Vista Philharmonic Orchestra
Bruce Hangen, Conductor & Artistic Director
Saturday, October 5, 2024 at 7:30pm
The Concert Hall at Groton Hill
Featuring Joshua Mhoon, piano
PROGRAM
Richard Strauss
(1864-1949)
Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30
- Sonnenaufgang (Sunrise)
- Von den Hinterweltlern (Of the Backworldsmen)
- Credo in unum deum (Hymn of Faith)
- Von der großen Sehnsucht (Of the Great Longing)
- Von den Freuden und Leidenschaften (Of Joys and Passions)
- Das Grablied (The Song of the Grave)
- Von der Wissenschaft (Of Science and Learning)
- Der Genesende (The Convalescent)
- Das Tanzlied (The Dance Song)
- Nachtwandlerlied (Song of the Night Wanderer)
Mason Bates
(b. 1977)
Sea-Blue Circuitry
I. Circuits
II. Marine Snow
III. Gigawatt Greyhound
Intermission
Sergei Rachmaninoff
(1873-1943)
Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18
I. Moderato
II. Adagio sostenuto – Più animato – Tempo I
III. Allegro scherzando
Featuring Joshua Mhoon, piano
Vista Philharmonic Orchestra
Bruce Hangen, Artistic Director & Conductor
Stone Family Endowed Music Director’s Chair
Violin I
*Alice Hallstrom, Concertmaster
Joan and Fred Reynolds Family Chair
Tony Morales, Associate Concertmaster
Anabelle Hangen
Shuang Yang
Allan Espinosa
Rebecca Hawkins
Lauren Cless
Mona Rashad
Stuart Schulman
Cynthia Cummings
Jane Dimitry
Gaia Sbeghen
Stacey Alden
Svens Skriveris
Jorge Soto
Rohan Gregory
Violin II
*Stanley Silverman
Lynn Basila
Angel Hernandez
Nicki Payne
Caterina Yetto
Todd Hamelin
Laura Papandrea
Susan TurcotteGavriel
Sue Faux
Job Salazar
Ana Maria LaPointe
Kyra Davies
Caxton Jones
John Castore
Jordan Hadrill
Emily Scicchitano
Viola
*Peter Sulski
Amelia Hollander Ames
Darcy Montaldi
Steven Sergi
Jennifer Tanzer
Dorcas McCall
Robert Kennedy
Karen McConomy
Caroline Droziak
Susan Kirchhausen
Kim Lehmann
Cello
*Young Sook Lee
Caroline Reiner-Williams
Ben Swartz
Shay Rudolph
Susan Randazzo
Priscilla Chew
Nathan Kimball
Colleen McGary-Smith
Miguel Vasquez
Ashima Scripp
Noah Janowicz
Sara Wilkins
Bass
*Kevin Green
Robb Aistrup
Joseph Higgins
Michael Simon
Justin McCarty
John Wall
Pascale Delache-Feldman
Lindy Billhardt
Flute
*Melissa Mielens
Jessica Lizak
Caitlyn Schmidt
Grace Helmke
Oboe
*Andrew Price
Ben Fox
Mary Cicconetti
Daniel Meza
Clarinet
*Hunter Bennett
Sandra Halberstadt
Bill Kirkley
Jan Halloran
Bassoon
*Stephanie Busby
Andrew Flurer
Susannah Telsey
Isaac Erb
Horn
*Michael Bellofatto
Nancy Hudgins
Nick Auer
Laura Crook Brisson
Hazel Dean Davis
Neil Godwin
Trumpet
*Mary-Lynne Bohn
Mark Emery
Kyle Spraker
Geoff Shamu
Trombone
*Peter Cirelli
Alexei Doohovskoy
Donald Robinson
Tuba
*Michael Stephan
Zach Grass
Timpani
*Greg Simonds
Percussion
*Michael Ambroszewski
Aaron Trant
Tom Schmidt
Richard Kelly
Harp
*Maria Rindenello-Spraker
Piano
*Bonnie Anderson
Organ
*Randy Steere
*Principal
Librarian: Kate Weiss
PROGRAM NOTES by Maestro Bruce Hangen
“That’s the music from 2001: A Space Odyssey“, you will be forgiven for thinking once you hear the opening chords of Also Sprach Zarathustra (1896)! Much like Rossini’s overture to William Tell was more commonly known as the theme to the Lone Ranger television series, Richard Strauss‘ (1864 – 1949) first two minutes of his epic tone poem are only a brief, irrelevant excerpt co-opted by common culture that have nothing to do with the original symphonic work. Strauss’ composition is based on Friedrich Nietzsche’s philosophical novel Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Taking eight sections from the novel, Strauss weaves a tone poem surveying the progression of man, from Sunrise (the familiar movie excerpt) through longing, joys and passions, science and learning, dance and, ultimately, the song of the night wanderer. As the entire work is conceived more or less as a struggle of man versus nature, the music composition ends inconclusively, quietly, unresolvedly, struggling between the two factions melodically, harmonically and structurally.
