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PROGRAM NOTES Pyotr llyich Tchaikovsky Variations on a Rococo Theme After graduation from the St. Petersburg Conservatory, Tchai kovsky was recruited by Nikolay Rubinstein for a post at the new mu- sic conservatory in Moscow. But the young composer was a poor teacher, continually dogged by feelings of in- security and resentment about the time teaching took away from com- posing. That being said, Tchaikovsky made some lasting friendships at the Conservatory. One of them, the German cellist Wilhelm Fitzenha gen, inspired Tchaikovsky to com- pose the Variations on a Rococo Theme for Cello and Orchestra. Because he had no hands-on experi- ence as a cellist, the composer asked Fitzenhagen for help. Fitzenhagen ended up having a substantial hand in the final form in which the work was published in 1889. He contrib- uted to making the cello part more virtuosic and idiomatic; he even changed the order of the variations and eliminated one of them. Only in 1940 was Tchaikovsky’s original Ver sion published and is now the one usually performed. The term “Rococo” in the title refers not so much to the ornate style, populär in eighteenth-Century architecture and decorative art, but to its nineteenth-century meaning: “old-fashioned.” The simple theme is Tchaikovskys own and is not par- ticularly characteristic of the Ro coco period, nor do the seven varia tions that follow adhere closely to the theme as was customary in the eighteenth Century. The work is a cellist’s show- piece, technically demanding, light- hearted and cheerful, with none of the emotional storm and stress that usually permeates Tchaikovskys works. He uses the variations to create a series of moods and dance rhythms. True to tradition, how- ever, the variations become increas- ingly complex, beginning with old- fashioned ornate embellishments in Variation I. John T. Williams Suite from Memories of a Gei sha In the 1930s and 40s the ma jor Hollywood Studios hired estab- lished classical Composers - many of them refugees from Nazi Ger- many - who went on to develop a language of cinematic music that was as important a factor in Control ling viewers’ emotional responses as the acting and cinematography it- self. Some of the best-known names are Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Kurt Weill, Miklös Rozsa and Marvin Hamlisch. John Williams is heir to this tradition; since the 1960s he has ex- panded and deepened that language to become the most important film composer of all time. The industry’s premier directors, especially George Lucas and Stephen Spielberg, have sought him as a partner, and their combined efforts have garnered armloads of awards, with Williams himself receiving as of this date five Academy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and 21 Grammys. He holds the record for the Oscar nom- inations. Williams wrote the music for the 2005 film Memories of a Geisha, garnering a Golden Globe award. He recruited Yo-Yo Ma to perform the cello solos, and in 2008 arranged for Yo-Yo Ma a six-movement suite for cello and orchestra of themes from the film. The movements are: I. Sayuri’s Theme II. Going to School III. The Chairmans Waltz IV. Brush on Silk V. Chiyo’s Prayer VI. Becoming a Geisha Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 7 in A Major Each movement of the Seventh Symphony is dominated by a persis tent rhythmic motive that - especial ly in the second movement - is equal in importance to the melodic Con tent of the themes. Richard Wagner described the Seventh Symphony as “the apotheosis of dance in its loftiest aspects.” The lengthy slow introduction, featuring some of the repertory’s loveliest oboe solos, contrasts in mood with the Allegro, which fol- lows in lively 6/8 meter. The opening movement actually consists of a sin gle complex theme held together by an underlying dotted rhythm in the accompaniment. The pulse extends throughout the entire movement and is only occasionally interrupted. The theme of the second move ment is minimal, a 4/4 ostinato con- sisting primarily of repeated pitches over which Beethoven adds counter- melodies and a buildup of the Or chestration to create emotional ten- sion. Beethovens innovative use of the rhythmic pulse in this movement influenced the Romantic Composers who followed and served as a model for Schubert in his Symphony No. 9 in C major, “the Great.” The Scherzo, in 3/4, is defined by driving quarter notes, dynamic contrasts and shifting rhythms. The trio, with its legato melody for the winds, provides the expected con- trast, breaking away from the rhyth mic pulse of the Scherzo. The nineteenth-century musi- cologist Sir Donald Tovey described the finale as “A triumph of Bacchic fury.” The rondo theme, with its emphatic timpani part, resembles a stomping peasant dance - admit- tedly refined for the occasion. Program notes by: Joseph & Elizabeth Kahn Wordpros@mindspring.com www.wordprosmusic.com
