Education &
Community
www.AlabamaSymphony.org
Alasdair Neale, conductor
2012-2013
COFFEE
CONCERTS
GOLIJOV Last Round
BRAHMS Symphony No. 1
About the Alabama Symphony Orchestra
The Alabama Symphony Orchestra is the only full-
time, professional orchestra in the state of Alabama.
For more than 70 years, the ASO has shared the joy of
music and performances of the highest quality with
audience members of all ages. The ASO gives over
140 concerts a year, including the Masterworks Se-
ries, Pops Concerts, Education Concerts, and special
performances with the Alabama Ballet, Opera Bir-
mingham, and the Alabama Symphony Chorus. This
season also marks the third year of the new Alabama
Symphony Youth Orchestra, a full orchestra for musi-
cians ages 12 to 22.
The ASO is led by Music Director Laureate Justin
Brown, but is also conducted by Principal Pops Con-
ductor Chris Confessore and Assistant Conductor Ro-
derick Cox. The Orchestra is made up of 54 full-time
Musicians. To read more about individual ASO Musi-
cians, visit www.alabamasymphony.org and click on
“Meet the Musicians.”
Jay Evans, principal trombone
What is it like to be a musician in an orchestra?
A dream come true.....most days!
Tell us about your first important mu-sical experience. One of the most memorable musical experiences came while a fellow at the Tanglewood Mu-
sic Festival...I guess the icing on the cake was that the con-ductor for the weekend was none other that Leonard Bernstein! That’s a Tchaikovsky 4th Symphony I will never forget!
What advice do you have for students who want to be-come musicians? Go for it! Music is a part of you, wheth-er you play it, teach it, or just listen to it. I knew I wanted music to be my focus very early on, and the most fortu-nate part is that I had enabling parents who supported my sister and I wholeheartedly.
What’s on your iPod? My ipod is multi-purpose. I like to run to movie music like Gladiator, Conan the Barbarian and anything by Thomas Newman, like the Green Mile or Shawshank Redemption. Or classic rock like Journey, Chi-
cago, Jefferson Starship and Van Halen. For just listen-ing or studying I have Bach, Bartok, Bruckner and Mahler Symphonies, Schumann, and Shostakovich. Also, Wynton Marsalis, Frank Rosolino (jazz trombonist), Pat Metheny, Frank Sina-tra, James Taylor, then maybe some Flo-rida and Red Chili Peppers!
MEET A MUSICIAN
The Instrument Families of the Orchestra Strings
There are four major instruments in the string family: violin,
viola, cello, and double bass. The body of these instruments
are hollow and are made of wood that is glued together. The
strings are made of either nylon, steel, or animal gut and are
attached to a tail piece at the bottom and wrapped around
pegs at the top stretching tightly across the bridge to pro-
duce their assigned pitches.
Woodwinds
There are three different ways a woodwind instru-
ment produces sound: air blown across the instrument
(flute), across a single reed (clarinet), and across two
reeds (oboe & bassoon). Reeds are small pieces of
cane that help produce sound by vibrating. A single
reed vibrates against the mouthpiece when air is
blown between them and a double reed produces
sound when air is forced between the two reeds.
Brass
The main instruments of the brass family are
trumpets, horns, trombones, and tuba. Brass
instruments produce sound when the player
buzzes his or her lips into a metal mouthpiece.
To produce higher or lower pitches, the player
adjusts the opening between their lips called
the aperture, making it smaller for higher
pitches and larger for lower pitches. The long-
er the length of tubing on the instrument, the
lower the instrument sounds and the shorter
the length of tubing, the higher the instrument
will sound.
Percussion
Instruments in the percussion instruments are played by being struck, scraped, or
shaken. These instruments are classified as being tune or non-tuned. Tuned instru-
ments play specific pitches just like the strings, brass, and woodwinds while non-tuned
instruments produce a sound with an undefined pitch such as a knock on a door.
Last Round
ABOUT THE COMPOSER
Osvaldo Golijov grew up in an Eastern European Jewish household
in La Plata, Argentina. Born to a piano teacher mother and physi-
cian father, Golijov was raised surrounded by classical chamber
music, Jewish liturgical and klezmer music, and the new tango of
Astor Piazzolla.
Upon moving to the United States in 1986, Golijov earned his
Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied with
George Crumb, and was a fellow at Tanglewood, studying with
Oliver Knussen.
Golijov is Loyola Professor of Music at College of the Holy Cross in
Worcester, MA, where he has taught since 1991. He also taught for
several years at Tanglewood, has led workshops at Carnegie Hall with
Dawn Upshaw and teaches in the summers at the Sundance Compos-
ers Lab.
ARGENTINE MUSIC
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, Argen-
tina was little more than a settlement. Slowly, the
British began moving in to develop the railroads
and by the early twentieth century, most of the
population was immigrants from Europe.
