|
|
             |
|
|
|
 |
with violinist Rebecca Stern Conductor, Dr. Daniel Stern April 29 $12 - $15 adult;
$8 - $11 student Boise Baroque with Conductor Dan Stern will present a program featuring guest artist Rebecca Stern, violinist. She is the daughter of the conductor and active in music performances in Texas. She was a featured soloist two years ago in the Vitali “Chaconne” for strings and organ and received a rousing standing ovation. The selections include: Chevalier St. George: Violin Concerto in A Major On the program is an intriguing Violin Concerto written by one of the most important musicians in Paris in the latter part of the 1700’s. Chevalier de Saint-George was born to a former slave and a wealthy plantation owner and became one of the earliest known black musicians of the Classical style. Raised in France and given a privileged education, Saint-George became famous both for his virtuosic violin playing and for his remarkable swordsmanship. Indeed, he is most often pictured holding not a baton or violin, but a sword. Like many musicians, Saint-George’s career was one of highs and lows. This was intensified by his mixed heritage and the racial prejudices of his time. In 1771, Saint-George was appointed maestro of the biggest orchestra of his time, the Concert de la Loge Olympique, and led them in playing the world premier of six symphonies by Hayden commissioned especially for the orchestra. Marie-Antoinette was among his patrons. He enjoyed tremendous popularity during this time. However, not all Parisians accepted Saint-George. He was forced to register under the racist Code Noir laws and the prevailing racial attitudes prevented him from marrying at his social level. Additionally, his appointment to direct the Royal Opera of Louis XVI was blocked by three divas who insisted it would injure their reputations to sing on stage under the direction of a “mulatto.” His career was further hampered by the approaching French Revolution. Like many who were linked with the aristocracy, he was denounced for his associations with the royal court and jailed for nearly a year. When the fury of the revolution died down, he again returned to conducting but never regained the luxurious lifestyle he once enjoyed. Remarkable in many ways, Saint-George left behind a body of works including concertos for violin and orchestra, quartets, sonatas, songs, and at least five operas. The Boise Baroque will perform his Violin Concerto in A Major. Tommaso Antonio Vitali spent his professional career, and indeed his life, as a musician at the d’Este Court in Modena. His father, famous cellist and composer Giovanni Battista, was appointed to the court in 1675 and twelve-year-old Tommaso followed. He began as a violinist and eventually became the conductor, only leaving his position in 1742, three years before his death. Vitali’s surviving works are entirely instrumental. He is probably best known for a piece he probably did not compose, Chaconne in G minor for violin and continuo. It was later shown to be written in a different hand. A chaconne is a type of musical composition based on variations of a short, repeated harmonic progression, generally with a repetitive bass-line. Telemann: Overture in C Major (Water Music) for Strings, 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, Bassoon and Continuo Unlike some children who study music at the request of their mothers, Telemann had to pursue his love of music in secret. His first opera at age 12 was a distress to his strict mother who disapproved of music and would have preferred her son carry on the family’s religious tradition. Eventually his talent could not be constrained and he enjoyed a prolific musical career. He produced 1043 church cantatas and 46 settings of the Passion. Telemann estimated himself that he had composed six-hundred orchestral suites, only about a quarter which have survived. Handel joked that Telemann “could write a church piece in eight parts with the same expedition another would write a letter.” Telemann was known for his rise to wealth and power as the most famous composer in Germany of his day, and for his sense of humor, self-confidence, and relentless productivity. Telamann’s Overture in C Major is subtitled “Water Music” or “Hamburg’s Tides.” This composition celebrated the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Hamburg Admirality on April 6, 1723. Unlike Handel’s Water Music, Telemann’s composition saluted the water from the safety of dry land. As part of the festivities, ships fired their cannons and flew pennants. Listen for the pompous French-style overture which a contemporary newspaper described as “first the stillness and gentle waves, and then the tumult of the sea.” Following the overture are several short dance movements which contain allusions to water-oriented figures from Greek Mythology including Thetis, Neptune, Triton, Aeolus, and Zephyr.
|
 |
|
Caldwell
Fine Arts l 2112 Cleveland Blvd. l Caldwell, ID 83605 l cfa@collegeofidaho.edu Copyright 2003 Caldwell Fine Arts |
