Overture Magazine 2019-20 BSO_Overture_Sept_Oct | Page 21

strongly resembles Richard Wagner’s
famous opening to Das Rheingold!)
As the Prelude reaches a peak of
shimmering ecstasy, the Princess appears
dancing playfully in front of her castle
(First Dance). She is represented by
limpid, sensual clarinets, her signature
instrument. Heralded by a sturdy, folk-
like theme in low strings, the Prince
appears at his door and watches her.
Next we hear two Dances that rank
among the score’s most powerful: the
“Dance of the Trees” and “Dance of
the Waves” as these natural elements
rise to block the Prince’s path. The first
is more aggressive than the second,
which conjures the sounds of French
impressionism and emphasizes a favorite
French instrument, saxophones.
In the Fourth and Fifth Dances, the
Prince’s wooden doll comes to life in
grotesque herky-jerky music that recalls
Stravinsky’s Petrouchka. Fascinated by
this bizarre creation, the Princess dances
enthusiastically with it.
Now Bartók reaches the peak of his
palindrome with the Great Apotheosis,
another orchestral tour-de-force. The
Fairy has taken pity on the Prince and
brings the forces of Nature — the Trees
and the Waters — to bow down before
him. This is a passage of sumptuous late-
Romantic music, made more individual
by echoes of the Hungarian folk music
Bartók assiduously collected.
In the Sixth and Seventh Dances,
the reverse course of the palindrome,
the Princess tries to win the Prince
back with dances that are by turns
seductive and fearful. After the two are
finally united, the music closes with the
enchanted horn calls and the tranquil
fairytale atmosphere of the opening.
Instrumentation: Four flutes including two
piccolo, four oboes including two English
horns, four clarinets including e-flat clarinet
and bass clarinet, four bassoons including
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