楽曲解説 / Program Notes

Sunday March 6,

By April L. Racana

The 876th Orchard Hall Subscription Concert

Monday March 7,
The 877th Suntory Hall Subscription Concert
Thursday March 10, The 100th Tokyo Opera City Subscription Concert

The Chairman dances; Foxtrot for Orchestra“The Chairman Dances was an ‘outtake’ of Act III of Nixon in China.
Neither an ’excerpt’ nor a ’fantasy onthemes from,’ it was in fact a kind ofwarmup for embarking on the creationof the full opera.”John Adams©Christine Alicino

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John Adams is an American composerand conductor known for developing
his own particular style of minimalist
compositions. He has composed ina variety of genre including operatic,symphonic, vocal, chamber and solo
instrumental, as well as electronic
works, with many works based oncontemporary themes. Based in San
Francisco, he began working with theSan Francisco Symphony Orchestra in1978, creating the “New and UnusualMusic Series” together with the music
director Edo de Waart. He was later
appointed the SFSO’s composer-inresidence, from 1982-1985, during
which time he premiered his Harmoniumand Harmonielehre.

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Commissioned by the National
Endowment for the Arts for theMilwaukee Symphony, John Adams had
also been approached by director Peter
Sellars to collaborate on an opera basedon Richard Nixon’s historic visit in 1972
to China to meet with Mao Zedong.
These two events instigated Adams’
writing of The Chairman Dances: theformer to fulfill a commissioning that
had previously been delayed and thelatter giving him the ‘pieces’ to begin
his work on the new opera. In his own
words, Adams stated:

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John Adams (1947-)

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It was during this period, in 1983, thatSellars had approached Adams about
working with himself and librettist AliceGoodman on the opera Nixon in China.
The Chairman Dances was premiered
on January 31, 1986 by the Milwaukee
Symphony with Lukas Foss conducting.
Th e o p e ra i t s e l f wa s p r e m i e r e d i n
October of 1987 by the Houston Grand
Opera, with Act III highlighting someof the themes that had been used forhis ‘warmup’ in The Chairman Dances.
Adams based this ‘foxtrot’ on a scene
sketched by Sellars and Goodman,though the scene was later altered in
the final production of the opera:
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Instrumentation: 2 flutes (1st, 2nd doublingon piccolo), 2 oboes, 2 clarinets (2nd doublingon bass clarinet), 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2trumpets, 2 trombones, tuba, timpani, pedal
bass drum, cymbals, suspended cymbals,sizzle cymbals, high-hat cymbals, snare drum,triangle, tambourine, glockenspiel, xylophone,Vibraphone, antique cymbals, belltree, claves,castanets, sandpaper blocks, 2 woodblocks"Tarkus"

Eruption (ca. 3 min)Stones Of Years (ca. 3 min)Iconoclast (ca. 2 min)
Mass (ca. 2 min)Manticore (ca. 2 min)Battlefield (ca. 3 min)Aquatarkus (ca. 5 min)Composed as the title track for the
progressive rock band Emerson, Lake &Palmer’s second album in 1971, Tarkus ispresented in seven movements and basedon an imaginary creature that is halfarmadillo and half tank. Keith Emerson
was apparently inspired by the drummer
Carl Palmer’s improvisations in a 10/8
rhythm backstage one day. Eventually
incorporating both 5/4 and 10/8 meter,
the various sections also explored ‘wallsof sound’, which was inspired by oneof Emerson’s ‘heroes’ John Coltrane,
instead using electronics and the Moog
synthesizer to create the effect.
The storyline is depicted artisticallyinside the album cover, with the creature
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hatching during a volcanic eruption.
The second section “Stones of theYears” originally had vocals and lyrics
composed by Greg Lake, along with
two other sections of the work. The
remaining movements depict the various
battles Tarkus wages with other imaginary
creatures along the way. “Iconoclast”is depicted as a combination of apterodactyl and a war plane. “Mass” wasthe second movement that also originally
included vocals and lyrics, this time witha number of religious reflections, andpresenting a creature which seems to bepart lizard, part lobster and part rocketlauncher.
The final battle takes place with“Manticore”, a creature that appears tohave a lion’s body together with a humanface and a scorpion’s tail. Having won
the first two battles, Tarkus apparently
is defeated in this final battle, falling
into a river. “Battlefield” (the third
movement that originally had lyrics)
a n d “A q u a t a r k u s ” c l o s e t h e wo r k ,incorporating a march theme as well as

