NEXT CONCERT Russian Fireworks - Maroondah … · NEXT CONCERT Sunday, 4th September 2016 at 2.30pm...

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The Maroondah Symphony Orchestra Inc gratefully acknowledges the support of the Maroondah City Council and Arts Nunawading Inc NEXT CONCERT Sunday, 4th September 2016 at 2.30pm Shostakovich: Festive Overture Tchaikovsky: Symphony No 4 Schumann: Cello Concerto in A Minor Op. 129 Soloist: Samuel Payne George Wood Performing Arts Centre Yarra Valley Grammar, Kalinda Rd Ringwood Bookings : www.trybooking.com/KKNH Enquiries: [email protected] Elaine: 9720 8575 or 0418 620 479 Tickets available at the door. Printing courtesy of Michael Sukkar MP Member for Deakin Russian Fireworks Soloist Zoe Freisberg Violin Conductor Leader Willem van der Vis Tania Vethanayagam Sunday, 5 June 2016 2:30pm George Wood Performing Arts Centre Yarra Valley Grammar Kalinda Road, Ringwood

Transcript of NEXT CONCERT Russian Fireworks - Maroondah … · NEXT CONCERT Sunday, 4th September 2016 at 2.30pm...

The Maroondah Symphony Orchestra Inc gratefully acknowledges the support of the Maroondah City Council

and Arts Nunawading Inc

NEXT CONCERT

Sunday, 4th September 2016 at 2.30pm

Shostakovich: Festive Overture

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No 4

Schumann: Cello Concerto in A Minor Op. 129

Soloist: Samuel Payne

George Wood Performing Arts Centre

Yarra Valley Grammar, Kalinda Rd Ringwood

Bookings: www.trybooking.com/KKNH

Enquiries: [email protected]

Elaine: 9720 8575 or 0418 620 479

Tickets available at the door.

Printing courtesy of Michael Sukkar MP

Member for Deakin

Russian Fireworks

Soloist

Zoe Freisberg

Violin

Conductor Leader Willem van der Vis Tania Vethanayagam

Sunday, 5 June 2016

2:30pm

George Wood Performing Arts Centre Yarra Valley Grammar

Kalinda Road, Ringwood

ZOE FREISBERG Zoe commenced her violin studies at the age of four under the direction of her mother, Helena Freisberg. She completed her Bachelor of Music at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music with Michele Walsh in 2012 and is currently studying at the Australian Academy of Music with Dr Robin Wilson. Zoe has performed as soloist in Sibelius’ Violin Concerto with the Tasma-nian Symphony Orchestra and in Mozart’s A Major Violin Concerto with Orchestra Victoria. She is a member of the newly formed ensemble, Af-finity Collective. In 2014 Zoe was selected as an ‘Emerging Artist’ with the Australian Chamber Orchestra 2, completing four national tours un-der the mentorship of principal violin, Helena Rathbone. She was also a finalist in Symphony Australia’s Young Performers’ Awards in 2014 and 2015. Other solo performances include those with the Brisbane Philhar-monic Orchestra, Redlands Symphony Orchestra and Corda Spiritus Or-chestra. An experienced orchestral musician, Zoe has acted as Concertmaster of the Australian Youth Orchestra, Neslon Cook Chamber Orchestra, the Bishop Orchestra and served as Concertmaster of the Queensland Youth Symphony from 2010 to 2013. She has participated in five Australian Youth Orchestra National Music Camps and two Australian Youth Or-chestra international tours. A recipient of numerous awards, Zoe was honoured to receive the 2016 Australian Classical Music Competition Travelling Scholarship, the 2014 Australian Youth Orchestra’s ‘Richard Pollet Memorial Award’, the 2012 ‘Varda Jefferies Prize’ and the 2010 ‘Matilda Jane Aplin Prize’ from the Queensland Conservatorium of Music. The Maroondah Symphony Orchestra is delighted to have Zoe as its solo-ist today.

Maroondah Symphony Orchestra Inc

The Maroondah Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1964. It prides itself on providing local access to quality classical music. It presents four to six concerts each year featuring works from both the classical and lighter music repertoires. Concert performances are given at local venues and additional concerts can be arranged for charity and other organisations.

