Last updated: January 16, 2023
Program
CARLOS SIMON: Fate Now Conquers
DVOŘÁK: Violin Concerto
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 5
Repertoire
Fate Now Conquers
Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, Carlos Simon (b. 1986) is garnering significant attention throughout the United States and abroad for his compositions that range from concert music for large and small ensembles to film scores with influences of jazz, gospel, and neo-romanticism. Through his music, Simon seeks to initiate conversations about social justice issues. His work Portrait of a Queen, which was performed in October 2020 by the National Arts Centre Orchestra with Jonelle Sills as narrator, is one such example. Featuring words by Courtney D. Ware, the piece traces the evolution of the experience of Black people in America through the lens of a Black woman. A 2021 winner of the Sphinx Medal of Excellence, Simon is currently the Composer-in-Residence for the John F. Kennedy Center the Performing Arts, writing frequently for the National Symphony Orchestra and the Washington National Opera.
Fate Now Conquers for large ensemble was commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra, for its concerts celebrating Ludwig van Beethoven’s 250th birthday in 2020. According to Simon, the piece “was inspired by a journal entry from Beethoven’s notebook written in 1815. The journal entry featured a passage from Homer’s Iliad:
‘Iliad. The Twenty-Second Book
But Fate now conquers; I am hers, and yet not she shall share in my renown; that life is left to every noble spirit[.] And that some great deed shall beget that all lives shall inherit.’”
As he further describes, using the “beautifully fluid harmonic structure” of the second movement of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony, “I have composed musical gestures that are representative of the unpredictable ways of fate. Jolting stabs, coupled with an agitated groove with every persona. Frenzied arpeggios in the strings that morph into an ambiguous cloud of free-flowing running passages depicts the uncertainty of life that hovers over us.”
The first half of this short piece is indeed somewhat menacing and ominous. After arriving at a glittering soundscape, the texture thins out and an impassioned cello solo emerges. It sings a melody of anguished acceptance (perhaps with a hint of defiance) of the “unpredictable ways of fate,” which eventually resume, driving to a forceful finish. As Simon explains, “We know that Beethoven strived to overcome many obstacles in his life and documented his aspirations to prevail, despite his ailments. Whatever the specific reason for including this particularly profound passage from the Iliad, in the end, it seems that Beethoven relinquished to fate. Fate now conquers.”
Violin Concerto in A minor, Op. 53
I. Allegro ma non troppo –
II. Adagio ma non troppo
III. Finale: Allegro giocoso ma non troppo
In November 1878, Antonín Dvořák shot to fame virtually overnight with the immensely successful publication, by Fritz Simrock, of his first set of Slavonic Dances for piano four hands. Following this triumph, Simrock suggested to Dvořák in early 1879 to compose a violin concerto, advising him to consult, during the process, the eminent German violinist Joseph Joachim. That summer, Dvořák completed a draft of the concerto and sent it to Joachim for feedback. By spring 1880, he had revised the work substantially, based on the violinist’s suggestions. Further progress was stalled (likely due to Joachim’s extensive concertizing schedule) until September 1882, when the composer went to Berlin to read through the concerto with the violinist. Despite Joachim being delighted with it, he did not get around to performing it publicly. Instead, it was the talented Czech violinist František Ondřišek who gave the concerto’s premiere on October 14, 1883, and, during his career, became its primary champion across Europe.
