Program

1. Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman 

     Nos. 1 and 6....................................................................Joan Tower (9 min.)

2. Don Juan, Op. 20..................................................Richard Strauss (20 min.)

Intermission

4. Symphony No. 1, Op. 38, “Spring”...............Robert Schumann (31 Min.)

I.  Andante un poco maestoso

II.  Larghetto

III. Scherzo: molto vivace

IV. Allegro animato e grazioso

Program Notes

Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman, Nos. 1 and 6

Joan Tower (b. 1938)

In 1986, The Houston Symphony launched their “Fanfare Project,” commissioning short fanfare works from notable and rising composers from across the country. John Williams provided one, as did the composer John Adams. And so, too, did the emerging star, Joan Tower. Her 1st Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman was premiered by the Houston Symphony in 1987, thus beginning an ever-growing set of works by Tower to celebrate powerful women in the world of classical music.

An obvious homage to the famous Copland work, Fanfare for the Common Man, No.1 emulates Copland’s identical instrumentation and even utilizes aspects of his musical themes. But the work is unique in every other aspect, full of rising brass lines weaving together, triumphant, bright, and full of optimistic energy. The 1st Fanfare is dedicated to the conductor Marin Alsop, one of the world’s leading female composers and long-time champion of Tower’s music. No. 6 was completed in 2016 and is dedicated to the Cuban composer and conductor, Tania Leon

While the title definitely grabs attention, Tower’s organic understanding of pace, development, pulse, and energy pulls the listener in, raises the heartrate, and delivers an extraordinary musical experience.

Don Juan, Op. 20

Richard Strauss (1864-1949)

Richard Strauss’s father, Franz, principal horn player for Munich’s Court Opera Orchestra, had very strong opinions about what was and wasn’t quality music. Essentially, everything up to Mendelssohn (but excluding Brahms), good; everything after (including Brahms), bad. Mentioning Wagner in the house was grounds for a stern lecture about how “new” music was destroying the world. By all accounts, the young Richard dutifully agreed with his dad into his early teens, devoting himself almost exclusively to studying classical composers like Mozart and Haydn. But the first five seconds of Don Juan clearly announces his about-face in his mid-20’s.

In 1888, Strauss read Nikolaus Lenau’s interpretation of the poem Don Juan. The philosopher’s interpretation made a deep impact on Strauss, and he immediately set about composing an orchestral work that could serve as a musical reflection of the story. He found Don Juan literally leapt onto the score. It was completed by the following year and its premiere catapulted Strauss at the tender age of 25 into the stratosphere of the musical world.

The Don Juan story is less about plotline than it is about philosophy regarding the meaning of life. The character of Don Juan struggles to find a woman he considers of high enough caliber to bring him a sense of wholeness and completion. Failing that goal, he seeks to conquer any and every woman he can find in his quest. A tragic tale, Don Juan eventually gives up during a sword fight and willingly accepts death rather than continue in emotional agony. 

Don Juan remained fresh, popular, and frequently performed for Strauss’ entire life. He never tired of conducting it for audiences and in return, audiences have reflected that love right back. It’s a piece of bright and uplifting intensity even to the end, and while Richard’s father never truly came around to his son’s musical voice, this work continues to warm even the coldest hearts.

Symphony No. 1 in B-flat, op. 38, “Spring”

Robert Schumann (1810-1856)

Although a compositional savant, Robert Schumann spent entire years of his life avoiding large forms, fixating rather on smaller works like art song or solo piano. By chance, in early 1838, Schumann was passing through Vienna and stopped in to visit Ferdinand Schubert, the brother of composer Franz Schubert who had died ten years earlier. Over tea, Ferdinand asked if Schumann would like to take some old scores that were left behind when his brother died. Shockingly, among them was Schubert’s 9th Symphony, a work no one knew existed and certainly had never heard. Schumann marched the newly found masterpiece across town to Felix Mendelssohn who immediately programmed a proper premiere for it with his Gewandhaus Orchestra. The discovery of Schubert’s 9th and its subsequent performance left a deep impact on Schumann, who resolved to finally produce his first symphony.

In early January 1841, he completed the thematic structure for his 1st in a four-day whirlwind. A mere three months later, he handed over the completed score to Felix Mendelssohn who would conduct its premiere, again with his Gewandhaus Orchestra. The stories that surround the creation of this work are legendary. Schumann described weeks of sleepless nights, passionate restlessness, and furious work at the piano to properly place the orchestration and plan the symphony’s sweeping grand gestures. It was one of the most intense periods of work in the composer’s life, and the symphony itself is a testament to this electric creative energy. Ultimately, the work sounds and feels like the emergence of new life, as though blooms are literally opening while the symphony plays. It’s fitting that this 1st symphony serves as Schumann’s initial entry in the grand world of symphonic writing, heralding music that had been bottled up for a decade.