g i u s e p p e v e r d iOverture to La Forza del Destino

m a x b r u c hViolin Concerto No. 1 in G minor

Vorspiel (Allegro moderato)I. Adagio II. Finale (Allegro energico)III.

Jiyun Han violin

Intermission

b é l a b a r t ó kConcerto For Orchestra

IntroduzioneI. Giucco delle coppie II. ElegiaIII. Intermezzo interottoIV.

FinaleV.

As a courtesy to others, please silence all cell phones and devices. Photography of any kind is strictly prohibited. Please do not leave the hall during musical selections. Thank you.

T H E

P H I L H A R M O N I A

O R C H E S T R A O F

Y A L E

Robert Blocker, Dean

september 25 , 2009 · friday, 8 pm · woolsey hall

Shinik Hahm conductor

Giuseppe Verdi » 1813-1901Overture to La Forza del Destino

Six loud brass attacks form the opening of Giuseppe Verdi’s tragic opera La Forza Del Destino (The Force of Destiny). The opera, which was first performed by the Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre in St. Petersburg in 1862, tells the tale of two lovers: the beautiful Donna Leonora, the daughter of a Sevillian marquis, and Don Alvaro, an Indian-Peruvian nobleman who has settled in Seville. The harshness and severity of these opening notes immediately suggests that the love is ill-fated, and indeed the lovers will face a tempest of murder and intrigue in their quest in La Forza.

As the overture continues, we hear a scuttling opening theme in 3/8 time in the strings, but immediately Verdi brings back these six harsh chords, once more warning us (perhaps, like in Beethoven’s famous Fifth Symphony, a motif that suggests fate) that danger is near.

The second theme of the overture, however, is gentler; the winds seductively sing over a pizzicato string accompaniment; another string theme enters, as well; but the scuttling music quickly comes back to quash any true moment of release. Finally the scuttling turns wild, and a true tempest ensues in the orchestra.

After a momentary return to the seductive theme, Verdi brings us the first genuinely sweet and pastoral moment of the overture: a gentle melody in the clarinet accompanied by two harps and strings. The music becomes increasingly regal, and the brass joins in to create a grand and glorious sound. But the pastoral nature cannot last long, and once again the merriment turns dark. And so we are brought to the culmination of the overture with a giant climax that is both triumphant and tragic. Indeed, Verdi’s preternatural ability to combine these two elements is one of the most enduring treasures of his music.

Max Bruch » 1838-1920Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor

Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto in G Minor is one of the pinnacles of the violin concerto repertoire, sitting alongside masterpieces by Mendelssohn, Beethoven, and Brahms. Origin- ally composed for the great nineteenth-century virtuoso Joseph Joachim (for whom Brahms, Schumann, and Dvořák all wrote concerti), the concerto is nonetheless cast in an unusual form. Rather than the traditional three-movement Allegro–Adagio–Allegro format used from the time of Vivaldi, Bruch cast his opening movement as a slow Vorspiel —a German word meaning both prelude and overture.

And the first movement does give this air of overture: rather than making a grand state- ment, the opening movement passes from moments of dramatic intensity to a gentle and romantic lyricism, with the violin often floating above the orchestra. Finally we are given a tantalizingly brief cadenza that segues into the second movement. This second move- ment, an Adagio, is in the great tradition of the nineteenth century's slow movements: gentle, tender, and lyrical. The violinist slowly traces up the instrument’s range, beginning low and gentle, but slowly and surely brings us to its altissimo register, where the music becomes almost marchlike, radiant and joyful. Finally the joy turns to triumph, and the violin and orchestra join for a stately but exuberant climax before a last restatement of the opening theme, and finally fading away.

In the third movement, marked Finale, Bruch finally gives the listener the wild allegro that had seemed suspiciously absent before. The Vorspiel’s foreboding G minor now transforms into a glorious G major, and the orchestra and violin celebrate together as cadenza after caden- za is followed by the affirmation of the orchestra, until Presto, the work exuberantly concludes.

program notes

Béla Bartók » 1881-1945Concerto for Orchestra

Béla Bartok composed his Concerto for Orchestra in 1943, just two years before he succumbed to leukemia. One of his last pieces, it is many ways an amalgamation of the many types of music that his work synthesized: the folk melodies he collected as a musicologist, the radical approach to harmony of Debussy, and the apollonian restraint of composers like Mozart and Haydn. All of these various musics make appearances in the Concerto for Orchestra (so called because it features the entire orchestra as soloists).

