Program Notes

The ISO’s program notes, written by Program Book Annotator Marianne Williams Tobias, give an overview of the program and provide historical context about the composer’s life.

Program notes for classical works date back to the 1937–1938 season, when the ISO became a professional orchestra. We invite you to learn about the passion, tragedy, triumph, and inspiration behind the pieces that the ISO performs.

These program notes are held under copyright by the Program Note Annotator and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. We invite you to use these notes as reference material only. The notes should not be reused on websites or printed material without permission from the ISO. For more information or to inquire about notes that are not listed on the website, please contact Jen Huber, Communications Content Manager, at jhuber@indianapolissymphony.org.

Program Notes are organized in alphabetical order, by composer’s last name below.

A

John Adams

Born February 15, 1947 in Worcester, Massachusetts

Concerto for Saxophone and Orchestra Short Ride in a Fast Machine

B

Johann Sebastian Bach

Born March 21, 1685 in Eisenach, Germany
Died July 28, 1750 in Leipzig, Germany

Concerto No. 2 Concerto for Oboe, Violin and String Orchestra

Béla Bartók

Born March 25, 1881 in Sâanicolau Mare, Romania
Died September 26, 1945 in New York City, NY

Romanian Folk Dances Concerto for Orchestra

Ludwig van Beethoven

Born December 16, 1770 in Bonn, Germany
Died March 26, 1827 in Vienna, Austria

Concerto for Violin and Orchestra Beethoven: Concerto No. 4 Concerto No. 5 Missa Solemnis Beethoven: Overture to Egmont Symphony No 1 Symphony No 3 Beethoven: Symphony No 5 Beethoven: Symphony No 6 Symphony No 7

Leonard Bernstein

Born August 25, 1918, Lawrence, MA
Died October 14, 1990, New York City, NY

Chichester Psalms Serenade After Plato’s Symposium

Alban Berg

Born February 9, 1885 in Vienna, Austria
Died December 24, 1935 in Vienna, Austria

Seven Early Songs

Luciano Berio

Born October 24, 1925 in Oneglia
Died May 27, 2003 in Rome, Italy

Folk Songs

Johannes Brahms

Born May 7, 1833 in Hamburg, Germany
Died April 3, 1897 in Vienna, Austria

A German Requiem Variations on a Theme by Haydn Tragic Overture

Anton Bruckner

Born September 4, 1824 in Ansfelden, Austria
Died October 11, 1896 in Vienna, Austria

Symphony No. 7 in E Major

C

Fryderyk Chopin

Born March 1, 1810 in Zelazowa Wola, Poland
Died October 17, 1849 in Paris, France

Andante Spianato et Grande Polonaise Brillante Concerto No. 1

Aaron Copland

Born November 14, 1900, in Brooklyn, NY
Died December 2, 1990, in Westchester, NY

Appalachian Spring

D

Claude Debussy

Born August 22,1862 in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
Died March 25, 1918 in Paris, France

La Mer

Henri Duparc

Born January 21, 1848, Paris, France
Died February 12, 1933, Mont-de-Marsan, France

L’Invitation au Voyage Phydilé

Maurice Duruflé

Born January 11, 1902 in Louviers, France
Died June 16, 1986 in Louveciennes, France

Requiem

Antonín Dvořák

Born September 8, 1841 in Nelahozeves, Czech Republic
Died May 1, 1904 in Prague, Czech Republic

Dvořák: Symphony No. 9

E

Edward Elgar

Born June 2, 1857 in Broadheath, England
Died February 23, 1934 in Worcester, England

Cockaigne Sea Pictures Variations on an Original Theme

F

Manuel de Falla

Born November 23, 1876 in Cádiz, Spain
Died November 14, 1946 in Alta Gracia, Argentina

El Amor Brujo

César Franck

Born December 10, 1822 in Liege, Belgium
Died November 8, 1890 in Paris, France

Psyché et Eros

G

Alberto Ginastera

Born April 11, 1916 in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Died June 25, 1983, in Geneva, Switzerland

Four Dances from Estancia, Opus 8A

George Gershwin

Born September 26, 1898 in Brooklyn, NY
Died July 11, 1937 in Los Angeles, CA

Rhapsody in Blue

Alexandre Guilmant

Born on March 12, 1837 in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France
Died on March 29, 1911 in Meudon, France

Symphony No. 1

H

Kimmo Hakola

Born July 27, 1958 in Jyväskylä, Finland

Clarinet Concerto

Franz Joseph Haydn

Born March 31, 1732 in Rohrau-on-the-Leitha, Lower Austria
Died May 31, 1809 in Vienna, Austria

Concerto for Piano in D Major Overture to L’Isola Disabitata

Paul Hindemith

Born November 16, 1895 in Hanau, Germany
Died December 28, 1963 in Frankfort, Germany

Die Harmonie Der Welt Symphony

Gustav Holst

Born Sept 21, 1874 in Cheltenham
Died May 25, 1934 in London, England

The Planets

K

Aram Khachaturian

Born June 6, 1903 in Tbilisi, Georgia
Died May 1, 1978 in Moscow, Russia

Gayanes Adagio from Gayane

L

György Ligeti

Born May 28, 1923 in Târnăveni, Romania
Died June 12, 2006 in Vienna, Austria

Atmospheres

Anatoli Liadov

Born May 10, 1855 in St. Petersburg, Russia
Died August 28, 1914 in Polinovka, Russia

