~ MUSIC FOR ORGAN AND STRINGS ~
7:00 PM, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2017
JOIN US FOR THE OPENING NIGHT PERFORMANCEOF CENTER CITY CONCERTS AT ST. PETER’S 2017-2018 SEASON
This evening’s performance will present two works for strings by prodigies of an earlier era, and two concertos for organ by composers of the modern era.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Eine klein Nachtmusik (1787) can be translated literally as “A Little Night Music,” but Mozart himself called it “a little nocturne,” thus placing it in a large category of his works titled serenade, notturno, or divergent — works most often destined for entertainment at social occasions, and a delightful curtain-raiser.
Bálint Karosi’s Concerto No. 2 for organ, percussion, and strings (2016) was commissioned for an inaugural concert at the Fasor Reformed Church in Budapest. It offers three mildly contrasting sections, and virtuoso materials for both the organ and percussion soloists.
Felix Mendelsson’s Sinfonia IV in C minor (1821), was written when he was barely in his teens. Although not the equivalent of his more mature works, this Sinfonia foreshadows his later work with its complicated interweaving of melodic strands.
Francis Poulenc’s Concerto in G Minor for organ, strings, and timpani (1938) is a perennial favorite of organists and listeners. Poulenc is known for the two facets of his personality, the light-hearted and the serious. This concerto arises from his monkish side, where in his words, he “restricted the orchestra to strings and three timpani in order to make a performance in the church possible.”
Nicolas Haigh, organ
Stephanie Wilson, percussion
Members of the Charlotte Symphony
Violin 1: Joseph Meyer, concertmaster, Dima Dimitrova, Oliver Kot, Susan Blumberg
Violin 2: Emily Chatham, Kathleen Jarrell, Eliza Johnson
Viola: Nancy Levine, Kristen Swanson
Cello: Sarah Markle, Marlene Ballena
Bass: Taddes Korris
Guest Conductor: William Osborne