Program Notes – Imperial Symphony Orchestra

Concert Program – October 13, 2020

Concert Program – October 13, 2020

October 13, 2020The Anne Jenkins Memorial Concert Series welcomes you to opening night of the Imperial Symphony Orchestra's 55th season! Tonight, the ISO's string octet (plus one bass) will perform Mendelssohn's Octet for Strings in E flat major, Op. 20 and Mozart's Eine kleine Nachtmusik.This performance was originally planned as Schubert's Octet, which was composed for five strings and three winds. Because research on aerosols and wind instruments is still in process, and out of an abundance of caution, the musicians and Maestro Thielen are proud to share

Amy Wiggins2020-09-29T16:02:55-04:00October 1, 2020|

A Little Bit About Music with Amy: Rodeo

A Little Bit About Music with Amy: Rodeo

A (VERY) Little Bit About Music with Amy: Rodeo This week of spring break, I've been focusing on preparing for the upcoming Cookie Concert. I know the music that's on the program, and I know that it makes me think of cowboys, trail rides and wide open spaces. What I didn't know was WHY the music was composed to begin with. So, naturally, I figured we'd learn together. Aaron Copland is a familiar American composer - even if you're not sure of the name. If you've seen the

Amy Wiggins2019-10-13T20:59:11-04:00March 29, 2019|

Masterworks#4 (Pines of Rome) Program Notes

Masterworks#4 (Pines of Rome) Program Notes

Masterworks #4 (Pines of Rome) Program Notes Learn more about the ISO's performance on April 11, 2017, including how to purchase tickets. Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) Overture to Nabucco Giuseppe Verdi achieved astounding success as a musical dramatist with his ability to capture in music the psychological depth of his characters. He was the king of Italian opera through much of the nineteenth century and premiered works in all the major cities of Italy, as well as in Paris, St. Petersburg and Cairo. So

Amy Wiggins2019-10-13T20:59:13-04:00March 9, 2017|

Masterworks #3 (Romantic Symphony) Program Notes

Masterworks #3 (Romantic Symphony) Program Notes

Masterworks #3 (Romantic Symphony) Program Notes Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) Sleeping Beauty Suite, Op. 66a Tchaikovsky’s first ballet, Swan Lake (1877) was a revolutionary work. Its intensely dramatic score was so demanding for choreographer, dancers and orchestra that from its premiere, music from other composers was increasingly substituted for Tchaikovsky’s original score. The ballet itself was dropped from the repertoire after 1883 and was only revived in 1895, two years after the composer’s death, and even then in modified form. By 1888, with

Amy Wiggins2019-10-13T20:59:13-04:00January 17, 2017|

Masterworks #1 (New World Symphony) Program Notes

Masterworks #1 (New World Symphony) Program Notes

Masterworks #1 (New World Symphony) Program Notes Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868) Overture to The Barber of Seville It is hard to understand today why the premiere of The Barber of Seville in Rome in February 1816 was such an unmitigated disaster. True, the overture we know today was not at the time part of the opera, and another opera called The Barber of Seville, by the aging Giovanni Paisiello, although dated, was considered a classic in Italy. But the simple ebullience and mischievousness of

Amy Wiggins2019-10-13T20:59:14-04:00September 15, 2016|