When people think of Argentina, they often think
of Tango. Tango is a type of music that is a fusion
of many different styles of music, a result of the
cosmopolitan nature of the country.
The major influences of Tango are:
Songs of rural gauchos
Habanera (Cuba)
Polka and Mazurka (Slavic)
Contradanse (Spain)
Flamenco (Andalucia)
Italian Folk Songs
What other genres/styles of music can be consid-
ered a “fusion”?
What is a “folk song”?
Can you think of any American folk songs?
REFLECT
Last Round
ABOUT THE MUSIC
Golijov's Last Round, for string orchestra, was commis-
sioned by the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group
and premiered in the fall of 1996. "I composed Last Round
(the title is borrowed from a short story on boxing by Julio
Cortázar) as an imaginary chance for Piazzolla's spirit to
fight one more time," Golijov wrote. "The piece is con-
ceived as an idealized bandoneón. There are two move-
ments: the first represents the act of a violent compres-
sion of the instrument and the second a final, seemingly
endless opening sigh (it is actually a fantasy over the re-
frain of the song 'My Beloved Buenos Aires,' composed by
the legendary Carlos Gardel in the 1930s). But Last Round
is also a sublimated tango dance. Two quartets confront
each other, separated by the focal bass, with violins and
violas standing up as in the traditional tango orchestras.
The bows fly in the air as inverted legs in criss-crossed
choreography, always attracting and repelling each other,
always in danger of clashing, always avoiding it with the
immutability that can only be acquired by transforming
hot passion into pure pattern."
*John Henken is the Los Angeles Philharmonic's Director of Publica-
tions
“La Cumparsita” (Traditional Tango) Piazzolla “Libertango” (tango nuevo) Golijov “Last Round”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkfzK_nX-QM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipR7sMrhdDQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtNaNQ9pLVo
LISTEN & COMPARE
A bandoneón
ASTOR PIAZZOLLA
Piazzolla is perhaps the most famous Argen-
tine Tango composer and bandoneón player.
He revolutionized the traditional tango, cre-
ating his own genre known as tango Nuevo
or New Tango. Tango Nuevo was a clear re-
flection of mid-twentieth century Argentina:
political, cultural, and economic turmoil.
Today, Tango Nuevo incorporates elements
of jazz and classical music and vice versa as
you will hear in the music of Golijov.
Symphony No. 1
ABOUT THE COMPOSER
Johannes Brahms was born in Hamburg, Ger-
many although he spent most of his life living
in Vienna, Austria. He started studying piano
at the age of seven and helped his impover-
ished family by earning money performing at
dance halls.
Brahms started composing at an early age as
well, although his compositions were not heard until he went on tour
as an accompanist where he met Joseph Joachim, a great violinist.
One of the biggest influences on the success of Brahms’ career as a
composer was the friendship of Clara and Robert Schumann, also
composers. Brahms learned from Schumann the value of studying
counterpoint so he studied the manuscripts of Bach, Orlando di Lasso,
and Palestrina which all had a great effect on his symphonic writing.
ABOUT THE MUSIC
If it weren’t for his unrelenting perfectionism, Brahms would have completed his first symphony much sooner than he did. Brahms’ extreme perfectionism caused him to destroy some of his works. This self-criticism is justified, however, because in the years after Beethoven, each new symphony was scrutinized—and often criticized—according to criteria that included the quali-ty of its individual themes; their sustainability to a symphonic movement; the effectiveness of the thematic work, including motivic development and counterpoint; and the unity of co-herence demonstrated by the work as a whole. One final push that convinced Brahms to complete his First Symphony, was the words of Richard Wagner. Wagner de-clared that after Beethoven’s Ninth no further symphonies in the traditional mold could be written; rather, absolute music would have to be “redeemed” in the music drama. Wagner set out to create musical dramas and produced his Ring des Nibelungen cycle. It has been suggested that it may have been the premiere of the Ring at Bayreuth in 1876 that en-couraged Brahms to complete at last his First Symphony, in order to reclaim the Beethovenian symphonic mantle.
Ludwig van Beethoven
“You have no idea how it feels to hear
behind you the tramp of a giant
like Beethoven.”
- Johannes Brahms
Symphony No. 1
The first movement begins with a slow introduction in 6/8 meter energized by the heart-beats of
the timpani supporting the full orchestra. The violins announce the upward-bounding main theme
in the faster tempo that launches a magnificent, seamless sonata form. The second movement
starts with a placid, melancholy song led by the violins. After a mildly syncopated middle section,
the bittersweet melody returns in a splendid scoring for oboe, horn, and solo violin. The brief third
movement, with its prevailing woodwind colors, is reminiscent of the pastoral serenity of Brahms'
earlier Serenades.
