detroit symphony orchestra 1974-1975 season ann arbor, jan 11

founded 1914

detroit symphony Aldo Ceccato Music Director

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The Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Inc. (Founded 1914)

ALDO CECCATO, music director

OFFICERS

1974 - 75

*John B. Ford , chairman

* Robert B. Semple, president

*Walker l . Cisler, vice president *William M. Day, v ice president * Pierre V. H'ilftler, vice president * Ralph T. McElvenny, vice president * Raymond T. Perring, vice president *Alan E. Schwartz, vice pres ident

* Harold G. Wa rner, vice president * Mrs. Theodore O. Yntema, vi ce president * David D. Williams, treasurer

Donald S. Green, assistant treasurer * Peter P. Thurber, secretary

Philip C. Baker Andrew W. Barr Edward A. Bauma~n

* Norman A. Bolz lem W. Bowen

* Rinehart S. Bright J. lawrence Buell , Jr. Mrs. C. Henry Buhl Phillip Caldwell E. Paul Casey Ferd inand Cinelli

* Walker L. Cisler Mrs. Frank W. Coolidge Mrs. Abraham Cooper Michael Counen Rodkey Craighead Harry B. Cunningham

* William M. Day Anthony Delorenzo Robert Dewar Fra nk W. Donovan David K. Easlick Mrs. Char les M. Endicott Mrs. Charles T. Fisher III Max M. Fisher Mrs. Edsel B. Ford

.* Gordon T. Ford Mrs. Henry Ford II

* John B. Ford Edward P. Frohlich David L. Gamble Hans Gehrke A. L. Glancy III Mrs. Daniel W. Goodenough Berry Gordy, Jr. Wil l iam T. Gossett

* Executive Committee

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

1974 - 75

Karl Haas Mrs. Hu gh Harness G. Robert Harrington Fi rman H. Hass Martin Hayden

' Pierre V. Heftier lee Hills Hudson Holland, Jr. Mrs. Horace R. Holloway Mrs. Henry C. Johnson Ernest A. Jones Mrs. Harry L. Jones Maxwell Jospey Marvin Katke Tom Killefer Mrs. Tom Killefer Han. Carl levin Thomas V. lo Cicero Haro ld O. love Wilber H. Mack Hon . Wade H. McCree, Jr.

* Ralph T. McElvenny Dr. Marjorie Peebles Meyers Hon. William G. Milliken Paul S. Mirabito Rev. J. Stanley Murphy, C.S. B. Miles M. O'Brien Donald D. O'Dowd W. Calvin Patterson

* Raymond T. Perring John Prepolec Mrs. Ted Reed Mrs. Jerome H. Remick , Jr. Dean E. RiChardson

*Alan E. Schwartz Arthur R. Seder, Jr.

S. Prewitt Semmes * Robert B. Semple

Nate S. Shapero Mrs. Wi ll ia m R. Shaw Mrs. All an Shelden Wa lter J. Simons Mrs. Floren ce Sisman Mrs. Howa rd F. Smith , Jr. Bert L. Smokier Arthur F. F. Snyder Ga ri M. Stroh, Jr. Robert M. Surdam Mrs. Harry Taylor Ri chard l . Terrell

* Peter P. Thurber Mrs. S. Pin kney Tuck Mrs. Richard W. Tucker Mrs. Joseph A. Vance, Jr. Mrs. Richard Van Dusen Jack J. Wainger

* Harold G. Wa rner Mrs. Clifton Wharton

* David D. Wi lliams Mrs. Delford G. Wil l iams Han. G. Mennen Wil liams Josep h Wil liams

* Mrs. R. Jami son Will iams Richard E. Williams Mrs. Eric A. Wi ltshire Mrs. Isadore Winkelman Mrs. leon G. Win ke lman

* Mrs. R. Alexander Wrigley * Mrs. Theodore O. Yn tema

Hon. Coleman A. Young Mrs. John E. Young, Jr.

Marshall W. Turk in , executive directo r

1

· .. THE 0 TROIT SYMPHO Y ORCHESTRA, INC.

