Rouse on Wagner

Synopsis

“Das Rheingold” is the opening work in a 4-opera cycle, Wagner titled “The Ring of the Nibelungen.” No pun intended, but one of the most striking moments in that opera occurs when the Norse gods Wotan and Loge descend to Nibelheim, where the poor race of Nibelung dwarfs are toiling away under the spell of Alberich, a fellow dwarf possessing a magic gold ring of incredible power – but bearing a terrible curse.

Maybe the battery of tuned anvils heard in that scene sparked the imagination of the American composer Christopher Rouse in response to a commission from percussion virtuoso Evelyn Glennie, since the work he wrote for her, which premiered on today’s date in 1998, was titled “Der gerettete Alberich (or, “Alberich Saved”), subtitled "a fantasy for percussion and orchestra on themes of Wagner."

“Rather than a concerto,” said Rouse, “[it’s] a fantasy … on themes of Wagner, with the soloist taking on the ‘role’ of Alberich. Much of the material in the work is derived from Wagner’s motifs associated with Alberich, among them the motifs for the curse, the power of gold, the renunciation of love, annihilation, the Nibelungs, and, of course, the Ring itself.”

Music Played in Today's Program

Christopher Rouse (1949 – 2019) Der Gerettete Alberich Evelyn Glennie, percussion; Helsinki Philharmonic; Leif Segerstam, cond. Ondine ODE-10162

On This Day

Births

• 1893 - English composer Ivor Novello (David Ivor Davies), in Cardiff;

• 1909 - American composer Elie Siegmeister, in New York;

• 1960 - American composer Aaron Jay Kernis, in Philadelphia;

Deaths

• 1775 - Italian composer Giovanni Battista Sammartini, age c. 74, in Milan;

Premieres

• 1732 - Handel: opera "Ezio" in London at the King's Theater in the Haymarket (Gregorian date: Jan. 26);

• 1890 - Tchaikovsky: ballet, "Sleeping Beauty," at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg (Julian date: Jan. 3);

• 1923 - Pierné: "Cydalise et le chèvre-pied," at the Paris Opéra;

• 1924 - Prokofiev: "Chout" Symphonic Suite, Op. 21a, in Brussels, conducted by F. Ruhlmann;

• 1941 - Messiaen: "Quartet for the End of Time," at Stalag VIII-A, a German prisoner of war camp in Görlitz (Silesia), with the composer at the piano and fellow-prisoners Jean Le Boulaure (violin), Henri Akoka (clarinet) and Etienne Pasquier (cello);

• 1947 - Korngold: Violin Concerto in D, Op. 35, by the St. Louis Symphony conducted by Vladimir Golschmann, with Jascha Heifetz the soloist;

• 1958 - Barber: opera "Vanessa" at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Dimtri Mitropoulos conducting;

• 1976 - Paul Chihara: "Missa Carminum" for a capella chorus, in Los Angeles;

• 1994 - Zwilich: "Fantasy" for orchestra, by the Long Beach Symphony, JoAnn Falletta conducting;

• 1998 - Danielpour: "Elegies," in Jacksonville, Fla., by mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade and baritone Thomas Hampson, with the Jacksonville Symphony conducted by Roger Nierenberg;

• 1998 - Christopher Rouse: "Der gerettete Alberich" (Alberich Redeemed) for percussion and orchestra, by the Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Christoph von Dohnanyi, with Evelyn Glennie the percussion soloist;

Others

• 1785 - Likely date of the premiere performances of three of Mozart's "Haydn" Quartets (K. 387, 421, and 428), at Mozart's apartment in Vienna, with Haydn present and possibly with Mozart playing the viola.