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...Bears, Oh My!
August 13 2005, 7:30 at the Barshinger Center (2005 Schedule)
If we accept the old adage that “the third time is the charm” , then the fourth time (as in Bach's “Brandenburg No. 4” and Beethoven's “Piano Concerto No. 4”) seems to depict contrast and creativity. The genius composers on tonight's program were not interested in the security of technique and form previously used. Instead these legends of musical composition had the courage to follow their artistic calling with innovative styles and development. Courage..........makes me smile because I'm reminded of the Cowardly Lion and the familiar chant of “lions and tigers and bears, oh my ”. Not to fret, smiles are encouraged and also contagious at Allegro concerts, just look around!
Brandenburg Concerto No. 4, G Major BWV 1048 - J. S. Bach (1685-1750)
Allegro, The Chamber Orchestra of Lancaster, continues the cycle of performing one Brandenburg Concerto per season….and why not the No. 4 during the fourth concert season for this ensemble? Normally we don't think of Bach's music as light and ornate, with its emphasis on pleasantness and prettiness. Bach's writing was “Baroque” and that held a certain expectation of grandeur not frivolous elegance ( see Rococo ). But be warned, O Ye Allegro Supporters , that we get ourselves in trouble when we try to label Johann Sebastian Bach into one style with a single set of compositional tools. For tonight's Brandenburg selection, J.S. chose to write with Parisian charm and wit. He simply took over whatever dazzling new devices appealed to him and combined them with his rich store of traditional techniques and forms.
In Concerto No. 4 there are two “flauto” (recorder or today flute) parts as well as a solo violin. While the flute parts bring much sparkle to the piece, it is the solo violin that clearly has the most virtuoso part. It is tempting to imagine Mr. Bach playing the violin part himself. His son Carl Philipp Emanuel tells us that “in his youth, and until the approach of old age, he played the violin cleanly and penetratingly,” and informs us that it was as violinist, not as a keyboardist, that his father preferred to lead his orchestras. (Brian Norcross would be the first to remind us that the conductor, as we know him nowadays, is a 19 th century invention; Bach would always have led from within the orchestra's ranks). Or perhaps this flashy violin part was a tribute to some local virtuoso ( see Brian Rose ). Later in Leipzig, Bach would take the solo violin part and transcribe it for harpsichord as it became “Concerto in F, BWV 1057”.
Tonight's Brandenburg follows the typical baroque concerto grosso in three movements of fast-slow-fast. Never try to predict Bach's creative approach, not even in reference to the first notes of the first movement. One would expect a traditional full ensemble introduction but instead “No. 4” is launched with an airy duet by our 2 flautists. Not to be outdone by the fluttering and dipping parallel thirds of the flutes, our solo violinist dominates the middle section of this movement with breathtaking flights of his own. The middle movement is both pensive (e minor) and gracious in its character. One might almost mistake the decorative grace of this slow section for that of Corelli, with whose music Bach became acquainted earlier in his life. The final movement is, drum roll please……..a fugue! ( Now that's more like it, Bach and fugues go together like light blue golf shirts and khaki slacks .) This time we can almost hear the spirit of Vivaldi through the brilliant solo violin lines. Bach not only interweaves the violin acrobatics with the structural strength of a master fugue but he also makes it sound easy and exhilarating!
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, No. 4, G major, Opus 58- Beethoven ( 1770-1827)
“He played with astounding cleverness and in the fastest
possible tempi. The Adagio, a masterly movement of
beautifully developed song, he sang on this instrument
with a profound melancholy that thrilled me.”(visiting composer) -J.F. Reichardt, 1808
This was the reaction of one audience member that attended the first public performance of Ludwig Van Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4. The pianist, Beethoven himself, probably played the solo from memory to prevent other pianists from playing it, and thus preserving the novelty and interest; secondly, the fact that he had not written down the piano solo part in its final form did not matter-so all the early performances were probably quite different from one another. This December 22, 1808 concert was one for the ages, featuring the world premieres of four major masterpieces: his “Fifth and Sixth Symphonies”, his “Fourth Piano Concerto” and his “Choral Fantasy”. ( talk about “potential over-programming”) . Let's paint the realistic scenario for what would seemingly be an incredible night of beautiful music. The theater was freezing cold. The audience struggled through more than four hours of “modern” music, most of it never before heard in public. The performances were so rough that at one point the orchestra broke down entirely and had to begin over again. Beethoven realized almost nothing from the concert in the way of financial return. Reichardt goes on to say that the audience did not care for much of the new music. The Fourth Concerto made an especially weak impression, and in fact was almost totally ignored until after Beethoven's death. While the ill-prepared performance and the general discomfort in the unheated hall during that long concert probably worked against all the music heard that evening, the Concerto's innovative break with the traditional concerto format and content must have been an even stronger negative factor. This was a work of unforced intimacy and lyricism-determined in large part by the poetic, seemingly improvisatory nature of the material (not exactly audience-friendly stuff for this time). We have Felix Mendelssohn to thank for rescuing this neglected masterwork with an 1836 performance in Leipzig.
