Tag Archives: Philip Mann

This weekend – the ASO finishes 2014-15 Masterworks with Mozart, Prokoviev and Strauss

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aso500+yeol-eum-sonThe Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Philip Mann, Music Director and Conductor, presents the sixth and final concert in the 2014-2015 Stella Boyle Smith Masterworks Series: Mozart, Prokofiev and Strauss.

Piano virtuoso Yeol Eum Son takes the stage for the final Masterworks concert of the season, performing Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3. The program also features Mozart’s grand “Jupiter” Symphony, and Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier Suite.  The Masterworks Series is sponsored by the Stella Boyle Smith Trust.

The concert takes place Saturday, April 11, 2015 at 7:30 p.m., & Sunday, April 12, 2015 at 3:00 p.m. at the Maumelle Performing Arts Center, 100 Victory Lane, Maumelle.

Concert Conversations: All concert ticket holders are invited to a pre-concert lecture an hour before each Masterworks concert.  These talks feature insights from the Maestro and guest artists, and feature musical examples to enrich the concert experience.

Tickets are $19, $35, $49, and $58; active duty military and student tickets are $10 are can be purchased online at www.ArkansasSymphony.org; at the Maumelle Performing Arts Center box office beginning 90 minutes prior to a concert; or by phone at 501-666-1761, ext. 100. All Arkansas students grades K-12 are admitted to Sunday’s matinee free of charge with the purchase of an adult ticket using the Entergy Kids’ Ticket, downloadable at the ASO website.

Yeol Eum Son, piano
Philip Mann, conductor

PROGRAM:
MOZART: Symphony No. 41 in C Major, K. 551 “Jupiter”
PROKOFIEV: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, Op. 26
STRAUSS: Der Rosenkavelier, Op. 59 Suite

PROGRAM NOTES:
Jupiter is the last, grandest and most joyous of all of Mozart’s symphonies. Speaking on the fact that there is no evidence of a commission to inspire the final three symphonies, scholar Neal Zaslaw commented: “The very idea that Mozart would have written three such symphonies, unprecedented in length, complexity, and seriousness, merely to please himself or because he was ‘inspired,’ flies in the face of his known attitudes to music and life and the financial straits in which he then found himself.”

Prokofiev composed Piano Concerto No. 3 after studying at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. It emphasis on virtuosity and sharpness of humor with the earlier concertos, but it also contains a strong helping of mature warmth, making it easier to approach and enjoy.

Excerpts from the Der Rosenkavalier have been featured in concert virtually since the opera’s creation, although Strauss did not prepare many of them himself. This popular concert suite appeared in 1945, without crediting an arranger. It presents an enchanting medley of the opera’s most glorious moments, including the surging Prelude; the presentation of the silver rose; a luscious love duet between Sophie and Octavian; a teasing, languorous waltz associated with the lecherous Baron Ochs; the ecstatic final trio and duet; and another, quicker waltz to finish.

The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra celebrates its 49th season in 2014-2015, under the leadership of Music Director Philip Mann. ASO is the resident orchestra of Robinson Center Music Hall, and performs more than sixty concerts each year for more than 165,000 people through its Stella Boyle Smith Masterworks Series, ACXIOM Pops LIVE! Series, Landers FIAT River Rhapsodies Chamber Music Series, and numerous concerts performed around the state of Arkansas, in addition to serving central Arkansas through numerous community outreach programs and bringing live symphonic music education to over 26,000 school children and over 200 schools.

Gershwin Music Featured at Arkansas Symphony this weekend

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The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra (ASO), Philip Mann, Music Director and Conductor, presents the fourth concert in the 2014-2015 Acxiom Pops Live! Series: Here to Stay, a Gershwin Experience, on Saturday, March 14, 2015 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, March 15, 2015 at 3:00 p.m., at the Pulaski Academy Connor Performing Arts Center, 12701 Hinson Road,

Legendary singer Sylvia McNair and acclaimed pianist Jeffrey Biegel join the ASO in a celebration of the music of George and Ira Gershwin. The program features favorites like “Rhapsody in Blue,” “Someone to Watch Over Me,” I Got Rhythm,” and more. This spectacular musical experience is enhanced by rare video clips, family photos, and state-of-the-art visuals to provide a distinctive and unforgettable offering of the Gershwin brothers’ best.

