University of florida Performing arts

presents

ToronTo Symphony orcheSTra

peTer oundjian, conducTor

jan LiSiecki, piano SoLoiST

satUrday, JanUary 9, 2016, 7:30 P.m.

CUrtis m. PhilliPs, m.d. Center for the Performing arts

ToronTo Symphony orcheSTrapeter oundjian, conductorJan Lisiecki, piano Soloist

proGram

Wondrous Light John Estacio

Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 58 Ludwig van BeethovenJan Lisiecki, Piano Soloist

i. Allegro moderatoii. Andante con motoiii. Rondo (Vivace)

INtErMISSION

Scheherazade, Op. 35 Nikolai rimsky-KorsakovJonathan Crow, Violin Soloist

i. The Sea and Sinbad’s Shipii. The Story of Kalendar Princeiii. The Young Prince and the Young Princessiv. The Festival at Baghdad — The Sea — The Ship Goes to Pieces on a Rock

PrOGrAM SUBJECt tO CHANGE

tour Direction:

tim Fox and Alison Ahart Williams

Columbia Artists Management LLC

New York, NY

cami.com

Official Airline 2016 tSO Florida tour

proGram noTeSWondrous Light (1997)John EstacioBorn Newmarket, Ontario, Canada, April 8, 1966

Officially, Wondrous Light is the second movement of Borealis. However, it can also be played on its own. the title change was made in 2004.

Wondrous Light is designed to be a celebration of the aurora borealis, also known as the “northern lights.” Being inspired by the notion of dancing celestial lights, the music is fervent and animated. Wondrous Light is perhaps less of a literal musical representation of the borealis and is, instead, inspired by their energy and the speed at which the lights seem to zip through the evening skies.

A nimble melody introduced by the oboe is developed intervallically and rhythmically throughout the composition. Sudden swells in volume accompanied by quick glissandos were inspired by the swirling curtains of green light which twist and turn and vanish suddenly in the night sky. towards the conclusion of this movement the nimble theme is transformed into a noble melody performed as a traditional chorale by the trombones, and then repeated by the full orchestra. the conclusion of this piece attempts to capture the majesty of the borealis—they have graced our northern skies since time began and will continue to dance ever more.

— Program Note by the composer

Piano Concerto no. 4 in g major, op. 58 (1805–06)Ludwig van BeethovenBaptized Bonn, Germany, December 17, 1770; died Vienna, Austria, March 26, 1827

Conceived around 1805, Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto had its première in Vienna on December 22, 1808, with the composer conducting from the keyboard—the last time he performed a concerto in public. In this most lyrical, poetic, and fantastical of his concertos, Beethoven does not abandon Mozartean concerto form but imbues it with a genuinely romantic voice, reconceives it in ways all the more expressive for their audacity.

the work is rich in themes, some of them appearing as dreamy digressions or with piquant details of harmony, texture, and ornamentation. All three movements feature sudden shifts of mood: ardent and melancholy, heroic and ethereal, anguished and whimsical. Beethoven draws novel, vibrant colours from both orchestra and piano, and the relationship of the two forces is unusually complex and dramatic. the piano writing is brilliant and rhapsodic, full of sensuous melodies, sweeping scales and arpeggios, and decorative figuration in the highest register.

In the Andante con moto, an astonishingly original conception, the two forces play utterly different music: the orchestra (strings only) makes jagged, forceful pronouncements to which the piano replies with quiet chords and poignant melody, and as this dialogue unfolds, the strings are calmed by the piano’s entreaties. the rhetoric of protagonist and antagonist and the recitative-like textures hint at a dramatic situation.

Indeed, many commentators have heard this movement as a meditation on the myth of Orpheus, who, shielded by the music of his lyre, braved the Underworld to retrieve his dead beloved, Euridice, winning over hostile Furies with his song, guiding Euridice through the gloom, but losing her again when he breaks his vow and looks back at her. No documentary evidence proves that Beethoven wrote this concerto with Orpheus in mind, though the correspondences between myth and music are so compelling, and make sense of so many strange departures from Classical models, that they are difficult to dismiss as coincidental. regardless, this music is unusually vivid, picturesque, and imaginative—that much is undeniable.

