Satie was a musical iconoclast who sought to lead French music from Impressionism to a more minimalist, experimental approach. Among those influenced by him during his lifetime were Maurice Ravel and Francis Poulenc, and he is seen as an influence on a number of modern artists, including John Cage, Philip Glass, and Brian Eno.
His formal musical training began in 1879, when at age 12 he was enrolled in the preparatory piano class at the Paris Conservatoire. However, he strongly disliked it, and a few years later was expelled for unsatisfactory performance. Rejecting his restrictive, traditional upbringing, he embraced an eccentric, bohemian lifestyle and earned a living as a cabaret pianist, adapting more than a hundred compositions of popular music for piano, or piano and voice.
He became involved in avant-garde music and art circles in the early 20th century, becoming a friend and collaborator of many famous artists and writers, including Pablo Picasso, Jean Cocteau, and James Joyce. He composed music for Cocteau’s play “Parade,” which featured set and costume designs by Picasso. His close friend, Claude Debussy, was a kindred spirit in his experimental approach to composition. Both were bohemians, enjoying the same café society and struggling to survive financially. Satie composed most of his works for solo piano, including two “Gymnopédies” in 1888 (plus another in 1895), and “Gnossiennes” in 1889.
In 1897 Debussy arranged two of the Gymnopédies for orchestra (the ones we are performing today). “Gymnopédie” may refer to a classical Greek annual festival where young men danced naked – or perhaps simply unarmed. The source of the title has been a subject of debate. The Gymnopédies are characterized by slow tempos, simple melodic lines, at once melancholic and atmospheric. The Gymnopédies are among the most publicly recognizable of Satie’s works. They have been featured in many artists’ arrangements, movies, and television shows.
This is one of Bach’s most popular and well-known instrumental concertos. While its original composition date is unknown, recent scholarship points to a composition date of 1730-31, during his tenure at Leipzig. The concerto is scored for two solo violins, strings and continuo. It is written in the typical three movements of baroque concertos – a fast opening movement, a slow middle movement, and a lively third movement. Bach weaves his themes in contrapuntal style between the orchestral and the two soloists. The concerto’s texture varies between full orchestra passages and solo passages, which alternate between the two soloists. The second movement adagio is a lyrical duet between the two soloists, accompanied by a harmonic orchestral choir.
Schumann composed his Third Symphony in six weeks in 1850, after moving to the Rhineland to take up the post of music director in Düsseldorf. This symphony, which he premiered in 1851, quickly became one of his most popular works and is a masterpiece of romanticism.
Its five-movement structure is unusual, although not unique (both Beethoven and Berlioz had previously written multi-movement “programmatic” symphonies). The title “Rhenish” was not given by Schumann himself, but rather by his publisher. However, Schumann rejected a program idea for this symphony, believing that the music should be heard without the artifice of titles coming between the listener and the music, and he even removed some initial movement titles before publication. Despite this, glimpses of Rhenish life and influence can be easily discerned, especially in the second and fourth movements.
Structurally, this symphony can be viewed as having three sections – two thematically connected movements at the beginning and at the end, which bookend a lyrical “song without words” middle movement. The main theme is based on the interval of a falling fourth (E-flat to B-flat) followed by a rising sixth and rising fourth. These harmonic relationships are the basis for many of the themes in the other movements. The first movement begins with a theme propelled by rhythmic displacement, vigorously driving the piece forward. It is interrupted by a rising scale motive in the strings, which then leads to a lyrical second theme played by the woodwinds. All three themes become prominent and intertwined in the section. A triumphant return of the main theme is heralded by the horns and then taken up by the full orchestra at the end.
The second movement Scherzo is based on a German “ländler” folksong; like the first movement, it opens with a rising fourth in the ‘cellos, bassoons, and violas. After several variations, the Scherzo segues into a trio featuring horns and woodwinds. It reaches a climax, before ending in a hushed restatement of the main theme by the ‘cellos and first bassoon. The third movement is a tranquil musical miniature, akin to a song without words. Opening with a flowing theme by the clarinets and violas, it features a four-note motif in the strings imitated by other sections in the orchestra, which Schumann combines in the ending section.
