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Robert Moody, conductor Angela Fout Nolle, sopranoHenry Kramer, piano Rita Litchfield, altoRay Cornils, organ Daniel Stein, tenorChoral Art Society Aaron Engebreth, baritone

DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH Festive Overture, Op. 96(1906 - 1975)

ANTONíN DVOřÁK Humoresque, Op. 101, No. 7, B. 187 Arr. Adolf Schmid, from a piano work. (1841 - 1904)

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Fanstasia in c minor for Piano, Chorus, (1770 - 1827) and Orchestra, Op. 80, Choral fantasy I. Adagio [piano unaccompanied] II. Finale Mr. KrAMer ChorAl ArT SoCIeTy

intermission LEOŠ JANÁČEK Glagolitic Mass (Mša glagolskaja)(1854 - 1928) I. Intrada II. Kyrie III. Gloria IV. Credo V. Sanctus VI. Agnus Dei VII. organ solo VIII. Intrada ChorAl ArT SoCIeTy MS. FouT Nolle MS. lITChFIelD Mr. STeIN Mr. eNGebreTh Mr. CorNIlS

As a courtesy to the musicians and other audience members, please remember to turn off all pagers, cellular phones, watch signals, and other electronic devices. The use of photographic and recording equipment during the performance is strictly prohibited. This concert will last approximately one hour and forty-five minutes, including intermission.

This program is made possible with corporate support from Eaton Peabody Attorneys at Law and individual donors to the Annual Fund, as well as generous guest artist underwriting from David & Ann Swanson, Judy & Peter Haynes and Sally & Ron Bancroft.

This concert can be heard on the Maine Public broadcasting Network over the radio on Wednesday, october 15, 2014, at 8pm.

90th Season, 2014-15 • www.PortlandSymphony.org

Tuesday, September 30, 2014 at 7:30 PM Merrill Auditorium

Concert Conversation at 6:15 PMRehearsal Hall

DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICHFestive Overture, Op. 96

Dmitri Shostakovich was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia in 1906 and died in Moscow in 1975. He composed this work in 1954, and it was first performed in Moscow the same year by the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra under the direction of Alexander Melik-Pashayev. The score calls for 2 flutes, piccolo, 3 oboes, 3 clarinets, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percus-sion and strings.

The man who appeared at Shosta-kovich’s door had a problem. A big problem. he was Vassili Nebolsin, conductor of the bolshoi Theater in Moscow, and in three days the bolshoi was to present a concert celebrating the 37th anniversary of the october revolution. he said to Shostakovich, “you see, Dmitri Dmitriyevich, we are in a tight spot. We’ve got nothing to open the concert with.” Shostakovich replied, simply, “All right.” Shostakovich’s friend and col-league lev lebedinsky was with him, and Shostakovich asked him to stay and keep him company while he com-posed an overture. lebedinsky later recalled, “Then he started composing. The speed with which he wrote was truly astounding. Moreover, when he wrote light music he was able to talk, make jokes, and compose simulta-neously, like the legendary Mozart.

he laughed and chuckled, and in the meanwhile, work was under way and the music was being written down. About an hour or so later, Nebolsin started telephoning. ‘have you got anything ready for the copyist? Should we send a courier?’ A short pause and Dmitri Dmitriyevich answered, ‘Send him.’ “What happened next was like the scene with a hundred thousand couri-ers out of Gogol’s Government Inspec-tor. Dmitri Dmitriyevich sat there scribbling away and the couriers came in turn to take the pages while the ink was still wet—first one, then a sec-ond, a third, and so on. Nebolsin was waiting at the bolshoi Theater and kept the copyists supplied. “Two days later the dress rehears-al took place. I hurried down to the theater and I heard this brilliant, ef-fervescent work, with its vivacious energy spilling over like uncorked champagne.”

ANTONíN DVOřÁK Humoresque, Op. 101, No. 7, B. 187 (arr. by Adolf Schmid)

Antonín Dvořák was born in Müh-lhausen, Bohemia in 1841 and died in Prague in 1904. He composed this work for piano in 1894; it was later arranged for orchestra by Adolf Schmid. The score calls for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, trombone, tim-pani, harp and strings.

