MCO-Concert2

1www.MilwaukeeChamberOrchestra.org

WELCOME TO THE MILWAUKEE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

GREETING FROM THE MUSIC DIRECTOR

Welcome, and thank you for joining us this afternoon as the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra continues its 34th season.

You will hear performances by professional musicians, artists who are challenged by these works and are delighted by the opportunity to perform for you in an intimate ven-ue. Richard Hynson, our artistic director, worked with these players to create a thoughtful program that will provide an uplifting and provocative experience. They’ve rehearsed for this afternoon, not just this past week, but in many cases for decades.

Please give thoughtful consideration to making a bid (or bids!) on the items in our Annual Silent Auction at today’s concert. Find a board member (we’re wearing name tags) and let us know what we can do to make our concert events even better. Take a minute, too, and acknowledge the efforts by our executive director, Jim LaBelle, who finesses every detail of these concerts. Thank the fine people at our host, Calvary Presbyterian Church, and consider buying a bottle of wine from our friends at Vino 100 to benefit the MCO.

And remember: your ticket purchase provides only a fraction of the revenue that is needed to stage an MCO concert. We’re fortunate to have many generous contributors to our group, and always seek more. You might be sitting next to someone who helped make this afternoon possible. Perhaps you helped with your own contribution.

Regardless, we are thankful for you and happy that you have joined us. We hope you enjoy the performance this afternoon. We’ve worked hard to continue the MCO’s legacy in our community and invite you to help with our efforts. Talk up the MCO; bring a friend to our next concert; consider a sponsorship.

Thank you all and we look forward to seeing you at our future performances.

James B. Nelson President, Board of Directors

Dear Friends,

On behalf of the musicians and the board of the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra, let me welcome you to our Winter Concert: Transfigured Night.

We will begin with Verklärte Nacht or Transfigured Night by Arnold Schönberg. This early work, written over a century ago, proclaims what neuroscientists in increasing numbers are confirming in the laboratory: music changes us. Their research shows that music activates so many parts of the brain that it is impossible to pinpoint where it affects us; but they do know that it stimulates and alters our emotional states, it penetrates to connect with and touch those with damaged or diseased brains, and it lingers longer than almost any other memory in patients with dementia. It moves us, and in being moved we are connected at a profoundly emotional, spiritual level.

A young Swedish composer was so moved by Schönberg’s work that he composed a work one hundred years later in homage to it. A. S. in Memoriam, Rolf Martinsson’s emotional response to Verklärte Nacht, even quotes one of Schönberg’s musical themes.

Finally, Ottorino Respighi, moved by the beauty of music from the 16th and 17th centuries, selected and arranged many of his favorites into suites. Using modern compositional techniques, he transformed them into something new and accessible for his audiences —and today, for us.

If you are joining us for the first time, welcome! If you are a regular to these concerts, it’s good to see you again, and to welcome you to another splendid evening of music making. Get ready to be transformed!

Richard Hynson

2 www.MilwaukeeChamberOrchestra.org

MILWAUKEE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA BOARD AND STAFF

Board of DirectorsJames Nelson, PresidentIsaac J. Roang, Vice PresidentChristine Hansen, SecretaryKevin Hanson, TreasurerJoyce Tang BoylandBrad HallmarkTracy JohnsonEido WalnyFrank Wintersberger

StaffRichard Hynson, Music DirectorJim LaBelle, Executive DirectorLori Babinec, Orchestra ContractorJean Gurney, Grant Writer

Contact InformationMilwaukee Chamber OrchestraPO Box 270063Milwaukee, WI 53227414-881-9900

STAY CONNECTED WITH THE MILWAUKEE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA ONLINE

www.MilwaukeeChamberOrchestra.org

Join other MCO Fans on our Facebook and Twitter pages• Check out our YouTube channel• Explore other arts via our statewide arts calendar• Sign up for our monthly eNewsletter the MCOrator

May 21, 2011 7:30pm

Spring Classical ConcertKarl Jenkins’ “The Armed Man”

and Mahler’s 1st SymphonyHamilton Fine Arts Center, Menomonee Falls

For ticket information, call 414-235-3834Michael Kamenski, Music Director


ABOUT THE MILWAUKEE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

The Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra is Milwaukee’s only professional chamber orchestra and one of only 65 in the nation. Since its founding in 1973, the MCO has earned a reputation as one of southeastern Wisconsin’s finest profes-sional performing arts groups.

