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| Like I've said....cool hall. That said, they need a "cloud" so that the choristers can be heard. |
JOSEPH MORRIS, CLARINET
JOHN DEMAIN, CONDUCTOR
Ludwig Van Beethoven: Leonore Overture No. 3
Aaron Copland: Clarinet Concerto
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4
I'm sorry, but this concert seems slapped together. These pieces, on first (or second, or 100th) glance, have nothing in common, except that they're all written by dead white guys....
I'm sorry, but this concert seems slapped together. These pieces, on first (or second, or 100th) glance, have nothing in common, except that they're all written by dead white guys....
JAMES EHNES, VIOLIN
JOHN DEMAIN, CONDUCTOR
Joseph Haydn: Symphony No. 85 (La Reine)
Max Bruch: Scottish Fantasy
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances
The concert's title would lead one toward a Scottish theme: maybe some Peter Maxwell Davies (oh no, he's alive!) and Mendelssohn. Instead, we get a couple of guys who probably never set foot anywhere near Loch Lomond, although Haydn did get to London!
The concert's title would lead one toward a Scottish theme: maybe some Peter Maxwell Davies (oh no, he's alive!) and Mendelssohn. Instead, we get a couple of guys who probably never set foot anywhere near Loch Lomond, although Haydn did get to London!
SARA SANT'AMBROGIO, CELLO
JOHN DEMAIN, CONDUCTOR
Maurice Ravel: Valses Nobles et Sentimentales
Camille Saint-Saëns: Cello Concerto No. 1
Hector Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique
At least they're all French, but there must be no other Gallic symphony...the hall has a fricking "fantastique" organ. Why not the Saint-Saens Third?
At least they're all French, but there must be no other Gallic symphony...the hall has a fricking "fantastique" organ. Why not the Saint-Saens Third?
ALINA IBRAGIMOVA, VIOLIN
DANIEL HEGE, GUEST CONDUCTOR
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture
Maurice Ravel: Daphnis and Chloe Suite No. 2
Ludwig Van Beethoven: Violin Concerto
Um.....why does February always bring out the "love themes"? And why is R & J (in some version) ALWAYS played. Still, I'd like to compare the orchestra's soundscape in the back-to-back Ravel works. His string writing can bring out the best (or the worst) of this orchestra.
Um.....why does February always bring out the "love themes"? And why is R & J (in some version) ALWAYS played. Still, I'd like to compare the orchestra's soundscape in the back-to-back Ravel works. His string writing can bring out the best (or the worst) of this orchestra.
EMANUEL AX, PIANO
ALISA JORDHEIM, SOPRANO
JOHN DEMAIN, CONDUCTOR
Dmitry Kabalevsky: Colas Breugnon Overture
César Franck: Symphonic Variations
Richard Strauss: Burleske
Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 4
Let's slap a Kabalevsky barn-burner and Mahler's shortest between two works--gotta get their money's worth--featuring one of the great pianists of our age.
Let's slap a Kabalevsky barn-burner and Mahler's shortest between two works--gotta get their money's worth--featuring one of the great pianists of our age.
GARRICK OHLSSON, PIANO
JOHN DEMAIN, CONDUCTOR
Steven Stucky: Symphony No. 1
Richard Strauss: Don Juan
Johannes Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1
Anthony Tommasini of the NY Times, wrote, "Mr. Stucky perhaps achieved his goal of writing a graspable symphony too well. I was engrossed in the work right through, and Mr. Gilbert drew an exciting performance from the orchestra. But the music may give away its secrets too readily." It's probably unfortunate that a new work (2012) by an American(!) composer (who's alive!) is going to be dwarfed by the rest of the program.
Anthony Tommasini of the NY Times, wrote, "Mr. Stucky perhaps achieved his goal of writing a graspable symphony too well. I was engrossed in the work right through, and Mr. Gilbert drew an exciting performance from the orchestra. But the music may give away its secrets too readily." It's probably unfortunate that a new work (2012) by an American(!) composer (who's alive!) is going to be dwarfed by the rest of the program.
April 29, 30, May 1, 2016--CARMINA BURANA
JOHN DEMAIN, CONDUCTOR
JENI HOUSER, SOPRANO
THOMAS LEIGHTON, TENOR
KEITH PHARES, BARITONE
MADISON SYMPHONY CHORUS
Beverly Taylor, Director
Ottorino Respighi: Pines of Rome
Carl Orff: Carmina Burana
Like all of the programing, it's. just. plain. old. school. They must need to fill the hall; the greatest of all Nazi warhorses, Carmina Burana, is on the bill.
