Overture Magazine: 2017-2018 Season November-December 2017 | Page 20

ANDRÉ WATTS RETURNS FOR RACH 2
Beethoven , Schubert , Debussy , Chopin and Gershwin .
Watts received a 2011 National Medal of Arts and , in June 2006 , he was inducted into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame . He is also the recipient of the 1988 Avery Fisher Prize . At age 26 , Watts was the youngest person ever to receive an honorary doctorate from Yale University , and he has since received numerous honors from highly respected schools including the University of Pennsylvania , Brandeis University , The Juilliard School of Music and his alma mater , the Peabody Conservatory of The Johns Hopkins University .
Watts was appointed to the Jack I . and Dora B . Hamlin Endowed Chair in Music at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University in 2004 and , in 2017 , was named a Distinguished Professor , the highest academic rank the University bestows upon its faculty .
André Watts ’ Hamburg Steinway piano is provided by Mary Schwendeman Concert Service .
André Watts last appeared with the BSO in February 2016 , performing Mozart ' s Piano Concerto No . 9 , Mario Venzago , conductor .
About the Concert
DREAMTIME ANCESTORS
Christopher Theofanidis
Born in Dallas , TX , December 18 , 1967
Formerly on the faculty of the Peabody Conservatory , Christopher Theofanidis is one of the most popular and prolific of today ’ s American composers . Born in Dallas , TX to Greek immigrant parents , he comes from a musical family ; his father was also a composer , as well as a pianist and conductor . He earned degrees from the University of Houston , the Eastman School of Music and Yale University , where he now teaches . He enjoys a particularly close connection with Roberto Spano and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra .
Theofanidis admits his compositional approach is fairly conservative ,
Christopher Theofanidis
emphasizing the principles that have ruled music for centuries : melody , instrumental color and the telling of a dramatic story . “ The harmonic palate for me is based on consonance and dissonance ,” he says . “ Certain aspects appeal to me that are better realized in C major than they are in a chromatic language — like the state of bliss .” He is also deeply attracted to subjects with a strong spiritual dimension .
That is certainly the case with Dreamtime Ancestors , a work that was inspired by the “ Dreamtime ” creation beliefs of the Australian Aborigines . Dedicated to the memory of American composer Stephen Paulus ( 1949 – 2014 ), it was commissioned by New Music for America Consortium and will be played by orchestras in all 50 American states . It is in three movements , each prefaced by a brief spoken text about the Dreamtime and its beings .
As Theofanidis explains , “ According to these myths , we are all connected to each other via ‘ dreamtime ancestors ’ of the past , present and future . This connection is referred to as ‘ all-at-once time .’ The Aborigines believe you can access this ‘ all-at-once-time ’ and talk to your ancestors — the most ancient ones and the ones farthest in the future .”
“ Songlines ”: “ This movement starts with a meandering line in the cellos and basses , and it continues to weave throughout the movement , with melodies and shapes emerging from the line .”
MATTHEW FRIED
“ Rainbow Serpent ”: “ This is one of the central figures in the Aboriginal people ’ s creation stories , with cave art representing it going back ten thousand years . Rainbow Serpent was one of our ancestors , who carved the surface of the earth with rivers and valleys and left in its wake rainbows and stars . I tried to depict this with a long melodic line in the string section and vibraphone that leaves harmonic resonances in its wake .”
“ Each Stone Speaks a Poem ”: “ This movement focuses on the idea that even the most inert objects have poetry in them and are part of our connection to that place . It is more earthy sounding . It begins with an arid three-note motive that eventually opens up into something more majestic . The end of the piece recalls materials from all three movements .”
Instrumentation : Two flutes including piccolo , two oboes , three clarinets , two bassoons , four horns , three trumpets , three trombones , tuba , timpani , percussion , harp and strings .
FALSTAFF
Edward Elgar
Born in Broadheath , England , June 2 , 1857 ; died in Worcester , England , February 23 , 1934
By the beginning of 1913 , Sir Edward Elgar was solidly entrenched as the greatest British composer of his day . A steady succession of important works , beginning with his Enigma Variations in 1899 , had promoted him from a handto-mouth existence as a violinist and teacher in rural Worcestershire to an elegant mansion in London ’ s exclusive Hampstead village , a knighthood and worldwide celebrity . Despite this , he suffered from paralyzing fits of depression after completing each work and a lack of confidence about moving on to the next .
Elgar was faced with a commission for a new orchestral work that he would conduct himself at the annual Leeds Festival in Yorkshire . In an effort to get his creative juices flowing again , his wife , Alice , suggested a
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