Program Notes | The Firebird with Xian Zhang

Johann Sebastian Bach
Born: March 21, 1685, in Eisenbach, Germany
Died: July 28, 1750, in Leipzig, Germany
Composed: ca. 1720
World Premiere: Undocumented, but probably in Leipzig in 1720.
Duration: 4 minutes
Instrumentation: solo cello

The six suites for unaccompanied cello, BWV 1007–1012, are bedrock to the cello literature. Every cellist studies them, and most cellists retain all six suites in their permanent repertoire.

It was not always so. Bach was nearly a forgotten composer in the 19th century. Those who were acquainted with his music classified it as academic, useful for pedantic purposes, but unsuitable for performance. Not until the Spanish cellist Pablo Casals began to play the Bach Cello Suites in public did they acquire a broader audience. Their popularity today is undisputed. They vary widely in difficulty, which means that even beginning cellists can learn a couple of the easier movements, incorporating Bach into their repertoire early in their studies.

Bach probably intended these works as a companion group to his Sonatas and Partitas for unaccompanied violin, which date from 1717–1723, the years he was in service to Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cöthen. Some scholars believe that parts of the unaccompanied cello suites are earlier, possibly from his stint between 1708 and 1717 working for Prince Johann Ernest of Saxe-Weimar. We know that Bach played both violin and viola. In composing these works for cello, he must have learned a considerable amount about the instrument’s technique, capabilities—and limitations (for example, the cello cannot play chords as easily as the violin). It is possible that he was writing for Christian Bernhard Linike, cellist in the Cöthen court orchestra.

No autograph score survives for the cello suites. The earliest copy is in the hand of Anna Magdalena, Bach’s second wife, and dates from the late 1720s. Later manuscripts have come down to us in various copyists’ hands, which means that there is no definitive version. It is likely that Bach returned to these suites and continued revising them through the 1720s and 1730s; he did so with many other works. Furthermore, the expectation that Baroque performers would embellish the music, particularly during repeated halves of dances, lends another measure of interpretive flexibility.

All six of Bach’s Cello Suites open with a Prelude in the form of a French overture, consisting of a slow introduction with pronounced dotted rhythms, followed by a fugal Allegro. The Second Suite’s Prelude on the low C, the lowest pitch on a cello. The music has a dark cast and somber character at the start, often calling for triple and quadruple stops on the downbeat. The slow introduction cedes to a faster contrapuntal passage in 3/8 meter that proceeds in running sixteenth notes for much of its duration. Double, triple, and quadruple stops flesh out its harmonies as Bach brings the Prelude to a close.

The Fifth Suite is the only one of Bach’s six Cello Suites that also exists in a version for lute. It also calls for scordatura, an intentional mistuning. In this case, the cello’s top string—the A string—is tuned down to G. The result heightens the dark cast to the instrument’s sound; the mistuning also facilitates Bach’s occasional use of chords.

Caroline Shaw
Born: August 1, 1982, in Greenville, North Carolina
Composed: 2012
World Premiere: August 2012 by Lorna Tsai, Caroline Shaw, Sage Cole, and Shay Rudolph at a bookstore in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts.
Duration: 6 minutes
Instrumentation: string quartet

Earlier this spring, the New Jersey Symphony performed Pulitzer Prize-winner Caroline Shaw’s The Observatory. This weekend we get acquainted with one of her short chamber works. Valencia is a paean to the delicious Mediterranean citrus fruit named for a Spanish city. Her evocative composer’s note brings the Valencia orange to life.

There is something exquisite about the construction of an ordinary orange. (Grocery stores around the country often offer the common "Valencia" as the standard option.) Hundreds of brilliantly colored, impossibly delicate vesicles of juice, ready to explode. It is a thing of nature so simple, yet so complex and extraordinary. In 2012, I performed at the MoMA with the musician and performance artist, Glasser—a song which she described as being about the simple beauty of fruit. Later that summer I wrote Valencia, for a concert I was playing with some good friends in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts. I decided to channel Glasser’s brave and intuitive approach to melody and texture, such that Valencia became an untethered embrace of the architecture of the common Valencia orange, through billowing harmonics and somewhat viscous chords and melodies. It is also a kind of celebration of awareness of the natural, unadorned food that is still available to us.

Shaw’s movement is an exuberant mix of harmonics, glissandos, minimalism, and rhythmic games. What starts out as marked contrast between pairs of the string players eventually coalesces into a quasi-symphonic collaboration. Rather than being at odds with one another, they sail forth. Though pizzicato and rapid harmonics surface toward the end, the conclusion is unified—and witty.

