BSO Office: 9am-5pm M-F
Office Phone: (321) 345-5052
Concert Days: (321) 242-2024
780 S. Apollo Blvd. Suite 218
Melbourne, FL 32901
Mailing Address:
PO Box 361965 Melbourne, FL 32936
Classical music’s first composer of color, Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, had such a remarkable life that an Amadeus-style biopic called Chevalier was produced in 2022. He was born into slavery in Guadeloupe to a white French plantation owner and a black slave. When the father returned to France, he unconventionally took both son and mother, and both were thus considered free. Bologne received an excellent education and gained global acclaim by rising to the upper echelon in diverse disciplines. Future president John Adams wrote in 1779 that Bologne was “the most accomplished Man in Europe in Riding, Running, Shooting, Fencing, Dancing, and Musick.” Bologne served as the king’s bodyguard, but that did not prevent him from later fighting on the side of the revolutionaries. Despite his pro-revolution efforts, his stint as a royal guard did not endear him to the Jacobins and he was imprisoned for over a year during the Reign of Terror. After his release, he led an armed charge to free Haitian slaves and then returned to France to create a new orchestra, but sadly succumbed to illness shortly thereafter.
In 1769, France’s preeminent symphonist François-Joseph Gossec (1734-1829) formed and directed the Concert des Amateurs orchestra, in which Bologne played violin. Gossec selected Bologne as his successor in 1773 and Bologne premiered many of his compositions with the ensemble. His op.11 symphonies were composed in 1779 and the next year he used the 1st movement of our symphony, sans alterations, as the overture to his opera The Anonymous Lover. Bologne employed the standard French Classical three movement form for strings plus oboes and horns, excepting the string-only second movement. Though not progressive, Bologne wrote pleasingly within the parameters of the French Classical symphonic-style that Gossec had helped to develop.
From an early age, child prodigy Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart enjoyed a life of fame, travel, and mingling with nobility. But in 1781, his new patron, Archbishop Colloredo, treated him well-nigh a valet. His new rank and salary were not compatible with his accustomed lavish lifestyle and while a wunderkind with music, he suffered from serious financial immaturity that took an increasing toll during the following decade until his death. Shortly after this appointment he married Constanze, joined the Freemasons, acquired a post with Emperor Joseph II, and poorly attempted to catalog his works*.
In addition to commissions, Mozart composed himself piano concertos, as a single soloist appearance could be three times his annual stipend. Concerto No. 23 was the middle in a set of three piano concertos at the end of 1785 into 1786 for such private concerts. The first movement is a lovely example of Mozartian elegance and is beautifully juxtaposed to the jubilant finale. Mozart chose clarinets over oboes and the slightly darker timbre enhances the introspective character of the second movement.
In August of 1787, Mozart composed his delightful Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. In the year and a half between our two pieces, he composed Marriage of Figaro, the Kegelstatt Trio, Symphony No. 38 Prague, as well as multiple works for horn and string quintet. The serenade’s original instrumentation was for a quintet of two violins, viola, cello, and bass; however, most performances today are either done as a string orchestra or a string quartet.
*Mozart’s oeuvre was so immense and influential that it was the first to receive catalog numbering, which then became a staple for musical works. However, Ludwig Ritter von Köchel’s catalog of 1862 was in chronological order and pieces have been gradually discovered since. Past attempted revisions have failed because altering catalog numbers is not feasible as many works are referred to by their K. number and the printed music bears its K. number. In 1992, after the fall of the USSR and the subsequent release of their holdings of Nazi-era Germanic art seizures, Cornell professor and Mozart expert Neal Zaslaw began a new, definitive version. He finished it in September of 2024! After 32 years, it’s no wonder he is referred to as Mr. Mozart; although, his work earned him a knighthood from Austria, so technically he’s Sir Mr. Mozart.
The indispensable significance of salons in the cultivation of French music and promotion of up-and-coming musicians cannot be understated and salons continued to enjoy popularity well past Fin-de-siècle. Pianist, composer, and orchestrator Maurice Ravel was fresh out of the Paris Conservatory when he began attending salons hosted by artist Cipa Godebski and his wife Ida. In addition to the benefits of exposure and networking, Ravel garnered a familial bond with the Godebskis and a fondness for their young children, Mimie and Jean. In adulthood, Mimie reflected:
“There are few of my childhood memories in which Ravel does not find a place. Of all my parents’ friends I had a predilection for Ravel because he used to tell me stories that I loved. I used to climb on his knee and indefatigably he would begin, ‘Once upon a time…’ And it would be Laideronnette or La Belle et la Bête or, especially, the adventures of a poor mouse that he made up for me.”
Throughout his life, Ravel delighted in writing music both about children and for children. The impetus for Mother Goose came from seeing Mimie and Jean reading fairy tales. He composed Sleeping Beauty’s Pavane in 1908 for Piano for Four Hands, since the Godebski children were studying piano. His publisher encouraged Ravel to expand it and by its premiere in 1910 the other four movements were added. Ravel dedicated it to the Godebski children and had intended for them to premiere it, but when Mimie declined it was instead premiered by other children. Théâtre des Arts manager Jacques Rouché asked Ravel to lengthen and orchestrate it for their 1912 ballet season. The ballet version added an introduction with transitions between movements, but these additions are not included in orchestral performances.
The first four movements are each based on a fairytale. The pavane is a stately processional of Sleeping Beauty’s enchanted dreams. Tom Thumb meanders through the woods with modal scales, wandering chromaticism, and inconsistent meter as the birds that eat his trail of breadcrumbs tweet and twitter. Laideronnette, a cursed maiden, falls in love with a cursed king.
When the spells are broken, they rejoice and live happily ever after in a land of Pagodas. Ravel’s melody and instrumentation mimics Orientalism by favoring a pentatonic scale and using the percussion section’s tam-tam and xylophone. Beauty, portrayed by the clarinet, converses with the Beast, represented by the literal beast of the orchestra- the contrabassoon (seriously- they can weigh up to 35 pounds! For reference, a double bass weighs about 20 pounds. Most pianos’ lowest key (A) is the lowest pitch the contrabassoon can play. Most double basses’ lowest note is the E a fifth above that). The Fairy Garden is not based on a particular story. Rather, it recalls the other movements and serves as an apotheosis. In the ballet version, Sleeping Beauty was dreaming the other fairy tales and is now awakened by the Prince, with the music spanning ethereal to joyful triumph.
BSO Office: 9am-5pm M-F
Office Phone: (321) 345-5052
Concert Days: (321) 242-2024
780 S. Apollo Blvd. Suite 218
Melbourne, FL 32901
Mailing Address:
PO Box 361965 Melbourne, FL 32936