Next Week at the National Gallery ofArt

Alexandria Symphony Orchestra

Alessandra Marc, soprano

Music by Richard Strauss, Tchaikovsky, and Wagner

May 3, 2009

Sunday Evening, 6:30 pm

West Building, West Garden Court

CVS

For the convenience of concertgoers

the Garden Cafe remains open until 6:00 pm.

The use of cameras or recording equipment during the

performance is not allowed. Please be sure that cell phones,

pagers, and other electronic devices are turned off.

Please note that late entry or reentry of

the West Building after 6:30 pm is not permitted.

Music Department

National Gallery ofArt 

Sixth Street and Constitution Avenue nw

Washington, DC

Mailing address

2000B South Club Drive

Landover, md 20785

www.nga.gov

National Gallery ofArt

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

Brass Ensemble

Presented in honor of

Pride ofPlace: Dutch Cityscapes ofthe Golden Age

Preconcert talk by Benjamin C. S. Boyle at 3:15 pm

Composer, Hudson Sinfonia

May 1, 2009

Friday, 3:30 pm

East Building Auditorium

Admissionfree

Presented with support from the American Friends ofthe

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam Partners 

(www.iamsterdam.com) and the Royal Netherlands Embassy
Program

Giovanni Gabrieli (c. 1554/1557-1612)

Canzon duedecimi toni

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

Intermezzo op. 118, no. 2 (arr. David Purser)

Sir William Walton (1902-1983)

Spitfire: Prelude and Fugue (arr. Elgar Howarth)

Antonio Loth (1667-1749)

Crucifixus (arr. Elwood Williams)

INTERMISSION

Benjamin C. S. Boyle (b. 1979)

Hudson Sinfionia

Richard Wagner (1813-1883)

Fine Sonatejur das Album von Frau mw (wwv 85)

(arr. Herman Jeurissen)

Hans Werner Henze (b. 1926)

Selection from Ragtimes e[ Habaneras

Derek Bourgeois (b. 1941)

Concerto Grosso (last movement)

Other works to be announcedfrom the stage

The Musicians

ROYAL CONCERTGEBOUW ORCHESTRA

The rco is a symphony orchestra ofinternational renown, recently named

the “world’s greatest orchestra” in the December issue of Gramophone magazine. The Orchestra has gained its unique international position with its

“velvet” strings, “golden” brass, and the exceptional and personal timbre of

the woodwinds, accompanied by longstanding collaboration with each ofits 

six chief conductors and the unique acoustic properties ofthe Concertgebouw’s main hall.

During the fifty years ofWillem Mengelberg’s tenure, many composers,

including Claude Debussy, Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss, and Igor Stravinsky, conducted the Concertgebouw Orchestra several times. Composerperformers Bela Bartok, Sergei Prokofiev, and Sergei Rachmaninoff performed their own works as soloists. This crucial bond with contemporary

composers continues with John Adams, Luciano Berio, Hans Werner Henze,

Bruno Maderna, Luigi Nono, and Peter Schat.

The Orchestra is famous for its interpretations ofthe late romantic repertoire. The Mahler tradition, begun with the many performances Mahler

himself conducted at the Concertgebouw, achieved great heights during the

Mahler Festivals in 1920 and 1995. Another festival is scheduled for 2010-

2011. With the arrival of Mariss Jansons as chief conductor in 2004, a new

phase has started, with continued interest in composers such as Mahler,

Bruckner, and Richard Strauss, as well as major twentieth-century composers

such as Dmitri Shostakovich and Olivier Messiaen. In 2010, the rco and

Maestro Jansons will perform at Carnegie Hall, the John F. Kennedy Center

for the Performing Arts, and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.

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RCO BRASS ENSEMBLE

In 2003, when the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra did not make its usual

yearly tour to the United States, the American Friends ofthe Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra invited the orchestra’s brass section to give concerts and

master classes on the east coast. The tour was so successful that the brass

section decided to perform together more often as the rco Brass Ensemble.

The rco Brass aims to show music students and audiences the versatile

repertoire ofbrass instruments in various combinations. These formations

can vary from quartet to a large ensemble oftwenty players, sometimes

complemented by percussion. Four pieces have been commissioned expressly 

for the ensemble, and the rco Brass released its first CD in 2008 under the

rco Live label.

The ensemble has organized joint concerts with the brass sections ofthe

Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Rotterdam Symphony. In the United

States, the ensemble has appeared at Williams College, Northwestern University, Drake University, Grinnell College, and the Rockefeller University. For

information about individual performers, please visit: www.RCojriendsusA.org.

