Scott Speck, conductor
Benjamin Baker, violin •. James Baik, cello. •. Chaeyoung Park, piano
Saturday, November 9, 2024 at 7:30 p.m. •. Sunday, November 10, 2024 at 2:30 p.m.
Saenger Theatre
PROGRAM
Jessie Montgomery Starburst
Franz Joseph Haydn Symphony No. 94, G major “Surprise”
Ludwig van Beethoven Concerto for Violin, Cello and Piano, C major
“Triple Concerto”
This performance, including intermission, runs approximately 1 hour, 30 minutes.
TakeNote! Learn More, Enjoy More
Enhance your concert experience with Take-Note! Join music experts and explore the world of classical music from an in-depth perspective. This informative pre-concert talk begins at 6:30 p.m. before Saturday classical performances and 1:30 p.m. before Sunday classical performances in Room 1927 adjacent to the Saenger entrance on Joachim Street.
Brings the kids for FREE on Sundays!
Bring the kids for FREE on Sunday!
Through MSO’s Big Red Ticket program, sponsored by Alabama Power Foundation and the Figures Foundation, students in grades K-12 can attend any classical Sunday matinee FREE when accompanied by a paying adult. It’s a great cultural opportunity and an amazing concert experience! Seats are limited, so please purchase tickets by phone at 251-432-2010. Please no children under 5 and no babies in arms. Want to bring a student on a Saturday? Student tickets are just $10.
From our Music Director:
Our annual Beethoven and Blue Jeans performance explodes into action with Jessie Montgomery’s Starburst, a dynamic and effervescent work that radiates with shimmering textures and rhythmic vitality. Montgomery’s composition unfolds in bursts of energy and lyricism, creating celestial fireworks in a symphonic setting. Next we delve into Joseph Haydn’s Symphony No. 94 (“Surprise”), a masterpiece of classical form and high-spirited wit, never before performed at the Mobile Symphony.
Finally we bring out not one, not two, but three soloists to perform Ludwig van Beethoven’s rarely-performed Triple Concerto with the orchestra. Violinist Benjamin Baker, cellist James Baik, and pianist Chaeyoung Park weave their intricate dialogues together with the grandeur of the MSO. From the lyrical exchanges of the opening Allegro to the spirited dance of the Rondo alla Polacca, the concerto presents one delight after another.
– Scott Speck, Music Director
Our Soloists:
Benjamin Baker, violin
Benjamin Baker, a New Zealand native, has moved audiences around the world with his musicianship, with recent performances as far afield as Lebanon, Albania, Siberia, China, Australia, New Zealand, Colombia, Argentina, Venezuela and throughout the United Kingdom and United States.
He has performed as soloist with the Royal Philharmonic, English Chamber Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, London Mozart Players, Bristol Metropolitan Orchestra, Sinfonia Cymru in Wales, National Children’s Orchestra in Manchester, Auckland Philharmonia, Maui Pops Orchestra, South Carolina’s Long Bay Symphony, Charleston Symphony,and Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra.
Since winning 1st Prize at the 2016 YCA Susan Wadsworth International Auditions in New York and 3rd Prize at the Michael Hill Competition in New Zealand in 2017 Benjamin has established a strong international presence. Described by the New York Times as bringing “virtuosity, refinement and youthful exuberance” to his debut at Merkin Concert Hall, he is much sought after as soloist and chamber musician. Since his recital debuts on the Young Concert Artists Series at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. and at New York’s Merkin Concert Hall, sponsored by the Peter Jay Sharp Prize, he has also given recitals and performed chamber music at Wigmore Hall, New York’s Caramoor Center, Haydn’s Ferry Chamber Music Series, New York’s Morgan Library & Museum, Ithaca College, Evergreen Museum & Library, Ravinia Festival, Washington Performing Arts, Pepperdine University, Buffalo Chamber Music Society and the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival.
Highlights of Benjamin’s 23-24 season included debuts with the London Philharmonic Orchestra playing Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante alongside violist Jordan Bak, BBC National Orchestra of Wales playing the Barber Concerto under Ryan Bancroft, and the world premiere of Matthew Kaner’s Violin Concerto with BBC Scottish and Ryan Wigglesworth. As part of Young Concert Artists’ special season finale performance Benjamin made an appearance at Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall in May 2024.