The Pops Live! Series is sponsored by Acxiom. Media Sponsor for the Acxiom Pops Live! series is The Point 94.1. The concert sponsor is Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield.

Tickets are $19, $35, $49, and $58; active duty military and student tickets are $10 are can be purchased online at http://www.ArkansasSymphony.org; at the Connor Performing Arts Center box office beginning 90 minutes prior to a concert; or by phone at 501-666-1761, ext. 100.

All Arkansas students grades K-12 are admitted to Sunday’s matinee free of charge with the purchase of an adult ticket using the Entergy Kids’ Ticket, downloadable at the ASO website.

ARTISTS:

  • Sylvia McNair, soprano
  • Jeffrey Biegel, piano
  • David Snyder, piano and vocal
  • Danny Gardner, vocals and tap dancer

PROGRAM:

  • Strike Up the Band
  • Embraceable You
  • Rialto Ripples
  • Fascinating Rhythm
  • The Half of it, Dearie, Blues
  • The Man I Love
  • ‘S Wonderful
  • But Not for Me
  • Rhapsody in Blue

INTERMISSION

  • Of Thee I Sing: Overture
  • Slap That Bass
  • Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off
  • They All Laughed
  • Love is Here to Stay
  • Summertime
  • I Got Rhythm
  • Concerto for Piano in F: III. Allegro Agitato

Night Serenades by the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra tonight

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The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra (ASO), Philip Mann, Music Director and Conductor, continues the 2014-2015 Intimate Neighborhood Concerts series with Night Serenades, featuring one of the most well-known pieces in the classical genre: Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. The event is held March 12th at 7:00 PM at the St. James United Methodist Church, 321 Pleasant Valley Dr., Little Rock, AR.

Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings and ASO Composer of the Year John Corigliano’s Aria for Oboe and Strings, featuring Lorraine Duso Kitts, share the remainder of the program.

The Intimate Neighborhood Concerts series is sponsored by the Stella Boyle Smith Foundation.

Tickets are $25; active duty military and student tickets are $10 are can be purchased online at http://www.ArkansasSymphony.org; at the St. James United Methodist Church beginning 60 minutes prior to the concert; or by phone at 501-666-1761, ext. 100.

PROGRAM:

MOZART: Eine kleine Nachtmusik (Serenade, K. 525)

CORIGLIANO: Aria for Oboe and Strings; Lorraine Duso-Kitts, oboe

TCHAIKOVSKY: Serenade for Strings in C Major, Op. 48

The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra celebrates its 49th season in 2014-2015, under the leadership of Music Director Philip Mann. ASO is the resident orchestra of Robinson Center Music Hall, and performs more than sixty concerts each year for more than 165,000 people through its Stella Boyle Smith Masterworks Series, ACXIOM Pops LIVE! Series, Landers FIAT River Rhapsodies Chamber Music Series, and numerous concerts performed around the state of Arkansas, in addition to serving central Arkansas through numerous community outreach programs and bringing live symphonic music education to over 26,000 school children and over 200 schools.

Brahms, Wagner and Schubert highlight the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra concerts this weekend

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The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra (ASO), Philip Mann, Music Director and Conductor, presents the fifth concert in the 2014 -2015 Stella Boyle Smith Masterworks Series: Schubert’s Unfinished.

Renowned violinist Vadim Gluzman joins the ASO to perform Brahms’ Violin Concerto. The program opens with the Prelude to Wagner’s Die Meistersinger and reaches a finale with Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony. The Masterworks Series is sponsored by the Stella Boyle Smith Trust.

The concert takes place Saturday, February 28, 2015 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, March 1, 2015 at 3:00 p.m. at the Maumelle Performing Arts Center, 100 Victory Lane, Maumelle AR.

American Airlines Concert Conversations: All concert ticket holders are invited to a pre-concert lecture an hour before each Masterworks concert. These talks feature insights from the Maestro and guest artists, and feature musical examples to enrich the concert experience.
Tickets are $19, $35, $49, and $58; active duty military and student tickets are $10 are can be purchased online at www.ArkansasSymphony.org; at the Maumelle Performing Arts Center box office beginning 90 minutes prior to a concert; or by phone at 501-666-1761, ext. 100.

