MOZART & MORE

Saturday, November 13, 2021 at 8:00 p.m.

Sunday, November 14, 2021 at 3:00 p.m.

Peace Concert Hall

Edvard Tchivzhel, music director & conductor
Jonathan Swensen, cello

DVORAK (1841-1904)
Cello Concerto
    I.  Allegro
   II.  Adagio ma non troppo
   III.  Finale:  Allegro moderato

intermission

MOZART (1756-1791)
Overture to Don Giovanni

MOZART (1756-1791)
Symphony No. 35 ("Haffner")
   I.  Allegro con spirito
   II.  Andante
  III.  Menuetto; Trio
  IV.  Finale:  Presto

Sponsored by Mike and Ann Chengrian

 
Funded in part by a grant from the Metropolitan Arts Council, which receives funding from the City of Greenville, SEW Eurodrive, BMW Manufacturing Company, LLC, Michelin North America, Inc., and the South Carolina Arts Commission with support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

 
This organization is funded in part by the
South Carolina Arts Commissionwhich receives support
from the National Endowment for the Arts.

‘Mozart & More’

Program Notes by Paul Hyde

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Cello Concerto in B minor

Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904)

When Brahms first heard Dvorak’s Cello Concerto, he exclaimed, “Why on earth didn’t I know it was possible to write a cello concerto like this? If I had only known, I would have written one long ago!”

Dvorak’s Cello Concert has become the Czech composer’s most popular work after the Symphony No. 9, “From the New World,” which the Greenville Symphony Orchestra will perform this spring. Dvorak composed both works during the three years he spent in the United States, 1892-1895.

1. The concerto is a study in musical contrast: meltingly lyrical at times, grandly assertive at others. The orchestra introduces three distinct themes before we hear the solo cellist. The first is a fiery motif for strings, the second a yearning melody for horn (one of the glories of orchestral music), and the third a spirited folk-like theme. The solo cellist enters the scene, reflecting at length on the first two themes with an abundance of virtuosic touches. The first theme returns to conclude the movement in blazing glory.
2. A gentle dialogue between clarinets and the solo cellist opens the second movement. An orchestra outburst ushers in a passionate melody played by the soloist; it’s based on a song by Dvorak that was a favorite of the composer’s beloved sister-in-law. The tender dialogue from the beginning of the movement returns to end the movement in soft serenity.
3. The finale is a rousing dance-like movement, reminiscent of the composer’s Slavonic Dances. Dvorak’s Czech biographer Otakar Sourek said the movement reflected “the tone of anticipation of the composer’s early return to his own country.” There is a melodious middle section and gentle exchanges between the solo cellist and violins. Near the end, Dvorak brings back material from earlier in the concerto, including the first theme of the concerto, a reminiscence of the song quoted in the second movement, and the principal theme of the finale. Just when it seems like the concerto will fade into quietude, the orchestra builds up to a tremendous climax and concludes the concerto in triumphant fashion.

Overture to ‘Don Giovanni’

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

Mozart’s 1787 opera “Don Giovanni” is both a comedy and a dark tragedy. Fittingly, the Overture spotlights both of those characteristics.

The harsh clashing chords of the opening refer to the ghostly presence of the vengeful Commendatore in the opera. An air of sinister mystery is suggested by the slow rising and falling scales.

A sudden change of mood ushers in the up-tempo music that reflects the swashbuckling, devil-may-care Don Giovanni. Normally the music subsides softly into the first scene of the opera, but for concert performances the Italian composer Ferruccio Busoni tacked on a more assertive conclusion.

Symphony No. 35, ‘Haffner’

Mozart

Mozart’s Symphony No. 35 owes its origins to an earlier serenade, so the resulting symphony is a lighter one — and one full of joy. Mozart said the final movement should be played “as fast as possible.” Edvard Tchivzhel, the Greenville Symphony’s music director, loves that sort of challenge. In a recent interview with this writer, Tchivzhel quipped, “We’ll play it as fast as possible, and then some!”

The symphony was commissioned in 1782 by a prominent family in Salzburg, the Haffners, to celebrated the elevation to the aristocracy of the young Mayor Sigmund Haffner. What Mozart first composed, however, was a serenade: light party music, for the most part. Mozart would later revise the music and add flutes and clarinets to the mix, transforming the work into the symphony we know today.

The spirited first movement is built entirely upon the brisk initial motif. There’s plenty of dynamic contrast in this spirited movement. Bursts of energy alternate with sudden retreats. For the most part, however, this movement sparkles.

