PROGRAM NOTES
CONLON CONDUCTS THE VERDI REQUIEM
Maximilian Franz
FROM THE PODIUM by James Conlon
There ’ s no question about it : Verdi ’ s Requiem is a towering masterpiece . It is remarkable that this Mass for the Dead was written by a composer who , if not an atheist , was at least agnostic . But Verdi could turn any story into a compelling musical work . Here he weaves together two strands — the death of an individual , the author Alessandro Manzoni , and then the story of the Last Judgment , which reaches its dramatic height in the “ Dies irae ” section .
I believe there must be some accident that opens a door and points a person ’ s life in a specific direction . For me , that door opened when I was 11 years old and was taken to the opera . It was Verdi ’ s La traviata , and from that moment I was drawn to classical music . La traviata , Rossini ’ s Barber of Seville , Johann Strauss ’ s Die Fledermaus , Mozart ’ s
Don Giovanni — I saw them all by the time I turned 12 , and I first heard Verdi ’ s Requiem when I was 13 or 14 . I have conducted a lot , lot , lot of opera , including more than 500 performances of operas by Verdi , more than by any other composer . His works reside deeply in my blood and in my consciousness . He holds a musically sacred place in my life .
Verdi ’ s Requiem is not an opera , of course , although much of its writing shares common ground with his operatic style . It is a confluence of his magisterial skill in writing for singers and for orchestra . That is meaningful for me because through my entire career as a conductor I have had one foot in the opera house and the other on the symphony stage . I can ’ t live without both . For me , it ’ s all one piece — the same intersection , in a way , that is at the heart of Verdi ’ s Requiem .
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
BY JAMES M . KELLER
Giuseppe Verdi
Born : October 9 or 10 , 1813 ( he was baptized on the 11th ) in Roncole , near Busseto , Italy Died : January 27 , 1901 , in Milan , Italy
REQUIEM MASS [ 18740 ]
The story of Giuseppe Verdi ’ s Requiem Mass begins with a slightly earlier composer , Gioachino Rossini . Verdi ’ s early operas prolonged Rossini ’ s bel canto ideals , and he never forgot his indebtedness to his distinguished predecessor . When Rossini died , in 1868 , Verdi felt the loss deeply . “ A great name has gone from the world !” he wrote to his friend Countess Clara Maffei . “ His was the most widespread , most popular reputation of our time , and was the glory of Italy ! When the other one who is still alive will no longer be with us , what will remain ?” The “ other ” to whom Verdi was referring was Alessandro Manzoni , a poet and novelist of international reputation and , like Verdi , a patriot for an Italy in the throes of national unification .
Via his powerful publisher , Giulio Ricordi , Verdi approached the powers that be in Bologna — a city with which Rossini had been particularly associated — to propose a tribute . He suggested that 13 composers should contribute one movement each to a composite Requiem Mass , not a huge imposition on anyone and therefore achievable in time for a performance on the first anniversary of Rossini ’ s death . The city fathers supported the idea , but objections were raised on other fronts — from other municipalities that were planning Rossini tributes , from critics who objected to the idea of a “ piecemeal ” composition , from people responsible for balancing budgets . Nonetheless , commissions were handed out . Verdi was assigned the concluding “ Libera me ” section and the other portions were divvied up among 12 other composers , all of whom have since descended into obscurity . In the end , bickering politics got the better of the plan and the piece was not performed . Verdi was chagrined , but he got on with his life and plunged into the composition of Aida .
Then on May 22 , 1873 , Verdi ’ s other cultural hero — Manzoni — died . Verdi did not attend the funeral , but he reported to Clara Maffei : “ I was not there , but few people can have been sadder or more moved than I was ,
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