express something in exuberant ways is typical for Schoenberg’s work of the next decade, which is commonly referred to as expressionism. ■Program Notes © 2013 Edward Top

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VISIT THE SYMPHONY GIFT SHOP FOR CD SELECTIONS

SPECIALS ORPHEUM THEATRE

Saturday, March 1, 8pm

Sunday, March 2, 2pm

Beethoven’s NinthBramwell Tovey conductorSimone Osborne sopranoSusan Platts mezzo-sopranoDavid Pomeroy tenor Russell Braun baritoneUBC University SingersUBC Choral Union, Graeme Langager director

MOZART The Marriage of Figaro, K. 492: Overture

STRAUSS Songs An die Nacht, Op. 68, No. 1 Ich wollt' ein Strausslein binden, Op. 68, No. 2 Sausle, liebe Myrte. Op. 68, No. 3 Wiegenlied, Op. 41, No. 1 Das Bachlein, Op. 88 Morgen, Op. 27, No. 4

INTERMISSION

BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 I. Allegro, ma non troppo, un poco maestoso II. Molto vivace III. Adagio molto e cantabile IV. Presto – Allegro non troppo

Concert Program

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BRAMWELL TOVEY BEETHOVEN

SIMONE OSBORNE

SUSAN PLATTS

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Bramwell Tovey conductor

For a biography of Maestro Tovey please refer to page 29.

Simone Osborne soprano

Canadian soprano Simone Osborne has been hailed as "a joy to hear" (Los Angeles Times) with "a sweet and clear sound, sensitive phrasing and gleaming sustained high notes" (New York Times). Ms. Osborne was one of the youngest winners of the Metropolitan

Opera National Council Auditions and recently completed her tenure as a member of the Canadian Opera Company Studio Ensemble.

Simone Osborne returned to Vancouver Opera as Pamina in Die Zauberflöte and debuted at Opera Hamilton as Gilda in Rigoletto. Ms. Osborne also debuts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel as Barbarina in Christopher Alden’s production of Le nozze di Figaro and at Carnegie Hall with pianist Warren Jones as a part of the Marilyn Horne Song Celebration. She also took part in a special project with Lotfi Mansouri entitled Viva Verdi! on in Zurich to celebrate the composer’s bicentennial.

Susan Platts mezzo-soprano

British-born Canadian mezzo-soprano Susan Platts brings a uniquely rich and wide-ranging voice to concert and recital repertoire for alto and mezzo-soprano. She is particularly esteemed for her performances of Gustav Mahler's works.

In May of 2004, as part of the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative, world-renowned

soprano Jessye Norman chose Ms. Platts as her protégée from 26 international candidates, and has continued to mentor her ever since. With the generous support of Rolex, Ms. Platts recently commissioned a work for mezzo-soprano and orchestra from celebrated Canadian composer Marjan Mozetich: Under the Watchful Sky, comprised of three songs using ancient Chinese texts from Shi Jing (The Book of Songs) that explore the universal passions and tribulations of humankind, and was premiered by the Québec Symphony under Yoav Talmi in November 2010.

Her first solo disc of songs by Robert Schumann, Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms on the ATMA label enjoyed considerable critical acclaim.

David Pomeroy tenor

Newfoundland tenor David Pomeroy is quickly grasping the attention of artistic directors around the world. He recently made his Metropolitan Opera stage debut in the title role of Les Contes d’Hoffmann under the baton of James Levine and had previously sung the role of Faust at the “Metropolitan Opera in the Parks” with the same company. He sang Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly in St. Louis, Kansas City, Fort Worth, Connecticut, Detroit, Québec and Toronto and with Pacific Opera Victoria has performed The Rape of Lucretia, La Bohème, Idomeneo, Carmen and Norma. He sang Ladislov in The Two Widows by Smetena as part of the Edinburgh Festival with Scottish Opera later reprising it with Scottish Opera in Glasgow, Ruggero in La Rondine with Michigan Opera, Skuratov in From the House of the Dead in Toronto and Rigoletto in Calgary and Kansas City.

DAVID POMEROY RUSSELL BRAUN UBC UNIVERSITY SINGERS

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Mr. Pomeroy created the Role of Stefano for the triumphant world premiere of Filumena with Calgary Opera and has performed remounts in Banff, Ottawa and Edmonton. Filumena was filmed and is available on DVD.

