Program Notes

SOUNDS FROM ABOVE - Saturday, May 14, 2011

Festive Dances and Waltz of the Hour from Coppélía………… Leo Delibes
Coppélía is a sentimental comic ballet with music by Leo Delibes. It was based upon two macabre stories by E.T.A. Hoffman, Der Sandmann (The Sandman) and Die Puppe (The Doll). The ballet premiered in 1870. 

Les Filles de Cadiz (The Maids of Cadiz)……………..…… Leo Delibes

Overture to Die Fledermaus ……………..…… Johann Strauss, Jr.
The operetta premièred on April 5, 1874 at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna, and has been part of the regular operetta repertoire ever since.

Klange der Heimat from Die Fledermaus ……………..…… Johann Strauss, Jr.

Symphony No 4 in G Major……………………………………………Gustav Mahler
Composed between 1899 and 1901, Symphony No 4 is based entirely on a free-standing piece Mahler had composed in 1892, a song entitled "Das himmlische Leben" (The Heavenly Life).  The full work consists of four movements and runs at about an hour long, making it Mahler's shortest symphony.  It is also the most frequently performed, partially due to the fact that it calls for what is by Mahler's standards a small ensemble.  The flutes that open the first movement are meant to mimic sleigh bells. Freund Hein, a German folk figure that plays the fiddle and leads a "death dance" (Totentanz), is personified in the second movement.  The third movement reflects a processional march in variations, while the fourth opens in G major and  features "Das himmilsche Liben," sung by a soprano. The narrative recapitulates the first movement in parts, and describes the feast being prepared for all the saints in heaven, but is not without somber descriptions of the animal sacrifices made for the meal. The symphony comes to an end in the peaceful key of E major.

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