Concerts of the season 2009 - 2010

Concert de Noël - Tournai - 13-12-2009

Date

• 30 october 2009

Place

• Saint-Michel theatre, Brussels (Etterbeek)
   

Program

• Aaron COPLAND: El Salón México  
• George GERSHWIN: Concerto in F for piano and orchestra
• François GLORIEUX: Manhattan, for piano and orchestra, opus 20
• Leonard BERNSTEIN: West Side Story - Symphonic Dances

Soloist

• Meral Güneyman (USA - Turquie): piano

Conductor

• Roger BAUSIER
   

Organisor

• Organisme permanent pour l’Intégration de la Culture Européenne (OPICE)

The music of the United States is relatively young but enjoys a wide variety of styles which have been adopted throughout the world. The waves of immigration that helped form the United States brought their own styles of music from their countries of origin. These styles and musical practices, constrained by specific material and social conditions, became adapted to new instruments. This phenomenon gave rise to different styles of music in the 19th and in particular the 20th century.

El Salón México | Aaron COPLAND

Born into a family of Russian immigrants he learnt piano from an early age with Victor Wittgenstein and Clarence Adler. From 1921 to 1924, he was taught by Ricardo Viñes, at the American Conservatory at Fontainebleau in France. It was there that he met Nadia Boulanger; “I understand immediately that I have found my master” he wrote. It was with her that he trainedd in composition, just as most other American composers of his generation and those since. Upon his return to the United States in 1924, Copland staged productions of his first works; he liked to say that his music was aimed above all at music-lovers. Aaron Copland was a friend of composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein.

In 1949, he won an Academy Award for Best Original Music Score for L'Héritière.

One of his most famous works is Appalachian Spring, composed for a ballet in 1943. The original version was written for a chamber orchestra formed of 9 strings, one clarinet, one bassoon and one flute, and was later rewritten for symphony orchestra.

At the start of the 1970s, Copland fell victim to Alzheimer's disease and as a result he ceased to compose. Bizarrely, however, he continued to pursue his career as a conductor up until 1983. One criticism that has been made of Copland is that he favoured a sort of “homintern” of homosexual composers.

El Salón México is a symphonic composition in one movement by Aaron Copland, in which he makes extensive use of popular Mexican music. The work is a musical representation of a dance hall called Mexico and even bears the subheading “A dance hall for popular typical dances from Mexico City”. Copland started to write the work in 1932 and completed it in 1936. The Symphony Orchestra of Mexico performed it conducted by Carlos Chávez in 1937; the first performance in the United States took place in 1938. Although Copland visited Mexico at the start of the 1930s, he did not base this musical poem on the songs he heard while he was there but rather on the written scores of at least four popular songs he had got hold of: “El Palo Verde”, “La Jesusita”, “El Mosco” and “El Malacate”. The powerful refrain that appears three times in the extract is taken from ”El Palo Verde”. Critiques have interpreted the work differently as having two, three or four parts, although many listeners feel it passes smoothly from one theme to another without an audible break.

Concerto in FA | George GERSHWIN

George Gershwin was born in Brooklyn (State of New York) on 26 September 1898; he was the second of four children, the oldest of which, his brother Ira, born in 1896, became his main partner in music - his lyricist.

Living in Manhattan, his mother bought a piano for Ira to take lessons but in the end it was George who developed a particularly keen interest in music.

In 1918, George and Ira wrote their first song together, "The Real American Folk Song". The same year, five other songs by Gershwin that were played at Syracuse (State of New York) were heard in the Half Past Eight review. A few months later (May 1919), it was La La Lucille that marked the début of George Gershwin's career in New York. It was also in 1919 that George had his first big popular hit, "Swanee".

Following this success, George was called upon to compose the music for five editions of the annual George White's Scandals reviews; that of 1922 included the famous "I'll Build a Stairway To Paradise". It also contained a "jazz opera" sequence twenty minutes long called "Blue Monday", which was halved after the premier night although it did catch the attention of conductor Paul Whiteman. He encouraged Gershwin to write a classical piece in a jazz style; this would become the famous Rhapsody in Blue played in February 1924 at he Aeolian Hall with Whiteman conducting and George Gershwin himself on the piano.

After the success of Rhapsody in Blue, Gershwin again wrote several large passages of classical music: Concerto in F (1925), the An American in Paris suite (1928) and Second Rhapsody (1930). Finally, in 1935, the Porgy and Bess opera was performed in Boston (State of Massachusetts).