Richard Hynson, the MCO’s second music director, took over in 2006 succeeding founding music director Stephen Colburn after three decades of leadership. Hynson envisions a cham-ber orchestra that can provide both the community and the musicians with outstanding opportunities to experi-

ence orchestral music through creative scheduling and programming, intimate venues, and a unique approach to mu-sic. Hynson believes that, in the right atmosphere, music can provide not only food for the soul, but an important component of wellness for the body and mind.

Through its continuing commitment to excellence, the MCO contributes to the depth of the city’s nationally recognized and vibrant arts community, and further bolsters Milwaukee’s reputation as a destination city for the performing arts.

MILWAUKEE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA MISSION

To present high quality and innovative music for small orchestra and ensemblesthrough performances, education and outreach; to offer professional performanceopportunities for professional Wisconsin musicians and artists; and to collaboratewith other arts and educational organizations.


CALVARY CHURCH

Located in the heart of Milwaukee near the Marquette campus, “The Big Red Church” hasbeen a landmark in the city for nearly 140 years. Its Gothic revival, cream city brick exteriorleads to a warm, spacious sanctuary with beautiful stained glass and hardwood floors. Calvary Presbyterian Church is home to its own congregation and gracious host to visitors for worship, labyrinth walks, Taizé prayer services, retreats, weddings, recitals and concerts. In Tandem Theatre also resides in the lower level of the church.

Calvary Presbyterian Church 414.271.8782www.bigredchurch.com

Jane and Chris Flieller, In Tandem TheatreBarb Haig, Haig-Jackson CommunicationsCourtney Heeren, Attorney, Quarles & Brady, LLPKristan Hundley, Downtown Auto ParkingDennis Kramer, Vino 100Kelly Miller, CPA, ScribnerCohenQuarles & Brady, LLPCindy Thomas, Calvary Presbyterian ChurchUS CellularMCO Volunteers – Nicole Boehler, CarolAnne Bozosi, Jan Gibeau, Melanie Hochs-child, Sally Hoyt, Michelle Hynson, Charmaine LaBelle, Judy Wagner

SPEC IAL THANKS TO :

MILWAUKEE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA UPCOMING CONCERT

Sunday, March 13, 2011, 3:00 PMChrist King Parish - 2604 N Swan Boulevard, Wauwatosa 53226

Remembrance: Legacy of the Civil WarJoseph Baber’s heart-wrenching An American Requiem, op. 80 anchors this commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War.

Hear the legacy of our country’s pain in letters home, and in poetry and speeches of the times, as our country was torn apart in the epic struggle

between north and south.

Featuring Bel Canto Chorus and the Milwaukee Chamber OrchestraPre-concert demonstration, Gathering Space at Christ King Parish, 2:30 – 2:55 PM


ACROSSBORDERS

ACROSSTIME

Early Music Now 414.225.3113 n 877.546.8742

[email protected] www.earlymusicnow.org

SINFONIA NEW YORK“Art & Ecstacy of the Chaconne”Mar 19 (Sa) 5:00 n UWM Zelazo Center

A lascivious reputation guaranteed its popularity! The Chaconne, the dance originating in Latin America, scandalized the European church. From the streets of Spain to the mind of Bach, principal

soloists of Sinfonia New York present a range of interpretations with Baroque Dancers, lute, and soprano. Preceded by the Annual Silent Auction and Chocolate Reception beginning at 3:00.

FLANDERS QUARTET“Six Wives of Henry VIII”Apr 30 (Sa) 5:00 n Wis Luth College

This acclaimed quartet is joined by soprano Cecile Kempernaurs in a musical portrait of the renowned flamboyant English king and his six wives. Contemporary compositions of Piet Swerts are juxtaposed with original English ensemble music of Henry and his court composers.

