Gioacchino Rossini (1792- 1868):
Overture to La Gazza Ladra (The Thieving Magpie)

Although its title is humourous, the opera in question is a serious one, based on a (supposedly) true story of an innocent servant girl (Ninetta) who was executed for stealing a silver spoon, which had in fact been taken by a magpie. Italian operatic convention at the time (1817) demanded a happy ending, which was indeed arranged, but not before the tear-jerking prison scene in the second act, on which the overture is based.

Menacing military drum rolls are followed by a robust march, and more drum rolls. The central allegro section uses Ninetta’s tripping and impassioned theme protesting her innocence from prison, shared by woodwinds and strings.  A sustained passage in bassoons, horns and trombones leads to a recapitulation, followed by a second theme in the clarinet. As is customary in Rossini overtures, the final section involves an extended crescendo.

Joaquín Rodrigo (1901 - 1999):
Concierto Andaluz for Four Guitars and Orchestra

I: Tempo di Bolero; allegro vivace
II: Adagio; allegro
III: Allegretto

Rodrigo was three years old when he developed diphtheria, costing him most of his eyesight. He nevertheless learned to play the piano and violin, and his instrumental skills led to his enrollment in formal music classes and early attempts at composition. He later studied in Paris with Paul Dukas and began a lifelong friendship with Manuel de Falla, who invited Rodrigo to perform three of his compositions at a concert given in Falla's honor. The concert was a great success, and Rodrigo's career was well launched. Rodrigo returned to Spain in 1939, with very limited possessions, but including a manuscript of his guitar Concierto de Aranjuez (performed by the OSO in 1999). That work was premiered in Barcelona, and with it Rodrigo’s fame was assured overnight. Its success led to several more commissions, including today’s Concierto Andaluz for four guitars, composed in 1967 for the Los Romeros family (a father and three sons) of guitarists.

The concerto is lighthearted and festive, and is based mainly on dance rhythms. Rodrigo uses the quartet of soloists as a unit – and not as four individual soloists.

The first movement is built on three cheerful melodies: a bolero; a lyrical Andalusian tune (in the strings); and a buleria (a 12-beat flamenco rhythm that allows freedom for improvisation).  The movement demonstrates the guitar’s capabilities both as a melodic and as an accompanying instrument.

The second movement is darker. Its opening theme imitates flamenco vocalists, where ornamentation is the main focus, rather than a well defined melody. There is an accompanying ground bass on a descending minor scale, modulating through several keys.  The faster middle section is in a major key, and has a virtuosic cadenza for the soloists. The opening theme then returns over fast and slow scales, with more embellishment for the soloists.

The vibrant finale has two themes, a strumming sevillana and a vigorous jig-like zapateado. The soloists introduce each phrase, which is then imitated by different combinations of orchestral instruments, notably in the solo trumpet. The episodes between several statements of the rondo feature further virtuosic playing for the soloists.

Maurice Ravel (1875-1937):
Ma Mère l'Oye (Mother Goose)

I: Pavane de la Belle au Bois dormant (Sleeping Beauty's Pavane)
II: Petit Poucet (Tom Thumb)
III: Laideronnette, Impératrice des Pagodes
(Plain Jane, Empress of the Pagodas)
IV: Les entretiens de la Belle et de la Bête (Beauty and the Beast)
V: Le jardin féerique (the Enchanted Garden)

Given his remarkable skills at orchestration, it is surprising that Ravel wrote so little for the orchestra directly. His orchestral work consisted mostly of arrangements of piano pieces written by himself or others (most notably Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition). Mother Goose was originally written for piano with four hands in 1910, and was later adapted to a full orchestral ballet score in 1912. It is based on a set of French fairy tales.

Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908):
Capriccio Espagnol

I: Alborada II: Variazioni III: Alborada 
IV: Scena e Canto gitano V: Fandango asturiano

The composition of Capriccio Espagnol in 1887 marked the end of a relatively unproductive period in Rimsky-Korsakov’s career. During the early 1880’s he had been preoccupied with the massive task of putting his friend Mussorgsky's works in order (after his death in 1881), including certain re-orchestrations. He also had substantial responsibilities as assistant musical director of the Imperial Chapel.

The first performance of Capriccio in St. Petersburg, with Rimsky conducting, was an immediate success. According to the composer, it was not so much a well-orchestrated piece, but a composition for orchestra. As such, it brings out various instrumental timbres, exhibits a variety of figures and rhythms, and includes several virtuoso cadenzas for certain solo instruments (violin, flute, clarinet, and harp). The themes are based on a collection of Spanish songs and dances in Rimsky's possession.

The first section, the Alborada, is based on music originally played by shepherds on wind and percussion instruments, in praise of the rising sun. Some transcriptions are marked "gaita" to indicate that a bagpipe effect is intended. The second section is a set of variations on a Danza Prima (Evening Dance), re-invented by Rimsky's warm scoring of a horn quartet. After a reprise of the Alborada, the fourth section is based on an Andalusian gypsy song, but set in the major key rather than its original minor. The final section, Fandango, is similar to the Alborada, but is based on a different Asturian melody originally for piano and drum; it also calls for a bagpipe effect.

Listeners may detect some similarities in the orchestration of this piece to Scheherezade, which was composed by Rimsky-Korsakov one year later, in 1888.

Notes © by Stephen Walter