UMS Concert Program, November 10, 1969: The Prague Chamber Orchestra --

Concert: Second
Complete Series: 3667
Rackham Auditorium, Ann Arbor, Michigan

The University Musical Society
of
The [Diversity of Michigan
Presents
THE PRAGUE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
Monday Evening, November 10, 1969, at 8:30 Rackham Auditorium, Ann Arbor, Michigan
PROGRAM
Sinfonia for Double Orchestra in Eflat major, Op. 18, No. 1 . . J. C. Bach
Allegro
Andante Allegro
Symphony in D major, No. 96 ("Miracle").......Haydn
Adagio, allegro Andante
Minuet: allegretto
Finale: vivace assai
INTERMISSION
Overture to Prometheus, Op. 43.........Beethoven
Symphony in D major (1823).......Jan Vaclav Vorisek
Allegro con brio Andante
Scherzo: allegro ma non troppo Finale: allegro con brio
Second Concert Seventh Annual Chamber Arts Series Complete Program 3667
PROGRAM NOTES
Sinfonia for Double Orchestra in Eflat major,
Op. 18, No. 1........Johann Christian Bach
Johann Christian Bach, the youngest son of Johann Sebastian and his second wife, Anna Magdalena, was one of the most cosmopolitan members of the Bach family. After the death of his father in 1750, Johann Christian went to live with a halfbrother, Carl Philipp Emanuel, as cembalist at the court of Frederic II in Berlin, continued his instructions in clavier playing. It was while Johann Christian lived in Berlin that he began to compose concertos for the piano.
Around 1754 he went to Italy where he was musician to the friendly and protective Count Agostino Litta at Milan. He had some lessons with the famous Padre Martini of Bologna and sent his compositions to him for criticism when his work in Milan did not permit a visit. He obtained the post of organist at the Milan cathedral and his numerous choral works and three successful operas greatly enhanced his reputation and opened the way for him in England.
In 1762 Johann Christian arrived in London. He won great renown and was appointed Music Master in the Queen's Household. He composed many of his outstanding instrumental works, symphonies, concertos, sonatas and other chamber music while here. When the child prodigy Mozart went to London in 1764, it was Johann Christian who arranged the royal entertainment. Bach's symphonies and concertos became a real influence in the future com?positions of Mozart.
The Sinfonia for Double Orchestra is the first of a set of six such works, called "Grand Overtures." and published as Opus 18, probably in 1781, in London. The first, third, and fifth of the set were composed for double orchestra. The slow movement of the Eflat. No. 1 is exceptionally beautiful and contrasts excellently with the fresh outer movements.
Symphony in D major, No. 96 ("Miracle") .... Franz Joseph Haydn
Written in 1791, the year of Haydn's first visit to London, the Symphony in D major. No. 96, did not escape the imagination of some unknown person who labeled it "Miracle," although it is not the only Haydn symphony that deserved to be called "miraculous." With his two trips to London, in 179192 and 179495, Haydn put an end to his production of symphonies, an output of one hundred and four works of this kind. The twelve symphonies he composed for his London concerts, at the invitation of the famous impressario Salomon, are not only the greatest of his orchestral works but also those in which one can most clearly trace the effect of his association with Mozart.
The difference between the best preMozartean symphonies and those of his maturity, particularly the twelve "London" Symphonies, is not immediately evident, because in most of them Haydn's personality dominates. Besides greater freedom of musical ideas with more flexibility, the twelve London Symphones owe their superiority to the fact that they were written for the best and greatest orchestra Haydn ever knew, an orchestra capable of pro?ducing effects far beyond the possibilities of the small group he had conducted for about thirty years at the palace of Count Esterhazy. The London Symphonies express perfectly Haydn's personality and each of them testifies to his mastery as well as his ingenuity, his exuberant sense of humor and healthy love of life.
The D Major, No. 96 opens with a slow, thoughtful Adagio, followed by a witty Allegro which uses the color of the bassoons. The Andante is a lyrical song echoing the beauties of nature. The Minuet is a testimony of Haydn's ability to harmonize the court refinement with the principles of the popular dances. The final vivace assai, full of joyful atmosphere, closes this noteworthy symphony.
Overture to "Prometheus," Op. 43.....Ludwig van Beethoven
The Overtures to the "Creatures of Prometheus" (to give the work its full title) predates all of Beethoven's enduring orchestral works save the first symphony. It was written in 1800, at the instigation of Salvatore Vigano, an Italian dancer and ballet master who was then residing in Vienna. His purpose was to create a ballet which would please the Empress Maria Theresa.
The "creatures of Prometheus" are the people of Greece, to whom has been imparted the finer values of life, an appreciation of the arts, and a sense of moral and ethical standards. Beethoven might have handled this theme entirely differently at sixty, but at thirty he gave it brightness and animation, in a vein decidedly his own.
