Notes by Erin Freeman and Lisa Fusco

Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)

• Quintessential 20th c English composer

• Collected and transcribed English folk songs, some of which he included in his works

• Spent most of his life close to nature in the rural village of Dorking, Surrey as did “The Lark Ascending” poet George Meredith

• Studied with Charles Stanford, Hubert Parry, Max Bruch and Maurice Ravel. 

• Close friend of Gustav Holst

• Composed 9 symphonies, 4 concertos, 5 operas, chamber, ballet and film music, songs and song cycles, and unaccompanied and orchestral choral works

• Notable works: The Lark Ascending, Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, Fantasia on Christmas Carols, English Folk Song Suite, Songs of Travel song cycle, hymn tune “Sine Nomine” (For All the Saints)

The Lark Ascending 

• Instrumentation: two flutes, oboe, two clarinets, bassoon, two horns, triangle, solo violin and strings

• Composed: 1914. Originally for violin & piano; premiere delayed by World War I. It was reworked for orchestra and premiered on December 15, 1920 in Bristol, England.

• Subtitled “A Romance for Violin & Orchestra,” and Vaughan Williams considered it a rhapsody, not a concerto.

• Highly pastoral quality, blending English folk elements with Vaughan Williams’ impressionistic style

• Inspired by George Meredith’s 1883 poem “The Lark Ascending.” Vaughan Williams based the form on 10 non-consecutive lines from the poem. 

• Length: 13 minutes

• Wintergreen Music premiere (original piano version performed in 2017)

Inspiration Text – Meredith’s language that Vaughan Williams included in the score:

• He rises and begins to round,

• He drops the silver chain of sound,

• Of many links without a break,

• In chirrup, whistle, slur, and shake.

• For singing till his heaven fills,

• ’Tis love of earth that he instils,

• And ever winging up and up,

• Our valley is his golden cup,

• And he the wine which overflows

• To lift us with him as he goes.

• Till lost on his aërial rings In light,

• and then the fancy sings.

What to Listen For

• The violin clearly represents the lark, flying higher and higher in the opening cadenzas. The opening is written without a clear tempo or regular meter, truly mimicking the free soaring of the bird.

• Soon, however, the orchestra and soloist alike introduce a rocking 6/8 feel - as if the bird is now riding the thermals above gently rolling hills. 

• Towards the middle, humanity enters the picture, with strong folk-like rhythms, reminding us of the intersection of nature and mankind. 

• The end is considered one of the most transcendent moments in all classical repertoire, with the solo violin – the lark – flying alone and reminding us that our connection to nature sustains us. It is the wine that lifts our spirit.

Quotable

• “May your hearts be lifted and soar as the lark, following him into eternal peace. Perhaps Ralph Vaughan Williams’ piece, The Lark Ascending, will be an encouragement, reminding you of this hope in dark times.” - Heather Savage, composer

Further Reading

• Lansdowne Symphony Orchestra Program Notes https://lansdowneso.org/vaughan-williams-lark-ascending/

• St Louis Symphony Orchestra Program Notes https://www.slso.org/globalassets/connect/sls-sept14-insert1-2---final.pdf

• Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra Program Notes https://www.jaxsymphony.org/the-lark-ascending/

Notes by Nicoletta Moss and Lisa Fusco

Aaron Copland (1900-1990)

• Developed an “American” sound in concert music

• “Copland's primary goal was to compose the best music he could. A quality of excellence is evident in all his work, from a wide range of abstract concert music to collaborative works for radio, film, ballet, and opera. He had a secondary goal: to promote the cause of American music and to increase performance opportunities for composers.” https://www.aaroncopland.com/about/the-man-behind-the-music/

• Aaron Copland was one of Nadia Boulanger's first American students in Paris

• Notable works include music for film, ballet, opera, and orchestra, including Appalachian Spring, Fanfare for the Common Man, Lincoln Portrait, Billy the Kid, Rodeo, Our Town, The Tender Land

Music for the Theatre (1925)

• Instrumentation: small orchestra: 1 Flute/Piccolo, 1 Oboe/English Horn, 1 Clarinet/Eb Clarinet, 1 Bassoon, 2 Trumpets, 1 Trombone, Timpani, Percussion, Piano, Strings

• Premiered by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sergei Koussevitzky 

• Copland did not have a specific program in mind for his play, and shared, "The music seemed to suggest a certain theatrical atmosphere, so after developing the idea into five short movements, I chose the title.”

• First piece that embodied the Copland sound, by embracing jazz and popular music and inspired his later, popular works. 

• Five movements 

  • I. Prologue

  • II. Dance

  • III. Interlude

  • IV. Burlesque

  • V. Epilogue

• Length: 22 minutes

• WIntergreen Music premiere

What to Listen For

Five movements portray colorful vignettes and moods:

• I. Prologue - Drumroll leads to solo trumpet theme and second theme from oboe; develops in standard sonata form

• II. Dance - bassoon solo against bluesy orchestra; popular song “East Side, West Side” included

• III. Interlude - lyrical melody “verses” in winds with strings as harmonic support

• IV. Burlesque - most like the theatre genre, energetic melodies over steady bass line

• V. Epilogue - reprise of mood and melodic material in Prologue

• Drawing from the conventions of jazz and popular song, Copland often includes single-line melodies over chordal accompaniment. There is very little counterpoint in this work! Bright rhythms and unrelenting energy illuminate the scenes. 

