Subscription Concert C Series

Subscription Concert No.875 C Series

This concert is over. Date: Sun. 31. March 2019 14:00 (13:20)

Venue: Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre Venue Info Seat

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Artists

Eliahu INBAL, Conductor
Saleem ASHKAR, Piano

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Program

Beethoven: Piano Concerto No.1 in C major, op.15

Program Notes
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.5 in E minor, op.64

Program Notes

Ⅰ Allegro con brio
Ⅱ Largo
Ⅲ Rondo: Allegro scherzando

Ludwig van Beethoven: Born in Bonn, December 16, 1770; died in Vienna, March 26, 1827

Beethoven made his first venture into the concerto genre in 1784 at the age of 14, with a Piano Concerto in E-flat (WoO 4) (WoO=Werk ohne Opuszahl) that survives as a complete solo part with piano reduction of the orchestral preludes and interludes. Swiss musicologist Willy Hess reconstructed and orchestrated this material for publication in 1943, and there have been additional reconstructions by others. Beethoven’s first completed piano concerto was the one we now call No. 2 in B-flat, written in 1795, but due to order of publication, the Concerto in C major was called No. 1. Beethoven himself, known at the time more as a pianist than as a composer, gave the first performance, probably in Vienna on December 18, 1795 (history is sketchy on this point; some sources indicate the premiere took place in 1798).

Already possessing the magnetic personality that riveted attention at every performance, he was described by the contemporary Czech composer Václav Tomášek, who attended the Concerto’s premiere, as follows: “His magnificent playing and particularly the daring flights in his improvisation stirred me to the depths of my soul; indeed, I found myself so profoundly shaken that for several days I could not bring myself to touch the piano.”

The C-major Concerto is a Janus-faced work, looking both backwards to the Classical era and forward to the Romantic. Compared to the Concerto in B-flat (written earlier, remember), it is a bigger work ー larger in scale, fuller in its sonorities, broader in emotional range. The score calls for additional instruments absent in the B-flat concerto ー pairs of clarinets, trumpets and timpani ー and contains the longest slow movement of any Beethoven piano concerto. At the same time, Beethoven adheres to the Mozartian principle of the soloist as primus inter pares (first among equals) in its relation with the orchestra ー a balanced opposition of forces (in contradistinction to soloist and accompaniment).

The concerto opens quietly with the first movement’s main theme, which corresponds closely to Alfred Einstein’s characterization of the “ideal march” in
the opening movements of Mozart’s piano concertos. Soon this is expanded to presentation in full orchestral garb, its grandeur revealing a composer already
straining at the shackles of classicism. A contrasting, lyrical theme soon presents itself in the violins, but this too has its unorthodox element, for it is heard sequentially in three different keys (E-flat major, F minor, G minor), none of them the tonic key of C major that a more traditional composer would almost certainly have employed here. An additional idea in the form of a military fanfare for winds brings the orchestral exposition to a close. The broad range of contrasts found in this exposition serves as the catalyst for a wide-ranging drama that now unfolds. Among the more memorable events are the sunny, smiling manner in which the soloist gently makes his entrance and the tension-laden dialogue for horns and piano leading into the recapitulation.

The second movement explores a mood of sustained expressiveness and emotional depth. The principal theme is a Beethoven trademark ー a bare, simple, but sublimely beautiful hymn-like melody. The key is A-flat major, the key Beethoven used also for the slow movement of the Pathétique Sonata, written about the same time. Beethoven proceeds to decorate this theme with the finest pianistic filigree.

The rollicking third movement, a rondo, is full of folk-like melodies, rhythmic syncopations, irregular phrases and other musical surprises, including an episode of “Turkish” music in A minor.
Program notes by Robert Markow

Robert Markow's musical career began as a horn player in the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. He now writes program notes for orchestras and concert organizations in the USA, Canada, and several countries in Asia. As a journalist he covers the music scenes across North America, Europe, and Asian countries, especially Japan. At Montreal's McGill University he lectured on music for over 25 years.

