SJWS - Program Notes

Program Notes

Sunday, December 7, 2008, 3:00 PM

"AN AMERICAN PORTRAIT"
McAfee Center, Saratoga

Dr. Edward C. Harris, conductor
Hal Linden, special guest
Gerald Sternbach, piano/conductor
Kurt Walther, drums

The Star Spangled Banner

Francis Scott Key (1779-1843), arranged by John Williams

Seeing the flag raised over Fort McHenry on the morning of September 14, 1814, to signal American victory over the British in the Battle of Baltimore, poet-lawyer Francis Scott Key was inspired to write the poem that was to become our national anthem, The Star Spangled Banner. In 1931 the Congress of The United States of America made The Star Spangled Banner the official national anthem.

John Williams arranged this version of The Star Spangled Banner for the Rose Bowl Ceremonies on January 1, 2004. He writes, “It serves as a prayer for the safe continuation of our country’s journey toward the realization of its best aspirations…I feel that an increased variety of instrumental versions might in some way reflect the healthy and still growing diversity of our great country as we, each in our different ways, embrace this grand old tune, which continues to unify us all.”

Second Prelude (from “Three Preludes”)

George Gershwin (1898-1937), arranged for concert band by John Krance

The son of Russian immigrants, George Gershwin was born in Brooklyn, New York. Fueled by a love for music, he began studying the piano at the age of 12. Not being academically inclined, he convinced his parents to let him quit school at 15 and became a pianist in “Tin Pan Alley,” demonstrating songs for the Remick Publishing Company. In his teens he began to compose popular songs and produced a succession of musicals, including Strike up the Band in 1927, with his brother Ira as lyricist. In 1924, he forgot a commitment he had made to bandleader Paul Whiteman and was compelled to compose his Rhapsody in Blue in just 3 weeks. He was a sensitive songwriter of great melodic gifts and did much to connect jazz and classical traditions in his music.

Gershwin’s Prelude II for Piano is the second in a set of three preludes, which were short piano pieces that were first performed by the composer at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York in 1926. Gershwin originally planned to compose twenty-four preludes, but this number was reduced to five in public performance and further decreased to three when they were first published. The second Prelude has a distinct jazz flavor, beginning with a sad melody above a smooth, steady bass line. The melodies and harmonies are built on thirds, also emphasizing the interval of the seventh and the character of the blues scale. In the middle section, the key, tempo, and thematic material all change, and only the similarity of style binds the two sections together. The opening melody and bass return in the final section, and the piece ends with a slow ascent of the keyboard. Gershwin referred to the piece as “a sort of blues lullaby.”

Fantasy Variations (on George Gershwin’s “Prelude II for Piano”)

Donald Grantham (b. 1947)

Grantham was born in Duncan, Oklahoma. After receiving a bachelor of music degree from the University of Oklahoma, he went on to receive his MM and DMA from the University of Southern California. For two summers he studied under famed French composer and pedagogue Nadia Boulanger at the American Conservatory in France. His music has won many prestigious awards, including the Prix Lili Boulanger, the ASCAP Rudolf Nissim Prize, and First Prize in the National Opera Association’s Biennial Composition Competition. Grantham is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and three separate grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. The symphony orchestras of Atlanta, Cleveland and Dallas are among the ensembles that have commissioned Grantham to write new works. Grantham also collaborated with fellow composer Kent Kennan to author the textbook “The Technique of Orchestration.” Grantham currently teaches music composition at the Austin Butler School of Music at the University of Texas.

In Donald Grantham’s composition Fantasy Variations, both of Gershwin’s main themes are fully exploited, but they do not appear in recognizable form until near the end. The work begins with obscure fragments drawn from the introduction, accompaniment, transitions and cadences. These eventually give way to more familiar motives derived from the themes themselves. All of these elements are gradually assembled over the last half of the piece until the themes finally appear in their original form.

Benny Goodman Medley

Arranged by Eddie Karam

Benny Goodman presented swinging American jazz to the world, always hiring the best players and arrangers, launching some of their careers. Also to his credit he pioneered racial integration in his bands. Goodman grew up in Chicago, had established himself as a jazz clarinetist by his late teens, and began his career as a bandleader in 1934. He rehearsed, toured and performed up until his death in 1986, which occurred while he was practicing his clarinet.

Clarinet Concerto, Opus 107, third movement (“Rondo”)

Wolfgang A. Mozart (1756-1791), arranged by Philip Sparke

At the age of three, Mozart showed a remarkable love of music. He would listen to his sister’s lessons and later would improvise similar tunes and chords. While they toured the great courts of Europe under their father’s tutelage, the children’s talents were hailed with astonishment. By the time he was twelve, Mozart had written numerous works, including two operas. As a young man and no longer the infant prodigy, Mozart returned to Salzburg to the unsympathetic atmosphere of the archbishop’s court. Despite an uncertain financial position and poor health, Mozart produced a fabulous legacy of opera, concerto, symphony, choral and ensemble music.

