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| Sneak Preview Archives: March 2006 |
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March 31st - April 1st
Andrew Constantine, conductor
Andrew has put together a unique program this week. The Swan of Tuonela is a lyric piece for solo english horn and orchestra based on Finnish mythology, played by BSO english hornist Jane Marvine. The Swan will be danced by Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell. Then the BSO bassoon section literally takes over the hall in Michael Daugherty's re-imagining of the Hell's Angels. The concert concludes with Stravinsky's Firebird, complete with a video extravaganza! In addition to our concerts at Strathmore Hall in Bethesda and the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore, we presented this program on Thursday evening for an enthusiastic audience in Wye Mills, MD.
"The Swan of Tuonela is a beautiful, romantic expression of yearning and sadness. Based on legend of a Swan swimming the lake around the isle of the dead, the music describes the fate of the Swan singing her soulful and haunting song. This heartfelt music is Sibelius's most bitter sweet. How does this beautiful tender soul find itself in hell? The solo English horn is perfect as the character of the Swan. Sibelius uses the English horn to reveal her inner feelings as she succumbs to the reality of her fate. Linda Fisher - Harrel dances the struggle, pain and transformation exquisitely. This will be the first time I perform this famous piece for English horn. I am so taken with the beauty of the music. It is gentle, sad and deeply moving. It's such a treat for me, I know you will enjoy it." Symphony No. 35, K. 385, "Haffner" Jonathan Carney, leader
Schumann: Manfred Overture Ludovic Morlot, conductor*
*Unfortunately, Maestro Temikanov has canceled his apprearances this month with the BSO. Read the BSO press release here. The young French conductor Ludovic Morlot made his debut with the New York Philharmonic last week when he unexpectedly stepped in for an ailing Christoph von Dohnanyi. The New York Times wrote "If he was nervous on this milestone night, you would not have known it. He conducted the entire program with fluid yet unostentatious technique, palpable confidence and appealing energy." Serge Prokofiev: Suite from Love for Three Oranges James Judd, Conductor
We're seeing a familiar face on the podium this week, James Judd. James has stepped in at the last minute to replace Yuri Temirkanov, who was unable to conduct this week as scheduled. After our first rehearsal today, violinist Ellen Pendleton Troyer took a bit of time (on her birthday!) to talk to him about this weeks concerts. Maestro Judd is music director of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, former Assistant Conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra, and Co-Founder of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.
Hailstork: Intrada (Available on CD)
Andrew Constantine*, conductor
* Andrew Constantine is the Associate Conductor of the BSO. He was asked only last week to conduct this program. He is stepping in for Maestro Temirkanov who was unable to be with us due to the death of dear friend in St. Petersburg. Brian Prechtl spoke with him yesterday: Brian: This is one of those moments like Bernstein in New York – coming in at the last moment to save the day. What does that feel like? Andrew: It feels quite nerve wracking to be honest with you. This is the beginning of a particularly busy period for me anyway. Not only am I doing all of the education concerts and run-outs, we’ve got a wonderful twist program coming up at the end of March with the complete Firebird and Daugherty’s Hell’s Angels. I’ve been spending a lot of time with that program for a couple of reasons. It’s a rare opportunity to do the complete Firebird and there is a lot of time, money and energy wrapped in the production. There are a lot of visual elements that have been commissioned for that. When I suddenly heard that Maestro Temirkanov was unable to be with us this week, I tried to think of a profound Churchill kind of statement – “times of need.” and all that sort of thing and all I could think of was “Oh s***.” (laughter) How much lead-time did you have before the first rehearsal? I had a weekend and a day but I have to add that we had guests staying with us for the weekend from the UK. Oh yes, excuse me while I go study this score for five hours. Yes. You know that trip to Washington DC we were planning for today? Sorry you’re on your own. You always have a huge pile of scores sitting around that you are responsible for. How much more in depth did you have to get with this set of scores when suddenly you realized that you were the man on the box? It’s about twice as much. But it’s not just the time but also the quality of time used. You really have to focus when you know that you are going to be asking and being asked the questions that come up in the rehearsal process. It’s a far different experience than sitting in the audience watching a great maestro rehearse a great orchestra and basking in this glorious sound. It’s a very different approach to the study process. I do feel an extra responsibility knowing the provenance of the piece and Temirkanov’s involvement with it. If you read the program notes you will read about Prokofiev staying at the house in Nalchik in 1941. He brought the score to Cinderella