The concerto, which is cast in five movements, opens with “night music”: slowly ascending and descending strings are met with nature sounds: a bird song in the flute, muted brass like frogs croaking. Finally, just as the night music seems to be turning into nightmare music, a more gleeful Allegro begins. An opening folk-like melody contrasts with a more lyrical melody in the oboe and flutes. A traditional development section features many imitative contrapuntal moments until we are once again brought the opening themes, concluding with a brass fanfare.

The second movement, a scherzando titled Giuoco delle coppie (Game of pairs), prominently features pairs of instruments throughout the movement. It opens with two bassoons play- ing a jovial melody. Soon, two staccato oboes continue the theme until taken over by two clarinets. A cheerful second section features two flutes, two violas, and two trumpets. Each instrument throughout the section plays a different musical interval—the bassoons and oboes play consonant major sixth and thirds respectively, but the clarinets and trumpets play the more dissonant intervals of minor sevenths and major seconds, creating a natural tension and release between the instruments.

The third movement, Elegia, recalls the night music of the opening movement: a plaintive oboe is surrounded by birdcalls from the clarinet, piccolo, and strings. Slowly the strings take over the melody, and music becomes more flowing before a second theme featuring brass and strings comes to a climax. Bartók then returns us to the more gentle night music. The music brightens for a moment, and dies away gently with the piccolo.

The fourth movement, Intermezzo Interrotto (Interruped Intermezzo), features a folk-like melody that is juxtaposed against a march tune that parodies Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony—a work that Bartók famously loathed. The “interruption” happens in the middle of the movement with comical-sounding glissandi in the trombones before the march tune is haltingly brought back, which Bartók mocks by adding dissonances and pauses to the original tune.

The work closes with a fast and raucous finale, featuring the entire orchestra as solo-ists. Each section—the strings, the winds, brass, and percussion—is featured one by one. A central fugato section slows down the pace, but slowly the movement is brought to an intense and wild culmination that brings the concerto to a close.

—Christopher Cerrone

artist profiles

Jiyun Han violin

Jiyun Han was born in Seoul, Korea and moved to Germany at the age of three. She began studying violin at age 7 and started performing at 8, in venues including the Altes Rathaus and Stadthalle in Goettingen, Germany. In 1993 she gave her first concerto performance with orchestra, performing Haydn’s G major Concerto with the Goettingen Youth Symphony. During her years in Germany she was invited by the the Goettingen Symphony Orchestra to perform concertos by Mozart, Vieuxtemps, and Mozart in Goettingen and around Lower Saxony under Christian Simonis and Horst Langkamm. In 1997, she performed with the Polish Chamber Philharmonic and conductor Wojciech Rajski at the Classix Festival (former Braunschweiger Kammermusik-podium) in the Staatstheater of Braunschweig and Magdeburg. The concert in Magdeburg was broadcast live on Radio Berlin and Middle German Radio. She has also performed with the University of Kansas Symphony Orchestra.

In Germany she received lessons from Jens Ellermann at the Hochschule fuer Musik und Theater in Hannover. She studied with Ben Sayevich at the University of Kansas and then transferred to The Juilliard School to study with Hyo Kang. After receiving her BM from Juilliard, she continued her studies with Kang at the Yale School of Music, where she earned her MM and is now an Artist Diploma student.

She has participated in Chamberfest at Juilliard, Great Mountains Music Festival, the Interna- tional Musical Arts Institute, and Violinkurse Stein in Germany. She received prizes from Jugend Musiziert competitions in Germany (1992 and 1994), Fourth International Leopold Mozart Violin Competition (1999), and the 2009 Woolsey Concerto Competition.

Shinik Hahm conductor

Shinik Hahm was appointed Music Director of the Philharmonia Orchestra of Yale and professor of conducting at the Yale School of Music in 2004. One of the most dynamic and innovative conductors of our time, Hahm is a sought-after musician among top orchestras in North and South America, Europe, and Asia.

Hahm conducted the 2009 European tour of Germany’s prominent Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, including a concert at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. He made his Chinese debut with the country’s most pres- tigious orchestras, China Philharmonic and the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra. Since 2006 he has enjoyed a remarkable collaboration with Mexican orchestras. After a successful debut with the Mexico National Symphony and Xalapa Symphony Orchestras, the maestro was immediately re-engaged for coming sea-sons. His re-appearance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra at Disney Hall was likewise successful. His enthusiastic and creative music-making has distinguished Hahm as one of the most versatile conductors of his generation.

