UMS Concert Program, October 29, 1985: International Presentations Of Music & Dance -- Munich Philharmonic Orchestra

Season: 107th
Concert: Fortieth
Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Inteifiatipnal
THE UNIVERSITY MUSICAL SOCIETY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAr
Munich Philharmonic Orchestra
Lorin Maazel
Conductor
Tuesday Evening, October 29, 1985, at 8:00 Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor, Michigan
PROGRAM Overture to Oberon................................................ Weber
Symphony: "Mathis der Maler"................................. Hindemith
Concert of the Angels
The Entombment of Christ
The Temptation of St. Anthony
INTERMISSION
Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64.........................Tchaikovsky
Andante, allegro con anima Andante cantabile con alcuna licenza Valse: allegro modcrato
Finale: andante maestoso, allegro vivace
Angel, CBS, and RCA Records. Fortieth Concert of the 107th Season 107th Annual Choral Union Series
PROGRAM NOTES
Overture to Oberon............................... Caul Makia von Weber
(1786-1826)
Weber's opera Oberon was written for performance in England in 1826. In the introduction of the overture, Oberon's magic horn summons his elfin subjects who come tripping to fluttering passages in the woodwinds. The wistful, melancholy mood of this fairy prelude gives way to the main part of the overture, in which the first theme, representing the scene in Charlemagne's court, soars upward in the violins in two measures, from piano to fortissimo. Weber scored this regal march in the then popular "Turkish" style, using the big drum, the cymbals, and triangle, in addition to the customary woodwind and brass instruments. In the extensive exposition, the fortissimo strings in unison reach a stormy climax, and again, Oberon is heard softly blowing his poetic horn. The solo clarinet plays a pensive second theme over sustained chords in the strings. Soon from the violins comes the raptuous song which Rezia sings ("Ocean, thou mighty monster") when, shipwrecked on the desert island, she beholds the sail of an approaching ship and hails it with her scarf.
In the bold and dramatic development section, Weber transforms the pensive theme by the clarinet into a march of great power, accompanied by the violins playing the soaring line of their first theme. The overture closes with a brilliant restatement (fortissimo in the strings) of Rczia's ecstatic theme, transformed now into joyful praise for the faithfulness of the human lovers, Huon and Rezia, and for the marital happiness of their fairy sponsors, Oberon and Titania.
Symphony: "Mathis dcr Maler"............................ Paul Hindemith
(1895-1963)
In 1934 Hindemith drew three orchestral excerpts from his then unperformed opera Mathis dcr Malcr and arranged them in the form of a symphony. This symphony received its first performance on March 12 of that year from the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Wilhelm Furtwanglcr, and the first American performance was given seven months later by Otto Klempcrer and the New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra. The opera itself was belatedly performed in Zurich on May 28, 1938. Although the work had been in the repertoire of many European opera houses for some time, the first American performance was not given until 1956, when the Boston University Opera Department produced it under the direction of Sarah Caldwcll.
Hindemith was long aware of the problem of the widening gulf between the composer and the public. In 1927 he wrote that "it is to be regretted that so little relationship exists today between the producers and the consumers of music. A composer should write today only if he knows for what purpose he is writing. The days of composing for the sake of composing are perhaps gone forever. On the other hand, the demand for music is so great that composer and consumer ought most emphatically to come to an understanding."
Preoccupied with this dilemma, Hindemith experimented with Gcbrauchsmusik, or "music for use," with music for children, for school choirs, radio, films, and even for jazz combinations. In Matthias Gruncwald (r. 1460-1528), the German religious painter, he found a subject who ex?emplified this creative problem, and he chose him as the principal character of an opera which he called Matins der Maler.
Hindemith gave a clear indication of the idea behind his opera in a statement about his libretto. He wrote that Mathis "stands for the embodiment of problems, wishes, and doubts which have occupied the minds of all serious artists from remotest times. For whom arc works of art created What is their purpose How can the artist make himself understood to his adversary This man, who wants to delve into the most obscure motives for creative work, sinks into a fit of unfruitful brooding, despairs of his mission, and becomes absorbed in problems, the solution of which now seems to him more important for the well-being of his oppressed fellow man than the creation of works of art. He goes to war and fights on the side of the rebellious peasants against the nobles and the church, and thus against his own master, Cardinal Albrecht of Mainz. This is a gross contradiction between his imaginary ideal of a fair combat andjust victory and the ugly reality of the Peasants' War.
