Page 15 - Phil 22-23 PROGRAM BOOK Nov5 digital proof_Neat

Fanny’s father supported her burgeoning musical gifts (she excelled at piano, voice, and
conducting), but put constant pressure on her to fulfill her “domestic destiny” as a daughter
and prospective wife: a typical letter to her reads, “Music will perhaps become his [Felix’s]
profession, while for you it can and must be only an ornament.” Happily, her husband
Wilhelm Hensel encouraged her musical talents from 1829-47: she became a respected
conductor and organizer of (invitation only) Sunday concerts and salons in Berlin.

The Overture in C Major is Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel’s only work for orchestra alone,
and she also completed several oratorios and a dramatic concert aria. The manuscript for
this stunning overture sat in a library in Germany for over 150 years before its discovery,
and it was first published by Furore-Edition in 1994. Although the date is not legible on
the manuscript, its paper dates from the early 1830s, so Fanny must have conducted the
premiere in her mid-twenties, around the time of her brother’s Reformation Symphony No.
5 (1830).
Orchestrated for double winds (featured in many beautiful solo moments), four horns, two
trumpets (calling for unusually low pitches), strings, and timpani, it begins with an Andante
introduction for horn (octave G) and a gentle “awakening” call and response for strings
and flutes/clarinets. Fascinatingly, there are numerous parallels between this passage
and Robert Schumann’s Symphony No. 4 in D minor, composed originally as his second
symphony in 1841 (known today in its 1851 revision): this may indicate that both works are
inspired by a common source. The introduction builds to a climax at the flute solo “con
espressione,” and accelerates into an Allegro di molto quasi-improvisatory cadenza for
the upper strings. Finally, the work shifts from triple time to 4/4, with a military call to arms
introducing the remainder of the overture: a fast, well-balanced sonata form with three
themes (a 9-measure phrase beginning with a descending triad, an elegant 5-6-measure
second theme in G major, and an operatic series of cascading arpeggios). The development
ranges widely through E-flat major, F, E minor, B-flat, C minor, and the most remote possible
place: F-sharp major.

As in Beethoven’s sophisticated Eroica symphony, Fanny concludes her Overture with
a brief “false” recapitulation and extended Coda. However, her opening theme does
not reappear in the “incorrect” key (usually the subdominant): she instead employs an
alternate orchestration, cleverly undermined by swift motion destabilizing the sound
world of C major. This brilliant work, full of dynamic and harmonic contrast and evocative
orchestration, transports us back to the Mendelssohn family home around 1834.

Concerto for Solo Amplified Double Bass & Strings Simón García
(b. 1977)

Simón García’s Concerto for Amplified Double Bass receives its North American premiere
on this program with soloist Susan Hagen, the Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestra and
conductor Steven Karidoyanes. Ms. Hagen, the current principal bassist for the Boston
Pops Esplanade Orchestra and former principal bassist of the Phil, brought the concerto
to conductor Karidoyanes for consideration when they were discussing possible music

2022/23 Season Oh, the Places We’ll Go! PAGE 13