Russian pianist Konstantin Soukhovetski is a magnificent new arrival upon the international music stage. While completing his doctorate at Juilliard School of Music in New York City, he also has been receiving numerous awards and winning prestigious competitions. After a highly acclaimed 14 performance tour of South Africa in 2007, Konstantin has performed widely in the United States, including with the Houston Symphony, and gave his London debut recital in 2011 at the Wigmore Hall. At just age 31, he not only represents musical sophistication but also has a charm and exuberance that delights all who experience his playing. Konstantin really “connects” with his many audiences, and he is a favorite in Auburn as well.

Konstantin returned to Auburn this past weekend to deliver, with the Auburn Symphony under the direction of Maestro Michael Goodwin, a stunning performance of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor. This pianist has previously shown his virtuosic skills with the Auburn Symphony performing the Russian masterpieces: Rachmaninov’s 2nd Piano Concerto and Tchaikovsky’s 1st Concerto, to great acclaim. Konstantin has now shown he can be a splendid Mozartian as well. From the entry of the piano in the Allegro, he brought a calm and elegant contrast to the drama of the orchestra’s introduction, and then fully entered into the tragic but thrilling spirit of the music. The Larghetto second movement was played with great delicacy, while still allowing for the expression of moments of wit and pathos, in this childlike, but not simple music. The Finale’s theme and variations were full of wonderful exchanges between piano and orchestra, especially featuring the woodwinds. Throughout, a brilliant light shone through the deeply nuanced darkness in this complex concerto. The Auburn Symphony accompanied with great sensitivity under the guidance of maestro Michael Goodwin. The performance displayed a true feeling of synergy between soloist and conductor: the visual exchanges and shared pleasure were exciting to observe. Konstantin shows a grace and presence that belies his years. His playing had a serene yet vibrant quality as he performed this sublime concerto, truly one of Mozart’s greatest. As an encore, he gave a loving performance of Mozart’s Fantasia in D minor K 397.

Konstantin celebrated his birthday this week with a benefit recital for the Auburn Symphony. Auburn audiences certainly look forward to welcoming him again.

Ronald Greenwood
January 24, 2012

Click on the link above and then go to the bottom of the page to hear Konstantin’s interview!

In 1780 the 24-year-old Mozart and his librettist, Varesco, were commissioned by Karl Theodor, Elector of Bavaria, to compose an opera for a court carnival. The result – Idomeneo – was Mozart’s first truly mature opera, although he had already composed 11 previously, in a wide range of styles. Idomeneo is remarkable for its succession of beautiful arias, dramatic choruses, and accompanied recitatives (speech-like music which moves the action on more rapidly), and reveals his extraodinary gift for orchestral color, particularly in the writing for the wind instruments. Mozart himself conducted the premiere in the exquisite and still existing Cuvilliers Theatre of the Elector’s Munich palace, on January 29th, 1781.

Idomeneo is set in 1200BC on the island of Crete. Returning from the Trojan war, where he was on the losing side, Idomeneo (Idomeneus), King of Crete, is caught in a terrible sea storm. He vows to the god Neptune that, if he is saved, he will sacrifice the first human being he meets on land. This proves to be his own son, Idamante, who is in love with Ilia, King Priam of Troy’s daughter. The opera tells the story of their love, and of the desperation of Electra, a Greek princess, who is also in love with Idamante. Overshadowing the love story are the king’s attempts to avoid sacrificing his son, which are finally successful: at the end of the opera Neptune commands Idomeneo to abdicate in favor of his son, and Idamante, finally united with his beloved Ilia ascends to the throne.

The overture to Idomeneo is brilliant and dramatic. After an impressive, triumphal opening – this is music for the court – Mozart magnificently portrays the surging sea. More festive music gives way to a quietly restless melody on the violins. Towards the end, the uncertainty of the drama is foreshadowed in music with an eerie quality. In the opera, this leads straight into the opening scene. The 19th century Romantic composer Reinecke, whose lovely Flute Concerto formed part of last October’s program, provided an extended “concert ending.” However, much of it is not quite in Mozart’s style, so we have taken just the last few bars to bring the Overture to a strong conclusion.

