Suite Pastorale

Alexis-Emmanuel Chabrier (18 January 1841 to 13 September)

Chabrier came of family well-established for over a hundred years in the Auvergne region of central France, where people were noted for passion of independence, for fantasy, for dance, and intellectual knowledge. His mother, believing dance and music essential to civilized life, gets the credit for providing the artistic qualities her son would develop.   He did have music lessons at age six, and at age 16 in Paris began his first compositions, a number of quadrilles, waltzes and polkas. He then entered the Lycee St. Louis for four years to earn a law degree, still devoting his spare time to music. But despite his various music training, Chabrier is still considered to be primarily self taught and it was not until he was 30 that he published his first important work, 'Etoile', in 1877.   Earlier, in 1880, he traveled to Bayreuth and after seeing a performance of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, gained new inspiration and the resolution to become a serious composer. Resigning his post with the Ministry of the Interior after 18 humdrum years, he now devoted himself to composing full time. Chabrier was to live but 14 more years and after scarcely 10 of these had passed, mental illness ended his creative efforts.

The Suite Pastorale was his first work of serious scope after the Bayreuth epiphany, originating from the set of Dix Pièces pittoresques for piano. He chose four of these to orchestrate under the new title and we'll hear three of the four movements tonight: the extraordinarily fluid Idylle; the Danse villageoise, displaying unmistakable character of the French provinces; and the country dance Scherzo-valse.   Each of the Suite pieces are simple, robust and free of ornamentation and this music delighted and influenced an entire generation of young French musicians, including Ravel and Poulenc.

Variations on a Rococo Theme for Cello, op. 33

Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (7 May 1840 to 6 November 1893)

Tchaikovsky loved the works of Mozart, who preceded him by some 80 years. He wrote to a friend: "Do you know when I play Mozart, I feel brighter and younger--almost a youth."   He wrote his delightful Mozart-like Variations on a Rococo Theme for Violoncello and Orchestra in 1876, during one of his most creative periods.   In that year and the next, Tchaikovsky composed March Slave, the symphonic fantasy Francesca da Rimini, the outline for an opera based on Shakespeare's Othello, the Valse Scherzo for Violin and Orchestra, and he created sketches for the Fourth Symphony as well as much of his epic opera, Eugene Onegin.

While Tchaikovsky's Russian background appears as a dominant factor in almost all his works, it doesn't happen with the Variations.   In this brilliant work for solo cello and orchestra, expected folk-like Russian tunes are replaced by a flowing theme treated entirely according to eighteenth century rules, the result being an almost classical work for cello and orchestra.   For us ordinary mortals whose mood and creativity may be uplifted by a nice tax refund or driven to depression by a bad hair day, Tchaikovsky's ability to create glorious masterworks while under the enormous burden of inexpressable guilt and considered suicide is almost impossible to comprehend.

In early 1876, Tchaikovsky traveled to western Europe to hear Bizet's Carmen in Paris; took a "cure" in Vichy; and heard the first complete Ring Cycle in Bayreuth.   Returning home deeply depressed – he could never accept his homosexuality – he nevertheless was able to create the remarkable body of work previously described.   In 1877, one of his pupils, Antonina Milyokova, declared her love for Tchaikovsky, threatening suicide unless he reciprocated. After initially rejecting her, he then offered immediate marriage, believing this might be a possible solution to his sexual dilemma.   Of course the marriage was an unconsumated disaster and they separated after nine weeks.   Tchaikovsky then did effectively attempt suicide and was rescued by his brother.   A nervous breakdown followed with time in Switzerland and Italy to recover. Antonia soon took a series of lovers and finally died in an insane asylum in 1917. Tchaikovsky continued her financial support until his death.   Then toward the end of 1877, the wealthy widow Nadezhda von Meck, who admired his music, provided him with invaluable financial security for the next 14 years, during which they corresponded intimately, but never met.

