FRANZ JOSEPH HAYDN (1732-1809)
Symphony No. 49, La Passione (1768)
There is no question that Franz Joseph Haydn’s symphonic output is an inexhaustible wellspring of ideas, full of imagination and sophistication. He composed 106 symphonies between 1757 and 1789—a remarkable achievement by any measure. Doing the math, when Haydn completed his 49th Symphony, it represented only 46% of what would be his lifetime output. With so many offspring, it’s no wonder that Joseph Haydn was called the “Father of the Symphony.” And in the process he transformed the genre from its early Italian 3-movement incarnation to the refined 4-movement form followed by most composers who came after him. This symphony stems from what is usually termed Haydn’s Sturm und Drang period (“Storm and Stress,” referring to a German literary movement). Like several others composed between 1768-1772, the 49th Symphony is in a minor key that lends a darkness to the deep emotions expressed. It was anonymously given the title “La Passione,” and it is generally assumed that the name refers to Christ’s passion and suffering, and that Haydn created it for performance on Good Friday. The progression of movements—slow-fast-slow-fast—is that of the Baroque sonata da chiesa (church sonata). The opening slow movement is particularly noteworthy for its seeming expression of deeply felt grief (Haydn authority H. C. Robbins Landon imagines a “winding line of penitents before the Cross.”) Though you’ll hear a brief detour to a major key in the Minuet, the rest of the symphony maintains a serious and noble mood.

JOHN ADAMS (born in 1947)
The Wound-Dresser (1988)
John Adams gives us a glimpse into his masterful setting of Walt Whitman’s poem of the same name, scored for baritone and orchestra: “‘The Wound-Dresser’ is the most intimate, most graphic, and most profoundly affecting evocation of the act of nursing the sick and dying that I know of. It is also astonishingly free of any kind of hyperbole or amplified emotion, yet the detail of the imagery is of a precision that could only be attained by one who had been there.” And indeed, the poet was a nurse in the Civil War. Adams’s music poignantly captures the message of the poem. In the face of brutality, it is restrained, meditative, solemn, and reflects the reverence of the man who is trying comfort sick and dying war victims. Its pace is slow, as if this could stem the tide of suffering. The song begins in the strings, with a plaintive violin solo accompanying the singer; but as the text becomes more graphic, an emotional climax is reached, the orchestral layers become thicker, and the music grows more agitated with harsh brasses and percussion. There are heart-breaking moments, too, when the narrator/singer says he would gladly die for the young soldier if that would spare his life. And at the end, when the music returns to calm, we grasp that the connection between people is the ultimate salve for pain. Adams composed The Wound-Dresser while his father was dying of Alzheimer’s disease and his mother was caring for him: “I was plunged into an awareness not only of dying, but also of the person who cares for the dying. The responsibility is tragic… and the bonding that takes place between the two is one of the most extraordinary human events that can happen.”

FRANZ SCHUBERT (1797-1828)
Symphony in B-minor, Unfinished (1822)
Schubert led a tragically short life, dying when he was just 31. But the lyric beauty of his works has made him immortal. The magnificent “torso” we know as the “Unfinished” Symphony is one such unforgettable work, composed when Schubert was just 25 years old. He completed only two movements and sketched a third, but set it aside to work on other projects. The music was not heard until 1865, when Johann Herbeck led the Society of Friends of Music at the Vienna premiere. The story about how such a beautiful work was lost for so long is intriguing. Schubert apparently gave the score to Anselm Hüttenbrenner, though the reason is unclear. Was it in payment of a private debt, or was it a gift to the Styrian Music Society as Schubert’s thank-you for his honorary membership? About 30 years later, Joseph Hüttenbrenner (brother of Anselm) wrote a letter about the score to Johann Herbeck, conductor of the Society, saying that he, Joseph, had “a treasure in Schubert’s B Minor Symphony, which we put on a level with the great Symphony in C [Schubert’s Ninth], his instrumental swan song, and any one of the symphonies of Beethoven.” This was high praise indeed. Another five years elapsed before Herbeck paid a visit to Hüttenbrenner, who presented the conductor with a pile of papers that included the present symphony. Herbeck, realizing what he held in his hand, asked if he might copy it, but Hüttenbrenner allowed him to take it away. The Symphony’s two movements show a beautifully imagined and brilliantly executed work, masterfully blending lyricism and drama. From a brooding beginning through stormy development to the final serene measures, this symphony—despite its nickname—feels gloriously “finished.”

ALBAN BERG (1885-1935)
Three Orchestral Pieces, Op. 6 (1913-15)
Alban Berg’s admired mentor was Arnold Schoenberg, with whom he studied from 1904 to 1911—along with fellow-acolyte Anton Webern. After his teacher shared his less than glowing opinion of Berg’s Altenberger Songs and Four Pieces for Clarinet, Berg set to work on some “character pieces” for orchestra (a suggestion made by Schoenberg to encourage his student to try his hand at larger-scale orchestral works). He offered the resulting Three Orchestral Pieces to Schoenberg as a 40th birthday gift with a deferential dedication that read in part: “For four years it has been my secret but strong wish to dedicate something to you….My hope to write something more independent… something I could dedicate to you without incurring your displeasure has been repeatedly disappointed for several years…I cannot tell today whether I have succeeded or failed. Should the latter be the case, then in your fatherly benevolence, Mr. Schoenberg, you must take the good will for the deed.” The Pieces for Orchestra are cast in three movements that last about 20 minutes: Prelude, Round Dance, and March. Berg was strongly influenced by Mahler, and listeners may hear echoes of him in the Austrian “Ländler” rhythms of the second movement and in the sardonic march of the third. There you’ll also see and hear the large hammer, part of the immense orchestral forces required to perform these pieces, and reminiscent of the three great hammer blows that end Mahler’s Sixth Symphony. Aside from their powerful sonorities, the Three Orchestral Pieces demonstrate Berg’s impressive ability to take traditional forms and pour his own sensibilities into them; the result is an intense, unsettling, yet totally thrilling experience.

