{ program notes
PEABODY PERFORMS
Edward Polochick, conductor
Peabody Concert Orchestra
Peabody Singers
Peabody-Hopkins Chorus
Johann Sebastian Bach:
Magnificat in D major, BWV 243
Edward Elgar: Enigma Variations, Op. 36
Sponsored by the Douglas S. and Hilda P. Goodwin
Fund of the Peabody Conservatory
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9
at 8:00 pm
Miriam A. Friedberg Concert Hall
$15 Adults, $10 Seniors, $5 Students
For tickets, call 410-234-4800
or visit peabody.jhu.edu/events.
this time it was clear that Napoleon’s
days were numbered. For the occasion,
Beethoven had written one of his most notorious compositions Wellington’s Victory:
a military extravaganza calling for vast
troops of musicians and a huge percussion
battery. In one of his last appearances as a
conductor, he led the proceedings, but his
deafness severely hampered his effectiveness. It is amazing the Seventh Symphony
was even noticed in this circus atmosphere, but indeed it was warmly received
and the audience demanded an encore of
the second movement.
The first movement begins with a
slow introduction, the biggest Beethoven
ever wrote. Its expansive dimensions,
accentuated by majestic rising scales,
allows for two lyrical interludes — led
first by oboes, then by the flute — which
carry the music to keys remote from
the A-major home base. It is linked to
the main Vivace section by the playful
evolution of the galloping rhythm that
drives the rest of the movement. Late
in its course, listen for the remarkable
passage in which the low strings mutter B