Last updated: September 8, 2022
Program Notes
R. STRAUSS Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks
RACHMANINOFF Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
DINUK WIJERATNE Polyphonic Lively
R. STRAUSS Suite from Der Rosenkavalier
Repertoire
Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks
In 1888, convinced that his artistic direction was to create new forms for every new subject, Richard Strauss embarked on writing orchestral “tone poems”. A genre of instrumental music initially developed by Franz Liszt, the symphonic poem is a one-movement work that illustrates or evokes the content of an extra-musical source, be it a story, poem, or painting. It was a novel way to structure the experience of orchestral music compared to the traditional abstract forms of the four-movement symphony.
Strauss composed Macbeth that year, followed by Don Juan and Tod und Verklärung (Death and Transfiguration) in 1888–89. The latter two were so successful, they were quickly absorbed into the German performance repertory. In 1895, he completed Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche; it, too, was a hit and remains his most frequently performed orchestral work today.
Till is a roguish figure from medieval German folklore, who relished wreaking havoc and scandalizing authorities with his practical jokes targeting anyone too high on themselves or too rigid with their moral principles. For Strauss, rendering the prankster’s escapades in the form of a tone poem was an apt (albeit veiled) metaphor for himself as an artist disrupting the status quo of music composition at the time. The piece consists of a series of adventure episodes, vividly brought to life through the brilliant colour and scintillating textures of the composer’s orchestral writing, which demands highly virtuosic playing from all instruments.
An opening prologue has the effect of a fairy tale’s first line—"Once upon a time there was a knavish fool.” Two motifs are introduced: the first, smooth and charming, played by the violins, followed by a fanfare-like, (mock-)heroic horn solo. After an initial build-up, the clarinet intones a cheeky phrase—the charming melody sped up to evoke the prankster. Listen for this theme—a marker of Till’s presence—as it is transformed throughout the piece, during each of his antics.
After the prologue, Till goes off in search of excitement. In the first of his pranks, the music depicts him sneaking on tiptoe, then suddenly, with a cymbal crash, he bursts into a market square riding a horse. Mayhem ensues, as he scuttles away. He next appears at an elegant courtly dance, transformed into a charismatic seducer, represented by caressing phrases on solo violin and sinuous motifs in muted horns and trumpets. Later, the violin leaps high, then runs rapidly down a scale—a scream and subsequent fainting of a lady scandalized. Till moves on to a group of clergymen (bass clarinet, bassoons, and contrabassoon) in serious debate. In disguise (listen for an impish bass-line figure), he begins to mock them. The figure climbs through the instruments to the piccolo, reaching a peak, and after an orchestral raspberry, the jig is up with a gleeful polka dance. The offended clergymen attempt to collect themselves, while Till escapes again, unscathed.
The opening horn theme returns (in a different key) and builds to a climax—our prankster the swaggering hero. But an ominous drum roll and a tolling minor chord interrupts his revelry—found guilty of his offences, he’s sentenced for execution. He attempts to cajole and plead for his life, but a final shriek from the clarinet suggests it’s all over for him. In the epilogue, the smooth music of the opening returns, like an attempt to end with a moral to the tale…but in the closing moments, Till reappears to laughingly thumb his nose at us listeners.
Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini
In the 19th century, Italian violinist Niccolò Paganini (1782–1840) performed with technical virtuosity so astounding rumours were circulated that his skills were bestowed on him by the Devil. He was especially known for his fiendishly difficult 24 Caprices for solo violin. The 24th Caprice in A minor is a set of variations on a catchy theme with a simple chord progression—an ideal form to show the breadth of a virtuoso’s abilities. It inspired other performer-composers to create their own sets of variations, including Franz Liszt, Johannes Brahms, and Sergei Rachmaninoff.
Rachmaninoff composed his Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini for piano and orchestra during the summer of 1934, at his Villa Senar in Hertenstein, Switzerland. On November 7 that year, he performed the premiere with the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Leopold Stokowski, and they recorded it together on December 24. It’s a tightly wrought work, with the piano part exhibiting an extensive range of textures and sonorities, while the large orchestra is used judiciously as a flexible backdrop. The overall atmosphere is somewhat serious and moody, venturing into melancholy and the diabolic in parts.
The Rhapsody unfolds, almost continuously, as 24 variations on the theme, which has two parts, each repeated. After a dramatic introduction, the orchestra articulates the bare bones of the theme (Variation 1 – Precedente)—a witty homage to the way the finale of Beethoven’s “Eroica” Symphony” opens. Violins then introduce the original melody, with the piano adding punctuation. From Variations 2 to 6, the piano and orchestra alternate playing delicate chattering passages and wistful long phrases.
