≈ 2 hours · With intermission
Last updated: October 7, 2022
PROGRAM
J. HAYDN Trumpet Concerto in E-flat major, Hob. VIIE:I
BETSY JOLAS Onze Lieder for trumpet and orchestra
- - Intermission - -
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64
Repertoire
Trumpet Concerto in E-flat major, Hob. VIIE:I
I. Allegro
II. Andante
III. Allegro
The development of a musical tradition is often inextricably linked to technological advancements in instrument making. Inspired by new possibilities for making sound, composers would create works to highlight these instruments as well as the abilities of the musicians who played them. Until the late 18th century, the notes of the trumpet were limited to those of the harmonic series, which meant only leaps could be played in the lower register, with melodic lines sounding only in the high register where the notes were closer together. In the 1790s, Anton Weidinger, a trumpet player in the Vienna Court Orchestra and a friend of Joseph Haydn’s, devised a solution to increase the number of notes on the instrument. He invented a “keyed” trumpet (a predecessor of today’s valved instrument), in which holes were made in the tubing, and the notes were produced by opening and closing them with keys.
Haydn wrote his Trumpet Concerto for Weidinger and his keyed trumpet in 1796, though it wasn’t performed until 1800 (perhaps Weidinger was still tweaking the instrument’s design). The premiere was quite highly anticipated, with the Wiener Zeitung reporting that Weidinger wanted “to present to the world for the first time…an organized trumpet which he has invented and brought—after seven years of hard and expensive labour—to what he believes may be described as perfection. It contains several keys and will be displayed in a concerto specially written for this instrument by Herr Joseph Haydn.”
In this Concerto, Haydn explores the expressive range and versatility of the new trumpet, giving it everything from brilliant passages and bright fanfares to warm, singing melodies, which are complemented by richly sonorous orchestral writing. Notably, the ability to play chromatic notes on the instrument is highlighted, for example, in the first movement, through the gracefully winding phrases of the second theme (a contrast to the straightforward opening theme), and in tension-building moments in the central development section. In the Andante, chromatic tones enrich the trumpet’s climbing melody in the brief development and add a touch of poignancy to the low motifs intoned at the movement’s conclusion.
The finale is an energetic rondo, full of Haydn’s signature wit. For the trumpet, there are not only bold virtuosic leaps and quicksilver runs but also quiet moments requiring subtle, delicate playing. Listen also for trills, details that were designed specifically for the keyed trumpet. Near the end is a particularly dramatic section of surprising contrasts for soloist and orchestra. After a suspenseful silence, the theme returns one last time, softly in the trumpet, out of which grows the final orchestral flourish and fanfare.
Onze lieder for trumpet and orchestra
At 96 years old, Franco-American composer Betsy Jolas is a formidable and venerated figure in contemporary classical music. Her long career has spanned both sides of the Atlantic, having studied and taught composition in the United States and in France (notably, at the Paris Conservatory). Consisting of operas, orchestral pieces, chamber music, and solo and choral works, her catalogue of compositions has been widely performed internationally by distinguished ensembles and artists, including tonight’s soloist, Håkan Hardenberger, which whom she has frequently collaborated.
Jolas’s compositional style may be described as modernist, drawing on an eclectic mix of musical styles and techniques, both historical and current. As she said in a 2016 interview, “My roots are in the whole history of music, not just in the music of my own time. It is a privilege that I can have a relationship with all the great music of the past.” From a young age, Jolas was drawn to song—her American mother sang German lieder and “also knew black songs, Creole, Irish, Scottish.” “I have always read also with great pleasure Goethe, Heine,” she has noted, “and I was the first to analyze the lied at the Paris Conservatory.” Thus, it’s not surprising she has often returned to song, translating its characteristics into pieces solely for instruments, such as this work, Onze Lieder for trumpet and orchestra.
Jolas composed Onze Lieder in 1977; it was premiered by Ensemble Intercontemporain and the trumpet player Pierre Thibaud (who was one of Hardenberger’s teachers). The 11 songs unfold continuously, with only brief pauses demarcating them. Economically wrought, each has a distinctive character, by turns dreamy, tender, caustic, playful, nostalgic, mysterious. Jazzy elements feature at times in the solo part, a nod to trumpeter Miles Davis, whose playing, Jolas has mentioned, was a major influence on the piece. To complement the expressive lines of the trumpet, the orchestra provides subtle layers of colour, creating interesting sonic juxtapositions.
Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64
I. Andante – Allegro con anima
II. Andante cantabile, con alcuna licenza
III. Valse. Allegro moderato
Iv. Finale: Andante maestoso – Allegro vivace
Tchaikovsky began composing his fifth symphony in May 1888, completing the initial sketches a month later. The work was finished in time for the premiere on November 17 in St. Petersburg, with the composer conducting. Critical reaction was mixed, the negative reviews of which stayed with the composer, despite positive responses from the audience. Plagued by anxiety and self-doubt about his creative prowess, Tchaikovsky’s own opinion about the symphony fluctuated over the ensuing months. “After every performance I come to the same conclusion that this symphony is a failure,” he initially wrote to his patron Nadezhda von Meck. “It turns out [it’s] too gaudy, too unwieldy, insincere, too long, and possesses insufficient appeal in general.” However, he appeared to have revised his opinion by March 1889, after a successful performance of the piece in Hamburg. As he wrote to his brother Modest, “Best of all, I have stopped disliking the symphony. I love it again.”
Tchaikovsky had revealed to Konstantin Romanov that his new symphony had no program. Yet only a month before he started composing, he had outlined ideas and themes for one:
Intro: Total submission before Fate, or, what is the same thing, the inscrutable designs of Providence
Allegro: 1. Murmurs, laments, doubts, reproaches against…XXX [possibly a coded reference to his homosexual yearnings]
2. Shall I cast myself into the embrace of faith???
A wonderful programme, if only it can be fulfilled
[For the slow movement] A ray of light…No, there is no hope.
The extent to which any of this can be definitively applied to his Fifth Symphony is debatable; what’s clear, though, is that the work has a clearly defined emotional arc, seeming to draw on things deeply personal to the composer, very possibly these ideas. (For example, diary entries in the months before he drafted the program reveal that the Tchaikovsky was preoccupied with the death of Eduard Zak, his former student and friend who had committed suicide at age 19, and with whom he had a profound and likely complex relationship.)
A key element of the narrative is the symphony’s opening theme, which becomes a recurring “motto” that is transformed throughout the work. (One view is that it represents “Providence”, with its rhythm based on the Orthodox Easter hymn “Christ is risen!” Another is that it’s a quote from an aria in Mikhail Glinka’s opera The Life for the Tsar, “Turn not to sorrow”.) In the first movement, the motto, first intoned by two clarinets, has a chant-like, solemn quality in the minor mode. It becomes more threatening in the passionate second movement, bursting forth ominously in the trumpets midway and near the end. In the concluding moments of the waltz, the motto makes a quiet intrusion, played by low clarinets and bassoons. It then opens the finale, completely transformed. Now in the major mode, it’s grand and majestic, and after much vigorous energy and tumult, the motto makes a final return in the coda, triumphant.
The second movement is the emotional climax of the work; its two themes, the first played by solo horn, the second introduced by oboe and horn in duet, both begin tenderly, reflectively, then build to heart-bursting climaxes. (Tchaikovsky had apparently written over the horn solo “O que je t’aime! O mon amie!” [or more likely ‘ami’.] O, how I love…if you love me…With desire and passion.”) It’s during the second, greater climax of the second theme, that the motto interrupts. In light of this ravishing music, perhaps the triumphant integration of the motto theme in the finale seems uneasy—it may be the reason why Tchaikovsky was unsure of its sincerity, as if wrestling with the question “Shall I cast myself into the embrace of faith???” Ultimately, there’s something in this symphony’s music that reaches towards hope—in living life passionately and to the fullest in each moment, despite the inevitability of grief, death, and loss.
Program notes 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.
Håkan Hardenberger is one of the world’s leading soloists, consistently recognized for his phenomenal performances and tireless innovation. Alongside his performances of the classical repertory, he is also renowned as a pioneer of significant and virtuosic new trumpet works.
Hardenberger performs with the world’s foremost orchestras including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Wiener Philharmoniker, Berliner Philharmoniker and London Symphony Orchestra. Conductors he collaborates with include Daniel Harding, Ingo Metzmacher, Andris Nelsons, Sakari Oramo, Jukka-Pekka Saraste and John Storgårds.
The works written for and championed by Hardenberger stand as key highlights in the repertory and include those by Sir Harrison Birtwistle, Brett Dean, HK Gruber, Hans Werner Henze, Betsy Jolas, Arvo Pärt, Toru Takemitsu, Mark-Anthony Turnage and Rolf Wallin.
