All Tchaikovsky
by Resident Conductor Lawrence Golan
It is a great pleasure for me to be conducting the All-Tchaikovsky concerts for The Phoenix Symphony "Favorites" series. Tchaikovsky is indeed an audience favorite, but also a favorite of mine. Further, among all of his great works, the Fifth Symphony ranks right at the top. It is full of passion, angst and excitement and is a real treat to perform. The second movement features what is one of the biggest horn solos in the entire orchestral literature. I am really looking forward to hearing Gabe Kovach’s performance of that solo.
The other two pieces on the program are Capriccio Italien and Suite No. 4 "Mozartiana". The latter contains one of the biggest Concertmaster solos in the repertoire. Jun-ching Lin, who is one of the several violinists that are being brought in throughout the course of the season to be considered for the open Concertmaster position, will play the solo. Capriccio Italien, which opens the program, was written while the composer was visiting Rome in 1880. It incorporates Italian folk song as well as a military bugle call. During his visit, Tchaikovsky stayed in a hotel that was very close to an army barracks, and he heard military bugle calls each night through his window.
I sincerely hope that you all will enjoy listening to this concert as much as we will enjoy performing it!
It is a great pleasure for me to be conducting the All-Tchaikovsky concerts for The Phoenix Symphony "Favorites" series. Tchaikovsky is indeed an audience favorite, but also a favorite of mine. Further, among all of his great works, the Fifth Symphony ranks right at the top. It is full of passion, angst and excitement and is a real treat to perform. The second movement features what is one of the biggest horn solos in the entire orchestral literature. I am really looking forward to hearing Gabe Kovach’s performance of that solo.The other two pieces on the program are Capriccio Italien and Suite No. 4 "Mozartiana". The latter contains one of the biggest Concertmaster solos in the repertoire. Jun-ching Lin, who is one of the several violinists that are being brought in throughout the course of the season to be considered for the open Concertmaster position, will play the solo. Capriccio Italien, which opens the program, was written while the composer was visiting Rome in 1880. It incorporates Italian folk song as well as a military bugle call. During his visit, Tchaikovsky stayed in a hotel that was very close to an army barracks, and he heard military bugle calls each night through his window.
I sincerely hope that you all will enjoy listening to this concert as much as we will enjoy performing it!
5 Comments:
"Against the Grain" here again for comment....
I attended the "All Tchaikovsky" concert in Scottsdale on Thursday night. I've been a subscriber to the Scottsdale series for a number of years now. It has always been an enjoyable experience...until last night. Nothing against the PSO, the performance was fine. But our new seats are with some really rude people!
Blowing noses during the performance, whispering, and worst of all, horrible smells wafting about.
It's really hard to enjoy the music when in immediate danger of barfing from the smell of the person next to you.
I realize that everyone has bodily emergencies from time to time, but please, excuse yourself from the auditorium! It is only a temporary disruption that is soon forgotten. Smells that linger, or prolonged and repeated nose blowing is far more annoying.
Just remember that your neighbors around you paid good money to enjoy the PSO, not what you had for dinner.
Thanks,
ATG
Bravo Maestro GOLAN!
You had total control over the band on Sunday afternoon in the acoustically superior Ikeda Theatre. You balanced the sections to allow rarely heard gems to float out. Especially in the Tchaikovsky Fifth, you gave it a fresh spin without even using a score with notes. Presto the Cat, who's played the Fifth with the best of them, was astonished at things she had never noticed before.
One question though: Was Gabe's horn solo in the 2nd movement intentionall played so softly without any bravura? I actually thought it fit in with your interpretation of the symphony as a whole. Also, was the reduced string section by choice or necessity? It was fine in Mesa's auditorium.
I am looking forward to seeing Maestro Golan conduct more classic giants like the Brahms Fourth next weekend and the Dvorak Ninth in January.
By the way, there were no annoying smells on Sunday. The Ikeda Theatre was, shamefully, empty though. How can you afford to continue this series?
I agree with Sonny! The horn player was exceptional! Good you see Sonny and Presto at the concert.
T*Pet Cat
I thoroughly enjoyed the Tchaik concert! His 5th symphony has been one of my favorites for a long time now and the Phoenix Symphony gave a refreshing new TASTEFUL interpretation. I'd like to congratulate Gabe on his wonderful solo during the second movement! You have SO much control of your instrument. I'd also like to congratulate Alex Laing on his wonderful clarinet cadenza in the Mozartiana, amazing! The violin solo was interesting.......
Maestro Golan. I see that you will be releasing your 3rd orchestral CD soon:
Peter Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony (“Pathétique”) and contemporary American composer Peter Boyer's "Tchaikovsky 6.1" that you premiered with the Lamont Symphony Orchestra at the University of Denver in May 2007.
What an interesting commission! Having the composer write a movement that begins with Tchaikovsky's music which slowly dies away and "eventually close with more optimistic music which might suggest a resurrection."
I hope that Maestro Golan will play for us this intriguing combination in one of the Phoenix Symphony Classics concerts next season. I've noticed that Golan has championed Boyer, evidenced by last Memorial Day's "Ellis Island" and this season's "The Phoenix" and "Celebration Overture." Boyer's music is very accessible and optimistic.
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