The Lincoln Youth Symphony will be performing its last concert of the season Sunday, April 21, 7:00 p.m., at Lincoln East High School. The concert is free.
One of the works to be performed is the "Prayer for Peace," by John Williams, from the 2005 movie, Munich. The movie was based on events surrounding the killing of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, and the search for the perpetrators. The film itself was controversial, violent, and a work of historical fiction, not fact. But, the music by John Williams rose above the movie. Director Spielberg considers that the "Prayer for Peace" respects the fallen athletes, while remembering the historical significance of the whole of the tragedy.
Also on the program are Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 and senior solist Maia Behrendt performing the third movement of Haydn's Violin Concerto in C. The Russian romantic composer, Pyotr Tchaikovsky wrote his fifth symphony in 1888. A theme runs throughout the four movements of the symphony, transforming itself with the changing character of each movement. Tchaikovsky described "a complete resignation before fate" as the beginnings of the symphony, and an acceptance of Providence by the final movement. Tchaikovsky was not happy with the ending he wrote, and it had mixed reception by the critics. But over the course of time, it has become one of Tchaikovsky's most popular works.
The Lincoln Youth Symphony, under the baton of Clark Potter, is sure to inspire its audience with this program.
Showing posts with label Lincoln Youth Symphony. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lincoln Youth Symphony. Show all posts
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
A Tale of a River
Another of the pieces the Lincoln Youth Symphony is working on for their November concert is Smetana's "Moldau," a very famous symphonic poem that depicts the Moldau (the German name)or Vltava (the Czech name)River, the longest river in the Czech Republic.
Bedrich Smetana (1824-1884) was a nationalist romantic Czech composer of the 19th century. He is considered the father of Czech music. Although he wrote all sorts of music, he is best remembered for his opera "The Bartered Bride" and for his cycle of symphonic poems "Ma vlast (My country)," of which the Moldau is the second one, written in 1874, and premiered in 1875,
A symphonic poem or tone poem is an orchestral work in one movement that depicts, illustrates or evokes a story, a painting, a place, or some other non-musical content. Smetana's "Moldau" depicts the course of the river through the country. He wrote his publisher about his work:
"The work depicts the course of the river Vltava, beginning from the two small sources, the cold and warm Vltava, the joining of both streams into one, then the flow of the Vltava through forests and across meadows, through the countryside where gay festivals are just being celebrated; by the light of the moon a dance of wter nymphs; on the nearby cliffs proud castles, mansions and ruins rise up; the Vltava swirls in the St. John's rapids, flows in a broad stream as far as Prague, the Vysehrad appears, and finally the river disappears in the distance as it flows majestically into the Elbe."
That description can be followed through the music, with the initial source of the river depicted by the flutes starting in the first measure, and the second source inverted in the clarinets a few measures later. You might want to listen for a hunt in the forest or polka strains of a country wedding, and the broad melodies as the stream becomes a river.
You can hear the "Moldau" at the Lincoln Youth Symphony concert on Sunday, November 11, 2012, 3 p.m., at Lincoln Southwest High School. The concert is free.
Bedrich Smetana (1824-1884) was a nationalist romantic Czech composer of the 19th century. He is considered the father of Czech music. Although he wrote all sorts of music, he is best remembered for his opera "The Bartered Bride" and for his cycle of symphonic poems "Ma vlast (My country)," of which the Moldau is the second one, written in 1874, and premiered in 1875,
A symphonic poem or tone poem is an orchestral work in one movement that depicts, illustrates or evokes a story, a painting, a place, or some other non-musical content. Smetana's "Moldau" depicts the course of the river through the country. He wrote his publisher about his work:
"The work depicts the course of the river Vltava, beginning from the two small sources, the cold and warm Vltava, the joining of both streams into one, then the flow of the Vltava through forests and across meadows, through the countryside where gay festivals are just being celebrated; by the light of the moon a dance of wter nymphs; on the nearby cliffs proud castles, mansions and ruins rise up; the Vltava swirls in the St. John's rapids, flows in a broad stream as far as Prague, the Vysehrad appears, and finally the river disappears in the distance as it flows majestically into the Elbe."
