BEETHOVEN EMPEROR PIANO CONCERTO FEATURING BRONFMAN
pianoforte; if not, then all bad wishes— but even these fell short of his elusive ideal. The pianoforte of Beethoven’ s time ever remained“ inadequate.”
All the while, Beethoven’ s hearing continued to deteriorate; by 1809, deafness precluded him from premiering this fifth and final piano concerto. Instead, pianist Friedrich Schneider introduced the work in Leipzig in November 1811, followed by a Vienna performance in February 1812( nearly three years after Napoleon’ s siege) with Beethoven’ s pupil Carl Czerny. In a striking departure from earlier concertos, Beethoven writes in the score at the end of the first movement,“ Do not play a cadenza, but attack immediately the following.” For Beethoven, as for the concerto tradition, it was a radical shift.
Beethoven’ s disdain for Napoleon, the self-proclaimed emperor who sought to reshape Europe into his own“ Grand Empire,” is well documented. So then, what of the Concerto’ s title,“ Emperor”? One likely apocryphal story credits a French officer with exclaiming, C’ est l’ Empereur!(“ It’ s an emperor among concertos!”) upon hearing the work. Another theory holds that the title was a marketing ploy conjured by the English publisher of the concerto. Whatever the case, given the political climate, Beethoven almost certainly would have disapproved.
Instrumentation: two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani, and strings, in addition to the solo piano.
James Lee III
Born November 26, 1975 in St. Joseph, Michigan Resides in Edgewood, Maryland
CONCERTO FOR ORCHESTRA [ 2025 ]
As the BSO’ s 2024 – 25 Composer in Residence, James Lee III has become a familiar and valued figure at Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall and The Music Center at
Strathmore. Electrifying performances of such acclaimed compositions as Lee III’ s celestial Sukkot Through Orion’ s Nebula, his propulsive Chuphshah! Harriet’ s Drive to Canaan, and his episodic Visions of Cahokia preceded world premieres this spring of Lee III’ s new cello concerto, Renewed Mind, featuring cellist Joshua Roman, and a new piece for orchestra and chorus, presented at the BSO’ s annual Gospelfest. Tonight, Lee III’ s Concerto for Orchestra enters the repertoire with its first ever outing right here in Meyerhoff Hall. Of the new Concerto for Orchestra.
Lee III writes:“ My Concerto for Orchestra is in four movements and partially inspired by the city of Baltimore. The first movement,“ Revived Charm,” obviously references the name“ Charm City” given to the city and a historical nod to a 1975 advertising campaign to improve the city’ s reputation and highlight hidden charms, architecture, and traditions. The music opens with an ascending figure meant to evoke a progressive ascent to a revived state of prominence. This movement is loosely organized in sonata form with contrasting sections of music that elicit memories of adversity, peace, and joy. After the climax of the development section, the second theme returns, once again led by the harp and strings. This is followed by the first theme in which the memories of the city are briefly forgotten and the anxiety of the citizens comes to the foreground in the second movement, entitled“ Anxious Communities.” As with any large city, elements of crime, violence, injustice, and poverty are large concerns. The music of this movement is continuously agitated with outbursts from the entire orchestra and sections of the orchestra that are heard at both a loud and soft dynamics. A two-note slur motivic figure in the strings and winds is heard that represents the question“ How Long?” i. e., How long will these negative conditions continue? The contrasting passages that follow continue to grow in density and intensity until the end of the movement. The third movement,“ Yearning Souls,” begins with solos from the contrabass, cello, viola, and violins of a mournful nature. After the solos have come to a completion, the entire string section and later the brass join to express an earnest plea for the uplifting of humanity from the depths of suffering and sadness. As moments of hope are expressed, the music in the timpani quotes the“ fate motive” that is ubiquitously heard and seen in Beethoven’ s first movement from his Fifth Symphony. This serves as a question to the listener,“ What will you do?” The last movement,“ Rising City,” is structured in Rondo form and describes a resilient city that strives to overcome adverse circumstances. In this movement, I use a three-note motivic figure on the pitch B which represents Bal-ti-more at various moments in this movement. After varying episodes that contrast with the refrain“ Bal-ti-more,” the music continues to ascend and become more celebratory until the last note.”
— James Lee III
Instrumentation: two flutes, piccolo, two oboes, English horn, two clarinets, bass clarinet, two bassoons, contrabasoon, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, harp, piano, and strings.
Bedřich Smetana
Born March 2, 1824 in Litomyšl, Bohemia( today the Czech Republic) Died May 12, 1884 in Prague, Bohemia
THE MOLDAU [ 1874 ]
The oft-told story is that Smetana’ s nationalism was born in the spring of 1848 amid the revolutionary fervor that swept across Europe. A native of Bohemia— then part of the Austrian Empire, today the Czech Republic— the 24-year-old joined the Prague Uprising, defending barricades against imperial Austrian troops and composing patriotic marches for the revolutionaries. Two decades later, Friedrich( as he was called in primarily German-speaking Bohemia)
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