Richard Hynson, Music Director

Richard Hynson has served as Music Director of the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra since 2006. This year also marks Hynson’s 23rd season as Music Director of the Bel Canto Chorus and Orchestra. Also in demand as a guest conductor, Hynson’s past engagements include performances with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the Skylight Opera Theatre, and the Racine, Sheboygan, and Waukesha Symphony Orchestras. He has conducted the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra in one of their Concerts on the Square in Madison, WI. He has also conducted the popular outdoor music festival, Gathering on the Green, in Mequon, WI, for the last two summers. Hynson is in much demand locally and nationally as a clinician and has led multiple choir clinics in Boston, MA; Lexington, KY; Washington, DC; and the greater Milwaukee Area.

In addition to his work as a conductor and educator, Hynson is a composer. His written contributions include a substantial body of published choral, vocal, and ensemble works, many of which he has recorded with Bel Canto. Music critic Barbara Castonguay (Third-CoastDigest.com, January 31, 2010) wrote, “…Under the direction of Richard Hynson, the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra was spot on. The complicated rhythms never seemed scattered or frantic. Phrasing was impeccable…”

MUSIC DIRECTOR


UNDERSTAND EVERY WORD:SUNG IN ITALIAN WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS PROJECTED ABOVE THE STAGE

MARCH 18-20, 2011 MARCUS CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

DirecteD by William theisen

TICKETS START AT $30!For tickets: 414-291-5700 ext. 224

Production Sponsors: Mary Ann & Charles LaBahn

A Delicious Comic Romp!

www.FlorentineOpera.org

Florentine opera CompanyWilliam Florescu, General Director

by Gioacchino Rossini


No one gets you CLOSER to the Music

Milwaukee Chamber OrchestraRichard Hynson, Music Director

Presents

Transfigured Night3 o’clock pm

Calvary Presbyterian ChurchMilwaukee, Wisconsin

Verklärte Nacht ................................................................................................. Arnold Schönberg(1874 – 1951)

Intermission

A. S. in Memoriam ................................................................................................. Rolf Martinsson(b. 1956)

Ancient Airs and Dances, Suite No. 3 ............................................................ Ottorino Resphigi1. Ignoto: Italiana (1879 – 1936)2. Arie de Corte by Jean-Battiste Besardo3. Ignoto: Siciliana4. Passacaglia by Lodovico Roncalli (1692)

MILWAUKEE CHA MBER ORCHESTR A PERSONNEL

Violin 1Jeanyi Kim, ConcertmasterAlexander MandlRobin PetzoldEric SegnitzHelen KimMargot Schwartz

Violin 2Michael GiacobassiGerald LoughneyPamela SimmonsCatherine BushNina SaitoElizabeth Warne

ViolaNathan HackettJamie HofmanAmanda KochOlga Tuzhilkov

CelloScott TisdelGregory MathewsKathleen CollissonAdrian Zitoun

BassCatherine McGinnAndrew Raciti

Affiliated With

MadisonMedicalAffiliates.com

MM73344_Footlights_5x9_4c0111:Layout 1 1/6/11 10:22 AM Page 1

Living a healthy life

starts with getting on the

same page with your

physician. It doesn’t matter

if you haven’t seen a doctor

in a while, or are just

looking to find the perfect

fit, Madison Medical has a

team of internal medicine

doctors who are committed

to keeping you in good

health.

Choose from a variety

of veteran physicians,

including many of

Milwaukee Magazine’s

Top Doctors. Take your

family’s healthcare into

your own hands, and

contact us today. After all,

what’s more important?

KevinDiNapoli, M.D.

ChristopherDrayna, M.D.

DeidreFaust, M.D.

ScottJorgensen, M.D.

UnchuKo, M.D.

DavidLucke, M.D.

AbrahamVarghese, M.D.

JohnSanidas, M.D.

James P.Volberding, M.D.

Madison Medical Affiliates InternalMedicine Physicians

John R.Betz, M.D.

KathleenBaugrud, M.D.

Gholi Darien,M.D., FACP

Call for an appointment.

Cathedral Square - 414.272.8950Mequon - 262.243.5000



Affiliated With




MILWAUKEE CHA MBER ORCHESTR A DONORS

The MCO gratefully acknowledges the support of our donors.

