≈ 2 hours · With intermission
Last updated: June 7, 2024
Program
ANDREIA PINTO CORREIA Ciprés* (13 min)
SERGEI PROKOFIEV Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 16 (31 min)
I. Andantino
II. Scherzo: Vivace
III. Intermezzo: Allegro moderato
IV. Finale: Allegro tempestoso
Yeol Eum Son, piano
INTERMISSION
IGOR STRAVINSKY Suite from The Firebird (1945) (34 min)
Introduction
Prelude and Dance of the Firebird
Variations (Firebird)
Pantomime I
Pas de deux: Firebird and Ivan Tsarevitch
Pantomime II
Scherzo: Dance of the Princesses
Pantomime III
Rondo: Chorovod
Infernal Dance
Lullaby: Firebird
Final Hymn
*Canadian premiere
Repertoire
Ciprés
The prestigious literary magazine Jornal de Letras describes Andreia Pinto Correia’s compositions as “a major contribution to the dissemination of Portugal’s culture and language, perhaps a contribution larger than could ever be imagined.” Her music—described by The Boston Globe as “compellingly meditative” and by The New York Times as an “aural fabric”—is characterized by close attention to harmonic detail and timbral colour. Following a family tradition of scholars and writers, her work often reflects the influence of literary sources from the Iberian Peninsula and beyond.
Honours include an Arts and Letters Award in Music from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship, and the DSCH Shostakovich Award for her “contribution to the excellence of Portuguese classical music” from the Ministry of Culture of Portugal. She has received commissions from the New York Philharmonic and Los Angeles Philharmonic (with Gustavo Dudamel), European Union Presidency, Tanglewood Music Center/ Boston Symphony Orchestra, Washington Performing Arts (Kennedy Center), São Paulo Symphony Orchestra (OSESP), Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, League of American Orchestras and the Toulmin Foundation, Fromm Music Foundation at Harvard University, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Chamber Music America, the National Symphony and National Dance Company of Portugal, and Culturgest / National Bank of Portugal, among others.
Born in Portugal, Andreia Pinto Correia received her Master and Doctoral of Music degrees in Composition from the New England Conservatory of Music. She is currently faculty and co-curator of the Gamper Music New Music Series at the Bowdoin International Festival.
Andreia’s orchestral work Ciprés was composed in 2018. She provides the following description of her piece:
Being from the Iberia Peninsula, I encountered as a young child the writings of the great Spanish poet Federico García Lorca (1898–1936). Over the years Lorca’s powerful texts became a major influence in my work; their unique magical atmospheres, dark settings, profound themes, and rich symbolism have been a continuous presence in my life, both from an artistic and humanist perspective.
As a foundation for this orchestral work, I chose Ciprés, one of Lorca’s lesser-known poems, whose unique rhythmic aura sparked my imagination. The text [see below for translation] pairs each type of tree with a corresponding form of water. An unexpected transition in the last two lines closes the poem with a dramatic, surreal gesture.
Regarding the structure of my musical composition, the work is divided into four major sections that are performed continuously, each directly related to a paired image in the poem. While the vertical structures of the piece correspond to the different species of trees depicted by Lorca (cypress, poplar, willow), the horizontal textures—mostly present in the string section—refer to the various forms of water depicted in the poem (static, crystalline, profound).
Ciprés was commissioned by the League of American Orchestras and the Columbus Symphony Orchestra with the generous support of the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation. The work is dedicated to Rossen Milanov and the Columbus Symphony Orchestra with gratitude and admiration.
Ciprés - Original Spanish text by Federico García Lorca
|
Ciprés. Chopo. Mimbre. Corazón. |
Cypress. Poplar. Willow tree. Heart. |
Biography and program note compiled and edited by Hannah Chan-Hartley, PhD
Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 16
I. Andantino
II. Scherzo: Vivace
III. Intermezzo: Allegro moderato
IV. Finale: Allegro tempestoso
Sergei Prokofiev (1891–1953) was still a student at the St. Petersburg Conservatory when his career as a composer began. Many of his early works were for the piano, which he debuted himself at recitals for Evenings of Contemporary Music. In 1912, he made his first appearance as a soloist with orchestra in Moscow, performing his own First Piano Concerto to great success. The following year, he gave the premiere of his Second Piano Concerto in Pavlovsk, near St. Petersburg. According to Prokofiev and various newspaper reports, it caused quite a stir among the relatively conservative audience, which seemed to have greatly pleased the composer; as he had recorded in his diary, “Following the violent concluding chords there was silence in the hall for a few moments. Then, boos and catcalls were answered with loud applause, thumping of sticks, and calls for ‘encore’…. I was pleased that the Concerto provoked such strong feelings in the audience.”
