A cello player who breaks the mold
The Newport Symphony Orchestra will get its 2024-25 season off to a rousing start this weekend with “Symphonic Bacchanale and the Divine Cello” featuring Mark Votapek, principal cellist of the Hawai’i Symphony Orchestra.
The evening begins with Robert Schumann’s incredible “Symphony No. 4 in D minor,” composed in 1841 for his wife, Clara.
Next up is “Concerto for Cello and Orchestra No. 1, in A minor” by Camille Saint-Saëns and featuring Votapek as soloist. Composed in 1872, when Saint-Saëns was 37 years old, this piece is at once charming and furious with passionate melodies to stir the soul.
Votapek, former principal cellist with the Oregon Symphony, has gained renown for combining music with the outdoors. In 2013, he completed a 27-performance recital tour from Mexico to Canada, backpacking the entire, 2,700-mile Pacific Crest Trail from concert to concert. In 2015, he performed at the Moab Music Festival, including on a multi-day Colorado River raft trip of flatwater and Class V rapids, giving cello and chamber music performances in natural grottos, amphitheaters, river beaches and even on the rafts themselves.
After a short intermission, Votapek will tackle “Schelomo-Hebraic Rhapsody,” an intensely expressive piece inspired by the Old Testament and composed by Ernest Bloch, who spent his final years in Agate Beach.
The concert closes with Saint-Saëns’ “Danse Bacchanale” from “Samson and Delilah.” After Delilah seduces then betrays our hero, the Philistines drag the blinded Samson out of prison to taunt him relentlessly with an all-night bacchanale. Little do they suspect that Samson’s strength has yet to reveal itself as he, quite literally, brings the house down.
Performances will take place at 7:30 pm on Saturday, Sept. 28, and at 2 pm on Sunday, Sept. 29, at Newport Performing Arts Center, 777 West Olive Street.
Saturday’s performance features a pre-concert talk by Votapek and Conductor Adam Flatt at 6:45 pm.
Each concert is followed by a complimentary “Wine Down,” offering audience members the chance to mingle with the performers while enjoying select wines from the Flying Dutchman Winery of Otter Rock plus a delicious array of food items.
Tickets start at $45 or $16 for students, and are on sale at the Newport Performing Arts Center box office, by calling 541-265-2787 or online at NewportSymphony.org.