DANCE! with New Century Chamber Orchestra
Program
Christoff Willibald Gluck “Dance of the Furies” from Orfeo ed Euridice
Anonymous Lamento e Rota di Tristano (Arr. O. Foures)
George Frideric Handel “Rigaudon” from Water Music Suite, HWV 350
Evaristo Felice Dall’Abaco Selection from Concerto Grosso, Op. 5, No. 6 in D major
Nicola Conforto Fandango (Arr. O. Foures)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Rondo in B-flat Major for Violin and Orchestra, K. 269
Franz Schubert Five German Dances, D.90
Georges Bizet “Farandole” from L’Arlésienne Suite No. 2
Béla Bartók Romanian Folk Dances, Sz. 68
Erwin Schulhoff “Finale: Alla Tarantella” from Five Pieces for String Quartet
Intermission
Traditional Odessa Bulgar (Arr. O. Fourés)
Florence Price Ticklin’ Toes (Arr. O. Fourés)
Wojciech Kilar Orawa
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky “Pas de Deux” from Swan Lake (Act II)
Jacques Offenbach “Can-Can” from Orpheus in the Underworld
Camille Saint-Saëns Danse Macabre Op. 40 (Arr. P. Bateman)
Sergei Prokofiev “Marche Chevaliers” from Romeo and Juliet (Arr. P. Bateman)
Astor Piazzolla Escualo (Arr. P. Bateman)
PROGRAM NOTES
The idea that music is something you enjoy sitting down in silence, clapping only when it’s over, is a relatively new one. A lot of music that we are used to listening to in this way was not created with that scenario in mind. Music–even what we call Western classical music–used to be intimately linked to certain life functions that may be religious or social and often call for “audience participation” of some sort. One of the most important such functions, without a doubt, is dance, in its myriad forms and styles. Since dance almost always requires some kind of musical accompaniment, the connection between these two art forms goes back to prehistoric times–long before it could be proven by any surviving documents.
Tonight’s program brings you dance music from seven centuries and twelve countries–dances fast and slow, aristocratic and folk, dances performed before an audience and dances enjoyed only by the dancers themselves. We will open with an excerpt from Christoph Willibald Gluck’s opera Orpheus and Eurydice (1760), in which a group of tormented Furies try to block Orpheus’s way as the divine singer tries to rescue his wife from the Underworld. It will be followed by the Lamento di Tristano with the subsequent Rotta, which are some of the earliest surviving pieces of dance music, preserved in a 14th-century Italian manuscript. This pair of dances, going from slow to fast, established a pattern that remained constant for many centuries.
George Frideric Handel’s three Water Music suites were written to entertain British royalty–this music was certainly meant to be listened to rather than to be danced to.The Rigaudon from the third suite (1736) seems to prove the point: Handel took some liberties with this French dance that would probably trip up anyone who would try to shake a leg to it… On the other hand, his Italian contemporary Evaristo Felice Dall’Abaco, who also had sitting audiences in mind with the present concerto grosso (c. 1721), mostly kept to more regular phrase structures. A generation younger than Handel and Dall’Abaco, the Neapolitan Nicola Conforto spent most of his career in Madrid in the service of the King of Spain. The present Fandango–a popular Spanish dance–was part of a short opera he wrote there in 1763.
It is worth remembering that the Rondo, a form often encountered in the final movements of symphonies and concertos, also originated as a dance–a round dance. The dance character of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Rondo in B-flat (1776) is unmistakable. This work was probably meant to replace the last movement Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 1, K. 207, a movement the composer was apparently unhappy with. The solo violin leads the dance, introducing some thematic contrasts and indulging in some virtuoso flourishes as well, as one might well expect in a concerto.
In addition to their symphonies and other works, Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven all wrote their share of dance music in the popular Viennese style of their time. Franz Schubert followed suit with a large number of “German Dances” written throughout his tragically short life. Many of these were essentially minuets–a dance of French origin but heavily influenced by the Austrian folk dance named Ländler. The present dances, written by a 16-year-old Schubert in 1813, show the great originality with which he was able to treat even such a simple musical form.
