JOURNEY THROUGH MUSIC

Saturday 21 January, 7.30pm

Richard Wagner Tristan and Isolde – Prelude, Act 1 (13 mins)

Edvard Grieg Piano Concerto in A minor (29 mins)

Interval: 20 mins

Edward Elgar Falstaff (33 mins)

BBC PhilharmonicJavier Perianes pianoSir Andrew Davis conductor

ARE YOU READY TO BEGIN YOUR MUSICAL JOURNEY OF DISCOVERY?

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Our Journey Through Music scheme at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall is an affordable and enjoyable introduction to the world of concert-going and classical music. For young people and children from the age of 8, our special scheme is aimed at making our concerts easily accessible for families and anybody who wants to discover orchestral music or to explore it further.

Ready to begin?Join us on this musical journey and discover the unforgettable world of classical music. Three performances will feature a pre-concert session suitable for all ages – but every concert in the 2016/17 season is available at a special family-ticket price. Plus – choose your seat anywhere in the house for the same price:• £7 for children aged 16 and under• £12 for accompanying adults• £35 family ticket, for 4 people (maximum of 2 adults)These prices include a £2 booking fee so you know there’s no extra costs when you book – just be sure to book in advance as these are not available on the day.

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE ORCHESTRA

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WHAT IS AN ORCHESTRA?An orchestra is a group of instrumental players who perform together, usually led by a conductor.

The modern symphony orchestra usually has somewhere between 60 and 90 players: around 30 violins, 12 violas, 10 cellos, eight double basses; two or three each of flutes, oboes, clarinets and bassoons; four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, a tuba, a harp and an assortment of percussion instruments. You can find out more about the instruments, and where they sit, on the next two pages after this.

THE CONDUCTORThe person in charge is usually the conductor, who stands at the front and directs the orchestra from a podium, keeping time either by waving a short stick, called a baton, or sometimes just with his or her hands. One of the earliest conductors, the Italian-born Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632–87), kept his orchestra together by banging a big stick on the floor, but one day he accidentally stabbed his foot and soon afterwards died of gangrene. It’s not as dangerous these days!

Part of the conductor’s job is to show the beat (or pulse) of the music so that all the musicians play together in time. He or she also signals when individual musicians or groups have to start or stop playing. All the time conductors are listening to the overall sound-balance, and altering it, to make sure that the important instruments don’t get drowned out by less important ones. Otherwise, like lots of people talking loudly at the same time, the result would be chaos!

But there’s more to it than this. The conductor can also help to reveal the changing moods of the music. If they can create a strong musical image for the listener, the effect can make us feel all sorts of emotions: happiness, sadness, fear, pride and everything in between. The music might energise you, or it might make you feel you’ve fallen into a dream.

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THE ORCHESTRA ON STAGEMost orchestras have a similar seating plan, with the strings at the front, the woodwind behind them and the brass and percussion further back still.

WOODWINDThe woodwind section sits behind the strings, often in two rows. There are four different instruments, usually in pairs, but in bigger orchestras there can be up to three or four players of each instrument. The metal flutes produce a high, bright, silvery sound. The piccolo is like a small flute and plays very high up. Oboes are black wooden instruments with a detachable reed, which gives them a distinctive sharp-edged sound. Before a concert starts, the whole orchestra tunes up to the note ‘A’ sounded by the Principal Oboe. A bigger, lower version of the oboe is the cor anglais, or ‘English horn’. Clarinets have a more hollow, woody sound. The lowest-sounding member of its family is the bass clarinet. The lowest woodwind instrument is the bassoon, which is long and heavy and has to be supported by a sling round the player’s neck. The contra-bassoon is so long that it’s bent double. Occasionally a piece will need extra instruments, such as the saxophone, which is more usually found in a jazz band.

BRASSLike the strings and woodwind, the brass family has four groups. There are French horns (usually four), instruments once associated with hunting, while the trumpets came from military bands, and often have fanfare-like parts. Trombones are played with a movable slide but, in spite of their size, they can play amazingly fast notes; and finally the enormous tuba makes the deepest notes of all.

PERCUSSIONThe percussion section sits at the back of the orchestra and centres around the timpani, or kettledrums – between two and four copper drums. They have pedals, which alter their pitch (or notes). The bass drum is hit with just one stick; while the metal cymbals are clashed together, often when the music gets very loud. The side-drum is a small military drum that can play very quietly or very loudly indeed. Sometimes composers ask for a variety of other percussion instruments, such as the xylophone, the marimba or even whistles, whips and sirens.

