UMS Concert Program, March 17, 1990: International Presentations Of Music & Dance -- Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra

Season: 111th
Concert: Thirty-fifth
Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor, Michigan

THE UNIVERSITY MUSICAL SOCIETY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra oftheU.S.S.R.
DMITRI KITAENKO Music Director and Conductor
VLADIMIR KRAINEV, Pianist
Saturday Evening, March 17, 1990, at 8:00 Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor, Michigan
PROGRAM A Night on Bald Mountain .................................. Mussorgsky
Concerto No. 3 in C major for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 26 ...... Prokofiev
Andante, allegro
Andantino
Allegro ma non troppo
Vladimir Krainev INTERMISSION
Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 54........................ Shostakovich
Largo
Allegro
Presto
The pre-concert carillon recital was performed by Joe Discenza, a doctoral student in mathematics and a carillon student ofMargo Halsted, University Carillonneur.
For the convenience of our patrons, the box office in the outer lobby will be open during intermission for purchase of tickets to upcoming Musical Society concerts.
The Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Dmitri Kitaenko, and Vladimir Krainev
appear by arrangement with ICM Artists, Ltd., New York City. Vladimir Krainev plays the Steinway piano available through Hammell Music, Inc.
Cameras and recording devices are not allowed in the auditorium. Halls Cough Tablets, courtesy of Warner Lambert Company, are available in the lobby.
Thirty-fifth Concert of the 111th Season 111th Annual Choral Union Series
PROGRAM NOTES
A Night on Bald Mountain .......................... Modest Mussorgsky
(1839-1881)
In the winter of 1871-72, Mussorgsky, joining three other celebrated Russian composers -Borodin, Cui, and Rimsky-Korsakov, who were his friends as well -undertook to write an opera. As might be predicted in such a unique attempt, the composers never completed the fairy tale opera Mlada. For Mussorgsky, however, there was a happy "fallout" from this venture, a tone poem that proved to be one of his most popular works. It was originally called "The Dream of the Peasant Lad," and Mussorgsky throught of using it as part of another opera he was working on. That, however, did not happen, and the piece has managed to survive on its own merit.
The tone poem depicts the Witches' Sabbath on St. John's Eve, June 23. The Feast of St. John the Baptist is celebrated to coincide with the summer solstice, a time of year that has been celebrated since ancient times. According to an old Russian tradition, the god Tchcrnobog appears as a black goat and presides over the festivities that are held on Bald Mountain.
Within the score there is enough indication by Mussorgsky of his programmatic in?tentions. He noted: "Subterranean sounds of supernatural voices. Appearance of the spirits of darkness, followed by that of Satan himself. Glorification of Satan and celebration of the Black Mass. Witches' Sabbath, interrupted at its height by the sounds of the far-off bell of the little church in the village. It disperses the Spirits of Darkness. Daybreak."
Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major, Op. 26...................Sergei Prokofiev
(1891-1953)
In his biography of Prokofiev, Israel Nestycv traces four predominant characteristics in his music: classicism (or neoclassicism) and frequent use of old classical forms and patterns, fantasy and grotesqueness, lyricism, and humor. Though all of these do not make their appearance in every work by Prokofiev, they arc all amply represented in the Third Piano Concerto.
Ideas for this concerto were accumulated over a period of years -one or two are traceable as far back as 1911 -but actual work on it was not begun until 1917 while Prokofiev was in Leningrad. Shortly thereafter, however, the composer embarked on a tour that took him to the United States, and the composition of the concerto was temporarily suspended. It was ul?timately completed at St. Brevin, France, in October 1921. The first performance was given by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Frederick Stock conducting, in December of that year, with Prokofiev himself playing the solo piano part. It was well received in Chicago, but when the composer played it with the New York Symphony Orchestra under Albert Coates ten days later, it was condemned. Since then, however, it has taken its place as one of the important modern piano concerti.
The concerto's first movement is a brilliant Allegro preceded by an introduction, Andante, that reappears in the middle of the movement as a lyrical contrast; the movement ends with an imposing crescendo. The second movement is a marchlike theme announced by the orchestra, with five variations. The finale, Allegro ma non troppo, as described by Prokofiev, "starts with a staccato theme for bassoons and pizzicato strings, interrupted by the stormy entry of the piano. An alternative theme appears in the woodwinds, with a darkening of tempo. The piano replies in the caustic style of the work, and the whole material is developed until it reaches a brilliant coda."
Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 54 ..................Dmitri Shostakovich
(1906-1975)
The musical history of the Soviet Union, with the deep identifying marks made as it passed through different doctrinal stages, can be traced by merely following the works of Dmitri Shostakovich, its most representative composer. Very often Shostakovich's lesser composi?tions have been excused by critics as his best efforts to meet the requirement of the political content demanded of all Soviet composers. But, political content or not, what is expected of any composer is, simply and succinctly, good music. The Shostakovich mannerisms -measurable units of one long and two short (motor-controlled without ever sputtering), sentimentalized melodicism, and a scoring plan of dynamic candor (not designed for ex-hibitionistic purposes) -have been widely imitated. In terms of a composer's style, no better compliment can be made.
In 1925, during the days of the New Economic Policy, considerable freedom was the vogue in the Soviet Arts. At the age of 19, Shostakovich made his entry into the music world via his First Symphony, a truly first-rate opus, one that continued the Russian tradition while proclaiming the vigor of a new voice. He then proved he was master of his craft, mixing polytonality, polyrhythms, special coloristic blends, grotesquerie and satire into his next pair of symphonies and in the operas The Nose and Lady Macbeth oJMtsensk.
The censure given Shostakovich's music in 1936 (the unjustifiable indictment included such terms as "formalism," "decadent," and "bourgeois") led to a change of style, exemplified by the Fifth and Sixth Symphonies. Rash hedonism is absent from these pieces, but they still contain the composer's habits of spiced sentimentality and openhearted oslinali rhythms. The Sixth was composed in 1939, and the premiere took place at a Festival of Soviet Music in Moscow on December 3, 1939. Almost a year later Leopold Stokowski presented the work for the first time in the United States, with The Philadelphia Orchestra.
After the Fifth Symphony there had been announcements by Shostakovich of a symphony-in-progress that would memorialize Lenin. When the Sixth appeared, however, it was immediately observed that the idea had been shelved -nothing more was ever heard of it. Though the preliminary publicity led writers to connect the music with Lcninistic associations, there is no evidence whatsoever that the Sixth Symphony is programmatic, or for the subjective analysis offered by Shostakovich's biographer Ivan Martynov, who proposed the work to be a contrast of the past with the present.
Tempo is a strong pivot in the symphony's structure. The first movement is a long-spun Largo, giving an unorthodox effect, as though the work began with its second movement. (Thereafter the speedratc continually increases, the second movement an Allegro and the finale a Presto.) The Largo is a movement of fantasy and with seeming improvisational shifts, contrast?ing chunky, block scoring with chamber-style textures. The mood is introspective and dark (Shostakovich's use of the English horn is especially acute), restless in a restrained way (39 different metrical changes occur -an unusual matter for Shostakovich). The Allegro is in sonata form but speaks in terms of a ripsnorting scherzo, flung on its way by the harsher-timbered E-flat clarinet and ending with a convincing, blackout cadence. Only in the finale (in rondo design) docs the music relax. Regulated by Mozartean clan, some of the harmonic punctuations are saw-toothed.
-Arthur Cohn
About the Artists
The Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, regarded as one of the world's finest symphonic ensembles, was founded in 1951 by Samuel Samosud, a distinguished conductor of the Bolshoi Opera. Originally part of the Ail-Union Radio Committee, the orchestra was established primarily for the broadcasting of operatic music; it was given its current title in 1953. Under the direction of Samosud, the Moscow Philharmonic performed the works of many new Soviet composers and also gave concert performances of operas seldom heard by Soviet audiences.
In 1958, Kiril Kondrashin began a long-lasting relationship with the orchestra and in 1960 was named music director, a post he held until 1975. Under Kondrashin's direction, the Moscow Philharmonic toured extensively, participating in numerous festivals of modern music throughout the Soviet Union and in many of the world's important music centers. In 1963, the orchestra toured in Eastern Europe, England, and France, and in 1965 made a highly successful seven-week tour of the United States. The ensemble returned to the United States in 1970 and again in 1979, marking its last appearance in this country.
