Classical Concert VI: Season Finale May 11, 2008 | 3:00 PM | Bangor Auditorium Selections from Famous Fifths Schubert - Mozart - Tchaikovsky - Beethoven - Mahler - Shostakovich Schubert: Symphony no. 5 in B-flat major, D. 485 Mozart: Symphony no. 5 in B-flat major, K. 22 Tchaikovsky: Symphony no. 5 in E minor, Op. 64 Beethoven: Symphony no. 5 in C minor, Op. 67 Mahler: Symphony no. 5 in C-sharp minor Shostakovich: Symphony no. 5 in D minor, Op. 47 Program Notes by Laura Artesani, D.M.A. Symphony in B-flat major, no. 5 by Franz Schubert Finale: Allegro vivace During Schubert’s nineteenth year, he worked as an assistant master at his father’s school in Vienna. He also composed 150 songs, as well as 50 additional works for chorus, orchestra, piano, and various chamber ensembles. During this time, he unsuccessfully applied for a position as Director of Music at a college in Laibach. He was also disappointed when a package of songs that he sent to Goethe (consisting of settings of Goethe’s poems) was returned without comment. He responded to these setbacks by composing his Fifth Symphony in four weeks; it was completed on October 3, 1816. It was performed only once during Schubert’s lifetime, by an amateur orchestra in which he played viola. In contrast to his Fourth (Tragic) Symphony, Schubert’s Fifth Symphony sparkles with optimism and good humor. Reminiscent of the symphonies of Haydn and Mozart, it is scored for one flute, two oboes, two bassoons, two horns, and strings; there are no trumpets, clarinets, or timpani. The finale is in sonata form, with a lively opening theme followed by a second theme that has been described as “tinged with wistfulness.” The movement concludes with a codetta that features whirling triplets, bringing the symphony to a rousing conclusion. Symphony no. 5 in B-flat major, K. 22 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Mozart’s Symphony in B flat major, K. 22 was composed when the composer was nine years old, probably at the Hague, where he performed in several concerts with his older sister, Maria Anna (“Nannerl”). It is generally considered to be a buffa symphony, a style that he learned from Johann Christian Bach, son of Johann Sebastian Bach. Originally intended as a prelude to an opera, the buffa symphony evolved into a concert piece with the form of a lively opening Allegro, an expressive, refined Andante, and a Presto finale in 3/8 meter. The buffa symphony was intended to be lighthearted, graceful and entertaining. Although this symphony fits this description, it is interesting to note that at age nine, Mozart had already begun to add his own individual touches, particularly in the opening movement. These include an orchestral crescendo in the Mannheim style, the use of imitation, and a ritornello construction, wherein the theme returns four times. It is interesting to note that there is a passage in the finale that is reminiscent of an episode in The Marriage of Figaro, which was written twenty years later. Symphony no. 5 in E minor, Op. 64 by Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky Finale: Andante maestoso- Allegro vivace- Moderato assai e molto maestoso Tchaikovsky composed his Fifth Symphony during the summer of 1888 and conducted its premiere in St. Petersburg the following November. Written eleven years after his Fourth Symphony, the composer was determined to show the world that he was still able to produce a successful symphonic work. As he stated, “I am dreadfully anxious to prove not only to others, but also to myself, that I am not yet played out as a composer. . .The beginning was difficult; now, however, inspiration seems to have come. . .I have to squeeze it from my dulled brain. . .It seems to me that I have not blundered, that it has turned out well.” As with his Fourth and Sixth Symphonies, Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony is built upon a “Fate” theme which appears in every movement. In the opening movement of the symphony, this theme is heavy and ominous. However, in the finale, it takes on a different light. It is first heard in the quiet opening of the finale, in E major. As the movement progresses in sonata allegro form, the theme is not merely quoted but pervades the entire texture. After a dramatic false ending consisting of six consecutive B major chords, Schubert launches into a coda that is as long as the development section. At last, the “Fate” theme triumphantly appears, transformed into the major mode. After accelerating to a presto, the tempo broadens for the inspiring finish. Tchaikovsky’s fears about being “played out” as a composer were completely unfounded; after the success of his Fifth Symphony, he went on to compose the scores for Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, his Sixth Symphony (Pathétique), and many other works. Symphony no. 5 in C minor, Op. 67 by Ludwig van Beethoven Finale: Allegro Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony was first performed on December 27, 1808. In addition to the Fifth Symphony, the program included the Sixth Symphony, the Choral Fantasy, the Fourth Piano Concerto, and parts of the Mass in C. Due to the unheated hall and the fact that the musicians were not properly rehearsed, the reception was not enthusiastic. Despite this inauspicious beginning, Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony is now one of the best known