LYRIC OPERA BALTIMORE
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, JAMES HARP
wonderful because it seems to lift one into
some unknown region of musical thought
and feeling. Throughout its course, one is
never quite sure whether one is listening to
something very old or very new.”
2014
SEASON
MAY 9 &11
Instrumentation: Large string orchestra, echo
string orchestra and string quartet.
Special Gala Concert
Violin Concerto
Felix Mendelssohn
Born in Hamburg, Germany, February 3, 1809;
died in Leipzig, Germany, November 4, 1847
During the years he served as director
of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra,
Felix Mendelssohn was blessed with an
outstanding concertmaster, Ferdinand
David, one of the 19th century’s finest
and most versatile violinists. As early
as 1835, the composer promised David
a concerto to show off his remarkable
abilities. But the concerto did not appear
for nearly a decade, despite the violinist’s
frequent reminders, preserved in some
charmingly wheedling letters.
This delay was uncharacteristic
of Mendelssohn, usually a man who
promptly fulfilled his obligations, musical or otherwise. But the early 1840s
were particularly trying times for him.
Already in demand all over Europe
as both a composer and a performer,
Mendelssohn in 1841 was summoned
to Berlin (his family’s home) by King
Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia to be his
court musician and establish a grandiose
new conservatory. For three years, the
composer dutifully served the king’s
constantly changing whims while longing to return to Leipzig. The enchanting
incidental music to A Midsummer Night’s
Dream was about the only good thing to
come out of this frustrating period. As
soon as he could gracefully extricate himself from Berlin, Mendelssohn turned to
the long-delayed concerto and completed
it in September 1844. It was premiered
by David with the Leipzig Gewandhaus
on March 13, 1845.
Generations of violinists and audiences
can attest that the concerto — one of
the most perfect ever written for this
Toujours
L ’Amour
A CELEBRATION OF FRENCH GRAND OPERA
APRIL 25
Starring
MICHAEL CHIOLDI
FRANCESCA MONDANARO
OREN GRADUS
Featuring
THE BALTIMORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Conducted by JAMES MEENA
Directed by BERNARD UZAN
Starring
NICOLE CABELL
STEPHEN COSTELLO
Featuring
THE BALTIMORE CONCERT ARTISTS ORCHESTRA
Conducted by EDWARD POLOCHICK
Sung in French with English surtitles
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MArch– April 2014 |
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