Norman A. Bolz Rinehart S. Bright Phillip Caldwell Walker L. Cisler Mrs. Abraham Cooper William M. Day Frank W. Donovan Gordon T. Ford John B. Ford Edward P. Frohlich David L. Gamble Mrs. Daniel W. Goodenough William T. Gossett Mrs. Hugh Harness

Clinton J. Allen, Jr. Richard H. Black Norman A. Bolz, chairman

James B. Bonner Joseph G. Conway Mrs. Charles M. Endicott John B. Ford

Norman A. Bolz J. Lawrence Buell , Jr. Gordon T. Ford

G. Robert Harrington Gerald Lundy Robert F. Magill

OPERATING BOARD

Pierre V. Heftier Mrs. Henry C. Johnson Ernest A. Jones Mrs. Tom Killefer Thomas V. Lo Cicero Harold o. Love Wi lber H. Mack Ralph T. McElvenny Miles M. O'Brien Donald D. O'Dowd W. Calvin Patterson Raymond T. Perring John Prepol ec Alan E. Schwartz

Robert B. Semple Mrs. William R. Shaw Walter J. Simons Bert L. Smokier Richard L. Terrell Mrs. Joseph A. Vance, Jr. Harold G. Warner David D. Williams Mrs. R. Jamison Williams Richard E. Williams Mrs. Eric A. Wiltshire Mrs. R. Alexander Wrigley Mrs. Theodore O. Yntema

FINANCIAL POLI CY COMMITTEE

Charles C. Gale Roman S. Gribbs Robert W. Hartwell Ray Kooi Robert F. Magill W. Calvin Patterson Mel Ravitz

DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE

Hans Gehrke Miles M. O'Brien Robert B. Semple

Dean E. Richardson Robert B. Semple Walter J. Simons C. Boyd Stock meyer Gari M. Stroh, Jr. Gordon A. Weller Mrs. R. Alexander Wrigley

Harold G. Warner, chairman

Mrs. R. Jamison Williams

PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

John Mayhew E. Harwood Rydholm William S. Schindler

Gerald E. Warren, chairman ;

ad hoc member, Executive Committee

MICHIGAN OUTSTATE ASSOCIATES

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra continues to bring its accomplishments to other Michigan comm unities and is expanding its outstate activities. Apprec iation is extended especially to those individuals and organizations listed below who are this season presenting the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in concerts in their communHies. All appearances are made possible with the support of the Michigan Council for the Arts.

ANN ARBOR I NTERLOCH EN Mr. Gail Rector, president Mr. Roger E. Jacobi , president University of Michigan Musical Society Interlochen Arts Academy/ National Music Camp

CALUMET Dr. Donald J. Murtonen, president Coppertown, USA

ESCANABA Mr. Neil Troutman Great Lakes Choral Society

GRAND RAPIDS Dr. Howard J. Slenk Calvin College

2

IRONWOOD Mr. Carl Mockross, pres ident Gogebic kts Council

LANS ING Mr. Kenneth B. Beachler Michigan State University Lecture / Concert Series

PORT HURON Mr. John Wisner, president, WHLS Radio Stations

Mrs. John A. Rapanos, president Michigan Orchestra Association

ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF Marshall W. Turkin, executive director

Michael A. Smith, operations manager

Noel F. Duncan , development director

Sylvia Espenschade, communications manager

Rose Dabanian , executive secretary

Haver E. Alspach, business manager

Joseph Va r iot, box office manager

Isa bel Cleveland, season tickets administrator

Bruce Carr, program editor

Wayne S. Brown , administrative assistant

Women's Association for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Mrs. William R. Shaw, president

Mrs. Harry Taylor, first vice president

Mrs. John T. McMullen , vice presid en t

Mrs. Pierre V. Heftier, vice pres ident

Mrs. Robert E. Dewar, vice president

Mrs. Norman A. Bolz

Mrs. John L. Denman

Mrs. Charles M. Endicott

Mrs. Ray W. Macdonald

Mrs. Joseph J. Marshall

Mrs. Robert J. Crossen , recording secretary

M rs. Samuel Carman, ass't recording secretary

Mrs. Donald Glossop, corresponding secretary

Mrs. Joh n D. French , treasurer

Mrs. H. Wayne Nelson , ass' t treas urer

Mrs. Joseph A. Vance, Jr., endowment chairman

Mrs. John W. Griffin , parliamentarian

Mrs. Wi nfield S. Jewell , Jr. , pres ident emeritus

Mrs. Thomas V. LoCicero,

ma intenance f und chairman

Junior Women's Association for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Mrs. Er ic A. Wiltshire, president