Baba-Yaga, Enchanted Lake, Kikimora

Witold Lutosławski

Born January 25, 1913, Warsaw, Poland
Died February 7, 1994, Warsaw, Poland

Musique Funébre

M

Edward MacDowell

Born on December 18, 1860 in New York City, NY
Died on January 23, 1908 in New York City, NY

Gustav Mahler

Born on July 7, 1860, Kaliště, Czech Republic
Died on May 18, 1911, Vienna, Austria

Symphony No. 1 in D Major (“Titan”) Symphony No. 4 in G Major Song of the Earth

Felix Mendelssohn

Born February 3, 1809 in Hamburg, Germany
Died November 4, 1847 in Leipzig, Germany

Mendelssohn: Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage Mendelssohn: Concerto in E Minor

Olivier Messiaen

Born December 10, 1908 in Avignon, France
Died April 27, 1992 in Clichy, France

Les Offrandes Oubliees

Darius Milhaud

Born September 4, 1892, in Marseille, France
Died June 22, 1974, in Geneva, Switzerland

La Creation du Monde

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Born January 27, 1756, in Salzburg, Austria
Died December 5, 1791, in Vienna, Austria

Concerto No. 3 Concerto No. 27 Der Hölle Rache Kocht in Meinem Herzen Exsultate Jubilate Overture to Le Nozze Di Figaro Overture to Abduction Rondo in C Major Symphony No 25 Symphony No 21 Symphony No 29 Symphony No 36 Symphony No 39 Symphony No 40

Modest Mussorgsky

Born on March 21, 1839 in Toropets, Russia
Died on March 28, 1881 in Saint Petersburg, Russia

Pictures of an Exhibition Prelude to Khovanshchina

N

Carl Nielsen

Born June 9, 1865 in Norre-Lyndelse, near Odense on the Island of Fyn, Denmark
Died October 3, 1931 in Copenhagen, Denmark

Symphony No 4

O

Carl Orff

Born July 10, 1895, Munich, Germany
Died March 29, 1982, Munich, Germany

Carmina Burana

P

Matthias Pintscher

Born January 29, 1971 in Marl, Germany

Towards Osiris

Francis Poulenc

Born January 7, 1899 in Paris, France
Died January 30, 1963 in Paris, France

Concerto in D Minor

Sergei Prokofiev

Born April 27, 1891 in Sontzovka, Ukraine
Died March 5, 1953 in Moscow, Russia

Concerto No 1 Concerto No 2 Suite from Romeo and Juliet Symphony No 1

R

Sergei Rachmaninoff

Born April 1, 1873 in Oneg, Russia
Died March 28, 1943 in Beverly Hills, California

Concerto No 2 in C Minor Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Symphonic Dances

Maurice Ravel

Born March 7, 1875 in Ciboure, Basse Pyrenees
Died December 28, 1937 in Paris, France

Mother Goose Le Tombeau de Couperin Suite No. 2 from Daphis et Chloe Un Barque Sur L’Ocean

Max Richter

Born March 22, 1966 in Hamelin, Germany

The Four Seasons Recomposed

Henri-Joseph Rigel

Born February 9, 1741 in Wertheim am Main, Germany
Died May 2, 1799 in Paris, France

Symphony No 4

S

Franz Schubert

Born January 31, 1797 in Himmelpfortgrund, Austria
Died Nov. 19, 1828 in Vienna, Austria

Symphony No 8

Robert Schumann

Born on June 8, 1810, Zwickau, Germany
Died on July 29, 1856, Endenich, Bonn, Germany

Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 54 Symphony No 2

Igor Stravinsky

Born June 18, 1882 in Oranienbaum, Russia
Died April 6, 1971 in New York City, New York

The Firebird The Rite of Spring Symphonies of Wind Instruments

Caroline Shaw

Born in 1982

Lo for Violin and Orchestra

Dmitri Shostakovich

Born September 25, 1906 in St. Petersburg, Russia
Died August 9, 1975 in Moscow, Russia

Concerto No 1 in A Minor Symphony No. 5 in D Minor Symphony No. 10 in E Minor, Opus 93

Jean Sibelius

Born December 8, 1865 in Hämeenlinna, Finland
Died September 20, 1957 in Jarvenpaa, Finland

The Oceanides

Sarah Kirkland Snider

Born in 1973

Songs from Unremembered

Richard Strauss

Born June 11, 1864 in Munich, Germany
Died September 8, 1949 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany

Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64 (Alpine Symphony) Also Sprach Zarathustra Don Quixote

Johann Strauss

Born October 25, 1825 in Vienna, Austria
Died June 3, 1899 in Vienna, Austria

On the Beautiful Blue Danube

T

Toru Takemitsu

Born October 8, 1930, Tokyo, Japan
Died February 20, 1996, Minato, Tokyo, Japan

A Flock Descends into the Pentagonal Garden

Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Born May 7, 1840 in Votkinsk, Russia
Died November 6, 1893 in Saint Petersburg, Russia

Concerto in D Major Romeo and Juliet Symphony No. 2 in C Minor Symphony No. 4

Daniel Temkin

Born August 26, 1986 in Houston, Texas

Cataclysm

W

Richard Wagner

Born May 22, 1813 in Leipzig, Germany
Died February 13, 1883 in Venice, Italy

O Du, Mein Holder Abendstern (Song to the Evening Star) Forest Murmurs Tristan Und Isolde Wesendonck Lieder