issue one - Vancouver Symphony Orchestra

Jesús López-Cobos conductor
Spanish-born Jesús López-Cobos recently
completed his tenure as Music Director of
the Teatro Real in Madrid. He is Conductor
Emeritus of the Cincinnati Symphony
Orchestra, having served as the orchestra’s
Music Director from 1986-2001. Under his
leadership for fifteen seasons, the orchestra
earned international acclaim for its tour
performances and its extensive catalogue of
recordings for Telarc. Mr. López-Cobos has
previously served as General Music Director
of the Deutsche Oper Berlin and Music
Director of the famed Lausanne Chamber
Orchestra in Switzerland.
Mr. Lopez-Cobos’ recent guest conducting
appearances in North America have included
ten performances of Massenet’s Thais at
the Metropolitan Opera as well as concerts
with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the
symphony orchestras of Montreal, Atlanta,
Seattle, St. Louis, Dallas, New Jersey and
Cincinnati. Other recent highlights have
included a production of Manon with the
Metropolitan Opera and a production of
Rigoletto with the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Among the many awards bestowed upon
him, most recently, in 2001 he was presented
with the Medal of Bellas Artes (“Gold Medal
of the Fine Arts”) by Spain’s King Juan Carlos
and Queen Sophia in 2001. Mr. López-Cobos
also holds an Honorary Doctorate from the
University of Cincinnati.
Han-Na Chang cello
Cellist Han-Na Chang has established an
extraordinary international career, performing
regularly on the most prestigious concert
stages of Europe, North America and Asia.
She first won recognition for her exceptional
musical gifts in 1994 when at the age of
eleven she won both the First Prize and
the Contemporary Music Prize at the Fifth
Rostropovich International Cello Competition
in Paris. Since that time, her superb artistry
and virtuosity coupled with the astonishing
depth of her interpretations have placed
Han-Na Chang at the forefront of the world’s
new generation of artists.
Her recording Romance presents rarely
performed works for cello and orchestra by
much loved late-Romantic composers such
as Lalo, Tchaikovsky, Glazunov, Saint-Saens
and Dvořák. In 2008, her much anticipated
recording of seven Vivaldi Cello Concertos
was released to critical acclaim.
Han-Na Chang has studied privately
with both Mischa Maisky and Mstislav
Rostropovich. She has studied philosophy at
Harvard University, and is currently studying
conducting with Lorin Maazel.
Richard Wagner
b. Leipzig, Germany / May 22, 1813
d. Venice, Italy / February 13, 1883
Tannhäuser: Overture
Wagner conducted the premiere of his fifth
opera, Tannhäuser und der Sängerkrieg
auf Wartburg (Tannhäuser and the Singers’
Contest on the Wartburg), in Dresden on
October 19, 1845. After an uncertain debut,
it quickly found success in all of Europe’s
major musical centres. The title character is
a thirteenth-century German minstrel knight.
His affections are divided between Elisabeth,
the saintly niece of a local nobleman, and
Venus, the ancient goddess of love, who since
the fall of classical antiquity has withdrawn
to the interior of a nearby mountain. Despite
Tannhäuser’s many transgressions, he
is eventually redeemed by the purity of
Elizabeth’s love.
Wagner introduces the opera with what is
virtually a symphonic poem. Constructed
from the score’s principal musical themes,
the overture also summarizes the plot. In it
are heard the uplifting hymn sung by pilgrims
on their way to Rome to be blessed by the
Pope; Tannhäuser’s passionate ode in praise
of Venus; and the bacchanalian revels danced
by the love goddess’s followers. The return
of the pilgrims’ exalted music brings the
overture to a glorious conclusion, predicting
the redemption that the title character will
achieve after his death.
allegro 15