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Mahler's Fifth · St. Louis Symphony Orchestra Concert Rebroadcasts

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_02: Live from Powell Hall at the Jack C.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_02: Taylor Music Center, this is the St.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_02: Louis Symphony Orchestra.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_02: Tonight, music director Stefan Deneve will lead the orchestra in a program that opens with Carlos Simon's double concerto suite featuring violinist Hilary Hahn and cellist Seth Parker Woods.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_02: After intermission, the concert will conclude with Gustav Mahler's Symphony No.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_02: 5 in C Sharp Minor.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_02: Good evening.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_02: I'm Rod Milan, and welcome to another live broadcast of the St.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_02: Louis Symphony Orchestra's 2025-26 season on St.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_02: Louis Public Radio and simulcast on Classic 1073.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_02: You can also listen to us online, see a copy of tonight's program notes, and much more at stlpr.org slash symphony.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_02: Now during our intermission, we'll talk with Stefan Deneve, Carlos Simon, and Hilary Hahn.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_02: Joining us right now in the broadcast booth here at Powell Hall is our commentator Lauren Eldritchward.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_02: Good evening, Lauren.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_04: Good evening, Rod.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_02: So the first work on tonight's program is Carlos Simon's Double Concerto Suite.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_02: Can you tell us what a double concerto is?
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_04: Rod, that's a really good question.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_04: It's not a terribly common form.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_04: Let's start with the word concerto.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_04: The first record of this Italian word being applied to music dates back to Rome in the 1500s, and then it meant a getting together of voices.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_04: But over time, it came to mean a three-movement work that usually features a soloist juxtaposed with an ensemble.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_04: A double concerto, then, features two soloists interacting with the orchestra.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_04: There are some really well-known double concertos in the literature by Brahms, Bach, Mozart, and Strauss.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_04: What's interesting about what we'll hear tonight is that it takes part of the idea of a double concerto, that of two soloists and an orchestra, and expands the format from three movements to five, effectively creating a suite.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_04: Simon's suite is modeled after a Baroque dance suite, which may have included an Alaman, a Koran, a Saraban, and a jig.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_04: That form was flexible, however, and the composer tonight continues to play with our ideas of what belongs in a dance suite.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_04: Your ears might pick up on a pasicalia or shakone and a gavat, but you might also hear a blues.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_04: I note that you might perceive various influences rather than stating that they're there, because this is also the composer's intention.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_04: In his program notes, he writes, For the first time in my compositional career, I have decided to write a piece that allows listeners to assign their own meaning and understanding of the work.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_04: It is truly absolute music.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_04: That is, music for music's sake.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_04: He reiterated this point at a community conversation held here at Powell Hall on Thursday night.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_04: The suite is in five evocatively titled movements Sprite, Slow and Heavy, Moving with Glow, Soulfully Freely, and With Haste Cadenza as before.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_04: Simon also wrote that he hopes this work offers space for the musicians to express themselves through a variety of orchestral colors and musical styles.org slash symphony.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_02: You're listening to the St.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_02: Louis Symphony Orchestra live from Powell Hall on St.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_02: Louis Public Radio and online at stlpr.org.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_04: A few words about our soloist.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_04: Three-time Grammy Award-winning violinist Hilary Hahn melds expressive musicality and technical expertise with a repertoire guided by artistic curiosity.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_04: She's known for performing music ranging from solo bock and the classical repertoire to today's major composers, and she's personally commissioned works by more than 40 living composers.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_04: She is a member of the Juilliard School's string faculty, having previously served as visiting professor at the Royal Academy of Music, an artist in residence at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_04: Her hashtag 100 Days of Practice Project, launched in 2017, has transformed practice into a communal celebration of artistic development with nearly one million posts across platforms.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: Carlos Simon's Double Concerto Susite.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: Bonsoir to all of you, and bonsoir as well to Carlos Simon.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you very much, Simon, for being with us this whole week.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: And uh we will perform the double concert of suite.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: And this weekend is the first time it is played by Hilary Hahn and Ses Parker Wood.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: And what is your connection with them?
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_03: Well, I met Set 20 years ago, I think one of the five years old.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_03: Um it was very young, but we were both sort of young in the industry, and uh I heard his playing sort of mesmerized by it, and I said to him I wanted to write a work for him.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_03: And here we are 20 years later, I'm gonna write a concerto for him and Hilary, who I met about six years ago.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_03: And I wrote a piece for her, an encore piece, a solo work, and I wanted to write a like a concerto for her.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_03: So the worlds kind of collided, and I was able to kind of write a double concerto for Seth and Hilary.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: And whose idea was that?
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yours, Hilary, Seth?
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_03: I'm like, hmm, that's a good idea question.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_03: I don't know.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_03: I think it was probably Hillary's idea.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I'm gonna I'm gonna give her the credit for that.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: You should always give her the credit.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: That's an advice.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: And so this is called a double concerto sweet aspect.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: So what is a sweet aspect of it?
