Nabucco, an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi, was given its premiere performance at La Scala in Milan on March 9, 1842. Its success proclaimed a new hero of the Italian opera, placing Verdi in the company of the masters, Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti. Melodies in the overture depict Verdi's affinity for fleeting tunes that seem to leave an indelible impression on the listener.
Verdi commented that “this is the opera with which my artistic career really begins. And though I had many difficulties to fight against, it is certain that Nabucco was born under a lucky star.”
-Program Note from Program Notes for Band and State University Symphony Band concert program, 6 October 2016
The Bennu bird of Egyptian mythology was the prototype for the various legends of a firebird that are seen in cultures around the world. In fact, the famous Greek myth of the Phoenix was adapted directly from tales of the Egyptian Bennu. This piece unites a collection of varying components from assorted myths of the firebird’s lifecycle, showcasing all that has developed from the Egyptian bird of resurrection, the Bennu.
Many firebird myths state that the bird’s cry is a singularly beautiful song. The second movement seeks to represent this, highlighting the beauty and lyricism of the solo clarinet over a series of varying textural accompaniment intensities from a lone vibraphone to a clarinet and saxophone duet, a timpani roll to a full-bodied brass presentation of the melody. Following a cadenza from the soloist, the full ensemble plays an expansive elaboration of the original song. From this, the solo clarinet descends gently to a place of calm and serenity.
This concerto was commissioned by Alexander Fiterstein, the California State University at Northridge Wind Ensemble. The wind ensemble version of this work was premiered on August 5, 2011 by Alexander Fiterstein and the California State University at Northridge Wind Ensemble, Lawrence Stoffel conducting.
-Program Note by Roger Zare
Like his “northern” contemporaries Edvard Grieg and Jean Sibelius, Carl Nielsen was a master of musical characterization. The Norwegian Grieg found an outlet for his lyric gifts in programmatic music for the stage as well as in smaller-scale works for piano; Sibelius of Finland composed huge descriptive orchestral tone poems based on tales from Nordic legends. The Danish Nielsen’s sense of characterization was similarly fanciful and expansive, and spilled over into non-programmatic music composed with specific musicians in mind. Each of his three concertos, for example, was written for the specific talents and character of a particular soloist, and we can learn much not only about Nielsen but about the virtuosos themselves by listening to these works.
When he composed his Wind Quintet, Op. 43, in 1922, it was only natural that Nielsen should try to fashion each of the five parts for the individual musicians for whom the work was intended—the members of the Copenhagen Wind Quintet, all of whom were well known to him. He was so captivated by their performance of the work that he determined to compose a concerto for each of his five friends; only two were completed, those for flute and clarinet, but they are both among his subtlest and most splendidly crafted compositions.
The Flute Concerto was sketched during the summer of 1926, on the heels of Nielsen’s brooding and heavy Sixth Symphony; there is almost nothing of the Symphony’s somber weight in this delightful work. The flutist was Holger Gilbert-Jespersen, whose lithe tone and supple weight reflected both French conservatory training and his Danish rigor. Nielsen completed most of the work during travels in Italy through the summer and early fall—inspired by Florentine art and the splendors of the Tuscan countryside around San Gimignano. On October 1 he was able to write: “The Flute Concerto has worked out well. It will be long and difficult, and thus a good challenge for Gilbert.”
The composer kept the poor soloist on edge for the entire summer, sending him the solo part in bits and pieces; the case was urgent, for the premiere had been set for October 21. Nielsen arrived in Paris on the 16th and managed to put the concert together with his somewhat agitated soloist. Nevertheless the 29 work was received warmly by the audience at the Salle Gaveau that evening. The composer Arthur Honegger, who was also a critic at the time, wrote a review declaring the piece “piquant, fluid, and not lacking in humor.” Nielsen later admitted he had completed the work somewhat hurriedly, and after the Paris premiere he rewrote the ending. The new version was performed in 1927 at the Musikforeningen in Copenhagen and has become the concert standard.
Each of Nielsen’s concertos is organized uniquely: the Violin Concerto is cast in two movements, each of which is two separate movements; the Clarinet Concerto is built in one continuous structure. The Flute Concerto is in two movements; the first (Allegro moderato) is an expansive sonata structure, built from a tonally elusive opening and a second theme squarely in F major. The solo part, virtuosic without being showy, integrates the “bright” flute perfectly into the texture of a “dark” orchestra without flutes or trumpets. The movement concludes with a cadenza in which the solo clarinet plays an important role; and the “rearrival” of the opening material comes as a bit of a jolt.
