NEC Chamber Orchestra: Grieg, Clyne, Dvořák

Edvard Grieg | Holberg Suite, op. 40

Praeludium: Allegro vivace
Sarabande: Andane espressivo
Gavotte: Allegretto -  Musette: Un poco più mosso
Air: Andanet religioso
Rigaudon: Allegro con brio - Trio

Program note

 Grieg’s Holberg Suite was commissioned in 1884 for the celebration of the bicentennial of the birth of the “Molière of the North,” writer Ludwig Baron Holberg (1684-1754). Since Holberg was a contemporary of Bach and Handel, Grieg chose to compose his tribute in the form of a French Baroque period suite. He cast six movements in the musical forms of the 18th century and filled them with the spirit of his own time and style. A lively, optimistic Praeludium is followed by a series of dances. The Sarabande, with its peaceful, meditative mood, is followed nicely by a perky, aristocratic Gavotte. A calm, sublime, solemn Air comprises the fourth movement, and a lively folk song tribute to fiddling, a Rigaudon, makes up the last movement of the suite. Originally written for piano, Grieg quickly orchestrated the work for strings, and it is this version of what Grieg referred to as “my powdered-wig piece,” that remains a most frequently performed works for string orchestra. 

Anna Clyne | Stride (2020)

Grave - Allegro di molto e con brio
Adagio cantabile
Rondo: Allegro
 

Program note

Stride draws inspiration from Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13, commonly known as Sonata Pathétique, which is in three movements.  I chose a few melodic, rhythmic and harmonic fragments from each movement (exhibited as an appendix to the score) and developed these in the three corresponding sections of Stride. The title is derived from the octave leaps that stride in the left hand in the first movement of Sonata Pathétique. I was immediately drawn to the driving energy of this bass movement and have used it as a tool to propel Stride.
-- Anna Clyne

INTERMISSION

Antonín Dvořák | Serenade for Strings in E Major, op. 22

Moderato
Minuet: Allegro con moto - Trio
Scherzo: Vivace
Larghetto
Finale: Allegro vivace

Program note

The year 1875 was extremely productive for the young Dvořák. Recently married and with a young child, a prize from the Austrian State (Brahms was one of the three jurors) afforded him the freedom to compose without financial worries. During this period he composed the String Quartet No. 2, Symphony No.5, Piano Trio No.1, Piano Quartet No.1 and his opera Vanda. In the midst of this creative outpouring he composed his Serenade for string orchestra in just eleven days in May of 1875.
     The Serenade is a charming and joyful work infused with the profound happiness and optimism pervading Dvořák’s life at the time. Each of the movements has a unique character, including a lilting waltz, a playful scherzo, a passionate and lyrical larghetto and concluding with a lively folk dance in the style of those heard throughout the villages of his native Bohemia. Dvořák ties it all together by quoting themes from the previous movements and a return to very opening of the Serenade.

Personnel