Violin and Viola

January 26, 2011, 7:30 pm

Enmax Hall, Winspear Centre

Violin and Viola

2010-11 Midweek Classics

  • William Eddins, conductor
    Andrew Wan, violin
    Charles Pilon, viola
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Details

The ESO celebrates the eve of Mozart’s 255th birthday! There are few works for any combination of solo instruments as well-known or loved as Mozart’s lush Sinfonia concertante. It is brought to life by Edmonton’s own Andrew Wan (Concertmaster of the Montreal Symphony) and Assistant Principal Viola Charles Pilon. Colourful and dramatic operatic overtures complete the concert.

Mozart: Sinfonia concertante for Violin and Viola
Rossini: Semiramide: Overture
Weber: Oberon: Overture

click for detailed seating mapTicket Information

$65 Dress Circle (A)
$53 Terrace (B)
$39 Orchestra (C)
$25 Upper Circle (D)
$20 Orchestra Front (F)
Tickets subject to applicable service charges.

The next Midweek Classics performance is Angela Cheng plays Mozart on May 25, 2011.

Thank you to our media sponsor: espace musique

Program Info

WEBER
Oberon: Overture (10’)
 
MOZART
Sinfonia concertante for Violin and Viola in E-flat major, K364/320d (32’)*
 
INTERMISSION
 
ROTA
Le Molière imaginaire: Suite (20’)*
 
ROSSINI
Semiramide: Overture (12’)*

*Indicates approximate performance duration
 

Program Notes

Oberon: Overture
Carl Maria von Weber (b. Eutin, 1786 / d. London, 1826)
 
First performance of the opera: April 12, 1826 in London
Last ESO performance of the overture: February 2000
 
Weber was already ill by the time he wrote his last opera, Oberon, or The Elf King’s Oath, for London’s Covent Garden. While containing some of the same characters as Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, this tale is completely different, with Oberon’s magic horn likely a more important part of the drama than Oberon himself. The opera is beset with dramatic unevenness, and its place in the opera canon is peripheral at best.
 
The overture, however, is still a regular concert feature. Weber was one of the first to use themes from the opera to come in his overtures – a practice which caught on widely soon after (see Rossini, below). But Weber’s overtures were still solid, stand-alone works, not just pastiches of melodies. Following the theme of Oberon’s horn, which opens the overture, the rest of it is laid out in something close to sonata form. And yet, seven or eight themes from the opera are seamlessly woven into either the Adagio opening or the following Allegro sections in a wholly satisfying, unified orchestral work.
 
 
Sinfonia concertante for Violin and Viola in E-flat Major, K.364/320d
Wolfgang Amadé Mozart (b. Salzburg, 1756 / d. Vienna, 1791)
 
Composed late 1779
Last ESO performance: June 2003
 
Nearly everything about the Sinfonia concertante Mozart composed in 1779 is singular – except its instrumentation. After composing five violin concertos within a short span of each other in 1775, he wrote no more such works for solo violin. In 1778, he completed a concerto for solo flute, and five years later, would finally write another solo concerto work. But in between, he wrote six works (that we know of) – all for multiple solo instruments and orchestra. Four have survived to us intact, and the most assured and mature of these is the Sinfonia concertante, for one solo violin, and one solo viola.
 
The word “operatic” is apt to the construction of this work. Its opening movement begins with a long statement from the orchestra, and the soloists’ entrance is remarkable. Out of the mists of the orchestra’s decrescendo, the two instruments are suddenly and subtly there, on sustained notes in octaves. From there, the two soloists dominate the work – barely a note the orchestra has played to that point even shows up throughout the rest of the movement. Not that there aren’t important statements for the orchestra between the engaging solo work – there are, many of which are reminiscent of some of Mozart’s opera overtures. But the soloists dominate, either chasing each other in a breathtaking scurry, or harmonizing in tightly constructed, demanding passages requiring concise partnership.
 
