Ravinia 2023 Issue 4

LAURA THIESBRUMMEL (HEYWARD); SOPHIE ZHAI (BEILMAN) I ; I I I lacked a true understanding of its technical capabilities. Detailed advice from Joseph Joa- chim—the virtuoso who also collaborated with Brahms on his violin concerto—lessened his insecurities. Out of gratitude, Bruch dedi- cated the Violin Concerto No. 1 to Joachim. Novelties of construction and musical sub- stance had Bruch considering the title “fanta- sy” instead of “concerto.” The first movement is styled as a Vorspiel (Prelude) with orches- tral statements interrupted by rhapsodic vi- olin interludes. A single pitch connects this movement with the lyrical Adagio . Bruch in- stills a Hungarian flair in the finale, a tribute to the style for which Joachim was justifiably renowned. After a thorough analysis of the work, Joachim wrote to Bruch: “As to your ‘doubts,’ I am happy to say, in conclusion, that I find the title ‘concerto’ fully justified; for the name ‘fantasy’ the last two movements are actually too completely and symmetrically developed; the different parts are brought to- gether in a beautiful relationship, and yet there is sufficient contrast, which is the main point.” SERGE RACHMANINOFF (1873–1943) Symphonic Dances , op. 45 Scored for two flutes and piccolo, two oboes and English horn, two clarinets and bass clarinet, alto saxophone, two bassoons and contrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, triangle, tambourine, glockenspiel, xylophone, tam-tam, bells, cymbal, bass drum, harp, piano, and strings Rachmaninoff closed the door on each facet of his career one-by-one. The stream of com- positions slowed rapidly after his move to the United States in 1935, finally running dry in 1940. Rachmaninoff made his final appear- ance as conductor in Chicago, the ultimate stop of the “Rachmaninoff Cycle” in March 1941. His last concert tour as pianist was scheduled for the 1942–43 season. However, death robbed Rachmaninoff of the eagerly anticipated retirement. The Symphonic Dances , op. 45 (1940)—his final composition—offer a musical synopsis of Rachmaninoff ’s life and career. Originally, these three movements formed a ballet score for Mikhail Fokine bearing the title Fantas- tic Dances , with the individual movements Max Bruch and Joseph Joachim called “Noon,” “Evening,” and “Midnight.” Descriptive labels were later removed, the ballet plans were scuttled, and the set was renamed Symphonic Dances . A week after completing the music, the composer offered the score to Eugene Ormandy and the Phila- delphia Orchestra, who gave the premiere on January 3, 1941. Rachmaninoff explained the final title during an interview in the New York World-Telegram (October 17, 1940): “It should have been called just ‘Dances,’ but I was afraid people would think I had written dance music for jazz or- chestras.” It seems doubtful that anyone would confuse the late-Romantic symphonist with a big-band composer, but perhaps this droll assertion alluded to the prominent alto saxophone theme in the first movement. Rachmaninoff sought the advice of composer and arranger Robert Russell Bennett while preparing this, his first saxophone part. Based on musical quotations in the Dances , one suspects that the original movement ti- tles suggested the passing of Rachmaninoff ’s own days. A vigorous march begins the Non allegro . Later, the saxophone solo imparts a melancholy air. Material from the Symphony No. 1 in D minor, op. 13 (1895)—a piece of his early maturity maligned by many but prized by the composer—appears toward the end as a string and wind chorale. The Andante con moto waltzes with élan. Occasionally, the dance-like triple meter grinds to a halt, only to resume newly embroidered by woodwinds and a solo violin. Rachmaninoff ’s web of allu- sions thickens in the final movement, as the cycle of life comes to its completion. Strains of his All-Night Vigil , op. 37 (1915), suggest a late-hour setting. Another prominent melody recalls the “Dies irae” chant from the Requi- em Mass, which he also incorporated in nu- merous other compositions. Rachmaninoff ’s inscription on the score hints at the serene closure brought by the Symphonic Dances : “I thank Thee, Lord.” –Program notes © 2023 Todd E. Sullivan Serge Rachmaninoff (1940) JONATHON HEYWARD Currently Music Director Designate of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Jonathon Heyward will begin his five-year contract with the ensemble this fall. His selection was unanimous following his 2022 BSO debut leading the orchestra’s