Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Seasons and Peace
Off to the symphony tonight. The KCSO is putting on a one-shot special in the Folly Theatre tonight:
Michael Stern conducts this "seasonal" program that includes Gordon Chin's impressive Formosa Seasons and two movements from Vivaldi's The Four Seasons. The Symphony will record Formosa Seasons for a commercial CD project to be released this fall.
Grieg Two Elegiac Melodies for String Orchestra
Gordon Chin Formosa Seasons Summer -- Autumn -- Winter -- Spring
Vivaldi The Four Seasons for Violin and Orchestra Winter -- Summer
That Winter-Summer pairing of Vivaldi is interesting. At a recital from our parish's concert series earlier this year, we had a pairing of Winter and Spring for organ and violin.
We'll also be enjoying another KCSO concert in a week-and-a-half:
Jonathan Leshnoff Forgotten Chants and Refrains : Symphony No. 1 (KC premiere) Schubert Symphony No. 7 in B minor, D. 759 [old No. 8] "Unfinished" Vaughan Williams Dona nobis pacem
Michael Stern brings us Leshnoff's beautiful prayer for humanity, straight from its 2005 world premiere with Stern's IRIS Orchestra. We're lucky to have even just the two movements of Schubert's yearning symphony, fortunately discovered by his brother when sifting through some papers some 40 years after his death. Vaughan Williams voiced his engaging plea for peace, hoping to avoid, again, the horrors of modern war. Amen!
