MOZART MEETS LATIN MASTERS
PROGRAM NOTES By Paula Maust
Jonathan Carney
Concertmaster Jonathan Carney is in his 25th season with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, after 12 seasons in the same position with London’ s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Mr. Carney hails from a musical family with all six members having graduated from The Juilliard School. After completing his studies with Ivan Galamian and Christine Dethier, he was awarded a Leverhulme Fellowship to continue his studies in London at the Royal College of Music.
After international tours as concertmaster and soloist with numerous ensembles, Mr. Carney was invited by Vladimir Ashkenazy to become concertmaster of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in 1991. Recent solo performances include concertos by Bruch, Korngold, Sibelius, Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending, and more. He has made several recordings, including a disc of virtuoso works by Sarasate and Kreisler with his mother, Gloria Carney, as pianist. New releases include Beethoven’ s“ Archduke” and“ Ghost” trios, the cello quintet of Schubert, and a Dvořák disc with the Terzetto, and four Romantic pieces for violin.
Mr. Carney is passionate about music education and currently serves as Artistic Advisor for the Maryland Classic Youth Orchestras.
Mr. Carney performs on a 1687 Stradivarius, the Mercur-Avery, on which he uses“ Vision” strings by Thomastik-Infeld. Mr. Carney’ s string sponsor is Connolly & Co., exclusive U. S. importer of Thomastik-Infeld strings. His Stradivarius sponsors are Neil and Sayra Meyerhoff, whose generous gifts underwrite the annual insurance premiums associated with this fine instrument.
Howard Korn
Alberto Ginastera
Born April 11, 1916 in Buenos Aires, Argentina Died June 25, 1983 in Geneva, Switzerland
FOUR DANCES FROM ESTANCIA [ 1941 ]
Instrumentation: Flute( doubling piccolo), piccolo, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, timpani, tenor drum, tambourine, military drum, cymbals( pair), bass drum, xylophone, castanets, tam tam, triangle, piano, and strings.
Alberto Ginastera was a 20th century Argentine composer revered for masterfully melding traditional South American folk music with Western classical music. With the 1940 premiere of his first ballet Panambí, Ginastera was launched to fame as a young composer. Lincoln Kirstein, an impresario and philanthropist from New York City, was in Argentina directing a tour of the American Ballet Caravan at this time. Kirstein was so impressed with Ginastera’ s work that he immediately commissioned him to write a second ballet for the company— Estancia. Ginastera completed the music for Estancia in 1941, and the original choreography was designed by the renowned George Balanchine. Unfortunately, Kirstein’ s ballet company went out of business before the piece could be premiered, and World War II further delayed getting the work on stage. Estancia was eventually brought to life in 1952 by the Teatro Colón Ballet in Buenos Aires. In the meantime, Ginastera created an orchestral suite with four dances from the ballet, which was first performed in 1943.
Estancia was inspired by José Hernández’ s Martín Fierro, an epic poem about a gaucho( semi-nomadic horseman) in rural Argentina that is regarded as one of the most significant works depicting Argentine national identity. The four dances in the suite transport listeners to Argentina’ s countryside, with an energetic depiction of land workers, a lyrical wheat dance, and a rhythmically driving portrayal of cattlemen. The suite concludes with a“ Malambo,” a traditional gaucho dance featuring rapid footwork that was performed as a competitive match between two men trying to outdo each other’ s complex choreography.
Max Bruch
Born January 6, 1838 in Cologne, Prussia Died October 2, 1920 in Berlin, Germany
SCOTTISH FANTASY FOR VIOLIN AND ORCHESTRA OP. 46 [ 1879-1880 ]
Instrumentation: Two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, cymbals( pair), bass drum, harp, strings, in addition to the solo violin.
German composer Max Bruch’ s works have often been overshadowed by those of his contemporaries Johannes Brahms and Richard Wagner. Bruch was an avowed conservative in the“ War of the Romantics,” a spirited division between 19th century composers over issues such as chromatic harmony, dissonance, and the structure of musical works. Despite his compositional prowess and long roster of successful students, Bruch’ s conservative positions relegated him to the sidelines at a time when the more progressive styles of Wagner and Richard Strauss were taking center stage. Bruch’ s most beloved works are his magnificent pieces for solo violin and orchestra, which were premiered by some of the most prominent violinists of the time. A close friend of violin virtuosos Joseph Joachim and Pablo de Sarasate, Bruch believed the violin could“ sing a melody better than a piano.”
An avid reader of writings by Sir Walter Scott and Robert Burns, Bruch was enamored with Scottish culture. In 1868, he intently studied a book of Scottish folk music he found in the Munich library, which provided ample source material for his Scottish Fantasy, Op. 46, for orchestra and solo violin. Composed in the winter of 1879 – 80, the piece was premiered in Liverpool in 1881, with Joachim playing the solo part and Bruch himself conducting. A year later, Bruch finally had the opportunity to visit Scotland.
Across the four movements of the Scottish Fantasy, Bruch gorgeously interweaves numerous Scottish folk tunes. The piece begins ominously with a misty chorale in the low brass, setting the stage for the intensely lyrical solo entrance. About halfway through the movement, the soloist prominently introduces a new melody based on“ Auld
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