The University of Western Ontario Symphony Orchestra starts their 2010-11 season with a new conductor and a new sound.
Geoffrey Moull takes over the podium Oct. 17, 3 p.m. in Alumni Hall to conduct a program of Mozart, Brahms and the Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto with Timothy Cheung at the keyboard.
Moull selected the repertoire for his inaugural concert with the student players in mind.
“I’ve chosen repertoire that has not been played for a long time and the audience will not have heard recently. My goal as an orchestra conductor is to help the students develop more ensemble skills – listening within sections and section-to-section. I want them to play as a group, not 76 individuals,” he says.
The program begins with Mozart’s overture from the opera The Abduction from the Seraglio in the “Turkish” style with cymbals, triangle and bass drum. “It’s straight forward to get us going,” says Moull. “It’s a good warm-up for the symphony and a lively composition with which to open the concert.”
As a large symphonic work, he chose Brahms’ Fourth Symphony because it isn’t heard as frequently, and Brahms is Moull’s favourite composer. “He is the most classical of romantic composers,” he says. It showcases the full string section of 54 players.
“Orchestra London can only dream of having 28 violins and 11 cellos on stage at once,” says Moull. Add the winds, brass and percussion and you have a classical work that forces each player to listen carefully to how their part fits into the whole picture.
Moull, who was Music Director of the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra from 2000 to 2009, and before that conducted orchestras and opera in Germany for many years, will be able to share some of his European expertise with the students.
“I stood on the spot and conducted the Fourth Symphony in 1997 where Brahms conducted the premiere performance Oct. 25, 1885, with the Meiningen Orchestra.”
Hans von Bülow built the orchestra into one of Germany’s finest during his reign as conductor from 1880-1885, and conducted the fourth symphony on a 14-city tour.
Brahms’ Symphony No. 4 starts with a dramatic and passionate first movement. It is thought that Brahms may have been inspired to write the symphony by reading Greek tragedies. The second movement is a darkly contrasting, requiem-like movement. Joy returns in the third. The composer repeats a theme from a J.S. Bach cantata throughout the fourth movement. Brahms’ sense of history was strong, and he frequently looked back to gain contemporary relevance. The fourth movement of the fourth symphony is one of the strongest evidence of his scholarship.
Saint-Saëns composed his second Piano Concerto in 1868 at the request of Anton Rubinstein. The first performance featured the composer at the piano and Rubinstein conducting. Timothy Cheung is the UWO Symphony Orchestra’s soloist. He is a winner of the 2010 concerto competition that gives a performance opportunity to three Don Wright Faculty of Music students. Cheung also won the Alumni Association Gold Medal for his achievements as an undergrad. He is now pursuing his master’s in collaborative piano.
The concerto illustrates Saint-Saëns’ balance of classical and romantic elements, especially in the relationship of the piano to the orchestra. Unlike the classical concerto, the orchestra does not begin with the theme – the piano begins alone. The work develops more like a toccata with a display of virtuosic playing, soaring above the orchestra. This very romantic writing is built on a classical structure, with the winds and strings balanced in pairs. The composer also plays with the traditional components, starting with a slow movement and progressing faster. The final movement is a feverish climax, a dance that provides the soloist with dramatic ending.
Tickets for the performance are $15 or $10 students and seniors. They can be purchased in advance through Orchestra London at 519-679-8778 or cash only at the door.