"Mathis soon sees the wide gulf separating him from his companions in arms, and when the peasants suffer a decisive defeat, he is so completely engulfed in despair that not even death by his own hand or a stranger's has mercy upon him. In an allegorical scene he experiences the temptation of St. Anthony; all the promptings of conscience within his tortured soul rise to assail and plague him and call him to account for his actions. The knowledge of being condemned to utter uselcssness overwhelms him. In the subsequent stage action there is a close resemblance to the visit of St. Anthony to St. Paul in Thebaid, and it is depicted on Griinewald's Isenheim altarpiecc. Paul, under whose allegorical disguise Cardinal Albrecht is to be recognized, enlightens Mathis, in the likeness of Anthony, about his mistakes and instructs him as to the right road he is to follow in the future. The conversion to conscious, supreme artistic endeavor is successful. Mathis devotes the remainder of his days to his art, which is henceforth rooted in his faith in the talent bestowed upon him by God and in his attachment to his native soil."
Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64...............Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
(1840-1893)
Tchaikovsky spent the summer of 1888 in his country house at Frolovskoe and, in this picturesque spot and ideal retreat, wrote the Fifth Symphony. On June 22nd he wrote to Madame von Meek, his patroness, "Now I shall work my hardest. . . Have I told you that 1 intend to write a symphony The beginning was difficult, but now inspiration seems to have come." On August 6th he wrote to her again: "I have orchestrated half the symphony. My age -although I am not very old (he was forty-eight) -begins to tell on me. I become very tired, and 1 can no longer play the piano or read at night as I used to do." Twenty days later he mentioned that the symphony was finished, along with an account of his wretched health, which, however, had taken a turn for the better with the completion of the symphony. He did, in fact, conduct the first performance on November 17, 1888, in St. Petersburg.
The Fifth Symphony contains a motif which appears in all four movements. It is a theme of sadness and questioning and is first heard played by the clarinets. After the short Andante introduc?tion, the movement proper begins. Its principal theme has a folk song origin, probably Polish. The clarinets and bassoon announce the theme, which is elaborately developed. The second theme is heard in the string section. The movement is in the regular sonata form with a development and full reprise of the material of the exposition. The beginnings of the recapitulation may be recognized by the main theme, which is heard in the bassoon. A lengthy coda ends the movement quietly.
The second movement is well constructed and tightly knit, yet there is a sense of enormous freedom in it. After a brief introduction in the lower strings, the beautiful chief melody of the movement is sung by the horn. The oboe then introduces a new theme which is, in turn, taken up by the violins and violas. Again, the haunting chief melody is heard in the cellos. There are several additional themes until the full orchestra thunders out the theme from the beginning of the work, which Philip Hale calls the "theme of bodement." This is heard twice during the movement.
The third movement, a waltz, is ingratiating and simple. Toward the very end, as the sounds of gaiety fade away, the original "bodement" theme is heard, but this time as if in the far distance.
The finale, like the first movement, begins with an introduction. Its theme is based upon the sad motto theme of the other three movements. The Allegro vivace begins with the principal theme in the strings, and later the woodwinds enter with another theme which is afterward given to the violins. In the development of the second theme there arc allusions to the motto theme. The movement progresses ever faster to a stormy finish, with one last reminiscent hearing of the "bodement" theme.
About the Artists
The Munich Philharmonic Orchestra was founded in 1893 by Privy Councillor Dr. Franz Kaim, and since 1928 it has been the official orchestra of the Bavarian capital. Following its early days of setting the standard of high quality in orchestral performance, Felix Wcingartner, Chief Conductor from 1898-1905, developed the international reputation of the orchestra through an extensive program of tours abroad and significant performances. In 1906 the 20-ycar-old Wilhelm Furtwangler, who grew up in Munich, made his conducting debut with his hometown orchestra, marking the beginning of a long and close association between Furtwangler and the Munich Philharmonic. Over the years, guest conductors such as Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss, Max Reger, and Hans Pfitzncr conducted performances of their own compositions as well as those of other composers.
