Ring in the new year with The Santa Fe Symphony and a spectacular concert, led by Principal Conductor Guillermo Figueroa, presenting works by Mozart, Haydn, Glinka, and Fung. In 2020, The Santa Fe Symphony proudly partnered with seven orchestras and universities across the U.S. to co-commission the JUNO Award-winning composer Vivian Fung and her Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra, a virtuosic tour de force. Written for classical trumpeter and Gold Medal Global Music Award winner Mary Elizabeth Bowden, this concerto was originally inspired by a conversation about Mary Eizabeth Bowden’s journey in her solo career in general, and as a woman in a male-dominated field. Vivian Fung is the first North American female composer to write for a female trumpet soloist—and was awarded a New Music USA grant.
This celebratory program also includes the greatest trumpet concerto ever composed, master composer Joseph Haydn’s renowned Trumpet Concerto featuring Mary Elizabeth Bowden. And rounding out this beautiful afternoon of great music is Mikhail Glinka’s beloved Ruslan and Ludmila Overture and one of the finest symphonies ever composed, Mozart’s magnificent “Jupiter Symphony.”
The Santa Fe Symphony
Guillermo Figueroa, Principal Conductor
Mary Elizabeth Bowden, Trumpet
PROGRAM
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART
Symphony No. 41 in C Major, K.551, “Jupiter Symphony”
FRANZ JOSEPH HAYDN
Trumpet Concerto in E-flat Major
Mary Elizabeth Bowden, Trumpet
Intermission
VIVIAN FUNG
Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra*
Mary Elizabeth Bowden, Trumpet
*Co-Commissioning Consortium for Vivian Fung’s Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra
Erie Philharmonic
Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra
San Diego State University’s School of Music & Dance
The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra
San José Chamber Orchestra
Anchorage Symphony Orchestra
Shenandoah Conservatory
Waynesboro Symphony
MIKHAIL GLINKA
Ruslan and Ludmila Overture
Of Note
Ruslan and Ludmila, Glinka’s second opera, is based on an epic poem by Aleksandr Pushkin, who had intended to write the libretto but was killed in a duel before he had the chance. The Russian libretto was a collaboration of several playwrights, including Valerian Shirkov, Nestor Kukolnik and N. A. Markevich.
Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto of 1796 is not just his finest concerto―200 years after its composition, it remains the greatest trumpet concerto ever composed. Trumpets before this time had been extremely limited instruments, able to produce only a few notes in a scale and depending even for this on players’ ability to change pitch by adjusting their lips. In the 1790s, however, the Viennese trumpeter Anton Weidinger invented a keyed trumpet that made the instrument much more flexible.
Mozart’s Symphony in C Major was his last, although there is no reason to believe that he knew when writing it that it would be his final symphony, for a normal lifetime would have allowed the composer several more decades of work. The nickname “Jupiter” was not Mozart’s. It was in use by the early 19th century, but its exact origin is unknown, despite many theories. This is, however, one of those rare instances when an inauthentic nickname makes sense―if ever there were Olympian music, this is it.
Mary Elizabeth Bowden, trumpet
Classical trumpeter and Yamaha Performing Artist Mary Elizabeth Bowden has emerged as a brilliant young soloist and is highly regarded for her artistry and virtuosity, as well as the clarity, purity and power of her sound. Mary is Principal Trumpet of the Artosphere Festival Orchestra in Arkansas, and a member of the Iris Orchestra in Tennessee and the Richmond Symphony Orchestra.
Guillermo Figueroa, principal conductor
One of the most versatile and respected musical artists of his generation—renowned as conductor, violinist, violist and concertmaster—Guillermo Figueroa is the Principal Conductor of The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra & Chorus. He also serves as the Music Director of the Music in the Mountains Festival in Colorado and Music Director of the Lynn Philharmonia in Florida, and is the founder of the highly acclaimed Figueroa Music and Arts Project in Albuquerque.
Vivian Fung, Composer
JUNO Award-winning composer Vivian Fung has a unique talent for combining idiosyncratic textures and styles into large-scale works, reflecting her multicultural background. NPR calls her “one of today’s most eclectic composers.” This is supported by many of her works, including Clarinet Quintet: Frenetic Memories, a reflection on her travels to visit minority groups in China’s Yunnan province; and Earworms, which musically depicts our diverted attention spans and multitasking lives.
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Program Notes
Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto is not just his finest concerto―200 years after its composition, it remains the greatest trumpet concerto ever composed. Trumpets before this time had been extremely limited instruments, able to produce only a few notes in a scale ...…