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_03: It's like a dance form, broke dance form.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_03: So it was taken, uh the inspiration was taken from composers like Bach or Handel, who used like fire movements for fire movements, and uh the names are generally gone into an order like a bowl of gray or chicken or actually adding inspiration from these dance forms, mostly from the music in itself.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_03: It's very contractoral.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_03: You hear a lot of the columns on between the orders and different families.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_03: But there's a staple in the European classical record.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: Not only because you're adding it to these dances actually an American one.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_03: So you're adding to these three blues, a blues in the fourth movement, yes, which is an American musical staple.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_03: And I feel that the blues has a certain actually, sort of a soul to the work.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_03: And I I felt like it was it was appropriate in the same blues as a blues and blues as yeah, this blues is very much a part of this city.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_03: That's right.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_03: So, you know, it's a part of this work, and um it it sits among these uh uh inspired dance.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I I collected your music before like uh Concorse, which has uh uh subtext, which has a uh a meaning or title.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: This one doesn't have uh any explanation.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: So is there a miseration behind that?
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_03: Actually, you know, this usually my music has some programmatic elements.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_03: I usually give the audience something to think about or a concept to learn about.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_03: This work, I'm giving you all the responsibility.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, so you uh I want you to listen to the work and to come up with your own story.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_03: Come with your whatever you hear.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_03: Maybe it's a you know story.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_03: Um, I don't know, about a young man last night said it sounds like I was being hunted.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_03: Um I don't know if that was a good thing or not, but but whatever comes to your mind as you listen to the music, I want you to um take responsibilities and and make up something for yourself.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: Let's find out.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much, and we will uh exit the stage to let the orchestra tune and come back with your two soloists and uh enjoy your double concert to sweet.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you, Carlos.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_04: And while the orchestra tunes, a few words about our other soloist, Seth Parker Woods.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_04: In addition to making his SLSO debut in these concerts, during the 2025-26 season, cellist Seth Parker Woods will make his solo debut at the Barbican Center, London, with the Sao Paulo State Symphony Orchestra in Brazil, and he will perform a national tour in a new trio with soprano Julia Bullock and pianist Connor Hannock.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_04: This follows a notable 2024-25 season in which he made his New York Philharmonic and Los Angeles Philharmonic debuts, and acclaimed performances of his autobiographical Tour de Force, Difficult Grace, following its premiere at 92 NY in 2022 and subsequent Grammy nominated recordings.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_04: A champion of contemporary composers, Woods has premiered numerous concertos written specifically for him.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_04: These include Taishawn Story, Rebecca Saunders, Nellie Joachim, and Julia Adolph's Chrysalis.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_02: We now have the entrance on the stage of music director Stefan Denev.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_02: We are going to hear Carlos Simon's double concerto suite featuring violinist Hillary Hahn and tell us Zach Harper Wood.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_02: You're listening to the St.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_02: Louis Symphony Orchestra here on St.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_02: Louis Public Radio.
• 34:05
  unknown: This is what I want.
• 36:34
  SPEAKER_05: I mean, I don't know.
• 41:57
  SPEAKER_02: That was Carlos Simon's double concerto suite featuring violinist Hillary Hahn and tell us Steph Parker Woods.
• 42:04
  SPEAKER_02: The St.
• 42:04
  SPEAKER_02: Louis Symphony Orchestra was led by music director Stefan Denev.
• 42:08
  SPEAKER_04: And with the flaws, our guest soloists have embraced each other.
• 42:13
  SPEAKER_04: Master Denev has gestured for the entire orchestra to arise.
• 42:16
  SPEAKER_04: He's descended from the podium.
• 42:19
  SPEAKER_04: Taken the hand of Steph Parker Woods, kissed the hand of Hilary Hahn, and is now gesturing for both of them to take bows.
• 42:29
  SPEAKER_04: And now also our composer for the evening power signal has entered the stage.
• 42:34
  SPEAKER_04: He has Stephanie Left has embraced.
• 42:38
  SPEAKER_04: And now he's going down the road, giving those also to Death Followers, Hilary Hahn, and Guest Teller.
• 42:45
  SPEAKER_04: Steph Parker Woods.
• 42:46
  SPEAKER_04: He's also taking a hand, Councilmaster David Hale.
• 42:56
  SPEAKER_04: And now Steph Parker Woods, Hilary Hahn have both stepped forward, taken bows, and are now exiting the stage.
• 43:07
  SPEAKER_04: Followed by Carlos Simon and Stefan Dinell.
• 43:12
  SPEAKER_04: And members of the audience are still on their feet offering a standing ovation for these artists.
• 43:41
  SPEAKER_04: And the four have moved forward to the very lip of the stage and taken a bow together.
• 43:53
  SPEAKER_04: We noticed he was putting in a lot of hard work over the course of this performance.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_04: They are now exiting the stage.
• 44:02
  SPEAKER_02: A reminder: you can follow along at home with your own program notes by going to stlpr.org slash symphony.
• 44:10
  SPEAKER_02: Now, during our intermission, we'll have a chance to speak with Stefan Denem, Carlos Simon, and Hilary Hahn.
• 44:15
  SPEAKER_02: I'm Rod Milam.
• 44:16
  SPEAKER_02: Along with me is Lauren Eldred Stewart, and you're listening to a live broadcast of the St.
