THE
presents
John Paul Ekins - pianist
in
concert with the orchestra
Conductor: Neville Reeder
Leader: Peter Hodge
playing
a selection of
music for
full orchestra
with two grand pianos
at
the
Woodbridge Community
Hall
SUNDAY 28th FEBRUARY
2010
at
2.30 p.m.
Beethoven – Egmont
Overture
Paul Benyon –
Concerto for Clarinet in D minor
3rd
movement – Allegro vivace
Clarinet:
Bob Silvester
Conducted
by the composer
Saint-Saens – Carnival of the Animals
Pianists:
John Paul Ekins and Roy Everett
INTERVAL
Grieg – Peer Gynt Suite No. 1
1. Morning
2. Death of Aase
3. Anitra’s Dance
4. In the Hall of the
Mountain King
Grieg – Piano Concerto in
A minor
played by John
Paul Ekins
Increasingly
in demand as a recitalist, concerto soloist and chamber musician, John Paul Ekins
has given performances throughout the UK and Northern Ireland, and overseas in
Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Spain and the Czech Republic, and his
playing has been broadcast on the BBC. In 2009 he graduated from the Royal
College of Music with First Class Honours, studying
with John Barstow, MBE. In the same year he was awarded the James Anthony Horne
Scholarship by the Guildhall School of Music and Drama to begin postgraduate
study with Charles Owen on the Artist in Performance course. He was also the
recipient of a Music Education Award from the Musicians Benevolent Fund, and
receives support from the Concordia Foundation.
Competition
successes include 2nd Prizes in the Amy Brant International Piano Competition,
the San Sebastian International Piano Competition, and the Oxford International
Piano Competition. Along with this, in past years he has been named the
This
season’s highlights include recitals in
John Paul has an extensive chamber music repertoire,
and is a member of the Erato Piano Trio, past winners
of the Anglo-Czechoslovak Trust Competition, and performs regularly with them
in concerts in the
For more information, visit www.jpekinspianist.com or
www.eratopianotrio.com
Ludwig van Beethoven (b.
- Egmont Overture - 1809-1810
Beethoven was
fascinated with the concept of individual freedom. His life was spent
struggling to compose what he wanted, when he wanted, despite the dictates of
demanding patrons. His music itself is a testament to creative
freedom. Born in a time when strictly formal outlines were the musical
norm, Beethoven found unique, innovative ways to escape these constraints.
As a body of music, his works expanded form and harmony and instrumentation,
continuously broadening the scope of his very personal musical expression.
The Overture begins in a somber and serious
mood. Marked Sostenuto ma non troppo, or sustained, without hurry, the dark music of the
opening conveys profound oppression of the spirit, and the opening motive
clearly represents the ominous tyrant of the play. Soon
the tempo picks up, speeding into a vigorous Allegro featuring
the cellos; and we hear the hero’s onfidence and
heroic defiance as he descends into the depths of battle. The tyrant’s
motive from the introduction evolves throughout the overture, becoming
increasingly rhythmic and dark until at last Egmont’s execution can be
heard. Immediately the mood of the work turns triumphant and celebratory,
featuring the strings in the highest register and the shimmering sound of the
piccolo. The music embodies Egmont’s conviction that death is not an end
when hope thrives and ideals remain intact.
Paul Benyon
- Concerto for
Clarinet in D minor - Movement 3 - Allegro vivace
Paul Benyon's Clarinet Concerto in D Minor
was completed in Spring 2009. Written specifically for
Woodbridge Orchestral Society and one of its clarinettists, Bob Silvester, its three movements are designed to demonstrate
the versatility of the clarinet as a solo instrument.
The third movement included in this afternoon's concert incorporates
two hunting themes which place the listener deep in the
At the start of the movement, each theme is announced in turn by
the clarinet. The themes are then woven together in a variety of
combinations as they pass between the soloist and the instruments of the
orchestra. Eventually, two flutes are left playing in duet before a string
pizzicato marks the start of a short cadenza where the musical colours of
the solo clarinet are exposed to full view. The soloist is then joined by
the strings in a waltz-style variation of the first theme until finally, the
two themes are restated and the music ends in a frantic finale and
coda.
The composer is conducting the music for its first public
performance.
Camille Saint-Saëns (b.
- Carnival
of the Animals 1886
When Saint-Saëns
composed this ";Grand Zoological Fantasy,"
early in 1886, he had no intention of offering the work to the public; he
simply thought to provide an entertainment for his friends at Carnival time.
Following the first private performance, the work was given again at the request
of Saint-Saëns's old friend and supporter Franz
Liszt, shortly before his death in July of that year, and then Saint-Saëns
specifically prohibited further performances of it until after his own death,
excepting only the beautiful penultimate section, ";The Swan," for
cello. The public premiere took place on February 26, 1922, a little more than
two months after the composer's death, and The Carnival of the Animals quickly
became one of Saint-Saëns's most popular works.
