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Upcoming Performance on December 18th!
MOSS presents "A Symphony of Toys"Date: Sunday, Dec 18
Time: 3:00 PM
LOCATION
Missouri Theatre
TICKET INFORMATION
MTCA Box Office
DETAILS
Missouri Symphony Society presents "A Symphony of Toys" featuring the Missouri Symphony Orchestra and special guests!
This holiday concert embraces a variety of music for the season including: Manheim Steamroller, Nutcracker, Carol of the Bells, O Holy Night, Night Before Christmas and a special guest from the North Pole!
Missouri Symphony Orchestra
Kirk Trevor, Music Director
Chloe Trevor, Violin
Missouri Symphony Chamber Chorus
Nollie Moore, Director
Columbia Suzuki Ensemble
Siri Geenen, Director
Columbia Handbell Ensemble
Ed Rollins, Director
Tickets:
General Admission: $15
Students & Children: $7*
Purchase at Missouri Theatre Box Office or concertseries.org
*This concert supports the U.S. Marines Toys for Tots Program. Students and children who bring a new unwrapped toy to place under the symphony tree receive free admission.
Time: 3:00 PM
LOCATION
Missouri Theatre
TICKET INFORMATION
MTCA Box Office
DETAILS
Missouri Symphony Society presents "A Symphony of Toys" featuring the Missouri Symphony Orchestra and special guests!
This holiday concert embraces a variety of music for the season including: Manheim Steamroller, Nutcracker, Carol of the Bells, O Holy Night, Night Before Christmas and a special guest from the North Pole!
Missouri Symphony Orchestra
Kirk Trevor, Music Director
Chloe Trevor, Violin
Missouri Symphony Chamber Chorus
Nollie Moore, Director
Columbia Suzuki Ensemble
Siri Geenen, Director
Columbia Handbell Ensemble
Ed Rollins, Director
Tickets:
General Admission: $15
Students & Children: $7*
Purchase at Missouri Theatre Box Office or concertseries.org
*This concert supports the U.S. Marines Toys for Tots Program. Students and children who bring a new unwrapped toy to place under the symphony tree receive free admission.
Astoria Symphony Orchestra Performs Viennese Romantic Masterpieces
April 16, 2011
Concert Review
by Rebecca McNamara
BoroMagazine
The three composers showcased at Astoria Symphony Orchestra’s most recent performance—Franz Schubert, Ludwig van Beethoven and Johannes Brahms—all lived in Vienna within a 30-year period of one another. Yet each has an entirely different story to tell. But they are all storytellers, and each wrote pieces to make listeners think of romance.
“Romantic Masterpieces,” the 51-piece orchestra’s performance on Saturday, March 12, at the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts on 35th Avenue in Astoria, was a thrilling ride through the sweet melodies and harsh swings any romance endures.
Maestro Kirk Trevor, in his “Meet the Maestro” talk before the performance, named Schubert the “greatest John Lennon of his age” for his renowned songwriting. And what decent romance doesn’t begin with a well-written love song? The orchestra began with his Rosamunde Overture, an often-disputed piece originally composed to a melodrama, as the program notes.
Trevor served as guest conductor while the Astoria Music Society’s founder and musical director Silas Huff served as an “officer-conductor of the one of the elite U.S. Army musical ensembles,” according to the program. Trevor conducted his daughter that evening, solo violinist Chloé Trevor. He joked that he wondered who would be more nervous; from the audience, it seemed both sets of nerves were put on hold for the evening.
Chloé Trevor, who made her New York debut that night, played Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61—the second song performed—with her whole being. Her repeated trills never dulled, and her passion never waned. Even when the orchestra was silent behind her, she kept the audience mesmerized with her lone instrument. When the orchestra played during her breaks, she swayed and moved, changing facial expressions, as if subconsciously acting out Beethoven’s romantic battle. The music never left her, and she never left it.
Listening to each stanza with eyes closed, one could imagine a film playing: the dancing in a grand ballroom, eyes meeting through the crowds. After Trevor’s last note of one stanza fell into silence, a quiet, “wow” was heard from at least one member of the audience.
Brahms’s Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73 ended the night, and thanks to the Astoria Symphony Orchestra, did so with great symphonic explosion.
