MIKHAIL GLINKA (1804-1857)
Overture to Ruslan and Ludmila (1842)
Mikhail Glinka and Alexander Pushkin had hoped to create an opera from the Russian poet’s 1820 epic fairytale of the same name. Sadly, Pushkin died in a duel defending his wife’s honor, before the plan could become a reality, and the composer worked with other writers to construct a libretto. The story, while it strains belief, has some historical references. Set in 10th century Russia, the fantastical plot involves the abduction of Ludmila, daughter of the Prince of Kiev. Her father promises Ludmila’s hand to him who can find the bride. On their search mission the eager suitors encounter a hunchback dwarf, a giant decapitated head whose beard is the key to his power, a hat that grants invisibility, a magic ring, a battle in Kiev, and an assortment of other strange creatures and incidents. Suffice it to say, Ludmila and Ruslan are united and Vladimir gives his blessing to the couple. Glinka’s first opera, A Life for the Tsar, established him as Russia’s most noted composer, but Ruslan and Ludmila did not meet with as much success, and he abandoned the genre. Though the overture (which is said to have been composed at a rehearsal for the opera) has become a vivid part of the orchestral repertoire, the opera is rarely heard outside Russia. Still, it gained Glinka the title of “father of Russian music” and inspired generations of his countrymen.

PETER ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893)
Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35 (1878)
Joseph Kotek, a young violin student of Tchaikovsky’s at the Moscow Conservatory, worked with the composer in Switzerland during the period of the Violin Concerto’s creation, playing through the sketches as they were written. In the hope that Leopold Auer, respected head of the violin department at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, would premiere the work, Tchaikovsky initially dedicated it to him; but Auer pronounced it “impossible to play” and turned down the inaugural performance. His judgment seemed like the kiss of death for the concerto, and its premiere would be delayed another three years until a former classmate, Adolf Brodsky, finally agreed to play it. A grateful Tchaikovsky decided to dedicate the concerto to him. Upon hearing the premiere in Vienna in 1881, the feared critic Eduard Hanslick described the concerto as “music that stinks to the ear” and “beats the violin black and blue.” The audience applauded Brodsky but hissed the work itself. Despite these trials and tribulations, and the critics’ opinions notwithstanding, Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto has gloriously survived and stands as one of the most beloved in the repertoire. Even Leopold Auer later championed the work, performing it and teaching it to his students. Characterized by ravishingly beautiful passages, graceful melodies, and dizzying virtuosity, this masterpiece has spoken heart-to-heart to generations of adoring audiences.

CLAUDE DEBUSSY (1862-1918)
Nocturnes (1897-1899)
Nocturnes had a complicated gestation: changing from a set of Three Twilight Scenes, to a violin concerto for the renowned Belgian virtuoso, Eugène Ysäye (both manuscripts were lost), to a complete revamping into three tone paintings for orchestra. In commenting about this work Debussy cautioned that he was not attempting to write the type of nocturne made famous by Chopin, for example—tranquil, lyrical solo piano pieces—but rather to create “all the various impressions and the special effects of light that the word suggests.” It is known that Debussy was influenced in particular by James Whistler’s series of paintings entitled “Nocturnes,” which the composer described as “an experiment in the different arrangements of a single color, like a study in gray in painting.” Uncharacteristically, Debussy provided helpful descriptions for each movement: “‘Nuages’ renders the immutable aspect of the sky and the slow, solemn motion of the clouds, fading away in gray tones lightly tinged with white.’” And indeed, the subdued music scarcely moves, with only English horn providing contrast. The next section, “Fêtes” “…gives us the vibrating atmosphere with sudden flashes of light… blending of music and luminous dust, participating in the cosmic rhythms.” Debussy thought of village celebrations with boisterous, jubilant dancing—even a festive procession with fanfares, appearing and receding, before returning to the dance. The shimmering, iridescent music of “Sirènes” “depicts the sea and its countless rhythms and presently, amongst the waves silvered by the moonlight, is heard the mysterious song of the Sirens,” a reference to the mythical creatures of Homer’s Odyssey, who lure sailors to their death in the waves. At the end Debussy adds an eight-part, wordless women’s chorus off-stage to create this “siren song”—a dreamlike conclusion to this evocative triptych.

IGOR STRAVINSKY (1882-1971)
Suite from The Firebird (1919)
When several other composers were unable to meet his timetable, the great impresario Sergei Diaghilev engaged the just 27-year-old Stravinsky to compose The Firebird ballet for the renowned Ballets Russes. Anatol Liadov (he of The Enchanted Lake, Baba Yaga, and Kikimora) was to have received the commission, but apparently was known to be lazy and missed the opportunity. Other candidates were Tcherepnin, Glazunov, and Sokolov. But, in another case of “the rest being history,” one man’s missed opportunity was another man’s step into fame. Stravinsky was untested and unsure about being able to fulfill the commission, but “He [Diaghilev] came to call on me one day, with Fokine [the choreographer], Nijinsky, Bakst, and Benois. When the five of them had proclaimed their belief in my talent, I began to believe, too, and accepted.” The Firebird premiered in Paris June 25, 1910—almost exactly 100 years ago. The ballet’s spectacular success catapulted Stravinsky to international prominence and led to further collaborations with Diaghilev (Pétrouchka, The Rite of Spring, Apollon Musagète, and others). Acknowledging later that the score used a “wastefully large orchestra,” Stravinsky scored two of the three suites (the present one from 1919, and one more from1945) extracted from the ballet for slightly smaller forces. The exotic scenario is filled with the stuff of folk legends: a prince, 13 princesses, the Firebird’s magic feather, and the evil ogre Kastchei and his followers. The 1919 Suite with its vibrant colors and rich harmonies glitters and pulses with fantastic effects, from luminous to primitive, presenting the best-known highlights: Kastchei’s Enchanted Garden and the Dance of the Firebird; Dance of the Captive Princesses; the Infernal Dance of all the Subjects of Kastchei; the Berceuse and Finale, a spectacular, shimmering climax proclaiming that the prince and princess will live happily ever after.