The farandole is a dance from Southern France of ancient origin in which the dancers form a long chain. In 1872, Georges Bizet included it in his incidental music for L’Arlésienne (“The Girl from Arles”), a play by Alphonse Daudet set in that region. Its well-known melody is an old Provençal Christmas carol known as the “March of Turenne.”
In addition to being one of the greatest composers of the 20th century, the Hungarian Béla Bartók was one of the founders of the discipline of ethnomusicology. He conducted extensive fieldwork in many areas of the old Austro-Hungarian monarchy, collecting traditional music in Hungarian, Slovak and Romanian communities. His Romanian Folk Dances (1915-17), originally written for piano and later orchestrated, are based on instrumental melodies he had recorded on phonograph cylinders in Transylvania in 1910 and ’12. He added original harmonies to the tunes, which are contrasted in tempo and mood, ranging from the hauntingly lyrical to the exuberant. The Romanian movement titles translate as follows: 1. Dance with sticks - 2. Waistband dance - 3. Stamping dance - 4. Horn Dance - 5. Romanian polka - 6. Quick dance.
Eastern European Jewish folk music, or klezmer music, has enjoyed a spectacular revival in the United States and around the world in recent decades. One of the most popular klezmer dance forms is the bulgar, which doesn’t come from Bulgaria but rather from Moldova and Ukraine, countries that were home to many outstanding klezmer musicians. The so-called Odesa Bulgar has become one of the best-known examples of this beloved tradition.
Meanwhile on the other side of the Atlantic, a different kind of rhythmically vital dance music had evolved. Florence Price, born in Arkansas and a longtime resident of Chicago, was inspired by African-American musical traditions (especially ragtime) in her large-scale symphonic works as well as in “Ticklin’ Toes,” one of Three Little Negro Dances (1933). Originally for piano, these short pieces were later orchestrated by the composer, whose music is finally beginning to receive the attention it deserves.
Dances can be happy and cheerful, but they can also be macabre, as in the famous work for violin and orchestra by Camille Saint-Saëns from 1874. The “dance of death,” a grim reminder of the inevitability of death, is a medieval allegorical concept depicted in many paintings from the 14th century and later. Saint-Saëns was inspired by these images in a work that is perhaps more grotesque than scary. At the stroke of midnight, Death (mis)tunes his violin, lowering the top string by a half-step which results in a dissonant tritone (“the interval of the devil”) between the two highest strings. A distorted version of the “Dies irae,” a chant melody from the Mass of the Dead invoking the Last Judgment, adds to the spooky atmosphere. The dance continues until the cock crows and the dancers quickly disperse.
If the Danse macabre is spooky, Orpheus in the Underworld is a hilarious send-up of the Greek mythological story that we encountered earlier on this program. In the operetta by Jacques Offenbach (1858), the damned souls in Hell (and the visiting Olympian gods) are having a wild party as they dance to the can-can that was all the rage in 19th-century Paris.
What a change to go from there to the rarefied world of Swan Lake (1876)! One of the high points in this immortal ballet by Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky comes when Prince Siegfried and his beloved Odette perform their pas de deux to give expression to their love. In the orchestra, Odette is impersonated by a sensuous violin solo and the Prince by the solo cello.
From another great Russian ballet classic, Romeo and Juliet (1935) by Sergey Sergeyevich Prokofiev, we will hear the dance of the knights at the Capulets’ ball where Romeo first sees Juliet.
Prague-born Erwin Schulhoff had a special passion for dancing, as he once confessed in a letter to his Viennese colleague Alban Berg. Schulhoff’s Five Pieces for String Quartet (1923) consist of a set of traditional dances from various countries, with some modern twists each time. The final movement, performed here in an orchestral arrangement, offers a distinctly 20th-century Central European take on the famous Southern Italian dance.
Astor Piazzolla, the great master of the Argentine tango, composed Escualo (“Shark”) in 1978 for violinist Fernando Suárez Paz, who became a member of Piazzolla’s quintet Tango Nuevo after playing for many years in the Buenos Aires Philharmonic.
