This preview has been provided by the Philharmonic Association.
Connie Lorber
TYO String Specialist
The Triangle Youth Orchestra Concert in Meymandi Concert Hall on May10 at 7:00 pm opens with a compilation of dance movements written by composers from the time period of the reign of Queen Anne, who ruled the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland from 1702-1714. The first dance is a Minuet by John Eccles, appointed Master of the King’s Musick in 1700. He wrote quite a bit for theatre and also composed music for the coronation of Queen Anne. The second dance is an Air by John Blow, an English Baroque composer. He earned his Doctorate in music in 1677 and was also a musician of the court of James II. The third dance is a lively Rigaudon by John Barrett, a student of John Blow.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Symphony 25 (first movement) is today immediately recognizable as the opening soundtrack to Milos Forman’s film Amadeus. This symphony written in October of 1773 is an excellent example of Sturm und Drang, a style that describes music or literature designed to frighten or otherwise move to emotional extreme. The opening theme is also an example of the compositional technique belonging to the Mannheim school of composition, a rising arpeggio figure called the “Mannheim Rocket.”
Our spring offering also includes the fourth movement of Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique. This work epitomizes Program Music: music written to portray an external story or character. The symphony tells the story of a troubled young artist and his quest for his true love. A melody known as the idee fixe (fixed idea) musically represents the true love in each of the work’s five movements. This movement takes on a nightmarish character when the young artist dreams that he has killed his true love and is in a forced march to the scaffold to be executed for his crime. The idee fixe appears only once, as a sudden reminiscence just before the guillotine strikes.The work was premiered in Paris in1830. Listen how Berlioz uses the various instruments to tell the above story. Our musicians have really enjoyed working on this piece and it shows!
The Mozart and Berlioz are mainstays of the symphonic repertoire and require mastery of instrumental technique. The musicians of TYO have truly risen to the occasion. We know you will agree that this year has been a year of real growth for the musicians of TYO. For many, this was their first ensemble experience. Maestro Kohring and I have enjoyed working with all of the talented musicians of TYO!