BRAHMS/GLANERT: TRANSCRIPTIONS OF CHORALE PRELUDES

Selections from Eleven Chorale Preludes, Op. 122
JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833-1897)
ARRANGED BY DETLEV GLANERT (B. 1960) 

Early in his life, as a counterpoint student in 1858, Brahms wrote three fugues and a Chorale Prelude and Fugue on the old German hymn O Traurigkeit, O Herzeleid (“O Sorrow, O Heartache”) for organ, but then composed no more music for the organ until the last months of his life. The death of Clara Schumann on May 20, 1896, the dearest person in his life, took a heavy toll on Brahms, already seriously ill with liver cancer, and his friends fretted over his declining health. Perhaps as a memorial to Clara, he created a series of Chorale Preludes for organ on several well-known German hymns, and it proved to be the last music he wrote. The eleven Chorale Preludes, based on melodies borrowed from the Lutheran tradition, are among the few examples of that genre by a major 19th-century composer. Jesu mein, der du mich zum Lustspiel ewiglich (“My Jesus, who delights me forever”) is based on an anonymous late-17th century melody that Brahms borrowed from a hymnal he had used early in his life. The melody for Herzlich tut mich verlangen (“My heart is ever yearning”) was written in 1601 by Hans Leo Hassler, and the words by Christian Knoll twelve years later. The theme is also familiar with the text O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden (“O head crowned with blood and wounds”) as the so-called “Passion Chorale” from Bach’s St. Matthew Passion. The Prelude based on Heinrich Isaac’s 1495 O Welt, ich muss dich lassen (“O world, I now must leave thee”) was, appropriately, Brahms’ last addition to his artistic legacy.

BACH/STOKOWSKI: PASSACAGLIA AND FUGUE IN C MINOR

Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582 (ca. 1710)
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685-1750)
ARRANGED BY LEOPOLD STOKOWSKI (1882-1977)

Bach was appointed to his first important position in 1708 as organist and chamber musician to Duke Wilhelm Ernst of Weimar, an enlightened ruler who not only professed his Lutheran religion but also lived it, promoting the education and well-being of his subjects, and engaging in frequent philanthropy. Sometime before leaving his Weimar post in 1717, Bach wrote his only Passacaglia and Fugue, the former genre based on a short, recurring melodic pattern derived from a popular dance form that originated in the city barrios of Spain in the late 16th century.

BACH/STOKOWSKI: TOCCATA AND FUGUE IN D MINOR

Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565 (ca. 1708)
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685-1750)
ARRANGED BY LEOPOLD STOKOWSKI (1882-1977)

The magnificent Toccata and Fugue in D minor, written soon after Bach’s appointment at Weimar, juxtaposes two of Baroque music’s least-related forms. The genre of the toccata was essentially a written-down improvisation whose history traces back to Italy almost two centuries before Bach. The fugue, on the other hand, is music’s most tightly integrated structure, growing from a single theme that threads through each of the voices and dominates the seamless piece from beginning to end.

BRAHMS: SYMPHONY NO. 2

Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73 (1877)
JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833-1897)

In the summer of 1877, Brahms repaired to the village of Pörtschach in the Carinthian hills of southern Austria. He wrote to a Viennese friend, “Pörtschach is an exquisite spot, and I have found a lovely and apparently pleasant abode in the Castle! The place is replete with Austrian coziness and kindheartedness.” The lovely country surroundings inspired Brahms’ creativity to such a degree that he wrote to the critic Eduard Hanslick, “So many melodies fly about, one must be careful not to tread on them.” Brahms plucked from the gentle Pörtschach breezes a surfeit of beautiful music for his Second Symphony, which was written quickly during that summer. 

The Symphony opens with a three-note motive, presented softly by the low strings, which is the germ seed from which much of the movement grows. The horns sing the principal subject, which includes the three-note motive; the sweet second theme is given by cellos and violas. The development begins with the horn’s main theme, but is mostly concerned with the three-note motive. The placid mood of the opening returns with the recapitulation. 

The Adagio plumbs the deepest emotions in the Symphony. The movement covers a wide range of sentiments, shifting, as it does, between light and shade— major and minor. Its form is sonata-allegro, whose second theme is a gently syncopated strain intoned by the woodwinds above the cellos’ pizzicato notes. The Allegretto is a delightful musical sleight-ofhand. The oboe presents a naive, folk-like tune in moderate triple meter as the movement’s principal theme. The strings take over the melody in the first Trio, but play it in an energetic duple-meter transformation. The return of the sedate original theme is interrupted by another quick-tempo variation, this one a further development of motives from Trio I. A final traversal of the main theme closes this delectable movement. 

The finale bubbles with rhythmic energy and high spirits. The main theme starts with a unison gesture in the strings, but soon becomes harmonically active and spreads through the orchestra; the second theme is a broad, hymnal melody. The development begins with a statement of the main theme in the tonic before branching into discussion of the movement’s motives. The recapitulation recalls the earlier themes, and leads through the triumphant coda to the brazen glow of the final trombone chord.

Yannick Nezet-Seguin, Conductor

Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin will lead The Philadelphia Orchestra through at least the 2025-26 season, an extraordinary and significant long-term commitment. Additionally, he became the third music director in the history of the Metropolitan Opera, beginning with the 2018-19 season. This consolidates his professional activity around two of the world’s pre-eminent artistic organizations, concentrating and honing his musical future.   