About the Music September 30, 2014

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Many people know “the Dvořák humoresque,” but far fewer know that he composed eight of them, collected as his op. 101. Dvořák composed the set for the piano while on vacation back in bohemia, time off from his job as director of the National Conserva-tory of Music of America in New york. There might as well be only the one “humoresque.” After they were is-sued in 1895, Dvořák’s publisher, Fritz Simrock, discovered that the seventh “humoresque” was wildly popular and proceeded to have the work arranged for as many instrumental combina-tions as he could imagine. An arrange-ment for violin and piano is how most listeners first encounter the piece, and it’s still a staple on violin recital pro-grams. The work’s gaily tripping melody in the outer sections (featuring barber-shop-style harmonies in the cadences) is instantly memorable, while the inner section raises the angst level by only a degree or two. A trifle from Dvořák, a bonanza for Simrock, and a delight for the rest of us.

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Fantasia in c minor for Piano, Chorus, & Orchestra, Op. 80, Choral Fantasy

Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn in 1770 and died in Vienna in 1827. He composed this work in 1808 and it was first performed in Vienna before the ink was dry, with Beethoven the soloist and conductor. The score calls for 2 solo sopranos, solo alto, 2 solo tenors, solo bass, cho-rus, piano, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clari-nets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani and strings.

beethoven composed this piece as a “brilliant finale” to a very long night of music. The same concert in-cluded the premieres of the Fifth and Sixth Symphonies, the Fourth Piano Concerto, three movements from the Mass in C, the Fantasy for Piano op. 77, and the concert aria “Ah! Per-fido!” he wrote the Choral Fantasy at the very last minute: the ink was barely dry on the chorus and orches-tra parts and the opening section for piano solo hadn’t even been written down—beethoven had to improvise it on the spot. beethoven called the work a “Fan-tasy on the piano, to which the full or-chestra is gradually added and lastly the chorus as Finale to conclude the whole.” The piano introduction is a kind of fantasy in search of a theme—a theme that will be the subject of or-chestral variations later on. When the orchestra enters gradually, the theme is not yet found, but after a horns-and-oboes fanfare we finally have it. The theme is beethoven’s own, the melody of his song Gegenliebe (Mutual Love), which he had composed twelve years before. After a number of free variations from the piano and orches-tra beethoven introduces the chorus with another variant of the theme. beethoven commissioned the text—who wrote it is still unclear—about the beauties and joys of music. Much is made about the similari-ties between this piece and the choral finale of beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, and those similarities are there if you wish to hear them. but a light, crowd-pleasing work such as this must col-lapse under the weight of such a com-parison, and that isn’t really fair: the Choral Fantasy has its own consider-able pleasures to offer.

LEOŠ JANÁČEK Glagolitic Mass (Mša glagolskaja)

Leoš Janáček was born in Hukvaldy, Moravia in 1854 and died in Moravská, Czechoslovakia in 1928. He composed this work in 1926, and it was first performed the following year in Brno with the Brno Opera Orchestra under the direction of Jaro-slav Kapil. Janáček revised the score prior to its performance and again af-terwards. There are several perform-ing versions of this work with varying instrumentation. In most cases the score calls for soprano, alto, tenor, and bass soloists, chorus, 4 flutes, 3 piccolos, 2 oboes, English horn, 3 clarinets, bass clarinet, 3 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 4 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, per-cussion, 2 harps, celeste, organ and strings.

