This preview has been provided by the North Carolina Symphony.

Grant Llewellyn will lead the North Carolina Symphony in a 2012-2013 classical season orchestra highlight of Edward Elgar’s Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 36, “Enigma,” Felix Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25, featuring pianist Ingrid Fliter, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Symphony No. 35 in D Major, K.385, “Haffner.”

The performance takes place on Thursday, March 14, at 8 p.m., in Lee Auditorium in Southern Pines.

Scholar Dr. Richard E. Rodda points out that “throughout his life, Edward Elgar had a penchant for dispensing startling or mystifying remarks just to see what response they would elicit… Turning that trait upon his music, he added the sobriquet ‘Enigma’ above the theme of this splendid set of orchestral variations.”

Mozart’s Symphony No. 35 in D Major, K.385, “Haffner,” was named after the patron of the composition, Salzburg, Austria, mayor Siegmund Haffner, who commissioned the work to mark his elevation to the nobility.

Mendelssohn wrote his Piano Concerto No. 1 at the age of 20, and unveiled the piece on October 17, 1830 to enthusiastic audiences. Dr. Rodda says that the concert “became grouped with the Midsummer Night’s Dream Overture as Mendelssohn’s most celebrated successes during his lifetime.” Pianist Ingrid Fliter, who will perform the piano concerto with the North Carolina Symphony, has won the admiration and hearts of audiences around the world for her passionate yet thoughtful and sensitive music making played with an effortless technique.

Tickets to the Southern Pines Series performance on March 14 range from $18 to $42. Student tickets are $10. To purchase tickets, visit the North Carolina Symphony website at www.ncsymphony.org or call the Symphony Box Office at 919.733.2750 or toll free 877.627.6724, call the Kenan Auditorium Box Office at (910) 962-3500, or visit the Kenan Box Office on the night of the show.

In addition to stellar performances, North Carolina Symphony concertgoers can enjoy pre-concert talks and “Meet the Artists,” which feature interactive conversations with guest artists and select orchestra members, at many Symphony events. For the Southern Pines performance on March 14, Timothy Haley, of Sandhills Community College, will conduct a pre-concert talk in the Pinecrest High School band room at 7 p.m. There will be “Ask A Musician” opportunities in front of the stage at intermission.

Partners for the 2012/13 Southern Pines Series include Pinehurst Auto Mall, Quail Haven Village, and St. Joseph of the Pines. 

Statewide partnership and support is provided by Progress Energy.

About the North Carolina Symphony

Founded in 1932 and subsequently made an entity of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, the North Carolina Symphony employs 65 professional musicians under the artistic leadership of Music Director and Conductor Grant Llewellyn and Resident Conductor William Henry Curry. Every year, this orchestra performs over 175 concerts in more than 50 North Carolina counties, with some 60 of those concerts offered in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill metropolitan area.

The Symphony boasts two spectacular home venues: Meymandi Concert Hall at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Raleigh and Booth Amphitheatre in Cary, N.C. The Symphony also travels 12,000 miles each year to present concert series in Fayetteville, New Bern, Southern Pines and Wilmington; individual concerts in communities across the state; and one of the most extensive education programs of any U.S. orchestra.  For more information, visit the North Carolina Symphony website at www.ncsymphony.org or call toll free 877.627.6724.

Statewide partnership and support is provided by Progress Energy.

Concert/Event Listings:
North Carolina Symphony
Grant Llewellyn conducting
Ingrid Fliter, piano

March 14, 2013 8pm
Lee Auditorium, Pinecrest High School, Southern Pines

Program Listing:

Symphony No. 35 in D Major, K.385, “Haffner.”
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

  1. Allegro con spirit
  2. Andante
  3. Menuetto
  4. Presto

Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Ingrid Fliter, piano

  1. Molto Allegro con fuoco
  2. Andante
  3. Presto – Molto Allegro e vivace

Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 36, “Enigma”
Edward Elgar (1857-1934)

    Enigma: Andante
    Variation I (C.A.E.): L’istesso tempo
    Variation II (H.D. S.-P.): Allegro
    Variation III (R.B.T.): Allegretto
    Variation IV (W.M.B.): Allegro di molto
    Variation V (R.P.A.): Moderato
    Variation VI (Ysobel): Andantino
    Variation VII (Troyte): Presto
    Variation VIII (W.N.): Allegretto
    Variation IX (Nimrod): Adagio
    Variation X (Dorabella): Intermezzo: Allegretto
    Variation XI (G.R.S.): Allegro di molto
    Variation XII (B.G.N.): Andante
    Variation XIII (* * *): Romanza: Moderato
    Variation XIV (E.D.U.): Finale: Allegro