Battle Creek Symphony
Saturday, May 1, 2010, 7:30 pm
W.K. Kellogg Auditorium
Ivan Moshchuk, piano

Merry Pranks

dedicated to the memory of elizabeth binda

Wagner: Ride of the Valkyries
Liszt: Les Preludes
Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 2
Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks

Unlike the heroes of our earlier concerts, Till Eulenspiegel is a peasant folk hero of the medieval period - he was an impudent trickster figure who played practical jokes on his contemporaries and exposed greed, hypocrisy and foolishness at every turn. Strauss's brilliant orchestration chronicles his misadventures and pranks with virtuosity and panache.

Also on the program is Wagner's legendary "Ride of the Walkyries", made famous by such popular sources as Warner Brothers' "What's Opera, Doc" (kill the wabbit) and the movie Apocalypse Now.

As is tradition, the Battle Creek Symphony will collaborate with the Gilmore Keyboard Festival, the largest gathering of keyboard artists in North America. This year we will present the tremendously talented Ivan Moschuk performing Chopin's brilliant f minor Piano Concerto.

Click on the video tab to see Ivan discuss Chopin

artist sponsored by Eleanor and Robert DeVries

 

Wagner’s “Ride of the Walkyries” is the most famous selection from the third act of his opera, “Die Walküre,” which, in turn, is part of Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung), composed in 1870 .

The “Ride,” is a highly intense overture which precedes a dramatic opening scene on the summit of a rocky mountain. Four of the eight women called Valkyries, are riding on their flying horses, preparing to carry the bodies of fallen heroes to the majestic hall called Valhalla. In modern days, this work has been made famous by such popular sources as Warner Brothers' "What's Opera, Doc" and the movie “Apocalypse Now.”

Whereas Wagner created this opera at age 57, Chopin composed his Piano Concerto in F minor in 1829, when he was just 19. He was of course inexperienced at composing for symphony orchestras, but his melodies for the piano are so beautiful, so virtuosic, that they more than compensate for any shortcomings in orchestration. Particularly poignant is the lyrical second movement, inspired by the young Chopin's frustrated love for a young Polish girl.

Franz Liszt’s most famous work, “Les Preludes,” is the third of his twelve symphonic poems. Liszt himself conducted the first performance in 1854. Typical of Liszt’s compositions, “Les Preludes” is ornate and highly dramatic. Sad to say, part of the final march was adopted by the Nazi government  to announce their various victories.

And finally, you’ll hear tales of the incorrigible German folklore rogue about whom Richard Strauss wrote his humorous work, "Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks,"

"Till," who was said to have been born in Kneitlingen, Germany, around 1300, played tricks on everyone from peasants to the reigning pope.
In his 1895 many-moods tone poem, Richard Strauss was less charitable to poor Till than German tradition had been, for in the legends, he managed to escape punishment, whereas Strauss finally sent him to the gallows.

Strauss composed two main themes, the first to be played by the French horn to introduce the whole story and the second, by the clarinet, to represent the shrill voice of Till himself. Later flutes, oboes and clarinets represent a group of women gathered in a market place where Till has caused havoc. Then, after he mocks clergymen and academics, Till feigns piety and puts on holy vestments, only to be exposed by a saucy clarinet theme. At the sound of a violin glissando, he takes off his holy garb and proceeds to fall in love, to the sound of a sweet melody, only to be rejected. His resulting rage is expressed by French horns. After that he mocks a group of Philistines and then indulges in a peasant dance with young girls. Soon, however, a drum roll asserts that his pranks are over, and, though he tries to protest, a major-seventh interval in the lower basses announces his final beheading. The French horn theme is reintroduced in a distorted variation, and pizzicato strings portray his actual execution.

Linda Jo Scott, program annotator

 

Ivan discusses Chopin:

 

ivan moschuk

Eighteen-year-old Ivan Moshchuk, 2010 Gilmore Young Artist, was born in Moscow, Russia and moved to Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan with his family when he was four years old. He recently graduated from Grosse Pointe South High School and is headed to the Peabody Conservatory of Music at Johns Hopkins University in the fall. There he will continue studying piano performance under Boris Slutsky.

In the summers of 2006 and 2008, Moshchuk attended the International Music Academy in Plzen, Czech Republic. Moshchuk has had master clases with Dmitri Vorobiev, Ivan Moravec, Miroslav Brejcha, and Arthur Greene. In addition to a rigorous concert schedule, he was chosen to record for Czech National Radio.

Along with other notable prizes and accolades, Moshchuk was the co-first prize winner of the 2007 Arthur Fraser Concerto Competition in South Carolina and was a semifinalist in the Oberlin International Piano Competition in that same year. In addition to numerous solo recitals, Moshchuk has been a concerto soloist with the South Carolina Philharmonic and the Grosse Pointe Symphony, among other ensembles.

Adrenaline Rush
A few weeks ago in Thailand, I had the chance to go on a 2K zipline through the jungle.  It was terrifying and thrilling at the same time and reminded me of Battle Creek Symphony concerts.

Symphony musicians are action junkies by nature, and Battle Creek Symphony musicians are no exception.  They’re always looking for harder, faster, higher pieces, standing at the edge of a technical precipice, or searching for the perfect turn of phrase.  That’s why we’re so nocturnal – not only do rehearsals and performances take place in the evening, but it takes hours to come down from a good performance.  Audience members can feel the energy, and love seeing the excitement of a performance take flight.

The idea of music getting the blood pumping had its heyday in the Romantic period, and on Saturday night we’re performing music that was designed to make audiences swoon in amazement.
 
I’ll start with Franz Liszt, the flamboyant pianist and composer who had rock star status in the 1800’s.  At his performances, audiences were standing room only, and women screamed and fainted .  In fact, he was so much of a phenomenon that the term “Lisztomania” was coined to describe the massive public response to his performances.  (eat your heart out, Elvis!)  His “Les Preludes” is Liszt’s most famous orchestral work, and captures the sweeping emotions that made men marvel and women weep. 

The program opens with Wagner’s thrilling “Ride of the Valkyries”.  Originally part of Wagner’s monumental (four day) opera “The Ring Cycle”, it has been featured in probably a dozen films from The Blues Brothers to What’s Opera, Doc?  The most famous popular reference, however, is in Apocalypse Now, where the winged horses of the female Nordic warriors are replaced by helicopter wings and Robert Duvall (“I love the smell of Napalm in the morning”).
 
We then go to a thrill ride of a completely different sort, the Battle Creek debut of Gilmore Young Artist Ivan Moschuk.  The Gilmore has given Battle Creek folks the chance to see amazing young talent, many of whom have experienced meteoric rises in their careers.  When we see Ivan perform Chopin’s 2nd piano concerto, one can only imagine the possibilities for his future as a concert pianist.

And finally the season closes with Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks, written by Richard Strauss.  Not related to the father of the Viennese Waltz, Strauss was legendary for the daring virtuosity of his orchestral writing.  Over a hundred years later, if you want to get a job in the Chicago Symphony (or any other professional orchestra), you have to demonstrate that you can toss off his music with style and bravura.  Till Eulenspiegel is the perfect subject for him, the peasant folk hero and trickster who charmed the ladies and played jokes on everyone.

So, while the zipline was great fun, I know it’s the thrill of the performance that keeps me going.  See you on Saturday!