Stories of the folk

programme notes

Tchaikovsky Serenade for Strings

Pyotr Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)

Serenade for Strings

IV Finale: Tema Russo

Tchaikovsky’s life has been the subject of much discussion and speculation – particularly the circumstances of his death, whether it was from a form of cholera (as long believed), or perhaps suicide. His final years were undoubtedly tormented, which is reflected in some of the most impassioned orchestral music ever written.

This Serenade was written at a relatively calm period of Tchaikovsky’s life when he was being assisted by Madam Nadezhda von Meck, the wealthy patron who sent him money for many years – on the condition that they never met! Tchaikovsky wrote to Madam von Meck in October 1880: ‘You can imagine, dear friend, that recently my Muse has been very kind, when I tell you that I have written two works very quickly: a Festival Overture [the ‘1812’ Overture]… and a Serenade in four movements for string orchestra… I composed the serenade… from inner conviction. It is a heartfelt piece and so, I dare to think, is not lacking in real qualities.’

Tchaikovsky was not being unduly modest – the Serenade certainly does not lack real qualities, and is one of his most popular works today. The Finale uses two Russian folk tunes for its material (not just the one implied by the title), the first in the slow introduction and the second as the main theme of the Allegro.

Bartók Romanian Folk Dances

Béla Bartók (1881–1945)

Romanian Folk Dances

I Jocul cu bâta

II Braul

III Pe loc

IV Buciumeana

V Poarga româneasca

VI Maruntel

Throughout his career Béla Bartók was influenced by folk music. Together with fellow countryman and composer Zoltán Kodály, he travelled extensively in Romania and neighbouring countries searching for and collecting thousands of authentic folk songs. They visited hundreds of villages and made numerous recordings of peasants singing and playing instruments. What Bartók and Kodály discovered was not just an unsuspected wealth of folk music but a highly original musical language which had little in common with the accepted forms of Western music. Its characteristics were a different arrangement of the different notes in the basic scale and their associated harmonies, and a strongly accented, complex rhythm. Both composers realised that they could create a new and powerful idiom for themselves by totally accepting the features of Hungarian folk music without adapting them, as Liszt had done, to the more ʽcivilisedʼ classical forms and harmonies. Bartók in particular seemed suddenly to have found his identity, and those of his works which established his fame as one of the greatest composers of the 20th century were all the result of this discovery.

The Romanian Folk Dances were originally written for piano and date from 1915. Two years later Bartók arranged them for orchestra, and he, as well as others, made further arrangements for a variety of instrumental combinations. The works consist of seven short dances from different regions, and they are played with hardly a break between them.

Traditional Verbovaya doshcheka

Verbova doshchechka is a Ukrainian folk song that is traditionally sung during an ancient traditional Ukrainian spring game called the Willow Board.

The song became newly popular in Ukraine in late 1960-s through the popularisation of the 1965 rendition of the song by Ukrainian composer Myroslav Skoryk as used in the soundtrack of 1965 Ukrainina film Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors.

M Lysenko (arr. O Koshytsy) Prayer for Ukraine

Prayer for Ukraine is a patriotic Ukrainian hymn published in 1885, which became a spiritual anthem of Ukraine. The text was written by Oleksandr Konysky and the music was composed by Mykola Lysenko, first with a children’s choir in mind. The song became the regular closing hymn in services of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and other churches. It gained national significance when it was performed by mass choirs during the Ukrainian War of Independence in 1917–1920. The hymn was intended to be an official spiritual anthem 0f Ukraine.

Culbaba Theatre & Sam Glazer Zvuchat’ holosy (Voices are Heard)

Tonight is the world premiere of the new community commission, Zvuchat’holosy (Voices are Heard). The piece was created with Culbaba Theatre, a choir made up of Ukrainian refugees, led by composer-facilitator Sam Glazer.

