b'Program Notescontinuedand celebrate our ideals of freedoma way to proclaim, weve made it! as if the very action of saying it aloud makes it so. And for many of our nations people, that was the case: through work songs and spirituals, enslaved Africans promised themselves a way out and built the nerve to endure the most abominable treatment for the promise of a free life. Immigrants from Europe, Central America, and the Pacific have sought out a safe haven here and though met with the trials of building a multi-cultured democracy, continue to find rooting in our nation and make significant contributions to our cultural landscape. In 2014, a tribute to the U.S. National Anthem means acknowledging the contradictions, leaps and bounds, and milestones that allow us to celebrate and maintain the tradition of our ideals. Jessie MontgomeryInstrumentationtwo flutes and piccolo, one oboe, one clarinet, one bassoon, one trumpet, one horn, timpani, low tom tom, kick drum, snare drum, and strings Duration8 minutesFelix Mendelssohn(1809-1847)Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in EMinor, Op. 64Composed 1838-45Mendelssohns Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64 is anchored in classical forms and textures, but the interaction of the solo part with the orchestra is in many ways quite dramatic and novel. Skipping the traditional orchestral exposition of the first movement, Allegro molto appassionato, the solo violin asserts itself immediately in the role of protagonist with an impetuous first theme of which Mendelssohn said, it sticks in my head and will give me no peace. He wrote the concerto between 1838 and 1845 for his longtime friend and colleague violinist Ferdinand David, who was an active participant in the compositional process and offered significant feedback in the writing of the solo part. David was the longtime concertmaster of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, with whom he performed the premiere in 1845. An unusual aspect of the first movement is the position of the cadenza, which occurs between the development and the recapitulation. The orchestral recapitulation of the opening theme overlaps the end of the cadenza, and the princetonsymphony.org/ 14/ princetonfestival.org'