Ravinia 2021 - Issue 1

TODD ROSENBERG (OSORIO) according to his own concerto formula, ex- pressed a few years earlier in reference to oth- er works: “These concertos are a happy medi- um between what is too easy and too difficult; they are very brilliant, pleasing to the ear and natural, without being vapid. There are passages here and there from which connois- seurs alone can derive satisfaction; but these passages are written in such a way that the less learned cannot fail to be pleased, though without knowing why.” Instrumentation partly accounts for the warm impression left by this concerto. There are two clarinets (Mozart includes this instru- ment for the first time in the three concertos of 1786) but no oboes. This concerto often re- ceives special mention for its near-ideal for- mal design. However, numerous surprises lie just under the surface. The expressive content gains richness through extremes. Abraham Veinus wrote, “the mood of the concerto is difficult to define. It is neither wholly nor in part a comedy or a tragedy or something in between … like the late Shakespearean plays, its essence lies in an elusive series of emotion- al contradictions.” The Allegro opens with a two-theme orches- tral statement, soon taken over by the solo pi- ano. New melodic material does not emerge until the development, delayed according to the composer’s typical design. Mozart re- shuffles his themes in the recapitulation, then leaves space for a solo cadenza (his own has survived). The Adagio plunges to the key of F-sharp minor, a rare choice for Mozart. Musical poeticism arises from the conflicting union of melodic simplicity and haunting, expressive depth. With great jubilation, the rondo finale issues a continuous flow of me- lodic ideas. Not long after the premiere, Wolfgang offered his private stock of show pieces to Josef Wen- zeslaus, Prince Fürstenberg of Donaueschin- gen. Mozart sent a works catalogue, includ- ing the three Lenten concertos of 1786, from which the prince might purchase recent music. Regarding the A-major concerto, he suggested that a solo violin and viola (over- looking another obvious solution—two oboes) might transpose the clarinet parts, if no single-reed instruments were available. The ambitious musician pressed for a long- term arrangement with the court, but none ever materialized. LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770–1827) Symphony No. 7 in A major, op. 92 Score for pairs of flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns, and trumpets, timpani, and strings A wave of popularity swept Beethoven into the second decade of the 19th century. The triumphant spirit of the Viennese, undi- minished during the Napoleonic invasions, resounded in his heroic compositions. Bee- thoven’s music was revered as a national trea- sure during the Congress of Vienna (1814–15), whose assembled monarchs sought to restore peace and order in Europe. Kings, tsars, em- presses, aristocrats, and other notables paid their homage to the composer, if only for the moment. Ironically, Beethoven expressed his patrio- tismmost often in cantatas and hymns, forms more fashionable in Paris than in Vienna. There also was Wellington’s Victory (known as the “Battle Symphony”), originally for the panharmonicon, a mechanical organ by Jo- hann Nepomuk Maelzel, the inventor of the metronome and a clock maker. Beethoven orchestrated this music in 1813. Pure sym- phonic composition from this period was reserved for broad sentiments, such as grand Romantic heroism (No. 3 [“Eroica”] and No. 5), scenes of rural life (No. 6 [“Pastoral”]) and classicism (No. 8 and, somewhat less so, No. 4). The distinction between nationalist, pastoral, and heroic expressions was bridged, at least in the minds of Beethoven’s contemporaries, in the Symphony No. 7. Numerous program- matic descriptions by other musicians soon appeared in print. Beethoven railed against these fanciful imaginings of battles, triumph over oppression, drunken revelry, bucolic meadows, and merrymaking. The music’s pa- triotic associations, however, were almost im- possible to overlook. Beethoven introduced the symphony to the Viennese public on December 8, 1813, at a benefit concert for Austrian and Bavarian soldiers injured at the Battle of Hanau. This work was followed by two trifles by Dussek and Pleyel for orchestra with the “mechanical trumpeter” invented by Maelzel (who spon- sored the concert) and Beethoven’s Welling- ton’s Victory . This musical celebration lifted battle-weary spirits and added to the