Event
Tchaikovsky’s Fate
Naples Philharmonic Masterworks
Naples Philharmonic
Alexander Shelley, artistic and music director
Joshua Hopkins, baritone
L. Boulanger — D’un soir triste
Jake Heggie — Songs for Murdered Sisters
Tchaikovsky — Symphony No. 4
This season’s Storytelling theme delves into deeper emotions in this Masterworks program as Artistic and Music Director Alexander Shelley has crafted a deeply moving experience that will not be forgotten any time soon.
A look at the background of the three pieces to be performed should give patrons an idea of what’s in store: Lili Boulanger was 24 and dying of tuberculosis when she wrote D’un soir triste (On a Sad Evening). Jake Heggie composed Songs for Murdered Sisters specifically for this evening’s special guest, Joshua Hopkins, a baritone whose sister was one of three Canadian women murdered by the same man in 2015. And Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony tricks us into believing the gloom of the symphony’s beginning is about to clear, only to shatter expectations. Is the piece expressing the guilt and shame over taboo desires the composers could not suppress, or was he simply battling another bout of depression?
Boulanger’s D’un soir triste (On a Sad Evening) utilizes complex cross rhythms and a dense harmonic structure to convey a dark premonition and inconsolable despair, likely the composer’s own sense of impending death. In fact, the handwriting on the original manuscript became weaker and weaker, until it was nearly impossible to make out the notes, as the composer inched toward her demise.
The impetus for Jake Heggie’s Songs for Murdered Sisters arose in the fall of 2015, shortly after a Canadian man went on a killing spree, murdering three ex-partners in their separate homes. One of the women murdered was Nathalie Warmerdam, the sister of this evening’s special guest, baritone Joshua Hopkins, who, after the murder, set out on a journey to raise awareness of the global epidemic of gender-based violence. Struck by his efforts, world-famous opera composer Heggie agreed to write the music while best-selling author Margaret Atwood (The Handmaid’s Tale), wrote the words for the tender, powerful and tragic eight-song piece.
In the evening’s final segment, Tchaikovsky opens his Fourth Symphony with the horns of fate, a force that prevents us from attaining a life of bliss. The composer then toys with listeners by introducing a passage that is full of triumph and joy. This fleeting moment is quickly overshadowed as Tchaikovsky returns to the somber melody, as if to say that “Life is not perfect, happiness is short-lived and, if you can’t find joy in yourself, embrace the joy of others.”
Prelude at 6:30pm
Join the conductor before the performance for an insightful 30-minute prelude discussion about the program.
Music and Museum
All Masterworks tickets include same-day admission to The Baker Museum. Museum hours on day of performance: 10am-7:30pm. In addition, the doors to Hayes Hall will open 90 minutes prior to this performance. Arrive early to enjoy the exhibitions and light fare available at Heidi's Place.