Program Notes
Masterworks II
Stories of Note
Nov. 7, 2008

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice Paul Dukas

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is based on Goethe’s 1796 ballad Der Zauberlehrling, which in turn was derived from the dialogues of the second-century Greek satirist Lucian. The tale tells of a naive apprentice to a wizard who overhears the magic incantation used by his master to animate the household broom into a water-carrier. In the sorcerer’s absence, the neophyte tries the spell on the broom, and — to his delight — it works. The broom marches smartly between well and water basin until the latter is full, then overflowing, then flooding — the apprentice never bothered to learn the magic words to stop his wooden servant! Not knowing what to do, he axes the broom in half, only making matters worse — now there are two water-carriers instead of one. More chopping produces more brooms. Just before the novice drowns in his own mischief, the sorcerer returns and, with a sweep of his hand and a spoken word, quiets the tumult. Dukas captured perfectly the fantastic spirit of this poem in his colorful music.

Violin Concerto, “A Fool’s Paradise” Richard Danielpour

The eminent American composer Richard Danielpour wrote his Violin Concerto in 1998-1999 on a commission from the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. Though he has not spoken of any explicit program for the Concerto, Danielpour did say that its subtitle — “A Fool’s Paradise” — is a metaphor for the artist, or for any person, who seeks truth through the acknowledgement of reality. “As in King Lear, the fool is the only individual allowed to speak the truth without being punished for it,” said Danielpour, who has always recognized the social responsibilities of the creative artist. “Artists have become the fools of the 20th century and now the 21st, and for the most part we’re allowed to say what we want without being beheaded.” As with many of Danielpour’s works, the Violin Concerto juxtaposes music of energy and introversion, what he calls “public” and “private” expressive states. “Mysterious, veiled,” instructs the score at the outset, and the slow introduction grows from a misty opening through a rising line of tension until the tempo doubles for the presentation of the main theme, an energetic statement by the violin buoyed upon the orchestra’s propulsive rhythms. A sweet melody, almost a waltz, serves as the contrasting second theme. Instead of a traditional development section, the dream-like center of the movement is occupied by the motives and introspective mood of the introduction. The tempo suddenly quickens for the recapitulation of the energetic and the sweet themes, after which the violin is allowed a thoughtful cadenza. The pensive and deeply moving second movement is “almost confessional,” according to Danielpour. It contains two complementary musical chapters, each played twice: a wistful song-without-words in gentle triple meter begun by the solo woodwinds and then taken over by the violin, and a broad, hymnal melody of simple contour and ineffable poignancy. The finale, a vibrant fantasy on the dancing jig tune kicked off by the violin, is filled with a celebratory life force that becomes almost ecstatic as the music drives toward its rousing finish.

Suite from The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66 Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

The Prologue of The Sleeping Beauty is set in the palace of King Florestan, where a brilliant celebration is being held to mark the christening of Princess Aurora the following day. Suddenly Carabosse, the wicked fairy, appears. Incensed that she has not been invited, she pronounces a curse upon the babe: Aurora is to grow ever more beautiful until, in the prime of her youth, she will prick her finger and die. The Lilac Fairy, standing near, promises that she will not die but will instead fall into a profound sleep from which she may be awakened only by a kiss from a king’s son. Sixteen years later (Act I), Aurora’s birthday is celebrated by four foreign princes who have come to seek her hand in marriage. Aurora dances with each of the princes, but then turns to an old woman who hands her a spindle wrapped with colored twine. Aurora pricks her finger on it and falls lifeless. The old woman reveals herself as Carabosse before she vanishes. The Lilac Fairy appears and fulfills her promise. An enchanted forest engulfs the castle and the sleeping Princess. A hundred years pass before Act II. Young Prince Charming enters the enchanted wood with a hunting party. The Lilac Fairy appears and conjures a vision of Aurora, and the Prince begs the Lilac Fairy to lead him to her. He kisses her, and she awakens. The wicked spell is broken. For Act III, King Florestan and his entire court awaken from their trance to celebrate the wedding of Aurora and Prince Charming. As entertainment, several stories from Perrault’s Mother Goose are presented, including Cinderella, Puss-in-Boots, The Bluebird and the Enchanted Princess and Little Red Riding Hood. The Lilac Fairy appears once again to bless the lovers.

Francesca da Rimini, Fantasy after Dante, Op. 32 Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Tchaikovsky based this work on Dante’s tale, in which Francesca was the daughter of Guido da Polenta, the 13th-century Duke of Ravenna, who arranged her marriage to Giovanni Malatesta, son of the Duke of Rimini. Malatesta was a man of nobility and distinction, but he was crippled and older than his bride. It is perhaps understandable then that Francesca fell in love with Malatesta’s younger and handsome brother Paolo, known as “Il Bello”; her love was requited. Discovering the lovers in embrace, Malatesta drew his dagger and rushed at Paolo. Francesca threw herself between the brothers, and was killed. “He withdrew the dagger,” reported Boccaccio of the tragedy that occurred about 1288, “and again struck at Paolo and slew him; and so, leaving them both dead, he hastily went his way and betook himself to his wonted affairs; and the next morning the two lovers, with many tears, were buried together in one grave.” Dante assigned Francesca and Paolo to the Second Circle of his Inferno, the region given to the eternal punishment of adulterers. There they joined Cleopatra, Helen of Troy, Paris, Tristan, Isolde and others who, in life, were driven by storms of passion, and in Hell are forever tossed and tormented by an infernal tempest. Tchaikovsky noted that the first section of his tone poem represents “the gateway to the Inferno (‘Abandon all hope, ye who enter here’). Tortures and agonies of the condemned.” The chilling portal is conjured by the lugubrious introduction; the infernal whirlwinds of the woeful Pit are vented in the swirling music that follows. Next, Tchaikovsky continued, “Francesca tells the story of her tragic love for Paolo.” The Fantasy’s middle portion is a full treatment of Francesca’s theme. Francesca then describes how she and Paolo were innocently reading the tale of Lancelot and Guinevere when their eyes met, “and then, He who will never be separate from me, Kissed me on the mouth, trembling all over. The book and writer both were love’s purveyors. We read no more in it that day.” The Fantasy’s closing section recalls, said Tchaikovsky, “the turmoil of Hades.”

©2008 Dr. Richard E. Rodda