12:30 Friday, March 1st, 2013
Paul Davenport Theatre
Overture from "Die Fledermaus" -J. Strauss (1825-1899)
The Sorcerer's Apprentice -P. Dukas (1865-1935)
Danse Macabre -C. Saint-Saens (1835-1921)
Excerpts from "Romeo and Juliet" -S.Prokofiev (1891-1953)
Menuet
Juliet
Montagues and Capulets
Rhapsody in Blue -G. Gershwin (1898-1937)
DAnce of the Demon -E. Holst (1843-1899)
Die Fledermaus is the most famous of Johann Strauss's operettas, and tells a comic story of revelry, intrigue, and light-hearted revenge. Many of the themes in the overture are tunes from the opera, especially the Viennese waltz.
The Sorcerer's Apprentice has been made popular by the Fantasia adaptation starring Mickey Mouse, but Paul Dukas based his symphonic rendition on a poem by Goethe. In the poem, a young apprentice sorcerer enchants a broom to fetch water for him. But he doesn't know how to stop the broom once its task is complete, and attempts to chop it up with the axe, but that only makes two enchanted brooms. In the end, the apprentice's master returns and fixes the problem.
Danse Macabre is a tale for Hallowe'en; it is said that every year, Death plays his fiddle for the dead to dance to. They dance wildly until dawn, when the rooster's cry sends them scuttling back to their graves.
The classic tale of Romeo and Juliet is of course by Shakespeare, but the ballet by Prokofiev has become a classic of its own. The Menuet keeps everyone off-balance, Juliet's delicate dance is reckless with its delight, though she sinks into sleep at its close, while the dance of the Montagues and Capulets is a heavy, pride-filled dance full of arrogance.
Rhapsody in Blue, originally titled An Experiment in Modern Music, is a purely American fusion of jazz and classical music, written for a concert to make classical music more accessible to jazz-crazy audiences. It was orchestrated several times by Ferde Grofé, including the most familiar version, although Gershwin only wrote out the piano part after the premiere. Gershwin's inspiration for the piece came from sitting on the train to Boston.
Dance of the Demon, a 'Grand Galop de Concert', is by Eduard Holst, a Danish composer. The original is for solo piano. This is a silly and showy piece, especially in this arrangement for six pianos.
Denise Jung
Six pianos, six
players, one stage – all at one time!
Are you looking for a concert experience out of the
ordinary? Don’t miss the chance to hear the one and only performance of the 6
pianos ensemble! This group was founded last year by the 6 master students of
John Hess’ collaborative piano studio. Denise Jung, Talisa Blackman, Jennifer
Mitchell, Jieyin Li, Éric Charbonneau and Marie-Michelle Raby are performing
symphonic works arranged for 6 pianos.
How often can you hear in the same concert
Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, Dukas’ Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Strauss’ Overture
from Die Fledermaus and more! The repertoire includes pieces by Prokofiev,
Holst, Saint-Saëns, Dukas, Strauss and Gershwin.
Don’t miss this unforgettable musical experience in
the Paul Davenport Theatre on Friday March 1st at 12:30 p.m.
Admission is free.
