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Program Notes

Program Notes

by April L. Racana

Wed. June 14, The 110th Tokyo Opera City Subscription Concert
Sun. June 18, The 893rd Orchard Hall Subscription Concert

Franz Liszt (1811-1886):

Symphonic Poem "Les preludes", S.97/R.414 (ca. 16 min)
Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major, S.124/R.455 (ca. 19 min)Franz Liszt is perhaps known best for his prowess as a pianist, but was equally proficientat composing, as well as writing transcriptions of his own and others’ works. In fact it isbelieved that Liszt’s transcription of Schubert’s Wanderer Fantasy led him to explore further
the cyclic form of thematic transformations. It was during Liszt’s years in Weimar where heespecially developed this ‘transformation technique’, which has been described as a type ofvariation technique where there is a particular theme that can be heard throughout the work,
however it is altered in fundamental ways, such as in its rhythm, tempo, harmonic treatment
and general character.

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Up until his appointment as music director in Weimar, Liszt had been active as a concertvirtuoso travelling worldwide, becoming recognized as one of the best pianists of his time.
He had also composed during this time, primarily for his own instrument, but his time inWeimar allowed him to concentrate on composing for larger orchestral ensembles. During
the decade he worked as music director in Weimar, Liszt would compose twelve symphonicpoems and two symphonies, as well as complete his two piano concertos, among other works.

Symphonic Poem "Les preludes", S.97/R.414
Les Preludes is perhaps the most well-known of Liszt’s symphonic poems, however heoriginally began composing the work in 1844 as an overture for a choral piece called “TheFour Elements” (Earth, Winds, Oceans, Stars), which itself was based on the poems by theFrench poet, Joseph Autran. Nearly ten years later, the composer would revise the work,presenting it as a symphonic poem with a new title. During revisions, Liszt happened on apoem by Alphonse de Lamartine that seemed to parallel the ideas and feelings the composer
was trying to evoke in his work. So it was from this poem that the new title came along withthe four contrasting sections of love, the storm, pastoral life, and war.
Liszt would include a preface to the published score with his own interpretation ofLemartine’s original poetic text:“What else is life but a series of preludes to that unknown song, the first and solemn
note of which is sounded by Death? Love is the enchanted dawn of all life; but what19

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fate is there whose first delights of happiness are not interrupted by some storm, whosefine illusions are not dissipated by some mortal blast, consuming its altar as though
by a stroke of lightning? And what cruelly wounded soul, when the storms are over,does not seek solace in the calm serenity of rural life? Nevertheless, man does not
resign himself for long to the enjoyment of that beneficent warmth which he firstenjoyed in Nature’s bosom. So when the trumpet sounds the alarm and calls him toarms, no matter what struggle calls him to its ranks, he may recover in battle the fullconsciousness of himself and the entire possession of his powers.”
Opening with a slow introduction, the germinal three-note motive can be heard, from which
the various thematic transformations will be developed throughout the work. In the final coda
section the theme becomes its most grand transformation led by the brass instruments in all
their glory, and perhaps representative of someone overcoming their struggles and regaining
their strength in great triumph.

Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major, S.124/R.455
Sketches for Liszt’s First Piano Concerto have been dated in the early 1830’s, and heapparently continued work on both of his piano concertos into the early 1840’s. He wouldcomplete both works in 1849, revising them again in 1853 and orchestrating them with theassistance of one of his students, Joachim Raff. The First Piano Concerto was premiered onFebruary 17, 1855 with the composer as soloist and Hector Berlioz conducting.
Presented as one continuous movement, the E-flat major concerto follows a traditional
Classical symphonic four-part form (fast – slow – scherzo – fast finale). Each section has
its own themes, however the finale is comprised of themes from the previous sections, all‘transformed’ utilizing the thematic transformation technique he was developing at the time.
The opening motif in the first two measures is believed to have been set by the composer to thewords “Das versteht ihr alle nicht, haha!” (None of you understand this, haha!), presumably
to convey that there is much to discover in this work than may be apparent upon first listening.
The second section, (Quasi Adagio) presents a beautiful lyrical melody, while the scherzo
features highlights from the triangle, which sparked some controversy at the time. In thefinale, the lyrical theme from the Adagio is transformed into a march, and there is a returnto the opening chromatic theme. Liszt summarized his thoughts about the brilliant closing
section:“This binding and rounding off a piece at its close is a technique I have made my own,
but it is justified by the musical form. The trombones and basses take up the second
part of the adagio’s motif. The piano passage that comes after this is the motif justplayed in the adagio by flute and clarinet. The final passage is a variation and majormode development of the scherzo’s motif. At last the very first theme comes in with atrill accompaniment, to conclude the whole.”

