{ program notes spreading to other instruments , drives this music forward .
Another free solo cadenza links to the more violent final movement , which opens with the bell-like vibraphone . Again we hear the weird cries of disassembled wind pieces . And now the timpani intensifies the high-energy percussion playing . Though the first movement ’ s Chinese melody returns for gentle contrast , the Water Percussion Concerto ’ s conclusion is savagely thrilling .
Instrumentation : Two piccolos , two oboes , clarinet , bass clarinet , bassoon , contrabassoon , two horns , two trumpets , two trombones , tuba , timpani percussion , harp , and strings .
Earth
Libby Larsen
Born December 24 , 1950 , in Wilmington , Delaware .
Among the suggestions submitted by BSO audience members for the Centennial compositions was the observation that Gustav Holst ’ s “ The Planets ” was missing one essential planet — Earth . Libby Larsen was inspired by this idea :
“ Thinking about Holst ’ s hyper-romantic astrological character portraits of the planets in relationship to our perception , which 100 years later , has been completely altered through scientific technology , inspired me to create my work , Earth ( Holst Trope ). The piece is an essay from space . I imagined moving towards Earth from 200 miles out , marveling at its ephemeral atmosphere , its delicate blues and greys , its promise of life . Then , drawing nearer , detecting not only interference in its natural order , but startling interference . Finally , moving out of the orbit and back into space , intoning a eulogy for the beauty of the earth .
“ I embedded references to the earth in the music : fragments of earth referenced melodies ; Morse code for three words : earth , water , air ; the hymn tune ‘ For the Beauty of the Earth ’ and created a sense of moving towards and away from Earth , while rotating .
“ I am pleased to honor my long association with Marin Alsop , a brilliant conductor and an innovative human being . This project has been pure joy .”
Instrumentation : Two flutes , piccolo , two oboes , English horn , two clarinets , bass clarinet , two bassoons , contrabassoon , four horns , three trumpets , three trombones , tuba , timpani , percussion , harp , celesta , and strings .
The Planets
Gustav Holst
Born in Cheltenham , England , September 21 , 1874 ; died in London , May 25 , 1934
“ Every artist ought to pray not to be a success . If nobody likes your work , you have to go on just for the sake of the work , and you are in no danger of letting the public make you repeat yourself .” Gustav Holst said this before the premiere of The Planets — on November 15 , 1920 by the London Symphony Orchestra — suddenly catapulted this shy , idiosyncratic composer onto the world stage . Already 46 , he had previously worked in happy obscurity , cramming in his composing on Sundays and August holidays while earning his living as a highly creative music teacher at St . Paul ’ s School for Girls , Morley College , and various churches . His many smaller-scale works for instruments and voices — often inspired by his mystical leanings and fascination with Sanskrit literature — had won him esteem in musical circles , but little public attention .
Not a symphony , The Planets is a series of seven subtly interrelated tone poems or , as Holst preferred , “ mood pictures .”
Holst ’ s first and only work for very large orchestra , The Planets , created an immediate sensation . The New York Philharmonic and Chicago Symphony fought so heatedly for the American premiere that a compromise had to be struck : both performed it on the same day , but New York received the edge because of the time-zone difference . Holst stuck to his credo : he never did repeat himself with another big work in this style .
Not a symphony , The Planets is a series of seven subtly interrelated tone poems or , as Holst preferred , “ mood pictures .” When Holst wrote them from 1914 to 1916 , he had become very interested in astrology . Thus , he was actually thinking more about the astrological influence of the planets on man ’ s character than their qualities as celestial bodies . Each planet bears a subtitle revealing the movement ’ s overall mood .
The Planets ’ dazzling orchestration is the key to its impact . Holst had earned his living for many years as an orchestral trombonist and thus knew the orchestra from the inside . His giant orchestra — including organ and a generous percussion section — provides not only power for “ Mars ,” “ Jupiter ” and “ Saturn ,” but an extensive palette of soft colors for the subtler “ Venus ,” “ Mercury ” and “ Neptune .” Mars , the Bringer of War : So powerful is “ Mars ” as an evocation of modern warfare ’ s savagery that listeners assumed Holst must have been reacting to the news from World War I ’ s trenches . However , “ Mars ” was actually composed in 1914 before that fatal August . In the unusual meter of 5 / 4 , it opens with a relentless rhythmic ostinato — first tapped out by timpani and violins striking their strings with the wood of their bows — that gradually mounts to an ear-splitting din . Horns and bassoons introduce the ominous threenote principal motive that ends with a dissonant half-step fall . Holst instructed that “ Mars ” be played as fast and brutally as possible .
Venus , the Bringer of Peace : The antithesis of “ Mars ,” “ Venus ” is a very soft and lyrical slow movement featuring peaceful descending lines for flutes , a sweetly pastoral melody for solo violin , and the bell-like sounds of celesta and harps .
Mercury , the Winged Messenger : Inspired by the Greek messenger of the gods , this is a light-footed and extremely fleet scherzo . Celesta and glockenspiel add sparkle to an impressionistic sound palette .
May – June 2016 | Overture 23