That description can be followed through the music, with the initial source of the river depicted by the flutes starting in the first measure, and the second source inverted in the clarinets a few measures later. You might want to listen for a hunt in the forest or polka strains of a country wedding, and the broad melodies as the stream becomes a river.
You can hear the "Moldau" at the Lincoln Youth Symphony concert on Sunday, November 11, 2012, 3 p.m., at Lincoln Southwest High School. The concert is free.
Monday, October 15, 2012
The Hebrides, a concert overture
One of the pieces that the Lincoln Youth Symphony is preparing for their November concert is The Hebrides, by the German romantic composer Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847).
The Hebrides is an overture. It's not an overture that is connected with a another work, like an opera or oratorio. Rather it is a concert overture, an independent symphonic work that may or may not have a programatic basis. The Hebrides is frequestly used as an example of the concert overture. While many people hear The Hebrides as a seascape, with tides and waves, glimmers of foam, and even a storm, Mendelssohn indicated that his overture was inspired by the beauty of that part of Scotland, rather than being a depiction of it.
In 1829, a young Felix Mendelssohn visited Scotland as part of his grand European tour. It was the first summer that steamer trips to the islands were advertised. The night before catching the steamer, Mendelssohn sent his sister Fanny a letter with 20 bars of the theme he later used in the overture. The ship that Mendelssohn took visited both Iona and Staffa, where Fingal's Cave is the main attraction. Mendelssohn, however, remembered little of that day because he was quite sea sick, so Fingal's Cave was not the inspiration for his work.
Mendelssohn spent three years working on his overture. The first draft was called The Lonely Island (Die einsame Insel). The first version was completed in Rome in 1830, and called The Hebrides. Mendelssohn decided he didn't like it, and so wrote a second version that had a premier at a London concert in 1832. He made a third version the next year.
The first published version of the overture was called Fingal's Cave by the publisher, a name that has stuck, even though Mendelssohn hadn't even seen Fingal's Cave on his trip to Scotland. It has also been called The Isles of Fingal and Ossian in Fingal's Cave, in addition to the titles Mendelssohn used.
Whatever you want to call Mendelssohn's concert overture, the Lincoln Youth Symphony will be performing it on Nevember 11, 2012.
The Hebrides is an overture. It's not an overture that is connected with a another work, like an opera or oratorio. Rather it is a concert overture, an independent symphonic work that may or may not have a programatic basis. The Hebrides is frequestly used as an example of the concert overture. While many people hear The Hebrides as a seascape, with tides and waves, glimmers of foam, and even a storm, Mendelssohn indicated that his overture was inspired by the beauty of that part of Scotland, rather than being a depiction of it.
In 1829, a young Felix Mendelssohn visited Scotland as part of his grand European tour. It was the first summer that steamer trips to the islands were advertised. The night before catching the steamer, Mendelssohn sent his sister Fanny a letter with 20 bars of the theme he later used in the overture. The ship that Mendelssohn took visited both Iona and Staffa, where Fingal's Cave is the main attraction. Mendelssohn, however, remembered little of that day because he was quite sea sick, so Fingal's Cave was not the inspiration for his work.
Mendelssohn spent three years working on his overture. The first draft was called The Lonely Island (Die einsame Insel). The first version was completed in Rome in 1830, and called The Hebrides. Mendelssohn decided he didn't like it, and so wrote a second version that had a premier at a London concert in 1832. He made a third version the next year.
The first published version of the overture was called Fingal's Cave by the publisher, a name that has stuck, even though Mendelssohn hadn't even seen Fingal's Cave on his trip to Scotland. It has also been called The Isles of Fingal and Ossian in Fingal's Cave, in addition to the titles Mendelssohn used.
Whatever you want to call Mendelssohn's concert overture, the Lincoln Youth Symphony will be performing it on Nevember 11, 2012.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Chabrier Times Two
Lincolnites will have two chances to hear works by Emmanuel Chabrier this Sunday, April 22nd. The Lincoln Youth Symphony will be performing Espana, while the Lincoln Civic Orchestra will perform Habanera.
