Violin Concerto No. 1 (Australian Postcards)
Matthew Hindson
b. Wollongong, Australia, 1968
Matthew Hindson AM (Member of the General Division of the Order of Australia) is one of the most-performed and most-commissioned composers of his generation. His works have been performed by ensembles and orchestras throughout Australia and internationally. His music often displays influences of popular music styles within a classical music context. As well as working as a composer, he is chair of the Arts Music Unit at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
Violin Concerto No. 1 was commissioned by Ars Musica Australis through its founder, Fr. Arthur Bridge. The first performance took place in Sydney, Australia, on March 27, 2001. Naoko Miyamoto was the soloist and George Ellis conducted the Sydney Youth Orchestra.
The composer has written the following introduction:
“One of the guiding principles that Fr. Arthur Bridge outlined when commissioning this piece was that it reflect in some way ‘the Spirit in Australia.’ Amongst the 17 violin concertos lodged at the Australian Music Centre are Ross Edwards' Maninyas and Peter Sculthorpe’s Irkanda IV, both of which have similar intent.
“The approach that I implemented in this piece was that of ‘Australian Postcards’ – i.e. a set of movements that in some way reflected some Australian place or outlook. I decided that each of the ‘postcards’ would portray contemporary rather than historical Australian culture.
“There are three separate movements in this work. The first of these is based upon a physical object, the wind turbine at Kooragang Island, near Newcastle. This is an enormous windmill-type object that has been constructed by Energy Australia as a showcase of the possibilities of wind-generated electricity. There are three enormous prongs on this turbine that move at tremendous speed. When standing underneath this turbine, it seems hard to believe that the whole thing won’t come apart and decapitate everyone nearby, such is its power and speed.
“The turbine has been portrayed programmatically as well as metaphorically in this movement. The sense of momentum is fast and seemingly never-ending. The solo violin part must perform some death-defying leaps and string crossings. On the metaphorical level, different musical elements have been composed according to relationships of the number three, as there are three prongs to the turbine. (This however is not essential to the appreciation of the movement).
“In 1998, whilst on a visit to Tasmania, my fiancée Christine and I had the opportunity to tour some of the smaller towns in Tasmania. One of these, Westaway, is a village near Mt. Field National Park. Sometimes it would seem to be an idyllic existence living in a country town—no traffic or parking hassles, a clean environment with a strong sense of community amongst its residents. However unemployment and a general atmosphere of boredom are possibly closer to the everyday reality. In Westaway it seemed that every house had a ‘For Sale’ sign on it. Since the closure or scaling back of logging operations, there were no jobs and high unemployment. Services such as banks were removed, causing further dislocation and disillusionment amongst residents.
“This movement is then a tribute and portrayal of such small towns and communities in rural and regional Australia. The mood is hardly doom and gloom, but largely a reflection upon ‘better times’ and an optimistic outcome that can be achieved in the long run through creative thinking and innovative solutions.
“Sport is an integral part of Australian life for most people, and one of the greatest celebrations in the yearly calendar is Grand Final Day. The Grand Final in whatever sport is hyped up to be the greatest game of the year, a day of high emotions and high drama, of acrobatic feats and legendary skills. Parades are held before and after the great match. The thrill of your team winning the greatest prize of the year is unsurpassed. (Of course the depression of backing the losing team is palpable as I well know, barracking for the Geelong Football Team). The final siren sounds, the club song is sung, all-night parties ensue, and life is really worth celebrating!”
La Mer (The Sea)
Claude Debussy
b. St. Germaine-en-Laye, France / August 22, 1862
d. Paris, France / March 25, 1918
Given Debussy’s taste for sparkling colors and fluid rhythms, the sea seemed a virtually inevitable subject for him. Another link lay in his past. As he wrote to a friend in 1903, the year in which he began La Mer, his most expansive and luxurious seascape, “You do not know perhaps that I was intended for the fine career of a sailor and that only the chances of life led me away from it. Nevertheless, I still have a sincere passion for it.”
Camille Chevillard conducted the Lamoureux Concerts Orchestra in the first performance, in Paris on October 15, 1905. Audience reaction divided sharply between Debussy’s supporters and detractors. La Mer began to achieve widespread acclaim only when Debussy first conducted it himself in 1908.
The first section, From Dawn Until Noon Upon the Sea, opens quietly, its colors muted and misty. Debussy builds a gradual instrumental and emotional crescendo, surging ever forward until it reaches a stirring climax. Play of the Waves is a flashing, limpid scherzo, portraying the quicksilver patterns of light and water which endlessly crisscross the face of the ocean. Debussy unleashes the full resources of the orchestra in the concluding segment, Dialogue of the Wind and the Sea. It concludes with a majestic coda, portraying the sea as a powerful yet benign force of nature.
Suite from The Firebird (1919 version)
Igor Stravinsky
b. Oranienbaum, Russia / June 17, 1882
d. New York, N.Y. / April 6, 1971
Stravinsky’s ballet, The Firebird, belongs to his first creative period, when his music still showed the influence of the colorful, folk-based style favored by his teacher, Rimsky-Korsakov. It came into being thanks to impresario Sergei Diaghilev. For the second Parisian season of his celebrated company, Les Ballets Russes, Diaghilev envisioned a lavishly mounted new dance production, its plot adapted from Russian fairy tales. He entrusted the scenario and choreography to esteemed dance master Mikhail Fokine.
When his first choice as composer, his former music teacher Anatoly Lyadov, was judged too slow to complete the score on time, Diaghilev cast about for a replacement. Familiar with Stravinsky through the orchestrations he had contributed to Diaghilev’s ballet Les Sylphides, and impressed with two of Stravinsky’s brief, original orchestral pieces (Scherzo fantastique and Fireworks), Diaghilev offered the 27-year-old composer a commission for The Firebird. The premiere, in Paris on June 25, 1910 achieved a glittering triumph, launching Stravinsky into the front rank of contemporary composers.
He arranged three suites from the full score of The Firebird, in 1911, 1919, and 1945. The RPO will be performing the second of these, which is by far the most popular. It contains roughly half the music of the complete score. It follows the sequence of the original scenario. With the help of a magic firebird, the hero, Prince Ivan, rescues a group of spellbound princesses from the clutches of an evil magician, Kastcheï. Stravinsky’s music is highly atmospheric, colorful, imaginative, and melodious. It includes two Russian folk songs, one a lyrical tune for the princesses, the other the majestic hymn which closes the score. The whirling, nightmarish Infernal Dance performed by Kastcheï and his monstrous subjects is a tour de force of orchestral brilliance.
© 2010 Don Anderson. All rights reserved.