• 44:19
  SPEAKER_02: Louis Symphony Orchestra here on St.
• 44:21
  SPEAKER_02: Louis Public Radio.
• 44:26
  SPEAKER_02: Live from Powell Hall, this is the St.
• 44:28
  SPEAKER_02: Louis Symphony Orchestra.
• 44:29
  SPEAKER_02: My name's Rod Milam.
• 44:30
  SPEAKER_02: Along with me is Lauren Eldred Stewart.
• 44:32
  SPEAKER_02: And along with both of us here behind scenes at Powell Hall, it's music director, Stefan Deneve.
• 44:38
  SPEAKER_02: Good evening, Stephon.
• 44:38
  SPEAKER_02: Bonsoir.
• 44:39
  SPEAKER_00: Bonsoir, good evening to all of you.
• 44:41
  SPEAKER_00: So much energy here.
• 44:42
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, there's always a lot of energy.
• 44:43
  SPEAKER_02: So speaking of energy, let's talk about Carlos Simon's double concerto suite that we just heard.
• 44:48
  SPEAKER_02: It was co-commissioned by several orchestras, including the SLS.
• 44:51
  SPEAKER_02: So how did all of that commissioning uh come about amongst all those orchestras?
• 44:55
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you know, it's uh obviously a very prominent, important composer of our time.
• 45:00
  SPEAKER_00: And uh I did already uh conduct some of his music, and and so uh I wanted to be part of this uh this co-commission, especially if it involved two great, great, great soloists.
• 45:10
  SPEAKER_00: What is actually interesting is that it was world premiered a few months ago in Washington, but not with these two soloists for political reasons, and so they were not participating to the uh to the Kennedy Center performances, and so it happened for us that then we had a possibility to actually offer the first premiere with the soloists it was written for.
• 45:37
  SPEAKER_00: But I would like to uh thank very much the uh the soloists from the Washington National Symphony who actually performed the piece in Washington.
• 45:44
  SPEAKER_00: I think it was fantastic that they gave birth to this piece so wonderfully in Washington, and I would like to uh give them a big congratulation and gratitude for what they did there.
• 45:54
  SPEAKER_02: Well, we did hear from Hilary Hahn, and I know you have a history with her, but had you worked with Seth Parker, would it be for?
• 46:00
  SPEAKER_00: No, it's the first time.
• 46:01
  SPEAKER_00: I'm such a lovely human being, and of course, a wonderful artist.
• 46:05
  SPEAKER_00: So uh I I was very happy we had a lot of fun together.
• 46:08
  SPEAKER_02: So, what did each of them bring to the concerto tonight, this double concerto?
• 46:11
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you know, they are really growing into the piece.
• 46:13
  SPEAKER_00: That's quite fascinating to see.
• 46:15
  SPEAKER_00: I have to say it's a work in progress.
• 46:16
  SPEAKER_00: They just they just rehearsed for the first time three days ago and and then gave the first performance yesterday, and tonight was the second performance, and it's actually really touching to see how they made more sense today, actually, to be honest with you, because they they reworked this morning the concerto informed by this first performance yesterday.
• 46:36
  SPEAKER_00: And so it was for me quite interesting to see how artists of this caliber can grow into a piece that is still unfamiliar to them, but becoming so by the minute.
• 46:46
  SPEAKER_02: So let's talk about last night's performance of Mahler's Fifth Symphony.
• 46:50
  SPEAKER_02: There were times in the four of the five movements when the clarinets and oboes raise their instruments parallel to the floor.
• 46:57
  SPEAKER_02: How did that playing with the instruments up come about?
• 47:01
  SPEAKER_00: You know, Mahler was a fabulous conductor on top of being a genius composer.
• 47:06
  SPEAKER_00: Therefore, he knew very well how to get special balance in the orchestra, special effects.
• 47:11
  SPEAKER_00: And there are moments where he would like actually to have the woodwinds play very, very loud, and the only resource he has to make that possible to balance with some loud brass or percussion is to ask them in German Schachtrichter auf, which means it's in the score.
• 47:28
  SPEAKER_00: It says, please bring your instrument frontal, like you know, just a pavilion going to the audience.
• 47:34
  SPEAKER_00: A little bit what's happening in an organ.
• 47:36
  SPEAKER_00: You have what we call the bombard, you know, the stop that actually have those pipes that are not vertical but are horizontal, like trumpets basically.
• 47:44
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what he asked.
• 47:45
  SPEAKER_00: He asks a clarinet of Oboe to play like trumpets.
• 47:49
  SPEAKER_00: That's one of the many, many features and ideas Malo has to uh improve the crazy balance he makes in the orchestra.
• 47:57
  SPEAKER_02: Now, that difference in playing might not be picked up on the radio, but with people who are listening to us right now, what should people be listening for in the symphony in this second part?
• 48:06
  SPEAKER_00: And what would you like for them to take away from the what I would like for people if they are driving is that after the third movement they park.
• 48:14
  SPEAKER_00: Because the Adagetto is one of the most absolutely inspired, beautiful, casatic, I would say, love letter ever written in music, but it's very soft.
