issue two - Vancouver Symphony Orchestra

several major prizes for contemporary musicperformance. The choir is frequently heardon CBC Radio (Canada) and on NPR (UnitedStates). Elektra frequently collaborates withthe CBC, VSO, and Chor Leoni Men’s Choir.The choir released its eighth CD, SacredPlaces, in October 2006; Elektra CDs areavailable through CDBaby.com and iTunesand are in constant demand locally, nationally,and internationally.Felix MendelssohnThe Fair Melusine Overture, Op. 32b. Hamburg, Germany / February 3, 1809d. Leipzig, Germany / November 4, 1847The legend of the mermaid who falls in lovewith a mortal man and tries unsuccessfully tolive among humans is an old and venerableone. Mendelssohn composed this concertoverture on the subject in 1833, fired byan unusual source of inspiration. He hadheard Conradin Kreutzer’s operatic settingof the tale the previous year. “The overturewas encored, but I still disliked it quiteparticularly,” he wrote to his sister Fanny. “Ithen felt a desire to write an overture that,though it might not receive an encore, wouldbe of more real worth.”Because the first performance of his“substitute overture” was scheduled to takeplace in London, where he felt unsure thatlisteners would be familiar with the tale thatinspired it, he initially entitled it Melusine, orthe Mermaid and the Knight. Ignaz Moschelesconducted the première on April 7, 1834.The lukewarm response led Mendelssohn torevise it. He conducted the première of thedefinitive version himself, under the final title,in Leipzig during November 1835. RobertSchumann wrote that it conjures up visionsof “marine abysses full of darting fish withgolden scales, of pearls in open shells, ofburied treasures robbed from men by the sea,of emerald castles towering one above theother.”The overture begins with a lovely, flowingtheme featuring the woodwinds—surely aportrait of the gentle mermaid Melusine andher watery domain. The other primary subjectis an agitated, dramatic theme in the strings,representing the cruel human world andMelusine’s heart-breaking adventures in it.The innocent strength of her theme survivesthe turmoil to close the overture as serenelyas it began.Clara SchumannPiano Concerto in A minor, Op. 7b. Leipzig, Germany / September 13, 1819d. Frankfurt am Mein, Germany / May 20, 1896The daughter of gifted musicians, Clara Wieckreceived a superb musical education in themajor musical centres of Germany. She madeher public debut as a pianist at nine, and hadwon the admiration of prominent musicianssuch as Chopin and Spohr while she was stilla teenager. She and Robert Schumann hadknown each other since childhood.MUSIC LESSONS FROMMEMBERS OF THE VSOMusicians of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestramake up the core faculties of music in many ofthe region’s universities, colleges, academiesand studios.If you are interested in arranging lessonsfor yourself, a child, friend or family member,and would like a referral, please contactLarry Blackman at 604.684.9100 ext. 231or larry@vancouversymphony.ca