Ravinia 2025 Issue 5

declaration, including Richard Wagner, whose works Bülow formerly championed. On first hearing the Symphony No. 1, critics noted simi- larities with the symphonies of Beethoven—the key of C minor is shared with Beethoven’s Fifth. A theme in the final movement bears some re- semblance to the “Ode to Joy.” Brahms decried the “asses” who made this observation, but the monumental, Beethovenian proportions of his finale cannot be denied. Additionally, there are concealed recollections of Clara Schumann in the Symphony No. 1. Af- ter an unusual falling-out, Brahms sent birth- day greetings to Clara on September 12, 1868. His note contained a hunting theme underlain with the text “High on the mountain, deep in the valley, I send a thousand greetings.” This melody surfaces in the slow introduction to Brahms’s fi- nale, lusciously scored for solo horn. Brahms announced himself to the symphonic world with a steadily rising chromatic line in the violins buttressed by an insistent timpani beat. According to Clara, Brahms contrived his intro- duction long after the movement’s immense fast portion. In this sonata form, unrelieved tension results from the scherzo-like 6/8 rhythm, taut instrumental textures and syncopated melodies. The Andante sostenuto surveys wondrous sub- tleties of instrumentation, especially remark- able considering the traditional makeup of the orchestra. Winds highlight rich string writing, and violas accompany a woodwind choir. Me- lodic fragments occasionally pass between the two groups. The solo violin passage, doubled by oboe and clarinet, is a masterstroke. A refreshing, open-air quality saturates the con- cise Un poco allegretto e grazioso , an orchestral intermezzo. For this reason Levi considered the middle movements “more suitable for a sere- nade or suite than for a symphony on this scale.” However, Brahms intentionally buoyed spirits in order to shift dramatic weight to the finale. In the final movement, Brahms again constructed an extended slow opening. The first passage is a fantasy in C minor that prepares for Clara’s C-major hunting theme and an understated brass and wind chorale. With the change to Allegro non troppo, ma con brio , Brahms intro- duces the heroic C-major theme (reminiscent of Beethoven) low in the violins. A second theme gently meanders in the strings. Clara’s melody returns between the main themes. The coda, with its majestic chorale setting, brings a resplendent conclusion. –Program notes © 2025 Todd E. Sullivan PETER OUNDJIAN Recognized as a dynamic presence in music, Peter Oundjian has developed a multifaceted portfolio as a conductor, violinist, professor, and artistic advisor. Strengthening his ties to Colo- rado, Oundjian is rising to the music director’s chair of the Colorado Symphony this fall, hav- ing held the title of principal conductor since 2022 after decades of collaborations, including his 2003–6 appointment as principal guest con- ductor. He has also been serving the Colorado Music Festival as music director since 2019. Now carrying the title Conductor Emeritus, Ound- jian distinguished his 14-year tenure as music director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra by reimagining the ensemble’s programming, international stature, audience development, and touring, as well as spearheading a number of acclaimed recordings, garnering a Grammy nomination in 2018 and a Juno Award for a col- lection of Vaughan Williams’s orchestral works in 2019. From 2012 to 2018 Oundjian also served as music director of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, leading the ensemble on several in- ternational tours, including to North America and China, as well as a European festival tour with performances at Bregenz, Dresden, Inns- bruck, Bergamo, and Ljubljana, among others. His final appearance as RSNO music director was at the 2018 BBC Proms, where he conducted the orchestra in Britten’s War Requiem . High- lights of past seasons include appearances with the Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Dallas, Detroit, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, Saint Lou- is, San Francisco, and Seattle Symphonies, as well as the Sarasota Orchestra, Rochester Phil- harmonic, and Orchestre de la Suisse Roman- de, several of which he returned to this season. Oundjian has been a visiting professor at Yale University’s School of Music since 1981, and in 2013 was awarded the school’s Sanford Medal for Distinguished Service to Music. A dedicated ed- ucator, he regularly conducts the Yale, Juilliard, Curtis, and New World Symphony Orchestras. Peter Oundjian appeared on 20 concerts as first violinist of the Tokyo String Quartet at Ravinia between 1985 and 1994, including a six-day mar- athon of Beethoven’s quartets in 1987. He first returned as a conductor in 2002 and is making his fifth appearance on the podium. NOBUYUKI TSUJII Japanese pianist Nobuyuki (Nobu) Tsujii, who has been blind from birth, won the joint Gold Medal at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2009 and has gone on to earn an international reputation for the passion and excitement he brings to his live performances. Tsujii began this concert season with an exten- sive concert tour of Japan alongside Santtu-Ma- tias Rouvali and the Philharmonia Orchestra, followed by recitals in Japan and South Korea. In the fall, he performed with the Malaysian Philharmonic and toured Australia as a con- certo soloist with the Sydney, Queensland, and Tasmanian Symphonies, also giving solo con- certs at Melbourne Recital Centre and UKARIA Adelaide. He returned to the United States in spring for recitals at Carnegie Hall and La Jolla Music Society, as well as an appearance with the Seattle Symphony. On to Europe, Tsujii featured with the Bilbao Symphony, Bucharest’s George Enescu Philharmonic, Gran Canaria Philhar- monic, and Israel Philharmonic. Highlights of recent seasons have included concerts with such ensembles as the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, Seattle and Baltimore Symphonies, Munich Philharmonic, Tonküns- tler at Vienna’s Musikverein, Filarmonica della Scala, NHK Symphony, Milan’s Giuseppe Verdi Symphony, and Hong Kong Philharmonic. Tsu- jii maintains a close relationship with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, in 2023 selling out a concert at Royal Albert Hall as part of the BBC Proms. In recital, Tsujii has been featured on the stages of Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall and Wigmore Hall, Berlin’s Phil- harmonie, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, and Singapore Esplanade, among many others. His debut album on Deutsche Grammophon was released last November, featuring Beethoven’s “Hammerklavier” and Liszt’s transcription of the composer’s An die ferne Geliebte , and he has several recital and concerto recordings on Avex Classics. Nobuyuki Tsujii made his Ravinia de- but with a solo recital in 2010 and is making his first return to the festival for his Chicago Sym- phony Orchestra debut. RAVINIA.ORG  • RAVINIAMAGAZINE 81 SIANRICHARDS(OUNDJIAN);GIORGIABERTAZZI(TSUJII)