Bach to Brahms
Program
Air ("Air on the G String") from Suite No. 3 in D Major, BWV 1068..........J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
Symphony No. 29 in A Major, K. 186a/201 ......Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
I. Allegro moderato
II. Andante
III. Menuetto: Allegretto - Trio
IV. Allegro con spirito
INTERMISSION
Serenade No. 1 in D Major, Op. 11.........Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
I. Allegro molto
II. Scherzo. Allegro non troppo - Trio. Poco Piú moto
III. Adagio non troppo
IV. Menuetto
V. Scherzo. Allegro - Trio
VI. Rhondo. Allegro
Program Notes
Please note: Other than the comments about the Mozart Symphony, the other notes refer to an earlier version of the program, which had to be updated due to musician limitations and availability.
Almost two centuries after J.S. Bach composed the Toccata and Fugue in d minor for organ, another spirited young man, the then 20 year old Leopold Stokowski, accepted a position as an organist and St. James in Piccadily Square in London. When Stokowski then turned to conducting, launching one of the most illustrious careers of the 20th Century, he also began making orchestral transcriptions of works for other instruments. His orchestral arrangement of his favorite piece of all time, Bach's Toccata in d, became an audience favorite as well, and it was at Stokowski's insistence that it was included as the opening piece in Walt Disney's film Fantasia, which has made it so well-known today.
Mozart's Symphony No. 29 in A major, K. 201/186a, is one of his better known early symphonies. He wrote 41 symphonies in all, with his last and "named" ones such as Haffner and Jupiter, being some of the most famous, and his No. 40 in g minor, being perhaps the most famous and iconic of his symphonic output. The work combines the intimacy of chamber music with a purely classical style, form and orchestral language. It embodies refinement.
If one ever wonders about Johannes Brahms' wit or personality, look no further than his message to Clara Schumann about his second piano concerto. He said of it, ""I want to tell you that I have written a very small piano concerto with a very small and pretty scherzo." This work, for full orchestra and with a length of 44 minutes, is many things, but small is not one of them. Twenty two years separate its composition from that of his first piano concerto. It took him three years to complete. Musically and texturally it is like a symphony for the orchestra and a symphonic workout for the pianist, combined into one. The nuances and "Brahmsian" techniques are extraordinary and vintage Brahms. Melodies that define a sense of longing and nostalgia permeate the work, from the opening solo horn line, to the famous cello solo of the slow movement. It is, by every definition, monumental.