Mrs. John E. Young, Jr. , first vice pres ide:1t

Mrs. William J. Rice, second vice president

Mrs. Don O. Stanitzke, third vice pres iden t

Mrs. Frederick C. Hertel, recording secretary

Mrs. J. Dale Petrosky, correspond ing secretary

Mrs. Wi lliam J. Hamel, treasurer

Mrs. Charles E. Tholen, Symphony co-ord inator

Mrs. Gilbert G. Kurcp, yearbook chairman

Mrs. Paul A. Eagan , records chairman

M rs. Arthur R. Geiger, Jr. , social arrangements

Mrs. Daniel R. Gallagher, program chairman

Mrs. Henry F. Domzalsk i, publicity chairman

Detroit Symphony Youth Orchestra

THE

Pau l Freeman, conductor

Raymond Turner, admin istrator

TYPOCRAFT COMPANY

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3

DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

FIRST VIOLINS

Gordon Staples Concertmaster

Bogos Mortchikian Assoc iate Concertmaster

Joseph Goldman Gordon Peterson

Assistant Concertmasters

Santo Urso Jack Boesen Em ily Mutter Austin Derek Francis Alan Gerstel Nicholas Zonas Gary Kosloski Beatr iz Budinszky Richard Margitza Linda Snedden Smith Paul Ph il lips Elias Friedenzohn

SECOND VIOLINS

Edouard Kesner Felix Resnick Alvin Score Lillian Downs James Waring Margaret Tundo Malvern Kaufman Walter Maddox Roy Bengtsson Thoma s Downs Larry Bartlett Joseph Striplin LeAnn Toth Robert Murphy

VIOLAS

Nathan Gordon David Ireland Philip Porbe Eugenia Staszewski LeRoy Fenstermacher Hart Hollman Walter Evich Anton Patti Gary Schnerer Cather ine Compton

VIOLONCELLOS

Italo Babini James C. Gordon Choir

Thaddeus Markiewicz Edward Kork igian Mario DiFiore David Levine John Thurma n Barbara Fickett Susan Weaver Marcy Schweickhardt Karen Shaffer Will iam Graham

*Assistant Pr incipal

ALDO CECCA TO Mllsic Director

PAUL FREEMAN Condllctor-in-Residence

PHILIP GREENBERG Apprentice Condllctor

BASSES

Robert Gladstone Raymond Benner Frank Sinco Maxim Janowsky Linton Bodwin Donald Pennin gton Stephen Edwards Albert Steger

HARPS

Elyze Yockey Ilku Carole Crosby

FLUTES

Ervin Monroe Shaul Ben-Meir

* Robert Patrick Clement Barone

PICCOLO

Clement Barone

OBOES

Donald Baker Ronald Ddmark

*Theodore Baskin Stephen Labiner Harold Hall

ENGLISH HORN

Stephen Labiner

CLARINETS

Paul Schaller Douglas Cornelsen

* Brian Schweickhardt Oliver Green

BASS CLARINET

Oliver Green

E-FLAT CLARINET

Brian Schweickhardt

BASSOONS

Robert Williams Phillip Austin

* Paul Ganson Lyell Lindsey

CONTRABASSOON

Lyell Lindsey

FRENCH HORNS

Eugene Wade Charles Weaver Edwa rd Sa uve Willard Darling

* Lowell Greer Keith Vernon

TRUMPETS

Frank Kaderabek Gordon Smith

*Alvin Belknap

TROMBONES

Raymond Turner Joseph Skrzynski Elmer Janes

TUBA

Wesley Jacobs

TIMPANI

Salvatore Rabbio * Robert Pan gborn

PERCUSSION

Robert Pa ngborn * Norman Fickett

Raymond Makowski Sam TU:1do

LIBRARIAN

Albert Steger Elmer Janes, assistant

PERSONNEL MANAGER

Oliver Green

HENRY & EDSEL FORD AUDITORIUM

d trait syrnphany Aldo cecca to lVl u 5 i c Directo r

Saturday evening, January 11 , 1975, a18:30

Aldo Ceccato, conductor

LORI r HOLLANDER, pianist

BACH

STRAUSS

DVORAK

Clavier Concerto No.1, D minor, BWV 1052

Allegro Adagio Allegro

LORIN HOLLA DER

Burleske in D mjnor for Piano and Orchestra

LORIN HOLLANDER

INTERMISSIO

Symphony No.8, G major, Opus 88

Allegro con brio Adagio Allegretto grazioso Allegro rna non troppo ·

This program will be repeated in Detroit's Ford Auditorium Sunday afternoon , January 12

This evening marks the Orchestra's fifty-third appearance in Hill Auditorium

The Steinway is the official piano of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra

THIS WEEK'S GUEST ARTIST

LORI HOLLANDER began piano lessons when he was four, and from the age of eight until he was 20 s tudied with the late Eduard Steuermann at the Juilliard School. He made his first major orchestral appearance with the DSO in December 1958, when he was only 14, and has since performed in well over a dozen DSO concerts in Ford Auditorium, on tour, and a t the Worcester Festival. His most recent appearance here was at Meadow Brook last summer, and in addition to three concerts with the Orchestra this week, including one in Ann Arbor on Saturday evening, he wi ll be featured soloist in the second of two DSO concert at Carnegie Hall at the end of this month

