RPO Announces Arild Remmereit’s Inaugural Symphony 101 Season
This special series engages audiences by telling the stories behind the music, taking a more in-depth look at the lives of the composers and what was happening in the world when these pieces were written. For Remmereit’s inaugural season as Music Director, he has chosen to further explore the themes from his innovative Philharmonics Series – the relationship between music and dance, the works of Beethoven, connections with the Eastman School of Music, and music from his three musical homes: Vienna, Norway, and the United States.
Arild Remmereit remarked, “In planning my first Symphony 101 season, I wanted to introduce some new elements that focus on audience engagement. Our subscribers, literally, will have a huge impact on our concerts. For the first time, they will be able to vote online to pick a specific piece they would like to have performed during those programs. This is just one of many ways I would like our audiences to take a more active role in RPO performances and the surprises we have planned.”
The Symphony 101 Series kicks-off October 8 and 9, 2011 with The Folk Music Influence. This concert will explore what inspired so many of music’s greatest masters and how folk music entered the concert hall. November 18 and 20, 2011, Arild Remmereit surveys the Latin music of our time by Arturo Marquez, Roberto Sierra, and others, the music that preceded them, and how these Latin-American rhythms have captivated composers for centuries. Waltz music is featured January 27 and 29, 2012, from the early three-quarter time dances of Mozart and Beethoven, through the waltzes of Strauss, and into our own time. Guest conductor Vladimir Verbitsky will take the Symphony 101 podium on April 20 and 22, 2012, in a program that highlights Russian works and the pressures the state put on composers and their music. The final concert of the season, on May 11 and 13, 2012, Remmereit examines Beethoven – his music, his genius, and the daunting legacy he left for those who dared to follow him.
For early bird subscribers, the first two Symphony 101 concerts are open for online voting.
Series subscriptions ($110, general admission for all five concerts) can be purchased by calling the Eastman Theatre Box Office at 454-2100. Single tickets ($24; $10 for students) for this, and all RPO performances for the 2011-2012 Season, will go on sale in August 2011.
Editors Please Note:
All Symphony 101 Concerts for the 2011-2012 Series will be held in the Performance Hall at Hochstein.
The Folk Music Influence
Saturday, October 8 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, October 9 at 2:00 p.m.
Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra
Arild Remmereit, conductor
Juliana Athayde, violin
The Caroline W. Gannett & Clayla Ward Chair
How did folk music enter the concert hall? Why did it inspire many of music’s greatest masters? What controversies were ignited when folk tunes and spirituals found their way into the symphonies of Dvořák and others? Arild Remmereit presents American classics – by Dvořák and Amy Beach – each drawing liberally on folk tunes imported here and spirituals shaped here. Yom Kippur will be recognized and the Norwegian Johan Svendsen further explores the folk heritage in his Romance for violin performed by RPO Concertmaster Juliana Athayde. Subscribers can choose what the RPO will perform: a symphonic folk dance from one of five composers including Copland, Brahms, Dvořák, Coleridge-Taylor and Grieg!
The Latin Sizzle
Friday, November 18 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, November 20 at 2:00 p.m.
Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra
Arild Remmereit, conductor
What makes Latin music so seductive? Why is it so intoxicating? How are its rhythms distinctive from other music? Arild Remmereit surveys the Latin American music of our time by Arturo Marquez, Roberto Sierra, and others, the music that preceded them, and how these Spanish rhythms have captivated composers for centuries. Subscribers can help choose what the RPO will perform: a Latin classic composed by Bernstein, Gershwin, Chabrier, and others!
Shall We Waltz?
Friday, January 27 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, January 29 at 2:00 p.m.
Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra
Arild Remmereit, conductor
Why was Johann Strauss, Jr., the “Waltz King?” What made his waltzes so enticing? How did they become the essence of Viennese elegance? Arild Remmereit considers the waltz – from the early three-quarter time dances of Mozart and Beethoven, through the waltzes of Strauss, and into our own time. Rochester’s top ballroom dancers will illustrate.
Subversive Subtexts
Friday, April 20 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, April 22 at 2:00 p.m.
Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra
Vladimir Verbitsky, guest conductor
How did the revolution change Russian music? What was the music like pre-revolution? What pressures did the state put on its composers? Why did they accommodate the propaganda that was imposed? Guest conductor Vladmir Verbitsky opens the cases of Shostakovich and Prokofiev as well as their predecessors Glazunov and Glinka. Their music could celebrate Soviet glory… their subtext would suggest the subversive. They paid the price with their creative freedom, and nearly with their lives.
In Beethoven’s Footsteps
Friday, May 11 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 13 at 2:00 p.m.
Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra
Arild Remmereit, conductor
What long shadow did Beethoven cast over the century that followed his passing? Did he inspire… or intimidate? Why did Brahms wait until he was past 40 to even consider composing a symphony? Beginning with the music of Beethoven, Arild Remmereit explores how his legacy influenced Clara Schumann, Brahms, William Henry Fry, and even Charles Ives. Arild’s Eastman School of Music connections continue with music composed by an Eastman student and an Eastman piano soloist performing Clara Schumann’s Piano Concerto.
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