Known in its early days as the Kaim Orchestra (after its founder) and then as the Concert-Society Orchestra, the orchestra was officially christened the Munich Philharmonic in 1928. During this period between the two world wars, various Bruckner symphonies were premiered, continuing a Bruckner tradition for the Munich Philharmonic which exists to this day. The first post-World War II concert on July 8, 1945, was conducted by Eugen Jochum, a concert that was notable for the first performance of Mendelssohn's Overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream since that composer's music had been banned in Germany by the Nazi regime. Hans Rosbaud took over in 1946, re-establishing the orchestra after the war and extending the range of its repertoire with a particular emphasis on the works of contemporary composers. Fritz Ricger further developed the orchestra from 1949 to 1966. Illustrious guest conductors during this period attest to the orchestra's caliber -Hans Knapperts-busch, Carl Schuricht, Erich Kleiber, Clemens Krauss, George Szell, Fritz Lehmann, Andre Cluytens, Joseph Keilberth, and Georg Sold.
Under Rudolf Kempe from 1967 until his tragic early death in 1976, the Munich Philharmonic made its first tours ofjapan and the Soviet Union and recorded the complete Beethoven and Brahms symphonies. Since 1979 Sergiu Cclibidache has been the artistic director as well as the music director of the City of Munich. Under his baton, the orchestra completed a series of successful tours of West Germany, Spain, and Italy, and also became a regular participant in the Berlin Festival. Lorin Maazcl has conducted the orchestra regularly since 1979, and this season is leading concerts in Paris and Warsaw as well as tours of East Germany and North America. Their current North American debut tour includes performances in New York (Carnegie Hall and Avcry Fisher Hall), Washington, D.C., Chicago, Philadelphia, Albany, Worcester, Ann Arbor, Toronto, Ottawa, and Waterloo.
Upon its return to Germany next month, the Munich Philharmonic will have its own concert hall again for the first time in forty years, with the opening of the new "Philharmonic" in the Gasteig Arts Centre. This event heralds the start of a new era in the orchestra's nearly 100-year history.
As one of the most distinguished conductors in the world, Lorin Maazel has conducted over 6,000 concerts with all of the major international orchestras and over 500 performances of operas at the world's leading opera houses. He conducted his first performance with the Munich Philharmonic in 1979 in a televised broadcast and since then has been featured on the orchestra's annual subscription series and summer festivals.
Mr. Maazel is currently principal guest conductor of the French National Orchestra in Paris. At the conclusion of the 1981-82 season, he assumed the title Conductor Emeritus of the Cleveland Orchestra, having served as its music director for ten years in over 700 performances. From September 1982 until June 1984, Mr. Maazel was general manager and artistic director of the Vienna State Opera, the first American to hold that post. From 1976 to 1980 he was principal guest conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra.
The conductor's widely acclaimed and prize-winning recordings include an ongoing cycle of Puccini operas, as well as the symphonies of Beethoven with the Cleveland Orchestra. He has begun a cycle of the Mahler symphonies with the Vienna Philharmonic, marking the first recorded cycle of Mahler by that orchestra.
Increasingly, Mr. Maazel has become involved with television and film production: he con?ducted the film soundtrack and CBS Mastcrworks recording of Mozart's Don Giovanni; he com?pleted the soundtrack for Carmen, which Francesco Rosi filmed for theatrical distribution; he has also made several television programs with the Cleveland Orchestra for the PBS and BBC networks. Mr. Maazel collaborated with French television in a production of Gustav Hoist's The Planets, which interspersed spectacular footage from NASA satellites with dramatic shots of the French National Orchestra. His other television participations include Vivaldi's The Seasons, with footage from New York (summer), Venice (autumn), Moscow (winter), and Paris (spring); Debussy's La Mer, photographed underwater in the British Virgin Islands; and Debussy's Nuages, shot from a helicopter over Les Diablerets in Switzerland.
Among Mr. Maazel's many honors are the Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, an honorary life membership in the Israel Philharmonic, and the Legion d'Honneur from the government of France.
