TICHELI: POSTCARD 
(note by maestro Ticheli, courtesy of Manhattan Beach Music)

Postcard was commissioned by my friend, colleague, and former mentor, H. Robert Reynolds, in memory of his mother, Ethel Virginia Curry. He requested that I compose not an elegy commemorating her death, but a short energetic piece celebrating her life. In response, I have composed this brief "postcard" as a musical reflection of her character -- vibrant, whimsical, succinct.

It is cast in an ABA' form. The primary theme, first heard in the flute and clarinet and used in the outer sections, is a palindrome -- that is, it sounds the same played forwards or backwards. This theme honors a long-standing tradition in the Reynolds family of giving palindromic names (such as Hannah and Anna) to their children. H. Robert Reynolds' first name is Harrah. The theme's symmetry is often broken, sometimes being elongated, other times being abruptly cut off by unexpected events.

The B section is based on a five-note series derived from the name Ethel: E (E natural) T (te in the solfeggio system, B flat) H (in the German system, B natural) E (E-flat this time) L (la in the solfeggio system, A natural). The development of this motive can be likened to a journey through a series of constantly changing landscapes.

The A' section is articulated by the return of the main melody. This section is not identical to the A section, but is close enough in spirit to it to give the effect of a large-scale palindrome surrounding the smaller ones.

POSTCARD was completed in the summer of 1991. Its first performance was on April 17, 1992, at Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor, Michigan, by the University of Michigan Symphony Band conducted by H. Robert Reynolds.

DANIELPOUR: ADAGIETTO FOR STRING ORCHESTRA
(note by Susan Halpern, courtesy of G. Schirmer)

Adagietto for String Orchestra was written for the Wheeling Symphony’s celebration of the 50th anniversary of Wheeling Jesuit University. (Wheeling Jesuit University sponsored Danielpour’s commissioned work.) While completing it, the composer commented on the project, noting, “The work itself will be an exciting fusion, being written as it is for Wheeling—one of the smallest cities to maintain an orchestra of this caliber, outreach, and budget—in honor of the Jesuit community and Wheeling Jesuit University.”

The Adagietto for Strings is an arrangement of the last movement of the composer’s String Quartet No. 5, subtitled “In Search of ‘La Vita Nuova.’” Danielpour gave the Adagietto an epilogue, in which he quotes Proust: “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” Danielpour has commented, “There is something essential about this piece. In Search of ‘La Vita Nuova’ means ‘the new life,’ really the ‘transformed life.’ It is subtitled in Italian because I have, over the past 20 years, had a long-standing love affair with certain parts of Europe, particularly Italy. That country has become a metaphor for that magical place where I can go to be renewed, but I realize now, after nearly two decades, that the magical place that one seeks is ultimately within.”

COPLAND: CLARINET CONCERTO

The great clarinetist Benny Goodman is most famous for his invaluable contributions to American musical culture as “The King of Swing,” but he also made very serious forays into the performance of classical art music, collaborating with such modernist figures as Bartok and Stravinsky and recording a number of the great works of Mozart.

In  1947, he commissioned a concerto from Aaron Copland, a process he described as follows to Vivian Perlis, the composer’s biographer:

"I made no demands on what Copland should write. He had completely free rein, except that I should have a two-year exclusivity on playing the work. I paid two thousand dollars and that's real money. At the time there were not too many American composers to pick from... We never had much trouble except for a little fracas about the spot before the cadenza where he had written a repetition of some phrase. I was a little sticky about leaving it out- it was where the viola was the echo to give the clarinet a cue. But I think Aaron finally did leave it out... Aaron and I played the concerto quite a few times with him conducting, and we made two recordings."

The work is in two sections - the first elegiac the second fast and jazzy - linked by a cadenza.

BERNSTEIN: SYMPHONIC DANCES FROM WEST SIDE STORY

Probably Leonard Bernstein’s most popular work, the musical West Side Story was written with lyricist Stephen Sondheim and book writer Arthur Laurents.  The central idea is an update of Romeo and Juliet, with the Sharks and Jets of 50’s New York replacing the Montagues and Capulets of Shakespeare’s original.

The Symphonic Dances, essentially an orchestral suite, includes some of the most memorable music from the show, including Somewhere, Mambo and Cool.