.......... ' (January 28 and 29). Hollander ha appeared with more than 50 major orchestras on four continents on every key recita l series in the U.S. , and has been seen on televi ion more than any classical artist. His London debut in 1971 , with the London Philharmonic Orchestra under A ldo Ceccato, was termed an "uncommon pleasure" by the critic of The Times. " We were left in no doubt of Mr. Hollander's very clean technique and, in accord with thi s, nea rl y all the orchestra l detail was most delicately judged. ' His Blossom Fe tival appearance with Ceccato last summer (see below) was received with highest acclaim.

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PROGRAM NOTES by Robert Holmes

Dean, College o f Fine Arts, Weslern Michigan UniversilY

CLAVIER CONCERTO NO.1, D MINOR, BWV 1052 . . JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH

Born Eisenach, 1685; died Leipzig, 1750

This concerto was composed at Leipzig sometime between 1729 and 1736 • It is a transcription of an earlier violin concerto composed at COthen sometime between 171 7 and 1723 • Bach scored the composition for "Cembalo [conlcertate due Violini, Viol a e Cont."

First performance in this series: 23 March 1922; Ossip Gabrilowitsch conducted and Harold Bauer was the soloist.

Last performance in this series : 8 December 1960; Paul Paray conducted and the soloist was Monique Haas.

Although Bach is thought of a representing the culmination and synthesis of all "Baroque" music prior to 1750, there are delightful evidences of a certain progress ivene s, a penetration into late 18th- and even 19th-century practices. The progressive harmonic devices in his chorales which break all rules of " traditional harmony," that semi-legalized musical praxis with which Bach's name is synonymous, and the parallel sixths and other rococo manneris ms employed to poke fun at the " modernism" of hi sons compositions are exemplary.

There are other indications that Bach knew what the future was all about, but none i more pronounced than his unprecedented treatment of concerto principle and form. He was, for example the first composer to create an "Italian concerto," a composition for a single player representing the soloist and, in effect,

JOHN VAN DE GRAAF September 8, 1899-December 31,1974

T he Detroit Symphony Orchestra mourns the death last week of John Van de Graaf, who wa for nearly three decades a most vital member of the bass section. Born in Arnhem, Holland, he came to us in 1928 from the Concertgebouw Orchestra. In 1937 he joined the newly-founded NBC Symphony under Toscanini, returning to Detroit when the DSO was re-established in 1951, and retiring in 1970. For 15 ea on , from 1951 to 1966, he was the Orchestra's principal ba s player. We extend our sincere sympathy to his widow and family, and his many friends.

7

Ceccato Return from Successful Conducting Tour

Music Director Aldo Ceccato returns to conduct the Detroit Symphony Orchestra this week for the first time since the Worcester Festiva l last October. In the meantime he has been gathering glowing reviews of his guest-cond ucting appearances in Germany, Italy, and Israel - and in add iti on has accepted an additional conducting post, making him one of a group of today's leading conductors who hold dual music directorships.

In December Maestro Ceccato was appointed General Music Director of the Hamburg Philharmonic, succeed ing Wolfgang Sawalli ch in that post. He will conduct eight weeks of the 12-week concert season in Hamburg during 1975-76, in addition to 16 weeks of subscription and tour concerts with the Detroit Symphony.

Ceccato's late autumn conducting tour began, in fact, with a pair of concerts with the Hamburg Philharmonic on November 3 and 4, at which he conducted performances of Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 2 and Sho takovich 's Symphony No. 14, with soprano Stefania Woytowicz and bass Raflaele Ar ie. Hans Christoph Worbs wrote in the Hamburger A bendblatt, "Ceccato's extreme sensitivity to tone-color made the performance [of the Shostakovich Symphony] worthy of highes t praise. "

The following week (November 1 0-11) Ceccato conducted a pair of concerts by the Accademia di Santa Cecilia Orchestra in Rome, where he was equally well received. The program included the Academic Festival Overture of Brahms, Wieniawski's Violin Concerto o. 2 (the soloist was Angelo Stefanato, concertmaster of the orchestra), and Dvorak's Symphony No.4 - which Ceccato will premiere with the DSO in April. Guido Pannian of II Tempo praised the " technical mastery" of his Brahms and labeled his Dvorak performance "a personal success. "

