Auburn Symphony Finds Greats Off the Beaten Track

Auburn Symphony Finds Greats Off the Beaten Track

It isn’t one of his angry works. I didn’t hear any underlying angst in it. The violin plays almost without a break through the entire half hour of the concerto, serenely above lower winds and strings in the first movement, urgent but jaunty rather than ominous in the second. The unusual passacaglia which is the third movement has more ominous portent in the orchestra while the violin floats above, and at the end is a long cadenza for the soloist which feels like more of an emotional statement than a bravura display of fireworks. Continue reading Auburn Symphony Finds Greats Off the Beaten Track

Auburn Symphony Gets Romantic with Chausson

Auburn Symphony Gets Romantic with Chausson

Beck and Kershaw between them gave us a thumbnail sketch of 19th-century composer Ernest Chausson, with slides, and it was clear that the composer holds a place of great affection in Kershaw’s pantheon. Chausson composed only three big works, which aren’t that often played, and Kershaw has programmed them all for Auburn, the Symphony in B Flat being last Saturday’s contribution. Continue reading Auburn Symphony Gets Romantic with Chausson