Dead guys: All of them except Stucky
Living composers: Stucky
Women: Nada
Austro-Germans: 7 (Beethoven twice, Brahms, Bruch, Haydn, Mahler, Orff, and R. Strauss)
French: 4 (assuming you include Franck, Berlioz, Ravel, and Saint-Saens)
Russians: 3 (Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, and Kabalevsky)
Italians (what? Holy crap!): Respighi, all alone.
Austro-Germans: 7 (Beethoven twice, Brahms, Bruch, Haydn, Mahler, Orff, and R. Strauss)
French: 4 (assuming you include Franck, Berlioz, Ravel, and Saint-Saens)
Russians: 3 (Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, and Kabalevsky)
Italians (what? Holy crap!): Respighi, all alone.
Americans 2 (one dead)
And all of these concerts, with a little variation, fit the pattern. Ho-hum.
* * * * * * * * * *
And all of these concerts, with a little variation, fit the pattern. Ho-hum.
* * * * * * * * * *
The Quad-City Symphony--Saturdays: 8:00 p.m., Adler Theater (Davenport); Sundays: 2:00 p.m. Centennial Hall, Augustana College, Rock Island. qcsymphony.com
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| Just an odd pose...all I can say. |
Music Director Mark Russell Smith begins our second century by re-living our first concert!
WAGNER Prelude to Act I of Die Meistersinger
WAGNER “Dich, teure Halle” from Tannhäuser – Heidi Melton, soprano
SCHUBERT Unfinished Symphony, Mvt. 1
SAINT-SAENS Piano Concerto #2 – Kyu Yeon Kim, piano
TCHAIKOVSKY Elegy from String Serenade
TCHAIKOVSKY Waltz from Sleeping Beauty
TCHAIKOVSKY Marche Slave
Okay, they're all European and they're all dead, but this is an interesting look back to how concerts were presented a century ago. One got "small plate" helpings of lots of different pieces, a little opera, maybe a concerto, hardly ever an entire symphony. End with a couple of things everyone knows. Something for everyone. What if more concerts were like this, only with living composers? Toss in a tune from (God forbid!) Showboat or a Gershwin song. Cole Porter anyone?
Okay, they're all European and they're all dead, but this is an interesting look back to how concerts were presented a century ago. One got "small plate" helpings of lots of different pieces, a little opera, maybe a concerto, hardly ever an entire symphony. End with a couple of things everyone knows. Something for everyone. What if more concerts were like this, only with living composers? Toss in a tune from (God forbid!) Showboat or a Gershwin song. Cole Porter anyone?
Masterworks II: Bach, Brahms, and Shostakovich
November 7 and 8, 2015
The grace of Bach, the romance of Brahms, and the profundity of Shostakovich showcase Concertmaster Naha Greenholtz, Principal Cellist Hannah Holman, and the entire QCSO.
BACH Sinfonias from Cantatas #42 and #21
BRAHMS Double Concerto for Violin, Violoncello and Orchestra in A minor, Op. 102, Op. (Naha Greenholtz, violin; Hannah Holman, cello)
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 10
Dead, dead and dead (although not that long ago!) Nice to see Bach (in a rather odd pairing), although I'm wondering how he's going to sound next to the big Brahms work.
Dead, dead and dead (although not that long ago!) Nice to see Bach (in a rather odd pairing), although I'm wondering how he's going to sound next to the big Brahms work.
Masterworks III: Winter Fun - Mozart and More!
December 5 and 6, 2015
Catch the spirit of the season in a delightful potpourri of classic favorites including Tchikovsky's (sic) Nutcracker Suite, Mozart's Piano Concerto #21 with St. Ambrose professor Marian Lee, and a set of Sleigh Rides.
W.A. MOZART Piano Concerto KV467 in C Major – Marian Lee, piano
L. MOZART Musical Sleigh Ride
PROKOFIEV Troika
DELIUS Sleigh Ride
ANDERSON Sleigh Ride
TCHAIKOVSKY Nutcracker Suite
So it's a holiday concert....why call it "masterworks." And, for the record, watch the film (Lt. Kije is now available on YouTube). The Troika has absolutely nothing to do with the holiday season.
Masterworks IV: Song and Dance
February 6 and 7, 2016
Virtuoso violinist Livia Sohn shines in Barber's lyrical concerto, and the QCSO dances the night away to Beethoven's Symphony #7.