It was whilst working on the songs for the The Goldwyn Follies film that the composer began to suffer from the effects of the brain tumour that would later rob him of his life. George Gershwin died on 11 July 1937 in Beverly Hills.

Concerto in F is a composition for solo piano and orchestra, closer to traditional concerto form than his previous work, Rhapsody in Blue. It was composed in 1925 upon the request of the conductor Walter Damrosch.

Damrosch was present at the concert on 21 February 1924 during which Rhapsody in Blue was performed, conducted by Paul Whiteman with Gershwin on the piano. The following day, Damrosch contacted Gershwin to ask him to compose a “large scale” concerto for the New York Symphony Orchestra, closer to the classical form of a concerto and also orchestrated by Gershwin himself.

Gershwin engaged an orchestra of 60 musicians to play the first version in November 1925. The first public performance took place on 3 December 1925 at Carnegie Hall in New York, played by the New York Symphony Orchestra and directed by Damrosch with Gershwin on the piano.

The Concerto in F demonstrates enormous progress in Gershwin's composition technique, mainly because he had orchestrated the work himself, in contrast to Rhapsody in Blue which was orchestrated by Ferde Grofé.

Manhattan voor piano en orchestre | François GLORIEUX

François Glorieux, born on 27 August 1932 in Courtrai, was acclaimed throughout Europe, in America, Japan, China, in the Middle East and in Africa. He is one of the most widely appreciated musicians with the most varied talents that currently circulates the international music scene; pianist, composer, director, commentator, music hall performer, honorary Professor of Chamber Music at the Royal Conservatory of Ghent, Visiting Professional at Yale University (USA) and Director of the International Piano Master classes at Antwerp.

Glorieux practises all styles of music.

Certain events in his life deserve particular attention; the triumphant tours with the sadly missed André Cluytens in Germany and Austria and cooperation with numerous ballets and orchestras.

François Glorieux was responsible for setting up four separate ensembles: “Instrumentarium”, “Panoramic Trio”, “Brass and Percussion Orchestra” and the “Revivat Scaldis Chamber Orchestra”.

François Glorieux was particularly prolific as a composer, writing more than 300 works in all styles of music. “Manhattan” for piano and large orchestra is one of his main compositions. His discography is very impressive – more than 40 CDs and records.

The score of Manhattan was intended for piano and large orchestra. Involving a siren and electric guitar, it tries to capture the ferocity of New York City, opening with the chaotic hustle and bustle of the overture movement called First Impressions. From there the piece seems to move in all directions and there are moments of pure surprise hidden behind the racket, including a troubled yet tranquil section for piano which is at times reminiscent of Prokofiev, the Jazz Suites of Shostakovich and others. A felinesounding saxophone slides on the notes before a powerful orchestra approaches the second theme called Broadway. This acts as a scherzo and does not leave the listener stranded in Times Square. From there, the listener is taken to Chinatown, through the crowds of Jewish pedestrians and through various other parts of the city including nightclubs. The great success of the work is the third movement, By day in Central Park, which is a very enjoyable jazz movement with a gentle theme played out in variations. Whilst the Broadway movement causes shivers down your spine with its reproduction of ethnic stereotypes, Central Park reveals itself as a depraved and skilful representation of a gentle stroll along the winding avenues. Very agreeable. The final movement, Adventures in Mystery, Passion, Love and Fight, begins with a haze and an agitating tension which is reminiscent of “Film Noir”. The electric guitar and the piano drive the orchestra towards the main theme which resembles even more the hunting theme from a Western Jazz film. The “Love” part of the movement is introduced by an exciting shift. The fight scene with its siren, dives straight back into the action, but the piano saves the day just before the music starts to run away with itself.

West Side Story (symfonische dansen) | Leonard BERNSTEIN

Born in Lawrence, Massachusetts (United States) on 25/08/1918; died in New York (United States) on 14/10/1990.

Leonard Bernstein studied music composition at Harvard (1935-1939) among great conductors such as Dimitri Mitropoulos and Serge Koussevitzky. In 1943, he directed the Philharmonic Orchestra of New York (for which he was later appointed Musical Director from 1958 to 1969), followed by the New York City Center Orchestra, from 1945 to 1948. Following on from the international success of his musical, West Side Story, adapted for the cinema in 1961, he performed as a conductor abroad from the 1970s onwards.

He proposed a varied repertoire of works, ranging from Haydn to Mahler through to Beethoven, as well as his own compositions, including A Quiet Place (1984) and Arias and Barcarolles (1989). He also conducted some of the most grand musical ensembles in the world including the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and the National Orchestra of France.

