Ravinia 2023 Issue 3

SIMON PAULY (CHEN); JOSH GOLEMAN (DENK) individual and modern as Stravinsky’s Rus- sianism or Debussy’s Gallic “impressionism.” Copland enjoyed increasing internation- al recognition over the next two decades, most lastingly with the famous “American” ballets ( Billy the Kid , Rodeo , and Appala- chian Spring ). Like many of his compatriots, though, equally widespread success eluded him in that most European of composition- al forms, the symphony. His two prewar essays—the Organ Symphony (1924; later arranged without organ as Symphony No. 1) and the Short Symphony (Symphony No. 2) from 1932–33—showed promise, but suffered respectively from a lack of musical depth and excessive brevity. While vacationing in Mexico during the sum- mer of 1944, Copland secretly began sketch- ing another orchestral work, at first as a con- certo but later transformed into a symphony. Serge Koussevitzky, the conductor of the Bos- ton Symphony Orchestra, provided a major impetus for completing the sketches when he commissioned a memorial work for his late wife, Natalie, a few months later. Close friends—ironically, unaware of the commis- sion—appealed to Copland for another sym- phony. Samuel Barber added his voice to this chorus of supporters in September 1944: “I hope you will knuckle down to a good sym- phony. We deserve it of you, and your career is all set for it.” Copland, sensing the daunting legacy of this centuries-long tradition, would not be rushed into completing his music. Koussevitzky’s musical personality offered early direction. “I knew exactly the kind of music he enjoyed conducting and the senti- ments he brought to it, and I knew the sound of his orchestra, so I had every reason to do my darndest to write a symphony in the grand manner.” As composition progressed over the next two years, global events also exerted a strong influence on the symphon- ic writing. An infectious mood of optimism swept across the United States after the end of World War II. Copland, consciously striving Aaron Copland to “reflect the euphoric spirit of the coun- try,” incorporated his brilliant Fanfare for the Common Man (at the time, a relatively unknown work commissioned by conductor Eugene Goossens and the Cincinnati Sym- phony Orchestra to open the 1943–44 concert season) in the finale. Copland conceived his Third Symphony “in the general form of an arch,” peaking in the Allegro moderato scherzo, concluding with a coda-like finale, and unified by references to the first movement’s themes throughout. The score exudes an identifiably Coplandesque quality throughout, although distinct refer- ences to other symphonists also surface. The plaintive, expansive opening theme echoes the open-air lyricism of his ballets, especial- ly Appalachian Spring . However, the manner by which Copland derives—or, more meta- phorically, grows—later ideas from this sim- ple earthy melody recalls Mahler. The Allegro moderato emulates, in no small degree, the propulsive scherzos of Prokofiev (especially its wandering chromaticism) and Shostakov- ich (the repetitive, driving rhythms and the prominent role assigned the snare drum). Copland resumes his contrapuntal “outdoor” style in the central trio section. The Andantino quasi allegretto opens by brief- ly restating a first-movement theme before the flute introduces a tender melody that in- spires a series of continuous variations. Frag- ments of the Fanfare for the Common Man appear in a transitional woodwind and string passage that leads directly into a brassy ren- dition of this familiar material. The substan- tially revised Fanfare serves as the principal theme of this “longest movement of the Sym- phony, and closest in structure to the custom- ary sonata-allegro form,” according to Cop- land. This majestic music fuels an enormous crescendo, climaxing in a final restatement of the symphony’s opening theme. Musicians, critics, and concertgoers strug- gled to assess this score’s place within sym- phonic tradition. Reviews of the premiere, which Koussevitzky and the Boston Sympho- ny Orchestra gave on October 18, 1946, were divided: some praising its nobility, others de- crying its “popularist tendencies” and “trium- phalism.” Leonard Bernstein described this symphony as an American monument “like the Washington Monument or the Lincoln Memorial,” although even he insisted on cuts in the final movement. However, the judg- ment that mattered most to Copland came from Koussevitzky, who called it “the great- est American symphony,” a pronouncement challenged by few works in the decades since. –Program notes © 2023 Todd E. Sullivan MEI-ANN CHEN A native of Taiwan, Mei-Ann Chen studied violin and conducting at the New England