For Variation 7, the piano intones a solemn chorale, which begins with the first phrase of the Dies irae, the medieval chant melody evoking the impending doom of the Last Judgement. It’s the first of several references to it throughout the piece. The music then becomes more demonic, with increasingly flamboyant writing for the piano, unusual timbres (violins and violas playing on the wood of the bow in Variation 9), and off-kilter rhythmic patterns. An ominous march takes over the beginning of Variation 10, against which the piano plays the Dies irae, fragments of which later fade into silence.
After a meditative turn on the theme for Variation 11, the piano breaks out in a flurry across the expanse of the keyboard. It gathers itself for several dance-like variations with the orchestra—a courtly minuet (Var. 12), a forceful number (Var. 13), and a fast-strutting march (in the major mode) with fanfares (Var. 14). The piano alone then lets loose with a dazzling elaboration on what came before, and eventually pauses on a quiet chord.
Muted strings tiptoe into Variation 16; set in the remote key of B-flat minor, the mood is introspective. Variation 17 has a searching quality, as the piano wanders on dissonant figures in its low registers. It eventually emerges from the murky depths into warmth, and the emotional heart of the work: a beautiful melody that is in fact the main theme turned upside down. In D-flat major, it’s first played tenderly by solo piano, then given to the strings, which take it to a soaring climax. It gradually subsides, and the piano closes Variation 18 in a calm, simple fashion.
In the remaining six variations, the music gets progressively energetic, the rhythms more incisive, the piano part ever more virtuosic with complex patterns, syncopations, and leaps. Significant peaks are reached in Variations 22 and 23, at which the piano bursts into flashy cadenzas. For the last variation, Rachmaninoff sets forth a formidable challenge for the pianist—even he had been nervous to play it. At the final climax, the brass proclaim the Dies irae and the piano clambers down to the finish, then bids farewell with a playful wink.
Polyphonic Lively
Sri Lankan-born Canadian Dinuk Wijeratne has established himself as a multi-award–winning composer, conductor, and pianist, throughout Canada and abroad. Several of his boundary-crossing works have been performed in recent years by the National Arts Centre Orchestra, with which he also made his conducting debut in July 2022. He describes his music as an intersection of cultures, influenced by those of his upbringing—Sri Lanka, India, and the Middle East—and expressed through the genres, compositional techniques, and mediums of Western classical music. “I’m using music to find a cultural balance that one wants to live, and to explore identity that way,” he recently noted in an article for Ottawa Chamberfest.
Wijeratne’s piece Polyphonic Lively was commissioned by Symphony Nova Scotia in 2016, when he was the orchestra’s RBC Composer-in-Residence. It was premiered by the ensemble conducted by Bernhard Gueller on October 13, 2016; in 2017, the piece won the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia Masterworks Arts Award, the province’s largest annual award for a work of art. Wijeratne shares the following description about his piece:
Pol·y·phon·ic (adj.) – many-voiced, [music] composed of relatively independent melodic lines or parts.
Live·ly (adj.) – full of life or vigour.
While browsing through a library book of very vibrant artwork by Paul Klee, the 20th century Swiss-German master, I was struck by the title of one of the paintings: ‘Polyphonic Lively’. Though the two adjectives back-to-back suggest that something may have been lost in translation, I felt compelled to turn these very vivid and evocative words into music. They immediately conjured up high-vibration, high-intensity ‘chatter’, and also seemed nicely suited to the celebratory nature of an orchestra’s season opener.
Music, as a communicative medium, offers unique and wonderful opportunities for stacking contrasting ideas—for ‘polyphony’. As a composer I like to explore the possibility that musical voices, each conveying an idea that is either supportive or subversive, can be allowed to coexist in a way that often eludes us in today’s world. The nature of ‘Polyphonic Lively‘ is character-driven and, through sharp turns and decisive action, its ‘journey’ is simply what the characters make of it. Its musical fabric is a multiplicity of voices, lines, and themes that decide—on a whim—when to coalesce and coexist.
Suite from Der Rosenkavalier
One of the 20th century’s operatic masterpieces, Der Rosenkavalier (The Knight of the Rose) was the first real collaboration between Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal, who wrote the original German libretto. Completed in 1910, it premiered on January 26, 1911, at the Königliches Opernhaus in Dresden to great acclaim. It became Strauss’s most popular opera and remains firmly established in the repertory. Most audiences nowadays encounter the music of Der Rosenkavalier through the concert suite being performed tonight. It’s believed to have been created in 1944 by the conductor Artur Rodziński, who, as the then-music director of the New York Philharmonic, led the first performance in October. The following year, Boosey & Hawkes published the arrangement with the composer’s approval.
