Northwest Symphony Orchestra presents 'country scenes' concert
The Northwest Symphony Orchestra will present its first concert of its 65th season at 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 20, at the Forest View Education Center in Arlington Heights. The concert, titled "Country Scenes," features works that evoke vivid images of pastoral life.
The word "country" is also significant in that the concert includes works from four different European countries, and each piece carries the color and flavor of its national origin.
Edvard Grieg used music to portray the stories and landscape of his native Norway. His concert overture "In Autumn" is a rarely-performed gem that evokes autumn sun, storms, and harvest, ending with a musical painting of the glorious colors of the season.
French composer Paul Dukas is known almost solely for his concert piece "The Sorcerer's Apprentice." Dukas was a music critic as well as a composer, and the tragic irony of this dichotomy is that he reserved his harshest criticism for his own works, ultimately destroying most of them.
The few that survive include his "Villanelle for Horn and Orchestra," a piece that displays the playful quality of the better-known work, along with the rich sonorities of the French horn and the accompanying full orchestra. The soloist for this performance of the "Villanelle" will be Charles Sernatinger, the principal French horn player.
Czech composer Bedrich Smetana, hailed as a national hero in his native country, was inspired by both the folk tunes and the scenic beauty of central Europe. "The Moldau" is referred to as the Czech national river, and the piece that bears its name has throughout a fluid accompaniment that represents the river on its journey, while colorful melodies illustrate the landscape through which it travels.
Austrian composer Franz Schubert's "Unfinished" Symphony has been the subject of a great deal of musicological speculation: Why was it left unfinished when the composer set it aside a full six years before his tragically-early death? Perhaps the best explanation is that Schubert, composer of so very many melodies, could think of no music that equaled the perfection of the two completed movements. The "Unfinished" remains, by universal acclaim, among the greatest works in the classical repertoire.
The concert at 2121 S. Goebbert Road is being held in partnership with the Northwest Suburban High School District 214 Community Education Program. A commentary by Maestra Kim Diehnelt precedes the concert at 2:45 p.m.
Season tickets for the four-concert series are $600, $45 for seniors, and $30 for students. Individual concert tickets are $20, $15 for seniors, and $10 for students. Children younger than 14 are admitted free when accompanied by a paying adult.
Tickets will be available at the door on concert days, or they may be purchased in advance at www.northwestsymphony.org or the Forest View box office, (847) 718-7702, open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday.
For details, call (847) 965-7271.