PROGRAM NOTES

Witold Lutosławski was born in Warsaw, Poland, and received diplomas in piano performance and composition from the Warsaw Conservatory. He planned to continue his studies in Paris before the outbreak of World War II, but the presence of the German occupying forces made it impossible to hold concerts. As a result, many of Lutosławski’s compositions and transcrip-tions were premièred in cafés. After the war, his music was censored by Russian authorities; his first symphony was banned, as was all modern-sounding music, for being too “noncon-formist.” His earlier works were heavily influenced by Polish folk music, but as he matured and developed his own style, his compositions became more complex. While many of his con-temporaries were writing music based on twelve-tone rows, Lutosławski built his melodies and harmonies around specific intervals and incorporated aleatoric processes to create thick musical textures. Just a few weeks before his death, he was awarded the Order of the White Eagle, Poland’s highest honor.

Mini Overture was dedicated to Walter Strebi, who was president of the Lucerne Music Festi-val in Switzerland for many years. Strebi commissioned the work for his daughter Ursula’s fifti-eth birthday. The brass quintet setting seemed appropriate, as Ursula was married to Philip Jones, founder of the London-based Philip Jones Brass Ensemble. Lutosławski understood the artistic and technical capabilities of the ensemble and enthusiastically composed this tour de force. The work consists of three segments played through without pause: a very fast opening, a slightly slower and contrasting section, and finally a longer development of the first two sections. Despite the chromaticism, dissonant harmonies, and rough rhythmic edges, the evocative modernism of Lutosławski’s writing is particularly accessible to a variety of au-diences. Mini Overture was premièred on March 11, 1982, at the Lucerne Festival to great ac-claim. It has remained a cornerstone in the brass quintet repertoire ever since.

Stacy Garrop’s music is centered on dramatic and lyrical storytelling. The sharing of stories is a defining element of our humanity; we strive to share with others the experiences and con-cepts that we find compelling. She shares stories by taking audiences on sonic journeys – some simple and beautiful, while others are complicated and dark – depending on the needs and dramatic shape of the story.

Garrop is a full-time freelance composer living in the Chicago area. She served as the first Emerging Opera Composer of Chicago Opera Theater’s Vanguard Program (2018-2020), dur-ing which she composed The Transformation of Jane Doe and What Magic Reveals with libret-tist Jerre Dye. She also held a 3-year composer-in-residence position with the Champaign-

Urbana Symphony Orchestra (2016-2019), funded by New Music USA and the League of American Orchestras. Theodore Presser Company publishes her chamber and orchestral works; she self-publishes her choral pieces under Inkjar Publishing Company. Garrop is a Cedille Records artist with pieces currently on ten CDs; her works are also commercially avail-able on several additional labels.

In ancient Greek mythology, Mount Olympus is the dwelling place of the gods and goddess-es. Legends of Olympus depicts some of these deities.

Helios is the god of the sun. His head is wreathed in light, and he drives a chariot drawn by four horses across the sky each day. In some tales, these horses are winged; in others, they are made of fire. At the end of each day’s journey, Helios sleeps in a golden boat that carries him on the Okeanos, a freshwater river that encircles the flat earth. Before dawn, the boat brings him back to his palace on Mount Olympus to collect his horses and char-iot. Then he starts the journey again.

Aphrodite is the goddess of love and beauty. She was born from the sea and brought ashore on a wave of foam. She carries herself with the regal bearing of a queen. Each year, her beauty is replenished when she dives into the sea once more.

Dionysus is the god of the grape harvest, wine, and revelry. He carries a pine-cone tipped staff and wears a crown of ivy leaves. He spends his time teaching mortals the craft of growing grapes and making wine. In this movement, Dionysus arrives at a party bearing wine. The party gets more and more frenzied as the partiers drink and dance the night away.

Colchester Fantasy was written for the American Brass Quintet while I was teaching at the Estherwood Music Festival, held in Colchester, England during the summer of 1987. Colch-ester is the oldest recorded town in Britain. It has an old Roman wall, a massive Norman cas-tle, picturesque homes and churches and, as in all decent English towns, colorful old pubs.

Each movement in this work is named after an old Colchester pub. The first movement, “The Rose and Crown,” is filled with bright, sonorous chords, energetic rhythmic patterns, and constantly changing and fluctuating motives.

The second movement “The Marquis of Granby” (a name which I associated with a distant, faded aristocracy) is a stately, chorale-like movement with somber, plain-tive themes.

The Rose and Crown

The Marquis of Granby

To close the work, the fourth movement, “The Red Lion” (a name with its intima-tions of royalty and nobility) is a resonant fugue, propelled forward with motoric motion, and a rapid, spinning fugue theme.

These old English pubs of Colchester were a fine source of inspiration. Their names brought to my mind images of an-cient and historical traditions, and impres-sions of the grandeur and majesty of time past. The beer was good, too! ~Eric Ewazen

The Red Lion