PROGRAM NOTES
ANGEL BLUE AND RACHMANINOFF 2
For The Met production , dance sequences were added and Charles ’ mother , Billie , was given a larger role . Fire illustrates the ever fine stylistic line between jazz , classical , and film artists : Blanchard is a virtuosic jazz trumpeter and composer , a multi-time Grammy award winner , and Academy Award nominee ; librettist Kasi Lemmons , filmmaker , screenwriter , actress , and professor best known for her film Eve ’ s Bayou ( 1997 ). While critics homed in on Blanchard ’ s use of Italian opera and jazz , what is even more apparent is the composer ’ s rootedness in features of modern American opera and African American musics : minimalist repetition ; vocal melismas and lyricism ; through-composed melodies ; dissonant , angular tonality ; and vocal virtuosity . Blanchard and Lemmons ’ choices made Blow ’ s exploration of familial struggle , betrayal , and personal revelation an epic exploration of interiority . somber lyricism , inventive melodic content and a highly memorable descending figure built on harmonic minor . The movement ’ s opening motive in the lower strings motive appears throughout the work , a technique used earlier by Tchaikovsky . Next is Scherzo , which moves between a militant and exuberant energy . But the Adagio nearly steals the show : the strings start and blossom into the gorgeous main theme of the movement , a moment of unbridled passion , emotion , and pathos that grows more intense and triumphant between episodes of interior reflection . Allegro vivace is a stark contrast in character and tempo : this is hope and exuberance , set in sparkling E major . When the Adagio theme reappears , it is not to dampen the mood ; it gives the orchestra a place to build up from , ascending to an area where doubt and fear can never reach .
Instrumentation Three flutes including piccolo , three oboes including English horn , two clarinets , bass clarinet , two bassoons , four horns , three trumpets , three trombones , tuba , timpani , percussion , and strings .
Musical Terms ABA structure or Ternary form : symmetrical structure in music most often represented by the letters ABA . The A represents a musical idea or ideas , the B represents new , contrasting material , and the final A represents a return to the familiar music heard in the opening of the piece .
Instrumentation Flute , oboe , two clarinets , bass clarinet , bassoon , three horns , two trumpets , two trombones , tuba , timpani , percussion , piano , guitar , rhythm bass , and strings .
Sergei Rachmaninoff
April 1 , 1873 - March 28 , 1943
SYMPHONY NO . 2 IN E MINOR [ 1907 ]
There is something forward sounding in Rachmaninoff ’ s second symphony . Or maybe its better phrased that Rachmaninoff ’ s orchestral sound became for some a key part of their own musical language , especially if you were a film composer in the 1940s . Rachmaninoff ’ s Symphony No . 2 is several decades older , coming off his emotional recovery after the disastrous premiere of hist first symphony and return to form with the critical success of his second piano concerto . The Symphony No . 2 debuted with the conductor at the podium in 1909 , and through successive performances and recordings in the following decades , has become one of Rachmaninoff ’ s most enduring pieces for orchestra .
The E minor symphony follows the standard structure with a twist : four movements with the slow and fast inner movements switched . The Allegro – moderato begins with a slow introduction , leading into the meat of the movement :
ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE : BARBER : KNOXVILLE SUMMER OF 1915
By Kori Hill
S oprano Eleanor Steber ( 1914 – 1990 ) was one of the first internationallyrespected opera singers to be trained in the United States . A native of Wheeling , West Virginia , and a 1938 graduate of the New England Conservatory , Steber had an extraordinary performance , recording , and teaching career . After her successful debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1940 , she was regularly cast in leading roles there until the end of the 1961 season . She was most acclaimed for her portrayals of high soprano roles in the operas of Richard Strauss , Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , Alban Berg , and Giacomo Puccini . Most notably , she created the title role in Samuel Barber ’ s 1958 Vanessa and sang in the Metropolitan Opera premieres of Strauss ’ s Arabella , Mozart ’ s Die Entführung aus dem Serail , and Berg ’ s Wozzeck . In addition to her work at the Metropolitan Opera , Steber also sang in international opera festivals and with major orchestras across the United States . In 1948 , she commissioned Samuel
Barber ’ s Knoxville : Summer of 1915 , which she then premiered with the Boston Symphony Orchestra . The text was particularly meaningful for Steber , who recalled that the piece “ was exactly my childhood .” Across her career , Steber recorded extensively , releasing records of opera arias , popular ballads , art songs , and complete operas on Decca Records , VAI Audio , Sony , Columbia Masterworks , STAND , and RCA Victor . Steber also captivated radio and television audiences for many years with appearances on shows including The Voice of Firestone and The Bell Telephone Hour . After retiring from the stage , she taught at the Cleveland Institute of Music , the Juilliard School , and the New England Conservatory . Steber was also a sought-after masterclass clinician and regarded for the high standards of musical excellence she expected from her students . Her recordings continue to be admired and studied today by aspiring operatic professionals .
MAR-APR 2023 / OVERTURE 23