‘Strange harmony of contrasts, thus deliciously blending ………’. ‘Art, too, with its many mysteries, blends all together ……..’.
So sang the painter Cavaradossi in Act 1 of the opera Tosca, as he worked on a portrait of the Madonna for the Church in which he was painting. His words could well be used to describe our Music Appreciation sessions where one aim is to provide compositions from a variety of musical periods whilst blending them into a single programme of harmonious enjoyment.
This was especially the case in the presentation of our April Programmes. The elegance and expressiveness of Baroque music encapsulated in Guiseppe Sammartini’s Concerto in F for Recorder, contrasted with the “iron man” nature of Shostakovich’s 1st Violin Concerto (composed 1947) which calls on everything in the violinists’ technical arsenal, as well as vast physical and emotional stamina; and Friedrich Gulda’s Cello Concerto – a five movement work which transported us through blues-rock, Austrian folk dance, free improvisation, a courtly minuet, and a finale of bawdy polka.
Then there was Gustav Mahler’s 1st Symphony -composed in 1888 - in which Mahler portrays how life is basically good, but comes with a mixture of sorrow and irony, the grotesque and the sublime, tragedy and humour. For Mahler life was often a challenge in overcoming the disappointments and tragedies that are thrown at you.
The strange harmony of contrast was the youthfulness and lightness of Mozart’s 3rd Violin concerto which he composed in 1775 at only nineteen years of age. Aristocratic, suave, witty, wonderfully melodious, this and Mozart’s other four concertos for violin are dazzling gems that that can be truly mastered only by the very best violinists. Mozart intentionally composed them this way to highlight the technical skills of the soloist.
More detail can be found by accessing the links below to the session notes and videos of the recordings played.
Session Notes 10th April
Sammartini - Recorder Concerto in F
Shostakovich - Violin Concerto No.1
Gulda - Cello Concerto
Session Notes 24th April
Mahler Symphony No.1
So sang the painter Cavaradossi in Act 1 of the opera Tosca, as he worked on a portrait of the Madonna for the Church in which he was painting. His words could well be used to describe our Music Appreciation sessions where one aim is to provide compositions from a variety of musical periods whilst blending them into a single programme of harmonious enjoyment.
This was especially the case in the presentation of our April Programmes. The elegance and expressiveness of Baroque music encapsulated in Guiseppe Sammartini’s Concerto in F for Recorder, contrasted with the “iron man” nature of Shostakovich’s 1st Violin Concerto (composed 1947) which calls on everything in the violinists’ technical arsenal, as well as vast physical and emotional stamina; and Friedrich Gulda’s Cello Concerto – a five movement work which transported us through blues-rock, Austrian folk dance, free improvisation, a courtly minuet, and a finale of bawdy polka.
Then there was Gustav Mahler’s 1st Symphony -composed in 1888 - in which Mahler portrays how life is basically good, but comes with a mixture of sorrow and irony, the grotesque and the sublime, tragedy and humour. For Mahler life was often a challenge in overcoming the disappointments and tragedies that are thrown at you.
The strange harmony of contrast was the youthfulness and lightness of Mozart’s 3rd Violin concerto which he composed in 1775 at only nineteen years of age. Aristocratic, suave, witty, wonderfully melodious, this and Mozart’s other four concertos for violin are dazzling gems that that can be truly mastered only by the very best violinists. Mozart intentionally composed them this way to highlight the technical skills of the soloist.
More detail can be found by accessing the links below to the session notes and videos of the recordings played.
Session Notes 10th April
Sammartini - Recorder Concerto in F
Shostakovich - Violin Concerto No.1
Gulda - Cello Concerto
Session Notes 24th April
Mahler Symphony No.1
and
Mozart - Violin Concerto No.3
Bill Squire
Mozart - Violin Concerto No.3
Bill Squire
