CARNEGIE HALL PRESENTS
Berliner Philharmoniker

Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
Friday, November 13th, 2009 at 8:00 PM

Berliner Philharmoniker
Sir Simon Rattle, Music Director and Conductor

BRAHMS Symphony No. 3

SCHOENBERG Accompaniment to a Cinematographic Scene, Op. 34
BRAHMS Symphony No. 4

The Carnegie Hall presentations of the Berliner Philharmoniker are made possible by a leadership gift from the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation.

Program Notes:

THE PROGRAM

JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833–1897)
Symphony No. 3 in F Major, Op. 90

About the Composer

Brahms came late to the symphony, finishing his first at the age of 42 after 14 years of rumination. He knew that composing a symphony meant contending with the legacy of Beethoven. Brahms’s First Symphony was dubbed "Beethoven’s Tenth," owing to the obvious echo of the vocal "Ode to Joy" from the Ninth in the purely instrumental chorale theme of the finale. And his Third Symphony was likened to Beethoven’s Third, the "Eroica."

Yet after he managed that First Symphony, the others came relatively quickly: the Second in short order (1877), then after a six-year gap the Third (1883) and the Fourth (1885) close together. In addition to Beethoven, critics and scholars have heard a host of other influences in these works, especially the music of Schubert and Schumann. The references are real: Brahms was acutely aware of his position in music history, at a time when that history was just being written by the nascent field of Musikwissenschaft ("musicology") and older works beginning to be performed more often than new ones.

About the Work

"What a work! What a poem!" Brahms’s confidante Clara Schumann, widow of the composer Robert, exclaimed of Opus 90. "Everything springs to life, everything breathes good cheer; it is really exquisite!" The leading music critic of the day, Eduard Hanslick, concurred: "Many music lovers may prefer the titanic force of the First, others the untroubled charm of the Second. But the Third strikes me as artistically the most perfect." He admired its compactness—the Third is indeed the briefest of Brahms’s four symphonies—and its "plastic" themes, which are fluidly and flexibly developed.

A Closer Listen

The opening theme of the first movement—introduced by three ascending notes in the brass and winds—returns at the conclusion of the finale. In contrast to the surging, dramatic first theme in the strings, the second theme appears in the winds, with a drone accompaniment, exuding a simple charm. The subject of the slow movement is likewise in a pastoral vein, its hymn-like texture evoking Brahms’s many works for chorus. A friendly exchange between winds and strings leads to a quick climax. A contrasting theme for clarinet and bassoon, as mysterious as the first is guileless, appears as a solemn, melancholy chant.

Throughout, passages of choral singing alternate with a much lonelier line. The third movement, in simple ternary form (A-B-A), juxtaposes the major and minor modes. The finale begins and ends quietly but briskly: The first theme is played in unison as a single line. The movement seems to take definite shape only with the strike of the kettledrum and sharp outbursts in the strings. The arching second theme in the major mode is heard initially in the low strings. Much later, the movement refers back to the Andante, but the real epiphany arrives with the return of the opening theme in the oboes and horns. The main theme of the first movement then reappears to round off the entire work in an unexpectedly gentle guise.

Performance Time: approximately 33 minutes


ARNOLD SCHOENBERG (1874–1951)
Accompaniment to a Cinematographic Scene, Op. 34

About the Composer

By 1930, when Accompaniment to a Cinematographic Scene was completed, Schoenberg had fully developed his theory of "composition with 12 tones related only to one another." Having abandoned traditional tonality for free atonality around 1908, Schoenberg sought a more logical, rigorous method in the years after World War I. Basically, the procedure he developed involves composing a Tonreihe ("tone row") using all 12 notes in the Western chromatic scale, none repeated. That row is then transposed, inverted, and run backwards to create 48 unique rows that are all logically related to the original. His first major work in the new idiom was the Suite for Piano, Op. 25, composed from 1921 to 1923 and published in 1925. The movements take the form of traditional Baroque dances: Schoenberg conceived his new method not as a break from but rather as an extension of the German tradition that stemmed from J. S. Bach.