Gustav Holst St Paul’s Suite

Gustav Holst (1874-1934)

St Paul’s Suite

I Jig

II Ostinato

III Intermezzo

IV Finale: The Dargason

The British composer Gustav Holst is known today mainly for his massive suite The Planets – one of the most performed of all orchestral works. He also wrote smaller pieces, not least among them being the cheerful St Paul’s Suite, which was completed shortly before the outbreak of the First World War.

As well as having a busy career as a performer (on the trombone), composer and conductor, Holst was a great believer in teaching, and he had a long-standing relationship with St Paul’s Girls School in Hammersmith. This Suite and a companion piece, the Brook Green Suite were both written for the pupils at St Paul’s, and he had previously also composed for the girls of James Allen’s School in Dulwich. Holst took pains not to write down for his intended young performers, and these works are full of delightful intricacies. The St Paul’s Suite is in four movements, whose titles are self-explanatory; Holst used a number of familiar folk tunes, combined with his own original material, and the work as the whole comes to a grand climax at the end of the lively Dargason.

Sponsors

Leader sponsored by Debbie Beckerman & Keith Jones
Leader sponsored by Raymond and Rosamund Calcraft

Co Leader Michael Southwell
First Violin 3 sponsored by Liz and Alistair Milliken
First Violin 4 sponsorship vacant
First Violin 5 sponsored by Christine Robson
First Violin 6 sponsored by Della Brotherston
First Violin 7 sponsorship vacant
First Violin 8 sponsorship vacant

Principal Second Violin sponsored by Geoffrey Shaw
Second Violin 2 sponsored by The Angel Family
Second Violin 3 sponsored by Keith Ball
Second Violin 4 sponsored by Alastair Fraser
Second Violin 5 sponsorship vacant
Second Violin 6 sponsored by Catherine Shaw

Principal Viola sponsored by Mark and Vanessa Petterson
Co Principal Viola sponsorship vacant
Viola 3 sponsored by Gill Cox
Viola 4 sponsorship vacant
Viola 5 sponsorship vacant

Principal Cello sponsored by Anonymous
Co Principal Cello sponsored by Leslie Aarons
Cello 3 sponsored by Gillian Noble
Cello 4 sponsored by Richard Morgan
Cello 5 sponsored by Colin and Helen Snart

Principal Double Bass sponsored by John Clarke
Co Principal Double Bass sponsored by The Bristow Family

Principal Flute sponsorship vacant
Sub Principal Flute sponsored vacant

Principal Oboe sponsored by Pat Sandry
Co Principal Oboe sponsored by Sean Rourke
Sub Principal Oboe sponsored by Geoffrey & Joy Lawrence

Principal Clarinet sponsored by Derek and Deirdre Lea
Sub Principal Clarinet sponsored by Graham Harman

Principal Bassoon sponsorship vacant
Sub Principal Bassoon sponsored by Barbara Tower

Principal Horn sponsorship vacant
Sub Principal Horn sponsored by Chris Harman

Principal Trumpet sponsored by Ishani Bhoola
Sub Principal Trumpet sponsored by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles

Principal Trombone sponsorship vacant
Sub Principal Trombone sponsorship vacant

Principal Timpani sponsored by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
Principal Percussion sponsorship vacant

biographies

David Angus
conductor

Now in the fourteenth year as Boston Lyric Opera’s Music Director, David Angus recently navigated new and innovative concepts of presenting opera online, serving as music director and conductor for the critically acclaimed productions of Desert In and The Fall of the House of Usher. In the 2023/24 season he conducts their new productions of Madame Butterfly, La Cenerentola and Joseph Bologne’s opera Anonymous Lover.

In addition to his ongoing work with the BLO, David Angus’ lead the highly successful production of Sweeney Todd at the Royal Opera Stockholm directed by the Opera’s Artistic Director Michael Cavanagh marking his first season at the house in 22/23.

Recent projects included orchestral concerts both in the USA and UK, a production of Le Nozze di Figaro at the Hawaii Opera Theatre as well as recording with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. In 2022 David conducted the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s Valentine’s Opera Gala at Cadogan Hall in London, one of the first concerts with an audience coming out of the pandemic.