After the full orchestra opening, with brusque chords, there follows a singing melody of the bassoons and horns. The slow opening measures are followed by the intensely rhyth?mical Vivace, which closes the Overture.
Symphony in D major (1823).......Jan Vaclav Vorisek
Jan Hugo Vaclav Vorfiek was bom May 11, 1791, in Vamberk, East Bohemia, the son of Vaclav Vorisek, a schoolmaster who was also an excellent violinist and organist. Hugo, as he was commonly known, was a wonder child. When five years old he played the first violin in one Pleyel quartet; at seven he was sent to substitute for an organist who was ill. But many years of poverty elapsed before the decisive event happened that was to mold his future. His patron, Professor Zizius, introduced him to the supreme figure of musical Vienna, Ludwig van Beethoven. Voffiek began to make his fame in the capital as an excellent pianist, organist and teacher while remoulding in his own soul the powerful inspiration of the master. However, the overexertion and strain during his long search for a stable mode of existence inevitably brought on an illness of the lungs and he died in Vienna on November 19, 1825, exactly three years before Franz Schubert.
Voh'sek's work is a demonstration of the combination of a rare flight of inspiration and a strict work discipline. The form of his works is always completely clear, the ideas are expressed purely and excellently. His entire work is in the style of a classicalromantic syn?thesis. His method of composition is based on three impulses: the original endeavors of his teacher, Tomasek, whose style Vorisek reworked and improved artistically; elements of Czech national idiom that influenced him; and Beethoven.
The Dmajor Symphony is a noteworthy example of the intertwining of Beethoven's spirit of heroism with the basically lyrical tone of Voriiek's personality. The work can be assigned an honorable place at the side of Beethoven's and Schubert's symphonies. He is more romantic than Beethoven, more classical and concise than Schubert. The score of his sym?phony is balanced in tone, in form, and in expression, but at the same time it is full of ardor, of romantic yearning, of tempestuous passion.
1969 -INTERNATIONAL PRESENTATIONS -1970
OSIPOV BALALAIKA ORCHESTRA (with the stars of the
Bolshoi Opera and Russian Dancers) . . . Thursday, November 13
FRANCO GULLI, violinist, and
ENRICA CAVALLO, Pianist (duo from Italy) . Monday, November 17
Program: Sonata in E minor, Op. 36a............Busoni
Sonata..............Debussy
Divertimento..............Stravinsky
NHK SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, JAPAN . . . Tuesday, November 25
Hiroyuki Iwaki, Conducting
Program: Bugaku..............Toshiro Mayuzumj
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra..........Khachturian
Symphony No. 5 n E minor, Op. 64.........Tchaikovsky
fNEW YORK PRO MUSICA.......Monday, January 12
NIKOLAIS DANCE COMPANY.....Wednesday, January 21
MUSIC FROM MARLBORO.......Wednesday, January 28
JOAN SUTHERLAND, Soprano, with
RICHARD BONYNGE, Pianist.....Friday, January 30
JEANPIERRE RAMPAL, Flute, and
ROBERT VEYRONLACROIX, Keyboard . . Thursday, February 5
VLADIMIR ASHKENAZY, Pianist......Monday, February 9
"BARBER OF SEVILLE" (Rossini)--
Canadian Opera Company......Saturday, February 14
DANZAS VENEZUELA........Tuesday, February 17
f ANDRES SEGOVIA, Classical Guitarist . . . Thursday, February 19 PHAKAVALI MUSICIANS AND DANCERS, from Bangkok Monday, March 2 ROYAL WINNIPEG BALLET......2:30, Sunday, March IS
Lecturedemonstration, January 20, 8:30. Admission $1.00 (As part of a 3day residency presented with the
support of the Michigan State Council for the Arts.) t Standing room only.
George Frederick Handel December 5 and 6, 8:30; December 7, 2:30
In Hill Auditorium
THE UNIVERSITY CHORAL UNION
MEMBERS OF THE INTERLOCHEN ARTS ACADEMY ORCHESTRA
Janice Harsanyi, Soprano Waldie Anderson, Tenor
Rosalind Hupp, Contralto Robert Oliver, Bass
Mary McCall Stubbins, Organist; Charles Fisher, Harpsichordist
Donald Bryan, Conductor
Tickets: $3.00--$2.50--$2.00--$1.50 All programs begin at 8:30 unless otherwise indicated.
UNIVERSITY MUSICAL SOCIETY
BURTON MEMORIAL TOWER, ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN 48104 Office Hours: Mon. thru Fri. 9 to 4:30, Sat. 9 to 12 (Telephone 6653717)