One of the greatest concertos ever penned for the instrument, Mendelssohn’s masterful Violin Concerto, composed between 1838 and 1844, is the fruit of his maturity. The work owes its existence thanks to the special working relationship that the composer enjoyed with the leader (concertmaster in today’s terms) of the Gewandhaus Orchestra, Ferdinand David.
Felix Mendelssohn Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, op. 64 Read More »
Overshadowed by his Symphony no. 2, Rachmaninoff’s Third Symphony certainly deserves to be programmed more frequently than it normally is. While it may lack some of the Second Symphony’s memorable tunes, it certainly contains plenty of its lyricism, couched within the composer’s considerable command of color and drama.
Sergei Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Op. 44 Read More »
Dmitri Shostakovich:Fesitive Overture, Op. 96 Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, one of the Soviet Union’s greatest composers, was born in Saint Petersburg on September 12, 1906 and died in Moscow on August 9, 1975. Although he composed in a wide variety of genres, he is best known for his fifteen symphonies, works that stand among the finest
Program Notes: January 8 & 9, 2022 Read More »
The origins of All American came from a commission by the Los Angeles Philharmonic for a short concert opener for a concert that included music by Charles Ives, Samuel Barber, and Duke Ellington. Laura Karpman’s initial reaction, according to an interview that appeared in the LA Times was “Great! We’ll call it ‘All American’ and I’ll figure out what to write later.” Her next instinct was to compose something patriotic, but upon further reflection, her womanhood, her sense of social justice, and her innate outspoken nature led her to create a mashup that would draw attention to the accomplishments of American female composers from the past.
November 13 & 14, 2021 Read More »
Jean Sibelius:Symphony No. 7 in C Major, Op. 105 Jean Sibelius is undisputably the greatest composer Finland has ever produced. He was born on December 8, 1865 in Hämeenlinna (Tavastehus), Finland and died in Järvenpää, Finland on September 20, 1957. His abiding interest in Finland’s literature (especially the national epic known as the Kalevala) and
Program Notes: Oct 2 & 3, 2021 Read More »
On Demand May 29 – June 29, 2021 It is often said the music is the universal language. While it is true that music is common to the entire gamut of cultural activity throughout the world, a single language can hardly be deemed to be universal, because music “speaks” in a nearly infinite number of
Around the World in 80 Minutes Read More »
Composed in 1932, Gershwin’s Cuban Overture originally was entitled Rumba, which gives an accurate description of the lively Latin dance rhythm that drives its engine. The composer might easily have named the work An American in Havana had he not used that formula earlier in the better-known work set in Paris.
CenterStage, Mar 13-Apr 13, 2021 Read More »
There are many names for love in Greek: Agape, Storge, Philia, Ludus, but for most of us, the word Eros best characterizes the celebration of St. Valentine’s Day. Chocolate, Flowers (above all red roses!) are some of the other manifestations, but none of these avatars can hold a candle to the power of music.Read more.
Mixtape — Feb/Mar 2021 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 »
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 »
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 »
“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 »
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 »
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.
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky remains one of the most popular composers of all time, beloved especially for his symphonies, ballets, and concertos. His Symphony no. 6 was composed between February and August 1893, the final year of his life, and received its first performance in St. Petersburg on 28 October of that year.
November 4 & 6, 2018 Read More »
Weber’s 1821 opera, Der Freischütz, quickly became the standard that defined German Romantic Opera. Supernatural events, a rural landscape (the forest), religiosity, an alienated hero, and, above all, redemptive love are its primary ingredients. It is safe to say that without Weber’s model, the operatic achievements of Richard Wagner later in the nineteenth century would have been unthinkable. Beloved by the German people—but not to the exclusion of other nationalities—Der Freischütz is a work whose plot (based on Germanic folklore) and musical attributes were admired by not only Wagner, but also by the Frenchman Berlioz and many others.
October 14 & 16, 2018 Read More »
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Overture to The Marriage of Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro), K. 492 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born January 27, 1756 in Salzburg. He died on December 5, 1791 in Vienna. His Italian comic opera masterpiece, The Marriage of Figaro, was his first effort after settling in Vienna in 1781. The opera received
Mozart & Shostakovich Read More »
Johannes Brahms Variations on a Theme by Haydn, Op. 56a Johannes Brahms was born on May 7, 1833 in Hamburg and died in Vienna on April 3, 1897. He is unquestionably one of the greatest composers of the late nineteenth century, whose music greatly enriched the repertory for piano, organ, chamber music, chorus, and orchestra.
Richard Wagner Prelude to Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, WWV 96 [Wilhelm] Richard Wagner was born in Leipzig, Germany on May 22, 1813 and died in Venice on February 13, 1883. He was the most important composer of German opera in the latter half of the nineteenth century. His crowning achievement was the Ring of the
