RACHMANINOFF ’ S TRANSCENDENT FANTASY
Zhai “ played with mesmerizing grace ,” and The Globe and Mail has stated that he “ delivered the most beautiful lyrical playing of the evening .”
A native of Tai Yuan , China , Zhai began playing the violin at age three and later switched to the clarinet . He studied at the China Central Conservatory in Beijing , the Idyllwild Arts Academy in California and the Curtis Institute of Music . In 2009 , he represented Curtis on tour in the U . S . as the solo and chamber clarinetist ; his solo performance was awarded the Curtis Institute CD of the Year . He has won the Hellam Competition , Aspen Music Festival Concerto Competition , the Blount- Slawson Young Artists Competition , the Spotlight Award and the Pacific Symphony Concerto Competition . After graduation , he held the position of principal clarinet with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra for two seasons .
Along with his solo appearances with the BSO and the TSO , Zhai has performed with the Shanghai , Pacific , Montgomery , Victoria and Springfield symphony orchestras ; the Toronto Summer Music Festival Orchestra ; and the American Academy of Conducting Orchestra ( Aspen ). He has participated in music festivals such as the Hong Kong International Chamber Music Festival , Music from Angel Fire Festival , Laguna Beach Chamber Music Festival , Aspen Music Festival , Pacific Music Festival ( Japan ), Beijing International Clarinet Festival , Toronto Summer Music Festival , and ChongQing International Clarinet Festival in China .
Zhai was one of the clarinetists chosen to record the Royal Conservatory of Music ’ s exam-level commercial CD , which has been sold across North America . He played principal clarinet during the live recording of Messiah with the TSO and Sir Andrew Davis , released by Chandos Records .
Zhai is a member of the clarinet faculty at the National Youth Orchestra of China , the Curtis Institute of Music Summer Festival and the Master Players Music Festival . He is a Buffet Crampon Performing Artist .
YaoGuang Zhai makes his BSO solo debut .
About the Concert
THE ISLE OF THE DEAD
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Born in Oneg , Russia , April 1 , 1873 ; died in Beverly Hills , CA , March 28 , 1943
Many composers are reticent about admitting that any non-musical ideas lie behind their compositions , but Sergei Rachmaninoff was not among them . “ When composing , I find it of great help to have in mind a book just recently read , a beautiful picture or a poem ,” he said . And in the case of his 1909 tone poem The Isle of the Dead — which is arguably the greatest purely orchestral work he ever wrote — he found his inspiration in an art gallery .
In 1880 , the Swiss painter Arnold Böcklin created a contemplative painting for a young widow that he called Insel der Toten ( The Isle of the Dead ). Inspired by Ponza , a volcanic island west of the Bay of Naples , this painting depicts a scene of mysterious , mesmerizing psychological power . Michael Steinberg describes it eloquently : “ Ominous clouds , gray and purple touched with gold , darken the sky . Tall cypresses are framed between jutting , vertical rocks in whose sides [ burial ] chambers have been hollowed out . A boat , two figures in it both with their backs to us , approaches the portal set into the rude sea-wall .… The one who rows is dark , only slightly defined against boat and water . The figure in white standing at the bow is bent over a coffin draped in white and garlanded in red .… No human voice is heard here and no bird sings . There is no sound save the muted splash of oars .”
Interestingly , Rachmaninoff did not initially see the painting itself , but only a black-and-white reproduction of it . “ The massive architecture and the mystic message made a marked impression on me ,” he wrote . “ If I had seen the original first , I might not have composed the work .” The image ’ s implied message of man ’ s mortality appealed strongly to a dark streak in Rachmaninoff ’ s personality . From his youth , he had been haunted by the transience of human life and the ever-hovering prospect of death . A happy marriage and a brilliantly successful career as a pianist , conductor and composer did little to alter this morbid outlook . Throughout his music , Rachmaninoff sprinkled a haunting , downward-sinking motive drawn from the famous “ Dies Irae ” (“ Day of Judgment ”) chant used for the Roman Catholic office of burial . Naturally , it plays a very prominent role in this tone poem , which goes beyond a musical description of the painting to become a powerful meditation on the battle between death and the life force .
During the opening moments of the piece , Rachmaninoff creates an uncanny atmosphere of stillness and foreboding . We gradually become aware of a rocking motion emerging deep in the lower strings ; set to an irregular 5 / 8 beat , it represents the sound of the boat ’ s oars moving through the water . The orchestra ’ s dark sound — even the brass ’ brilliance is suppressed — expresses a brooding melancholy . Eventually , a lovely , poignant melody soars upward in the violins and spreads to the high woodwinds . Under it , we hear in the cellos a version of the downward-rocking “ Dies Irae ” motive . The two ideas battle each other to a powerful climax over the now violently surging sound of the oars beating the water , perhaps representing the boat ’ s arrival on shore .
Now the music subsides into a steadier 3 / 4 beat and a new mood as Rachmaninoff moves beyond the painting itself to his broader theme . Brass somberly intone the “ Dies Irae ” motive again , but this does not deter the strings and woodwinds from vaulting upward with a tender , yearning melody that the composer called his “ life theme .” The life force is very strong and fights tenaciously , but is ultimately struck down savagely by the power of death ( represented by the brass ). Death ’ s victory is confirmed by the “ Dies Irae ” theme tolling at different speeds throughout the orchestra . The opening rocking motion of the oars returns , but now the mood is gentler , less bitter as the violins sing a consoling melody above .
22 OVERTURE / BSOmusic . org