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Estonian conductor Anu Tali conducts Arvo Pärt’s shimmering and contemplative Fourth Symphony. Janina Fialkowska, one of Canada’s most revered pianists, performs Chopin’s First Piano Concerto in celebration of the 200th anniversary of his birth. The light-hearted overture to Hector Berlioz’ comic opera based on Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing is pure musical delight.
Learn more about the performance at Symphony Prelude: 7:15 pm in the Upper Circle (Third Level) Lobby with Lucas Waldin.
Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1
Berlioz: Béatrice et Bénédict: Overture
Pärt: Symphony No. 4 “Los Angeles”
Ticket Information
$71 Dress Circle (A)$61 Terrace (B)
$52 Orchestra (C)
$38 Upper Circle (D)
$28 Gallery (E)
$20 Orchestra Front (F)
Tickets subject to applicable service charges.
Subscriptions to the Landmark Classic Masters series are currently available.
The same program will be performed on Friday, October 15, 2010.
The next Landmark Classic Masters performance is Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto on November 13, 2010.
Thank you to our series sponsor:
Thank you to our series media sponsor:
Program Information
Berlioz: Béatrice et Bénédict: Overture (8')*
Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Opus 11 (44')*
Janina Fialkowska, piano
Intermission
Pärt: Symphony No. 4 “Los Angeles” (36')*
*Indicates approximate performance duration
Program Notes
Béatrice et Bénédict: Overture
Hector Berlioz (b. Côte-Saint-André, Isère, 1803 / d. Paris, 1869)
First performance of the opera: August 9, 1862 in Baden-Baden
Last ESO performance: September 2002
Those familiar with Shakespeare’s comedy Much Ado About Nothing will instantly understand the premise of Hector Berlioz’ two-act opera Béatrice et Bénédict. Berlioz was a lifelong admirer of the works of Shakespeare, and Berlioz himself wrote the libretto for his operatic take on the story.
A unique feature of Berlioz’ version is the presence of the character Somarone the Kapellmeister, a person not in Shakespeare’s original. This character’s signature motif – a dull, repeated fugue – is the composer’s acerbic spoof of musical stoicism in general, and the music of Cherubini (for whom Beriloz had little regard) in particular. This does not figure into the engaging overture to the opera, however.
Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op.11
Fryderyk Chopin (b. Źelazola Wola, Poland, 1810 / d. Paris, 1849)
First performance: October 11, 1830 in Warsaw
Last ESO performance: February 2006
Chopin composed both of his piano concertos before leaving his native Poland as a young man. They are works of youth, and moreover, they are works influenced by the bravura pianism he was exposed to as a youth. While fed a steady diet of Bach by his teacher, Chopin’s concert experiences were limited to the touring virtuosi of the day – composer/pianists such as Hummel and Kalkbrenner who toured all over Europe with their flashy showcase concertos.
So it’s no wonder that Chopin’s two youthful ventures into the concerto repertoire are in a similar vein. The concerto published as the first was actually written after the other; misplacing of parts of the score of the F minor Concerto resulted in this evening’s concerto getting published first. Chopin performed the premiere at his last public appearance before leaving Poland for Paris.
In a work dominated by the piano, the orchestra at least gets the first say, introducing much of the material on which the opening movement is based. The piano enters with its own treatment of the music, then establishes itself with a plaintive song in C, although there is some lovely string writing and an effective part for bassoon (William Harrison). The final section of the movement brings it back to the home key; listen for some daring left-hand piano passages here.
The slow movement begins with strings and horns, but a very Chopinesque piano nocturne soon takes over. Chopin himself said the movement is, “sustained in a romantic vein, tranquil and somewhat melancholy.” A unique shift in the strings to C-sharp minor leads directly into the final movement, a rondo for which the main tune is a lively E Major theme set to a traditional Polish dance called the krakowiak. The whole finale is lively and full of virtuoso piano work, and a touch of humour as well. As the coda begins, it does so seemingly in the wrong key – E-flat; then it “restarts” back in the proper key and dashes to its conclusion.
Symphony No. 4 “Los Angeles”
Arvo Pärt (b. Paide, Estonia, 1935)
First performance: January 9, 2009 in Los Angeles
This is the ESO premiere of the piece
Until the mid 1970s, Arvo Pärt composed largely in conventional contemporary modes. But when he discovered “tintinnabulation,” it changed his music significantly. Last season, the Edmonton Symphony performed Fratres, a short work in tintinnabulation style. Tonight, we present the premiere Edmonton performance of his latest work in that style.