When Prokofiev left Russia for New York in 1918, he left behind his orchestral score to the Second Piano Concerto, which was not yet published. Years later, he learned from his friend Boris Asafiev that it was destroyed during the civil war, used by his apartment’s new occupants as fuel for a fire “to cook an omelette.” Needing to expand his repertoire offerings to continue earning a living as a performing pianist, Prokofiev set about writing a new version of his Second Piano Concerto. Completing it in 1923, he gave the premiere in Paris the following year, with Serge Koussevitsky conducting. It was positively received, though minus the scandal it provoked in Pavlovsk a decade earlier (Parisian audiences at this time were used to far more shocking fare).
With the 1913 score of the Second Piano Concerto unavailable for comparison, the extent to which the 1923 version that is performed nowadays differs from its earlier rendering is unknown; Prokofiev did note, however, that in his revision, he had kept the original thematic material, “worked to improve both the piano and orchestral parts,” and made “the form more graceful—less square.” Overall, Prokofiev’s Second Piano Concerto sounds like a modernistic descendent of Rachmaninoff’s own Second Piano Concerto, which Prokofiev first heard in 1905. As you’ll hear, it carries forward the latter’s lush and lyrical grandeur, while also boldly pushing the limits of Romantic concerto tradition in terms of form (with four movements instead of the typical three), harmonic language (use of extended tonality), and virtuosic piano writing featuring immensely difficult displays that conventional formal structures seem to barely contain.
The Concerto begins quietly and mysteriously, with a descending phrase on clarinets and muted plucked strings that leads into the first movement’s melancholy main theme (Andantino) introduced by the piano. It haunts over strange harmonies in the strings, then develops in intensity and complexity over two arcs, after which the orchestra floats upward to bring us to the second theme—a somewhat sardonic tune on the piano, initially played “with elegance” (Allegretto). Alongside the orchestra, the piano develops the tune towards a bolder variation with brilliant flourishes, which is followed by a forceful passage. The orchestra then wanders into a dreamy episode, out of which the piano emerges with a reprise of the Andantino theme. As it continues, instead of becoming a developmental section or a standard reprise, it turns into an immense solo cadenza, during which it muses rhapsodically on the melody, eventually building to a thunderous climax (Prokofiev marked this “colossale”) with rapid arpeggiations. The music becomes even wilder, culminating in the entrance of the brass, which blast out a bold transformation of the descending phrase that opened the movement. After a loud crash, the orchestra drops out, leaving the piano with the melancholy theme, now quietly accompanied by the descending phrase in the clarinets and lower strings, and together they fade to the close.
In the ensuing Scherzo, the piano’s unceasing rush of notes evokes the relentless drive of a machine in perpetual motion. Fierce trills over insistent chords in the orchestra jumpstart the movement, later recurring twice more as if injecting energy to power the piano’s unstoppable flow. In the middle “Trio” section, the soloist continues to traverse new terrain as the orchestra tosses around motivic fragments. A trill marks the return of the Scherzo, which the piano barrels through to the final cadential punch.
An intermezzo of rather ominous character, the third movement opens with a ponderous repeated pattern in bassoons, timpani, and lower strings, given an extra boost of menace by tuba and bass drum. Over top of this treading pattern, a series of inventive variations unfolds: first, clarinets intone a melody of descending triplets; then oboes and clarinets play a sturdy ascending tune, after which piano enters with alternating up-down flourishes of notes. The rhythms become more assertive and build to a peak on big lumbering chords. They subside into a contrasting theme on the piano—plaintive and delicately woven. After a varied reprise during which these materials are further developed, the music takes on “exotic” colouring: oboe and bassoon intone a sinuous tune amidst gossamer runs in the piano and tinges of tambourine; violins later play a sultry variant. Soon, the piano reasserts its presence with a triplet motive, and with the orchestra, embarks on more variations, gaining force along the way. They reach a noisy peak, which dissipates into a final recall of the bass pattern that tiptoes to the finish.
