UMS Concert Program, December 9, 1962: Chicago Little Symphony -- Thor Johnson

Season: Eighty-fourth
Concert: Special
Complete Series: 3372
Rackham Auditorium, Ann Arbor, Michigan

1962 Eighty-fourth Season 1963
UNIVERSITY MUSICAL SOCIETY
THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
Charles A. Sink, President Gail W. Rector, Executive Director Lester McCoy, Conductor
Special Concert Complete Series 3372
Chicago Little Symphony
THOR JOHNSON, Conductor
Sunday Afternoon, December 9, 1962, at 2:30 Rackham Auditorium, Ann Arbor, Michigan
PROGRAM
Symphony No. 83 in G minor ("The Hen").....Haydn
Allegro spiritoso Andante
Menuetto: allegretto Finale: vivace
The White Peacock, from "Roman Sketches," Op. 7, No. 1 . Griffes
Concerto in B-flat major for Harp and Orchestra .... Handel Andante allegro Larghetto
Allegro moderato
Lise Nadeau, Harp
Fantasy, Chorale and Fugue......Wallace Berry
(Commissioned for the Chicago Little Symphony)
INTERMISSION
Concerto in C major for Oboe and Orchestra .... Eichner Allegro tempo giusto Larghetto Rondo: allegro moderato
James Caldwell, Oboe
Odoru Katachi for Percussion and Orchestra . . Huewell Tircuit
(Commissioned for the Chicago Little Symphony)
Michael Dreves, Percussion
Divertimento in D major, Op. 67......Paul Graener
Allegro vivace
Allegretto scherzando Larghetto Allegro
The Sleinway is the official piano of the University Musical Society. A R S L O N G A VITA BREVIS
PROGRAM NOTES
Symphony No. 83 in G minor ("The Hen") . . . Josef Haydn
Haydn died a celebrity, but his fame was a long time in coming. His native Austria paid very little attention to him until he had established himself on programs in France and England.
The Symphony No. 83 is included in a set of six "Paris" symphonies written in 1875-76, of which it is the only one in a minor mode. The title "La Poule" was affixed by Haydn's publishers and is derived from the second theme of the first movement, which is in B-flat major--one can hardly fancy a G-minor chicken. This tune is played through by the first and second violins alone, and then repeated with the oboe clucking along on a repeated as obbligato.
The White Peacock,
from "Roman Sketches," Op. 7, No. 1 ... Charles Griffes
Born in Elmira, New York, in 1884, Charles Griffes struggled desperately for recog?nition as an American composer and pianist. He was deeply interested in Oriental music and culture. The White Peacock is one of a set of pieces written for piano in 1917. This small orchestra version was made by the composer a year later.
Concerto in B-flat major for Harp and Orchestra .... Handel
In the first set of Handel's Six Concertos for Organ and Orchestra, published as Op. 4 in 1738, the Sixth is expressly marked "Concerto for Harp" in his autograph. Its form is consistent with many of his works for a solo instrument and orchestra in that it has three contrasting movements. The elaborate cadenza, interpolated at the close of the second movement at a point designated by Handel, was written by Carlos Salzedo. Handel invariably left the choice of this solo material to the performing artist.
Fantasy, Chorale and Fugue......Wallace Berry
The work performed today is an abridged version of Wallace Berry's "Five Pieces for Small Orchestra," premiered last August 15 at the Peninsula Music Festival in Fish Creek, Wisconsin. The Fantasy, the first of the pieces, is, taken as a whole, an inflation of a simple progression--harmonic and melodic--toward the tonal center, E, and the music attempts to convey a sense of urgent and inexorable movement toward that tone, the final resolution. The Chorale is texturally akin to traditional settings; its concerted portions alternate with solos for the cello, and the entire middle section is written as a trio for cello, flute, and harp. The baroque manner in which much of the work is con?ceived is especially apparent in the Fugue, notably in the quality of its constant, brisk rhythmic motion. At the time of Thor Johnson's premiere performance of the "Five Pieces," Mr. Huewell Tircuit, music editor of the Tokyo Asahi Evening News, made the following comment in his annotations for the program: "The composer enjoys an in?creasing host of admirers because of the remarkable artistic convictions which character?ize his works. He pioneers without experimentation. He condones no compromise. Without fanfare, Wallace Berry has achieved a pinnacle of importance which could not be more deserved." Professor Berry, who teaches theory in the University School of Music, is a former student of Halsey Stevens and Nadia Boulanger. He holds the Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Southern California.
