Promenade Concert

Promenade Concert No.404

This concert is over. Date: Mon. 18. September 2023 14:00 (13:00)

Venue: Suntory Hall Venue Info Seat

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Artists

Lawrence RENES, Conductor
Tabea ZIMMERMANN, Viola

Profile

Lawrence RENES (Conductor)

Dutch-Maltese conductor Lawrence Renes is highly regarded in both the operatic and symphonic spheres, praised for his impeccable ability to balance orchestra and singers and for delivering performances of passion, nuance and style.
Renes opens the 2019/20 season with a return to San Francisco Opera for Billy Budd, in Michael Grandage's acclaimed production. He goes on to London to conduct a programme of Strauss and Prokofiev for his third visit to the London Philharmonic Orchestra, with the rest of the season including debuts with Orchestre National de Lyon and the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra and returns to the Mahler Chamber Orchestra (on tour in South America) Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (following a spectacular Verdi Requiem last season), Residentie Orkest, Tampere Philharmonic and Malta Philharmonic.
Last season, Renes performed frequently in Asia, including visits to Japan with Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra and NHK Symphony Orchestra. He then went on to premiere George Benjamin’s Written on Skin in China with Beijing Music Festival and Shanghai Symphony Orchestra; and made his debut with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, in an electric programme of Sibelius, Brahms and Richard Mills. Other engagements in recent seasons include opera productions in Brussels, Seattle, Lisbon and Santa Fe; and symphonic appearances with Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Oslo Philharmonic, OSESP in Sao Paulo, Helsinki Philharmonic, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic, Royal Scottish National Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra and Milwaukee Symphony.
Formerly Music Director of the Royal Swedish Opera, his repertoire there ranged from Mozart through to the 21st Century. An energetic champion of contemporary repertoire, he is particularly associated with the music of John Adams (having conducted productions of Nixon in China at San Francisco Opera and Doctor Atomic at both English National Opera and De Nederlandse Opera — the DVD of the latter was named as one of the Ten Best Classical Recordings of the Year for 2008 in The New Yorker – and orchestral works with London and Hong Kong philharmonic orchestras, Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra) but also with George Benjamin, Mark Anthony Turnage, Guillaume Connesson and Robin de Raaff.

Tabea ZIMMERMANN (Viola)

Born in Lahr, Germany, Tabea Zimmermann began learning to play the viola at the age of three.
She studied with Ulrich Koch at the Musikhochschule Freiburg and subsequently with Sandor Végh at the Mozarteum Salzburg. Following her studies, she won the first prizes at the 1982 Geneva International Competition, the 1983 Maurice Vieux Competition in Paris, and the 1984 Budapest International Competition.

Zimmermann has regularly works with the most distinguished orchestras worldwide such as the Orchestre de Paris, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition to her residency with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, highlights of the 2022/2023 season include a tour with the Berliner Philharmoniker under Kirill Petrenko to Salzburg, Lucerne and the BBC Proms.

Zimmermann’s artistic work has been recognized with numerous awards, including Frankfurter Musikpreis, the Paul-Hindemith-Prize, and the International Ernst von Siemens Music Prize.

She is a professor at Hochschule für Musik “Hanns Eisler” Berlin.

photo:©Marco Borggreve

Program

Mozart: Clarinet Concerto in A major, K.622 (arr. for Viola and Orchestra)

Program Notes
Prokofiev: Selections from Romeo and Juliet

Program Notes
: Romeo at the Fountain／Scene／Morning Dance／Juliet, the Young Girl／Montagus and Capulets／Masks／Romeo and Juliet／Friar Laurence／Death of Tybalt／Romeo at Juliet’s before Parting／At Juliet’s Bedside – Juliet’s Funeral – Juliet’s Death

Mozart: Clarinet Concerto in A major, K.622 (arr. for Viola and Orchestra)

Ⅰ Allegro
Ⅱ Adagio
Ⅲ Rondo: Allegro

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Born in Salzburg, January 27, 1756; died in Vienna, December 5, 1791

