≈ 2 hours · With intermission
Last updated: March 10, 2020
Reflection
Peter Paul Koprowski’s violin concerto consists of four movements Ballade-Caprice-Berceuse-Burlesque. I love that he names these movements in this fashion. Normally classical musicians get indicators like Allegro (fast) and Adagio (slow) which refers to tempos. Occasionally we’ll get something more descriptive like Allegro con spirito (fast with spirit) and Adagio mesto (slow and sad) which sheds some light on the overall character. Peter Paul eliminates any debate about the nature of these movements. The music already reflects this but to actually know that I’m engaged in performing a Berceuse for example is very reassuring. The relation between the movements is slow-fast-slow-fast. There’s a small cadenza between the Berceuse and Burlesque which Peter Paul added months after he completed the work, saying, “…I feel the piece was so much calling for!”
When I play this concerto, my general feeling is that it’s very beautifully lyrical and bittersweet. Audience members that have watched me play may have the impression that I’m excitable and happy because I’m very animated (jumping out of my chair) but I musically connect better to feelings of sadness. I don’t know if Peter Paul sensed this many years ago but I would say that this concerto and me are, dare I say, “molto simpatico”!
In 1972, Mario Bernardi was on the podium for the NAC Orchestra’s first performance of Haydn’s Military Symphony. The ensemble gave their most recent interpretation of this work in 2012, under the direction of José Luis Gomez.
This is the first time the NAC Orchestra has performed Carl Nielsen’s Symphony No. 2.
Repertoire
Symphony No. 100, “Military”
Born in Rohrau, Austria, March 31, 1732
Died in Vienna, May 31, 1809
When Haydn’s “New Grand Ouverture,” as Symphony No. 100 was initially called by the English, was first performed at the Hanover Square Rooms in London on March 31, 1794 (Haydn’s 62nd birthday), it was an immediate and enormous success. The work quickly became his most popular symphony throughout Europe, and it remained so for years to come. It even found its way to the New World as early as 1825, when it was performed in Boston.
The subtitle “Military” did not come from Haydn. Shortly after the work was introduced, this apt sobriquet was already in common use as a shortened form of “the symphony with the military movement” (the second). In fact, though, military influences can be found throughout the entire symphony.
The slow introduction contains several portentous moments for that most military of instruments, the drums (timpani), which remain prominent throughout. Both principal themes of the first movement’s main Allegro section have a military flavour: the first (flute, two oboes) humorously suggestive of toy soldiers, the second (violins) so swaggering and confident that Johann Strauss I used it as the basis of his Radetzky March in 1848.
The second movement is not the traditional slow movement, but rather an Allegretto (moderately lively) consisting of a theme and variations based on what sounds like a folk tune. In fact, the theme is original on Haydn’s part, and only later assumed the added role of a folk song. Audiences in Haydn's time normally expected trumpets and drums to remain silent in a symphony’s second movement. Here Haydn, always ready to surprise the listener, not only retains these instruments, but adds a “Turkish” component of bass drum, cymbals and triangle as well as a pair of clarinets. The coda begins with a brash bugle call, presumably used by the Austrian army.
The Menuetto is sturdy and forthright, with a gracious central Trio section. Even here the military element intrudes, with a “dum-da-dum-da-dum” rhythmic pattern hammered out by the full orchestra, led by trumpets and drums.
The exhilarating finale is one of Haydn’s most substantial (334 measures), and incorporates any number of surprises, mysteries and musical jokes. The full percussion department returns, and the symphony ends in as splendid a display of sound as Haydn ever conjured from an orchestra.
– Program note by Robert Markow
Violin Concerto
Born in Łódź, Poland, August 24, 1947
Now living in London, Ontario
Peter Paul Koprowski’s early musical training took place initially in Krakow, followed by studies in Paris with Nadia Boulanger, England and finally the University of Toronto. He became a naturalized Canadian in 1976. Among his many awards, which he has been gathering since he was a teenager, are the prestigious Jules Léger Prize (on two occasions, in 1989 and 1994), and the 1997 Jean A. Chalmers National Music Award. In 2005, he was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Order Polonia Restituta from his natal country. He retired last year from his position of professor of composition at Western University in London, Ontario.
Koprowski’s prolific output includes more than 50 commissioned compositions from ensembles such as the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, the Oslo Philharmonic, the Polish Chamber Orchestra, the Esprit Orchestra (Toronto), the Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet and the National Arts Centre Orchestra. The NAC Orchestra has been performing Koprowski’s music since 1982. These compositions include In Memoriam Karol Szymanowski, Epitaph for Strings, Sweet Baroque, Songs of Forever, Sinfonia Mystica, Sinfonia Concertante, Ancestral Voices, Intermezzo and Capriccio.
