American Landscapes
November 15, 2020
Music by Copland, Dvořák, and Winston-Salem’s own Dan Locklair create a sonic canvas of the American experience.
American Landscapes Read More »
November 15, 2020
Music by Copland, Dvořák, and Winston-Salem’s own Dan Locklair create a sonic canvas of the American experience.
American Landscapes Read More »
Dvořák’s five-movement Serenade for Strings stands among the composer’s most popular works. While not as frequently performed by orchestras as his last four symphonies of the magnificent Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra, its hearing on concert programs is always welcome.
Program Notes for November 2020 Read More »
October 24, 2020
Our first Stage Pass concert, and our first performance since the start of the pandemic. Socially distanced and safely online, Rossini, Clyne, and Haydn fire up an autumn evening.
Cellist Brooks Whitehouse and Bassist Paul Sharpe are Low & Lower, America’s #1-selling cello bass duo. This ensemble’s performances are a mash-up of artistry, virtuosity, and satire, developing a completely new genre in answer to the question, “Cello and bass…seriously?” With MacGyver-like determination they create, inspire and commission works using only the limited materials at
Bedřich Smetana“Vltava” (“The Moldau”) from Má vlast The Czech composer, conductor and critic Bedřich Smetana was born in Litomyšl on March 2, 1824 and died in Prague on May 12, 1884. Widely viewed as the most important Czech nationalist composers of the nineteenth century, he wrote eight operas, the most popular being The Bartered Bride (Prodaná nevěsta,1866). He is best known however, for his cycle of six symphonic poems, known as Má vlast (My
Program Notes: Mar 8 & 10, 2020 Read More »
In both art and life, violinist Rachel Barton Pine has an extraordinary ability to connect with
people. Celebrated as a leading interpreter of great classic and contemporary works, her
performances combine her innate gift for emotional communication and her scholarly
fascination with historical research. She plays with passion and conviction, thrilling audiences
worldwide with her dazzling technique, lustrous tone, and infectious joy in music-making.
Rachel Barton Pine, violin Read More »
“An elegant, mellifluous and expressive baritone” (New York Times), Charles Wesley Evans has been applauded by The Miami Herald as “the peak of the night’s solo work” and “a warm, strong baritone” by the Washington Post.
Charles Wesley Evans, baritone Read More »
A “superb vocal soloist” (The Washington Post) with “impressive clarity and color” (The New York Times), tenor Steven Soph performs concert repertoire spanning the Renaissance to modern day. In the 2018-2019 season, Steven made his Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra debut in a program of Bach, Monteverdi, Purcell, and Vivaldi, led by Patrick Dupré Quigley. Steven also made his
Steven Soph, tenor Read More »
Mezzo-soprano Dianna Grabowski, described as “glamorous” and “glowing-toned” by the Dallas Morning News, is an active performer of music spanning the Renaissance through the 21st century. Dianna particularly values the collaborative nature of classical singing, be it in chamber music, oratorio, opera, choral music, early music, or new music, and is constantly inspired by the
Dianna Grabowski, mezzo-soprano Read More »
Felix Mendelssohn:Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Jacob Ludwig) Felix Mendelssohn(-Bartholdy) was born, February 3, 1809 in Hamburg and died November 4, 1847 in Leipzig. The Overture and Incidental Music to Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream are separated by some seventeen years (1826 and 1843, respectively). The music is scored for 2 solo female voices and women’s choir (incidental
November 17 & 19, 2019 Read More »
Called the “Van Cliburn of today” by the BBC, pianist Alexander Kobrin has placed himself at the forefront of today’s performing musicians. His prize winning performances have been praised for their brilliant technique, musicality, and emotional engagement with the audience. The New York Times has written that Mr. Kobrin was a “fastidious guide” to Schumann’s “otherworldly visions, pointing out hunters, flowers, haunted corners and friendly bowers, all captured in richly characterized vignettes.”
Alexander Kobrin, piano Read More »
In fall 2005, West joined the San Francisco Ballet as music director having been a frequent guest since his debut two years earlier. He was previously principal conductor of English National Ballet and has worked with many of the top companies in North America such as the New York City Ballet, Houston Ballet, The National Ballet of Canada, and The Royal Ballet in England.
Martin West, conductor Read More »
“He who hesitates is lost,” goes the old saying. The composer Anatol Liadov, who was supposed to have composed the music for a new ballet based on the legend of the Firebird that Sergei Diaghilev planned to produce in his second Paris season, ought to have paid attention to the adage’s warning.
Program Notes for October 27 & 29, 2019 Read More »
Hiss Golden Messenger of Durham, North Carolina, a vehicle for singer-songwriter M.C. Taylor, calls up a wide spectrum of American vernacular music.
Hiss Golden Messenger Read More »
The story of the origin and compositional history of Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto reads like a soap opera—literally. Its commission came from the laundry soap manufacturer, Samuel Fels. What happened next is shrouded in some mystery and controversy.
Barber Violin Concerto Read More »
What is it about clowns? Why, on the one hand, do they bring laughter and delight to many, while at the same time seem frightening and repulsive to others? What, indeed, lies behind that painted smile? Ever since the rise of the Commedia dell’ Arte in the sixteenth century we know the archetypical clown by many names.
April 28 & 30, 2019 Read More »
Andrew René, baritone, has participated in vocal competitions and professional engagements, including performances with the Virginia Opera Association, the Bay View Association, Opera Raw, Piedmont Opera, the A. J. Fletcher Opera Institute, the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra and the Princeton Festival.Read more.
Andrew René, baritone Read More »
Ilana Lubitsch’s brilliant, high soprano cuts the orchestra with ease carrying a sizable voice to match her feisty stage presence. Among Ilana’s operatic credits are appearances as Königin der Nacht in Die Zauberflöte, Mme Lidoine in Dialogues des Carmélites, Miss Wordsworth in Albert Herring, Adina in L’elisir d’amore and Zerlina in Don Giovanni.Read more.
Ilana Lubitsch, soprano Read More »
The history of symphonic music might have changed significantly had Franz Schubert’s contributions to the genre stood in the foreground of his Vienna. The dominant figure of his time, of course, was none other than Ludwig van Beethoven, who had already composed eight of his nine monumental symphonies. An air of mystery and no small amount of controversy has always surrounded Mozart’s Requiem. The fact that the composer in question died prematurely while still at work on the composition of a Mass for the Dead, only increases the sense of intrigue.
March 31 & April 2, 2019 Read More »
Although audiences may not recognize the name György Ligeti, those who are fans of Stanley Kubrick’s films, 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and Eyes Wide Shut (1999) have heard his music. His opera, Le Grand Macabre (1974-77, rev. 1996), has been performed in recent years with greater frequency. A composer whose music covers many different genres, Ligeti’s earlier works reflect, not unlike Bartók and Kodály, the folk-like elements indigenous to Eastern Europe.
Two of North Carolina’s veteran bluegrass musicians join forces with some of the Triangle area’s most versatile musicians to create modern, American, acoustic music featuring the full range of their talents as composers and arrangers. The band is on tour regionally and nationally in support of their recent album, Hold Your Head Up High on
Hank, Pattie & The Current Read More »