Overture “Coriolan” in C minor, Op. 62 (1807)
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827)

Ludwig van Beethoven, born in Bonn, is one of the foremost pillars around which Western European instrumental music traditions formed. His works, begun in the Viennese style and transformed into his own unique voice, built on the formal styles established by composers like Mozart and Haydn. Beethoven would go on to develop these styles in increasingly more complex and lengthy ways, moving from lighter Classical styles to more dark and emotional Romantic ideas. His work spans the transition of Western European music from the Classical period to the Romantic, and secured his place firmly in the pantheon of canonized composers within the Western European tradition. Before his death in 1827 at the age of 45, Beethoven composed over 722 works, including symphonies, string quartets, sonatas, concertos, and solo works.

Rome is surrounded. In the power-vacuum created in the years following the overthrow of its seventh and final king, Tarquin the Proud, the fate of the Italian peninsula is far from certain, with different tribes contending for dominance and testing the Romans’ new geographic supremacy.  Gnaeus Marcius Coriolanus, a Roman soldier whose political power was gained in Rome’s earlier war with the Volscii, was exiled upon his return for his advocation of harsh treatment of the Roman plebiscite. After convincing the Volscians he once fought against to march with him on the great city under his command, it is this son of Rome at the head of an army of her enemies, besieging her gates and burning the plebian homes and farms surrounding her. Multiple emissaries from the Roman Senate are rebuffed, the priests of Rome are turned away, and the situation for the city grows more dire with every passing hour.

In this moment of despair, Veturia and Virgilia – the wife and mother of Coriolanus, respectively – gather the women of Rome to march in protest on the Volscian camp. Coriolanus, unable to turn away his mother and wife while retaining any of his honor or dignity, raves about the injustice of his treatment at the hands of the Roman Senate, and his desire for power and revenge. The women, in their turn, plead fervently with him, insisting that he withdraw his Volscian forces, cease his siege, and thus avoid robbing the women of Rome of their sons and husbands in a civil war in which neither side could win a victory without sacrificing so much as to make it meaningless.

Coriolan, overcome by the women's pleas, withdraws his forces and abandons the prosecution of his revenge. Seeing no way to return to the life from which he was exiled in Rome, and no place for him with the Volscians whom he had galvanized and led in such and unfruitful campaign, Coriolanus takes his own life, leaving the women of Rome to return to the city as mournful victors.

Beethoven’s Coriolan Overture, Op. 62, was written in 1807 for an 1804 tragedy written by Heinrich Joseph van Collins. Though Collins’ play would see a brief revival to be paired with Beethoven’s overture, the music itself has been much more enduring than Collins’ work, becoming an orchestral staple where Collins’ play never entered into the theatrical canon. The tale of Coriolanus has endured with popularity and timeless themes that have intrigued artists and audiences alike for centuries. It is the subject of multiple plays, with Shakespeare’s being the most famous, as well as film adaptations. Just a year after Beethoven’s work, Giuseppe Nicolini composed an opera seria entitled Coriolano ossia L’assedio di Roma, telling Coriolanus’ story aptly through the medium of Italian opera.

Beethoven’s music begins with ominous, powerful chords, portraying the strength of the Volscian forces under Coriolanus’ command beginning their siege of Rome. The first theme of the work, a churning motric theme in the strings that lurches forward ceaselessly throughout, depicts Coriolanus’ near-mad scheming and his insatiable desire for revenge and power. This incessant theme is, of course, met with a theme that is as lyrical as it is urgent, the opposing force of the women of Rome. While Coriolanus’ theme resides exclusively and continually in the strings, the women’s theme is passed from section to section, layering atop itself as the pleas of the women of Rome were voiced in turn as they begged Coriolanus to withdraw. This lyrical theme persists from its first appearance, inserting itself again and again into the churning of Coriolanus’ demands for war. At last the women’s theme prevails, and Coriolanus’ theme fractures into so many pieces. As the desire for revenge is replaced with loss and hopelessness at his own situation, fragments of his theme flash across the surface of the music, fleeing its texture like a fading memory. With three final, fateful pulses, like three final heartbeats, Coriolanus is no more.

Romanze in F Major for Viola and Orchestra, Op. 85 (1911)
Max Bruch (1838 – 1920)

Max Bruch, best known for his first violin concerto, was a composer, violinist, teacher, and conductor with over 200 compositions. His long career traversed much of Germany, and placed him firmly in the style of Romantic classicists like Johannes Brahms. His students included Italian composer Ottorino Respighi and American pianist Rudolph Reuter.

