NEWS AND PROGRAM NOTES
6 November 2009 Concert
Beach Cities Symphony
Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Opus 125: “Choral”
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
The
writing of Symphony No. 9 was quite a long process (1818-1819 and 1822-23 for
the first three movements). The symphony was initially not meant to include a
vocal finale; Beethoven had worked out a completely instrumental fourth
movement but withdrew it (it later became the finale for the Opus 132 String
Quartet in A Minor of 1826). It was not until the middle of 1823 that Beethoven
set Friedrich Schiller’s Ode to Joy
to music (an idea that he had had over 20 years earlier) and incorporated it as
the finale to the otherwise instrumental Ninth, coalescing almost every aspect
of his musical thought into one work.
The
Ninth Symphony was premièred on May 7, 1824, in the Kärntnertortheater in
Vienna, along with the Consecration of the House Overture and the first three
parts of the Missa Solemnis (imagine the length of that concert!). This was the
composer's first on-stage appearance in twelve years, and the hall was packed.
Although the performance was officially directed by Michael Umlauf, the
theater's Kapellmeister, Beethoven shared the stage with him. Two years
earlier, Umlauf had watched as the composer attempted to conduct a dress
rehearsal of his opera Fidelio that
ended in disaster, so this time he instructed the singers and musicians to
ignore the totally deaf Beethoven.
There
are a number of anecdotes about the première of the Ninth. Testimony of the
participants suggest that it was under-rehearsed (there were only two full
rehearsals) and rather rough in execution. Regardless, the première was a huge
success. When the audience applauded--witnesses differ over whether at the end
of the scherzo or the whole symphony--Beethoven was several measures off and
still turning the pages of his score, conducting an orchestra he could not
hear. The contralto, Caroline Unger, walked over and turned Beethoven around to
accept the audience's cheers and applause. According to one witness, "The
public received the musical hero with the utmost respect and sympathy, listened
to his wonderful, gigantic creations with the most absorbed attention, and
broke out in jubilant applause, often during sections, and repeatedly at the
end of them." The whole audience acclaimed him through five separate
standing ovations; there were handkerchiefs in the air, hats, raised hands, so
that Beethoven, who could not hear the applause, could at least see the
gestures. The theater house had never seen such enthusiasm.
Like
all of Beethoven’s symphonies, the Ninth was conceived as a grand experiment;
but somehow it held on to its stature as a beacon of the avant-garde more
firmly than did its predecessors. Doubtless that has to do, in large part, with
the fact that it was his last symphony. Many innovative moments appear in the
composer’s symphonic production—the harmonic dissonance that opens the First
Symphony, the expansion of the orchestra itself in the Fifth, the departure
from the traditional four movements in the Sixth--but in every case those
innovations were immediately swept along in a current of more Beethoven, always
moving toward new advances. Standing at the end of his symphonies, the Ninth
takes on an aura of monumentality as it points to a future that the composer
would not live to address personally. Beethoven himself could show where the
implications of the Eroica or the Pastoral might lead, but the path from the
Ninth remained an utterly uncharted challenge to future generations of
composers. In 1831 Richard Wagner wrote a piano arrangement of Beethoven's
Ninth, a Herculean effort of devotion. Johannes Brahms' Symphony Number One has
a motif in the finale related to the "Ode to Joy" theme from the last
movement of the Ninth. When this was pointed out to Brahms, he retorted,
"Any ass can see that!", which suggests the imitation was an
intentional homage. Robert Schumann’s assessment of the Ninth was that “. . . a
great man has created his greatest work.”
Almost
all commentators on music have had something to say about Beethoven’s Ninth,
and their opinions have been so divergent one wonders if they could possibly
have been speaking of the same piece. However, the historians’ consensus is
that this work launched the symphonic form of the Romantic period. For
listeners, the best advice probably comes from film critic Roger Ebert: “Your
intellect may be confused, but your emotions will never lie to you.”
Enjoy
our 60th anniversary concert.
PROGRAM NOTES by Bill Malcolm
Note
that more information about this symphony including translated lyrics is
available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._9_(Beethoven)
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The Beach Cities Symphony Association is saddened by
the death of a long-time orchestra member (since 1990) and gifted composer Grigore
Nica. Mr. Nica died on September 3, 2009 after a long battle with cancer. A
violinist with the orchestra since 1990, Mr. Nica will also be remembered by
his compositions performed by the orchestra in 1996, 1998, 2000, 2004, and his
final “Fanfare for Winds, Brass and Percussion” performed at our January 2009
concert. At that performance, Mr. Nica was presented with a plaque from the
BCSA in appreciation for his fine work. Mr. Nica was one of our important
musicians, the composer, violinist and professor Grigore Nica (1936-2009),
member of the Romanian Music Critics, Editors and Producers Union "Mihai
Jora". For more information about
Grigore, click here
or here or here. A few photos of Grigore (taken by
Peter Landecker) follow (with figure captions under Photos for May 2005,
January 2006 and January 2009):
Beach
Cities Symphony Violinist and former BCSA Board Member Grace Obray died on September 8, 2009.
