Scriabin: Le Poème de l’extase

This Poem of Ecstasy was often referred to as his Fourth Symphony, by Alexander Scriabin himself. However, it was written as a one-movement work, and one that could be considered to have autobiographical elements. Complete with solos for the violin and trumpet, the score is marked with expressions such as “very perfumed” and “with a sensual pleasure, ever more ecstatic.” Although Scriabin’s orchestral work has been received with mixed criticisms, the Poem of Ecstasy ends in a universally glorious manner. 

Beethoven: Violin Concerto, with Alina Kobialka, violin

The UC Davis Symphony Orchestra last performed this—Beethoven’s only—violin concerto with faculty-affiliate Michael Sand in Freeborn Hall. Alina Kobialka last performed with the UC Davis Symphony Orchestra, performing the Waxman Carmen Fantasy. Beethoven’s violin concerto was hurriedly finished—so much so that the violinist, Franz Clement, had to sight-read the solo at the premiere performance in 1806. Perhaps the most easily-recalled melody is in the final rondo, perhaps evocative of Mozart or the hunt. Although Fritz Kreisler’s cadenzas are the most frequently performed, there are more than 50 others, including one by Joseph Joachim, who is credited with reviving the concerto into popularity in 1844.

Varèse: Amériques

A difficult work for the musicians and conductor to boot, Edgar Varèse’s Amériques requires at least 14 percussionists, wielding instruments that vary from sirens to ratchets to timpani. Varèse left France after World War I, moved to the United States, and began building his identity as a composer. (His contemporary composers in Europe were Debussy, Busoni, and Satie.) Varèse’s first performance in the U.S. was not his Amériques, which went unperformed until 1926. In fact it was Berlioz’s monumental Requiem, which may explain Varèse’s curiosity with grand orchestration. Like the Scriabin, it too is a one-movement work, but Amériques focuses on the expression of sounds. The sirens presumably help illustrate the noise of a bustling New York City. If one listens carefully, one might imagine buildings being built, and at the same time, feel the energy of discovery and adventure—perhaps an expression of the idea of the word “America.”

UC Davis Symphony Orchestra
Christian Baldini, music director and conductor

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