Concert Review
by Rebecca McNamara
BoroMagazine
The three composers showcased at Astoria Symphony Orchestra’s most recent performance—Franz Schubert, Ludwig van Beethoven and Johannes Brahms—all lived in Vienna within a 30-year period of one another. Yet each has an entirely different story to tell. But they are all storytellers, and each wrote pieces to make listeners think of romance.
“Romantic Masterpieces,” the 51-piece orchestra’s performance on Saturday, March 12, at the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts on 35th Avenue in Astoria, was a thrilling ride through the sweet melodies and harsh swings any romance endures.
Maestro Kirk Trevor, in his “Meet the Maestro” talk before the performance, named Schubert the “greatest John Lennon of his age” for his renowned songwriting. And what decent romance doesn’t begin with a well-written love song? The orchestra began with his Rosamunde Overture, an often-disputed piece originally composed to a melodrama, as the program notes.
Trevor served as guest conductor while the Astoria Music Society’s founder and musical director Silas Huff served as an “officer-conductor of the one of the elite U.S. Army musical ensembles,” according to the program. Trevor conducted his daughter that evening, solo violinist Chloé Trevor. He joked that he wondered who would be more nervous; from the audience, it seemed both sets of nerves were put on hold for the evening.
Chloé Trevor, who made her New York debut that night, played Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61—the second song performed—with her whole being. Her repeated trills never dulled, and her passion never waned. Even when the orchestra was silent behind her, she kept the audience mesmerized with her lone instrument. When the orchestra played during her breaks, she swayed and moved, changing facial expressions, as if subconsciously acting out Beethoven’s romantic battle. The music never left her, and she never left it.
Listening to each stanza with eyes closed, one could imagine a film playing: the dancing in a grand ballroom, eyes meeting through the crowds. After Trevor’s last note of one stanza fell into silence, a quiet, “wow” was heard from at least one member of the audience.
Brahms’s Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73 ended the night, and thanks to the Astoria Symphony Orchestra, did so with great symphonic explosion.
Maestro Kirk Trevor returns to conduct the KSO - and eat his favorite crab cakes at Chesapeake's!
March 31, 2011
Concert Review
by Cynthia Moxley
The Blue Streak
It literally was old home week as Kirk Trevor returned to Knoxville last week to conduct the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra as part of its 75th anniversary season.
Trevor, who was named music director emeritus when he concluded his 18-year stint as conductor of the KSO in 2003, came back with his 23-year-old daughter, Chloe Trevor, to wow audiences at the Moxley Carmichael Masterworks with performances of Beethoven and Prokofiev works. Chloe is an acclaimed violinist who already has won numerous honors and awards. She performed as a soloist during Beethoven’s Concerto in D Major for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 61, and sat in with the violin section for Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5 in B-flat Major, Op. 100. Kirk Trevor conducted the entire evening, which also included Arnold Bax’s Overture to Adventure.
The week of rehearsals and performances was a time for Maestro Trevor to reconnect with musicians with whom he had worked for many years and also with certain Symphony Board members with whom he was close during his tenure. “He was very excited about going to eat at Chesapeake’s because he loves the crab cakes there!” laughed Rachel Ford, executive director of the KSO. She and current KSO music director, Lucas Richman, joined Trevor for that meal at Chesapeake’s. He also made it a point to dine at The Orangery with some board members and to take his two youngest children, 4-year-old Sylvia Elizabeth Trevor and 2-year-old Daniel Christopher Trevor, to the Knoxville Zoo, along with his wife, Maria Duhova.
Thursday night Trevor was honored with a reception in the upstairs lobby of the Tennessee Theatre following the Masterworks concert that night. Even though Alan and I had tickets to Friday’s concert, we made it a point to stop by the reception to say hello. Kirk, Chloe and Maria (whose nickname is Micah) seemed to be in great spirits as everyone asked to pose with them.
These days, Trevor is conductor of the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra (since 1988) and the Missouri Symphony (since 2000). He is one of the most recorded conductors of the past decade and he is widely recognized as one of the leading conducting teachers. He and his family have homes in Columbia, Missouri, and Bratislava, Slovakia.
