Each Monday we offer a run down on the must see upcoming classical music performances in North Texas.
MONDAY FEB 8
The Performer: The Claremont Piano Trio
The Venue: Latino Cultural Center 2600 Live Oak St. Dallas, TX 75204
The Composition: The New York-based trio takes the stage at the Latino Cultural Center for a night of new music, including the debut of a new work by Howard Frazin.
The Liner Notes: For a full preview, visit here.
THRUSDAY FEB 11
The Performer: The Dallas Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Jaap van Zweden, with guest pianist Simon Trpčeski
The Venue: Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, 2301 Flora St., Dallas, TX 75201
The Composition: The DSO calls their Valentines Day docket “Romance and Rachmaninoff,” which will include performances of Sergio Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2 and Piano Concerto No. 1
The Liner Notes: You’ve heard the pieces before, but if the maestro Jaap Van Zweden has proved anything during his young tenure, it’s that he is a master at tugging audiences’ heart strings. Expect a colorful performance and don’t be surprised if the orchestra rushes to those memorable swells and releases in the second symphony. The point here is that its date weekend, and your only risk with Rachmaninoff at the Meyerson is that the ladies will wish their men were more like Jaap.
Pianist Simon Trpčeski is only 30 years old, but the last five or six years have seen him enter to the pedigree of the classical circuit, with performances with the New York Philharmonic, The San Francisco Symphony, and the London Philharmonic.
Thru Feb 14.
The Sneak Peek:
Simon Trpčeski performs St. Saens G minor concerto
FRIDAY FEB 12
The Performer: The Dallas Opera presents Cosi Fan Tutte, featuring Elza van den Heever, Jennifer Halloway, Brian Anderson, and Michael Todd Simpson
The Venue: Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House, 2403 Flora St., Dallas, TX 75201
The Composition: Cosi Fan Tutte, a comic opera by Wolfgang Amedeus Mozart, composed in 1790.
The Liner Notes: Mozart’s third to last opera is a comic follow-up to the tragic masterpiece Don Giovanni, and it is one of the most performed operas in North America (we last saw it in Dallas in 2003). The plot revolves around a wager between two young military officers, Ferrando and Guglielmo, and Don Alfonso, who boasts that in twenty-four hours he can prove the officers’ faithful fiancées, the sisters Dorabella and Fiordiligi, are as fickle as any other women. The two officers pretend to be called off to war, instead disguising themselves as “Albanians” and trying to woo each other’s fiancé. Despite strong initial resistance, Dorabella and Fiordiligi eventually give in, signing a marriage contract just as trumpets blare announcing the return of the soldiers. After a flurry, the two officers reveal their deceit, and since this is opera, all is forgiven between the lovers in a high-spirited finale. The soprano role Fiordiligi sings many of the opera’s highlights, including “Come scoglio” in act one scene three and “Per pieta,” in act two scene two.
In the Dallas Opera production, keep your ears tuned to rising star Elza van den Heever, who is singing the role of Fiordiligi. After Dallas, she’s on to a string of engagements with top-notch companies, including the San Francisco Opera, the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, The Opera National de Paris, and Chicago’s Lyric Opera. Baritone Michael Todd Simpson is also returning to the Dallas Opera after featuring in Dallas’ successful Marriage of Figaro production last season.
Thru Feb 28.
The Sneak Peek:
Elza van den Heever in Mozart’s Idomeneo, with the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine
SATURDAY FEB 13
The Performer: The Dallas Bach Society presents Monteverdi Madrigals
The Venue: Zion Lutheran Church, 6121 E. Lover’s Lane, Dallas
The Composition: Claudio Monteverdi – “Concerto”: The Seventh Book of Madrigals
The Liner Notes: Monteverdi’s nine books of madrigals (secular vocal music of the Renaissance and early Baroque periods) represent a significant development from the polyphony of Renaissance music to a monodic style that characterizes Baroque form. Key here is the emergence of single melodic ideas that take precedence over the harmonic and multi-melody architecture of polyphony, setting the stage for the emergence of later forms, such as the concerto. Monteverdi’s pieces balance between the two styles – polyphony and monody – retaining the strong meditative character of the polyphonic style. Though our contemporary ears may associate the style with liturgical music, the simple beauty of Monteverdi’s music is also reminiscent of modern, minimalist composers, such as Phillip Glass.
The Sneak Peek:
Monteverdi – Madrigal (book eight)