• 48:27
  SPEAKER_00: So I would say it's good to make a little break in the driving if you are driving, and to listen to this Adagetto after the third movement.
• 48:34
  SPEAKER_00: No, look, this is an incredible journey.
• 48:37
  SPEAKER_00: It starts with a funeral march, it goes into a really a big protest, just totally anger about the fact that we are mortals.
• 48:47
  SPEAKER_00: And then we have uh after the two first movements that are so tragic and so dark, we have this weird third movement, a kind of huge schedule, the longest ever written schedule, which actually is uh this schedule is including a fabulous big horn solo, and they have to listen to Roger Casa, our principal horn, playing this uh schedule like nobody else.
• 49:12
  SPEAKER_00: And I would say then there is a redemption, because after the Adajeto Dis of Letter, we have a last movement that suddenly compete, I would say, almost with the last moment of the Ninth Symphony, the O to Joy.
• 49:23
  SPEAKER_00: But also I would like to uh to say listen carefully as well to uh Stephen Franklin, our wonderful new principal trumpet who starts the symphony because it's work class.
• 49:34
  SPEAKER_00: He's playing so well.
• 49:35
  SPEAKER_00: I was yesterday really just so moved and impressed by his performance.
• 49:39
  SPEAKER_00: So I wish him great performance today as well, and we should have uh an amazing playing form from him.
• 49:45
  SPEAKER_02: Well, let's get you back out on stage so we can hear that performance tonight.
• 49:49
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you for joining us.
• 49:50
  SPEAKER_02: That's music director Stefan Deneve.
• 49:52
  SPEAKER_02: After the intermission, he's going to be on stage leading the orchestra in Mahler's Symphony number five in C Sharp Minor.
• 49:58
  SPEAKER_04: And joining us now is composer Carlos Simon.
• 50:00
  SPEAKER_04: Good evening, Carlos, and congratulations on your double concerto suite.
• 50:03
  SPEAKER_04: Thank you so much, Lauren.
• 50:04
  SPEAKER_04: Now, so people are most familiar with the concept of a double concerto through the one by Brahms, but you added a dimension by making yours a suite.
• 50:11
  SPEAKER_04: What went into the decision?
• 50:13
  SPEAKER_03: Well, I was inspired by um the Baroque dances, dance forms, you know, particularly Bach and Handel.
• 50:20
  SPEAKER_03: And these are very inspiring to me because the music is beautiful, right?
• 50:23
  SPEAKER_03: It's very contraponable in nature and a lot of common response, and but it has some things, some musical elements that I was really inspired by, like the Pascaglia, for instance, or con, which has a repeating bass line that can kind of continues throughout the entire work.
• 50:36
  SPEAKER_03: But what happens up on the top, you know, in the in the harmony is was so interesting.
• 50:41
  SPEAKER_03: And I wanted to use that particular form.
• 50:44
  SPEAKER_03: That's why I'm calling it a suite, if you will.
• 50:46
  SPEAKER_03: But there are five movements, and the Baroque forms are not the only thing that I was really inspired by was the blues.
• 50:53
  SPEAKER_03: I love the blues.
• 50:54
  SPEAKER_04: I heard that.
• 50:54
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, the fourth movement includes the blues, but they're the same thing.
• 50:58
  SPEAKER_03: I love the scale, the the but also the elements of like gliding in between also glossandi and the vibrato that the vibrato that I asked the players to play and technique.
• 51:07
  SPEAKER_03: So yeah, it's inspired by so many different musical elements.
• 51:10
  SPEAKER_04: So speaking of the players, you have a history with both Hillary Hahn and Seth Parker Woods.
• 51:15
  SPEAKER_04: What did they bring to the performance?
• 51:17
  SPEAKER_04: Oh, and what do you mean?
• 51:20
  SPEAKER_05: Everything.
• 51:21
  SPEAKER_05: Everything, yeah, yeah.
• 51:22
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, but they're they're incredible musicians.
• 51:24
  SPEAKER_03: And, you know, I'm a topic composer.
• 51:26
  SPEAKER_03: I I'm not very like hands-on.
• 51:29
  SPEAKER_03: I write the music.
• 51:30
  SPEAKER_03: I feel like the music represents about 85% of what I intend.
• 51:33
  SPEAKER_03: I expect the performance to bring the rest.
• 51:36
  SPEAKER_03: And, you know, the music, it's I always say the music is not what's on the page, is what's what comes, what we experience in the in the room.
• 51:42
  SPEAKER_03: And so what they're bringing to, you know, this performance is not necessarily representing on the page.
• 51:47
  SPEAKER_03: You know, they're bringing something more extra that I wouldn't have thought of.
• 51:51
  SPEAKER_03: That's really special.
• 51:53
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm so grateful to be working with them.
• 51:55
  SPEAKER_03: This project has been been about maybe three or four years in the making.
• 51:58
  SPEAKER_03: Uh and it took about a year for me to write, but you know, we were kind of had some different ideas about what the piece should be, and you know, just yeah.
• 52:05
  SPEAKER_03: So it's been fun to work with them.
