April 8, 2010
Mozart Symphonies and Berg’s Violin Concerto Offer Two Perspectives on Music from Vienna
La Jolla, Calif. (April 8, 2010) — The La Jolla Symphony & Chorus (LJS&C) presents two profound works from Vienna’s “golden age,” Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 and Symphony No. 41, alongside one of the finest violin concertos of the twentieth century, Alban Berg’s Violin Concerto, representing the Second Viennese School. Violinist Pasha Tseitlin, a past winner of the LJS&C Young Artists Competition, solos in the Berg. The program also premieres the 2010 Thomas Nee Commission, In Paradisum, by Benjamin Sabey. Music Director Steven Schick conducts.
Mozart completed his Symphony No. 40 in G minor on July 25, 1788. One of the most admired of Mozart’s works, it is an intensely emotional piece. Yet this intensity is achieved with a complete economy of means; the martial sound of trumpets and timpani are eliminated from the orchestra in favor of a more subdued palette of instrumental color.
Symphony No. 41 in C major, Mozart’s last symphony, was completed on August 10th of the same year (a period of intense writing for Mozart—he completed three symphonies in close succession along with his piano trios, a violin sonata, and other works). Nicknamed “Jupiter,” a name whose exact origin remains unknown despite many theories, it is a rare instance when an inauthentic nickname makes sense as this is certainly music of Olympian scale. The Molto allegro finale is not simply one of Mozart’s finest movements, it is one of the most impressive pieces of music ever written.
“Mozart's final two symphonies come from very different musical worlds,” says Maestro Schick. “The smaller 40th is a study in the urgency of an intimate form – for this work we will be using a smaller ‘chamber orchestra’ -- while his final symphony, the powerful ‘Jupiter,’ is a masterful statement of the dramatic possibilities of the symphonic form.”
Alban Berg was a member of the Second Viennese School with Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern. His well-known Violin Concerto, composed in 1935, was commissioned by American violinist Louis Krasner. Berg wrote the piece in memory of Alma Mahler’s daughter Manon, who died at the age of 18 that same year. The score represents an incredible integration of serialism and tonality.
Thomas Nee Commission winner Benjamin Sabey holds a Ph.D. in composition from UCSD, studying primarily with Roger Reynolds. His music has been performed by the Arditti String Quartet, Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart, New York New Music Ensemble, and many other leading new music ensembles. In Paradisum was written as a response to the Berg concerto.
The performances take place May 1–2, 2010 in Mandeville Auditorium at UCSD. Concert times are 8:00 p.m. on Saturday and 3:00 p.m. on Sunday. Individual tickets are $29 general, $26 senior, and $15 student. Group discounts are available. Parking is free. A pre-concert lecture is offered one hour prior to concert times. To purchase tickets or for more information, call the LJS&C office at 858-534-4637.
