b'PROGRAM NOTESIt was suggested that a short work for a debut by multi-track recording could account for the ensemble performing together as if they were in the same room. One of the devices used to address this is the usage of Ostinato, which is a rhythmic motif that repeats itself to generate forward motion and, in this case, groove. The ostinato patterns here are laid down by the bass section, allowing the English horn and strings to float over it, gradually building up to that moment at 7pm, when cheers, claps, clanging of pots and pans, and shouts ring through the air of cities around the world! The trumpets drive an infectious rhythm, layered with a traditionalsonclave rhythm, while solo trombone boldly rings out an anthem within a traditional African call and response style [son is a style of music that emerged in late 19th-century Cuba]. The entire orchestra shouts back in response, and the entire ensemble rallies into an anthem that embodies the struggles and triumph of humanity. The work ends in a proud anthem moment where we all come together with grateful hearts to acknowledge that we have survived yet another day.PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKYConcerto No. 1 in B-flat minor for Pianoand Orchestra, Opus 23COMPOSER: Born May 7, 1840, Kamsko-Votinsk, Viatka province, Russia; died November 6, 1893, St. PetersburgWORK COMPOSED: Tchaikovsky began composing his first piano concerto in November 1874 and finished it in February 1875. He revised it in the summer of 1879 and again in December 1888; this final revision is the one usually performed. Tchaikovsky originally dedicated the concerto to his mentor Nicolai Rubenstein, but after Rubenstein rejected the work as unplayable, Tchaikovsky removed his mentors name from the manuscript and dedicated it to pianist and conductor Hans von Blow.WORLD PREMIERE: Hans von Blow premiered the concerto at Bostons Music Hall on October 25, 1875.INSTRUMENTATION: Solo piano, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani, and stringsESTIMATED DURATION: 33 minutesT he first measures of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovskys Piano Concerto No. 1 have assumed an identity all their own, distinct from the remainder of the work. Many people recognize the four-note descending horn theme and the iconic crashing chords of the pianists first entrance without knowing the work as a whole. (Interestingly, this signature introduction to the Piano Concerto No. 1 is just that, an introduction; after approximately 100 measures it disappears and never returns.) These opening bars have also become part of popular culture, as the theme to Orson Welles Mercury Theatre radio programs; in the 1971 cult film Harold and Maude; as a favorite of Liberaces; and in a Monty Python sketch.Although the rest of the concerto is compelling, that was not the initial opinion of Tchaikovskys friend and mentor, Nikolai Rubenstein. Rubenstein, the director of the Moscow Conservatory, had previously premiered many of Tchaikovskys works, including Romeo and Juliet. Tchaikovsky considered Rubenstein the greatest pianist in Moscow, and wanted Rubensteins help regarding the technical aspects of the solo piano part. In a letter to his patron Nadezhda von Meck, Tchaikovsky described his now-infamous meeting with Rubenstein on Christmas Eve, 1874: I played the first movement. Not a single word, not a single comment! After Tchaikovsky finished, as he explained to Mme. von Meck, A torrent poured from Nikolai Gregorievichs mouthMy concerto, it turned out, was worthless and 20 Santa Rosa Symphony(707) 546-8742'