first performances of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 15 and imme- diate reengagement to lead a benefit concert for Ukraine. Heyward is also in his second year as Chief Conductor of the Nordwest- deutsche Philharmonie, and two summers ago he held a two-week residency with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, which led to a highly acclaimed BBC Proms debut. His guest conducting credits across the UK have grown to include the London and BBC Symphonies, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and he has also appeared with the Irish National Symphony Orchestra. In continental Europe, Heyward’s recent debuts span the Castil- la y León in Spain, MDR-Sinfonieorchester in Germany, Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine in France, Basel Symphony and Lausanne Chamber Orchestra in Switzer- land, Brussels Philharmonic and Flanders and Antwerp Symphonies in Belgium, Phil- harmonie Zuidnederland in the Netherlands, Kristiansand Symphony in Norway, and Lahti Symphony in Finland. Following a successful debut with the National Symphony Orchestra at Wolf Trap, Heyward added debuts with the Atlanta, Detroit, Houston, Saint Louis, and San Diego Symphonies, as well as at the Grant Park and Mostly Mozart Festivals. Also at home on the opera stage, he recently debuted at the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden leading Hannah Kendall’s Knife of Dawn , hav- ing previously ledWeill’s Lost in the Stars with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and the world premiere of Giorgio Battistelli’s Wake for the Birmingham Opera Company. Born in Charleston, SC, Heyward began his musi- cal training on cello at age 10. Following con- ducting studies at the Boston Conservatory of Music, he entered London’s Royal Academy of Music to work with Sian Edwards. Before leaving the RAM, he was appointed assistant conductor of the Hallé Orchestra, where he was mentored by Sir Mark Elder and became Music Director of the Hallé Youth Orchestra. Jonathon Heyward is making his Ravinia and Chicago Symphony Orchestra debuts. BENJAMIN BEILMAN An internationally acclaimed violinist, Benja- min Beilman has been honored with a Borlet- ti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship, an Avery Fisher Career Grant, and a London Music Masters Award following his studies at the Curtis In- stitute of Music—where in 2022 he became one of the youngest artists to be appointed to the faculty—and with Christian Tetzlaff at the Kronberg Academy. Beilman is an artistic ad- visor to the Lobero Theatre Chamber Music Project in California, and he performs regu- larly at the major recital and chamber music halls around the world, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Amsterdam’s Concert- gebouw, the Philharmonies of Berlin and Co- logne, Wigmore Hall, the Louvre, and Tokyo’s Bunka Kaikan, as well as at such festivals as Verbier, Aix-en-Provence Easter, Prague Dvořák, Robeco Summer Concerts in Am- sterdam, Music@Menlo, Marlboro, and Seat- tle Chamber Music. He has toured extensive- ly across the US with a work he premiered in 2018 by Frederic Rzewski that was dedicated to the political activist Angela Davis. Ove the past year, Beilman premiered a chamber work by Gabriella Smith and made debuts with the Hamburg and Trondheim Symphonies per- forming Prokofiev’s First Concerto, the Oslo Philharmonic with Barber’s concerto, and the Taipei Symphony with Tchaikovsky’s concer- to. He also toured Australasia for concerts with the West Australian Symphony Orches- tra, Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, and the Tasmania Symphony, and he appeared with the Detroit Symphony performing Men- delssohn. Past seasons’ highlights include performances of Coleridge-Taylor’s concerto with the Indianapolis, Toledo, and Charlotte Symphonies, as well as the premiere of a con- certo by Chris Rogerson with the Kansas City Symphony. In Europe, Beilman recently de- buted with the BBC Scottish Symphony and returned to the Tonkünstler Orchestra, with whom he recorded a concerto by Thomas Larcher. He has been a guest of many more orchestras worldwide, including the Lon- don and Rotterdam Philharmonics, Zurich’s Tonhalle Orchestra, Frankfurt and Swedish Radio Symphonies, Minnesota and Philadel- phia Orchestras, and the Antwerp, Chicago, Houston, Sydney, and Toulouse Symphonies. Benjamin Beilman first appeared at Ravinia with Curtis on Tour in 2010 and returned in 2013 to give a solo recital. RAVINIA.ORG • RAVINIA MAGAZINE 37