A Good Surprise

Last night, we had the first rehearsal of the orchestra for the new season. New music. I used to hate that but as I grew as a musician, I learned to love the joy of site reading. Last night, we rehearsed just one piece - Haydn's Symphony No. 94. The "Surprise Symphony." There are many musical jokes in the piece but it is really the one in the second movement that brings fame to the symphony.

When I was still at the school, we used to expose the Early Childhood students to this movement. The story goes that Mr. Haydn was a little irritated that his audiences seated in salons in nice cushy, comfy sofas and chairs after a full meal of rich foods and lots of wine, would doze off. He arranged a "luring in" of sweet, simple, quiet music until suddenly there was a very loud chord which was to wake everyone up. Hah!

But, as I found today in Wikipedia:

In Haydn's old age, George August Griesinger, his biographer, asked whether he wrote this "surprise" to awaken the audience. Haydn replied:

No, but I was interested in surprising the public with something new, and in making a brilliant debut, so that my student Pleyel, who was at that time engaged by an orchestra in London (in 1792) and whose concerts had opened a week before mine, should not outdo me. The first Allegro of my symphony had already met with countless Bravos, but the enthusiasm reached its highest peak at the Andante with the Drum Stroke. Encore! Encore! sounded in every throat, and Pleyel himself complimented me on my idea.

...Or so he says. I still think he was a bit irritated at his audience but then became amused at his little joke. The entire symphony was fun to play last night. It will be a good piece for the concert.

Aaron Copland

Other pieces on the lineup for the May concert? 

• Overture of "La grande Paque Russe by Rimsky-Korsakow, which I don't think I have ever played.
• Themes from the opera "Hansel and Gretel" by Engelbert Humberdinck. No, not the famous pop singer, the original. He was born in 1854 and died in 1922. We used to also teach this opera to the children at the school. It's musical themes are known to everyone's ear.
• Copland's "Hoe-Down" from "Rodeo" is famous, especially as the music for an advertisement for meat. Copland always looks easy on the page but is difficult to play correctly. I am so looking forward to playing this again.
• Finally, "Lieutenant Kije" by Prokofiev's, yes the same man who wrote "Peter and the Wolf." This was actually written for a Russian movie sound track. A hilarious movie about a made-up Lieutenant whose stories about him are so excellent that he is given a huge promotion, which brings on the complication that he must appear before the general. So, they had to make up that he suddenly died in battle. The famous Troika is played around Christmas time as a troika is a horse pulled sleigh with lots of bells around their necks. I bet you have heard it many times. But, what I am most excited about, there is a bass solo in the second movement - Romance. Yes, I have a solo. A rare event.

So, that is the upcoming concert. The music is rich and fun and good. Go to iTunes and try one or two out.