Qasim Naqvi / Ben Corrigan
Born: April 27, 1977, in New Milford, Connecticut
Composed: 2023; the piano quintet version was completed in 2025
World Premiere: May 19, 2023, at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall. This weekend’s performances are the premiere of the piano quintet version, arranged by Ben Corrigan.
Duration: 8 minutes
Instrumentation: piano quartet (string quartet plus piano)

Pakistani-American Qasim Naqvi has a double-pronged career as composer and drummer. He is a founding member of Dawn of Midi, a trio comprising India’s Aakaash Israni on double bass, Morocco’s Amino Belyamin on piano and Naqvi on drums. Based in Brooklyn, Dawn of Midi has favored composition rather than improvised music. Qasim’s works have been performed in Finland, the UK, and Holland, and he is a prolific composer of soundtracks for film. He studied performance at the New School Jazz and Contemporary Music program and California Institute of the Arts. Nimbus Dance and the Symphony have collaborated twice before on chamber music works by Naqvi. His composer’s note follows.

This piece was inspired by its title. The phrase, “God Docks at Death Harbor” came to my wife in a dream. She’s an extraordinary poet, and one morning she woke up with these words in her mind. At the time I was just starting to think about this orchestra. As soon as I heard the phrase, it immediately conjured some very strong and specific imagery for me. And the words proceeded to serve as a narrative backdrop for the entire work. Through these words, I imagined an earth many years into the future where we no longer exist. I imagined the quiet and peacefulness of this planet without us, as it restores itself. I imagined the sun rising on empty cities and towns. I guess you could say this piece is about our end, but not in an apocalyptic sense. To me, its tone is one of hope, for a planet that is getting a second chance in our absence. Musically, I wanted to try some different things and deviate from the more abstract and darker sound worlds which my work often exhibits.

God Docks at Death Harbor is a reverent, shimmering movement, suffused with chimes and gently blurred harmonies that grow more complex. A repeated bass line anchors the seamless flow of this atmospheric piece.

Igor Stravinsky
Born: June 17, 1882, in Oranienbaum, Russia
Died: April 6, 1971, in New York City
Composed: 1928; revised in 1934 and 1949
World Premiere: November 27, 1928, in Paris, France.
Duration: 22 minutes
Instrumentation: piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, English horn, three clarinets (third doubling bass clarinet), two bassoons, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, harp, and strings

For all the astonishing diversity of his genius, Stravinsky’s most lasting contribution is in the realm of ballet. Yet, in the popular imagination, his substantial reputation continues to rest primarily on three early masterpieces: The Firebird (1910), Pétrouchka (1911), and The Rite of Spring (1913). Stravinsky lived more than half a century after the last of that stunning trio of ballets, continuing to compose until the mid-1960s. Many of his subsequent scores were also written for the ballet stage and have remained in the repertoire with double lives as both dance and concert scores.

Two of these, Pulcinella (1920) and The Fairy’s Kiss (1928) hold a special place in Stravinsky’s oeuvre because they are based in large part upon the works of earlier composers. Clearly a musician of Stravinsky’s ingenuity and originality had no need to rely on others for his musical material, and indeed in both cases he was paying tribute to one of his predecessors. The story behind The Fairy’s Kiss is particularly engaging.

Late in 1927, Stravinsky was approached by the dancer Ida Rubinstein, who was starting a new ballet company. For its inauguration, she wished to commission a new work inspired by Tchaikovsky’s music. Stravinsky was a great admirer of Tchaikovsky and was strongly drawn to the project because of the timing: 1928 was the 35th anniversary of Tchaikovsky’s death. Ironically, Stravinsky’s mentor and colleague Serge Diaghilev was greatly offended that Stravinsky accepted a commission from someone else. What he perceived as an insult stung deeper because Ida Rubinstein was a former dancer with Diaghilev’s incomparable troupe, the Ballets Russes. (In fact, of Stravinsky’s stage works, only three—L’histoire du soldat (1918), Apollon musagète (1928), and The Fairy’s Kiss—came to fruition independent of Diaghilev.)

Nevertheless, the project went forward. Stravinsky’s musical approach was to take fragments of melodies, or entire themes, from Tchaikovsky’s music, endowing it with freshness through piquant orchestration and the addition of some original material. He selected all the excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s lesser-known piano works, much of it frankly salon music: Humoresques, Nocturnes, Valses russes, Scherzos, an Evening Reverie, an Album Leaf, and several songs, among others. None of his choices was orchestral. Stravinsky knew this music well, since childhood, and Tchaikovsky was his favorite Russian composer. (In Expositions and Developments, one of his collaborative books with Robert Craft, the composer detailed his borrowings, and adaptations).

The challenge he faced was to sustain the dramatic interest of a long ballet with the vehicle of the lighter raw material of salon miniatures. He kept the texture light, despite tripling the woodwinds in the orchestration, by using smaller groups of instruments in combinations rather than drawing upon the massive sound of full orchestra. Consequently, the entire score has a more chamber-like feel to it. Also, the borrowings are carefully intermingled with Stravinsky’s own original writing. His acerbic style cuts through any danger of sentimentality in his treatment of Tchaikovsky’s music; the innate theatricality, and simple appeal of the tale delivers the rest.

