Mary Howe: Stars 
Notes by oboe Sydnee Webb

Mary Howe (4 April 1882 to 14 Sept. 1964) was a prolific composer and pianist born in Richmond, Virginia. After studying at the Peabody Conservatory, she studied music in Dresden, Paris, and then returned to the Peabody Conservatory to earn an Artist Diploma in music composition. She spent summers at the Macdowell Colony, an artist retreat in New Hampshire, where she composed pieces for choir, orchestra, piano, chamber music, and more. In addition to her compositions, she performed piano recitals, choral madrigals, and toured in a piano duo. Howe was the first director of the National Symphony Orchestra which she founded with her husband. Her other accolades include founding the Chamber Music Society of Washington (Friends of Music of the LIbrary of Congress), founding the Society of Women Composers with Amy Beach, becoming the first female faculty at NYU’s Department of music, and serving on the board of the National Cultural Center (Kennedy Center). 

 Howe composed Stars in 1928 after being inspired by the view from her own front porch  It’s often performed with her other earth inspired tone poems Sand and Rock. Stars is best described in Howe’s own words: “…a miniature tone-poem inspired by the gradually overwhelming effect of the dome of a starry night… As the music progresses, one’s imagination is carried into the contemplation of the awesome depths of space and the sense of mystery which man compares his insignificance with infinity.” The piece features sweeping and ethereal melodies that evoke the wonders and mystery of the night sky.

Carl Nielsen: Helios Overture
Notes by violinist Abbey Koehl

Carl Nielsen (1865–1931) was one of Denmark’s most celebrated composers! However, his musical journey began far from the concert hall. Born into a poor family on the Danish island of Funen, Nielsen grew up surrounded by music, learning violin as a child and later playing trumpet in a military band. He eventually became a violinist in the Royal Danish Orchestra, giving him a firsthand understanding of orchestral instruments and the musicians who played them.

 In 1903, while visiting Athens with his wife, sculptor Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen, he found inspiration in the brilliant Mediterranean sunshine and the ancient Greek sun god, Helios. The resulting Helios Overture is essentially a musical sunrise-to-sunset adventure. The work premiered in Copenhagen on October 8, 1903, and has since become a beloved part of Denmark’s musical tradition. It is even played on Danish radio and television to welcome the New Year, which is a pretty impressive way to start the day!

Beginning in the stillness of darkness, low strings and gentle horn calls suggest the first light of dawn. As the sun rises, the orchestra gradually grows in energy and brilliance, leading to lively melodies, bold brass fanfares, and a spirited fugue in which musical ideas chase and weave around one another. The music eventually settles as the sun sinks toward the horizon, returning to the peaceful atmosphere of the opening. Think of it as a full day in the Aegean Sea,  condensed into roughly twelve minutes (with no sunscreen required).

Felix Mendelssohn: Piano Concert No. 1
Notes by violinist Abbey Koehl

Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, composed in 1830–31 when he was just 22 years old, premiered in Munich on October 17, 1831, with Mendelssohn himself at the piano. Written during his travels in Italy and completed in Munich, the concerto was dedicated to pianist Delphine von Schauroth.

From its opening, the music wastes no time: after only a few dramatic bars from the orchestra, the piano bursts in with rapid octaves and fiery energy. The three movements flow directly into one another without pauses, creating a continuous musical journey rather than three separate stops. The opening movement is passionate and virtuosic, the central Andante offers a lyrical and reflective contrast, and the finale brings back the excitement with sparkling piano passages and a triumphant turn toward G major. Mendelssohn reportedly described the concerto as something he wrote quickly and almost carelessly, but audiences might reasonably wonder what the rest of us were accomplishing at age 22!

One of the concerto’s most interesting features is its departure from the traditional concerto format. Rather than waiting through a long orchestral introduction, the soloist enters almost immediately, and Mendelssohn connects the movements with musical transitions. He also performed the premiere from memory, with the piano part famously absent from the autograph score (a detail that makes last-minute preparation sound quite stressful)! As you listen, notice the conversation between the piano and orchestra: sometimes the soloist takes the spotlight with dazzling technical passages, while at other times the instruments trade melodies and support one another. The result is a work that combines youthful excitement and the kind of musical momentum that keeps both performers and listeners on their toes the whole time.

Ottorino Respighi: The Pines of Rome
Notes by violinist Abbey Koehl

Ottorino Respighi (1879–1936) was an Italian composer whose love of orchestral color made him something of a musical painter. Pines of Rome, completed in 1924, is the second work in his celebrated “Roman Trilogy.” Instead of telling one continuous story, the piece takes listeners on a journey through four locations in Rome, each with its own atmosphere and history.

We begin with children playing among the pines of Villa Borghese, where bright orchestral colors and playful melodies bring their games to life. The mood then shifts dramatically to the shadowy pines near a catacomb, where solemn, hymn-like music creates a sense of mystery. The third movement transports us to the moonlit Janiculum Hill, featuring a beautiful clarinet solo and the sound of a nightingale. Finally, the fourth movement, set along the ancient Appian Way, builds from a distant, steady march into a glorious vision of Roman soldiers advancing toward the city.

One of Respighi’s most fascinating choices is the use of a recorded nightingale at the end of the third movement, making Pines of Rome an early example of a composer incorporating recorded sound into an orchestral work (yes, the orchestra gets a guest performer who does not even need to attend rehearsal… lucky bird!)

Respighi also called for an enormous range of orchestral colors, including organ, piano, celesta, and offstage brass, helping create the larger-than-life sound of ancient Rome (take a peek at the balcony!). The piece premiered in Rome on December 14, 1924. It was such a success that the audience’s applause reportedly overwhelmed the final measures. Respighi reminds us that trees can be beautiful, mysterious, nostalgic, and, with enough brass, epic!