In September 2009 Alan Gilbert began his tenure as Music Director of the New York Philharmonic, the first native New Yorker to hold the post.

For his inaugural season he introduced a number of new initiatives: the positions of The Marie-Josée Kravis Composer-in-Residence, held by Magnus Lindberg, and Artist-in-Residence, first held by Thomas Hampson; an annual three-week festival; and CONTACT!, the New York Philharmonic's new-music series. In the 2009–10 season he led the Orchestra on a major tour of Asia in October 2009, with debuts in Hanoi and Abu Dhabi. He also took the Philharmonic to nine cities on the EUROPE / WINTER 2010 tour in January–February 2010, and is conducting world, U.S., and New York premieres. Also in the 2009–10 season, Mr. Gilbert became the first person to hold the William Schuman Chair in Musical Studies at The Juilliard School, a position that includes coaching, conducting, and hosting performance master classes.

Highlights of Mr. Gilbert's 2008–09 season with the New York Philharmonic included the Bernstein anniversary concert at Carnegie Hall and a performance with the Juilliard Orchestra, presented by the Philharmonic. In May 2009 he conducted the World Premiere of Peter Lieberson's The World in Flower, a New York Philharmonic Commission, and in July 2009 he led the Philharmonic's Concerts in the Parks and Free Indoor Concerts, Presented by Didi and Oscar Schafer, and performances at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival in Colorado.

In June 2008 Mr. Gilbert was named conductor laureate of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, following his final concert as its chief conductor and artistic advisor. He has been principal guest conductor of Hamburg's NDR Symphony Orchestra since 2004, and he has conducted other leading orchestras in the U.S. and abroad, including the Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco symphony orchestras; the Cleveland and Philadelphia Orchestras; and the Berlin Philharmonic, Munich's Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Amsterdam's Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and Orchestre National de Lyon. In 2003 he was named the first music director of the Santa Fe Opera.

Alan Gilbert studied at Harvard University, The Curtis Institute of Music, and The Juilliard School. From 1995 to 1997 he was the assistant conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra. In November 2008 he made his acclaimed Metropolitan Opera debut conducting John Adams's Doctor Atomic. His recording of Prokofiev's Scythian Suite with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra was nominated for a 2008 Grammy Award, and his recording of Mahler's Symphony No. 9 received top honors from the Chicago Tribune and Gramophone magazine. On May 15, 2010, The Curtis Institute of Music awarded Mr. Gilbert an Honorary Doctor of Music degree.

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American baritone Thomas Hampson has performed in the world’s preeminent concert halls and opera houses and with many of today’s most renowned musicians and orchestras; he also maintains an active interest in teaching, music research, and technology. An important interpreter of German romantic song, he is known as a leading proponent of the study of American song through his Hampsong Foundation, which he founded in 2003 to promote intercultural dialogue and understanding. In the 2009–10 season Mr. Hampson becomes The Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence at the New York Philharmonic as well as the Leonard Bernstein Scholar-in-Residence. In these roles he will perform three programs with the Orchestra, appear on the Orchestra’s European tour, give a recital in Alice Tully Hall, and present three lectures entitled “Listening to Thought” as part of the Orchestra’s Insights Series.

Much of Mr. Hampson’s 2009–10 season is devoted to his “Song of America” project. In collaboration with the Library of Congress, Mr. Hampson is performing recitals and presenting master classes, educational activities, exhibitions, and broadcasts across the country and through a new interactive online resource, www.songofamerica.net; as part of the project, he has just released a new album, Wondrous Free — Song of America II, on his own label, Thomas Hampson Media. Other engagements include Mendelssohn’s Elijah, led by Kurt Masur in Leipzig; Verdi’s Ernani and Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin with Zurich Opera; Verdi’s La traviata at The Metropolitan Opera; solo recitals throughout the United States and in many European capitals; and the galas of the Vienna Staatsoper and the new Winspear Opera House in Dallas.

Raised in Spokane, Washington, Thomas Hampson has released more than 150 albums that have received many honors, including a Grammy Award, two Edison Prizes, and the Grand Prix du Disque. He has been named Kammersänger of the Vienna Staatsoper; Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the Republic of France; and Special Advisor to the Study and Performance of Music in America by Dr. James H. Billington, Librarian of Congress. Other accolades include the Austrian Medal of Honor in Arts and Sciences (in 2004), and the Edison Life Achievement Award (2005). Mr. Hampson last appeared with the New York Philharmonic on September 20, 2001, in Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem, led by Kurt Masur in memory of 9/11.

Find additional upcoming performances with Thomas Hampson