Ceccato then went to Israel for his debut with the Israel Philharmonic and three weeks (November 20 to December 7) of concerts in Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Jerusalem. He performed the Beethoven and Brahms violin concertos with Ida Haendel and the Milhaud Viola Concerto with Ze'ev Steinberg, and works of Penderecki, Dvorak, Rossini , Mozart, and Shostakovich. Benjamin Bar-Am wrote in the Jerusalem Post, "Dvorak's Symphony No.8 howed Ceccato as a first class technician and a brilliant producer of orchestral sound. Everything was smooth and well balanced . .. beautifull y coherent. ... " Dan Aronowicz (Le Journal d'l srael) praised the "unique clarity of his musicaJ discourse" and noted that "under his baton the attack of each phrase became a point of extreme sensitivity. " And Yehuda Cohen (Israel Nachrichten) cited hi s " intimacy with different styles and hi s mastery of the Orchestra, which spurred them to a superb performance."

After these successes, Ceccato flew back for another series in Hamburg (December 15-18) during which his performance of Dvorak's New World Symphony was especially praised, and after which his appointment as General Music Director was announced. Truly an eventful seven weeks for Aldo Ceccato!

8

PROGRAM NOTES - continued

the orchestra as well. He was also first to employ consistently the three-movement structure which has remained the standard format right up to the present day. Most significantly, however, Sebastian Bach was the first composer to write a concerto for clavier and orchestra.

Bach composed a total of seven concertos which feature one solo clavier (as well as seven others featuring more than one solo instrument). Probably all of these solo concertos are transcriptions of violin concertos written during his Cothen period (1717-1723). This kind of manufacturing was characteristic of the Baroque era when the musician, serving either the church or the aristocracy, was compelled to meet several composition, rehearsal and performance deadlines during any given week. Bach, for example, manufactured these clavier concertos sometime between 1729 and 1736, during his Leipzig period when, among other things, he produced, rehearsed, and conducted a new cantata every week for Sunday service at St. Thomas . So, according to Geiringer, when "h is sons needed effective clavieristic compositions especially for the concerts in the [Leipzig University] Collegium Musicum," it was only natural for him to transcribe the earlier violin concertos.

. The idiomatic quality of these "clavier concertos" varies and writers have different opinions about them. The one in D minor, however, would appear to be the best of the Jot. Geiringer pends considerable time on it:

"The composer wrote and rewrote the same arrangement several times, and in the course of this process his language became increasingly idiomatic. A good example is offered by the 'Clavier Concerto in D Minor' (BWV 1052) , which the edition of the BG [i.e., the complete works published beginning in 1851 by the Bach-Gesellschaft] presents in different stages of its development. An early version of the clavier part displays obvious violinistic features. But it may well be that there was an even earl ier setting than the one for violin. Some of the arpeggios in the first movement, as well as double stops in fourths, seem to indicate that the Concerto was conceived for a bowed instrument with seven strings, tuned partly in fourths , like the viola d'amore. Later it may have been changed to a violin concerto, and this, in turn , to a harpsichord concerto. Even then the transformation went on, and certain sections of the keyboard part were rewritten three times.

"The composition is well worth the extreme effort Bach expended on it. A demonic first movement driven by irres istible forces is followed by a poignant Adagio, in which the tender cantilena 6f the keyboard instrument is supported by a majestic ostinato. The lively and high-spirited dance of the finale, played in the brisk tempo Bach is reported to have used for such movements , must have excited the sedate burghers ."

Some further specific factors follow, which the listener should keep in mind. In the early 18th century the clavier was employed as a supportive instrument in every concerto. With Bach , however, it began to playa more important role: that of binding the tutti sections with the solo sections. Then, in his final creative period, the clavier comes into its own as a solo concerto instrument. Or as Glenn Gould has put it, "the clavier concertos of Bach were, from the soloistic standpoint, the

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PROGRAM NOTES - continued

first tentative concessions to the emerging ego of the virtuoso." But, the concerto being the first of its kind, the li stener will note that the solo instrument had a dual role: in keeping with all earlier concerti , Bach makes it continue to work with the orchestra as a supportive instrument as well as a solo instrument, and hence the soloist works most of the time. As a result, this composition lacks the tutti-solo contrast which was to become the basis of the concerto principle. But, though contrast may be lacking, Bach accomplished well his ch ief goals - textural unity and persistent predominance of the soloist.

The listener should also keep in mind that in Bach's time not one but two claviers were used when this composition was performed - one for the solo passages, the other for support for both the tutti and solo sections. Finally, though the barpsichord was used rather than the piano (the piano did exist, incidentally; Bach knew of it but preferred the more conventional plucked instrument) , the solo passages came through to the listener, owing to the fact that Bach's orchestra was a good deal thinner than the one used for today's performance.