All Arkansas students grades K-12 are admitted to Sunday’s matinee free of charge with the purchase of an adult ticket using the Entergy Kids’ Ticket, downloadable at the ASO website.

ARTISTS

Vadim Gluzman, violin – Richard Sheppard Arnold Artist of Distinction

Philip Mann, conductor

PROGRAM

WAGNER: Prelude to Die Meistersinger
BRAHMS: Concerto for Violin in D Major, Op. 77
SCHUBERT: Symphony No. 8 in B minor, “Unfinished”

PROGRAM NOTES

Wagner’s Prelude to Die Meistersinger introduces the themes of the hero, von Stolzing, and the comic villain, Beckmesser, with a display of contrapuntal ingenuity worthy of Bach.

For Brahms, as it had been for Beethoven, a concerto was no less weighty and important than a symphony. Brahms and soloist Joseph Joachim had been friends for 25 years when Brahms began work on the Violin Concerto in D Major. While ignoring most of Joachim’s suggestions, Brahms crafted a powerful, warm, and dramatic concerto that nonetheless met his requirements of musical substance over pyrotechnic flash.

There are actually several ‘unfinished’ symphonies left by Schubert, but the haunting Symphony No. 8  is the most famous of the fragments. The work was composed while he was seriously ill, and also undergoing a major shift in creative direction. He completed the first two movements in every detail. After composing and partially orchestrating sketches for a third movement, he set the symphony aside and appears never to have returned to it again.

ABOUT THE ARKANSAS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra celebrates its 49th season in 2014-2015, under the leadership of Music Director Philip Mann. ASO is the resident orchestra of Robinson Center Music Hall, and performs more than sixty concerts each year for more than 165,000 people through its Stella Boyle Smith Masterworks Series, ACXIOM Pops LIVE! Series, River Rhapsodies Chamber Music Series, and numerous concerts performed around the state of Arkansas, in addition to serving central Arkansas through numerous community outreach programs and bringing live symphonic music education to over 26,000 school children and over 200 schools.

Dancing and Romancing on tap this weekend with Arkansas Symphony

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joan_kirby_artist_1Just in time for the Valentine’s Weekend, the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra (ASO), Philip Mann, Music Director and Conductor, presents the third concert in the 2014-2015 Acxiom Pops Live! Series: Dancing and Romancing.

Broadway and Hollywood combine under the baton of ASO Associate Conductor Geoffrey Robson for a romantic and entertaining evening of song and dance with two veterans of the Broadway stage: Joan Hess and Kirby Ward. Inspired by the likes of Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Gene Kelly and Eleanor Powell, this evening will put a song in hearts and have patrons dancing in the aisles. The Pops Live! Series is sponsored by Acxiom. The concert sponsor is UAMS.

Kirby Ward originated the role of Bobby Childs in the London production of Crazy for You (and is heard on the cast album). His Broadway credits include Show Boat, Woman of the Year and Never Gonna Dance.  Joan Hess recently starred on Broadway in Mamma Mia! Other Broadway roles include Crazy for You; Kiss Me, Kate; Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Bells Are Ringing.  She is also a veteran of national tours of Sunset Boulevard, Crazy for You, 42nd Street and Beehive.

The concert is held at the Pulaski Academy Connor Performing Arts Center, 12701 Hinson Road, Little Rock, AR, on Saturday, February 14, 2015 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, February 15, 2015 at 3:00 p.m.

Tickets are $19, $35, $49, and $58; active duty military and student tickets are $10 are can be purchased online at www.ArkansasSymphony.org; at the Connor Performing Arts Center box office beginning 90 minutes prior to a concert; or by phone at 501-666-1761, ext. 100. All Arkansas students grades K-12 are admitted to Sunday’s matinee free of charge with the purchase of an adult ticket using the Entergy Kids’ Ticket, downloadable at the ASO website.

The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra celebrates its 49th season in 2014-2015, under the leadership of Music Director Philip Mann. ASO is the resident orchestra of Robinson Center Music Hall, and performs more than sixty concerts each year for more than 165,000 people through its Stella Boyle Smith Masterworks Series, ACXIOM Pops LIVE! Series, River Rhapsodies Chamber Music Series, and numerous concerts performed around the state of Arkansas, in addition to serving central Arkansas through numerous community outreach programs and bringing live symphonic music education to over 26,000 school children and over 200 schools.

