Welcome to this season’s first Young People’s Concert!Music is motion — it grows out of the rhythms of our bodies, from the pulse of our hearts to the pace of our walks. And music inspires motion — it gets your hands clapping and your feetdancing — it even gets a crowd breathing together! Rhythm is the most basic building block of

music,where it all began, and it can do amazing things.Today we’ll find out some of the ways composers throughoutthe ages of music worked with rhythm, in a program devotedto . Get ready to mambo!

TuneUp!New York Philharmonic Young People’s Concert®Saturday,November 10,2007

music dance music dance

ANTONIN DVORÁK Slavonic Dance, Op. 46, No. 1JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH Sarabande and Bourrées,

from Orchestral Suite No. 2DEREK BERMEL Dust DancesLEONARD BERNSTEIN Mambo, Cha Cha, and “Cool” Fugue,

from Symphonic Dances from West Side StoryMAURICE RAVEL Boléro

Delta David Gier, conductorTom Dulack, scriptwriter and directorThomas Baird and Tomiko Magario, dancersBernard Woma Ensemble, drummers and dancers

T H E P R O G R A M :

first created in Havana in 1943 and introduced toNew York City a few years later. The combinationof syncopated Cuban and American jazz rhythmshas challenged and thrilled dancers.

an internationally famous Bohemian dance,introduced into ballrooms in Prague duringthe 1830s. Its name comes from the Czechword for “half-step,” the rapid shift from onefoot to the other.

developed in Buenos Aires, Argentina,influenced by dances of immigrants fromSpain, France, and Italy as well asnative Indian rhythms. The tangois known for its strong embraceand dramatic footwork which giveit a powerful association withlove and romance.

MAMBO

TANGO WEST AFRICAN DANCE

POLKA

``

^

celebrates love, war, coming ofage, and the whole life of thecommunity. Dances in Africafocus movement in allparts of the body: theshoulders, chest, legs,and arms.

A WORLD OF RHYTHM ANDDANCE

Born in a small village near Prague, Dvorák was known forwriting works that use folk melodies from his nativeBohemia (today the Czech Republic). From 1892 to 1895

Dvorák was the director of the National Conservatory of Music inNew York City. During that time he wrote some of his mostpopular works: Symphony No. 9, “From the New World”; the“American” String Quartet; and his Cello Concerto. He loved thediversity of America’s people and our music and hoped thatAmerican composers would embrace the richness of their nativefolk tradition as he had.

about the composers and their music…

Antonín Dvorák (1841–1904)

T he Slavonic Dances launched Dvorák’sinternational career. They were such a hit thathis publisher immediately asked him to write a

second set. Dvorák found inspiration in JohannesBrahms’s Hungarian Dances, but while Brahms usedoriginal melodies from folk songs, Dvorák wrotemelodies that were entirely his own. Dvorák’sSlavonic Dances are filled with the rhythms of Czechfolk music. There are slow and graceful “polkas” intwo and fast and lively “furiants” in three.

Slavonic Dance, Op. 46, No. 1 (1878)

Considered by many to be the greatestcomposer ever because of hisastonishing musical technique and

depth of expression, Bach came from alarge family of musicians living in Germany.There were so many Bachs that, for a time, theword “Bach” was used to mean “musician.”Johann Sebastian Bach began his musical lifesinging in choirs and soon became a virtuosoorganist. He studied other composers’ music

intently, copying it out by hand, so that his music would bringtogether nearly every idea from every country of his time.

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)

B ach wrote four orchestral suites, sets of piecesbased on courtly dances but intendedfor concert listening. The

Sarabande is a slow, stately dance inthree that first became popular in the

Spanish colonies of Central America.The Sarabande became a traditional part of

a suite during Bach’s time, and was oftenplaced in between faster dances such as theBourrée, a lively dance in two that is characterizedby a strong upbeat. In the Orchestral Suite No. 2,Bach mixes elements of a solo concerto and orchestrasuite, and spotlights the flute.