In 2006 Maestro Hahm completed his tenure as the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Daejeon (Korea) Philharmonic Orchestra. The DPO and Hahm performed in leading concert halls including Carnegie Hall, Kimmel Center (Philadelphia), Benaroya Hall (Seattle), Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall, and Osaka Symphony Hall. The orchestra benefited from his artistic leadership and sold out all concerts.

For a decade, Hahm served as music director of the Abilene (Texas) Philharmonic Orchestra, successfully converting the community ensemble into a professional regional orchestra. He was profiled on ABC’s World News Tonight for his central role in rejuvenating and revitalizing the Abilene community.

about yale philharmonia

The Philharmonia Orchestra of Yale is one of America’s fore- most music school ensembles. The largest performing group at the Yale School of Music, the Philharmonia offers superb training in orchestral playing and repertoire.

Performances include an annual series of concerts in Woolsey Hall, as well as Yale Opera productions in the Shubert Theater. The Yale Philharmonia has also performed on numerous occasions in Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and the Kennedy Center. The orchestra undertook its first tour of Asia in 2008, with acclaimed performances in the Seoul Arts Center, the Forbidden City Concert Hall and National Center for the Performing Arts (Beijing), and the Shanghai Grand Theatre.

violin 1Marc Daniel van Biemen, concertmasterHyerin KimAlissa CheungJane KimHyewon KimAnastasia MetlaYeseul Ann Evan ShallcrossHolly PiccoliYoorhi ChoiPiotr FilochowskiJae-Won BangHana HlozkovaNaria Kim

violin 2Marjolaine Lambert, principalSoo Ryun BaekSun Min HwangHanna NaYu-Ting HuangKa Chun Gary NganDomenic SalerniYoungsun KimEdson Scheid de AndradeJae-In ShinKensho WatanabeJu Hyung ShinQi Cao

violaVesselin Todorov, principalMinjung ChunEve TangChristopher WilliamsColin MeineckeMathilde Geismar RousselJanice LamarreEren TuncerAmina Myriam TebiniKristin Chai

celloSunhee Jeon, principalArnold ChoiSoo Jin ChungPhilo LeeNeena Deb-SenSifei WenJung Min HanJacques WoodYing ZhangWonsun KeemMo MoShannon Hayden

bassAlexander Smith, principalAleksey KlyushnikEric FischerNathaniel ChaseMichael LevinMark Wallace

flute & piccoloMindy Heinsohn, 2, 3*Christopher Matthews, 1*, 3 PiccoloDariya Nikolenko, 1 Piccolo, 2*, 3

oboeAlexandra Detyniecki, 1*Emily Holum, 3Steven Kramer, 1, 2Carl Oswald, 2*Andrew Parker, 3 English HornJoseph Peters, 3*

clarinetPaul Won Jin Cho, 1 , 2 E-flat ClarinetJaehee Choi, 1, 3*Soo Jin Huh, 2Emil Khudyev, 2*Sara Wollmacher, 3 Bass Clarinet bassoonThomas Fleming, 1*, 2*, 3Jennifer Hostler, 1, 2, 3 ContrabassoonScott Switzer, 3*

hornKatherine Herman, 1, 2Scott Holben, 1, 2*Christopher Jackson, 1, 3*Leelanee Sterrett, 2, 3 Ryan Stewart, 2, 3Elizabeth Upton, 1*, 3

trumpetPaul Florek, 3*Douglas Lindsey, 1*, 3Ryan Olsen, 1Kyle Sherman, 3Andreas Stoltzfus, 2*David Wharton, 2

tromboneBrian Reese, 1*, 2*, 3Ted Sonnier, 1, 2, 3*

bass tromboneJay Roberts, 3Craig Watson, 1, 2

tubaJerome Stover, 1Bethany Wiese, 3

harpKeturah Bixby, 1, 3*Maura Valenti, 1*, 3

percussionYun-Chu Chui, 1John Corkill, 2 TimpaniLeonardo Gorosito, 3Denis Petrunin, 1 TimpaniIan Rosenbaum, 1, 3Michael Zell, 3 Timpani

1- Performer in Verdi2- Performer in Bruch3- Performer in Bartók*- Denotes Principal Player

The Philharmonia Orchestra of Yale

shinik hahm Conductor

krista johnson Managing Director

renata steve Librarian

farkhad khudyev Assistant Conductor

adrian slywotsky Assistant Conductor

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