The finale begins with an extended slow introduction based on several pregnant thematic ideas.
The first, high in the violins, is a minor-mode transformation of what will become the main theme
of the finale, but here broken off by an agitated pizzicato passage. A tense section of rushing scales
is halted by a timpani roll leading to the call of the solo horn, a melody originally for Alphorn that
Brahms collected while on vacation in Switzerland. The introduction concludes with a noble cho-
rale intoned by trombones and bassoons, the former having been held in reserve throughout the
entire Symphony just for this moment. The finale proper begins with a new tempo and one of the
most famous themes in the repertory, a stirring hymn-like melody that resembles the finale of Bee-
thoven's "Choral" Symphony.
*www.kennedy-center.org
Beethoven Symphony No. 9, mvt 4 Brahms Symphony No. 1, mvt 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekHcrG2BCWE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEOG9HNX_Sk
LISTEN & COMPARE
DID YOU KNOW?
Traditional Alphorns
Alphorns were originally
played in the Alps as a
means of communication.
They can range anywhere
from 10 ft. to 13 ft. in
length!
Listen for the French horns
mimicking an alphorn call
at 5:00 in the Brahms re-
cording below.
MORE ABOUT THE MUSIC
Do you see the similarities in the contour of the 2 lines?
Beethoven’s Chorale
Brahms’s Chorale
Alabama Symphony Orchestra
Education & Community Engagement Staff
Liz Hartin, Education & Community Engagement Manager
Robert Grossman, Education Coordinator/ASYO manager
Meg Ford, Education Assistant
The 2012-2013 Concert Guides were written and designed by Liz Hartin.
THANK YOU TO ALL OUR SPONSORS!
Becoming an Education Partner is a way for corporate leaders to specifically sup-
port the ASO’s many educational programs including our education concert se-
ries, in-school programs and performances, teacher’s guides and training for
young musicians, including the Alabama Symphony Youth Orchestra. The Educa-
tion Partners are vital to the ASO because they provide support to essential edu-
cation programs that are not underwritten by ticket sales or fees. The Education
Partners allow the ASO to change young people’s lives in our community through
music and enhance their education.
ASO EDUCATION PARTNERS
Prestissimo, $10K +
Alabama State Council on the Arts
The Symphony Volunteer Council
The Daniel Foundation of Alabama
The Goodrich Foundation
Wells Fargo
City of Birmingham
Robert R. Meyer Foundation
Symphony 30
Alabama Power Company
BBVA Compass
Hill Crest Foundation
American Cast Iron Pipe Co.
Comer Foundation
Joseph S. Bruno Charitable Foundation
Ligon Industries, LLC
Shelby County Commission
Susan Mott Webb Charitable Trust
The Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham
Strings for Students
Estate of Charles E. Young
The Belk Foundation
City of Mountain Brook
City of Vestavia Hills
Jim Wilson & Associates
Publix Super Markets Charities
Vivace, $5,000-$9,999
Molton, Allen & Williams, LLC
Macy's Foundation
City of Hoover
City of Pelham
The Framin' Shoppe
Mayer Electric Supply Co.
Medical Properties Trust
The Robins & Morton Group
Southern Natural Gas Co.
Wade Sand & Gravel Co.
General Growth Properties
Presto, $2,500-$4,999
Mr. and Mrs. Braxton Goodrich
Greer Capital Advisors, LLC
Marathon Corporation
Schreiber LLC
Stone & Sons Electrical Contractors,
Inc.
Stringfellow Lumber Company
Allegretto, $1,000-$2,499
King Acura
Birmingham Hide & Tallow Inc.
Brookline Securities, Inc.
DeShazo Crane Company
McGriff Seibels & Williams Inc.
Proxsys, Inc.
Strickland Trading Company
Superior Mechanical, Inc.
Andantino, $500-$999
Interconn Resources, Inc.
Lawler Ballard VanDurand
Lawler Foundry Corporation
M3 Resources
Motion Industries
Sostenuto, $250-$499
Hare, Wynn, Newall & Newton
Cobbs Allen & Hall Inc.
Deep South Freight
Petra Life Services, Inc
Adagio, $100-$249
Honda Manufacturing of Alabama
Porter, Porter & Hassinger, P. C.
Western Supermarkets Inc.
Wilcox & Allen
Alabama Symphony Youth Orchestra
Upcoming Concerts
SPRING CONCERT
Sunday
May 5, 2013 4pm
TCHAIKOVSKY Romeo & Juliet Fantasy Overture
VAUGHAN-WILLIAMS Scherzo alla Marcia
STRAVINSKY Firebird Suite
*Auditions for the 2013-14 season will be held on May 11
& 12, 2013. Visit www.AlabamaSymphony.org/asyo.htm
for more info