Gioachino Rossini – Overture to The Italian Girl in Algiers
Much of Gioachino Rossini’s basic biography mirrors that of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s- both were raised in a household of professional musicians, both effortlessly developed musical talent on multiple instruments, and both composed at breakneck speeds. Though Mozart’s first composition was at age 5, Rossini still had an early start and composed his first opera at 14. His eleventh opera, Italian Girl in Algiers, was composed only seven years later and, impressively, in just 27 days. Also like Mozart, Rossini championed opera buffa, or comic operas (Barber of Seville being Rossini’s most popular). In the same vein as Mozart’s Abduction from the Harem, Italian Girl in Algiers goes for the comedic low-hanging fruit of the day: making Turks look foolish. And, predictably, the crowd loved it at the premiere in Venice and it enjoyed a long run throughout Europe.
In true opera buffa fashion, Italian Girl in Algiers has it all: multiple mistaken identities, love triangles, all culminating in a comically simple escape plan– inebriate the guards! And true to Rossini, its overture is so delightful that it has earned its own stand-alone status in the concert hall. Two of Rossini’s biggest contributions to opera buffa can be heard in this overture. Rossini’s more ornamented treatment of arias is reflected in the lovely (and heavily ornamented) oboe solo. Secondly, a continual push in volume, aptly named the “Rossini crescendo,” is used to both increase drama and make the comedy more ridiculous. Additionally, the early influence of Mozart and Haydn can be heard in the lighthearted, surprise-filled allegro.
In the spirit of opera buffa, here is a fun fact: Rossini lived to be 76; although, since he was born on Leap Day, he was technically only 19.
Max Bruch – Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, op. 26
German composer Max Bruch had an extensive career both as a composer and as a composition teacher. His large oeuvre covered a wide variety of genres and his prolific teaching career included Pines of Rome composer Ottorino Respighi as a pupil. But only a handful of solo string with orchestra works have stayed in regular rotation: three concertos and the Scottish Fantasy for violin, Romance for viola, and Kol Nidrei for cello. This limitation is partially due to being perpetually in contemporary Johannes Brahms’ shadow, and partially due to later suppression efforts by the Nazis, who foolishly assumed that incorporating Jewish themes in Kol Nidrei conclusively proved he was Jewish (spoiler alert: he wasn’t).
Much like the Beethoven on our November program, Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 owes its enduring popularity to violin prodigy Joseph Joachim. Joachim especially loved it and declared it “the richest, most seductive” of the four German concertos (Beethoven, Brahms, Bruch, and Mendelssohn- all popularized by Joachim). But this popularity was two-sided for Bruch, as it overshadowed his other compositions. Bruch thought his other violin concertos were superior and grew increasingly annoyed that all anyone seemed to want to play was this concerto.
At a mere 9 minutes, the first movement is short compared to other concerto first movements (Beethoven and Brahms are 22 minutes). The richness that Joachim described is not limited to the beautiful melodies but extends into the orchestra; the backdrop is painted in rich dark shades that enhance the lush solo. Bruch seamlessly leads us straight into the second movement, where the violin’s seductive prowess is on immediate display. The exciting finale is a wonderful technical challenge for the soloist, as both hands are hard at work: double-stops paired with bow articulations that are masterfully crafted to highlight both lyrical and precision playing.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Symphony No. 40 in G minor, KV 550
Despite their similarities early in life, Rossini and Mozart had very different end of life conditions. After completing his 39th opera (William Tell), Rossini retired at age 37 and lived comfortably off a generous pension from the French government. Whereas Mozart’s increasingly frivolous Viennese lifestyle constantly exceeded his income and he found himself continually in debt.
Following the death of the Habsburg’s court composer Christoph Willibald Gluck at the end of 1787, Gluck’s roles were divided between two successors. Mozart was appointed to his compositional duties, while the better position (and salary) of leading the chamber orchestra and the opera went to Antonio Salieri. Though Mozart’s new salary was only two-thirds of Salieri’s, it was well above his fellow musicians’ and composers’. Unfortunately for Mozart, that generous salary was far below the nobility and upper class he was adamant he belonged with. Thus his money troubles increased.
1787 and 1788 proved to be full of tumult, heartache, disappointment, and of course money troubles. His father Leopold died in May of 1787, weeks before Mozart began working on his opera Don Giovanni. Though it received great acclaim at its premiere in Prague, its lackluster reception in Vienna the following May was a considerable letdown.
As Mozart’s debts increased, he moved the family in mid-June of 1788 to a different apartment. Though it was outside of the central part of the city and therefore cheaper per square foot, this “frugal” apartment was considerably more square footage to the point that his rent was actually identical. He failed to mention that detail in his letters bemoaning their financial struggles and begging for loans from a friend that month. Once completing the move he embarked on composing his final three symphonies. Symphony No. 39 was completed less than two weeks after moving. Sadly, his six-month-old daughter, Theresia, died a few days later.
Symphony No. 40 was completed on July 25, and the final symphony was completed on August 10. The original intention of these three symphonies is unclear since they seem to be commissionless and void of a successful plan for immediate performance. This symphony did eventually premiere in April of 1791 with Salieri conducting. The premiere had a slight reorchestration to include clarinets, as the original called for only oboes. Most performances in the decades following the premiere reverted to the original version but the second, clarinet-inclusive version was revived in the twentieth century and is used almost exclusively today.
Unusually dark and tempestuous for Mozart, Symphony No. 40 in G Minor is one of the most iconic symphonies ever written. The first movement, with its turbulent undercurrent, is both compelling and beautifully tragic. The second movement, the lone major key movement, makes elaborate use of a sighing motive before inverting it to build to the height of the phrase. The stately third movement Menuetto employs sudden dynamics for drama and intensity. The fourth movement was of particular interest to Ludwig van Beethoven, who carried a copied passage from this movement in the sketchbook for his Fifth Symphony, a work notably similar in tenebrosity. This influence can be seen in Beethoven’s third movement. Both movements’ themes start with a melodic figure known as the Mannheim Rocket, which employs a quick ascending scale or arpeggio (the latter in both these cases). Both movements also have an answering repeated note figure. The repeated figure is of course also the motive of the entire Fifth Symphony.
Since Rossini received a fun fact, here’s one for Mozart: not only was this symphony one of the first to ever be recorded (the first was Beethoven’s Fifth), its first movement theme was also one of the first available cellphone ringtones in the 1990s!
– Program notes by Caroline M. Anderson
