Artistic Advisory Committee Meeting Summary

Monday, March 6, 2023

Attendees: Daniel Meyer, Steve Weiser, Wally Faas, Nathan Hess, Judith Emling, Beth Etter,
Jennifer Dearden, Rob Hoff. Comments added post-meeting by Derf Hopsecger.
Review of Toy Story concert on February 18 and 19:
No members of the AAC were at these events, though Steve reported that Daniel was “fabulous”
and orchestra played brilliantly (naturally!). Attendance at each concert was over 2,000 (nearly
sold out; more tickets sold for Sunday afternoon). Steve reviewed some of the encouraging
history of ticket sales and financial benefits of such pops/doubles concerts. Family-oriented films
are more likely to sell well for the two showings – unlike classic films such as Casablanca.
Speaking to the quality of the musical scores for the films, Daniel noted that while the Phil
musicians love to perform the music of such exceptional composers as John Williams, the music
for Toy Story (a Randy Newman score) was also fun because the audience is so responsive.

Committee members’ reactions to the playlist selections for this meeting:

Franz Liszt Les Preludes 17:35
Steve noted that Erie Phil last performed Les Preludes as an overture in November 2015 (on a
program with Hindemith’s Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber and
other works) and Judy commented how much she enjoyed the work – “so full of life and
energy.” Wally also liked the piece for its strong melodies throughout. Les Preludes is the best
known of Liszt’s symphonic tone poems and ends rather ‘triumphantly,’ observed Nate. Derf
added that he thinks that Liszt is under-rated as a composer and he considers Les Preludes to be
noble, reflective, and heroic
Felix Mendelssohn A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Overture in E major 13:32
“Always a charmer,” remarked Wally. This work has not been programmed often by the Erie
Philharmonic – possibly in 1958 but also in our first season, 1913. Daniel stated that he usually
conducts the Mendelssohn Overture as part of a Suite with actors and a women’s chorus, adding
that for such a wonderful piece one would think it would be programmed more often. Derf
suggested such adjectives as dramatic, joyful, and playful for this piece. Beth’s comment: “The
Mendelssohn is two thumbs up. A fabulous piece and a good piece to show off the strengths of
our orchestra.” Steve pointed out that as much as we love Mendelssohn, his name alone is not
usually enough to attract an audience. The committee did some brainstorming of various options
for programming an evening of orchestral music that would include the Mendelsohn Overture to
A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Maurice Ravel Piano Concerto in G major 23:39
Wally – “That’s a winner! Judy agreed. “Loved the jazz influence.” Derf said he loved the jazz
influence and the concerto reminded him of Gershwin adding that he “enjoyed the percussive
style, finding it playful at times and introspective at others. I particularly enjoyed the second
movement.” Nate remarked that “the Ravel gives each instrument in the orchestra something
meaty to play – a trumpet solo, English horn solo, many exposed parts.” Beth on the Ravel:
“I’m 100% for it! A great piece. Brilliant piano writing and brilliant orchestral writing. A sure
winner for our audience. It gives so many players a chance to shine in addition to the pianist.”
Daniel called the Ravel a wonderful concerto and noted that the Cleveland Orchestra with soloist
Vikingur Olafsson programmed it quite recently. The Erie Phil last performed the Ravel G
major April 1980 with the late legendary Spanish pianist, Alicia de Larrocha. There was
overwhelming agreement from the AAC that this work deserves to be programmed.
Dmitri Shostakovich Symphony No. 10 in E minor 1:03:49
Wally: “It deserves to be heard, but the length is a problem, at least for me.” Daniel noted that
the epic first movement alone was about 21 minutes. Steve mentioned that other symphonies of
Shostakovich such as Symphony No. 7 in C (“Leningrad”) or Symphony No. 11 in G minor (The
Year 1905”) also have daunting first movements and might be candidates for the Erie Phil,
adding that the Erie audiences always seem to come out for Shostakovich. “From a marketing
standpoint, Erie loves Shostakovich.” Steve explained how sections from the second movement
and fourth movements could be used in a 30-second snippet or a preview video to create
excitement about coming out to experience the symphony. It is a symphony of ciphers and
melodic codes, perhaps most notably the DSCH motif which represents the composer’s name. To
the concern that this lengthy work might make for ‘an uncomfortable listen,’ Steve made a
persuasive argument that there is much he could do to sell the concert, to get people to the
Warner to hear the symphony. That said, it seemed that there was less than a full-throated
endorsement among the AAC members for programming this particular symphony by
Shostakovich. Judy’s comment may be instructive: “I have mixed emotions about the
performance. I’m glad I heard it but I don’t know that I’d want to sit through a performance of
it.”
Daniel: “The 10th is an important piece. I’ve conducted it a couple of times. I love it.” Daniel
added that he is also very enthusiastic about Symphony No. 9 in E flat major and Symphony No.
11 in G minor. (Some musicologists, BTW, describe the 9th as brutally sarcastic. It was banned in
1948 by the Soviet censorship board.). Steve made it clear that he favors getting at least one of
the symphonies (if not the 10th then maybe number 7 or 11) on our schedule.
During our discussion of this symphony, reference was made to Testimony, a book by Solomon
Volkov which was adopted for the documentary The War Symphonies: Shostakovich Against
Stalin. That film focused on the years 1936-1945 when the composer wrote symphonies 4-9.
Symphony number 10 was premiered in December 1953 after Stalin’s death. Given the situation
in Ukraine, is Putin somehow the Stalin of our time?
Our discussion of the Shostakovich 10 raised a general question that also came up in previous
meetings of the AAC, this time prompted by a suggestion from Beth. She suggested that our
audience is so dedicated at this time that we can take risks with our programming. Steve agreed
in part, cautioning us with the caveat that – yes, the audience is dedicated but we do not want to
take them for granted. “All it takes is one thing to make subscribers not want to renew their
season pass.”