• Throughout the suite, there is a lingering sense of nostalgia and melancholy, and the plaintive oboe is a recurring voice. At times, we are reminded of the dreamy, gently wafting fragments which make up the musical collages of Charles Ives.

Quotable

• “To stop the flow of music would be like the stopping of time itself, incredible and inconceivable.” -Aaron Copland

Further Reading

• https://www.aaroncopland.com/

• https://thelistenersclub.com/2022/08/24/coplands-music-for-the-theatre-jazzy-american-vignettes/

Notes by Nicoletta Moss and Lisa Fusco

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

• German composer

• Contributions to the transitional period between Classical and Romantic Eras

• Repertoire includes symphonies, concertos, sonatas, chamber music, and choral works

Symphony No. 1 in C Major, op. 21 (1800)

• Instrumentation: 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets, 2 Bassoons, 2 Horns, 2 Trumpets, Timpani, Strings 

• Premiered in Vienna at a concert organized by the composer, which also included movements from Haydn’s Creation, a Mozart symphony, original compositions, a piano improvisation, and concluded with the premiere of his First Symphony

• Movements:

  • I. Adagio molto—Allegro con brio

  • II. Andante cantabile con moto 

  • III. Menuetto. Allegro molto e vivace

  • IV. Adagio—Allegro molto e vivace

• Length: 25 minutes

• Last performed at Wintergreen Music: 2014

What to Listen For

I. Adagio molto—Allegro con brio

• Sonata-Allegro form

• Begins with a slow introduction and shares a unique musical message for the listener. Opening harmonies are unexpected for the home key of C major. 

• In addition, there is unusual orchestration of sustained chords in the winds with pizzicato in the strings.

• Dynamic changes during phrases are sudden, going from loud to soft in just one beat. 

II. Andante cantabile con moto

• Sonata-Allegro form

• Triple meter, tuneful theme, resembles a minuet

• Second theme in dominant of C major, followed by entrance of timpani (which was innovative at the time! Timpani were traditionally used in military music, not often during slow, lyrical movements)

• Be on the lookout for a playful closing theme towards the end of the movement!

III. Menuetto. Allegro molto e vivace 

• Scherzo and Trio; ternary form

• Not a stately, courtly dance (like traditional minuets), but instead, very animated and energetic! 

• Beethoven’s voice shines through rhythmic energy, dynamism, and character. 

IV. Adagio—Allegro molto e vivace 

• Sonata-Allegro form 

• Like the first movement, the opening of this movement is also unusual and unexpected! The violins play fragments of an ascending scale, adding more pitches each time. There’s a sense of timidness and hesitation, like a guiding voice in your mind. When the full scale is achieved, the music immediately launches into the energetic exposition section that includes the rest of the orchestra. 

• Don’t be surprised by rapid contrasts in dynamics throughout!

• The symphony ends in high spirits! Flurries of rapidly-moving notes in the strings, growing in volume and energy. 

Quotable

• “Beethoven departed his hometown of Bonn for Vienna in 1792 with a now-famous note written by Count Ferdinand von Waldstein, one of Beethoven’s earliest and most devoted admirers, stating that Beethoven was to ‘receive Mozart’s spirit from Haydn’s hands.’ … With the completion of his First Symphony in 1800, Beethoven’s recognition of Mozart’s “spirit” and Haydn’s skill is clearly detected through the similarities between it and Mozart’s Symphony No. 41 and Haydn’s Symphony No. 97, both also in C major, thereby ensuring popular success of his symphonic debut.” - https://www.esm.rochester.edu/beethoven/symphony-no-1/

Further Reading

• https://www.indianapolissymphony.org/backstage/program-notes/beethoven-symphony-no-1/

• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ludwig-van-Beethoven/Approaching-deafness

Notes by Nicoletta Moss and Lisa Fusco

Caroline Shaw (b. 1982)

• American composer

• Versatile and innovative musician: violinist, singer (with Roomful of Teeth), improviser, composer-in-residence with various organizations

• Youngest recipient of Pulitzer Prize in Music for Partita for 8 Voices (2013)

• Shaw collaborates with a range of artists, including Rosalía, Renée Fleming, and Yo-Yo Ma, and various films and television soundtracks

• Shaw’s musical style responds to the past (i.e. music of Bach, Haydn, and Mozart) while forging her own unique identity

Entr'acte (2011, orch. 2014)

• Instrumentation: String Orchestra

• Originally written for the Brentano String Quartet. A few years later, Shaw adapted the work for string orchestra through a commission for A Far Cry.

• Inspiration for Entr’acte: Written after she heard the Brentano Quartet play Haydn’s Op. 77, No. 2. Challenging traditional form, key areas, and style and offering a transitional, innovative voice.

