Romantic Journey
“It’s a beautiful Valentine’s day program. There are pieces everyone knows and one almost nobody does–but when they hear it, they’ll be amazed.” The concert explores love in all its forms, and features a rising star soloist who Robert is thrilled to share the stage with. “I’ll be right next to Matthew on the podium for that piece,” he says. “It’s going to be something special.”
A Note from Music Director Candidate Robert Kahn
What's interesting about this concert:
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From its famous opening measures, Hebrides Overture immerses the listener in the rolling waves and brooding atmosphere of the sea, evoking both the majesty and mystery of the landscape.
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Popular with audiences and violinists since its debut, Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor is widely considered one of the greatest violin concertos in the repertoire. In fact, it became so popular that Bruch ended up resenting its popularity and the lack of attention given to his other works!
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Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's Ballade in A Minor is a dramatic single-movement work filled with sweeping contrasts and rhapsodic intensity. Much like a poetic ballad, it unfolds in clearly defined musical stanzas that suggest a dramatic, unfolding adventure.
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Tchaikovsky's Romeo & Juliet Fantasy Overture contains arguably the most famous love theme in classical music. The theme is instantly recognizable and has been used countless times in film, television, and pop culture.
Concert Details
DATE & TIME
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Saturday, Feb 14 2025 7:30pm
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DURATION
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1 hour, 28 minutes
(includes 20-min. intermission)
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Concerts Should Be Fun
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Bring wine and desserts to your seat
The free pre-concert talk begins at 6:30 in the theater
Clap when you hear something you like
Phones on and in silent mode allowed
The Program
Romantic Journey
Guest Artist
MATTHEW HAKKARAINEN
VIOLIN
Violinist Matthew Hakkarainen joins the Toronto Symphony Orchestra as Associate Concertmaster starting in the 2025-26 season. He attended the Curtis Institute of Music and the Juilliard School and he is an alumnus of the Rebanks Fellowship Program at the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Glenn Gould School. He is the first American violinist to win first prize at the Premio Rodolfo Lipizer International Violin Competition, where he also received three special prizes.
SEASON SPONSORED BY
CONCERT SPONSORS
Robert is sponsored by
Bruce & Marty Cowgill
All music director candidates are also sponsored by
City Motor Company
The Gibson Hotel
Rib & Chop House – Great Falls
What You'll Hear
Skip to 13:10 to hear the famous Love Theme. This section of the piece is instantly recognizable and has been used countless times in film, television, and pop culture. It appears in films and shows like Wayne’s World, Clueless, A Christmas Story, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Seeing Double, The Simpsons, South Park, SpongeBob SquarePants, Kim Possible, Scrubs, Pushing Daisies, Sesame Street and many, many more.
About the Music
PROGRAM NOTES BY ROBERT KAHN
"I would gladly give all I have written, to have composed something like the Hebrides Overture."
- Johannes Brahms
At the age of 20, Felix Mendelssohn embarked on a journey to Scotland that would leave a lasting impression on his imagination - and on the symphonic repertoire. While visiting the Hebrides, a rugged group of islands off the western coast of Scotland, Mendelssohn was struck by the haunting beauty of Fingal’s Cave and its surroundings. So immediate was his inspiration that he began composing on the spot. In a letter to his sister Fanny, he wrote: “In order to make you understand how extraordinarily The Hebrides affected me, I send you the following, which came into my head there.” Enclosed were the first bars of what would become the overture.
The Hebrides was one of the earliest examples of the concert overture - a single-movement orchestral work not tied to an opera, but instead inspired by literature, nature, or historical events.
Hebrides Overture
1830
Felix Mendelssohn
1809 - 1847
11 MINUTES
From its famous opening measures, the piece immerses the listener in the rolling waves and brooding atmosphere of the sea, evoking both the majesty and mystery of the landscape. Shifting themes reflect the changing moods of the ocean and Mendelssohn’s emotional response to the scene, leaving a vivid and lasting impression.