Soloist and orchestra launch the Finale in a furious flurry, after which the piano settles into the main theme—a jumpy, dissonant pattern of rapidly leaping octaves. Gathering momentum through dotted rhythms, it breaks out into grand arpeggios over galloping turns in the strings, as trombones and tuba sound from the depths. Eventually, the turning figures wind down with the piano playing a series of questioning chords in a mysterious transitional passage. Violas, clarinets, and bassoon introduce a rocking figure, which the piano transforms into a solemn melody, reminiscent of a Russian folk song, that it first presents alone. The tune is subsequently developed by piano and orchestra through several variations—listen out for the one in which the oboe plays it at the same time as the piano but at half the speed. Suddenly, the pace increases, and the timbres become pointillistic; wistful fragments of the Russian theme peek through the texture. Solo bassoon attempts to reintroduce the tune, but the orchestra rejects it with a brutal gesture, making way for another extended cadenza on the piano. When the orchestra quietly rejoins the piano, they continue to elaborate on the Russian tune and arrive at an intense climax. Cascading scales bring us to a moment of suspense as, over a clarinet trill and tremolo in the cellos, the piano seems to search for the notes of the melody, only to disintegrate into repeated notes. A shattering burst from the orchestra jolts us from this reverie, and we return to the opening tempest, which drives the concerto to a ferocious conclusion.
Program note by Hannah Chan-Hartley, PhD
Suite from The Firebird (1945)
Introduction
Prelude and Dance of the Firebird
Variations (Firebird)
Pantomime I
Pas de deux: Firebird and Ivan Tsarevitch
Pantomime II
Scherzo: Dance of the Princesses
Pantomime III
Rondo: Chorovod
Infernal Dance
Lullaby: Firebird
Final Hymn
Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971) was a relative unknown when Sergei Diaghilev, impresario of the Ballets Russes, approached him in 1909 to compose the music for a new ballet based on a Russian fairy tale about the Firebird. The finished work was a huge sensation at its Paris Opéra premiere the following year, and Stravinsky was catapulted to fame. He soon created an orchestral suite of the music, and later, in 1919 and in 1945, two other suites with reduced instrumental forces to better facilitate performance in the concert hall. Longer than the 1919 suite, the 1945 version you’ll hear tonight contains additional music from the original ballet score, including several reorchestrated pantomimes. Both suites have since had an enduring place in the concert repertory.
The ballet’s scenario tells of a magical firebird that is summoned by Prince Ivan Tsarevitch to help save the men and women (including his beloved) who are being held captive under the enchantments of the evil monster King Katschei. To distinguish the fantasy world of Katschei and the firebird from the humanity of the Prince and the princesses, Stravinsky deftly uses chromaticism and spicy dissonances to evoke the former, while the latter is characterized by simple harmonies and Russian folk song, such as in the princesses’ Chorovod and in the Final Hymn. These are among the techniques Stravinsky had clearly absorbed and masterfully adapted from his teacher Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov as well as others of the Moguchaia kucha (The Mighty Handful), the Russian nationalist group of composers who emphasized the assimilation of Russian folk idioms and aspects of Orientalism into their works. Even with reduced instrumentation in this dramatic concert version, Stravinsky’s brilliant orchestration skills are still evident, indeed, put front and centre, as are the orchestra’s musicians.
Unfolding continuously, as if a single-movement tone poem, the music of the 1945 suite opens very quietly with a slinking bass line over rumbling bass drum (Introduction). Low trombone calls and restless woodwind “chirps” enhance the feeling of unease: it is nighttime in the enchanted garden at the castle of the malevolent Katschei. After eerie harmonic glissandos in the strings, the flute intones the slinking line, which the oboe then transforms, for a moment, into a melody. A sudden shudder in the violas marks the appearance of the Firebird, who is being chased by Prince Ivan in the garden (Prelude and Dance of the Firebird). In the ensuing Variations, woodwinds evoke her swooping flight patterns; scintillating harmonies and flickering effects in the strings depict her magical qualities. Finally, Ivan captures the Firebird (Pantomime I). She implores him to release her, in music for a pas de deux consisting of a sinuous chromatic melody—first played by oboe against shifting harmonies, then by bassoon (with violins), and later peaking on the flute. A slightly faster episode follows, with flute and oboe in dialogue, after which the sinuous melody returns, now enriched by strings, and reaches an emotional climax.