About the Work

Commissioned by a firm specializing in German silent films, Accompaniment to a Cinematographic Scene was never attached to an actual movie; rather, Schoenberg worked only from the key words threatening, danger, fear, and catastrophe. He composed the work between October 15, 1929, and February 14, 1930, and it premiered on the radio that April to good reviews (which made the composer slightly suspicious of its musical merits). Reviewing the first performance, Theodor Adorno described the work as "a succinct introduction to 12-tone technique."

A Closer Listen

Above the tremolo in the low strings, which hold the first two pitches in the 12-tone row as an ostinato, the bassoon and bass present pitches three through six. The remaining half-dozen pitches come quickly after in three staccato bursts. The first three statements of the row serve as an introduction to its thematic appearance in the oboe at a quicker tempo, above choppy repeated chords in the strings; the row and theme are then immediately repeated in the violins. After a climax in texture and volume, a new waltz-like section begins, marked dolce ("sweet") and cast in a waltz-like triple meter. Moving from danger into fear, the music picks up in tempo and features a bevy of strange effects, including col legno writing for the strings (striking the strings with the bow) and flutter-tonguing for the brass. A catastrophic climax comes near the end of the work, which ends as furtively as it began.

Performance Time: approximately 8 minutes


JOHANNES BRAHMS
Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 98

About the Work

"The symphony demands complete mastery," Hanslick wrote in his review of Brahms’s Symphony No. 4. "It is the composer’s severest test—and his highest calling." Although he preferred the Third, Hanslick praised the Fourth for excelling "not in melodic invention, but certainly in executive craftsmanship." This craftsmanship is evident in Brahms’s motivic economy, elegant harmonic designs (derived from the motives themselves), and command over musical structure. Not everyone was impressed, however: composer Hugo Wolf, who was aligned with Wagner against Brahms in the polarized musical world of Vienna during the late-19th century, heard such unity as a "ghastly monotony." Wolf’s vicious remarks notwithstanding, the Fourth Symphony was well received by the audience at its premier on October 25, 1885, with the composer conducting.

A Closer Listen

Of Brahms’s four symphonies, only the Fourth opens with its main theme, unannounced by preparatory material. The theme is not a melody, however, but an idea—and a simple one at that: the interval of a falling third (and its mirror image, a rising sixth), which dominates both the motives and harmonies of the symphony. The second movement (Andante) features a horn fanfare as the first theme, and a second grouped theme announced by the winds in a minor key and then the cello in a major; the third movement offers welcome relief in the form of a raucous scherzo.

The finale can be related to these thirds, but is more directly based on a series of harmonies derived from the last movement of a cantata once thought to be by Bach (but now of dubious authorship). The theme comprises the eight harmonies heard at the outset and then becomes the subject of 30 variations. Brahms fashions these into a kind of sonata-allegro form, with the slow variations (nos. 12 through 15) forming a second thematic group that Malcolm MacDonald dubs the "lapidary core" of the movement. The soft, pizzicato descending thirds in variation 29 harken back to the first movement, and the whole of the symphony concludes with a coda replete with emphatic cadences.

Performance Time: approximately 39 minutes

More Information:

The Berliner Philharmoniker performs its third and final pairing of Brahms with Schoenberg, who so deeply respected the elder composer. This concert features the last two Brahms symphonies, the third full of rhythmic verve, the fourth deeply serious. Heard between them is a completely unexpected Schoenberg piece: his score for an imaginary film, full of drama and quiet, wistful pathos.

Berliner Philharmoniker
Sir Simon Rattle, Music Director and Conductor
THE ARTISTS

Sir Simon Rattle

Born in Liverpool in 1955, Sir Simon Rattle has been Principal Conductor of the Berliner Philharmoniker and Artistic Director of the Berliner Philharmonie since September 2002.

