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Concert Program - German Day

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<strong>German</strong> <strong>Day</strong> at Concordia University Irvine<br />

Landesjugendorchester<br />

Rheinland-Pfalz<br />

The Young<br />

Symphony<br />

in <strong>Concert</strong><br />

�1<br />

Conductor:<br />

Hannes Krämer<br />

Wednesday, October 5, 2011, 8 p.m.<br />

CU Center for Worship and<br />

the Performing Arts<br />

Concordia<br />

University Irvine<br />

The Center for Lutheran<br />

Theology and Public Life<br />

Goethe-Institut<br />

Los Angeles<br />

GABA<br />

Southern California


In a moment of exasperation, the French novelist Romain<br />

Rolland once groaned, “There is too much music in <strong>German</strong>y!” Com-<br />

ing from an author whose masterpieces include a biography of Ludwig<br />

van Beethoven, <strong>German</strong>s took this outburst as a compliment. It is<br />

one of <strong>German</strong>y’s greatest strengths that through good and bad times<br />

she has upheld her musical tradition and provided the world with a<br />

wealth of young instrumentalists and vocalists, generation after gen-<br />

���������������������������������������������������������������������<br />

�����������������������������������������������������������������<br />

We are honored to welcome these 82 young musicians on our campus.<br />

Their concert will be the crescendo of this year’s <strong>German</strong> <strong>Day</strong> at Con-<br />

cordia whose special focus has been on vocation in the service of one’s<br />

fellow human being, an eminently Lutheran thought.<br />

<strong>German</strong> <strong>Day</strong> 2011 celebrated the rich vocation of entrepreneurship,<br />

an area in which <strong>German</strong>s have excelled for centuries. After a day of<br />

intense presentations and dialogues we are grateful to “The Young<br />

Symphony” for enchanting us with an art form Martin Luther ranked<br />

second only to theology. On behalf of Concordia University Irvine and<br />

the Center for Lutheran Theology and Public Life I thank the Goethe<br />

Institut Los Angeles for sponsoring this wonderful ensemble’s visit,<br />

and Dr. Brenda Montiel for coordinating its journey to California.<br />

Music is a gift of love to man, and a very <strong>German</strong> work of love it is<br />

indeed. “Can one be a musician without being <strong>German</strong>?” Thomas<br />

Mann wondered. Of course one can. How else would one explain, for<br />

example, the Japanese Bach boom that currently delights the rest of<br />

the world? But as my rhetorical question implies, music without Ger-<br />

many’s relentless input would be a diminished treasure for all of us.<br />

�2<br />

Uwe Siemon-Netto, Ph.D.<br />

Executive Director<br />

The Center for Lutheran<br />

Theology & Public Life


PROGRAM<br />

Landesjugendorchester Rheinland-Pfalz<br />

Hannes Krämer, Conductor<br />

Soloists: LJO Brass<br />

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827)<br />

Coriolanus Overture, Op. 62<br />

Frigyes Hidas (1928 – 2007)<br />

<strong>Concert</strong>o for Brass Quintet and Orchestra<br />

Allegro energico<br />

Lento<br />

Moderato scherzando<br />

— Intermission —<br />

Anton Bruckner (1824 – 1896)<br />

������������������������������������������<br />

Bewegt, nicht zu schnell<br />

Andante quasi Allegretto<br />

Scherzo. Bewegt; Trio. Nicht zu schnell. Keinesfalls schleppend<br />

Finale. Bewegt doch nicht zu schnell<br />

�3


The YOUNG SYMPh ONY<br />

One of <strong>German</strong>y’s Finest<br />

��������������������������������������������������<br />

Landesjugendorchester Rheinland-Pfalz. But it is often<br />

just called The Young Symphony or simply LJO. It ranks<br />

�����������������������������������������������������ed<br />

young citizens of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate<br />

may apply as long as they master their instruments<br />

exceptionally well. LJO has up to 100 instrumentalists<br />

between the ages of 12 and 19. Some become members on the recommendation<br />

of teachers, others were “discovered” by musicians who were<br />

already part of the orchestra.<br />

When more young talents try to join than can be accepted at once, the<br />

�������������������������������������������������������������������<br />

eventually graduate to The Young Symphony. LJO’s players assemble<br />

three times a year to rehearse symphonic music under the guidance of<br />

top professionals.<br />

Founded by Hermann Josef Lentz in 1973, LJO has had a succession of<br />

outstanding leaders. Its current executive director is Miroslaw Benedikt<br />

Foitzik. But its conductors vary from project to project. All are musicians<br />

of renown, such as Klaus Arp and Michael Luig, both celebrated professors<br />

of music. LJO’s conductor on its current tour is the highly acclaimed<br />

Hannes Krämer (see separate article).<br />

The orchestra appears regularly on radio and television and has produced<br />

many records and CDs. LJO has performed in Austria, China, the<br />

Czech Republic, England, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Spain,<br />