Nézet-Séguin, who holds the Walter and Leonore Annenberg Chair, is an inspired leader of The Philadelphia Orchestra. Widely recognized for his musicianship, dedication, and charisma, he has established himself as a musical leader of the highest caliber and one of the most thrilling talents of his generation. His intensely collaborative style, deeply rooted musical curiosity, and boundless enthusiasm, paired with a fresh approach to orchestral programming, have been heralded by critics and audiences alike. The New York Times has called him “phenomenal,” adding that under his baton, “the ensemble, famous for its glowing strings and homogenous richness, has never sounded better.”   

Nézet-Séguin has taken The Philadelphia Orchestra to new musical heights in performances at home in the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts; at the Academy of Music, Carnegie Hall, and the Kennedy Center; in Philadelphia neighborhoods; and around the world. His concerts of diverse repertoire attract sold-out houses, and he continues to make connections within Philadelphia’s rich arts community, showing his commitment to engaging music lovers of all ages across the region. In his seventh season as music director, he launches exciting artistic initiatives, including the culmination of a multi-year celebration of the centenary of Leonard Bernstein’s birth with a symphonically staged production of Candide; Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, featuring the athletic and inventive choreography of Philadelphia-based Brian Sanders; and the world premiere of Hannibal’s community commission Healing Tones.   

Nézet-Séguin is embraced by the musicians of The Philadelphia Orchestra and by audiences wherever they perform. He made his inaugural tour with the Orchestra during the 2014 Tour of Asia and the following year led the ensemble on their first European tour together. In September 2015, he conducted the Orchestra in two performances for Pope Francis as part of the World Meeting of Families, at the Festival of Families and the Papal Mass. In 2016 and 2017, NézetSéguin and the Orchestra returned to Asia. In 2018, they toured Europe and Israel to much critical acclaim. “Music director and orchestra were once again able to display their astonishing symbiosis,” said Der Standard. And Ynet commented, “The connection between The Philadelphia Orchestra and its conductor, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, is truly incredible in its unmediated closeness.”  

Under Nézet-Séguin’s leadership, the Orchestra returned to recording with a CD on the prestigious Deutsche Grammophon label of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring and Leopold Stokowski transcriptions of works by Bach. Their second disc for the label, Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with pianist Daniil Trifonov, was released in August 2015, and their third disc,  

Bernstein’s MASS, was released in March 2018. In Nézet-Séguin’s inaugural season, the Orchestra returned to the radio airwaves, with weekly Sunday afternoon broadcasts on WRTI-FM. In 2017, they also began a national series on SiriusXM.  

Nézet-Séguin has been artistic director and principal conductor of Montreal’s Orchestre Métropolitain since 2000, and in summer 2017 he became an honorary member of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. He was music director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic from 2008 to 2018 (he is now the ensemble’s honorary conductor) and was principal guest conductor of the London Philharmonic from 2008 to 2014. He enjoys close collaborations with the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic, and the Bavarian Radio Symphony. He has also made wildly successful appearances with many of the world’s other most revered ensembles, including the Boston Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Staatskapelle Berlin, the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, and all the major Canadian orchestras. Throughout Europe and North America, his appearances have left indelible marks on the international classical music scene, making him one of the most sought-after conductors in the world.   

Nézet-Séguin’s talents extend beyond symphonic music into the world of opera and choral music. His critically acclaimed performances at New York’s Metropolitan Opera (where he has appeared annually since his debut in 2009, including the opening of the 2015 season), Milan’s La Scala, London’s Royal Opera House, the Vienna State Opera, Netherlands Opera, the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, and the historic Salzburg Festival demonstrate that he is an artist of remarkable versatility and depth.   

Nézet-Séguin and Deutsche Grammophon (DG) embarked on a major long-term collaboration in July 2012; he signed an exclusive contract with the label in May 2018. His upcoming recordings will include projects with The Philadelphia Orchestra, the Metropolitan Opera, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and the Orchestre Métropolitain, with which he will also continue to record for ATMA Classique. Additionally, he has recorded with the Rotterdam Philharmonic on DG, EMI Classics, and BIS Records, and the London Philharmonic for the LPO label.  

A native of Montreal, Nézet-Séguin studied piano, conducting, composition, and chamber music at Montreal’s Conservatory of Music and continued his studies with renowned conductor Carlo Maria Giulini; he also studied choral conducting with Joseph Flummerfelt at Westminster Choir College.   

Nézet-Séguin was appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada in 2012, one of the country’s highest civilian honors; Companion to the Order of Arts and Letters of Quebec in 2015; an Officer of the Order of Quebec in 2015; and an Officer of the Order of Montreal in 2017. His other honors include Musical America’s 2016 Artist of the Year, a Royal Philharmonic Society Award, Canada’s National Arts Centre Award, and the Prix Denise-Pelletier, the highest distinction for the arts awarded by the Quebec government. He has also received honorary doctorates from the University of Quebec in Montreal; the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia; Westminster Choir College of Rider University in Princeton, NJ; McGill University; the University of Montreal; and the University of Pennsylvania.  

Photo credit: Hans Van Der Woerd