The Orchestra has a growing reputation. Much of this is due to the enthusiastic guidance and expertise of conductor, Willem van der Vis, and the quality of mu-sicians the Orchestra attracts.

The Orchestra is based in Ringwood, although membership is not restricted to residents of the City of Maroondah and is open to musicians from senior secon-dary students through to mature age. Rehearsals are held each Tuesday at Ma-roondah Federation Estate, Greenwood Avenue, Ringwood from 8pm to 10:15pm.

For information about the Orchestra or membership enquiries:

www.maroondahsymphony.org.au

Phone: Lyn 9849 0987 or Rob 0419 230 344

[email protected]

www.maroondahsymphony.org.au

Workshop Sales and Professional Repairs of Bowed Instruments

7 Glenwood Ave. Glen Waverley 8002 7905

Musical Director

Willem van der Vis

New Zealand born Willem van der Vis gained a Bachelor of Science(Hons) in physics, before going on to play principal cello with the New Zealand Symphony Training Orchestra and Southern Sinfonia (Dunedin).

In 1979 Willem moved to Australia, joining the West Australian Sym-phony Orchestra. He also played with Orchestra Victoria, the New Zea-land, Tasmanian and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras.

After completing his Bachelor of Music (conducting) at the Western Aus-tralian Academy of Performing Arts and the Victorian College of the Arts (Robert Rosen), he enjoyed further conducting studies in Moscow, Eng-land and the Czech Republic and with Professor John Hopkins in Mel-bourne.

He has conducted the Stonnington, Heidelberg, Preston, New Monash, Ballarat, Derwent (Hobart) and U3A Symphony Orchestras and was Mu-sical Director of the Murray Conservatorium Chamber Orchestra (Albury, NSW).

He conducts at orchestral workshops and music camps around Australia. Willem is also in demand as an adjudicator and holds workshops in or-chestral conducting.

New Players

We currently have vacancies for viola, bass & brass players.

Maroondah Symphony

1st Violin Tania Vethanayagam * Ilona von Mὅller Michela Scully Lauren Hancock Alicia Donelly Elwood Sze Shahriah Shams

2nd Violin Suneith Sukumar * John Nowakowski Gerry Tan Elaine Ogden Anne Lacey Vincent Fazio Hannah Dean Karina Pitt Mereta Eichberger Kathleen Cheng Robert Nitti Lauren Vos Jeniffer Hall

Viola

Gitta Green * Joella Gould Paul Watson Rachel Magnusson Myra Peeler

Cello Felicity Schijf * Michael Bonsall Elaine Neely Arthur Braun Keren Smith Judy Fox-Smith John Ferwerda Tony Hayes Leah Walsh Amelia Boissevain Beth Marrocco

Double Bass Michael Taylor * Josh Vandenberg

Flute Caroline Barron * Alana Thorpe Bronwyn Arnott

Piccolo Alana Thorpe

Oboe Hilary Edwards * Geoff Oakes

Clarinet Belinda Bolger * Robert Dorin

Bassoon Robert Weiss * Karen Martin

French Horn Vicki-Ann Ware Christabella Stinson Jacquie Spring Tony Hodges

Trumpet Steve Burns * Ruth Collins

Trombone Anthony Ware Maya Watt

Tuba Matthew Balassone *

Timpani Nalini Scarfe Casey-John Prater Gerard Barclay

Harp Eugene Goh

* Section Leader

Overture to The Thieving Magpie (La Gazza Ladra) (1817) Gioachino Rossini (1792-1869)

Rossini had completed all of his 37 operas by the time he was 37. The Thieving Mag-pie is based on a true story of a French servant girl who was tried and executed for theft. Later the townspeople discovered a magpie was the real thief. Listening to this ebullient overture, it is easy to see how Rossini’s method of building crescen-dos by adding instruments as the same motif is repeated earned him the nickname “Signor Crescendo”.

Ballet Suite Sylvia (1876) Léo Delibes (1836 - 1891)

1. Prelude - Les Chasseresses (The Huntresses) 3. Pizzicati 4. Cortège de Bacchus

The French composer Léo Delibes is best known for his ballet Coppélia and the famous Flower Duet from his opera Lakmé. His lesser known ballet Sylvia revolu-tionised ballet by having a strong female lead instead of the traditional limpid nymph or fairy. Sylvia is a powerful huntress who tangles with the gods Orion and Eros and is in love with the shepherd Aminta.