BURLESKE IN D MINOR FOR PIANO AND ORCHESTRA RICHARD STRAUSS

Born Munich, 1864; died Garm isch-Partenkirchen, 1949

Strauss composed his BlIrleske at Meiningen in the winter of 1885-86 • The first performance took place on 21 June 1890, at the fifth concert of the 27th session of the Allgemeine Deutsche Musikverein at the City Theatre in Eisenach ( the native city of 1. S. Bach!) ; the composer conducted; Eugene d'Albert was the soloist.

First performance in this series: 6 April 1922; Ossip Gabrilowitsch conducted and the soloist was William Bachaus • Last performance in this series: 26 March 1960; Paul Paray conducted and Byron J anis was the soloist.

The score calls for 2 fiutes and piccolo, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons. 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 4 timpani, and strings.

It was published in 1894 and bears a dedication to d'Albert.

When Richard Strauss was 21 he gained the post of Assistant Conductor at Meiningen under the eminent Hans von Billow. It was a fine opportunity . The Meiningen Orchestra was superb and rehea rsed every day from 9 a.m . to 1 p.m. Young Strauss learned many scores, the orchestral routine, rehearsal method , how to deal with musicians - in short, he learned how to conduct under one of the greatest musical figures of the Romantic Era.

Strauss made his debut with the orchestra on 18 October 1885, three weeks after he assumed his responsibilities. He directed his own symphony and played Mozart's C minor piano concerto (K. 491) with his own cadenzas. Johannes

11

DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ALDO CECCATO, Music Director

CONCERT CALENDAR FOR THE COMING WEEKS AT FORD AUDITORIUM UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED

A collection of re cords, books, a nd scores re levant to th e DSO 's 7974 -75

concert season is on d isplay - and available to be borro wed -

at the Detroit Public Library, Music and Performing Arts Division .

Thursday evening, January 16 at 8:30 Saturday evening, January 18 at 8:30

ALOO CECCATO, conductor JANICE YOES, soprano ELSIE INSELMAN, mezzo-soprano HENRY GROSSMAN, tenor ARA BERBER IAN, bass-baritone JANOS SEBESTYEN, organist WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY SYMPHON IC CHOIR

BEETHOVEN Symphony No.4 JANACEK Glago litic Mass

Friday morning, January 24 at 10:45 (NBD Coffee Concert) Saturday evening, January 25 at 8:30

ALOO CECCATO, conductor MAURIZIO POLLlNI , pian ist

MENDELSSOHN Symphony No.3 ("Scotch") BRAH MS Piano Concerto No. 2

Wednesday afternoon , February 5 at 1 o'clock (Lecture/ Open Rehea rsa l) Thursday evening, February 6 at 8:30 Saturday even ing, February 8 at 8:30

ALOO CECCATO, conductor LEONID KOGAN , viol inist

PROKOFIEV SHOSTAKOVICH TC HAI KOVSKY

Overture on Hebrew Themes Vio lin Concerto No.1 Symphony No.2 ("Little Russian")

Friday evening, February 14 at 8:30 (Zodiac Concert) Saturday evening, February 15 at 8:30

LAWRENCE FOSTER, conducting WALTER KLlEN, pianist WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY MEN'S GLEE CLUB

BACH-SCHOENBERG St. Anne Pre lude and Fugue SCHOENBERG A Survivor f rom Warsaw SCHOEN BERG Piano Concerto BEETHOVEN Symphony NO.7

12

PROGRAM NOTES - continued

Brahms, who was in Meiningen for rehearsals of his Fourth Symphony, was in the audience, and afterwards complimented the young composer, a rare thing for the caustic Brahms - who could not, however, let the compliment stand , adding that Strauss would do well to study the dances of Schubert to develop his melodic invention.

Encouraged by the performance, the reception, and Brahms's praise, Strauss set to work and wrote his Burleske. He distributed the parts for rehearsal, and a virtual debacle ensued. The composer himself labeled the composition utter nonsense, and von Billow, for whom the piece was intended, held that the "Lisztian" piano part was " unplayabJe. " His genius thwarted (Strauss was not th e type to feel embarrassed), he shelved the manuscript.

Five years later, he performed it at a festiva l concert in Eisenach and this time it met with success, so much so that the publisher Mainauer offered a substantial price for it. Strauss hesitated because, as he wrote to his friend Alexander Ritter, "Now I really am in need of money . . . [but] it goes terribly agai nst me to publ ish a work about which I am indifferent. " It was published.

His opinion of the youthful piece had not altered but he realized that it would appeal to the prestigious virtuosos and bring his name before their vast audiences . Eventually he apparently reappraised it because he scheduled the work on his own last concert, which took place in London in 1947.