James Baik, cello
Cellist James Baik has been described as “an undeniable authority,” and possess “a real warmth emerging in lyricism… and displays mixture of sonic mastery and interiority,” by Belgian newspaper Le Soir, after his astounding performance at the 2021 Queen Elisabeth competition. James was a finalist at the 2019 Stulberg International String Competition and would go on to receive the first prize at the prestigious Irving M. Klein International Competition. He made his debut solo appearance in 2015 with the Houston Civic Symphony Orchestra and the Clear Lake Symphony in Saint-Saens’ Cello Concerto No. 1. In 2018, James won the DePaul Concerto Competition, reached the finals at the Johansen International Competition in Washington D.C and Baik rounded the year by being named a YoungArts finalist, participated at YoungArts Week in Miami and awarded the grand prize at the Walgreens National Competition, resulting in a performance of the Schumann Cello Concerto with conductor Dr. Allen Dennis at Northwestern University.
Highlights from recent and upcoming performances include the Dvorak Cello Concerto with the Colburn Orchestra, under the baton of Sir Andrew Davies at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Haydn’s Cello Concerto in C Major with the Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie with conductor Vahan Mardirossian, a performance of Brahms’ Double Concerto alongside violinist Gabrielle Després and the Peninsula Symphony under the baton of Mitchell Sardou Klein, and chamber music performances at the Ravinia Festival, the Music in the Vineyards Festival in Napa Valley, and Nevada Chamber Music Festival, where he is an invited guest artist. In 2021, James, alongside his colleagues’ violinist Ray Ushikubo and pianist HyeJin Kim, performed the Beethoven Triple Concerto with the Pasadena Symphony under the baton of David Lockington, where he also performed a new work for two celli with the conductor as composer and cellist.
Chaeyoung Park, piano
Chaeyoung Park has been praised as a passionate pianist who “does not play a single note without thought or feeling.” (New York Concert Review). Embracing a broad range of the classical music literature, her programs feature works ranging from the early French Baroque by Rameau to Beethoven sonatas to new music by living composers including South Korean classical composer, Unsuk Chin. Through Park’s various roles as a recitalist, chamber musician, and concerto soloist, she has performed at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall, Bravo! Vail Music Festival, Tongyeong International Music Festival, Ravinia’s Bennett Gordon Hall, Symphony Center’s Orchestra Hall, as well as live-streamed concerts presented by the Gilmore Rising Stars series, the Carlsen Center, and the Lied Center of Kansas virtual series during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As winner of the 2019 Hilton Head International Piano Competition, Park is the first female Korean pianist to receive First Place in the history of the competition. She subsequently presented her solo recital debut at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall and performed Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 with the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra under the baton of John Morris Russell. Her debut album on the Steinway label (to be released in soon), highlights diverse aspects of her artistry and her commitment to sharing hidden gems of the piano repertoire. It features the complete set of Musica Ricercata by Ligeti, as well as the more traditional, beloved masterpiece, Piano Sonata No. 3 by Brahms.
Program Notes:
Starburst
Jessie Montgomery
BORN 1981 | New York, New York
Raised on the Lower East Side of Manhattan by parents who were politically involved artists, Jessie Montgomery writes that she has “created a life that merges composing, performance, education and advocacy.” Montgomery is a violinist who has performed with the Catalyst Quartet and the Silk Road Ensemble. She was composer-in-residence for the Sphinx Virtuosi, an arm of the Detroit-based non-profit that supports young African-American and Latinx string players. And, beginning in 2021, she held a three-year residency with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Montgomery was named Musical America’s 2023 Composer of the Year. She has an ever-growing body of work performed frequently by leading orchestras and chamber ensembles.
Starburst was a commission from the Sphinx Organization and premiered by the Sphinx Virtuosi in 2012. Montgomery writes of Starburst:
“This brief one-movement work for string orchestra is a play on imagery of rapidly changing musical colors. Exploding gestures are juxtaposed with gentle fleeting melodies in an attempt to create a multidimensional soundscape. A common definition of a starburst: ‘the rapid formation of large numbers of new stars in a galaxy at a rate high enough to alter the structure of the galaxy significantly’ lends itself almost literally to the nature of the performing ensemble who premieres the work, The Sphinx Virtuosi, and I wrote the piece with their dynamic in mind.”
This piece is scored for string orchestra.
Symphony No. 94, “Surprise Symphony”
Franz Joseph Haydn
BORN March 31, 1732 | Rohrau, Austria
DIED May 31, 1809 | Vienna, Austria
Franz Joseph Haydn spent most of his career as a court musician employed by the Esterházy family, composing nearly all his 104 symphonies for courtly entertainment. His position as Kapellmeister provided steady employment, but also kept him isolated from other composers and musical trends.
