Tonight’s concert features well-known overtures, and they are presented in chronological order. An overture is an orchestral piece that is presented at the beginning of an opera, play, oratorio, or other extended musical work. It is often used to give a preview of themes that will be more fully expanded upon later in the work they precede. Often, the overture, is used to set the mood for the dramatic work for which it was written.  Some overtures became so popular that they have survived in orchestral repertory whereas the larger work for which they were composed has fallen into obscurity. Indeed, the style of the overture with its multiple themes and moods has become a genre in itself.  There are some overtures that stand alone and don’t belong to any more extended work.

The Marriage of Figaro Overture was written by Amadeus Mozart in 1786 and was the pre-curtain rising work for his opera of the same name.  Perhaps, some history buffs are thinking the first thing played tonight, The Star-Spangled Banner, is out of chronological order because they recall Francis Scott Key wrote that during the naval attack on Fort McHenry during the war of 1812. It’s true, that’s when he wrote the poem, but the melody it was ultimately set to was (ironically) an old British drinking song, To Anacreon in Heaven, which was written as early as 1760, though published in 1778 (still earlier than the 1786 Mozart overture).

Egmont Overture, by Ludwig van Beethoven, is a set of incidental music pieces for the 1787 play of the same name by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (the Shakespeare of German literature). Goethe was one of Beethoven’s personal heroes. On top of that, the subject matter of the play was triumph over tyranny, a subject matter of deep concern to the composer. It was also the theme of Beethoven’s opera, Fidelio. Count Egmont is a historical personage of the 16^th century, serving in the Netherlands under King Philip II of Spain.  He is loyal to the crown and to the Catholic faith, but he champions tolerance of Protestants and other non-Catholics. This overture is an example of a work in which the overture has remained popular whereas the play and additional incidental music has been virtually forgotten.

The William Tell Overture is the overture to the opera William Tell. The music was composed by Gioachino Rossini. William Tell premiered in 1829 and was the last of Rossini’s 39 operas, after which he went into semi-retirement. The overture is in four parts, each following without pause. Coincidentally, it too is about a hero fighting tyranny. Most are familiar with the story of Tell, being an expert archer of the cross bow, and being ordered to shoot an apple off of his son’s head. If he refuses, both he and his son will be killed. Tell reluctantly, but at the urging of his confident son, accepts the challenge. He successfully shoots the apple, but then the cruel governor notices a second arrow Tell had brought with him.  When asked what the second arrow was for, Tell vehemently announces it was for the governor’s heart had he hit his son.  This causes the governor to order his arrest. Long story short . . . the populace finally is incensed to an uprising that ultimately led to a free Switzerland.

Ruslan and Ludmilla Overture is by Russian composer, Mikhail Glinka. The opera it opens was written between 1837 and 1842 and was based on an 1820 poem by Alexander Pushkin. It is a very challenging piece for the strings, and one loved by the timpanist (you’ll see why).

An Outdoor Overture sounds like a title that was intended for playing in an outdoor park concert . . . but it wasn’t.  This is one of those overtures that wasn’t written to precede a larger work such as an opera. It is a stand-alone piece in an overture style. Aaron Copland  (1900-1990) was in the middle of composing his ballet, Billy the Kid,  when Alexander Richter, head of the music department of the High School of Music and Art (New York) wrote him and persuaded him to compose something for his near-professional level high school orchestra to premiere in a concert featuring American composers.  Copland had great respect for the musicianship of the special magnet high school and agreed to compose a worthy piece for them.  When he played a piano sketch of it for Richter, the latter remarked that it seemed to have an open-air quality.  Together they hit on the title, An Outdoor Overture, which premiered, indoors, at the school’s auditorium in 1938.  The work emphasizes scales and a simple 3-note major arpeggio, usually descending.  Listen especially for a leisurely two-octave descending scale by the solo trumpet at the conclusion of his extended solo near the beginning of the piece. The lyric melody is followed by very rhythmic repeated notes and a canon develops as the upper brass and strings are chased by the lower brass as the music slips into a march-like quality.

The Cowboys Overture by perhaps the most prolific soundtrack composer of all time, John Williams, noted for the music to Indiana Jones, Schindler’s List, Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Jaws, E.T., Harry Potter, Close Encounters, Home Alone, Superman, and . . .  The Cowboys. This overture captures the themes not of an opera, ballet, play, etc., but rather the new medium of the motion picture! Written for the movie in 2017, it is actually not played at the beginning of the movie, nor anywhere in it.  Being nearly 10 minutes long, I doubt the typical movie goer would want to sit through credits that long before the storyline began. Instead, like many of Williams’ compositions for movies, it is a compilation of themes used in the movie and put into a connective composition, post-movie arrangement. Thus, created in the style of an overture without actually being used as the opening piece . . . a concert overture.