Summer, a season for preparing
By Matthew Heil
Public Relations Manager
The season may be over at The Phoenix Symphony, but our work--and our blog--will go on! Keep an eye on this virtual space for information about the upcoming season and the process of getting it in front of your eyes and your ears.
Public Relations Manager
The season may be over at The Phoenix Symphony, but our work--and our blog--will go on! Keep an eye on this virtual space for information about the upcoming season and the process of getting it in front of your eyes and your ears.
And, for a little while at least, you can still hear The Phoenix Symphony perform. The orchestra will be joining Ballet Arizona as it presents the newest dance work by artistic director Ib Andersen: Play. The ballet will be at Symphony Hall June 8-10, and will include a variety of classical works under the baton of Timothy Russell: Twelve Variations on “Ah, vous dirai-je Maman" K.265 by Mozart; Andante from OCTET in F major D. 803 by Franz Schubert; Prelude and Fugue for 18-part String Orchestra, Op. 29 by Benjamen Britten; Cantus in Memory of Britten and Festina Lente by Arvo Pärt; and Suite no. 2 and Pulcincella Suite by Igor Stravinsky.
Well worth seeing, and a last chance to see the orchestra in action before the big summer break!
Until later!
5 Comments:
The Long Hot Summer is Upon Us. Thank goodness the Phoenix Symphony has no plans for an outdoors series here. Musicians, their instruments, and the audience deserve the comforts of A/C all year.
I believe we should have three separate ongoing columns for the near future. These topics should keep the blogging juices flowing.
1. A Retrospective on the 2006-2007 season. Which concert programs, specific pieces, or soloists were the BEST? Suggestions on how some programs or initiatives (gimmicks) could have been altered or avoided.
2. A Preview of the 2007-2008 season. Which concerts are you looking forward to the most and why? What initiatives (gimmicks) you'd like to see tried.
3. What I'm doing on my summer "vacation?" Our conductors, orchestra musicians, and audience members can report on various musical festivals and activities happening away from Phoenix Symphony Hall.
I hope that someone from the orchestra will post an end of year update on the financial health of the organization. How did they end the year- black or red? Where does the endowment fund stand? Were ticket sales up or down? What is the financial prjection for next season?
Dear poster,
We are approaching the time when we will be able to announce the financial results of the 2006-07 season. Since our fiscal year for the Symphony ends on June 30, there are still many accounts to close, donation pledges to receive, and a few unexpected items that could crop up.
We will be able to post information on the website after that time, with audited financial statements following later in the year.
Thanks for the interest!
Matthew Heil
Public Relations Manager
The 3 Symphonic Cats, Presto, Firefly, and Sonny made an appearance at the Ballet on Sunday. Ib Anderson is a genius! His world premiere “PLAY” showed the influences of NY City Ballet’s George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins, but also his new 21st century direction of bold, unrestrained humor and sensuality. The dancers captured the common theme of “playing” from infancy to maturity. The music likewise followed that chronology from Mozart to Arvo Pärt. My favorite “moves” were by the women shuffling their feet and changing direction while lying in formation on their sides on the floor! With a few tweaks to the 2nd half, I predict that this show will reach Lincoln Center.
Musically speaking, the highpoints for me were Britten’s “Prelude and Fugue for 18-part String Orchestra” and Pärt’s “Festina Lente,” both most likely Phoenix Symphony premieres. The small string section rose to the occasion with conductor Timothy Russell. Perhaps because of the dancers, I did not get the anticipated emotional reaction from this “pit” performance of Pärt’s “Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten.” (Presto absolutely loved it!) I will definitely be looking forward to its “staged” performance by our Phoenix Symphony in March 2008. Special instrumental cheers go to Acting Concertmaster Dian D’Avanzo with her amplified violin, Alex Laing and Richard Bock in the Schubert Octet, and Richard Bass with the jaunty trombone solos in Pulcinella. Hope to see you all back at Symphony Hall soon.
The Brass Alley Cats, Sonny & Presto, played last Tuesday night at the first summer session of the Arizona Repertory Orchestra 2007. A bunch of professional and amateur musicians gather each week and read through major symphonic works under the direction of a guest conductor from one of the Valley's many community orchestras.
Diane Sullivan, a member of the second violin section of The Phoenix Symphony, was the Concertmaster. Along with her constant companion, "Jasper," she led the large group in works by Mozart, Ravel, and Elgar.
The highlight of the long evening, led by Maestro Warren Cohen of The Musica Nova Orchestras, was Edward Elgar's massive Symphony No. 1. What a blast. I hope to see this piece programmed in an uopcoming Phoenix Symphony concert. More summer musical stories, anyone?
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