Click here for the News Sentinel’s excellent review of the concert. Following are some photos from the reception.
Concert Review
by Cynthia Moxley
The Blue Streak
It literally was old home week as Kirk Trevor returned to Knoxville last week to conduct the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra as part of its 75th anniversary season.
Trevor, who was named music director emeritus when he concluded his 18-year stint as conductor of the KSO in 2003, came back with his 23-year-old daughter, Chloe Trevor, to wow audiences at the Moxley Carmichael Masterworks with performances of Beethoven and Prokofiev works. Chloe is an acclaimed violinist who already has won numerous honors and awards. She performed as a soloist during Beethoven’s Concerto in D Major for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 61, and sat in with the violin section for Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5 in B-flat Major, Op. 100. Kirk Trevor conducted the entire evening, which also included Arnold Bax’s Overture to Adventure.
The week of rehearsals and performances was a time for Maestro Trevor to reconnect with musicians with whom he had worked for many years and also with certain Symphony Board members with whom he was close during his tenure. “He was very excited about going to eat at Chesapeake’s because he loves the crab cakes there!” laughed Rachel Ford, executive director of the KSO. She and current KSO music director, Lucas Richman, joined Trevor for that meal at Chesapeake’s. He also made it a point to dine at The Orangery with some board members and to take his two youngest children, 4-year-old Sylvia Elizabeth Trevor and 2-year-old Daniel Christopher Trevor, to the Knoxville Zoo, along with his wife, Maria Duhova.
Thursday night Trevor was honored with a reception in the upstairs lobby of the Tennessee Theatre following the Masterworks concert that night. Even though Alan and I had tickets to Friday’s concert, we made it a point to stop by the reception to say hello. Kirk, Chloe and Maria (whose nickname is Micah) seemed to be in great spirits as everyone asked to pose with them.
These days, Trevor is conductor of the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra (since 1988) and the Missouri Symphony (since 2000). He is one of the most recorded conductors of the past decade and he is widely recognized as one of the leading conducting teachers. He and his family have homes in Columbia, Missouri, and Bratislava, Slovakia.
Click here for the News Sentinel’s excellent review of the concert. Following are some photos from the reception.
Trevors Bring Energy to KSO Concerts
March 25, 2011
Concert Review
by Harold Duckett
Knoxville News Sentenial
When talented 23-year-old violinist Chloe Trevor played Ludwig van Beethoven’s monumental “Concerto in D Major for Violin and Orchestra,” Op. 61, with her father, Knoxville Symphony Orchestra Music Director Emeritus Kirk Trevor, conducting the KSO, she performed with the all technical virtuosity any soloist would be thrilled to command, but hadn’t quite developed that elusive presence that takes over a stage and separates oneself from all the section violinists behind the soloist.
The distinction became evident when Trevor quietly settled into the back of the second violin section were she played the Prokofiev symphony in the second half.
Trevor has a clean, round, singing tone that was lovely to hear in Beethoven’s themes and melodies and her trills and other ornaments were flawless when she added decorations as the orchestra moved ideas along.
There were especially beautiful moments in the “Larghetto,” second movement, when conductor Trevor shaped the pizzicato stings into a tender background behind violinist Trevor’s singing melody.
But, finally, it was in the third movement cadenza that violinist Trevor played with the robustness that let everyone know she was the Trevor of the moment.
Conducting the KSO for the first time in five years, maestro Trevor still has the trademark of conducting from his feet up, with his body being as important as his baton.
One could see it in the “Overture to Adventure,” by fellow Englishman, Arnold Bax, with which the concert began.
And there careful management of his orchestral forces as his daughter played the Beethoven concerto.
But the scope of Trevor’s conducting prowess was in full sweep with a powerful performance of Serge Prokofiev’s “Symphony No. 5 in B Flat Major,” Op. 100, Prokofiev’s effort to acknowledge the strength and endurance of the Russian people who had been under siege by both the Nazis and the oppression of the Soviet regime.
Speaking to the spirit of the Russian people without enraging the brutal, bureaucratic censors was no easy task, as Shostakovich found out.
But Prokofiev was so deft at it that his symphony won the Stalin Prize and was hailed world-wide.
