ConCert orChestra - DePaul University School of Music

Tuesday, February 6, 2018 • 8:00 p.m.

Concert Orchestra Cliff Colnot, conductor

DePaul Concert Hall 800 West Belden Avenue • Chicago

Tuesday, February 6, 2018 • 8:00 p.m. DePaul Concert Hall

Concert Orchestra Cliff Colnot, conductor Program Claude Debussy (1862-1918) Petite Suite (1886-89) En bateau: Andantino Cortège: Moderato Menuet: Moderato Ballet: Allegro giusto Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93 (1812) Allegro vivace e con brio Allegretto scherzando Tempo di menuetto Allegro vivace

DePaul Concert Orchestra • February 6, 2018

Program Notes Claude Debussy Petite Suite Duration: 13 minutes The French composer Claude Debussy was one of the giants of Western music. His novel harmonic techniques, his emphasis on beautifully crafted sonorities, and his seemingly effortless elegance achieved through precise craftsmanship forever changed the soundscape of classical music. Influences of his musical language resonate in the works of such disparate composers as Ravel, Stravinsky, Bartók, and Messiaen. Petite Suite is a relatively early composition (1886-1889), originally for 4-hand piano. It was orchestrated in 1907 by the French composer and conductor Paul-Henri Büsser (1872-1973). Later, when pressed for time, Debussy also sought Büsser’s help in orchestrating the symphonic suite Printemps, so the instrumental version of Petite Suite must have pleased the composer. The work was inspired by the poetry of Verlaine; the first two movements even carry the titles of poems from the Fêtes Galantes collection. The poems in Verlaine’s book allude to aristocratic merrymaking, as reflected in the painting of artists like Watteau and Fragonard. The inspiration for the first movement of the suite, En bateau (Sailing), describes a nighttime sailing of an aristocratic group. The color of the water is a mysterious black, there is romance in the air, yet there is a sense of sadness and lack of fulfillment. Cortège (Parade), Verlaine’s poem depicted in the second movement, tells us about a merry parade of people in costume. Again, there is more than carefree flirting. The poet gives us images of a brocade-clad ape, of a dress raised too high, and of the white neck of a lady that “demands the naked torso of one of the gods.” Debussy’s esthetic had much in common with that of the symbolist poets: he was a close friend of Pierre Louÿs, and knew and admired Valéry and Gide. As seen above, Verlaine’s poems retain a somewhat mysterious character. Words allude rather than describe. They are used to evoke feelings, recall stories, and create a poetic world within the mind of the reader. Debussy had similar aims in his music. Dissonances are not “resolved” as in classical harmonic designs—rather, sonorities are offered to us to be enjoyed, and to lead our imagination. The composer described his musical world as “attempting ‘something different’, realities in some sense—what imbeciles call impressionism, just about the least appropriate term possible.”

DePaul Concert Orchestra • February 6, 2018 Program Notes

Petite Suite has an outwardly simple structure of four dance-like movements. There is some speculation that Debussy kept the original 4-hand version simple enough to be accessible to amateur musicians, to be enjoyed at domestic settings, yet there is much sophistication in this apparent simplicity. The first movement, En bateau, is delicate waltz-like music, evoking the boat ride at night, as described by Verlaine. It is followed by the march for Verlaine’s parade. The third movement is a typical dance of the galant period, a minuet. The work concludes with an animated ballet. Note by Cathy Elias Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93 Duration: 25 minutes Beethoven’s Fifth and Sixth Symphonies were written almost simultaneously and premiered in 1808. Each symphony seems to carve new paths for the symphonic genre. The Fifth is notable for its cyclic thematic emphasis, a third movement leading directly into the fourth movement, and for adding wind band instrumentation to the fourth movement. The Sixth combines the “heroic” style with an ode to Arcadia, using an additional “storm” movement to connect the scherzo to the noble final movement. The Seventh and Eighth symphonies were also composed simultaneously, during 1811 – 1812. The Seventh was premiered in 1813 and the Eighth in 1814 in Vienna at a concert that included the Seventh as well as Beethoven’s “battle piece”, Wellington’s Victory. The Seventh does not have a specific program but instead offers us a rhythmic festival, with each movement presenting and focusing on memorable and often dance-like rhythmic figures that led to Wagner speaking of it as “an apotheosis of the dance” (movements of it would eventually be choreographed by Isadora Duncan). The Eighth would be overshadowed by the Seventh at its first performance, though Beethoven was to remark “that’s because it is so much better than the other.” The Eighth is at first perplexing as it does not seem to be forging new paths for the symphonic ideal, but instead, playfully returns to the world of the Classic period symphony. Though the outer movements show features of the “heroic” middle-period Beethovenian style, the inner movements are witty and clever reinventions of the world of the Mozart/Haydn symphonies. The first movement is in the expected sonata form, but also in 3/4 with a lengthy coda. The second movement is not a weighty Adagio or even an