When someone suggested after the premiere of Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass that it was natural for an old man to compose religious works, Janáček responded tartly: “Not an old man, not a believer. Not till I see for myself.” Janáček had other reasons to write one of the most powerful masses ever com-posed. Janáček was a late bloomer. After studying composition, piano, and or-gan, and while he was building his ca-reer through teaching and conducting, Janáček became a folklorist, exploring and cataloging the traditional songs and dances of his Moravian homeland. Though he is often referred to as a nationalist composer, his nationalism was less overt than most: the folk mu-

sic he had assimilated influenced his music from within rather than being applied from without. his study of the rhythmic speech-patterns of his lan-guage energized the rhythms of his music in the same way. Janáček achieved recognition for his work quite late in his life. he was 62 when his opera Jenůfa became a huge success at the Prague opera, making his reputation and unleashing the decade of remarkable creativity that cemented it. The idea for a mass may have come from his complaint to Arch-bishop Prečan of olomouc that most church music wasn’t very good; the Archbishop replied, “Well, maestro, why don’t you compose something bet-ter?” Janáček had begun a mass in latin some twenty years before he composed the Glagolitic Mass, but abandoned the project. he used the music he had pre-viously composed as his starting-point for the new work, but in the meantime his concept of what the mass should be had changed: the new mass would be based on a ninth century Slavonic text, a mass that would “portray the faith in the certainty of a nation, not just on a religious basis, but on a basis of moral strength which takes God for a wit-ness.” Janáček set his mass in old Church Slavonic, a language using the distinctive alphabet called “Glagolitic.” It was the first written form of the Sla-vonic language, and a common tie for Slavs as they spread across europe. but as time and distance grew, the Sla-vonic language evolved into regional forms and dialects while its common source fell away. Janáček intended the

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Glagolitic Mass to be a celebration of the Slavonic peoples and the cultural roots they shared. The language may be different, but Janáček followed the traditional forms of the Catholic mass for the most part. The mass opens with an orchestral Intrada, followed by an introduction (Úvod) that invokes the traditional fan-fares that marked the entrance of the clergy. Gospodi pomiluj corresponds to the Kyrie of the latin mass. It begins with dark and unsettled music, evolv-ing as the chorus and soprano sing their plea for mercy. The soprano leads a much brighter Slava (correspond-ing to the Gloria); with the dramatic entrance of the tenor (at “who sittest at the right hand of the Father”) the music builds to an ecstatic conclusion. The Věruju (Credo) may be heard less as an affi rmation of faith as a longing for it. The exultant “I believe” of the beginning yields to a wide-ranging movement—including an orchestral interlude—where certainty and doubt seem to coexist. A solo violin sets the tone for Svet (Sanctus), but the serene mood soon turns to glory. Agneče Božij (Agnus Dei) is a unique construction, with the three choral prayers separated by orchestral passages.

The next two movements are pure-ly instrumental. The fi rst (Postludium) is a wild and sometimes thunderous organ solo that seems to be the apo-theosis of the mass. The second is a repeat of the Intrada, this time as a ju-bilant timpani-driven conclusion to the whole. What do we make of this mass, composed by a cranky atheist who wanted to better the church music of his day? Perhaps Janáček’s summation will do: “I want to show my people how to talk to God. The cathedral stretches to the vaults of heaven; its candles are tall pine trees with stars at their tops; the fragrance of the moist woods of luhačovice is its incense; its bells are sheep bells. My work deals with this cathedral. I depict in it, to a certain ex-tent, the legend that Christ was hanged on the cross, and that heaven was torn asunder. Well, I am making thun-der and lightning; and nightingales, thrushes, ducklings, and geese make music with me.”

– Mark Rohr is the bass trombonist for the PSO.Questions or comments?

markrohrprogramnotes@gmail.com

Visit Online Insights at PortlandSymphony.org to learn more about this concert.

Did you know?The Portland Symphony orchestra played its fi rst concert on February 24, 1924, as the Amateur Strand Symphony orchestra.