Born on March 6, 1930 in Paris of American parents, Lorin Maazel was raised and educated in the United States. In 1939, at the age of nine, he conducted the Interlochen Orchestra at the New York World's Fair and the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, sharing a program with Leopold Stokowski. At eleven, he was invited by Toscanini to conduct the NBC Symphony, and he subsequently led the New York Philharmonic in summer concerts at Lewisohn Stadium. He made his Cleveland Orchestra debut in 1943 at a Pension Fund concert and three years later entered the University of Pittsburgh to study languages, mathematics, and philosophy. While a student, he was a violinist with the Pittsburgh Symphony, served as apprentice conductor during the 1949-50 season, and organized the Fine Arts Quartet. A Fulbright Fellowship took him to Italy in 1951 to study baroque music. In 1960 he became the youngest conductor and first American to conduct at Bayreuth. From 1965 to 1971 he served as artistic director of the West Berlin Opera and music director of the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Maazel dates his career as a mature artist from December 24, 1953, when he made his debut in Italy.
The maestro first appeared in Ann Arbor on March 2, 1953, when he conducted the Gershwin Concert Orchestra. Subsequent visits were in 1979 with the Cleveland Orchestra and in 1984 with the Orchestrc National de France.
Folk Ballet of Yugoslavia ............................... Thurs. Oct. 31
Cleveland Octet........................................... Sun. Nov. 3
Carlos Montoya, Flamenco Guitarist........................... Sat. Nov. 9
Vienna Symphony Wolfgang Sawallisch................. Wed. Nov. 13
New Philadelphia String Quartet.......................... Sun. Nov. 24
with Richard Woodhams, Oboist; Yoheved Kaplinsky, Pianist
Shura Cherkassky, Pianist................................. Tues. Nov. 26
Handel's Messiah I Donald Bryant...................... Fri.-Sun. Dec. 6-8
Pittsburgh Ballet, Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker............ Fri.-Sun. Dec. 13-15
Jessye Norman, Soprano....................................... Wed. Jan. 8
Cracow Philharmonic....................................... Sat. Jan. 11
Krzysztof Penderecki, Conductor; Yo-Yo Ma, Cellist
The English Concert Trevor Pinnock..................... Wed. Jan. 15
Detroit Symphony Orchestra................................ Sun. Feb. 2
Gunther Herbig, Conductor; Heinrich Schiff, Cellist
UNIVERSITY MUSICAL SOCIETY Burton Memorial Tower, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1270 Phones: (313) 665-3717, 764-2538
MESSAGES OF GREETING
The. namz MUNICH PHILHARMONIC hcu a ring to it {on lovzn o{ clatical muic. I am theAz{oh.z very plzazd that thi zxczptionatty tatzntzd oH.chetra {Mom thz capital o{ Bavaria ha dzcidzd to tour the. Unitzd State {on. the. {int time, in it hiton.y and to give. concert undzn. the. din.e.cXA.on o{ Lofvin Maazzl in izvzn AmeAican oJJLieA {torn OctobeA 17 to 31, 79S5.
The. languagz o{ miuic, tike, no otheA, bfvingi, pzople. and natioYU together, uniting them in the. bondt o{ {tu.e.ndt,hip. WiXh thJj in mind, the. government o{ the. fzdeAot Re.pu.blic o{ GeAmany ha6 given it inanolal mppofvt to the. touA o{ the. MUMICH PHILHARMONIC O6 pant o{ it cZoie. cuXtuAol coopeAation wiXh the. Unittd State. It view the. tovA a an e.xpn.eiion o{ thz oZoie. {hA.endhip which z)ut betwzzn thz Unitzd State and thz FzdeAal Rzpublic o{ GeAmany.
I iinczn.zty hopz that AmeAican audiznce niiLt deJLlght in thez zncountzn uxvth thz mateApizce o{ EuAopzan muicat tAadiZlon. I u)ih thz on.chetAa and it conductor a iu.cce&{uJL touA o{ thz Unitzd State.