• Entr’acte: theatre term for the music that separates two acts of a play

• Length: 11 minutes

• Wintergreen Music premiere

What to Listen For

• Distinctive musical elements include cross-rhythms, irregular time signatures, and surreal timbral qualities. Extended string techniques include pitchless bowed sounds, left hand pizzicato on strings stopped by the bow on the bridge, harmonics, glissandos, At the end, the notation has no bar lines and noteheads without stems, which allows the performers to determine how the piece will conclude. 

• Begins with a pulsating heartbeat motif. This music unfolds in a sweeping manner into the main theme of the minuet. 

• In the minor mode, the music has a mournful quality, and eventually moves into dissonance and pitchless noise. 

• The middle trio section brings fresh contrast, starting with a plucked melody. Motives continue to develop through rhythms and textures. The mood intensifies into a bright moment featuring sustained chords in the violins over rippling viola arpeggios.

• After, the music darkens and becomes more anxious, but then the tension is released through a flurry of plucked strings. Via ethereal harmonics and sighing gestures, the minuet returns again. After its reprise, the music ascends into the ether, leaving a lone cello strumming an extended sequence of chords like, as Shaw indicates it to be played, “recalling fragments of an old tune or story.” 

Quotable

• For Shaw, the chamber-music medium offers an expressive outlet that she never tires of returning to: “It’s like a check-in point for me, something that I always have cooking on the stove. Writing quartets is the thing I come back to after my other projects take me in different directions.” 

• Taking his cue from Shaw’s words, musician/writer Timothy Judd likens this to reading Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass. He comments, “Throughout the piece we get subtle glimpses of classical and baroque music that has suddenly found itself in the wrong century.”

Further Reading

• https://www.laphil.com/musicdb/pieces/7307/entracte

• https://www.wqxr.org/story/hear-me-out-entracte-caroline-shaw-2017/

• https://stringsmagazine.com/exploring-composer-caroline-shaws-music-for-string-quartet/

Notes by Erin Freeman, Lisa Fusco, and Michael Daugherty

Michael Daugherty (b. 1954)

Biography provided by the composer.

• GRAMMY Award-winning composer Michael Daugherty first came to international attention when his Metropolis Symphony was performed by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, conducted by David Zinman, at Carnegie Hall in 1994 and subsequently recorded by Decca/Argo. Since then, Daugherty’s music has entered orchestral, band and chamber music repertoire and made him, according to the League of American Orchestras, one of the ten most-performed American composers of concert music today. His music has received six GRAMMY Awards, including Best Contemporary Classical Composition in 2010 for Deus ex Machina for piano and orchestra and in 2016 for Tales of Hemingway for cello and orchestra.

• Born in 1954 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Daugherty is the oldest of five brothers, all professional musicians. They grew up in a musical household, with a father who played the drums in dance bands and a mother who sang in musical theater productions. As a young man, Daugherty studied composition with many of the preeminent composers of the twentieth century including Jacob Druckman, Earle Brown, Bernard Rands and Roger Reynolds at Yale University (1980-82), Betsy Jolas at the Paris Conservatory and Pierre Boulez at IRCAM in Paris (1979-80), and György Ligeti in Hamburg (1982-84). From 1980-82, Daugherty was also an assistant to jazz arranger Gil Evans in New York. 

• After teaching from 1986 to 1991 at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Oberlin, Ohio, Daugherty became Professor of Composition at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre and Dance in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he is a mentor to many of today’s most talented young composers. Daugherty is also a frequent guest of professional orchestras, festivals, universities and conservatories around the world. Daugherty’s music is published by Peermusic Classical/Faber Music, Boosey & Hawkes and since 2010 by Michael Daugherty Music

Songs of the Open Road

• Instrumentation: Piccolo, Flute, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Bassoon, Contrabassoon, 2 trumpets, trombone, tuba, percussion (triangle, glockenspiel, Crotales, Xylophone, Concert Bass Drum, Native American Frame Drum, Bongos, Metal Wind Chimes, 2 Vibraslap, Güiro, Congas Maracas (wooden and plastic), Castanets (on stand), Tambourine, Triangle, Sleigh Bells, 2 Flexatones, Ratchet, Whip (very large), Vibraphone, Claves, large Cowbell), Harp, Celesta, strings, Solo Oboe Solo French Horn

• Composed in 2024 

• Commissioned by Pittsburgh Symphony for principal players (and married couple!) Cynthia Koledo DeAlmeida (oboe) and William Caballero (French horn).

• Inspired by real life adventures of Caballero and DeAlmeida - including where they were married in upstate New York, the hometown of Lucille Ball (a fact woven into the piece!).

• Length: 23 minutes 

• Wintergreen Music premiere

What to Listen For:

(Provided by the composer)

Since Walt Whitman’s “Song of the Open Road,” the American road trip has been celebrated by many writers and musicians. Over the years I too have driven many miles across the country, reflecting on the endless possibilities of the open road to inspire my compositions. Songs of the Open Road is a musical exploration of this American experience, weaving together themes of adventure and nostalgia in six colorful movements:

1. Big Sur (Pacific Coastal Highway 1, California)

   Our road trip begins at Big Sur on the coast of California, driving high above the rugged coastline where we see the vast Pacific Ocean and hear the crashing waves of Pfeiffer Beach. Serene melodies with a touch of Spanish flavor capture the breathtaking views.

