Program Notes
"A Celebration of Genius"
February 11 & 12, 2012
Program Notes by Paul Hyde
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
The Hungarian-born composer and pianist, Franz Liszt, was greatly influenced by the folk music he heard in his youth. He wrote 19 Hungarian rhapsodies for solo piano, of which the second is the most famous. As a solo piano work, it is a challenging showpiece often used to display a dazzling technique.
Composed in 1847, the piece proved so popular that Liszt was prompted to arrange it for orchestra. The orchestral version of the Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, with its irrepressible rhythic energy, is a perennial favorite of the concert hall.
The piece consists of two distinct sections. The mood is dark and foreboding at the outset, but the piece brightens considerably as it progresses. The Rhapsody opens with a lassan, a slow and lilting dance.
The lassan seems to trail away and a short pause ushers in the brisk and boisterous second section, a friska, a dance as extroverted as it sounds. The music grows increasingly effervescent as it rushes toward its conclusion. The slow lassan is recalled briefly before the piece ends in a whirlwind of sound.
Piano Concerto No. 1
Franz Liszt
After hearing the composer/pianist Franz Liszt play a solo recital in 1838, one enthused listener exlaimed: "I sobbed aloud, it overcame me so. Beside Liszt, other virtuosos appear so small."
That description by Clara Schumann, wife of the composer Robert and a great pianist in her own right, is apt: Liszt possessed an outsized romantic personality and created extravagantly romantic music. Liszt's works are much in evidence in cocert halls this season as orchestras celebrate the 200th anniversary of his birth.
Liszt's First Piano Concerto is, unapologetically, a virtuoso's showpiece -- written for the composer himself to perform. It is a work of expansive gestures, featuring running scales, elaborate ornamental figures and impassioned bravura episodes. Created with such large brush strokes, the concerto may lack subtlety, but it rarely fails to dazzle.
Instead of being divided into the traditional three movements, the First Piano Concerto is usually performed without pause, although its sections correspond to a typical symphony: first movement, slow movement, scherzo and finale.
Liszt predicted that listeners might not comprehend the concerto, privately putting words to the opening string theme: "Das versteht ihr alle nicht!" (Literally, "None of you understands this!")
I. The first movement opens with an assertive theme in the strings, played in octaves. This is the primary motif of the first movement. It will reappear toward the end of the piece, giving the concerto a strong sense of unity. The pianist enters almost immediately witha series of bravura passages, some of which bear the spontaneity of improvisation. These episodes alternate witha slower, rhapsodic theme.
II. The first movement fades to make way for the slow, nocturne-like second movement, a yearning, dream-like sequence in an otherwise extroverted concerto.
III. Liszt includes an innovation for the fleet-fingered third movement: the extensive use of the triangle (an instrument rarely heard at the time). In fact, the influential critic Eduard Hanslick ruthlessly and unfairly dubbed the entire work, "The Triangle Concerto." The lightness and charm of the movement do not disguise the considerable technical demands placed on the soloist.
IV. The melody of the second movement is transformed into a gallant, march-like theme. It is developed with increasing brilliance through several mercurial episodes until the opening theme of the concerto returns to conclude the work in triumphant style.
Symphony No. 9 ("The Great")
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Schubert completed his Ninth Symphony, his last, in March of 1828. Eight months later, the enormously prolific composer was dead at age 31, having never heard the work performed. The symphony has since been recognized as one of Schubert's greatest works. It is considered also one of the cornerstones of the orchestral repertoire.
The most remarkable feature of the Ninth is its rhythmic vitality. Rather than using long melodies, Schubert built the symphony with short, malleable themes.
The evidence suggests that Schubert knew he was dying as he finished the symphony, but there is nothing melancholy about the Ninth. To the contrary, this expansive work is built on a heroic scale.
The Ninth is composed in the traditional four movements:
I. Two horns present the first theme, from which the most important melodies of this movement are derived. The rest of the orchestra takes up this initial theme, harmonizing and embroidering upon it. The tempo quickens, leading to a robust allegro. A bold new theme in the strings alternates with a lilting woodwind melody. These themes are developed extensively until a brilliant coda recalls the movement's opening theme.
II. The strings introduce a soft march rhythm, followed by the entrance of the solo oboe, piping a playful tune. This is the primary theme of the movement, from which others are derived. This theme will be greatly embellished, alternating with consolatory phrases in strings. The music grows increasingly agitated, with trumpet calls adding to the urgency. A sudden dissonant outburst leads to a full stop. A greater serenity pervades much of the music that follows in this movement, with the initial oboe theme darting in and out of the orchestral texture.
III. This scherzo movement features a burly string theme that will alternate with contrasting graceful phrases. The middle section offers a litling, expansive melody. The first theme returns to end the movement.
IV. The finale begins with a vibrant burst of rhythmic energy, driven by a bold theme in the brass. Woodwinds introduce a grandly swinging second theme, characterized by four repeated notes. Both themes are developed at great length. A heroic coda brings the symphony to a close.
Paul Hyde is the Arts Writer for "The Greenville News"