INTERMISSION
Concerto in C major for Oboe and Orchestra . . Ernest Eichner
Ernest Eichner was born in Mannheim, Germany, in 1740. His appearances as a
virtuoso bassoonist in Paris and in London in 1773 were near sensations. He published
many of his own symphonies, concertos, and chamber music. He ended his career in the
orchestra of the Crown Prince at Potsdam, where he died in 1777. Lady Evelyn Barbirrolli prepared the modern edition and James Di Pasquale has restored the original accompaniment.
Odoru Katachi for Percussion and Orchestra . . Huewell Tircuit
Louisiana-born and Tokyo-based composer Huewell Tircuit is a skilled percussion?ist, besides being a composer, writer, and lecturer. He holds the distinguished position of music critic on the highly esteemed English language Asahi Evening News in Tokyo.
This unique composition, written expressly for the Chicago Little Symphony, reflects two phases of contemporary Japanese life. The quiet atmosphere of the Buddhist temple is suggested through the searching tones of prayer bells, inducing meditation. Following an extended section devoted to the sounding of bells of contrasting sonorities, the music takes on a frenetic character, depicting the aural excitement which tradi?tionally accompanies the opening of a new shop.
An insistent rhythmic pattern on a small metal instrument provides a continuity around which many other percussive sounds are interwoven. This section is unrivaled in the complexity of percussive writing. The winds of the ensemble are assigned typical musical ideas usually played by a four-member street band which parades in the neighborhood of the new enterprise. The orchestral pandemonium of the closing portion of the work is brought to a rare, stomping conclusion.
Divertimento in D major, Op. 67.....Paul Graenee
Paul Gracncr's music is aptly described as "Modern-Romantic." His earliest com?positions drew rare encouragement from Brahms, urging him to pursue this line of work. The late eighteenth-century Divertimento form gave him the necessary flexibility for the incorporation of his delightful musical content, composed in 1923.
CHICAGO LITTLE SYMPHONY Thor Johnson, Conductor
ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL
Violin: String Bass: Bassoon:
Oscar Chausow, Leonard Lasher Larry Stewart
Concertmaster
Robert Sanov, AssistHarP: French Horn:
ant Concertmaster Lise Nadeau Edward O'Connor
Julian Arron _, _.
Bertine Corimby Flute: Trumpet:
Joann Cruthirds James Hamilton William Spady
ArleneHamley Qboe: Trombone:
Viola: James Caldwell Mitchell Ross
EvelynKGoddard CUtrinet: Timpani and Percussion:
Raymond Gariglio Michael Dreves
Violoncello: Harold Cruthirds Alice Baker
1962 UNIVERSITY MUSICAL SOCIETY PRESENTATIONS 1963
All presentations are at 8:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted. HILL AUDITORIUM
Gerard Souzay, Baritone (C. U. Series) .... Tuesday, January 8
Hamburg Symphony Orchestra (Extra Series) . Wednesday, January 16 Istvan Kertesz, Conductor
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (C. U. Series) . Thursday, February 14 William Steinberg, Conductor
Toronto Symphony Orchestra (C. U. Series) . . Tuesday, March 12 Walter Susskind, Conductor; Annie Fischer, Pianist
Birgit Nilsson, Soprano (Extra Series) .... Monday, March 18
San Francisco Ballet (replacing Tokyo Ballet in
the Choral Union Series).......Friday, March 22
Special Recital
Artur Rubinstein, Pianist......Thursday, February 7
Tickets: $4.00--$3.50--$3.00--$2.25--$1.50
Ann Arbor May Festival
Philadelphia Orchestra in six concerts .... May 9, 10, 11, 12 Orders for season tickets accepted beginning December 1.
RACKHAM AUDITORIUM
Chamber Music Festival
Budapest String Quartet . . February 20, 21, 22, 23, & (2:30) 24 Complete cycle of Beethoven string quartets
Series Tickets: $10.00 and 7.00; Single Concerts: $3.00 and $2.00
Julian Bream, Guitarist and Lutist . . . (2:30) Sunday, March 31 Tickets on sale January 10 -$2.50 and $2.00
For tickets and information, address: University Musical Society, Burton Memorial Tower