She was a lifelong musician and teacher with a degree in music/violin from CSU
Long Beach, where she studied under the eminent violinist Henry Temianka. She
performed locally as a soloist, taught music privately and in the L.A. City
School System, and played in the Beach Cities Symphony for 23 years. She also
served as Treasurer of the Beach Cities Symphony Association and was a member
of the Board until 2005. Grace, along with her husband, Dean Obray, was a
long-time active member of St. Cross Episcopal Church and of the King Harbor
Yacht Club in Redondo Beach. Her loyalty and commitment to all of these
organizations was exemplary. Two photos of Grace Obray follow, one with Henry
Temianka (a well-known violinist and her master teacher
at CSU Long Beach) and her husband, Dean.
MEMORIAL FUNDS:
The Grigore Nica Memorial Fund and the Grace Obray Memorial Fund have been established to honor these
dedicated musicians. Donations to these funds may be sent to the Beach Cities
Symphony Association, P.O. Box 248, Redondo Beach, CA 90277.
JO WISNIEWSKI SCHOLARSHIP FUND:
John Wisniewski, Beach Cities Symphony
principal bassoonist and librarian, has generously presented the BCSA with a
very generous donation to establish the Jo Wisniewski Scholarship Fund to honor
his late wife, Jo, an accomplished clarinetist. This fund helps support the two scholarships awarded
annually to Middle School musicians, one a string player and the other a wind
or brass player. Donations to this fund may be sent to the
same address.
PROGRAM
BIOGRAPHIES:
BARRY BRISK
Music Director and Conductor
Barry Brisk
first conducted in public at the age of 14, when he performed selections from South Pacific at his graduation from Webster
Junior High School in West Los Angeles. As a student he also conducted the
orchestra at University High School, Mount St. Mary’s College, and the
University of Music (formerly Academy of Music) in Vienna, Austria, where he
studied with the prominent conductor/teacher Hans Swarowsky. Professionally,
Brisk has conducted many orchestras in Southern California, as well as in
Mexico and Austria.
Maestro
Brisk has been Music Director of the Beach Cities Symphony since 1994 and is
particularly proud of having expanded the orchestra’s repertoire. In 15 years
he has repeated only two compositions, including Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. He
has conducted works by more than 80 composers, 11 of whom are living. As part
of its 60th anniversary season, the orchestra has commissioned him to compose a
piece to be performed at the January 2010 concert.
Maestro
Brisk’s wife, Cathy, is an internationally recognized expert on ancient Greek
coins. Their son, Philip, is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the University
of California, Riverside. Philip’s wife, Marilyn, has just received her
master’s degree in political science from the University of Lausanne in
Switzerland.
ERIN WOOD
Soprano
Erin Wood's
recent portrayals of Verdi and Wagner heroines have received praise for her
"soaring soprano," "immense voice full of grit at the bottom and
transcendent radiance at the top," and "volcanic outpouring of sound
that was thrilling to behold." Ms. Wood has replaced Deborah Voigt on short
notice, both as Sieglinde in Wagner's Die
Walküre with the Lyric Opera of Chicago and as Amelia in Un Ballo in Maschera with the San
Francisco Opera. With Lyric, Ms. Wood has also been seen as Lisa in The Queen of Spades, Gutrune and the
Third Norn in Götterdaemmerung,
Ortlinde in Die Walküre, and many
supporting roles. She was a featured artist in Lyric's first-ever free concert
at Grant Park, where she sang Mascagni's "Easter Hymn" for an
audience of 20,000 people. She has been featured with the Joffrey Ballet of
Chicago, Opera Colorado, Opera Pacific, Opera Grand Rapids, Toledo Opera, the
Angeles Chorale, the London Symphony Chorus, the Grant Park and Ravinia Music
Festivals, the Milwaukee, Pacific and Lake Forest Symphonies, the Dame Myra
Hess Foundation, and the Marilyn Horne Foundation. She joined the rosters of
San Francisco Opera in 2003 and the Metropolitan Opera in 2004. Ms. Wood is an
alumna of the prestigious Lyric Opera Center for American Artists, Music
Academy of the West, and UCLA. She has received awards from the George London
Foundation, Metropolitan National Council, and Liberace Foundation, among
others. Ms. Wood is making her third appearance with the Beach Cities Symphony.