South Africa, Sweden and the Middle East. In 2003 LJO toured California,<br />

and in 2008 it played in New York, Washington, Gettysburg, Harrisburg,<br />

Philadelphia and Baltimore.<br />

���������������������������������������������������������������������������<br />

of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate in Mainz. Rheinland-Pfalz, as this region<br />

is called in <strong>German</strong>, is one of <strong>German</strong>y’s 16 states. It has a population<br />

of 4 million and is renowned for its wine. LJO receives assistance from a<br />

�����������������������������LJO-Förderkreis, which provides instruments<br />

and supports musical education, CD productions and concert tours. This<br />

organization is made up of current and past LJO members, parents and<br />

friends.<br />

For information about ongoing LJO projects or to order CDs, please visit<br />

its website:���������������.<br />

�4


The TOP OF BRASS<br />

The “LJO Brass” ensemble of the Landesjugendorchester<br />

Rheinland-Pfalz is “top brass” in <strong>German</strong>y – the best. In<br />

������������������������������������������������������������<br />

luxe” at the Jugend musiziert contest in Saarbrücken; they<br />

alone reached the highest possible score at this nationwide<br />

competition, which is under the patronage of President of<br />

<strong>German</strong>y. These young men between the ages of 16 and 19<br />

are all students at leading <strong>German</strong> conservatories. They are:<br />

� Felix Schauren, 18, trumpet, a student of the celebrated Peter<br />

Leiner at the Music Conservatory of Saarbrücken; Prof. Leiner is<br />

the mentor of LJO Brass and leads its rehearsals.<br />

� Johannes Leiner, 17, trumpet, Peter Leiner’s son and student,<br />

is currently studying with Laura Vukobratovic at the Music Con-<br />

servatory of Karlsruhe<br />

� Jared Scott, 19, French horn, is studying with Prof. Will Sanders<br />

at the Music Conservatory of Karlsruhe<br />

� ������������, 16, trombone, is Prof. Henning Wiegräbe’s student<br />

at the Music Conservatory of Stuttgart<br />

� Constantin hartwig, 18, is studying with Prof. Ralf Rudolph at the<br />

Saarbrücken Conservatory.<br />

The ensemble is a regular partner of the Villa Musica foundation of<br />

the state of Rhineland-Palatinate at renowned festivals such as the<br />

Musiktage Hitzacker, the Moselfestwochen (Mosel Festival Weeks) and<br />

the Mittelrhein-Musik-Momente (Middle Rhine Music Moments). It is<br />

a stipendiary of several prominent foundations, such as the Deutsche<br />

Stiftung Musikleben (<strong>German</strong> Musical Life Foundation) and the Jürgen<br />

Ponto Foundation. In 2009, the quintet won a scholarship of the ZIRP<br />

Foundation (ZIRP stands for Rhineland Palatinate Initiative for the<br />

Future) and the Kulturpreis Schloss Waldthausen sponsorship of the<br />

Sparkasse Foundation.<br />

�����������������������������������������������������������������rland<br />

Radio Orchestra, which they consider a high distinction. Two<br />

years ago, the Symphony Orchestra of Southwest Radio Stuttgart has<br />

invited them to participate in a live broadcast titled, Young Artists Introduce<br />