In Ann Arbor, the Moscow Philharmonic performed two concerts in the 1965 tour (one under Kondrashin and the other under Evgeny Svetlanov), returning for a third concert in 1979 with Dmitri Kitaenko.
Under Dmitri Kitaenko's musical direction since 1976, the Moscow Philharmonic has continued and expanded its tradition of presenting seldom-performed works and new music of contemporary composers. In the Soviet Union, Kitaenko and the orchestra gave the first performances of Puccini's Messa di Gloria and Messiacn's Turangalila Sympiionie. They have also performed at festivals of Soviet music in Great Britain, Mexico, and Japan and participated in the "U.S.S.R. Culture Days" in Hungary and Czechoslovakia. More recently, at the Inter?national Festival of Modern Music in Moscow, the orchestra performed for the first time in the Soviet Union the works of such contemporary composers as Ngyucn Sin of Vietnam, Ausborn of Great Britain, Severud of Norway, Suhon of Czechoslovakia, and Golcminov of Bulgaria.
The Moscow Philharmonic has performed in over 4,000 concerts and has made over 100 recordings, many of which have been honored with some of music's most coveted prizes.
Dmitri Kitaenko, named music director of the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra in 1976, is one of the Soviet Union's leading conductors, and his relationship with the Moscow Philharmonic is regarded as one of the most creative collaborations in Soviet music today.
Mr. Kitaenko began his musical studies at the choral school of the Leningrad Choir. In 1958, he entered the Leningrad Conservatory where he studied choral conducting, and, after graduating, began graduate studies at the Moscow Conservatory. He then attended the Vienna Academy, studying with Hans Swarowsky and Estcrreichcr, where he received an honorary diploma. While in Vienna, he also participated in several conducting seminars with Herbert von Karajan, and in 1969, he attracted the attention of the music world when he won first prize in the first International Competition of Conductors sponsored by Von Karajan.
In 1970, Kitacnko returned to Moscow and joined the Stanislavsky Theater. Soon named chief conductor of the theater orchestra, his successes there included a brilliant new production of Carmen, staged by the German director Walter Felsenstein.
Today, Dmitri Kitaenko's career includes guest appearances with virtually all the major orchestras in the Soviet Union and many of the finest orchestras in the world. He conducts annually at the Vienna Festival and appears throughout Austria, Switzerland, and Italy, and in the countries of Eastern Europe and Latin America.
Vladimir Krainev, in the top ranks of the Soviet Union's internationally renowned pianists, was born in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, in 1944. He made his orchestral debut at the age of eight with the Kharkov Symphony, playing Beethoven's First Piano Concerto, and was chosen for the Moscow Conservatory class of Hcinrich Neuhaus, the legendary teacher who had inspired both Sviatoslav Richter and Emil Gilels. In 1970, Krainev received the Gold Medal at the Tchaikovsky Competition, preceded in 1964 with First Prize at Lisbon's Vianna da Motta Competition and in 1963 with Second Prize at Leeds in England.
The artist's competition successes immediately launched him on a career that has taken him to the major stages of his native country, Eastern and Western Europe, Great Britain, and the Americas. His orchestral appearances have included performances with the National Sym?phony of Washington, D.C., the Minnesota Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, and in Europe with the Berlin Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony, the major orchestras of London, the BBC Proms, and the Edinburgh Festival.
In addition to a full schedule of recital and concerto performances each season, Mr. Krainev is one of the busiest recording artists in Russia today. Well-known to connoisseurs in the West from his extensive work on the Melodiya label, he has recorded the complete Chopin (now being released on CD by Eurodisc), the five piano concertos of Prokofiev with the Moscow Philharmonic, and 16 of the 27 Mozart concertos in the complete series with conductor Saulis Sondeckis. He is also distinguished for his recording of the Alfred Schnittkc Piano Concerto, which the composer dedicated to him and which he premiered, and his performance of the Shostakovich concerto with the Moscow Virtuosi, which enjoyed overwhelming successes at Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, and in the major cities of the Virtuosi's 1987 United States tour.