His most recent works, Podhale and the Chamber Concerto for Contrabass Solo, Timpani, Percussion and Strings, were commissioned by the NAC Orchestra as part of the NAC Award for Composers. The Violin Concerto is his third and final commission under this Award.
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Violin Concerto
World premiere: March 25, 2020 | NAC Commission
Peter Paul Koprowski’s latest work for the NAC Orchestra is the 20-minute Violin Concerto, written for tonight’s soloist, Yosuke Kawasaki. Koprowski describes it as “unabashedly tonal, melodic, and full of contrasts.”
“The first movement,” he writes, “is moderate in tempo, poetic and lyrical. It opens with a solo clarinet in partnership with a delicate sound of glass wind chimes. Various instruments from the orchestra join the solo violin in chamber settings. Approximately midway through there is a sudden but brief, rather aggressive brass episode, which gives way to lyrical, slowly unfolding poetic music.
“The second movement arrives without pause and brings a sudden contrast to the music. It is fast, relentless, and challenging for the soloist.
“The third movement opens with a short introduction for the winds, building on the clarinet solo which opened the composition. Although slow and rhythmically persistent, it brings a touch of humour to the work. The music is somewhat relaxed after the tumultuous second movement.
“Without a break, the movement rolls into a cadenza and then into the final movement. Light-hearted, at times aggressive and at others full of humour and vigour, the movement sums up the whole composition and brings it to a buoyant conclusion.”
– Program note by Robert Markow
Symphony No. 2, Op. 16, “The Four Temperaments”
I. Allegro collerico
II. Allegro comodo e flemmatico
III. Andante malincolico
IV. Allegro sanguineo
Carl Nielsen (1865–1931) is Denmark’s most recognized musical figure and is one of his generation’s significant composers; he was also active as a conductor and violinist. His music, while often based on the traditional forms and processes of Western art music, displays a highly individual style of writing that did not follow or conform to a particular school or prevailing fashion of his time. Among his works best known today are his six symphonies, which exhibit his uniquely bold and inventive approaches to the genre.
Nielsen began the creation of his Second Symphony in 1901, the year he started to receive a modest state stipend to give him time to compose as he continued his job as a violinist in Copenhagen’s Royal Theatre Orchestra. He completed the work in late November 1902 and conducted its first performance on December 1. Soon after the symphony’s premiere, his friend Henrik Knudsen made a two-piano arrangement of it, which they took to Berlin to play for Ferruccio Busoni, the renowned Italian pianist and composer. Impressed, Busoni subsequently featured it in one of his “Orchestral Evenings for new and rarely performed works” on November 5, 1903; in gratitude, Nielsen dedicated the piece to him. The Second Symphony initially received mixed reactions from critics and audiences, but by the third decade of the 20th century, it had increased in popularity and has since become a favourite of the orchestral repertory.
In 1931, Nielsen wrote a substantial program note about the Second Symphony, in which he discussed its origins. While visiting a village pub in Zealand, he encountered “a most comical picture” that depicted the four fundamental human temperaments, as derived from the Ancient Greek concept of “humours”—choleric (impetuous, angry), phlegmatic (lazy, laid-back), melancholic, and sanguine (cheerful, naïve). So taken was Nielsen by the picture, that he felt inspired to create a symphony on the subject, with each movement a musical portrait of a temperament. He achieves this to powerful effect, by using distinctive melodies and motives as well as innovative harmonic processes to characterize each personality type. He also develops these elements through different moods, thus giving the more realistic impression that a person is not solely of a single temperament. “The impetuous man can have his milder moments, the melancholy man his impetuous or brighter ones, and the boisterous, cheerful man can become a little contemplative, even quite serious—but only for a little while,” he explained. “The lazy, indolent man, on the other hand, only emerges from his phlegmatic state with the greatest difficulty, so this movement is both brief (he can’t be bothered) and uniform in its progress.”