-Program Note written by The Philadelphia Orchestra
Though Robert Schumann’s Symphony in D minor is known as his Fourth, he began working on it in June 1841, only a few months after the premiere of his First Symphony. In 1840, Schumann had focused his creative energies on songs for voice and piano, producing an astonishing three song cycles (Liederkreis, Frauenliebe und–leben and Dichterliebe), which remain cornerstones of the German lieder repertoire. In 1841, he turned to orchestral music.
In the original version, the loud, blazing D major chords that end the first movement land unexpectedly on the soft, unstable A minor chord that begins the second movement without a pause. In the revised version, Schumann indicates that the orchestra should pause slightly before the new movement begins (likely remembering how the public had been confused by the original version), although the two movements are still linked. The second movement takes a slower tempo and is titled “Romanza” or “Romance,” suggesting a song-like vocal work.
The melancholic melody that begins the Romance is performed as a duet for solo oboe and solo cello. This melody leads to the return of the brooding music that began the symphony. Throughout the work, themes from previous movements recur in later ones. This brooding music morphs into a lilting violin solo before returning to the oboe-cello duet.
After a brief pause, we plunge into the third movement, a forceful scherzo. Italian for “joke,” the scherzo replaced the minuet as the typical third movement of a symphony in the early nineteenth century. Scherzos typically retain the dance-like character and triple meter of the minuet, but are often faster and wilder than their courtly predecessors. Both scherzos and minuets usually feature a contrasting middle section, and this one is no exception. The surprise, however, is that the contrasting middle section consists of the return of the lilting violin solo melody from the previous movement, now played by the entire section. After a reprise of the opening scherzo, the lilting melody returns, but gradually disintegrates.
The quiet passage that follows soon grows into a grand, solemn crescendo. Accompanied by wisps of the main idea from the first movement, the brass intone a noble and mysterious rising figure. This inspired passage accelerates to the fast finale, which arrives with the return of the heroic, dotted-rhythm theme from the development of the first movement. This theme, now in D major, becomes the main idea of the finale (interestingly, Schumann made some substantial changes to this theme when he revised the symphony—compare the original to the revised version, which is more concentrated and economical). This time, the exposition unfolds as expected, and breathless dance rhythms permeate a transitional theme full of surprising harmonic twists and turns, leading to a sweeter, more lyrical second theme.
After an exposition repeat, the development begins with a long, dissonant note (much as the development of the first movement began). The heroic, dotted-rhythm theme then becomes the subject of a fugue, a complex type of music in which a main idea is passed from one part to another. Once again, Schumann subverts expectations when it comes time for the recapitulation—he omits the reprise of the heroic theme altogether, skipping to the dancing, harmonically unstable transitional theme and returning to D major with the sweet, lyrical second theme.
Another long dissonant note announces the beginning of the frenetic coda, which becomes faster and faster as the symphony races towards its ending. Here too, the heroic theme is absent; most of the material of the coda is based on the dancing transitional theme. The ending of the symphony is certainly thrilling and emphatically in D major, but does it completely resolve the feverish, Romantic passion of all that came before? Perhaps it is not meant to. The Romantics prized open endings, irony and the unexpected, and Schumann’s symphony certainly seems to be in harmony with their ideals.
-Program Note by Calvin Dotsey
Israeli conductor Rotem Weinberg is known for his profound musicality, creative programming, and polished performances. He is a cross-genre musician, at home in classical, operatic, and pops repertoires alike. In the fall of 2022 he will assume the position of Visiting Assistant Professor of Conducting and Director of Orchestras at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where he will conduct orchestras, opera, and teach conducting.
Rotem began his conducting studies at the age of seventeen, under the guidance of Vag Papian. Before starting his academic studies, he served in the Israel Defense Forces military band as head librarian and assistant conductor. He earned a BM in orchestral conducting from the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music of Tel-Aviv University, where he studied with Prof. Yoav Talmi, Yi-an Xu, and Ronen Borshevsky. His graduate studies took him to The University of Michigan, where he earned both MM and DMA degrees in orchestral conducting, studying with the renowned conductor and pedagogue Kenneth Kiesler.