Dvořák’s concerto remains an important work in the violin repertory. Finely wrought, formally complex, and rich in musical content, it’s a distinctive contribution to the genre. We can assume the 1880 revision was substantial (the 1879 version was destroyed), for the composer noted that he had “retained the themes, and composed some new ones too, but the whole concept of the concerto is different.” Here, he is possibly referring to the unconventional structures of the first and second movements, which allow for greater expressive flexibility. Indeed, the opening movement in A minor unfolds like a fantasia between the violinist and the orchestra, with the soloist meditatively developing the musical material into rhapsodic and intricate passages that exhibit a wide range of virtuosic techniques. (As music theorist Peter H. Smith has pointed out, it was probably Joachim who steered Dvořák in this direction, with the model likely being Max Bruch’s G minor Violin Concerto, on which Joachim also advised.) Only after an extensive back-and-forth does the movement proceed more conventionally, with the solo violin presenting the assertive main theme; later, we hear the second theme, serene at first, then becoming dance-like. Extensive development of the various motifs ensues, eventually reaching climatic presentations of the main tune by the orchestra, then solo violin in octaves. However, instead of continuing with the expected recapitulation of themes and a soloist’s cadenza, Dvořák gives us neither; instead, there are further musings on the melody, the final version a wistful song in the lower register of the violin with woodwind countermelodies.
By way of a descending line intoned by the oboe, the second movement proceeds directly, with the violin introducing a hymn-like theme in F major. After the orchestra takes it up briefly, the violin bursts forth suddenly with a forceful melody in octaves, answered by horn, but the tension soon dissipates with a pastoral section featuring warm horns and warbling trills in the violin. These contrasting moods and themes thus alternate throughout the movement, with the violin continuing to rhapsodize, searchingly, to the end.
The pensiveness of the earlier movements gives way to a sparkling rondo finale in A major, its joyful main theme based on a furiant (a lively Slavonic dance characterized by shifting accents). In the first episode, additional tunes are introduced by the orchestra while the violinist is given ample opportunity to shine in peppy staccato figures, tumbling arpeggios, and vigorous octave passages. Following the rondo’s reprise, the second episode features a dumka (a type of folk music of Ukrainian origin) in the minor mode, during which the violin elaborates on the melancholy melody with complex chords. Later, after a climactic silence, listen for the dumka’s reappearance—the melody now brightly transformed in the major mode, embellished by rich violin chords. After more virtuosic display, the furiant theme is given a final ecstatic statement by the orchestra before rushing to a jubilant close.
Symphony No. 5
I. Allegro con brio
II. Andante con moto
III. Scherzo: Allegro
IV. Allegro
"How irresistibly does this wonderful composition transport the listener through ever growing climaxes into the spiritual realm of the infinite,” commented the writer E.T.A. Hoffmann, on Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony in 1810. Two years earlier, the work premiered on December 22 at Vienna’s Theater an der Wien to mixed reception; no doubt the context of its performance—the concert’s massive length (spanning over four hours, the program also included the premieres of the composer’s Sixth Symphony, the Choral Fantasy, and the Fourth Piano Concerto with Beethoven as soloist) combined with the bitterly cold temperature of the hall and an under-rehearsed orchestra—contributed to the lukewarm response. However, with Hoffmann’s landmark critical assessment, general opinion about the work shifted; this “immeasurably noble and profound Symphony in C minor” was soon established as a cornerstone of the classical music canon…and there, it has stayed. Today, it remains one of the most frequently performed symphonies, continuing to draw audiences to concert halls all over the world.
Whether it’s the first or the umpteenth time you’ve heard this symphony, it’s simply impossible not to be grabbed by the explosive opening of the first movement: the famous “short-short-short-long” motif, the so-called “fate knocking on the door.” With this germ, the Allegro con brio propels forward with furious energy, developing as if organically. The motif becomes like an obsession, and appears in the later movements as well, transformed into different guises: as a triumphant second theme, proclaimed by French horns and trumpets, in the second movement; as a militaristic march tune, also intoned by French horns, in the scherzo; and as a vivacious contrasting theme, played by the violins, in the finale.
