Brilliant musical imagery takes center stage as the Asheville Symphony performs a program of beloved classical works featured in Disney’s Fantasia films with star solo pianist Inon Barnatan. The concert takes place Saturday, February 11 at 8 p.m. in Thomas Wolfe Auditorium under the direction of ASO Music Director Daniel Meyer.
“Fantasia, Walt Disney’s exploration of favorite
works of classical music paired with the genius of his illustrators, became one
of the most memorable animated films of the 20th century,” says Meyer. “Disney
understood the power of beautifully drawn images married to great music. Who
can forget the silhouette of the great Leopold Stokowski in the first film from
1940? The Disney studio released a sequel in 2000 and I have chosen an evening
of music from both films to focus on the creativity of composers who paint
pictures with their highly descriptive and evocative scores.”
The evening opens with Mussorgsky’s wildly devilish A
Night on Bald Mountain, as re-orchestrated by his contemporary and friend
Noklay Rimsky-Korsakov after Mussorgsky’s death. The work depicts the legendary
witches' Sabbath held on Mount Tiglav in Russia every year on St. John's Night,
June 23-24. Disney’s animated visualization of the piece in the 1940 Fantasia film
did not stray far from the composer’s intent, depicting a demonic figure atop a
mountain summoning ghosts and witches for frenzied revelry before dawn arrives.
Next—and standing in sharp contrast to Mussorgsky’s dark and
sinister imagery—is Shostakovich’s lively and charming Piano Concerto No. 2
with pianist Inon Barnatan at the keys. A brilliant, rollicking interplay
between orchestra and piano, the concerto was written by Shostakovich as a
birthday gift for his 19-year-old son Maxim. The bright tone and brisk and
tempo are likely why Disney artists chose excerpts from this piece for the
segment of Fantasia 2000 depicting Hans Christen Andersen’s tale “The
Steadfast Tin Soldier.”
"One of the most admired pianists of his
generation" (The New York Times), Inon Barnatan is celebrated for
his poetic sensibility, musical intelligence, and consummate artistry. He was a
recipient of Lincoln Center’s Martin E. Segal Award in 2015, which recognizes
“young artists of exceptional accomplishment,” as well as the prestigious Avery
Fisher Career Grant in 2009. He was also named the inaugural
Artist-in-Association of the New York Philharmonic, an unprecedented
three-season appointment created to spotlight an emerging artist through both
concerto and chamber music performances and by cultivating a relationship
between the artist, the orchestra, and the audience.
Another treat for audiences follows: Ponchielli’s beloved
“Dance of the Hours” ballet from his hit opera La Gioconda. “Dance of
the Hours” took on a pop culture life of its own when Disney illustrated it
with a ballet sequence featuring dancing hippos, crocodiles, elephants and
ostriches in the first Fantasia film. It also reached the pop charts in
1963 when parodist Alan Sherman set words to it in “Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh”
in which a boy describes his experience at summer camp in a letter to his
parents.
The evening closes with Stravinksy’s Suite from The
Firebird, a work that achieved instant success upon its debut in 1910, and
which remains Stravinsky’s most frequently performed work. The Ballets Russes
commissioned Stravinsky—then in his late 20s—to compose The Firebird
based on a scenario drawn from Russian folklore. The result is a
high-definition work showcasing the composer’s ability to conjure imagery and
convey a dramatic tale to audiences.
Single tickets for all concerts are $22-62, depending on
seating section (reduced youth pricing is available). Single tickets and season
ticket packages can be purchased online at ashevillesymphony.org, by phone at
828-254-7046, or in person at the U.S. Cellular Center box office at 87 Haywood
Street.
The Asheville Symphony Orchestra performs and promotes
symphonic music for the benefit, enjoyment and education of the people of
Western North Carolina. The ASO presents concerts in the 2,300-seat Thomas
Wolfe Auditorium in Asheville’s U.S. Cellular Center. Related organizations
include the Asheville Symphony Guild, Asheville Symphony Chorus, Asheville
Symphonettes, and education initiatives such as the Asheville Symphony Youth
Orchestra, Music in the Schools, MusicWorks!, Spotlight on Young Musicians,
Symphony Talks, and pre-concert lectures.
Masterworks 5
MUSIC FROM FANTASIA
February 11, 2017 • 8 p.m.
Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
Daniel Meyer, conductor
Inon Barnatan, piano
Program:
Mussorgsky
Night on Bald Mountain
Shostakovich
Piano Concerto No. 2
Ponchielli
“Dance of the Hours” from La Gioconda
Stravinsky
Suite from The Firebird
No comments:
Post a Comment