Program Notes
Lyadov’s Polonaise
Anatol Lyadov
Colonel Jeffery Warner
Lyadov’s Polonaise appears to have been written for a statue dedication ceremony to honor
pianist, conductor, and composer Anton Rubenstein in 1902. According to Wikipedia, Rubenstein (1829-
1894) founded the St. Petersburg Conservatory in 1862 where Lyadov studied, and also had an influence
on a young pianist named Sergei Rachmaninoff. Lyadov himself eventually taught at the conservatory,
and was known for his exacting demands—on both himself and his students. This short piece has the
feel of an airy outdoor ceremony with a majestic, celebratory opening and lyrical middle, then returning
to the opening theme with a brief coda. The wind transcription of this work is in honor of the 15th
anniversary of the Cuthbertson band program.
Clarinet Concertino
Brooke Pierson
The Concertino for Clarinet and Wind Ensemble was commissioned to celebrate the 25th wedding anniversary of Todd and Katie Ebert, Directors of the Cuthbertson Middle and High School band programs.
This work showcases the importance of solo and chamber literature into the band program structure. The commission concept behind the design of the piece is to create a work that is accessible by advanced high school or undergraduate clarinet students with an ensemble accompaniment playable by grade 4 level bands.
I wanted to do something special for Katie on our 25th year of marriage. I have always been in awe of her abilities on the clarinet. Many of my early memories when we first met, are of her performing with the ensembles and as a soloist. Being able to create something that symbolizes our relationship and the building blocks of our career together, while also bringing to life new music, seemed like the right kind of gift.
Out of this, the hymn tune Old Hundred, several other hymn tunes (the Bach chorales Only Trust in God to Guide You and Christ Who Makes Us Holy), and original melodies which are hymn-like in nature, form the backbone of Symphony No. 4.
Sympony No. 4
David Maslanka
The sources that give rise to a piece of music are many and deep. It is possible to describe the technical aspects of a work – its construction principles, its orchestration – but nearly impossible to write of its soul nature except through hints and suggestions.
The roots of Symphony No. 4 are many. The central driving force is the spontaneous rise of the impulse to shout for the joy of life. I feel it is the powerful voice of the Earth that comes to me from my adopted western Montana, and the high plains and mountains of central Idaho. My personal experience of the voice is one of being helpless and tom open by the power of the thing that wants to be expressed – the welling-up shout that cannot be denied. I am set aquiver and am forced to shout and sing. The response in the voice of the Earth is the answering shout of thanksgiving, and the shout of praise.