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65 E Washington St Chicago, IL 60602 • 312.726.2020 • ToniPatisserie.com

Enjoy the sounds of summerin Grant Park.

Enjoy the sounds of summerEnjoy the sounds of summerin Grant Park.

Enjoy the sounds of summer

Our pique-nique boxes are filled with made-to-order delights including baguette sandwiches and salads,

savory sides and exquisite desserts. $15.95

Call us at 312.726.2020 or email info@tonipatisserie.com to place an advance order

Add One of Our Featured Splits of Sparkling, White, Rosé or Red Wine for $12.

2018 Program Notes, Book 1 | 35

GRANT PARK ORCHESTRA AND CHORUSCarlos Kalmar Artistic Director and Principal Conductor

Christopher Bell Chorus Director

Friday, June 15, 2018 at 6:30 p.m.Jay Pritzker Pavilion

MOZART VIOLIN CONCERTO

Grant Park OrchestraCarlos Kalmar ConductorWilliam Hagen Violin

Christoph Willibald GluckOverture to Orfeo ed Euridice

Wolfgang Amadeus MozartViolin Concerto No. 4 in D Major, K. 218 Allegro Andante cantabile Rondeau: Andante grazioso

INTERMISSION

Carl Maria von WeberOverture to Euryanthe, Op. 81

Edward ElgarVariations on an Original Theme, “Enigma,” Op. 36

The appearance of William Hagen is presented with generous support from NextGen Performance Series Sponsor BMO Harris Bank

Organ provided by Triune Music/S.B. Smith & Associates

Tonight’s concert is being broadcast live on 98.7WFMT and streamed live at wfmt.com.

36 | gpmf.org

WILLIAM HAGEN won Third Prize in the 2015 Queen Elisabeth of Belgium International Music Competition, the highest finish of any American since 1985. A native of Salt Lake City, Mr. Hagen began violin lessons at age four; made his debut at nine with the Utah Symphony; studied at the Colburn School in Los Angeles and at Juilliard (with Itzhak Perlman); and is currently enrolled at the Kronberg Academy in Germany, where he is a student of Christian Tetzlaff. He has also attended the Verbier

Academy in Switzerland, Perlman Music Program and Aspen Music Festival. Mr. Hagen has appeared as soloist with the Frankfurt Radio Orchestra; ORF Radio-Sinfonieorchester (Vienna); Brussels Philharmonic; the orchestras of Seattle, Fort Worth, Pasadena, Oregon, Shreveport, Albany, Buffalo, Fort Worth, Jacksonville and Saint Louis; in Japan with the Yokohama Sinfonietta and Sendai Philharmonic; and on tour with the Brussels Chamber Orchestra in Beijing. As a recitalist, he has performed in Paris, Brussels, Chicago, Darmstadt, Tokyo, Los Angeles and several cities in Florida. He has appeared in chamber music concerts with such distinguished artists as Gidon Kremer, Steven Isserlis, Christian Tetzlaff and the Jupiter Chamber Players at Wigmore Hall (London), Beethovenhaus (Bonn), “Chamber Music Connects the World” festival (Kronberg, Germany), Ravinia Festival, and Colmar Festival (France). William Hagen performs on the 1735 “Sennhauser” Guarneri del Gesù, on generous loan from the Stradivari Society of Chicago.

2018 Program Notes, Book 1 | 37

JUNE 15, 2018

Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714–1787)OVERTURE TO ORFEO ED EURIDICE (1762)Scored for: two oboes, bassoon, two horns, two trumpets and stringsPerformance time: 5 minutesFirst Grant Park Orchestra performance: as part of the complete opera on July 30, 1983; David Zinman, conductor

Orfeo ed Euridice was the first of Gluck’s “reform operas,” which used music not as an end in itself, as in waning Baroque opera, but to enhance the emotional impact of the story by eliminating recitatives and the da capo arias that had come to serve solely as platforms for vocal display. The opera created much controversy when it premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienna on October 5, 1762, and insistent calls came from France to hear this remarkable new work. Gluck revised Orfeo to suit the French taste—its title part was changed from a castrato to a tenor (Parisians found eunuch singers not to their taste); the original Italian text was meticulously reworked into French; considerable ballet music was added—and its success at its Parisian premiere was complete. “Since it is possible to spend two hours so pleasurably I feel that life can be worthwhile,” wrote Rousseau. The Overture to Orfeo follows a succinct sonata form that summarizes the expressive poles of the ancient story—bright and festive in the exposition and recapitulation, dark and troubled in the development.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)VIOLIN CONCERTO NO. 4 IN D MAJOR, K. 218 (1775)Scored for: solo violin, two oboes, two horns and stringsPerformance time: 26 minutesFirst Grant Park Orchestra performance: July 10, 1953; Nikolai Malko, conductor; Fritz Siegal, violin

Mozart’s five authentic violin concertos were all products of a single year, 1775. At 19, he was already a veteran of five years’ experience as concertmaster in the Salzburg archiepiscopal music establishment, for which his duties included not only playing but also composing, acting as co-conductor with the keyboard performer, and soloing in concertos. It was for this last function that he wrote these concertos. The opening movement of the D Major Concerto begins with a mock-military fanfare answered immediately by a graceful balancing phrase. The orchestral introduction continues with a sweetly lyrical contrasting theme presented by oboe and violins before the soloist enters. The central section of the movement is less a true development of earlier motives than a free fantasia of pearly scales and flashing arpeggios. The second movement is moonlight-tender in mood. In contrast, the sonata-rondo finale is dance-like and outgoing.