RAFAEL FRÜHBECK DE BURGOS, conductor, born in 1933 in Burgos, Spain
Rafael Frühbeck is the son of a German father and a Spanish mother, and took the additional name “de Burgos” from his birthplace to identify himself as Spanish (Burgos is a city in northern Spain). He studied violin, piano, theory, and composition at the conservatories of Bilbao and Madrid, becoming the conductor of a zarzuela company in Madrid. He studied conducting at Munich’s Hochschule für Musik, and completed his academic work in Madrid. His career was launched in 1962, when he began his lifelong association with the National Orchestra of Spain. Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos is renowned for his interpretations of Spanish music by Joaquín Rodrigo, Enrique Granados, and especially the works of Manuel de Falla. “I have done every single note that Falla wrote,” he says. His recording of Falla’s Nights in the Gardens of Spain is considered by many critics to be the finest. Several other of his recordings are viewed as definitive interpretations, including Mendelssohn’s Elijah and St. Paul, Mozart’s Requiem, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Bizet’s Carmen, and the complete works of Manuel de Falla. He has served as general music director of the Rundfunkorchester (Radio Orchestra) Berlin, principal guest conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, DC, and music director of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Vienna Symphony, Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI Turin, Bilbao Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra of Spain, the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker, and the Montreal Symphony. For many seasons, he was also principal guest conductor of the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo. In 1997 the Queen of Spain conferred upon him the Jacinto Guerrero Prize, Spain’s most important musical award. The Maestro is currently Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Dresden Philharmonic in Germany.

“This was a brilliant display, under the inspired baton of guest conductor Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos… The eminent Spaniard Frühbeck de Burgos found a pitch-perfect balance between fleshy, Rubenesque textures and finely etched details. Fluid tempos expanded and contracted with easy authority. He knew exactly what he wanted and how to get it, and the orchestra responded with everything they’ve got, which on a good night is all you want.” Detroit Free Press

“Frühbeck de Burgos led a performance of true mastery. The music was exceptionally well-defined in every way. Every moment had clarity and rhythmic focus. Lyricism, even if no longer than a phrase, was warmly presented.” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

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Leonidas Kavakos won the Sibelius Competition (in 1985) and the Paganini Competition (1988). He has appeared with the Berlin, Israel, London, Los Angeles, New York, and Rotterdam philharmonic orchestras; the Atlanta, Boston, Houston, London, National, and Toronto symphony orchestras; the Budapest Festival, Philadelphia, Royal Concertgebouw, and Tonhalle orchestras; and the Academia nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Dresden Staatskapelle, and Filarmonica della Scala. He works with conductors such as Boulez, Chailly, Dudamel, Eschenbach, Fischer, Gilbert, Gergiev, Harding, Mehta, and Pappano. Mr. Kavakos is also increasingly recognized as a conductor. He was artistic director of the Camerata Salzburg (2007–09, having been the orchestra’s principal guest artist from 2002), and has conducted the Filarmonica della Scala and St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. He is scheduled to appear as conductor or conductor/violinist with the Academia nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Maggio Musicale, and the Budapest Festival, Houston Symphony, and Rotterdam Philharmonic orchestras. Mr. Kavakos’s distinguished chamber music partners include Emanuel Ax, Hélène Grimaud, and Nicholas Angelich. In November 2009 he was “Artist in Focus” at London’s Southbank Centre, Wigmore Hall, with the Leipzig Gewandhaus, Rotterdam Philharmonic, and Zurich Tonhalle. He appears regularly at the Verbier Festival. Mr. Kavakos’s discography includes performances with the Camerata Salzburg, including Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto coupled with Mendelssohn piano trios with Enrico Pace and Patrick Demenga (on Sony), which was named ECHO Klassik Best Concerto Recording of 19th-Century Work. In 1991, he won the Gramophone Award for the firstever recording of the original version of Sibelius’s Violin Concerto (BIS). His recordings on the ECM label include one of works by Bach and Stravinsky. Mr. Kavakos last appeared with the New York Philharmonic in October 2008, performing Bartók’s Violin Concerto No. 2, conducted by David Robertson.

“Kavakos is a stunning violinist, and once again he impressed with his technical security and a great presence of sound that seems unrelated to the actual dynamic he’s playing at the moment. He’s expressive, too, so giving of himself emotionally that, combined with all his other qualities, he might be the most deeply satisfying violinist performing today.” Philadelphia Inquirer

“Music, player and instrument fuse into a single, trembling utterance, eclipsing everything around it.” Washington Post

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