MSO’s ‘Four Seasons’ in a Single Evening

When you see thatNicholas McGegan is the guest conductor of a Milwaukee Symphony Orchestraconcert, you can expect that the Baroque-through-Early-Romantic repertoire willbe presented in most ebullient fashion. Thus it might at first seem odd thatone of the works on the program is by a contemporary composerThomas Ad%uFFFDs (b. 1971). But look a bit closer: Ad%uFFFDs’ work on the program is called ThreeStudies from Couperin, an homage to French composer Francois Couperin(1668-1733).

Ad%uFFFDs is, according to writer AllenSchrott, “among the brightest young stars in contemporary composition, and amusician of broad achievement and influence. His complex and appealing musicexhibits a flair for drama…and is notable for the creative use of instrumentalcolor.” Ad%uFFFDs composed his ThreeStudies from Couperin for the Basel Chamber Orchestra, which premiered thework in April 2006.

Venetian composerAntonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) was the creator of literally hundreds of concertosfor all sorts of instruments; indeed, as the string quartet has always been soindelibly associated with Haydn, such is the relationship between the concertoand Vivaldi. Though many of Vivaldi’s concertos have fallen into obscurity, hisfirst four concertos of Op. 8, collectively known as Le Quattro Stagioni(“The Four Seasons”) remain his best-known and most characteristic work.

“The Four Seasons” alsorepresent one of music history’s first examples of “program music,” that is,works composed to be rather obviously descriptive, a genre later taken up togreat effect by Berlioz and Liszt (in fact, Vivaldi wrote descriptive poems toaccompany each of the four concertos). His La Primavera (“Spring”)concerto begins the set, complete with colorfully depicted birds greeting theseason “with their happy song”; the L’estate (“Summer”) concertoportrays the piping of a shepherd and the approach of a rainstorm; L’autunno(“Autumn”) displays a folksy harvest celebration and the galloping horses of amounted hunting party; and L’inverno (“Winter”) shivers in itsbleaknessa severe yet expressive portrait.

Beethoven is oftenthought of as the composer who embodied the “next step” in the line of musicalprogression from Bach to Mozart and Haydn, but Franz Schubert (1797-1828) alsotraced his roots to the same sources. Alas, the Schubertian path leading awayfrom Haydn came to an abrupt end with his tragic death at the age of 31 (mostof his output, in fact, was all but unknown outside of a small group of friendsuntil after his death).

From Schubert’simpoverished years as a young schoolteacher came his Symphony No. 4 in C Minor,D. 417, which Schubert dubbed the “Tragic.” The C Minor Symphony is rather moredramatic in character than it is tragic, and a gripping piece of musicthat bears testament to its composer’s inventive giftsremarkably so given thefact Schubert was all of 19 when he wrote it.

The Milwaukee SymphonyOrchestra performs these works at Uihlein Hall on Feb. 19-21 with NicholasMcGegan conducting (and providing harpsichord accompaniment to the violin solosprovided by MSO Concertmaster Frank Almond in the Vivaldi concertos).