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Praised by critics for performanc-es that are “triumphant” and “thrill-ing” (The New York Times) and “techni-cally effortless” (La Presse, Montreal), pianist HENRy KRAMER is establish-ing himself as one of the most excit-ing young pianists entering the con-cert stage today. A Maine native, he was a top prizewin-ner in the 2010 8th National Chopin Competition and the 2011 Montreal International Mu-sic Competition, and the 6th China Shanghai Interna-tional Piano Com-petition. he also received the 2014 harvard Musical Association’s Arthur Foote Award and was a winner of the 2014 Astral Artists National Auditions. henry has appeared as a soloist with the Shanghai Philharmonic, the bilkent Symphony orchestra in An-

kara Turkey (liszt Concerto No. 1), the Portland Symphony orchestra (Mozart K. 467), the orchestre Métropolitain du Montreal (ravel Concerto in G) and the yale Philharmonia (Proko-

fiev Concerto No. 2). This season he will perform rach-maninov’s Second Concerto with the eastern Connecti-cut Symphony and Toshi Shimada. In the spring of 2012 he made his euro-pean debut in a solo recital at the Con-certgebouw in Am-sterdam. he has also been featured in Weill recital hall at Carnegie hall, the he luting Con-cert hall in Shang-

hai, the reduta bratislava Concert hall and Montreal’s Place des Arts. his per-formances have been broadcast on Na-tional Public radio, WMFT Chicago, WQXr in New york City, CbC radio-Canada and online at MeDICI.TV.

about the Artists

Did you know?over the years, the PSo has been known as the Amateur Strand Symphony orchestra, the Portland orchestra Society, the Portland Municipal orchestra, until finally (in 1932) the Portland Symphony orchestra.

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THE CHORAL ART SOCIETy (CAS), founded in 1972 under Dr. harold brown, has been led since 1979 by its current Music Director Dr. robert rus-sell. Three CAS ensembles bring a wide range of musical genres, innovative pro-gramming, creative collaborations, and commissions of new works to enthusias-tic audiences in the Greater Portland area. The 2014-2015 CAS season includes the highly popular Christmas at the Cathedral weekend, the Messiah Sing-Along with a food drive to benefit Project FeeD, An epiphany Celebration to ring in the New year, two appearances with the Portland Symphony orchestra, a music and outreach event featuring the New england premiere of Alzheimer’s Stories, and a fun community Summer Sing. For more information on the Choral Art Society visit www.choralart.org.

SOPRANO barbara KappDawn AndersonGenie Wheelwrightheidi SeitzJudy harrisonJulia lockwoodMolly harmonrachel KellerSarah baileySusan Frank Diana DowdNancy etnierNancy Farrandbeth harmonbrigitte KingsburyClaire Noonanelaine KondratMarilee PillsburyNancy PorterMartha Spencerbreda WhiteKay Whitmorerita ZanichkowskiNancy MurrayCarolyn Glaude

ALTO Andrea GraichenAnn elderkin

Christy Comeau-PierceFran WilsonGinny PomeroyKaren birthiselPam JacksonTracy hawkinsbarbara GrausteinPatti JanumsAggie KostovickJocelyn leadbetterMary NelsonMarguerite PrenticeSue rochonK.e. SmithJulia WalklingSandy banas

TENOR David emeryDavid WhiteGordon GayerJoe SealeJonathan SmithMark Nordli Shane brewsterSteve AmsdenMichael boydSam WilsonA. Jan berlinGail Knowles

Charles o’brienMichael banas

BASS Jim bucknamJohn o’brienJuergen rengerlars lorenMac DavisMark JohnsonMarshall GreenNate MenifieldPeter blackwellPeter Plumbrichard Sullivanrichard van bergenrobert Goettel Michael bachemJohn CunninghamMichael Crosbybob FilgateChuck hornbergerPeter JohnsonDavid radmoreGreg Strombob WalklingJohn GilmourStan Scott

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RAy CORNILS is the Municipal organist for the City of Portland, a post he has held since 1990. he also serves First Parish Church, uCC, brunswick, Maine as Minister of Music where for the past 25 years he has led an exten-sive music program of five vocal and two handbell choirs. Known for his highly diverse pro-gramming, ray has concertized through-out the united States and Germany, France, Spain, russia, New Zealand and ecuador. he has performed at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New york City, the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., the Wanamaker organ at Macy’s in Phila-delphia, the Spreckels organ in San Diego, as well as at the International Festival of Sacred Music in Quito and Portoviejo, ecuador. he has been a fea-tured recitalist for conventions of the American Guild of organists and the organ historical Society. The annual Christmas with Cornils concerts have become a Portland highlight, attracting standing-room-only audiences. ray also performs regularly with the Portland Symphony orchestra (PSo) as both harpsichordist and or-ganist. he has been soloist in Samu-el barber’s Toccata Festiva, all six of bach’s brandenburg Concerti, Pou-lenc’s Concerto Champetre, Poulenc’s