Vladimir Krainev makes his first Ann Arbor appearance this evening.
Pre-concert Presentations
All presentations free of charge, in the Rackham Building one hour before the concert.
Wednesday, Mar. 21, preceding Thomas Allen, baritone
Martin Katz, Prof, of Music in Accompanying, U-M
Topic: "An Accompanist's Look at Liedcr" Sunday, Apr. 1, preceding Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields
Glenn Watkins, Prof, of Music HistoryMusicology, U-M Saturday, Apr. 14, preceding Murray Perahia, pianist
Deanna Relyca, Director, Kerrytown Concert House
Topic: "Problems Peculiar to Pianists: Their Instruments, Their Careers" Saturday, Apr. 28, preceding The King's Singers
Kenneth Fischer, Executive Director, University Musical Society
Topic: "Adventures with Six Smashing Brits"
Concert Guidelines
Starting Time: Every attempt is made to begin concerts on time. Latecomers are asked to wait in the
lobby until seated by ushers at a predetermined time in the program.
Children: Children not able to sit quietly during the performance may be asked by an usher, along with the
accompanying adult, to leave the auditorium.
Coughing: From London's Royal Festival Hall: "During a test in the hall, a note played mezzo forte on the
horn measured approx. 65 decibels; a single 'uncovered' cough gave the same reading. A handkerchief
placed over the mouth assists in obtaining a pianissimo."
Watches: Electronic beeping and chiming digital watches should be turned off during performances. In
case of emergency, advise your paging service of auditorium and seat location and ask them to call
University Security at 763-1131.
This activity is supported by the Michigan Council for the Arts. The University Musical Society is an Equal Opportunity Employer and provides programs and services without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, or handicap.
MOSCOW PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA OF THE U.S.S.R.
First Violins Vladimir Lukianov Dmitry Tombasov Ycrcmcy Tsukcrman Yclcna Kurcnkova Boris Goldcnblank Mark Levin Dmitry Hahamov Arkady Zclianodzhivo Yevgeny Okun Dmitry Vaskovich Grigory Sosonsky Nadezhda Kurdumova Yuri Zhogas Konstantin Komissarov Tatiana Aleksandrova Edvard Idclchuk Irina Lesiovskaya
Second Violins Mihail Chcmiahovsky Mark Dvoskin Sergei Gorbcnko Gennady Aronin Konstantin Bcnderov Grigory Vaks Evsey Bernadsky Yuri Sheyhet Ludmila Murina Boris Tsionsky Pavel Fcldman Arkady Goldfinc Artur Mihailov Sergei Amirov Alcksei Tolpygo Galina Genkina
Violas
Mihail Yakovlcv Igor Bobyliov Emil Langbord Aleksei Mihailov Nikolai Kondrashin Alcxandr Hersonsky Yuliy Sychev-Zborovsky Alcksandr Konsistorum Igor Smirnov Leonid Muravin Anatoly Andrianov Yuri Potscluyev Leonid Surin
Cellos
Ernest Pozdcycv
Aleksandr Gotgelf
Stcpan Matrosov Leonid Goldberg Aleksandr Kovaliov Grigory Ycgiazarian Tatiana Ustinova Nikolay Silvestrov Viliam Yunk Aleksandr Kasyanov Boris Korshun Aleksandr Zagorinsky
Basses
Yuri Akscnov Vasily Zatscpin Gennady Muzika Sergei Kornienko Yuri Ter-Mihailov Viacheslav Mihailov Aleksei Hodorchcnkov Mihail Kiscl Robert Dcvoyan Viacheslav Kuznctsov
Flutes
Albert Gofman Vladimir Kudria Vladimir Maydanovich Vladimir Pakylivech
Oboes
Yevgeny Liahovedsky Vladimir Tambortsev Leonid Kondakov Stanislav Kochnev Alexandr Koreshkov
Clarinets
Nikolay Mozgovenko
Igor Panasuk
Igor Shtcgman
Vladimir Simkin
Bassoons Arnold Irshai Sergei Dokshitser Nikolay Guskov Viacheslav Sazykin
Horns