Takashi Yoshimatsu has composed
many works in a variety of genres, making
his debut in 1981 with Threnody to Toki.
Over the years he has composed six
symphonies, more than ten concertos fora variety of instruments, chamber music,
and works for piano and guitar, as well
as for traditional Japanese instruments.
Yoshimatsu’s Atom Hearts Club Suites
for String Orchestra pay homage to theBeatles, Pink Floyd, and Emerson, Lake& Palmer. The orchestral arrangementof Tarkus, also paying homage to ELP,
was first performed by the TPO in
March of 2010 and again in 2013 withKeith Emerson in attendance for theperformance.
Instrumentation: piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes,
English horn, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet,
2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 6 horns, 4trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani,suspended cymbals, (+splash, clash), hihat
cymbals, triangles, brass wind chimes, antique
cymbals, wood block, cow bells, tambourine,
tomtoms(3-5), snare drum, bass drums(large..ord, small..muted), tamtam, marimba,
vibraphone, tubular bells, piano, strings

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Keith Emerson (1944-) [arr.by TakashiYoshimatsu]

the original eruption theme, and implyingthat although Tarkus was defeated, he
may not have died. Later reflecting on
the meaning of the work, Greg Lakecommented that it was about “the futilityof conflict… of soldiers and war.”

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A d a m s , h av i n g d i s c o v e r e d t h a t
Madame Mao had previously been an
actress in films in Shanghai, incorporated
themes that would musically highlight
this part of her past as well, with awide range of dramatic moods. So this‘foxtrot’ acts not only as an interruption
to the formal festivities of the presidential
exchange, but also stirs the memories of
Mao Zedong and his bride in apparently
happier times.

オーチャードOrchard
Hall“Chiang Ch’ing, a.k.a. Madame
Mao, has gate crashed the Presidential
Banquet…. After a few minutes she…
strips down to a cheongsam, skin-tightfrom neck to ankle…. She signals theorchestra to play and begins dancing
by herself. Mao…steps down from his
portrait on the wall, and they begin tofoxtrot together…”

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943)

3Symphonic Dances op. 45

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I. Non allegro (ca. 11 min)II. Andante con moto (Tempo divalse) (ca. 10 min)III. Lento assai - Allegro vivace(ca. 14 min)Originally titled Fantastic Dances,with subtitles for the three-movement
work initially labelled as “Noon,”“Twilight,” and “Midnight,” this would
be Rachmaninoff’s final composition.
Composed during the summer of 1940,
the composer first presented the work
as a two-piano arrangement, eventuallyorchestrating it and dedicating it to
Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia
Orchestra who would premiere the workin January of 1941. By the time of thepremiere the original title and subtitles
had vanished, but with some suggesting
Rachmaninoff may have intended thethree dances as a reflection of the various
stages of his life. In addition, it was
clear that the composer had intended

Sergei Rachmaninov
to collaborate with his good friend
again, Michel Fokine (who had beenchoreographer for the Ballets Russes),
when he approached him to ask him if hewould be interested and was immediately
given a strong reply of interest by Fokine.
Unfortunately, Fokine’s death in 1942
kept the choreographic collaborationfrom bearing fruit this time.
The first movement Non Allegro,with it’s opening march, presents acontrasting middle section featuring abrief but beautiful saxophone melody, the15楽曲解説 / Program Notes

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943)

