Overture Magazine: 2017-2018 Season March - April 2018 | Page 21

Schubert knew, or at least suspected, that the syphilis he contracted in 1822 was a death sentence. Yet he lived out his remaining years with optimism and boundless creativity, and one can perhaps hear that drama given musical expression in this movement. Over a relentless march beat, a solo oboe sings a plucky melody that Donald Francis Tovey called a “heart-breaking show of spirit in adversity.” Loudly, the strings mock the oboe’s tune. This section alternates with another in which the violins deliver a consoling, downward- flowing hymn-like theme in the major. Upon the return of the oboe music, the two repeated notes that gently end its first phrase erupt into a terrifying crisis of dissonance. After a dramatic pause, cellos offer comfort and the violin hymn returns to complete the recovery. The third movement is a scherzo in the Beethovenian style, full of rhythmic drive and bold energy. But it contains music that is quintessential Schubert: a middle trio section in the style of an Aust rian ländler (the precursor of the waltz) featuring the woodwind band’s most beguiling sonorities. It is one of the most enchanting of his creations. The finale immediately engulfs us in a whirlwind of fire and speed. The sense of forward momentum is relentless, intensified by 88 consecutive measures of devilishly fast triplets for the strings, spinning under the woodwinds’ quietly obsessive second theme. Still greater force emerges from the four repeated notes that innocently begin that theme. Schubert metamorphoses them into pounding hammer strokes that, in Tovey’s words, are “as powerful and terrible as anything in Beethoven or Michelangelo.” But Schubert, the lyrical genius, is strong enough to wield them, and with their help, he creates a dramatic finish Beethoven would have surely applauded. Instrumentation: Two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani and strings. Notes by Janet E. Bedell, © 201 8 2017-2018 SEASON FRI, MAY 4 | 8 PM • SUN, MAY 6 | 3 PM MARIN ALSOP, Music Director NICOLA BENEDETTI, violin JOHN WILLIAMS, LUCIANO BERIO AND JOHN CORIGLIANO // Birthday Bouquet BERNSTEIN // Serenade BERNSTEIN // Symphonic Dances from West Side Story BERNSTEIN // Three Dance Episodes from On The Town The BSO celebrates Bernstein’s centennial with Nicola Benedetti, one of the most sought-after violinists of her generation. This performance of Bernstein favorites also includes works by modern composers written in homage to his genius. Together, they illustrate how impossible it is to singularize Bernstein’s brilliance. Presenting Sponsor: M&T Bank JOSEPH MEYERHOFF SYMPHONY HALL TICKETS FROM $25 | BSOMUSIC.ORG | 410.783.8000 M A R –A P R 2018 / OV E R T U R E 19