Jeanette Thurber, the wife of a rich grocery wholesaler, was a woman with a
mission: the promotion of a national American style of composition. To this
end she founded a conservatoire in New York in 1885. However, it appeared that
her dream was not to come true, as the school did not manage to attract any
talented musicians. But she refused to give up and asked the famous Czech composer
Antonín Dvorák if he was interested in becoming the principal
of her National Conservatory of Music. The salary she offered him was very
generous – no less than 25 times the amount he had earned in Prague.
Dvorák accepted and in September 1892 he crossed the ocean with his
wife and two children and arrived in the New World.
The roots of Dvorák’s music lay in the folk music of his native
country of Bohemia. But if the Americans wanted to develop their own musical
identity, they would have to reach back into their own musical foundation: "I
am at present convinced that the future music of this country will have to
be based on the so-called ‘negro songs’. They will have to form
the real basis for a serious and authentic school of composition which will
have to be developed in the United States."
Although Dvorák was busy at the conservatoire, he still found the time
to compose. In May 1893, he completed his first American composition, his Symphony
No. 9. Naturally, the folk music of his beloved Bohemia can be heard in the
symphony, however, Dvorák also processed some of the music of his host
country which had welcomed him with open arms. Through a colleague at the conservatoire,
he had come into contact with African-American spirituals and songs which the
slaves had sung in the plantations. (One of his black composition students,
Harry T. Burleigh, regularly sang spirituals for him.) And he had studied American
Indian music in transcription.
Literal quotes from American folk music cannot be found in Dvorák’s
Symphony No. 9, which he titled ‘From the New World’. That was
never his intention: he had tried to reproduce the spirit of the music in his
newest symphony. "I did not use existing melodies. I just wrote original
themes which contain the characteristics of Indian music, and then I elaborated
on these themes using all the means of modern rhythm, harmony, counterpoint
and orchestral tones."
It became evident later that Dvorák had plumbed the depths of American
music when one of his students wrote a text for the melody of the slow movement
from the Ninth, and then arranged it for choir. This arrangement of the symphony,
Goin’ home, was long believed to be an original spiritual quoted by Dvorák.Tchaikovsky:
Fantasy Overture Romeo and Juliet
Fatal love, doomed to a tragic ending. This subject has often inspired composers
to create majestic and compelling works. Tchaikovsky, for example, who was
something of a late developer. In fact, he was 28 years old when Mili Balakiref
conducted the première of his orchestral piece Fatum. This was his third
composition for symphony orchestra and, just as its two predecessors, not a
success. However, Balakiref had faith in the composer and took his young colleague
under his wing. Fatum lacked structure and direction. He suggested that Tchaikovsky
based his next work on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet – Balakiref
was probably aware of Tchaikovsky’s unrequited love for the Belgian soprano
Désirée Artôt, and believed that the fate of the famous
couple would encourage Tchaikovsky to compose.
However, Tchaikovsky was not immediately enthusiastic: he did not like symphonic
poems. Nevertheless, he started work and took to heart Balakiref’s explicit
instructions with regard to the composition: "Begin with the music which
represents Brother Lawrence, then interrupt it with the uproar of the quarrelling
families, then give a portrait of the young lovers." In November 1869,
Tchaikovsky completed the first version of his Fantasy Overture Romeo and Juliet.
Two revisions followed at the advice of Balakiref, and only after 10 years
had passed, was Tchaikovsky completely satisfied. Finally, Romeo and Juliet
became a convincing and beautiful love song, which includes a yearning horn
solo representing the two lovers.
Yakov
Kreizberg
The Russian-born American conductor Yakov Kreizberg currently holds the posts
of Chief Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Netherlands Philharmonic and Netherlands
Chamber Orchestras, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra.
From 1995 to 2000 he was Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Bournemouth
Symphony Orchestra and he relinquished the post of Generalmusikdirector of the
Komische Oper Berlin at the end of the 2000/01 season.