Mozart score the Idomeneo overture for pairs of flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns and trumpets; timpani, and strings

Mozart – Piano Concerto No. 24 in C Minor, K491

Six years after his success with Idomeneo, in the winter of 1785-86, Mozart composed his great comic opera The Marriage of Figaro. At the same time he wrote perhaps the greatest of all his piano concertos, the C Minor Concerto, No. 24, the last in a series of six concertos written since 1784. Coincidentally, Mozart completed it on March 24th. The first performance took place at Vienna’s Burgtheater the following month, with Mozart, as usual, directing from the keyboard.

Only two of Mozart’s twenty-seven piano concertos are in the minor key – the other is the great and turbulent D Minor Concerto No. 20, which can be seen as emotional brother of K491. The C Minor Concerto is especially remarkable for its complex, yet perfectly clear structural balance, and as in Idomeneo, the writing for the wind instruments. The orchestra is the most complete and integrated of any of Mozart’s concertos – nowhere else did he use both oboes and clarinets. The only other piano concertos employing clarinets are numbers 22 in Eb Major and 23 in A Major.

The first movement of the C Minor Concerto is, unusually, in ¾ time: Mozart only used ¾ for the opening movements of two other concertos. The quietly ominous opening phrase may have been influenced by his friend Haydn’s Symphony No. 78. It certainly inspired the opening of Beethoven’s own C Minor Piano Concerto. The strange, “stretched” climb and bizarre, chromatic rising tail of this opening theme set the mood for a movement of unsurpassed dramatic intensity, which is made all the more telling by Mozart’s unerring control of melodic line and form. Mozart did not leave a cadenza – the solo, bravura passage near the end of the movement which was originally intended to be improvised – for this concerto, but unusually, when the orchestra resumes, the soloist continues with quiet arpeggios (chords played one note at a time) until the last measure.

“Childlike simplicity” is the phrase universally used to describe the charming melody, in Eb Major, which opens the second movement. After the restless drama of the first, this brings welcome relief. Trumpets and drums are silent, and the writing for woodwinds and horns is among the most beautiful Mozart ever fashioned. The movement is in rondo form, which Mozart normally reserved for the finales of his concertos.

However, the finale itself is a Theme and Variations. returning to the restless mood of the first movement, but it also has a playful dimension. The theme is piquant and march-like, with strange harmonic adventures, and the variations are truly varied, ranging through exotically chromatic, strangely humorous, aggressively martial, rhythmically precise, and sublimely beautiful. The interplay between piano and orchestra is marvelous. Finally, the music moves from common time to 6/8 for an unsettlingly turbulent conclusion.

The orchestration of the C Minor Piano Concerto is: one flute, pairs of oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns and trumpets; timpani, and strings.

Bruckner – Symphony No. 4, Romantic

Anton Bruckner was born in the village of Ansfelden, close to Linz in Upper Austria, about 60 miles from Salzburg. The son of a school music teacher, he grew up among craftsmen, farmers and working men, whose life was ruled by the qualities of unquestioning obedience to authority, acceptance, and persistence. Bruckner was deeply religious from his youth, and was also closely connected with the monks of the monastery of St. Florian. His great symphonies, while not overtly sacred, reflect his intense faith and his sense of the majesty of God. He was extremely humble, even naïve: after a rehearsal for this symphony he was so pleased that he offered the aristocratic conductor, Hans Richter, a thaler coin and told him to buy himself a beer with it! The composer Mahler described him as “half simpleton, half God.”

Bruckner was considered the finest organist of his day, giving impressive recitals in Paris and London. The way he writes for the orchestra, contrasting different groups of instruments, as well as the rich writing for the brass instruments, is obviously inspired by the sound possibilities of the organ. On this instrument different sounds can be produced by changing the “registration” – the combination of organ stops.

Schubert and Bruckner were the only two great Romantic composers who were born in Austria, and it is interesting that their musical language is remarkably similar, given that Bruckner’s is much more sophisticated. Surprisingly, Bruckner had the same rigorous composition teacher that Schubert had consulted towards the end of his brief life thirty years earlier – Simon Sechter. Bruckner was extremely conservative by nature, and during the first 40 years of his life he only left the confines of a small area around Linz in order to go to Vienna for his lessons with Sechter.

