Crill Performance Hall
Admission is free.
PLNU Orchestra
Philip Tyler, Director and Conductor
Erik Garriott, Conducting Assistant
Scheherazade, Op. 35 Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
(1844 – 1870)
I. The Sea and Sinbad's Ship (Largo e maestoso — Allegro non troppo)
II. The Kalendar Prince (Lento — Andantino — Allegro molto — Con moto)
III. The Young Prince and The Young Princess (Andantino quasi allegretto — Pochissimo più mosso — Come prima — Pochissimo più animato)
IV. Festival At Baghdad. The Sea. The Ship Breaks against a Cliff Surmounted by a Bronze Horseman. (Allegro molto — Vivo — Allegro non troppo maestoso)
Scheherazade Notes:
The composer, himself, wrote a brief introduction to this piece:
The Sultan Schariar, convinced that all women are false and faithless, vowed to put to death each of his wives after the first nuptial night. But the Sultana Scheherazade saved her life by entertaining her lord with fascinating tales, told seriatim, for a thousand and one nights. The Sultan, consumed with curiosity, postponed from day to day the execution of his wife, and finally repudiated his bloody vow entirely.
The work opens with a grim leitmotif representing the Sultan, after which the woodwinds play a few chords seemingly lifted intact from Mendelssohn’s incidental music to Midsummer Night’s Dream. Another leitmotif, that which represents Scheherazade, is played by the concertmaster, and the stories begin. An intense three-quarters-of-an-hour later, the tranquil voice of Scheherazade assures us that she has finally won the Sultan’s heart and can get a decent night’s rest, and so the work ends.
This work is known, not only for its sensuous beauty, orchestral color, and emotional contrasts, but also for the technical challenges it offers for every member of the orchestra, from the virtuosity demanded of the concertmaster – and indeed all the strings – to the triple-tonguing required of the winds to the complexities found in the percussion parts.
The Concert Band
Daniel Nelson, Conductor
Suite from The Nutcracker Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Arranged for band by James Curnow
I. Miniature Overture
II. March
III. Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy
IV. Russian Dance (Trepak)
V. Arabian Dance
VI. Chinese Dance
VII. Dance of the Reed Pipes
VIII. Waltz of the Flowers
The Jazz Band
Daniel Nelson, Director
Suite from The Nutcracker Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Arr. for jazz band by Edward “Duke” Ellington and Billy Strayhorn
I. Overture
I I. Peanut Brittle Brigade
III. Sugar Rum Cherry
IV. Volga Vouty
V. Arabesque Cookie
VI. Chinoiserie
VII. Toot Toot Tootie Toot
VIII. Dance of the Floreadores
The Concert Band
A Christmas Festival Leroy Anderson
Program notes
Suite from “The Nutcracker”
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
One of the most loved works performed at Christmas time, Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker is a ballet based on the story “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” by E.T.A. Hoffmann. It was performed for the first time in 1892. Tchaikovsky himself arranged eight excerpts from the ballet into a suite, and first performed it in 1892 as well, receiving more acclaim and popularity for the music in that form than for the ballet.
Edward “Duke” Ellington and his masterful writer/arranger Billy Strayhorn wrote at least three suites for their jazz ensemble based on classical music. One was based on the music from “Peer Gynt”, by Edvard Grieg. But the most famous of his adaptations for jazz ensemble is his treatment of the suite from “The Nutcracker.” Ellington took all eight excerpts and, using many untraditional approaches, crafted his own suite.
The Concert Band will play a movement from the suite, followed by the same movement by the jazz band.