STRINGSString players sit at the front in a semi-circle, usually with the violins on the left and the cellos on the right. Each of the string sections (and also the woodwind, brass and percussion sections) has a principal, who leads the section. The strings divide into four sections: violins, violas, cellos and double basses. The violins are subdivided into first violins and second violins, with the Firsts generally having a slightly more difficult and brilliant part. Violas are bigger than violins, with a deeper, mellower sound. The cellos have a rounded, bass sound. The huge double basses (which are played standing up, or perched on a high stool) add depth to the string sound. The harp is played with fingers instead of a bow, and it has a series of complicated pedals that change its pitch (or notes).

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TONIGHT'S MUSIC

Richard Wagner (1813–83)Tristan and Isolde (1857–9) – Prelude, Act 1

Have you ever wanted something – needed something – so badly that you’d die for it? And then found that you couldn’t have it? How would that feel? And if you could put it into music, how might it sound? That’s what the German composer Richard Wagner wanted us to experience in his opera Tristan and Isolde. It’s set in the time of King Arthur. The brave knight Sir Tristan and the Irish princess Isolde are enemies. But when they unknowingly drink a magic potion, they fall in love – so much in love that nothing else in the world matters to them. And since Isolde is to be married to the King of Cornwall, that’s a bit of a problem.

Wagner understood the feelings of Tristan and Isolde since he was himself in love when he wrote the opera – but with someone else’s wife. What we’re hearing this evening is just the work’s Prelude – music to be played before the story starts, to help get you in the mood. And that mood is … well, see what you think …

What to listen for• Questions and answers: the cellos play a fragment of

music – as if they’re asking a question. The woodwind instruments give a sort of answer, over and over again, sounding more and more intense, until …

• … suddenly the whole world seems to light up, as the whole orchestra joins in. Now the cellos lead the string instruments on a long, sad, sweet song – slowly getting louder and more intense.

• Dark shapes: Wagner’s story is full of dangers and threats, as well as love. Wagner makes the music sound – and feel – both beautiful and a bit frightening. Near the end, the music seems to collapse – without those questions having really been answered.

What else could I listen to?If you’d like to explore the world of Wagner a bit more, a good way to start is with highlights from his operas. ‘Siegfried’s Funeral March’ will get you started – or try the very different Preludes to his operas Lohengrin and The Mastersingers of Nuremberg.

TONIGHT'S MUSIC

Edvard Grieg (1843–1907)Piano Concerto in A minor (1868)

1 Allegro molto moderato (Fast, but not too much)2 Adagio (Slow)3 Allegro moderato molto e marcato (Moderately fast and

emphatically)

Javier Perianes piano

Before Edvard Grieg, there’d never been a great composer from Norway. In fact, when Edvard took his first composition into school, the teachers just laughed at him. He was determined to show the world just what Norwegian music could be, even though he came from the fishing port of Bergen. ‘I’m sure my music has a taste of cod’ he once joked. But in 1868 he wrote this Piano Concerto and played it to the greatest pianist on earth – Franz Liszt – who loved it so much that he walked around the room, waving his arms and singing along. Perhaps best not to try this in the concert!

A concerto is a piece in which a star (‘solo’) instrument plays with the backing of an orchestra – although it can sometimes be more like a competition between the two! But it can also be like a friendly conversation, and Grieg enjoyed those as well. His concerto is sometimes wild and stormy, sometimes warm and tender – and it’s a wonderful combination.

What to listen for1 Allegro molto moderato (Fast, but not much) • The piece begins with a dramatic timpani roll, which is

answered by a sudden crash from the orchestra and a brilliant cascade of notes from the piano. It’s as if the piano and orchestra are challenging each other to test their strength! What happens next? Clue: it’s not all action (though don’t worry, there’s plenty of that too).

2 Adagio (Slow) • Grieg’s daughter Alexandra was born while he was

writing the concerto, so this movement is soft and sleepy, like a lullaby for the baby. A horn plays alone just before the piano joins in, creating a really mellow sound.

3 Allegro moderato molto e marcato (Moderately fast and emphatically) • Try tapping your feet to the rhythm of this lively tune; it’s

a ‘halling’, a Norwegian folk-dance that Grieg borrowed from the fiddle-players back in his native Bergen. But that’s not all – Grieg has something big in store for the ending …

What else could I listen to?Grieg’s own favourite Piano Concerto was by the German composer Robert Schumann – and it has quite a lot in common with his!