The Firebird makes a final plea (melodic strains on oboe and solo violin); in response, the kindly prince lets her go free (Pantomime II). As thanks, the Firebird gives him one of her feathers, telling him it will be useful should he find himself in a bind. Ivan is about to depart when he sees 13 princesses leave the castle and enter the garden. They don’t see him at first and begin a game of toss with golden apples to a bouncy tune on woodwinds and muted strings with piano adding sparkling figures (Scherzo: Dance of the Princesses). A lyrical melody appears on clarinet, after which the bouncy music returns. One of the princesses (the fairest of them) loses an apple in a bush; Ivan, represented by a gentle horn melody, nobly steps forward and hands it back to her (Pantomime III). The princesses welcome him and dance a chorovod, a traditional round dance, to a melody called “In a garden”, first played by oboe, that Stravinsky borrowed from Rimsky-Korsakov’s Collection of 100 Folk Songs. Muted strings on an extension of the tune, which rises passionately during its second appearance, suggest the developing love between Prince Ivan and the fairest Princess.
With a shocking outburst, the suite fast forwards to the Infernal Dance. Prince Ivan has been captured by Katschei, who plans to turn him into stone like the other men who have come to his castle. Ivan summons the Firebird with a wave of the feather she gave to him; she appears and blinds Katschei and his henchmen. Soon, the entire court is dancing to a menacing syncopated theme, punctuated by thwacking chords; listen out for the hammering sounds of the xylophone that represent the hideously skeletal king. The dance becomes more frenzied and wilder until everyone finally collapses in exhaustion. Flying overhead, the Firebird sends them to sleep with a poignant lullaby, played by the bassoon. Twice, the strings burst through with a lush passage, after which the lullaby resumes. On a series of shimmering string chords, the world of Katschei dissolves, and a horn emerges playing the folk melody “By the gate a pine tree swayed”—another tune borrowed from Rimsky-Korsakov’s collection (Final Hymn). As the orchestra builds up with each successive variation (suggesting the cycles of renewal), the stone men become human again, the princesses are freed, and Prince Ivan and the fairest Princess unite in marriage. Eventually, trumpets and trombones break through with a euphoric version of the melody in seven-time, which culminates in a final majestic presentation by full orchestra to close in a glorious blaze of sound.
Program note by Hannah Chan-Hartley, PhD
Artists
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Pianist Yeol Eum Son, born in South Korea in 1986, is renowned for her exceptional artistry and captivating performances. From a young age, she displayed remarkable talent, beginning piano lessons at just three-and-a-half years old. Yeol Eum has captivated audiences worldwide with her boundless artistic exploration and profound musicality, establishing herself as one of the foremost pianists of her generation.
Yeol Eum’s playing is marked by its poetic elegance, nuanced expressiveness, and a gift for conveying dramatic contrasts. Her artistry is underpinned by breathtaking technical prowess and a deep emotional connection to the music she interprets. She possesses an insatiable curiosity that drives her to explore a diverse range of musical genres and styles, always striving to reveal the pure essence of each piece.
Her extensive repertoire spans classical masterpieces by composers such as J.S. Bach and Mozart to contemporary works by Shchedrin and Kapustin, chosen for their quality and depth. Yeol Eum is highly sought after as a recitalist, concerto soloist, and chamber musician, earning critical acclaim for her intelligent interpretations.
Throughout the 2023–2024 season, Yeol Eum collaborates once again with the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern at home in Germany and on tour in South Korea, as well as the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, and the Auckland Philharmonia. She will debut with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, and the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra. She also returns to the Melbourne Recital Centre and Adelaide International Piano Series. She will also have recital debuts at the Singapore International Piano Festival, the Risør Chamber Music Festival, the International Piano Festival of Oeiras, and the Mänttä Music Festival.
Acclaimed Portuguese conductor Joana Carneiro is the Principal Guest Conductor of the Real Filharmonía de Galicia and Artistic Director of the Gulbenkian Youth Orchestra, a post she has held since 2013. Previously, she was Principal Conductor of the Orquestra Sinfónica Portuguesa at Teatro São Carlos in Lisbon from 2014 to 2022 and Music Director of the Berkeley Symphony from 2009 to 2018.