Ultimately, the potency of the Fifth Symphony that Hoffmann rapturously describes in his 1810 review arises from how Beethoven conveys the psychological arc of victory over struggle across the work’s four movements. Indeed, the “short-short-short-long” motif is just one of several methods through which the composer connects them into a cohesive narrative design. Another is his specific use of mode: from the pathos and stormy drama of C minor in the first and third movements, which bracket a lyrical slow movement in A-flat major, to the jubilant C major of the fourth movement. Moreover, in each movement, the C major triumph is foreshadowed—in the recapitulation of the second theme in the first, the bright theme in the second, and the energetic trio of the third. A wonderfully mysterious transition that directly connects the third movement to the fourth—beginning with the timpani tapping the main motif on a low C, over a long A-flat in the cellos and basses—further heightens the drama’s progression towards its final fulfillment. Yet, even in the exultation of the concluding Allegro, Beethoven briefly reminds us of the C minor anguish through a recall of the scherzo’s “march” theme, before we are finally released into the light, encumbered no more, towards the symphony’s ecstatic conclusion.
Program notes by Hannah Chan-Hartley, PhD
Artists
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Alexander Shelley succeeded Pinchas Zukerman as Music Director of Canada’s NAC Orchestra in September 2015. The ensemble has since been praised as being “transformed... hungry, bold, and unleashed” (Ottawa Citizen) and Shelley’s programming credited for turning the orchestra into “one of the more audacious in North America” (Maclean’s).
Shelley is a champion of Canadian creation; recent hallmarks include the multimedia projects Life Reflected and UNDISRUPTED,and three major new ballets in partnership with NAC Dance for Encount3rs. He is passionate about arts education and nurturing the next generation of musicians. He is an Ambassador for Ottawa’s OrKidstra, a charitable social development program that teaches children life skills through making music together.
Alexander Shelley is also the Principal Associate Conductor of London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and, starting with the 2024–2025 season, Artistic and Music Director of Artis-Naples and the Naples Philharmonic in Florida, USA. In the spring of 2019, he led the NAC Orchestra on its critically acclaimed 50th Anniversary European tour, and in 2017, he led the Orchestra in a tour across Canada, celebrating Canada’s 150th anniversary. Most recently, he led the Orchestra in its first performance at New York’s Carnegie Hall in 30 years.
He has made eight recordings with the NAC Orchestra, including the JUNO-nominated New Worlds, Life Reflected, ENCOUNT3RS, The Bounds of Our Dreams, and the acclaimed Clara, Robert, Johannes four-album series, all with Canadian label Analekta.
The Music Director role is supported by Elinor Gill Ratcliffe, C.M., O.N.L., LL.D. (hc)
Three-time Grammy Award–winning violinist Hilary Hahn melds expressive musicality and technical expertise with a repertoire guided by artistic curiosity. Hahn is a prolific recording artist and commissioner of new works; her 23 feature recordings have received every critical prize. She is in her third season as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s first-ever Artist-in-Residence and is Artist-in-Residence at the New York Philharmonic, Visiting Artist at The Juilliard School, and Curating Artist of the Dortmund Festival.
This season, Hahn performs concertos by Mozart, Mendelssohn, Sibelius, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, Korngold, and Ginastera, as well as Sarasate’s Carmen Fantasy. Hahn also gives several small-ensemble performances, including three solo recitals, recitals with Iveta Apkalna and Seth Parker Woods, and chamber concerts in Dortmund and Chicago.
Hahn related to her fans naturally from the start of her career. She has committed to signings after nearly every concert and maintains a collection of fan-art received over the past 25 years. Hahn’s “Bring Your Own Baby” concerts create a welcoming environment for parents of infants to share their enjoyment of classical music with their children. Her social media initiative #100daysofpractice has transformed practice into a community–building celebration of artistic development, with nearly one million posts from fellow performers and students.
Hahn is a prolific recording artist whose feature albums on Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, and Sony have all opened in the top ten of the Billboard charts; three have won Grammys. Her most recent, a recording of Ysaÿe’s six sonatas for solo violin, celebrates her artistic lineage. She is the recipient of numerous awards; most recently, she was named Musical America’s 2023 Artist of the Year, delivered the keynote speech of the Women in Classical Music Symposium, and received the 2021 Herbert von Karajan Award and the Glasshütte Original Music Festival Award, which she donated to music education nonprofit Project 440.
