BMW Classics

^{Emmanuel Chabrier}
Joyeuse marche
_{✒️ 1888 | ⏰ 4 minutes}

Today’s concert begins with a gloriously tasty French bonbon. With a sweep of the conductor’s baton we launch straight into – to quote the composer – the ‘idiotically comical’ and appropriately titled work! From its first jocular declamatory chords that seem to say ‘Here we are! Come and join in the fun!’ through to a flurry of twirls and swirls until the very end, we are treated to a rumbustious march. There’s no doubt to Emmanuel Chabrier’s intentions: he wanted the music to be playful and with purpose.

It's little wonder, then, that the Joyeuse marche was enthusiastically received at its first performance in Angers in 1888 with the composer at the helm. Even Chabrier’s fellow compatriot and composer – the usually self-obsessed Claude Debussy – loved it, calling it a ‘masterpiece of high fantasy’. But it wasn’t until its Paris premiere the following year that its title was settled. In fact, the short piece had gone through a number of changes for such a punchy under-four-minute work, having started life as a piano work for four hands.

Emmanuel Chabrier
_{1841 to 1894 (France)}

It’s an age-old conundrum. Follow your dream or listen to your parents? Chabrier’s parents fully disapproved of a music career, but when listening to his music it’s easy to understand why he finally packed in his approved job as a civil servant and became a full-time composer, at the grand old age of 39.

Born in Auvergne – folk tunes native to the area can be heard in many of his works – he became a naturalised Parisian, immersing himself in all things cultural in the bohemian capital, and was friends with not only fellow composers but leading writers and artists of the time.

As a composer he rattled off a decent-sized body of work in his 53 years (his life cut short by a disease caused by syphilis): for orchestra, piano and stage, as well as songs. Though popular during his lifetime he is mostly known now for two pieces, L’étoile and España, the latter inspired by folk music he heard on a visit to Spain, which garnered popularity across Europe (except, ironically, in Spain). His orchestrations are recognisable for their novelty, so much so that his use of percussion and brass in España was adopted by Igor Stravinsky in Petrushka, the final piece of today’s concert. 

^{Johannes Brahms (orch Arnold Schoenberg)}
Rondo alla zingarese
_{✒️1861 (orchestrated 1937) | ⏰8 minutes}

Another work that originated on the piano, Rondo alla zingarese started life as the fourth and final movement of Johannes Brahms' Piano Quartet No 1, its passionate and virtuosic Hungarian character playing no small part for the work’s instant success. The term ‘alla zingarese’ or ‘in the Gypsy style’ (‘Gypsy’ referring to the indigenous Austro-Hungarian people of the time) was influenced by Brahms’ early tours with Hungarian violinist Eduard Reményi, and it proved an extremely popular choice with the listening public. It’s an evocative piece of music and would not be out of place accompanying silent movie capers!

Orchestrated, rather brilliantly, by Arnold Schoenberg in 1937, the colourful arrangement produces unexpected timbres (in particular from the percussion). There’s no rest for the Orchestra! This is a fiendishly tricky number, and a testament to the talent of the performers you hear and see on stage today.

Johannes Brahms
_{1833 (Germany) to 1897 (Austria)}

Brahms was to become one of the great composers standing proudly alongside those other ‘B’ behemoths of classical music, Ludwig van Beethoven and Johann Sebastian Bach. But he had reasons during his lifetime to think that this would never be the case. Although now hugely popular – his canon of works spread across many genres: he is particularly known for his symphonies, piano and choral works, and concertos – his peers, led by Richard Wagner and Franz Liszt, criticised him as being reactionary and old-fashioned. Not all agreed though. The younger Viennese composer Arnold Schoenberg was so impressed with Brahms' music that he orchestrated a number of his works, including the Piano Quartet No 1 heard today. This is perhaps surprising, as Schoenberg was to become a leading exponent of avant-garde 12-tone serialism.