Concerto for organ, String and Tym-pani, Saint Saens’ organ Symphony and Joseph Jongen’s Symphonie Con-certante. Known for his teaching skills for all ages, ray is an integral part of the Friends of the Kotzschmar organ’s

education program, working with ele-mentary and middle school students in a classroom setting. he is also a member of the music faculties of bowdoin College, the university of Southern Maine and the Portland Con-servatory of Music, where he teaches or-gan, harpsichord and related classes. An

active member of the American Guild of organists, ray has held many lead-ership roles, including Convention Co-ordinator for the 2014 National AGo convention in boston. born in Sterling, Illinois, Mr. Cornils was trained at the oberlin Col-lege Conservatory of Music and the New england Conservatory of Music in boston. he has studied organ with robert reeves, Fenner Douglas, Wil-liam Porter, yuko hayashi, and has done post-graduate studies with Dame Gillian Weir. he has studied harp-sichord with William Porter, lenora McCroskey, rhona Freeman and lisa Goode Crawford.

about the Artists

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ANGELA FOUT NOLLE, soprano, ap-pears at opera companies around the world in repertoire that spans the ba-roque to contemporary. She attended The Juilliard School for her undergrad-uate studies and was immediately ac-cepted into the Juilliard opera Center; she continued her training as a young artist with San Francisco opera’s Merola Program, opera Theater of St. louis, Aspen Music Festival and Wolf Trap opera Company. A dynamic and versatile orchestral performer and re-citalist, Angela began her professional career at New york City opera. She has also appeared with Vancouver opera, Minnesota opera, Atlanta opera, Wolf Trap opera Company, Spoleto Festival u.S.A, and many more.

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RITA LITCHFIELD, mezzo-soprano, recently recorded the rachmaninoff Vespers and finished her eighth sea-son singing with the Grammy win-ning Phoenix Chorale. She has studied with George buckbee, Craig Fields and Arthur levy, and holds a degree from university of the Pacific Conservatory of Music. An advocate of new Ameri-can art song, she has been an active re-citalist with New Music New york. She has made her Avery Fisher and Carn-egie hall debuts, covered roles for New york City opera, and appeared with Pa-cific Symphony, Winston-Salem Sym-phony, Chautauqua opera, opera roa-noke and Florida Grand opera. She resides in Phoenix, Arizona.

DANIEL STEIN, tenor, whose voice has been described as “ringing” and “warm and flexible,” has most recently performed in Der Fliegende Holländer (opera Carolina), Messiah (Winston-Salem Symphony), Mozart’s Mass in c minor (Charlotte Symphony), beethoven’s 9th Symphony (Greens-boro Symphony), as well as bach’s St. John Passion and Carmina Burana (bay Chamber Concerts). he made his debut at Carnegie hall as soloist for Mendelssohn’s Elijah with Manhattan Concert Productions. upcoming for Mr. Stein includes repeat engagements with the Winston-Salem Symphony, Portland Symphony and a debut with Arizona MusicFest. he currently re-sides in rock hill, SC, with his wife and three daughters.

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In addition to his 2014 debut at Carn-egie hall, the baritone AARON ENGE-BRETH has been featured in solo performances from Sapporo, Japan’s Kitara hall and boston’s Symphony hall, to le Théâtre de la Ville in Paris and Washington’s Kennedy Center. A frequent guest of many of our coun-try’s fine symphony orchestras and music festivals, he is also increasingly in demand as a recording artist and is featured on two Grammy Nominated operatic recordings with the boston early Music Festival as well as many others in song repertoire and chamber music to oratorio and opera. While on the faculty of Tufts university, he was twice awarded faculty development grants to study music of the French baroque, in Paris.