The concert ends with the spectacular Orawa (1986) by Polish composer Wojciech Kilar. Inspired by the folk music of the eponymous region in the Tatra mountains between Slovakia and Poland, Orawa quickly became an international hit and was arranged for many different instrumental forces. The composer started with two simple, folk-like phrases; by repeating them over and over in ever fuller orchestrations, he built a massive climax at the end of the piece.
Notes by Peter Laki
About the Artists
Daniel Hope, Music Director
New Century Chamber Orchestra
British violinist Daniel Hope has enjoyed a thriving international solo career for more than 30 years. Celebrated for his musical versatility and dedication to humanitarian causes, he has been recognized with the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and the European Culture Prize for Music. An award-winning Deutsche Grammophon artist and popular radio and television host, he serves as Artistic Director of Dresden’s Frauenkirche Cathedral, President of the Beethoven-Haus Bonn, and Music Director of both the Zurich and New Century Chamber Orchestras.
Having first drawn notice as the youngest member of the Beaux Arts Trio, today Hope is a familiar face at venues and festivals from New York’s Carnegie Hall to Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, and from Aspen and Tanglewood to Salzburg, Schleswig-Holstein and London’s BBC Proms. He works with the world’s foremost ensembles, including the symphony orchestras of Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, Paris and Tokyo, and has commissioned more than 30 new works from composers including Birtwistle, Gubaidulina, Kurtág, Richter, Turnage and the late Maxwell-Davies, Penderecki, Takemitsu and Schnittke. One of today’s most prolific classical recording artists, Hope has more than 30 albums to his name. Recognized with awards including the Deutsche Schallplattenpreis, the Diapason d’Or of the Year, the Edison Classical Award and the Prix Caecilia, his discography features recordings of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto and Octet, named one of the best of the year by the New York Times; Berg’s Violin Concerto, voted the “top choice of all available recordings” by Gramophone magazine; Spheres, comprising the world premiere recordings of four works written for the violinist; and Richter’s Vivaldi Recomposed, which topped the charts in 22 countries and remains one of the bestselling classical releases of recent times. Hope uses his platform to engage in many spheres. The author of four bestselling books, he also contributes regularly to the Wall Street Journal, presents a weekly radio show for Germany’s WDR3 Channel, curates and hosts Hope@9pm at the Berlin Konzerthaus and, during the pandemic, created and hosted Hope@Home, a daily live streamed series for the German/French ARTE TV network. Featuring more than 400 musicians in 150 episodes that were streamed almost eleven million times, the show raised thousands of Euros for artists in need.
Daniel Hope studied violin with Zakhar Bron, Itzhak Rashkovsky and Felix Andrievsky, working closely with his mentor Yehudi Menuhin. Now living with his family in Switzerland, he plays the 1742 “ex-Lipínski” Guarneri del Gesù.
One of only a handful of conductorless chamber ensembles in the world, New Century Chamber Orchestra was founded in 1992 and includes 19 string players from the San Francisco Bay Area as well as throughout the United States. Musical decisions are made collaboratively, resulting in an enhanced level of commitment from the musicians and concerts of remarkable precision, passion, and power. British violinist Daniel Hope was appointed as Music Director and Concertmaster beginning in the 2018-2019 season (after serving the prior season as the ensemble’s Artistic Partner), bringing a new era of vibrancy and leadership. Previous music directors of the ensemble include Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg (2008-2017), Krista Bennion Feeney (1999-2006) and Stuart Canin (1992-1999).
With a commitment to the virtuosic performance of chamber orchestra masterworks, New Century also expands the genre through frequent commissions of new music and innovative collaborations with artists from other genres. New Century fosters an intimate relationship with music, not only by offering concerts in small, local venues throughout the Bay Area and beyond, but also by connecting our musical history to the work of living composers and the cultural narratives of today. Recently commissioned composers include Tan Dun, Mark-Anthony Turnage, Jennifer Higdon, Mark Adamo, Jungyoon Wie, Jake Heggie, and Nicolás Lell Benavides. Underscoring its commitment to new music, New Century released Music for a New Century in June 2023, its debut recording under Music Director Daniel Hope on the Deutsche Grammophon label with Ukrainian pianist Alexey Botvinov, featuring four works commissioned or co-commissioned by New Century over the last six years: Philip Glass’ Piano Concerto No. 3 (2017), Tan Dun’s Double Concerto for Violin, Piano and String Orchestra with Percussion (2021), Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Lament for Solo Violin and String Orchestra (2018-19) and Jake Heggie’s Overture (2023).