with him and was working on it while little four-year-old Yuri was chasing around under his feet. That’s outrageous! Yes it’s an amazing thing to conjure up in your mind, isn’t it? When I was four I was chasing the refuse collector saying, “can I work with you?” That’s what I was doing. Not hanging around with Prokofiev, I guess– that’s so interesting. Which of these was the most challenging to handle? The “Ugly Duckling” was a complete surprise to me – I really had no familiarity with it at all. And to say that we had trouble with the printed parts is a complete understatement. Suffice it to say that the first and last chords of the piece had mistakes in them as well as many others. Which piece is the most gratifying to conduct? I’d have to say Cinderella because it is just such glorious music. Well it is certainly a treat for us because we don’t get to play it very often. We are all looking forward to it. Thanks for spending time with us. To learn more about our associate conductor, visit his website by clicking here. To read another interview with Andrew, click here. This week, violin soloist Sergey Khachatryan (first prize winner of the VIII International Jean Sibelius competition in Helsinki ) will be playing the Sibelius concerto with us. Violinist Ellen Pendleton Troyer spoke with him after our first of two chances to rehearse the piece with him on Wednesday: Did you come from a musical family? Yes. Could you tell us a little bit about that? Who were your major influences in your family? All of them, I think! My parents decided that I would start playing violin at age 6, and I liked very much to be on stage performing. My having a career doing this was very much influenced by my family, especially my father who is a pianist and a wonderful musician. My mother and my sister are also pianists, so I am the only one playing violin. They are the only people other than my teacher who I really trust to give me real, honest criticism about my playing. Did they want you to play violin specifically because they were all pianists? Maybe there weren't enough pianos for all of us! Was your teacher, Josef Rissin an influence on you from a young age? No, because when I was young I was in Armenia where I had a very good teacher. Unfortunately it was only for one year, because shortly after this we moved to Frankfurt Germany where I studied at the Wurzburg conservatory. I have studied with Prof. Rissin since 1996. Where is home base for you now? I would say Germany, though I spend a lot of time in airplanes! My home is of course Armenia but because of the situation my parents felt that it was best for my sister and I to live in Germany. Especially considering that it is a wonderful place for classical music, they thought we would have a better future there. We all live together there, and I love it. Is this your first visit to Baltimore? Do you think you'll have any time to see a bit of the city? Yes it is. Unfortunately up until now I have not had any time to see it, but I surely will later this week. How long have you had the Guadagnini violin on loan to you? For about six years now. It is from the Baden-Württemberg state collection, where there is a small competition to determine who gets to play these instruments. Now after the Queen Elizabeth competition, I also have a Strad so I always play one of the two. What a tough choice! [laughs] To keep the Guadagnini I must play the competition every year and show a list of concerts I have played on the instrument, and my future plans. Memories of Sibelius "Years ago, when I was a student, I spent a summer in Germany playing operas. At one point, we had a few days off, so one of the other violinists and I decided to take a side trip to do some hiking in the mountains in Switzerland. Since we were both students, and quite broke, we planned to stay in one of the youth hostels that are found in abundance in Europe - kind of bunkers for traveling young people. Unfortunately, I didn’t know my traveling companion very well before embarking on this trip. He showed up wearing a three piece suit, and carrying a huge suitcase full of wet clothes, and his violin. Apparently he had just done all of his laundry and hadn’t had time to dry his clothes - hence the suit. The violin was explained by a deep desire to play the Sibelius Violin Concerto while atop a mountain. Being a violinist myself, this actually made some sense to me at the time, I’m embarrassed to admit. We took the train to Interlaken - probably the most beautiful place in the world - and then had to lug his suitcase around town until the hostel was open. (This was before the days of suitcases with wheels). Once the hostel was available, my friend realized that his idea of drying his clothes with the blow dryer that he had brought along was completely impractical as there were no electric outlets. We also couldn’t leave an expensive violin in an unsecured bunk house, so we had to drag it around with us everywhere. We never got to do any actual hiking because my friend had, predictably, neglected to bring any footwear other than dress shoes. Alas, the violin never made its way out of the case the entire trip. Now, whenever I hear the Sibelius, I think of my friend and his unfufilled fantasy of playing that grand and beautiful concerto amidst the snow and ice and majesty of the Swiss Alps. Grand indeed. Go to the Sneak Preview Archives:
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