The majestic Prelude features horn calls and pastoral strings to accompany the first entry of Sylvia and her fellow huntresses. Pizzicati hints at Eros’s disguise as a pi-rate, whilst the Cortege of Bacchus celebrates Bacchus whilst trying to outdo the gran-deur of Verdi’s March from Aida from a few years earlier!

Concerto No. 1 in D for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 19 (1917) Sergei Prokofiev (1891 - 1953)

1. Andantino 2. Scherzo - Vivacissimo 3. Moderato

Prokofiev was born in Ukraine and died in Moscow on the same day as Lenin. Fol-lowing his return after 15 years abroad subsequent to the October revolution, Pro-kofiev spent the remainder of his career supporting and lauded by the Soviet au-thorities. His first violin concerto had its genesis in his concertino of 1915 and came to fruition in 1917. This was Prokofiev’s most productive year, in which he also produced his Classical Symphony and many other works, despite the upheavals in Russia culminating in the so-called “October Revolution” in November. Proko-fiev fled to the USA and eventually settled in Paris, where his first Violin Concerto was premiered in 1923 to a rather lukewarm reception. Used to the jarring modern-ism of Stravinsky, the Parisian audiences found its lyricism too romantic, one critic damming it as “Mendelssohnian”.

The opening lyrical melody initially played on the solo violin sets the character of the first movement, which ends with a quizzical flute solo. The Scherzo is anything

but romantic, featuring avant garde string techniques such as staccato bowing and bowing close to the bridge that amplify its ironically mocking tone, characteristic of Prokofiev. A lyrical violin motif, first heard over a plodding bassoon theme, opens the final movement. Much interplay between the fiery solo violin and orchestra eventually leads to an ethereal coda that ends with the first movement flute solo.

INTERVAL - 20 minutes

Suite No. 2 from the ballet Spartacus (1954) Aram Khachaturian (1903 - 1978)

1. Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia 2. Entrance of Merchants, Dance of a Roman Courtesan, General Dance 3. Entrance of Spartacus, Quarrel, Treachery by Harmodius 4. Dance of the Pirates

Khachaturian was born in Armenia in the shadow of the Caucasus mountains and worked all his life in the Soviet Union. His lively music pays homage to the ancient folk music of this oft contested part of the world. The ballet Spartacus is based on the uprising of the slaves in ancient Greece around 70 BC. Spartacus is a rebel slave who leads a revolt against his Roman captors, only to be betrayed. This is one of three suites prepared by Khachaturian from the ballet. The lengthy opening Adagio features the famous theme (used in the Onedin Line) in which his lover mourns Spartacus’ death. Energetic dances alternate with more sensual interludes featuring the clarinet, before the suite concludes with the frenetic Dance of the Pirates.

Polonaise from Eugene Onegin (1877) Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 - 1893)

Eugene Onegin is the best known of Tchaikovsky’s 11 operas. It is based on Push-kin’s novel about the love affair between Onegin and Tatyana. This grand Polo-naise is from the Act 3 ballroom scene during which the two lovers are reunited.

Suite from the ballet The Firebird (1910) - excerpts Igor Stravinsky (1882 - 1971) arr. Merle Isaac (1989 - 1996)

5. The Infernal Dance 6. Berceuse 7. Finale

Stravinsky’s score for The Firebird was the first of three written for Diaghilev’s Bal-lets Russes in Paris that revolutionised the world of ballet. It became so popular that Stravinsky was once hailed by a passer-by as “Mr. Fireberg”. To protect Crown Prince Ivan, the magic Firebird casts a spell over the evil Kashchei and his cronies. In the Infernal Dance, Kashchei and friends are compelled by the Firebird’s spell to dance to exhaustion. The Berceuse is a lullaby in which the Firebird lulls Kashchei to sleep. Ivan then destroys the egg containing Kashchei’s soul, sunlight returns and the rescued captives celebrate.

Robert Weiss