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Vermont Symphony Orchestra
Debuts Masterworks Series at Bellows Falls Opera House
by Dorothy Read
BELLOWS FALLS – As winter turns old and we tire of the confines of our own homes, the Vermont Symphony Orchestra will liven things up as it kicks off this year’s Masterworks Series at the Bellows Falls Opera House Friday, March 9, presented by Vermont Festivals LLC.
Conducted by Jaime Laredo, the performance will feature Sergei Prokofiev’s beloved Classical Symphony, and highlight soloist Jennifer Montone on the French horn.
“Vermont Festivals announces the triumphant return of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra to the Opera House,” Ray Massucco, producer, said. “This year's debut of the fourth program in the symphony’s Masterworks Series will have something to offer to all classical music lovers.”
Prokofiev is widely considered to be one of the greatest composers of the 20th century, living a life that could rival a dramatic leading character in a Russian novel. Whether in the Ukraine, Paris, the Bavarian Alps, New York, or Moscow, Prokofiev mastered a wide range of musical genres, symphonies, concerti, film scores, operas, ballets, and program pieces. He did this all the while dodging political unrest, a Nazi invasion, public embrace and governmental censure, failed love, and world war displacement.
In addition to the classical symphony, he was a gifted conductor and pianist. His best-known works include “Peter and the Wolf”, the ballet “Romeo and Juliet”, “Love for Three Oranges”, and “Lieutenant Kijé”, to name only a few in the remarkable volume of his life’s work.
“The Classical Symphony” is considered by many to be the first neoclassical composition, and premiered in 1918 in Petrograd, with Prokofiev himself conducting. This work was considered quite modern and innovative at the time, but still echoed the style of Joseph Haydn and other classical composers.
Second on the program is Richard Strauss’s Horn Concerto No. 1, featuring a solo by Montone, principal horn with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Strauss loved the French horn, and this piece harks to the style of Schumann and Mendelssohn. This mature piece was written before the composer was 19 years old.
The concert concludes with Beethoven’s Third Symphony “Eroica” (Heroic). This piece includes his famous funeral march. Beethoven planned to dedicate this composition to Napoleon Bonaparte. However, when Beethoven learned that Napoleon had declared himself emperor, he is said to have become furious and removed his name from the score.
The VSO performance has received great support from the newly invigorated Friends of the Opera House, Massucco said.
A limited number of patron tickets are available. These seats include preferred seating, a private reception at intermission, and a meet and greet with the artists after the performance. Additionally, patrons are recognized in the program.
“So plan to ward off the mid-winter doldrums and ward off any influence from the Ides of March with a memorable evening of Vermont's own state symphony orchestra, and the good company of your neighbors,” Massucco said. “Make an evening of it.”
Doors open at 7 p.m., and the performance begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available at www.brattleborotix.com, Village Square Booksellers in Bellows Falls, and by phone at Vermont Festivals, 802-463-9595. Patron tickets are available through Vermont Symphony Orchestra or Vermont Festivals LLC.
For more information, please call 802-463-9595