BARBER Violin Concerto – Livia Sohn, violin
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 7
What? No love? This is just another seemingly slapped together program.
Masterworks V: Homegrown Variations - Bancks, Klemme, and Timmerman
March 5 and 6, 2016
Three local stars bring life to a World Premiere Basson (sic) Concerto, Braham's (sic) uplifting Variations on a Theme by Haydn, and Elgar's thrilling Enigma Variations.
BANCKS Dream Variations for Bassoon (World Premiere) – Mark Timmerman, bassoon
ELGAR Enigma Variations
Great to see a world premiere. The QCSO continues to mine the talents of local college composition faculty. (By the way, "Klemme" is the orchestra's associate conductor, like MRS, conveniently from the Twin Cities.)
Masterworks VI: The Resurrection
April 2 and 3, 2016
Mark Russell Smith Leads Mahler's massive and moving Symphony #2 capping the 101st season with soprano Linh Kauffman, mezzo-soprano Adriana Zabala, and the Quad City Choral Arts. Because of the size and expense of Mahler's Symphony #2, it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience for many concert-goers.
I've heard Mahler 2 more than once--even a performance by the Dubuque Symphony. It's not a "once-in-a-lifetime" experience. Any mention of "expense" has no business being in a concert brochure. And hasn't the QCSO long been known as a "Mahler orchestra." Surely, the Second Symphony has been played many times.
Dead guys: almost all.
White guys: Ibid.
Women: you're kidding.
Sorry, I'm getting bored.
* * * * * * * * * *
I've heard Mahler 2 more than once--even a performance by the Dubuque Symphony. It's not a "once-in-a-lifetime" experience. Any mention of "expense" has no business being in a concert brochure. And hasn't the QCSO long been known as a "Mahler orchestra." Surely, the Second Symphony has been played many times.
Dead guys: almost all.
White guys: Ibid.
Women: you're kidding.
Sorry, I'm getting bored.
* * * * * * * * * *
WCF Symphony--Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls.
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| They have a cool hall as well.... |
(RiverLoop Amphitheatre, Waterloo)
Jerome Margolis – Rivers Run Free (world premiere)
George Frideric Handel – Water Music and Music for the Royal Fireworks
To me there is something just so appropriate about hearing these Handel works outdoors. Now, if only the WCF Symphony would toss the strings and use Handel's original instrumentation: raft-fulls of oboes, horns, trumpets, etc., that would be the ultimate! This AND a world premiere. I've caught a midi version that demonstrates some licks reminiscent of Vltava (the Moldau to most folks outside the Czech Republic.)
To me there is something just so appropriate about hearing these Handel works outdoors. Now, if only the WCF Symphony would toss the strings and use Handel's original instrumentation: raft-fulls of oboes, horns, trumpets, etc., that would be the ultimate! This AND a world premiere. I've caught a midi version that demonstrates some licks reminiscent of Vltava (the Moldau to most folks outside the Czech Republic.)
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10 // 7:30PM - 9:30PM COPLAND AND CLARINET
Zhou Long – The Rhyme of Taigu
Two Klezmer sets with David Krakauer, clarinet
Aaron Copland – The Red Pony
Another living composer! That's two for two! AND Klezmer music--on an orchestra concert! Maestro Weinberger's love for his native instrument--the clarinet--is coming out, but I like it. Given the make up of the rest of the program, we'll let the dead Copland slide; The Red Pony is a lovely piece.
Another living composer! That's two for two! AND Klezmer music--on an orchestra concert! Maestro Weinberger's love for his native instrument--the clarinet--is coming out, but I like it. Given the make up of the rest of the program, we'll let the dead Copland slide; The Red Pony is a lovely piece.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7 // 7:30PM - 9:30PM STAR WARS
John Williams – Music from Star Wars
Selections from:
Gustav Holst – Planets
Leonard Bernstein – On the Town
Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky – Swan Lake
Richard Wagner – The Ring
Igor Stravinsky – Rite of Spring
Another living American (even if it is John--never met a perfect fifth he didn't like--Williams). The Holst connection is obvious, as are Wagner and, in a way, Stravinsky. Bernstein and Tchaikovsky I'm not so sure, but JW will definitely describe it well to his audiences.