The stately fourth movement is a magnificent example of Schumann’s inventiveness. It is marked “Feierlich” (solemnly), in the somber key of E-flat minor. Opening with trombones, horns and bassoons, the main theme is again based on a rising fourth. Schumann develops the opening theme in a remarkable overlapping and contrapuntal style, punctuated by brass fanfares towards the end of the movement. The last movement, “Lebhaft” (lively), is brisk and light-hearted. The opening theme again based on a rising fourth, this time in scale form. Towards the end of the piece, the brass – after yet another set of fanfares – return to the fourth movement theme, now in an optimistic tone. Brass flourishes and a quick coda propel this symphony to its triumphant ending.
Mabel Wheeler Daniels (1877-1971) was an American composer, conductor, and teacher. Based in Boston, Daniels studied at Radcliffe College, The Royal Conservatory in Munich, and with composer George Chadwick.
Daniels was inspired to write “Deep Forest” after many summers at the MacDowell Colony, a storied retreat in New Hampshire for American poets, artists, and composers. Enveloped in nature, Daniels composed an atmospheric tone poem to reflect her tranquil surroundings.
Originally scored for small orchestra and performed in 1931, “Deep Forest” in its full orchestral form was first performed by the New York Symphony Orchestra under Nicolai Sokoloff in 1934. It was later played by orchestras in Washington DC, Rochester, Harrisburg, London, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall.
“Deep Forest” was Daniels’ first purely orchestral work and shows her background in vocal writing. Listen for lyrical lines in the winds, the horns’ atmosphere and drama, and lush string chords. Tritones and diminished chords abound, adding to the sense of mystery.
What do you hear as you venture into the Deep Forest?
The Ukrainian National anthem was adopted by Ukraine’s parliament in 1992. It is based upon a patriotic poem written in 1862 by the poet Pavlo Chubynsky, and music written in 1863 by Mykhailo Verbytsky. In the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, many orchestras in Europe and North America have performed the anthem in solidarity with Ukraine and its people.
This work is part of a collection of six “Brandenburg Concertos” written by Bach in the early 18th century, probably between 1708 and 1721. While probably not conceived as a unitary set of works, Bach gathered all of them together and sent them, together with a dedication, to the Margrave of Brandenburg in 1721 (evidently in pursuit of a musical position). While his job search didn’t pan out, his Brandenburg concerti – only rediscovered in the Brandenburg library and published in 1850 – have since become world-famous.
Each of the concerti is scored for a different combination of string and wind instruments. Brandenburg Concerto No.3 is scored for strings and continuo (cembalo), but with a twist – there are three separate parts for each section (violins, violas and cellos), together with a unifying bass and cembalo part. The result is an intriguing combination of unified orchestral playing interspersed with separate solo lines. Bach himself is said to have played the first viola part in this work, leading the ensemble from that position.
The first movement’s vigorous opening is the basis for all of the other melodic and contrapuntal elements in the movement, with motifs traded back and forth between and within violins, violas, and cellos. For the second movement, Bach only wrote two long chords to be played by the strings. While occasionally played that way, another view is that he intended an improvisatory passage to be played leading into those chords, either by a solo violin or solo keyboard. For today’s performance we have adapted a short passage from a Bach keyboard work to be played on the harpsichord as a bridge to the last movement. The concluding allegro is a rollicking gigue-like dance featuring non-stop contrapuntal lines among the string sections, with notable violin and viola solos.
This lovely work, which Debussy composed in 1904, had its genesis in a rivalry between two harp makers. Sebastian Erard had perfected the pedal harp early in the 19th century. Pedal harps use foot pedals to raise or lower the pitch of a harp’s strings, and have become the standard instrument played by harpists. However, seeking to improve upon this design, in 1894 Gustave Lyon of the Pleyel firm invented a “chromatic” harp, an instrument with strings for every half step (similar to the white and black keys on a piano).
To publicize his new instrument, the Pleyel company commissioned Debussy to write a piece showcasing the abilities of the chromatic harp. This turned out to be his 2-movement Danses Sacrée et Profane for harp and strings, which he dedicated to Gustave Lyon. While the chromatic harp is now mostly relegated to museums, fortunately this work can also be played on pedal harp, and it has become a beloved mainstay of the harp repertoire.