Themselves. A recording of this performance is available on CD.<br />

�5


hANNe S KR ä M e R<br />

Conductor<br />

Hannes Krämer, who leads the Landesjugendorchester<br />

Rheinland-Pfalz (LJO) at its<br />

current North American tour, is a versatile<br />

conductor who has been the artistic director<br />

of the Collegium Musicum Bamberg since<br />

2008. Starting out as a violinist with the<br />

Bamberg Symphony, he gained considerable<br />

experience in chamber and orchestral<br />

�������������������������������������������������������������������<br />

<strong>German</strong>y and abroad. Mr. Krämer trained under eminent orchestral<br />

leaders such as George Pehlivanian, Atso Almila, and most notably,<br />

Jorma Panula. He has also assisted conductors Andrey Boreyko,<br />

George Benjamin, Manfred Honeck, and Marcus Bosch.<br />

Early in his conducting career Hannes Krämer he was awarded the<br />

prestigious 1st Prize and Public’s Prize in the 2nd San Gemini Conducting<br />

Competition (Italy). Following this achievement, he has<br />

made his debuts with the Vaasa Symphony Orchestra (Finland), the<br />

State Philharmonic of Astrahan (Russia), Kuopio Symphony Orchestra<br />

(Finland), the John Cabot Chamber Orchestra Rome (Italy), the State<br />

Opera Orchestra of Bourgas and Pleven Philharmonic (Bulgaria).<br />

Hannes Krämer has a strong commitment to education and working<br />

with young people. He has worked with various youth orchestras<br />

both in <strong>German</strong>y and abroad, conducting, among others, Junge<br />

Deutsche Philharmonie, Landesjugendorchester Rheinland-Pfalz,<br />

Junge Philharmonie Erlangen, Orchestra Sinfonica Internationale F.<br />

Fenaroli (Italy), and Music Academy Orchestra of Ljubljana (Slovenia).<br />

His recent engagements included concerts and recordings with<br />

orchestras such as the Bamberger Symphoniker, the Bayerische<br />

Staatsphilharmonie, the Südwestdeutsches Kammerorchester<br />

Pforzheim, the Württembergisches Kammerorchester Heilbronn, Sinfonieorchester<br />

Aachen, Orchester der Musikhochschule Köln, Ensemble<br />

brass partout, Prague Chamber Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of<br />

Belgium, the orchestras of Jyväskylä and Seinäjöki (Finland), and the<br />

�6


Georgisches Kammerorchester Ingolstadt. In 2008 he celebrated his<br />

debut in the United Kingdom conducting the International Mahler<br />

Orchestra in London. 2007-2009 Hannes Krämer was Principal Guest<br />

Conductor of the International Mahler Orchestra (of which Marina<br />

Mahler is honorary president) with which he worked regularly both<br />

in London and abroad. From 2008 Hannes Krämer has been conducting<br />

at major festivals like Weilburg, Maulbronn, and Mozartfest<br />

Würzburg. His concerts have been broadcast by major <strong>German</strong>, Swiss,<br />

Italian and Swedish radio stations.<br />

�7


���� ������ ����������������������<br />

Coriolanus Overture, Op. 62<br />

�<br />

Beethoven composed this overture in 1807 for a play by Heinrich<br />

Collin about the legendary Roman general Coriolanus, which pre-<br />

���������������������������������������������������������������������<br />

better-known version but uses the same basic story about a general of<br />

�������������������������������������������������������������������������<br />

����������������������������������������������������������������������<br />

torn by qualms after his Roman mother has come to plead with him to<br />

spare his native city.<br />

Beethoven’s music captures the anguish felt by Coriolanus in the<br />

turbulent main theme with stabbing chords and restless, agitated<br />

�������������������������������������������������������������������������<br />

the movement by a more serene and ingratiating theme that seems to<br />

���������������������������������������������������������������������<br />

between the two is striking and typical of Beethoven’s music at its best.<br />

�����������������������������������������������������������������<br />

qualities of many of Beethoven’s great works written in the minor key,<br />

in this instance C minor, the same key used in the Fifth Symphony,<br />

which was composed and presented in Vienna in the following year.<br />

�8


� � �������� ���� ������������<br />

<strong>Concert</strong>o for Brass Quintet and Orchestra<br />

Born in Budapest in 1928, Hidas studied composition at the Franz Liszt<br />

Academy of Music. He was director of the Hungarian National Theatre<br />

(1941-1966) and then of the municipal Operetta Theatre (1974-79).<br />

From 1974 until his death he composed operas, ballets, concertos, orchestral,<br />