Hans-Dietrich Genscher
Minister for Foreign Affairs
of the Federal Republic of Germany
Thz MUNICH PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA will viM. thz Unitzd State o{ AmeAica and Canada in OctobeA 1985. And, no doubt, it memben be ttzlcomz a amba&i,adoh o{ thz City o{ Munich. I am veAy happy indzzd that thi viit wWL pfiovidz yzt anothzn. muicat bnidgz bztwzzn ouA countAie, bztuizzn Munich and thz AmeAican and Canadian ho&t dtie. Acconding to thz wo fid o{ authon. KokL Jutiu WzbeA, "Huic i thz tAuz gzneAal Zanguagz o{ mankind." I hopz that thz {iAt AmeAican touA o{ thz MUNICH PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA Mill makz a vatuablz contAibution zvzn to dzzpzn thz mutual understanding bztwzzn oua nation, apant {ftom promoting ouA cuttunaZ nzlatlon.
In thi iznz, I voih zveAy ucce& to thz concert o{ thz MUNICH PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA in thz Unitzd State o{ America and in Canada, and an ijnpne&ivz muicat tiightiglit to it audience.
Munich, September 10, 1985
George Kronawitter Lord Mayor of Munich
THE MUNICH PHILHARMONIC
LOR IN MAAZEL
Conductor
First Violins
Conaertmasters: Werner Grobholz Sreten Krstic Thomas Wolf Ingolf Turban
Deputy Coneertmaster: Karel Eberle
Mathias Freund Josef Kahlscheuer Erich Bieder Hans Schuster Giinther Feldt Max Fischer Carla Moll Manfred Hufnagel Katharina Kruger Masako Shinohe Claudia Ruf Philip Middleman Nenad Daleore Harald Orlovsky Fritz Eickhoff
Second Violins
Principals: Klaus Mynter Alexander Uszkurat Christian Gansch
Glinter Klein Julie Hessdorfer Friedrich Eisler Norbert Vichr Alfred Brandlhuber Wolfgang Prohaska Karlheinz Wetzel Herold Flintner Jurgen Gottmann Ilona Weninger Berthold Gotschel Dietmar Forster Gustav Kolbe Josef Thoma Martin Manz
Violas
Coneertmasters: Annemarie Binder Helmut Nicolai Martin Albrecht Rohde
Deinhart Goritzki Tivadar Popa Jurgen Schmidt Peter Chr. Steinkrauss Gero Rumpp Rafael Wojsyk Hans-Dietrich Rave Jorge Sutil
Max Spenger Klaus Kosbahn Herbert Stoiber Wolfgang Stingl Gunter Pretzel
Cellos
Conoertmasters: Heinrich Klug Helmar Stiehler Michael Hell
Franz Fischer Ernst Faehndrich Hermann Dirr Willi Schmid Paul Holzfurtner Erich Bruckner Jorg Eggebrecht Johannes Fink Erhard Dimpfl Herbert Heim Gerhard Pawlica
Double Basses
Solo:
Herbert Duft Erwin Gotz Matthias Weber
Yoshinori Suzuki Stephan Graf Albert Stangl Otto Bernhard Franz Urbas Frank Jorg Sirch Wolfgang Nestle Matthias Bernhard
Flutes
Solo:
Max Hecker
Michael Faust
Hans Billig Albert Muller Albrecht Hampe Fritz-Peter Ruppert
Oboes
Solo:
Ulrich Becker
Michael Helmrath
Gerhard Hermann Bernhard Berwanger Susan Goettina
Clarinets
Solo:
Karlheinz Hahn Herbert Gruber
Peter Flahmig Wolfgang Schroder Wilhelm Mehls
Bassoons
Solo:
Richard Popp Friedrich Edelmann
Josef Peters Jorg Urbach Jurgen Popp
Horns
Solo:
Eric Terwilliger
Wolfgang Gaag
David Moltz Hartmut Hubert Robert Ross Wieland Wagner Karl Hammer Alois Schlemer Gottfried Langenstein
Trumpets
Solo:
Jean-Francois Michel
Uwe Komischke
Erich Rinner Hermann Goss Franz Unterrainer
Trombones:
Solo:
Dankwart Schmidt Dany Bonvin Abbie Conant
Robert Meissner Bernhard Weiss
Tuba
Thomas Walsh
Timpani Solo:
Peter Sadlo Stefan Gagelmann
Percussion Arnold Riedhammer Walter Schwarz Manfred Trauner Karlheinz Becker