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Program Notes

Symphonic Poem "Les preludes", S.97/R.414
Work composed: 1844-1854 World premiere: 1854, Weimer
Instrumentation: 3 flutes (3rd doubling on piccolo), 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns,2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion (snare drum, bass drum, cymbals), harp, strings
Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major, S.124/R.455
Work composed: 1832-1855 World premiere: 1855, Weimer
Instrumentation: 2 flutes, piccolo, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 3trombones, timpani, percussion (bass drum, triangle, cymbals), strings, solo piano

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897):

Symphony No. 4 in E minor, op. 98
After taking fifteen years to publicly present his First Symphony, due to his hesitancy tofollow in Beethoven’s footsteps, Brahms finished his Second Symphony within four monthsof the First Symphony, somehow having broken through this mostly psychological barrier
it seems. It then took him more than five years to complete his Third Symphony, however
the Fourth Symphony came within the following year, after having spent the summers of1884 and 1885 working on it. Contributing to this outpouring of symphonic writing in a
relatively short amount of time was the generous offer of conductor, Hans von Bülow, whogave Brahms full use of the Meiningen court orchestra as a ‘rehearsal orchestra.’ This also
was to be the start of the famous ‘Brahms tradition’ long established from that point on, withthe same ensemble continuing to perform the composer’s music even after his death. InOctober of 1885, after rehearsing the Fourth Symphony with this group, Brahms toured withthem through Germany and the Netherlands.

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One can hear in this work various elements which are said to be typical of Brahms’
symphonic writing: the strong opening movement and even more magnificent finale, the twoof which provide solid bookends for the middle movements; The third movement using anatypical form, for example in this last symphony, a modified sonata form, since it does notinclude the traditional development section; And his use of variation, as opposed to contrasting
themes, can be heard throughout the work. In the final movement, the theme, taken from
Bach’s Cantata no. 150, can be heard thirty times, however with an added chromatic twist
and with such subtlety that one may not even realize it has been repeated to such an extent.
Other common features found in Brahms’ symphonic writing can be heard in his useof instrumentation. In particular, his use of the Classical orchestra, complete with double
woodwinds, as well as discretion in layering various timbres so as to create unique sounds, forexample in the inner voicings, all created works that represented a tremendous influence fromthe Classical tradition, yet also pointedly moved forward to developing a style and following

21Jun 14［Wed］ Jun 18［Sun］of his own. It is difficult to imagine Brahms ever considered the possibility of never writinga symphony given the depth of creativeness and wealth of ideas that can be seen to haveculminated in this his last symphony.
It seems Robert Schumann’s statement, written for the Neue Zeitschrift Musik more than
three decades earlier that Brahms would “give ideal expression to the times” was right on themark. He had felt from the first time he heard Brahms perform several of his piano works that
he had the ability to continue Beethoven’s legacy, stating that he heard ‘veiled symphonies’
in his early piano sonatas. Although Schumann would not live to hear Brahms’ symphonicworks, his wife Clara would become a lifelong companion to the composer providing
tremendous personal and professional support as a pianist and composer herself. One might
wonder if it hadn’t been for both Robert and Clara’s encouragement, if Brahms would havefound the courage to pursue his symphonic works to the extent that he did.
Work composed:1884-1885 World premiere: 1885, Meiningen
Instrumentation: 2 flutes (2nd doubling on piccolo), 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons,contrabassoon, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani, percussion (triangle), strings

April L. Racana / Music Specialist at Nishimachi International School where she has taught since 1992. She
completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana (BS/Piano Pedagogy) andher graduate studies at San Francisco State University (MA/Music), as well as a post-graduate fellowship at
Northwestern University, and the Japan Studies Program at International Christian University.

Next Subscription Concerts in July
July 21, Fri 19:00 start at Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall
The 111th Tokyo Opera City Subscription Concert

June 23, Sun 15:00 start at

The 894th Orchard Hall Subscription Concert

Orchard Hall

Conductor: Myung-Whun Chung
Soprano: Yoko Yasui
Mezzo-Soprano: Makiko Yamashita
Chorus: New National Theater Chorus

Mahler: Symphony No. 2 in C minor,
Resurrection

Myung-Whun ChungⒸTakafumi Ueno

Ticket Purchase Tokyo Phil. Ticket Service

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concert@tpo.or.jp

Yoko Yasui

Makiko Yamashita