Symphony Season Opening a Blaze of Musical Color

Sep 16, 2009

For Immediate Release

Contact: Annie Matlow 464-7071

SPOKANE—The Spokane Symphony’s Classics Series will open with Electrifying Colors, showcasing virtuoso French pianist Pascal Rogé and an unforgettable night of extraordinary music. Under the direction of Music Director Eckart Preu, the Spokane Symphony will perform Ravel’s Bolero, Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade at the Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 27, 2009, at 3 p.m.

The Second Annual Opening Night Gala will be held at the Spokane Club before the Saturday, Sept. 26 performance, starting with a Champagne reception at 5 p.m. A limited number of tickets to this fundraising event for the Spokane Symphony are available by calling Carrie Ingham at 464-7077 or on the Symphony website (http://www.spokanesymphony.org/86,secondannualopeningnightgala). The website also details the menu and selected auction items.

New for this season, the Spokane Symphony website will have wonderful, interactive concert notes for each of the concerts in the Classics series. These notes will include audio clips from the music and a pop-up glossary of musical terms to enhance your understanding and enjoyment of the concerts. Notes for Classics 1: Electrifying Colors can be accessed at http://www.spokanesymphony.org/notes/classics1.htm

The concert will begin with the mesmerizing rhythms and colors of Maurice Ravel’s Bolero, undoubtedly one of the great masterpieces of French music.  While Ravel claimed the piece “had no music in it,” it has enjoyed enduring popularity, and been recorded in many musical styles from classical to jazz to rock. The composition consists of the simple melody played repeatedly over the pulsing rhythm of a snare drum, with all development provided by the gradually crescendo of the orchestra.

The orchestra will then perform George Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F, which was commissioned by the New York Symphony after the premiere of Rhapsody in Blue. It is a perfect blend of the classical concerto form with the rhythms and melodies of blues and jazz. The composition not only showcases Gershwin’s gift for melody and his intuitive feel for dramatic pacing, but reveals his innate musical genius – this was the first music he orchestrated, with no training beyond what he read on his own.

The piano concerto will be performed by Pascal Rogé, a third generation musician who has been called “an ambassador of French music.” His career as a concert pianist, which began when he was only 18, has taken him around the world in over 20 tours. He is know for his sensitive and personal interpretations of twentieth century French composers – Ravel, Poulenc and Satie – but he is equally proficient with a wide repertoire, including music of the great German masters – Haydn, Mozart, Brahms and Beethoven. His style has been recognized for its decidedly French elegance, and his faultless musicianship, making him a favorite with conductors and audiences alike.

The concert will conclude with Scheherazade, Rimsky-Korsakov’s oriental fantasy. Considered by many to be his most popular work, Scheheazade is a masterful blend of colorful orchestration and musical themes evocative of the East. Although based on The Book of One Thousand and One Nights, the four movements are designed to evoke to mood of the tales, rather than recount specific stories. However, Rimsky-Korsakov did preface the piece with  this brief introduction to the story: “The Sultan Schariar, convinced that all women are false and faithless, vowed to put to death each of his wives after the first nuptial night. But the Sultana Scheherazade saved her life by entertaining her lord with fascinating tales, told seriatim, for a thousand and one nights. The Sultan, consumed with curiosity, postponed from day to day the execution of his wife, and finally repudiated his bloody vow entirely.”

Tickets for either performance are $22, $32, $40, and $44. Tickets are available in advance at the Spokane Symphony Ticket Office, located at the Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox, 1001 W. Sprague, or by calling 509-624-1200. Tickets may also be purchased online at www.spokanesymphony.org Tickets are also available at all TicketsWest outlets or by calling 1-800-325-SEAT.

Sterling Savings Bank is the underwriter for this concert.

CALENDAR LISTING:

Electrifying Colors Classics Concert; Eckart Preu conducts the Spokane Symphony; Pascal Rogé, piano; Sept. 26 at 8:00 p.m. and Sept. 27 at 3:00 p.m. in the Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox. Tickets are $22 to $44; call the Spokane Symphony Ticket Office at (509) 624-1200 or in person at the Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox, 1001 W. Sprague; tickets are also available at www.spokanesymphony.org and through all TicketsWest outlets or by calling 1-800-325-SEAT.