| Times Square – 1944 from On The Town | Leonard Bernstein |
| Potter Waltz from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire | Patrick Doyle arr. Jerry Brubaker |
| Sing, Sing, Sing! | Louis Prima arr. Matt Amy |
| Libertango | Astor Piazzolla arr. James Kazik |
| Swan Lake: Act II, No. 10 – Scene (Moderato) | Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky |
| Anxiety (based on the recording by Doechii) | J. Hickmon, W. De Backer, L. Bonfá; arr. & orch. by Anthony Joseph Lai |
| Highlights from Wicked | Stephen Schwartz arr. Ted Ricketts |
| INTERMISSION | |
| Three Dances from The Three-Cornered Hat I. The Neighbors Dance (Seguidillas) II. The Miller’s Dance (Farruca) III. Final Dance (Jota) | Manuel de Falla (1876–1946) |
| Danzón No. 2 | Arturo Márquez (b. 1950) |
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Musicians performing in today’s concert
Program Notes by Ava McDowell
Times Square – 1944 (from On the Town)
Leonard Bernstein
The year 1944 was a watershed year for the twenty-five-year-old Leonard Bernstein. He premiered his Jeremiah Symphony, made his stunning debut as conductor of the New York Philharmonic, and opened the popular ballet Fancy Free with his friend and collaborator, Jerome Robbins. However, he was not done turning the music world on its ear.
After the success of Fancy Free, set designer Oliver Smith suggested that Bernstein and Robbins expand the ballet into a full-scale musical. The story Robbins devised is a simple one: the adventures of three sailors on 24-hour leave in Bernstein’s beloved New York City. Does it sound familiar? It should—it’s the same storyline for the hit musical On the Town.
Most are familiar with the MGM film version that starred Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra. Sadly, Louis B. Mayer hated the Broadway score so much that most of it was replaced. The music you will hear tonight is a suite Bernstein created from his original Broadway score. In fact, let’s allow the composer himself to explain:
“The Times Square Ballet is a more panoramic sequence in which all the sailors in New York congregate in Times Square for their night of fun. There is communal dancing, a scene in a souvenir arcade, and a scene in the Roseland Dance Palace.”
Bawdy and boisterous scenes fly by so quickly that its abrupt ending leaves us wishing for more.
Potter’s Waltz
Patrick Doyle
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) was the fourth installment of the Harry Potter series and centers around the Triwizard Tournament, during which “He Who Must Not Be Named” continues his attacks on Harry. Potter’s Waltz was composed by Patrick Doyle, who took over for John Williams, and takes place during the formal Yule Ball while Harry and his date, Parvati Patil, dance and are joined by other characters.
This traditional waltz, composed in the joyful key of D major, playfully reflects the awkwardness of teenagers at their first formal dance. Its sweeping melody, carried by the strings, seems to soar like the famous floating candles. Audiences appreciated the contrast, albeit short, from the dark and heavy themes in the rest of the film and soundtrack.
Sing, Sing, Sing
Louis Prima
Louis Prima was a trumpeter, singer, and bandleader of the New Orleans Gang who was known for his energetic swing style. He composed Sing, Sing, Sing in 1936 for his band, but it did not become a hit until Benny Goodman arranged it for big band in 1937, when it became a swing classic.
Prima’s version contained lyrics and was only three to four minutes long, while Goodman’s version was a twelve-minute jam session featuring big band legends Gene Krupa (drums), Harry James (trumpet), and Jess Stacy (piano), alongside Goodman on the clarinet. The Goodman Orchestra’s 1938 Carnegie Hall concert, which centered on Sing, Sing, Sing, is considered one of the most important jazz concerts of all time.
In 1952, the Andrews Sisters recorded a new arrangement, bringing it back to the original vocal style with their signature tight harmonies. Each version further cemented Sing, Sing, Sing as a cultural touchstone, appearing in film and television. It has become an educational tool to help students learn improvisation (Goodman), ensemble playing (Prima), and vocal jazz harmonies (Andrews).
Libertango
Astor Piazzolla
Astor Piazzolla was once described by American music critic Stephen Holden as “the world’s foremost composer of tango music.” Piazzolla was born in Argentina but spent much of his youth in New York, where he met the man who would become his mentor, Carlos Gardel, known as the Father of the Tango.
Gardel composed traditional tango and mentored Piazzolla in the traditional style in New York and later in Argentina. Gardel’s teaching, coupled with Piazzolla’s fascination with the jazz and classical music he was exposed to in New York, would change tango forever.
Following several failed attempts at leading his own orchestra in Buenos Aires, Piazzolla reached a turning point in 1954 when he decided to give up tango and move to Paris to study classical music with Nadia Boulanger at the Fontainebleau Conservatory.
Despite his hard work, Piazzolla’s classical compositions lacked what Boulanger was looking for—until he played his tango Triunfal for her. Boulanger recognized his passion for tango and encouraged him to continue composing music that fulfilled that passion.
The following year, he returned to Argentina and spent the next twenty years experimenting with non-traditional instrumentation, creating a new sound for tango. In 1973, he composed his watershed work, Libertango.
Libertango combines the Spanish word for freedom, “libertad,” with “tango,” illustrating Piazzolla breaking free of the constraints of traditional tango by incorporating elements of jazz and classical music to create a new sound known as Tango Nuevo.
