Music school’s orchestras to present spring concerts

Music
school’s orchestras to present spring concerts
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BY ELLEN CHANG
Rice News Staff

The Shepherd
School Symphony Orchestra opens its spring season Feb. 15
with three pieces from the Austro-German era.

The concert
begins with Anton Webern’s “Passacaglia, Op. 1”
at 8 p.m. in Stude Concert Hall at Alice Pratt Brown Hall.

A Viennese composer,
Webern wrote 31 opuses. “Passacaglia, Op. 1” is
based on a slow, stately Italian dance.

“It’s
a work that was written at the beginning of the 20th century
and pretty much signifies the end of the Romantic period
and the beginning of what is considered the modern style,”
said Professor of Orchestral Conducting Larry Rachleff,
who also is director of the symphony and chamber orchestras
and conductor of the concert.

Paul Hindemith,
a German composer, occasionally used Gregorian chants in
his works, such as the “Mathis der Maler: Symphony,”
another piece from the Austro-German era. It is based on
a painting by Matthias Grünewald, a German Renaissance
painter. Hindemith
uses Grünewald as a metaphor for himself: Grünewald
needed to decide whether to paint or fight in the Reformation
war, just as Hindemith had to decide whether to stay in
Nazi Germany or leave, Rachleff said, calling the symphony
“an emotionally inspired piece that is very spiritual
in nature.”

The third piece,
Johannes Brahms’ “Violin Concerto in D Major,
Op. 77” (Jonathan Swartz, soloist), is “a powerful
piece — one of the greatest concerti ever written for
violin and orchestra,” Rachleff said.

The symphony
orchestra will perform again at 8 p.m. March 22. The program
features Giuseppe Verdi’s “La Forza del Destino”
Overture (David Cho, conducting), Alfred Schnittke’s
“Concerto for Piano and String Orchestra” (Kimi
Kawashima, soloist, James Gaffigan, conducting), Antonín
Dvorák’s “Scherzo Capriccioso” (Rachleff,
conducting) and Maurice Ravel’s “Suite No. 2”
from “Daphnis and Chloé” (Rachleff, conducting).

The chamber
orchestra opens its season Feb. 16 with works from Olivier
Messiaen’s “L’oiseaux exotiques” (David
Cho, conducting), Franz Anton Hoffmeister’s “Viola
Concerto”(Misha Galaganov, soloist) and Igor Stravinsky’s
“Danses Concertantes.”
Prior to each of the three concerts is a lecture given by
alumna Angela Marroy at 7 p.m. in Room 1133 Alice Pratt
Brown Hall.

Admission for
all concerts is free. For more information call (713) 348-8000.