Bruch’s Romanze was first performed by his friend violinist Willy Hess in Berlin on 25 April 1911, at a private concert given by Leo Schrattenholz, Bruch’s conducting student. Though the piece was written in consultation with Hess and undoubtedly with Hess’ playing in mind – Bruch wrote several works for specific performers that were close personal friends between 1909 and 1911 – ultimately the piece was dedicated to famed French violist Maurice Vieux.

Rachael Keplin, viola

Rachael Keplin is a violist and string pedagogue based in Greensboro, North Carolina. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of North Carolina Greensboro, a Master of Arts in string pedagogy from The Ohio State University, a Bachelor of Music in viola performance from Kennesaw State University. Rachael is an active performer throughout North Carolina, Georgia, and Ohio. She is a founding member of a modern outreach chamber group, Chamber Brews and enjoys regularly performing with the North Carolina Opera and North Charleston Pops. She is passionate about youth outreach and currently teaches at the Music Academy of North Carolina and serves as the Program Coordinator for the Peer Artists Leadership Program. Rachael recently published her dissertation, “Mindfulness and Free Improvisation: A Holistic Approach to Cultivating Creativity & Awareness”, and performs within the genre of free improvisation frequently on her loop station. When she isn’t practicing or teaching, Rachael loves to run, cook, and spend lots of time with family and friends.

Pulcinella Suite, KO34b (1920)

Igor Stravinsky (1882 – 1971)

I. Overture
II. Serenata
IIIa. Scherzino
IIIb. Allegro
IIIc. Andantino
IV. Tarantella
V. Toccata
VI. Gavotte with Two Variations
VII. Duet
VIIIa. Minuet
VIIIb. Finale

Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky was a Russian composer with both French and American citizenship, considered one of the preeminent composers in the 20th century. Originally a student of law, Stravinsky would go on to study composition under Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and write for Sergei Diaghilev’s Les Ballets Russes. Much like Beethoven, Stravinsky’s compositional era is often divided into three categories. His first period dealt heavily in Russian styles and folkloric themes, his second with neoclassical ideals and the use of sonata form, and his third with serialism and techniques from the Second Viennese School. Though fraught with contention at the time of his writing, Stravinsky has become regarded as of invaluable worth to the development of modernist music and composers’ understanding of rhythm.

Pulcinella was a ballet commissioned by Diaghilev for :es Ballets Russes, and came after Stravinsky’s success with The Firebird and scandal with The Rite of Spring. It marked the end of Stravinsky’s Russian period, sitting at the shift between that and his turn towards neoclassicism. Stravinsky would remark, after its premiere, “Pulcinella was my discovery of the past, the epiphany through which the whole of my late work became possible.” The stage ballet, based on the Italian commedia dell’arte, consists of 21 movements, including vocalists. Pulcinella Suite is a pared down version of this lengthier work, intended for a chamber orchestra and string quintet.

Ensemble

Violin I
Iris Fritzen Andrade CM+
Malik Winston
James Nguyen+ 

Violin II
Evelyn Snyder*
Jennifer Aikey
Kai Leigh Clemans
Molly MacKellar 

Viola
Isaiah Burwell*+
Miles Fowler
William Nowicki
Lyndie Enchautegui 

Cello
Jonathan Simmons*+
William Dowell
Davis Lingner 

Bass
Carol Alvarado*+

Flute
Samantha O’Hare*
David Covert 

Oboe
Siena Stevens*
Kristen Daniel 

Clarinet
Hayley Jensen*
Abby Novak
Wyatt Roper 

Bassoon
Emily Klinkoski*
Erik Traheim 

Horn 
Jarrod Rorrer*
Corinne Luciano
Sonja Guthrie 

Trumpet
Hannah Markun*
Justin Wheeler*

Trombone
Isaac Dusek* 

Timpani 
Jack Comley*

Dalton M. Guin (b. 1992)

Dalton Guin is currently pursuing a Master of Music degree at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with Dr. Jonathan Caldwell and Dr. Jungho Kim. He completed his Bachelor’s of Music in Horn Performance in 2023 at UNCG, studying with Dr. Abagail Pack. 

Prior to his time at UNCG, Dalton served as a Horn Instrumentalist in the United States Marine Corps. During that time he performed with diverse and wide-ranging ensembles in Hawaii, New Orleans, Calgary, Amerika Samoa, and Palau; to include the Kamuela Philharmonic Orchestra, JALPAC Chorus Without Borders, the Oahu Civic Orchestra, and the HMCS Tecumseh/NCSM Tecumseh Naval Band. Closer to home here in North Carolina, Dalton has performed with the Carolina Ballet, Triangle Youth Ballet, and Goldsboro Theatre Society, as well as various ensembles within UNCG.