Hidden Gems Program Notes
Concert info: https://philharmonianw.org/hidden-gems/
A hidden gem usually refers to something that possesses charms that are not immediately apparent. Considering Seattle as an example, we might think of the hidden gems of our beautiful parks, great neighborhoods, or even the prolific cherry tree blossoms presently in bloom, as opposed to the more popular attractions of Mount Rainier or the Space Needle. A hidden gem is not showy or pretentious but offers delights to those that seek it out. How a musical work stays a hidden gem is a bit more difficult to understand and can be the result of misplaced tradition as well as cultural forces that render more diverse composers and their music hard to find. Philharmonia Northwest’s Music Director Michael Wheatley, who has a deep commitment to diversifying orchestral repertoire, has done a remarkable job programming the music of today’s concert, with each selection representing what he thinks of as a hidden gem. What is important to remember is that many beloved works of the orchestral repertoire were once hidden gems; it takes thoughtful leaders and open-eared audiences to uncover them.
Juhi Bansal: Songs from the Deep
Indian-born and Hong Kong-raised, composer Juhi Bansal brings together many musical streams and approaches to her music, heard especially in the 2022 work, Songs from the Deep. “I write music to try to understand the unknowable,” states Bansal about her music. “To grapple with ideas too large to put into words, to bring people together by reminding us of the things we hold in common.” This sentiment is apparent in Songs from the Deep, which was commissioned by the Oregon Mozart Players. The work makes use of antiphonal string quartets, placed around the concert hall, to create a surround-sound experience, mirroring rapidly moving water and the song of whales. “I was instantly enraptured when I first heard Songs from the Deep,” offers Maestro Wheatley. “We’re in the midst of a wonderful eclecticism in orchestral composition, and I’m very excited by composers who are demonstrating expressivity with undeniable creativity. Juhi Bansal is definitely one such voice.” Immerse yourself in the sound world of this piece, allowing your imagination to take you below the surface of the ocean, riding on undulating strings and crashing layers of winds and percussion.
Ruth Gipps: Horn Concerto, Op. 58
Of the four works on today’s program, Gipps’ Horn Concerto may be the most hidden of all gems, likely due to the fact that Gipps herself is a hidden gem. Born in England in 1921, she was the youngest British woman to receive a doctorate in music at the age of 26 and would go on to found several orchestras and create a substantial output of music including five symphonies. She was known throughout her life as a fierce advocate for female composers, paving the way for more diverse programming for future generations. Her Horn Concerto was composed in 1968 and premiered one year later by her son as soloist with the London Repertoire Orchestra, with Gipps herself as conductor. Truly a hidden gem, the concerto holds many charms and unveils them slowly, surprising us many times over the three movements. In addition to the many colors and virtuosic passages coming from the horn soloist, the orchestra is used brilliantly throughout the work, sometimes in call-and-response with the soloist, other times in its own sound world. Listen to the ways Gipps holds some orchestral colors until the very end, making them feel both surprising and inevitable. We are delighted to welcome French horn soloist Cara Kizer back to Seattle for today’s performance. Ms. Kizer spent several seasons as a member of the Seattle Symphony and is now an in-demand freelance artist and teaches at Southern Illinois University.
Sergei Prokofiev: Overture on Hebrew Themes, Op. 34
Composed in 1919 while on a visit to the U.S., Prokofiev’s Overture on Hebrew Themes is a slightly deceptive work in that none of the themes can be traced back to any traditional Hebrew sources such as Cantorial music or Jewish folk song. Instead, the themes used in the work, which was first composed for string quartet, clarinet, and piano, may have been written by a member of the ensemble that commissioned it. Regardless of the origin of the source material, Prokofiev makes great use of the orchestra in bringing the themes to life. “I absolutely adore this work,” offers Director Wheatley. “While seldom programmed, it features Prokofiev at his very best with transcendent moments of color, melody, and orchestration.” The clarinet is at the heart of the work though cello and bassoon play important roles as well. Listen to the ways the main themes are broken down over time, bobbing and weaving throughout the overture like characters in a staged play. Interestingly, while Prokofiev was somewhat self-deprecating about this work within his catalog, he considered the final section to be worthwhile and a product of his keen sense of melodicism. It seems even a composer can have a hidden gem within their own body of work.
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 4, Op. 60
In a compositional catalog as large and revered as Beethoven’s, a hidden gem is often produced because of its relationship to other works in the same form within the composer’s output. This is the case of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 4, which would have been far more known had it not been eclipsed by the weightier symphonies that preceded and followed it. Regarding the more well-known Symphony No. 5 that followed the one we hear today, some scholars believe Beethoven may have been working on both simultaneously, attempting to fulfill commission deadlines for each. You might hear a few rhythmic and harmonic echoes from the larger work to come, but unlike Symphony No. 5, there is an underlying optimism throughout Symphony No. 4. To my ears, this sunnier sonic disposition is found in singable melodies that pass through a thinned out orchestration in kaleidoscope fashion. Many wind soloists have virtuosic moments to shine in all four movements and the timpani get in on the fun with moments of sheer bombast that propel the energy forward. An interesting historic detail is that Franz Joseph Hadyn, with whom Beethoven studied at the outset of his career, could very well have attended one of Symphony No. 4’s first performances. The possibility of this “hidden gem” of history plays itself out nicely in the final moments of the fourth movement, where Beethoven sets us up for an ending that doesn’t quite work the way we expect, much in the way his teacher Haydn often played musical jokes. Like all the works on today’s program, this lesser known symphony of Beethoven brings many charms to those with vision to program it and ears to listen.
James Falzone
Dean and Professor of Music
Cornish College of the Arts