This not so sunny afternoon.
The Philharmonia Northwest concert consisted of;
1,
Der Freischüts Overture
by Carl Maria von Weber.
This is from an opera about shooting, impressing girls, and dealing with the Devil.
And coming to terms with the realization that these things do not
constitute the wisest course of action.
2,
Piano Concerto No 20
by Wolfgang A Mozart.
Allegro
Romanze
Rondo: Allegro assai
David Shimoni played the piano without swaying, making faces or appealing to heaven for guidance.
Which would have been a disappointment to me if he hadn't done such a good job.
David brought out more depth and substance than I'm used to hearing in Little Joe's
stuff.
My opinion of W.A.M is improved.
It's pretty good music,
but I wouldn't want my kids to listen to it.
The program notes state that;
"The opening movement introduces two distinct voices - the piano, it is amazing how the piano never plays what the orchestra introduces.
Kinda reminds me of P.D.Q.'s theme and variations wherein the variations have nothing whatsoever to do with the theme.
Quoth Professer Schikele "Why not"
A philosophy I allowed to run free in my "12 variations on an imaginary folk song".
Who needs a theme in the first place?
intermission
Symphony No.1 "Spring"
by Robert Schuman.
A difficult piece, (strings and horns, if you catch my drift), I don't blame them for slowing it down a bit.
Still, I've heard it so many times a little variation don't hurt.
It was a slightly gray and partially dribbly day.
Suddenly Freischüts rang out.
Here's a picture of Emily
1,
Der Freischüts Overture
by Carl Maria von Weber.
This is from an opera about shooting, impressing girls, and dealing with the Devil.
And coming to terms with the realization that these things do not
constitute the wisest course of action.
2,
Piano Concerto No 20
by Wolfgang A Mozart.
Allegro
Romanze
Rondo: Allegro assai
David Shimoni played the piano without swaying, making faces or appealing to heaven for guidance.
Which would have been a disappointment to me if he hadn't done such a good job.
David brought out more depth and substance than I'm used to hearing in Little Joe's
stuff.
My opinion of W.A.M is improved.
It's pretty good music,
but I wouldn't want my kids to listen to it.
The program notes state that;
"The opening movement introduces two distinct voices - the piano, it is amazing how the piano never plays what the orchestra introduces.
Kinda reminds me of P.D.Q.'s theme and variations wherein the variations have nothing whatsoever to do with the theme.
Quoth Professer Schikele "Why not"
A philosophy I allowed to run free in my "12 variations on an imaginary folk song".
Who needs a theme in the first place?
intermission
Symphony No.1 "Spring"
by Robert Schuman.
A difficult piece, (strings and horns, if you catch my drift), I don't blame them for slowing it down a bit.
Still, I've heard it so many times a little variation don't hurt.
It was a slightly gray and partially dribbly day.
Suddenly Freischüts rang out.
Here's a picture of Emily
Labels: Bulwar-Lytton
posted by Lane Savant at 6:23 PM
2 Comments:
Hallo, Lane!
Thanks for the picture of Emily; she IS pretty pretty!
Why don't you like Mozart?? He's one of my favorites. Did you expect cómposers in the 18th century to write music like those in the 21st??
Tschüß,
Anonomann
A terrific weekend,sir, and the resulting two postings are way cool. That pic of Emily is quite nice. I like her better with bangs. Usually you see her, and Julie Harris portrayed her with her hair pulled back severely; not real attractive.
Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (Eutin, Holstein, November 18, 1786 – June 5, 1826 in London) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, guitarist and critic, one of the first significant composers of the Romantic school.
Weber's works, especially his operas Der Freischütz, Euryanthe and Oberon greatly influenced the development of the Romantic opera in Germany. He was also an innovative composer of instrumental music. His compositions for the clarinet, which include two concertos, a concertino, a quintet and a duo concertante, are regularly performed, while his piano music - including four sonatas, two concertos and the Konzertstück (Concert Piece) in F minor - influenced composers such as Frédéric Chopin, Franz Liszt and Felix Mendelssohn. The Konzertstück provided a new model for the one-movement concerto in several contrasting sections (such as Liszt's, who often played the work), and was acknowledged by Igor Stravinsky as the model for his Capriccio for piano and orchestra.
Weber's contribution to vocal and choral music is also significant. His body of Catholic religious music was highly popular in 19th century Germany, and he composed one of the earliest song-cycles, Die Temperamente beim Verluste der Geliebten.
Weber's orchestration has also been highly praised and emulated by later generations of composers - Hector Berlioz referred to him several times in his Treatise on Orchestration while Claude Debussy remarked that the sound of the Weber orchestra was obtained through the scrutiny of the soul of each instrument.
His operas influenced the work of later opera composers, especially in Germany, such as Heinrich Marschner, Giacomo Meyerbeer and Richard Wagner, as well as several nationalist 19th-century composers such as Glinka, and homage has been paid him by 20th century composers such as Debussy, Stravinsky, Gustav Mahler (who completed Weber's unfinished comic opera Die drei Pintos and made revisions of Euryanthe and Oberon) and Paul Hindemith (composer of the popular Symphonic Metamorphoses on Themes of Weber).
