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Serenades, music written for a special person or occasion, became particularly popular and well developed in 18th century Salzburg. Court composers were not only called upon to provide entertainment for royal fetes but also for special celebrations of the nobility of the surrounding communities. As the Salzburg serenades were often connected with outdoor academic festivities they therefore frequently commenced with a march. The Serenade No. 6 in D, K 239 (Serenata Notturna) was one of six serenades that Mozart wrote during his Salzburg years. Completed in January, 1776, this piece was no doubt composed for an indoor, evening event. In examining the instrumentation (a solo quartet and strings with timpani), we may postulate that the two groups of instruments may have been placed in adjoining rooms, or at least in different parts of a large room in order to give the groups an opportunity to play against each other. The use of the solo quartet against the tutti is reminiscent of the Baroque concerto grosso, with Mozart pushing the possibilities of this form in new directions. Listen for the first movement march underlined by the timpani and pizzicato echoes between the two groups. The second movement is a typical Viennese menuet with the trio given to the soloists. The quartet takes the lead in the final rondo with a fluid dance theme, stops the show with an adagio, then leads into a well-known Viennese march tune before returning to the rondo theme.

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Known primarily for his operas such as Manon and Thaïs Jules, Massenet also put his hand to musical drama on overtly religious themes. His success with Marie-Magdeleine and Eve and encouragement from friends and colleagues such as Gounod led him to compose another, La Vierge, (The Virgin, sacred legend in 4 acts: Annunciation, Marriage at Cana, Good Friday, and Assumption). Alas, the public seemed to have had enough of this genre. Massenet's description of the premiere: "An icy silence in the hall! The work which I had composed with so much ardor and devotion was tumbling down. And I was at the accursed conductor's desk, unable to leave it! I trembled with vexation, and partly with shame. ... An attempt was made to get a repetition of one of the numbers ... I felt that the public was tired ... I left in dismay, insane with disappointment and rage." Although the entire work never caught on, one piece became a favorite concert encore, particularly in Britain. It was also used as the overture to a ballet Manon, a work created from various works by Massenet. The piece is the prelude to Act IV (Assumption) of La Vierge, The Last Sleep of the Virgin. Muted strings with solo cello paint a picture of peace as the Apostle Thomas comes to the tomb of Mary to say his last farewell.

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It was largely due to two works that Finnish composer Jean Sibelius became a household name. The ever enduring Finlandia is the most obvious one, but how could he ever have guessed that a simple theater piece would become a popular tune heard in café and tea houses all over Europe played with every imaginable combination of instruments. Sibelius, always short of money must have regretted selling the score of Valse triste (Sad Waltz) to his publisher outright. Gaining royalties on innumerable performances and arrangements would certainly have kept the cash flowing. Sibelius wrote incidental music for eleven theater productions, including his brother-in-law, Arvid Järnefelt's play, Kuolema. Valse triste accompanies an early scene: the central character is at the bedside of his dying mother who tells him of her dream of having gone to a ball. The dark, haunting, theme, contrasted with a brighter tune effectively portrays the stage action, but also comprises a charming miniature tone poem.

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When music history students hear the names Schoenberg, Berg, and Webern, they automatically think, "Viennese triumvirate of atonality." But we must remember that even they were young once. By age 21 Webern's creative output had primarily been influenced by the music of Wagner and Mahler, as well as paintings and nature. Now beginning to study composition with Schoenberg, he was encouraged to spend some time in the classical discipline of string quartet writing. One of the pieces that came of this effort is the Langsamer Satz (Slow movement) for string quartet dated June, 1905. In this composition, it is not only these aforementioned influences that we hear, but also the voice of a man in love. Webern had just spent a wonderful holiday in the company of his cousin, Wilhelmine, who he later married. The piece was not published during his lifetime and essentially had been lost, but in 1961 his manuscripts were turned over to the Webern Archive at the University of Washington and the score, along with a set of parts, was rediscovered. It was subsequently published in the original quartet form as well as a transcription for string orchestra by Gerard Swartz.

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Sunday, December 25, 1870. "When I woke up I heard a sound, it grew ever louder, I could no longer imagine myself in a dream, music was sounding, and what music! After it had died away, Richard came in to me with the five children and put into my hands the score of his Symphonic Birthday Greeting.' I was in tears, but so, too, was the whole household; Richard had set up his orchestra on the stairs and thus consecrated our Tribschen forever! The Tribschen Idyll thus the work is called." Cosima Wagner's description of her most memorable of birthday gifts hints at the place this musical autobiography of their family held in her heart. It was particularly heartbreaking when financial strains pressured them to publish the work, thus giving the world this most intimate family treasure. Published as Siegfried Idyll the public assumed that the piece was built on themes from the opera Siegfried. The truth of the matter is that the themes actually had their genesis in an earlier work, a one-movement string quartet, that Wagner had begun for Cosima in the early days of their relationship. These themes were brought together in the Idyll and then found their way to the opera. The Idyll was written as a love poem, but also in thanksgiving for the birth of their son Siegfried. The piece begins (and ends) in string quartet writing with the winds taking up the main theme in turn. Later the oboe plays the lullaby, Sleep, baby, sleep. Also notable are the bird calls. The dedication reads, "Tribschen-Idyll, with Fidi's (Siegfried's) Bird Call and Orange Sunrise (Cosima's reference to the moment of Siegfried's birth). Presented as a Symphonic Birthday Greeting to his Cosima by her Richard, 1870."

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Program notes by Linda Mack. Copyright 2003.
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