Inspiration from Afar Program Notes

Concert info: https://philharmonianw.org/concert-4-2025-26/

Over an iced coffee on a hot summer morning in late August, Philharmonia Northwest Musical Director Michael Wheatley and I spoke about our mutual appreciation of “B-Sides”—the song on the second side of a vinyl record or cassette that didn’t get as much attention or promotion as the hit on the A side. Since an early age, Maestro Wheatley has been in search of music that exists outside the box and offers a surprise. His programming and overall curation of the music performed by Philharmonia Northwest reflects this impulse and today’s concert is a rich tapestry of “B-Sides” that sonically conjure other worlds. “There is no blockbuster on this program,” offers Maestro Wheatley. “Yet each piece is one I became enamored with in my search for lesser known works.” In addition to the connection to Wheatley’s artistic interests, each piece on today’s program offers a glimpse into what some refer to as exoticism, with references to music or traditions outside the accepted Western canon.

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: Idyll, Op. 44

Full enjoyment and appreciation for British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s 1901 Idyll is better achieved when we have a deeper understanding of the literary form of the idyll, from which this work takes its name and aesthetic. In both poetry and music, an idyll embodies the longing for a peaceful and better world, one that exists beyond the tensions of modernity but that is obtainable, even in this life. Considering this in light of Coleridge-Taylor’s career, which was successful in audience and collegial interest but marred by constant financial difficulties and oppression due to his mixed-race heritage, the music shines even more deeply and with a greater sense of longing. Coleridge-Taylor died tragically of pneumonia in 1912 at the young age of 37.

The Idyll is a lesser known work of Coleridge-Taylor––another example of a B-Side––and was originally composed for string quartet but later arranged for chamber orchestra as we hear it today. Unfolding in one movement, we experience music that is much at ease with itself and conjures a state of calm. Coleridge-Taylor’s great skills as an orchestrator are on full display in Idyll and many scholars suggest this work and others like it in his output contributed to what we now consider the “English” style of orchestral music. In this light, Coleridge-Taylor sits alongside more well-known composers such as Edward Elgar (a great supporter of Coleridge-Taylor’s) and Benjamin Britten. Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s music is enjoying greater interest today with performances by major orchestras and an opera, once considered lost, premiered in 2012, 100 years after the composer’s death.

Bohuslav Martinů: Cello Concerto No. 1, H. 196

“Martinů is starting to have a moment,” states Maestro Wheatley. Indeed the Czech composer’s music, which creates an engaging blend of jazz-influenced rhythms and Bohemian folk sensibility, feels like the mash-up approach our modern ears love. Martinů’s Cello Concerto No. 1 was first premiered in 1931 with French cellist Maurice Maréchal as soloist, for whom the work is written. While the work had a cool reception at first, it has taken several decades for it to gain a secure foothold in the cello repertoire.

The concerto unfolds in three movements marked by Martinů’s characteristic rhythmic vitality and colorful orchestration. Rather than pitting the soloist against the orchestra in a call and response manner, Martinů creates a more collaborative dialogue where the cello emerges from and dissolves back into the orchestral fabric with remarkable fluidity. I am especially drawn to the ways the cello blends with the double reed colors of the orchestra––oboe, English horn, bassoon––which enlightens me as to the similarities in timbre of these seemingly disparate members of the orchestra.

The first movement pulses with syncopated energy and unexpected metric shifts, while the lyrical second movement offers moments of tender introspection tinged with melancholy, especially present in the opening clarinet, low winds, and trumpet motifs, as well as the chant-like melody of the cello throughout movement. The finale erupts in a brilliant display of virtuosity, driven by infectious dance rhythms and the composer’s gift for propulsive, asymmetrical phrases that seem to tumble forward with irrepressible momentum. Throughout, Martinů demonstrates his unique ability to blend modernist sophistication with an earthy, folk-inspired directness. Our soloist today, Canadian cellist Noémie Raymond, brings a deep understanding of post-Romantic repertoire, an attribute, among many, which has led to her being nominated for the 2026 Opus Award as a breakthrough artist.

Gustav Holst: Japanese Suite, Op. 33

Composed during a period when European artists were captivated by Japanese aesthetics, Gustav Holst’s Japanese Suite, which premiered in 1915, stands as a fascinating example of early 20th-century “Orientalism” in Western classical music. Though Holst’s interpretation remains fundamentally Western in its harmonic language and formal structure, the composer drew inspiration from Japanese melodies and musical characteristics including pentatonic scales and delicate textures. The suite features movements that capture different aspects of Japanese culture as Holst imagined them: ceremonial dances, nocturnal scenes, and festive celebrations. A deeper sense of authenticity is achieved through the melodies Holst composed for the work, each based on traditional Japanese folk songs he learned from dancer Michio Itō. A true B-side, Japanese Suite was composed by Holst shortly before his magnum opus The Planets (1914-16), and illuminates the developmental trajectory of his harmonic language.

Today, Japanese Suite presents both musical charm and historical complexity. While we can appreciate Holst’s craftsmanship and the beauty of his musical imagination, modern audiences also recognize this as a Western artist’s romanticized vision of Japan rather than an authentic representation. Yet the work remains a beautiful example of early 20th-century orchestral writing and a valuable document of cultural cross-pollination.

Josef Suk: A Fairy Tale, Op. 16

You will not be alone if Josef Suk is a name you do not recognize. The Czech composer, while highly regarded in his home country, has not been widely performed in the late 20th and early 21st Centuries. I have no doubt you will agree with Maestro Wheatley by his programming of Suk’s A Fairy Tale that this should change. Written when Suk was just twenty-five years old and recently married to Dvořák’s daughter, A Fairy Tale radiates youthful optimism and romantic imagination. The work consists of five interconnected movements that weave a narrative without specific programmatic details, allowing listeners to craft their own fairy-tale journey. Suk’s lush orchestration showcases his mastery of color and texture, with shimmering strings, delicate woodwind solos, and brass that evoke both pastoral serenity and dramatic intensity. The piece reflects the influence of his father-in-law while establishing Suk’s own distinctive voice, characterized by a more introspective harmonic language and refined sensibility.

As we are engaged and moved by the four pieces from “afar” we encounter today, may we be inspired to recognize that open ears, hearts, and minds, alongside a love of diverse cultural expression, can enrich our lives in profound ways.

 

James Falzone

Associate Dean & Professor of Music

Cornish College of the Arts at Seattle University