DePaul Concert Orchestra • February 6, 2018 Program Notes

Andante, but is instead marked Allegretto scherzando. The movement is partially an ode to the metronome and its creator and friend of Beethoven, Johann Nepomuk Maelzel. The winds keep time in a manner similar to the second movement of Haydn’s Clock Symphony and the movement proceeds in what is sometimes known as “sonatina” form, or sonata form without a development. Beethoven is well-known for having replaced the Classic period third movement minuet with the idea of a scherzo, but the third movement of the Eighth is surprisingly marked Tempo di menuetto. It is not, however, a nostalgic imitation of a minuet but is instead somewhat comedic, including heavy stomping rhythms, sudden accents and what seems like a “wrong” entrance by the trumpets. The middle or trio section features memorable solo passages for horns and clarinet. The fourth movement is the longest with a very fast allegro vivace tempo marking. It is in a sonata rondo form with a sizeable coda. There are sudden and playful usages of “wrong keys”, including the use of F# minor in the coda, but all is made right at the end with a loud, long return to the home key of F major. 1811 – 1812 were not the happiest years in Beethoven’s life. The years included the mysterious letter to the Immortal Beloved and a deteriorating relationship with his brother Johann. In the world at large, 1812 was the time of Napoleon’s attempted invasion of Russia that led to the burning of Moscow by its inhabitants in self-defense. Neither the Seventh nor The Eighth Symphonies directly reflect those events but surprise us with their optimism, nobility and good humor. Note by Kurt Westerberg


Biography In the past decade Cliff Colnot has emerged as a distinguished conductor and a musician of uncommon range. One of few musicians to have studied orchestral repertoire with Daniel Barenboim, Colnot has served as assistant conductor for Barenboim’s WestEastern Divan Workshops for young musicians from Israel, Egypt, Syria, and other Middle Eastern countries. Colnot has also worked extensively with the late Pierre Boulez and served as assistant conductor to Boulez at the Lucerne Festival Academy. He regularly conducts the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), with whom he recorded Richard Wernick’s The Name of the Game for Bridge Records, and he collaborates with the internationally acclaimed contemporary music ensemble eighth blackbird. Colnot has been principal conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s contemporary MusicNOW ensemble since its inception and was principal conductor of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, an orchestra he conducted for more than twenty-two years. Colnot also conducts Contempo at the University of Chicago, and the DePaul University Symphony Orchestra and Wind Ensemble. He has appeared as a guest conductor with the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra, the American Composers Orchestra, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Utah Symphony, and the Chicago Philharmonic. Colnot is also a master arranger. His orchestration of Shulamit Ran’s Three Fantasy Pieces for Cello and Piano was recorded by the English Chamber Orchestra. For the chamber orchestra of the Jerusalem International Chamber Music Festival, Colnot has arranged the Adagio from Mahler’s Symphony No. 10, Schoenberg’s Pelleas and Melisande (both published by Universal) and Manuel De Falla’s Three Cornered Hat. For ICE, Colnot arranged Olivier Messiaen’s Chants de Terre et de Ciel for chamber orchestra and mezzosoprano, also published by Universal. For members of the Yellow Barn Music Festival, Colnot arranged Shulamit Ran’s Soliloquy for Violin, Cello, and Piano, to be published by Theodore Presser. Colnot re-orchestrated the Bottesini Concerto No. 2 in B Minor for Double Bass, correcting many errors in existing editions and providing a more viable performance version. He has also been commissioned to write works for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Percussion Scholarship Group. His orchestration of Duke Ellington’s New World Coming was premiered by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra with Daniel Barenboim as piano soloist in 2000, and Colnot also arranged, conducted, and co-produced the CD Tribute to Ellington featuring Barenboim at the piano. He has also written for rock-and-roll, pop, and jazz artists Richard Marx, Phil Ramone, Hugh Jackman, Leann Rimes, SheDaisy, Patricia Barber, Emerson Drive, and Brian Culbertson.

