ALEXANDER BORODIN
Overture to Prince Igor

Born: 1833, Saint Petersburg, Russia
Died: 1817, Saint Petersburg, Russia
Composed: 1869-1887: Premiere: November 4, 1890
Length: 10 minutes

Alexander Borodin’s four-act opera, Prince Igor, is based on the medieval Russian nationalistic epic, The Tale of Igor’s Campaign. It tells the story of a 12th century military campaign, launched by the Prince of Novgorod-Seversk against the Polovtsians, an invading nomadic Tartar tribe. Quickly, the campaign takes a disastrous turn, and Igor and his son, Vladimir, are taken prisoner.

A member of the group of composers known as the “Russian Five,” Borodin divided his time between writing music and working as a highly respected research chemist. He worked on Prince Igor for 18 years, beginning in 1869, but the work remained unfinished when he died suddenly in 1887. The score was completed by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov and a 23-year-old Alexander Glazunov. The premiere took place at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg in November, 1890.

Based on themes from the opera, the Overture to Prince Igor was reconstructed by Glazunov from Borodin's sketches. Glazunov later wrote,

"I took the themes from the corresponding numbers of the opera and was fortunate enough to find the canonic ending of the second subject among the composer’s sketches. I slightly altered the fanfares for the overture…. The bass progression in the middle I found noted down on a scrap of paper, and the combination of the two themes (Igor’s aria and a phrase from the trio) was also discovered among the composer’s papers. A few bars at the very end were composed by me.”

Filled with lush, shimmering melodies and a thrilling sense of adventure, the Overture captures the dramatic sweep of the opera.

Program notes by Timothy Judd, thelistenersclub.com

MIKHAIL GLINKA
Symphony on Two Russian Themes

Born: 1804, Novospasskoe, Russia
Died: 1857, Berlin, Germany
Composed: 1834
Premiere: 1938, Moscow
Length: 13 minutes

As a child brought up in an aristocratic household, Mikhail Glinka found the music of his uncle's orchestra to be "a source of the most lively delight." Glinka went on to compose operas, such as A Life for the Tsar, and Ruslan and Lyudmila, which were strongly rooted in Russian folk music. As a result of his embrace of national musical traditions, Glinka has been called "the father of Russian classical music.”

"We have either frenzied merriment or bitter tears," wrote Glinka, observing a cultural dichotomy of his homeland. Joy and introspection exist side-by-side in Glinka's Symphony on Two Russian Themes in D minor, which unfolds in a single movement. Dating from 1834, the work was left unfinished. It was completed a century later by Vissarion Yakovlevich Shebalin, and premiered in Moscow in 1938.

Program notes by Timothy Judd, the listenersclub.com

NIKOLAI RIMSKY-KORSAKOV
Capriccio Espagnol

Born: 1844, Tikhvin, Russia
Died: 1908, Liubensk, Russia
Composed: 1887
Premiere: October 31, 1887 in St. Petersburg, performed by the Imperial Orchestra conducted by the composer
Length: 15 minutes

Completed in 1887, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's Capriccio espagnol, Op. 34 is a dazzling kaleidoscope of orchestral color, atmosphere, and instrumental virtuosity. It is the work of a self-trained composer, who became one of the greatest innovators of orchestration. As a teacher, Rimsky-Korsakov led the St. Petersburg Conservatory. His influence on Russian music extended to his students, who included Stravinsky, Prokofiev, and Respighi.

In Italian, "capriccio" means "whim." Based on Spanish folk songs and dances, and filled with vibrant rhythms, Capriccio espagnol whisks us off to exotic, far-off places of the imagination. It unfolds in five sections, played without pause. In his autobiography, the composer wrote,

"It is intended as a brilliant composition for the orchestra. The change of timbres, the felicitous choice of melodic designs and figuration patterns, exactly suiting each kind of instrument, brief virtuoso cadenzas for solo instruments, etc., constitute here the very essence of the composition and not its garb or orchestration. The Spanish themes of dance character furnished me with rich material for putting in use multiform orchestral effects. All in all, the Capriccio is undoubtedly a purely external piece, but vividly brilliant for all that.”