If brilliance is the keynote of Beethoven's three earlier piano concerti, and grandeur in the last one (the “Emperor”), then in Piano Concerto No. 4, we might say, the keynote is serenity. The intimate character that is to prevail throughout the work makes itself felt in the very opening, stated by the piano alone in a mood of contemplative self-confidence (“We're not in Kansas anymore”) This unaccompanied piano statement announces that this is to be a different sort of concerto, less “public” in character. As you listen to this opening, see if you can detect the fact that this Concerto grew out of the same thought which supplied the tempestuous opening of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, “Thus Fate knocks on the door ” ….but how gentle and ingratiating it sounds in tonight's context.
Movement two is a study in contrast, the gruff and restless string orchestra vs. the flowing and calming response of the solo piano. Franz Liszt likened the soloist's role here to the “ legend of Orpheus taming the wild beasts with his lyre ” and eventually the piano's calm lyricism prevailing (attention Allegro strings: please don't be offended by this metaphor). The finale movement, an energetic rondo, breaks the spell of the Andante with mischievous, whispering strings, graceful piano lines, and full orchestral bursts….mood swings that serve to characterize this composer. As the story goes, Beethoven would often improvise for his friends, emphasizing his sudden fluctuations of temperament. Sometimes, when he had finished and turned around to find his listeners shattered, overwhelmed with emotion, he would burst into a roar of laughter. “We artists don't want tears,” he would mock , “we want applause.” Beethoven saves some of his identifying contrast for the ending with moments of charm, bluster, and yes, humor. This triumphant presto comes to a conclusion with grand orchestral frenzy.
Symphony No. 82, C Major, “L ' Ours” (The Bear) by Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
You've got to love the humility of Papa Haydn, the second of twelve children, his father a wheelwright and Haydn's mother serving as a cook; he had no idea that they had even heard of him in Paris. But Haydn was considerably less “shut off from the world” than he may have thought, and his music had attracted an enthusiastic following throughout Europe. In the 1780's, a new organization joined the Parisian musical scene, the Concerts de la Loge Olympique . Frequent audience members for Olympique concert series included Marie Antoinette along with ladies and gentlemen of the court of Versailles. Haydn was commissioned to write six symphonies (No. 82-87) for the fashionable concert series. Haydn, who had never expected that his compositions would secure him more than a humble existence, could only marvel at the sum the Parisians proposed: 25 louis d'or for each of the six symphonies, plus another five for the right to publish them. (In today's currency, 25 louis d'or would translate to something in the neighborhood of $60,000). Along with a big purse came a large cosmopolitan orchestra to perform the “Paris” Symphonies….grandeur in everyway (40 violins, 10 basses, and 2 players on each wind part). Haydn never actually got to hear the Orchestre de la Loge Olympique play his symphonies, and he was therefore deprived of the further spectacle of seeing the members of the ensemble decked out in their full concert regalia, each wearing a sky-blue uniform and a sword at his side . (Thank goodness the Allegro musicians aren't required to don swords….sounds dangerous!) Haydn also used these same six symphonies with his home orchestra at the Esterh á zy Court-24 musicians in total. The style of the six “Paris” symphonies is often considered closer to the Classical ideal of clarity, simplicity, elegance, and force, than Haydn's final dozen of “London” symphonies.
So by now you're wondering about the subtitle of Symphony 82 “The Bear”. Please know that Mr. Haydn did not give his Symphony 82 this name but rather the enthusiastic French audiences. (by the way, they also called #83 “La Poule”…….you guessed it, “The Hen”.) I've got three possible musical excerpts for you in identifying the “Bear” moment:
1. First movement, about one minute into the piece, the music swerves unexpectedly
into a few measures stressing a dissonant chord accompanied by a complete break
in the rhythmic momentum. ( Active imagination required )2. Still first movement, the solo bassoon's long-held pedal tones-first a low G, then
a low D-supporting the flute's announcement of the graceful second theme. ( Bassoons
have a tradition of depicting exotic beasts, but beyond that I couldn't make a very
compelling argument for the bearishness of these measures.)3. Last movement, near the beginning, a sustained drone is played by the cellos and
basses, soon repeated by violas, 1 st violins, and bassoons. Above the drone sounds a
simple melody, perhaps played by a peasant's pipe. ( Stay with me ) Bear-baiting was a popular street and carnival entertainment at the time, and listeners instantly identified this opening music as the sort of thing that might accompany a dancing bear, played by a pipe and perhaps droning bagpipes . (Well, that's a long way to go for a “bear” reference but, you know the French!)
Symphony No. 82:
I. Vivace assai -grand festive style, traditional in form.
II. Allegretto -theme and variation
III. Menuetto -traditional, festive and ceremonial
IV. Finale: Vivace -sonata form with the “bear-dance” tune
As L'Ours (the bear) comes to a thrilling and brilliant conclusion, so does our celebration of masterworks by Bach, Beethoven, and Haydn. We hope you've enjoyed tonight's performance along with year four of Allegro, The Chamber Orchestra of Lancaster. Our 2005 musical journey together has taken us from Gabrieli of 1597 to Beethoven of 1809. The musical repertoire and famous composers are important for historical reasons but we hope that more importantly, your lives have been enriched through “the making of the art”. Music is a gift that the Allegro musicians give willingly, with passion and joy, to you. The innate and developed gift of talent on this stage certainly doesn't go unappreciated. Perhaps Felix Mendelssohn said it best , “I know perfectly well that no musician can make his thoughts or his talents different from what Heaven has made them; but I also know that if Heaven had given him good ones, he must also be able to develop them properly”.
Let's do this again next year!
Doug Albert