2017-2018 SEASON
TCHAIKOVSKY THRILL RIDE
2017-2018 SEASON
Celebrating Maestro Shafer ’ s 50th anniversary as a conductor in the Washington , DC area .
All concerts will be performed at the National Presbyterian Church
BARBER ADAGIO FOR STRINGS
BRUCKNER MASS IN F MINOR November 5 , 2017 , 4:30 p . m .
THE HOLLY AND THE IVY MUSIC FOR CHRISTMAS
December 17 , 2017 , 4:30 p . m .
Featuring our Partner in Song , James Hubert Blake High School A Capella Chorus , Sandra Zinkievich , Director
HANDEL LAUDATE PUERI DOMINUM
BARTOLDUS MAGNIFICAT *
CHARPENTIER TE DEUM
April 22 , 2018 , 4:30 p . m .
Featuring Metropolitan Opera soprano Danielle Talamantes
* WORLD PREMIERE
TICKETS : $ 15- $ 50 . Student & group discounts available .
Order your tickets today at
CITYCHOIR . ORG
There is a profound mood of mourning in the magnificent second movement , which is the concerto ’ s soul . Here , the wailing English horn introduces a haunting Moorish-Spanish melody with Arabic ornaments , which grow more elaborate with each repetition . Rodrigo emphasizes this is the most important movement not only by making it the longest , but also by placing a major solo cadenza for the guitar here rather than in the first movement , where it is usually positioned .
The first and last movements are much lighter and briefer , and their sparkling orchestration shows Rodrigo ’ s French training . In the opening movement , the guitar sets up the underlying rhythmic conflict between two beats to the measure versus three beats — a conflict heard often in flamenco music . The music is constantly punctuated by heavily accented explosions from both guitar and orchestra that suggest flamenco ’ s stamping feet . Another two-versus-three rhythmic battle animates the playful finale in rondo form . The delight comes from Rodrigo ’ s ingenious treatments of the many returns of his whimsical theme , including a droll version for guitar and bassoon and another for pizzicato strings .
Instrumentation : Two flutes including piccolo , two oboes including English horn , two clarinets , two bassoons , two horns , two trumpets and strings .
SYMPHONY NO . 5 IN E MINOR
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Born in Votkinsk , Russia , May 7 , 1840 ; died in St . Petersburg , Russia , November 6 , 1893
More than a decade elapsed between Tchaikovsky ’ s Fourth and Fifth symphonies . During this period , the composer had grown enormously in fame and confidence . In 1877 , he was still recovering from his disastrous marriage and suicide attempt ; in 1888 , he was world-famous and had just returned to Russia from a highly successful European tour conducting programs of his works before cheering audiences from London to Berlin . Czar Alexander III had recently acknowledged his importance to Russia with a handsome life pension .
Yet Tchaikovsky was still plagued by doubts about his own creativity . In 1887 , he had rushed to the bedside of a dying friend , Nikolai Kodratyev , and for a month was tormented nearly as much as the poor victim : “ Painful , terrible hours ! Oh , never will I forget all that I have suffered here .” To his benefactress , Nadezda von Meck , he wrote despairingly : “ Can it be that we are all so afraid when we die ?” As he began his new symphony , he wrote again : “ I am dreadfully anxious to prove not only to others but also to myself , that I am not yet played out as a composer .”
Far from being played out , Tchaikovsky found that , once he ’ d begun the Fifth , inspiration flowed in abundance . The composer himself led the premiere in St . Petersburg on November 17 , 1888 ; both the audience and the orchestra gave him a prolonged ovation . Yet even then , he continued to doubt the work , particularly its finale , which some critics disliked . Leaping to extremes , he pronounced the work “ a failure ”; for listeners then and now , however , it was an unqualified success .
Like the Fourth , the Fifth Symphony has a motto theme that appears in all movements and is also associated with the concept of Fate . Fate begins as a menacing force , threatening the composer ’ s happiness , but is ultimately transformed into a major-mode song of triumph . We hear it , played by two clarinets in their deepest register in the first movement ’ s slow introduction . A clarinet and bassoon introduce the rhythmically intricate first theme , a halting march . The contrasting second theme , sung by the violins , is a tender , syncopated melody that taps wells of passion as it builds to a vigorous climax .
After a short , intense development , the solo bassoon ushers in the recapitulation . The movement ’ s lengthy coda is fascinating . Beginning with a frenzied treatment of the halting-march theme , it descends for a surprisingly quiet ending .
The Andante cantabile second movement is one of the most beautiful
14 OVERTURE / BSOmusic . org