Weber also wrote music journalism and was interested in folksong, and learned lithography to engrave his own works.
Der Freischütz is an opera in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber to a libretto by Friedrich Kind. It is considered the first important German Romantic opera, especially in its national identity and stark emotionality. Its plot was taken from German folk legend and many of its tunes were inspired by German folk music. Its unearthly portrayal of the supernatural is especially poignant in the famous Wolf's Glen scene. Despite its daring innovations (and some scathing attacks by critics) it quickly became an international success, with some fifty performances in the first 18 months after its June 18, 1821 premiere at the Konzerthaus Berlin. Among the many artists influenced by Der Freischütz was a young Richard Wagner, who would come to be seen by many as Weber's successor.
The term Der Freischütz comes from an obscure German legend and is difficult to render into English. It is usually translated as "The Marksman"[1] or "The Freeshooter":[2]
A concert piece with its overture and the very popular "Huntmen's Chorus" ("with Princely enjoyment and manly employment ...") is sometimes performed.
The Mozart piano concertos are a set of 27 concertos for piano and orchestra written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart between 1767 and 1791. These works, many of which Mozart composed for himself to play in the Vienna concert series of 1784–86, held a special place for him; indeed, Mozart's father apparently interrupted him composing a "harpsichord concerto" at age 4.
David Shimoni is a pianist of national acclaim whose teaching reflects thorough experience as a performer as well as an extensive pedagogical background.
PERFORMANCE EXPERIENCE
Described by the American Record Guide as a pianist whose playing "was as smooth as velvet," Mr. Shimoni's 2007-2008 engagements include recitals on the Dame Myra Hess series in Chicago and the Artists Series of Sarasota, at the Dallas Museum of Art with Southeastern Festival of Song, and in Minnesota and Louisiana for the Piatigorsky Foundation. He also makes a concerto appearance with the Philharmonia Northwest in Seattle.
Mr. Shimoni is the first prize winner of the National Federation of Music Clubs' Young Artist Auditions, International Beethoven Sonata Competition, Five Towns Music and Art Competition, and Simone Belsky Competition. In previous seasons he has appeared in recital in New York's Weill Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall, 92nd St. Y, and Museum of Modern Art, as well as in Los Angeles, Cincinnati, New Orleans, and Pittsburgh. He has been a guest artist at the Chautauqua, Brevard, and Foothills music festivals and a soloist with the International Chamber Ensemble of Rome and Chappaqua Orchestra.
As a chamber musician, Mr. Shimoni has collaborated with the Jupiter String Quartet and members of the New Jersey Symphony and Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. Mr. Shimoni also appears regularly in recital with acclaimed opera singers and recently made a guest appearance with the New York Festival of Song. He has given educational and outreach concerts throughout the United States in affiliation with the Piatigorsky Foundation and Astral Artistic Services and has also performed for the charitable organization Sing for Hope.
Born in Chapel Hill, NC, Mr. Shimoni attended the North Carolina School of the Arts during high school and earned a B.A. from Swarthmore College. He subsequently received the Vladimir Horowitz Scholarship to study at the Juilliard School, where he obtained masters degrees in both solo and collaborative performance. In addition to performing and teaching, Mr. Shimoni is currently a doctoral student in piano performance at The Graduate Center of the City University of New York. His principal teachers have been Yoheved Kaplinsky, Robert McDonald, Marc Durand, Brian Zeger, Edna Golandsky, and Ilya Itin.
Symphony No. 1 in B flat major, op. 38 ("Spring") was the first symphonic work composed by Robert Schumann. Although Schumann made some "symphonic attempts" in the autumn of 1840, soon after he married his beloved Clara Wieck, he did not compose the symphony until early 1841. Schumann sketched the symphony in four days from January 23 to January 26 and completed the orchestration within a month by February 20. The premiere took place under the baton of Felix Mendelssohn on 31 March 1841 in Leipzig. The symphony was warmly received. Until Schumann composed this symphony, he was largely known for his works for the piano and for voice. Clara encouraged him to write symphonic music. The title of "Spring Symphony" was bestowed upon it, according to Clara's diary, because of the Spring poems of Adolph Boettger. However, Schumann himself said he was merely inspired by his Liebesfrühling (spring of love).
The symphony has four movements. They are marked:
Andante un poco maestoso – Allegro molto vivace (B flat major)
Larghetto (E flat major)
Scherzo: Molto vivace – Trio I: Molto piu vivace – Trio II (G minor)
Allegro animato e grazioso (B flat major)
The orchestration is for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani, triangle and strings. Schumann made some revisions until the definitive full-score of the symphony was published in 1853. The playing time of the symphony is about 29–32 minutes, depending upon the conductor.
What a fine way to spend a not so sunny afternoon, enit?
Glenn
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