Russell Braun baritone

Renowned for his luminous voice “capable of the most powerful explosions as well as the gentlest covered notes” (Toronto Star) baritone Russell Braun rightfully claims his place on the concert, opera and recital stages of the world. His intelligent and thoughtful portrayals of Chou En-lai, Billy Budd, Prince Andrei, Figaro, Papageno, Count Almaviva, Don Giovanni, Pelléas, Eugene Onegin, and The Traveller have captivated audiences at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, l'Opéra de Paris, the State Opera in Vienna, the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, the Los Angeles Opera, La Scala in Milan, the Salzburg or the Glyndebourne Festival.

His interpretations of German Lieder have won him international acclaim — “A searching musician, Braun also has one of the world's most beautiful baritone voices. He brings a poet's soul and a young man's bewildered grief to Schubert's shattering cycle of solitude and loss.” (New York Newsday).

Russell Braun makes his home near Toronto with his wife, pianist Carolyn Maule and their sons, Benjamin and Gabriel.

UBC University Singers Graeme Langager director

University Singers is the premier choral ensemble in the UBC School of Music. This 40-voice ensemble performs the most advanced and exciting music for chamber choir written in the past few decades, as well as motets and other historically important works. The University Singers also performs with orchestra annually, including such works as Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Handel’s Messiah, and Brahms’ Requiem. The choir has won several awards, including the CBC National Choral Competition and the BBC International Choral Competition. The choir tours often including local, North American, and international destinations. Recently the choir has embarked on performance tours in Spain and the US. Previous choral experience, a strong ear, and music reading ability is encouraged for participation in this ensemble. The University Singers perform four feature concerts each year, as well as occasional run-out performances throughout the Vancouver area.

UBC CHORAL UNION

The Vancouver Symphony Society celebrates the lives and mourns the loss of two of its family members

GORDON CHRISTOPHERVSO Patron and Subscriber for over 45 yearsMajor donor to the Vancouver Symphony Foundation and the campaign to create the VSO School of MusicMarch 2, 1931 – November 11, 2013

KATY HUGHES Long-time VSO VolunteerChair of the VSO Volunteer Council 1993-2002 June 17, 1928 – October 4, 2013

In Memoriam

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UBC Choral Union, Graeme Langager director

Choral Union is UBC’s largest choir. Boasting nearly 200 singers, the Choral Union performs major choral repertoire from beautiful pieces of Renaissance music to dynamic modern compositions. As well, the Choral Union performs with the UBC Symphony Orchestra each year, including works such as Mozart’s Requiem, and Orff’s Carmina Burana. This ensemble serves the largest number of non-music majors; previous choral singing experience – such as a high school choral ensemble – is encouraged. The Choral Union performs four concerts each year.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart b. Salzburg, Austria / January 27, 1756 d. Vienna, Austria / December 5, 1791

The Marriage of Figaro, K. 492: Overture Mozart and librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte collaborated on three operas whose brilliance keeps them very much alive today. Each balances comic and serious elements with greater insight than anyone had before – and rarely has since. The Marriage of Figaro is a play by the Frenchman Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, a sequel to The Barber of Seville. Various love affairs and romantic deceptions are resolved by the final curtain, but not before Count Almaviva’s servants, including Figaro the barber, have proven themselves as intelligent and as sympathetic – if not more so – as he (quite a revolutionary concept for the late eighteenth century!) Mozart’s opera debuted with great success in Vienna on May 1, 1786. The overture is a compact miracle of wit and playfulness.

Richard Strauss b. Munich, Germany / June 11, 1864 d. Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany / Sept 8, 1949

Songs Strauss composed more than 200 songs for voice and piano. He provided a sizeable number of them with alternative accompaniments for orchestra, including all six of these selections. He composed the songs that make up Opus 68 in 1918,

specifically for soprano Elisabeth Schumann. The texts are by Clemens Brentano. The first song, To Night, is an impassioned salute to the beauties of night. The second, I Wanted to Tie a Nosegay, tells a gentle tale of unrequited love. The lover in Rustle, Dear Myrtle, offers his sweetheart a lullaby.

The next piece on this programme is a gentle Wiegenlied (Lullaby) that Strauss composed in 1899, with a text by Richard Dehmel. It is followed by the brief, sweetly flowing Das Bachlein (The Little Brook, 1933, author unknown). Strauss presented his wife, the soprano Pauline, with the four songs of Opus 27 on their wedding day in 1894. Morgen (Morning), which sets a poem by the Scottish author John Henry Mackay, follows two lovers as they are rapturously reunited.

