March 12, 2022
This concert is both elegantly classic and fun. The Britten Young Person's Guide is a wonderful piece for people of all ages to learn more about the instruments of the orchestra. Timothy Pinkerton is a rising star in the violin world, and will play a beautiful interpretation of the beloved Bruch Violin Concerto.
Tickets can be pruchased online here, or to avoid convenience fees, purchase in person at the Bismarck Event Center Box Office.
Program Information:
Symphony No. 4 in B flat major, Op. 60................Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
I. Adagio - Allegro vIvace
II. Adagio
III. Scherzo - trio: Allegro vivace
IV. Allegro ma non troppo
Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra..........Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
(Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Purcell)
INTERMISSION
Concerto for Violin, No. 1 in G minor, op. 26........Max Bruch (1838-1920)
I. Vorspiel: Allegro moderato
II. Adagio
III. Finale: Allegro energico
Timothy Pinkerton, violin
Program Notes:
Beethoven composed his fourth symphony in 1806 and premiered it in 1807. It is not as frequently performed as many of his other symphonies, perhaps just being overshadowed by the weight and prominence of its bookends of Symphony No. 3 "Eroica" and the famed Fifth Symphony. Symphony 4 begins with a dark, brooding introduction that works its way to delightful and happy, almost like finding one's way to the light.
Benjamin Britten composed The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra in 1945. Subtitled Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Purcell, the work is based on the "Rondeau" of Purcell's Abdelazer suite. Young Person's Guide was originally commissioned for the British educational documentary film called Instruments of the Orchestra released in November 1946.
Max Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1 in g minor is probably his most famous work along with his Scottish Fantasy. It's beauty and poignancy make it an audience and violinist's favorite. Composed in 1866, Bruch had sold the score to the publisher Simrock for a small sum. Later, after World War I when he was desolate, he sought to regain some royalties by having the work published in the U.S. and sent the autograph to duo pianists Rose and Ottilie Suro. Bruch died in October of 1920 without receiving any royalties for the piece. The Suro sisters later sold the autograph to Mary Flagler Cary whose collection is still housed in the Pierpont Morgan Public Library in New York City.