Spring Break
BSO: pitch perfect
The BSO's last College Night on Feb. 7 featured two pieces by Sergei Prokofiev, as well as one piece each by Claude Debussy and Manuel De Falla. The first Prokofiev piece was his Symphony No. 1 in D Major "Classical," which was composed in the style of Haydn, an 18th century Austrian composer. Afterwards, the BSO preformed Violin Concerto No. 2 in G Minor by Prokofiev, featuring the Russian soloist Boris Belkin on violin. "He was amazing; his performance was a feat of endurance," said freshman Matthew Woodbury about Belkin.
After intermission, the BSO launched energetically into a powerful rendition of "Iberia," from Images, by Claude Debussy. Considered by many to be their favorite piece of the evening, the performance was "very evocative," declared freshman Lydia Rieck. This piece by the modern French composer Debussy was intended to paint a rich picture of Spain with sound, even though Debussy had only ever been to Spain once.
The final selection of the evening was Manuel De Falla's "Ritual Fire Music" from El amor brujo. De Falla, a Modern period Spanish composer, was a friend of Debussy and other current composers who wrote progressive music. El amor brujo, the ballet from which the piece was excerpted, was finished in 1915 and tells the story of a gypsy woman haunted by an apparition of her dead lover.
The program was beautifully conceived and well executed. Freshman Shannon Rohf said that the BSO's performance was "very professional and very dramatic."
Much of the credit for the BSO's excellent performance is due to their Music Director, Yuri Temirkanov. Even though he was only appointed in 2000, he has knitted the Orchestra into a fluid and harmonious whole. "The rapport between the musicians and the conductor was subtle and impressive," said Rieck. Rohf agreed, "The conductor seemed to understand what the composer wanted to do with each piece." Temirkanov is also the Music Director of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra as well as a Guest Conductor of the Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra. A long-time resident of St. Petersburg, Temirkanov makes sure that the BSO performs a large variety of pieces by composers from that city.
The reception provided for college students on College Nights is a pleasant way to finish off a night at the BSO. Catered with a decent selection of fruit, vegetables, several other finger-foods and soda, the party's most interesting aspect is the chance to interact with members of the BSO whom you just saw perform. "You always see them formal and dressed up; to actually get to talk to them is interesting," said Woodbury. Many students also suggested that people enter the raffle the BSO holds at the end of the party. Tickets for many different events are raffled off and it costs nothing to participate. You could just break even or come out ahead from the price of College Night with a valuable ticket to the Aquarium or to another BSO event.
Next College Night at the BSO will witness the French conductor Emmanuel Krivine presenting Berlioz's "Roman Carnival," Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 26, "Coronation," and Zemlinsky's "Lyric Symphony." The night will feature Italian pianist Gianluca Cascioli, age 23, for Mozart's Concerto, and soprano Jessica Jones and baritone Brett Polegato for Zemlinksy's "Lyric Symphony."
Tickets for BSO's College Nights are only $10. To reserve tickets, call (410) 783-8000 and ask for College Night tickets. For more information on this and other BSO events, check out their Web page at http://www.baltimoresymphonyorchestra.org.