THE FLORIDA ORCHESTRA | 2017-2018 39
Program Notes
Haydn soon after his arrival, and he had profound affection
for and knowledge of Mozart’s work. At a performance of
Mozart’s C minor Piano Concerto (K. 491), he whispered to his
companion, John Cramer, “Cramer, Cramer! We shall never
be able to do anything like that!”
What To Listen For
The opening movement of the First Piano Concerto is
indebted to Mozart for its handling of the concerto-sonata
form, for its technique of orchestration, and for the manner in
which piano and orchestra are integrated. Beethoven added
to these quintessential qualities of the Classical concerto a
wider-ranging harmony, a more openly virtuosic role for the
soloist and a certain emotional weight characteristic of his
large works. The second movement is a richly colored song
with an important part for the solo clarinet. The rondo-finale
is written in an infectious manner reminiscent of Haydn,
brimming with high spirits and good humor.
JEAN SIBELIUS
SYMPHONY NO. 2 IN D MAJOR, OP. 43
Duration: ca. 43 minutes
Overview
Sibelius spent the early months of 1901 in Italy, away from
the rigors of the Scandinavian winter. So inspired was he by
the culture, history and beauty of the sunny south (as had
been Goethe and Brahms) that he envisioned a work based
on Dante’s Divine Comedy. However, a second symphony to
follow the first of 1899 was gestating, and the Dante work
was eventually abandoned. Sibelius was well launched on
the new Second Symphony by the time he left for home. He
made two important stops before returning to Finland. The
first was at Prague, where he met Dvořák; the second was to
hear performances of his works at the June Music Festival in
Heidelberg that enhanced his budding European reputation.
Still flush with the success of his 1901 tour when he arrived
home, he decided he was secure enough financially (thanks
in large part to an annual stipend initiated in 1897 by the
Finnish government) to leave his teaching job and devote
himself full-time to composition. Though it was to be almost
two decades before Finland became independent of Russia
as a result of the First World War, Sibelius had come into his
creative maturity by the time of the Second Symphony. So
successful was the work’s premiere on March 8, 1902, that
it had to be repeated at three successive concerts in a short
time to satisfy the clamor for further performances.
What To Listen For
The Second Symphony opens with an introduction in which
the strings present a chordal motive that courses through
and unifies much of the first movement. A bright, folk-like
strain for the woodwinds and a hymnal response from the
horns constitute the opening theme. The second theme
exhibits one of Sibelius’ most characteristic constructions
— a long-held note that intensifies to a quick rhythmic
flourish. This theme and a complementary one of angular
leaps and unsettled tonality close the exposition and figure
prominently in the ensuing development. A stentorian brass
chorale closes this section and leads to the recapitulation, a
compressed restatement of the earlier themes.
The second movement, though closely related to sonatina
form (sonata without development), is best heard as a series
of dramatic paragraphs whose strengths lie not just in their
individual qualities but also in their powerful juxtapositions.
The opening statement is given by bassoons in hollow
octaves above a bleak accompaniment of timpani with cellos
and basses in pizzicato notes. The upper strings and then full
orchestra take over the solemn plaint, but soon inject a new,
sharply rhythmic idea of their own that calls forth a halting
climax from the brass choir. After a silence, the strings intone
a mournful motive which soon engenders another climax.
A soft timpani roll begins the series of themes again, but
in expanded presentations with fuller orchestration and
greater emotional impact.
The third movement is a three-part form whose lyrical,
unhurried central trio, built on a repeated note theme,
provides a strong contrast to the mercurial surrounding
scherzo. The slow music of the trio returns as a bridge to
the sonata-form closing movement, which has a grand
sweep and uplifting spirituality that make it one of the last
unadulterated flowerings of the great Romantic tradition.
© 2018 Dr. Richard E. Rodda
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