Tweet
Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra performs Aram Khachaturian's work
April 15, 2012 - 20:05 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra's sixth Masterworks
program of the season is an opportunity to admire signal works by
three composers who were absolute masters of their craft, able to
manipulate all parts of the orchestra in the service of their musical
vision, pennlive.com reports.
The April 14 night's performance at The Forum in downtown Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania, also provided an exceptionally fine chance to appreciate
the skill level of HSO's musicians and that of Maestro Stuart Malina.
The program featured Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian's melodious
Suite No. 2 from `Spartacus,' American Aaron Copland's slam-bang take
on `Billy the Kid' and the German Richard Strauss' insightful
interpretation of the Cervantes novel `Don Quixote.'
All three pieces are centered around larger-than-life characters,
setting a stage for big dreams and evocative musical themes by three
of the 20th century's leading composers of orchestral music.
The program opened with the Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia from
Khachaturian's 1956 ballet `Spartacus,' based on the legends
surrounding a gladiator who rebelled against Rome, leading an army of
slaves against the empire's mighty legions.
Malina called the adagio `one of the great guilty pleasures of classical music.'
Copland's `Billy the Kid' suite is also taken from a ballet, which he
premiered in 1938 and became the first of three - `Rodeo' and
`Appalachian Spring' are the others - he wrote using the Western
themes and music for which he is so well known today.
Closing out the evening is Strauss' tone poem about the famed knight
errant Don Quixote, who literally tilts at windmills as Quixote's
fevered mind translates common things like a flock of harmless sheep
into an evil army he must defeat.
Quixote is portrayed musically through the work's 10 episodes by
Thompson, who also plays cello with the well-known Mendelssohn Piano
Trio. Violist Wirth chips in frequently as the `voice' of Quixote
sidekick Sancho Panza.
April 15, 2012 - 20:05 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra's sixth Masterworks
program of the season is an opportunity to admire signal works by
three composers who were absolute masters of their craft, able to
manipulate all parts of the orchestra in the service of their musical
vision, pennlive.com reports.
The April 14 night's performance at The Forum in downtown Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania, also provided an exceptionally fine chance to appreciate
the skill level of HSO's musicians and that of Maestro Stuart Malina.
The program featured Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian's melodious
Suite No. 2 from `Spartacus,' American Aaron Copland's slam-bang take
on `Billy the Kid' and the German Richard Strauss' insightful
interpretation of the Cervantes novel `Don Quixote.'
All three pieces are centered around larger-than-life characters,
setting a stage for big dreams and evocative musical themes by three
of the 20th century's leading composers of orchestral music.
The program opened with the Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia from
Khachaturian's 1956 ballet `Spartacus,' based on the legends
surrounding a gladiator who rebelled against Rome, leading an army of
slaves against the empire's mighty legions.
Malina called the adagio `one of the great guilty pleasures of classical music.'
Copland's `Billy the Kid' suite is also taken from a ballet, which he
premiered in 1938 and became the first of three - `Rodeo' and
`Appalachian Spring' are the others - he wrote using the Western
themes and music for which he is so well known today.
Closing out the evening is Strauss' tone poem about the famed knight
errant Don Quixote, who literally tilts at windmills as Quixote's
fevered mind translates common things like a flock of harmless sheep
into an evil army he must defeat.
Quixote is portrayed musically through the work's 10 episodes by
Thompson, who also plays cello with the well-known Mendelssohn Piano
Trio. Violist Wirth chips in frequently as the `voice' of Quixote
sidekick Sancho Panza.