The Clarinet Concerto was written in 1791 for clarinetist Anton Stadler. Mozart originally wrote the work for the basset clarinet, a special extended clarinet championed by Stadler that had a lower range than standard clarinets. As most clarinets could not play the low notes which Mozart wrote to highlight this instrument, Mozart’s publisher arranged a version of the concerto with the low notes transposed to higher range and did not publish the original version. The concerto consists of the usual three movements, in a fast-slow-fast form. The concerto is notable for its delicate interplay between soloist and orchestra. The “Rondo” movement has a cheerful theme that is developed dramatically, using the full range of the clarinet. It was one of Mozart’s final completed works and was his final purely instrumental work, as he died only two months after its completion.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

HAL LINDEN, born in 1931 in the Bronx, is the son of Charles Lipshitz and Frances Rosen and has an older brother who became a professor of music at Bowling Green State University, Ohio. Similarly musical, Hal took up classical clarinet in his late teens and played regularly with symphony orchestras. After graduating from the High School of Music and Art in Manhattan, he studied music at Queens College, moving later to City College to pursue business. Hal also played in dance bands and was asked to join Sammy Kaye on tour before being drafted into the Army, where he sang and provided entertainment for the troops. This sparked an interest in acting and, upon receiving his discharge, he enrolled at New York’s American Theatre Wing, where he trained in voice and drama. In 1955 Hal met Frances Martin, a dancer. They married three years later, and she gave up her career to raise a family.

Hal’s first Broadway show was Bells Are Ringing, where he understudied lead Sydney Chaplin. During the 60s, Hal accumulated more musical credits in On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, Subways Are for Sleeping, The Apple Tree and The Pajama Game. He won the 1971 Tony award for his role in The Rothschilds. This particular stage success led to a TV career which culminated in the title role on the popular Barney Miller sitcom (1975). Emmy-nominated every year the program aired, Hal became a household name. Since that time he has appeared in other TV series, including Blacke’s Magic (1986) and Jack’s Place (1992). He has also appeared in films, including A New Life (1988) and Out to Sea (1997).

More musical leads—I Do! I Do! and The Pajama Game, to name just two—came his way, along with dramatic pursuits in I’m Not Rappaport and The Sisters Rosenzweig. Hal has also undertaken musical tours in his continuing role as clarinetist. He and wife Frances are avid golfers during their spare time.

GERALD STERNBACH (piano, conductor) was the resident musical director of Reprise! Broadway’s Best in Los Angeles for over five seasons, earning nine Ovation nominations (finally winning in 2006 for Zorba), in addition to six L. A. Drama Critics Circle Nominations (having been presented the 2007 Joel Hirschhorn award for excellence in the musical theater and winning again in 2008 for On Your Toes) and two Garland Awards. He succeeded the late, great Peter Matz, serving as his associate for fourteen shows of the first five seasons. Mr. Sternbach made his Los Angeles Philharmonic debut at the Hollywood Bowl during the summer of 2005 as on-stage pianist for Stephen Sondheim’s 75th Birthday—The Concert, assisting Paul Gemignani. He has also assisted John Mauceri, rehearsing the summer Bowl musicals The Music Man, My Fair Lady, Mame and Camelot. Other credits: associate conductor for Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Merlin and The Tap Dance Kid (all Broadway), Les Miserables (L. A. premiere company), conducting the national tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Song and Dance starring Melissa Manchester. He has accompanied a wide variety of artists from Marilyn Horne, Jennifer Hudson and Carol Burnett to Nancy Wilson, Donna McKechnie, John Lithgow, Kelsey Grammar and Jason Graae. Other credits: on-stage pianist for Carrie Fisher in her brilliant one-woman show, Wishful Drinking, at the Geffen Playhouse; musical direction—Fiddler on the Roof (Utah Shakespeare Festival), four S.T.A.G.E. benefits (Stephen Sondheim, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Harry Warren and Marvin Hamlisch, Comden and Green), one Actors Fund Benefit (Richard Rodgers)—each directed by David Galligan; four of Sheryl Lee Ralph’s Divas Simply Singing benefits—all star-studded. As a songwriter/composer—ASCAP Rising Songwriter Showcases on both coasts, Cabaret Conventions at New York’s Town Hall, the Hollywood Roosevelt’s Cinegrill; music and songs (in collaboration with Lindy Robbins) performed in the ’93-’98 editions of the Ringling Brothers’ Circus; the musicals Heartbeats (in collaboration with Amanda McBroom). Gerald played his song “Mary” (written in collaboration with Faye Greenberg)—a paean to The Mary Tyler Moore Show, performed on the 2003 TV Land Awards show by Eric McCormack—in the presence of the original cast of the landmark sitcom—one of the thrills of his life. His rave-reviewed, world premiere musical in collaboration with Elin Hampton—Who’s Your Mommy?—has been optioned for off-Broadway production in 2009.

KURT WALTHER (drums) has been a veteran of the Los Angeles music scene for nearly twenty years. His first professional gig came at the age of 15 playing senior citizen dances in his hometown of Wichita, Kansas. By age 19 he had been on numerous local recording sessions, toured Europe with a jazz big band and was drumming for a weekly live TV show.

Since those early years, Kurt has found himself working with artists as diverse as Ray Charles, John Mellencamp, Bette Midler and Herbie Hancock. He has played on countless recording sessions, live shows and concerts. Kurt holds a particular fondness for Broadway and the music theater genre and, as you can imagine, is thoroughly enjoying providing the drum duties for Hal Linden.