A Mozart Serenade part of Arkansas Symphony River Rhapsodies tonight

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ASO_revThe Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Philip Mann, Music Director and Conductor, presents the next concert of its 2014-2015 Landers FIAT River Rhapsodies Chamber Music Series: Mozart: “Gran Partita” Serenade.

The program takes place in the Grand Hall of the Clinton Presidential Center, November 11th, 2014 at 7:00 PM, 1200 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock, AR. A cash bar is open at 6 PM and at intermission, and patrons are invited to carry drinks into the hall. Media sponsor for the Landers FIAT River Rhapsodies Chamber Music Series is KUAR/KLRE.

The program is:
Smetana – String Quartet No. 1 in E minor “From My Life”
Mozart – Serenade No. 10 in Bb “Gran Partita,” K. 361/370a

Tickets are $23; active duty military and student tickets are $10 are can be purchased online atwww.ArkansasSymphony.org; at the Clinton Presidential Center box office beginning 60 minutes prior to a concert; or by phone at 501-666-1761, ext. 100.

The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra celebrates its 49th season in 2014-2015, under the leadership of Music Director Philip Mann. ASO is the resident orchestra of Robinson Center Music Hall, and performs more than sixty concerts each year for more than 165,000 people through its Stella Boyle Smith Masterworks Series, ACXIOM Pops LIVE! Series, Landers FIAT River Rhapsodies Chamber Music Series, and numerous concerts performed around the state of Arkansas, in addition to serving central Arkansas through numerous community outreach programs and bringing live symphonic music education to over 26,000 school children and over 200 schools.

Mozart & Tchaikovsky at Arkansas Symphony this weekend, featuring violin prodigy Randall Goosby

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Randall Goosby

Randall Goosby

The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra (ASO), Philip Mann, Music Director and Conductor, presents the fourth concert in the 2014-2015 Stella Boyle Smith Masterworks Series: Tchaikovsky and Mozart Festival. The concert takes place at the Maumelle Performing Arts Center on Saturday, January 31, 2015 at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, February 1, 2015 at 3:00 p.m.

The ASO, under the baton of guest conductor Vladimir Verbitsky, is joined by young violin virtuoso Randall Goosby for Mozart’s Concerto for Violin in A Major. Tchaikovsky’s Polonaise from Eugene Onegin and his epic Symphony No. 4 are also presented on the program. The Masterworks Series is sponsored by the Stella Boyle Smith Trust. The concert sponsor is the National Endowment for the Arts.

Concert Conversations – All concert ticket holders are invited to a pre-concert lecture an hour before each Masterworks concert.  These talks feature insights from the Maestro and guest artists, and feature musical examples to enrich the concert experience.

Tickets are $19, $35, $49, and $58; active duty military and student tickets are $10 are can be purchased online at http://www.ArkansasSymphony.org; at the Maumelle Performing Arts Center box office beginning 90 minutes prior to a concert; or by phone at 501-666-1761, ext. 100. All Arkansas students grades K-12 are admitted to Sunday’s matinee free of charge with the purchase of an adult ticket using the Entergy Kids’ Ticket, downloadable at the ASO website.

ARTISTS
Randall Goosby, violin
Vladimir Verbitsky, guest conductor

PROGRAM
TCHAIKOVSKY: Polonaise from Eugene Onegin
MOZART: Concerto for Violin No. 5 in A Major, K. 219
TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36

 

PROGRAM NOTES
Eugene Onegin is Tchaikovsky’s most popular opera, and the Polonaise is heard during a ballroom scene in Act Three.

Mozart composed the last four of his five violin concertos in December of 1775. With lyrical intensity bordering on the operatic, a slow and heartfelt true Adagio, and a firey, virtuosic rondo in the style of a minuet as a finale, Violin Concerto No. 5  is the most accomplished of its brethren.

Symphony No. 4 was composed around the same time period as Tchaikovsky’s popular opera, Eugene Onegin. Speaking of the harsh opening brass fanfare (which recurs throughout the work), the composer writes, “This is Fate, the power which hinders one in the pursuit of happiness from gaining the goal, whose jealousy provides that peace and comfort do not prevail, that the sky is not free from clouds – a might that swings, like the sword of Damocles, constantly over the head, that poisons continually the soul. This might is overpowering and invincible. There is nothing to do but submit and vainly to complain.”