Six of the movements were arranged for modern orchestra in 1922

by the Irish composer, conductor, and pianist, Sir Hamilton Harty.

Georges Bizet is famous on account ofjust one of his works, the

opera Carmen, but he was actually a musician of broad range and

varied output. His spontaneity and originality as a composer are

fully represented in his Symphony in CMajor. Bizet wrote it when

he was only seventeen, and did not promote its performance during his lifetime. The symphony remained undiscovered among his

manuscripts in the library of the Paris Conservatory until 1935.

Concerts at The National Gallery ofArt

Under the Direction of George Manos

November 1997

9 Jon Humphrey, tenor

Raymond Hanson.pianist

16 The Peabody Trio

23 Kemal Gekic.pianist

30 National Gallery Orchestra

George Manos, conductor

Lieder by Schubert,

Brahms, Schumann, and

Hugo Wolf

Kagel:

Dvorak:

Trio

“Dumky ” Trio

Liszt: Six Consolations

Transcendental

Etudes

Chopin: Andante spianato

etgrande

polonaise

Puccini: Preludio

Bizet:

sinfonico

“Carmen” Suite

Persichetti: Serenade No. 5

Weber: Symphony No. 1

The use ofcameras or recording equipment

during theperformance is not allowed.

Forthe convenience ofconcertgoers

the Garden Cafe remains open until 6:30pm.

The Fifty-sixth Season of

THE WILLIAM NELSON CROMWELL and

F. LAMMOT BELIN CONCERTS

National Gallery of Art

2244th Concert

NATIONAL GALLERY ORCHESTRA

GEORGE MANOS, Conductor

Sunday Evening, November 2, 1997

at Seven O’Clock

West Building, West Garden Court

Admission Free
PROGRAM

Quincy Porter

(1897-1966)

Music for Strings

(1941)

Allegro moderato

Andante molto sostenuto

Allegro gioioso

Paul Hindemith

(1895-1963)

Slow

Slow-fast

Lively

Very slow

Lively

Five Pieces for String Orchestra

Opus 44, No. 4 (1927)

George Frideric Handel Suite in F Major from “Water Music”

(1685-1759) Arranged for Symphony Orchestra

by Sir Hamilton Harty

Allegro

Air: Andante

Bouree: Vivace

Hornpipe: Delicato, ma con brio

Andante espressivo

Allegro deciso

INTERMISSION

Georges Bizet

(1838-1875)

Symphony in C Major

(1855)

Allegro vivo 

Adagio

Minuetto: Allegro vivace

Allegro vivace

Each movement ofQuincy Porter’s MuskforStrings evokes a mood

or state of mind. Rugged energy pervades the Allegro moderato, especially in its emphatic opening and closing measures, in which all

of the instruments bow together in the same strong rhythm. The

second movement is quiet and contemplative, while the third, built

on a pizzicato figure, is aptly named Allegro goioso, with good humor

prevailing throughout. The humor culminates in a musical “punch

line” when the movement, which has E as its strong tonal center,

ends unexpectedly in F-sharp. Porter was born in Connecticut and

studied at Yale University. After continuing his studies in Europe

underVincent d’Indy and Ernest Bloch, he returned to the United

States to teach at Vassar, the New England Conservatory of Music,

and his alma mater.

Paul Hindemith’s second identifiable period of activity as a composer dates from 1924 to 1933, and some of the changes that occurred in his music can be attributed to the social and esthetic environment of those years. In the unpredictable, virtually anarchic

conditions ofthe Weimar Republic, Hindemith felt a responsibility

to provide music that would lift the spirits of his audiences in an

orderly, disciplined fashion. As of 1924, he abandoned quite abruptly

the neoromantic, free-ranging style of his earlier compositions and

began writing works that were strict in form and sparse in texture,

inspired by the music of the high Baroque. Hindemith’s works of

this period are marked by simply proportioned note values and regular meters, but he continued to use the driving rhythms and dissonant harmonies that had been his earlier trademarks.

The London Daily Courant of July 19, 1717, reported that King 

George had made an excursion two days earlier by barge, traveling

down the Thames from Lambeth to Chelsea. Among the tantalizing details included in the article were these: “Many other barges

with persons of quality attended, and so great a number of boats

that the whole river in a manner was covered. A City Company

barge was employed for the music, wherein were fifty instruments

of all sorts, viz., trumpets, hunting horns, oboes, bassoons, German

flute, French flutes a bee, violins, and basses, but without voices.

(The instrumentalists) played all the way from Lambeth, while the

barges drove with the tide without rowing as far as Chelsea, the

finest symphonies, composed expressly for the occasion by Mr.

Handel (sic), which His Majesty liked so well that he caused it to

be played over three times in going and returning.” By the time the

suite of twenty pieces was published by John Walsh three years

later, it had already received the nickname WaterMuskk. (sic)