Program
- Beethoven: The Creatures of Prometheus Overture, Op. 43
- Debussy: “Fêtes” from Nocturnes, arranged for Two Pianos by M. Ravel
- Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals
- Eric Jenkins, piano
- Erika Tazawa, piano
Intermission
- Mozart: Symphony No. 41 in C Major, K 551 “Jupiter”
Program Notes by Emma Yu
The Creatures of Prometheus Overture, Op. 43 — Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Composed between 1800 and 1801 when he was thirty years old, The Creatures of Prometheus marked Ludwig van Beethoven’s triumphant entry into the realm of major stage works.
This piece was written for a mythological ballet choreographed by a celebrated dancer named Salvator Viganò, reimagining the Greek myth of the Titan Prometheus. In the narrative, Prometheus molds two statues from clay, bringing them to life. He then leads them to Mount Parnassus to be educated in arts, sciences, and human emotions by Apollo and the Muses. Although the complete ballet is rarely performed today, its lively opening overture remains a popular orchestral work widely performed in concert halls.
This overture begins in a series of striking unresolved chords that immediately pulls the listener’s attention. Following the dramatic introduction, the piece shifts abruptly to a high energy section. This main section is driven by the rapid violin parts and sharp orchestral bursts, mirroring the creative fire and awakening of Prometheus’s newly created humans. Though deeply rooted in classical elegance, the overture displays the bold dynamic shifts and rhythmic intensity that would soon come to define Beethoven’s groundbreaking heroic era.
“Fêtes” from Nocturnes (Arr. for Two Pianos by Maurice Ravel) — Claude Debussy (1862–1918)
“Fêtes” (which translates to “Festivals”) is the second movement of Nocturnes, a famous orchestral suite composed by the French impressionist composer Claude Debussy between 1892 and 1899. The orchestral version premiered in Paris on December 9, 1900. Debussy described this work as capturing “the vibrating, dancing rhythm of the atmosphere with sudden flashes of light”, portraying a vibrant, bustling public festival, inspired by memories of crowds and marching bands in Paris, including a dazzling central middle section that sounds like a passing parade.
Ravel translated the rich, shimmering orchestral piece onto 2 pianos, and published it around 1910 to make the complex orchestral textures playable on the two keyboard instruments. His arrangement of “Fêtes” is widely celebrated as a masterpiece of transcription, capturing the orchestra’s punchy rhythms, cascading scales, and shifting colors using only 20 fingers. Because of its technical brilliance and sparkling energy, Ravel’s two piano version of “Fêtes” remains a favorite showcase piece for elite classical pianists.
Carnival of the Animals — Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921)
The Carnival of the Animals is a humorous 14-movement suite, originally written in 1886 as a lighthearted “zoological” fantasy for a private Shrove Tuesday party in Austria. Saint-Saëns strictly prohibited public performances of this piece during his lifetime because he feared it
would damage his musical reputation as a serious, academic composer. This work didn’t debut publicly until 1922, triumphantly premiered a year after his death.
The exception was the 13th movement, named “Le Cygne” (The Swan) and published separately. It features a graceful long and smooth cello melody, mimicking the bird’s calm and effortless glide across the pond as the two pianos play rolling, rippling arpeggios, sounding like gentle ripples of water under the bird. It became an immediate favorite due to how peaceful it was, in contrast to the other lighthearted and playful movements; therefore, Saint-Saëns allowed its publication and performances while he was alive.
Saint-Saëns created a distinct instrumentation in this unique piece, featuring typically two pianos, strings, woodwinds, glass harmonica (frequently substituted by a glockenspiel or celesta today), and xylophone. Each movement portrays a different animal or subject, through musically mimicking the sounds animals make and cleverly filling the score with humorous self-quotations and parodies of other composers.
I. Introduction and Royal March of the Lion (Introduction et marche royale du lion) – A proud, majestic opening featuring a regal roar from the piano and strings.
II. Hens and Roosters (Poules et coqs) – High-pitched playful clucking, scratching, and pecking sounds played by the pianos, strings, and clarinets to imitate the barnyard birds.
III. Wild Donkeys, Swift Animals (Hémiones (animaux véloces)) – Rapid, frantic piano runs depict donkeys sprinting frantically across the open plains.
IV. Tortoises (Tortues) – A humorous take on Jacques Offenbach’s famously blistering and high energy Can-can from the operetta Orpheus in the Underworld, dragging the tune down to an agonizingly sluggish tempo, and turning a symbol of Parisian high-society partying into a slow-motion crawl.
V. The Elephant (L’Éléphant) – A heavy, lumbering dance played low on the double bass accompanied by a waltz from the piano.
VI. Kangaroos (Kangourous) – Bouncing, hopping staccato notes that mimic a kangaroo’s erratic jumps.
VII. Aquarium – An eerie, magical underwater scene featuring shimmering glockenspiel, glass harmonica, flute, and flowing piano scales, evoking the luminous environment.
VIII. Characters with Long Ears (Personnages à longues oreilles) – High and low alternating violin intervals to imitate braying donkeys.
IX. The Cuckoo in the Depths of the Woods (Le Coucou au fond des bois) – A solitary clarinet calls out a two-note cuckoo song echoing over calming piano chords.
X. Aviary (Volière) – Rapid, chirping flute trills representing vivid, fluttering, exotic birds in a cage.
XI. Pianists (Pianistes) – Pianists practice mechanical, repetitive beginner exercises and scales up and down, treating pianists as if they were captive animals in a zoo exhibit.
XII. Fossils (Fossiles) – A rattling tune played on the xylophone to mimic rattling skeletons, quoting many themes from Saint-Saëns’ own work, Danse Macabre, alongside familiar nursery tunes like “Ah! vous dirai-je, Maman” (Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star) and “Partant pour la Syrie” (national anthem of the Second French Empire), gently mocking the passage of musical time.
XIII. The Swan (Le cygne) – A flowing, graceful cello melody over rippling piano accompaniment; the only movement allowed to be published during the composer’s lifetime.
XIV. Finale (Final) – A lively, joyful conclusion that brings back motifs and past musical themes from many of the previous animal movements, before ending with a final chord.
Symphony No. 41 in C Major “Jupiter” — Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Completed on August 10, 1788, Symphony No. 41 in C Major “Jupiter” was the final symphony that Mozart ever wrote, standing as the longest and most expansive of his career, written over a remarkably short span of just a few weeks, alongside his 39th and 40th symphonies. Its name, “Jupiter”, references the powerful Roman king of the gods and was given to this piece posthumously by the German impresario Johann Peter Salomon to match the work’s commanding, noble energy. Written in a commanding, triumphant tone in C major.
I. Allegro vivace: From the dramatic dynamics, military rhythms, and sparkling energy, the symphony opens up with strong, majestic fanfares while contrasting with its gentle lyrical phrases immediately afterwards.
II. Andante cantabile: A graceful, lyrical slow movement, moving smoothly with subtle tensions beneath its calm surface.
III. Menuetto: Allegretto – Trio: A stylized, elegant dance that acts as a lighthearted interlude with cleverness, blending unexpected chromatic progressions along with it. Within the soft, pastoral trio section, Mozart foreshadows a prominent 4-note pattern (CDFE), though in a minor key), that is the iconic finale’s main theme.
IV. Molto allegro: The most famous movement, combining a standard sonata-allegro structure with a complex fugal counterpoint (when melodies chase and weave around each other) with five distinct musical themes, culminating in a legendary coda where the five separate themes play simultaneously.
