David Alexander Rahbee leads the UW Symphony in "With Love, from Scotland," a program of works by Thea Musgrave, Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, and Felix Mendelssohn. With faculty guests Carrie Shaw, soprano, and Frederick Reece, narrator.
Program
With Love, from Scotland
Loch Ness, A Postcard from Scotland: Thea Musgrave (b. 1928)
Six Songs, Op. 7: Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel (1805-1847) orchestrated by David A. Rahbee
1, Nachtwanderer
2. Erwin
3. Frühling
4. Du bist die Ruh
5. Bitte
6. Dein ist mein Herz
Carrie Shaw, soprano
Intermission
Symphony No. 3, in A minor, Op. 56, “Scottish”: Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
I. Andante con moto–Allegro un poco agitato
II. Vivace non troppo
III. Adagio
IV. Allegro vivacissimo–Allegro maestoso assai
Program Notes
by Mica Weiland
Thea Musgrave (b. 1928)
Loch Ness; A Postcard from Scotland (comp. 2012)
Thea Musgrave, a Scottish composer born in Edinburgh in 1928, studied under the renowned Nadia Boulanger at the Paris Conservatoire and Aaron Copland at the Tanglewood Institute. Over her career, she has produced a rich and varied body of work, including many orchestral pieces, concerti, and operas. Her compositional style is characterized by its dramatic intensity and theatrical flair, particularly evident in Loch Ness.
Loch Ness: A Postcard from Scotland is a vivid tone poem inspired by the legendary Scottish tale of the Loch Ness monster. In this piece, the monster is represented by the tuba, whose long, brooding solos punctuate the music. Emerging from the mist—evoked by the shimmering harmonics of the strings—the creature is gradually bathed in warmth as the trumpets shine through. The piece quotes an ancient Scottish melody as the sun sets, signaling the monster’s retreat into the water with a final, dramatic splash. As the moon rises and the water calms, the piece ends in peaceful serenity.
Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel (1805-1847)
Six Songs op. 7 (orch. Rahbee) (comp. 1839-1846)
Fanny Mendelssohn was born in Hamburg in 1805, the eldest of four children, including her younger brother Felix. She grew up in Berlin, where she received a solid musical education and became known for her talent as both a pianist and composer. However, as she came of age, her father discouraged her musical ambitions, pushing her instead toward the conventional role of a homemaker—what society expected of women at the time. Despite stepping away from public composition, Fanny continued to write music in private. Her output includes a string quartet, a piano trio, a piano quartet, an orchestral overture, four cantatas, more than 125 piano pieces, and over 250 lieder. Most of these works went unpublished during her lifetime, and many were mistakenly attributed to her brother Felix. A gifted melodist, her Six Songs op. 7 are a testament to her compositional prowess.
I. Nachtwanderer “Night wanderer”
A misty, peaceful song that illustrates walking under the moonlight.
II. Erwin
A delicate, yearning love song which includes many musical themes and metaphors relating to springtime and flowers.
III. Frühling "Spring"
A vibrant song that opens with the chime of bells, soon blending in effects that evoke the fluttering of birds' wings and the blossoming of flowers.
IV. Du bist die Ruh “You are at peace”
A flowing song that evokes both the pain and the peace that love brings.
V. Bitte
A dark and somber song with a dream-like quality.
VI. Dein ist mein Herz “Yours is my heart”
A lush song that weaves together themes of longing and springtime, bringing the song cycle to a harmonious and satisfying conclusion.
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Symphony No.3, op.56, A minor “Scottish” (comp. 1829-1842)
On July 30, 1829, Felix Mendelssohn wrote to his parents from Edinburgh:
In the twilight today we went to the [Holyrood] Palace where Queen Mary [Stuart] lived and loved. There is a little room to be seen there with a spiral staircase at its door. . .. The chapel beside it has now lost its roof. It is overgrown with grass and ivy, and at the broken altar, Mary was crowned Queen of Scotland. Everything is ruined, decayed, and open to the sky. I believe I have found there the beginning of my Scotch Symphony.