In his 1936 autobiography, Chroniques de ma vie, Stravinsky discusses Hans Christian Andersen’s tale, “The Ice Maiden,” and its transformation into a ballet.

I chose [“The Ice Maiden”] as my theme, and worked out the story on the following lines. A fairy imprints her magic kiss on a child at birth and parts it from its mother. Twenty years later, when the youth has attained the very zenith of his good fortune, she repeats the fatal kiss, and carries him off to live in supreme happiness with her forever afterward. As my object was to commemorate the work of Tchaikovsky, this subject seemed to me to be particularly appropriate as an allegory, the muse having similarly branded Tchaikovsky with her fatal kiss, and the magic imprint has made itself felt in all the musical creations of this great artist.

The music is divided into five principal sections. Two lullabies frame the ballet: in the first, “Lullaby in the Storm,” the child is separated from its mother. The closing section is its reprise, retitled, and reworked as “Lullaby of the Land Beyond Time and Place,” with a peculiarly tranquil aura of wide open, heavenly space. In between, Stravinsky provides musical interest by contrast: notably a boisterous village fête, in which the music vividly illustrates country peasant dancing. In snatches here, we can sense the echo of certain Russian operas, and also perhaps the spirit of Pétrouchka.

Igor Stravinsky
Born: June 17, 1882, in Oranienbaum, Russia
Died: April 6, 1971, in New York City
Composed: 1909–1910; revised 1919
World Premiere: The original, full version of the ballet was premiered on June 25, 1910, at the Opéra de Paris with Ballet Russes.
Duration: 23 minutes
Instrumentation: two flutes (second doubling piccolo), two oboes (second doubling English horn), two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion (bass drum, cymbals, tambourine, xylophone, triangle), harp, piano, celeste, and strings

Stravinsky had developed exceptional skills in writing for orchestra studying with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. He put those skills to superb use in The Firebird, commingling Russian folk tunes with original themes and adorning both in sumptuous orchestral garb. He captures the scintillating character of the magic bird and the menace of the terrifying Kashchei. The Firebird’s final tableau remains one of the symphonic literature’s most splendid conclusions.

Remarkably, The Firebird was Stravinsky’s first ballet, and the first of the trio of ballets that established him as a composer of international stature. The new work was an instant success, placing Stravinsky on the musical map virtually overnight.

Tamara Karsavina, the ballerina who created the title role in the 1910 production of The Firebird, wrote an article in 1948 recalling the young composer’s participation and demeanor as the new ballet went into rehearsal.

Often, he came early to the theatre before a rehearsal began, in order to play for me, over and over again, some specially difficult passage. I felt grateful, not only for the help he gave me, but for the manner in which he gave it. For there was no impatience in him with my slow understanding; no condescension of a master of his craft towards the slender equipment of my musical education. It was interesting to watch him at the piano. His body seemed to vibrate with his own rhythm; punctuating staccatos with his head, he made the pattern of his music forcibly clear to me, more so than the counting of bars would have done.

With The Firebird’s brilliant and lush orchestration, Stravinsky proved how well he had learned from his teacher Rimsky-Korsakov. Relying heavily on Russian folk tunes, he also acknowledged some debt to all the “Russian Five.” The Ronde des princesses shares the orientalism of Borodin’s lyrical Polovtsian Dances; Stravinsky’s grandiose and triumphant finale is surely related to Mussorgsky’s “Great Gate of Kiev” from Pictures at an Exhibition.

In a sense, though, The Firebird also marked Stravinsky’s break with his homeland. Thereafter he was a citizen of the world, living largely in France and Switzerland, and eventually in the United States. The ballet is at once a traditional work and a turning point, marking both the end of an era and the beginning of a brilliant, lengthy career.

The Firebird was premiered by the Russian impresario Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes in Paris in 1910. The following year, Stravinsky derived a suite from the ballet, concluding with Kashchei’s “Infernal Dance.” He re-orchestrated the Suite in 1919 for a somewhat smaller orchestra, using the finale of the complete ballet for his conclusion; that is the version we hear. For a third version in 1945, he composed some additional connective music.

In his 1936 autobiography, Stravinsky described the circumstances that led to his composing The Firebird.

In the summer of 1909, I returned to [my opera Le Rossignol] with the firm intention of finishing it…But a telegram then arrived to upset all my plans. Diaghilev, who had just reached St. Petersburg, asked me to write the music for L’Oiseau de feu [The Firebird] for the Russian Ballet season at the Paris Opera House in the spring of 1910.

Only 27, Stravinsky was keenly aware of both the learning experience and prestige he would gain by accepting the assignment.