chamber, solo and choral music, making his name primarily with<br />

works for brass instruments. As a performer, he was a concert pianist.<br />

His compositions are easily accessible, and his style is grounded in<br />

the Romantic tradition. Hidas said, “I am the last Hungarian Romantic<br />

composer!” While his works are tonal, they often nicely fuse folk and<br />

����������������������������������������������������������������������<br />

�������������������������������������������������������������������������<br />

Worldwide Hidas is known for his compositions for woodwind and<br />

brass instruments and for entire wind orchestras. He received several<br />

commissions from opera houses, radio stations, ballet companies,<br />

and musical societies. His wind band music came to the attention of<br />

the international wind community when Edition Musica Budapest<br />

displayed his compositions at The International Conference for Symphonic<br />

Bands and Wind Ensembles at the Royal Northern College of<br />

Music in Manchester, England, in 1981. He received many prestigious<br />

awards throughout his life.<br />

The <strong>Concert</strong>o for Brass Quintet and Orchestra was composed in 1986<br />

and was orchestrated in two versions -- for brass and wind ensemble<br />

and for brass and symphony; we will hear this latter version today.<br />

�������������������������������������������������������������������ments<br />

against one another in an amusing fashion. At the climax of<br />

this movement, the brass instruments and the orchestra come to a<br />

powerful close punctuated by the timpani.<br />

The second movement, lento, features a solo trumpet playing a long<br />

cantalena line against a restrained orchestral background, soon shifting<br />

to a chorale for four brass instruments.<br />

The third movement, moderato scherzando, features breathtaking<br />

������������������������������������������������������������������oring<br />

in the style of entertainment music of the 1950’s and 60’s.<br />

�9


ANTON BRUCKNeR, 1824-1896<br />

�������������������������������<br />

The eminent Austrian composer, Anton Bruckner, wrote nine symphonies.<br />

But only to the Fourth he gave a subtitle: the “Romantic.” This symphony<br />

unfolds slowly in its musical ideas, and is less tightly constructed than the<br />

classical symphonies of Haydn, Mozart, or Beethoven. Bruckner especially<br />

displays the characteristics of organ music. Bruckner makes the colors of his<br />

orchestra emerge as if he were adding various stops on the organ, building<br />

and merging colors like a kaleidoscope. The rise and fall of his melodies and<br />

harmonies soar as if circling around in the vast ceiling of a cathedral.<br />

���������������������������������������������������������������������������<br />

Florian (where he is now entombed in the crypt under his beloved organ). At<br />

�����������������������������������������������������������������������������<br />

chant and heard the roar of its beautiful organ. From the age of 13, he spent<br />

�����������������������������������������������������������������������<br />

professor of music at the Vienna Conservatory during which time he blossomed<br />

as a symphony composer.<br />

���������������������������������������������������������������������������<br />

��������������������������������������������������������������������������������<br />

melody. Thus, the “forest murmurs -- bird songs -- and the Romantic picture<br />

unfold.”<br />

The second movement -- “a rustic love-scene” – is reminiscent of a nostalgic<br />

yearning as cellos enter over a muted string accompaniment, interspersed<br />

with mysterious horn calls.<br />

The third movement -- “Hunting Theme” – builds a thrilling addition of various<br />

sonorities over a single low note, creating dissonances with the brass.<br />

The fourth moment --“Folk Festival” -- concludes with a soaring climax of<br />

great dignity and excitement as a heroic theme brings the symphony to a brilliant<br />

close.<br />

�10


CeNTeR FOR LUTheRAN TheOLOGY AND PUBLIC LIFe<br />

AND LeAGUe OF FAIThFUL MASKS<br />

Resisting the Me culture by serving our neighbors<br />

CLTPL-LFM champions the Judeo-Christian worldview of voca-<br />

����������������������������������������������������������������<br />

narcissism of contemporary society.<br />

GOeThe INSTITUT LOS ANGeLeS<br />

Building bridges between the U.S. and europe through the arts<br />

The Goethe-Institut brings the multifaceted image of <strong>German</strong>y<br />

to the world, providing access to the <strong>German</strong> language, culture<br />

and society.<br />

GeRMAN AMeRICAN BUSINeSS ASSOCIATION<br />

LOS ANGeLeS<br />

encouraging <strong>German</strong>-American business and trade<br />

GABA fosters transatlantic knowledge-sharing and networking<br />

among <strong>German</strong>-American and Californian business and tech<br />

communities.<br />

�11


CONCORDIA UNIVeRSITY IRVINe<br />

Developing wise, honorable, and cultivated citizens<br />

Concordia University Irvine, guided by Christ’s Great Commission<br />

and the Lutheran Confessions, empowers students<br />

through liberal arts and professional studies for lives of<br />

learning, service and leadership<br />

�12

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