The first movement explores all the facets of the choleric temperament, from impulsive rage to righteous indignation and noble passion. After an initial outburst, the first theme is introduced, proceeding with furious energy. For a moment, the storm subsides as the clarinet spins out a delicate melody, but this soon rises to a glorious eruption. It then dies away, leading into a tranquil episode, with an expressive second theme first intoned by the oboe. Before long, though, the serenity is disturbed by “violently shifting figures and rhythmic jerks” (in Nielsen’s words) that intensify to a series of brusque chords. Following a pause, the second theme returns, now expanded into a majestic song (the noble side of the choleric type). In the ensuing development section, initiated by a crescendo of timpani taps, Nielsen states that “the above-mentioned material is worked, now wildly and impetuously, like one who nearly forgets himself, now in a softer mood, like one who regrets his irascibility.” Yet again, it isn’t long before the choleric resumes his usual ways—listen out for the varied recap of the main themes, with the second reaching a somewhat anxious climax this time. From here, a passage of insistent swells on the woodwinds and brass combined with aggressive leaps in the strings build to a fury that picks up speed in the coda, bringing the movement to a ferocious conclusion.
In stark contrast, the second movement opens with placid music that is an unmistakable depiction of the phlegmatic temperament. According to his program note, Nielsen had imagined a young man, whose “real inclination was to lie where the birds sing, where the fish glide noiselessly through the water, where the sun warms, and the wind strokes mildly round one’s curls. […] His expression was rather happy, but not self-complacent, rather with a hint of quiet melancholy, so that one felt impelled to be good to him,” as suggested by the gently rocking motives and flowing phrases poignantly tinged with chromatic notes. Later, the man’s state of inertia is evoked in repeated notes that seem to go nowhere. His idyllic state is disturbed once—a loud thwack of the timpani—but “in a moment, everything is quiet again.” With the return of the opening music, the young chap has resumed his lazing and drifts off without a care in the world.
The third movement depicts a person heavy with melancholy. After an introductory descent, the first violins sing the lamenting main theme with its characteristic rising third (like a plea of “why me?”), which, as Nielsen describes, is “drawn heavily towards a strong outcry of pain”. The oboe then presents “a plaintive sighing motive” that gradually develops as it is taken up in turn by other instruments, building to a climax of heaving orchestral sobs. A transition combining the rising motive and the sighs leads to a “quieter, resigned episode” with the woodwinds and strings alternating on smooth phrases. The winds continue in a long imitative passage, during which their parts become intertwined “like the mesh of a net,” and then stop in defeat. With renewed intensity, the lament returns; the ensuing sighs, now on violins, rise to an anguished outburst that is repeated a step down, followed by a series of detached harmonies on full orchestra. It subsides to a calm, and the movement closes, hovering on a note of optimism.
“A man who storms thoughtlessly forward in the belief that the whole world belongs to him, that fried pigeons will fly into his mouth without work or bother,” is how Nielsen characterizes the sanguine temperament of the finale. The movement starts up with a robust theme on flutes, clarinets, and violins, which progresses cheerfully, then becomes recklessly bullish on brass and lower strings, as violins play scurrying passages. Amidst this exultant chaos, something seems to scare the man, “and he gasps all at once for breath in rough syncopations.” Gradually, he recovers—a jaunty tune with chromatic “sighs” (a touch of the melancholic) is introduced by violins tentatively at first, then gathers energy to reach a boisterous self-satisfied climax. The initial mood then returns; the robust theme proceeds as earlier, but this time, it appears the man has “met with something really serious”—listen for rumbling timpani alternating with loud orchestral chords. After a pause, the second tune reappears—no longer jaunty but contemplative at a much slower tempo—and is developed into a searching contrapuntal episode for strings. Soon, though, the music brightens, and the orchestra erupts into a rousing march—the man’s brash optimism now evolved into a dignified confidence—to complete this vibrant musical picture of The Four Temperaments.
Program note by Hannah Chan-Hartley, PhD
Artists
Principal Guest Conductor of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa and Chief Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, John Storgårds has a dual career as a conductor and violin virtuoso and is widely recognized for his creative flair for programming and rousing yet refined performances. As Artistic Director of the Lapland Chamber Orchestra, a title he has held for over 25 years, Storgårds earned global critical acclaim for the ensemble’s adventurous performances and award-winning recordings.
Internationally, Storgårds appears with such orchestras as the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Munich Philharmonic, the Orchestre National de France, the Vienna Radio Symphony, and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as all of the major Nordic orchestras, including the Helsinki Philharmonic, where he was Chief Conductor from 2008 to 2015. He also regularly returns to the Münchener Kammerorchester, where he was Artistic Partner from 2016 to 2019. Further afield, he appears with the Sydney, Melbourne, Yomiuri Nippon, and NHK symphony orchestras and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic.