Bruckner was a prodigiously diligent student, and struggled for years to master all the great forms and techniques of musical composition. He was nearly 44 when his First Symphony was premiered in 1868, having waited even longer than Brahms before trusting his abilities enough to present them to the musical public. Bruckner suppressed two early symphonies, which were not discovered until 1895, the year before his death – but the composer dismissed them as immature and gave them no number.

Bruckner himself gave the title Romantic to the 4th Symphony. He meant this not in the modern, emotional sense, but suggesting a medieval story of love and chivalry. He even gave a programmatic description for the first part of this movement:

“Mediaeval city — Daybreak — Morning calls sound from the city towers — the gates open — On proud horses the knights burst out into the open, the magic of nature envelops them — forest murmurs — bird song.”

Inspired by the opening of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, Bruckner’s symphonies almost always start with quietly shimmering strings. The 4th Symphony is no exception, and over this shimmer a solo horn plays a magical melody of broken phrases, which is then taken up by the flutes and clarinets. The music quickly moves from its quiet opening to the first of many great, cathedral-like passages, led nobly by the brass instruments. The “bird song” refers to the next section: a beautiful and lyrical intertwining of melodic lines with a pastoral atmosphere, which alternates with majestic outbursts for the full orchestra. The middle section of this movement is especially beautiful, as the horn’s opening melodic fragment is taken up by other instruments, contrasted by smooth solo woodwind phrases, over more string shimmering. One of the most inspired passages of the Symphony is the conclusion of this movement: the horn’s opening phrase alternates between winds and brass over undulating strings, building steadily to a magnificent paean of triumph.

Bruckner referred to the second movement, in the key of C Minor, simply as “song”. Over a march-like accompaniment first the cellos, and then the woodwinds, play a melody of subdued but yearning lyricism. There follows a chorale-like passage of string chords with surprising harmonic progressions, and then comes the true second theme: a mysterious passage in which the violas, accompanied by quiet pizzicato chords from the rest of the strings, play a melody of beautiful, questioning phrases. The whole feeling of this movement is one of unhurried progression. After a powerful but brief climax, the march-like song and the viola melody return, and then, once again, Bruckner builds a passage of increasing grandeur. This gradually involves the whole orchestra, before the movement subsides to a quiet conclusion.

The third movement is a vivacious depiction of “the hunt”. Horns, and then trumpets, playfully toss hunting calls to each other in music which proves that Bruckner could express lightness and humor, while retaining a sense of noble gravitas: although he described the movement as a hunting party, it is surely the Gods who are having fun. The middle section, which Bruckner allegedly described as “repose from the hunt,” is a pastoral Ländler – an Austrian country minuet in the rare and subtle key of Gb Major (6 flats). The instruments interweave the naively charming melodic lines with quiet humor.

The finale is structurally the most complex movement of the four, and repays closely attentive listening so that one does not lose the thread. Bruckner gave no descriptive hints, and he revised it more than once. The opening section builds slowly to a titanic unison statement for the full orchestra. Then come the first of three song-like passages of richly contrapuntal, but delicately passionate melody. The music soon becomes elegant and charming, but this mood gives suddenly gives way to a passage of uncompromising grandeur. The process repeats with much variation in the central section of the movement. After the third of the song-like passages, which again gives way to lively elegance, Bruckner concludes the symphony by building the music slowly and inexorably to a supreme climax. The Symphony’s apotheosis is a radiant transfiguration of the horn theme which opened the first movement. It is surely Bruckner’s breathtaking and humbling vision of the glory of Heaven.

Bruckner originally composed the 4th Symphony in 1874, but revised it repeatedly, the last full revision being completed in 1888. The version performed this weekend is frequently used, and was for many years considered the definitive version – there is conflicting evidence as to whether later changes were made at the instigation of Bruckner’s pupils. The scoring of the 4th Symphony calls for pairs of flutes, oboes, clarinets and bassoons; four horns, three trumpets, three trombones and tuba; timpani and strings.

