Mendelssohn Symphony No. 4
{ program notes
Randy Beach
Mendelssohn Symphony No. 4
Jean-Philippe Rameau
Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall
Friday, February 24, 2017— 8 pm Sunday, February 26, 2017— 3 pm
Music Center At Strathmore Saturday, February 25, 2017— 8 pm
Nicholas McGegan, conductor Henning Kraggerud, violin
Suite from Dardanus Ouverture Tambourins Air vif Air grave Air gai en Rondeau, " Les Niaïs de Sologne " Chaconne
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Violin Concerto No. 3 in G Major, K. 216 Allegro Adagio Rondo: Allegro
HENNING KRAGGERUD
INTERMISSION Franz Schubert Overture in the Italian Style in C Major, D. 591
Felix Mendelssohn Symphony No. 4 in A Major, opus 90,“ Italian” Allegro vivace Andante con moto Con moto moderato Saltarello: Presto
The concert will end at approximately 9:45pm on Friday and Saturday, and 4:45pm on Sunday.
Nicholas McGegan
As he embarks on his fourth decade on the podium, Nicholas McGegan is recognized for his probing and revelatory explorations of music of all periods. Last season marked his 30 th year as music director of Philharmonia Baroque
Orchestra and he is also principal guest conductor of the Pasadena Symphony. At home in opera houses, Mr. McGegan shone new light on close to 20 Handel operas as the artistic director and conductor at the Göttingen Handel Festival for 20 years( 1991 – 2011) and on the Mozart canon as principal guest conductor at Scottish Opera in the 1990s.
Mr. McGegan’ s 2016 – 2017 appearances include the Los Angeles Philharmonic; two programs with Pasadena Symphony; Baltimore, St. Louis and Toronto symphonies; Calgary Philharmonic; Handel and Haydn Society; Aspen Music Festival and the Cleveland Orchestra / Blossom Music Festival.
Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra’ s season under McGegan include a fully staged production of Rameau’ s La temple de la gloire, Handel’ s oratorio“ Joshua,” and programs with guest soloists Robert Levin and Isabelle Faust. This fall, Mr. McGegan will serve a residency at Harvard as the Christoph Wolff Distinguished Visiting Scholar. He also conducts the all-Mozart semi-final round of the 2017 Van Cliburn Piano Competition.
Overseas, Mr. McGegan appears with Cappella Savaria at the Esterhazay Palace in Fertod, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the Royal Northern Sinfonia.
Maestro McGegan’ s prodigious discography features eight releases on Philharmonia Baroque’ s label, Philharmonia Baroque Productions( PBP) including the 2011 Grammy ® Award-nominated recording of Haydn Symphonies nos. 88, 101, and 104. His latest release features the first-ever recording of the newly rediscovered 300-year-old work La Gloria di Primavera by Alessandro Scarlatti, recorded live at the U. S. premiere.
English-born Nicholas McGegan was educated at Cambridge and Oxford. He was made an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire( OBE) and was invited to join the board of Early Music America. Other awards include the Halle Handel Prize, the Medal of Honour of the City of Göttingen and a declaration of Nicholas McGegan Day by the Mayor of San Francisco in recognition of his work with Philharmonia Baroque. In 2013, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music awarded him an honorary degree of Doctor of Music.
Nicholas McGegan last appeared with the BSO in May 2016, conducting Bach’ s Mass in B minor with the Baltimore Choral Arts Society.
January – February 2017 | Overture 35