In demand across the globe, Yakov Kreizberg has conducted orchestras such as
the Royal Concertgebouw, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Berlin Philharmonic, WDR Köln,
NDR Hamburg, Staatskapelle Dresden and BBC Symphony, London Philharmonic, Philharmonia
Orchestra, Deutsches Sinfonie-Orchester Berlin, Bayerische Rundfunk, Tonhalle
Orchestra Zürich, and he has been a frequent guest at the BBC Proms.
Within North America, Yakov Kreizberg regularly works with prestigious orchestras
including Philadelphia Orchestra (with whom he toured the Americas in 2003),
Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, the Minnesota Orchestra and he has also conducted the
Los Angeles and New York Philharmonics and Chicago and Boston Symphony Orchestras.
Forthcoming plans include a tour of Spain, Germany and Switzerland with Vienna
Symphony Orchestra, NHK Symphony and the Pacific Music Festival in Japan, London
Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris and Munich Philharmonic.
As well as having recorded for Decca and Oehms Classics, Yakov Kreizberg’s
collaboration with Pentatone Classics and the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra
has been extremely successful – their fourth release, Tour de France was
issued in June 2005. Also with Pentatone Classics, Mr Kreizberg has recorded
an award winning disc with Julia Fischer and the Russian National Orchestra,
whilst his first recording with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Bruckner’s
Symphony no. 7 was released in July 2005.
Mr Kreizberg established a fine reputation at the Komische Oper in a wide variety
of repertoire. Elsewhere, he has conducted for Canadian Opera, Lyric Opera of
Chicago, English National Opera and on a number of occasions with Glyndebourne
Festival Opera. He has recently conducted Iolanthe with Netherlands Opera and
will return in 2007/08 for Katya Kabanova. As part of the 2004 Bregenz FestivaI,
he conducted Weill’s Der Protagonist and Royal Palace with Vienna Symphony
Orchestra and in 2006 will conduct Macbeth at the Royal Opera House.
Born in St Petersburg, Yakov Kreizberg studied conducting privately with Ilya
A. Musin, (the renowned Professor of Conducting from the St. Petersburg Conservatory)
before emigrating to the United States in 1976. There he was awarded conducting
fellowships at Tanglewood with Bernstein, Ozawa, Leinsdorf and at the Los Angeles
Philharmonic Institute. In 1986 he won first prize in the Leopold Stokowski Conducting
Competition in New York.
“Ironic, perhaps, that a Russian conductor can bring out the new-world
elements in Dvorak’s scoring that seems to elude one born closer to
Dvorak’s homeland.” --Haary Pearson, The Absolute Sound
“Yakov
Kreizberg conducts really fine performances of these two repertoire favorites…In
stereo this live recording sounds gorgeous, but DSD multichannel format offers
even more precise instrumental positioning and greater front-to-back depth,
all with brilliant highs and a rock-solid bass. But make no mistake, even
without the audiophile credentials the quality of the music-making on offer
speaks for itself.” ---Dave Hurwitz, Classics Today, (10/30/2003)
“Apart from the fact that this are first
SA-CD registrations of these works, they can compete with the best recordings
in the catalogue.” ---Paul Janssen, Luister (December 2003)
“This is a superb surround recording with plenty of hall sound from the
rear speakers.”
---Bob Bensen,www.classicalcdreview.com
“The playing of the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra is nothing short
of stunning, with a sweet string tone throughout, and massive bursts of brass
and percussion where appropriate. The Romeo and Juliet Overture was an unusual
accompaniment, but is played with bravura and not too syrupy – and fills
out the package nicely, rather than giving us a fairly short playing time”.
---Tom Gibbs, Audiophile Audition
“Throughout the New World Symphony, Kreizberg makes the most of dynamic
contrasts without exaggerating them. He has a wonderful ear for orchestral color
and achieves enviable instrumental blend and balances….Romeo and Juliet
does not get as overheated as some other versions, but it’s a beautifully
paced performance and the return of the Big Tune is really quite stirring,…The
5.0 multichannel is superbly executed-in the top five percent sonically of those
I’ve heard.”
---Andrew Quint, Fanfare