Sarabande and Bourrées, fromOrchestral Suite No. 2 (1717)

Composer, clarinetist, and jazz and rockmusician Derek Bermel fuses globalsounds and a variety of musical

genres, including classical, jazz, pop, rock,blues, and gospel. He has traveled aroundthe world to learn about different musictraditions and instruments, including theThracian folk style in Bulgaria, the uilleanpipes in Ireland, and the Lobi xylophone inGhana. By incorporating the rhythms and folk

traditions of these places in his music, he creates a singularartistic vision. Bermel is also a conductor, performer, andeducator. His Web site is www.derekbermel.com.

Derek Bermel (b.1967)

Based on Lobi music from the West Africancountries of Ghana, Burkina Faso, and IvoryCoast, Dust Dances paints a sonic portrait

of a performance by two gyil players and adrummer. A gyil is an instrument that resembles axylophone. Tuned “keys” of carved mahogany woodare bound with animal hide to a wooden frame. Each key has its own gourdresonator; spiders’ webs are crushed and placed over holes carved in thegourd to create a buzz as the keys are struck. Composed with a flexiblemeter so that different pulses can be heard, Dust Dances can sound like it’sin two, or three, or even two AND three at once (called a polyrhythm). DustDances is an exciting fusion of the rhythmic complexity of West Africanmusic and the sound of American concert music.

Dust Dances (1994)

An accomplished pianist, conductor,composer, author, and educator,Leonard Bernstein was only 25 years

old when he rocketed to world fame as a lastminute substitute conductor for a New YorkPhilharmonic broadcast. Later, he became thePhilharmonic’s Music Director and soonbecame a household name when he launcheda series of televised Young People’s Concerts(the very series of concerts you’re attending

today!), in which he introduced children around the world toclassical music. He was the first American-born and -trainedconductor to achieve international stardom.

Leonard Bernstein (1918–1990)

W est Side Story stemmedfrom an idea to create amusical retelling of

Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet seton Manhattan’s Upper West Side —where Avery Fisher Hall stands today.The musical portrays young love setagainst a physical backdrop of gangrivalries (between the Jets and Sharks) and cultural and ethnic differences.Bernstein blends popular dances with the symphonic orchestra, including theCuban-originated mambo and cha-cha. The “Cool” Fugue is based on “swing”rhythm — a fusion of African and European musical worlds and the basis forjazz music. With such cultural diversity reflected in the script and the music,West Side Story stands as an important milestone in American musical theater.

Symphonic Dances from West Side Story (1955–57, musical; 1961, Symphonic Dances)

^

^

^

^

^

^^

Gyil

B orn in Basque country — close to the Spanishborder in France — Ravel studied music in Parisand developed an elegant personal style of

composition that included clear, bright, and colorful sounds.The son of a Swiss inventor, he was a master oforchestration (choosing instruments to create unique

sounds) who crafted each piece so precisely that the famousRussian composer Igor Stravinsky once referred to him as a“Swiss Watchmaker.” His love of music from around the globeinspired him to incorporate the sounds of Asia, Spain,European folk music, and American jazz into his music.

Maurice Ravel (1875–1937) Boléro (1928)

The New York Philharmonic is by far the oldestsymphony orchestra in the United States, and oneof the oldest in the world. It was founded in 1842

by a group of local musicians, and currently plays about180 concerts every year. On December 18, 2004, thePhilharmonic gave its 14,000th concert — a record thatno other symphony orchestra in the world has everreached. The Orchestra currently has 106 members. Itperforms mostly at Avery Fisher Hall, at Lincoln Center,but also tours around the world. The Orchestra’s firstconcerts specifically for a younger audience wereorganized by Theodore Thomas for the 1885–86 season,with a series of 24 “Young People’s Matinees.” Theprograms were developed further by conductor JosefStransky, who led the first Young People’s Concert inJanuary of 1914. The Young People’s Concerts werebrought to national attention in 1924 by “Uncle Ernest”Schelling, and were made famous by Leonard Bernsteinin the 1960s with live television broadcasts.

mee

tthe

artis

ts

Delta David Gier is music director of theSouth Dakota Symphony Orchestra, andhas been a cover conductor of the New

York Philharmonic for the past 10 seasons. Hefirst conducted the Philharmonic in 2000, duringthe Concerts in the Parks.After completing his

studies, he was invited by Riccardo Muti to spend a yearas an apprentice at The Philadelphia Orchestra.As a Fulbright Scholar,he has led many performances in Eastern Europe. Mr. Gier has servedas visiting professor at the Yale School of Music, the College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati, San Francisco Conservatory, andSUNY–Stony Brook.

