Rossini ...             William Tell Overture

Gioachimo Rossini's William Tell Overture is the instrumental introduction to his opera by the same name. It has been made popular as the theme song to the Lone Ranger radio and TV shows and by Shostakovich in his 15th  symphony. Its depictions of a storm, a pastoral scene, and heroic riders are now the definitive musical metaphors.

Chaconne St. David is a composition by York Symphony Music Director Gregory Burton. The work is inspired by a special, very personal place in the village of St. David in western Newfoundland, and attempts to depict the calm, serene, but at times lonely place.

The orchestral scoring and musical development of Reinhold Glière's 1938 Harp Concerto comes straight from the earlier Russian romantic school of Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov. Melodies and harmonies are straight-forward. The harp greets the listener making the first musical statement with rolling chords and sweeping scales.

 Antonín Dvořák's    cheery Eighth Symphony marks a departure from the dramatic and tragic character of much Romantic music of the 19th century.  It is built on simple folk-like melodies which are heard throughout combining a bright optimism with a dark sense of melancholy.

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's   brilliant Capriccio Espagnol  with its Spanish danse themes of danse character is characterized by changes of orchestral colour, melodic design, virtuoso cadenzas and above all the rhythm of the percussion instruments.

Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings is a staple of the string orchestra repertoire. The work, infused with feelings of sadness and melancholy, is one of the most moving pieces of the Twentieth century. It has appeared on television and film soundtracks. It was played at the funeral of Franklin D. Roosevelt and in a ceremony at the World Trade Center to commemorate the victims of the September 11.

Carl Phillip Emanuel Bach's  Flute Concerto in D Minor, with its outstanding melodic opening movement, has been performed by the greatest flautists worldwide. The work embodies a sensitive and highly subjective style that surprises with unexpected sudden shifts in dynamics, new rhythmic patterns, and unexpected modulations.

Paul Hindemith's 1943 Symphonic Metamorphoses of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber, takes melodies from various Weber compositions and adapts them to his own sensibility. Symphonic Metamorphosis is spontaneous, concise, brilliantly orchestrated, and above all exciting.

Modest Mussorgsky's A Night on the Bare Mountain or, to give its proper title, Saint John's Night on the Bare Mountain, was inspired by a scene of a witches' sabbath. Mussorgsky writes: "it is, in form and character, Russian and original; and in keeping Russian folk tradition — otherwise it would not be good enough. I wrote it quickly, straight away in full score without preliminary rough drafts, in twelve days. It seethed within me, and I worked day and night, hardly knowing what was happening within me. And now I see in my wicked prank an independent Russian product, free from German profundity and routine, and, like my Savishna, grown on our country's soil and nurtured on Russian bread."

Beethoven ....      Symphony # 1

Beethoven ....           Piano Concerto # 4

Ludwig van Beethoven's First Symphony, although greatly influenced by Mozart and Haydn, is innovative for its time and shows Beethoven as a composer with developing ideas that achieve high drama and intensity.

The Fourth Piano Concerto is characterized by its gently spoken, poetic, and seemingly improvisatory nature. This is in contrast to the brilliance of the 3 earlier concerti and the grandeur of the fifth, the  Emperor

The Fifth Symphony of Jean Sibelius is an example of the logic, the concentration and relation of harmonic structure he felt every piece of music should possess. The work is known for the swinging figure in octaves and ninths  of the final movement which was inspired by the sight of a flock of flying swans, which Sibelius described in a sketchbook as : "One of my greatest experiences! Lord God, that beauty! ...

Dvořák...         Scherzo Capriccioso

Borodin ....   In the Steppes of Central Asia

Guest Artist  Joanna Tang,  Violin

Dvořák's Scherzo capriccioso like the Symphony No. 8 evolved out of Dvořák's deep appreciation of the Czech folk music. The French horns sound a call at the beginning of the work which soon becomes a joyous dance followed by a lilting waltz.  This is bright, pleasant music.

The Violin Concerto of Sibelius is symphonic in concept, romantic in spirit, rhapsodic in nature, and a brilliant soloistic concerto. Its character rhapsodic, lyrical, extremely rhythmic, tender but with gritty dissonances.  There are passionate melodies and stunning virtuosic challenges set against dark nostalgic orchestral colors.

Alexander Borodin’s symphonic poem In the Steppes of Central Asia is a beguiling, exotic soundscape which evokes the silence of the vast Asian plains and their crossing by colorful caravans such as those that traversed the legendary Silk Road. Borodin's own program notes read: "Over the uniform sandy Steppes of Central Asia come the unwonted sounds of a peaceful Russian song. From the distance are heard the stamping of horses and camels and the peculiar sound of an Oriental melody. A native caravan draws near. It pursues its way, safe and free from care, through the boundless desert under the protection of Russian arms. It moves farther and farther off. The song of the Russians and the melody of the Asiatics combine to form a common harmony, the echo is gradually lost in the air of the Steppe."

Symphony # 2  with its vividly rugged harmonies, deft orchestration, is filled with energetic, passionate Russian folk melodies.   The character of the symphony is patriotic expressing Borodin's sincere admiration for the fortitude and spiritual integrity of the legendary heroes who saved Russia from enemies and laid the foundation for future development. Borodin felt an instinctive affinity with this long-vanished epoch of Russian history

Guest Artist
Andrea Botticelli, Piano