Visionary ($10,000 and up)* American Recovery and Reinvestment Act* Greater Milwaukee Foundation: Richard and

Joy Teschner Fund* Bruce and Maria Tammi* Mrs. Harriette V. Vick* National Endowment for the Arts

Maestro ($5,000 - $9,999)* + Anonymous*+ Ralph Evinrude Foundation+ Richard & Ethel Herzfeld Foundation* +Bert L. & Patricia S. Steigleder Charitable

Trust

Conductor’s Club ($2,500 -$4,999)* + Anonymous* Nonprofit Management Fund+ Ireene S. Sullivan * United Performing Arts Fund* +Frank and Inge Wintersberger+ Douglas Thompson and Elise Malecki* + Wisconsin Arts Board

Patron Circle ($1,000 - $2,499)+ Anonymous (2)* +Vaughn Ausman and Sally Hoyt* +Cookie and Isaac Roang* + SPL Web Solutions* David and Julia Uihlein Foundation* +Zeppos and Associates

Premiere Members ($500 - $999)* +Carol Alexander* +The Bartolotta Restaurants* +James W. Coutts+ Randall Groth * +Tracy Johnson* +Gordon and Joan Liebl * +James and Laura Nelson+ Rick and Victoria Wintersberger

Members ($250 - $499)* Jim and Becky Anderson* David and Patricia Carter+ Norman and Mary Dyer* Kelsey Erdahl* Dee Emanuelson* Meg and Jeff Kasch+ Robertson Ryan & Associates, Inc. * + Hollie and Herb Schick * William R. and Susan Chamberlin Smith+ Robert and Helen Vettori+ Jim Ward

Friends ($50 - $249)+ Anonymous* Joyce Altman* Michael G. and Joanne Barndt+T. Michael and Virginia Bolger * Elizabeth Bostrom

* Bradley Brin+ Virgis and Angela Colbert* Mary and Robert Dudek* + Matthew R. and Deborah Falk * John Emanuelson and Karen Frink* The GE Foundation+ Janet Gibeau+ Rollie and Clare Graf+ Barb Haig and Dan Schley+ Brad and Kelly Hallmark + Hawks Nursery+ Hilton Milwaukee City Center+ Charles and Jean Holmburg+ Al and Rita Hospel* + Stefanie Jacob and Scott Tisdel+ Lee and Barbara Jacobi * Milwaukee Jewish Federation+ Alyce Katayama + Richard Kirwin and Lorrie Zinda* Warren and Sally Kreunen+ Rebecca and James J. Krogmeier+ John and Mary Kay Lammers+ Lexus Northshore+ Lexus of Brookfield+ Rudy Malz+ Edith Moravcsik* H. Carl Mueller* David and Gail Nelson+ Frank and Patti O’Dwyer * Sally Peltz* Connie Pukaite* Allen and Pat Rieselbach+ Tom and Mary Roberts+ Sartori Foods * Kerry Saver* Tom Schaefer and Jhousy Leon* Julie and Mike Schinzer+ Tom and Kathy Schmit * Margaret P. Steinam* + Sam and Mary Wann + Penny Van Wyhe * +Vino 100 Wauwatosa* Judy and Richard Wagner+ Nicole Warner + Greg and Jodi Wait+ Cheryl White

Facebook, Twitter and other Fans ($1 - $49)* Thallis Hoyt Drake+ Chris and Jane Flieller+ Mary E. Kelly+Sharon J. Lynch+ John R. Munger * Rick Sindic

+ = 2010-11 Donors* = 2009-10 Donors

Please consider the MCO as part of your estate plan.

