Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born in Votkinsk, Russia, in 1840, the son of a well-to-do mining engineer. He studied law and at 19 started work as a clerk with the Ministry of Justice. He resigned his post after 4 years to pursue his interest in music at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. In 1866, he went to Moscow, where he was appointed professor of harmony at the new Conservatory. He completed his First Symphony there, along with the opera The Voyevode. In 1869, he completed his ballet Romeo and Juliet on an outline suggested by Balakirev. New inspirations flowed with his second symphony (Little Russian), three operas, a third symphony (Polish), and the Piano Concerto in B flat. Following a disastrous marriage of just 9 weeks, Tchaikovsky attempted suicide and suffered a mental breakdown. Shortly afterward, a wealthy widow, Madame von Meck, became his patron and gave him an annual salary but on the condition that they never meet. He was able to give up teaching and he produced some of his most memorable music. After 14 years of support, von Meck stopped all payments when she thought she was bankrupt. Tchaikovsky recovered financially, but not spiritually. He enjoyed a visit to the United States, where he conducted his works for the opening of Carnegie Hall in 1891. Shortly after the premiere of his Pathétique symphony, he drank some contaminated water, some evidence suggests intentionally in a state of depression, and died of cholera on November 6, 1893.
Dance Of The Jesters
The Dance Of The Jesters was composed as incidental music for the ballet The Snow Maidens. The ballet is not based on the Hans Christian Andersen story, but on a contemporary Russian fantasy-play Snegourochka. The Snow Maiden, daughter of Father Frost, falls in love with a human, Misgir, and plans to marry him. However, Misgir is already betrothed to Coupava. The Snow Maiden follows him southward to interrupt his wedding, but she falls victim to the warmth of the sun and melts. The Dance is an incredibly lively affair that has stood out from the songs, dances, and choruses of the ballet. It captures the color and zest of Russian folk dance.
Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Finale
Composed by Tschaikowsky during the winter of 1876-7, this symphony is a splendid example of the great Russian's remarkable inventive powers, originality, and overwhelming command of instrumental effects and resources. The Finale of this symphony is splendidly adapted for performance by a Military Band. The movement, individually considered, may be described as a wild rondo. There are three chief themes -- the first is exposed at the beginning by all the higher instruments, fortissimo against sustained chords in the brass. The second follows immediately, a folk tune In the Fields there stood a Birchtree. The third theme appears after a return of the first, a joyous, march-like melody, sounded in harmony by the full band. It is in this way that the composer succeeds in drowning his despair and fatalism in a wild proclamation of pseudojoy, with which the symphony comes to a tumultuous end.
Frank Ticheli was born in 1958 in Monroe, Louisiana. He received his Bachelor of Music in Composition from Southern Methodist University and Masters Degree in Composition and Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Michigan. He is Associate Professor of Music at the University of Southern California and is the Composer-in-Residence of the Pacific Symphony Orchestra. He has composed works for bands, wind ensemble, orchestra, chamber ensembles, and the theatre. His music has garnered many prestigious awards including the Goddard Lieberson fellowship and Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters; the 1989 Walter Beeler memorial Composition Prize; the Ross Lee Finney Award; and first prize in the 11th annual Symposium for New Band Music in Virginia. The New York Times has described his music as “lean and muscular and above all, active, in motion.”
Amazing Grace
The hymn Amazing Grace was written by John Newton (1725-1807), a slaveship captain who, after years of transporting slaves across the Atlantic Ocean to the New World, suddenly saw through divine grace the evilness of his acts. Ticheli's interpretation was commissioned by John Whitwell in loving memory of his father, John Harvey Whitwell, and was first performed in 1994. Ticheli wrote:
“I wanted my setting of Amazing Grace to reflect the powerful simplicity of the words and melody -- to be sincere, to be direct, to be honest -- and not through the use of novel harmonies and clever tricks, but by traveling traditional paths in search of truth and authenticity.”“I believe that music has the power to take us to a place that words alone cannot. And so my own feelings about Amazing Grace reside in this setting itself. The harmony, texture, orchestration, and form are inseparable, intertwined so as to be perceived as a single expressive entity.”