The music springs to life with the Alborada, a jubilant and festive morning dance which celebrates the rising of the sun. These are the bright, irrepressible strains of the Asturias, Iberian folk music from Spain's rugged northwest coast. A bright, exuberant pulse leaps from the percussion section, with triangle, tambourine, cymbals, and castanets. The solo clarinet takes centerstage as pizzicato in the violins evokes the strumming of a guitar. The section concludes with the entrance of the solo violin, a recurring voice throughout the work, and the percussive sounds of ricochet bowing.

The second section (Variazioni) begins with a beautiful folk melody, introduced by the horns. Five variations follow, in which the melody moves around the orchestra, weaving through adventurous new harmony. As if painting with sound, Rimsky-Korsakov mixes the tonal colors, moving from a lush string choir to the veiled English horn, and concluding with the flute's languid chromatic scales.

The third section brings a return of the Alborada, with the solo violin moving into the spotlight. A drum roll and a trumpet and horn fanfare announce the arrival of the fourth section, Scene and Gypsy Song. The solo violin launches into a cadenza, evocative of the glittering improvisations of a street musician. As the gypsy song continues, a cast of instrumental characters takes the stage, including: the flute, clarinet, harp, solo cello, and oboe.

The final section is a spirited, swirling dance (Fandango of the Asturias), launched into motion by the trombones. Its ever-intensifying energy culminates in a whirlwind final statement of the Alborada theme, this time at furious, breakneck speed.

Program notes by Timothy Judd, thelistenersclub.com

SERGEI RACHMANINOFF
Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor

Born: 1873, Staraya, Russia
Died: 1943, Beverly Hills, California
Composed: 1901
Premiere: November 9, 1901, Moscow Philharmonic Society
Length: 33 minutes

For three years, following the disastrous premiere of his First Symphony, Sergei Rachmaninov was unable to compose.

"I believed I had opened up entirely new paths," Rachmaninov later recalled. At the work's premiere in St. Petersburg on March 28, 1897, the 23-year-old composer hid in a backstage fire escape with his ears plugged as a possibly drunk Alexander Glazunov led the under-rehearsed orchestra through a passionless reading. The audience reacted with catcalls, and César Cui derided it as music that would "delight the inhabitants of Hell.”

His confidence shattered, Rachmaninov descended into depression. "A paralyzing apathy possessed me," he wrote in his Memoirs. "I did nothing at all and found no pleasure in anything. Half my days were spent on a couch. I had given up in great despair.”

Rachmaninov recovered with the help of hypnosis treatment, administered by Dr. Nikolai Dahl. The creative block lifted, and on the other side emerged the sensuously melodic, life-affirming Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18. The last two movements were written first, and the first movement was completed in April of 1901. Rachmaninov, one of the greatest pianists of his day, performed it around the world to great acclaim, and dedicated the score to Dr. Dahl.

The first movement (Moderato) begins with the solo piano alone. Majestic, gradually intensifying chords evoke the clamorous peal of Russian orthodox bells. The orchestra enters with a darkly passionate, brooding theme in C minor, which resembles both a solemn chant, and (in the recapitulation) a triumphant march. The melody begins with a whole step oscillation (C-D-C) which recurs throughout the development section, and closes the movement as a dramatic punctuation mark.

The clouds of C minor give way to a serene, sunny E major in the opening measures of the second movement (Adagio sostenuto). Rising over the piano's arpeggios, the flute, then the clarinet, introduce an expansive melody which is filled with quiet longing. The middle section of the movement ventures into rhapsodic adventures, with dancing lines in the piano conversing with the instrumental voices of the orchestra. From the bassoon and horn, to the viola, each suggests a distinct persona.

The final movement (Allegro scherzando) erupts with ecstatic energy. Following a spirited march, the piano enters with a jubilant, arpeggiated sonic splash, which leaps from the bottom to the top of the keyboard, and back again. The violas and oboe, in unison, introduce the lushly beautiful second theme, before passing it off to the piano. Contrapuntal cat and mouse games in the development section leads to a brief, vibrant fugue. It is the rapturous, expansive second theme which forms the movement's soaring climax. The final bars surge forward as an affirmation of pure joy.

Program notes by Timothy Judd, thelistenersclub.com