b'PROGRAM NOTESSERGEI RACHMANINOFFSymphonic Dances for Orchestra, Opus 45Composer: Born April 1, 1873, Oneg, Russia;died March 28, 1943, Beverly Hills, CA Work composed: The summer and autumn of 1940.The published score bears the inscription: Dedicated toEugene Ormandy and The Philadelphia Orchestra.World premiere: Eugene Ormandy led the Philadelphia Orchestraon January 3, 1941.Instrumentation: Piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets,bass clarinet, alto saxophone, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns,3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, chimes, cymbals, drum, orchestra bells, tam-tam, tambourine, triangle, xylophone, piano, harp, and stringsEstimated duration: 35 minutesS ergei Rachmaninoff had great regard for the Philadelphia Orchestra and its music director, Eugene Ormandy. As a pianist, he performed with them on several occasions, and as a composer, he appreciated the rich sound Ormandy and his musicians produced. During the 1930s, Rachmaninoff remarked that he always had this ensembles unique sound in his head while composing orchestral music: [I would] rather perform with the Philadelphia Orchestra than any other of the world. When he began working on the Symphonic Dances, he wrote with Ormandy and the orchestra in mind. Several of Rachmaninoffs other works, including the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini and Piano Concerto No. 4, were also written for, or first performed by, Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra.The Symphonic Dances became Rachmaninoffs final composition. Though not as well-known as his piano concertos or Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Rachmaninoff and many others regard the Symphonic Dances as his greatest orchestral work. I dont know how it happened, he remarked. It must have been my last spark.Nervous pulsing violins open the Allegro, over which winds mutter a descending minor triad (three-note chord). The strings set a quickstep tempo, while the opening triad becomes the melodic and harmonic foundation of the movement as its repeated, reversed, and developed. The introspective middle section features the first substantial melody, sounded by a melancholy alto saxophone. The Allegro concludes with a return of the quickstep and fluttering triad.Muted trumpets and pizzicato strings open the Andante con moto with a lopsided stuttering waltz, followed by a subdued violin solo. This main theme lacks the lightness of a Strauss waltz; its haunting quality borders on the macabre, suggestive of Sibelius Valse triste or Ravels La valse. Rachmaninoffs waltz is periodically interrupted by sinister brass blasts.In the Lento assai: Allegro vivace, Rachmaninoff borrows the Dies irae (Day of Wrath) melody from the requiem mass, used in his Isle of the Dead and Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. Here, it has even more suggestive power; we can hear it as Rachmaninoffs final statement on his careers end. Rachmaninoff also incorporates melodies from the Russian Orthodox liturgy, including Blagosloven Yesi, Gospodi from All-Night Vigil.On the final page of the Symphonic Dances manuscript, Rachmaninoff wrote, I thank Thee, Lord! Elizabeth Schwartz16 Santa Rosa Symphony(707) 546-8742'