This year’s Valentine program, under the baton of Maestro Michael Neumann, features Rodrigo’s “Fantasia para un gentilhombre” with guitarist Larry Ferrara; Tchaikovsky’s “Serenade for Strings”; Verdi’s Triumphal March from “Aida”; Dvorak’s “Slavonic Dance No. 2”; Meyerbeer’s “Coronation March”; Rodgers’ “Carousel Waltz”; and songs of romance performed by tenor Robert Vann.
Joaquin Rodrigo composed Fantasia para un Gentilhombre (Fantasia for a Gentleman) in 1954 at the request of guitarist Andres Segovia. Segovia played the guitar solo in the work’s premier in San Francisco in 1958. The music is based on six dances for solo guitar composed by Gaspar Sanz in the 17th century.
Peter Tchaikovsky wrote his Serenade for Strings in homage to Wolfgang Mozart, the greatest composer of classical serenades. The four movements include a graceful waltz, a somber “Elegie” and a folk-based “Russian theme.” Tchaikovsky wrote the piece in 1880 “on impulse,” he later said.
The Triumphal March from Guiseppe Verdi’s opera Aida boldly depicts the return of the Egyptian army following a victory over the Ethiopians. Verdi wrote Aida in 1871 and it premiered in Cairo in December of that year.
Antonin Dvorak’s Slavonic Dance Op. 46, No. 2, written in 1878, brought the composer his first success. The piece was so popular he was asked to write another in 1886. The music is characterized as lively and nationalistic.
Giacoma Meyerbeer composed his French opera Le prophete (The Prophet) in 1849 to tremendous success across Europe. The rousing “Coronation March” in Act 4 precedes the crowing of a king. The opera was first performed in Paris in 1849.
Richard Rodgers wrote the romantic "Carousel Waltz" for the Broadway musical Carousel in 1945. The play, the second by the team of Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, opened on Broadway to rave reviews and won several important awards. Time magazine named Carousel the best musical of the 20th century.
Sacramento tenor Robert Vann, a UC Davis grad and the programs manager for the Sacramento Youth Symphony, will perform a selection of romantic songs.
You can buy tickets for Romance! on the symphony’s website, folsomsymphony.com (“Tickets” in the top bar), by calling 916-608-6888 or at the Harris Center/Three Stages ticket office at the theater on the Folsom Lake College campus, 10 College Parkway, Folsom.
Blog Post information and picture courtesy of Harris Center for the Arts.
Visit Real Weddings Magazine * Visit Style Media Group * Contact Style Media Group * Visit 2 Clicks To Save
Looking for local area businesses or a new restaurant or eatery to try?
Look no further than the Style Magazines Resource Guides!
Posts