It was highly flattering to be chosen from among the musicians of my generation, and to be allowed to collaborate in so important an enterprise side by side with personages who were generally recognized as masters in their own spheres.

With the instinct for theatre and sense for life’s adventure that served him admirably for the next six decades, he embraced his new colleagues, dizzy with ideas.

At the moment when I received Diaghilev’s commission, the ballet had just undergone a great transformation owing to the advent of a young ballet master, Fokine, and the flowering of a whole bouquet of artists full of talent and originality: Pavlova, Karsavina, Nijinsky. Notwithstanding all my admiration for the classical ballet and its great master, Marius Petipa, I could not resist the intoxication produced by such ballets as Les Danses du Prince Igor or Carnaval, the only two of Fokine’s productions that I had so far seen. All this greatly tempted me, and impelled me to break through the pale and eagerly seize this opportunity of making close contact with that group of advanced and active artists of which Diaghilev was the soul, and which had long attracted me.

2024–25 will mark the GRAMMY and Emmy Award-winning conductor Xian Zhang’s ninth season as music director of the New Jersey Symphony. Starting in 2025–26, Zhang will also hold the role of music director at Seattle Symphony. Zhang holds the position of conductor emeritus of Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano, having previously held the position of music director between 2009–2016.

The 2024–25 season sees Zhang return to the Metropolitan Opera in New York to conduct David McVicar’s acclaimed production of Puccini’s Tosca.

Zhang is in high demand as a guest conductor, appearing regularly with Philadelphia Orchestra and Los Angeles Philharmonic, returning to both in 2024–25. Her recording with Philadelphia Orchestra and Time for Three, Letters for The Future (released 2022 on Deutsche Grammophon), won multiple GRAMMY Awards in the Best Contemporary Classical Composition (Kevin Puts’ Contact) and Best Classical Instrumental Solo categories.

Following a successful collaboration at Tanglewood Festival 2023, Zhang returns to Boston Symphony Orchestra this season. She remains a favored guest of the Orchestra of St Luke’s and recently stepped in for their Brahms Requiem concert at Carnegie Hall. Other 2024–25 highlights include Montreal Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, NAC Orchestra, Belgian National Orchestra and Milan Symphony Orchestra.

Zhang continues to enjoy good relationships with many leading orchestras worldwide, including London Symphony Orchestra, Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, Houston Symphony, St Louis Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra DC and Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse.

Zhang previously served as principal guest conductor of the BBC National Orchestra & Chorus of Wales, the first female conductor to hold a titled role with a BBC orchestra. In 2002, she won first prize in the Maazel-Vilar Conductor's Competition. She was appointed New York Philharmonic’s assistant conductor in 2002, subsequently becoming their associate conductor and the first holder of the Arturo Toscanini Chair.

Jonathan Spitz has established himself as a leading cellist in the United States with his performances as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral principal. He is the recently appointed head of string studies at the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University and serves as professor of cello. He has been principal cello of the New Jersey Symphony since 1991, and he is a member of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and principal cello of the American Ballet Theater Orchestra.

Spitz has appeared as a soloist with the New Jersey Symphony on numerous occasions, performing many of the standard cello concertos. He has performed recitals at Carnegie Hall and at colleges and universities throughout the US. An active chamber musician, Spitz was a participant at the Marlboro Music Festival and currently serves on the artist faculty of the Brevard Music Center. A graduate of the Curtis Institute, he was a student of David Soyer.

He performs on a 2012 cello by Grubaugh and Seifert.

Nimbus Dance is known for its evocative and captivating physical approach to dance and for its immersive visual aesthetic. Founded in 2005 by artistic director Samuel Pott (former soloist of Martha Graham Dance Company), the Jersey City-based contemporary dance company masterfully bridges world-class performances and community engagement. With a diverse repertoire of over 35 works by Pott and by international and acclaimed guest choreographers, Nimbus offers powerful performances that engage audiences of all ages and interests with dances that are narrative and relatable. Pott and his dancers capture resonant and timely topics with refreshing honesty, witty humor, and an enduring optimism, walking a fine line between concert dance, dance theater, and immersive communal arts experiences.

Nimbus reaches over 16,000 people annually, performing throughout the NJ/NY area and nationally, including recently with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood. The State of New Jersey’s largest contemporary dance organization, Nimbus resides at and operates the Nimbus Arts Center in Downtown Jersey City, a 14,500 sq. ft. multi-arts facility which is Jersey City's leading hub for dance, theater, visual arts, and dance education. The School of Nimbus and outreach programs reach over 4000 youth each year, with scholarships available to ensure that no student is turned away for lack of funds. Nimbus is humbled by support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, The New Jersey Arts and Culture Renewal Fund, The Jersey City Arts Trust, and Foundations including the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the O’Donnell-Green Music and Dance Foundation, and others.