The first, “sacred,” dance begins in a slow and stately mood set by unison strings, joined by the harp in an uplifting reverie, with numerous ascending and descending chromatic passages. The “secular” dance, which follows without a break, is in the form of a lilting waltz, with various statements of the main theme traded back and forth between the harp and strings. Towards the end of the piece, a short introspective reverie makes its appearance. The waltz then resumes at a joyous pace, followed by a majestic and sonorous ending.
Grieg subtitle this lush work a “suite in the olden style.” He wrote it to commemorate the bicentenary of the birth of Ludvig Holberg (1684-1754), a celebrated writer, poet and dramatist claimed by both Denmark and Norway as a native son and dubbed “the Molière of the North.”
In evident homage to the baroque era in which Holberg lived, Grieg composed his suite in five short movements harking back to baroque form – a prelude followed by four short dance movements.
The “Praeludium” begins with rising scales punctuated by vigorous accents, with intermittent contrasting lyrical sections, and sets up the rest of the dances. The slow and stately Sarabande is introspective and tender, with short cello and violin solos. The elegant Gavotte follows with accented offbeats and a charming musette featuring string drones. The Air, marked “Andante religioso,” is the heart of the Suite. It is suffused with wistful melody and deeply-felt dialogues between solo cello and violins. The concluding Rigaudon is based on a jaunty French dance, which Grieg adapts to his own Norwegian folk style. Featuring a rollicking solo violin and viola duet in its main section, a short minor-key interlude leads to a joyous reprise to end the suite.
A very personal work, this song cycle by Mahler arose out of his unrequited love for a soprano he had met as a conductor in the Kassel opera house in the mid-1880s. Mahler wrote the text as well as the music, and both are deeply felt. He initially composed these songs for voice and piano, and then orchestrated them in the 1890s. There are four songs, which can be sung by either a mezzo-soprano or baritone.
I – “Wenn mein Schatz Hochzeit macht” (“When My Sweetheart is Married”): He despairs on his beloved’s wedding day.
II – “Ging heut’ Morgen über’s Feld” (“I Went This Morning over the Field”): He finds joy in the midst of nature, birds and greenery. At the end, he questions whether he will ever find happiness.
III – “Ich hab’ ein glühend Messer” (“I Have a Gleaming Knife”): His unrequited love is like the agony of a sharp knife cutting into his chest. He imagines he sees his love’s blonde hair and blue eyes, and hears her laughter – and wishes he were lying dead, on a black bier.
IV – “Die zwei blauen Augen von meinem Schatz” (“The Two Blue Eyes of my Beloved”): Her blue eyes have sent him out into the wide world, away from everything he holds dear. He finds rest and sleep under a blooming linden tree by the side of the road. There everything was fine again – love and sorrow, world and dream.
Mahler used themes from two of these songs (nos. 2 and 4) in his Symphony #1.
Between 1930 and 1945, the Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos composed a series of nine pieces titled “Bachianas Brasileiras.” Scored for different combinations of instruments and voices, they feature a mix of Brazilian harmonic and rhythmic elements while also reflecting contrapuntal and other baroque, Bachian elements. This Aria is arguably Villa-Lobos best-known work. The lyrics are by Ruth Correa:
In the evening, a dreamy, pretty cloud, slow and transparent, covers outer space with pink. In the infinite the moon rises sweetly, beautifying the evening, like a friendly girl who prepares herself and dreamily makes the evening beautiful. A soul anxious to be pretty shouts to the sky, the land, all of Nature. The birds silence themselves to her complaints, and the sea reflects all of Her [the moon’s] wealth. The gentle light of the moon now awakens the cruel saudade [nostalgic or melancholic longing] that laughs and cries. In the evening, a dreamy, pretty cloud, slow and transparent, covers outer space with pink.
We are performing this moving piece as a memorial to Kurt Behnke, who passed away from Covid-19 early in the pandemic (March 2020). Kurt was an outstanding ‘cellist, member of our orchestra, and good friend to many of us. It is our way of honoring him and all the victims of the pandemic.