Robert Schumann Symphony No 1 in Bb major (Spring Symphony) 30:47

To the question how often does this symphony get played, Steve pointed out that we have
apparently done the first symphony only once but the second many more times. Occasional
performances of three and four (number four done recently). Beth told us that she loved the
Spring Symphony given its sweet melodies and such gutsy material. Jen, on the other hand, was
rather lukewarm about the piece – “just didn’t do much for me, didn’t grab my attention”. At
least one other committee member had much the same reaction. Wally found it safe and pretty
traditional. Agreeing with Beth, Nate was quite positive about the Schumann 1 – mentioning
the exciting first movement, for example. Nate also told us that he is partial to this work because
it was one of the first symphonies he learned, one of the first recordings he owned – and that
little nugget led to a brief but fun digression about how it seems to be that the music of our youth
– say between the ages of 15-25 – often has a lasting appeal. “If we’re looking to do another
Schumann symphony this would be a good choice,” suggested Nate.
Jean Sibelius Violin Concerto in D minor 36:29
Beth reflected the views of the committee with her statement: “I absolutely love this concerto!”
Nate agreed, pointing out that it is one of the great violin concertos, very difficult and with so
many great tunes. It is rather long for a concerto – really symphonic in scope - and that makes it
an endurance challenge for the soloist. Of course the technical demands are high – intonation,
rhythmic prowess, bow technique, double stops, arpeggiated 4 string ricochet bowing. It calls for
a virtuosic powerhouse. The Erie Phil last performed the Sibelius in 2004 with Todd Phillips the
soloist. (Todd Phillips is the son of Eugene Phillips, violinist with the PSO. Ed Lesser brought
Todd Phillips to the attention of the AAC twenty years ago.). Daniel commented that he was
shocked we haven’t done it in recent history. “It’s a great piece.” Wally is also enthusiastic
about the concerto: “We’re due. It has it all – drama, playfulness, fireworks.” Jen also gave the
Sibelius two thumbs up. Further comments addressed the fact that Sibelius himself was an
accomplished violinist as well as a great orchestrator and he used a full orchestra – including
three trombones in his concerto. Many other violin concertos use a reduced orchestra, typically
with no trombones, for example.
The sense of the committee was that it would be wonderful to have the Sibelius on our schedule.
And to the suggestion, “We should get Hilary Hahn” – came Steve’s quick reply: “I’m working
on it! We’ll get her here, I promise!”

Richard Strauss Festive Prelude for Orchestra and Organ 12 minutes

Nate had originally suggested this work but wondered now whether a work with a huge organ
part would be a lost cause. Steve assured us that when the organ is functioning it will be fine.
Daniel pointed out that once we have the organ up and functioning we want to be certain that we
program for it at least once a season so people and hear it and enjoy it. Derf argued that the
Strauss has a variety of things to recommend it to an audience, notably a fine feature for the
organ – “with a ‘Phantom’ kind of vibe at times.” Wally reported that felt more enthusiastic
about the Festive Prelude in the past than at present though he is not sure exactly why his
interest has faded. Nate said the piece reminded him somewhat of Strauss’s Alpine Symphony
(which also includes an organ) in some ways – it meanders a bit then there are glorious outbursts
of wonderful music. That comment actually led to the possibility that at some point we might
actually program the lengthy Alpine tone poem of Richard Strauss. Is it possible that the Erie
Philharmonic has never programmed An Alpine Symphony? Other works by Strauss were then
briefly considered with the sense that perhaps it is time for a major work by Richard Strauss
(Death and Transfiguration, Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks, for example).

Discussion: How might we help to educate the public in advance regarding the pieces
scheduled to be performed during the 2023-2024 season?
At this point we continued a discussion begun at the February meeting of the AAC. Many
exciting suggestions are now under development, such as:
Having the talks prepared by Brian Hannah as videos available ahead of time and sent as an
email, allowing concert-goers to become more familiar with the works and the composers. That
plan has already been in effect and it has generated many favorable responses.
Since we receive the Notes on the Program by Ken Meltzer ahead of time we could get all of the
notes for an upcoming season and send them to the audience in advance. They could also be
turned into a blog on the Erie Phil website – with pictures and links that go along with it. They
might be sent a month before each concert.
Anna Hartvigson, the Marketing Manager, and Steve have gone through some training to
develop an Erie Phil podcast. Each podcast could be recorded in one studio and would run for
15-20 minutes. Six to seven of these podcasts could be recorded all at once. The podcasts could
discuss the works on an upcoming program with calls to (for example) Daniel Meyer, Tom
Brooks, Ken Johnston, the featured soloist to talk about the program. Such podcasts are not
limited to repertoire or previews of upcoming season concerts. They could be educational. They
may talk about summer concerts. The podcasts would be available on Facebook and by email
and in other ways. The podcasts might be released maybe once each month. These podcasts are
currently under development.
Beth described the pre-concert lobby performances she and violinist Lee Wilkins and other
members of the Phil used to do in the past. Each performance could provide some perspective on
the composer, the works to be heard that evening, the time period, and so on. Such performances
were educational, entertaining, and well-received.
Mark your calendars for our next meeting, possibly Monday June 5. We might recap the season,
fine-tune the pieces we’ve considered this season, cut the list of candidate compositions down to
a smaller list, discuss the summer concert series, and preview the 2023-2024 season. Your
suggestions are always welcome. Daniel suggested that it may be time to once again poll
members of the Phil for their ideas.
Thanks to each of you for your thoughtful comments. Enjoy the Spring and see you at Midori!