2015-2016 Season

Two Rivers Chamber Orchestra

Brilliant Beginnings
November 7, 2015, 7:30 p.m.
Trinity Episcopal Church, Shepherdstown

Osvaldo Golijov — Last Round
Felix Mendelssohn — Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64
Jorge Àvila, violin
Ludwig van Beethoven— Symphony No.1 in C Major, Op. 21

As we begin a concert season, we also are embarking on a new independent status and a new home—performances and office—at Trinity Episcopal Church in the heart of Shepherdstown. What better way to celebrate than with a concert of musical Brilliant Beginnings. All three of these works teem with great spirit, energy, and a charged sense of breaking ground. Beethoven’s First Symphony is perhaps the most audacious, boisterous (and humorous) launch into this celebrated form by any composer. Last Round, an early work dedicated to Tango Master Astor Piazzolla, began the tremendously successful career for Argentine composer Osvaldo Golijov, one of the most sought after modern composers. This work for double string quartet and bass has great drive and also nostalgic yearning. We are thrilled to welcome warm-hearted powerful violinist Jorge Àvila in one of his favorite concertos. Mendelssohn’s, though a late work, is something of a velvet revolution for violin concertos, opening up so many possibilities for future works with its innovations and even more so with its sparkling expressive content.

This concert is sponsored by a generous gift from the Frances G. and Lewis Allen Davies Endowment Fund of the Cleveland Foundation.

PROGRAM NOTES

Two Rivers String Quartet

January 16, 2016, 7:30pm
Martin Luther King Holiday Concert
Shepherdstown Opera House

William Grant Still—Panamanian Dances
George Gershwin—Lullaby
Antonin Dvorak—“The American” String Quartet
Scott Joplin—Three Rags: The Entertainer, Solace, Maple Leaf Rag

Our new string quartet honors Dr. King with two pieces by pre-eminent African-American composers and other well-loved chamber music. In his Panamanian Dances, William Grant Still, the “dean” of African-American composers, created a work unlike anything before in the literature for strings by approximating the sounds of native instruments. Composed in 1919, Gershwin’s bluesy Lullaby was heard as an aria in the opera Blue Monday until it was performed in its original string quartet form by the Julliard String Quartet in 1967. Dvorak’s melodic American Quartet was based on his fascination with African-American spiritual music that he heard during his stay in New York. Joplin’s Rags are among the best-loved of American music. This will be a great evening of music.

PROGRAM NOTES

Two Rivers Chamber Orchestra

Pushing the Season
March 12, 2016, 7:30pm
Trinity Episcopal Church, Shepherdstown

Aaron Copland: Appalachian Spring Suite
Antonio Vivaldi: Four Seasons
Qing Li, violin

Can you blame us? We couldn’t resist pairing these two iconic works as we round into spring. Copland’s work illuminates with great clarity, power, and beauty that special American quality of simplicity and understatement, with a score that while pulling inward with quiet power, also at times erupts with great joy. The piece concludes with variations on the Shaker melody, Simple Gifts. We are delighted to welcome violinist Qing Li, known for her timeless phrasing and tone to perform Vivaldi’s touchstone work, The Four Seasons, in a program bursting with virtuosity, color, and image.

PROGRAM NOTES

Two Rivers Woodwind Quintet

April 9, 2016, 7:30pm
International Wind
Location: Trinity Episcopal Church

• Jacques Ibert – Trios Pièces Brèves
• Astor Piazzolla – Milonga Sin Palabras
• Franz Danzi – Quintet in B-flat, Op. 56
• August Klughardt – Quintet in C, Op. 79
• George Gershwin – Highlights from Porgy and Bess

This concert features works from French, Argentine, German and American composers. Ibert’s Trois Piéces Bréve are charming, brightly orchestrated works evoking the countryside. Piazzolla’s Milonga Sin Palabras is a hauntingly beautiful song without words. Klughardt’s four-movement Quintet in C begins with mystery and ends in high spirits. The concert concludes with some of Gershwin’s best-loved music from Porgy and Bess.