38 | gpmf.org

Carl Maria von Weber (1786–1826)OVERTURE TO EURYANTHE (1821–1823)Scored for: pairs of woodwinds, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani and stringsPerformance time: 8 minutesFirst Grant Park Orchestra performance: July 11, 1936; Richard Czerwonky, conductor

Following the great success of Der Freischütz in 1820, Weber spent some time casting about for a libretto for his next opera. He rejected Le Cid and Dido, Queen of Carthage as subjects, and settled instead on a scenario by Wilhelmina von Chezy based on a 13th-century French tale that had also been treated by Shakespeare in Cymbeline. “The plot,” related Sigmund Spaeth, “concerns the noble Adolar, who wagers all his possessions with the villainous Lysiart that his intended bride, Euryanthe, is faithful to him. Euryanthe is a victim of the duplicity of Eglantine, herself in love with Adolar. A ring is stolen from the tomb of Emma, Euryanthe’s sister, and Lysiart produces this as evidence of Euryanthe’s guilt. When Emma’s ghost appears, Eglantine confesses the plot and is stabbed by Lysiart, who is led away to execution, as Adolar and Euryanthe are reunited.” Weber utilized several themes from the opera itself for the overture.

2018 Program Notes, Book 1 | 39

JUNE 15, 2018

Edward Elgar (1857–1934)VARIATIONS ON AN ORIGINAL THEME, “ENIGMA,” OP. 36 (1889–1899)Scored for: piccolo, flute, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, organ and stringsPerformance time: 31 minutesFirst Grant Park Orchestra performance: August 7, 1940; Hans Lange, conductor

Elgar’s “Enigma” Variations posits not just one puzzle, but three. First, each of the 14 sections was headed with a set of initials or a nickname that stood for the name of the composer’s friend portrayed by that variation. The second mystery dealt with the theme itself, the section that bore the legend “Enigma.” It is believed that the theme represented Elgar himself, thus making the variations upon it portraits of his friends as seen through his eyes. The final enigma arose from a statement of his: “Through the whole set another and larger theme ‘goes’ but is not played.... So the principal theme never appears.” Conjectures about this unplayed theme that fits each variation have ranged from Auld Lang Syne (which Elgar denied) to a phrase from Parsifal. In 1975 the Dutch musicologist Theodore van Houten speculated that the phrase “never, never, never” from Rule, Britannia fits the requirements, and even satisfies one of Elgar’s clues. (“So the principal theme never appears.”) We shall never know for sure.

Variation I (C.A.E.) is a tender depiction of the composer’s wife, Alice. Variation II (H.D. S.-P.) represents the warming-up finger exercises of H.D. Steuart-Powell, a piano-playing friend. Variation III (R.B.T.) utilizes the high and low woodwinds to portray the distinctive voice of Richard Baxter Townsend, an amateur actor with an unusually wide vocal range. Variation IV (W.M.B.) suggests the considerable energy of William Meath Baker. Variation V (R.P.A.) reflects the frequently changing moods of Richard Penrose Arnold, son of the poet Matthew Arnold. Variation VI (Ysobel) gives prominence to the viola, the instrument played by Elgar’s pupil Isobel Fitton. Variation VII (Troyte) describes the high spirits of Arthur Troyte Griffith. Variation VIII (W.N.) denotes the grace of Miss Winifred Norbury. Variation IX (Nimrod) is a moving testimonial to A.J. Jaeger, Elgar’s publisher and close friend. Variation X (Dorabella): Intermezzo describes Dora Penny, a friend ofhesitant conversation and fluttering manner. Variation XI (G.R.S.) portrays the organist George R. Sinclair and his bulldog, Dan, out for a walk by the River Wye. Variation XII (B.G.N.) honors the cellist Basil G. Nevinson. Variation XIII (***): Romanza was written while Lady Mary Lygon was on a sea journey. The solo clarinet quotes a phrase from Mendelssohn’s Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage Overture; the hollow sound of the timpani played with wooden sticks suggests the rumble of ship’s engines. Variation XIV (E.D.U.): Finale, Elgar’s self-portrait, recalls the music of earlier variations.

©2018 Dr. Richard E. Rodda