2.  Continental Divide (Highway 82, Colorado)

   Sweeping orchestral passages convey the thrill of driving over the majestic peaks of the Rocky Mountains. Layers of polyrhythms create a sense of forward motion and the excitement of crossing the Continental Divide in Colorado, the highest point in North America.

3. Sleeping Bear (Highway 22, Michigan)

   Driving to the Midwest, we arrive at Sleeping Bear Dunes along the shore of Lake Michigan. The music is a poignant tribute to the timeless beauty of the towering sand dunes and evokes the Native American “Legend of the Sleeping Bear”: a mother bear eternally overlooks two islands, symbolizing her lost cubs who drowned escaping a forest fire.

4. Desilu (State Route 394, Jamestown, New York) 

   The musical mood shifts with a drive to upstate New York where I visited a museum dedicated to Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, the beloved comedic duo who starred in the iconic television sitcom “I Love Lucy” (1951-57). Accompanied by bongos, castanets, and flexatones, the oboe and French horn soloists engage in playful dialogues and interweaving melodies to convey the comic misadventures and ludic charm of Desi and Lucy. 

5. Blue Ridge (Blue Ridge Parkway, Virginia)

   Next we drive south to the Blue Ridge Mountains, where a winding road of 519 miles reveals magical vistas of the Shenandoah River running through the wooded landscapes below. The soulful oboe and introspective French horn evoke the spirit and tranquility of the river by echoing the folk tune, “Oh Shenandoah.”

6. Key West (Overseas Highway 1, Florida)

   Our road trip ends at Key West, Florida, the southern-most point in the United States located across from Cuba. The oboe, French horn, and orchestra blend seamlessly, creating an exciting tapestry of bright orchestral colors and pulsating Cuban rhythms to capture the infectious energy and joie de vivre of Key West, where the party never ends.

Quotable:

• “Sure enough, he decided that fourth movement is taking place [in upstate New York], and it’s just the oboe and horn with some percussion that’s reminiscent of Ricky Ricardo’s band, and it’s the two instruments arguing.” Cynthia Koledo DeAlmeida 

Further Reading:

• Michael Daugherty on this piece https://michaeldaugherty.net/works/concerti-with-orchestra/songs-of-the-open-road-for-oboe-french-horn-and-orchestra-2024/

• About the work https://www.fabermusic.com/news/pittsburgh-symphony-orchestra-and-manfred-honeck-premiere-daughertys-songs-of-the-open-road03062024

• About the commission https://nextpittsburgh.com/arts-entertainment/pittsburgh-symphony-orchestra-will-end-season-with-2-original-commissions/

Notes by Nicoletta Moss and Lisa Fusco

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

• Austrian composer, child prodigy

• During his childhood, avid performer and composer (toured Europe as a pianist at age 6!)

• Notable Works: 41 symphonies, 27 piano concertos, successful operas, requiem, vocal music, chamber music, sonatas

Symphony No 39 in E-flat Major, K 543 (1788)

• Instrumentation: 1 Flute, 2 Clarinets, 2 Bassoons, 2 Horns, 2 Trumpets, Timpani, Strings 

• Composed his last three symphonies (Nos. 39, 40, and 41) in Vienna within six weeks during the summer of 1788

• Key of E-flat considered a noble key. The use of timpani and brass contribute to Mozart’s stately style.

• Movements:

  • I. Adagio — Allegro

  • II. Andante con moto

  • III. Menuetto — Trio

  • IV: Finale: Allegro

• Length: 30 min

• Wintergreen Music premiere

What to Listen For

I. Adagio — Allegro

• Opens with a slow, chromatic introduction, colored by brass fanfares and descending lines.

• Where are the oboes in this symphony? They are replaced by a pair of clarinets, adding a different color to the orchestration.

• In the Allegro section that follows, the music begins in a stately triple meter. Contrasting thematic material is introduced throughout. Lots of energy and exuberance.

• The remainder of the movement follows traditional sonata form, where music is presented, developed, and revisited. Listen for the trumpets who guide us through the final phrase!

II. Andante con moto

• This movement begins quietly with the main theme. After, a second theme enters and is also repeated.

• A fascinating aspect is that there is no development section. Rather than motivic exploration, Mozart shapes the music through tonal and dynamic colors. Be ready – the changes happen suddenly!

• Notice how material is passed around the orchestra, between winds and strings. (Also, some of the material here is taken from a sketch for his Symphony No. 38.)

III. Menuetto — Trio

• Traditional compound ternary form: the menuetto and trio provide contrasting styles and musical material.

• Minuet portrays a rustic country dance, with simple themes rather than stately poise. Get ready to dance!

• In the trio, listen for a tuneful duet between the clarinet and flute with simple string accompaniment.

IV. Finale: Allegro

• The final movement begins with energy right from the start! The material is rhythmic and rapidly driving forward, and the orchestra bursts with excitement.

