Program Notes: May 28, 2006
Brahms's Second Symphony appeared in 1877 -- somewhat unexpectedly, since he had struggled for nearly two decades over the First before finally releasing it just one year earlier. Many have heard an ease of manner about the Second Symphony relative to the First, which had carried the heavy burden of Brahms's need to respond to Beethoven, and which had addressed that need through overt references to both the Fifth and Ninth Symphonies. Despite its warmly assured demeanor, however, the Second Symphony carries a similar burden, as signaled by its derivation of the opening theme directly from the opening theme of Beethoven's Third Symphony (Eroica). Moreover, the Second Symphony is perhaps even more complex a work than the First. The first movement explores the lyrical dimension of heroism (the opening theme) within an intricate alternation of modes that also includes a Mendelssohn-derived pastoral and a touch of late-nineteenth-century melancholy. In similar fashion, the remaining movements also move deftly among contrasting modes, delineating a quasi-evolutionary process that weaves the four movements together. Thus, the first movement's melancholic strain takes over for much of the second movement, where it is broadened into a lushly contrapuntal lyricism, and sweetened into a lilting dance midway through. This dance-like respite then forms the basis for the pastoral third movement, which twice breaks mood, in passages that seem to cross a Dvorákian dumka with a Mendelssohnian scherzo, and which not only parody the opening lyrical melody, but also set up the festive finale. The finale itself carries multiple points of reference, especially to Haydn and Beethoven, the latter in both his boisterous and reflective modes.
Beethoven's Leonore Overture No. 1 was not performed in his lifetime, and accounting for it has presented a bit of a problem. In the nineteenth century, it was assumed to be an early draft of the more familiar versions, each designed to introduce his much-revised opera Leonore (renamed Fidelio); these include the closely related works, Leonore Overture No. 2 (1805 premiere) and No. 3 (1806 revision), along with the Fidelio Overture (the now-definitive 1814 version). But recent scholars date tonight's work to 1807, and believe it to have been intended for a revival of the opera that never took place. If this later dating is correct, the overture's simplicity relative to Leonore Nos. 2 and 3 would have been due, not to its being a discarded draft, but rather, perhaps, to Beethoven's reconsideration of the ways in which the other two overtures "give away" the plot of the opera by enacting its central event of rescue. No. 1, like Nos. 2 and 3, gives special place to the music of Florestan, the beloved husband whom Leonore, disguised as Fidelio, sets out to rescue from prison, but within a simpler frame. Yet, even without the trumpet-call "stage effects" of the other two Leonore overtures, it is easy enough to sense "rescue" within the deployment of themes in No. 1.
Saint-Saëns's Cello Concerto No. 1 in A Minor (premiered 1873) exhibits his penchant, like many in the nineteenth century, to experiment with the formal layout of the concerto. Thus, while all the conventional elements are present, they unfold within a single musical span of changing mood, which ranges from the opening tempestuous theme and its later returns, to a placid minuet, to passages of ruminative lyricism, to the triumphant close. Like the Société Nationale de Musique (founded by Saint-Saëns in 1871), the concerto forms part of a nationalist response to France's humiliation during the Franco-Prussian War; hence its serious tone and experimental form.
David Garrett, cello
David Garrett joined the cello section of the Los Angeles Philharmonic in February of 2000. Previously he was a member of the Houston Symphony, assistant principal of the San Antonio Symphony, and a member of the New Orleans Philharmonic. Garrett also appears frequently as recitalist, chamber musician, and soloist, and is a frequent performer on the Philharmonic's Chamber Music Society and Green Umbrella concerts. Garrett maintains a wide range of musical interests: he has recorded modern cello works for the Albany and Opus One labels, his doctoral dissertation includes publication of previously unknown baroque cello works, and he pursues the standard literature in regular solo and chamber music performances. Garrett also enjoys teaching; currently, he teaches cello at California State University, Long Beach.
Along with his wife, Junko, David Garrett performs cello and piano recitals as the Belrose Duo, including several tours in both the U.S. and Japan. Away from the cello Garrett enjoys playing the viola da gamba, composing, and arranging; in his spare time he enjoys games and sports, especially, tennis, chess, and bridge.
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