Leonid Mclnikov Vasily Ivkov Yuri Stcpanov Aleksey Boyko Boris Boldyrcv Evgeniy Riabov
Trumpets Yevgeny Fomin Andrcj Ikov Aleksei Parshenkov Viktor Okinsky
Trombones Igor Bogolcpov Yuri Kolosov Mihail Dcriugin Yuri Dobrogorsky Alcksci Sholomko
Tuba Yuri Larin
Percussion
Dmitry Lukianov Valeri Barkov Ilia Spivak Utkur Diyarov Andrei Shtefutsa
Harps
Tatiana Ponomareva
Ludmila Vartanian
Piano
Valentin Tasherev
Stage Manager Anton Shershnev
Administrator
Anatoly Mihailov
Librarian Yuri Iluhin
Wardrobe
Larisa Zhuravliova
Technicians
David Lvovsky Aleksandr I 1,mini Vladimir Rutman
ICM Artists Touring Division Byron Gustafson,
Vice-President and Director Leonard Stein,
General Manager Richmond Davis,
Stage Manager Tanya Jastrcbov, Interpreter Mark Driscoll, Interpreter
Coming Concerts
Thomas Allen, baritone ...................................... Wed. Mar. 21
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra .............................. Sun. Mar. 25
David Zinman, conductor; Isaac Stern, violinist
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields Iona Brown ...............Sun. Apr. 1
The Feld Ballet.................................... Wed., Thurs. Apr. 4, 5
Jim Cullum Jazz Band......................................... Sat. Apr. 7
William Warfield, narrator; Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess"
Murray Perahia, pianist ....................................... Sat. Apr. 14
Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia Marc Mostovoy..............Sun. Apr. 22
The King's Singers .......................................... Sat. Apr. 28
Underwritten by Parke Davis Research Division of Warner Lambert.
97th Annual May Festival -May 9-12,1990 Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor, 8:00 p.m.
Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra Andre Previn, Guest Conductor and Pianist
The Festival Chorus Hei-Kyung Hong, Soprano Richard Stilwell, Baritone
UNIVERSITY MUSICAL SOCIETY Board of Directors
David B. Kennedy, President Ann S. Schriber, Vice President
Thomas E. Kaupcr, Secretary Norman G. Herbert, Treasurer
Gail W. Rector, President Emeritus
Robert G. Aldrich Carl A. Brauer, Jr. James J. Dudcrstadt Richard L. Kennedy
Patrick B. Long Judythc R. Maugh Rebecca McGowan John D. Paul
John Psarouthakis Herbert E. Sloan Lois U. Stegeman Gilbert R. Whitaker, Jr.
Advisory Committee
Ann Schriber, Chair
Sue Bonfield Charles Borgsdorf Bradley Canale Sandra Conncllan Katharine Cosovich Elena Delbanco Anne Duderstadt
Joyce Ginsberg Charles Hills JoAnne Hulce Alice Davis Irani Stuart Isaac Frances Jelinek Shirley Kauper
Howard King Lynn Luckenbach Alan Mandel Ingrid Martin Charlotte McGeoch Joan Olsen Agnes Reading
Dorothy Reed Miriam Stephan Raven Wallace Mary White Sally White Shelly Williams Nancy Zimmerman
University Choral Union and Festival Chorus
Laura Rosenberg Cindy Egolf-Sham Rao Jean Schneider-Claytor Donald T. Bryant, Conductor Emeritus
Staff
Kenneth C. Fischer, Executive Director
Catherine S. Arcure Sally A. Cushing Lcilani Denison Barbara L. Ferguson
Judy Johnson Fry Michael L. Gowing Deborah Halinski Lorna Young Hildebrandt
John B. Kennard, Jr. Michael J. Kondziolka Thomas M. Mull Laura Rosenberg
Robin Stcphenson Joan C. Susskind Carol G. Wargelin Nancy Welder
Student Assistants: James Anderson, Sara Billmann, Mark Ligeski, Karen Paradis, Ann Mary Quarandillo
UNIVERSITY MUSICAL SOCIETY
Burton Memorial Tower, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1270 Telephones: (313) 764-2538, 763-TKTS