Overture Magazine 2019-20 BSO_Overture_Jan Feb | Page 22

MENDELSSOHN VIOLIN CONCERTO
Mendelssohn is usually regarded
as a conservative composer, who
despite his allegiance to Romanticism,
followed the Classical forms and
feeling of Mozart and Haydn more
closely than his contemporaries.
But Mendelssohn was also a true
Romantic who felt free to break the
rules of the Classical concerto.
The breaking of old rules begins
immediately as the violinist launches the
buoyant principal theme in the second
measure, dispensing with the customary
orchestral exposition. The key of
E minor adds a touch of poignancy to
this expansive, openhearted melody.
The most magical moment of this
sonata-form movement comes at the end
of the development section when in a
hushed, mysterious passage the soloist
begins searching for the home key. Just as
he seems to have found it, Mendelssohn
pulls a surprise: launching into the
soloist’s cadenza, which is customarily
placed after the recapitulation just before
the movement ends. It concludes with
chains of rapid arpeggios that continue
as the orchestra reprises the principal
theme, thus binding cadenza seamlessly
to recapitulation.
At movement’s end, we hear a lone
bassoon holding onto the pitch B.
That note then rises a half step for
the new key of C major of the second
movement, which the soloist begins
after a brief orchestral bridge passage.
This movement is in three-part song
form—most appropriate here because
Mendelssohn has given the soloist one
of his “songs without words.”
The middle section adds passionate
agitation to the lyricism.
Another bridge provides harmonic and
tempo transition to the E-major finale.
Here we have one of Mendelssohn’s
celebrated scherzos, a joyous, scampering
romp for the soloist. Conjuring up the
world of A Midsummer Night’s Dream,
the woodwinds are agile companions
to the violin’s gambols.
Instrumentation: Two flutes, two oboes,
two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two
trumpets, timpani and strings.
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OV E R T U R E / BSOmusic.org
SYMPHONY NO. 103 IN E-FLAT MAJOR
Franz Joseph Haydn
Born in Rohrau, Austria, March 31, 1732;
died in Vienna, Austria, May 31, 1809
Life began anew for Joseph Haydn late in
1790 when the German-English impresario
Johann Peter Salomon appeared without
warning on the 58-year-old composer’s
doorstep in Vienna. “I am Salomon from
London and have come to fetch you,” he
briskly announced. “Tomorrow we shall
conclude an agreement.”
Since his employer Prince Nicholas
Esterházy had recently died, Haydn found
himself free at last to pursue creative
opportunities in the larger world, and he
had long dreamed of traveling to England,
whose flourishing musical life exceeded
even Vienna’s. Salomon offered him a
princely sum to come to London to write
and perform symphonies and other works
for his ambitious concert series. Though
Haydn spoke virtually no English and was
at an age when most men were either dead
or retired, he accepted.
The first six of Haydn’s “London”
Symphonies, numbers 93 – 98, were
composed and premiered during the
composer’s first London sojourn of 1791 –
1792. The composer immediately became
the toast of London society; his concerts
were packed, and Salomon made lots of
money. In 1794 –1795, Haydn returned for
another 18 months. Six more symphonies
were born (numbers 99 –104): works that
reached the pinnacle of the composer’s
symphonic creations.
The “Drumroll” Symphony, No. 103,
was premiered in London on March 2,
1795. By this time, Haydn knew
exactly how to cast a spell on English
audiences, and a major part of this was
achieved by keeping them constantly
stimulated and never allowing them to
guess what was coming next. He was
expert at seizing listeners’ attention
from the very beginning.
The first movement begins with
the arresting drumroll for which the
Symphony is named. Murky bassoons
and cellos then launch a mysterious
Adagio that sets us up for a dark and
troubled work. But then Haydn pulls
out the rug, as the Allegro con spirito’s
sparkling, mirthful principal theme
bounces in and confirms the key is E-flat
major. Full of where’s-the-beat rhythmic
tricks, it favors the orchestra’s higher,
brighter colors. It also contains a blithe
earworm of a tune, led by oboes.
A generous development section
follows, whose highlights include a sped-
up version of the mysterious Adagio music
and a gorgeous contrapuntal arrangement
of the oboe tune. The recapitulation
section gradually grows stormy, providing
the buildup to a reprise of the drumroll
and the Adagio’s gloom before resolving
harmonically into a high-spirited close.
The London audience loved the second
movement so much that they demanded
an encore. One of Haydn’s patented
double-variations movements, it creates
variations on two folk tunes from the
region around the Esterházy castle: one
in C minor and the other in C major.
Haydn covers a marvelous variety of
moods in his variations, ranging from
the pastoral to the heroically military; he
even devises an enchanting solo variation
for the concertmaster.
The Minuet manages to combine a
heavy-footed peasant quality with courtly
grandeur; it also makes delightful use
of playful echo effects. The highlight of
this movement, however, is the exquisite
trio section. Its beautiful scoring for
woodwinds and strings is made more
ethereal by the rhythmic vagueness of its
flowing phrases.
The first movement summoned our
attention with the roll of the timpani.
The finale does it with two calls for the
horn, the second superimposed on a
merry repeated-note theme. This is the
only theme Haydn will need to build
this spectacular movement. As music
critic Michael Steinberg wrote, “Even by
Haydn’s standards, this finale is a bravura
display of making very little go very far.”

Instrumentation: Two flutes, two oboes,
two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns,
two trumpets, timpani and strings.
Notes by Janet E. Bedell, © 2020