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Remembering Daniel Pearl
–
a Celebration in Music

Friday, April
30,
2010 at 7:30 p.m.
Lakeland Baptist Church, Lewisville
(Directions)
Adults $25, Seniors (60+) $20, Students $10
Families $60 no matter how large the family.
Special UNT student and faculty rate: $5
Co-sponsored by Duane and Judi Johnson
Co-sponsored by Friends of the Symphony
The Combined choirs of
the LISD high schools - Lewisville, Hebron, The Colony,
Marcus, Flower Mound
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Serenade for Strings
(Pezzo, Waltz, Elegy, Finale)
- Intermission -
Benjamin Britten: Simply Symphony: 3rd Movement
(Sentimental Sarabande)
Timothy Brown: There are Stars Whose Radiance is
Visible on Earth
(The Texas premiere of a work for chorus and
chamber orchestra commissioned by the Daniel Pearl Foundation.)
The Daniel Pearl
Foundation
The Daniel Pearl Foundation was formed in memory of
journalist Daniel Pearl to further the ideals that inspired Daniel's
life and work. The foundation's mission is to promote cross-cultural
understanding through journalism, music, and innovative communications.
'There are Stars Whose Radiance is
Visible on Earth' - composer's notes
"Daniel Pearl was dedicated to the Jeffersonian ideals of freedom
and equality and saw America as a beacon of hope for the rest of the
World. We envision this new choral work to reach out to the entire world
to express the oneness of mankind and the victory of humanity over
brutality "
Dr. Judea Pearl, President of the Daniel Pearl Foundation
The first movement of “There are Stars Whose Radiance is Visible on
Earth” begins with a simple statement of a "four part chorale" that sets
the tone and mood for the rest of the three movements of the choral
work.
The
text of the first movement, “Lord, May it Never End,” is from the
writings of Hannah Senesh, an inspirational figure that inspired me due
to the many parallels of her short life and the life of the journalist,
Daniel Pearl.
Hannah Senesh, diarist, poet,
playwright
and parachutist in the Jewish
resistance
under the British Armed
Forces during
World War II was born and
died in
Budapest, Hungary.
The first movement is a powerful portrayal of the strength of the
goodness found in mankind . “A victory of humanity over brutality”. The
first movement has an immediate impact with a fullness of dynamic ranges
and energetic moments pushing the music continually forward in it’s
representation of “a cry from the darkness”
The second movement, an "Alleluia," is solemn, and reflective of it’s
initial use in the ancient Greek Liturgy of St. James. It’s “chant like”
opening gradually builds to a tremendous climax towards the end of the
movement in both dynamics and harmonic development.
The movement uses an " A cappella" setting and serves as a decisive
dividing point between the first and final movement. The "Alleluia" or
Hebrew word "Halleluya" text can be used interchangeably to suit both
traditional Jewish and Christian performance practice. The overall
message of thanksgiving, joy, and triumph is interwoven throughout this
movement as a vocal tapestry.
The static monophonic beginnings of the third movement “Of Thine
Impenetrable Spirit,”reflects the story and struggle of the titan
“Prometheus” found in Greek mythology. The text is from the third verse
of the poem “Prometheus” by the English poet, Lord Byron.
The movement slowly builds from the opening moments of the movement to a
triumphant restatement in fullness of intensity in both the charal and
orchestral parts. The concluding section features a violin solo
introducing a theme of hope and purity .
The violin continues as if following the process from afar, yet having
an important role of leading the choir and orchestra to the final
statement of the opening chorale which was first presented in the
opening of the first movement.
Timothy Brown, composer (2009)
Timothy Brown
Timothy
Brown’s music has been influenced greatly by the Italian film composer
Ennio Morricone and also by the composer Luciano Berio. His music is
noted for it’s “immediate emotional impact” and it’s roots in the
neo-romantic style. His traditional formal structural elements are
embedded in his wide array of compositions which includes orchestral,
ballet, and chamber works and specifically music written for the piano
and pedagogical purposes.
He did his undergraduate studies at Bowling Green
State University and received his masters degree from the University of
North Texas where he studied piano with Adam Wodnicki, and music
composition with Newel Kay Brown. He later was a recipient of a research
fellowship from the Royal Holloway, University of London where he did
his post-graduate studies in music composition and orchestration
studying with the English composer, Brian Lock. He later continued his
research at the well known “Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia” in
Rome, Italy.
His numerous credits as a composer include the first prize at the
“Alienor International Harpsichord Competition “ for his harpsichord
solo “Suite Espanola”. (Centaur records). He leads a very active career
as an exclusive composer for the FJH Music Co. in Ft. Lauderdale,
Florida with over one hundred compositions now in print.