Donors list as of Febrary 10, 2011.Current list online at www.MilwuakeeChamberOrchestra.org

Weekly ticket giveaways

facebook.com/footlights

nothing up our sleeves

Free TickeTs


PROGR A M NOTES

Arnold Schönberg (September 13, 1874 – July 13, 1951) was born into a lower middle class Jewish family in Vienna. The son of a shoestore owner and a piano teacher, he was largely self-taught. Near the end of his life, the composer wrote, “As a child of less than nine years, I had started composing little, and later large pieces for two violins, in imitation of such music as I used to play with my teacher or with a cousin of mine. When I could play violin duets of Viotti, Pleyel and others, I imitated their style.” At that same time, he confessed, “All my compositions up to about my seventeenth year were no more than imitations of such music as I had been able to become acquainted with - violin duets and duet-arrangements of operas and the repertory of military bands that played in public parks.” In 1894, he met the composer Alexander von Zemlinsky, who became his counterpoint teacher, his musical mentor, and his brother-in-law.

Schönberg composed his string sextet Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night), Op.4, in just three weeks in September of 1899, while vacationing in Payerbach with Alexander von Zemlinsky and his sister Mathilde, who would become Schönberg’s first wife. The final version of the manuscript is dated December 1, 1899. In 1917, Schönberg produced an arrangement for string orchestra, a common practice at the time, and further revised it in 1943.

Based on a poem, “Zwei Menschen” by Richard Demel, which tells of two lovers as they are walking in the woods at night, the single continuous movement is divided into five parts, corresponding to the structure of the poem.

Zwei Menschen gehn durch kahlen, kalten Hain; Two people are walking through a bare, cold wood;der Mond läuft mit, sie schaun hinein. the moon keeps pace with them and draws their gaze.Der Mond läuft über hohe Eichen; The moon moves along above tall oak trees,kein Wölkchen trübt das Himmelslicht, there is no wisp of cloud to obscure the radiancein das die schwarzen Zacken reichen. to which the black, jagged tips reach up.Die Stimme eines Weibes spricht: A woman’s voice speaks:

Ich trag ein Kind, und nit von Dir, “I am carrying a child, and not by you.ich geh in Sünde neben dir. I am walking here with you in a state of sin.Ich hab mich schwer an mir vergangen. I have offended grievously against myself.Ich glaubte nicht mehr an ein Glück I despaired of happiness,und hatte doch ein schwer Verlangen and yet I still felt a grievous longingnach Lebensinhalt, nach Mutterglück for life’s fullness, for a mother’s joysund Pflicht; da hab ich mich erfrecht, and duties; and so I sinned,da ließ ich schaudernd mein Geschlecht and so I yielded, shuddering, my sexvon einem fremden Mann umfangen, to the embrace of a stranger,und hab mich noch dafür gesegnet. And even thought myself blessed.Nun hat das Leben sich gerächt; Now life has taken its revenge,nun bin ich Dir, o Dir begegnet. And I have met you, met you.”

Sie geht mit ungelenkem Schritt. She walks on, stumbling.Sie schaut empor; der Mond läuft mit. She looks up; the moon keeps pace.Ihr dunkler Blick ertrinkt in Licht. Her dark gaze drowns in light.Die Stimme eines Mannes spricht: A man’s voice speaks:Das Kind, das du empfangen hast, “Do not let the child you have conceivedsei deiner Seele keine Last. be a burden on your soul.


PROGR A M NOTES (c o n t.)

O sieh, wie klar das Weltall schimmert! Look, how brightly the universe shines!Es ist ein Glanz um alles her; Splendor falls on everything around,du treibst mit mir auf kaltem Meer, You are voyaging with me on a cold sea,doch eine eigne Wärme flimmert but there is the glow of an inner warmthvon dir in mich, von mir in dich. from you in me, from me in you.Die wird das fremde Kind verklären, That warmth will transfigure the stranger’s child,du wirst es mir, von mir gebären; and you bear it me, begot by me;du hast den Glanz in mich gebracht, You have transfused me with splendor,du hast mich selbst zum Kind gemacht.” You have made a child of me.”

Er faßt sie um die starken Hüften. He puts an arm about her strong hips.Ihr Atem küßt sich in den Lüften. Their breath embraces in the air.Zwei Menschen gehn durch hohe, helle Nacht. Two people walk on through the high, bright night.