New Century’s live performances have continued to explore new ground. The 2024-25 season expands the orchestra’s profile with performances of iconic works for string orchestra like Richard Strauss’ Metamorphosen, Bartok’s Divertimento, and Max Richter’s Vivaldi: Recomposed—The Four Seasons. New Century will be joined by major guest artists like pianist Inon Barnatan and trumpeter Brandon Ridenour for Shostakovich’s First Piano Concerto, and jazz harpist Brandee Younger in New Century’s first-ever collaboration with SFJAZZ: a program of original music inspired by the late Alice Coltrane. The current season also celebrates the work of Music Director Daniel Hope and his prolific recording career with Deutsche Grammophon, culminating in a program of works from his chart-topping DANCE! album. Other recent highlights have included collaborations with Stanford Live, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the San Francisco Girls’ Chorus and SFMOMA; major works by Leonard Bernstein, Nico Muhly, Igor Stravinsky, and Caroline Shaw; and appearances by acclaimed guest artists such as Kelley O’Connor, Alexi Kenney, Nicholas Phan, Sterling Elliott, Awadagin Pratt, and trumpeter Lucienne Renaudin Vary in her US Debut. The centerpiece of the orchestra’s 30th anniversary season in 2022-23 was Berlin 1938: Broadcasts from a Vanishing Society, an innovative musical radio drama created by Music Director Daniel Hope and baritone Thomas Hampson that explored the disappearing freedoms and growing threats of violence in German society leading up to World War II, as characterized by the songwriters of the era.
Beyond its regular season concerts in the San Francisco Bay Area, New Century under Music Director Daniel Hope has expanded its touring profile, embarking on two European summer tours in 2019 and 2023, performing across Germany and Poland, at the Leonard Bernstein-founded Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the Rheingau Festival, and the Philharmonie Essen, among others. New Century’s domestic performances have included coast-to-coast tours in 2011 and 2013, and an expanded portfolio of presentations across the state of California, including Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center, Stanford Live’s Bing Concert Hall, Vallejo’s Empress Theatre, and a May 2023 debut at San Diego’s La Jolla Music Society.
The orchestra has released eight albums including the aforementioned Music for a New Century. Prior releases include From A to Z: 21st Century Concertos, a 2014 compilation of four of New Century’s live world premiere performances of newly commissioned works by William Bolcom, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, Clarice Assad and Michael Daugherty. New Century significantly increased its video offerings over the past few years, including six episodes of Daniel Hope’s internationally acclaimed television series Hope@Home – Next Generation. Filmed in San Francisco, each half-hour episode was streamed to an international audience of over 400,000 viewers and comprised of solo and chamber music featuring Daniel Hope, musicians of the orchestra and Bay Area guest artists pianist Garrick Ohlsson, composer Jake Heggie and percussionist Zakir Hussain.
New Century Chamber Orchestra
Violin I
Daniel Hope, Music Director & Concertmaster
Iris Stone, Associate Concertmaster
Karen Shinozaki Sor
Stephanie Bibbo
Hrabba Atladottir
Violin II
Candace Guirao, Principal
Michael Yokas
Sam Weiser
Kayo Miki
Liana Berube
Viola
Anna Kruger, Principal
Jenny Douglass
Cassandra Lynne Richburg
Frank Shaw
Cello
Evan Kahn, Principal
Isaac Melamed
Michelle Djokic
Kyle Stachnik
Bass
Colin Corner, Principal
William Everett
Oboe
Jesse Barrett
Adrienne Malley
Horn
Melia Badalian
William Klingelhoffer
Guitar
Richard Savino
Percussion
Kumiko Ito