{ program notes
a trim young man to a very obese one during his long retirement ), and when a younger composer once inquired what was the best way to write an overture , Rossini replied , “ Wait till the evening of the day the opera is scheduled for performance . Nothing excites the imagination more than necessity , the presence of a copyist waiting for the music and the pressing of an impresario in despair tearing out his hair . In my day in Italy , all impresarios were bald by the age of 30 !”
The overture follows the surefire formula Rossini had invented for himself .
Sometimes Rossini didn ’ t even bother to compose a new overture at all , but simply borrowed one he ’ d used for a previous opera — until it became attached to a hit and could not be recycled anymore . Such was the case with The Barber , which premiered in Rome on February 20 , 1816 ; its overture had been previously used for both Aureliano in Palmira ( 1813 ) and Elisabetta , regina d ’ Inghiletta ( 1814 ). But Rossini was facing a pressing deadline for this opera and wrote it , as he remembered , in just 13 days . Despite his haste , the score was a superb treatment of the French dramatist Pierre Beaumarchais ’ prequel to Le Mariage de Figaro , the source of Mozart ’ s beloved opera . In it , we meet the wily title character , Figaro , who manages to spirit away the equally clever Rosina from the clutches of her pompous old guardian Dr . Bartolo and into the arms of Figaro ’ s handsome patron , the young Count Almaviva .
The overture follows the surefire formula Rossini had invented for himself . First we hear a slow rather moody introductory section , which is , however , full of suppressed energy , previewing the continuous plots of all the characters . This leads into a fast-tempo main section featuring a beguiling clarinet theme . It culminates in the composer ’ s most delicious innovation : the famous slow-building Rossini crescendo . To give us our money ’ s worth , this whole section is repeated with different scoring and another adrenaline-pumping crescendo ride .
Instrumentation : Two flutes , two oboes , two clarinets , two bassoons , two horns , two trumpets , timpani , strings .
Piano Concerto No . 2 in B-flat Major
Ludwig van Beethoven
Born in Bonn , Germany , December 16 , 1770 ; died in Vienna , Austria , March 26 , 1827
When Beethoven arrived in Vienna in November 1792 under the patronage of Count Waldstein to study with Haydn and , in Waldstein ’ s words , “ with the help of assiduous labor ...( to ) receive Mozart ’ s spirit from Haydn ’ s hands ,” he brought with him a portfolio of compositions written in Bonn , several of them already in “ Mozart ’ s spirit .” One of them was to become his Piano Concerto No . 2 in B- flat , which he probably began in the late 1780s , making this a much earlier work than his First Piano Concerto ( published before No . 2 and thus winning the honor of being “ No . 1 ”).
As Beethoven ’ s composing talents developed rapidly in Vienna ’ s stimulating environment , he kept returning to revise this most charming of his concertos . Scholars believe he made extensive revisions — including a new finale — in 1793 , in 1795 before its first public performance and in 1801 , when he finally published it .
The Beethoven-Haydn relationship turned out to be a mismatch between two incompatible geniuses — Haydn was a greater composer than teacher and found Beethoven ’ s arrogant personality and some of his music so shocking that he dubbed him “ the Grand Mogul .” Beethoven was soon taken up by the Viennese aristocracy and became Mozart ’ s heir as the most popular pianist in Vienna . Contemporary accounts marveled at his new , proto-Romantic style . Far luckier than Mozart , in the words of his pupil Carl Czerny , he “ received all manner of support from our high aristocracy and enjoyed as much care and respect as ever fell to the lot of a young artist .”
The first movement , an Allegro con brio sonata form , opens with a splitpersonality first theme , a crisp , staccato fanfare followed by a gracefully flowing violin response . Beethoven breaks these components apart and makes much imaginative use of them throughout the movement . In fact , the violin response is soon developed by the strings and woodwinds into a lyrical theme . However , we don ’ t hear the true second theme until after the piano makes its entrance , a smooth descending melody that the orchestra introduces and the piano embroiders . The development section is surprisingly tame by the standards of later Olympian Beethoven developments .
The second movement in E-flat Major is the first of Beethoven ’ s marvelous slow movements . A noble , hymn-like meditation is presented by the orchestra and elaborated by the soloist ; it forms the substance of the entire movement . This beautiful interlude is crowned with a remarkable coda , in which the soloist spins out a delicate reverie in single notes , with orchestral punctuations .
Beethoven probably created a new finale for the work sometime in the 1790s . This witty , vivacious rondo with its short-long rhythm refrain bears the composer ’ s personal stamp more than the rest of the concerto . In ebullient 6 / 8 meter , it allows the soloist to show off his fleet finger work and features a very engaging middle episode in the minor mode , sparked by syncopated rhythms .
Instrumentation : Flute , two oboes , two bassoons , two horns , strings .
Symphony No . 1 in C minor
Johannes Brahms
Born in Hamburg , Germany , May 7 , 1833 ; died in Vienna , Austria , April 3 , 1897
Johannes Brahms ’ First was undoubtedly the most eagerly awaited symphony in musical history . When he completed it in 1876 after two decades of labor , Brahms was already 43 and one of Europe ’ s most
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