Brahms’ talent bloomed early. He invented his own notation system by the time he was six, learned to play cello and French horn, and was so good at the piano that at the tender age of ten would perform (in less-than-salubrious dance halls) to help support his father’s income as an itinerant musician. The piano was a constant source of livelihood that helped him make his mark in later life. He spent some time accompanying the Hungarian violinist Eduard Reményi on tour, which gave him a taste for the flamboyant fiery Hungarian ‘Gypsy’ style that inspired so many of his Hungarian Dances, which were top hits of the day. Another virtuoso violinist and friend, Joseph Joachim, was the inspiration for other notable compositions, in particular the Violin Concerto, one of the most loved of the genre.

Brahms’ glittering career both on and off stage continued and, despite his intentions at 57 to give up the composing, he wrote until his death aged 66 of cancer, leaving behind a wonderful legacy enjoyed by so many.   

^{Joanna Lee}
beams.bellows.bounds
_{(world premiere)
✒️2024 | ⏰10 minutes}

LSO Discovery Young Musicians
Guildhall School Musicians

Composer Joanna Lee introduces her latest work ...

beams.bellows.bounds is inspired by my time working nearby Trafalgar Square, when I would often sit in the Square and observe the dance-like nature of life, from morning to late. This includes the balletic beams of the sun, glistening down onto the Square in the still and quiet of the morning, bringing it to life and creating moments of beauty and others when shadows disrupt its warmth as it hides behind structures. As human life awakens, the stillness is interrupted by a burgeoning and somewhat menacing presence, as traffic comes to the fore, moving in cyclical motion and brash bellows. This motion is curtailed by reflective moments, where the sun beams down on protesters, whose presence grows in lines, heartedly reflecting on the challenges our present world faces. This sadness subsides as street performers and crowds of happy revellers unashamedly play and dance in exuberant bounds, proudly celebrating in the revelry and vibrancy of music.

Compositionally, the piece is pervaded by a very simple and recurring motif of a falling second on a quaver and crotchet pairing. beams.bellows.bounds is really about the young musicians playing the piece – composed to develop and explore their technique, it endeavours to offer them a variety of material and for us all to celebrate in their talent, our musical future, and the importance of music and musicians as a whole.

Joanna Lee

Described by The Guardian as 'a considerable talent', Joanna Lee’s works have been performed by the London Symphony Orchestra, English National Opera, BBC Singers, Opéra National de Paris, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, BBC Proms, Orchestra of the Swan, London Music Masters, Royal Swedish Opera and the Aldeburgh Festival.

Joanna composed English National Opera’s first children’s opera, based on Oliver Jeffers’ The Way Back Home, and a second children’s opera on Jill Murphy’s Peace at Last, which toured to 70 theatres and schools. Her BBC Proms commissions include works for the BBC Singers and BCMG to mark Pierre Boulez’s 90th birthday, with recordings of her work by the London Symphony Orchestra and NMC, and a commission for Aldeburgh Music Club to celebrate 60 years since their founding by Benjamin Britten, and his Centenary.

Recent commissions include a set of songs for Britten Pears Arts’ Friday Afternoons project for nationwide use by primary schools, set to texts from The Boy Who Grew Dragons by Andy Shepherd, and a piece for the London Symphony Orchestra for their children’s concerts, based on The Lion Inside by Rachel Bright and Jim Field.

Joanna gained a PhD in composition from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, tutored by Oliver Knussen, Richard Causton, Edwin Roxburgh and Joe Cutler, and was awarded Honorary Membership for outstanding achievement. Joanna is an experienced music educator and has worked as composer assistant to Paul Englishby, including music for an Oscar-nominated film and projects at the Royal Shakespeare Company, Abbey Road Studios, Ronnie Scott’s and The Royal Ballet.

^{Igor Stravinsky}
Petrushka (1947 version)
_{✒️1910-11, revised 1947 | ⏰35 minutes}

In 1910, and still a young man in his 20s, Stravinsky was basking in the adoration of bohemian Paris glitterati. After the success of The Firebird with Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, it made sense to cement the winning formula with a follow-up production. His what-was-to-be provocative The Rite of Spring was brewing, but Stravinsky got side-tracked by a piece for piano and orchestra. Yet again, another work that started life on the piano! This instrument, Stravinsky felt, represented a puppet! Soon Petrushka emerged fully-formed – perfect for a ballet, the music just naturally evokes images of dancers.