Trevor’s conducting of the KSO and the powerful conclusion at the end of the fourth movement showed why.
Bravo!
Concert Review
by Harold Duckett
Knoxville News Sentenial
When talented 23-year-old violinist Chloe Trevor played Ludwig van Beethoven’s monumental “Concerto in D Major for Violin and Orchestra,” Op. 61, with her father, Knoxville Symphony Orchestra Music Director Emeritus Kirk Trevor, conducting the KSO, she performed with the all technical virtuosity any soloist would be thrilled to command, but hadn’t quite developed that elusive presence that takes over a stage and separates oneself from all the section violinists behind the soloist.
The distinction became evident when Trevor quietly settled into the back of the second violin section were she played the Prokofiev symphony in the second half.
Trevor has a clean, round, singing tone that was lovely to hear in Beethoven’s themes and melodies and her trills and other ornaments were flawless when she added decorations as the orchestra moved ideas along.
There were especially beautiful moments in the “Larghetto,” second movement, when conductor Trevor shaped the pizzicato stings into a tender background behind violinist Trevor’s singing melody.
But, finally, it was in the third movement cadenza that violinist Trevor played with the robustness that let everyone know she was the Trevor of the moment.
Conducting the KSO for the first time in five years, maestro Trevor still has the trademark of conducting from his feet up, with his body being as important as his baton.
One could see it in the “Overture to Adventure,” by fellow Englishman, Arnold Bax, with which the concert began.
And there careful management of his orchestral forces as his daughter played the Beethoven concerto.
But the scope of Trevor’s conducting prowess was in full sweep with a powerful performance of Serge Prokofiev’s “Symphony No. 5 in B Flat Major,” Op. 100, Prokofiev’s effort to acknowledge the strength and endurance of the Russian people who had been under siege by both the Nazis and the oppression of the Soviet regime.
Speaking to the spirit of the Russian people without enraging the brutal, bureaucratic censors was no easy task, as Shostakovich found out.
But Prokofiev was so deft at it that his symphony won the Stalin Prize and was hailed world-wide.
Trevor’s conducting of the KSO and the powerful conclusion at the end of the fourth movement showed why.
Bravo!
Former KSO Conductor Kirk Trevor Returns for an Encore Performance
March 30, 2011
Concert Review
by Alan Sherrod
Metro Pulse
Kirk Trevor ended his 18 seasons as music director and conductor of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra in 2003, but many Knoxville concertgoers still remember his tenure with the KSO for producing exquisitely detailed, emotional, energetic performances with a distinct stylistic point of view. Trevor returned last week for a guest stint with the orchestra—and, based on those performances, he appears to have picked up where he left off, particularly in terms of an entertaining and passionate musical viewpoint.
Trevor took full advantage of progress made under the current director and conductor, Lucas Richman—notably some strengthened sections of the orchestra. He did return to his favored arrangement of the strings: first and second violins together to the left, and violas and cellos together to the right in the orchestral semi-circle. There is a subtle but remarkable tonal difference in the arrangement, one that lends itself to a particularly satisfying orchestral balance.
Trevor didn’t return to Knoxville alone. He was accompanied by violinist Chloé Trevor, who last appeared with the KSO as a 14-year-old prodigy in 2002, in a performance of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto. Now, at the age of 23, the younger Trevor’s performance occasion this time was the expansive Beethoven Violin Concerto in D Major, Op 61.
From a barely perceptible four-note timpani opening that gives way to subdued woodwinds introducing thematic material, Trevor’s hand was obvious as he built detail upon texture up to the solo violin’s entrance, alternating Beethoven’s moments of strength with moments of tenderness. As Chloé Trevor entered, two more things were obvious: her honed and effortless technical skill and the combination of golden warmth and smooth, focused projection from her instrument, a 1771 Landolfi. The two Trevors combined for a performance that dutifully painted the Beethoven details with clean, sharp lines, and the textures and dynamics with emphasis.
If the Beethoven concerto has a flaw, it is its length. At 40 minutes or so, the piece unwittingly and unconsciously makes the honest demand that the soloist continually introduce a developing personality into the violin line. The final Rondo movement helps in this regard with its cheerfulness, which practically begs for a display of character and detail. If the concerto begins to seem too long—and in this performance, it did, to a degree—it is because that developing character just isn’t making it across the footlights.