The word "Burleske" suggests humor, but, and this is a debatable point, Strauss's wit eems not to have been of a classical, Jasting type, such as that of Shakespeare or Mozart, or even perhaps of some of Strauss's contemporaries such as Bart6k, Nielsen and Stravinsky. Today the Burleske simply does not titillate.

But it does have other qualities : its pianistic idiomaticism - it must be a joyous th ing to play ; its virtuosic orchestral writing - it must be an equal joy to conduct; its fusion of both and the astute balance of substance and genre­good enough to be believable ; histrionic enough not to belie its original ambitious footI igh t purpose.

DSO RECORDINGS CONTINUE TO DRAW ACCOLADES

Time magazi ne has cited two DSO recordings as " the year's best" and " pick of the pack" in recent article devoted to recommended LPs. The December 30 issue's list of the five best classical LPs of 1974 includes Columbia's Black Composers Series, conceived and conducted by DSO Conductor-in-Residence Paul Freeman. The Cordero Violin Concerto, recorded by the DSO with violinist Sanford Allen as part of thi serie, had already won the Koussevitzky International R ecordi ng Award las t summer. Time's January 6 issue cites among 10 preferred new classical discs a repressi ng by Ph ilips of the DSO recording of Chausson's Symphony in B-ftat and Chabrier's Sliite pas/orale made in Orchestra Hall in the late 1950s under Paul Paray. " ot even Munch equaled Paray's way with Chausson's joyous heartbreaker," writes reviewer William Bender.

13

PROGRAM NOTES - continued

SYMPHONY NO.8, G MAJOR, OPUS 88 . . ANTONIN DVORAK

Born Muh lhausen, Bohemia, 1841; died Prague, 1904

Dvorak began this symphony on 26 October and completed it on 8 November 1889 • The first performance took place in Prague on 2 February 1890; the compose r conducted .

The fir t performance in the United tates took place in New York on I J March 1892; Anton Seidl conducted the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.

First performance in this erie: 16 December 1937 ; Victor Kolar conducted • Last performance in this eries: 12 December 1970; Pierre Betu conducted.

The score call for 2 flutes and piccolo. 2 oboe and English horn, 2 clarinet , 2 bas oon , 4 horn , 2 trumpets, 3 trombones and tuba, timpani , and string.

It bears a dedication "To the Bohemian Academy of Emperor Franz Joseph for the E ncouragement of Art and Literature."

This symphony was formerly referred to as No.4 because it wa fourth in order of publicat:on , some of Dvorak's ear li er symphonies being publishcd posthumously. Of the nine symphonies this i the only one published by the E ngli sh company of ovello ; the others were published by Simrock in Berlin.

Dvorak was first called to Simrock's attention by Johannes Brahms. That wa in 1877, and Simroek sub equently publ ished a group of Dvorak's songs under the collective title Kliinge aus Miihren (Airs from Moravia). Not long after, Simrock clisplayed his artistic and bus iness astuteness by securing from the unknown Bohemian pea ant the option to publ ~sh all his future compositions . Obviously, this was qujte a coup for the young composer, for Simrock was Brahms' publisher, and Brahms was the most famous composer in the world . But Simrock was essentially a businessman, and music publishing in those days could be a lucrative business provided one met the public half way which meant peddling a lot of sa lon pieces. At first Dvorak gladly wrote for Simroek's market, and many of these works are not fit to be li sted with his major efforts. But as he grew in stature, he wearied of writjng compositions that leaned toward triviality; he wanted more attention focused on his major works. Haggling between the two men becamc inevitable.

In 1889 when the composer completed his Eighth Symphony and offered it to Simrock, the publisher responded with an offer of ] 000 marks, pointing out, as he had before, that large works clid not sell. (He had begrudgingly given 6000 for the D minor symphony [now No.7] four years earlier.) Dvorak retorted: "1 shall simply do what God tells me to do ... that will certainly be the best thing." S:mrock wrote back reminding the offended artist of their contract.

In the past when problems arose and the composer sought pastora l counsel , he was led to the London firm of Novello , and so he again turned to them. They responded immediately with a favorable price and the score was sold, delivered, and published. Few composers were so practical in business matters as this s trong, simple peasant (another of course had been the arch-haggler h imself, Ludwig van Beethoven).

D vorak's attitude toward the British was a mixture of gratitude and incomprehens ion . He once said: "The English do not love music, they respect it. "

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But their respect was such lhat, on his sixth visit to London in 1892, Cambridge University bestowed on him the honorary degree of Doctor of Music, a form of flattery and honor as common then as now. D vorak's response is revealed in one of his letters:

"I do not like these celebrations . . . Nothing but ceremonies and deans, all solemn-faced and apparently incapable of speaking in anything but Latin ."