After studying at the Royal Academy of Music in London, he took on various engagements in England and the US, where he was principal guest conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He was 25 when he began his close association with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO), first as principal conductor and artistic adviser, then—until the 1998 season—as musical director. His tireless work and visionary artistic projects helped turn the CBSO into one of the world’s top-ranked orchestras.

In the concert hall and opera house, Simon Rattle’s extensive repertoire ranges from the Baroque era to contemporary music. He is also Principal Guest Conductor of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and works with leading orchestras on both sides of the Atlantic. Even before taking up his post as Principal Conductor, Simon Rattle had already collaborated regularly with the Berliner Philharmoniker for 15 years. Of the many recordings he has made with the orchestra, several have received prestigious awards. All of these releases were recorded live at the Philharmonie.

One of Sir Simon’s special passions is for bringing the work and music of the Berliner Philharmoniker to young people of diverse social and cultural backgrounds. To that end, he has established the education program Zukunft@BPhil, which enables the orchestra to pursue new approaches to promote its music. In 1994, Simon Rattle was knighted by Queen Elizabeth and has since received numerous distinctions. For his commitment to outreach work, Simon Rattle was awarded a Golden Camera and the Urania Medal in 2007.


Berliner Philharmoniker

The Berliner Philharmoniker, long considered one of the world’s finest orchestras, was founded in 1882 as a self-governing body. Its current artistic director is Sir Simon Rattle, who was appointed in September 2002.

The orchestra gave its first concert on October 17, 1882, under conductor Ludwig von Brenner, who was chosen by the musicians themselves. His successor, Hans von Bülow, went on to turn the Berliner Philharmoniker into one of Germany’s leading orchestras. Under Arthur Nikisch (1895–1922), its repertory grew to include works by Bruckner, Tchaikovsky, Mahler, Strauss, Ravel, and Debussy. On Nikisch’s death, the then 36-year-old Wilhelm Furtwängler took over as principal conductor. Furtwängler concentrated on Classical and German Romantic repertoire, but also performed contemporary pieces. At the end of World War II, Leo Borchard became the orchestra’s principal conductor; following Borchard’s death in August 1945, the young Romanian conductor Sergiu Celibidache became artistic director. Furtwängler returned as chief conductor in 1952. The postwar period also saw the founding, in 1949, of the Society of Friends of the Berliner Philharmonie, which in subsequent years sponsored the building of the new Philharmonie and continues to provide the hall with financial support.

When Furtwängler died in 1954, Herbert von Karajan became the permanent conductor and artistic director. In the ensuing decades, he worked with the orchestra to develop a distinctive tonal quality and performing style that made the Berliner Philharmoniker famous all over the world. In October 1989, the players appointed Claudio Abbado their new principal conductor. Abbado devised a new type of programming that included thematic cycles of contemporary works performed alongside standard repertoire. An increased number of chamber recitals and concert performances of operas provided further distinction and variety to the orchestra’s activities.

With the appointment of Sir Simon Rattle, the orchestra began introducing a number of innovations. The orchestra’s change of status to a charitable foundation (the Stiftung Berliner Philharmoniker) has created new opportunities and ensured the economic future the ensemble’s 129 full-time members. The foundation is supported by the generosity of its principal sponsor, Deutsche Bank. Central to this support is the orchestra’s education program, Zukunft@BPhil, which was set up at the time of Sir Simon’s appointment and which is intended to ensure that the orchestra reaches a broader and younger audience. Within the history of the Berliner Philharmoniker, this signifies an important expansion of the orchestra’s cultural mission, one to which it commits itself with unswerving dedication. In recognition of this commitment, the Berliner Philharmoniker and Sir Simon Rattle were named international UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors in 2007—the first time this distinction has ever been bestowed upon an artistic ensemble.


