UMS Concert Program, February 1, 1969: Music From Marlboro Of The Marlboro Music Festival -- Rudolf Serkin

Concert: Fourth
Complete Series: 3640
Rackham Auditorium, Ann Arbor, Michigan

The University Musical Society
of
The University of Michigan
Presents
MUSIC FROM MARLBORO
of The Marlboro Music Festival
RUDOLF SERKIN, Artistic Director
Richard Goode, Pianist John Barrows, Horn
Pina Carmirelli, Violinist Thomas Paul, Bass
Saturday Evening, February 1, 1969, at 8:30 Rackham Auditorium, Ann Arbor, Michigan
PROGRAM
Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Piano.........Bartok
Molto moderato Allegretto
Five Songs...............Schubert
Grenzen der Menschheit (Goethe)
Ditbyrambe (Schiller)
Der Sieg (Mayrhofer)
Der Einsame (Lappe)
Gruppe aus dem Tartarus (Schiller)
INTERMISSION
Songs and Dances of Death.........Moussorgsky
(sung in Russian--without pause) Lullaby Serenade Trepak The Field Marshal
Trio in Eflat major for Horn, Violin, and Piano, Op. 40 .... Brahms
Andante--poco piu animato Scherzo: allegro Adagio mesto
Finale: allegro con brio
Fourth Concert Sixth Annual Chamber Arts Series Complete Programs 3640
PROGRAM NOTES
Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Piano........Bela Bartok
Bartok wrote his second sonata in 1922 for the violinist d'Aranyi, who introduced it in May of that year in London. His style at the time was rather expressionistic and closer to some of the methods of his Viennese contemporaries Schoenberg and Berg. Accordingly, the folk elements so prominent in much of Bartok's music are quite subdued here. This sonata was one of Bartok's favorite works, and he often performed it with the violinists d'Aranyi, Waldbauer, Szekely, and Szigeti.
Five Songs.............Franz Schubert
Schubert's songs, numbering about 600 in all, span his entire creative life, from the age of fourteen (1811) to his death (1828), his very last work being the famous "Shepherd on the Rock," for soprano, clarinet, and piano. What all of his songs have in common is the powerful illumination of the central idea of the text by purely musical means. This sharp characterization is a feature of song composition that Schubert first solidified. The five songs on this program were written between 1817 and 1824, during which time Schubert produced some of his finest instrumental works, including the Unfinished Symphony, the Trout Quintet, the Wanderer Fantasy, and the Octet.
Grenzen der Menschheit (Goethe)
God thunders through the heavens and man bows down before Him, a mere speck in the infinite flood of time, a single link in the continuous chain of life.
Dithyrambe (Schiller)
Never appear the immortals alone! Scarcely had I welcomed Bacchus, the sorrowbeguiler, when in came Cupid, all smiles, and Phoebus with his lyre. Up they lifted me to the joys of Jupiter's realm, filling my cup with nectar from their heavenly fountains!
Der Sieg (Mayrhofer)
World beyond the clouds, realm of the ideal. I hold your key! The might of thought can break the bondage of the flesh. I, with the Muses, have wiped out Eden's curse and dealt the old serpent his deathblow!
Der Einsame (Lappe)
Well, another day, and here I sit so cozy before the fire with book, pipe and a cricket on the hearth. Apart from the noisy world, my thoughts ramble freely in quiet contentment. Chirp on, beloved cricket, for when your little song breaks the silence, I am not all alone!
Grttppe aus dem Tartarus (Schiller)
Like the surging sea, moaning in its gloomy depths, come the anguished cries of the damned. Eternity turns unrelentingly upon its axis as with hollow voices they ask: Is there no end
Songs and Dances of Death.......Modeste Moussorgsky
(sung in Russian--without pause)
Moussorgsky's Songs and Dances of Death, to words by GolenishtchevKutusov, rank among his finest efforts as a song composer. Each song is a miniature drama, with real char
acters and action, expressing a philosophy of death, mingling the tragic and the grotesque; the spiritual influence of Liszt's "Totentanz" is very much present. The first three songs were written from February to May of 187S, the last one in the summer of 1877.
Lullaby: A child is whimpering; the candle flickers low. Sleepless the whole night through, the mother has rocked the cradle. Early in the morning, Death knocks on the door. Startled, the mother turns around. "Do not be afraid, my friend. You are exhausted from crying and praying all night. Go and sleep for a little while; I will watch for you, singing sweetly." Be still! My baby is suffering and feverish! "With me he will be calm and restful. Hushabye, baby." No! Get away from him, accursed one! With your tenderness you will destroy my happiness. I beg you, wait! "You see, he has fallen asleep to my quiet singing. Hushabye, hushabye, baby."
Serenade: The sick young girl bends her little head and listens to the whispering of the magical spring night. Life is calling her to pleasure, but under her window, Death sings a serenade: "In grim and stifling confinement, your youth is fading away. I have come to set you free. You are so beautiful. . . . your cheeks aglow, your eyes brighter than the heavens and your breath warmer than the noonday sun. I cannot resist the ecstacy of your body, all tender and trembling. I will crush you in my strong arms and whisper lovingly. Quiet now, you are mine!"
