In 1872, Brahms was 40 and director of the orchestra and choir of the Society of the Friends of Music in Vienna. Two years earlier a friend showed him a set of divertimenti for winds, then attributed to Haydn. Brahms liked the theme of the second, called the Chorale St. Antoni, and copied the tune—based on a hymn sung by pilgrims on St. Anthony's Day—in his notebook.   He first showed a set of variations on the St. Anthony theme to longtime friend and composer Clara Schumann in September, 1873. Previewing a work in two-piano form was typical for Brahms; he could play it with an expert pianist like Schumann for reassurance before going public with the piece.   The orchestrated version was delivered to his publisher two months later and the November Vienna premiere was a great success. The work was the first set of independent variations for orchestra by any composer, and is said to have marked a turning point is Brahms' career as an orchestral composer.

The first variation, Poco piu animato, involves sections of the orchestra playing pulsing notes in chords of the theme while two contrapuntal moving parts play against them. The second variation, Piu vivace, changes to minor key and syncopates the rhythm with an insistent, dance-like movement. The following Con moto is a steady, ever-flowing theme version weaving between orchestra sections and individual instruments. Then variation four, Andante con moto, transforms the theme to a haunting minor melody over broad strings and winds. Variation five, Vivace, is an energetic scherzo that segues immediately into a regal second Vivace. Variation seven, Grazioso, is a gentle siciliano, associated in Brahms's day with pastoral scenes and romantic melancholy. The last variation, Presto non troppo, almost hides the theme in winding melodies, but it is in the long Finale that Brahms demonstrates his prowess. For this section is a Baroque passacaglia that transforms through harmonic and rhythmic enhancements to end in a triumphant coda and restatement of the Chorali St. Antoni.

Brahms, more than any other composer of the second half of the 19th century, revived what is termed "absolute" music: works to be accepted on their own terms as interplay of sounds rather than as works depicting scenes or telling a story (program music). He composed in every form except opera, and left this comment regarding that: "One can't judge Wagner's opera 'Lohengrin' after a first hearing, and I certainly don't intend hearing it a second time."

Mozart's piano concertos have it all: joy, sadness, virtuosity, simplicity, drama and relaxation. He wrote the final notes of his Concerto No. 23 on 2 March, 1786, just before completing "The Marriage of Figaro".   During that and earlier years, he wrote his concerti during or just before Lent. Vienna, a very Catholic city, closed all its dramatic theatres during these six weeks and without competition, concert attendance soared. Musicians met the demand with even more concerts. Mozart frequently gave three or four concerts a week during Lent, and he needed new music to perform for these.

K. 488 begins with an elegantly shaped theme exchanged between strings and piano. Notes tumble out throughout the first movement which ends, as usual, with a cadenza and brief summing-up from the orchestra.
The finale is sunny and cheerful, allowing the soloist to demonstrate brilliant keyboard technique. But before this, we will hear one of Mozart's heart-touching slow movements. The piano begins its rueful lines before the orchestra joins, with woodwind and strings combining in the simple twisting theme.
If we wanted to understand Mozart's music but could study only one form of his work, we'd best choose the piano concerto. He produced 27 of these, more than any other important composer, and they span his entire career: the first at age 11 and the last shortly before his death.

Though K. 488 is remarkably famous today, Mozart himself kept it from publication. He told his father it was among "the compositions that I keep for myself or for a small circle of music-lovers and connoisseurs who promise not to let them out of their hands."   That we have it at all is due to Constanze, Mozart's widow. She realized his manuscripts were valuable and kept them intact. At his death, only seven of Mozart's concerti had been published for posterity. The rest might have vanished as irretrievably as Mozart's grave if Constanze had not presented them, in their entirety, to publisher Johann Anton André in 1799.

Symphony No. 104 - "London"

Franz Joseph Haydn (31 March, 1732 to 31 May 1809)

The magnificent Symphony No. 104 was first perfomed on April 13, 1795, in the newly rebuilt Haymarket Theater, before an audience of 3300. The very large orchestra for that time—up to 60 musicians—performed for the first time on a stage instead of in a pit.   While the work is sub-titled "London", there are 12 "London" symphonies by Haydn: six each for his two fabulously successful trips to England. Symphony No. 104, last of the second set, is well into Haydn's mature style. By this time, a symphony typically had four movements: I- a slow introduction followed by a fast sonata-allegro structure in the tonic key; II- a slow movement in a related key, often a theme and variations structure; III- the interpolated dance movement, usually a Minuet\Menuet and Trio in the tonic key, in a moderate tempo; and IV-a fast Finale in the tonic key.

Haydn himself said that his favorite musician and composer of all time was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. He was a friend of Mozart's father and was already considered the greatest composer of his era when he first met young Wolfgang. Haydn was amazed, figuratively blown away, by the genius of this remarkable youth having so much of a taste for music that matched his own.   Haydn and Mozart became friends, working on compositions together and sharing ideas for other compositions. So it is no mystery that some of Haydn's works, like No. 104, share the surprise and brightness of Mozart.

Betsy Burleigh is Coordinator of Choral & Vocal Music at Cleveland State University and Assistant Director of Choruses for The Cleveland Orchestra, where she also directs the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Chorus. In the fall of 2002 Ms. Burleigh was named chorus master for the Cleveland Opera.   Active as a conductor throughout Northeast Ohio, she has led the Canton Symphony Orchestra and Akron Symphony Orchestra and Choruses as well as the Performers and Artists for Nuclear Disarmament Orchestra and Chorus.   In 2000 she received the Northern Ohio Live achievement award in the category of Classical Music/Opera for music direction of Viktor Ullman's opera "Der Kaiser von Atlantis" at Cleveland Public Theatre. She was also interim conductor for Cleveland State University Orchestra in the spring semesters of 2002 and 2003.

Daniel Shapiro earned a bachelor's degree, summa cum laude, from the University of Southern California, and master/doctorate degrees in piano performance from Peabody Conservatory. He has performed recitals across the U.S., Brazil, Ireland, Spain, and France with orchestras including the National Symphony, Sao Paulo State Symphony Orchestra, Academy of London Orchestra, Colorado National Repertory Orchestra, and the Amsterdam Concertgebouw.   Active as a chamber musician, he performs regularly with members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic in the orchestra's chamber series. He was an opera and art song coach at the University of California, Los Angeles; a former faculty member, University of Iowa; and was appointed to CIM faculty in 1997.

Evelyn Lichtenberg, violin, Jerry Eliason (bass), Susan Fiehler (flute), Maryanne Prendergast (oboe), Kathy Brewster, Eric Layman and Connie Wes (horns).