You will notice that the music is very different to that of Chabrier or Brahms. Even though Stravinsky employs Russian folk songs throughout the piece, he uses a different tonality and complex rhythms that perplexed the orchestral players and confounded the dancers of the original 1911 production. Nevertheless, Petrushka became extremely popular throughout Europe and even into the United States, cementing Stravinsky’s fame.

The work is presented in four scenes:

Scene 1: The Shrovetide Fair

We begin in a bustling square in St Petersburg. Excited crowds are enjoying the holiday (Shrovetide is Shrove Tuesday, or Pancake Day). The busy tunes we hear are based on Russian street hawkers’ cries (a little like the ‘Who will buy’ scene from the musical Oliver!). In the background a puppet theatre stands – similar to seaside Punch and Judy ones we see in the UK. With a drumroll, attention is drawn to a Magician who, with a wave of his wand, reveals three puppets who begin to dance: the swashbuckling Moor, the Ballerina, beautiful and graceful, and the lumbering and awkward Petrushka. It’s clear he loves the Ballerina but she only has eyes for the Moor. The magician brings the show to an abrupt end.

Scene 2: Petrushka’s Room

Petrushka is cruelly booted into his room: he broods on his misfortunes – here the piano takes centre stage. The Ballerina appears but quickly leaves after Petrushka awkwardly attempts to dance with her. Petrushka’s frustration is heard on frenzied strings and the ‘Petrushka Chord’, made up of notes that sound very dissonant, which gives a suggestion of underlying violence.

Scene 3: The Moor’s Room

Menacing declarations on the brass reveal the Moor in his opulent room. A seductive tune is heard on the cor anglais (the oboe’s big sister). The Ballerina tries to impress him and plays a bright tune on her toy trumpet. Petrushka finds them in a languorous waltz played on flutes, and in a jealous rage Petrushka attacks the Moor who chases him out of the room. 

Scene 4: The Shrovetide Fair – Evening

With another drum roll we are back in the Square. It is early evening, and the party is in full swing with a performing bear (listen out for growls on the brass), dancing girls, posturing stable boys and actors dressed in devils’ masks. They are interrupted by Petrushka chased by the Moor brandishing his scimitar. With a fatal swipe he murders the hapless puppet. The crowd are aghast but the Magician shows that he is simply a puppet – and they go about their business. The outcome, as Stravinsky himself wrote, 'is a terrific noise which reaches its climax and ends in the sorrowful and querulous collapse of the poor puppet.' A lone muted trumpet is heard: the ghost of Petrushka thumbs his nose at the Magician who runs away in terror.

Igor Stravinsky
_{1882 (Russia) to 1971 (United States)}

To say that Russian Igor Stravinsky witnessed a lot of changes in his 88 years would be no exaggeration. He lived through tumultuous times and, similarly, he instigated changes and shook up the music world, his musical innovations building a foundation for much of 20th- and 21st-century music. Throughout his long career, Stravinsky used numerous compositional techniques.

Born into a musical family, his father was an opera singer and his mother a talented pianist, but they weren’t keen on beloved Igor having a career in music. To appease them he studied law (rather unenthusiastically), but his first love was too much of a pull. As soon as he could he became an apprentice to Rimsky-Korsakov. After his first flicker of fame with Fireworks, his name and notoriety was firmly cemented with his alliance with the Ballets Russes, which culminated in three of his most well-known works including The Rite of Spring, which infamously caused a riot at its first performance because of its shocking novelty.

From then on there was no stopping him, not even World War I, when he fled to Switzerland with his wife and four children. Here his homesickness influenced his music, infused as it was with Russian folk-music, and later the dazzling world of jazz started to rear its head. He spent 20 years in France where he continued to build his name. 

Tragedy struck at the end of the 1930s when he lost his wife and daughter to tuberculosis. A devastated Stravinsky emigrated one final time, to the US in 1939, where the self-confessed ‘inventor of music’ continued to be true to his word and compose works that amazed, shocked and inspired audiences and musicians alike.