This weekend’s concert is all about Greatness. Taking advantage of an opportunity to bring George Gao to our stage, the program has undergone quite a bit of change since first announced. Mr. Gao is considered a contemporary master of the erhu–sometimes called the “Chinese Violin” but which only has two strings. In the second half of the program, he will play several works which I am pretty sure you’ve not heard before, but which I am also pretty sure you’ll find very entertaining. Chick here to go to Mr. Gao’s website, where there is quite a bit more information about him plus some audio and video to sample.
We had originally also scheduled the majestic (Titanic?) Mahler first symphony. Given the other program changes, we swapped that out for the wonderful Schubert “Great” Symphony in C Major. Click the link to hear the Andante (2nd) movement from that Symphony. By the way, if you are confused as to whether it is the 8th or the 9th Symphony, you are not alone. In the original German catalog of Schubert’s work, it was listed as the 8th (the ninth then being the “Unfinished”). English listings have labelled it the 9th. Since the 1980s most American orchestras have given up the numbers altogether and just call it “The Great” — which it is. Schubert “Great” Symphony D.944, Andante Movement
As a salve to those of us who miss the Mahler, the program also includes the “missing” movement from the First Symphony, now a separate piece called “Blumine.” It was originally the second movement, but was dropped in early publications of the work.
Enjoy the weekend. Let us know what you thought of it!
–Rick Newberger, Artistic Committee Chair
