PROGRAM NOTES
FLORENCE PRICE AND SHOSTAKOVICH using melodic fragments and figures to drive the formal direction and build tension until the entire main theme is introduced by the orchestra . The lyrical Andante-Cantabile is set in D major , contrasting with the first section and allowing the final section , Andantino-Allegretto , to be set in B flat major . Price ’ s use of this key , in conjunction with syncopated rhythms , duple meter , and altered rondo form , indicate her adaptation of the African American music-dance form , pattin ’ juba . Developed in the enslavement period , this highly rhythmic , percussive genre was a constant favorite : Price used the dance form in the third movements of her three symphonies , most of her chambers , and the final movement of her first violin concerto . It is playful , sly , and assured , a perfect , ebullient close .
Instrumentation Flute , oboe , two clarinets , bassoon , two horns , two trumpets , two trombones , timpani , percussion , and strings .
Dmitri Shostakovich
Born September 25 , 1906 in Saint Petersburg , Russia Died August 9 , 1975 in Moscow , Russia
SYMPHONY NO . 5 [ 1937 ]
Unlike the above works by his contemporaries , the roots of Shostakovich ’ s Fifth Symphony were not for art ’ s sake or personal interest : it was a move to salvage his career and save his life . The trouble started with his opera , Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk District ( 1934 ), which was a rousing critical success — until Stalin saw it . The plot and avant-garde nature of the score were a cultural , and thus , an institutional threat . Shostakovich went from celebrated composer to a man degrading his own culture , living in fear of arrest and execution , one of millions of victims of Stalin ’ s purges . Shostakovich had only one method of attack : to write something the government would read as a beacon of Soviet power and strength . He set aside his fourth symphony ( too decadent , intense , morally ambiguous ) for a new symphony dripping with heroism ; clear melodies ; and a triumphant conclusion .
For decades , Shostakovich ’ s Symphony No . 5 in D minor has been interpreted as a work of irony and refusal hidden in penance . I . Moderato has one of the more iconic openings of a symphonic work : a rhythmic call-andresponse between lower and upper strings that purposefully grows to an orchestral wail . The texture makes the melodies clear , but not easy , as the buildup of intensity requires stamina and technical security . II . Allegretto is the short , dance movement typically reserved for the third movement ; the pokey , flighty main theme communicates a childlike simplicity ; but like a significant portion of Shostakovich ’ s work , there ’ s unsettling about this hyped-up joy . III . Largo replaces the overt intensity of the first movement for intense stasis and austerity that slowly breaks down as the movement progresses . The unsettling hype returns in the IV . Allegro non troppo ; after a bombastic intro , the strings take hold of the main theme and short motives and at a breakneck speed drive the movement to the heroic melody of the trumpet that passes to the strings . A lyrical contemplative section provides contrast , connecting to the main theme ’ s return and the coda ’ s blinding positivity and light .
Instrumentation Two flutes , piccolo , two oboes , two clarinets , E-flat clarinet , two bassoons , contrabassoon , four horns , three trumpets , three trombones , tuba , timpani , percussion , harp , piano , celesta , and strings .
Musical Terms Interludes : A piece of music played between other pieces or between the verses of a hymn . Passacaglia : A music form that originated in early seventeenth-century Spain , consisting of variations usually on a ground bass in moderately slow triple time . Diatonic : any stepwise arrangement of the seven “ natural ” pitches ( scale degrees ) forming an octave without altering the established pattern of a key or mode . pattin ’ juba : An African-American style of dance that involves stomping as well as slapping and patting the arms , legs , chest , and cheeks . Coda : A concluding section , typically extensions of the main themes .
Maximilian Franz
JAN-FEB 2023 / OVERTURE 27