In 1893, Tchaikovsky began his Sixth Symphony, working to a "plan". The first movement would be concerned with "activity and passion".   The second with "love". The third, with "disappointment" and the fourth, with "death".   The work is profoundly pessimistic and formally unorthodox, with the finale haunted by descending melodic ideas clothed in anguished harmonies.   It was performed on 28 October 1893 to an unenthusiastic audience and he died nine days later, the immediate official version given as death by cholera from drinking unboiled water.   But 20th century scholarship suggests he was probably decreed to commit suicide (by poisoning) to avoid a public scandal after being accused of romantic involvement with a male member of the Russian imperial family. Which version is true must remain uncertain.   Today his music is the truth of his existence.

Symphony No. 100 in G Major - "Military"

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

The "Military" is one of the 12 symphonies known as the "London" symphonies, that crowned Haydn's career as an orchestral composer and brought him fortune and honors. It was written for his second London visit in 1794, first performed on 31 March of that year, and was more successful than even its predecessors.   London newspaper wrote "...the rapture it gave cannot be communicated by words, to be known it must be heard", while an audience member simply noted "Grand but very loud".   The reason for their enthusiasm was Haydn's unprecedented use of the bass drum, triangle and cymbals in the second and fourth movements, a combination known in the 18th century as "Turkish" or "Military" music. This colorful, noisy feature gave the symphony its nickname.

The other movements are as original. After a coaxing, graceful introduction, the first Allegro leads with a bright melody for unaccompanied flute and oboes, then an explosive full orchestral entry, and a second subject which first sounds as though it might become the "Radetzky March"!   The Allegretto is not really a slow movement but an elegant French Romanza, whose peace is shattered by the first entry of the "Military" instruments.   Some see this movement as Haydn's response to the French Revolution, at its height in 1794.   Certainly the sudden trumpet call and ominous drumroll near the movement's end strike a note of tragic drama.   But Haydn restores order with one of his stateliest minuets, coupled with a whimsical Trio. The Finale starts as a playful jig-like rondo, Haydn teasing the listener with sudden silences, unexpected reprises and even a timpani solo.   So when the "military" instruments return as the movement gallops towards its close, they are no longer threatening but bring the symphony to an end on a note of exuberant, joyful celebration.  

A few words about Haydn, the man. He was of middle height with very short legs. His complexion was dark, marked by smallpox, his nose aquiline, eyes softly expressive and generous. He always wore a wig with side curls and queue. He considered himself an ugly man and was constantly bewildered that so many strikingly beautiful women were attracted to him.   And he had world-class humility.   Haydn knew Mozart during his lifetime and believed Mozart's genius to be far superior to his own, in fact to anyone's. When Haydn heard the six quartets that Mozart affectionately dedicated to him, he told Mozart's father: "I must tell you before God, and as an honest man, that your son is the greatest composer known to me, either in person or by name."  

Haydn died in Vienna on 31 May 1809 at age 77, and in his will, he forgot no one: old friends, acquaintances, people who did him favors in his youth, those who were kind to him in his old age.   Of his music, it was said by contemporary George Thomson, "A genius of this kind never before existed and probably never will be surpassed. He is the father of us all."

Tonight's soloist

Brian Thornton is currently in his eighth season with the Cleveland Orchestra. His cello studies began in a public school orchestra in Chicago. After moving to Dallas, Mr. Thornton began studying at the age of 14 with the famous cello pedagogue, Lev Aronson. He also studied with Lynn Harrell at the University of Southern California, and with Stephen Geber at the Cleveland Institute of Music.

Mr. Thornton has been a featured concerto and recital soloist throughout the United States and soloed several times at the White House. While in Chicago, he served as principal cellist of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and soloed under Pierre Boulez, Daniel Barenboim and James DePriest. He plays a J. B. Vuillaume cello made in Paris, France in 1856. Mr. Thornton lives in Cleveland Heights with his wife, Jennifer Woda, a professional singer.

Program  notes compiled by Walt Nicholes from various sources, including Grove and Internet