More relevant is the fact that it was on that occasion that the British first heard the G major symphony. For some reason, the music public mistook the world premiere and that belief, coupled with the fact that it was pub lished by Novello, caused Londoners for some years after to refer to it as Dvorak's English Symphony. Still others (the London Times, for example) labeled it his Pastoraie Symphony because of its "rural sights and sounds, all fresh and charming"; others later insisted on calling it his Bohemian Symphony. This last adjective probably comes closest, so much so that one writer suggests that the work might well have been the composer's Prague Symphony if Mozart had not earlier usurped that title; for the composition is a musical evocation of Czech meadows and cities, of its peasants and thei r warmth , their dancing and singing. But though the work is nation alistic, its greatness lies more in its ind ividuality and, ultimately and consequently, in its universality.

Inherent in this masterwork, as in all of Dvorak's symphonies, is an overpowering Jove of God, the firm , elemental fai th of a peasant. And because he was a peasant, this composer's art is more intuitive than intellectual, more individualistic than representati,·e. His was a natural gift, inspired and complemented by, rather than hampered by, his peasant origins. His musical ideas were the climactic manifes tation of centuries of the music of a musical people. Yet, interestingly, like Bruckner, who was still writing symphonies at the time, Dvorak's works display great natural intelligence, subtle wit, and, in fact, a world ly charm, in spite of his personal provincialism.

Although his early symphonies reflect the Liszt-Wagner legacy, the later ones show Dvorak's indebtedness to class icism, especially to the music of Beethoven, Schubert, and Brahms. From Beethoven he learned particularly his excellent sense

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15

PROGRAM NOTES - continued

of for m and balance and his ingenious technique for squeezing the most out of thematic motives and imbuing their variants with endless personalities. Schuber t showed him that lyricism , when handled intelligently, belongs just as much in symphonies a in lieder, that melodic spontaneity could be maintained and could flourish in this, the king of instrumental forms. And from Brahms he learned the method and importance of fastidious workmanship and of polished instru mentational technique.

Movement I. A llegro can brio; G minor to G major; 4 / 4. The opening mea ures in G minor appear to be introductory, but they are actually the first statement of the fir t of several themes. It is this multi-thematicism that impres es one most. Anyone or two of the melodies would suffice for the structure of a symphon ic movement, but D vorak's melodic inventiveness is so great that he simply cannot resist maximal lyrical express ion. And, happi ly, rather than a melodic potpourri , all of the themes fit; all of them complement one another and contribute to the successful whole. Another characteristic is that the movement continually al ternates between minor and major. And its turbulent development utili zes the sequential writing so prevalent in all of Dvorak's symphonic works, as well as in those of his predecessor and countryman, Bedi'ich Smetana.

Movement II. Adagio; C minor to C major; 2/ 4 . The form of the Adagio is 0 atypical and the writing so declamatory and suggestive that earlier commentators assumed that thi movement at least mu t have had a programmatic connotation. One envisioned an old castle with a knight serenading his lady; another asserted that it was a tone poem of Czech village life. But here again the form is dictated by D vorak's thematic torrent and his ability to weave themes into one convincing whole.

Movement III. Allegretto grazioso; G minor to G major; 3/ 8 ; Malta vivace, G major, 2/ 4. If the principal melody of this movement could be described, the viability of musical expres ion would itself be weakened, for it begins where the other methods of artistic communication end. One can only wonder and be thankful for this supreme passage. Technically, however, the listener might wi h to take note of the influence of Brahms in the scoring: woodwinds above pizzicato strings, followed by violins over a descant in the lower strings. The use of the timpani is also Brahmsian. One is reminded that Brahms had completed his final symphony just four years earlier.

The form appears to be ternary, with a contrasting section separating the theme just mentioned and its recapitulation. But suddenly, with a stroke of genius, D vorak adds a fourth section (Malta vivace), a kind of coda that seems to bear only remote psychological relation to the rest of the movement. Yet, this technique of closing a serene waltz with a fast section in duple time is common among the peasant liinciler of the central European countries.

Movement IV. Allegro ma non troppo; G major; 2 / 4. Of all the movements this is the most nationalistic. It is a series of variations on a theme similar to the first one in the symphony, thus giving cohesiveness to the whole. It is announced first in the trumpets . Again, sequential writing is obvious, and again, the listener is absorbed by the thematic and orchestrational gifts of this unusual man.

16

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