The French composer, Emmanuel Chabrier (1841-1894), made his greatest contribution as a composer of piano music, but is remembered for a couple of orchestral pieces, including Espana. Chabrier, a pianist, always wanted to focus his life on music, but spent nearly 20 years as a civil servant in the French Department of the Interior, as his parents wanted. During those years Chabrier continued his musical activities as a sidelight, including playing piano in Parisian nightclubs. He resigned from his day job in 1880 in order to truly devote himself to music. He and his wife visited Spain in 1882. Inspiration from that trip led to both Espana and his Habanera.
Chabrier began the composition of Espana as a piano duet. But soon the sketches based on dance rhythms took on the life and color that only an orchestra can provide. Written in the first few months of 1883, the work was originally titled Jota, but was retitled in October 1883. It premiered to critical and public acclaim and has remained a favorite to this day. Mahler supposedly proclaimed Espana to be the beginnings of modern music. But Chabrier kept his perspective, calling it "a piece in F and nothing more." Modern listeners may hear in the work strains of "Hot Diggity," a popular song from 1956.
Chabrier's Habanera was written a couple of years later for piano. It became so popular that it was soon orchestrated. Habanera is a dance form of Cuban origin that had been brought back to Europe and popularized (somewhat like the tango). It was especially popular in Spain, and was danced in bars and taverns, among other places. Chabrier catches the feel and spirit of the dance, and incorporates the basic rhythmic patterns that define the dance.
The Lincoln Youth Symphony will present their concert at East High School, Sunday, April 22, 2012, at 7 p.m. They will also be performing Faure's Pelleas and Melisande, the Academic Festival Overture by Brahms, and the first movement of Lalo's Cello Concerto, with senior soloist Maddie Witters. The concert is free.
The Lincoln Civic Orchestra will be performing at O'Donnell Auditorium in the Rogers Center for Fine Arts on the Nebraska Wesleyan University campus, Sunday, April 22, 2012, at 4 p.m. Their program includes Rimsky-Korsakov's Procession of the Nobles, Lalo's Le Roi d'Ys Overture, Rossini's Overture to Cinderella (La Cenerentola), Finlandia by Jean Sibelius, and music from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2, in addition to the Habanera. The concert is free.
And if you're in the mood for band music, instead of orchestra music on the 22nd, the Waverly Area Community Band will present their free concert at Waverly High School, at 7 p.m.
So many choices...
The French composer, Emmanuel Chabrier (1841-1894), made his greatest contribution as a composer of piano music, but is remembered for a couple of orchestral pieces, including Espana. Chabrier, a pianist, always wanted to focus his life on music, but spent nearly 20 years as a civil servant in the French Department of the Interior, as his parents wanted. During those years Chabrier continued his musical activities as a sidelight, including playing piano in Parisian nightclubs. He resigned from his day job in 1880 in order to truly devote himself to music. He and his wife visited Spain in 1882. Inspiration from that trip led to both Espana and his Habanera.
Chabrier began the composition of Espana as a piano duet. But soon the sketches based on dance rhythms took on the life and color that only an orchestra can provide. Written in the first few months of 1883, the work was originally titled Jota, but was retitled in October 1883. It premiered to critical and public acclaim and has remained a favorite to this day. Mahler supposedly proclaimed Espana to be the beginnings of modern music. But Chabrier kept his perspective, calling it "a piece in F and nothing more." Modern listeners may hear in the work strains of "Hot Diggity," a popular song from 1956.
Chabrier's Habanera was written a couple of years later for piano. It became so popular that it was soon orchestrated. Habanera is a dance form of Cuban origin that had been brought back to Europe and popularized (somewhat like the tango). It was especially popular in Spain, and was danced in bars and taverns, among other places. Chabrier catches the feel and spirit of the dance, and incorporates the basic rhythmic patterns that define the dance.
The Lincoln Youth Symphony will present their concert at East High School, Sunday, April 22, 2012, at 7 p.m. They will also be performing Faure's Pelleas and Melisande, the Academic Festival Overture by Brahms, and the first movement of Lalo's Cello Concerto, with senior soloist Maddie Witters. The concert is free.
