The
Classics
*German
Heritage*
Saturday, October 2nd,
2010
Sovereign Performing Arts Center, 8pm
Wagner - Tannhauser Overture
Schumann - Piano Concerto in a Minor
Alon Goldstein, Soloist
Brahms - Symphony No. 1 in C Minor
Wagner's 1845 opera Tannhauser is a wealth of
music and revisions. There are versions without ballet, with
a ballet, and with various sections added or deleted. The
soaring Tannhauser Overture is often performed as a separate
concert piece, with a slightly different ending from the
version heard in opera performances. Schumann's Piano
Concerto, also premiered in 1845, was based on an earlier
composition; his wife, Clara, suggested that he expand it
into a full three-movement work with orchestra. Brahms'
first symphony was long-anticipated by his friends and
supporters - long, in this case, from preliminary sketches
in 1854 to a first performance in 1877! It has long been
noted that Brahms felt the heavy mantle of Beethoven's
reputation as he composed, and repeatedly revised, this
masterpiece.
Soloist Alon Goldstein will conduct a piano master class at
the Yocum Institute for Arts Education in the Yocum Gallery.
Penn State Berks is our soloist sponsor, who is making this
event possible. Students for the class have been selected by
Rebecca Gass-Butler, the RSO's pianist.
Click here for more info. on the Beer, Brats and
Brahms!!!
For program
notes,
click here!!
*Reflections*
Saturday, November
13th,
2010
Sovereign Performing Arts Center, 8pm
Williams - Fantasia on Welsh Nursery Tunes
Mussorgsky - Pictures at an Exhibition
Strauss - Four Last Songs
Janice Chandler Eteme, Soprano
Janice Chandler Eteme has long been among America's foremost
lyric sopranos, singing an astonishing range of music with
the world's top orchestras and conductors. Called "one of
the loveliest soprano voices on earth" by The Baltimore Sun
and "radiant" by the Cincinnati Enquirer, during the 2010 -
11 season she will be heard with the San Diego Symphony for
Mahler's Symphony No. 2, Utah Symphony for Strauss' Four
Last Songs, Jacksonville Symphony singing Brahms' Requiem,
and the Pacific Symphony for Philip Glass'
Passion of Ramakrishna, among others.
Ms. Chandler Eteme began the 2009 - 10 season singing Brahm's
Requiem with the Virginia Symphony, Mahler's Symphony No. 2
with Keith Lockhart, the Utah Symphony and the Mormon
Tabernacle Choir, and the Choral Arts Society of Baltimore
for a Gala concert. She joined the Modesto Symphony for
Mahler's Symphony No. 4, Phoenix Symphony for Mozart's Requiem and Zemlinsky's Fruhlingsbegrabnis, the
Delaware Symphony for Gorecki's Symphony No. 3, and with the
Jacksonville Symphony she sang a concert performance of
Gershwin's Porgy and Bess. In addition, she joined the
Buffalo Philharmonic for Brahm's Requiem, and the Baltimore
Symphony for performances of Brahms' Requiem and Barber's
Knoxville: Summer of 1915, where she "sang with an exquisite
warmth of tone and a sensitivity of phrasing that deftly
conveyed the essence of this memory of childhood, family and
internal uncertainty." (Baltimore Sun) Ms. Chandler Eteme
finished the season on the opera stage, as Bess in Porgy and
Bess with Opera de Lyon for performances in Lyon, Edinburgh
and London.
The 2008 - 09 season found the soprano singing Mahler's
Symphony No. 2 both with the Cincinnati Symphony under
Gilbert Kaplan and the Colorado Symphony under Jeffrey Kahane.
