The Moldau from Ma Vlast
Bedrich Smetana

Bohemian born Bedrich Smetana was an ardent promoter of the cultural revival of his country  and became known in his time as his nation¹s foremost composer.  His opera "The Bartered Bride" was the first Czech work to enter the international repertoire.  But his glory was not to last.   He awoke one morning in 1874 to find he¹d been struck the cruelest blow a musician could receive: he was profoundly deaf.  Despite this affliction, Smetana transformed his prison of silence into a torrent of fervor for his country in a work he called Ma Vlast (My  Country).

The most popular of the six movements is ³The Moldau², a vivid portrait of Bohemia¹s mighty river. It begins at the conjunction of two mountain brooks, which the composer depicts with flutes and clarinets, each gurgling in constant motion, as pizzicato strings highlight glints of sunlight on the water.  The brooks coalesce into a stream with a familiar melody derived from the same folk source as Hatikva, the Israeli national anthem. As the river courses through the countryside, we hear hunting horns, a wedding dance, nocturnal nymphs, foaming rapids, majestically flowing past Prague before it disappears to the sea.

Concerto For Flute and Orchestra
Robert Beckstrom

 The Cleveland Music School Settlement sent out a call for  new works to be composed in honor of its 75th anniversary.  At the same time, Linda Madsen contacted Dr. Beckstrom about solo flute opportunities.   Serendipity brought flutist and composer together to answer the  Settlement¹s call, and this concerto was the result.

 In many late 20th century concerti the composer employs the soloist as provocateur with the orchestral material less an accompaniment than an extension of the soloist¹s part.  In this concerto, the soloist plays a phrase or gesture that evokes material in the orchestra.  As the soloist
plays a line, orchestra players pick up the soloist¹s pitches.  New sounds from the soloist bring  developing harmonies of ever-expanding musical texture from the orchestra.  The consequent sonority is the sum total of the melody; thus melody and harmony are one organic construct.  The concerto is in one movement.  Listen for quotes from Schubert's "Death and The Maiden."

 Robert Beckstrom spent his childhood in Cleveland Heights, moved with his family to California, and took degrees--concluding with a doctorate in Music--at UCLA.  He returned to Ohio in 1986 to teach Music Theory  and Literature, and in 1990 became Director of the Division of Arts and Humanities, at Lorain County Community College, the post he now holds.

Pavane pour une infante defunte
Maurice Ravel

Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) was brought up in Paris where he studied at the Conservatoire from 1889-95. He was a member of a group of innovative young composers called "Apaches", known for their wild and drunken revels. He competed and failed to win the Prix de Rome five times. The fifth time, when he was eliminated in the preliminaries, it caused such an uproar (as he had already written several works now considered masterpieces) the director of the Conservatory was forced to resign.  Ravel left to become a freelance composer.

Considered one of the two great French musical impressionists (the other being Debussy),  Ravel was strikingly dissimilar in musical style, having had more respect for classical forms than his sometime rival. Along with Stravinsky and other European contemporaries, he was  influenced by jazz and deplored American composers' "bourgeois" reluctance to acknowledge jazz as a national style.

The Pavane (for a Dead Princess) was composed in 1899 as a work for piano, and transcribed for small orchestra  in 1910.  A pavane is a stately 16^th century Spanish court dance.  Ravel chose the title simply because he liked the sound of the words, saying, "Do not attach to the title any more importance than it has.  The piece should reflect the image of a small princess in a Velasquez painting."

Czech Suite in D Major, Op. 39
Antonin Dvorak

Tonight¹s program comes full circle with this composition by Dvorak, a countryman and one-time student of Smetana and also a passionate champion of Czech music. When Dvorak's Slavonic Dances were first published in Germany, critic Louis Ehlert's enthusiastic review led to a run on the music shops that made the previously-unknown Czech composer¹s name a household word. He received artist stipends from the Austrian State and enjoyed the support and friendship of Brahms.

Later, political tensions in Eastern Europe engendered prejudice against Slavs.  Dvorak was happy to accept an invitation to conduct his works in London where he became an instant celebrity, contributing greatly to his international fame.   He traveled, taught and conducted in America (where he again drew upon folk music, for his New World Symphony), but at last returned to the embrace of his beloved Bohemia.

Program notes by  Ginger Kuper