and most revered works in the orchestral repertoire, and through it Beethoven established the concept of the symphony as a journey from struggle to triumph—a concept that countless composers after Beethoven embraced. In contrast to the famous opening movement in C minor, the finale of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony makes a powerful shift to the major mode. Although the ominous theme from the scherzo appears in the development section and temporarily changes the mood, the key of C major is firmly reset in the recapitulation, bringing the movement to an exhilarating close. The last forty-one measures consist initially of tonic and dominant chords, proceed to tonic chords, and finally end on the unshakeable tonic note. As Michael Steinberg states, “After such a hurricane, nothing less would do to properly ground the music.” The finale of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony is noteworthy for many reasons, including the fact that it is the first time that trombones appear in a symphonic work. This movement also includes piccolo and contrabassoon; Beethoven’s use of these instruments marks a new era in orchestration. In his autobiography, Hector Berlioz included an account of a performance of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony that he attended with his former teacher, Jean-François Lesueur. After the concert, Lesueur exclaimed, “Ouf! Let me get out; I must have air! It is unbelievable! Marvelous! It has so upset and bewildered me that when I wanted to put on my hat, I could not find my head!” Adagietto from Symphony no. 5 in C-sharp minor by Gustav Mahler Bruno Walter once said of this symphony, “In the Fifth, the world now has a masterpiece which shows its creator at the summit of his life, of his power, and of his ability.” Completed in the summer of 1902, the symphony has no definite extra-musical program (somewhat unusual for Mahler), although it progresses from an opening funeral march to a triumphant finale. The arrangement of movements in this symphony is without precedent. Part I consists of the aforementioned Funeral March in C# minor, followed by stormy, emotional second movement in A minor. Part II consists of a Scherzo in D major, with Part III consisting of the Adagietto heard on today’s program, followed by a concluding Rondo. The Adagietto, scored for strings and harp, was inspired by a song composed by Mahler in 1901. The text, by Friedrich Ruckert, states, “I have become lost to the world. . .I live alone in my heaven, in my loving, in my song.” The haunting opening theme in F major is introduced by the first violins, followed by a contrasting middle section. Marked Sehr langsam (very slowly), it has been described as reflecting “a serene cheerfulness which, paradoxically, contains within itself all the world’s sorrow.” This movement was featured prominently in the Luchino Visconti film Death in Venice. Symphony no. 5 in D minor, op. 47 by Dmitri Shostakovich Finale: Allegro non troppo Shostakovich began his Fifth Symphony on April 18, 1937, and completed it three months later. It was first performed on November 21 of the same year by the Leningrad Philharmonic, with Yevgeny Mravinsky at the podium. A year earlier, the composer’s opera Lady Macbeth of the District of Mtzensk had been attacked in Pravda, with an article titled Bedlam Instead of Music, because it did not comply with the Politburo’s dictum that “all aspects of music should be subordinated to melody and such melody should be clear and singable.” At the conclusion of the premiere of Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony, the audience responded ecstatically with a forty minute ovation. A journalist called it “A Soviet Artist’s Practical Creative Reply to Just Criticism,” and Shostakovich did not voice any objection. In an early description of the symphony, the composer stated, “I saw man with all of his experiences at the center of the composition. . . In the finale, the tragically tense impulses of the earlier movements are resolved in optimism and the joy of living.” However, when his Testimony was published in 1979, Shostakovich revealed a much different description of the finale: “I think it is clear to everyone what happens in the Fifth. The rejoicing is forced, created under threat, as in (Musorgsky’s) Boris Godunov. It’s as if someone were beating you with a stick and saying, ’Your business is rejoicing, your business is rejoicing,’ and you rise, shaky, and go marching off, muttering, ’Our business is rejoicing, our business is rejoicing.’ . . .You have to be a complete oaf not to hear that.” The finale, at a march tempo, is in rondo form. Before the coda, the mood shifts as a quotation from Shostakovich’s 1936 setting of Pushkin’s Rebirth is introduced. The text is And the waverings pass away from my tormented soul, as a new and brighter day brings visions of pure gold. After this reflective moment, the finale moves swiftly to its powerful conclusion.

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Sunday, May 11, 2008: Famous Fifths Schubert: Symphony in B flat major, no. 5 Beethoven: Symphony no. 5 in C minor, Op. 67 Mozart: Symphony No. 5 in B-flat Major, K. 22 Tchaikovsky: Symphony no. 5 in E minor, Op. 64 Mahler: Adagietto from Symphony No. 5 Shostakovich: Symphony no. 5 in D minor, op. 47

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