• 52:07
  SPEAKER_04: Okay, so keeping on the theme of thinking about the space and the players and what they bring to the performance.
• 52:13
  SPEAKER_04: I understand you came to St.
• 52:14
  SPEAKER_04: Louis last year while writing the concerto to check out the SLSO.
• 52:17
  SPEAKER_04: What did you learn about the orchestra?
• 52:19
  SPEAKER_03: Well, you they were in a different space at that time, but I learned that the particular repertoire they were playing at that time was pretty it's really eclectic.
• 52:27
  SPEAKER_03: And I just like, wow, this is incredible.
• 52:29
  SPEAKER_03: And they're giving what I noticed, it was like new music during that time.
• 52:33
  SPEAKER_03: And, you know, Maestro, uh Stefan, he was bringing some special energy to this music that was almost like he, you know, just gave just as much energy as he would to like Mahler that he would to my music.
• 52:45
  SPEAKER_03: And usually that's not the case.
• 52:48
  SPEAKER_03: As a composer, you usually get very little rehearsal time.
• 52:51
  SPEAKER_03: But in this particular process, I really found that he put all of all of his energy into learning this music and giving it the best he can do.
• 52:58
  SPEAKER_03: And that's what I saw when I visited.
• 53:00
  SPEAKER_03: So I was like, okay, I can have a partner, I have a collaborator in this whole process.
• 53:06
  SPEAKER_04: Switch your modes a little bit.
• 53:08
  SPEAKER_04: Besides composing, you're known for curating concerts.
• 53:10
  SPEAKER_04: And in fact, one of those, Coltrane Legacy for Orchestra, was performed recently by the SLSO.
• 53:16
  SPEAKER_04: What led to your interest in curation?
• 53:18
  SPEAKER_03: Well, that was an interesting project because I love John Coltrane.
• 53:21
  SPEAKER_03: Coltrane is, you know, a legend, a god in the jazz world, but he was a composer, you know, and so the music in itself represents him as a person.
• 53:31
  SPEAKER_03: You know, he went through so many different journeys in his life and then and trials and but also great joys.
• 53:37
  SPEAKER_03: And, you know, I wanted to show that not only was he a man, but also a great composer.
• 53:43
  SPEAKER_03: And he went through so many different journeys.
• 53:45
  SPEAKER_03: You know, Love Supreme is not the same as uh person as he was when he wrote So What.
• 53:51
  SPEAKER_03: You know, so the music is representation of the man.
• 53:55
  SPEAKER_04: Well, speaking of music and representations, do you have any recording projects in the works that you want to tell us about?
• 54:00
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, well, I'm really excited.
• 54:02
  SPEAKER_03: The Pittsburgh Symphony will be releasing a piece called For Black American Dances next month.
• 54:08
  SPEAKER_03: And it will be feature my work as well as a New World Symphony by Devorjak.
• 54:13
  SPEAKER_03: So it will be released in May.
• 54:15
  SPEAKER_03: So I'm excited about that.
• 54:16
  SPEAKER_04: Well, we're definitely looking forward to it.
• 54:18
  SPEAKER_04: We'll keep our ears open for that.
• 54:20
  SPEAKER_04: Thank you so much for coming to talk to us, Carlos.
• 54:21
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you so much.
• 54:22
  SPEAKER_04: That was composer Carlos Simon.
• 54:25
  SPEAKER_04: And now joining us is one of tonight's featured soloists, violinists, Hilary Hahn.
• 54:30
  SPEAKER_04: Good evening, Hilary, and congratulations.
• 54:33
  SPEAKER_04: Thank you.
• 54:34
  SPEAKER_04: So the last time you performed with the SLSO was at the Stiefle Theater.
• 54:38
  SPEAKER_04: What do you think of the newly renovated Powell Hall?
• 54:41
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, it's fantastic.
• 54:42
  SPEAKER_01: Also, the backstage is so nice, and we were doing a lot of extra rehearsing this week.
• 54:46
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, specifically Seth and me.
• 54:49
  SPEAKER_01: We were rehearsing like the phrasings and everything because it's a new piece.
• 54:53
  SPEAKER_01: And the rehearsal spaces here are just top-notch, and it's just fantastic.
• 54:57
  SPEAKER_01: The sound is great on stage, everything looks wonderful.
• 55:00
  SPEAKER_04: So we know that you have a history with Carlos Simon.
• 55:04
  SPEAKER_04: What is it about his music that attracts you?
• 55:06
  SPEAKER_01: I love that it's open.
• 55:08
  SPEAKER_01: It's open for interpretation, it's open to play, it knows how the instrument speaks.
• 55:15
  SPEAKER_01: And I really appreciate that I don't have to figure out how to play his music.
• 55:19
  SPEAKER_01: I basically just have to figure out my relationship to it, and it kind of plays out of that.
• 55:25
  SPEAKER_01: It's really expressive, and he knows how to encapsulate an emotion and kind of leave it in front of you as an audience member to join or to observe.
• 55:35
  SPEAKER_01: I think that's a really special art.
• 55:37
  SPEAKER_04: It's such a nuance.
