Elements of Life:
A Tribute to Mary Moore
A Note from Choir Director,
Jon Harney
It's been more than two years since the symphonic choir last performed a solo concert for you in spring 2024, and so we are delighted to sing again for you.
In collecting the music for today's concert, I, as I sometimes do, set out not with a theme, but with the notion of showcasing music that balances art and fun. Pieces that I would want to sing if I was singing in this choir. It's as simple as that.
In organizing the music into sets for a concert program, a pattern became evident; overarching themes of Faith, Music, and Love and Living emerged, and thus the title of this program.
I hope that you find these themes relevant and inspirational as we share faith, make music, love and live life in community through music.
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SEASON SPONSORED BY
The Program
Elements of Life
CONCERT SPONSORS
About the Music
PROGRAM NOTES BY FERNANDA LASTRA
Elegía Andina was created in 2000 for the Albany Symphony Orchestra (NY) and dedicated to her brother Marcos Gabriel Frank. It evokes the astonishing majesty of the Andes Mountains through native Peruvian sounds. "There's usually a storyline behind my music; a scenario or character." The flute part is particularly important in this piece to create a unique atmosphere.
“Elegía Andina is one of my first written-down compositions to explore what it means to be of several ethnic persuasions. It uses stylistic elements of Peruvian arca/ira zampoña panpipes (double-row panpipes, each row with its own tuning) to paint an elegiac picture. I can think of none better to dedicate this work to than to 'Babo,' my big brother — for whom Perú still waits.”
Included in the Washington Post's list of the most significant women composers in history (August 2017), composer and pianist Gabriela Lena Frank was born in Berkeley, California in September 1972, to a mother of mixed Peruvian/Chinese/Spanish ancestry and a father of Lithuanian/Jewish descent.
Elegía Andina
Andean Elegy
2000
Gabriela Lena Frank
b. 1972
11 MINUTES
Frank’s multicultural heritage is reflected in her works, featuring her experiences as a multi-racial artist and refracting her studies in Latin American cultures through poetry, mythology, and folklore. “As children of a multicultural marriage, our early days were filled with Oriental stir-fry cuisine, Andean nursery songs, and frequent visits from our New York-bred Jewish cousins.” Frank’s unique artistic voice incorporates native musical styles into a Western classical tradition.
Considered one of the founders of the early Hollywood film music sound, Miklós Rózsa was born in Budapest on April 18, 1907. During summers, he spent time with his family in a village called Nagylócz, at the foot of the Mátra mountains.
"We went there by train; there followed a journey of about 3–4 hours to our house, which took us through a small but lovely baroque town called Szécsény. The whole area was inhabited by the Palóc, an indigenous Magyar people with their own dialect, customs, and costumes. It was the music of the Palóc that I heard during those summers, a vital force on my whole musical personality. This music was all around me; I'd hear it in the fields, I'd hear it emanating from festivities in the village; and the time came when I felt I had to put it down on paper and perpetuate it ... I think that were it ever possible for me to return to Hungary, the only places I should really want to revisit would be these little country villages which meant so much to me as a boy. That was where the world began for me.”
As a Leipzig Conservatory alumnus, Rózsa settled down in Hollywood in 1939, writing the music for the film Thief of Bagdad (1940), a groundbreaking score that laid the foundations for a new style in film scoring. Throughout his career, he composed about 100 film scores between 1937 and 1982, earning him 17 Oscar nominations. He also wrote pieces for the concert hall, including four concertos for solo instruments and orchestra.
Concerto for Viola and Orchestra
Op. 37
1979
Miklós Rózsa
1907 – 1995
FEATURING GUEST ARTIST
VIOLA
I. Moderato assai
II. Allegro giocoso
III. Adagio
IV. Allegro con spirito
32 MINUTES
Rózsa’s Viola Concerto, composed for Pinchas Zuckerman, premiered in 1984 with the PittsburghSymphony conducted by André Previn. This piece comprises four contrasting movements, richly orchestrated with evident Hungarian musical influences. The first movement exudes notable beauty and a quasi-melancholic mood, contrasting with the rhythmic and energetic scherzo of the second movement. The Adagio, the third movement, is imbued with lyricism, presenting a Hungarian nocturne that starts calmly and evolves into a passionate crescendo. The concerto culminates in a triumphant Finale, an exhilarating movement that delivers a powerful and conclusive closure.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born on May 7, 1840, in Kamsko-Votkinsk, Russia. Throughout his creative career, Tchaikovsky observed a debate among composers about whether Russian music should emphasize Slavic folk tales and melodies or embrace the Western European tradition. Tchaikovsky's approach harmonized both influences, which is evident in his music.
Tchaikovsky embarked on the composition of his Fifth Symphony while residing in Frolovskoye, near Klin. In a letter to his brother Modest, he confessed, “... getting a symphony out of my dulled brain, with difficulty.”
The premiere took place in St. Petersburg under his baton, but did not achieve significant success, fueling Tchaikovsky’s doubts about his work, which he expressed:
“Having played my Symphony twice in Petersburg and once in Prague, I have come to the conclusion that it is a failure ... It was clear to me that the applause and ovations referred not to this but to other works of mine, and that the Symphony itself will never please the public.”
Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 is one of his most beloved performed works, alongside The Nutcracker. Throughout this 45-minute journey, the piece unfolds under the concept of “Fate.” The striking musical idea of “Fate” is introduced at the symphony's outset and remains a central motif throughout the subsequent movements. It transitions through various instruments and orchestral textures, starting with a somber tone, reminiscent of a funeral march, before ascending dramatically with fanfares and brassy outbursts.
Symphony No. 5 in E Minor
Op. 64
1888
Peter Tchaikovsky
1840 – 1893
I. Andante – Allegro con anima – Molto più tranquillo
II. Andante cantabile, con alcuna licenza
III. Valse. Allegro moderato
IV. Finale: Andante maestoso – Allegro vivace – Meno mosso
45 MINUTES
The second movement presents a contrasting mood, characterized by its lyrical and passionate theme. The third movement, an elegant waltz, serves as the ideal prelude to the lively and majestic finale.
Over time, Tchaikovsky came to appreciate his Fifth Symphony. In 1889, he wrote to his brother Modest: “The most gratifying aspect is that the symphony no longer appears unpleasing to me; I have once again developed an affection for it.”