• Quiet phrases precede dynamic tutti sections, serving as a call and response dialogue within the orchestra. The mood is light, jovial, and carefree.

• In the development section, Mozart plays with constant personality changes. Tonal areas shift, along with motivic exploration. Who knows where he will take us next!

• You will recognize when we reach the recapitulation section, with the primary theme returning in its familiar form and style.

• However, there is no bombastic coda to conclude the movement. Instead, the theme chimes in for the final word!

Quotable

• At the time when Mozart composed this symphony in June 1788, he wrote to a friend, “As it is, I have very little to do in town, and I am not exposed to many visitors, I shall have more time for work.”

• “Mozart seemed never to tire of experimenting, borrowing from others yet transforming their works and styles into something new and entirely his own…His work is as renowned for its melodic beauty, rich texture, innovativeness, and formal perfection as Mozart is for his virtuosity, improvisation, and ability to imitate and combine popular and serious forms. Above all, one must be impressed by the sheer variety of Mozart’s compositions, as well as by the excellence of the music he created in each of the many forms in which he worked: sacred, chamber, orchestral, keyboard, and both serious and comic opera.” -Robert Morace

Further Reading

• https://www.laphil.com/musicdb/pieces/3981/symphony-no-39-in-e-flat-k-543

• https://www.indianapolissymphony.org/backstage/program-notes/mozart-symphony-no-39/

Notes by Erin Freeman, Lisa Fusco, and Valerie Coleman

Valerie Coleman (b. 1970)

• Born in Louisville, Kentucky

• Wintergreen’s Composer in Residence, Summer 2026

• Award-winning composer and flutist and founder of the wind quintet Imani Winds

• Performance Today’s 2020 Classical Woman of the Year

• Juilliard School Faculty since 2024

• Notable Works: Fanfare for Uncommon Times, Umoja Anthem for Unity, Seven O’Clock Shout, 

• Woodwind quintet works previously performed at Wintergreen Music: Tzigane, Go Tell it On the Mountain, Maombi Asante, Suite: Portraits of Josephine

Tracing Visions

• Composed in 2022; commissioned and premiered by the Sphinx Virtuosi

• Instrumentation: String Orchestra 

• Two Movements

  • I. Till

  • II. Amandla!

• Length: 10 min

• Wintergreen Music premiere

What to Listen For

From the composer’s website:

Tracing Visions embodies the common threads of community and empathy, reminding us that we are one people. The first movement, TILL. is an elegy dedicated to parents of the Uvalde massacre, Emmett Till, and even Ruby Bridges mother, the latter who had to find strength enough to allow her child to face the dangerous climate of hate in the midst of desegregation. Written during the time of Uvalde, it began to expand itself to be a voice for the grief that we all continue to feel for the tragedy. There is a section within the music that personifies the ugliness of apathy and violence of domestic terrorism, which is met by an anthem of fierce parental statement – a battle cry that all children ARE human beings who have a right to exist within a safe environment, in order to for the genius blueprint seed to grow within each of them.

The 2nd movement, called Amandla! (Which means “power!” in Zulu) is a tour de force juba that celebrates the work of the Sphinx Organization. As a concert finale-style work in its own right, Amandla! personifies a vision of unity, with melodies and grooves that depict many cultures coming together into an empowered tapestry of voices. To the composer, this is the very definition of the ethos of Sphinx. At certain points within the music, small chamber configurations briefly emerge to recognize the breadth and depth of Sphinx’s work in developing future leaders within the arts industry. Featuring the morse code word, “Sphinx” at the beginning as the main motif throughout, this jubilation movement fills the stage with dancing rhythms that allow the “Familia” to cut loose with joy.

Quotable

“A composer doesn’t necessarily have to choose any story to tell. That’s just how I identify and it’s because of what my ancestors have gone through. I feel it necessary to tell their story, but also really just embrace this idea of how to walk in the world and inform people around me. … I recognize that there are stories that are yet untold that if they were told, they would transform all those who would hear them. So it’s my job to create music that allows that transformative power to happen. - Valerie Coleman https://newmusicusa.org/nmbx/valerie-coleman-writing-music-for-people/

 Further Reading

• Valerie Coleman website https://www.valeriecoleman.com/

• Valerie Coleman’s Website on Tracing Visions https://www.valeriecoleman.com/works/tracing-visions

• Groton Hill Music Center program notes https://grotonhill.org/programs/a-far-cry-heartstrings/

• https://www.charlottesymphony.org/blog/visionary-valerie-coleman/

• Review of premiere https://www.violinist.com/blog/nobilemente/202210/29399/

• A Far Cry Rehearsal clip https://www.instagram.com/p/DUoUv1sji8M/ 

Notes by Nicoletta Moss and Lisa Fusco

Florence Price (1887-1953)

• African-American composer, pianist, and teacher

• Studied at New England Conservatory. Part of the Chicago Renaissance in 1920s

• Over 300 compositions, including symphonies, concertos, suites, and works for organ and voice

• First black female composer to have a symphony performed by a major American orchestra; Symphony No. 1 premiered by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (1933)

• In 2009, a large amount of music was found at Price’s former summer home in Illinois. Between Price’s death in 1975 and this discovery, her music was considered lost and forgotten about. In recent decades, there have been significant efforts to catalogue and make her music available to performers worldwide.