The highlight of the evening, and a really thrilling one at that, came in the second half of the concert, with Sergei Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5. This work, which premiered in Moscow in January 1945, is unabashed in its celebration of the spirit of optimism that pervaded Soviet life as their army pushed German troops back toward defeat in the final days of World War II. That infused spirit cannot mask the composer’s characteristic wry sarcasm, elements that are Prokofiev at his best. Admittedly, Trevor, too, seems quite at home with the musical opportunity to communicate a bit of understated sardonic wit.
The thrilling aspect of the performance, though, was Trevor’s careful arc and the distinctive point of view that manifested itself in textural details, brilliantly revealed through balance and Trevor’s deliberate efforts to accentuate moments of Prokofiev’s lyricism.
The brilliant finale movement was a joy—the pensive opening gave way to ever-increasing, erratic emotional energy, driven by a relentless cinematic rhythm and punctuated by expressionistic outbursts from the clarinet and by percussion effects. Trevor toyed with the audience’s emotions, pulling back dynamically before surprising us with a final and energetic explosion.
Trevor opened the evening with another 20th-century work, and a new one for the KSO, English composer Arnold Bax’s Overture to Adventure. This work was a wonderful showcase of tonal expressionism, full of simmering emotions and mysterious shadows.
Concert Review
by Alan Sherrod
Metro Pulse
Kirk Trevor ended his 18 seasons as music director and conductor of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra in 2003, but many Knoxville concertgoers still remember his tenure with the KSO for producing exquisitely detailed, emotional, energetic performances with a distinct stylistic point of view. Trevor returned last week for a guest stint with the orchestra—and, based on those performances, he appears to have picked up where he left off, particularly in terms of an entertaining and passionate musical viewpoint.
Trevor took full advantage of progress made under the current director and conductor, Lucas Richman—notably some strengthened sections of the orchestra. He did return to his favored arrangement of the strings: first and second violins together to the left, and violas and cellos together to the right in the orchestral semi-circle. There is a subtle but remarkable tonal difference in the arrangement, one that lends itself to a particularly satisfying orchestral balance.
Trevor didn’t return to Knoxville alone. He was accompanied by violinist Chloé Trevor, who last appeared with the KSO as a 14-year-old prodigy in 2002, in a performance of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto. Now, at the age of 23, the younger Trevor’s performance occasion this time was the expansive Beethoven Violin Concerto in D Major, Op 61.
From a barely perceptible four-note timpani opening that gives way to subdued woodwinds introducing thematic material, Trevor’s hand was obvious as he built detail upon texture up to the solo violin’s entrance, alternating Beethoven’s moments of strength with moments of tenderness. As Chloé Trevor entered, two more things were obvious: her honed and effortless technical skill and the combination of golden warmth and smooth, focused projection from her instrument, a 1771 Landolfi. The two Trevors combined for a performance that dutifully painted the Beethoven details with clean, sharp lines, and the textures and dynamics with emphasis.
If the Beethoven concerto has a flaw, it is its length. At 40 minutes or so, the piece unwittingly and unconsciously makes the honest demand that the soloist continually introduce a developing personality into the violin line. The final Rondo movement helps in this regard with its cheerfulness, which practically begs for a display of character and detail. If the concerto begins to seem too long—and in this performance, it did, to a degree—it is because that developing character just isn’t making it across the footlights.
The highlight of the evening, and a really thrilling one at that, came in the second half of the concert, with Sergei Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5. This work, which premiered in Moscow in January 1945, is unabashed in its celebration of the spirit of optimism that pervaded Soviet life as their army pushed German troops back toward defeat in the final days of World War II. That infused spirit cannot mask the composer’s characteristic wry sarcasm, elements that are Prokofiev at his best. Admittedly, Trevor, too, seems quite at home with the musical opportunity to communicate a bit of understated sardonic wit.
The thrilling aspect of the performance, though, was Trevor’s careful arc and the distinctive point of view that manifested itself in textural details, brilliantly revealed through balance and Trevor’s deliberate efforts to accentuate moments of Prokofiev’s lyricism.