The work's fourteen brief sections are as follows:
INTRODUCTION AND ROYAL MARCH OF THE LION. Prefatory rumblings in the pianos and strings lead to a fanfare
from the former and a majestic march from the latter. The pianos roar as the march proceeds, and then take it up themselves.
WILD ASSES. A workout for the
two pianists, chasing each other up and down the keyboard by way of prelude to
their appearances later in the work.
TORTOISES. The famous cancan from
THE ELEPHANT. Yet another famous French piece is
parodied here: the exquisite Dance of the Sylphs from Berlioz's Damnation of
Faust, not only slowed down but assigned to the
double bass for a truly elephantine character.
KANGAROOS are portrayed
in leaps by the two pianos alone.
THE AQUARIUM. Pianos and muted strings evoke the
watery setting, highlighted here and there by the flute or clarinet. The
darting moves of the finny creatures themselves is
represented by glissandos on the celesta.
PERSONAGES WITH LONG EARS are identified by the braying of the violins.
CUCKOO IN THE WOODS. The pianos'
exaggerated solemnity is glaringly at odds with the loopy cuckoo call from the
clarinet.
PIANISTS. Saint-Saëns, one of the most admired
pianists of his time, apparently felt that, of all the creatures represented,
these were the ones that most belonged in a zoo.
FOSSILS. A tune from Saint-Saëns's
own Danse macabre, in somewhat altered
rhythm, is played on the xylophone; the clarinet burlesques a French folk song
and the aria ";Una
voce poco fa," from
Rossini's Barber of
THE SWAN. Saint-Saëns sets off his melting cello
tune with an uncontrived elegance that keeps it from drooping into mawkishness.
FINALE. A grand vaudeville conclusion à la
Edvard Grieg (b.
Edvard Hagerup Grieg was descended from
Alexander Greig, a Scottish merchant of Fraserburgh who was appointed British Consul in
At the age of 15, Edvard entered the Leipzig Conservatory. After four years'
extensive study he returned to
Grieg's three
large-scale works are his Symphony of 1864 (which after an early performance
was not revived until 1981), the A minor Piano Concerto, and the Peer Gynt Incidental Music which dates from 1876. Although Grieg
was an admirer of Henrik Ibsen, he did not consider
Peer Gynt a suitable vehicle to which music could be
added. In his turn, Ibsen was not entirely satisfied with Grieg's efforts.From the original 23 numbers which comprised the
incidental music, Grieg subsequently formed two
Concert Suites of four numbers each, some with amended orchestration. As
Concert Suites, the numbers do not follow in their original sequence.
- Peer Gynt
Suite No.1 Op.46
MORNING PRELUDE - Peer is travelling in North Africa . The scene is a grove of palms on the coast
of Morocco
DEATH OF AASE - After his adventures with the
Trolls, the fugitive Peer returns home. His mother Aase
is old and frail, and lying on her bed close to death. She blesses him, and he
reminisces, with some fantasy added for good measure. As he rambles on he
turns, to find his mother dead.The music is marked
Andante Doloroso and scored for strings alone. It is an elegy of great
poignancy. It is played as a prelude to the Act and repeated towards the end,
when it is played very very softly.
ANITRA'S DANCE - We now find Peer Gynt in North Africa .
Dressed in Oriental robes and resting in the tent of an Arab chieftain, he is
drinking and smoking a hookah. For his further entertainment Anitra and her troupe perform a sinuous belly dance. Here
Grieg weaves a sensuous melody over a mazurka rhythm. This
number is scored for strings, and the mellifluous sound of a lone triangle.
IN THE HALL OF THE MOUNTAIN KING -
Ibsen, in his
five-act Dramatic Poem (which he himself described as reckless and formless) causes
Peer Gynt to flirt with the improbable as well as the
probable. In this scene Peer is out in the forest,
and encounters a 'Woman in Green'. Together they ride on the back of a huge pig
into the Royal Hall of the Troll King amid great uproar. Once within, Peer is
taunted and tormented by the grotesque and supernatural folk, who desire to
kill him. He eventually escapes, and is subsequently to be found asleep in a
mountain pasture.
- Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 16--1868
To understand Grieg’s music, one must imagine the narrow,
steep-walled inlets of the sea along
Grieg was the first composer from
Many scholars have noted the similarities of the piece to Schumann’s Piano
Concerto in A minor; for example, they share the same key, and both begin with
a dramatic opening orchestral chord immediately followed by fiery, virtuosic
flourishes up and down the keyboard by the soloist. The resemblances are
no coincidence. As a student at the Leipzig Konservatorium
Grieg heard Clara Schumann perform her husband’s concerto – an experience he
described as one of the highlights of his stay in
It is entirely appropriate that Grieg’s only large-scale orchestral work is a
piano concerto, for the piano was central to all his compositional
output. Hans von Bülow even called him “The
Chopin of the North.” However, Grieg was no mere imitator. He built on
the stylistic inheritance of the German romantic tradition, but he also
integrated elements of Norwegian folk music; and his music is deeply imbued
with a quality all his own.
