Program Notes

Umoja, Anthem of Unity
Valerie Coleman (1970-)

A widely regarded composer and a GRAMMY®-nominated flutist, Valerie Coleman has been recognized by The Washington Post as one of the Top 35 Women Composers. She has also been cited by Performance Today as the 2020 Classical Woman of the Year. Her awards include recognition by the MAP Fund, ASCAP Honors Award, and Chamber Music America’s Classical Commissioning Program. 

Umoja, the Swahili word for “unity,” is the first principle of the African Diaspora holiday, Kwanzaa. The composition embodies a sense of tribal unity through the feel of a drum circle, the sharing of history through traditional call and response, and the repetition of a memorable sing-song melody. Umoja was arranged for Imami Winds, with the intent of providing an anthem that celebrates the diverse heritages of an ethnically diverse woodwind quintet founded by Coleman.

The version of Umoja, Anthem of Unity performed here was commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra, which premiered it during the opening of Carnegie Hall’s 2019/2020 season under Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and it was subsequently performed in Philadelphia at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. Umoja has been widely presented by other orchestras, and it was featured during the 2023 PBS series All-Star Orchestra under Gerard Schwarz. 

Petrushka
Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971)

With three ballets written between 1910 and 1913, Stravinsky established himself as one of the most influential of twentieth-century composers. Each ballet was created for Sergei Diaghilev, the impresario of Ballet Russe, shortly after the composer had emigrated from Russia to Paris. The Firebird of 1910 remains the best known to the general public with Petrushka of 1911 running a close second. The Rite of Spring precipitated a riot at its premiere in 1913 because of its highly unconventional musical style as well as its subject matter, the sacrificial dance of a young female virgin. Ensuing generations have caught up with Rite of Spring, which makes frequent appearances in concert as well as ballet programs.

Petrushka began life as a concert piece. Upon hearing Stravinsky play through some of it, Diaghilev was convinced that the music would be perfect for a ballet featuring Vaslav Nijinsky, his star male dancer and one of the world’s greatest at that time, in the title role.  Stravinsky immediately set to work shaping the piece for that purpose. Petrushka received its premiere at Théâtre du Châtelet on June 13, 1911, with Pierre Monteux conducting. The photo features the conductor with Nijinsky costumed for his role.

Petrushka takes place against the background of a pre-Lenten fair. In the first scene, revelers celebrate on a circuslike fairway to a polyphonic mix of folk and carnival music based on Russian themes, popular tunes, and even an irreverent reference to Gregorian chant. In a brief interlude of calm, an organ grinder appears with a dancing girl. Another entertainer with a music box performs with his female dancer. Soon the revelers are distracted by drumrolls heralding the Magician, who transforms his hand puppets, the Moor, the Ballerina, and Petrushka (the Russian diminutive for Pyotr—Little Peter) into living beings who dance together to the amazement of the crowd.

Scene Two is set in Petrushka’s room. There, the sexual rivalry between Petrushka and the Moor for the attention of the Ballerina, which was set in motion when the Magician brought his puppets to life, becomes apparent. Petrushka is kicked into his room, a gloomy den, by an unseen foot. Bemoaning the disdain of the Ballerina and his mistreatment by the Moor, Petrushka goes to pieces.

In Scene Three, in the Moor’s elegant room, the charming Moor practices his seductive skills on the all-too-willing Ballerina. She introduces herself with a sassy march en point to the tune of trumpet and drum, followed by a gentle waltz performed by flute and bassoon. Petrushka rudely interrupts and the Moor chases him about. This will not end well for Petrushka.

Scene Four, The Shrovetide Fair (Toward Evening), returns us to the fairway, where the crowd is offered a variety of attractions. First comes the Wet-nurses’ Dance, followed in turn by a peasant and his dancing bear, then by groups of gypsies, coachmen, grooms, and masqueraders. The fight, which began in the previous scene between the Moor and Petrushka, suddenly spills out onto the fairway. The Moor catches up with Petrushka and stabs him with his scimitar. As Petrushka lies dying, a policeman is called. Sheepishly the Magician exclaims, “Look, Officer, they’re just puppets, cloth and sawdust.” The policeman retires and the crowd disperses. The Magician is terrified when Petrushka’s ghost appears atop the tent, thumbing his nose at him. Stravinsky brings the ballet to a close with neither a whimper nor a bang, but with an unresolved shrug.

Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 23
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893)

Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto was completed in 1874 while the composer was in his mid-thirties, a period during which he produced the ballet Swan Lake, the opera Eugene Onegin, Symphony No. 2 (Little Russian), and The Tempest. Tchaikovsky originally dedicated the concerto to Nikolai Rubinstein, a celebrated pianist and conductor, as well as director of the Moscow Conservatory, where Tchaikovsky was a member of the composition faculty. Tchaikovsky, however, was unprepared for Rubinstein’s response when he played the concerto for him: first stony silence, then scathing criticism. It was more than the thin-skinned Tchaikovsky could bear. Tchaikovsky next approached Hans von Bülow, who accepted the piece and promised a premiere in the United States, which took place in Boston in October 1875 by an orchestra of unknown provenance, preceding by half a decade the founding of the Boston Symphony. This is believed to be the first major work by an established European composer premiered in the U.S. rather than the composer’s home country. The performance was so enthusiastically received that Von Bülow was forced to repeat the Finale. The work was performed the following month with the New York Symphony under Walter Damrosch.  Rubinstein, who had second thoughts regarding the concerto’s qualities, gave the Russian premiere in St. Petersburg in November 1875, and led a performance in Moscow the following month with Sergei Taneyev as soloist.

In subsequent years, the First Concerto was destined to take its place as one of the most celebrated piano concertos of all time. In 1958 during the height of the Cold War, Van Cliburn won the first International Tchaikovsky Competition playing this work. According to a popular anecdote, the judges made an urgent call to Soviet Premier Khruschev for guidance, asking, “What are we going to do? The American is wiping everybody OUT!” Supposedly Khruschev curtly replied, “If he’s THAT good, give him the First Prize!” and hung up the phone. 

Cliburn’s recording for RCA under Kiril Kondrashin became the first classical LP to go Platinum. 

—Richard Schneider