　The Clarinet Concerto was the last instrumental work Mozart completed before his death. In addition, it is the culmination of his career as “The Prince of Concerto Writers.” That it was a concerto for clarinet was doubly fitting, for this was the wind instrument Mozart had loved above all others. The concerto occupied him from late September to mid-October 1791, and was written for the virtuoso clarinetist Anton Stadler, Mozartʼs friend, fellow Freemason, and member of the court orchestra.
　This sublimely beautiful work has enchanted generations of listeners, yet few realize that the form in which we usually hear it today (for clarinet pitched in A) is not what Mozart originally wrote. He wrote the concerto for basset clarinet (not the same as the basset horn, an alto member of the clarinet family required in the Requiem, among other works). This basset clarinet could play four semitones lower than the conventional clarinet in A, and Mozart exploited this chalumeau register to the fullest. But the instrument quickly went out of fashion, and by the time the earliest printed editions appeared (1801), the solo part had already been adapted for the standard instrument. One of those early editions was an arrangement for viola replacing clarinet, published in 1802 by Johann André in Offenbach-am-Main. This made perfect sense, as the range of the viola extends to C below middle C on the piano, the same as the basset clarinet, though numerous details in the solo part were altered. For this TMSO concert, soloist Tabea Zimmermann uses a more recent edition published by Bärenreiter in 1999 and edited by the conductor Christopher Hogwood.
　Connoisseurs and neophytes alike will appreciate the qualities that have raised this concerto not only to the summit of the repertory for this instrument, but to the pantheon of Mozartʼs very greatest masterpieces: the enormous variety of tone colors, the subtle dynamic shadings, the liquid smooth lines, the beguiling melodies, the way Mozart exploits all registers of the solo instrument, and the air of tenderness and serenity that suffuses the work.
　The concerto opens with a theme of utmost simplicity and gentle sentiment. The sense of airy lightness that pervades the movement, even in moments of melancholy, can be attributed in part to the exquisite refinements of the scoring. Cellos often play without the supporting double basses, and flutes play a prominent role while oboes are absent altogether. The ravishingly beautiful slow movement, in the words of Alec Hyatt King, “seems to reflect the timeless and beatific vision of a mind at peace with itself.” The finale is a rondo based on a dancelike theme that seems to transcend joy, as if smiling through the tears.

　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.
　

Prokofiev: Selections from Romeo and Juliet

Romeo at the Fountain／Scene／Morning Dance／Juliet, the Young Girl／Montagus and Capulets／Masks／Romeo and Juliet／Friar Laurence／
Death of Tybalt／Romeo at Julietʼs before Parting／
At Julietʼs Bedside - Julietʼs Funeral - Julietʼs Death

Sergei Prokofiev: Born in Sontsovka (today Krasnoye), department of Ekaterinoslav, Ukraine, April 27, 1891; died in Moscow, March 5, 1953

　No playwrightʼs works have been more heavily mined for musical purposes than Shakespeareʼs, and none of the bardʼs great tragedies has inspired more compositions than Romeo and Juliet: nearly thirty operas (including by Bellini, Delius, Gounod and Zandonai); incidental music by Martin, Amram and Stenhammar; orchestral works by Berlioz, Kabalevsky, Raff and Tchaikovsky; miscellaneous pieces by Arne, Diamond, Granados, Rorem and scores of others.
　The subject − love − has a lot to do with it, of course, but love is treated in other Shakespeare plays as well. Romeo has in addition the heartbreak of the family feud, which acts as a kind of fate that hovers over the “star-crossed lovers,” something beyond their control yet something that orders their destiny. “It is quintessential romance,” writes Bernard Jacobson, “shorn of all external considerations. The hero and heroine are young and beautiful. Within the terms of their depiction, Romeo and Juliet would surely live happily ever after if it were not for the exaggerated Hatfield-and-McCoy rivalry of which they are the hapless victims. No psychological quirks, no calls of higher duty dictate their doom − only the stupidity of other people, and sheer bad luck. The whole depth and poignancy of the drama reside in the intensity with which young love is portrayed and in the magical poetry in which it is clothed, and such intensity and poetry are natural marks for composers to aim at.” Berlioz was stirred by the drama's lyrical concentration to say something along the lines of “Shakespeareʼs Romeo! Mon dieu, what a subject! Everything in it seems designed for music.”
　When Prokofiev turned to Shakespeareʼs play as the subject for a choreographic drama, he already had six ballets to his credit, but for his interpretation of Romeo and Juliet in music he created not only one of his very finest and most popular compositions, but what would quickly rise to become the most successful full-length, three-act ballet score of the twentieth century. The music contains a wealth of memorable themes, passionate lyricism, and compelling rhythmic excitement as well as a generous measure of comic elements, a component not usually associated with the story. Yet, as biographer Israel Nestyev points out, no one else has “caught and expressed so well the tragedyʼs light and playful moments, the aspect that endows it with fresh contrasts and sharply defined chiaroscuro effects.”
　For all the fame and popularity Prokofievʼs Romeo and Juliet enjoys today, its early years were rocky and uncertain. Prokofiev wrote the music in 1934 and 1935 at the invitation of the Kirov Theater in Leningrad, which was eager to mount a new ballet by the countryʼs returning celebrity. (Prokofiev had just returned to his homeland after living and traveling abroad for nearly sixteen years.) However, the theater rejected the score, presumably because of the story line (“Living people can dance, the dying cannot,” Prokofiev later rationalized), though the composer may also have tripped in the political minefield of the Soviet theater world. A contract was arranged with the Bolshoi in Moscow instead, but there the music was declared “undanceable.”
　Since no staged performance was in sight, Prokofiev expediently arranged two orchestral suites of seven numbers each (drawn from the total of 52), as well as a set of ten numbers arranged for piano solo. A third orchestral suite was compiled in 1946. These suites enjoyed some currency before Romeo and Juliet was finally staged by the Kirov in 1940. But in the meantime, the honor of the premiere stage production had gone to Brno, Czechoslovakia (now in the Czech Republic), where it was given, without Prokofievʼs participation, on December 30, 1938 at the opera house (today the Mahen Theater) to an enthusiastic reception. Obviously it was not “undanceable” after all! The choreography for the first Russian version was done by Leonid Lavrovsky, with Galina Ulanova and Konstantin Sergeyev in the title roles. In 1946 Lavrovsky also mounted the Bolshoiʼs first production, which is the one that toured the West and was later filmed.
　None of Prokofievʼs suites follows the original order of events, and conductors have felt free to compile their own suites. Conductor Lawrence Renes has chosen excerpts from all three suites and has arranged them in order of the balletʼs original dramatic outline:

