Alma Symphony Orchestra Performs Classical Favorites
Classical music is more than entertainment, says Takeshi Abo, the Alma Symphony Orchestra concertmaster and featured soloist.
"It's exciting music, it's relaxing music — you hear life in it," says
Abo. "And with a well-written piece, the more you listen, the
more you hear in the piece."
The Alma Symphony Orchestra returns to the stage to perform Beethoven's
Violin Concerto at 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 18 and 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 19
in the Remick Heritage Center at Alma College. Tickets are $10
for adults and free for Alma College students and youth 18 and
under. Call (989) 463-7304 for ticket information.
In addition to Beethoven's Violin Concerto, the Alma Symphony Orchestra
will present an overture by Rossini and a serenade by Dvorak.
"Unlike some of our concerts with newer pieces on the program, this
concert features three of our old favorites," says Murray Gross,
director of the Alma Symphony Orchestra.
The concert opens with a lighthearted overture from The Italian in Algiers,
an eastern-inspired opera composed by Rossini in 1813. "Serenade
for Winds" was written in only two weeks in 1878 by Dvorak and is "a
lovely piece that's a bit unusual because it doesn't use the entire
orchestra but just a handful of winds and strings," says Gross.
The second half of the concert will feature Beethoven's Violin Concerto
in D-Major, with Abo featured on the violin. A failure at its premiere
in 1806, the piece is now considered a well-known masterpiece.
"It's one of the greatest violin concertos ever written," says Gross. "It's a very noble, majestic piece."
Abo, the College's violin instructor, has been performing with the
Orchestra since 1996 in addition to many other ensembles throughout the
state. He performed Beethoven's Violin Concerto this past year as
a featured soloist with the Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra.
"It's a great piece, but it's challenging in terms of musicality," says
Abo. "I want to play what's behind the surface of what we hear,
the deeper music."
The concert is sponsored in part by The Loraine and Melinese Reuter Foundation, through the Comerica Charitable Services Group.
Posted: Wed, November 8th, 2006 at 8:12AM