Storgårds’s award-winning discography includes not only recordings of works by Schumann, Mozart, Beethoven, and Haydn but also rarities by Holmboe and Vask, which feature him as violin soloist. Cycles of the complete symphonies of Sibelius (2014) and Nielsen (2015) with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra were released to critical acclaim by Chandos. November 2019 saw the release of the third and final volume of works by American avant-garde composer George Antheil. Their latest project, recording the late symphonies of Shostakovich, commenced in April 2020 with the release of Symphony No. 11. In 2023, Storgårds and the BBC Philharmonic were nominated for Gramophone magazine’s Orchestra of the Year Award.
Storgårds studied violin with Chaim Taub and conducting with Jorma Panula and Eri Klas. He received the Finnish State Prize for Music in 2002 and the Pro Finlandia Prize in 2012.
Yosuke Kawasaki currently serves as Concertmaster of the NAC Orchestra and Guest Concertmaster of the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo. His versatile musicianship allows him to pursue a career in orchestra, solo, and chamber music. His orchestral career began with the Montgomery Symphony Orchestra and soon led to the Mito Chamber Orchestra, the Saito Kinen Orchestra, and the Japan Century Orchestra, all of which he led as concertmaster. His solo and chamber music career spans five continents, collaborating with artists such as Seiji Ozawa, Pinchas Zukerman, and Yo-Yo Ma and appearing in the world’s most prestigious halls such as Carnegie Hall, Suntory Hall, and the Royal Concertgebouw.
Yosuke’s current regular ensembles are Trio Ink and the Mito String Quartet. His passion for chamber music led to his appointment as Music Director of the Affinis Music Festival in Japan. He is also an artistic advisor to the chamber music festival Off the Beaten Path in Bulgaria.
As an educator, Yosuke has given masterclasses and performed alongside students in schools across Canada. Well-versed in the string quartet literature, he was entrusted by Seiji Ozawa as the youngest faculty member of the Ozawa International Chamber Music Academy at age 26. He was also an adjunct professor of violin at the University of Ottawa School of Music from 2013 to 2022 alongside the beloved pedagogue Yehonatan Berick.
Yosuke began his violin studies at age six with his father, Masao Kawasaki, and Setsu Goto. He was subsequently accepted into The Juilliard School Pre-College Division, where he furthered his education. He graduated from The Juilliard School in 1998 under the tutorship of Dorothy DeLay, Hyo Kang, Felix Galimir, and Joel Smirnoff.
Canada’s National Arts Centre (NAC) Orchestra is praised for the passion and clarity of its performances, its visionary learning and engagement programs, and its unwavering support of Canadian creativity. The NAC Orchestra is based in Ottawa, Canada’s national capital, and has grown into one of the country’s most acclaimed and dynamic ensembles since its founding in 1969. Under the leadership of Music Director Alexander Shelley, the NAC Orchestra reflects the fabric and values of Canada, engaging communities from coast to coast to coast through inclusive programming, compelling storytelling, and innovative partnerships.
Since taking the helm in 2015, Shelley has shaped the Orchestra’s artistic vision, building on the legacy of his predecessor, Pinchas Zukerman, who led the ensemble for 16 seasons. Shelley’s influence extends beyond the NAC. He serves as Principal Associate Conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in the U.K. and Artistic and Music Director of Artis—Naples and the Naples Philharmonic in Florida. Shelley’s leadership is complemented by Principal Guest Conductor John Storgårds, an internationally renowned conductor and violinist who has led some of the world’s finest ensembles, and Principal Youth Conductor Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser, known for creating innovative and engaging community programming. In 2024, the Orchestra marked a new chapter with the appointment of Henry Kennedy as its first-ever Resident Conductor.
The Orchestra has a rich history of partnerships with renowned artists such as James Ehnes, Angela Hewitt, Renée Fleming, Hilary Hahn, Jeremy Dutcher, Jan Lisiecki, Ray Chen and Yeol Eum Son, underscoring its reputation as a destination for world-class talent. 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.
A hallmark of the NAC Orchestra is its national and international tours. The Orchestra has performed concerts in every Canadian province and territory and earned frequent invitations to perform abroad. These tours spotlight Canadian composers and artists, bringing their voices to stages across North America, the U.K., Europe, and Asia.