— Program Note by Kevin Bazzana

Scheherazade, op. 35 (1888)Nikolai rimsky-KorsakovBorntikhvin, russia, March 18, 1844; died Liubensk, russia, June 21, 1908

rimsky-Korsakov mastered the art of colourful orchestration, a skill through which he expressed his taste for exotic subjects. It was virtually inevitable that he would turn his attention to one of the world’s best-known collections of folklore, the Arabian—or 1001—Nights. In his autobiography, he gave his intentions in composing Scheherazade:

“I had in view the creation of an orchestral suite in four movements, closely knit by the unity of its themes and motives, yet presenting, as it were, a kaleidoscope of fairy tale images…I meant the hinted titles of the movements to direct but slightly the hearer’s fancy on the path which my own fancy had traveled.” He attached the following introduction to the score: “the Sultan Shakriar, convinced of the falsehood and inconstancy of all women, had sworn an oath to put to death each of his wives after the first night. However the Sultana Scheherazade saved her life by arousing his interest in the tales which she told during the 1001 nights. Driven by curiosity, the Sultan postponed her execution from day to day, and at last abandoned his bloodthirsty design.”

the suite opens with a stern brass theme that could represent the bloodthirsty sultan. Answering it is the most important recurring motive, a bewitching melody sung by the solo violin: the voice of Scheherazade. Early on, rimsky-Korsakov begins to dot the score with the featured passages for solo instruments—flute, clarinet, cello, horn—that make the entire suite a marvelous orchestral showpiece. the kaleidoscopic second movement has the character of a scherzo, with the solo bassoon launching the tale in a sinuous manner. throughout, solo winds rhapsodize in flexible rhythm over a throbbing string accompaniment, and a war-like fanfare introduced by trombones and tuba plays an important role in the fantastic proceedings.

the third movement offers a luscious romantic reverie; a dance, tinged with light percussion, appears at the core. the finale is a boisterous carnival, where themes heard earlier in the suite jostle for attention. It is ultimately crowned by a colossal climax, after which the “Scheherazade” theme returns one last time. Keening softly in the heights, it rocks the theme of the Sultan, its bullying tone now soothed, in a tender lullaby.

— Program Note by Don Anderson

Toronto Symphony orchestraFounded in 1922, the toronto Symphony Orchestra (tSO) is one of Canada’s major cultural institutions, recognized internationally. Peter Oundjian, now in his 12th season as the tSO’s Music Director, leads the Orchestra with a commitment to innovative programming and audience engagement through a broad range of performances that showcase the exceptional talents of the Orchestra along with a roster of distinguished guest artists and conductors. the tSO also serves the larger community with tSOUNDCHECK, the original under-35 ticket program; the toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra; and music education programs that reach more than 50,000 students each year.

Under Oundjian’s leadership, the tSO has distinguished itself as an active supporter of new Canadian and international works, predominantly through its annual New Creations Festival. Since 2008, the Orchestra has released eight recordings under its self-produced label, tSO Live, and the first of several recordings with the prestigious Chandos records label in 2014. Over the past decade, the tSO has toured to regions in Canada and the United States, including regular excursions to Northern Ontario, as well as two sold-out appearances at Carnegie Hall. In August 2014, the Orchestra completed a critically acclaimed European tour which included the first performance of a North American orchestra at reykjavik’s Harpa Hall.

BIoGraphIeSpeter oundjianConductor

A dynamic presence in the conducting world, toronto-born conductor Peter Oundjian is renowned for his probing musicality, collaborative spirit, and engaging personality. Oundjian’s appointment as Music Director

of the toronto Symphony Orchestra (tSO) in 2004 reinvigorated the Orchestra with numerous recordings, tours, and acclaimed innovative programming as well as extensive audience growth, thereby significantly strengthening the ensemble’s presence in the world. He recently led the tSO on a tour of Europe which included a sold-out performance at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw and the first performance of a North American orchestra at reykjavik’s Harpa Hall.

Oundjian was appointed Music Director of the royal Scottish National Orchestra (rSNO) in 2012. Under his baton, the orchestra has enjoyed several successful tours including one to China, and has continued its relationship with Chandos records. this season Oundjian and the rSNO opened the Edinburgh Festival with the innovative Harmonium Project to great critical and audience acclaim.

Few conductors bring such musicianship and engagement to the world’s great podiums—from Berlin, Amsterdam, and tel Aviv, to New York, Chicago, and Sydney. He has also appeared at some of the great annual gatherings of music and music-lovers: from the BBC Proms and the Prague Spring Festival, to the Edinburgh Festival and the Philadelphia Orchestra’s Mozart Festival where he was Artistic Director from 2003 to 2005.

