91̽��

Orchestra 2019 Concert

From the majestic Olympic Fanfare and Theme by the renowned John Williams to Beethoven’s dancelike Symphony No.7, this vivacious program showcased the 91̽�� wind ensemble, Chamber Strings, and Orchestra.

The opening fanfare performed by the 91̽�� Wind Ensemble was starkly contrasted with the powerfully moving Adagio in G minor by Albinoni (arr. Giazotto) played by the chamber strings featuring Prof. Janet Shulman as soloist.

Infectiously rhythmic, Tico Tico is a Brazilian choro (an instrumental popular music piece) written by Zequinha Abreu. It is, in a word, catchy. Its attraction can be measured by the countless arrangements for various ensembles including the orchestral arrangement by Clif Clonot which was performed.

In anticipation of Beethoven’s 250th year, this program ended with his effusive Symphony No. 7. In 1813 the work premiered, conducted by Beethoven, in a concert benefitting Austrian and Bavarian soldiers wounded during the Napoleonic wars. It is strikingly optimistic displaying the composer’s fierce positivity even after becoming deaf. Dark and brooding, the second movement’s sobriety contrasts the rest of the work, perhaps hinting to upheaval of the Napoleonic wars surrounding the symphony’s origin. The dizzying speed of the third movement and the dramatic harmonics of the final movement bring this work to a triumphant end.