Romeo at the Fountain − This is the first music we hear as the curtain goes up on Scene 1 (following a brief prelude). Romeo is out for a early-morning stroll in Veronaʼs marketplace, dreaming of his current girlfriend Rosalind.
Scene – Early in Act I, before Romeo has been introduced to Juliet, all is still quiet and peaceful in the marketplace, with a few people casually wandering about.
Morning Dance − A carefree allegro number that accompanies Romeo on his morning stroll.
Juliet, the Young Girl − All the mischievousness, skittishness and vivaciousness of the fourteen-year-old girl are admirably captured in this number.
Montagus and Capulets − Members of both feuding families strut about the ballroom. A contrasting waltz interlude depicts Juliet dancing with Paris, her betrothed. The return of the opening section is announced by a solo from an instrument rarely found in symphony orchestras, the saxophone.
Masks − A swaggering march tune accompanies Romeo, Mercutio, and Benvolio, all masked, as they arrive at the ball of the rival Capuletsʼ house.
Romeo and Juliet (Balcony Scene) − The Balcony Scene takes place near the end of Act I. It is night. Juliet, restless and unable to sleep, steps out onto her balcony, while down below Romeo is making his way through the garden to see Juliet, shortly after having met her for the first time at the ball earlier that evening. For what is perhaps the most famous love scene in all literature, Prokofiev poured forth some of his most passionately lyrical music, perfectly conveying the ecstasy of the two lovers.
Friar Laurence − Juliet visits the kindly, understanding Friar, who provides her with a potion that will simulate death for a short time.
Death of Tybalt − To magnificent brawl music, Romeo avenges the murder of his friend Mercutio by dueling with and killing Tybalt. Swashbuckling action is followed by a grim funeral march (in 3/4 meter!) to grinding dissonances. The orchestral writing is highly virtuosic, with violins in particular required to execute incredible feats of showmanship.
Romeo and Julietʼs before Parting − As dawn breaks, the two lovers bid adieu after their first − and only − night together as man and wife.
At Julietʼs Bedside - Julietʼs Funeral - Julietʼs Death − These three numbers constitute the final ten minutes or so of the complete ballet score. Julietʼs family is at her bedside, where she appears lifeless after having taken Friar Laurenceʼs potion. Believing her truly dead, to music of searing intensity the family bears her body to the crypt, where she is placed on a funeral bier. They depart. Romeo steals in. Not having been informed of the nature of the Friarʼs potion, he too believes Juliet dead, and in despair takes poison. Juliet awakes to find Romeo dead at her feet and stabs herself with his dagger. The curtain falls on the inert bodies of the lovers in a final embrace.

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.
　

【Soloist Encore】（9/18up）
Kultág：In Nomine
　（Tabea ZIMMERMANN, Viola）

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