Trepak: In the black winter night, the howling wind moans through forest and field. There in the darkness, Death embraces a peasant and dances with him, singing: "Oh, little peasant, you got drunk and wandered out into the chilling storm. Lie down and sleep now; I will warm you with a snowy blanket. Slumber away like a baby. See, summer has come already; the sun is smiling down on the cornfields. Harvest songs are heard everywhere and the doves are flying."
The Field Marshal: The battle is on. Cannons roar as men and horses scatter all about. Then, in the misty night, all is quiet again except for the moans of the wounded. In the moonlight, astride a great stallion, appears the glistening white figure of Death. Proud and satisfied, he surveys the field and cries out: "The battle is finished and I have won! Life made you enemies and I unite you in death. Rise up now and pass in review! Then your bones shall be laid to rest in the earth. With the passing years, you will be for?gotten, but I will not forget. Loudly above you, I will make a feast at midnight. With heavy steps I will dance a jig over your graves and stamp down the earth so that your bones may nevermore arise!"
Trio in Eflat major for Horn, Violin, and Piano, Op. 40 . Johannes Brahms Brahms' love for the horn stemmed partly from the fact that he had played the instru?ment in his youth, partly from its associations with nature (forests, hunting horns, etc.). The horn trio was written in a rustic setting near BadenBaden, in May of 1865, and much of the music reflects this feeling for nature. On the other hand, the many somber aspects of the work can be attributed to the death of Brahms' mother a short while before. Certainly the third movement (Adagio mesto) has often been considered as a lament over her death. The first performance of the work took place on December 7, 1865, in Karlsruhe, with Brahms at the piano.
1968 --INTERNATIONAL PRESENTATIONS --1969
Auditorium
ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER . (8:30) Saturday, February 8
A Repertory Company of Modern Dance Program: Congo Tango Palace Reflections in D
Toccata (Treadmills, Encounters, Treadmills) Blues Suite Revelations
"CARMEN" (Goldovsky Opera Co.) (Sold Out) (8:00) Saturday, February IS
BALLET FOLKLORICO OF MEXICO . . (8:30) Wednesday, February 26
Tickets: $6.00-$5.50--$5.00--$4.00--$3.00--$2.00
Rackham Auditorium
ISRAEL CHAMBER ORCHESTRA . . . (8:30) Monday, February 10
Program: Chaconne in G minor for Strings.........Purceix
"Dumbarton Oaks" Concerto in Eflat major.....Stravinsky
Concerto in C major for Cello..........Haydn
"Songs of an Early Morning"........BenZion Orgad
Divertimento No. 11 in D major.........Mozart
Tickets: $5.00--$4.00--$2.00
ANN ARBOR MAY FESTIVAL April 24, 25, 26, 27, 1969
THE PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA AT ALL CONCERTS PROGRAMS
THURSDAY, APRIL 24, 8:30 EUGENE ORMANDY, Conductor.
RICHARD TUCKER, Tenor, will sing arias by Mozart, Handel, Meyerbeer, and Puccini. "Classical" Symphony (Prokofieff) ; "Iberia" (Debussy) and the Symphonic Poem "Pines of Rome" (Respighi).
FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 8:30 THOR JOHNSON, Conductor.
JOANNA SIMON, Mezzosoprano, will sing Pantasileas's aria from Bomarzo (Ginastera). HANS RICHTERHAASER, Pianist, will perform Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11 (Chopin). UNIVERSITY CHORAL UNION performs Psalm ISO, Op. 5 (Ginastera) and the choral work "Fern Hill" by John Corigliano, with Joanna Simon.
SATURDAY, APRIL 26, 8:30 EUGENE ORMANDY, Conductor.
All orchestral program: Overture to Die Meistersinger (Wagner); Symphony No. 3 (Charles Ives); and Symphony No. 1 (Mahler).
SUNDAY, APRIL 27, 2:30 THOR JOHNSON, Conductor.
UNIVERSITY CHORAL UNION performs Schubert's Mass in Aflat, with soloists: MARIA STADER, Soprano; JOANNA SIMON, Mezzosoprano; JOHN McCOLLUM, Tenor; WILLIS PATTERSON, Bass. ZARA NELSOVA, Cellist, performs the Elgar Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra.
SUNDAY, APRIL 27, 8:30
EUGENE ORMANDY, Conductor.
REGINE CRESPIN, Soprano, will sing "Scheherazade" (Ravel) ; and the aria, "Ah Perfido,"
Op. 65 (Beethoven). Symphony No.31 in D major--"Paris" (Mozart), and "La Mer" (Debussy).
Series Tickets: $30.00--$25.00--$20.00--$15.00--$10.00
The gift program initiated by the Board of Directors at the annual meeting, November 5, established contributor categories as follows: Sustaining Members--Gifts of $25; Patrons--Gifts of $100; Sponsors--Gifts of $500; Guarantors--Gifts of $1,000 or more. Detailed information on the com?mensurate privileges provided contributors is now available. Gifts will be deposited in a reserve fund to ensure the future of the Society's presentations. Gifts are tax deductible.
UNIVERSITY MUSICAL SOCIETY
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Gail W. Rector, President James R. Breakey, Jr. Paul G. Kauper
Roscoe O. Bonisteel, VicePresident Douglas D. Crary Wilbur K. Pierpont
Erich A. Walter, Secretary Robben W. Fleming Daniel H. Schurz
E. Thurston Thieme, Treasurer Harlan Hatcher Stephen H. Spurr