Chicago Philharmonic 2018-2019

THE CHICAGO PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY | FALL 2018 11 2018 2019 SEASON: ANDRZEJ BIAŁKO Franz Liszt (1811-1886) Prelude and Fugue for organ on the name B-A-C-H (1855) Franz Liszt was a true Renaissance man, as a proli c Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor, music teacher, arranger, organist, philanthropist, author, nationalist, and even a Franciscan tertiary. He was widely regarded as one of the greatest piano virtuosos of his time (or perhaps all time), and his compositions for piano and organ re ect his technical prowess. In the German system of note labeling in music, the lettering runs from A through H, rather than A through G in English. is allowed countless composers to ddle with the combination of notes “B-A-C-H”, including J.C. Bach himself in his iconic Art of the Fugue . In an homage to his predecessor, Liszt composed this prelude and fugue for organ. Anonymous from the Tablature of Jan of Lublin Salve Regina Polish organ tablatures, a form of music notation indicating instrument ngering rather than musical pitches, contain some of the oldest and most important sources of music in early European history. e largest and one of the most well known of these Polish tablatures is that of Jan of Lublin, a 16 th century composer and organist. A member of the Order of Canons Regular of the Lateran, in the Polish city of Kraśnik near Lublin, Jan of Lublinwas the owner and primary scribe of the works by various composers. In this tablature are some 250 compositions including liturgical pieces, motets, dances, and more. e Salve Regina, whose composer is unknown, is a hymn sung in the Catholic Church before the rst Sunday of Advent. Mieczysław Surzyński (1866 -1924) Elegy in F Sharp Minor, Op. 30 Mieczysław Surzyński was Poland’s foremost Romantic organ virtuoso and composer in the late 19 th and early 20 th centuries. A world traveler and performer, he worked in cathedrals and schools in St. Petersberg, Poznań, Kiev, and eventually Warsaw. He worked for several years in the Warsaw Philharmonic as a choir conductor and as an organist in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. Surzyński taught organ and counterpoint at the Warsaw Conservatory, and edited and wrote for the journal “Śpiew Kościelny.” In 1915 he was taken as a prisoner of war in Russia, returning to Poland shortly before his death in 1924. Surzyński’s Elegy in F Sharp Minor is brief and somber, centering on a simple grieving melody. It was likely composed for a religious setting such as a funeral. Chicago Philharmonic Festival: Poland 2018 Andrzej Białko, Organ Thursday, November 8 2018, 7:30pm St. John Cantius Church, Chicago Associate Pastor, Director of Liturgy and Music Chaplain of the Patrons of Sacred Music at St. John Cantius Fr. Scott A. Haynes S.J.C. speaker Franz Liszt (1811 - 1886) Prelude and Fugue for organ on the name B-A-C-H I. Präludium II. Fuge Anonymous from the Tablature of Jan of Lublin (ca. 1540) Salve Regina Mieczysław Surzyński (1866 - 1924) Elegy for organ in F Sharp Minor, Op. 30 Healey Willan (1880 - 1968) Five Preludes on Plainchant Melodies I. Aeterna Christi munera II. Christe, Redemptor omnium III. Ecce iam noctis IV. Ave maris stella V. Urbs Hierusalem beata Feliks Nowowiejski (1877 - 1946) Polish Phantasy "Christmas Eve on Wawel Hill" Op. 9, No. 1 Paweł Łukaszewski (b. 1968) Icon Petr Eben (1929 - 2007) Job VIII. God's Reward Performance time approximately 1 hour. Supported in part by