October Concert
Mendelssohn: A Bicentennial Tribute
The Kennett Symphony of Chester County opens our 69th season with a Bicentennial Tribute to Felix Mendelssohn. Born in 1809 in Hamburg, Germany, he was dubbed the “Mozart of the 19th Century”. As a child, Mendelssohn’s musical accomplishments were staggering. The 12-year-old performed from his compositional portfolio, a piano quartet, a piano sonata, plus several fugues of J.S. Bach and virtuoso works of Johann Nepomuk Hummel for Goethe and his Weimar friends. He mastered the fundamentals of composition by emulating masters of the past – principally the works of Handel, Mozart, Haydn and JS Bach, whose works shaped his own compositions throughout his short lifetime. (He died in Leipzig at the age of 38 – just 3 years older than Mozart.)
The complete musician, not only did Felix compose and play the piano masterfully, he also sang in a choir (until his voice broke), was an accomplished violinist and violist, organist and conductor (one of the first to use the baton, in the 1830s) – in short, he was the “musician’s musician” – versatile and impeccably cultured. And if that weren’t enough, he read Greek and Latin fluently, wrote elegant letters in German, French and English, wrote poetry, and was an accomplished draughtsman and painter.
His Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream along with his Octet, marked his maturation as a composer – at the tender age of 17. We open our concert with this consummate work of art, complete with the “ophecleide” (tuba in modern day) for Bottom, the ass. In addition, we play the brilliant Scherzo and Nocturne, written as incidental music to the play when he was 35.
Next we turn to his First Piano Concerto, written for his own performance at age 23. And who better to perform it than Daniel Song, a prodigy in his own right. Three years ago he was featured on NPR’s “From the Top” at Carnegie Hall with Christopher O’Riley, delighting the radio and TV audience with his masterful performance of Liszt’s “Transcendental Etude” and chatting easily about his desire also to study medicine and be an athlete. Watch!
Finally, we conclude with Mendelssohn’s ebullient Fourth Symphony in A, the “Italian”, a product of “The Grand Tour” he made of Europe when he was just 20. Join us!
| When | Saturday, October 10, 2009 - 8:00 PM | |
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| Where | Emilie K. Asplundh Hall West Chester University West Chester, PA |
Directions
Parking Seating |
| Tickets | $35 Adult, $10 Students Discounts are available to subscribers and groups. |
Tickets |
| Program | Mendelssohn: A Bicentennial Tribute | Details |
| Other Dining Options | 10% discounts at area restaurant partners on pre- or post-concert dining for Symphony ticketholders. | Details |
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ProgramKennett Symphony of Chester County
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MENDELSSOHN |
Excerpts from A Midsummer Night's Dream |
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MENDELSSOHN |
Piano Concerto No. 1 in G Minor |
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MENDELSSOHN |
Symphony No. 4 Op 90 in A Major "Italian" |
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SoloistsDakyung "Daniel" Song is a freshman at Haverford School. At the age of 5, He started to play the piano at the Nelly Berman Music School and currently studying with Igor Resnianski for the last 5 years. He performed at many public venues in Philadelphia, New Jersey, New York, and Fort Worth. At 8, he played at Carnegie Hall as a winner of the Young Musician Competition. He was a finalist in the children’s division of the Greenfield Competition held by Philadelphia Orchestra in 2004. Same year, he received the Grand Prize of Young Musician Competition held by the Korean Musician Association at Philadelphia. In 2006, he won the first prize in the children division of the West Chester University Keyboard Competition. His performance was featured on WYBE in a program of Young Classic Musicians. He has participated in numerous public concerts of community services and performances to fund scholarships for his music school. In 2007, he won two competitions and performed as a winner of the Young Artist Competition with Ambler Orchestra and Old York Road Symphony Orchestra. He played with the Kennett Symphony at West Chester University. Recently, he was chosen to play at Nixon Hall at Cleveland Institute of Music for a radio show From the Top hosted by Christopher O’Riley at NPR channel as a winner of Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist. Also, he was invited to perform at Carnegie Hall for From the Top Live from Carnegie Hall television recording prepared by WGBH in Boston. Watch! In 2008, he was chosen to participate in the Piano, Texas International Academy & Festival and had master classes with Peter Donohoe, Elanor Wong, Tamas Ungar, and Leon Bates. He was chosen to participate in the Gina Bachauer Competition at Salt Lake City. Dakyung enjoys team sports such as tennis, soccer, baseball, and swim team relays. He is an avid reader of wainscot style novels and enjoys watching epic series. |
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