Another living American (even if it is John--never met a perfect fifth he didn't like--Williams). The Holst connection is obvious, as are Wagner and, in a way, Stravinsky. Bernstein and Tchaikovsky I'm not so sure, but JW will definitely describe it well to his audiences.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6 // 5:00PM - 6:15PM and 8:30 PM: BACH I
(Brown Derby Ballroom, Waterloo)
Johann Sebastian Bach – Suite no. 1 and Brandenburg Concerto no. 1
If you're going to present Bach, take it out of a cavernous concert hall. That's what the WCF has done for the second year running, using the much more intimate--a chamber if you will--ballroom of the renovated Brown Derby in downtown Waterloo. This also serves to bring the orchestra out of its palatial residence and into different spaces in the region.
If you're going to present Bach, take it out of a cavernous concert hall. That's what the WCF has done for the second year running, using the much more intimate--a chamber if you will--ballroom of the renovated Brown Derby in downtown Waterloo. This also serves to bring the orchestra out of its palatial residence and into different spaces in the region.
SATURDAY, MARCH 5 // 7:30PM - 9:00PM: FIREBIRD
Avner Dorman – Spices, Perfumes, Toxins with Maraca2, percussion
Igor Stravinsky – Firebird, 1945
Of his work, Israeli-born Dorman writes, "The title Spices, Perfumes, Toxins! refers to three substances that are extremely appealing, yet filled with danger. Spices delight the palate, but can cause illness; perfumes seduce, but can also betray; toxins bring ecstasy, but are deadly. The concerto combines Middle-Eastern drums, orchestral percussion, and rock drums with orchestral forces – a unique sound both enticing and dangerous. I think that's enough to get me to this concert. Firebird is probably a bit overplayed as it's the most palatable of Stravinsky's ballet scores, but still, it is the stuff of genius.
Of his work, Israeli-born Dorman writes, "The title Spices, Perfumes, Toxins! refers to three substances that are extremely appealing, yet filled with danger. Spices delight the palate, but can cause illness; perfumes seduce, but can also betray; toxins bring ecstasy, but are deadly. The concerto combines Middle-Eastern drums, orchestral percussion, and rock drums with orchestral forces – a unique sound both enticing and dangerous. I think that's enough to get me to this concert. Firebird is probably a bit overplayed as it's the most palatable of Stravinsky's ballet scores, but still, it is the stuff of genius.
SATURDAY, APRIL 2 // 5:00PM - 6:15PM and 8:30 PM: Bach II
(Brown Derby Ballroom, Waterloo)
Johann Sebastian Bach – Suite no. 2 and Brandenburg Concerto no. 2
SATURDAY, APRIL 23 // 7:30PM - 9:30PM: ELGAR’S BIKE
Josef Strauss – Velocipede Polka
songCYCLE – Music by Timo Andres, Richard Lerman, and others with music video by Rapha
Edward Elgar – Enigma Variations
Did Elgar ride a bike? Or is that just an enigma? (Couldn't resist.) I don't know what to make of the middle of this program. That in itself spells "cutting edge." MORE LIVING AMERICANS!
Did Elgar ride a bike? Or is that just an enigma? (Couldn't resist.) I don't know what to make of the middle of this program. That in itself spells "cutting edge." MORE LIVING AMERICANS!
SATURDAY, JUNE 4 // 7:30PM - 9:00PM: SALSA BAND!
RiverLoop Amphitheatre, Waterloo
Orquesta Alto Maiz with live orchestra! This is our first summer concert on the waterfront in downtown Waterloo.
Orquesta Alto Maiz has long been a staple throughout the corn belt (I heard them early in their careers sometime in the 80s in downtown Davenport). While the personnel has gradually changed, the sound is the same: authentic Latin-inspired fusion guaranteed to get the crowd dancing. One can only imagine the possibilities when teamed with a symphony orchestra.
The scorecard: The only place where WCF falls short is in the neglect of women composers. But there is so much contemporary American music here that one can only applaud the efforts of Maestro Weinberger to break the mold. WCF continues to dominate the Huey Awards. In a way, I really wish there was true, rather than token, opposition.
Orquesta Alto Maiz has long been a staple throughout the corn belt (I heard them early in their careers sometime in the 80s in downtown Davenport). While the personnel has gradually changed, the sound is the same: authentic Latin-inspired fusion guaranteed to get the crowd dancing. One can only imagine the possibilities when teamed with a symphony orchestra.
The scorecard: The only place where WCF falls short is in the neglect of women composers. But there is so much contemporary American music here that one can only applaud the efforts of Maestro Weinberger to break the mold. WCF continues to dominate the Huey Awards. In a way, I really wish there was true, rather than token, opposition.
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