Ⅰ Andante - Allegro con anima
Ⅱ Andante cantabile con alcuna licenza
Ⅲ Valse: Allegro moderato
Ⅳ Finale: Andante maestoso - Allegro vivace

Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Born in Votkinsk, Russia, May 7, l840; Died in St.Petersburg, November 6, l893

The late 1870s were traumatic years for Tchaikovsky. It was then that he became involved with a neurotic young music student named Antonina Milyukova, made the disastrous mistake of marrying her, attempted suicide, entered into that extraordinary epistolary relationship with his benefactress Nadezhda von Meck, struggled with highly-charged fears over his homosexuality, and created his fate-laden Fourth Symphony. The years following were a period of recovery from this stressed existence, and the period between the Fourth and Fifth Symphonies constituted a longer interval between symphonies than any other in his canon of such works ー over a decade.

It was only in May of 1888 that Tchaikovsky again set out on a symphonic journey, albeit tentatively. But thereafter, work progressed with amazing rapidity. In just six weeks, he had written the short score, by late August it was completely orchestrated, and the first performance took place on November 17 in St. Petersburg, conducted by the composer.

The motto invariably described as the “Fate” motif is heard in the symphony’s opening bars in the somber tones of low clarinets. To an even greater extent than in the Fourth Symphony, this “Fate” motto pervades the work. Twice it abrasively intrudes in the slow movement; it makes a shadowy, menacing appearance near the end of the Waltz; and it serves as the material that introduces and closes the Finale in a mood of exultant joy.

The first movement is laid out in traditional sonata form, though with an untraditional wealth of melodic ideas. Notable orchestral details abound, including the lilting first theme of the
Allegro section for clarinet and bassoon in octaves; the horn quartet fanfares, which are at one time or another echoed by every wind instrument of the orchestra, including the tuba; and the murky growls that bring the movement to a close.

The second movement represents Tchaikovsky at the peak of his lyrical and romantic fervor. It also contains one of the great glories of the solo horn repertory ー that long, long first theme of infinite yearning and nostalgia. The theme is marked
dolce con molto espressione (sweetly, with great expression). Even more than in the first movement, Tchaikovsky the melodist comes to the fore in both the number and richness of his themes, which take on a wide range of moods from tender consolation to the heights of passion. Felicitous contrapuntal treatment also provides much interest in this movement, as in the intertwining of solo oboe and violins following the first return of the Fate motif.

The emotional peaks scaled in the first two movements are absent in the third, an elegant waltz. Its tune is based on a song Tchaikovsky heard sung by a boy in the streets of Florence. The central trio section enters the world of Mendelssohnian deftness and elfin enchantment, a reminder of just how much respect Tchaikovsky accorded his predecessor.

There can be little doubt that the finale portrays triumph over adversity. The Fate motif is stated immediately in grand, ceremonial tones, now in the major tonality. Analysts have criticized the “victory” as one too quickly and too easily won to be convincing from the standpoint of musical argument. Perhaps they are right, but that has not prevented countless listeners from responding enthusiastically to the pomp of this now-familiar theme in new colors, and to the thrilling Allegro vivace that follows. Hammering (martellato) strings initiate the main body of the movement, which seldom pauses for breath in its relentless drive to what is surely the most deceptive pause in all music: audiences the world over have erupted into spontaneous applause at the famous silence (poised on the dominant chord ー B major) that precedes the re-entry of the home key and the final, expansive proclamation of the symphony’s motto, now blazing triumphantly in E major.
Program notes by Robert Markow

Robert Markow's musical career began as a horn player in the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. He now writes program notes for orchestras and concert organizations in the USA, Canada, and several countries in Asia. As a journalist he covers the music scenes across North America, Europe, and Asian countries, especially Japan. At Montreal's McGill University he lectured on music for over 25 years.

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