Program:

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

Overture Idomeneo

Piano Concerto No. 24 in C Minor, K491

Allegro
Larghetto
(Allegretto)

Soloist: Konstantin Soukhovetski

***Intermission***

Anton Bruckner (1824-1896)

Symphony No. 4 in Eb Major, Romantic
(1881 “Original Version” – edited by Haas, 1936)

Bewegt, nicht zu schnell (lively, not too fast)
Andante quasi allegretto (Walking pace, somewhat lively)
Scherzo: Bewegt (lively) – Trio: Nicht zu schnell, keinesfalls schleppend (not too fast, but in no way dragging)
Finale: Bewegt, doch nicht zu schnell (Lively, but not too fast)

Mozart: Overture: Idomeneo
Piano Concerto No. 24 in C Minor
Konstantin Soukhovetski, Solo Piano
Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 in E Flat Major Romantic

Mozart at his most dramatic is the perfect foil for the towering musical architecture and poetry of Bruckner’s visionary Fourth Symphony.

The Auburn Symphony is thrilled to welcome back brilliant young Russian pianist Konstantin Soukhovetski. Since his January 2009 recital in Auburn, Konstantin has played with the Houston Symphony, the Louisiana Philharmonic, the Baton Rouge Symphony and the Asheville Symphony, North Carolina. He has been a prize-winner in three major international competitions and has made highly acclaimed debuts in Johannesburg, South Africa, and at the prestigious Wigmore Hall in London. Upcoming concerts include debuts in France and Switzerland, and chamber music performances at the Kennedy Center, Washington D.C.

Happy Holidays
and a
Healthy, Happy New Year
from All of Us to
You and Yours!

(Our office will be closed
Tuesday, December 27th through
Tuesday, January 3rd.)

We will mail a 2011-2012 certificate,
along with a season brochure,
to your recipient.
$20 / $50 / $100

Richard Altenbach with his Scarampella violin, made in Mantua, Italy, in 1887. His bow, a Vigneron, is nearly a century old.

Richard Altenbach has played with many great symphonies: the Houston Symphony Orchestra, Mozart Camerata, Omaha Symphony, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Berkeley Symphony and, now, the Auburn Symphony.

Altenbach, 53, is a seasoned violinist and composer. He composed his first song when he was 5 years old, setting a picture book of his own creation to music. “Super Banana and Peel” was born, setting the stage for a lifetime of music that spans multiple genres. These days, in addition to continuing his 20-plus years of work in the film industry, Altenbach can be heard as concertmaster of the Auburn Symphony.

“A concertmaster knows, first of all, technically how to make things as simple as possible,” explained Michael Goodwin, symphony maestro. “He knows how to make things practical for the string players.”

That means relaying the maestro’s instructions to the rest of the orchestra via example and body language, tuning the orchestra and, in Goodwin’s words, being “an extension, ideally, of the conductor.”

“I began violin when I was 10 and a half, in public school, after hearing an orchestra play,” said Altenbach, who lives in Penn Valley with his wife, Dawn, and 4-year-old son, Bren. “I called up my mom and said, ‘I want to play the violin.’”

He has played since then, never giving up the instrument for another, although he is also a veteran pianist and at one point played tuba.

In high school in Los Angeles County, Altenbach played for numerous youth symphonies and community orchestras, even serving as concertmaster of the orchestra at Whittier College, where he would later study music.

After earning his master’s degree in violin performance from the University of Illinois, Altenbach landed his first professional job as associate concertmaster of the Omaha Symphony, where he also played with the renowned Fontenelle String Quartet. It was a wonderful experience, he said, but there was something missing.

“I needed to buy a good instrument,” he said. “I needed to buy a great violin.”

After a year in Omaha, Altenbach said, he auditioned and was accepted into the Houston Symphony Orchestra, where he would spend four and a half years playing first violin (the primary violin role in an ensemble, which typically contains the melody).

The job made it possible for Altenbach to buy his great violin, which he purchased from his University of Illinois mentor, Sergiu Luca. The Italian instrument was made in 1887 by Stefano Scarampella, and Altenbach said he has never switched violins since.

“It looked and sounded beautiful,” he said. “I’ve never wanted to go back – I’ve never wanted to keep searching for the illusive Stradivarius.”