• 55:38
  SPEAKER_04: So your repertoire runs the gamut from Bach to contemporary works, and you've commissioned works by more than 40 living composers.
• 55:47
  SPEAKER_04: Why is that important to you?
• 55:49
  SPEAKER_01: I think that music is one of the ways that we can feel what it's like to live in a certain time.
• 55:56
  SPEAKER_01: So if we read a book, we can in our minds imagine something.
• 56:00
  SPEAKER_01: But we can't go back to that time and like smell the smells.
• 56:04
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe we don't always want to.
• 56:06
  SPEAKER_01: And we can't hear the sounds of the street that we're reading about, you know.
• 56:10
  SPEAKER_01: And I think video is important for that, but music being documented and then brought to life by the player, it not only represents the time that it was written in, but it also represents the current day and the current day's relationship to the day on which that music was written.
• 56:28
  SPEAKER_01: And a lot of the time the music survives the composer.
• 56:31
  SPEAKER_01: So you have a record now of things that were important to these composers now, things they wanted to express now, which will live for now, and they will also live to express now way into the future.
• 56:44
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, so it's just really a way of working legacy.
• 56:47
  SPEAKER_04: Speaking of legacies, right?
• 56:49
  SPEAKER_04: So you're on the faculty of the Julia Art School.
• 56:51
  SPEAKER_04: Why is it important to you to take time to teach?
• 56:54
  SPEAKER_01: I love working with students because I've learned a lot over the years myself, but I'm only one player, and I love listening to the things that people are working on to express themselves.
• 57:05
  SPEAKER_01: And I want to help people just become more of themselves and feel more confident in their own ideas.
• 57:12
  SPEAKER_01: And ultimately it's up to the student to figure out how to do that, but I just like to support them, and it's just a wonderful thing to witness.
• 57:20
  SPEAKER_04: In that vein, could you tell us a bit about your 100 days of practice project and how it came about?
• 57:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I originated it maybe like seven or eight years ago.
• 57:29
  SPEAKER_01: I don't remember exactly when.
• 57:31
  SPEAKER_01: But it was just a random idea I had based on an idea from an art zine, and a lot of visual artists were participating, but no musicians were.
• 57:39
  SPEAKER_01: So I thought, 100 days of what?
• 57:42
  SPEAKER_01: What applies to me?
• 57:43
  SPEAKER_01: 100 days of practice.
• 57:45
  SPEAKER_01: And I posted it.
• 57:46
  SPEAKER_01: I thought everyone would just unfollow me immediately.
• 57:49
  SPEAKER_01: Like, who wants to see practice?
• 57:51
  SPEAKER_01: But it became a whole thing, and I realized practice is so taboo.
• 57:54
  SPEAKER_01: Why does it need to be?
• 57:56
  SPEAKER_01: So another project is BYO Baby.
• 57:59
  SPEAKER_01: Why is it important to bring classical music to infants?
• 58:02
  SPEAKER_01: It's actually for the parents.
• 58:04
  SPEAKER_01: And they could bring their baby.
• 58:06
  SPEAKER_01: Because I think when I became a mom and I wanted to go to concerts, and I wanted to go to the ballet, and I wanted to go to museums, those weren't necessarily spaces where I felt I could relax, also, like bringing my baby.
• 58:18
  SPEAKER_01: I had to choose.
• 58:19
  SPEAKER_01: And I just thought, what more important time is it to be able to relate to music and relate to other people than when you are actually situationally maybe shut off from it?
• 58:30
  SPEAKER_01: So it's a way of increasing access and a way of bringing your loved ones with you into something you enjoy.
• 58:37
  SPEAKER_04: Well, that certainly sounds like a great idea as a parent of a toddler.
• 58:42
  SPEAKER_04: I feel that myself.
• 58:44
  SPEAKER_04: But thank you so much for coming and taking the time to chat with us.
• 58:49
  SPEAKER_04: Thank you.
• 58:50
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much.
• 58:51
  SPEAKER_04: That was one of tonight's featured soloist violinists Hilary Hahn.
• 58:55
  SPEAKER_02: The final work on tonight's concert is Gustav Mahler's Symphony No.
• 59:00
  SPEAKER_02: Minor.
• 59:00
  SPEAKER_02: Lauren, from what I understand, Mahler's wife Alma played a role in his fifth symphony.
• 59:05
  SPEAKER_02: Is that correct?
• 59:06
  SPEAKER_04: Yes, she did, and actually more than one.
• 59:08
  SPEAKER_04: Mahler began his symphony in the summer of 1901.
• 59:11
  SPEAKER_04: He met Alma Schandler in November of that year, became engaged to her the next month, and married her in March 1902.
• 59:18
  SPEAKER_04: It can be said that the trajectory of the symphony From Mourning to Triumph reflects the development in Mahler's personal life as their relationship blossomed.
• 59:26
  SPEAKER_04: And as we'll see later, one of the movements is widely thought to be a love letter to Alma.
• 59:31
  SPEAKER_04: The fifth is a departure from the three previous Mahler symphonies, which all had a vocal component.
• 59:36
  SPEAKER_04: Mahler used a huge orchestra, which led to it being called the Giant Symphony.
