Orchestra Kingston: A Yuletide Celebration

DECEMBER 12th, 2021, 2:30pm at The Spire

Tickets: $25 (adult), $20 (senior & student), Free (under 16)

For those wishing to make a donation please contact us or donate through CanadaHelps.org

*Please bring proof of vaccination and photo ID to the concert

Program

Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail, K.384: Overture – W.A. Mozart (1756 – 1791)

The Abduction from the Seraglio; also known as Il Seraglio) is a singspiel in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The German libretto is by Gottlieb Stephanie, based on Christoph Friedrich Bretzner's Belmont und Constanze, oder Die Entführung aus dem Serail. The work premiered on 16 July 1782 at the Vienna Burgtheater, with the composer conducting. The opera was a huge success. Although the opera greatly raised Mozart's standing with the public as a composer, it did not make him rich: he was paid a flat fee of 100 Imperial ducats (about 450 florins) for his work, and made no profits from the many subsequent performances.

The Emperor Joseph II commissioned the creation of The Abduction from the Seraglio, but when he heard it, he complained to Mozart, "That is too fine for my ears – there are too many notes." Mozart replied, "There are just as many notes as there should be. However, he authenticity of this story is not accepted by all scholars.

Symphony No. 4 in Eb Major – Anton Bruckner (1824 – 1896)

Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 4 in E-flat major, WAB 104, is one of the composer's most popular works. It was written in 1874 and revised several times through 1888. It was dedicated to Prince Konstantin of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst. It was premiered in 1881 by Hans Richter in Vienna to great acclaim.

The symphony's nickname of Romantic was used by the composer himself. This was at the height of the Romantic movement in the arts as depicted, amongst others, in the operas Lohengrin and Siegfried of Richard Wagner.

The symphony has four movements. Bruckner revised the symphony multiple times and it exists in three major versions.

There exists much evidence that Bruckner had a program in mind for the Fourth Symphony. In a letter to conductor Hermann Levi of 8 December 1884, Bruckner wrote: "In the first movement after a full night's sleep the day is announced by the horn, 2nd movement song, 3rd movement hunting trio, musical entertainment of the hunters in the wood." There is a similar passage in a letter from the composer to Paul Heyse of 22 December 1890: "In the first movement of the 'Romantic' Fourth Symphony the intention is to depict the horn that proclaims the day from the town hall! Then life goes on; in the Gesangsperiode [the second subject] the theme is the song of the great tit Zizipe. 2nd movement: song, prayer, serenade. 3rd: hunt and in the Trio how a barrel-organ plays during the midday meal in the forest.

In addition to these clues that come directly from Bruckner, the musicologist Theodor Helm communicated a more detailed account reported via the composer's associate Bernhard Deubler: "Mediaeval city—Daybreak—Morning calls sound from the city towers—the gates open—On proud horses the knights burst out into the open, the magic of nature envelops them—forest murmurs—bird song—and so the Romantic picture develops further..."

Nutcracker Suite No.1, op.71a – Tchaikovsky, Piotr Ilyich (1840 – 1893)

Marche

Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy

Danse des Mirlitons

Danse Arabe

Trepak

Although the original production of the ballet was not a success, the 20-minute suite that Tchaikovsky extracted from the ballet was. The complete Nutcracker has enjoyed enormous popularity since the late 1960s and is now performed by countless ballet companies, primarily during the Christmas season, especially in North America.

Tchaikovsky's score has become one of his most famous compositions. Among other things, the score is noted for its use of the celesta.

Sleigh Ride – Leroy Anderson (1908 -1975)

Leroy Anderson wrote the music for this song during a heatwave in July of 1946, while staying at a cottage in Woodbury, Connecticut, with his wife and 18-month-old daughter. Anderson was an orchestral composer who lived in the Boston area and moved to Woodbury permanently in 1948, where he lived until his 1975 death at age 66.

Arthur Fiedler premiered the song with the Boston Pops, who Leroy was an arranger for earlier in his career. Words for "Sleigh Ride" were added in 1950 by Mitchell Parish, and the song has since become a Christmas classic.

The lyrics, "Like a picture print by Currier and Ives" refer to a printmaking firm that produced some of the most iconic and popular American artwork of the 19th century.

Christmas Festival – Leroy Anderson (1908 -1975)

Arthur Fiedler asked Leroy Anderson to write a special concert piece for a Christmas recording in 1950. Anderson selected eight of the most popular Christmas carols and one Christmas song, "Jingle Bells". Using the themes, Anderson built a concert overture that was nine minuutes in length (8:48), whose title at the time of the June 12, 1950 recording was "Christmas Festival". For publication in 1952, Anderson eliminated "The First Noel" and shortened the overture overall to a length of 5:45. Anderson adjusted the title to "A Christmas Festival".