Verklärte Nacht falls both stylistically and chronologically between the Brahms tradition represented by the D-Major Quartet of 1897 and the Liszt-Strauss tradition of the symphonic poem Pelleas und Melisande (1902–03). Although the sextet is clearly an early work of the composer who would later be associated with atonality and his twelve-tone technique, Verklärte Nacht caused quite a stir when it premiered in 1902. Some objected to the work being both program music and chamber music. One critic wrote: “Schönberg certainly knows how to write for strings. Let’s hope that he will soon use his gift on a work of pure chamber music.” A particular point of controversy was the use of the inverted ninth chord, which so aroused the ire of the Vienna Music Society that it refused to sponsor the premiere of the work. In Harmonielehre, his 1910 book on harmony, Schönberg remarked, “Only now do I understand the objection, at that time beyond my comprehension, of that concert society which refused to perform my Sextet on account of this chord (its refusal was actually so explained). Naturally; inversions of ninth chords just don’t exist; hence no performance, either, for how can one perform something that does not exist. And I had to wait a few years. To be sure, when it was then actually performed, nobody noticed anymore that a ninth chord occurs there in the fourth inversion.”

When poet Richard Dehmel heard the work for the first time on December 12, 1912, he was moved to write these words to the composer: “Yesterday evening I heard your ‘Transfigured Night’, and I should consider it a sin of omission if I failed to say a word of thanks to you for your wonderful sextet. I had intended to follow the motives of my text in your composition; but I soon forgot to do so, I was so enthralled by the music.” In the twenty-first century, an audience no longer shocked by an inverted ninth chord can appreciate the extraordinary variety of colors and sounds in this work, echoing the appreciation of the critic at the premiere performance who wrote, “More remarkable than anything in this single uninterrupted sextet movement, which lasts for more than a half-hour in slow tempo, is the sound, which scarcely has an equal in the chamber music literature.”

Footlights Dining Guide offers great places to dine before the show,

after the show, or anytime!

For advertising opportunities, call 888.376.3700.

Special Occasions call for Special Treats.

W W W . F O O T L I G H T S . C O M



Rolf Martinsson (b.1956), a Swedish composer who has experienced great international success in recent years, was born in Boalt, in the southernmost region of Sweden. Martins-son’s mother is one of the ‘Göingeflickorna’, the trio of vocal Swedish sisters who broke through in the early 1960s. His childhood was filled with music as his mother and aunts practiced and recorded demo tapes at home. Martinsson was also allowed to attend performances in town parks around Sweden, as well as radio recordings in Stockholm. His own interest in music was awakened when he was about ten. He was a very keen fan of the Dutch rock group Ekseption and their rock versions of clas-sical composers like Albinoni, Bach and Beethoven. His first instrument was a ruler

with a hole, a kind of primitive flute, which Martinsson would play while listening to his Ekseption records. When he was given a piano, he learned to read music, to improvise, and to compose.

After initial studies at the Malmö Academy of Music, he studied composition there from 1981-85. In 1980 Martinsson was one of the founders of FUTIM (an association of young composers in Malmö). In 1984 he was producer of the UNM (Young Nordic Music) festival in Malmö and in 1986 he was elected into FST (the association of Swedish composers). Since 2002, Rolf Martinsson holds the position of Composer in Residence and Artistic Advi-sor with the Malmö Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Chair in Musical Theory including arrangement and composition at the Malmö Academy of Music since 2006. Martinsson has written pieces in many different genres such as orchestral music, solo concerti, choral music, chamber music and music for radio theatre. His music is characterized by a powerful stylistic awareness and exceptional musical craftsmanship, together with highly skilled orchestration.

A. S. in Memoriam, written in memory of Arnold Schönberg, was composed in 1999, one hundred years after the 1899 composition of Verklärte Nacht. Martinsson says that, “In A. S. in Memoriam I have sought to mirror the vocabulary, gesture and musical characters pres-ent in the works of Schönberg. Bar 49 features a musical quotation from Verklärte Nacht, as a sounding acknowledgement of that work’s influence on A. S. in Memoriam.

A. S. in Memoriam was originally composed for 15 strings (5-4-3-2-1, op50a) but also ex-ists in a version for string orchestra (op50b). The smaller version was commissioned and premiered in 1999 by the Lund New Chamber Orchestra under Sören Nilzén. Today’s per-formance by the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra is the Midwest premiere of this chamber version of the work.