CYNTHIA JANSEN
Mezzo Soprano
Cynthia
Jansen recently completed a three-year engagement with Munich's Bavarian State
Opera, where she performed repertoire ranging from Handel to Wagner to
Schönberg, and was featured in world première works by some of Europe's most
exciting emerging composers. Elsewhere in Europe she has sung with the Helsinki
Philharmonic, Lisbon's Gulbenkian Symphony Orchestra, England's Aldeburgh
Festival, the Orquestra Simfonica de Balears in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, and
the Teatro Comunale in Bolzano, Italy. In the U.S. she has appeared with the
Los Angeles Opera, San Francisco Opera, Seattle Opera, Opera Pacific, Baltimore
Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Fort Worth Opera, Tulsa Opera, Opera Columbus, Long
Beach Opera, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pacific Symphony, Columbus Symphony,
Florida Philharmonic, New West Symphony, and Tucson Symphony, among others. A
native of Southern California, Ms. Jansen received her Bachelor and Master of
Music degrees from the University of Southern California. She was a western
regional winner and national semi-finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National
Council Auditions and a finalist in the Loren Zachary Society National Vocal
Competition.
ROBERT
MACNEIL
Tenor
An accomplished concert artist, Robert MacNeil has been soloist in more than fifty performances of Handel’s Messiah. He has soloed with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in performances of Elijah, the Sydney Choral Festival in the Berlioz Requiem and in Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Central Union Philharmonic in Beijing. He made his Carnegie Hall solo debut in Britten’s The World of the Spirit and appeared in Rome with the Orchestra Roma Symphonia in Verdi’s Requiem. He has appeared as a guest artist with the Oregon Symphony, Aspen Chamber Orchestra, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Pacific Symphony, Southwest Chamber Music, Oregon Festival of American Music, Pacific Chorale, Long Beach Opera, Pasadena Symphony, California Philharmonic, Angeles Chorale, Opera Santa Barbara, New West Symphony, Santa Barbara Symphony, Bozeman Symphony, and the San Diego Chamber Orchestra. In 2008, Mr. MacNeil made his debut with San Francisco Opera in Mozart’s Idomeneo in the role of the High Priest of Neptune. He returns to San Francisco Opera this 2009-2010 season in their production of Salome.
JAMES
MARTIN SCHAEFER
Baritone
Mr. Schaefer has an active performing
career throughout the United States. He
has received wide acclaim in numerous operatic roles and has sung in some of
the most distinguished concert halls across America. Mr. Schaefer has appeared in recital and as a soloist with such
organizations as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra,
the Pacific Symphony, the Boston Pops Esplanade! Orchestra, the Pacific
Chorale, the Long Beach Symphony, the Bakersfield Symphony, Les Grands Ballets
Canadiens de Montreal, Opera Pacific, Intimate Opera of Pasadena, Center Stage
Opera, Distinguished Concerts International in New York City, Santa Maria
Philharmonic, and the Roswell Symphony Orchestra.
LESLIE
BACK
Director,
El Camino Community Chorus
Professor Leslie
Back has degrees in music from Glassboro College and Temple University, and she
completed her doctoral studies at the University of Southern California.
Professor Back has been a member of El Camino’s faculty since 1978, and she is
currently serving as Faculty Coordinator of the Fine Arts Division. She is also
well known in the South Bay for the college’s Joy of Music program, which she
originated some 20 years ago as a way older adults could learn about a
particular performing artist, then attend a related concert as part of El
Camino’s Center for the Arts. Through the years under her direction, the
Community Choir has performed at Carnegie Hall and has sung in music festivals
throughout the United Kingdom and Europe. For her work not only with Joy of
Music but also with many campus-related activities, Professor Back received the
prestigious designation of “Distinguished Faculty Member” in 1999. She has
worked with many of the college’s theatrical productions, and she also teaches
sight singing and voice.
JOANNA MEDAWAR NACHEF
Director, El Camino College Chorale, Concert Choir, and Voce
Angelicus
Dr. Joanna
Medawar Nachef is recognized as the first woman conductor from the Middle East.