The two central movements offer a graceful, courtly respite from the busy activity of the first. They perhaps remind a listener most of the sunny serenade that gave birth to this symphony.

There’s a giddy effervescence to the concluding movement, which Mozart required to be played “as fast as possible,” posing a challenge to skillful musicians for more than 230 years. The music races to a joyous conclusion.

Paul Hyde is a longtime arts journalist in the Upstate and an English instructor at Tri-County Technical College and Lander University.

FLUTE

Caroline Ulrich, Principal
Alice and Gerry Lenz Endowed Chair

Wendy Cohen

OBOE

Virginia Zeblisky Metzger, Principal
Guild of the Greenville Symphony Endowed Chair

Kelly Mozeik   

CLARINET

Anthony Marotta, Principal
Harriet and Jerry Dempsey Endowed Chair

Ki-Deok Park

BASSOON

Allen Jiang, Principal

Anonymous Endowed Chair

Lauren Piccirillo Waid

HORN

Anneka Zuehlke-King, Principal

Charles W. Wofford and Nancy B. Thomas Endowed Chair

Elizabeth Regas

Bill L. Tyler

TRUMPET

Phillip Elkins, Co-Principal

Beverley and Jim Whitten Endowed Chair

Kevin Lyons, Co-Principal

Gary Malvern, Assistant Principal

TROMBONE

Michael Hosford, Co-Principal

Stephen Wilson, Co-Principal

Eric Henson

TUBA

Don Strand, Principal

TIMPANI

Daniel Kirkpatrick, Principal
Nancy B. Stanton Endowed Chair in honor of Sherwood Mobley

PERCUSSION

Edward C. Nagel, Principal

Rick Blackwell

VIOLIN I

Mary Lee Taylor Kinosian, Concertmaster
Leila Cunningham Roe Endowed Chair

Xiaoli Saliny, Assistant Concertmaster

Uwe Diestel Endowed Chair

Jessica DeMare
Robin Hague Els
Lori Hammel
Catherine Hazan
Shawn Hurt
Deirdre N. Hutton
James R. Johnston
Lisa Munoz
Mariya Potapova
Carol Roosevelt
 

VIOLIN II

Joanna Mulfinger, Principal

Martha Gardner, Assistant Principal

Kristen Browning  

Catherine H. Crowe   

Melissa Dant
David Edwards

Elizabeth Fee  
Hui-Hsuan Hsu
Emily Kirkpatrick 

VIOLA

Kathryn Dey, Principal

Erika and Chuck Riddiford Endowed Chair

Arthur Ross III, Assistant Principal

Alvoy Bryan, Jr.  

Ben Carter
Scott Garrett
Zoe Harbison
Kara Poorbaugh
Emily Schaad

CELLO

Seth Russell, Principal

Guild of the Greenville Symphony Endowed Chair

Robert O'Brien, Assistant Principal

Ismail Akbar
Miro Gomez
Katie Hamilton
Christopher Hutton
Meredith Keen

Matthew Pierce

DOUBLE BASS

Tim Easter, Principal
Anonymous Endowed Chair

Ian Bracchitta, Assistant Principal

Maurice Belle
Tim Boykin
Rich Harbison
Jonathan McWilliams
 

OPERATIONS & PERSONNEL

Angie Jones

PRODUCTION MANAGER

Laura Auvil

PRINCIPAL LIBRARIAN

John Wickey

DECEMBER

HOLIDAY AT PEACE

Friday, December 17 at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, December 18 at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, December 19 at 3:00 p.m.

Peace Concert Hall

Edvard Tchizvhel, music director & conductor

WSPA TV's Jamarcus Gaston hosts a program filled with your holiday favorites including music from "The Nutcracker" and "Frozen."  Special guests include International Ballet, acclaimed soprano and South Carolina native Karen Parks, and Santa himself!

Children's tickets start at just $11.

Presented by United Community Bank

JANUARY

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM

Saturday, January 22 at 8:00 pm
Sunday, January 23 at 3:00 pm

Masterworks - Peace Concert Hall

Carolyn Kuan, guest conductor

ASSAD                    Suite for Low Strings
MENDELSSOHN    A Midsummer Night's Dream
SIBELIUS                Symphony No. 3

Tickets start at just $19.

The Greenville Symphony Orchestra thanks Community Journals and Salem Media Group (94.5 FM "The Answer," 103.3 FM & 95.9 FM "The Earth" and 96.9 FM "Rejoice") for providing promotional support.