Interval: 20 minutes (time for an ice-cream!)

TONIGHT'S MUSIC

Edward Elgar (1857–1934)Falstaff (1913)

Meet Sir John Falstaff. He’s a knight, living in medieval England. Just not a very good one. He loves food and drink and he boasts about his courage – even though when he gets into battle, he’s actually a bit of a coward. He spends all his spare time at his local pub, hanging out with a bad crowd, he’s far too old to behave the way he does, and he’s fat: way too fat. But he’s always up for fun, and he’s got a great sense of humour. Oh, and he doesn’t exist. William Shakespeare invented him in 1597 in his play Henry IV. It wasn’t even supposed to be about Falstaff, but he just sort-of took over. Queen Elizabeth I herself asked Shakespeare to write another play just about him, so he obliged with The Merry Wives of Windsor.

OK, so that’s our hero. The English composer Edward Elgar loved Shakespeare, and in 1913 wrote a piece that captured the personality of Falstaff – and a few of his antics. How can you tell a story or depict a person in music? Well, Elgar imagined little tunes or musical ideas that would each help you imagine part of Falstaff ’s appearance, his moods, his friends and the things he got up to – and then wove them together to tell the story. So, if you’re sitting comfortably …

What to listen for• Falstaff: the first tune you hear. He’s very overweight, and

the music sort of rolls and waddles about! Then he laughs – you can hear that in the music too.

• Prince Hal: Falstaff ’s best friend was the young Prince Hal – the future King of England. His tune is very different: slower and more dignified. You can tell he’s royal, even at the pub! Both of these tunes pop up in different shapes and situations all the way through the piece, as the two share their adventures.

• Pranks: after we’ve got to know the pair a little, the music suddenly becomes quiet and more mischievous. The woodwind instruments chatter, as if they’re sniggering, and there are crashes and bangs. Listen out for the bassoon – the lowest-sounding of the woodwind instruments – when you hear it playing out, that usually means Falstaff has something to say. Sounds a bit daft? Well, that’s Falstaff for you!

• Time for a nap: eventually Falstaff falls into a drunken sleep; the string instruments make drowsy sounds and there are some snores as well.

• Falstaff ’s Dream: he dreams of when he was a young pageboy. A single violin (the leader of the orchestra) plays alone; it sounds sweet, maybe a little sad.

• Into battle: Falstaff suddenly wakes up, and in the distance you can hear trumpets summoning knights to battle. Falstaff leads his troops out, but they don’t sound very sure of themselves.

TONIGHT'S MUSIC

• The orchard: it’s peaceful now, and Falstaff dozes off in an orchard. While he snoozes, the oboe plays an old-fashioned country dance tune. The string instruments wear little black devices called ‘mutes’ to make their sound hazy and soft.

• The coronation: another sudden awakening for Falstaff as he gets the news that Prince Hal is to be crowned King. The music builds to a great procession, and Hal’s tune comes back, sounding more important and grand than ever (helped by some spectacular cymbal crashes). Hal is King, and Falstaff pushes forward – he’s sure he’s going to be well rewarded!

• The end: no chance. The music turns sadder and quieter as Hal, now King Henry V, tells Falstaff that he’s just too dodgy to hang around with any more. Falstaff ’s an old man now. There’s nothing left for him to do but creep back to the pub and fall asleep for the last time. The music gets drowsy once more, and Falstaff ’s tune slowly fades away.

What else could I listen to?Elgar was good at telling stories in music – try Cockaigne, his musical postcard from London. Or try one of the tone-poems by Elgar’s friend and hero Richard Strauss: The hero of Till Eulenspiegel is like a slimmer, more handsome Falstaff! But if you really like the sound of Shakespeare’s Fat Knight, Verdi wrote a wonderful comic opera all about him.

Notes © Richard Bratby

JOURNEY THROUGH MUSIC PRE-CONCERT SESSIONS

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We have special pre-concert introductions at two upcoming concerts. Join us a bit earlier on the concert night to discover more about the orchestra and the music being performed.

Saturday 4 February 2017Relishing in Revolution

Music by Beethoven, Saint-Saëns & DebussyPre-concert session, 6.30pm

Friday 26 May 2017Concert Fantastique

Music by Arvo Pärt, Berlioz & DutilleuxPre-concert session, 6.30pm