Prior to his time at Boston Lyric Opera David was the Music Director of Glimmerglass Opera in upstate New York as well as Chief Conductor of the Symphony Orchestra of Flanders, where he played a major part in establishing it as Belgium’s most exciting and successful new orchestra. In recent seasons he has made his debuts at the Toscanini Orchestra in Parma, the Porto Symphony Orchestra, and he returned to Wexford Festival Opera, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Huddersfield Choral Society, and to his former orchestra in Belgium for the World Premiere of a major choral and orchestral work, the Symphony of Trees by Piet Swerts.

David Angus started out as Chorus Master and Staff Conductor for Glyndebourne Festival Opera both in the Festival and on tour. His operatic career then took him to Italy, to Milan, Bologna and Modena. In Britain, he worked at Scottish Opera, Opera North and English Touring Opera, as well as conducting several British premieres for the Brighton Festival. Throughout Europe he appeared with the, Opéra National de Paris, Danish National Opera, Malmö Opera and Icelandic Opera. But also, on the other side of the Atlantic he contributed to the musical life by conducting operas at the Canadian Opera Company or the Cleveland Opera.

He has led orchestras and choirs all over Europe, particularly in Scandinavia where he has been a regular guest with the Lahti Symphony Orchestra and several Danish orchestras. He has conducted most of the major orchestras in Great Britain including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Hallé Orchestra, London Mozart Players, most of the BBC orchestras and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. In North America, he conducted the Utah Symphony, the San Antonio Symphony and the Calgary Philharmonic.

Born in England and from Danish descent, David Angus spent his early years in Belfast. He was a boy chorister at King’s College, Cambridge, under Sir David Willcocks, and he read music at Surrey University. He finished his training with a Fellowship in Conducting at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, where he won several prizes for his opera conducting.

Simon Blendis
leader/director

Simon joined LMP as leader in 2014. He was a member of the Schubert Ensemble for twenty-three years, from 1995 until the group retired in 2018, leaving a legacy of over 80 commissions, 25 CD recordings and a large library of live performances on YouTube.

Simon is in demand as a guest-leader and has appeared in this role with most of the UK‘s major orchestras. He has also appeared as a guest-director with orchestras such as the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, the English Chamber Orchestra, the Amsterdam Sinfonietta and the Scottish Ensemble. Since 1999 he has shared the position of leader of Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa in Japan, with whom he has recorded Vivaldi‘s Four Seasons for the Warner label. As a soloist he has appeared with orchestras including the Philharmonia Orchestra, the RPO and the CBSO.

During the Coronavirus lockdowns Simon spent time researching the light music legacy of legendary violinist Max Jaffa. The resulting CD of 25 lost or forgotten gems from this archive, entitled Love is Like a Violin, was released in July 2022 to critical acclaim, and has already garnered over 4 million streams.

Increasingly sought after as a teacher, Simon is a professor of violin at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Alice Younger
solo violin

Alice is a violinist who studied at Eastbourne College and was invited to join the National Youth Orchestra in 2022. Alice been playing the violin since she was seven and passed her grade eight with distinction at the age of just 13.

Create Music Strings Ensembles

Create Music are the region’s leading provider of high-quality, inclusive music and arts education together with performance opportunities in the South East. Taking in Brighton & Hove, Eastbourne, Hastings, Lewes, Rother, Wealden and the surrounding areas Create Music offer children, young people and adults the chance to explore their passion for music through lessons, ensembles, projects, workshops, orchestras and summer schools.

Hastings Sinfonia

Hastings Sinfonia are a vibrant orchestra formed by local professional and talented musicians. They pride themselves on being friendly and welcoming, with lots of laughter at their rehearsals. Founded in 2012 by Hastings composer Polo Piatti, they perform music that is popular and easy to listen to, often playing many shorter pieces. They include old classics, popular works, film music, opera highlights and new melodic works by living composers; their concerts are therefore ideal for people new to classical music as well as serious music lovers.