Worlds collide as Johann Sebastian Bach of 18th-century Germany meets Heitor Villa-Lobos of 20th-century Brazil! The Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 of Bach is an exuberant classic that will transport you back in time, while the Bachianas Brasileiras pay homage to the Baroque master with contemporary, Brazilian flair. In addition, NMPhil Principal Violist Laura Chang will also take on one of Bach’s most brilliant works.
With its unmistakable sound, the harpsichord dominated music from 18th-century parlors to the music of the Beatles. But the instrument arguably never had a better friend than J.S. Bach. Hear two of the master’s concertos for harpsichord and the harpsichord-laden Fifth Brandenburg Concerto. Father Seán Duggan, a monk and a specialist in Bach’s keyboard repertoire, serves as soloist.
Beethoven wrote his pastoral symphony at the same time as the much-more dramatic Fifth Symphony. A nature lover at heart, his Sixth Symphony is rooted in the outdoors, including capturing birdsong in the score, and is one of only a few works of Beethoven’s that could be considered program music.
Among his most beloved works, Mozart’s “Gran Partita” is a cornerstone of works written primarily for woodwinds and brass. Aside from its high standing with audiences, the work is also notable for featuring the basset horn, a member of the clarinet family but pitched a perfect fourth lower than a clarinet, which was a favorite instrument of Mozart’s. Felix Mendelssohn and Richard Strauss would later foster a brief revival for this rare instrument. The Brass will bring festive sounds just in time for the holidays.
A serenade can be defined as a musical work to be performed outdoors on a beautiful evening. Antonín Dvořák helped define the genre with his five-movement serenade from 1875. Hear this work along with Osvaldo Golijov’s tango-flavored Last Round.
“Tosca in Concert” is the New Mexico Philharmonic’s salute to Giacomo Puccini, commemorating 100 years since his death. Like the operatic presentation, the dramatic nature of Tosca in this concert performance will fascinate audiences as it has since its premiere. Renowned soprano Carmen Giannattasio will perform the role of Tosca and Brazilian baritone Leonardo Neiva will play Scarpia.
Olga Kern is back, this time performing Sergei Rachmaninoff’s most technically challenging concerto, one made famous by Vladimir Horowitz. This will be but the latest of Olga’s visits to New Mexico, each one building upon the last. The symphonies of Anton Bruckner, including the fourth, performed here, were also built one upon the other. His Symphony No. 4 is known for both the extensive revisions it received by the composer as well as its powerful finale.
“Melody is the essence of music,” Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart said. “I compare a good melodist to a fine racer, and counterpointists to hack post-horses.” Perhaps no instrument conveys melody quite like the human voice. Join us for this program of music featuring the Coro Lux Oratorio Society choir and soloists in Mozart’s Requiem as well as Rimsky-Korsakov’s mythical tribute to the rivalry between Mozart and Antonio Salieri.
The prodigious violinist Midori returns to New Mexico with your NMPhil in the shimmering genius of the Violin Concerto of Felix Mendelssohn. Also on the program is the exquisite Fifth Symphony of Dimitri Shostakovich, echoing the times of war and despair of World War II. The premiere in November 1937 was a “triumphal success” that appealed to both the public and “official” Soviet critics, receiving an ovation that lasted well over half an hour.
Originally a movement of a string quartet, Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings was later rewritten for orchestra at the request of Arturo Toscanini. Both moving and mournful, it has become synonymous with memorializing that which has gone on, and was used at the funerals of Frankin Roosevelt and Leonard Bernstein. This program of mostly American music also features two beloved works of Aaron Copland and Beethoven’s brilliant Piano Concerto No. 4, performed by the dazzling Michelle Cann.
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