She joined the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Memphis
Symphony Orchestra for Handel's Creation, the San Diego
Symphony for Brahms' Requiem, and the Milwaukee
Symphony under Andreas Delfs for Mahler's Symphony No. 8. In
addition, she sang Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the
Alabama Symphony, a concert performance of Porgy and Bess
with the Qingdao Symphony under the direction of Yong Yan Hu
at Carnegie Hall, and Lokumbe's Dear Mrs. Parks with the
Detroit Symphony Orchestra where she sang with "cosmic
sparkle." (Detroit News)
During the 2007 - 2008 season Ms. Chandler Eteme made her
debut with the Dallas Opera as Clara in Porgy and Bess. She
also made her European Operatic debut as Bess in Porgy and
Bess with Opera de Lyon under the direction of William
Eddins, a role she will reprise during the 2009 - 2010
season for productions in Edinburgh, London and Lyon. In
addition, she joined the Orchestra of St. Luke's for Brahms' Requiem
at Carnegie Hall, performed Missa Solemnis with the National
Philharmonic, Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the Detroit
Symphony Orchestra, and Handel's Messiah with the Minnesota
Orchestra.
In the 2006 - 2007 season the soprano sang Mahler's Symphony
No. 2 with Rome's Santa Cecilia Orchestra and Yuri Termirkanov, the Nashville Symphony and Leonardo Slatkin
and finally for her debut with the Pacific Symphony under
Carl St. Clair. She was heard in Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with Neeme Jarvi
and the New Jersey Symphony, Hans Graf and the Houston
Symphony, and with Uri Segal at the Chautauqua Festival. She
participated in a concert performance of Porgy and Bess with
the Choral Arts Society of Washington at the Kennedy Center,
and joined the Orchestra National de la Pays de la Loire for
a French tour of Villa-Lobos' Bachianas
Brasileiras, No. 5.
Recent career highlights include Strauss' Four Last Songs
with Yuri Temirkanov and the Baltimore Symphony, Daniel Hege
and the Syracuse Symphony, Stefan Sanderling and the Florida
Orchestra and with Peter Oundjian at the Grand Teton Music
Festival. She sang Haydn's Die Schopfung with James Conlon
and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and with Gabriel
Levine and the Pittsburgh Symphony, Tippett's A Child of Our
Time with Andrew Litton and the Dallas Symphony, Mahler's
Symphony No. 2 and Mendelssohn's Elijah both with Jahja Ling
and the San Diego Symphony, and Orff's Carmina Burana with
Andreas Delfs and the Milwaukee Symphony.
A pre-eminent concert soloist, Ms. Chandler Eteme sang
under the baton of Robert Shaw with the Cleveland Symphony
Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Florida Orchestra, Baltimore
Symphony Orchestra and Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. In
addition, she has worked with such distinguished conductors
as Marin Alsop, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Charles Dutoit, Jo
Ann Falletta, Claus Peter Flor, Neal Gittleman, Raymond
Harvey, Carlos Kalmar, Yakov Kreizberg, Raymond Leppard,
Christof Perick, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Alfred Savia, Robert
Spano, Vladimir Spivakov, Edo de Waart and Hugh Wolff.
She has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Saint
Paul Chamber Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, NHK
(Japan), Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic,
Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra,
Phoenix Symphony, Kansas City Symphony, Santa Rosa Symphony,
Rochester Philharmonic and Hong Kong Philharmonic. In
addition, she has sung at the Bard Music Festival, Grand
Park Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival, Chautauqua
Festival, Prague Autumn International Music Festival, and at
the Blossom Music Festival.
Ms. Chandler Eteme's recordings include an inspirational
solo disc entitled Devotions, DvoIak's Te Deum with Zdenek
Macal and the New Jersey Symphony, and a forthcoming
world-premiere recording of Maslanka's Mass. She holds a
Bachelor of Arts in vocal performance from Oakwood College,
a Master of Music in vocal performance from Indiana
University, and has studied with Virginia Zeani, Margaret
Harshaw and Todd Duncan.
For program notes,
click here!!
*Brio*
Saturday, January
22nd, 2011
Sovereign Performing Arts Center, 8pm
Jonathan Carney - Violin Soloist and Guest Conductor
Elgar - Serenade for Strings
Mozart - Violin Concerto No. 5 in a Major "turkish"
Mendelssohn - Symphony No. 4 in a Major "Italian"
The RSO welcomes Jonathan Carney to the
stage as both soloist and guest conductor - the first such
pairing in the RSO's ninety-eighth year history! Elgar's
Serenade for Strings, an 1892 composition, was originally
composed for a ladies' orchestral class; since 1896, though,
it has become a staple of regular orchestral performances.
Mozart's "Turkish" concerto,
the last of his five violin concerti, derives its name from
loud Turkish melodies in the last movement, interspersed
with quieter passages. Mendelssohn's fourth symphony, the
"Italian," is a boisterous work that derived from an
extensive tour of Europe. As Mendelssohn noted, "It will be
the jolliest piece I have ever done, especially the last
movement." We believe
you'll agree!
For program notes,
click here!!
*A
Different View*
Saturday, March
5th, 2011
Sovereign Performing Arts Center, 8pm
Einojuhani Rautavaara - Suite for Strings
Rodrigo - Concerto de aranjuez
Jason Vieaux, Guitar
Haydn - Symphony No. 104 in D Major
'London"
Our concert begins with what must be an unfamiliar work to
most concert-goers Rautavaara's Suite for Strings. Rest
assured that this student of the American masters Copland
and Persichetti will deliver a melodic, thrilling and
memorable composition. At age
82, he is still composing actively. Rodrigo's Concerto de Aranjuez is probably the most famous classical guitar work
of the twentieth century. Excerpts of this 1939 composition,
especially the second movement, often appear in film,
television and commercials. From the 20th century back to
the 18th - the concert concludes with Haydn's final symphony,
the "London." This 1795 work was the twelfth in a series of
symphonies composed for London engagements - a highly
lucrative time for the composer.
For program notes,
click here!!
*Heroes*
Saturday, April
16th, 2011
Sovereign Performing Arts Center, 8pm
Mendelssohn - Overture to "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
Miaskovsky - Cello Concerto
Amit Peled, cello
Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 "Eroica"
Mendelssohn's Overture to "A Midsummer Night's Dream" was
originally composed as a concert overture. The rest of the
music as we know it - including the famous wedding march, was
composed much later, toward the end of his brief life. Miaskovsky
was a great friend of Prokofiev, a fellow student in the
Moscow Conservatory. Many of their works contained similar
themes; in fact, they wrote a symphony together (which has, unfortunately, been lost).
We conclude the concert with a performance of Beethoven's great Eroica
symphony, a work not performed by the RSO since the early
2000s. This is part of the ongoing RSO performance of the
Beethoven symphonies, begun with Maestro Constantine last
season.
For program notes,
click here!!
*Symphonic
Dances*
Saturday, May 14th,
2011
Sovereign Performing Arts Center, 8pm
Weber - Invitation to the Dance
Grieg - Symphonic Dances
Rachmaninoff - Symphonic Dances
Get ready for dance rhythms in music. The evening begins
with Carl Maria von Weber's famed "Invitation to the Dance,"
one of the most popular concert pieces (that was
subsequently orchestrated by Hector Berlioz). In the
twentieth century, the great conductor Felix Weingartner
also orchestrated the piece; his 1920s recording of the
orchestration was a staple of record catalogs for years.
Grieg's Symphonic Dances,
an 1896 composition, had their origins in the folk music
compiled by Ludvig Lindeman. Considering the popularity of
other important Grieg compositions, including his piano
concerto and the Peer Gynt suite, this promises to be
another favorite with Reading audiences. We conclude the
season with a work of maturity - in fact, the final major
orchestral work by the great Sergei Rachmaninoff. This 1940
work, completed three years before his death, was first
performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra under Eugene
Ormandy's direction and Rachmaninoff's supervision.
For program notes,
click here!!
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