Civic Orchestra of Victoria - May 25
Hi everyone, I’m back again already to tell you about my next concert! This one is with the Civic Orchestra of Victoria, at the Dave Dunnet Theatre in Oak Bay High School. It’s our last concert of the season before we take a break for the summer, and we’ll be conducted by our music director candidate Grant Harville; I’ve been enjoying working with him these past few months.
Here’s what’s in store for you:
Beethoven - King Stephen Overture
This overture is new to me. It was written as part of a larger choral work to commemorate the King Stephen who founded Hungary a thousand years ago. That work was commissioned by the king of Austria at the time, and this is the only part of it that is really ever performed anymore, which makes me wonder what the rest is like. The overture sounds like early Beethoven to me, but he wrote it fairly late in his career- maybe that king of Austria was a hipster who liked Beethoven before he was famous.
Gipps - Ambarvalia
I had never heard of Ruth Gipps before learning this piece, and I’m glad to have learned about this fascinating, accomplished woman. I was surprised to learn that Ambarvalia was written in 1988, because it does sound so much like Vaughan Williams to me - very mid-century or earlier. This one is a harvest dance - think of graceful dancers among amber waves of grain. We’re also pretty sure that Ambarvalia has never been played in Canada before - it’s always exciting to do a premiere!
Rimsky-Korsakov - Russian Easter Overture
I have performed this, but it was with the Flint Youth Symphony, which means that it has been something like 30 years since I did. Its big, bold melodies are based on ones from the Russian Orthodox liturgy. Watch for the solos from the principal cello, concertmaster, clarinet, flute, and… principal trombone! And you can watch me get very warm, because this one is a workout for the violins.
Coleridge-Taylor - Petite Suite de Concert
If you don’t know, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor is one of a very few famous Black British composers. This isn’t one of his more famous works but it is very fun, light, charming and plays a little like musical theatre, or Cole Porter tunes. It’s a fun contrast with the rest of this program and you could definitely put this in the background of a garden party.
Liszt - Les Préludes
This is classic Liszt, in that it is high melodrama one hundred percent of the time. There’s a reason that so much of Looney Tunes’ music is Liszt - there’s always a very clear emotional quality to it, and it changes from moment to moment. I encourage you to decide what what you think Bugs Bunny is doing at every point during your journey through this. In my opinion, there’s definitely a part where he fools Elmer Fudd by dressing in drag, after which he runs up a mountain and tumbles down a cliff or something. It’s tender, boisterous, contemplative, regretful, grand, and a thousand other things.
You can read more about the concert and get your tickets here. The concert is at 2pm, kids 12 and under get in free, and a student ID will get you a $10 ticket.