The NAC Orchestra has also established a rich discography, including many of the over 80 new works it has commissioned. These include:
- The 2024 album Truth in Our Time, including the premiere recording of Philip Glass’s Symphony No. 13, commissioned by the National Arts Centre Orchestra
- Clara - Robert - Johannes: a multi-year, multi-album exploration of the music of Clara Schumann, Robert Schumann, and Johannes Brahms, featuring pianists Angela Hewitt, Stewart Goodyear, and Gabriela Montero
- The groundbreaking Life Reflected, which includes "My Name is Amanda Todd" by the late Jocelyn Morlock (winner of the 2018 JUNO for Classical Composition of the Year)
- Ana Sokolović’s "Golden Slumbers Kiss Your Eyes," 2019 JUNO Winner for Classical Composition of the Year (from the 2019 JUNO-nominated New Worlds)
- The 2020 JUNO-nominated The Bounds of Our Dreams, featuring pianist Alain Lefèvre
- Angela Hewitt’s 2015 JUNO Award-winning album of Mozart Piano Concertos
The NAC Orchestra’s Learning and Community Engagement initiatives are rooted in creating inclusive and accessible programs for audiences in the National Capital Region and across Canada. These initiatives include family-focused performances, Music Circle workshops specifically designed for individuals on the autism spectrum, and sensory-friendly concerts. Additionally, the Orchestra offers exceptional programming for students, teachers, and learners of all ages, including matinee performances, open rehearsals, instrumental workshops, and digital resources, ensuring that arts learning and engagement in music remain a priority for young audiences and the broader community. The Orchestra’s annual Mentorship Program brings 50 early-career orchestral musicians from around the world to participate in a three-week professional development experience with the world-class NAC Orchestra. Through these efforts, the NAC Orchestra continues to foster meaningful connections with diverse audiences, making music a shared and inclusive experience.
"Prolific, pensive and articulate," the prize-winning Peter Paul Koprowski was born in Lodz, Poland, in 1947. Noted for his early compositions as an “outstanding talent”, he attended and graduated in nearly half the required time from the Krakow Academy of Music, earning awards and having his works broadcast and performed in concerts. Starting with his orchestral In Memoriam Karol Szymanowski, written when he was only sixteen, Mr. Koprowski has gone through a musical evolution of an unusual breadth. As a child prodigy he absorbed the advanced harmonic languages of Scriabin and Szymanowski and was profoundly influenced by the polyphony of the Renaissance. During this time he was also exposed to a wide range of contemporary music presented at the annual Warsaw Autumn Festival -- Poland in the 1960s being like Paris fifty years earlier, in the vanguard of European music.
After a period in England, where he received further awards, Mr. Koprowski moved to Canada in 1971 and completed his doctorate at the University of Toronto. Since then his prolific output has continued with a canon extending from songs to symphonies -- all commissioned works exceeding 50 in number, from orchestras, ensembles and distinguished artists such as the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Montreal Symphony Orchestra and Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet. Mr. Koprowski’s works have been presented by many noted artists, such as Pinchas Zukerman, Trevor Pinnock, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Okko Kamu, and Wojciech Michniewski. In November 2006, his Elegiareceived its American premiere at Carnegie Hall, New York, by the New York Grand Opera Orchestra, with Maria Knapik as a soloist under Maestro Vincent La Selva. Five months later, his Tapestries for Soprano Solo and Orchestra received a world premiere with Maria Knapik and the Kingston Symphony Orchestra under Maestro Glen Fast, and was subsequently recorded for CD. Many other works received performances in North America and in Europe in the intervening months.
In 1983, Mr. Koprowski returned to Poland as a guest of the Warsaw Autumn Festival. In 1988, he was a Composer in Residence with the Canadian Opera Company. Twice, in 1989 and in 1994, he was recipient of the Canada Council for the Arts’s Jules Leger Prize and in 1990 he was awarded the interdisciplinary Victor Martyn Lynch-Stanton Award. In 1997, he received the Jean A. Chalmers National Music Award for four orchestral compositions: Viola Concerto, Symphony of Nordic Tales, Ancestral Voices and Saga(the only such occurrence in the history of the award). In 2002 his Viola Concertoreceived a JUNO nomination. In 2005, Peter Paul Koprowski was bestowed the Knight’s Cross of the Order Polonia Restituta.
Currently, Dr Koprowski resides in Canada, near Ottawa. He is also a professor of composition at the University of Western Ontario, and divides his time between European and North American engagements as a composer and conductor.
- Listen to Peter Paul Koprowski's Ancestral Voices and Epitaph for Strings throughNACmusicbox.ca, part of the National Arts Centre's performing arts educational website ArtsAlive.ca.
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