Saturday October 22, 2011 – 8 pm.
Vancouver Philharmonic plays Dukas, Tchaikovsky, Gounod, and Sibelius under the baton of Jin Zhang.
Fanfare, La Péri
La Péri, Dukas’ 1912 one act ballet and last major work, about a Persian Prince’s search for the flower of immortality. The brilliant Fanfare precedes the ballet and features the orchestra’s brass section.
Serenade for Strings
Intended as an homage to the serenades of Mozart, Tchaikovsky’s idol. Composed in 1880, it premiered in 1881 and was a great success. Of it, Tchaikovsky said “This is a piece from the heart”.
Symphony No.7
Sibelius’s final published symphony, completed in 1924. Described as “completely original in form, organic in growth…Sibelius’s most remarkable compositional achievement”.
Sat. Dec 3 – 8 pm / Sun. Dec 4, 2011 – 3 pm
Come listen to this special concert featuring Lars Kaario and the Capilano University Singers and soloists performing the works of Mozart, Verdi, and more.
Mass in C Minor, K.427
Composed as a thanksgiving for the recovery from illness of Mozart’s then fiancée , Constanze. Constanze was a soprano soloist for the premiere. The ambitious work was inspired by works of Bach and Handel and was never completed.
Verdi, Brindisi, Donizetti, Bizet
Capilano University Singers and soloists perform works of Verdi, Brindisi, Donizetti and Bizet under the baton of Lars Kaario.
Saturday February 25, 2012 – 8 pm
Tian Yu Zhou plays Rachmaninoff’s variations on the 24th theme of Paganini’s 24 Caprices for Violin.
Danse Macabre
Originally set for voice and piano, but in 1874 was reworked into a tone poem for orchestra replacing voice with violin obligato. Danse Macabre tells the story of death who appears at midnight on Halloween and beckons the dead to dance to his violin.
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
in 1934, Rachmaninoff wrote this set of 24 variations on the twenty-fourth and last of Paganini’s violin caprices. The piece premiered in the same year with Rachmaninoff himself as piano soloist.
Pictures at an Exhibition
Devastated by the death of friend and artist Viktor Hartmann, Mussorgsky composed the piece in six weeks, in 1874, shortly after viewing a retrospective exhibition of Hartmann’s work.
Saturday April 14, 2012 – 8 pm
Christie Reside and Rosanne Wieringa perform Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Flutes in C Major, RV533.
Rosamunde Overture
Composed in 1823 for the play “Rosamunde, Princess of Cyprus”. The play was unsuccessful but the music survived. The original music consists of 10 movements, though the overture preceding them is the most well known and most often played.
Flute Concerto No. 2 in D Major, K.314
Dutch Flautist Ferdinand De Jean commissioned the concerto in 1778. Mozart reset his Oboe Concerto in C Major as a flute concerto. De Jean refused to pay Mozart because the piece was not original.
Concerto for Two Flutes in C Major
Of Vivaldi’s nearly 50 concerti for two soloists, the Concerto in C Major is the only one for two flutes. The concerto was written in the late 1720s, after virtuoso flutist Quantz toured Europe.
Saturday June 2, 2012 – 8 pm
Violin soloist and 2010 VPO Concerto Competition winner, Esther Hwang, performs Brahms’ Violin Concerto in D Major.
Tragic Overture
Written in the summer of 1880, the overture’s mood is turbulent and tormented, a contrast to its companion piece, Academic Festival Overture, written the same year. Brahms summed up the differences stating “one laughs while the other cries.”
Violin Concerto in D Major
Written in 1878 and dedicated to friend and violinist Joseph Joachim, it is Brahms’ only violin concerto. Brahms sought Joachim’s advice when writing the solo violin part and the original first cadenza was written by Joachim.
Symphony No. 4
Brahms began writing the symphony in 1884 and completed it in 1885. The symphony was well received. It is Brahms at his most dramatic, ranging from passionate, joyful and uplifting, to requiem like and sombre — an emotional journey.