Conservatory, simultaneously completing master’s degrees in both disciplines, and lat- er earned a doctorate in conducting from the University of Michigan. Having lived in the United States since 1989, she also honed her conducting skills at the American Academy of Conducting in Aspen and the National Conducting Institute in Washington, DC. Chen has since earned such honors as the top prize of the 2005 Malko Competition (where she returned as a jurist in 2021 after becom- ing the first and still only woman winner), the 2007 Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship, and the 2012 Helen M. Thompson Award from the League of American Orchestras. In 2015 she was named one of Musical America ’s top 30 influencers. The music director of the Chica- go Sinfonietta since 2011, Chen became chief conductor of Austria’s Recreation Grosses Orchester Graz at Styriarte in 2021, having been the ensemble’s first-ever principal guest conductor for two seasons prior, and she be- gan a new role as artistic partner of North- west Sinfonietta this past fall. She has also been serving as the first-ever artistic partner of Houston’s River Oaks Chamber Orchestra since 2019, with past appointments including artistic director of the National Taiwan Sym- phony Orchestra Summer Festival (2016–21) and music director of the Memphis Sym- phony (2010–16), where she is Conductor Laureate. Highly sought as a guest conduc- tor internationally, Chen has appeared with over 120 orchestras, in the past year debuting with Germany’s Staatsorchester Darmstadt, Orchestre national Capitole Toulouse (her French debut), and, in the US, the the Hawaii Symphony and Rochester and Buffalo Phil- harmonics. Recent highlights include appear- ances with the BBC Symphony in London, Helsinki and Oslo Philharmonics, Malmö and Norrlands Operas, and Spain’s Basque National Orchestra. Chen’s guest credits also include the Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, De- troit, Houston, Indianapolis, National, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, and Vancouver Symphonies, as well as numerous Scandinavian ensembles, the São Paulo State Symphony, and Türkiye’s Bilkent in Ankara, among many others. Mei-Ann Chen made her Ravinia debut in 2016 and most recently returned in 2021 with the Chicago Sinfonietta. JEREMY DENK Not only one of the foremost pianists in North America, Jeremy Denk is a New York Times bestselling author with his 2022 mem- oir Every Good Boy Does Fine , and he has been honored across his career as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sci- ences and winner of both a MacArthur “Ge- nius” Fellowship and the Avery Fisher Prize. The Oberlin College, Indiana University, and the Juilliard School graduate recently held a multi-concert residency at the Lammermuir Festival in Scotland, and his performances over the past year have also included leading the Orchestra of St. Luke’s from the keyboard in Bach concertos at Carnegie Hall, a US tour with the Takács Quartet, and continuing his multi-season exploration of Bach’s Well-Tem- pered Clavier , Book 1. In addition to regular appearances at Carnegie Hall, Denk has also been a recent guest of such ensembles as the Chicago and San Francisco Symphonies, Cleveland and Philadelphia Orchestras, and Los Angeles and New York Philharmonics. Further afield, he has performed multiple times at the BBC Proms and Klavierfestival Ruhr as well as appeared in such halls as Co- logne’s Philharmonie, Amsterdam’s Concert- gebouw, and Berlin’s Boulez Saal. Denk has also performed extensively across the UK, including recently with the London and Roy- al Liverpool Philharmonics, Bournemouth and City of Birmingham Symphonies, Scot- tish Chamber Orchestra, and, leading from the keyboard, the Britten Sinfonia. Highlights from last season include performances of John Adams’s Must the Devil Have All The Great Tunes? with the Cleveland Orchestra, Saint Louis Symphony, and Seattle Symphony, as well as a return to the San Francisco Sym- phony to perform Messiaen under Esa Pekka Salonen. An acclaimed recording artist, Denk most recently released an album of Mozart piano concertos with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra on Nonesuch, and his 2013 record- ing of Bach’s Goldberg Variations on the label reached number one on Billboard ’s classical charts. Jeremy Denk was a Ravinia Steans Music Institute fellow in 1992 and staff collab- orating pianist in 1993–95, then gave his first solo Ravinia concert in 1998. He most recent- ly returned in 2013, performing as a member of the RSMI faculty, and this marks his ninth season at Ravinia. RAVINIA MAGAZINE • JULY 17 – JULY 30, 2023 42 SIMON PAULY (CHEN); JOSH GOLEMAN (DENK)