ENDINGS / BEGINNINGS

Like other female composers in the 19th century, Louise Farrenc’s steadfast ambition and sheer hard work helped her overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles in order to achieve success. Born into a distinguished artistic family - both her father and brother were Prix de Rome-winning sculptors - Louise broke a significant gender barrier by being accepted into the previously all-male composition class at the Paris Conservatoire. She later became the only woman to hold a permanent chair of rank at the Conservatoire when she became a professor of piano in 1842, a position she held until her retirement in 1873.

During the 1830s Farrenc established an impressive career in Paris as a pianist, composer, and teacher. Much of her compositional oeuvre consisted of small-scale piano pieces and chamber music that frequently featured the piano. She first broached the orchestral genre in 1834 with two concert overtures. Her Overture No. 1 premiered in Paris in 1835; five years later, Overture No. 2 premiered in 1840 while she was in the midst of finishing her three symphonies - these five works comprise the sum total of her orchestral output. None of her orchestral works were published during her lifetime, despite the compositions finding favorability in Paris and beyond. The Institut de France honored Farrenc in 1861 and 1869 by awarding her the Chartier Prize for her compositions.

Theater-goers in 19th-century Paris loved opera, particularly French Grand Opera, which dominated the scene at the middle of the century. Thrilling overtures set the stage for these celebrated operas and often featured new instruments, particularly in the woodwinds and brass. There is no doubt that Farrenc leveraged the popularity of opera by introducing herself to the symphonic arena with a concert overture - a standalone work not specifically associated with an opera, but nevertheless a reflection of the popular operatic scene.

Overture No. 2 in Eb major appeared shortly after Berlioz’ Symphonie Fantastique, Meyerbeer’s Robert le Diable, and Rossini’s William Tell. Each of these were dynamic works whose orchestration thrilled audiences and critics alike. Berlioz wrote that Farrenc’s Overture No. 2 was “orchestrated with a talent rare among women.” Both of her overtures follow a well-crafted and finely orchestrated sonata form. The overture opens with an introduction whose noble gravity pays homage to many of Haydn’s mature symphonies. The main theme enters swiftly and is rather reminiscent of the popular operatic overtures of her day. The infectious main themes transform through bold harmonic effects in the development section before coming back in their original form, closing this too-little known work by one of France’s most gifted 19th-century musicians.

Contemporary composer Michael Abels has made his mark as both a composer of film scores and concert pieces. His film scores for the Jordan Peele films GET OUT, US, and NOPE have won numerous recognitions and awards, with both US and NOPE being nominated for the Oscar for Best Original Score.

His concert works are also receiving critical acclaim. The New York Times named OMAR, an opera co-composed with Grammy-winning recording artist Rhiannon Giddens, one of the 10 best classical performances of 2022: “What Giddens and Abels created is an ideal of American sound, an inheritor of the Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess but more honest to its subject matter, conjuring folk music, spirituals, Islamic prayer, and more, woven together with a compelling true story that transcends documentary.”

Abels’ genre-defying compositions began during his teen years - by the age of 13, he had his first completed orchestral work performed. Since then, The New York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, the National Symphony, and many others have performed Abels’ concert works. He is also the co-founder of the Composers Diversity Collective, an advocacy group to increase visibility of composers of color in film, gaming, and streaming media.

With a “keen ear for musical color and a deft ability to adapt structural elements from popular music into the symphonic idiom,” (Houston Chronicle), Abels gained widespread recognition for his orchestral piece Global Warming. Abels states:

GLOBAL WARMING is an orchestral work that uses the term to describe the warming of international relations that was happening in the world at that time. The Berlin Wall had just come down, the Cold War was declared over. “I wanted to write a piece that explored the similarities I heard between music of various cultures,” Abels said. “It begins with a desert scene, a depiction of a futuristic vast desert, with desert locusts buzzing in the background. But soon the piece turns quite uplifting. There are elements of Irish music, African music, Persian rhythms, drones, blended to display their commonalities in a way that is often quite joyous. But rather than end happily, the piece suddenly returns to its original, stark, desert scene, leaving it to the listener to decide which version of global warming they prefer. At the time of its premiere, global warming was not the politically charged term it is today. The piece was not written as a political statement, but its political message has inevitably deepened as climate change has evolved from theory into reality.

