Sunday, March 23, 2003 , 3:30 PM
in the sanctuary at
St. Michael Catholic Church
1801 Sage Road
Houston, Texas 77056
Fantasia Para un Gentilhombre,
for Guitar & Orchestra
Joaquin Rodrigo,
1901-1997
Mark Moore,
Guitar
Symphony No. 5
in E minor, Op. 64
Piotr Illyich Tchaikovsky,
1840-1893
Andante: Allegro anima
Andante catabile
Valse: Allegro moderato
Andante maestoso
un Gentilhombre
for Guitar & Orchestra
Mark Moore, Guitar
Joaquin Rodrigo
1901-1997
Joaquin Rodrigo (1901-1997) is one of the most important Spanish composers of the 20th century. Rodrigo lost his sight when he was three years old. That did not prevent him from becoming a very successful composer. Rodrigo studied harmony and composition with Francesco Antich in Valencia (1920-23) and at the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris (1927-32). In 1935 he studied Music History with Maurice Emanuel at the Paris Conservatory. In 1939 he settled in Madrid where he taught History of Music starting in 1946 and until very late in his life.
Rodrigo is known primarily for his works for guitar and orchestra but he has also written concertos for violin, cello, piano, harp, and combinations of instruments, a total of eleven concertos. He has also written orchestral, coral and instrumental works, over sixty songs and music for the theater and the movies. His most popular work is the beautifully evocative Concierto De Aranjuez, written in Paris where he lived during the Spanish Civil War. That concerto brought Rodrigo world- wide fame.
One of the more important works for guitar and small orchestra is the Fantasia Para Un Gentlihombre, which is presented today by Mark Moore. The Fantasia celebrates two important Spanish guitarists: The 17th century guitarist Gaspar Sanz on whose dances the work is based, and Andres Segovia to whom the work is dedicated. The Fantasia was written in 1954 and was premiered in 1958 by Andres Segovia and the San Fransisco Symphony.
The Fantasia Para Un Gentilhombre has four movements. The first, Villano, is a song that leads to a Ricercare, a contrapuntal composition that is defined as "a strict fugue in which various scientific devices, such as canonic imitation, augmentation , diminution, inversion, etc. are employed, that is "a researched fugue". The second is an Espanoleta, a Spanish dance with a trio consisting of a Neapolitan Fanfare that reminds the listener, that in those times, Napoli was under Spanish control. Two dances conclude the work:the Dances of the Torches and the Canary Islands Dance. The Fantasia Para UnGentilhombre is scored for piccolo, flute, oboe, bassoon, trumpet, strings and the solo guitar.
Notes by
Linda Mack & the
General Catalog of Joaquín Rodrigo
in E minor, Op. 64
Andante: Allegro anima
Andante catabile
Valse: Allegro moderato
Andante maestoso
Piotr Illyich Tchaikovsky
1840-1893
In many ways, Tchaikovsky's life and career placed him uncomfortably between different worlds, and this conflict was a central aspect of his creative life. Perhaps this can be seen most clearly in his position as a Russian composer. Russia had a long history of cultural contact with the West. The very European city of St. Petersburg is the greatest example of this dynamic. Tchaikovsky's musical training at the newly founded St. Petersburg conservatory was likewise influenced by European ideals. His success in his studies there landed him a job as a teacher in the new Moscow conservatory. As a member of the musical elite of Russia, he found that his music pleased few. It was too advanced and modern for his Western-trained peers, and at the same time too Western in its outlook to please the growing and influential champions of a Russian national style.
He did begin to find favor with the Russian public, especially with his first symphonies. At the same time, social pressures also placed him in an untenable position. He married an admirer, hoping to resolve his problems in domestic life. This proved a bitter failure, and in desperation he fled both the marriage and his post at the conservatory. He was fortunate to have at this time the support of the eccentric Nadezhda von Meck, allowing him to recover emotionally and continue his career, touring Europe and America. This period of despair is framed by two periods of great creativity. Before the crisis, he had written many of his most famous works, including his first three symphonies, the ballet Swan Lake, and his Romeo and Juliet overture. During the time of his greatest difficulty, he completed his monumental Fourth Symphony and the opera Eugene Onegin. But the next years brought little.
In 1884, spurred by the composer Balakirev, Tchaikovsky entered a final productive period, completing his last three symphonies and the ballets The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker. His final work, the Sixth Symphony, deals powerfully with nothing less than the ideas of life, struggle and death. Nine days after its premiere, Tchaikovsky died. The circumstances of his death are still a matter of conjecture.
Symphony No.5 in E minor, Op.64, with its ever present "fate" motive, is one of Tchaikovsky's most popular works. Tchaikovsky left notes on the ideas of the symphony (though not an actual program) that range from "Complete submission to fate..." to "Consolation -- a beam of light..." and finally "No, no hope!" In the final movement, the "fate" motive, presented in the brass and surrounded by swirling strings and winds, suggests a more triumphant mood.