Second Masterworks Concert At The Philharmonic
FORT WAYNE — The string quartet merges with full orchestra at the Fort Wayne Philharmonic’s second Masterworks concert of the season, “Beethoven’s Eighth Symphony,” at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24, at the Rhinehart Music Center on the IPFW campus.
Music Director Andrew Constantine has constructed a program that features the orchestra’s resident string quartet, the Freimann Quartet, one of the many ensembles the Philharmonic employs throughout the community in a host of education and engagement performances. Bookending the program are two Beethoven standards, his lighthearted Symphony No. 8 and heroic Overture to Egmont. The remainder of the concert is comprised of an ingenious pairing of works: Christian Cannabich’s Symphony No. 63 in D major, Francesco Geminiani’s Concerto Grosso No. 12, D minor “La Follia,” and Edward Elgar’s intense and dramatic Introduction and Allegro, featuring Freimann Quartet violinists David Ling and Olga Yurkova, violist Derek Reeves and cellist Andre Gaskin.
“We have a wonderfully powerful core to this program with Elgar’s intense and dramatic Introduction and Allegro while the frame for the concert clothes Beethoven in a number of his many colorful guises,” said Constantine.
Beethoven’s Egmont Overture opens the concert. The German master was commissioned to write incidental music for the theater production of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s play of the same name about a Dutch nobleman resistance fighter striving to liberate his country from Spanish occupation. Composed during the Napoleonic Wars, this commission came soon after Napoleon, a onetime described freedom fighter, crowned himself Emperor of France, an act that outraged Beethoven tremendously. The irony was not lost on the composer who made sure to emphasize the Egmont nobleman’s heroic sacrifice, as he was condemned to death for standing against oppression and the unjust.
Next is Cannabich’s Symphony No. 63 in D major, a classical era work that prominently features timpani and trumpets. While Cannabich was known more as a conductor and orchestra trainer than as a composer, his tenure with the Mannheim Orchestra brought them to the pinnacle of fame.
Before intermission we hear Elgar’s Introduction and Allegro, for string quartet and orchestra. According to Elgar, the work was inspired during a vacation in Wales when the composer heard a folk-like melody faintly in the distance. He resurrected a 17th century style to embed soloists, in this case a string quartet, within the larger string ensemble to allow the main melody to drift through a rich musical and textural landscape.
“The composition showcases the versatility of the string sections through luxuriant, lyrical melodies; fast, virtuosic playing and an endless palette of beautiful colors,” said Freimann Quartet cellist Andre Gaskin. “It is a true masterwork of the orchestral repertoire and certain to delight any audience.”
The Concerto Grosso No. 12, D minor “La Follia” is a work originally composed by the baroque master Corelli for violin and keyboard. Geminiani, a student of Corelli, re-scored the work for two violins and one cello soloist with orchestra. The melody is most likely based on an Iberian tune, La Follia, associated with frenzied singing and dancing that was popular during Geminiani’s lifetime.
The final selection of the evening, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8, is a comparatively lighter work wedged between the composer’s epic seventh and ninth symphonies. Its very existence puts to rest the perception that the composer’s highs and lows of life are reflected in his compositions. While writing this work Beethoven penned a passionate letter to his unnamed “Immortal Beloved,” one of classical music’s most intriguing mysteries.
Tickets for “Beethoven’s Eighth Symphony” start at just $17 and are conveniently available for purchase online at fwphil.org. Purchases can also be made in person at The Phil Box Office located at 4901 Fuller Drive or by phone at (260) 481-0777. The Phil Box Office is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, or Saturday (Masterworks and Pops concert days only) from noon to 4 p.m. Tickets may also be available for purchase two hours prior to the concert at the venue. Full program and series information is available at fwphil.org.