AN EVENING WITH JOHN WILLIAMS
AN EVENING WITH JOHN WILLIAMS
A sardonic sense of humor has saved Russian sanity throughout a brutal history, and it animates the secondmovement scherzo with its insolent trills, satirical slides and crude brass outbursts. This is a rough peasant dance in the style of one of Shostakovich’ s favorite composers, Mahler. Shrill scoring, tongue-in-cheek pizzicato strings and a tipsy solo violin leading the middle trio section suggest defiant mockery— perhaps of Stalin himself.
The magnificent third-place slow movement is as sincere and heartfelt as its predecessor was flippant. Shostakovich once said,“ The majority of my symphonies are tombstones,” and this may be a requiem for the many Russians who died in the purges. At the Fifth’ s premiere, audiences wept openly during this music. The strings dominate; they seem the voices of communal mourning. In the middle section, solo woodwinds raise their plaintive voices, expressing individual loss. The music reaches an extraordinary climax of pain as the strings rise to a chorus of repeated notes, intensified by the xylophone. The great Russian soprano Galina Vishnevskaya, Rostropovich’ s wife, described this as“ like nails being pounded into one’ s brain.”
Now the forgotten brass and percussion race into action to launch the finale’ s resolute march theme. First we hear much frenetic musical busyness, then a poignant reminiscence of the third movement’ s sorrow. Music of Slavic grandeur recalls the Coronation Scene in Mussorgsky’ s Boris Godunov. At the end, disturbing the proudly pounding timpani and pealing brass are those obsessively painful repeated notes that have dogged the entire work.“ Our business is rejoicing; our business is rejoicing.”
Instrumentation: Two flutes, piccolo, two oboes, two clarinets, E-flat clarinet, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, two harps, piano, celesta and strings.
Notes by Janet E. Bedell, © 2018
TODD ROSENBERG
JOSEPH MEYERHOFF SYMPHONY HALL
Wednesday, June 13, 2018, 8 pm
Marin Alsop, Music Director John Williams, conductor Johannes Moser, cello
John Williams
About the Artists
Marin Alsop
For Marin Alsop’ s bio, please see pg. 7.
“ The Flight to Neverland” from Hook“ A Child’ s Tale”: Suite from The BFG“ Out to Sea” and“ The Shark Cage Fugue” from Jaws“ With Malice Toward None” from Lincoln
Three Selections from Star Wars“ The Rebellion is Reborn”“ Rey’ s Theme”“ Throne Room and Finale”
INTERMISSION Marin Alsop conducts the first half of this evening’ s program and John Williams conducts the second half.
“ Harry’ s Wondrous World” from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’ s Stone
“ Scherzo for Motorcycle and Orchestra” from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Suite from Memoirs of a Geisha“ Sayuri’ s Theme”“ Brush on Silk”“ Chiyo’ s Prayer”“ Becoming a Geisha”
Johannes Moser
“ Adventures on Earth” from E. T. the Extra-Terrestrial The concert will end at approximately 10 pm.
John Williams
In a career spanning more than five decades, John Williams has become one of America’ s most accomplished and successful composers for film and for the concert stage, and he remains one of our nation’ s most distinguished and contributive musical voices. He has composed the music and served as music director for more than 100 films, including all eight Star Wars films, the first three Harry Potter films, Superman, JFK, Born on the Fourth of July, Memoirs of a Geisha, Far and Away, The Accidental Tourist, Home Alone and The Book Thief.
MAY – JUN 2018 / OVERTURE 33