in PDF File - The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation

02-05 Partners of Hope 1/30/07 10:43 AM Page 8
ANNA VELEVA How I Chose My Repertoire for This Concert
The theme of this concert is acceptance,
commonalities among people, different
cultures, hope, rescue, and universality.
Therefore I chose a very diverse repertoire
of arias and songs, including works
by Puccini, Verdi, Donizetti, and Delibes.
I also chose two Bulgarian songs, written
by one of Bulgaria’s finest composers,
DAVID BROZA
I am honored and thrilled by the mere
thought that the greatness of Raoul
Wallenberg and other rescuers will be
reflected and echoed today through my
MOZART Symphony No. 40 in G minor
The acclaimed musicologist Alfred Einstein
described this 40th Symphony of
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s as “heroically
tragic” and an “abyss of the soul.”
It is interesting the influence Mozart’s
grim last years had on his compositions.
The poverty he was living in, his
marital problems with Constanze, and
his fading Viennese popularity were
summed up in a letter to a friend,
Michael Puchburg, groveling for money.
“Black thoughts... often come to me,”
Mozart wrote, “thoughts that I push
away with a tremendous effort.” These
“black thoughts” are evident in No. 40,
one of only two minor symphonies of
the composer. The first movement,
opening with the viola accompaniment
preceding the melody, comes across as
if it were the continuation of previous
work. The second movement, Andante,
Georgi Zlatev Cherkin. He was born
in 1904 and his life and work was
greatly affected by World War II.
In short, I chose the best of my repertoire,
which I will sing tonight in
commemoration of those who have
displayed extraordinary courage.
songs. I stand in salute of the courage
and angelic humanity of these great
men and women. May their actions be
inspirational for generations to come.
opens with a counterpoint of successive
entries. This elegant pathos, although in
a major key, is created by the dissonance
and persistence of rhythmically repeated
notes. Finally, the opening of the fourth
movement with its “Mannheim rocket”
(an ascending arpeggio figure) offers a
reversal of the usual loud-soft dynamics
common to symphonic finales. The
development contains a 12-tone series
that breaks through conventional composition.
The movement then modulates
from G minor to the most distant
key of C-sharp minor, thereby teasing
the tonality that has since been established
in the listener’s ear. Lastly, a
heroic horn makes an appearance for
an instant and then defiantly returns,
ending the piece decisively with three
prominent G minor chords.
—James W. Fuerst