His works are frequently performed throughout North
America and Europe and at numerous international venues such as “The
World Piano Pedagogy Conference,” the “Festival Internacional de Musica
de Tecla Espanola” and the MTNA national convention. His music has been
performed by concert artist Elaine Funaro on National Public Radio , and
most recently at the Spoleto Music Festival, and the Library of Congress
Concert Series in Washington D.C.
His numerous commissions include the 2007 Hattiesburg composer festival
and also a commissioned work by the concert pianist, Helen Marlais.
Other commissions include an article by “Clavier Magazine” for his piano
solo“ Once Upon a Time” edited by Denes Agay and a recent commission by
the Dallas Ballet Foundation to write the orchestral score for the
Ballet “The Happy Prince” based on a short story by Oscar Wilde. Mr
Brown is currently a fine arts specialist for the Dallas Public Schools
and serves on the advisory board of the “Booker T. Washington High
School for the Performing and Visual Arts” in Dallas, Texas.
Timothy Brown is published by the FJH Music Company Inc.
Serenade for Strings, Op. 48
Peter I. Tchaikovsky
Among the most charming of Tchaikovsky’s compositions is his
Serenade for Strings, composed in 1880. Tchaikovsky confided to his
publisher that this work took the form of a serenade by accident. When
he made preliminary sketches he envisioned it as something between a
symphony and a string quartet. Its final form was an inspiration that
delights all his admirers. Despite his tendency to underestimate even
his best works, Tchaikovsky seems to have had a fondness for this
score. “I wish with all my heart that you could hear my Serenade
properly performed,” he wrote to Mme. Von Meck in 1881 . . . . “The
first movement is my homage to Mozart. It is intended to be an
imitation of his style, and I should be delighted if I thought I had in
any way approached my model.”
I. Piece in Form of a Sonatina: Andante non troppo; Allegro
moderato. The main body of this movement is lively and energetic
with a strongly rhythmic first theme and a lightly skipping second theme
for contrast.
II. Waltz: Moderato, tempo di valse. The graceful, lilting
melody of this Waltz is one of the most popular and most charming in all
of Tchaikovsky. He had an especial flair and so loved the Viennese
waltz style that the melody is hard to forget.
III. Elegy: Larghetto elegacio. The wistful mood of the opening
contrasts with a livelier middle section. For the return of the opening
music the entire orchestra plays with mutes, producing a delicately
veiled tone.
IV. Finale: Andante; Allegro conspirito. The slow introduction
is based on a Russian folk tune, a Volga "hauling song". There is a
bustling main theme that is related to the slow introduction to the
first movement, which also returns toward the end in its original form.
The conclusion comes with another brilliant outburst of the bustling
main theme.
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Born on May 7, 1840 in Kamsko-Votkinsk, Russia
Died On November 6, 1893 in St. Petersburg, Russia
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, probably the most famous of all Russian
composers, was the son of a mine inspector. He started piano studies at
age five and soon showed remarkable gifts. He attended law school in
St. Petersburg, and, while studying law and government, he took music
lessons, including composing.
At age nineteen he took a job as a bureau clerk, a job which he hated.
By this time he was totally absorbed by music, and he began to study
music in earnest at the relatively late age of twenty-one. His progress
in music was rapid, however. After graduating from the St. Petersburg
Conservatory, he became a professor of harmony at the Moscow
Conservatory and became a very prolific composer: a symphony, an opera,
a tone poem – and by the age of thirty – his first great orchestral
work, Romeo and Juliet.
In 1877 he acquired a wealthy benefactress,
Nadezhda von Meck, with whom he
had a curious relationship – they corresponded but never met in person.
Madame von Meck gave him an annuity that allowed him to leave the
conservatory and devote himself totally to composition; fourteen years
later, he was deeply hurt when she cut off the stipend and stopped
writing to him.
During these years Tchaikovsky achieved success
conducting his own works throughout Europe (and the United States in
1893), but he always remained a spiritually troubled man. In 1893, nine
days after conducting the premiere of his Symphony No. 6 (Pathetique)
– which ends unconventionally with a slow, despairing finale – he died
at the age of fifty-three.
Tchaikovsky’s music is extremely tuneful, colorfully
scored, and filled with emotional fervor directed to the heart rather
than the head. In 19th Century Russian music Tchaikovsky
stands alone. He did not fall under the influence of Brahms nor Wagner,
but greatly admired the French music of Bizet and Saint-Saens.
He had a
lifelong passion for Mozart, and many passages in Tchaikovsky’s music
are as delicately detailed and colored as works by Bizet and Mozart. In
addition to his orchestral master-pieces he is noted for the success of
his operas, ballets and songs.
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