The opera’s popularity owes much to Strauss’s appealing score, which is sumptuous and sparkling, rich in sonority, colour, and texture. It’s also strikingly modern, featuring the composer’s eclectic use of anachronistic styles and genres of music, including 18th century Classical style à la Mozart, Italian opera, late-Romantic era harmony and Wagnerian leitmotivic techniques, 19th century waltz (with allusions to Johann Strauss, Jr.), and early 20th-century chromaticism. Thus, as Strauss scholar Bryan Gilliam has noted, the music creates a multilayered “text” rich in historical meaning that underscores the opera’s central themes about time, transformation, and love. Set in 1740s Vienna, the beautiful Marschallin instigates the makeover of her youthful paramour Octavian (one of opera’s great trouser roles) into the Rose Knight, and in doing so, witnesses him and Sophie, a younger woman, fall in love. Though initially conflicted, she ultimately relinquishes him to Sophie in a poignant act of letting go.
The Suite is a tour of Der Rosenkavalier’s main highlights. It begins with the music that opens the opera, depicting Octavian and the Marschallin in the throes of passion—him represented by a confident upward motif played by horns, followed by her sighs. After reaching a climax, the music relaxes to bliss. It then jumps to Octavian’s transformation into the Rose Knight in Act Two (listen for a grand version of his motif) and his presentation of the engagement rose—on behalf of Baron Ochs—to Sophie von Faninal, the daughter of a wealthy man. This is music evoking a “meet-cute”—time seems to stand still, as flutes and piccolo, celesta, two harps, and three solo violins play an enchanting progression of twinkling chords; the shy tentativeness of the two would-be lovers gradually evolve into warm tenderness.
A sudden outburst breaks the reverie, and a frenzied episode follows, leading to “Ohne mich”, the favourite waltz tune of Baron Ochs, the Marschallin’s oafish and lecherous cousin who intends to marry Sophie. It’s first sung by muted violins, as if to themselves, then is further developed, featuring yet another variant of Octavian’s motif on solo violin, and builds to a full-orchestra rendition. A sensuous transition leads into the sublime trio (“Hab’ mir’s gelobt”) of Act Three in which the Marschallin surrenders Octavian to Sophie. She leaves them to sing a duet (“Spür nur dich/Ist ein Traum”), intoned here by first violins, after which the magical music from their initial meeting returns briefly. The Suite closes with a grand waltz, with Octavian’s motif appearing once more, in resplendent fashion, before the final flourish.
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 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.
In April 2022, Alexander Shelley made his debut at Carnegie Hall with the NAC Orchestra in its long-awaited return, and in the spring of 2019, he led the Orchestra on its critically acclaimed 50th-anniversary European tour, with stops in London, Paris, Copenhagen, and Stockholm.
Shelley is also the Principal Associate Conductor of London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Artistic and Music Director of Artis-Naples and the Naples Philharmonic in Florida, USA. Previous releases with the NAC Orchestra include the Juno-nominated New Worlds, Life Reflected, ENCOUNT3RS, The Bounds of Our Dreams, the acclaimed multi-volume Clara - Robert - Johannes series, all with Canadian label Analekta, as well as Truth in Our Time with Orange Mountain Music.
The Music Director role is supported by Elinor Gill Ratcliffe, C.M., ONL, LL.D. (hc).
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Bruce Liu was brought to the world’s attention in 2021, when he won the First Prize at the 18th Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw.
Following his competition’s success, he immediately embarks on a world tour, appearing at Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, Wiener Konzerthaus, BOZAR Brussels, Tokyo Opera City, Sala São Paulo, Royal Festival Hall with the Philharmonia Orchestra, U.S tour with the Warsaw Philharmonic, Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra, and Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra. Past highlights include performance with ensembles such as the Cleveland Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as North-America tour with the China NCPA Orchestra.
His upcoming highlights include debut with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, European tour with Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Wiener Symphoniker at Musikverein, festival appearances at la Roque d’Anthéron, Klavier-Festival Ruhr, Rheingau, Edinburgh, Chopin and his Europe, Duszniki, and Gstaad Menuhin.
An exclusive recording artist with Deutsche Grammophon, his first album featuring the winning performances from the Chopin Competition won a Fryderyk Award and received international acclaim including both the Critics’ choice and Editor’s choice from the Gramophone Magazine, as well as being included in its list of Best classical albums from 2021.
"What we all have in common is our difference", the young pianist likes to say. Born in Paris to Chinese parents, Bruce Liu grew up in Montreal. His life has been steeped in cultural diversity, which has shaped his differences in attitude, personality and character. He draws on various sources of inspiration for his art: European refinement, Chinese long tradition, North American dynamism and openness. Following his artist path with optimism and a smile, his teachers include Richard Raymond and Dang Thai Son.
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.
Sri Lankan-born Dinuk Wijeratne is a JUNO, ECMA and SOCAN award-winning composer/conductor/pianist described as “exuberantly creative” (New York Times) and as “an artist who reflects a positive vision of our cultural future” (Toronto Star). He is a lively disrupter who crosses traditionally held musical boundaries, equally at home with symphony orchestras and string quartets, Tabla players and DJs. He has worked in international venues as poles apart as the Berlin Philharmonie and Amsterdam’s North Sea Jazz Festival.