Carneiro is in high demand across the globe, particularly for her focus on contemporary music both in the concert hall and on the opera stage. Recent highlights include engagements with prominent orchestras around the world including the BBC Symphony Orchestra in London, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra (Ireland), Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, and La Venice in Europe. Further afield, Carneiro has collaborated with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Beijing Orchestra, and São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra.
2023–2024 season highlights include debuts with the Orchestre National de Bordeaux-Aquitaine in France, Musikkollegium Winterthur in Switzerland, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, and Bremen Philharmonic in Germany. Joana also returns to the Gulbenkian Orchestra in Lisbon and the NAC Orchestra in Ottawa.
A native of Lisbon, she began her musical studies as a violist before receiving her conducting degree from the Academia Nacional Superior de Orquestra in Lisbon, where she studied with Jean-Marc Burfin. She then travelled to the United States where she received her master’s degree in orchestral conducting from Northwestern University with Victor Yampolsky and Mallory Thompson, and pursued doctoral studies at the University of Michigan with Kenneth Kiesler.
Carneiro is the 2010 recipient of the Helen M. Thompson Award, conferred by the League of American Orchestras to recognize and honour music directors of exceptional promise. In 2004, Carneiro was decorated by the President of the Portuguese Republic, Mr. Jorge Sampaio, with the Commendation of the Order of the Infante Dom Henrique.
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 UK and Artistic and Music Director of Artis—Naples and the Naples Philharmonic in the United States. In addition to his other conducting roles, the Pacific Symphony in Los Angeles’s Orange County announced Shelley’s appointment as its next Artistic and Music Director. The initial five-year term begins in the 2026-2027 season, with Shelley serving as Music Director-Designate from September 2025. Principal Guest Conductor John Storgårds and Principal Youth Conductor Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser complement Shelley’s leadership. 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.
Credits
NAC Orchestra
First Violins
Yosuke Kawasaki (concertmaster)
Jessica Linnebach (associate concertmaster)
Noémi Racine Gaudreault (assistant concertmaster)
Emily Kruspe
Marjolaine Lambert
Carissa Klopoushak
Manuela Milani
*Martine Dubé
*Erica Miller
*Oleg Chelpanov
*Heather Schnarr
*Andréa Armijo Fortin
Second Violins
Emily Westell
Jeremy Mastrangelo
Frédéric Moisan
Leah Roseman
Winston Webber
Edvard Skerjanc
Karoly Sziladi
Mark Friedman
Zhengdong Liang
*Renée London
Violas
Jethro Marks (principal)
David Marks (associate principal)
David Goldblatt (assistant principal)
Tovin Allers
David Thies-Thompson
Paul Casey
*Pamela Fay
Cellos
Rachel Mercer (principal)
Julia MacLaine (assistant principal)
Timothy McCoy
Leah Wyber
Marc-André Riberdy
*Desiree Abbey
*Karen Kang
Double Basses
Max Cardilli (assistant principal)
Vincent Gendron
**Marjolaine Fournier
*David Fay
*Paul Mach
*Brandyn Lewis
Flutes
Joanna G’froerer (principal)
Stephanie Morin
Oboes
Charles Hamann (principal)
Anna Petersen
English Horn
Anna Petersen
Clarinets
Kimball Sykes (principal)
Sean Rice
Bassoons
Darren Hicks (principal)
Vincent Parizeau
Horns
*Catherine Turner (guest principal)
Julie Fauteux (associate principal)
Lawrence Vine
Lauren Anker
Louis-Pierre Bergeron
Trumpets
Karen Donnelly (principal)
Steven van Gulik
*Rob Weymouth
Trombones
*Steve Dyer (guest principal)
Colin Traquair
Bass Trombone
Zachary Bond
Tuba
Chris Lee (principal)
Timpani
*Charles Lampert (guest principal)
Percussion
Jonathan Wade
*Andrew Johnson
*Louis Pino
Harp
*Angela Schwarzkopf (guest principal)
*Alanna Ellison
Piano
*Olga Gross
Principal Librarian
Nancy Elbeck
Assistant Librarian
Corey Rempel
Personnel Manager
Meiko Lydall
Orchestra Personnel Coordinator
Laurie Shannon
*Additional musicians
**On leave
International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees