Tag Archives: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

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.”

Mozart’s THE MAGIC FLUTE brings opera back to LR in joint venture of ASO and Opera in the Rock

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680 Magic Flute LogoFully-staged, full-length opera returns to the Rock for the first time in over a decade tonight and tomorrow!

The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Philip Mann, Music Director and Conductor, in partnership with Opera In The Rock, opens the 2014-2015 Intimate Neighborhood Concerts series with Mozart’s Magic Flute. Performances are on Thursday, January 22nd and Friday January 23rd at 7 p.m. at the Albert Pike Masonic Center in downtown Little Rock.  Dancers from Arkansas Festival Ballet also appear in the performances which is stage directed by Robert Hupp, Producing Artistic Director of the Arkansas Repertory Theatre.

The opera is filled with symbolism, especially focused on the number three.  Examples include the opening with Der Dreimalige Akkord, the thrice-repeated chord, three Ladies, three Spirits, and even the selection of key: E-flat major in three flats.

Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) was written during the last year of Mozart’s life (1791). The opera was composed in the style of Singspiel (using sung and spoken text) and was an outlet for Mozart’s Masonic belief.

Magic Flute was an immediate success, performed over 100 times in the first two years of its existence. Mozart was not alive to see the 100th performance, having died only months after the premiere.

Tickets are $25; active duty military and student tickets are $10 are can be purchased online ; at the Albert Pike Masonic Center beginning 60 minutes prior to the concert; or by phone at 501-666-1761, ext. 100.  The Friday performance is sold out, but tickets remain for tonight’s opening.

CAST
Dana Pundt, Queen of the Night
Nicholas Nelson, Sarastro
Darren Drone, Papageno
Genevieve West Fulks, Papagena
Vernon DiCarlo, Tamino
Bonnie Frauenthal, Pamina

Others in the cast include Maria Fasciano DiCarlo, Stephanie Smittle, Kelley Ponder, Daniel Foltz-Morrison, Suzanne Banister, Kathryne Overturf, Satia Spencer, Robert Holden, Luke Frauenthal, Chase Burns and Sam Prescott

CHORUS
Sopranos: Alisa Dixon, Hayley Coughlin, Margaret McMurray, LaSheena Gordon
Altos: Claire Wilkinson, Melissa Wilcox, Sarah Blakey
Tenors: Adam Baldwin, Aaron Baker, Jonathan Treloggen, Josiah Wheeler, Sage Shaddox
Basses: J.J. Albrecht, Luke Frauenthal

PROGRAM
MOZART: Die Zauberflöte, K. 620 (text by Ruth and Thomas Martin)

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.

Opera In The Rock
Opera in the Rock is 501(c)3 professional opera company that was formed in the spring of 2012. Our mission is to enrich the cultural life of Arkansas through opera by utilizing local, state and regional talents. Our purpose is to produce main stage opera and a continuing opera review series, in addition to providing educational and outreach programs for our community youth through the Jennifer Boccarossa Young Artist Program. Our goal is to provide local, state and regional talents an opportunity to further their artistic careers. Opera In The Rock is partially funded by the Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

Youth Orchestra and Ballet Collaborate This Weekend

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asyo baydMusicians from the Arkansas Symphony Youth Orchestra program will provide the musical score for dancers from Ballet Arkansas’ Youth Division tonight and Saturday evening.

The performances are tonight at 7:30 and Saturday at 7:30 at the Albert Pike Memorial Temple, located at 712 Scott Street.

Geoffrey Robson, the Associate Conductor of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra will lead the Arkansas Symphony Youth Orchestra – the premier youth ensemble partner of the ASO.  The pieces have been choreographed by Marla Edwards of Ballet Arkansas.

The program consists of:

MOZART      Overture to The Magic Flute
VERDI      La Traviata Prelude to Act I
BORODIN      Excerpts from Polovetsian Dances from Prince Igor
VERDI      Excerpts from Birthday Variations
TCHAIKOVSKY      Polonaise from Eugene Onegin
HUMPERDINCK      Evening Prayer and Pantomime from Hansel and Gretel
BIZET      L’Arlessiene: Suite No. 2 IV. Farandole

“Join us for a performance of overtures and ballet highlights from great operas and works of incidental music. From Mozart to Tchaikovsky, this program includes music from operas that has become famous outside the opera house. Some of the beloved favorites include excerpts from The Magic Flute, and Hansel and Gretel. These performances feature the Ballet Arkansas Youth Division, with choreography by Marla Edwards, as well as Ballet Arkansas professional company members, and professional singers.” – Geoffrey Robson, ASO Associate Conductor and ASYO Conductor

Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for students and active military.

The 2014-2015 Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s Parker Lexus River Rhapsodies Chamber Series

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ASO_revThe Arkansas Symphony Orchestra is still very busy with several concerts of all types in the 2013-2014 season. Looking ahead to next year, here is the lineup for the 2014-2015 Parker Lexus River Rhapsodies Chamber Series.

The series kicks off on September 30 with “Death and the Maiden.”  The evening features Bridge’s 3 Idylls, Brahms’ Trio in Eb for horn, violin, piano and Schubert’s String Quartet in D minor “Death and the Maiden.”

The next month, on October 21, the program is entitled “Quartet for the End of Time.”  It will features Haydn’s String Quartet No. 39 in F# Op. 50 No. 4 and Messiaen’s Quatuor pour la fin du temps. (When translated into English, the latter piece gives its name to the program.)

Italian Serenade is the name of the November 11 program.  It features Beethoven’s String Quartet in C, Op. 59, No. 3, Corigliano’s String Quartet No. 1 and Wolf’s Italian Serenade in G.

The 2015 portion of the season will commence on February 10 with Mozart’s “Gran Partita” Serenade. The program features Smetana’s String Quartet No. 1 in E minor “From My Life” and Mozart’s Serenade No. 10 in Bb “Gran Partita”.

The March 3 concert features Artist of Distinction: Vadim Gluzman.  The program will include Dohnanyi’s Serenade in C, Op. 10, Berg’s The Featherlight Ballet, Auerbach’s Lonely Suite “Ballet for a Lonely Violinist” and Bruch’s String Quartet in A minor.

The 2014-2015 season will conclude on April 21. That evening will features Mendelssohn’s String Quaret in F minor, Mozart’s Oboe Quartet in F Major and Brahms’ String Quintet in G.

All concerts are presented at the Clinton Presidential Center in the Great Hall. The concerts start at 7pm. Tickets are generally available at the door, but to be guaranteed a seat, advance purchase is recommended.

This evening at the Capital Hotel, musicians from the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra in a free concert

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ASO at CHMusicians from the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra will be performing this evening in the lobby of the historic Capital Hotel. The music will start at 5:00 pm.

In 2011, the ASO started these free concerts in the lobby of the Capital Hotel.  The marble and tile of this historic lobby provide a wonderful acoustic backdrop for the musicians.

The concert will feature the Rockefeller String Quartet performing Mozart’s String Quartet No. 19 in C Major, “Dissonance” and Theofanidis’  Visions and Miracles.

Unlike concerts in music halls, guests here are encouraged to bring drinks to their seats or to stand and move around while the musicians are playing.  It is a relaxed, informal atmosphere where the audience and musicians alike are able to interact with each other.

This concert is part of the ASO’s ongoing efforts to play throughout the community under the leadership of Music Director Philip Mann and Executive Director Christina Littlejohn.  In addition to the Capital Hotel concerts, they offer occasional free concerts at UAMS and have recently started the INC (Intimate Neighborhood Concerts) subscription series.

ASO Masterworks for 2014-2015 announced

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ASO_revThough there are several concerts remaining in each of their series, the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra has announced three of their 2014-2015 series.

Next year is the first of their two-year hiatus from Robinson Center Music Hall (as it gets transformed into a true music hall instead of a civic gathering room).

The Stella Boyle Smith Masterworks Series will be performed at the Maumelle Performing Arts Center. To entice audiences who have been used to attending Robinson for ASO concerts for 40 years, Music Director Philip Mann has programmed a line up with many familiar composers. In addition, an Oscar winning musical genius will be presented.

The series will kick off on September 27 & 28 with Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 featuring Andrew Staupe on piano.  Also on the program will be John Corigliano’s Promenade Overture and Brahms’ Symphony No. 2 in D Major.  Corigliano is the Oscar winner, having won for composing the score of The Red Violin.

On October 18 & 19, the ASO will heat things up with Blazing Brass featuring trumpeter Richard Jorgensen.  The program will consist of Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto in E-flat Major and Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7 in E Major.

The now annual Beethoven and Blue Jeans concert will be November 8 & 9. Sharon Isbin’s guitar work will be featured as the ASO plays Corigliano’s Three Hallucinations from Altered States as well as his Troubadours-Variations for Guitar and Chamber Orchestra.  The Beethoven portion of the evening will be his Symphony No. 5 in C minor.

The Masterworks series will ring in 2015 on January 31 & February 1 with a Tchaikovsky & Mozart Festival.  Vladimir Verbitsky will be guest conductor. The evening will feature violin soloist Randall Goosby.  The program consists of Tchaikovsky’s Polonaise from Eugene Onegin, Mozart’s Concerto for Violin No. 5 in A Major, and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 in F minor.

On February 28 and March 1, the ASO will present Schubert’s “Unfinished.”  In addition to that masterpiece, the musicians will play Wagner’s Prelude to Die Meistersinger and Brahms’ Concerto for Violin in D. Major.

The Masterworks Series for 2014-2015 will conclude with an evening of Mozart, Prokofiev & Strauss.  Pianist Yeol Eum Son will be the featured guest artist.  The program will consist of Mozart’s Symphony No. 41 in C Major – Jupiter, Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 and Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier, Op. 59 Suite.

All Masterworks concerts will be performed at 7:30pm on Saturday evenings and 3pm on Sunday evenings.

The other ASO series will be previewed by the Culture Vulture in the coming days.