PROGRAM NOTES
BENEDETTI PERFORMS MARSALIS VIOLIN CONCERTO
beautiful humor and talent in using the most banal object ( a box full of metal star washers ) to create the strongest poetic atmosphere , where everything can exist together : banality , comedy , joy , magical metaphors , and even political statements .
The piece is also inspired by Mahler , whose music has inspired me since my youth . Throughout , I use electronics and the human voice , specifically the voice of my friend , soprano Barbara Hannigan . You ’ ll hear her singing , speaking , breathing , and improvising . We spoke many times about Mahler ’ s ideas of “ Das himmlische Leben ” and recorded her voice with the wind and the waves on the beach .
The electronics work to bring the voice in as a “ mysterious appearance ,” a bit like the offstage band “ da lontano ” in Mahler ’ s Second Symphony or the hidden choir in Holst ’ s The Planets . The effect must be like the sound is coming from another dimension , a mysterious and hidden part of the universe .
And so , Star Washers is about stars . Not only the ones we find in the sky or crushed in the street , but also the stars in my life : those who inspire and accompany me on my creative path .
Instrumentation Two flutes including piccolo and bass flute , two oboes , two clarinets including bass clarinet , bassoon , contrabassoon , two horns , trumpet , bass trumpet , two trombones , tuba , percussion , harp , and strings .
Wynton Marsalis
Born October 18 , 1961 in New Orleans , LA
VIOLIN CONCERTO IN D MAJOR [ 2015 ]
From his recordings of Haydn ’ s Trumpet Concerto to his own Suite for Human Nature ( 2004 ) and The Abyssinian Mass ( 2008 ), Wynton Marsalis revels in stylistic dexterity . He is a performer , composer , and educator steeped in New Orleans and big band jazz and western classical music , keenly aware of the knowledge and legacy he continues through compositions like his violin concerto .
Composed in 2015 , Marsalis ’ Violin Concerto joins two threads of tradition : those of the concerto ( such as that of Beethoven , Tchaikovsky , or Shostakovich ); and the syncretic process of American music . Across the four movements , Marsalis brings together classical violin and fiddling traditions with folk , jazz , and modernist tonalities , expressing a range of emotions : playfulness , dark introspection , exuberance , and rhapsodic lyricism .
This stylistic weaving was pointed and purposeful , reflecting Benedetti ’ s real-life travels as a performer and educator . As Marsalis explained in the liner notes for the debut recording ( 2019 ): Nicky asked me to ‘ invite a diverse world of people into the experience of this piece …’ Because modern living is an integrated experience , it is never difficult to discover organic connections . Turning those insights into something meaningful and playable , however , is another story … That ’ s why I looked for real-life examples in the history of jazz — symphonic collaborations and to the environment and experience that connect Nicky and me . I considered aspects of her Scottish ancestry , the great Afro-American abolitionist Frederick Douglass ’ love of legendary Scottish poet Robert Burns , my love and inextinguishable respect for Scottish baritone saxophonist Joe Temperley ( and his gleeful recitation of pungent limericks ), and the luminous but obscure achievements of Afro-American keyed bugler Francis Johnson – father of the American cornet tradition and one of the first published American composers … who was also a fine fiddler . These sources led me to reconnect with the Anglo-Celtic roots of Afro-American music . The result is a piece that centers experience , heritage , and cultural impact : of the people and traditions that inspired it ; and the two individuals that brought the music to the page and the stage . The Violin Concerto in D Major is simultaneously local and global : reflecting the depths of Black music ’ s impact on American culture and the cultural collaborations between Scots and Black Americans , past and present .
Instrumentation Three flutes including piccolo , three oboes including English horn , three clarinets including E-flat clarinet and bass clarinet , three bassoons including contrabassoon , four horns , three trumpets , three trombones , tuba , sousaphone , percussion , harp , and strings .
Camille Saint-Saëns
Born October 9 , 1835 , in Paris , France Died December 16 , 1921 , Algiers , Algeria
SYMPHONY NO . 3 , “ ORGAN ” [ 1886 ]
In the mid-1880s , Camille Saint-Saëns was a critically successful composer , enjoying a stable fame in England . Be it for solo instrument or ensemble , he injected conventional forms with a blazing , effervescent virtuosity . With the Symphony No . 3 in C Minor , commissioned by the Royal Philharmonic Symphony , Saint-Saëns brought that approach to the symphonic genre . It debuted in May 1886 with the composer at the podium . Following the passing of Franz Liszt a month later , Saint-Saëns dedicated the piece to the late composer .
Instead of the standard four movements . Saint-Saëns divided his third symphony into two large sections : I . Adagio – Allegro moderato – Poco adagio and II . Allegro moderato – Presto – Maestoso – Allegro .
The main theme of the Adagio-Allegro moderato is a variation of the Dies Irae chant , growing from rumbling to extroverted anguish , while the Poco adagio is languid and meditative . The Allegro moderato of the second movement communicates a determined agitation and confidence . Its form evokes a minuet-trio or scherzo , with shifts between intensity and waltz-like abandon . But Saint-Saëns liked to split things by divisions of two ; section A and section B are heard twice , followed by a reflective coda section in preparation for the glorious organ chord of the Maestoso .
The organ ’ s dramatic entrance is quickly followed by a gentle , tender theme ( if you ’ ve seen the film Babe , you ’ ll know exactly what I ’ m talking about ). This theme is a variation of Dies Irae in major mode , similar in technique and purpose to the journey from minor to major mode in Beethoven ’ s Fifth .
The lyricism soon makes way to bombast via a fugue , quickly unspooling through all orchestral sections . The texture does not coagulate but remains deftly balanced with a crystalline timbre to the work ’ s rousing conclusion ; like looking into clear , sparkling water or enjoying the brilliant rays of the sun .
Instrumentation Three flutes including piccolo , two oboes including English horn , two clarinets , bass clarinet , two bassoons , contrabassoon , four hours , three trumpets , three trombones , tuba , timpani , percussion , piano , organ , and strings .
Musical Terms “ Das himmlische Leben ”: Sung by a soprano in the finale of Mahler ’ s Fourth Symphony , this song presents a child ’ s vision of heaven .
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