Bernstein studied at Harvard University up until 1939. He then met conductors Fritz Reiner and Dimitri Mitropoulos and later Serge Koussevitzky, for whom he became Assistant in 1940 at Tanglewood. He was appointed conductor of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra from 1943, before returning to Tanglewood to conduct and teach in 1951. From 1958 to 1973, he presented the Young Peoples' Concerts on television. In the course of these television programmes, Bernstein demonstrated his pedagogical skills with children, by introducing them to classical music through games.

He was nominated as Musical Director of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra from 1958 to 1969 and earned an international reputation both as a conductor and as a composer, notably for the musical West Side Story (1957).

As a conductor he was known for his striking energy both at rehearsals and at concerts. He conducted some of the greatest ensembles in the world; aside from the New York Philharmonic, he also conducted the Philharmonic Orchestra of Israel, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Vienna, the Orchestra of the Amsterdam Concert Hall, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the National Orchestra of France and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. He was comfortable with all repertoires, but had an obvious soft spot for the works of Gustav Mahler.

A prolific composer, he wrote three symphonies, two operas and a great number of other works. However, what characterises Bernstein specifically is his ability to pass from one style to another; from jazz (West Side Story, Wonderful Town), to blues-gospel (Mass) and sometimes passing through twelve tone music (in his earlier works, although he later abandoned this style). Furthermore, his symphonic works are based on spiritual reflections such as religion.

It is with his musical West Side Story that Leonard Bernstein enjoyed his first big success. He was 31. Having risen to fame both as a conductor and a composer of great originality, he went on to tackle all different styles, from religious choral music to jazz, pop music to Italian opera. He also covered a range of different themes; hope, peace, faith And humanity West Side Story is inspired by Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. It is set in New York during the 1950s. There are two opposing gangs - the Jets, white Americans, and the Sharks, Puerto Rican immigrants. Rivalry of two clans empoison the amorous meeting of Puerta Rican Maria and the former gang leader of the Jets at a ball. In nine movements, this descriptive orchestral suite, a rare innovative footprint in the well-trodden musical and cultural landscape, tells of rivalry, fights, dreams of peace, of doomed love and of the tragic reality of this play.

Meral Güneyman | piano

The pianist Meral GÜNEYMAN made her first orchestral début in the United States under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas, coming first in the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra’s Young Artists' Competition. She was promptly snapped up by Tilson Thomas to play the Schuman Concerto with the Pittsburgh Symphony. Following the prize she was awarded at the East & West Artists’ International Competition, she was enlisted to play at the Carnegie Hall. After having won the prestigious William Kapell International Competition at the University of Maryland, she performed with Leon Fleischer and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Her subsequent successes include prizes at the Juilliard School's Chopin Concerto Competition and a place in the finals at the Naumburg Competition, which brought her back to the Carnegie Hall.

Meral is an American citizen of Turkish origin and holds the title of “State Artist”, representing the Ministry of Culture of the Turkish Republic all over the world. Her appearances took her to the Cervantes and Monterrey Festivals in Mexico, to the International Istanbul Festival, to the American Music Festival at the National Gallery in Washington, to the Frederick Chopin Festival, to the Presidential Symphony Orchestra in Turkey, to the Sarajevo Philharmonic, to the Ljubljana Festival in Slovenia, also to Germany, Canada, France, Austria, and Serbia, (including a concert for the Serbian Royal family), to Croatia, Bosnia, Belgium, Italy, the UK and Japan, as well as numerous cities in the United States. In her academic and pedagogical role she has appeared and given concerts at Harvard University, M.I.T., Purchase and Georgetown University, New York University, Bosphorus University (Istanbul) and many other institutions. She was made laureate of the Laura Conover Pedagogy Award on two occasions.

Meral has dedicated herself to the promotion of contemporary music. She has performed works by composers as diverse as Dick Hyman, Ilhan Mimaroglu and Justin Dello Joio. Her ability to pass instantaneously and convincingly from classical music to jazz is a rarity. Her recordings, irrespective of the genre, have received universal praise. The recording of the Frank Bridge Sonata was labelled by Fanfare Magazine one of the five best of the year. She figures in “Who’s Who of American Women” and was chosen by David Dubal in “The Art of the Piano” for her recording of the ‘Bridge Sonata’.

Thanks to her ability to perform and to teach, Meral has worked throughout her life to raise money for many charitable organisations. These include Save the Children Fund, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, UNA-NY, UNA-USA HERO (Help Educate at Risk Orphans) campaign, combating HIV/AIDS pandemics, and Americans for Cures.

Meral lives with her family in New Jersey, USA.

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20-09-2009