Occidental - Caltech Symphony Orchestra

Allen Robert Gross, Director | Andrea Anderson, Piano

Sunday, November 16, 2008 - 3:30PM | Ramo Auditorium, Caltech
Roman Carnival Overture, Op. 9 - Hector Berlioz

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By the early nineteenth century the term overture had come to denote a single-movement orchestral work of modest proportions (often with descriptive allusions), as well as an orchestral "curtain-raiser" to an opera. Most of Berlioz' overtures fall into the former category. The Roman Carnival Overture was composed in 1843, and much of its thematic material was taken from Berlioz' opera Benvenuto Cellini of 1836. (Like Handel, Berlioz often re-used themes from earlier works in later ones.) As in most of Berlioz' works, the use of brilliant orchestral colors is extraordinary and it is interesting to note that the composition of the overture coincided with the writing of his ground-breaking Treatise on Instrumentation.

Piano Concerto No.2 in F minor, Op. 21 - Fryderyk Chopin

Chopin's Piano Concerto in F minor, labeled No.2, was actually his first. He began composing it in 1829, at the age of nineteen, during his final year as a conservatory student in Warsaw as a vehicle to advance his career as a pianist. The piano writing is quite extraordinary: lyrical melodies abound with florid arabesques throughout. The figuration is meant to sound improvisatory, with the orchestra providing a soft tonal carpet in the background. In the second movement, Chopin even creates the equivalent of a dramatic operatic "scene with recitative." However, for a concerto -- a "public" type of genre -- it is surprisingly intimate. Only with the solo horn call towards the very end does Chopin revert to more conventionally showy piano figuration as a conclusion.

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Pictures at an Exhibition (orch. Tushmalov) - Modeste Mussorgsky

Mussorgsky was undoubtedly the most original composer of the Russian "Five" (the others were Rimsky-Korsakov, Borodin, Balakirev, and Cui), whose avowed outlook was to create a more nationalistic Russian music less dependent on "western" formal and tonal ideas exemplified by Tchaikovsky. Although to our present ears Tchaikovsky sounds as "Russian" as any of the Five, much ink was spilled in the nineteenth century over their differences.

Pictures at an Exhibition was composed in 1874 as a memorial to the composer's friend, the painter and architect Victor Hartmann, who had died suddenly at the age of 39. It was written for piano, and its individual movements were each inspired by a painting or a sketch that Mussorgsky had seen at Hartmann's memorial exhibition. As impressive as it is as a piano piece, Pictures has been orchestrated many times, the most popular version being the orchestration by Ravel. However, Mussorgsky's contemporary, the Georgian-born conductor and composer Mikhail Tushmalov, orchestrated the piece (leaving out some of the interlocking movements) in a more idiomatic "Russian" sound-world, and this is the version presented in this concert.

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The pianist ANDREA ANDERSON was born in Michigan but pursued most of her advanced piano studies in the Los Angeles area. The New York Times had written about her playing: "Miss Anderson must have some special empathy for Chopin...a vital and personal performance...the playing was fluent, capable and convincing." In addition to solo recitals at Caltech, Andrea has performed elsewhere in the United States, China, Sweden, Finland, and Lithuania. Recent American performances have included Arizona State University, the University of Utah, the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, the Palm Springs Desert Museum and the University of the South. Her "Journey into Impressionism," a unique program combining art and music, has been hailed by critics and audiences alike. She has just returned from a concert tour in the Southwest.

ALLEN ROBERT GROSS is in his twenty-sixth year as Director of the Occidental-Caltech Symphony. In addition to being on the music faculties at Occidental College and Caltech, Dr. Gross is also Music Director and Conductor of the Santa Monica Symphony Orchestra and conductor of the Pasadena Summer Youth Chamber Orchestra. In the past several years he has also guest conducted in China and Cuba, and has led critically acclaimed tours of the Santa Monica Chamber Philharmonia to Spain, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic. The past summer he guest conducted the Downey Symphony Orchestra.

The OCCIDENTAL-CALTECH SYMPHONY is a college-community orchestra consisting of students and staff from Occidental College, the California Institute of Technology, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and players from their surrounding communities. To join our mailing list, please email demuth@caltech.edu

Program Notes by Allen Robert Gross.  Reprinted With Permission.