Ludwig van Beethoven b. Bonn, Germany / baptized December 17, 1770 d. Vienna, Austria / March 26, 1827

Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125The evolution of this towering piece, one of the supreme achievements of western art, spanned more than three decades. Once Beethoven read Friedrich Schiller’s poem Ode to Joy in 1793, he determined one day to set it to music. By mid-1823 he had virtually completed Symphony No. 9. But when he came to feel that it cried out for words to express its goals more clearly, he decided that his long-delayed rendezvous with the Ode to Joy had finally arrived. He discarded the instrumental finale he had composed for the symphony. He found it a home as the final movement of the String Quartet in A minor, Op. 132.

Symphony No. 9 was heard for the first time on May 7, 1824, in Vienna with Michael Umlauf conducting. The composer sat in the midst of the orchestra, score in hand, in order to indicate the tempos he wished to be taken. The performance, which had been allotted only two rehearsals, was at best a mediocre one, yet it still drew an enthusiastic response from the audience.

The first movement begins quietly, yet it vibrates with the expectancy of drama. The Scottish musicologist Sir Donald Tovey, citing the great number of times this passage has been imitated (in the symphonies of

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Anton Bruckner, for example), credits it with exerting “the deepest and widest influence on later music” of anything Beethoven wrote. Throughout this movement’s dramatic course, interludes of repose crop up, but tension and turmoil stand squarely at center stage. The conclusion is, if anything, even bleaker than the beginning.

"At times, the energy level and driving rhythm push the music close to the diabolical."

The following scherzo raised this type of piece, formerly a simple jest or dance, to Olympian heights of drive and brilliance. At times, the energy level and driving rhythm push the music close to the diabolical. Beethoven gave the timpani player one of the finest opportunities for display in all music.

The prayerlike slow movement at last brings a sense of repose to the symphony. It consists of variations on two gloriously warm-hearted themes.

What better way could there be to celebrate such hard-won contentment than by sharing it with the whole world? Yet Beethoven did not do so immediately. After the finale’s turbulent introduction, he proceeded to first review, then reject brief excerpts from the preceding movements. Cellos and basses then quietly state the finale’s principal theme, a melody whose very lack of guile makes it completely appropriate to its function. It gathers momentum slowly, yet inexorably, until a reprise of the movement’s opening outburst set the scene for the baritone soloist’s entry – and a whole new era in music.

Beethoven’s setting of the Ode to Joy contains a tremendous variety of incident. Its kaleidoscope of episodes, in fact, make up an entire symphony in miniature. They include passages of almost frenzied choral celebration; a marchlike tenor solo spiked with Turkish percussion; a brilliant fugue for orchestra alone; and the simple, affecting piety of the central call to faith in God. Finally, orchestra and chorus rush headlong to the exultant conclusion. ■Program Notes © 2013 Don Anderson

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VISIT THE SYMPHONY GIFT SHOP IN THE ORPHEUM THEATRE FOR CD SELECTIONS

MARDON GROUP INSURANCE MUSICALLY SPEAKING ORPHEUM THEATRE, 8PM

Saturday, March 8ROGERS GROUP FINANCIAL SYMPHONY SUNDAYSORPHEUM THEATRE, 2PM

Sunday, March 9SURREY NIGHTS BELL PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE, 8PM

Monday, March 10Michael Francis conductorViviane Hagner violin

JANÁCEK Lachian Dances Old-Time Dance I The Blessed One Blacksmith’s Dance Old-Time Dance II Dance from the Village of Celadná Little Saws

GLAZUNOV Violin Concerto in A minor, Op. 82 I. Moderato II. Andante sostenuto III. Allegro

INTERMISSION

ENESCO Rumanian Rhapsody No. 1 in A Major, Op. 11

BARTÓK Dance Suite I. Moderato II. Allegro molto III. Allegro vivace IV. Molto tranquillo V. Comodo VI. Finale: Allegro

KODÁLY Dances of Galánta I. Lento II. Allegretto moderato III. Allegro con moto, grazioso IV. Allegro V. Allegro vivace

Concert Program

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MICHAEL FRANCIS

VIVIANE HAGNER

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Michael Francis conductor

British conductor Michael Francis continues to make an impact on the world stage receiving countless accolades resulting in invitations to direct some of the finest orchestras. Building upon successful debuts with prestigious American and European orchestras, Francis is being sought after for his musicality and ability to elicit orchestral tone and shape suitable to the style of each composer.