Hollywood calls

Homesick for LA and looking to make a name for himself, Altenbach returned to Southern California, living with family until he got settled. He served as a freelance substitute player with the Pacific Symphony and Long Beach orchestras, and then began playing with the LA Opera and Joffrey Ballet. He auditioned for the LA Chamber Orchestra, where he spent 22 years in the first violin section.

Not long after Altenbach began work with the orchestra, Hollywood began calling. In 1989, the violinist began work in the studio industry, working with orchestras and as a soloist on film scores, television and with recording artists.

He has worked with Hans Zimmer, John Williams and the late Jerry Goldsmith, and plays principal violin for Danny Elfman. Throughout his career, Altenbach has contributed to more than 1,000 film scores.

Foothill living

These days, however, he does that work either by traveling to LA or recording in his home studio, Bachiosaurus, in Penn Valley. He and his wife, a professional singer and actress, came to Nevada County after the birth of their son, settling into the mountain life they both treasure.

In addition to working on composing, Altenbach has jumped into the foothill music scene, performing as a soloist for Music in the Mountains, as concertmaster for InConcert Sierra and serving on the board of the Nevada County Composers Cooperative, a group of composers whose mission is to foster the creation and performance of original music. He also teaches violin and composition.

Recent composing projects include the score for “The Killing of Mary Surratt,” a documentary about the woman hanged for her involvement in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, and “Cancer Man,” a short film about a comic book artist diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Symphony stomps its appreciation

Goodwin met Altenbach when he was concertmaster for the Apollo Ensemble in Oregon House. He asked Altenbach if he could lead a couple of rehearsals while the former concertmaster, Kay KyungHa Lee, was out. After she had a baby in July and stepped down, Altenbach stepped in.

“We’ve never had a finer concertmaster,” Goodwin said. “He has enormous experience and knowledge, both of the repertoire and of how to help the orchestra to play at their best.”

The musicians have taken such a liking to Altenbach, Goodwin said with a chuckle, that they applaud and stomp their feet when he comes on stage.

Altenbach’s experience with Goodwin and the symphony musicians is no less joyful.

“I think he has got the cream of the crop from Placer County and Nevada County,” Altenbach said.

Altenbach has served as concertmaster for two concerts so far – the “Auburn Symphony in the Park” and Masterworks Concert One, “Spirit of the North,” which included the overture to “The Flying Dutchman.”

Altenbach praised Goodwin for his music selection, which usually includes an easily recognizable piece along with “the very worthy unknowns – music that should be played,” such as a German flute concerto that was played during the Masterworks concert.

As Altenbach continues his work in the Auburn Symphony, he’ll also be working to establish more musical roots in the foothills, as opposed to having to travel to LA so often for studio work.

“It is important for an artist to be surrounded by beauty,” Altenbach said. “To be inspired by creative beauty – the beauty of nature.”

Reach Krissi Khokhobashvili at krissik@goldcountrymedia.com.

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Film credits

Richard Altenbach has worked on more than 1,000 film scores. Just some of his credits include:

• “Jurassic Park”

• “Spiderman”

• “The Matrix”

• “Pirates of the Caribbean”

• “The Lion King”

• “Titanic”

• “Prince of Persia”

• “Toy Story 3”

• “Alice in Wonderland”

• “Indiana Jones IV”

• “Alice in Wonderland”

•“Real Steel”

Altenbach was also one of one of 12 composers worldwide to participate in the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Film Composers’ Workshop, which brings together top industry professionals and challenges participants to compose, arrange and conduct an assigned film cue.

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Up next for the Auburn Symphony

What: “Messiah Singalong”

When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 13

Where: Placer High School auditorium, 275 Orange St., Auburn

Featuring: Selections from Handel’s masterpiece, with nationally recognized guest soloists and members of choruses from around the region. Soloists are soprano Robin Fisher, mezzo-soprano Zoila Munoz, tenor Jae-Ho Lee and bass Burr Phillips. Everyone is invited to sing in the immortal choruses, including “Hallelujah!”

Cost: $20 at the door; a complete vocal score available at the door for $10

Information: (530) 823-6683, auburnsymphonyoffice@gmail.com or www.auburnsymphony.com.

 Happy

 Thanksgiving!

We shall be closed for the Thanksgiving holiday, Thursday and Friday, November 24th and 25th. Safe travels, friends.