PROGRAM NOTES
THE SEA AND THE LIGHT
Maximilian Franz
FROM THE PODIUM by Gemma New
Bo Li , Cello
This program involves creative artists who are deeply affected by nature and travel . For Georgia O ’ Keeffe , the visual artist who is the central figure in Kevin Puts ’ work , she made the decision to move from New York City to the Southwest , and the land meant so much to her . Mendelssohn also traveled for inspiration , and the Hebrides Overture comes from his trip to Fingal ’ s Cave in Scotland , seeing the magnificent pillars of the natural rock formation and experiencing the wind and the waves on the journey there . For Debussy , I love that the way he looked at the sea was not literal — it ’ s an impression , exploring how mood and emotion are affected by the natural phenomenon of the sea .
Nature and travel have been significant themes in my own life . I grew up in New Zealand , walking in the hills and the forests , and every time I go back , I immediately want to escape onto those hills . My hometown of Wellington is also the windiest city in the world . We have a harbor , and you can see the sea from at least three different vantage points when you go up the hill next to my house . There is something so soul-enriching about it , taking the time to be one with the land and the sea . When I first left New Zealand , I moved to Baltimore to get my master ’ s degree at the Peabody Institute , and the Baltimore Symphony was a tremendous inspiration for me . I also got to know Kevin Puts through the new music ensemble I created , and I ’ m so glad to be conducting his music for the first time now . His music has this poignancy that makes you reflect and broaden your horizons .
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
BY AARON GRAD
Felix Mendelssohn
Born February 3 , 1809 in Hamburg , Germany Died November 4 , 1847 in Leipzig , Germany
THE HEBRIDES OVERTURE [ 1830-32 ]
Felix Mendelssohn , the grandson of a famous philosopher and the son of a successful banker , took full advantage of the opportunities that came with his family ’ s position . This was a child who celebrated his 12th birthday with a private performance of his first musical , in a fully staged production at his house in Berlin , featuring members of the royal orchestra !
At the age of 20 , Felix Mendelssohn performed a typical rite of passage for well-heeled young men , embarking on a “ grand tour ” of Europe . On August 7 , 1829 , he reached the Hebrides Islands off the western coast of Scotland , where the scenery inspired him to scribble a few phrases of music into a letter sent home to Berlin . His boat voyage the next day to the famous Fingal ’ s Cave provided additional fodder for a new work he began plotting .
After continuing on to Rome , Mendelssohn fashioned his Hebrides ideas into a concert overture as a birthday present for his father , under the original title of Lonely Island . He tinkered with the score and the title several more times — various drafts were known as The Isles of Fingal , Fingal ’ s Cave , and The Hebrides — until he signed off on a definitive version in 1832 . His very first sketch remained in place as the overture ’ s nucleus , as heard in the rocking , wave-like cascades that appear in the opening measures .
Instrumentation Two flutes , two oboes , two clarinets , two bassoons , two horns , two trumpets , timpani , and strings .
Claude Debussy
Born August 22 , 1862 in Saint-Germain-en-Laye , France Died March 25 , 1918 in Paris , France
LA MER [ 1903-05 , REVISED 1909 ]
Claude Debussy had a typical start for a French composer , attending the Paris Conservatory and dabbling in the modern sounds of Richard Wagner , but his outlook expanded dramatically in the 1890s , setting him on a course to reshape the aesthetics of concert music . Influenced by sounds he heard at the 1889 World ’ s Fair in Paris ( especially Javanese gamelan ), and drawing on friendships with poets and painters , Debussy filtered his emerging ideas about symbols and impressions into a new musical language , one in which sounds were celebrated for their sensory appeal , independent of their harmonic function .
Those qualities are on display in the three “ symphonic sketches ” that Debussy fashioned into La mer ( The Sea ) between 1903 and 1905 . The opening movement , “ From Dawn to Noon on the Sea ,” suggests a sense of awakening , and it reaches a gloriously sunny state by the end , suffused by rich brass and percussion . “ Play of the Waves ,” with its whole-tone melodies and puckish character , transports sounds reminiscent of Debussy ’ s earlier Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun into a saturated , aqueous context . “ Dialogue of the Wind and the Sea ” uses vertiginous themes and surging orchestral effects to evoke the full power of the sea frothed up by a brisk wind .
Instrumentation Two flutes , piccolo , two oboes , English horn , two clarinets , three bassoons , contrabassoon , four horns , five trumpets , three trombones , tuba , timpani , percussion , two harps , and strings .
Kevin Puts
Born January 3 , 1972 in Saint Louis , Missouri Currently resides in Yonkers , NY
THE BRIGHTNESS OF LIGHT [ 2019 ]
Kevin Puts is one of the most lyrical and impactful composers of his generation , a status confirmed when he won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for his debut opera , Silent Night . He is also a key figure in the musical life of Baltimore as a member of the composition faculty at the Peabody Institute . He wrote the following program note for The Brightness of Light .
“ In 2015 , I received the honor of a commission from my alma mater , the Eastman School of Music in Rochester , NY . The school ’ s orchestra was planning a trip to perform at Lincoln Center and wanted to include a new work written by an alumni composer to
18 OVERTURE / BSOmusic . org