Playing with Politics, a concert series

The European D66: Smetana, Shostakovich, and Beethoven

Program:
Bedich Smetana (1824-1884)
Overture from the Bartered Bride (1866)
Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975)
Violin Concerto No. 1 op. 77/99 (1948)
-PauseLudwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Symphony No. 3 Eroica op. 55 (1804)

Program notes:
About the Playing with Politics concert series: the European D66
This concert is the first in a cycle of 8 concerts planned for 8 different
concert halls in 4 countries, beginning in the Netherlands. The names
of each program will be changed to correspond with names liberalist
political parties in each country. Because the series begins in the
Netherlands, the social-liberal group Democraten 66 (Politieke Partij
Democraten 66) was chosen for the first two concerts, held in none
other than the Netherlands.
This concert series is designed to bring attention back to the reason
much music was composed, and is intended to bring controversy to the
eyes of the general public.
~*~
Overture from the Bartered Bride (1866)
Bedich Smetana
Although among his earliest supporters was Liszt, Smetana found his
musical reputation in Prague frustrating, as he was known only as a
teacher a composer of salon music. Hearing that he would have better
luck in Sweden, he left for Gothenberg in 1856, where he worked as a
teacher and choirmaster while working on larger works, hoping to be
discovered. However, his reasons to leave Bohemia were not limited to
the musical opportunities, since there was no Czech state at the time,
and Bohemia was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Smetana

briefly participated during a revolt in Prague against the conservative

regime, and after the failure of the uprising, the political situation
became more tense, and it was clear that he, with his nationalist
sentiments, had to leave the country.
In 1857, he met his old mentor, Liszt, in Weimar, and while he was
there, he met the Austrian conductor Johann von Herbeck. While they
spoke, Herbeck commented that the Czech people could never produce
a distinct nationalistic music, which spurred on Smetana, and he vowed
to prove him wrong. This became the beginning of what gave Smetana
his fame. After returning to Prague in the 1860s, he met great success
with his opera The Brandenburgers in Bohemia, and the opera house
accepted his proposal for a next opera, a light comedy called the
Bartered Bride. Its premiere in 1866 was much less successful, due to a
threat of invasion in Prague by the Prussian army, which shortly
became a full-fledged war. Luckily, after revisions, the Bartered Bride
was restaged in 1870 and received much better. It quickly became the
Czech national opera, and was a great inspiration to the independence
movement that followed. In the bustling overture, the distinct rhythms
and intonation of the Czech language and folk dances can be clearly
heard.
~*~
Violin Concerto No. 1 op. 77/99 (1948)
Dmitri Shostakovich
I.
II.
III.
IV.

Nocturne: Moderato
Scherzo: Allegro
Passacaglia: Andante Cadenza (attacca)
Burlesque: Allegro con brio Presto

Early in his life, Shostakovich was seen as lacking in political zeal,

even failing an exam in Marxist methodology while he was studying.
Nevertheless, he studied under the best and eventually rose to fame in
Soviet Russia after his opera, Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District,
met great success with the general public as well as the officials. It was
described as the outcome of a successful Socialist construction, and
such music could only be created by a Soviet composer brought up in
the best tradition of Soviet culture.
However, his decline began when he was denounced and the Great
Terror began in 1936, where many of his friends, relatives, and
colleagues were sent to camps or executed. As more and more articles
were published about his democratic music by the Pravda, a
newspaper run by the communist party in Russia, Shostakovich met

more and more problems with his music, eventually leading to

withdrawal of his fourth symphony. He made a comeback, only to be
denounced for a second time in 1948, due to the Zhdanov decree.
Much of Shostakovichs music was banned, and he lost his job. It was
during this time when he had no work that he wrote, among many
other pieces, his Violin Concerto No. 1. It was originally given the opus
number 77, but because of the decree, he assigned that opus number
to a much less well-known composition, Three Pieces for Orchestra,
and published the violin concerto as opus number 99.
David Oistrakh, the dedicatee and the violinist who gave the premiere
performance in 1955, spoke about the first movement as a
suppression of feelings, and the second as a demonic dance. The
Passacaglias juxtaposition of the invasion (or Stalin) theme from his
Seventh Symphony, as well as the fate motif from Beethovens Fifth
Symphony can be heard throughout the movement. The final
movement is described as written with devil-may-care abandonment.
~*~
Symphony No. 3 Eroica op. 55 (1804)
Ludwig van Beethoven
I.
II.
III.
IV.

Allegro con brio

Marcia funebre: Adagio assai
Scherzo: Allegro vivace
Finale: Allegro molto

Famously, this symphony of Beethoven was dedicated to Napoleon

when it was written, nicknamed Eroica (Italian for heroic).
Beethoven admired the ideals of the French Revolution, and saw
Napoleon as a hero, but he began to doubt the dedication. Regardless
of his doubts and his missed fee should he dedicate the symphony to
Prince Franz Joseph Maximillian Lobkowitz, he decided to give the work
the title Bonaparte. However, he saw his mistake when Napoleon
proclaimed himself emperor in 1804. He expressed that Napoleon was
no different than any other man, and that he would feel superior to
others and become a tyrant; then, in rage and disgust, he tore apart
the title-page of the completed score. There is also a copy of the score
where the dedication is scratched out. However, three months later,
Beethoven wrote to his publisher that the title was really still
Bonaparte. After the death of the Emperor, Beethoven proclaimed that
he wrote this music for this event seventeen years agoreferring, of
course, to the second movement.

The first movement is written with a nobility, often being called a

portrait of the hero celebrated by the work. The second movement is a
funeral march, and the third movement is a scherzo, featuring hunting
calls from the horn section. The last movement is a set of variations on
a previously used theme by Beethoven. The similarity of the variations
to his set of piano variations op. 35 gave the set the nickname Eroica
Variations. The theme first appears in the bassline, and after a series
of strophic variations, the music leads up to the full theme itself.

Dear Marcel,
I hope this is adequate! I thought long and hard about what kind of
concert I wanted to program. I decided to create a program that
fulfilled my vision of what classical music is meant to be
controversial. I have chosen a couple programs for a concert series
through Europe (of course, I realize its probably not going to happen,
but I would love one day to see it happen) designed to bring
awareness to classical music as well as the political stance of
numerous composers. I envision that each program will be played in an
important city (hopefully in the capital) of four countries that have
varying views in politics, ending finally with two concerts in Russia. For
each concert, depending on the location, I would like to perform a
different political stance, creating (mots likely) very much tension and
controversy, and probably also being banned from some places.
However, I think that would be a great response, just as well as if the
programs would be accepted by the public.
Since this is the first concert, I chose to go for a liberal stance (in the
composers) with a more traditional modern approach to
programming, and I imagined that the concert series would start here,
in Holland, with one liberal and one conservative dedication. Pieces
that would be chosen for the right-wing dedication would have a less
traditional programming. This causes both stances in concert to be
equally controversial. I also chose a violin concerto since Im a violinist
and Id like to think about what kind of programs Id enjoy playing in,
as well as what kind of tour I would like to plan should I ever have a
chance.
About choosing which composers would be in this first program, I read
about the political stances of many composers, and I saw that
Smetana, Shostakovich, and Beethoven were some of the closest in
their political compasses, so I chose some of their more politically

troubled works that I feel would make an interesting and slightly

unusual program, but keeping it traditional enough for the first
concert.
If there is anything that is unclear or needs to be fixed, please let me
know!
Love,
Kristie