Born in Beirut, Lebanon, she moved to Los Angeles in 1976. Dr. Nachef is
Director of Choral Activities at El Camino College. She earned her B.M. in
piano performance from CSUDH, her DMA and MM degree in Choral Music from USC.
Dr. Nachef is on the faculty of CSUDH, CAMS, and the Artistic Director for Los
Cancioñeros Master Chorale. As a church musician, she serves as the
choir director at Peninsula Community Church. Dr. Nachef is featured in
Outstanding Young Women of America in 1986, Who's Who Among America's Teachers
1996, Who’s Who of American Women 2009, recipient of the 2005
“Excellence in Arts Award” in Music, and the 2008 Daily Breeze Director’s Award
“Making a Difference.” She has directed both locally and in
guest appearances in motion pictures and with the Pacific Symphony Orchestra of
Orange County, Carson/Dominguez Hills Symphony Orchestra, and Musica Symphonia
de Los Angeles. Also she has toured with her groups nationally and
internationally. As speaker and "Citizen Diplomat" for the US State
Department, Dr. Nachef traveled to Italy and Lebanon to implement “Global
Education Through Technology,” and she is a charter board member for the
LA/Beirut sister city organization. In May of 2008, she participated in the
U.S. Institute of Peace Global Peace and Security Seminar in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Nachef made her
conducting debut at Carnegie Hall in 2005 and returned on March 25, 2007, for a
second appearance. On December 1, 2007, she prepared and appeared with the
chorus for Andrea Bocelli's Las Vegas concert. This past summer she made her
debut in Lebanon at Al Bustan Festival.
Young Musician Scholarship
Winners
James
Chung of Rancho Palos Verdes is a seventh grader at Ridgecrest Intermediate
School. He started playing the violin
about three years ago, using the violin that his father had had to give up
playing as a youngster in Hong Kong.
James plays in Ridgecrest's award-winning Advanced Orchestra as well as
the district Honor String Ensemble. He
is hoping to use the scholarship money to get new equipment and pay for
additional lessons. His teacher is
Jacquie Lewis-Wang.
Zachary
Seligman-Karen of Manhattan Beach studies bassoon with Denise Haslop. She remarks that he is "a very quick
and eager learner who has mastered both the alto saxophone and the
bassoon." He has been playing for five years. In addition to playing with
the Young Musicians Performing Academy (YMPA) for the past four years, Zak has
performed with school groups, at recitals, and in a number of competitions. In
accordance with the rules of our competition, Zak attended Manhattan Beach
Middle School at the time of his entry but now attends the Los Angeles County
High School for the Performing Arts. At
MBMS, the school provided his instrument; he is now saving to purchase his own
bassoon and will apply his scholarship money toward that goal.
PARKING IS NO LONGER FREE
El Camino College is now charging a $2 parking fee for all events not directly sponsored by the Center for the Arts, including our Friday evening programs. If you purchased an $8 parking pass when you renewed your membership in the Beach Cities Symphony Association, be sure you display it on your dashboard while you attend each concert throughout the 2009-10 season. Otherwise you must purchase a $2 ticket at one of the machines in the parking lot and make sure it is visible through your windshield to avoid being ticketed. Vehicles displaying a valid disabled permit or license plate are exempt from this requirement.
Letter from the Chair, Ruth MacFarlane: November 2009
Welcome to the opening
concert of our 60th. season.
Who could have predicted that an organization founded by 20 music-lovers
in 1949, and committed to the notion of providing free concerts, would still be
here 60 years later? How could it possibly survive on this impractical basis?
Clearly, a simple vision when coupled with determination, can achieve something
extraordinary. I take pride in being able to write in grant applications, “In
60 years of presenting concerts, the Beach Cities Symphony has never charged
admission: never has, never will!”
Tonight we celebrate 60
years, with Beethoven’s grand 9th. Symphony and its
powerful “Ode to Joy”. Yet amidst all the excitement, I want to recognize that
we are here only because of the efforts and commitment of hundreds, if not
thousands, of musicians, volunteers, donors, sponsors, and advertisers, who
have kept the dream alive over 6 decades.
One person of all of these
has been with the Beach Cities Symphony from the beginning. He has filled more
roles as a volunteer and orchestra member than anyone else, sold more ad
spaces, played more pieces than can be counted. He has done it all, and never gave up on the dream. He embodies the best of the vision of 60
years. He is our beloved President and French horn player, Bob Peterson.
Thank you, Bob. This is your
60th Anniversary as much as it is Beach Cities Symphony’s. You never quit, and we will carry the dream
forward to the 75th. anniversary season.
This page last modified on
February 10, 2011.