From the composer, Mason Bates (b. 1977), about Sea-Blue Circuitry (2016): “The grooves of Sea-Blue Circuitry hiccup from measure to measure as rapidly as data quietly flashing on the silicon innards of a computer. While some of my recent works fuse orchestral textures and electronica, this piece explores ways of recreating the precision of electronica through the instruments alone.
“Breathy flute interjections, chirping trumpets, and even an old typewriter bring to life the quicksilver music of the opening “Silicon Blues.” The morphing beat, at the movement’s climax, begins to lengthen persistently, and by the time we enter “Marine Snow,” a pulsing prepared-piano figure becomes a distant, out-of-tune gong. In the deep ocean, marine snow is a continuous shower of organic detritus that falls for weeks before reaching the ocean floor. Conjured by shimmering textures in the upper winds, this suspended animation serves as the quiet backdrop for the melody that unfolds in the brass. Changing color at almost every cadence, it floats over the haze, eventually being taken up by the rest of the ensemble. As the marine snow drifts lower, the gentle pulse returns with growing insistence. By the work’s end, we return to a clunkier version of the silicon-based world that began the piece — like an old-fashioned mainframe computer doing a lopsided dance.”
Tonight’s concert concludes with Sergei Rachmaninoff’s (1873 – 1943) Second Piano Concerto (1901), rated consistently by Classic FM as the No. 1 most popular piano concerto of all time. Composed after a several-year period of depression and inability to compose anything at all, Rachmaninoff managed––after a lengthy hypnosis treatment––to write a piano concerto filled with all the tunefulness, drama and melancholy we often associate with the composer’s music. Marianne Tobias writes, “Explanation for the concerto’s popularity is really quite simple. It brims with unforgettable themes and rhapsodic emotion. Emotional excess was the social norm in turn of the century Russia; melancholy was a favorite. Rachmaninoff sampled and endured many emotional states, and these were reflected in his work. “I write that which is in my heart at the time I am composing…these moods become part of my music,” he explained.“
Also Sprach Zarathustra and Sea-Blue Circuitry have never before been performed by the Vista Philharmonic. The most recent complete performance of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 was in 2017 with pianist Max Levinson.
ABOUT OUR GUEST ARTIST
Joshua Mhoon
American pianist, Joshua Mhoon’s talent for piano was discovered at the age of 7. Quickly dedicating himself to the instrument, he advanced at an exponential rate, despite his comparatively late introduction to music. His quick progression landed him first place prizes in The DePaul National Concerto Competition, The Walgreens National Concerto Competition’s Senior and Junior divisions, The Emilio del Rosario Concerto competition, and accomplishments such as TV appearances on The Tamron Hall Show, NBC Chicago, CBS Chicago, Redbull TV, WTTW’s Chicago tonight, The Mozart on TV Asahi in Japan, along with a feature in the Emmy award winning episode of Built to Last on PBS. Mhoon has given live performances for worldwide audiences in Japan, England, France, Greece, Turkey, Austria, Spain and Italy, and several concert tours in Germany. In 2023, after being named the Silver Medalist at the inaugural Nina Simone Piano Competition, Mhoon catapulted to new heights in the classical music industry, with engagements domestically, and abroad for the 2024-25 season.
THIS CONCERT IS MADE POSSIBLE THROUGH THE GENEROSITY OF:
Fred and Joan Reynolds and family
ADDITIONAL SUPPORT:
Camilla Blackman
Bruce and Sue Bonner
Peter and Karen Burk
Barbara and John Chickosky
Priscilla Endicott
Matt and Judy Fichtenbaum family
Phil and Carolyn Francisco
David Gaynor and Bernice Goldman
Bruce Hauben and Joyce Brinton/The Helen G. Hauben Foundation
Mark and Jeanne Hubelbank
Mary Jennings and Jim Simko
Simon Jones and Richard Gioiosa
Bob and Sue Lotz
Carole and Art Prest
Pam and Griff Resor
The Riggert Family
Phil and Dorothy Robbins
Randy Steere and Paul Landry
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