The Cape Symphony presents Forever Young on Saturday, November 12 & Sunday, November 13, 2022.
Guest Artist
Cameron Renshaw, Cello
Ana Glig and James Rosenblum, Piano
Jack Baumrind, Narrator
Table of Contents
Program
THE CARNIVAL OF THE ANIMALS
Camille Saint-Saëns
- Introduction and Royal March of the Lion
- Hens and Roosters
- Wild Donkeys and Swift Animals
- Tortoises
- The Elephant
- Kangaroos
- Aquarium
- Characters with Long Ears
- The Cuckoo in the Depths of the Woods
- Aviary
- Pianists
- Fossils
- The Swan
- Finale
PETER AND THE WOLF
Sergei Prokofiev
Intermission
THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE
Paul Dukas
TARANTELLA
David Popper
THE YOUNG PERSON’S GUIDE TO THE ORCHESTRA
Benjamin Britten
Theme
Allegro maestoso e largamente: A fast and lively tempo played majestically and broadly
Orchestra, woodwinds, brass, strings, percussion
Variation A
Presto: Very fast
Flutes and piccolo
Variation B
Lento: Slow
Oboes
Variation C
Moderato: Moderately
Clarinets
Variation D
Allegro alla marcia: Fast in the style of a march
Bassoons
Variation E
Brillante: alla polacca: Showy and sparking: In the manner of a polonaise dance
Violins
Variation F
Meno mosso: Slower tempo
Violas
Variation G
Lusingando: Tenderly
Cellos
Variation H
Cominciando lento ma poco a poco accel. al Allegro: Beginning slowly, accelerating little by little to fast
Double basses
Variation I
Maestoso: Majestically
Harp
Variation J
L'istesso tempo: Same tempo as before
Horns
Variation K
Vivace: Fast and lively
Trumpets
Variation L
Allegro pomposo: Stately
Trombones and tuba
Variation M
Moderato: Moderately
Percussion (timpani; bass drum and cymbals; tambourine and triangle; snare drum and woodblock; xylophone; castanets and tam-tam)
Fugue
Allegro molto: Very fast
About Today’s Program
Camille Saint-Saëns' The Carnival of the Animals has fourteen movements, many dedicated to a specific animal or type of animals, including a lion, hens and roosters, wild donkeys, an elephant, kangaroos, and more. He also included pianists as one of the animals! Ana Glig and James Rosenblum play the double piano with the Cape Symphony. The Carnival was never performed in public during the composer’s lifetime, as he composed it to cheer himself up after a disastrous tour, and meant it as a fun amusement to be shared privately with friends. The Carnival of the Animals was published in 1922, a year after Saint-Saëns died, and was first performed in Paris to great acclaim! The newspaper Le Figaro reported, “We cannot describe the cries of admiring joy let loose by an enthusiastic public. In the immense oeuvre of Camille Saint-Saëns, The Carnival of the Animals is certainly one of his magnificent masterpieces.” Today, it remains his most popular work.
Sergei Prokofiev wrote Peter and the Wolf in 1936 to encourage children’s interest in music, and to introduce them to the instruments of the orchestra. Each character in the story is represented by a particular instrument and has its own musical theme: Peter is the string quartet, his grandfather is the bassoon, the wolf is three horns, the bird is the flute, the duck is the oboe, the cat is the clarinet, and the shooting of the hunters is the kettle drums and bass drum. Prokofiev’s detailed notes for performing Peter and the Wolf explain that “the children learn to distinguish the sounds of the instruments during the performance of this tale.” In 1938, Prokofiev himself conducted the American premiere, leading the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Symphony Hall. Peter and the Wolf has been narrated by many famous actors, including Viola Davis, Jack Lemmon, and Alec Guinness, and some non-actors too, includilng Eleanor Roosevelt with the BSO in 1950! Our narrator is Jack Baumrind, who has been acting since he was five years old, beginning his stage career at Boston Children’s Theater, and has appeared in many productions on the Cape and in the Boston area. In December, Jack will star as Ralphie in A Christmas Story at the Cape Cod Theatre Company/Harwich Junior Theatre.
Another treasure we remember from childhood is The Sorcerer’s Apprentice by the French composer Paul Dukas, made famous by its use Walt Disney’s animated concert film Fantasia. Based on a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, one of Germany’s greatest writers, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is part of the Romantic genre of programmatic music, increasingly explored by composers like Franz Liszt, Claude Debussy, and Richard Strauss. Programmatic music conveyed stories and meaning through the composition. In this case, the story was about an old sorcerer leaving work for the day, while his apprentice stayed behind to do chores. The apprentice decides to try magic, enchanting a broom, but because he doesn’t have the training or experience, things soon get out of hand. Of course, Mickey Mouse is the apprentice in the 1940 movie, and this was the most memorable segment of Fantasia. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice remains Dukas’s most successful work.
David Popper was a cellist and composer born in Prague in 1843. He had success as a performer in Germany, and eventually became principal cellist of the Vienna State Opera. Franz Liszt later recommended Popper for a teaching position at the academy of music he had founded in Budapest, Hungary. His solo piece Tarantella, performed with the Cape Symphony by Cameron Renshaw, was one of the showpieces for the cello that Popper wrote to highlight the instrument’s unique sound.
In 1945, English composer Benjamin Britten was commissioned to write The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra for an educational documentary called Instruments of the Orchestra. For the film, the piece was performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. Each section of the orchestra has an opportunity to shine, with the entire orchestra playing the main theme and then woodwinds, strings, brass, and percussion each playing variations in turn. Finally, a new theme is introduced by the piccolo, and taken up by the orchestra, eventually returning to the main theme.
Enjoy “Forever Young”
Join the Cape Symphony for Forever Young on Saturday, November 12 at 7:30 PM & Sunday, November 13, 2022 at 3:00 PM. For more information and to purchase tickets for Forever Young, visit capesymphony.org, call the Box Office at 508-362-1111, email
With thanks to Wikipedia.