relief fund on the eve of the Congress of Vienna. Ludwig van Beethoven by Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller (1823) Unusual collegiality among the Viennese mu- sicians surrounded this concert. Ignaz Schup- panzigh led the violins while Ludwig Spohr and Joseph Mayseder sat back in the section. The percussionists included piano virtuoso Johann Nepomuk Hummel and Antonio Sa- lieri, the imperial Kapellmeister. This unified devotion of the musicians impressed all who attended. Audiences and critics accorded the symphony special praise. The review in the Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung was effusive: “The new symphony in particular fully de- served the loud applause and the exception- ally warm reception that greeted it. One must hear this newest work of Beethoven’s genius as ably performed as it was here to appreciate fully its beauty and to enjoy it to the utmost. …The Andante [the second movement, later retitled Allegretto ] had to be repeated, and de- lighted musicians and amateurs alike.” The Symphony No. 7 in A major, op. 92— composed in 1812 and 1813—begins with the most expansive slow introduction of Beetho- ven’s symphonic catalogue. Faster, dance-like rhythms prevail in the main portion of the movement. Prominent writing for the winds lends a pastoral atmosphere. A sustained chord in the winds fades into the main theme of the Allegretto . At first, the haunting melody appears in the low strings. The theme gradu- ally rises from the depths of the orchestra in a series of variations, each time outfitted with an expressive countermelody. Beethoven in- terjects a new melody in the clarinet and bas- soon midway through the movement. The Presto presents a frolicking, staccato theme. Twice a rustic melody interrupts. Alexander Wheelock Thayer, Beethoven’s biographer, suggested that this theme was an actual Austrian pilgrimage hymn. The fi- nale is taut and propulsive. Spirited, almost militaristic, rhythmic patterns unify this movement. Brass and timpani are employed to great effect. This rousing music provides a triumphant conclusion to the symphony. –Program notes © 2021 Todd E. Sullivan MARIN ALSOP, conductor For Marin Alsop’s biography, see page 62. JORGE FEDERICO OSORIO, piano Jorge Federico Osorio began piano studies in his native Mexico at age 5 with his mother, Luz María Puente, and later attended music conservatories in Mexico, Paris, and Moscow, under such teachers as Bernard Flavigny, Mo- nique Haas, and Jacob Milstein. His mentors also include Nadia Reisenberg and Wilhelm Kempff, and he is now a faculty member of Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts. Osorio’s numerous honors include the Medalla Bellas Artes, the highest honor given by Mexico’s National Institute of Fine Arts, as well as the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s Gina Bachauer Award. Concert tours have taken him to Europe, Asia, and the Americas with such ensembles as Chi- cago, Cincinnati, Dallas, Detroit, Pittsburgh, and Seattle Symphony Orchestras; the Israel, Warsaw, and Royal Philharmonics; the state orchestras of Moscow, France, and Mexico; and London’s Philharmonia Orchestra and Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw Orchestra. Os- orio’s Ravinia highlights include playing all five of Beethoven’s piano concertos over two nights in 2010, and he has also performed at the Hollywood Bowl and the Newport and Grant Park Festivals, among others. Also making regular recital appearances across North America, he has recently performed in Los Angeles, Berkeley, Boston, Chicago, Mex- ico City, and Xalapa with overseas engage- ments recently including Aix en Provence, San José (Costa Rica), and Rio de Janeiro. As a chamber musician, Osorio has performed in a trio with violinist Mayumi Fujikawa and cellist Richard Markson; has collaborated with Yo-Yo Ma, Ani Kavafian, Elmar Oliveira, Henryk Szeryng, and the Pacifica and Mos- cow Quartets; and was previously artistic director of Mexico’s Brahms Chamber Music Festival. A prolific recording artist, he earned praise from Gramophone for a solo Brahms disc and has also been featured playing con- certos by Beethoven, Brahms, Chávez, Ponce, Ravel, and Rodrigo, among many others. His many albums on Cedille, EMI, Naxos, and other labels have established him as one of the world’s greatest interpreters of Hispanic piano music. Jorge Federico Osorio made his Ravinia debut in 1998 and tonight makes his 10th appearance at the festival. RAVINIA MAGAZINE • JULY 1 – JULY 23, 2021 46