• Price’s musical voice intertwines her cultural upbringing with traditional Western European traditions, fusing together folk songs within standard orchestral and chamber instrumentation.

Violin Concerto No. 1 in D Major (1939)

• Instrumentation: 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets, 2 Bassoons, 4 Horns, 2 Trumpets, Timpani, Strings, Solo Violin 

• Aware of the contributions of major composers in the 19th century, Price alludes to various influences throughout the work. For example, the opening of the violin solo references the Tchaikovsky Concerto, and there are other instances throughout the piece, like the cadenza. (It’s also set in the same key of D major!)

• Price’s first violin concerto was never played in her lifetime! The work was uncovered posthumously (in the same discovery mentioned in the prior section).

• Movements: 

  • I. Tempo Moderato

  • II. Andante

  • III. Allegro

• Length: 23 min

• Wintergreen Music premiere

What to Listen For

I. Tempo Moderato

• The opening movement utilizes a call-and-response dialogue across the orchestra, between the soloist and the orchestra (and within the orchestra itself!). 

• The first movement is both lyrical and virtuosic for the soloist, with challenging double stops and interesting call-and-response statements. 

• The music builds to an exciting climax between the orchestra and the violin’s virtuosic power. 

II. Andante

• The second movement offers a gentle atmosphere, offering a spiritual, hymn-like setting.

• The violin’s move to a minor key creates a sorrowful sound, reminiscent of the sorrow songs (spirituals describing the lives of enslaved African Americans).

• The movement closes in gentle stillness and contemplation. 

III. Allegro

• The final movement opens with a passage that is technically demanding for the soloist and exciting for the listener. 

• Then, the violin introduces a quick melodic theme, and other instruments soon follow its lead. 

• The driving momentum between soloist and orchestra creates a sense of perpetual motion. Eventually, the two musical forces come together with a flourish to close the work.

Quotable

• “In a world that worked so hard to dehumanize her and lessen her as a woman and an African-American, she was determined, not in an overcompensating way but just being honest, to show that she could do this. Almost every composition I know by her, and there are still many that we haven’t seen, appears to be something where she has an unstoppable musical imagination that is spurred by a challenge, something like what we described here, taking two things that are never ever put together and finding a way to make sense together, to integrate them.” -Michael Cooper

Further Reading

• https://www.tucsonsymphony.org/program-notes/price/violin-concerto-1/ 

• https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/02/05/the-rediscovery-of-florence-price

Notes by Nicoletta Moss and Lisa Fusco

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

• German composer, pianist, and conductor

• Studied music of Bach; became a master of counterpoint, development, and other techniques of Classical and Baroque styles 

• Compositional output: four symphonies, concertos, chamber music, Lieder, and other works for orchestra, piano (premiered many of his piano works!), organ, and choir 

• Perfectionist; destroyed many of his works and left some unpublished 

Symphony No. 2 in D Major, op. 73 (1877)

• Instrumentation: 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets, 2 Bassoons, 4 Horns, 2 Trumpets, 3 Trombones, Tuba, Timpani, and Strings 

• At the time, he was living in Pörtschach, a tiny Austrian village on Lake Wörth; reflects his relaxed state of mind during the compositional process

• “The first day was so beautiful that I absolutely wanted to spend the second here, and the second so beautiful that I stay on for now!” -Johannes Brahms

• Movements

  • I. Allegro non troppo

  • II. Adagio non troppo

  • III. Allegretto grazioso

  • IV. Allegro con spirito

• Length: 43 minutes

• Wintergreen Music premiere (performed in 2022 in the Iain Farrington’s arrangement for 13 instruments, with conducting students leading)

What to Listen For

I. Allegro non troppo: 

• At the beginning, the cellos and basses introduce a 3-note motif that returns throughout Symphony, morphing into a waltz-like theme

• This section is followed by a muffled timpani roll and 3-note dirge from trombones and tuba 

• Brahms ends the movement with a musical joke. The clarinetist comes in early, resulting in a comic series of “wrong” notes. The horns brush aside the mistake with the opening motif, and the movement comes to a quiet close. 

II. Adagio non troppo: 

• The cellos present a melody at the opening; lyrical and restful

• Throughout, the music alternates between major and minor modes, creating and resolving tension

III. Allegretto grazioso: 

• The third movement opens with bright melody played by the oboe,based on the 3-note theme from first movement

• The form consists of contrasts between a country waltz mood and a quicker, moving pace

IV. Allegro con spirito: 

• The finale is often described as a Kehraus—the traditional “last dance” at the end of a ball

• Brahms begins by sharing an old, but well-loved, musical joke. The strings’ sly whispering theme grows softer and softer until the entire orchestra erupts in a jubilant forte. 

• In this movement, the trombones only appear sparingly—keep an ear out for their entrances! 