The Lincoln Civic Orchestra will be performing at O'Donnell Auditorium in the Rogers Center for Fine Arts on the Nebraska Wesleyan University campus, Sunday, April 22, 2012, at 4 p.m. Their program includes Rimsky-Korsakov's Procession of the Nobles, Lalo's Le Roi d'Ys Overture, Rossini's Overture to Cinderella (La Cenerentola), Finlandia by Jean Sibelius, and music from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2, in addition to the Habanera. The concert is free.
And if you're in the mood for band music, instead of orchestra music on the 22nd, the Waverly Area Community Band will present their free concert at Waverly High School, at 7 p.m.
So many choices...
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Lincoln Youth Symphony Concert Changes
Sometimes the best laid plans don't work out. That's the case for the Lincoln Youth Symphony with this weekend's concert. They found out late yesterday that Lincoln High would be unavailable for their scheduled concert Sunday. They scrambled and have been able to line up a new performance venue -- at East High School.
The Lincoln Youth Symphony is affiliated with Lincoln Public Schools, but also includes fine young musicians from other schools in Lincoln.
If you are interested in their free concert, it is this Sunday, February 12, 2012, at East High School. The concert time also changed, now beginning at 3:30 p.m. The program includes Beethoven's Egmont Overture, Rimsky-Korsakov's Concerto for Trombone, and Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet Suite No. 2. Mr. Clark Potter will be conducting. It's sure to be a wonderful concert.
The Lincoln Youth Symphony is affiliated with Lincoln Public Schools, but also includes fine young musicians from other schools in Lincoln.
If you are interested in their free concert, it is this Sunday, February 12, 2012, at East High School. The concert time also changed, now beginning at 3:30 p.m. The program includes Beethoven's Egmont Overture, Rimsky-Korsakov's Concerto for Trombone, and Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet Suite No. 2. Mr. Clark Potter will be conducting. It's sure to be a wonderful concert.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Beethoven's Egmont Overture
Music lovers in Lincoln will have a couple of chances to hear Beethoven's Egmont Overture this month. The Lincoln Youth Symphony will be performing it at their February 12th concert, and then joining forces with Lincoln's Symphony Orchestra for an all-Beethoven concert on February 25th.
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), one of classical music's greatest composers, made a name for himself in the classical period, and then transitioned into the romantic period of 19th century music. Around 1802, Beethoven's middle period work began to celebrate freedom and nobility of spirit, with works such as the Eroica Symphony (Symphony no. 3), his opera, Fidelio, and the Coriolan Overture.
In May 1809, Napoleon invaded Vienna. Life was difficult for the Viennese during the months of French occupation, and freedoms were restricted. The French left in October 1809, and Beethoven was immediately engaged to write incidental music for a revival of Goethe's political drama, Egmont. In the play, the hero, the Count of Egmont, is condemned to death because of his struggles for justice and liberty against despotism and tyranny. Beethoven, a great admirer of Goethe, wrote nine pieces for the play, in addition to the overture. Egmont, with Beethoven's music, premiered in June 1810.
The music of the overture is considered to be a condensation of the main themes of the play. The opening is solemn and tragic. The melodies then become ominous and threatening. A silence marks Egmont's death, but then victory is proclaimed by the orchestra, as tyranny is overcome.
The overture is written in the sonata form of the classical overture. There's a slow introduction, exposition of the themes, the development the themes, a recapitulation of the themes, and the dramatic coda. One analysis of the work relates the introduction to the prison, the body of the work to the fight, and the coda to the victory, as form expresses the play as a whole.
The Lincoln Youth Symphony's free performance of Beethoven's Egmont Overture will be at Lincoln High School, 3:00 p.m., on Sunday, February 12th.
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), one of classical music's greatest composers, made a name for himself in the classical period, and then transitioned into the romantic period of 19th century music. Around 1802, Beethoven's middle period work began to celebrate freedom and nobility of spirit, with works such as the Eroica Symphony (Symphony no. 3), his opera, Fidelio, and the Coriolan Overture.