The concerto opens with a drum-roll and solo cascade of octaves, after which
the woodwinds play a simple main theme with periodic, intricately embroidered
statements by the soloist. A contrasting theme, heard from the cellos, is
soulful, almost plaintive. Trumpets usher in the development section and
sound prominently once again at the recapitulation. Just before the end of the
first movement, we hear a solo cadenza.
The second movement is a structurally uncomplicated Adagio in 3/8 time that
begins with introspective, muted strings over which the piano rhapsodizes.
Throughout the movement a series of delicate trills signal the entrance of the
piano, until a dramatically angular version of the main theme shatters the
placid mood. Eventually, the serenity of the beginning of the
movement returns and leads to a quiet ending that lapses without pause into the
stellar third movement.
This final movement is perhaps the most affected by Grieg’s Norwegian
origins. It begins with a main theme presented by the piano that
incorporates rhythmic patterns from the halling, one
of
The movement’s second subject is quicker, more sprightly,
and far more elaborate, but no less folk-like. After a
tranquil episode introduced by the solo flute, the main theme returns for an
extended development. The piano soloist performs a brief cadenza,
the music transforms from minor to major, and yet another folk dance theme
picks up the pace even further. The concerto concludes with a brilliant,
virtuosic final cadenza filled with Lisztian bravura,
and a triumphant ending based on the earlier solo flute melody, now transmuted
into the major key. It is a flash of majesty to match the magnificence of
The Woodbridge Orchestra has been in existence for over 100 years,
with a membership living mainly round the Suffolk Coastal area, although we
have a few who faithfully support us from further afield.
In principle the orchestra does not give public performances, but
normally each year an “at-home” concert is given when friends of the orchestra
are invited free of charge.
During one period, these concerts were graced occasionally with
the presence of Imogen Holst,
who had a soft spot for the orchestra, and wrote several pieces of music
specifically for them.
Unusually, in recent years several natural opportunities for public
concerts have materialised. First in 2005 Suffolk Coastal presented an opportunity
for players in the Suffolk Coastal area to be coached by professional musicians
from the English Sinfonia. Because of the orchestra’s
location the focus of this venture naturally fell on us. An outcome was that on one weekend, the
different sections of the orchestra had direct access to professional players
of their instrument. The venture finished with a concert, alongside
professional players, at Snape Maltings
conducted by Patrick Bailey, himself a professional conductor. The final item
was Dvorak’s Symphony No. 8.
Two years later was the occasion of the orchestra’s centenary, and
a special concert was organised to be performed at the Seckford
Theatre in the precincts of the
We are now in the habit of studying a symphony every year,
culminating in a play-through when we invite a number of friends to come and
play with us. The evening then becomes a social occasion.
This year the opportunity to play a piano concerto fell into our
laps. After one of the recitals that John Paul gave at the St. Mary’s Church in
For an orchestra such as ours, this is a big venture, and we have
been working on the music since September.
I would like to thank the orchestra and particularly its committee for
their support and hard-work in bringing the concert to fruition.
Finally particular thanks to John Paul for working with us so
enthusiastically, and for lifting us to new heights.
Neville Reeder
Musical Director
Concert Participants |
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Violin Is |
Double Basses |
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Richard |
Armitage |
Paul |
Benyon |
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Alistair |
Goodier |
Peter |
Lister |
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Peter |
Hodge(L) |
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Michael |
Madden |
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Cara |
McMullan |
Flutes |
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Karen |
Smith |
Naomi |
Aldous |
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Nigel |
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Helen |
McLeod |
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Claire |
Wallace |
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Violin IIs |
Oboes |
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Clarke |
Sarah |
Cavanagh |
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Jane |
Hartley |
Malcolm |
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Jean |
Hudson (L) |
Amanda |
McDowell |
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Hugh |
Johns |
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Dave |
Lewis |
Clarinets |
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Cecelia |
Metherell |
Rory |
Burrow |
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Linda |
Palmer |
Maggie |
Porter |
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Bob |
Silvester |
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Bassoons |
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Violas |
Dick |
Houghton |
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Maureen |
Beales |
Zoe |
Miller |
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Jeremy |
Harrold |
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Helen |
Hawker (L) |
Horns |
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Clare |
Kelly |
Adam |
Cable |
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Jackie |
Nayler |
Chris |
Robinson |
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Dorothy |
Raslan |
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Valerie |
Reeder |
Trumpets |
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Maureen |
Stannard |
Mark |
Chalklen |
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Gordon |
Scopes |
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Violoncellos |
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Naomi |
James |
Trombones |
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Micky |
McBurnie
(L) |
John |
Porter |
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Judy |
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Michael |
Porter |
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Sheila |
Pugh |
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Alexandra |
Su |
Percussion |
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Marianne |
White |
Lesley |
Silvester |
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Anette |
Wood |
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Special thanks are due to Roy
Everett, who besides playing the second piano in the Carnival of the Animals, has also helped us during the rehearsals of the
Piano Concerto.