“When a single note is beautifully played…this one note, or a silent beat…comforts me. I work with very few elements,” Pärt has said. The commission he received for a new symphony for the Los Angeles Philharmonic came at a serendipitous moment. At the time he got the commission, he happened to be working with an ancient canon, a prayer to a guardian angel, so to write a work for the orchestra in “the City of Angels” seemed most apt. The three movement work opens with sustained chords in the strings in a long, slow descent from a high E – a gossamer beginning that leads to an aggressive middle section introduced by timpani thumps, in which the strings pass through a series of minor chords, with strong percussion accents. After a pause, the movement ends in quiet reflection.
The second movement begins with blocks of pizzicato chords, ushering in a lyrical, sorrowful passage in the lower strings, punctured by marimba and more pizzicato. These two core ideas alternate, moody and restless, ever so gradually rousing to a climax full of dark energy which ebbs away to another somber song which carries the movement to its quiet, almost unsure, end. The final movement begins almost as the opening one does, on a G-sharp minor chord, but now moves quickly to A minor. Tonal ambiguity is played up strongly here; following a brief, piercing violin solo, the undulating music seems at times to point to A minor, sometimes to A Major. Percussion punctuation leads to an odd march section, as gradually the lower-voiced instruments fall by the wayside, leaving the marimba and timpani to have the last, delicate word.
Program Notes © 2010 by D.T. Baker
Artist Info
Anu Tali, conductor
As one of the most intriguing young conductors on the scene today, Anu Tali was born in Estonia, where she began her musical training as a pianist, graduating from the Tallinn Conservatory in 1991, and continuing her studies at the Estonian Academy of Music as a conductor. From 1998 to 2000, Ms. Tali studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. Since 1995, she has regularly attended Jorma Panula's masterclasses at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and Moscow.
Together with her twin sister Kadri, Anu Tali founded the Nordic Symphony Orchestra in 1997 in order to develop cultural contacts between Estonia and Finland, and unite musicians from around the world. In 2007, the orchestra had its first European tour. Ms. Tali appears regularly with orchestras in Estonia and worldwide. She has worked with many of the major orchestras in Germany, and in 2006, made her debut at the Salzburg Festival, and at the Savonlinna Opera Festival. Anu Tali and the Nordic Symphony made their debut recording in 2002 with Swan Flight, earning her the 2003 Echo Classics Young Artist of the Year.
Janina Fialkowska, piano
Janina Fialkowska has enchanted audiences for over 30 years with her glorious lyrical sound, her sterling musicianship, and her profound sense of musical integrity. Born to a Canadian mother and a Polish father in Montréal, Janina Fialkowska started to study the piano with her mother at the age of five. Eventually she entered the École de Musique Vincent d'Indy, studying under the tutelage of Mlle. Yvonne Hubert. The University of Montréal awarded her both advanced degrees of “Baccalaureat” and “Maitrise” by the time she was only 17. In 1969, she won first prize in the Radio Canada National Talent Festival, and traveled to Paris to study with Yvonne Lefebure. One year later, she entered the Juilliard School of Music in New York. In 1974 her career was launched by Arthur Rubinstein after her prize-winning performance at his inaugural Master Piano Competition in Israel.
Janina Fialkowska has performed with the foremost North American and European orchestras, as with all of the principal Canadian orchestras. In October 2002 Ms. Fialkowska was appointed Officer of the Order of Canada. In January, 2002 at the onset of a major European tour, Ms. Fialkowska’s career was brought to a dramatic halt by the discovery of a tumour in her left arm. After successful surgery to remove the cancer, she underwent further surgery in January 2003; a rare muscle-transfer procedure. After 18 months of performing the Ravel and Prokofiev "concertos for the left hand" which she transcribed for her right hand, she has resumed her two-handed career. Ms. Fialkowska’s recent recordings include performances of piano concertos by Chopin and Mozart in authentic versions. Both were released to highest critical acclaim. Just released for the 2010 Chopin bicentennial: a Chopin recital, her third collaboration with the successful Canadian ATMA classique label.
Multimedia
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Tickets to this performance go on sale on Tuesday, August 17 at 10 am. Until then, the performance is only available as part of a subscription package, which may be purchased through the box office at 780-428-1414. Reply | Reply with quote | Quote
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