Michael Francis has catapulted far beyond his impressive last minute ‘step-in’ engagements with the London Symphony where he replaced Valery Gergiev and later John Adams in 2007.

Recently appointed Chief Conductor and Artistic Advisor to Sweden’s Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, Michael Francis follows in the footsteps of Herbert Blomstedt and Franz Welser-Möst each of whom were Chief Conductor with the orchestra in the early stages of their careers.

His successful 2010 ‘step-in’ debut with the San Francisco Symphony has led to his conducting that orchestra’s New Year’s Concerts in 2011 and 2012 and to conduct its 2011 and 2012 summer seasons of nine classical concerts each.

Viviane Hagner violin

Born in Munich, violinist Viviane Hagner has won exceptional praise for her highly intelligent musicality and passionate artistry, coupled with "poise and magnificent assurance" (The Times/London). Ms. Hagner has appeared with the world’s prestigious orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Staatskapelle Berlin, and Bavarian State Orchestra, in partnership with conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Daniel Barenboim, Ricardo Chailly and Christoph Eschenbach, and in collaboration with such artists as Yo-Yo Ma and Pinchas Zukerman. Ms. Hagner has championed new works by Unsuk Chin and Simon Holt, while breathing new life into a diverse and vast range of repertoire.

This season’s engagements include performances with the Montréal, Vancouver, Vienna, Lahti, and Singapore Symphonies, The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, National

Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan, Tonkünstler Orchestra and a European tour with the Taiwan Philharmonic Orchestra (NSO) as well as a mini-residency at The Colburn School in Los Angeles.

Ms. Hagner was a 2000 winner of the Young Concert Artists International auditions and in 2004 she was awarded the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award.

Leoš Janácek b. Hukvaldy, Moravia / July 3, 1854 d. Moravská Ostrava, Czechoslovakia / August 12, 1928

Lachian Dances In 1888, Janácek and musicologist František Bartoš collected a large number of folk tunes in the villages of Moravia, the eastern Czech province where Janácek was born. Between 1889 and 1890, the composer arranged six of these into this orchestral suite, which he modeled on Dvorák's popular Slavonic Dances. Rather than producing simple transcriptions of the tunes, Janácek enriched them with formal expansions and broad washes of instrumental colour.

The suite includes two examples of a polonaise-like processional wedding dance (Old-Time Dance). The first, which opens the set, begins and ends with bold statements. Interludes based on an animated Ribbon Dance pop up in between. The Blessed One is a sweet, gently animated dance with slightly serious undertones. A bold, brusquely energetic Blacksmith’s Dance follows. Restrained and delicate, the second Old-Time Dance is nevertheless very appealing. Dance from the Village of Celadná is the most energetic piece in the suite. The catchy, polka-like Little Saws, a dance traditionally connected with the bringing in of wood for winter fuel, gives the suite a rousing conclusion.

Aleksandr Glazunov b. St. Petersburg, Russia / August 10, 1865 d. Paris, France / March 21, 1936

Violin Concerto in A minor, Op. 82 Glazunov was the student and protégé of Nikolay Rimsky Korsakov, one of the most prominent composers who took Russian folk music as the root and pattern for concert works and operas. As director of the St. Petersburg Conservatory, Glazunov taught many significant Russian musicians, Prokofiev and Shostakovich

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among them. He found some of his pupils’ music bewildering – he walked out of a performance of Prokofiev’s barbaric Scythian Suite with his hands over his ears – but the support he gave them rarely wavered.

"...a festive finale filled with virtuoso fireworks and sparkling orchestration."

Distressed by the changes brought about by the Bolshevik Revolution, Glazunov stuck it out for a decade before leaving Russia in 1928. Settling in Paris, he toured the world as a conductor and continued to compose, but without his previous energy and flair. His earlier works are his best, including the melodious, gorgeously scored ballets Raymonda and The Seasons.

Another is this concerto, his most frequently performed piece. He composed it in 1904. It was dedicated to, and was premiered by, the great Hungarian soloist Leopold Auer, the teacher of Jascha Heifetz, Nathan Milstein, Mischa Elman, and other outstanding violinists. Following a formal structure instigated by Franz Liszt, whom Glazunov admired deeply, he cast the concerto in a single movement. The first two sections share an atmosphere of restrained melancholy, tempered by sweetness and a warm degree of expressiveness. A taxing solo cadenza acts as a bridge to a festive finale filled with virtuoso fireworks and sparkling orchestration.