Blue Shades
This composition reflects Frank Ticheli’s love for the traditional jazz music that he heard so often while growing up near new Orleans. Blue Shades was his opportunity to express his own musical style in this medium. He provides the following description of the work:
As its title suggests, the work alludes to the Blues, and a jazz feeling is prevalent — however, it is in not literally a Blues piece. There is not a single 12-bar blues progression to be found, and except for a few isolated sections, the eighth-note is not swung.The work, however, is heavily influenced by the Blues: “Blue notes” (flatted 3rds, 5ths, and 7ths) are used constantly; Blues harmonies, rhythms, and melodic idioms pervade the work; and many “shades of blue” are depicted, from bright blue, to dark, to dirty, to hot blue.
At times, Blue Shades burlesques some of the clichés from the Big Band era, not as a mockery of those conventions, but as a tribute. A slow and quiet middle section recalls the atmosphere of a dark, smoky blues haunt. An extended clarinet solo played near the end recalls Benny Goodman’s hot playing style, and ushers in a series of “wailing” brass chords recalling the train whistle effects commonly used during that era.
Shenandoah
The Shenandoah Valley and the Shenandoah River are located in Virginia. The origin of the name for this river and valley is obscure. The origins of the folk song are equally obscure, but all date to the 19th century. Many variants on the melody and text have been handed down through the years with the most popular telling the story of an early settler’s love for a Native American woman. The composer wrote:
“In my setting of Shenandoah I was inspired by the freedom and beauty of the folk melody and by the natural images evoked by the words, especially the image of a river. I was less concerned with the sound of a rolling river than with its life-affirming energy — its timelessness. Sometimes the accompaniment flows quietly under the melody; other times it breathes alongside it. The work’s mood ranges from quiet reflection, through growing optimism, to profound exaltation.”
Vesuvius
Mt. Vesuvius, the volcano that destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum in A.D. 79, is the icon of power and energy in this work. The tension and suspense of the impending cataclysm characterizes the introduction of the main themes. Driving rhythms and complex mode changes convey a bacchanalian mood that is interrupted by quotations from the Dies Irae of the medieval Requiem Mass, invoked as a symbol of death and destruction. An image of everyday village life in the towns oblivious to the danger, portrayed in a quiet interlude, is disturbed by the first fiery events on the mountain. A final battle of themes builds to a state of extreme agitation, conveying the chaos of the pyroclastic explosions and suffocating ash.
Joan Tower was born in 1938 in New Rochelle, New York, but grew up in South America. She took courses in composition with Brant and Calabro and studied the piano at Bennington College, receiving her B.A. in 1961. Continuing studies at Columbia University, she earned her M.A. in 1964 and D.M.A. in 1978. She organized the DaCapo Players in 1969 and was their pianist when they won the Naumburg Award in 1973. In 1972, she began teaching at Bard College, NY, where she is still a professor. Tower currently serves as composer-in-residence for the Orchestra of St. Luke's with her term running to the 2002 season. She has been recognized with a 1976 Guggenheim fellowship, National Endowment for the Arts fellowships in 1974, 1975, 1980, and 1984, and an Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters award in 1983.
Celebration Fanfare from "Stepping Stones"
The music for the ballet “Stepping Stones” (1993) was commissioned by choreographer Kathryn Posin for the Milwaukee Ballet. Joan Tower's rhythmically and harmonically muscular score was developed in close collaboration with Posin’s choreography. Tower commented: “As a composer, I've always thought of myself as a closet choreographer. Texture, space, speed, direction, all the words that apply to dance also apply to music.” Friend and fellow composer Jack Stamp suggested to Tower that the final movement, Celebration Fanfare, would transcribe well into an arrangement for wind band, not suspecting that she would give him the task. The rising tones of the Fanfare are fitting for the progressive stages of a woman’s development, which is the subject of the ballet.