Quotable

• “It’s a magnificent work that Brahms is bestowing on the world, and so very accessible as well. Every movement is gold, and all four together constitute a necessary whole. Vitality and strength are bubbling up everywhere, deep feeling and charm to go with it. Such music can only be composed in the country, in the midst of nature.” -Ferdinand Pohl

• “It is all blue sky, babbling of streams, sunshine and cool green shade.” -Theodor Billroth

Further Reading

• https://www.laphil.com/musicdb/pieces/3936/symphony-no-2-in-d-major-op-73

• https://fwsymphony.org/program-notes/brahms-johannes-symphony-no-2-in-d-major-opus-73

Notes by Nicoletta Moss

Jorge Sosa Ortega (b. 1976)

• Mexican-American composer 

• Originally from Mexico City; currently based in New York City where he teaches at Molloy University

• Large musical output for opera; enjoys telling stories through his compositions

• Notable Works: 

  • Alice In The Pandemic: a virtual opera composed during lockdown; features synchronized remote singers, animation, and motion capture. Recognized in the Library of Congress’ archives in their Pandemic Response Collection

  • Generación Perdida: about the human rights crisis in Mexico, has been performed in New York and throughout Mexico

• Wintergreen Composer-in-Residence, 2026

Wintergreen (2026)

• Instrumentation: 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets, 2 Bassoons, 2 Horns, 2 Trumpets, Timpani, Strings

• One continuous work, like a symphonic poem

• Length: 6 minutes

• Wintergreen Music and world premiere!

Insight from the Composer

Our assistant conductor, Nicoletta Moss, had the opportunity to chat with composer Jorge Sosa about his work. Here are some moments from that conversation:

• For this commission, Sosa was provided the instrumentation for the orchestra and an open theme. He chose Wintergreen as the topic and considers this work a gift to the space, people, and community.

• Sosa is an avid storyteller, regardless of the musical medium of his choosing. Even when composing for instruments, he envisions as if they are the voice. 

• While Sosa has never traveled to Wintergreen and the Blue Ridge Mountains before, he knows what the feeling of vastness and grandeur is like. His wife is from New Zealand, and he has spent time exploring its large, open spaces. 

• When writing this work, Sosa mentioned the strong influences of Romantic composers, like Jean Sibelius, and film music soundtracks. 

What to Listen For

• The opening music effortlessly emerges from silence, as the strings bring in a delicate misty, windy atmosphere. 

• After the brief introduction, the horn announces the first theme and fragments of this melody soon are repeated throughout different instruments in the orchestra. 

• Although the orchestra’s energy moves quickly towards the climax, the dissipation of tension soon follows. The scene fades away and blurs into the next section. The next phrase builds with fervor again, this time with the aid of the powerful timpani.

• After, the music relaxes into a laid-back scene, with a groove reminiscent of a sultry bossa nova. The winds become featured soloists, passing around swirling, connected tunes. 

• The final section heralds an epic fanfare in the brass, while strings and woodwinds embellish with colorful flourishes. Combined with the bright arrival into the key of D major, the sense of triumph is achieved. At the end of the work, we have conquered the mountain and are enjoying the beautiful view from the top (at Dunlop Pavillion!).

Quotable

• “My music lives at the intersection of drama, technology, and social justice.” -Jorge Sosa

• “In Jorge’s music you can often find a purposeful use of extended techniques, and a colorful palette of textures, and effects that interact with atomic motives and pounding rhythms. The juxtaposition of noise and lyrical melodies make for a music that is both forward-looking and rooted in tradition.” -from the composer’s bio https://www.theprimaveraproject.com/composer/jorge-sosa/  

Further Reading

• https://www.jorgesosa.com/

• https://operawire.com/op-ed-by-composer-jorge-sosa-i-am-a-dreamer/

Notes by Nicoletta Moss and Lisa Fusco

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

• German composer

• Contributions to the transitional period between Classical and Romantic Eras

• Repertoire includes symphonies, concertos, sonatas, chamber music, and choral works

Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor, op. 37 (1803)

• Instrumentation: 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets, 2 Bassoons, 2 Horns, 2 Trumpets, Timpani, Strings, Solo Piano 

• The premiere of his Piano Concerto No. 3 was performed by Beethoven himself as the soloist, and featured on an all-Beethoven concert (included his First and Second Symphonies).

• Three movements:

  • I. Allegro con brio

  • II. Largo

  • III. Rondo. Allegro

• Length: 34 minutes

• Last performed at Wintergreen Music: 2010

What to Listen For

I. Allegro con brio: 

• This opening movement references Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 24, K.491; same key, strings opening, and thematic material (and even moments in the coda are similar!). 

• In the key of C minor, Beethoven’s voice shines through in the dark and stormy tone.

• Some critics have noted that the march-like rhythm and character of the opening suggests the French Revolution and rise of Napoleon as a source of inspiration.

II. Largo: 

• Set in E major, this movement offers a sense of calm. 

• The flowing piano voice is accompanied by muted strings and colorful woodwinds. Arpeggios are a feature of the melodic material.

• Beethoven’s student, Carl Czerny, said that the opening theme “must sound like a holy, distant, and celestial harmony.” 

• The second movement ends on G-sharp which enharmonically becomes A-flat at the start of the third movement.