BERLINER PHILHARMONIKER

Sir Simon Rattle, Music Director

FIRST VIOLIN
Guy Braunstein, First Concertmaster
Daishin Kashimoto, First Concertmaster
Daniel Stabrawa, First Concertmaster
Rainer Sonne, Concertmaster
Zoltán Almási
Maja Avramović
Simon Bernardini
Wolfram Brandl
Peter Brem
Armin Brunner
Andreas Buschatz
Alessandro Cappone
Madeleine Carruzzo
Aline Champion
Felicitas Clamor-Hofmeister
Laurentius Dinca
Sebastian Heesch
Aleksandar Ivić
Rüdiger Liebermann
Kotowa Machida
Helmut Mebert
Bastian Schäfer

SECOND VIOLIN
Christian Stadelmann, First Principal
Thomas Timm, First Principal
Christophe Horak, Principal
Daniel Bell
Holm Birkholz
Philipp Bohnen
Stanley Dodds
Cornelia Gartemann
Amadeus Heutling
Rainer Mehne
Christoph von der Nahmer
Raimar Orlovsky
Bettina Sartorius
Rachel Schmidt
Armin Schubert
Stephan Schulze
Christoph Streuli
Eva-Maria Tomasi
Romano Tommasini

VIOLA
Neithard Resa, First Principal
Naoko Shimizu, Principal
Wilfried Strehle, Principal
Micha Afkham
Julia Gartemann
Matthew Hunter
Ulrich Knörzer
Sebastian Krunnies
Walter Küssner
Martin von der Nahmer
Zdzisław Polonek
Martin Stegner
Wolfgang Talirz

CELLO
Georg Faust, First Principal
Ludwig Quandt, First Principal
Martin Löhr, Principal
Olaf Maninger, Principal
Richard Duven
Rachel Helleur
Christoph Igelbrink
Solène Kermarrec
Martin Menking
David Riniker
Nikolaus Römisch
Dietmar Schwalke
Knut Weber

BASS
Matthew McDonald, First Principal
Janne Saksala, First Principal
Esko Laine, Principal
Fora Baltacigil
Martin Heinze
Wolfgang Kohly
Peter Riegelbauer
Edicson Ruiz
Janusz Widzyk
Ulrich Wolff

FLUTE
Andreas Blau, Principal
Emmanuel Pahud, Principal
Prof. Michael Hasel
Jelka Weber

OBOE
Jonathan Kelly, Principal
Albrecht Mayer, Principal
Christoph Hartmann
Andreas Wittmann
Dominik Wollenweber, English Horn

CLARINET
Wenzel Fuchs, Principal
Alexander Bader
Walter Seyfarth
Manfred Preis, Bass Clarinet

BASSOON
Daniele Damiano, Principal
Stefan Schweigert, Principal
Mor Biron
Markus Weidmann
Marion Reinhard, Contrabassoon

HORN
Radek Baborak, Principal
Stefan Dohr, Principal
Stefan de Leval Jezierski
Fergus McWilliam
Georg Schreckenberger
Klaus Wallendorf
Sarah Willis

TRUMPET
Gábor Tarkövi, Principal
Tamás Velenczei, Principal
Thomas Clamor
Georg Hilser
Guillaume Jehl
Martin Kretzer

TROMBONE
Prof. Christhard Gössling, Principal
Olaf Ott, Principal
Thomas Leyendecker
Stefan Schulz
Jesper Busk Sörensen

TUBA
Paul Hümpel
Alexander von Puttkamer

TIMPANI
Rainer Seegers
Wieland Welzel

PERCUSSION
Raphael Haeger
Simon Rössler
Franz Schindlbeck
Jan Schlichte

HARP
Marie-Pierre Langlamet

CHAIRMEN
Stefan Dohr
Andreas Wittmann

MEDIA CHAIRMEN
Olaf Maninger
Emmanuel Pahud

ORCHESTRA COMMITTEE
Stanley Dodds
Ulrich Knörzer
Nikolaus Römisch
Christian Stadelmann
Martin Stegner