Programme Notes

Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868)

The opera The Barber of Seville was commissioned by the Opera House in Rome and was first performed there in 1816. Figaro, the eponymous barber and largo al factotum ("jack of all trades"), advises his former boss Count Almaviva on the best way to meet Rosina, the object of his desires, without attracting the attention of her guardian, Doctor Bartolo. The initial suggestion (for which he is richly rewarded) is that he should dress as a soldier and feign drunkenness in order to gain entry to her house. The failure of this attempt prompts him to try again, this time pretending to be Rosina's singing teacher. A series of comic plot turns ensues, and the opera ends with the marriage (or rather the signing of the marriage contract) of Count Almaviva and Rosina.

The overture begins with a classic device designed to attract the audience's attention: two loud chords played in unison by the whole orchestra. An introductory passage, in which the music flows between strings and woodwind, precedes the first proper theme of the work, played by the first violins. This elegant and graceful tune (accompanied by pizzicato from the rest of the strings) is soon overcome by a return to the more strident tone of the opening, and a gradual change to the minor key leads in to an energetic section for the whole orchestra. The violins lead the way out of this stormy passage, and we hear another of the themes in this overture, a delightfully perky tune, first on the oboe, then moving to the horns. The minor key passage we heard earlier returns, then we enjoy the oboe and horn tune one more time before the pace starts to pick up, leading to a loud and triumphant end of the overture.

Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)

1. Allegro moderato - Largamente - Allegro molto - Moderato assai - Allegro moderato - Allegro molto vivace
2. Adagio di molto
3. Allegro, ma non tanto

This is Sibelius's only concerto. Some commentators have observed that Sibelius may have seen himself in the role of the soloist, and that he perhaps wrote the piece as an attempt to vicariously live out his childhood dreams.

Despite a disastrous première, Sibelius, realizing the work's potential, revised it. Using a better soloist (Franz von Vecsey, the dedicatee) it was performed with great success in Berlin 1905, conducted by Richard Strauss. This work is now ranked among the world's leading concertos.

The first movement, lasting almost as long as the other two put together, establishes the dominant role of the soloist. Its opening is one of the most mysterious in the concerto repertoire. A ghostly shimmering from the string section lasts for several bars before the soloist enters with an icy tune of almost unbearable purity rising above the orchestral accompaniment. The development sequence is a handsome solo cadenza in which the main theme is treated in a virtuoso manner. All the double-stops, scale figures and trills serve both the need for virtuosity and the composition as a whole. The main theme is repeated in dark colours, with the violinist playing on the G string. The orchestra continues with a tremendous build-up and the violin responds. The flutes present the final theme and the violinist accompanies it with dizzying arpeggios. In the final climax the dramatic material of the main theme is, for one last time, utilised to its full extent.

A brief, wistful, introduction from clarinets and oboes opens the slow movement, before the soloist once again takes centre stage with the main theme. The tranquil mood is shaken in the next section: a dramatic interlude arises from the introductory figure, led by the strings. The movement gathers pace, sweeping the whole orchestra into a dramatic climax. A passage of emotionally intense double-stopping (playing two notes at once) follows from the soloist and the music rises to a climax once again, after which the more peaceful atmosphere of the opening starts to return, and the soloist leads the movement to a close.

The finale begins in a jerky fashion, with low strings backing. The main theme, with its emphatic rhythm, has an unusual, serious and staccato sound, and contributes to the overall effect of what the composer described as "a Danse Macabre across the Finnish wastelands". The music critic Sir Donald Tovey was more flippant, terming it a "a polonaise for polar bears"! This noble and serious work concludes with a rousing climax.

Antonín Dvorák (1841-1904)

1. Allegro maestoso
2. Poco adagio
3. Scherzo: Vivace - Poco meno mosso
4. Allegro

In June 1884 the London Philharmonic Society elected Dvorák as an honorary member and invited him to write a new symphony. After the sunny major key symphony No. 6, Dvorák decided to write his next symphony in a different mood. Symphony No. 7 is one of the most dramatic of late 19th century symphonies.

A low D on timpani, horns and double bass is the first sound we hear in this dramatic, and at times tragic, symphony. Cellos and violas emerge from these murky depths, playing the sombre but energetic tune which Dvorak said was inspired by a train pulling out from Prague station. Clarinets play an answering theme, after which the string section takes the limelight. It is here that Dvorak first disturbs the listener's rhythmic complacency by switching between two beats in a bar (each with three quavers, the pattern of the opening) to three beats (each with two quavers) in a bar.

The poco adagio - soft, slow and beautiful- is a peaceful change from the tempestuous music of the first movement. The first clarinet, accompanied by oboes and bassoons, and with pizzicati from the strings, opens the movement with one of Dvorak's finest melodies. Flutes and oboes take up the theme and develop it into a more impassioned and less naive form. A darker and more profound section, led by the first violins and cellos, follows hinting at more turbulent music to come. For the moment though, we are treated to a delightful new theme on the horns. A series of episodes in which light and pastoral themes contrast with stormier passages follows. We hear the main theme (unusually, not in its original form) return in the cello section, before the darker motif from earlier returns to usher in a dramatic climax. Finally, the peaceful mood of the opening is restored, and the movement draws to an end.

The third movement (Scherzo - Trio - Scherzo) begins like a quick dance and makes use of a clever combination of legato (smooth) and staccato playing from the strings. The infectious rhythm of this movement derives partly from use of "cross-rhythms": two-in-a-bar against three-in-a-bar. The Trio, with different instrumentation, is slower, softer and smoother, and abounds with rich, folk-song-like melodies, of the type Dvorak commonly used, particularly in these last three symphonies. The Scherzo returns, with a brief blaze of strings. A recapulation of the beginning of the movement precedes a little interlude, before the strident rhythms of the opening return to finish the Scherzo in rousing style.

The finale forms a dramatic climax to round off this grand symphony. The grim mood of the opening, with its minor key, gives way (after several dramatic climaxes) to a yearning melody in the cellos. Gloom and doubt from clarinet and bassoon commence the powerful, extended development. The symphony ends with a majestic series of chords, which finally resolve into D major.

Much time and effort was put into composing this great symphony, which demonstrates many facets of symphonic composition. Dvorák proved to many contemporary listeners, including Brahms (whose orchestral style he is sometimes seen as mirroring), that he was one of the greatest composers.

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