Overture Magazine - 2014-2015 January-February 2015 | Page 30

{ program notes

Notes by Janet E. Bedell, Copyright ©2015

28 O v ertur e |

www. bsomusic .org

Jo s e ph Meye rho ff Sym pho ny Hall

Jack Everly | Principal Pops Conductor

An Evening with Jason Alexander
Friday, January 23, 2015 — 8 p.m.
Saturday, January 24, 2015 — 8 p.m.
Sunday, January 25, 2015 — 3 p.m.
Presenting Sponsor:
Jack Everly, Conductor

Styne/Sondheim Overture to Gypsy
Arr. Ramin/Ginzler

Styne/Comden/Green/ Overture to Peter Pan
Charlap/Leigh
Arr. Everly

Rodgers/Hammerstein
Arr. Robert Russell Bennett

“March of the Siamese Children” from
The King and I

Styne/Comden/Green Overture to Bells Are Ringing
Arr. Salinger/Everly

Bernstein/Sondheim Overture to West Side Story
Arr. Peress

INTERMISSION

Jason Alexander

“An Evening with Jason Alexander”
Keith Harrison, Accompanist
Kate Fisher, Vocals

The program will be announced from stage.

M i chael Tam maro

offers, after much striving, a fleeting
vision of Heaven to the yearning soul.
Over pulsing strings, we hear a sighing
melody in the violins. This grows into
a labored climb toward God, plunges
briefly back to the depths, then miraculously reaches a heavenly vision of radiant
violins and harps. The whole process is
then repeated in somewhat condensed
form. Cellos next introduce the beautiful second theme group, more passionate
and yearning; it also includes a wonderful, mellow passage for the horns and
Wagner tubas. Two more cycles expand
and develop these thematic elements.
And here we have a spectacular example
of Bruckner’s climax-building technique
of breaking off just short of the summit
and falling back to build higher still.
When the climax is finally reached, it is
followed by the most soaring version of
the “vision of Heaven” music. This, too,
is fleeting, but in a magnificent coda
Bruckner expresses his confidence he
will ultimately reach Heaven.
Buoyed by his vision and still in the
key of D-flat, Bruckner opens his finale
with a burst of joyous energy. Over
galloping strings, horns and trombones
blare out a darkly triumphant theme.
Then a pause and the contrast of a lushly
contrapuntal second theme for strings.
Another pause and Bruckner brings on
a sturdy clod-hopping march for his
“Bruckner unison” third theme. Then
the drama ensues as Bruckner undertakes
the arduous search for C-minor home.
Three times the brass try to muscle their
way in with the main theme, always in
the wrong key. When they finally succeed, the recapitulation is tremendous
with trumpets intensifying the gallop.
After a wonderful contrapuntal setting
of the rustic march, brass brutally cut in
with the questioning theme that opened
the symphony well over an hour ago. But
now questions have been answered, and
Heaven is in sight. Bruckner triumphantly combines the principal themes of all
four movements. With a unison shout,
the entire orchestra turns the question
theme into a joyous C-Major affirmation.

Jack Everly

Jack Everly is the
principal pops
conductor of the
Indianapolis and
Baltimore Symphony orchestras, Naples
Philharmonic Orchestra and the National Arts Centre Orchestra (Ottawa).
He has conducted the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, The
New York Pops at Carnegie Hall and
appears regularly with The Cleveland
Orchestra at Blossom Music Center. This

season, Maestro Everly will conduct over
90 performances in more than 20 North
American cities.
As music director of the “National
Memorial Day Concert” and “A Capital
Fouth” on PBS, Everly proudly leads the
National Symphony Orchestra in these
patriotic celebrations on the National
Mall. These concerts attract hundreds of
thousands of attendees on the lawn and
the broadcasts reach millions of viewers
and are some of the very highest rated
programming on PBS television.