A concert crescendo
Newport Symphony Orchestra concludes its season with a selection of masterpieces
The Newport Symphony concludes the symphonic season with true masterpieces of the repertoire at the Newport Performing Arts Center this Saturday and Sunday, March 22 and 23.
The evening will begin with “Orawa,” a piece for strings alone. Written by Polish composer Wolciech Kilar, the music was inspired by a highlander band from Poland's Tatra mountains. Listen closely for the rhythms of the region that lean into a majestic flourish and a highlander exclamation.
The evening's soloist, pianist David Korevaar, will delight you with Beethoven's “Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 3.” With his third piano concerto, the composer took advantage of the instrument's newly expanded range beyond the standard five octaves. He composed the solo part all the way up to the high G. It is thought that this was the first concerto ever to call for that particular note. Beethoven's third piano concerto stands not only as a great work in its own right, but also as a document relating to the evolution of the instrument.
Hailed by the Washington Post for his “wonderfully warm, pliant, spontaneous playing,” Korevaar is in demand as a soloist, chamber musician and collaborator and has performed and given master classes throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and Central and South America. Recent and upcoming performances include a tour of Brazil, appearances with the Broomfield Symphony, Fort Collins Symphony and Littleton Symphony, a performance at Rocky Ridge Music Center, concerts with the Boulder Piano Quartet and as the featured soloist in Stravinsky’s Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra for the Colorado Ballet’s production of George Balanchine’s Rubies. He performed at the Music in the Mountains Festival where he was in residence and performed with the Carpe Diem String Quartet at the Snake River Music Festival.
Korevaar’s discography of more than 50 titles includes his latest project, the complete Beethoven Piano Sonatas. He is well-known for his Bach recordings, including the “Six Partitas,” “Goldberg Variations” and “The Well-Tempered Clavier,” recognized as a Critic’s Choice by American Record Guide.
Of special interest, Korevaar has also concertized and given master classes in Kazakhstan and Tajikistan as part of the US State Department’s Cultural Envoy program and taught at the Afghanistan National Institute of Music in Kabul.
He is a distinguished professor at the University of Colorado.
There might not be a better way to conclude the symphonic season than with Sergei Prokofiev's “Symphony No. 5.” Prokofiev wrote this piece in the shadow of World War II. He and his wife were forced into seclusion and only permitted to return to Moscow in 1944. The following year the symphony premiered with Prokofiev conducting. As he raised his baton, artillery salvos thundered, symbolizing the end of the war. Prokofiev waited until the cannons were silent before lowering his arm for the first downbeat.
"The fifth symphony was intended as a hymn to free and happy Man, to his mighty powers, his pure and noble spirit,” he wrote. “I cannot say that I deliberately chose this theme. It was born in me and clamored for expression."
Performances start at 7:30 pm on Saturday, March 22, and 2 pm on Sunday, March 23. Saturday’s performance has a pre-concert talk by Conductor Adam Flatt at 6:45 pm. Following each concert is a special complimentary “Wine Down,” featuring select wines from the Flying Dutchman Winery of Otter Rock, a delicious array of food items and a chance to mix and mingle with Flatt and orchestra members.
Tickets start at $45, $16 for students. The Newport Performing Arts Center is located at 777 W Olive Street. For more information, go to coastarts.org or call 541-265-2787.