“The Germans have four violin concertos... The richest, the most seductive, was written by Max Bruch.” - Joseph Joachim
Popular with audiences and violinists since its debut, Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor is widely considered one of the greatest violin concertos in the repertoire. Though Bruch composed the work, a significant share of its success is due to Hungarian violinist Joseph Joachim - the leading violinist of his day and a close friend of both Bruch and Johannes Brahms. Joachim not only premiered the final version of the concerto, but he also advised Bruch on revisions after the premiere of the first version. His suggestions shaped the final form of the concerto, which quickly became a staple of the Romantic repertoire. In fact, it became so popular that Bruch ended up resenting its popularity and the lack of attention given to his other works!
The concerto opens with a Vorspiel (Prelude), a brief, improvisatory movement that explores contrasting moods and leads seamlessly into the heart of the work: the lyrical second movement.
Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor
Op. 26
1867
Max Bruch
1838 – 1920
25 MINUTES
This Adagio is one of the greatest slow movements ever written, heartfelt and deeply expressive throughout. The finale brings a burst of rhythmic energy, opening with an energetic theme infused with Hungarian folk flavor - likely a tribute to Joachim’s cultural roots.
“He is far and away the cleverest fellow going amongst the young men.”
- Edward Elgar on Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, born to an English mother and Sierra-Leonian father, overcame racial prejudice to become enormously popular during his lifetime, particularly in the United States. Like his idols Brahms and Dvorak - who drew from Hungarian and Bohemian folk traditions - Coleridge-Taylor took inspiration from traditional African music and integrated it into the classical tradition. Through this pioneering style, Coleridge-Taylor became a major influence on the emerging generation of American composers.
Composed at the age of 23, the Ballade in A minor was commissioned by the Three Choirs Festival. This commission had initially been offered to the more senior and famous British composer, Edward Elgar, who declined due to his work on his masterpiece the Enigma Variations. Elgar instead suggested his protégé, writing: “I am sorry, I am too busy to do so. I wish, wish, wish you would ask Coleridge-Taylor to do it.”
Ballade in A Minor
Op. 33
1898
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
1875 – 1912
12 MINUTES
The Ballade is a dramatic single-movement work filled with sweeping contrasts and rhapsodic intensity. Much like a poetic ballad, it unfolds in clearly defined musical stanzas that suggest a dramatic, unfolding adventure. Though not explicitly programmatic, the music conjures scenes of conflict and heroism, later giving way to passages of tenderness and longing. The Ballade helped launch the young composer’s career, which was tragically cut short by his early death at just 37.
“It now seems to me absurd that I could not see earlier that I was predestined, as it were, to set this drama to music”. - Tchaikovsky, to his mentor and fellow composer Mily Balakirev
Like many 19th-century composers, Tchaikovsky found great inspiration in Shakespeare. Romeo and Juliet, with its potent blend of passion, conflict, and tragedy, likely resonated particularly with the composer’s own turbulent love life. This Fantasy Overture, like Mendelssohn’s Hebrides, is a stand-alone orchestral work. Rather than narrating the play scene by scene, it evokes key moments and characters through richly thematic music.
This early masterpiece marked the first major success of Tchaikovsky’s career, though it came only after significant effort and revision. At age 29, Tchaikovsky was encouraged by composer Mily Balakirev to write an overture based on the famous play. Their collaboration was unusually close, with Balakirev offering guidance on themes and form. The first version, premiered in 1870, was poorly received. Two substantial revisions followed, with the final version - completed in 1880 - becoming the one we know today.
Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture
Op. 33
1898
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
1875 – 1912
20 MINUTES
The overture focuses on two central elements: the violent feud between the Montagues and Capulets, and the ill-fated love of Romeo and Juliet. After a solemn introduction representing Friar Laurence, the music leads to the clashing themes of the family conflict, leading to vivid musical depictions of dueling swords. This clears the way for what is arguably the most famous love theme in classical music, introduced by the English horn. Yet, true to the tragedy, the lovers’ fate cannot be avoided: the overture ends with a dark close, reflecting the death of the star-crossed lovers.