Friday, August 1st, Lake Tahoe SummerFest opens its 2014 season! This opening concert features music of Mendelssohn, Britten and Beethoven, all of which have deep roots in the natural world. Mendelssohn's visit to Scotland and Fingal's Cave gave rise to sweeping orchestral sea sounds, Britten's use of six poems about night takes us into the nocturnal world of dreams and eerie beauty, and Beethoven's sunny 4th Symphony reflects the countryside he inhabited while he composed. Most importantly, we are honored to have star tenor Matthew Polenzani join the orchestra for the entire opening weekend, leading us through the Britten Serenade, famous opera arias, and the most beloved songs of Schubert.
To be in Lake Tahoe experiencing music that reflects the world's natural beauty creates a very remarkable synergy. To give you a taste of what's in store for you, we've prepared a few notes and music clips that will introduce you to the stunning music of the season. Click on the arrows, and enjoy!
FRIDAY, AUGUST 1, 7 PM
"Hebrides Overture, Fingal's Cave":
The ideal musical description of a natural wonder, and a state of awe.
When Felix Mendelssohn was 20 years old - already a famous composer and pianist - he traveled to Scotland's Isle of Staffa and saw Fingal's Cave. He was transfixed, and wrote to his sister “In order to make you understand how extraordinarily the Hebrides affected me, the following came into my mind there” and penned 21 bars of music that would become the opening of the piece, and the perfect rendering of a seascape and crashing ocean waves. Fingal's Cave is famous for the unusual musical sounds that emanate from inside of it when the seas are active; in this selelction you'll hear the quiet water grow into stormy waves and then retreat.
Benjamin Britten: Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings
One of the greatest song cycles of the 20th century:
a mystical rendering of night, dreams, and sleep.
Benjamin Britten is the perhaps the most widely acclaimed British composer of the 20th century.. In this hauntingly beautiful and compelling work, the composer uses the unusual color of solo tenor, solo horn and string orchestra to set six first-rate poems that touch on the theme of night and dreams in a remarkable range of moods.
Here are short samples from 3 of the 6 movements:
Prologue - 14 magical bars for horn alone. The soloist is instructed to play without pressing the keys, and spins a musical line that sounds almost primeval.
Hymn - a poem of Diana, the goddess of hunting and the moon, in a brilliant setting for both soloists. "Queen and Huntress, chaste and fair/Now the Sun is laid to sleep/Seated in thy silver chair/State in wonted manner keep:/Hesperus entreats thy light/Goddess excellently bright." (Ben Johnson)
Sonnet finishes the song cycle in one of the most riveting exposed passages ever written for soloist and strings. After the tenor forcefully proclaims "Save me from curious conscious, that still lords its strength for darkness," the strings begin to create a luminous rising line that echoes sleep spinning heavenwards, leading the piece to stillness. "Turn the key deftly in the oiled wards/and seal the hushed casket of my Soul." (John Keats)
Beethoven Symphony No. 4 finishes the concert in the spirit of celebration! A sunny, cheerful and high-spirited work, this lyrical symphony reflects the spaciousness and warmth of nature, just as we experience it here in Tahoe. Beethoven wrote this work at the country palace of a patron, far away from the bustle of Vienna, and one can certainly hear the inspiration of the natural world. Though the symphony is spontaneous and has light elements, it still contains deep and powerful moments, with darkness blossoming into light.
Movement 1 begins with a suspenseful slow introduction, then suddenly leaps into a lively Allegro (meaning 'happy'):
