The years from 1720 to 1750 were, from the perspective of the present, dominated by Johann Sebastian Bach; but for a musically aware person of the period Georg Philipp Telemann was the foremost musician of his day. His music, while firmly rooted in the contrapuntal intricacies of the Baroque style, served as a bridge between the old methods and the emerging Classical style of simple textures, clear harmonies, and elegant melodies.
Telemann founded the first series of public concerts, taking music from the spheres of court, church and opera house into the realm of audiences who wished to gather simply for the pleasure of listening. He saw that instrumental music in these other spheres was merely an adjunct to ceremony, contemplation or amusement, and that music could and should be appreciated as an abstract art, unadorned, and not subservient to other goals. His insight revealed a path that composers, performers, and audiences have trod ever since, leading directly to our concert today.
Although Telemann was the most prolific of 18th-century composers (a period when prolific composers abounded), he still found time to travel frequently and widely across Europe, absorbing musical influences from a wide variety of composers and nationalities. The “Concerto Polonois” was a result of a visit to Cracow, Poland, and it incorporates characteristic elements of Polish folk dance and presents them in the new compositional style.
Schumann composed the ‘cello concerto in 1850, just before his third symphony and six years before his untimely death.
He styled it as a “Concert piece for ‘cello with orchestral accompaniment.” It is a three-movement work, although all of the movements are connected and played without break.
After three wind chords, the ‘cello opens with a soaring song-like melody, later echoed by the French Horn and by the winds after the slow movement. The short slow movement is a languorous interlude, featuring a simple solo melody accompanied by a solo orchestral ‘cello, string pizzicati and wind echoes. After a brief transition, with an evocation of the slow movement, the solo ‘cello leads into the quick last movement, which is characterized by a leaping two-note theme followed by rising sixteenth notes. The last-movement cadenza leads inexorably to a fast and joyous conclusion.
La Traviata was first performed in 1853. One of Verdi’s most famous operas, it tells the story of a doomed love affair between a young and beautiful girl of dubious reputation and a young man from the proper social circles. The Prelude to Act III opens with a high ethereal melody played by divided violins. Its foreboding tone and mood set the stage for the opera’s tragic conclusion.
This is one of the best-known and most programmatic symphonies in classical music.
Composed in 1808, it reflects Beethoven’s deep feeling for nature, no doubt due in some measure to his numerous walks in the countryside around Vienna. Each of the five movements is subtitled and reflects a particular mood.
The first movement allegro (“awakening of joyful feelings on arriving in the country”) is announced by the violins, and in turn taken up by winds and the full orchestra. “Scene at the brook” features a rustling accompaniment of second violins, violas and solo ‘cellos set against melodic motifs in the first violins and winds. Rustic dances are featured in the “happy gathering of the country folk” which follows.
The dramatic “thunder, storm” movement, with sudden bursts by timpani and brass, suddenly interrupts the country revels. Then the storm departs, the sun breaks through, and the “shepherd’s song,” with “happy and thankful feelings after the storm,” takes us to the end of this musical journey.
Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868) is best known for his masterful comic operas. He was a prolific composer who, at one point, composed 16 operas in 6 years – and then retired when he was 37 years old!
Rossini wrote this overture for one of his best-known operas, The Barber of Seville, which premiered in Rome in 1816. Opening with a loud fanfare, it immediately drops to a whisper – foreshadowing the comic (yet elegant) nature of the piece. Abruptly shifting gears to a fast tempo in a minor key, Rossini alternates thunderous fortissimos with witty wind melodies. Several long crescendo passages add even more drama to the overture, which finishes with a flourish at the end of a breakneck finale.
On his first trip to the British Isles in 1829 Mendelssohn paid a visit to Scotland, which made a deep impression on him and inspired several future compositions. In 1842, he completed his “Scottish” Symphony (his last symphony) and dedicated it to the young Queen Victoria.
While not programmatic, the symphony is atmospheric and contains many original elements. One of its most striking features is that it is meant to be played continuously – with no break between movements – which was unusual for the time. The first movement opens with a slow introduction in the winds and violas followed by an agitated allegro based upon the opening theme. A recapitulation of the slow opening serves as a transition to the sprightly scherzo, with its alternating dance themes in the winds and strings.
The following adagio is in the style of a “song without words,” with a lyrical theme alternating with a stern foreboding one.
The last movement opens with an agitated, onrushing series of passages before transitioning to a fugue-like section and a quiet transition featuring a clarinet-bassoon duo. The movement closes with a majestic rolling theme, in the major key, full of joy and hope.
Mozart composed this opera aria in 1776. The text, taken from the opera Arsace, describes the bitter parting of two lovers who wonder if they will ever see each other again. The aria is composed in rondo form, with words of tender farewell sung in the slower tempo and words of despair (railing against cruel fate) sung in the faster sections.