Since its debut in 1969, the National Arts Centre (NAC) Orchestra has been praised for the passion and clarity of its performances, its visionary educational programs, and its prominent role in nurturing Canadian creativity. Under the leadership of Music Director Alexander Shelley, the NAC Orchestra reflects the fabric and values of Canada, reaching and representing the diverse communities we live in with daring programming, powerful storytelling, inspiring artistry, and innovative partnerships.
Alexander Shelley began his tenure as Music Director in 2015, following Pinchas Zukerman’s 16 seasons at the helm. Principal Associate Conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and former Chief Conductor of the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra (2009–2017), he has been in demand around the world, conducting the Rotterdam Philharmonic, DSO Berlin, Leipzig Gewandhaus, and Stockholm Philharmonic, among others, and maintains a regular relationship with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie and the German National Youth Orchestra.
Each season, the NAC Orchestra features world-class artists such as the newly appointed Artist-in-Residence James Ehnes, Angela Hewitt, Joshua Bell, Xian Zhang, Gabriela Montero, Stewart Goodyear, Jan Lisiecki, and Principal Guest Conductor John Storgårds. As one of the most accessible, inclusive, and collaborative orchestras in the world, the NAC Orchestra uses music as a universal language to communicate the deepest of human emotions and connect people through shared experiences.
NAC Orchestra
Conductor: Alexander Shelley
Soloists: Hilary Hahn, violin
- First Violins
Yosuke Kawasaki (concertmaster)
Jessica Linnebach (associate concertmaster)
Noémi Racine Gaudreault (assistant concertmaster)
Emily Kruspe
Marjolaine Lambert
Emily Westell
Jeremy Mastrangelo
Manuela Milani
*Martine Dubé
*Erica Miller
*Heather Schnarr
*Oleg Chelpanov
∆Patrick Paradine - Second violins
Mintje van Lier (principal)
Winston Webber (assistant principal)
Leah Roseman
Carissa Klopoushak
Frédéric Moisan
Zhengdong Liang
Karoly Sziladi
Mark Friedman
**Edvard Skerjanc
*Andréa Armijo Fortin
*Renée London - Violas/Altos
Jethro Marks (principal)
David Goldblatt (assistant principal)
David Marks (associate principal)
David Thies-Thompson
Paul Casey
*Alisa Klebanov
*Sonya Probst
∆Christoph Chung - Cellos
Rachel Mercer (principal)
**Julia MacLaine (assistant principal)
Timothy McCoy
Leah Wyber
**Marc-André Riberdy
*Desiree Abbey
*Karen Kang
*Daniel Parker
*Fanny Marks
∆Jacob MacDonald - Double basses
*Joel Quarrington (guest principal)
Max Cardilli (assistant principal)
Vincent Gendron
Marjolaine Fournier
**Hilda Cowie
*Paul Mach - Flutes
Joanna G'froerer (principal)
Stephanie Morin
*Kaili Maimets - Oboes
Charles Hamann (principal)
Anna Petersen - English Horn
Anna Petersen - Clarinets
Kimball Sykes (principal)
Sean Rice - Bassoons
Darren Hicks (principal)
Vincent Parizeau
*Carmelle Préfontaine - Horns
Lawrence Vine (principal)
Julie Fauteux (associate principal)
Elizabeth Simpson
Lauren Anker
Louis-Pierre Bergeron - Trumpets
Karen Donnelly (principal)
Steven van Gulik
*Amy Horvey - Trombones
*Steve Dyer (guest principal)
Colin Traquair - Bass Trombone
*Zachary Bond - Timpani
*Aaron McDonald (guest principal) - Percussion
Jonathan Wade - Principal Librarian
Nancy Elbeck - Assistant Librarian
Corey Rempel - Personnel Manager
Meiko Lydall - Assistant Personnel Manager
Laurie Shannon
*Additional musicians
**On Leave
∆ Apprentices of the NAC-uOttawa Institute for Orchestral Studies
- Official Car of the NAC Orchestra