Once the show is over…

Become a fan: facebook.com/footlights

Follow us: twitter.com/footlightsmke

Footlights is where you are – on Facebook, Twitter, the web,the blogosphere. Keep up with what’s happening in the artsand get special offers and giveaways!

what do you do for fun?

iPhone is a trademark of Apple, Inc.

Read our blog:footlights.com/milwaukee/blog

Make plans: footlights.com/milwaukee/events



Ottorino Respighi (July 9, 1879 - April 18, 1936) was a reserved boy of obvious musical talent. Born in Bo-logna, Italy, he began to study the violin at age eight and composition at age thirteen. One of his teachers at the Liceo Musicale of Bologna was musicologist Luigi Torchi, who made important contributions to the study of early music and who awakened in Respighi an ardent love for ancient forms and modalities. After receiving his diploma in violin in 1899, Respighi was offered the position of principal violist in the orchestra

of the Russian Imperial Theatre in St Petersburg. While there, he studied composition for five months with Rimsky-Korsakov and became fluent in Russian. He then returned to Bologna, where he earned a second degree in composition in 1901. Although primarily a performer in the early years of his life, after 1908 Respighi turned his attention almost entirely to composition. After being appointed a teacher of composition at the Conserva-torio di Santa Cecilia in 1913, Respighi moved to Rome and lived there for the rest of his life. His adopted home was immortalized in the composer’s three most famous works: Fontane di Roma (Fountains of Rome), Pini di Roma (Pines of Rome) and Feste Romane (Roman Festivals). As Respighi’s fame spread, particularly in the Americas, he was championed by such musi-cal giants as Toscanini, Koussevitsky and Fritz Reiner. On his travels, he met Busoni, Kodály, Richard Strauss, Ravel, Schönberg, Sibelius, and Stravinsky. Respighi was perhaps the most revered Italian composer of his generation, elected to the Royal Academy of Italy in 1932.

In addition to being a violinist, violist, and composer, Respighi was a musicologist and an enthusiastic scholar and editor of Italian music of the 16th-18th centuries. Although he was a scholar of early music, and compiled some important editions of Claudio Monteverdi, he wasn’t as much backward-looking as interested in bringing together some ancient forms (like dance suites) with late 19th century romantic harmonies and textures. His profound love of the Italian musical past and his respect for the almost forgotten composers from that past inspired works like the Concerto in the Antique Style, The Birds, and Ancient Airs and Dances.

Ancient Airs and Dances, Suite 3, was composed in 1931 and was first performed at the Mi-lan Conservatory in January, 1932. Suite 3 differs from the first two suites in the set in that it is written for strings only. The sources for the four movements are mostly sixteenth and seventeenth century Italian and French lute and guitar pieces. The brief first movement, “Italiana,” is composed of two galliards, an anonymous tune popular around 1600 and part of Santino Garsi da Parma’s La Cesarina. The second movement, “Arie di Corte” (Courtly Airs), is a mini-suite of elegant songs by Jean-Baptiste Besard in which Respighi gives rich harmonies to fluid melodies of contrasting character. The third movement, which Respighi calls “Siciliana,” is variations on an anonymous melody called “Spagnoletta,” which was popular in a multitude of arrangements in seventeenth century Spain and Italy. The con-cluding “Passacaglia,” based on a Spanish dance in Ludovico Roncalli’s Capricci Armonici for Baroque guitar, is a series of increasingly dramatic variations over a repeating bass line.

Respighi died on April 18, 1936, at the age of 56. In the January of that year, Respighi’s doctor had diagnosed endocarditis lenta viridans, a cardiac bacterial infection which in those days was incurable. A year after his burial, his remains were moved to his birthplace of Bologna and reinterred at the city’s expense.

TicketSPECIALS

Visit Footlights.com to check out the latest event discounts.

Come to our exceptional,affordable

performances!

Visit us online at www.myso.org for a 2010-11 concert schedule

or call us at 414.267.2950 for more information.

Hearing is believing!

MCO-Concert2

Documents

Transcript of MCO-Concert2