The serene second movement is very operatic, modeled in the same way as Mozart’s finest vocal duets. Following a suitably dramatic orchestral opening, the violin and viola each sing an independent line. They begin separately, gradually becoming more and more “in agreement,” until they are singing sweetly together. For the rest of the movement, they do not speak one without the other, the orchestra’s opening drama has now become subtle accompaniment. There is a brief cadenza for both soloists near the movement’s end.
 
What the second movement is to romantic dialog, the finale is to simply having fun. A rondo movement with an infectious dance as its main subject, there are now opportunities for each soloist to “show off” separately, but also to make merry together. One of Mozart’s most graceful romps, there are clever twists and turns – even some brief minor-key variations – but the overriding sense of play is everywhere.
 
 
Le Molière imaginaire: Suite
Nino Rota (b. Milan, 1911 / d. Rome, 1979)
 
First performance of the ballet: The ballet received a double premiere, being presented for the first time on December 3, 1976, at both the Comédie-Française in Paris and the Théâtre Royale de la Monnaie in Brussels
First performance of the suite: December 15, 1978 in Naples
This is the ESO premiere of the piece
 
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (1622-1673) was better known by his stage name – Molière. One of the most influential figures in French drama, the 300th anniversary of his death was an occasion to honour his memory. French choreographer Maurice Béjart conceived of Le Molière imaginaire (“Molière Imagined”) as combining moments from Molière’s plays, as well as from his life – so it has doses of both tragedy and the Baroque master’s wry wit. For the music, Béjart asked a composer whose music he had come to know through the soundtracks of movies by one of Europe’s most important directors. Italian film legend Federico Fellini had often turned to Nino Rota to score his films.
 
Rota was a deft hand at combining styles and genres in his film compositions (the wedding scene from The Godfather springs to mind for North American film-goers), so Béjart’s ballet gave him a chance to put the Baroque style of music that had accompanied Molière’s productions through a 20th century lens. The result is a delightful suite in seven sections, most of which are extroverted and lively, with occasional slightly more reflective moments – the first two movements centre around a “Molière motif,” which resurfaces in the final movement as part of a reprise of many of the themes from the ballet. Only the serene La Nature movement, with lyrical woodwind passages over the harp’s rhythm, slows the comic pace. But each movement is colourful and full of wit, capturing its subject matter perfectly.
 
 
Semiramide: Overture
Gioacchino Rossini (b. Pesaro, 1792 / d. Passy, 1868)
 
First performance of the opera: February 3, 1823 in Venice
Last ESO performance of the overture: Enbridge Symphony Under the Sky 2001
 
Rossini left Naples for good in 1822, but had by then composed one last opera for Italian audiences. Based on a work by Voltaire, Semiramide is a large, tragic melodrama which remained popular through the rest of the 19th century, but is now known mostly through its overture.
 
The story takes place in the Babylonian temple of Baal, and deals with succession, betrayal, love, secrets, blackmail – all the great stuff of impending operatic tragedy. The overture suits the opera’s gravitas very well, and for a good reason. Unlike many Rossini operas, which have overtures that Rossini simply shifted from one opera to another as it suited him, the overture to Semiramide was composed for this work – and moreover, it uses themes from the opera itself, another atypical aspect for a Rossini overture. A hushed, dramatic opening leads to one of those crescendos Rossini was famous for, followed by a theme presented on the four horns – a theme from the drama to come. An orchestral bridge full of dynamic contrasts, and interrupted occasionally by the horns, transitions to the work’s Allegro second section which, if not particularly doom-laden or dramatic, nonetheless swirls from brilliant light to powerful and dark shadows. The secondary subject here features Rossini’s penchant for colourful themes for the woodwinds.
 
Program notes © 2010 by D.T. Baker

Artist Bios

William Eddins, conductor

william eddins

William Eddins is in his sixth season as Music Director of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. During his tenure, he has made it a priority that he conduct performances in nearly every subscription series the orchestra has presented, as well as a wide variety of special concerts and galas.