The brilliant finale movement was a joy—the pensive opening gave way to ever-increasing, erratic emotional energy, driven by a relentless cinematic rhythm and punctuated by expressionistic outbursts from the clarinet and by percussion effects. Trevor toyed with the audience’s emotions, pulling back dynamically before surprising us with a final and energetic explosion.
Trevor opened the evening with another 20th-century work, and a new one for the KSO, English composer Arnold Bax’s Overture to Adventure. This work was a wonderful showcase of tonal expressionism, full of simmering emotions and mysterious shadows.
Maestro Trevor's Return - and how some of us spent Spring Break
March 24, 2011
Knoxville Symphony Blog
(http://knoxvillesymphony.blogspot.com)
Conductor Emeritus Kirk Trevor’s return to the KSO podium after a few years absence has been very satisfying and inspiring. Since Sunday evening he has been shepherding the KSO through Prokofiev’s masterful Symphony No. 5, Sir Arnold Bax’s Overture to Adventure and Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with verve and attention to detail.
Completing the family affair, his daughter Chloe has been playing brilliantly in the Beethoven. She has clearly come into her own as a soloistic force and it is unfair to her to hang the moniker of “Kirk Trevor’s daughter” after her name.
The Bax overture we are performing has my vote for the “sleeper of the year.” Composed during the KSO’s first season, one has to wonder upon hearing it why it is not performed more often and why the parts, which must have been printed in the 40's or 50's, were completely clean of markings. Maestro Trevor said of the work, “it has somehow slipped unfairly into obscurity, even by English standards.” But it is full of shimmering, thick brass writing and memorable tunes.
Prokofiev 5 is a work no one who enjoys the symphonist’s craft should miss, firmly entrenched in the canon of other great “Fifths:” Beethoven, Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky, and Mahler. Prokofiev’s wit and soul are in fine fettle and unlike some of his other symphonies, there is no “language barrier” here. The first movement is sweeping and upbeat, the second movement Scherzo cooks along like a train that is on the verge of derailing (to paraphrase Kirk). The final two movements are showcases for Prokofiev’s mastery of symphonic colors.
Some of us were wondering where the clarinets were the other night at Maestro Trevor’s first rehearsal. There were holes in the texture, the fabric of the music and I’d almost forgotten why. We were even treated to the Maestro’s own dulcet tones, singing the missing clarinet part in the Prokofiev 5th. Gary Sperl, our principal clarinetist, was finishing up a tour of the People’s Republic of China with the UT Clarinet Choir! Their travels took them to Beijing, Xi-an and Chengdu in a tour that started March 10th and ended (gulp) Monday. It was good in many ways to hear jet-lagged Gary and bass clarinetist Ben Gessel at Tuesday’s rehearsals; not just their playing, but their mere presence, given the volatility of the world these days.
Knoxville Symphony Blog
(http://knoxvillesymphony.blogspot.com)
Conductor Emeritus Kirk Trevor’s return to the KSO podium after a few years absence has been very satisfying and inspiring. Since Sunday evening he has been shepherding the KSO through Prokofiev’s masterful Symphony No. 5, Sir Arnold Bax’s Overture to Adventure and Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with verve and attention to detail.
Completing the family affair, his daughter Chloe has been playing brilliantly in the Beethoven. She has clearly come into her own as a soloistic force and it is unfair to her to hang the moniker of “Kirk Trevor’s daughter” after her name.
The Bax overture we are performing has my vote for the “sleeper of the year.” Composed during the KSO’s first season, one has to wonder upon hearing it why it is not performed more often and why the parts, which must have been printed in the 40's or 50's, were completely clean of markings. Maestro Trevor said of the work, “it has somehow slipped unfairly into obscurity, even by English standards.” But it is full of shimmering, thick brass writing and memorable tunes.
Prokofiev 5 is a work no one who enjoys the symphonist’s craft should miss, firmly entrenched in the canon of other great “Fifths:” Beethoven, Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky, and Mahler. Prokofiev’s wit and soul are in fine fettle and unlike some of his other symphonies, there is no “language barrier” here. The first movement is sweeping and upbeat, the second movement Scherzo cooks along like a train that is on the verge of derailing (to paraphrase Kirk). The final two movements are showcases for Prokofiev’s mastery of symphonic colors.