Dinuk has twice performed in Carnegie Hall with Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble and alongside tabla legend Zakir Hussain. Dinuk has also appeared at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Opera Bastille, The Lincoln Center, Teatro Colón, and in venues in Sri Lanka, Japan, and the Middle East. He was featured as a main character in What Would Beethoven Do? – the documentary about innovation in classical music featuring Eric Whitacre, Bobby McFerrin, and Ben Zander. Dinuk has composed specially for almost all of the artists and ensembles with whom he has performed, to name a few: Suzie LeBlanc, Kinan Azmeh, David Jalbert, Sandeep Das, Ramesh Misra, Ed Hanley, Eric Vloeimans, Buck 65, the Gryphon Trio, the Apollo Saxophone Quartet, the Afiara and Cecilia String Quartets, and the symphony orchestras of Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Nova Scotia, Buffalo, and KwaZulu Natal (South Africa).
Dinuk grew up in Dubai and then studied composition at the Royal Northern College of Music (U.K.). He subsequently joined the Juilliard studio of Oscar-winner composer John Corigliano. Conducting studies followed at Mannes College under David Hayes, and doctoral studies with composer Christos Hatzis at the University of Toronto.
He is the recipient of the Canada Council Jean-Marie Beaudet award for orchestral conducting; the NS Established Artist Award; NS Masterworks nominations for his Tabla Concerto and piano trio Love Triangle; double Merritt Award nominations; Juilliard, Mannes & Countess of Munster scholarships; the Sema Jazz Improvisation Prize; the Soroptimist International Award for Composer-Conductors; and the Sir John Manduell Prize – the RNCM’s highest student honor. His music and collaborative work embrace the great diversity of his international background and influences.
NAC Orchestra
First Violins
- Yosuke Kawasaki (concertmaster)
- Jessica Linnebach (associate concertmaster)
- Noémi Racine Gaudreault (assistant concertmaster)
- Marjolaine Lambert
- Emily Westell
- Manuela Milani
- **Elaine Klimasko
- Jeremy Mastrangelo
- *Erica Miller
- *Martine Dubé
- *Oleg Chelpanov
- *Marc Djokic
- *John Corban
- *Heather Schnarr
Second Violins
- Mintje van Lier (principal)
- Winston Webber (assistant principal)
- Leah Roseman
- Carissa Klopoushak
- Mark Friedman
- Karoly Sziladi
- Frédéric Moisan
- **Edvard Skerjanc
- *Andéa Armijo Fortin
- *Renée London
- *Alexander Lozowski
- *Sara Mastrangelo
- *Emily Kruspe
Violas
- Jethro Marks (principal)
- David Marks (associate principal)
- David Goldblatt (assistant principal)
- Paul Casey
- David Thies-Thompson
- *Tovin Allers
- *Ivan Ivanovich
- *Kelvin Enns
Cellos
- Rachel Mercer (principal)
- Julia MacLaine (assistant principal)
- Leah Wyber
- Marc-André Riberdy
- Timothy McCoy
- *Karen Kang
- *Desiree Abbey
- *Fanny Marks
Double Basses
- *Joel Quarrington (guest principal)
- Max Cardilli (assistant principal)
- **Hilda Cowie
- Vincent Gendron
- Marjolaine Fournier
- *Paul Mach
- *Travis Harrison
Flutes
- Joanna G'froerer (principal)
- Stephanie Morin
- *Kaili Maimets
- *Dakota Martin
Oboes
- Charles Hamann (principal)
- Anna Petersen
- *Melissa Scott
- *Kira Shiner
English Horn
- Anna Petersen
Clarinets/Clarinettes
- Kimball Sykes (principal / solo)
- Sean Rice
- *Shauna Barker
- *Juan Olivares
Bassoons
- Darren Hicks (principal / solo)
- Vincent Parizeau
- *Ben Glossop
- *Alex Eastley
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)
- *Steve Dyer (guest principal)
- Colin Traquair
Bass Trombones
- *Zachary Bond
Tuba
- Chris Lee (principal)
Timpani
- *Aaron McDonald (guest principal)
Percussion
- Jonathan Wade
- *Andrew Johnson
- *Matthew Moore
- *Dan Morphy
- *Louis Pino
Harp
- *Angela Schwarzkopf
- *Alanna Ellison
Celeste
- * Olga Gross
Principal Librarian
- Nancy Elbeck
Assistant Librarian
- Corey Rempel
Personnel Manager
- Meiko Lydall
Assistant Personnel Manager
- Laurie Shannon
*Additional musicians
**On leave