This all changed in 1790, when his patron Prince Nikolaus died. Nikolaus’s son and successor, Prince Anton, dismissed many of the court musicians to save money. Though Haydn stayed on with nominal responsibilities and a reliable pension, a German violinist and impresario named Johann Peter Salomon jumped at this chance to bring Haydn to London, where he was already immensely popular. In 1791, Salomon traveled to Vienna, reportedly arriving on Haydn’s doorstep with the words: “I am Salomon from London and I’ve come to fetch you.” Prince Anton gladly gave Haydn a one-year leave, and the composer soon left for London.
Haydn took two trips to London in 1791-92 and 1794-95. These visits were fruitful in many ways. During each trip, he earned more in a single year than the equivalent of several years’ salary working for the Esterházys. And he felt appreciated and described his time in London as the happiest days of his life. Haydn wrote to a friend: “My arrival caused a great sensation… I went the rounds of all the newspapers for three successive days. Everyone wants to know me… If I wanted, I could dine out every day….”
The so-called “Father of the Symphony” composed twelve symphonies for London audiences, including Symphony No. 94. These symphonies were written while in London for London audiences who filled concert halls to hear new works by Haydn conducted by the composer himself. The enthusiastic response he received from the audience at concert after concert inspired him to try new things, to successively outdo himself, and to find new ways to surprise and delight.
The folklore of music history posits that the “Surprise” chord that gives this Symphony its nickname was a spur of the moment addition by the composer-conductor at its premiere. Hearing the sound of snoring coming from the audience during the quiet opening strains of the second movement, Haydn gestured for the entire orchestra — including timpani — to play the chord at the end of the second statement of the theme fortissimo, thus providing a rude wake up call to the sleepy audience member. Whether or not this account of the premiere is accurate, it is likely that Haydn provided that fortissimo exclamation point in the otherwise simple, tuneful variations that make up the second movement knowing that he would be on the podium to experience the audience’s reaction. He must have relished in this small musical outburst, enjoying the reaction of his devoted London audience.
This piece is scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, and strings.
Concerto for Violin, Cello and Piano in C Major, op. 56 (“Triple Concerto”)
Ludwig van Beethoven
BORN December 16, 1770 | Bonn, Germany
DIED March 26, 1827 | Vienna, Austria
Ludwig van Beethoven’s Concerto for Violin, Cello and Piano is an unusual concerto for multiple instruments. There are well-known precedents for double concertos — for example, Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins (the “Bach Double”) and Mozart’s Concerto for Flute and Harp — but this “Triple Concerto” is largely an anomaly. In this piece, Beethoven places a chamber music ensemble at the center of an orchestra. The piano trio (violin, cello and piano) had become a common configuration since Haydn. In fact, Beethoven’s Opus 1 of 1795 is a set of three piano trios. But Beethoven did not return to this combination until this work, which he composed in 1803.
That year was an important turning point for Beethoven. He was moving from the late classical sound of his first period into his middle period. Stylistically, his middle period is defined by music that is intense and dramatic. Biographically, the middle period coincides with the onset of his hearing loss. In 1802, he wrote his “Heiligenstadt Testament,” a letter to his brother in which he confesses his despair at his growing deafness. Around this same time, he was composing some of his most heroic-sounding works: his “Eroica” Symphony (No. 3), the “Waldstein” and “Appasionata” piano sonatas, the “Razumovsky” string quartets, and the opera that would become Fidelio. All are dramatic works that grapple with the idea of the hero.
Yet Beethoven’s “Triple Concerto” contains none of the drama or romanticism of those pieces. This is a concerto with no cadenzas and with very little dialogue between soloist and orchestra. And aside from a few big orchestral moments in the first movement, Beethoven presents a largely lighthearted work. It seems that the addition of the orchestra to the piano trio does not bring the chamber grouping into Beethoven’s dramatic orchestral sphere. Rather, with this work, the intimate diversion of chamber music is presented on the concert stage, with the orchestra serving to expand and amplify the chamber group.
It is believed that Beethoven wrote this piece for his patron and pupil Archduke Rudolph. Rudolph was an amateur composer and pianist and perhaps wanted to perform a concerto, but couldn’t hold his own at the front of that stage. So Beethoven invented a concerto where less heavy lifting is required of the pianist. The result is a unique piece that brings the smaller and more direct emotion of chamber music to the public concert stage.
This piece is scored for one flute, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani, strings, solo violin, solo cello, and solo piano.
– Program Notes by Sarah Ruddy, Ph.D.