First Concert of the 48th Season

I. Molto Allegro con fuoco
II. Andante
III. Presto

En Bateau
Cortege
Menuet
Ballet

Debussy was the founder of what became known as the Impressionist School in music. The term was in reference to the Impressionist painters of the latter half of the nineteenth century. The groups were seen to be both anti-Classical, because they seemed soft on structure, and anti-Romantic, because they avoided dramatic subjects or great deeds. The Impressionist composers dealt with tone for its own sake as the painters had dealt with light for its. Monet, founder of Impressionism, said that light was the "chief personage in the picture."

There is also a strong connection between Debussy and the Symbolist poets like Verlaine and Mallarmé, who wrote vaguely, leaving as much as possible to the imagination. The Romantics tried to show; the Symbolists tried to suggest.

Debussy's music frequently suggests a plot ... that is, it is programmatic. But usually, it suggests moods, or even moments. Critics found it too disorderly. Even a modernlist like Eric Satie ridiculed Debussy, writing a slanderous satirical poem even referring to his marital problems (both his mistress and his wife attempted suicide). Students at the conservatory were forbidden to have his music in their possession, and one was expelled for breaking that rule.

Petite Suite poses no difficulties for today's listener. It includes four separate movements. The first, En Bateau (In the Boat), suggests the gentle swaying of a boat, and is cast in three-part form. The second movement, Cortege (Procession), is a bright march in moderate temp with quick dotted rhythms heard throughout. The third movement is a Menuet in moderate triple meter. Oboe, English horn, and bassoon are prominent. The fourth movement is in fast duple meter, and with accented, dance-liek rhythms is aptly titled Ballet.

The work was originally written for piano alone, and later orchestrated by Henri Busser.

The Leonore Overture No. 3 was written in 1806 as an overture to Beethoven's only opera, Fidelio. There were four overtures after the principal character of the opera, and the last was named simply, The Overture to Fidelio.

The opera, one of the very few grand operas not to end in tragedy, concerns a young woman seeking to find and to free her husband who is illegally being kept prisoner by a wicked Duke. She disguises herself as a young man and becomes the assistant to the Duke's jailer in order to gain access to the prison. A complication arises when Leonora, dressed as a man, attracts the amorous attentions of the jailer's daughter. Since she has not yet found her husband, she cannot afford to reveal her identity.

When the Duke learns that the Governor is to make a surprise inspection, he has to dispose of his prisoner and sends the jailer and his assistant to dig a grave. Leonora finds that the prisoner is indeed her husband. When the jailer refuses to kill him, the Duke decides to do it himself, whereupon Leonora draws a pistol and confronts the Duke. At this moment, the distant sound of a bugle is heard, heralding the arrival of the Governor, and sealing the fate of the Duke. The lovers were freed, and lived happily ever-after. But the opera didn't.

Fidelio is seldom performed. It is often said it is difficult to stage effectively. I saw it staged beautifully at the Liceu in Barcelona, and staging seems to me to be the least of its problems! Beethoven's struggle to settle on a suitable overture is symptomatic of the problem with the opera as a whole.

From the first, the opera was not well received, and at each revival, Beethoven produced a new overture. The Overture No. 3 was a superbly dramatic piece of music, but it gave away too much of the opera, and (as you will hear) can stand on its symphonic merits alone. Beethoven realized that and withdrew it, producing a fourth and final overture in more traditional form. The opera has a similar problem: The orchestral writing leaves too little for the singers. It is simply not a singer's opera.

The Leonore No. 3 opens with a menacing chord, and then slowly proceeds down the scale, step by step, into the dungeon, as it were. One "bright point" in the overture suggests the scene when Leonora persuades the jailer to allow the prisoners to go up into the sunlight for exercise. Halfway through the work, we hear the trumpet call announcing the arrival of the Governor. There is a lyrical theme broken by a repeat of the trumpet call, and then the work becomes more triumphant toward the end, as the Duke's plan is foiled. The overture is almost too evocative of the plot details to make a good overture, but it certainly makes for good music.