Bedrich Smetana: The Moldau
Notes by Ronna Kaplan, flute/piccolo 

Bedrich Smetana (1824-1884), was one of two principal Czech composers of the 19^th century (Antonin Dvorak was the other). According to music historian D. J. Grout, Smetana’s sense of nationalism is portrayed in his choice of national subjects for program music and through traces of folklike tunes. We see and hear both of these concepts in today’s performance of The Moldau (Vltava), an ode to the longest river in the Czech Republic, which flows across northern Bohemia and through Prague. Smetana wrote this piece as the second in a cycle of six tone poems entitled Ma Vlast (My Fatherland). Smetana was greatly influenced by the work of Franz Liszt in his writing of these symphonic poems.

Composed between November 20 and December 8, 1874 and premiered on April 4,1875 under Adolf Čech, The Moldau runs about 13 minutes and is played in the key of E minor. The piece is scored for piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four French horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, triangle, cymbals, two harps, and strings. The best known of the poems, it is often performed separately from the full work.

Smetana said it best in his preface to the score, “Two springs pour forth in the shade of the Bohemian Forest, one warm and gushing, the other cold and peaceful. The forest brook, hastening on, becomes the river Moldau. Through thick woods it flows, as the gay sounds of the hunt and the notes of the hunter’s horn are heard ever nearer. It flows through grass-grown pastures and lowlands where a wedding feast is celebrated with song and dance. At night, wood and water nymphs revel in its sparkling waves. Reflected on its surface are fortresses and castles—witnesses of bygone days of knightly splendor and the vanished glory of fighting times. At the St. John Rapids, the stream races ahead, winding through the cataracts, hewing out a path with its foaming waves through the rocky chasm into the broad riverbed—finally, flowing on in majestic peace toward Prague and welcomed by the time-honored castle Vysehrad. Then it vanishes far beyond the poet’s gaze.”

The Moldau contains Smetana’s most famous tune, an adaptation of the madrigal La Mantovana, attributed to the Italian Renaissance tenor Giuseppe Cenci. It was also the basis for the Israeli national anthem Hatikvah. I have been intrigued by this connection since my youth and was interested recently to learn that Hanns Eisler used it for his Song of the Moldau, Stan Getz performed it as Dear Old Stockholm, and Horst Jankowski played a syncopated version of the tune in A Walk in the Black Forest.

One final note: Danielle Meath, from the Rhode Island Philharmonic, wrote, that as Smetana’s “musical love letter” to the Czech nation, combining elements of history, geography, national character and legend, “this cycle of six symphonic poems quickly became such a symbol of Czech pride that not even Nazi occupation could mute its visceral resonance. A 1939 broadcast reveals an audience which not only follows each movement with ecstatic ovations but breaks into an overwhelming outburst of the Czech national anthem at the end.”

Franz Liszt: Les Preludes
Notes by Mandi Centeck, viola

Such a snoozer of a title for a piece exploring a fascinating (and somewhat dark) premise! Liszt writes: “What is our life but a series of preludes to that unknown song whose first solemn note is tolled by death?”. Well. That’s one way of looking at things….

Premiering in 1854, Les Preludes is the most popular of Liszt’s symphonic poems. What began as an overture to a series of choral sketches exploring “The Four Elements”, eventually morphed into the current incarnation. In publications, Liszt relates it to a poem by French Romantic poet Alphonse de Lamartine, coining the term “symphonic poem” himself. This piece packs a lifetime of love, struggle, recovery, and triumph into a 15-minute sonic whirlwind.  Here we go!

The Question: The opening bars pose the question about the purpose of life, introducing a three-note  “Question” motif  (C-B-E) in the strings – a theme that famously unifies the entire piece as it transforms and recurs along the way. The lower brass majestically respond to “the Question” in a stately theme full of grandeur.

The Lovers:  A warm and yearning love theme then emerges in the cellos and grows in intensity as it expands to the rest of the orchestra.  Love abounds and life is good!

Storms of Fate: Ah, but as any student of life (and literally any movie) knows, happiness is fleeting and so come the storms of fate and struggles of life. You’ll know it when you hear it; the music has all the hallmarks of a symphonic storm: thunderous timpani rolls, shrill woodwinds, raging chromatic strings, crashing sonic waves that break on the shore, tossing about fragments of the love theme and that three-note motif.

Pastoral respite: And after every good symphonic storm, comes a bucolic respite, where the beaten-down lovers rest and recover in the peaceful countryside. You’ll hear oboe and clarinet solos reminiscent of shepherd’s pipes, gentle variations on the love theme and motifs of rustic peasant dances.

March and Triumph: And now it’s time to rise again and look Fate in the eye. The question motif is transformed into a battle cry as the trumpets summon the full orchestra into battle to take control of one’s own destiny. The victorious march then transitions back to the opening low brass grandeur theme for a rousing finale.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4
Notes by Abigail Koehl, violin

Few composers could turn an emotional roller coaster into an orchestral masterpiece quite like Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893). Best known for ballets such as Swan Lake and The Nutcracker, Tchaikovsky was equally gifted at writing dramatic, sweeping symphonies. Composed during a turbulent period in his personal life, Symphony No. 4 was dedicated to his longtime patroness and pen pal, Nadezhda von Meck. The two exchanged hundreds of letters but, rather unusually, never intentionally met in person!

Often called the “Fate Symphony,” this work explores the struggle between life’s unavoidable hardships and the pursuit of happiness. Tchaikovsky takes listeners on an emotional journey through four contrasting movements. The first movement opens with a bold brass fanfare representing Fate, a theme that returns throughout the symphony like an unwelcome guest who refuses to leave. The second movement offers a change of pace, beginning with a beautiful, melancholy oboe melody that evokes nostalgia and quiet reflection. As we move into the third movement, we find a playful surprise! The strings put down their bows and pluck their instruments (pizzicato), creating a light, almost mischievous sound. Finally, the fourth movement bursts into celebration, incorporating a lively Russian folk song, “In the Field Stood a Birch Tree.” Even Fate makes one last dramatic appearance, but the festivities continue!

From anxiety and nostalgia to playful mischief and unrestrained joy, Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony reminds us that life is rarely just one emotion. Sometimes, despite Fate’s best efforts, we just have to join the celebration. We hope you enjoy this musical journey!