In May 1809, Napoleon invaded Vienna. Life was difficult for the Viennese during the months of French occupation, and freedoms were restricted. The French left in October 1809, and Beethoven was immediately engaged to write incidental music for a revival of Goethe's political drama, Egmont. In the play, the hero, the Count of Egmont, is condemned to death because of his struggles for justice and liberty against despotism and tyranny. Beethoven, a great admirer of Goethe, wrote nine pieces for the play, in addition to the overture. Egmont, with Beethoven's music, premiered in June 1810.
The music of the overture is considered to be a condensation of the main themes of the play. The opening is solemn and tragic. The melodies then become ominous and threatening. A silence marks Egmont's death, but then victory is proclaimed by the orchestra, as tyranny is overcome.
The overture is written in the sonata form of the classical overture. There's a slow introduction, exposition of the themes, the development the themes, a recapitulation of the themes, and the dramatic coda. One analysis of the work relates the introduction to the prison, the body of the work to the fight, and the coda to the victory, as form expresses the play as a whole.
The Lincoln Youth Symphony's free performance of Beethoven's Egmont Overture will be at Lincoln High School, 3:00 p.m., on Sunday, February 12th.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Rimsky-Korsakov's Concerto for Trombone
Rimsky-Korsakov's Concerto for Trombone will be performed by the Lincoln Youth Symphony at their February concert, with Kyle Pearcy as the senior soloist. The concerto is part of the standard trombone literature.
The trombone is not usually thought of as a solo instrument. In his book on orchestration, Rimsky-Korsakov describes the trombone as "dark and threatening in the deepest register, brilliant and triumphant in the high compass. The piano is full but somewhat heavy, the forte powerful and sonorous. Valve trombones are more mobile than slide trombones, but the latter are certainly to be preferred as regards nobility and equality of sound, the more so in the fact that these instruments are rarely required to perform quick passages, owing to the special character of their tone."
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908), a Russian romantic composer and professor of composition at the St. Petersburg Conservatoire, was also a naval officer who served as Inspector of Military Bands from 1873-1884. It is believed that the Concerto for trombone and military band was written around 1878. It was later arranged for trombone and orchestra, and for trombone and piano.
In the concerto, Rimsky-Korsakov uses the full range of the trombone and requires substantial technique for the 1st (Allegro vivace) and 3rd (Allegretto) movements (and the cadenzas) and musical lyricism for the middle movement (Andante cantabile). All the terms that Rimsky-Korsakov used to describe the trombone in his book on orchestration are found in the Concerto, except that he does require the solo trombone to perform quick passages.
The concerto is very listenable. You can catch the performance Sunday, February 12th, at 3 p.m. at Lincoln High School. And admission is free.
The trombone is not usually thought of as a solo instrument. In his book on orchestration, Rimsky-Korsakov describes the trombone as "dark and threatening in the deepest register, brilliant and triumphant in the high compass. The piano is full but somewhat heavy, the forte powerful and sonorous. Valve trombones are more mobile than slide trombones, but the latter are certainly to be preferred as regards nobility and equality of sound, the more so in the fact that these instruments are rarely required to perform quick passages, owing to the special character of their tone."
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908), a Russian romantic composer and professor of composition at the St. Petersburg Conservatoire, was also a naval officer who served as Inspector of Military Bands from 1873-1884. It is believed that the Concerto for trombone and military band was written around 1878. It was later arranged for trombone and orchestra, and for trombone and piano.
In the concerto, Rimsky-Korsakov uses the full range of the trombone and requires substantial technique for the 1st (Allegro vivace) and 3rd (Allegretto) movements (and the cadenzas) and musical lyricism for the middle movement (Andante cantabile). All the terms that Rimsky-Korsakov used to describe the trombone in his book on orchestration are found in the Concerto, except that he does require the solo trombone to perform quick passages.
The concerto is very listenable. You can catch the performance Sunday, February 12th, at 3 p.m. at Lincoln High School. And admission is free.
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