PROGRAM NOTES
GROSVENOR PERFORMS BEETHOVEN
NOTES ON THE PROGRAM
BY AARON GRAD
Hannah Kendall
Born 1984 in London , U . K .
THE SPARK CATCHERS [ 2017 ]
Hannah Kendall was born in London into a family from the South American nation of Guyana . She earned two master ’ s degrees in England , in composition and arts management , and she is now based in New York , pursuing a doctorate from Columbia University . She wrote the following program note for The Spark Catchers , commissioned by BBC Radio 3 and first performed in 2017 at the BBC Proms by Chineke ! Orchestra .
Lemn Sissay ’ s incredibly evocative poem “ The Spark Catchers ” is the inspiration behind this work . I was drawn to its wonderful dynamism , vibrancy , and drive . I also liked that Sissay was commissioned to write the poem for the London 2012 Olympics , and that it is permanently etched into one of the electrical transformer points at the Olympic Park , a place where the whole world gathered to support and celebrate exceptional talent . Specific words and phrases from the text have established the structure of the work and informed the contrasting musical characteristics created within the piece ’ s main components .
The opening “ Sparks and Strikes ” section immediately creates vigor and liveliness , with the piccolo and violins setting up a swelling rhythmic drive , interjected by strong strikes from the rest of the ensemble . This momentum continues into “ The Molten Madness ,” maintaining the initial kinetic energy , while also producing a darker and brooding atmosphere introduced in the bass lines . A broad and soaring melodic line in the horns and first violins overlays the material , moving into a majestic episode led by the full string section , accentuated by valiant calls in the woodwind , brass , and percussion and culminating in a sudden pause . A lighter variation of the opening rhythmic material in the clarinets , harp , and strings follows , creating a feeling of suspense . The texture builds up through a jazzy figure led by the brass , leading to powerful and surging interplay between the flutes , oboes , and violins .
The lighter , clearer , and crystalline “ Beneath the Stars / In the Silver Sheen ” section follows . Quiet and still , it is distinguished by its gleaming delicacy through long interweaving lines , high pitch range , and thin textures . An illuminating strike , underpinned by the glockenspiel and harp , signifies the climax of this section . Subsequently , the opening zest comes back again through dance-like material which culminates in “ The Matchgirls ’ March ” with its forceful and punchy chords . The Spark Catchers ends with a coda-like section , which carries over the power of the “ March ” while also incorporating variations on musical motifs from “ Sparks and Strikes ” and “ The Molten Madness ,” finally concluding on a sparkling flourish .
Instrumentation Two flutes , piccolo , two oboes , two clarinets including bass clarinet , two bassoons , four horns , two trumpets , three trombones , tuba , percussion , harp , and strings .
Ludwig van Beethoven
Born December , 1770 in Bonn , Germany Died March 26 , 1827 in Vienna , Austria
PIANO CONCERTO NO . 3 IN C MINOR , OP . 37 [ 1800-03 ]
Beethoven wrote most of the Third Piano Concerto in 1800 , in advance of a major debut concert in Vienna , but he chose to play an earlier concerto instead . After a few more years of tinkering , he unveiled the new concerto on an 1803 program that also included the premiere of the Second Symphony . For the new concerto , Beethoven performed from a hastily written score that , in the words of his page turner , contained “ almost nothing but empty leaves ; at the most , on one page or another a few Egyptian hieroglyphs wholly unintelligible to me were scribbled down to serve as clues for him .”
The concerto opens with a definitive statement from the strings , countered by a questioning response from the winds . In line with the style that would come to dominate Beethoven ’ s “ middle ” period , these themes separate into essential fragments to be examined from all angles , with various rising triads , falling scales , and timpanilike alternations appearing in the foreground and background .
The first E-major chord of the central Largo could hardly be more alien , or more luminous . The movement continues as a study in contradictions : humble yet ornate , foreign yet familiar , slow yet restless . A striking exchange occurs when the flute and bassoon trade childlike melodies over a simple plucked background , while the piano issues gusts of sound blurred by the sustain pedal .
The finale returns to the home key with a theme that lands heavily on an unresolved A-flat : the very same pitch that , in a different guise , defined the bright harmonies of the slow movement . ( On the piano , A-flat is identical to G-sharp , the major third in the key of E .) Later in the movement , the same musical pun allows the slow movement ’ s key of E-major to return briefly to put a radiant new sheen on the finale ’ s main theme .
Instrumentation Two flutes , two oboes , two clarinets , two bassoons , two horns , two trumpets , timpani , and strings .
Dmitri Shostakovich
Born September 25 , 1906 in Saint Petersburg , Russia Died August 9 , 1975 in Moscow , Soviet Union
SYMPHONY NO . 15 IN A MAJOR [ 1971 ]
Dmitri Shostakovich , possibly the greatest symphonist of the twentieth century , made his fifteenth and final contribution to the genre in the summer of 1971 . Plagued by a crippled right hand and the lingering effects of an earlier heart attack , he managed to complete the score during a stay at a rural composer ’ s retreat , only to suffer his second heart attack shortly after returning to Moscow . He completed only a handful of major works in his final four years of increasing physical discomfort , including the last two string quartets .
Whereas Shostakovich had telegraphed his intentions in his previous four symphonies , either with written programs or sung texts , the Symphony No . 15 left its meaning cloaked in a tantalizing series of quotations , including Rossini ’ s William Tell Overture , Wagner ’ s “ fate ” motive from the Ring cycle , a song by Glinka , and various other musical hints . 40 years after his first rebuke from Stalin ’ s henchman , Shostakovich was well practiced at burying subversive ideas deep within the fabric of his musical arguments , and he maintained that veil even within the relative safety of his advanced age and international fame .
Shostakovich did give a clue that the first movement related to childhood , linking the
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