• 59:41
  SPEAKER_04: Of course, at that point, his symphony number eight had not been written, so when that was premiered with even larger forces, including chorus, it was labeled Symphony of a Thousand.
• 59:51
  SPEAKER_04: If it weren't for Alma, who was herself a gifted composer, the symphony would have had an even larger orchestration than what was heard at the premiere.
• 1:00:00
  SPEAKER_04: In a book about Mahler, she related this story.
• 1:00:03
  SPEAKER_04: Early in the year, there had been a reading rehearsal with the Philharmonic, to which I listened unseen from the gallery.
• 1:00:09
  SPEAKER_04: I had heard each theme in my head while copying the score, but now I could not hear them at all.
• 1:00:14
  SPEAKER_04: Mahler had overscored the percussion instruments and kettled drums so madly and persistently that little beyond the rhythm was recognizable.
• 1:00:22
  SPEAKER_04: I hurried home sobbing aloud.
• 1:00:24
  SPEAKER_04: I said, you've written it for percussion and nothing else.
• 1:00:28
  SPEAKER_04: He laughed and then produced the score.
• 1:00:30
  SPEAKER_04: He crossed out all the kettle drums in red chalk and half the percussion instruments too.
• 1:00:35
  SPEAKER_04: He had felt the same thing himself, but my passionate protest turned the scale.
• 1:00:40
  SPEAKER_04: The work is in five movements grouped into three parts.
• 1:00:43
  SPEAKER_04: The first movement, the funeral march, opens with a trumpet solo, played tonight by SLSO principal trumpeter Stephen Franklin, and you can hear him describe it in this week's Noted Podcast.
• 1:00:54
  SPEAKER_04: It contains a short, short, short, long rhythm which appears throughout the work.
• 1:00:58
  SPEAKER_04: The second movement is Stormily Agitated with Great Vehemence, which builds on the trio section of the first movement and features a chorale.
• 1:01:07
  SPEAKER_04: Part two and the third movement is a scherzo, marked Vigorously, not too fast.
• 1:01:12
  SPEAKER_04: It forms the centerpiece of the work.
• 1:01:14
  SPEAKER_04: Part three opens with an adagietto, marked very slowly, and is a song without words for string and harp.
• 1:01:21
  SPEAKER_04: Conductor Wilhelm Mengelberg said that Mahler sent this music to Alma as a declaration of his love.
• 1:01:28
  SPEAKER_04: She reportedly asked him to come to her, and soon they became engaged.
• 1:01:32
  SPEAKER_04: The Adagietto is frequently played as a standalone piece.
• 1:01:35
  SPEAKER_04: Lena Bernstein conducted it at Robert Kennedy's funeral in 1968.
• 1:01:40
  SPEAKER_04: And closer to home, Hans Wonck led the SLSO and performances September 14 through 16, 2001, in memory of those who died on September 11th.
• 1:01:50
  SPEAKER_04: The work closes with a rondo finale that includes melodies from the Adagietto, from some of Mahler's songs, and from other composers, culminating with the chorale from the Second Movement.
• 1:02:00
  SPEAKER_04: A coda containing themes from the movement brings the work to a brilliant conclusion.
• 1:02:05
  SPEAKER_04: There was tepid audience response at the premiere in October 1904, and Mahler immediately started revising the symphony.
• 1:02:12
  SPEAKER_04: He continued revising it after almost every performance until he finally declared it finished shortly before his death in 1911.
• 1:02:20
  SPEAKER_02: A quick reminder: you can see a copy of tonight's program notes and much more at our website, stlpr.org slash symphony.
• 1:02:26
  SPEAKER_02: You're listening to the St.
• 1:02:27
  SPEAKER_02: Nos Symphony Orchestra live from Powell Hall on St.
• 1:02:30
  SPEAKER_02: Nose Public Radio and online at stlpr.org.
• 1:02:35
  SPEAKER_02: The orchestra has tuned, and now music director Stefan Denette has entered, and we are getting ready for our final work of the evening.
• 1:02:41
  SPEAKER_02: Gustav Mahler Symphony number five in C sharp minor here on St.
• 1:02:46
  SPEAKER_02: North Public Radio.
• 2:16:45
  SPEAKER_02: You just heard Gustav Mahler's symphony number five in C Sharp Minor, the single symphony orchestra was led by music director Stefan Denev.
• 2:16:54
  SPEAKER_04: And after a large exhale, Stefan Denev reached down, shook the hand of Tonsum Master David Halen, and invited the entire orchestra to rise.
• 2:17:04
  SPEAKER_04: The audience is on their feet after quite a workout.
• 2:17:17
  SPEAKER_04: Now, my short enough has exited the stage.
• 2:17:30
  SPEAKER_02: At least once.
• 2:17:31
  SPEAKER_04: I think so.
• 2:17:31
  SPEAKER_04: And here he comes.
• 2:17:36
  SPEAKER_04: Alright, so the first acknowledgement goes to Principal Horn Rajakaza.
• 2:17:44
  SPEAKER_04: A big applause there.
• 2:17:46
  SPEAKER_04: And also Principal Trumpet Stephen Franklin.