DePaul Concert Orchestra • February 6, 2018 Biography Colnot graduated with honors from Florida State University and in 1995 received the Ernst von Dohnányi Certificate of Excellence. He has also received the prestigious Alumni Merit Award from Northwestern University, where he earned his doctorate. In 2001 the Chicago Tribune named Cliff Colnot a “Chicagoan of the Year” in music, and in 2005 he received the William Hall Sherwood Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Arts. Most recently, Colnot has been awarded the 2016 Alice M. Ditson Conductor’s Award of Columbia University in recognition for his excellent commitment to the performance of works by American Composers. He has studied with master jazz teacher David Bloom, has taught jazz arranging at DePaul University, film scoring at Columbia College, and advanced orchestration at the University of Chicago. As a bassoonist, he was a member of the Lyric Opera Orchestra of Chicago, Music of the Baroque, and the Contemporary Chamber Players.

Personnel


Violin I Farid Ishkinyaev, concertmaster Wan-Chun Hu Valentina Guillen Lina Mar Yamin Noronha Sungjoo Kang William Bontempo Vincent Wong Alexandra Kagan

Bass Andrew French, principal Austen Goebbel Davis Smith Ryan MacDonald Mary Halm

Violin II Nelson Mendoza, principal Megan Faw Amber Daughtry Maria Campos Bernini Chan Marian Mayugai Cailtlin Edwards Yeyoung Yoon

Piccolo Emily Bieker

Viola Georges Mefleh, principal Marc Hornig Seth Pae Karlita Williams Michael Fuentes Jordan Martin

Clarinet Jesse Bruer Julia Janda Mike Ippolito

Cello Margaret Wenzel, principal Vincent Ramirez-Boyce Caley Koch Joel Rosen Isabella Kruger-Seiler Timothy Sutton Malik Johnson Sarah Yang

Flute Emily Bieker Jen Klimek

Oboe Jacob Shapiro Lillia Woolschlager Young Sun Yoo English Horn Lillia Woolschlager

Bassoon Elliot Cobb Jenna Cole Carlos Ruiz Horn Fernando Chapa Melody (Fang-Yuan) Lin Miles O’Malley Ali Nizamani Trumpet J.R. Buzzell Claire Hendrickson Michael Verbic

Timpani George Tantchev Percussion Tommy Farnsworth Christian Hughes Miyu Morita Harp Michael Maganuco* Librarian Mike Ippolito *Guest

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Upcoming Events Saturday, February 10 • 8:00 p.m. Concert Hall DePaul Chamber Choir and Concert Choir Monday, February 19 • 8:00 p.m. Concert Hall Percussion Ensemble Friday, February 23 • 8:00 p.m. Concert Hall New Music DePaul Saturday, February 24 • 8:00 p.m. Concert Hall Baroque Chamber Ensemble Sunday, February 25 • 8:00 p.m. Concert Hall Wind/Mixed Chamber Showcase I Wednesday, February 28 • 8:00 p.m. Concert Hall Wind/Chamber Showcase II Thursday, March 1 • 7:00 p.m. Recital Hall Jazz Combos I Thursday, March 1 • 8:00 p.m. Concert Hall String Chamber Showcase I Friday, March 2 • 7:00 p.m. Recital Hall Jazz Combos II Friday, March 2 • 8:00 p.m. Concert Hall String Chamber Showcase II Saturday, March 3 • 3:00 p.m. Concert Hall African Drum Ensemble

DePaul Concert Orchestra • February 6, 2018 Upcoming Events Saturday, March 3 • 8:00 p.m. Concert Hall DePaul Wind Ensemble Sunday, March 4 • 3:00 p.m. Concert Hall DePaul Wind Symphony Sunday, March 4 • 7:00 p.m. Student Center • 2250 North Sheffield Avenue • Chicago Jazz Ensembles Monday, March 5 • 7:00 p.m. The Jazz Workshop • 806 South Plymouth Court • Chicago Jazz Workshop Tuesday, March 6 • 7:00 p.m. Concert Hall Cello Studio Recital Wednesday, March 7 • 7:00 p.m. Recital Hall Jazz Combos III Thursday, March 8 • 8:00 p.m. Concert Hall Ensemble 20+ As a courtesy to those around you, please silence all cell phones and other electronic devices. Flash photography is not permitted. Thank you.

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