Members ofthe Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Brass Ensemble

conductor

Hans Leenders

trumpet

Peter Masseurs, Hans Alting, Bert Langenkamp, Hans van Loenen*

horn

Jasper de Waal, Fons Verspaandonk, Jaap van der Vliet, Sharon St. Onge

trombone

Jorgen van Rijen, Bart Claessens, Nico Schippers, Raymond Munnecom

tuba

Perry Hoogendijlc

''''Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic

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Benjamin Boyle’s compositions include opera, chamber music, art songs,

sacred and orchestral music. Recent commissions include a choral work,

The Holly and the Ivy, for the Chicago Lyric Opera Chorus, premiered to

critical acclaim in December 2008, and a Concertofor Organ and Orchestra,

for Hope College in Holland, mi, premiered by organist Huw Lewis in

November 2007. His second set of choral settings ofthe Lamentations of

Jeremiah premiered in November 2005. Other works, including Ballade, for 

pianist Magdalena Baczewska, and Sonata-Fantasy, have been performed at 

Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall, at the Kennedy Center, and Merkin Concert

Hall in New York City.

From 2005-2007 Boyle was named Young Concert Artists Composerin-Residence. During that time, Young Concert Artists commissioned two

works from Boyle, which were premiered in its concert series: Suite Sylvanesque for solo harp and Sonatafor Cello and Piano. Boyle holds the Young

Concert Artists William B. Butz Composer Chair and a Ph.D. in composition

from die University of Pennsylvania, a master ofmusic degree in composition

from The Peabody Conservatory, and a bachelor ofmusic degree in piano

from the University of Soudi Florida, where he studied with Robert Helps.

He also studied with Dr. Philip Lasser at the European-American Musical 

Alliance (eama) program at l’Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris, where he

returns each summer as a faculty member. He has also studied with several 

other renowned composers, including Samuel Adler, Narcis Bonet, Lukas

Foss, Nicholas Maw, Christopher Theofanidis, and David del Tredici. Boyle

is an adjunct associate professor ofmusic theory and composition at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey.

BENJAMIN C. S. BOYLE

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Program Notes

Canzon duodecimi toni is taken from Giovanni Gabrieli’s Sacrae Symphoniae

(1597). It is composed for two choirs, but in this instance two groups ofinstruments are placed opposite each other and engage in dialogue. The music

was most likely originally used for liturgical purposes in the Basilica of San 

Marco in Venice, where Gabrieli was the music director from 1586 to 1612.

The Brahms Intermezzo was arranged by David Purser, head ofthe brass

and orchestral programs at the Birmingham Conservatoire. He was a founding member ofthe London Brass, and has played the trombone for many

years with the Nash Ensemble, Sinfonia 21, and the London Sinfonietta.

William Walton devoted the years ofWorld War 11 primarily to writing

him and ballet scores. Films included the memorable First ofthe Few, a 1942

biopic about R. }. Mitchell, designer ofthe Spitfire fighter aircraft. Walton 

extracted Spitfire: Prelude and Fugue from the him score.

Antonio Loth was an older contemporary ofJohann Sebastian Bach.

The text ofthe Crucifixus is taken from the Credo portion ofthe Mass.

Hudson Sinfonia was written in 2009 and received its world premiere

April 29, 2009, at New York’s Riverside Church. Commissioned by the

American Friends ofthe Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, it is dedicated to

af-rco board member Harry Fields, “for building bridges between the Old 

World and the New.” Composer Benjamin C. S. Boyle writes: “The work

begins with a collection offanfares in tire horns and low trumpets, perhaps

signaling the excitement and nervousness ofthe crew as they catch sight of

New York Harbor in the distance. The low and high brass converse with

sweeping gestures as the high waves carry the ship towards the shore. The

excitement soon builds to a large climax as the ship finally arrives in sight

of Manhattan Island. I have always found it very moving that F. Scott

Fitzgerald described Manhattan through Hudson’s eyes as ‘the fresh green

breast ofthe New World.’ Indeed, the music is verdant and joyous here.

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“Soon afterward, we retreat into a more introspective sound world as

Hudson continues up the Hudson River in his futile search for the Northwest Passage. While maintaining the beauty and wonder in the new world

around him, there is also disappointment and frustration that his long search

is not complete. Finally, as the ship returns to New York Harbor and again

takes to the open sea, a rousing climax is achieved, this time as a farewell to

the land upon which Hudson will never again set his eyes.”

The Wagner Sonata was originally written in A-flat major for piano, with

the dedicatee (M.W.) being Mathilde Wesendonk, of his Wesendonk Lieder.

The arranger, Herman Jeurissen (b. 1952), is the principal horn player ofthe

Residentie Orchestra, The Hague.

Hans Wemer Henze’s Ragtimes Habaneras comprises eleven short dances. 

Having originally written the work for brass band, Henze later rescored it

for ten brass instruments. The work is full of humor, parody, and contrast.

Derek Bourgeois’ Concerto Grosso was commissioned by the Philip Jones

Brass Ensemble, which gave the piece its premiere at the Ensemble’s farewell 

concert in 1979. The English-born Bourgeois (now living in Poughkeepsie,

New York) described the last movement as “a crazy rumba.”

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