Bill Eddins began playing the piano at age five, but was bitten by the conducting bug while in his sophomore year at the Eastman School of Music. In 1989, he decided to begin conducting studies with Daniel Lewis at the University of Southern California. Assistant Conductorships with both the Minnesota Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony (the latter under the leadership of Daniel Barenboim) honed his skills even further.

Mr. Eddins has many interests outside music. He is fond of biking, tennis, reading, pinball, and cooking. He recently completed building his own recording studio at his home in Minneapolis, where he lives with his wife Jen (a clarinetist), and their sons Raef and Riley. While conducting has been his principal pursuit, he continues to perform on piano in Edmonton and elsewhere. He accepts a limited number of guest appearances each year. In 2008, he conducted a rare full staging of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess for Opéra de Lyon, which won him great acclaim, leading to a repeat engagement in Lyon in July and September 2010, as well as Edinburgh in August 2010, and in London in September 2010. During August 2009, Bill toured South Africa, conducting three gala concerts with soprano Renée Fleming and the kwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Andrew Wan, violin

andrew wan violinAndrew Wan is equally at home as a soloist, chamber musician, and concertmaster. In August of 2008, he was named Concertmaster of the Montréal Symphony Orchestra (MSO), making him one of the youngest concertmasters of a major symphony. His relationship with the orchestra began with performances of Elgar’s Violin Concerto, which were hailed as one of the top two musical moments of 2007 by La Presse. As soloist, he has appeared with the orchestras of Montréal, Toronto, Newfoundland, Juilliard, Aspen, and McGill Chamber. Mr. Wan has concertized extensively throughout the world, appearing in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the Kennedy Center, Jordan Hall and Salle Gaveau with artists such as the Juilliard Quartet, the International Sejong Soloists, the New Zealand Trio, Gil Shaham, Angela Cheng, and Cho-Liang Lin. Member of the award-winning New Piano Trio and the New Orford String Quartet, he recently recorded the Mendelssohn Octet with James Ehnes and members of the Seattle Chamber Music Society for the Onyx label.
 
From Edmonton, Andrew Wan received his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music Degrees from the Juilliard School under the tutelage of Masao Kawasaki and Ron Copes. In 2008, he was the only violinist to be accepted into the prestigious Artist Diploma Program at Juilliard. He is currently on faculty at the Schulich School of Music at McGill University in Montréal. The Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Emerging Artist Award, Canada Council, Anne Burrows Foundation, Alberta Foundation for the Arts, and Winspear Fund have generously supported Mr. Wan. Andrew Wan performs on a 1744 Michel'Angelo Bergonzi violin, and gratefully acknowledges its loan from the David Sela Collection.
 
Mr. Wan last appeared with the ESO in February 2009.

Charles Pilon, viola

Charles Pilon

Violist and violinist Charles Pilon studied with Sonia Jeinkova at Montréal’s Marianapolis College. He earned a Bachelor of Music from McGill University under Mauricio Fuks before further studies at the University of Southern California’s Advanced Studies program with Robert Lipett. During his time at USC, he also studied with David Cerone at the Encore School of Strings and Roman Totenberg at Kneizel Hall. His viola mentors are former ESO Principal Viola Nick Pulos, and pedagogue Thomas Riebel at the Salzburg Mozarteum.

Mr. Pilon has played for CBC Young Artists in Concert, and joined Orchestra London (Ontario) in the First Violin section (2003/04) before joining the Edmonton Symphony’s First Violins for the 2004/05 season. He successfully auditioned as Assistant Principal Viola of the ESO for the start of the 2005/06 season. Since his arrival in Edmonton, he has been active in the local music scene. He has performed as a soloist with the Alberta Baroque Ensemble, and co-founded Quartett Enterprise in 2009. Mr. Pilon has received grants from the Québec Council of the Arts, and the Alberta Arts Foundation. In his spare time, he enjoys meditation, hot yoga, and salsa dancing.

 

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