In summer 2019 Hardenberger returned to the Tanglewood Music Festival with Boston Symphony Orchestra and Andris Nelsons and to the BBC Proms with BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Markus Stenz for the UK premiere of Tobias Broström’s double concerto for two trumpets with Jeroen Berwaerts. This was followed by a concert at the Musikfest Berlin with Olga Neuwirth’s concerto “Miramondo Multiplo” with BBC Symphony Orchestra and Sakari Oramo. With the latter he was also be heard at the Barbican in November, championing Betsy Jolas’s trumpet concerto “Onze Lieder”. Continuing his residency with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, he performed Mieczysław Weinberg’s trumpet concerto and gives HK Gruber’s concerto “Aerial” its 89th performance since its premiere. Further highlights have included his performance of the Dutch premiere of Robin Holloway’s new concerto with Het Residentie Orkest and Nicholas Collon, his return to Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra with Andris Nelsons, Radio-Sinfonieorchester Berlin with Alain Altinoglu, Bamberger Symphoniker with John Storgårds, as well as Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Orchestre Philharmonique de Luxembourg with Daniel Harding. Hardenberger embarked on his residency with the Seoul Philharmonic in 2020, and appeared in a podium swap with HK Gruber with New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. He also returned to the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in concert as well as curating their Metropolis Festival for contemporary music.
Conducting is an integral part of Hardenberger’s music making. In 2019/20 he conducted the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Seoul Philharmonic, Malmo Symphony Orchestra, Swedish Chamber Orchestra, and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra. Also, duo partnerships include pianist Roland Pöntinen and percussionist Colin Currie, with whom he released a duo recording featuring duo works by composers such as Brett Dean and André Jolivet.
To add to his prolific discography on the Philips, EMI, Deutsche Grammophon, and BIS labels, Hardenberger anticipates the release of a concerto recording including Sally Beamish, Betsy Jolas, and Olga Neuwirth's music (BIS) as well as a recording of Peter Eötvös's new version of his trumpet concerto “Jet Stream”.
From 2016 to 2018 Hardenberger was the Artistic Director of the Malmö Chamber Music Festival. Hardenberger was born in Malmö, Sweden. He began studying the trumpet at the age of eight with Bo Nilsson in Malmö and continued his studies at the Paris Conservatoire, with Pierre Thibaud, and in Los Angeles with Thomas Stevens. He is a professor at the Malmö Conservatoire.
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 the U.S. Shelley’s leadership is complemented by Principal Guest Conductor John Storgårds and Principal Youth Conductor Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser. 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 United Kingdom, Europe, and Asia.
NAC Orchestra
First Violins
Yosuke Kawasaki (concertmaster)
Jessica Linnebach (associate concertmaster)
Noémi Racine Gaudreault (assistant concertmaster)
Marjolaine Lambert
Jeremy Mastrangelo
Manuela Milani
Emily Westell
*Zhengdong Liang
*Erica Miller
*Martine Dubé
*Renée London
*Oleg Chelpanov
Second violins
Mintje van Lier (principal)
Winston Webber (assistant principal)
Leah Roseman
Frédéric Moisan
**Carissa Klopoushak
Mark Friedman
Karoly Sziladi
**Edvard Skerjanc
*Andréa Armijo Fortin
*Sara Mastrangelo
*Sarah Williams
Violas
Jethro Marks (principal)
David Goldblatt (assistant principal)
David Marks (associate principal)
David Thies-Thompson
Paul Casey
*Sonya Probst
*Kelvin Enns
*Wilma Hos
Cellos
Rachel Mercer (principal)
Julia MacLaine (assistant principal)
Marc-André Riberdy
**Timothy McCoy
Leah Wyber
*Karen Kang
*Desiree Abbey
*Daniel Parker
Double basses
*Joel Quarrington (guest principal)
**Hilda Cowie
Max Cardilli
Vincent Gendron
Marjolaine Fournier
*Travis Harrison
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
*Shauna Barker
Bassoons
Darren Hicks (principal)
Vincent Parizeau
Horns
Lawrence Vine (principal)
Julie Fauteux (associate principal)
Elizabeth Simpson
Lauren Anker
Louis-Pierre Bergeron
*Olivier Brisson
Trumpets
Karen Donnelly (principal)
Steven van Gulik
*Michael Fedyshyn
Trombones
**Donald Renshaw (principal)
**Colin Traquair
*Charles Benaroya (guest principal)
*Hillary Simms
Bass Trombone
*Zachary Bond
Tubas
Chris Lee (principal)
Timpani
*Alexander Cohen (guest principal)
Percussion
Jonathan Wade
*Andrew Harris
*Robert Slapcoff
Harp
*Angela Schwarzkopf
Piano
* Frederic Lacroix
Principal Librarian
Nancy Elbeck
Assistant Librarian
Corey Rempel
Personnel Manager
Meiko Lydall
Assistant Personnel Manager
Laurie Shannon
*Additional musicians/Musiciens surnuméraires
**On Leave/En congé
International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees