Thursday, November 20, 2025 7:30 PM Rialto Center for the Arts
Robert J. Ambrose principal conductor Sami Ruusuvuori, guest conductor
Entry March of the Boyars (1895/2000)
Johan Halvorsen | 1864-1935
ed. Frederick Fennell
From the 10th through the 17th centuries, the Boyars were the highest ranking members of the Bulgarian, Romanian, Russian, and Ukrainian aristocracy, second only to the ruling princes. Halvorsen’s Entry March of the Boyars depicts the ceremonial entrance of these aristocrats in a theatrical setting. A solo clarinet introduces the regal theme, and more instruments are added to represent the approach of the entourage. Woodwind ornamentation complements the brass fanfares. This piece did not receive national recognition until Grieg, who was the uncle of Halvorsen’s wife, created an arrangement for piano in 1898. Halvorsen describes his inspiration for this composition: Got hold of an encyclopaedia to find out what Bucharest was like. There I read about the art-loving Queen Carmen Sylva and the descendants of the rich, distinguished Boyars who invaded Bucharest so and so many years ago. ‘This would look good in the newspapers,’ I thought. And then there was the Queen! She would immediately summon me to the palace with my quartet. I had to find release, so I wrote a march and called it The March of the Boyars, and just when I had finished it, the same afternoon, Edvard Grieg came in. ‘Now, how are you doing? Already in full swing I see.’ He saw the manuscript on the piano, looked at it carefully and said: ‘That is good!’ Got hold of an encyclopaedia to find out what Bucharest was like. There I read about the art-loving Queen Carmen Sylva and the descendants of the rich, distinguished Boyars who invaded Bucharest so and so many years ago. ‘This would look good in the newspapers,’ I thought. And then there was the Queen! She would immediately summon me to the palace with my quartet. I had to find release, so I wrote a march and called it The March of the Boyars, and just when I had finished it, the same afternoon, Edvard Grieg came in. ‘Now, how are you doing? Already in full swing I see.’ He saw the manuscript on the piano, looked at it carefully and said: ‘That is good!’ - Notes from Wind Repertory Project
Funeral March (1866/2018)
Edvard Grieg | 1843-1907
orch. Torstein Aagaard-Nilsen
Sami Ruusuvuori, conductor
Edvard Grieg met Richard Nordraak, a fellow Norwegian, in 1863. Together they championed nationalism in their musical activities, a cause that had lain dormant in Grieg's thoughts up until this time. Nordraak already had the Norwegian National Anthem to his credit, composed four years earlier when he was seventeen. From the time of their meeting the two young composers worked closely together until Nordraak's health began to fail three years later. In October of 1865, Nordraak suffered a "violent attack of inflammation of the lungs that developed into galloping consumption". Because Grieg was on his way to Rome, Nordraak did not have the solace of his friend's company during the lonely months of his illness. He died on March 26, 1866, in Berlin. Grieg, then in Rome, was ignorant of his death. The very day he heard of it, April 6, 1866, he wrote The Funeral March in A minor for Richard Nordraak for piano, as a monument to the memory of his dear friend. One year later, Grieg arranged the work for military band, transposing it to g minor. He included the piece in a Philarmonic Society concert in Christiania (Oslo) later that year. In 1878, Grieg made yet another version of the work, this time for brass choir. The existence of this third score went unnoticed until Geoffrey Emerson obtained a microfilm of it from Oslo University. - Program Note from score
Pictures at an Exhibition
Modest Mussorgsky | 1839-1881
orch. Maurice Ravel
trans. Paul Lavender
Promenade (Allegro giusto) 1. The Gnome Promenade (Moderato commodo assai) 2. The Old Castle Promenade (Moderato non tanto) 3. Tuileries (Children Quarreling After Play) 4. Bydlo (Cattle) Promenade (Tranquillo) 5. Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks 6. Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuÿle 7. The Market Place (Important News) 8. Catacombs (A Roman Sepulchre) With the Dead in a Dead Language 9. The Hut on Hen’s Legs (Baba-Yaga) 10. The Great Gate of Kiev
Pictures at an Exhibition is a piano suite in ten movements, plus a recurring and varied Promenade theme, written in 1874 by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky. It is a musical depiction of a tour of an exhibition of works by architect and painter Viktor Hartmann put on at the Imperial Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg, following his sudden death in the previous year. Each movement of the suite is based on an individual work, some of which are lost. The composition has become a showpiece for virtuoso pianists, and became widely known from orchestrations and arrangements produced by other composers and contemporary musicians, with Maurice Ravel's 1922 adaptation for orchestra being the most recorded and performed. The suite, particularly the final movement, "The Bogatyr Gates" or "The Great Gate of Kiev", is widely considered one of Mussorgsky's greatest works.
Promenade
In this piece Mussorgsky depicts himself "roving through the exhibition, now leisurely, now briskly in order to come close to a picture that had attracted his attention, and at times sadly, thinking of his departed friend." The piece has simple, strong rhythms in asymmetrical meter.
The Gnome
"A sketch depicting a little gnome, clumsily running with crooked legs." Hartmann's sketch, now lost, is thought to represent a design for a nutcracker displaying large teeth.
The Old Castle
"A medieval castle before which a troubadour sings a song." This movement is thought to be based on a watercolor depiction of an Italian castle and is portrayed in Ravel's orchestration by a bassoon and alto saxophone duet.
Tuileries (Children Quarreling After Play)
"An avenue in the garden of the Tuileries, with a swarm of children and nurses." Hartmann's picture of the Jardin des Tuileries near the Louvre in Paris is now lost.
Bydlo (Cattle)
"A Polish cart on enormous wheels, drawn by oxen." The movement is cast in through-composed ternary form (ABA) with coda. Rimsky-Korsakov's edition, and arrangements based on it such as Ravel's, begin quietly, build gradually (crescendo) to fortissimo and then undergo a diminuendo, suggesting the oxcart approaching, passing the listener, and then receding.
Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks
"Hartmann's design for the décor of a picturesque scene in the ballet Trilby." Gerald Abraham provides the following details: "Trilby or The Demon of the Heath, a ballet based on Charles Nodier's Trilby, or The Elf of Argyle, was produced at the Bolshoi Theatre, Saint Petersburg, in 1871. The fledglings were canary chicks."
Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuÿle
"Two Jews: rich and poor" The explanatory title elucidates the personal names used in Mussorgsky's original manuscript. The movement is thought to be based on two separate extant portraits.
The Market Place (Important News)
"French women quarrelling violently in the market." Limoges is a city in central France. Mussorgsky originally provided two paragraphs in French that described a marketplace discussion (the 'great news'), but subsequently crossed them out in the manuscript.
Catacombs (A Roman Sepulchre) – With the Dead in a Dead Language
"Hartmann represented himself examining the Paris catacombs by the light of a lantern." The movement is in two distinct parts. Its two sections consist of a nearly static Largo consisting of a sequence of block chords with elegiac lines adding a touch of melancholy and a more flowing, gloomy Andante that introduces the Promenade theme into the scene.
The Hut on Hen’s Legs (Baba-Yaga)
"Hartmann's drawing depicted a clock in the form of Baba Yaga's hut on hen's legs. Mussorgsky added the witch's flight in a mortar." A scherzo marked Feroce with a slower middle section. Motives in this movement evoke the bells of a large clock and the whirlwind sounds of a chase. Structurally, the movement mirrors the grotesque qualities of "The Gnome" on a grand scale.
The Great Gate of Kiev
"Hartmann's sketch was his design for city gates at Kiev in the ancient Russian massive style with a cupola shaped like a slavonic helmet." Bogatyrs are heroes that appear in Russian epics called bylinas. Hartmann designed a monumental gate for Tsar Alexander II to commemorate the monarch's narrow escape from an assassination attempt on April 4, 1866. Hartmann regarded his design as the best work he had done. His design won the national competition but plans to build the structure were later cancelled. The movement's grand main theme exalts the opening Promenade much as "Baba Yaga" amplified "Gnome"; also like that movement, it evens out the meter of its earlier counterpart. The solemn secondary theme is based on a baptismal hymn from the repertory of Russian Orthodox chant.
Sami Ruusuvuori
Doctor of Music Sami Ruusuvuori serves as the Chief Conductor of the Helsinki Police Symphonic Band. Ruusuvuori has previously held prestigious positions, including the conductor of the Representative Orchestra of the President of the Republic, the Guards Band, and the Chief Conductor of the Conscript Band of the Finnish Defence Forces. His extensive knowledge of classical, jazz, and commercial music has allowed him to collaborate with many of Finland’s top musicians. Ruusuvuori has led ensembles on tours across the United States, Japan, Russia, Europe, the Baltic States, and all the Nordic countries. He has also served as a guest conductor in Europe, the Nordic countries, the Baltic States, Russia, and the USA. Additionally, he has been a jury member for several international competitions. As an educator, he has worked at the Sibelius Academy and has lectured and taught at numerous universities and master classes. A strong advocate for new music, Sami Ruusuvuori has commissioned and premiered many new pieces. He has conducted 13 recordings and numerous YouTube videos. Ruusuvuori earned his doctorate in music in the spring of 2022, with a thesis on the symphonic wind band and the European repertoire composed for it. His research has garnered widespread international interest. Since 2023, Ruusuvuori has served as the President of the Finnish Wind Band Association.
Dr. Robert Ambrose
Conductor Robert J. Ambrose enjoys a highly successful and diverse career as a dynamic and engaging musician. His musical interests cross many genres and can be seen in the wide range of professional activities he pursues. Dr. Ambrose studied formally at Boston College, Boston University and Northwestern University, where he received the Doctor of Music degree in conducting. Dr. Ambrose currently serves as Director of Bands and Professor of Music at Georgia State University a research institution of over 53,000 students located in Atlanta. His duties at Georgia State include conducting the Symphonic Wind Ensemble, running the highly successful graduate wind conducting program and overseeing the entire large, comprehensive university band program. His graduate conducting students have received multiple honors and hold conducting and teaching positions throughout the United States and in multiple foreign countries. Dr. Ambrose is in constant demand as a guest conductor and has performed on four continents. Recent engagements include performances in Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan as well as across the United States. He is Founder and Music Director of the National Chamber Winds, a professional wind dectet based in Washington, D.C. as well as Founder and Music Director of the Atlanta Chamber Winds and Ensemble ATL, ensembles comprising musicians from the Atlanta Symphony, Atlanta Opera, and Atlanta Ballet Orchestras. Dr. Ambrose has strong ties to the Finnish music community. He is frequently engaged in that country as a guest conductor, teacher, master clinician, and lecturer. Guest conducting appearances include the Finnish Navy Band, the Finnish Army Band, the Helsinki Police Band, the STM Summer Music Festival Wind Orchestra, the Rauma Wind Band, and the youth wind bands of Kokkola, Kotka, and Rauma. He has taught conducting workshops throughout the country and has served as a guest lecturer multiple times at the Central Ostrobothnian Conservatory and the Sibelius Academy. Ambrose is a prolific arranger with nearly two dozen publications to his credit. His transcriptions and editions are published by Presser Music, Murphy Music Press, C. Alan Publications, Fennica Gehrman (Finland), and Edition Tilli (Finland). His transcriptions appear on several state lists and have been performed around the world.