• 2:17:50
  SPEAKER_04: This entire piece starts with him.
• 2:17:53
  SPEAKER_04: And now harpist Allegra Lilly.
• 2:18:00
  SPEAKER_04: And now gestureing for the entire horn section to rise and be acknowledged.
• 2:18:05
  SPEAKER_04: As well as the trumpet.
• 2:18:09
  SPEAKER_04: Here goes a little love for the trombones.
• 2:18:13
  SPEAKER_04: And that tuba, that single tuba.
• 2:18:19
  SPEAKER_04: Now a little bit of shine for the woodwind.
• 2:18:27
  SPEAKER_04: Let's see, we have principal clarinetus Scott Andrew.
• 2:18:31
  SPEAKER_04: And Principal Bassoon is Andrew Cunio.
• 2:18:35
  SPEAKER_04: Now all of the winds and all of the percussion.
• 2:18:42
  SPEAKER_04: And now the double bass section.
• 2:18:47
  SPEAKER_04: And the cello section.
• 2:18:50
  SPEAKER_02: Looks like we're going for lower, huh?
• 2:18:52
  SPEAKER_04: We are.
• 2:18:52
  SPEAKER_04: Here go the violist.
• 2:18:55
  SPEAKER_04: The second violinist.
• 2:18:58
  SPEAKER_04: And finally the first violinist.
• 2:19:05
  SPEAKER_04: Once again, everyone has risen.
• 2:19:08
  SPEAKER_04: And now Stefan Deneuve is gesturing out towards the audience in appreciation, has taken a bow and is now descending from the podium and exiting the stage.
• 2:19:22
  SPEAKER_04: As the applause continues, Stefan Deneuve has re-entered the stage.
• 2:19:29
  SPEAKER_04: Stepped back up to the podium, but also turned around and gestured once again towards concertmaster David Halen.
• 2:19:38
  SPEAKER_04: Now the entire orchestra is on their feet.
• 2:19:47
  SPEAKER_04: And music director Dunneu has gestured out towards the audience in appreciation, is clasping his hands over his heart.
• 2:19:56
  SPEAKER_02: And is now peering into the audience.org.
• 2:20:30
  SPEAKER_02: You can hear this concert in person tomorrow afternoon at 3 o'clock at Powell Hall.
• 2:20:35
  SPEAKER_02: For more information, you can go to slso.org.
• 2:20:39
  SPEAKER_02: Tonight we heard the following works: Gustav Mahler's Symphony No.
• 2:20:42
  SPEAKER_02: 5 in C Sharp Minor, and we began the evening with Carlos Simon's double concerto suite featuring violinist Hilary Hahn and cellist Seth Parker Woods.
• 2:20:51
  SPEAKER_04: You're invited to join St.
• 2:20:52
  SPEAKER_04: Louis Public Radio for another live broadcast of the St.
• 2:20:55
  SPEAKER_04: Louis Symphony Orchestra season next Saturday, April 18th.
• 2:20:59
  SPEAKER_04: Guest conductor Hanulintu will lead the orchestra in Ricard Wagner's Prelude to Act One from Loingren, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's piano concerto number nine, Jonome, featuring pianist Jan Lyshetsky, Sammy Moussa's Elysium, and Adorino Respighi's church windows.
• 2:21:18
  SPEAKER_04: That's the next live broadcast of the St.
• 2:21:20
  SPEAKER_04: Louis Symphony Orchestra next Saturday, April 18th at 7.30 p.m.
• 2:21:24
  SPEAKER_04: on St.
• 2:21:25
  SPEAKER_04: Louis Public Radio.
• 2:21:26
  SPEAKER_02: We invite you to share your thoughts about our broadcasts of the St.
• 2:21:29
  SPEAKER_02: Louis Symphony Orchestra season, and you can find us online at stlpr.org and on social media.
• 2:21:35
  SPEAKER_02: Just search for and like the St.
• 2:21:37
  SPEAKER_02: Louis Public Radio Facebook page.
• 2:21:39
  SPEAKER_02: The St.
• 2:21:39
  SPEAKER_02: Louis Symphony Orchestra broadcast is produced by Mary Edwards with audio engineered by Kyle Pike.
• 2:21:44
  SPEAKER_02: Additional assistance is provided by Yvonne Frendel, Paul Schiavo, Greg Monteneux, Eric Dundan, Maggie Bailey, Rachel Madison, Gino Belasi, Madeline Painter Tala, and Alex Rice.
• 2:21:54
  SPEAKER_02: Also, a special thank you goes to all the musicians of the St.
• 2:21:57
  SPEAKER_02: Louis Symphony Orchestra and local two one nine seven.
• 2:22:01
  SPEAKER_02: Live broadcast of the St.
• 2:22:02
  SPEAKER_02: Louis Symphony Orchestra, our production of St.
• 2:22:04
  SPEAKER_02: Louis Public Radio.
• 2:22:05
  SPEAKER_02: I am Lauren Elder Stewart.
• 2:22:06
  SPEAKER_02: And I'm Rod Milan.
• 2:22:08
  SPEAKER_02: Please join us again next week.