Felix Mendelssohn was born in 1809 in Hamburg. At just 20 years old, he embarked on a memorable trip to Scotland, where he began sketching ideas for his third symphony. Although these early sketches date back to 1829, Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 3 was not completed until 1842, making it the last symphony he finished. It is believed that the opening 16 bars of the symphony were inspired by his description of the Holyrood Palace in his writings, capturing the spirit of his Scottish journey.
The work begins with a somber, ethereal theme introduced by the violas and oboes, setting a reflective mood before transitioning into an agitated exposition. Throughout the first movement, the initial colors of the opening bars resurface, allowing the composer to vividly convey his experience of Scotland. The symphony is structured so that each movement flows seamlessly into the next, with each one further developing the themes introduced earlier. After a reprise of the opening motif, the second movement emerges with a lively, spirited energy. Here, the strings create an airy texture that beautifully supports the melody played by the clarinets. The folk-inspired melodies, infused with the distinctive Scotch-snap rhythm, draw clear influence from traditional Scottish music.
The third movement is defined by its delicate pizzicato, which drifts throughout, balanced by an underlying sense of immense gravity. Initially unassuming, it gradually leads us through smooth, flowing legato passages in the violins and cellos before building into a grand march, with the winds and brass taking center stage. The finale introduces a lively, dance-like rhythm, its sharp edges creating a sense of urgency. Amid this dance, a fugue emerges, adding tension and anticipation for what is to come. The coda offers the movement’s greatest surprise, concluding with a regal theme in A major. This majestic ending perfectly wraps up the symphony, providing a fitting and powerful conclusion to a complex and stormy masterpiece.
University of Washington Symphony OrchestraDavid Alexander Rahbee, Music Director and Conductor Flute Piccolo English Horn Clarinet Bass Clarinet Bassoon Contrabassoon Horn
Bass Trombone Tuba Timpani Percussion Harp Violin I Violin II Viola |
Biographies
David Alexander Rahbee is an Associate Professor at the University of Washington School of Music in Seattle, where he is Director of Orchestral Activities and Chair of Orchestral Conducting. He is Music Director and Conductor of the University of Washington Symphony Orchestra and founder of the UW Campus Philharmonia Orchestras. He is a recipient of the American-Austrian Foundation's 2003 Herbert von Karajan Fellowship for Young Conductors, the 2005 International Richard-Wagner-Verband Stipend, a fellowship the Acanthes Centre in Paris (2007), and is first prize winner in conducting from The American Prize national non-profit competitions in the performing arts for 2020. His work at UW has earned national recognition. In 2021 he was praised by The American Prize as “Consistently one of the most courageous and comprehensive [orchestral] programmers working in higher education in the U.S. today…”
Dr. Rahbee has appeared in concert with orchestras such as the Seattle Symphony, RTE National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, Kammerphilharmonie Berlin-Brandenburg, Guernsey Symphony Orchestra, Chattanooga Symphony, National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia, Orchestre de la Francophonie, Orchesterakademie der Bochumer Symphoniker, the Dresden Hochschule orchestra, Grand Harmonie, the Boston New Music Initiative, Seattle Modern Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfónica de Loja (Ecuador), Savaria Symphony Orchestra (Hungary), Cool Opera of Norway (members of the Stavanger Symphony), Schönbrunner Schloss Orchester (Vienna), the Whatcom Symphony Orchestra, the Kennett Symphony, and the Divertimento Ensemble of Milan. His collaborations with the Seattle Symphony include assistant conductor for the performance and recording of Ives’ Fourth Symphony, and as guest conductor for their Native Lands project and the North American premiere of Páll Ragnar Pallson's Quake with faculty cellist Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir. He has collaborated with several prominent soloists such as Sarah Chang, Jon Kimura Parker, Yekwon Sunwoo, Glenn Dicterow and Jonathan Biss. He has been a guest rehearsal conductor for numerous young orchestras, such as the New England Conservatory Symphony Orchestra, The Symphony Orchestra of the Hall-Musco Conservatory of Music at Chapman University, and the Vienna University of Technology orchestra. He has served on faculty of the Pierre Monteux School as Conducting Associate, has been resident conductor of the Atlantic Music Festival and guest conductor at the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival.