George Enescob. Liveni Virnav, Romania / August 19, 1881 d. Paris, France , May 4, 1955

Rumanian Rhapsody No. 1 in A Major, Op. 11Enesco was the most important musician his country has produced, as well as one of the most active and versatile musical figures of his era. Only the two Rumanian Rhapsodies keep his reputation as a composer alive. He wrote them in 1900 and 1901. The model was the folksy, free-wheeling Hungarian Rhapsodies of Franz Liszt. The first rhapsody is a straightforward medley of traditional rustic dance themes. It builds in intensity to a final round dance of delirious, almost savage abandon.

Béla Viktor János Bartók b. Nagyszentmiklós, Hungary / March 25, 1881 d. New York, New York, USA / September 26, 1945

Dance Suite This colourful and exuberant suite won Bartók his first widespread success as a composer for orchestra. It was commissioned in 1923 (along with Kodály’s Psalmus Hungaricus and Erno" Dohnányi’s Festival Overture) for a concert celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the union between the cities Buda, Pest and Óbuda to form the Hungarian capital, Budapest. Dohnányi conducted the premieres of all three pieces on November 19.

The themes Bartók used in the Dance Suite are original compositions in folk style. Because his creative vision extended beyond his homeland, the melodies reflect not only Hungarian traditions but also those of Rumania, Slovakia and northern Africa. The suite is more elaborate, and more intricately structured than its title would imply. The six dances, quite varied in character, are linked by a tranquil recurring theme, and the finale quotes materials heard in several previous sections.

Zoltán Kodály b. Kesckemét, Hungary / December 16, 1882 d. Budapest, Hungary / March 6, 1967

Dances of Galánta Kodály spent the years 1885-1892 in Galánta, one of a series of small towns where his father served as railroad stationmaster. When the Budapest Philharmonic Society commissioned a new work from him in 1933, he turned for raw materials to a collection of folk tunes published in Vienna in 1804. The melodies were in the repertoire of a particular band which had operated in the vicinity of Galánta.

His orchestration ingeniously recreates the sounds of a Hungarian folk ensemble, with violin and clarinet featured prominently. The music begins with a lengthy section that is slow in tempo and rich in expression. Emerging into the spotlight, the solo clarinet at first muses rhapsodically, then introduces the recurring rondo theme. Its quicksilver shifts between introspection and passion are entirely typical of native Hungarian music. The score climaxes in a whirlwind gallop. ■Program Notes © 2013 Don Anderson

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BRAMWELL TOVEY

UPCOMING CONCERTS Highlights of the next issue of allegro...

Full concert listings and tickets at

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VSO SPRING FESTIVAL Featuring the Music of RACHMANINOFFBramwell Tovey conductor Alexander Gavrylyuk piano

ROMANTIC MELODIESSAT, MAR 29, ORPHEUM THEATRE

RACH TWOMON, MAR 31, ORPHEUM THEATRE

PRELUDES & PICTURESSAT, APR 5, ORPHEUM THEATRE

RHAPSODIC RACHMANINOFFMON, APR 7, ORPHEUM THEATREAlexander Gavrylyuk and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra perform all five of Rachmaninoff's works for piano and orchestra: The four Piano Concertos and Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.

THE VSO PRESENTS

PIXAR IN CONCERTWED, APR 30, ORPHEUM THEATREGordon Gerrard conductor From Toy Story to Brave, Pixar’s extraordinary animated features have changed filmmaking forever, and for the very first time, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra performs this extraordinary music from these films live in concert together with stunning video clips on the big screen!

CARMINA BURANASAT & SUN, MAY 3 & 5, ORPHEUM THEATREKazuyoshi Akiyama conductor Tracy Dahl sopranoRoger Honeywell tenor James Westman baritoneVancouver Bach Choir Tokyo Academy Choir

Drinking, gambling, gluttony, lust, the fleeting nature of fortune and wealth, the joy of Springtime, love – and, of course, a talking swan roasting on an open fire – Carmina Burana has it all. Carl Orff’s astonishing musical setting of medieval dramatic texts and courtly poetry has become one of the most popular choral pieces ever written, with its sensational mix of drama, power, debauchery, humour and beauty.

ALEXANDER GAVRYLYUK

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