COUCH CONCERT SERIES FT. SYMPHONIC ORCHESTRA

Tuesday, May 5 at 7 PM

Concert Program

 The Butterfly Lovers Concerto

Romanian Rhapsody no. 1 in A major, Op. 11

Soirees Musicales, Op. 9

Symphony No. 8 in G Major, Op. 88

The Butterfly Lovers Concerto - He Zhanhao and Chen Gang

The Maori of New Zealand believe that the soul returns to earth as a butterfly. In ancient Greece, the word "psyche" meant "soul and breath," and was symbolized by a butterfly. Myths about moths and butterflies abound in Celtic lore, and in Aztec and Mayan mythology, sacrifice was deeply associated with the butterfly. But probably the most ancient mythology equating the soul with butterflies comes from China.

Nor is there a lack of cultural lore about star-crossed lovers. The West has Romeo and Juliet, and Tristan and Isolde. China has the ancient love tragedy of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, who, sometime in the 4th Century, were undone by rigid social conventions. The story made its way into the traditional Yueju opera of Zhejiang Province.

This is the tale that composers He Zhanhao and Chen Gang, keenly familiar with the Yueju repertoire, chose as the basis for tonight's beautiful Butterfly Lovers Concerto, which they co-wrote in 1958 while students at the Shanghai Conservatory. At the turn of the 20th Century, "classical" Chinese musicians felt that serious music should be modeled upon Western traditions, and thus began their rigorous study of European composers, especially Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Debussy, and Grieg. But over time, Chinese idioms and modes blended with Western forms and ideas. Of the "Four Generations" of the New School in Chinese music, Zhanhao and Gang were of the Fourth—and last. Only a few years after they wrote this concerto, the Cultural Revolution put an end to everything Western.

Their composition, a marvel of lushness and beauty, is a wonderful mix of the Western symphonic tradition with Chinese folk music and vocal techniques. Zhanhao and Gang originally wrote the concerto for a Western violin, imitating the sound of the erhu. The erhu is a traditional bowed Chinese instrument that has only two strings—and no fingerboard—attached to a resonating body typically encased in snakeskin. The lack of a fingerboard allows for extreme vibrato and bending of pitches. This beautiful, intimately emotive instrument was most often used to express weeping and intense emotion.

Romanian Rhapsody no. 1 in A major, Op. 11 - George Enescu

Enescu's worldwide renown as a composer began with his two Romanian Rhapsodies, composed in 1901, when Enescu was still only 19 years old. The two Romanian Rhapsodies were composed in Paris, and premiered together in a concert that took place on 23 February 1903 at the Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest. The Second Rhapsody was played first, and Enescu maintained this order of performance throughout his life. Today, the first is the by far the better known. They are comparatively superficial pieces, not representative of even his early style, that emulate Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsodies. Like Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsodies, the Romanian Rhapsodies display an improvisatory alternation of slow and fast sections based on gypsy folk elements. Enescu conceived his rhapsodies as orchestral pieces, which showed a sure grasp of orchestral effect, including some never before heard on the concert stage.

Romanian Rhapsody No. 1 begins with one of the first folksongs Enescu learned to play as a 4-year-old, "Am un leu" ("I have a coin and I want a drink"). The orchestration reflects the conditions under which the tune was most often played: Shepherds, amusing themselves during their long days in the field, would fashion wind instruments out of whatever they could lay their hands on—grass, bark, bones. They improvised ornaments on familiar tunes. They might have been far away from home and family, but they were not alone. Enescu's orchestration splits the tune between the clarinet and oboe, as if two colleagues are looking forward to a night on the town together. It even captures the bird songs that might have been heard in the background. That is, if anyone listening to the shepherds had noticed them. After this opening, the tune becomes a dance. The other themes are all dances. Hardworking Balkan peasants turned to dancing and drinking for entertainment.

Soirees Musicales, Op. 9 - Benjamin Britten

In 1935 Benjamin Britten began working for the Film Unit of the British General Post Office, writing and arranging music for various short documentaries. Two years later, he chose three of his Rossini arrangements and added two more to create a suite he called Soirées Musicales, in homage to Rossini.

Britten's wit and energy as a composer are evident in every bar of Soirées Musicales. His orchestra is hardly larger than one of Rossini's day, his harmonies no more daring; yet the ingenuity and playfulness of his arrangements make the suite a perfect amalgam of the mature Italian of the Paris salons and the young Englishman delighting in new sounds and new media like film.

Britten opens with a jaunty soldiers' March taken from William Tell, with the tune passed among several soloists, including xylophone. It's followed by a graceful, balletic "little song," the Canzonetta (Rossini's Soirées musicales no. 1, "La promessa"). Next is a Tyrolese (Soirées musicales no. 6, "La pastorella dell'Alpi"), with a clodhopping triple meter and a yodeling trumpet. The Bolero (Soirées musicales no. 5, "L'invito") is a slow, sinuous Spanish dance to which Britten adds castanets among other flourishes. To finish the suite he offers a Tarantella, the rapid, swirling Sicilian "tarantula" dance, though his Rossini source is actually a religious chorus ("La charité" from 3 Choeurs religieux).

Symphony No. 8 in G Major, Op. 88 - Antonín Dvořák

From its inception, Antonín Dvořák's Symphony in G Major was more than a composition; in musical terms it represented everything that made Dvořák a proud Bohemian. The Eighth Symphony broke new ground from the moment of its premiere, which Dvořák conducted in Prague on February 2, 1890. Op. 88 was, as the composer explained, meant to be "different from the other symphonies, with individual thoughts worked out in a new way." This "new way" refers to Dvořák's musical transformation of the Czech countryside he loved into a unique sonic landscape. Within the music, Dvořák included sounds from nature, particularly hunting horn calls and bird songs played by various wind instruments.

During a rehearsal of the trumpet fanfare in the last movement, conductor Rafael Kubelik declared, "Gentlemen, in Bohemia the trumpets never call to battle – they always call to the dance!" After this opening summons, cellos sound the main theme. Quieter variations on the cello melody feature solo flute and strings, and the symphony ends with an exuberant brassy blast.

About Couch Concert Series: Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the Florida Symphony Youth Orchestras board and staff had to make a tough decision to cancel the season finale concert. We have a commitment to provide educational programs to our students and quality performances to the community, and that is no exception now! Join us each week as students from all programs of FSYO showcase their talent in an intimate online setting. The Couch Concert Series was created as a way to give our patrons a unique concert experience from the safety and comfort of your home.

Follow along every Tuesday and Thursday throughout April and May on the FSYO Facebook page to see the incredibly talented students and staff. We encouage you to watch beginning at 7 PM and interact with us during the live video. Don't have a Facebook account? No problem. The Couch Concert Series is available to view without an account.

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