Oundjian was Principal Guest Conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra from 2006 to 2010 and Artistic Director of the Caramoor International Music Festival in New York between 1997 and 2007. Since 1981, he has been a visiting professor at the Yale School of Music, and was awarded the university’s Sanford Medal for distinguished service to music in 2013.

Jan LisieckiPiano soloist

twenty-year-old Canadian pianist Jan Lisiecki has signed an exclusive recording agreement with Deutsche Grammophon at the age of 15. His debut recording on the prestigious label featured Mozart’s Piano Concertos K. 466 and K. 467 with the Bavarian radio Symphony Orchestra under Christian Zacharias. Nominated for a JUNO Award for Classical Album of the Year 2013, the CD was described by The New York Times as “pristine, lyrical and intelligent […] direct, unmannered and fresh.” Lisiecki’s second DG album, released in April 2013, features Chopin’s Études Op. 10 and Op. 25.

recognized for his poetic and mature playing, Lisiecki has been awarded many prestigious awards. In 2013, he received the Leonard Bernstein Award of the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, in 2011, Jeune Soliste des radios Francophones, and in 2010, révélations radio-Canada Musique. In 2012 he was named UNICEF Ambassador to Canada after being a National Youth representative since 2008.

Performance highlights in recent seasons included concerts with Claudio Abbado and Mozart Orchestra, his subscription debut with the New York Philharmonic, his BBC Proms debut with Antonio Pappano and the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia at royal Albert Hall in London, and his debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra under

Yannick Nézet-Séguin at the Bravo Vail Festival. His official subscription debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra took place in April 2014, where he performed three different Mozart concertos in one week. recent debuts also included concerts with Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala in Milan under Daniel Harding, return engagements to Orchestre de Paris, debuts with the tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, NHK Symphony Orchestra in tokyo, recital debuts at Santa Cecilia in rome, in San Francisco, his Wigmore Hall debut in London and his debut with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin in June 2015. Since the 2012/13 season Jan is a member of Konzerthaus Dortmund’s series “Junge Wilde.”

Jan Lisiecki has substituted for Martha Argerich and Nelson Freire, and has shared the stage with Yo-Yo Ma, Pinchas Zukerman, and Emanuel Ax and has performed in Armenia, Belgium, Brazil, China, England, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Italy, Japan, Korea, Poland, Scotland, Sweden, Switzerland, the U.S., and throughout Canada. Worldwide recital debuts included Berlin, Brussels, Chicago, Frankfurt, Gstaad, Hamburg, Lisbon, Nagoya, Osaka, Seattle, tokyo, Vienna, and Zurich. Since summer 2011 Jan has appeared frequently at various festivals including Verbier, radio France, La roque d’Anthéron, rheingau Musik Festival as well as the Schleswig- Holstein Musik Festival and the “Chopin and his Europe” Festival in Warsaw.

In September 2015 he will record his third CD for Deutsche Grammophon with Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia under Antonio Pappano for international release in early 2016. In January 2016 he will make Carnegie Hall debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Yannick Nézet-Séguin. He will further make subscription debuts with the Cleveland Orchestra and San Franscisco Symphony and tour with the toronto Symphony Orchestra in the USA. In Germany he will tour to all major cities with the Warsaw Philharmonic and also play/conduct the Zurich Chamber Orchestra on tour with Mozart concertos K. 466 and K. 467.

Jan Lisiecki’s live performances of both Chopin piano concertos with Sinfonia Varsovia and Howard Shelley were released in 2010 by the Chopin Institute in Warsaw.

the recording received the Diapason Découverte award in May 2010; Diapason describes Jan as “an unmannered virtuoso already with virile and, above all, irresistibly natural playing.” BBC Music Magazine commended “Lisiecki’s mature musicality,” and his “sensitively distilled” interpretation of the contrasting concerti, played “with sparkling technique as well as idiomatic pathos,” noting that “even in a crowded CD catalogue, this refreshingly unhyped debut release is one to celebrate.”

Jan Lisiecki’s performances have been broadcast on CBC Canada, BBC radio, Austrian radio, French radio, German radio, Luxembourg radio, and Polish radio, as well as on French television 3 and on tV 1 and 2 in Poland. He was featured in the CBC Next! series as one of the most promising young artists in Canada, and in the 2009 Joe Schlesinger CBC National News documentary about his life: The Reluctant Prodigy. In May 2013 the German ZDF featured Jan in the news show Heute Journal.