Don Giovanni (1787) may be Mozart’s most popular opera. Don Juan (Don Giovianni) is certainly one of literature’s most infamous seducers. His story resonated deeply in a Europe that was equally sternly religious and intensely pursuing Enlightenment philosophies: despite the Don’s irreverence and ultimate descent into hell, Giovanni was human, with foibles and tenderness understood by the masses. By the 1820s, Don Giovanni was one of Europe's best loved operas - the famous Act 1, scene 3 duet Là ci darem la mano (“There we will give each other our hands”) occurs when the Don is trying to seduce the peasant girl, Zerlina, away from her fiancé Masetto.

Chopin was neither the first, nor the last to set the aria to a set of variations. Beethoven used it twice, and both Berlioz and Liszt also appropriated the melody into works of their own. One can even watch the antithesis of seduction in a scene from The Muppet Show as Miss Piggy and Link Hogthrob attempt to upstage each other to a remix of this aria!

Chopin was the young age of 17 when he composed his Variations on Mozart’s “Là ci darem la mano,” op. 2, his first work for piano and orchestra. His composition immediately garnered the attention of audiences and critics including Robert Schumann, who, after first hearing the Variations by the then-unknown Polish composer in 1831, declared, “Hats off, gentlemen, a genius.” Schumann’s praise in his widely distributed publication surely helped launch Chopin’s career throughout Europe. Both Robert and young piano virtuoso Clara Wieck (soon-to-be Clara Schumann) immediately set out to learn the piece themselves “in a literally obsessive manner.”

Chopin’s Variations begin with an introductory Largo filled with a pathos that is rather astounding for his young age. By the time the “Là ci darem” tune finally arrives outright, it appears in its simplicity and light-heartedness to contrast with the romantic-era emotions of the first few minutes. Each successive variation progresses with increasing vigor - this is, after all, a showpiece for the prowess of the young Chopin! The orchestra returns with the heavy hand of fate for Giovanni in the “Adagio” variation. Giovanni replies, in turn, with the Coda “Alla Polacca” - a macabre dance to taunt the devil.

Widely respected in his day as a composer, conductor, and pedagogue, Max Bruch doesn’t find the same recognition today, particularly for his symphonies. Today, concert goers most frequently hear his compositions for string soloist and orchestra - the G Minor Concerto for violin, the Scottish Fantasy for violin, and Kol Nidrei for cello. Like the other composers on this program, Bruch began composing as a child. By 14, he created a symphony and string quartet, the latter garnering a prize that allowed him to study with composers Carl Reinecke and Ferdinand Hiller in Cologne. Bruch went on to hold various posts as a choral and orchestral conductor throughout Germany, often showcasing his own compositions. In 1883 he visited America, where he produced concerts filled with his new works. From 1880 to 1910, Bruch taught composition at the Berlin Academy, receiving numerous awards for his compositions, including an honorary doctorate from Cambridge University.

Bruch only composed three symphonies, the first appearing in 1867. Dedicated to his contemporary Brahms, whose music greatly influenced Bruch, his Symphony No. 1 fits squarely in the Romantic-era style. One can hear the influence of both Mendelssohn and Schumann in his symphonies, too. And perhaps that is also Bruch’s symphonic downfall: they are solidly romantic in style, but fail to push the barriers of symphonic writing. Brahms’ four symphonies were right around the corner and amassed such acclaim that Bruch’s symphonies fell to the wayside.

Symphony No. 1 begins quietly before the substantially theatrical main theme appears in the first movement. The second-movement “Scherzo” shows Bruch’s fascination with Mendelssohn, nearly paying homage to Midsummer Night’s Dream before taking a turn at more original and lyrical content. The final movement is lively and innovative, pressing forward to its dramatic conclusion with a lively rhythmic vigor.