Piazzolla shared this freedom of instrumentation by creating a piece that can be arranged for a wide variety of instruments. He also shared freedom with the musicians, giving them the ability to improvise within their skills and preferences.
Libertango is built on a foundation of syncopated rhythms and dynamic contrast, overlaid with Piazzolla’s signature chromatic harmonies and emotional, soaring melodies.
Libertango has achieved lasting popularity beyond the concert stage, appearing in film, television, advertising, and popular music.
Swan Lake, Act II, No. 10 – Scene (Moderato)
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Tchaikovsky is most known for his trio of ballet scores: The Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, and Swan Lake. While The Sleeping Beauty was the only one to receive instant acclaim, all three have become enduring staples of the ballet and concert repertoire. Swan Lake premiered in 1877 to less-than-enthusiastic reviews and was considered a failure.
Dejected, Tchaikovsky mistakenly believed his score was to blame when it was actually the choreography that was the problem. He intended to rewrite the score and create a concert suite but died in 1893 before he could carry out his plan.
The great St. Petersburg choreographer Marius Petipa recognized the greatness of the score and presented Swan Lake in revised form for Tchaikovsky’s January 1895 memorial program. Later, selected portions of the score were arranged into a concert suite. Since then, both the ballet and suite have remained in the repertoire.
The story of Swan Lake, in brief, follows Prince Siegfried, who falls in love with Odette, the Swan Queen, a maiden cursed by the evil magician von Rothbart. Tricked into pledging himself to Odette’s double, Odile, Siegfried realizes too late that he has been deceived. Odette throws herself into the lake, and the Prince follows her, breaking the spell and uniting the lovers.
Anxiety
Doechii
“Somebody’s watchin’ me
It’s my anxiety, yeah.”
Anxiety. We’ve all experienced it—the feeling of an elephant standing on your chest, your mind running in all directions, worrying about things you may not be able to control.
Doechii, whose real name is Jaylah Ji’mya Hickmon, remixed Gotye and Kimbra’s 2011 pop hit Somebody That I Used to Know (which samples Luiz Bonfá’s 1967 song Seville) as part of her YouTube Coven series on November 10, 2019. While Gotye’s hit deals with the pain of a breakup, Doechii’s lyrics focus on her struggle with anxiety.
Doechii explains: “Anxiety is a song that Sleepy Hallow dropped, but he sampled my song… a remix of Somebody That I Used to Know. I titled it Anxiety, wrote a completely different song, and now it’s blowing up on TikTok.”
Anxiety has become an anthem for those struggling with mental health, encouraging listeners to notice, name, and acknowledge their feelings. Doechii uses a mix of singing, rapping, and dance to get her message across.
The March 2025 wide release of the re-recorded song reached the Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 and swept the 2025 Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist, Best Rap Album, and Best Rap Performance.
Highlights from Wicked
Stephen Schwartz
Generations of children have grown up watching the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, based on L. Frank Baum’s 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. In 1995, Gregory Maguire penned a prequel entitled Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.
Wicked tells the complex story of Galinda (later Glinda the Good Witch) and Elphaba (later the Wicked Witch of the West), from Elphaba’s birth through their time at Shiz University and the aftermath of Dorothy’s arrival in Oz.
Composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz discovered Maguire’s novel in 1998 and envisioned a stage production. After a San Francisco tryout in May 2003, revisions were made, including rewriting Elphaba’s character.
Wicked opened on Broadway on October 30, 2003, starring Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel. While early reviews were mixed, audiences embraced the show.
The Broadway production was nominated for ten Tony Awards, winning three. The 2024 film adaptation became the highest-grossing musical film adaptation of all time.
Songs featured in this medley include Popular, Dancing Through Life, The Wizard and I, No One Mourns the Wicked, and Defying Gravity.
Schwartz included an homage to Somewhere Over the Rainbow in the opening notes of the duet For Good.
Three Dances from The Three-Cornered Hat
Manuel de Falla
Manuel de Falla was born in Cádiz in 1876 and immersed himself in Spanish folk music rather than pursuing a career as a concert pianist.
The ballet The Three-Cornered Hat is based on a novella about a corrupt magistrate who attempts to seduce the wife of an honest miller. Encouraged by Sergei Diaghilev, de Falla expanded the work into a full ballet.
Premiered in Paris in 1920, the production featured choreography by Leonid Massine and sets and costumes by Pablo Picasso.
Suite No. 2 includes The Neighbors’ Dance, The Miller’s Dance, and the Final Dance, capturing the rhythmic vitality and color of Spanish dance.
Danzón No. 2
Arturo Márquez
Arturo Márquez came from a musical family in Álamos, Sonora, Mexico. His grandfather was a folk musician, and his father a mariachi player.
Márquez became fascinated with danzón, a dance style that originated in Cuba and became a staple of Mexican dance music.
Of the work, Márquez wrote that Danzón No. 2 is a tribute to the genre’s nostalgic melodies and vibrant rhythms. Critic Juan Arturo Brennan described it as “effectively and elegantly synthesizing the best of two sonic worlds: popular tradition and academic creation.”
It stands as one of the most famous concert works in Mexican music.
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