Symphony No. 2 in E minor op. 27
I. Largo - Allegro moderato(ca. 20 min)II. Allegro molto (ca. 11 min)III. Adagio (ca. 14 min)IV. Allegro vivace (ca. 15 min)
Following his first attempt at writingin the symphonic genre, Rachmaninoff’sSymphony No. 1 was received with suchstrong criticism that it put the composer
off from composing any works at all forseveral years. In fact it took the assistanceof a specialist, Dr. Nikolay Dahl, and posthypnotic suggestion for the composer
to regain enough self-confidence to try
his hand at composing again. His PianoConcerto No. 2 (1901) was his first attempt
at writing again and was a great success,even receiving the Glinka Award in 1904.
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Whether his disappointment in thework was due to lingering self-doubts
or simply his own critical ear, is difficult
to know. But perhaps due to his former
Moscow Conservatory teacher, Alexander
Ziloti, taking the proverbial bull by thehorn and deciding to have the composerpremiere this new work (without
his initial consent) in St. Petersburg,
Rachmaninoff persevered and completed
the work, directing the premiere onFebruary 9, 1908. This and subsequentperformances in Moscow and Warsaw
were received warmly and reaffirmed thecomposer’s abilities to create exceptional
orchestral works, even receiving another
Glinka Award later that year.
The four movements follow traditional
Romantic Russian symphonic form with
the Scherzo following the first movement
and the lyrical slow movement (Adagio)
preceding the final movement. The
work takes the listener through a wide
range of dramatic moods, from thedark, mysterious opening motive in thelow strings that winds it’s way throughcalming and even soaring melodic lines.
Even the ancient chant for the dead, theDies irae, that Rachmaninoff was to use
in a number of his works, can be heard
initially in the brass chorale at the closeof the Scherzo movement, and is referred
to in subsequent movements.
Eventually, Rachmaninoff would workwith conductor Nikolai Sokoloff to makesignificant cuts to the work, with theidea that it was otherwise too lengthy
for most conductors to program. These
cuts eliminated nearly one third of theentire work, the revised version being
performed by conductors for many years.
But eventually the full ‘uncut’ version
was brought back into favour and is now
more frequently performed, as will bepresented by the TPO for this concert
series.
Instrumentation: 3 flutes(3rd doubling onpiccolo), 3 oboes (3rd doubling on Englishhorn), 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, 4horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani,bass drum, cymbals, snare drum, glockenspiel,strings

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Instrumentation: piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes,
English horn, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets,
3 trombones, tuba, alto saxophone, timpani,bass drum, cymbals, snare drum, triangles,
tambourine, tamtam, glockenspiel, chimes,piano, strings

terribly boring and repulsive to me… I
can tell you… that I am displeased withthe piece.”

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The second movement, Andante con
moto, is a whirling waltz, but more along
the lines of a surreal dance in a fantasticaldream state with a feeling of melancholy
and mystery, rather than any traditionalwaltz. The final movement turns tothe Dies Irae that Rachmaninoff hadreferenced many times before in earlierworks, but this time some believe he may
have been contemplating the end of hisown earthly life. With this theme taken
up by the brass, the composer intones anOrthodox chant melody in the low strings
and woodwinds, the same melody that
had appeared in the composer’s choral
work, All Night Vigil, referencing theresurrection of Christ. In an expression ofgratitude it seems, Rachmaninoff would
write “I thank thee, Lord” on the final
page of the manuscript, to complete thefinal work he would compose before hisdeath.

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first time Rachmaninoff would use theinstrument in one of his orchestral works,
and for which he received support fromthe Broadway composer and arranger,
Robert Russell Bennett. The coda turns
to the strings to play a lush theme, which
is taken from his First Symphony, withpiano, harp and bells woven throughout.
And although this First Symphony had notbeen successful so many years before, thecomposer seemed intent on revisiting thetheme, perhaps reviving it in a new lightor possibly just reflecting on earlier times.

310However, it would be another twoyears before the composer would begin
to pen his Second Symphony. In 1906,
Rachmaninoff made the decision torelocate with his family to Dresden toconcentrate his efforts on composing. It
was there that he began to write his nextsymphony. In the summers he would
return to the family estate, Ivanovka, andcontinue work throughout most of 1907.
He was not satisfied with the results as
he stated in response to inquiries about
his latest work:“…I really did finish a symphony, but tothis must be added the phrase ‘in roughdraft.’ I have not announced it to theworld because I want first to complete
it in final form. While I was planning
the orchestration, the work became

April L. Racana / Music Specialist at Nishimachi International School where she has taught since1992. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana(BS/Piano Pedagogy) and her graduate studies at San Francisco State University (MA/Music).

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