Dr. Rahbee was an assistant at the Vienna State opera from 2002-2010. As part of his fellowship and residency at the 2003 Salzburg Festival, Dr. Rahbee was assistant conductor of the International Attergau Institute Orchestra, where he worked with members of the Vienna Philharmonic. He has been selected to actively participate in masterclasses with prominent conductors such as Kurt Masur, Sir Colin Davis, Jorma Panula, Zdeněk Mácal, Peter Eötvös, Zoltán Peskó and Helmut Rilling, and counts Nikolaus Harnoncourt to be among his most influential mentors. From 1997-2001, David Rahbee was founder and conductor of the Fidelio Chamber Orchestra in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Dr. Rahbeeʼs principal conducting teachers were Charles Bruck and Michael Jinbo at the Pierre Monteux School. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree in violin and composition from Indiana University, a Master of Music degree from the New England Conservatory in orchestral conducting, and a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Montreal in orchestral conducting. He has also participated in post-graduate conducting classes at the Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst, Vienna. His brass arrangements are published by Warwick Music, and his articles on the music of Mahler have appeared in journals of the International Gustav Mahler Gesellschaft, among others.
In addition to being awarded first prize in conducting from The American Prize for 2020, he was awarded 2nd place in 2019. He has also placed among winners for five consecutive years for The American Prize Vytautas Marijosius Memorial Award for Orchestral Programming, recognizing his programming with the UW Symphony and its affiliated ensembles for every season since he joined the faculty. The UWSO has also been a finalist in the category of orchestral performance in 2018, 2019 and 2020.
Dr. Rahbee is co-editor of Daniels’ Orchestral Music (6thedition) and Daniels’ Orchestral Music Online (DOMO), the gold standard among conductors, orchestral administrators, orchestra librarians as well as other music professionals and students researching for orchestral programming.
Frederick Reece's research centers on the music and culture of the long nineteenth century, with a particular focus on issues of authorship and authenticity.
His first book project, Forgery in Musical Composition: Aesthetics, History, and the Canon (in press, OUP), examines compositional forgeries—pieces deliberately misattributed to such figures as Haydn, Mozart, and Schubert—from a wide range of music historical, analytical, and philosophical perspectives. The volume is both a narrative chronicle of forgery in classical music culture and a meditation on problems of value judgment, stylistic imitation, and (in)authenticity writ large.
Further areas of research interest include music and intellectual property law, artificial intelligence in music, the history of music theory, and issues in philosophical aesthetics. Reece's articles and reviews on these and other topics have appeared in such venues as the Journal of Musicology and the Journal of the American Musicological Society.
Before joining the faculty at the University of Washington in 2021, Reece was postdoctoral resident scholar and visiting assistant professor in music theory at Indiana University and lecturer in musicology and music theory at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music. He was educated at the University of Oxford (B.A.) and at Harvard University (M.A., Ph.D.), and has been the recipient of numerous research awards, including the American Musicological Society's Paul A. Pisk Prize and Alvin H. Johnson AMS 50 Fellowship.
Carrie Henneman Shaw joined the Voice Program as an artist in residence in Autumn 2020. As a singer, Carrie engages in a wide variety of musical projects, but she focuses on early and contemporary music. In 2023, she was awarded a Royalty Research Fund grant to research and record experiments in vocal timbre with composer Mauricio Pauly and pianist Mabel Kwan. In 2024, she was awarded the Donald E. Petersen Endowed Faculty Fellowship for Excellence.
A sample of her work includes an upcoming solo recording on Naxos Records of early 18th-century French song; creating music for a live-music-for-dance project with James Sewell Ballet; and collaborating on a recording with the band Deerhoof. Carrie is a two-time winner of a McKnight Fellowship for Performing Musicians, and she is a member of two groups that focus on music by living composers, Ensemble Dal Niente, a mixed chamber collective, and Quince Ensemble, a treble voice quartet.
She appears in numerous recordings ranging from medieval sacred music to a video-game soundtrack, and before coming to the UW, she has been maintaining a full university studio for the six years and participating in educational residencies for composers and performers around the country, including UC-Berkeley, Stanford, New York University, the University of Chicago, and beyond.