III. Rondo. Allegro: 

• In the final movement, the first theme is presented by the piano. Soon, it is transformed into a fugue! While the music leads the listener back towards the key of C minor, the line ascends to A-flat and morphs back into E major (a reminder from the second movement), and finally ends in C major.

• Overall, the rhythmic and tonal character harkens back to Mozart’s Rondo Alla Turka (Piano Sonata in A major K. 331). 

Quotable

• One of Beethoven’s students, Ignaz von Seyfried, served as Beethoven’s page-turner during the premiere. The work was not fully completed on paper by this time, and he recounted his experience in this role, “I saw empty pages with here and there what looked like Egyptian hieroglyphs, unintelligible to me, scribbled to serve as clues for him. He played most of his part from memory, since, obviously, he had put so little on paper. So, whenever he reached the end of some invisible passage, he gave me a surreptitious nod and I turned the page. My anxiety not to miss such a nod amused him greatly and the recollection of it at our convivial dinner after the concert sent him into gales of laughter.” 

Further Reading

• https://www.laphil.com/musicdb/pieces/2771/piano-concerto-no-3

• https://houstonsymphony.org/beethoven-piano-concerto-3/

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943)

• Born in Semyonovo, Russia and died in Beverly Hills, CA

• Russian Romantic period composer & pianist 

• Considered Europe’s greatest piano prodigy since Liszt

• Known for his rich orchestral colors, song-like melodies, and dense counterpoint

• Notable Works: Piano Concertos 1-4; Symphonies number 2 and 3, The Bells, All-Night Vigil (“Rachmaninoff Vespers”), 24 Preludes for Solo Piano 

Symphonic Dances, op. 45

• Instrumentation: piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, alto saxophone, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion (bass drum, chimes, cymbals, orchestra bells, snare drum, tam-tam, tambourine, triangle, and xylophone), piano, harp, and strings 

• Composed: 1940 with sketches going back to 1915. Some music was originally meant for the ballet score The Scythians

• He first composed it for two pianos

• This was his final orchestral score and only score written entirely in the US

• This was the last music Rachmaninoff ever wrote. Two years later, and a month after becoming an American citizen, he died of cancer, a few days short of his 70th birthday. 

• The famous violinist Fritz Kreisler advised on the string parts! And Robert Russell Bennet (who orchestrated many popular pieces, including the Sound of Music Medley we play on Patriotic Pops), tested the saxophone part. 

• Dedicated to Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra who premiered it in 1941

• Three movements (originally called Midday, Twilight, and Midnight)

  • I. Non Allegro 

  • II. Andante con moto. Tempo di Valse

  • III. Lento assai—Allegro vivace

• Length: about 35 minutes

• Wintergreen Music premiere

What to Listen For

I. Non Allegro 

• This movement begins with a primal march, accented and stark. It is reminiscent of Rite of Spring and eventually features the full orchestra 

• Soon however, the saxophone appears in a mournful and beautiful melody, set against solo winds.

• Towards the end, the strings sing another solemn melody – a quote from his first symphony. The symphony was not well received and set him on the course of rediscovery that would lead to his most famous work, the second piano concerto!

II. Andante con moto. Tempo di Valse

• While the opening appears as a menacing and eerie waltz, the movement evolves into a fantasy inspired Viennese dance, with various instruments playing different characters at the ball. The english horn and oboe converse, the strings glide effortlessly across the ballroom, the clarinets swirl around the main melody like breeze from skirts in motion, secrets are passed along in dark corners of the room, and the noise of a full crowd rises and fall

III. Lento assai—Allegro vivace

• The finale combines the Spanish Jota dance with Russian Orthodox chant and the medieval chant for the dead (“Dies irae”). Rachmaninoff even quotes the Alleluia from his a cappella Vespers. 

• The feisty Jota, the Dies Irae, and the Alleluia duke it out through the movement. Somehow, amongst all of the darkness, the joy of the Alleluia prevails, and the piece ends with triumph!

• This was the last music Rachmaninoff ever wrote. Two years later, and a month after becoming an American citizen, he died of cancer, a few days short of his 70th birthday. 

Quotable

• After this composition, he commented that he “no longer had the strength and fire to compose. I don’t know what has happened. That [the dances] was probably my last flicker.” - Sergei Rachmaninoff 

• “In my own compositions, no conscious effort has been made to be original, or Romantic, or Nationalistic, or anything else. I write down on paper the music I hear within me, as naturally as possible. I am a Russian composer, and the land of my birth has influenced my temperament and outlook. My music is the product of my temperament, and so it is Russian music.... I have been strongly influenced by Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov; but I have never, to the best of my knowledge, imitated anyone. What I try to do when writing down my music is to make it say simply and directly that which is in my heart when I am composing. If there is love there, or bitterness, or sadness, or religion, these moods become part of my music, and it becomes either beautiful or bitter or sad or religious.” - Sergei Rachmaninoff

Further Reading

• https://www.indianapolissymphony.org/backstage/program-notes/rachmaninoff-symphonic-dances/

• https://www.masterclass.com/articles/rachmaninoff-music-guide