Overture to Rosamunde
Franz Schubert

 Schubert wrote more for the stage than is commonly known.  There were eight complete operas and operettas all of which flopped, yet he couldn’t resist when offered the opportunity to compose music for a new fantasy play written by Wilhelmine von Chezy  in 1823.   “In the rotting undergrowth of the Romantic jungle-world there is nothing stranger than this play with its secret passages, princesses brought up by fisher-folk, poisoned letters... and all the rest,”  wrote Schubert biographer Maurice J. E. Brown.  “What a pity that Schubert¹s wonderfully beautiful music has not found a worthier subject!” moaned a reviewer. After two performances the play disappeared, taking Schubert’s orchestration with it...but fortunately not forever.

In 1867 two intrepid Englishmen, George Grove of dictionary fame and Arthur Sullivan of operetta fame, mounted an expedition to Vienna to uncover Schubertiana.   After much rummaging in forgotten cupboards and closets, they discovered the original orchestral parts for Rosamunde along with some of the symphonies.   Rosamunde was then introduced to England and has been a Schubert favorite ever since.  Brimming with the buoyancy that marks his best music, it is a reminder that for Schubert, who died at the age of 31, every piece he wrote was a youthful work.

The piece opens with a slow introduction containing a theme of exquisite grace; there follow three more themes of Schubertian melodic inspiration.  There is a brief passage at the Overture’s mid-point for the purpose of modulation, then the trio of themes is heard again and the work concludes with a jolly, vigorous coda.

Concerto No. 21  in C Major for Piano and Orchestra, K. 467
Wolfgang A. Mozart

The year 1875 in which this concerto had its premiere performance was perhaps the best year Mozart had in Vienna.  He was like a Pop star, with his music in great demand and invitations to perform in some of the city¹s best houses.  “Every day there are concerts...teaching, composing, and so forth...it is impossible to describe the rush and bustle,” wrote Leopold Mozart to his daughter while visiting his son that year.  His biggest thrill of all may have come from the most respected living musician in Europe, Joseph Haydn, who declared, “Your son is the greatest composer I know”.  But Leopold sensed that this concerto  was not only “astonishingly difficult”, but had an expressive undercurrent that would not please the Viennese audiences.    The mature  (29 years old!) Mozart was composing for his own muse.

The first movement opens with a soft martial strain for unison strings answered by the winds.   Following other themes, the opening theme  returns with the entry of the piano.   Of the harmonic developments that ensue, Alfred Einstein (a famous fan of Mozart) wrote, “with its modulations through darkness to light, (it) is one of the most beautiful examples of Mozart’s irridescent harmony....”   The Andante (popularly known as the music for the 1967 film Elvira Madigan) is one of his most exquisite creations, with a dreamlike quality that presages the romanticism of Schumann and Schubert.   A sparkling rondo-finale brings this radiant work to a bounding close.

NOTE:  In this performance Mr. Carterette will play candenzas created by Robert Casadesus.

Symphony No. 2 in  Major, Op. 73
Johannes Brahms

Over the years Brahms made monumental efforts to be a worthy successor to Beethoven.   “You have no idea how it feels to hear behind you the tramp of a giant like Beethoven”, he lamented.    In the summer of 1877, Brahms repaired to the village of Portschach in the Carinthian hills of southern Austria.  “Portschach is an exquisite spot”, he wrote to a Viennese friend, “The place is replete with Austrian coziness and kindheartedness.”   The lovely countryside so inspired Brahms’ creativity that he wrote to the critic Eduard Hanslic, “So many melodies fly about, one must be careful not to tread on them.”  His Second Symphony was quickly written in that summer (he had spent 15 years writing the First ).   When he returned to Vienna in September, he played it in a four-hand piano version with Ignaz Brull at an informal gathering.   The Symphony had its public premiere late in December, delighting his audience.   Its effortless technique, rich orchestral writing, and surety of emotional effect make this a splendid sequel to his First Symphony, which has been called the best first symphony ever written.

The low strings softly open the Symphony with a three-note motif from which much of the thematic material of the movement grows.   The horns sing the principal theme, including the three-note motif.   The sweet second theme is given in duet by cellos and violas.   The second movement plumbs the deepest emotions in this work, shifting between light and shade, major and minor.   Its second theme is a gently syncopated strain intoned by the woodwinds above a cello pizzicato .   In the Allegretto the oboe presents a folk-like tune as its principal theme.   The strings take over the melody in an energetic transformation.   The original theme returns, only to be interrupted by another quick-tempo variation.   The main theme closes this movement.   The rhythmic energy of the finale begins with unison strings and spreads through the orchestra.  The second theme is broad and hymnal.   A recap recalls the earlier themes leading through the triumphant coda with a glowing final trombone chord.

Program notes by  Ginger Kuper