Some of us were wondering where the clarinets were the other night at Maestro Trevor’s first rehearsal. There were holes in the texture, the fabric of the music and I’d almost forgotten why. We were even treated to the Maestro’s own dulcet tones, singing the missing clarinet part in the Prokofiev 5th. Gary Sperl, our principal clarinetist, was finishing up a tour of the People’s Republic of China with the UT Clarinet Choir! Their travels took them to Beijing, Xi-an and Chengdu in a tour that started March 10th and ended (gulp) Monday. It was good in many ways to hear jet-lagged Gary and bass clarinetist Ben Gessel at Tuesday’s rehearsals; not just their playing, but their mere presence, given the volatility of the world these days.
March 21, 2011
Knoxville Symphony Blog
(http://knoxvillesymphony.blogspot.com)
I stand corrected. I was under the impression that the Prokofiev 5th Symphony we are preparing was written during the KSO’s first season. WRONG! Maestro Trevor described the work as dedicated to the triumphant human spirit when said spirit was being tried severely during WWII. The actual composition year is 1944, but in 1935 Prokofiev composed his 2nd violin concerto (that’s Violin Concerto No. 2, not Concerto for second violin, all you smarty-pants musicians), the Romeo and Juliet ballet, and Peter and the Wolf. Not a bad year for him!
Here is a taste of Chloe Trevor performing the Beethoven Concerto with the Astoria Symphony, in Queens, NY, with Maestro Trevor directing. Chloe has graced our stage many times before, and brilliantly; in the late 90's she performed Fritz Kreisler’s Praeludium and Allegro on a series of Young People’s Concerts and runouts, and performed Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto on the final Chamber Orchestra concert of the 2001-2002 season.
I gained a new perspective on the Beethoven Concerto in music history class in college. The professor played an LP that was popular in the 50's, a music appreciation record that was narrated by a famous musicologist of the day (Wow. Famous musicologist... now there’s an oxymoron. No wonder I’ve forgotten his name). His description of the opening of the concerto– “...five taps on the tympani...” was so 50's that I immediately knew I was born in the wrong decade. But it brought home to me the idea that the tympani could function as a melodic instrument. It’s astonishing, though; the motif is so simple yet so versatile. I don't need to tell you that Beethoven is astonishing, though; you know it. However, if you need to be reminded about why, please join is this Thursday or Friday (or both!) at the Tennessee Theatre at 8.
Knoxville Symphony Blog
(http://knoxvillesymphony.blogspot.com)
I stand corrected. I was under the impression that the Prokofiev 5th Symphony we are preparing was written during the KSO’s first season. WRONG! Maestro Trevor described the work as dedicated to the triumphant human spirit when said spirit was being tried severely during WWII. The actual composition year is 1944, but in 1935 Prokofiev composed his 2nd violin concerto (that’s Violin Concerto No. 2, not Concerto for second violin, all you smarty-pants musicians), the Romeo and Juliet ballet, and Peter and the Wolf. Not a bad year for him!
Here is a taste of Chloe Trevor performing the Beethoven Concerto with the Astoria Symphony, in Queens, NY, with Maestro Trevor directing. Chloe has graced our stage many times before, and brilliantly; in the late 90's she performed Fritz Kreisler’s Praeludium and Allegro on a series of Young People’s Concerts and runouts, and performed Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto on the final Chamber Orchestra concert of the 2001-2002 season.
I gained a new perspective on the Beethoven Concerto in music history class in college. The professor played an LP that was popular in the 50's, a music appreciation record that was narrated by a famous musicologist of the day (Wow. Famous musicologist... now there’s an oxymoron. No wonder I’ve forgotten his name). His description of the opening of the concerto– “...five taps on the tympani...” was so 50's that I immediately knew I was born in the wrong decade. But it brought home to me the idea that the tympani could function as a melodic instrument. It’s astonishing, though; the motif is so simple yet so versatile. I don't need to tell you that Beethoven is astonishing, though; you know it. However, if you need to be reminded about why, please join is this Thursday or Friday (or both!) at the Tennessee Theatre at 8.