Delta David Gier

T homas Baird is a period dance specialist who performs and teaches throughout the United States, Canada,Mexico, Germany, and Japan. He is the co-director of Apollo’s Banquet, a New York City–based performanceensemble of period dancers and musicians. Mr. Baird is a regular guest lecturer at The Juilliard School and the

Manhattan School of Music and is on the faculties of the Opera Division at SUNY–Purchase and the Mannes Collegeof Music. He was the period-movement coach for the Broadway production of O’Neill’s A Touch of the Poet, and

Lincoln Center Theater’s presentation of Sheridan’s The Rivals. In 2005 he made his choreographic debut at The Metropolitan Opera,providing period dances for the U.S. premiere of Franco Alfano’s Cyrano de Bergerac.

Bernard Woma, adjunct percussionfaculty and director of the SUNYFredonia African Drumming

Ensemble, has toured the world asxylophonist and lead drummer of theNational Dance Company of Ghana.Anextremely dynamic artist and deeplyexperienced educator, Mr.Woma’s recentappearances in the U.S. include a

residency with the Ethos Percussion group and performances andteaching at New York's AXF: African Xylophone Festival as well asvarious universities and colleges. Mr.Woma is the founder and directorof the Dagara Music and Arts Center in Accra, Ghana. His Web site iswww.bernardwoma.com.

Bernard Woma

The New York Philharmonic

Thomas Baird

PHOT

O: M

ARK

POLL

ARD

A rguably Ravel’s most famous composition, Boléro waswritten as a ballet, and was first premiered at the ParisOpéra. The program book at the premiere included this

description:Inside a tavern in Spain, people dance beneath the brass lamp hung from theceiling. [In response] to the cheers to join in, the female dancer has leapt onto thelong table and her steps become more and more animated.

The cleverness of Boléro is Ravel’s use of an ostinato rhythm —one that repeats continuously — played on the snare drum.Tryingto break free from the persistent beat of the drum is a repeatedexpressive melody that gets passed around the orchestra todifferent instruments and builds in volume.

Discover how great melodiesare made in music by Wagner,Vaughan Williams,Mahler, Ivesand Gabriela Lena Frank.

really got us moving!

What’s coming up this season?

The Young People’s Concerts® and Kidzone Live! are made possible with generous support from the Rose M. Badgeley Residuary Charitable Trust, and The Theodore H. Barth Foundation.

Tune Up! is made possible by an endowment in the name of Lillian Butler Davey.

MetLife Foundation is the Lead Corporate Underwriter for the New York Philharmonic’s Education Programs.

What do different rhythms and rhythmic concepts look like in printed music?Can you pair the following terms with their musical notations?

1. OSTINATO - a rhythmic pattern that repeats continuously

2. TEMPO - the speed of music,writtenas the number of beats per minute

3. SARABANDE - a slow, stately dancein three

4. BOURRÉE - a fast, lively dance in two

5. PULSE - a series of identical, periodicbeats

Saturday,December 15,2007 Saturday, January 12,2008 Saturday,April 5,2008

MUSICIS SONG

MUSICIS COLORExplore how harmony andinstrumentation bring stories to lifewith the music of Prokofiev, the VeryYoung Composers, and R. Strauss.

MUSIC ISAWORLDUNTO ITSELFExplore how all music’s elements inspireimaginings beyond words with the music of Shostakovich,Beethoven,Mozart, andSibelius.

A.

B.

C.

E.

D.

Rhythm Matching Game

What other building blocks of music do we have to look forward to this season?