Symphony Orchestra

About the Program

Program notes by Mark Bilyeu.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Concerto in C Minor for Piano No. 24, K. 491
BORN January 27, 1756 in Salzburg, Austria
DIED December 5, 1791 in Vienna, Austria
COMPOSED 1785
PREMIERED April 1786 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria
DURATION 25 minutes

Although his predecessor Joseph “Papa” Hayden wrote several piano concerti  before him, it was Mozart who made the piano concerto “a thing.” Both the piano as an instrument and Mozart (as a musician) were developing around the same time, and as the child prodigy began to garner attention, he had very little music to play on this new instrument. So, he wrote a great deal of music for himself: 18 sonatas for solo piano, and about 30 concerti (the plural of concerto) for piano and orchestra. The concerto in C minor, K. 491, one of his most popular, was the final in a triptych of concertos he wrote in the spring of 1785, all intended to be premiered by the composer for a Lenten concert series. They were composed and premiered within weeks of each other, with the composer at the keyboard, often improvising the sections he did not have time to complete. This concerto is only one of two he composed in a minor key, and continued his exploration of utilizing and showcasing the wind players within the orchestra in ways that would have shocked the audiences fortunate enough to have heard the premieres.

Igor Stravinsky
Violin Concerto in D Major
BORN June 17, 1882, Lomonosov, Saint Petersburg, Russia
DIED April 6, 1971, New York, NY
COMPOSED 1931
PREMIERED October 23, 1931,  Berlin Radio Symphony, Samuel Dushkin, violinist, Igor Stravinsky, conductor
DURATION 22 minutes

Stravinsky wasn’t looking to compose a violin concerto. The idea was pitched to him by Willy Strecker, head of the German publishing house Schott & Sons, and the Polish violinist Samuel Dushkin. Stravinksy was apprehensive: the prospect of working alongside a virtuoso was not appealing, and he had doubts about his ability to create something of high caliber for an instrument he wasn’t totally comfortable writing for. His concerns were alleviated after meeting with Strecker and being reassured that the violinist would consult on technical matters. For Strecker, the possibility of being the muse to Stravinksy, in the same vein of Joseph Joachim with Brahms, and Ferdinand David with Felix Mendelssohn, was the chance of a lifetime. The two met several times over the course of its creation, once in a Parisian coffeehouse, where Strecker recounted Stravinksy “took out a piece of paper and wrote down [a] chord and asked me if it could be played. I had never seen a chord with such an enormous stretch, from the E to the top A, and I said ‘No.’ Stravinsky said sadly, ‘Quel dommage’ [What a pity]. After I got home, I tried it, and, to my astonishment, I found that in that register, the stretch of the eleventh was relatively easy to play, and the sound fascinated me. I telephoned Stravinsky at once to tell him that it could be done. When the concerto was finished, more than six months later, I understood his disappointment when I first said ‘No.’ This chord, in a different dress, begins each of the four movements. Stravinsky himself calls it his ‘passport’ to that concerto.” 

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About the Artists

Claire Chiang

Claire Chiang, born into a family of music lovers and musicians, was inspired to learn the piano at age four, having heard her pianist siblings constantly practicing at home. Among her top achievements include prizes at the Collin County Young Artist Competition, Vernell Gregg Young Artist Competition, Coeur d’Alene Symphony National Young Artist Competition, Intermediate Virginia Waring International Piano Competition, MTNA National/Texas Piano Performance Competitions, Nilsson Undergraduate Solo Competition, and International Chopin Youth Competition. She has been a featured soloist with the Lewisville Lake Symphony, Plano Symphony Orchestra, and Coeur d’Alene Symphony and participated in the 2019 Cliburn International Junior Piano Festival. She is currently pursuing her Bachelor’s in Neuroscience and Piano Performance with Anton Nel at the University of Texas at Austin where she is also involved in undergraduate scientific research, volunteering, and community outreach. In her free time, Claire enjoys reading books, playing piano duets with her siblings, and enjoying nature.

Emmanuelle (Ellie) Sievers

Japanese-American violinist Emmanuelle (Ellie) Sievers has emerged as a vibrant soloist, orchestral, and chamber performer. Her recent accolades include winner of the 2022 UT Rising Stars Competition and Senior Audience Prize at the 2022 St. Paul String Quartet Competition. Ellie has played in numerous orchestras, including UTSO, the New York String Orchestra, the Pacific Music Festival Orchestra, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival Orchestra, NYO Canada, and the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra. She has performed as a soloist with the Austin Civic Orchestra, the Canadian Sinfonietta, the North York Concert Orchestra, and the Kindred Spirits Orchestra, and has been featured in the Confluence Concerts series and the Suzuki Method Ten Children Tour in Japan. Ellie studies with Brian Lewis, and previously studied with Wendy Seravalle-Smith and Yasuyo Matsui. In the future, she aims to create music and multimedia storytelling that bridges cultures and advocates for human rights and values.

Farkhad Khudyev

Farkhad Khudyev is the winner of the Gold Medal “Beethoven 250” at the 1st International Arthur Nikisch Conducting Competition; the Solti Foundation US 2018 and 2022 Career Assistance Award; the Best Interpretation Prize at the 1st International Taipei Conducting Competition; the 3rd prize at the 8th International Sir Georg Solti Conducting Competition; and the Gold Medal/Grand Prize at the 2007 National Fischoff Competition. Khudyev has worked with orchestras worldwide including the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Frankfurt Opera Orchestra, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Diego Symphony, Monterey Symphony, George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, Xi’an Symphony Orchestra and the State Taipei Chinese Orchestra. Farkhad was born in Turkmenistan, where he studied at the State Music School for gifted musicians, and then completed his studies at Interlochen Arts Academy, Oberlin Conservatory and Yale University. Khudyev serves as the Music Director of the University of Texas Symphony Orchestra in Austin, and the Orchestral Institute at the Hidden Valley Institute of the Arts in Carmel, California.
 

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Symphony Orchestra

PRINCIPALS

1. Mozart
2. Stravinsky

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Upcoming Events

28th Annual
Austin Chamber Music Festival

June 7 – July 14, 2024
Bates Recital Hall

FEATURING

Emerson String Quartet’s Philip Setzer with Sandy Yamamoto
Kronos Quartet’s Jeffrey Zeigler performing The Sound of Science
American String Quartet with Anton Nel
Peter Bay & Festival Chamber Orchestra
Takács Quartet with Michelle Schumann

+more...

Concerts take place at the Butler School of Music in Bates Recital Hall. 
$12 Student Rush tickets available for students of any age with a valid student ID.

details and tickets available at austinchambermusic.org/festival

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