Upon the school board’s recommendation Jan was accelerated four grades and graduated from high school in January 2011. Since September 2011 he has been studying for a Bachelor of Music at the Glenn Gould School of Music in toronto, Canada.

ToronTo Symphony orcheSTra roSTer

Violins Jonathan Crow, Concertmaster Tom Beck Concertmaster ChairMark Skazinetsky, Associate

ConcertmasterMarc-André Savoie, Assistant

ConcertmasterEtsuko Kimura, Assistant

ConcertmasterPaul Meyer, Principal, Second ViolinWendy rose, Associate Principal,

Second ViolinEri Kosaka, Assistant Principal,

Second ViolinIvan AlexanderAtis Bankas Sydney Chun Carol Lynn FujinoAmanda Goodburn terry HolowachBridget HuntAmalia Joanou-CanzoneriMi Hyon KimShane KimLeslie Dawn KnowlesSergei NikonovHyung-Sun PaikYoung Dae ParkSemyon PertsovskyPeter SeminovsJennifer thompsonAngelique toewsJames WallenbergVirginia Chen WellsArkady Yanivker

Violasteng Li, Principal Principal Viola funded by David and Renette Berman Eric Nowlin, Associate Principaltheresa rudolph, Assistant PrincipalDaniel BlackmanIvan IvanovichGary LabovitzDiane LeungCharmain LouisMary Carol NugentChristopher redfieldKent teeple

cellosJoseph Johnson, Principal Principal Cello Chair funded by Dr. Armand HammerEmmanuelle Beaulieu Bergeron,

Associate PrincipalWinona Zelenka, Assistant PrincipalIgor GefterMarie Gelinasroberta JanzenBritton rileyKirk Worthington

Double BassesJeffrey Beecher, Principal Principal Double Bass Chair

annually funded by the Saunderson Family

Kristen Bruya, Assistant Principaltheodore Chantimothy DawsonChas ElliottDavid Longenecker Paul rogers

FlutesNora Shulman, Principal Toronto Symphony Volunteer

Committee Principal Flute ChairJulie ranti, Associate PrincipalLeonie WallCamille Watts

piccoloCamille Watts

oboesSarah Jeffrey, Principal Principal Oboe funded by Pam and Chris HodgsonKeith Atkinson, Associate PrincipalCary EbliSarah Lewis

english hornCary Ebli

clarinetsJoaquin Valdepeñas, Principal Sheryl L. and David W. Kerr

Principal Clarinet ChairYao Guang Zhai, Associate PrincipalJoseph OrlowskiAmy Zoloto

e-Flat clarinetYao Guang Zhai

Bass clarinetAmy Zoloto

BassoonsMichael Sweeney, PrincipalCatherine Chen, Associate PrincipalSamuel BanksFraser Jackson

contrabassoonFraser Jackson

hornsNeil Deland, Principal Dr. Michael Braudo Principal Horn ChairChristopher Gongos, Associate

Principalrichard CohenAudrey GoodGabriel radford

TrumpetsAndrew McCandless, Principal Toronto Symphony Volunteer

Committee Principal Trumpet Chair

Steven Woomert, Associate Principal

James GardinerJames Spragg

TrombonesGordon Wolfe, PrincipalVanessa Fralick, Associate Principal

Bass TromboneJeffrey Hall

TubaMark tetreault, Principal

TimpaniDavid Kent, PrincipalGeorgi Videnov, Assistant

percussionJohn rudolph, PrincipalPatricia KruegerGeorgi Videnov

harpHeidi Van Hoesen Gorton, Principal Principal Harp funded by Richard Rooney and Laura Dinner

KeyboardPatricia Krueger, Principal Principal Keyboard funded by

Hans and Susan Brenninkmeyer

LibrariansGary Corrin, Principal Principal Librarian funded by Bob and Ann CorcoranKim Gilmore

orchestra personnel managerDavid Kent

Peter oundjian, music directorsir andrew davis, Conductor laureate

steven reineke, Principal Pops Conductor | earl lee, rBC resident Conductorgary Kulesha, Composer advisor | Jordan Pal, rBC affiliate Composer

shalom Bard, toronto symphony youth orchestra Conductor