At the University of Michigan, Rotem served as Music Director of the Campus Symphony Orchestra and the Michigan Pops Orchestra, bringing these ensembles to new musical heights. He also filled the role of assistant conductor to the prestigious orchestra program, supporting the work of four student orchestras. As cover conductor of the University of Michigan Opera Theater, he conducted operas such as Puccini’s La bohème, Handel’s Alcina, and William Bolcom’s Dinner at Eight. In February 2018 he served as the first assistant conductor for the ground-breaking test performance of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess’ new critical edition. Following his studies, Rotem served as Music Director of Spectrum Orchestra in Birmingham, Michigan, Associate Conductor of the Michigan Youth Symphony Orchestra, and Cover Conductor for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
Rotem participated in workshops and masterclasses with world renowned orchestral conductors, including Simon Rattle, Zubin Mehta, Zsolt Nagy and Christopher Lyndon Gee. He participated in additional conducting workshops with Joseph Missal, Felix Hauswirth, and Laszlo Marosi.
In his native Israel, Rotem led several orchestral, wind, and vocal ensembles, achieving national acclaim as a conductor and educator. He received frequent honors and awards for his conducting and musicianship, including the America-Israel Cultural Foundation Excellence Grant in orchestral conducting, the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music Excellence Scholarship, and the Tel Aviv University Dean of Arts Excellence Award for his outstanding musical and academic achievements.
An advocate of contemporary music, Rotem has collaborated and premiered work by composers Nina Shekhar, Natalie Moller, Tyler Arnold, Sawyer Denton, and Samuel Sussman.
Lucas Gianini has performed with the Greensboro, Charlotte, and Lima Symphony Orchestras, Greensboro Opera, Bel Canto Opera Company, Carolina’s Wind Orchestra and with ensembles across Ohio and North Carolina. An avid performer of contemporary music, he has taken part in the premiere and commissioning of several pieces for solo clarinet and chamber ensemble. In 2016-2017, Lucas was a founding member and toured with the Noise to Signal Ensemble, which premiered works for Reed Quintet and Piano. Lucas was recently a winner of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro’s 2022 Student Artist Competition with John Corigliano’s Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra. He has received multiple performance invitations from conferences of the International Clarinet Association and the College Music Society. The most recent invitation to the ICA conference (Reno, NV in 2022) involves the commission and premiere of a piece for solo clarinet that features the rare “fluting” technique by Erin Cameron. In addition, Lucas was a performer for the ICA’s “New Music Weekend” in 2021 and has regularly performed at the Charlotte New Music Festival as part of their “open mic” concerts. Lucas performed at the 2020 Clarinet Maestro Festival and was invited to be the Bass Clarinet Fellow at the (subsequently-cancelled due to COVID) 2020 Brevard Music Center.
In addition to his teaching duties as a Doctoral TA for UNC Greensboro’s clarinet studio, Lucas currently teaches clarinet, saxophone, and flute lessons in the Charlotte, NC area. He has also taught online lessons to students as far as Texas. He has served as band director for multiple middle school programs in Charlotte, NC and regularly works with various local schools as a woodwind instructor. For several years Lucas has worked at the UNCG Summer Music Camp as both a counselor and private clarinet lessons instructor.
Lucas is currently working on his Doctor of Musical Arts degree at UNC Greensboro, where he is a Minerva Scholar and also earned his Bachelor’s degrees in Music Education and Performance. Lucas earned his Master of Music degree from Bowling Green State University. His primary teachers have included Anthony Taylor, Kelly Burke, Kevin Schempf, and Andy Hudson.
Kyrese Washington is a 2022 graduate of UNCG (BM Flute Performance) where they studied with Dr. Erika Boysen and Dr. Tim Hagen. As a soloist, Kyrese has appeared on many stages, such as the SECU Auditorium at the Museum of Art with the Community Music School, and the Meymandi Concert Hall with Pink Martini and the North Carolina Symphony. As an active student at UNCG, Kyrese has participated in the UNCG Symphonic Band, Wind Ensemble, University Symphony Orchestra, Opera, and Casella Sinfonietta. Additionally, Kyrese has been a winner of the Raleigh Area Flute Association Review and Contest consecutively for the past three years. Recently, Kyrese has been selected as a participant of the National Flute Association Young Artist Mentorship Program. As a result of all of Kyrese’s hard work and dedicating numerous hours into developing their craft, they have been selected by the UNCG School of Music faculty as the Presser Scholar of the 2021-2022 school year. Currently, Kyrese is the principal flutist of the Appalachia Wind Symphony and teaches private lessons at Music & Arts stores in Greensboro and Burlington.