Orchestra Santa Monica (OSM), under the baton of Allen Robert Gross, presents its second concert of its 2016-2017 season on Sunday, February 12, with a program entitled Two Seasons, Two Brandenburgs. The program features two of Vivaldi’s ever-popular “Four Seasons” concertos, “Winter” and “Spring,” paired with the same seasons from Astor Piazzolla’s “Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas “(The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires.) Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos Nos. 3 and 4 open and close the concert.
OSM Concertmaster Michael Emery is the violin soloist for the Vivaldi and Piazzolla concertos. He is joined by OSM flutists David Shostac and Boglarka Kiss for the “Brandenburg Concerto No. 4.”
Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” from 1725 is one of the most popular and recognizable works from the Baroque period. It has been estimated that themes from the piece have been used in at least 100 movies and television shows. Accompanied by fanciful poetry, these concertos have extraordinarily vivid musical tone-painting. The Argentine composer Astor Piazzolla was inspired by them in the 1960s,and wrote a set of four extended tangos for each of Vivaldi’s seasons. OSM will be performing the spectacular arrangement by the Russian composer Leonid Desyatnikov for violin solo and string orchestra.
Bach’s six Brandenburg Concertos, written at about the same time as Vivaldi’s, were written for different combinations of instruments. No. 3, which opens the concert, is for strings alone, while No. 4, which closes it, is for 2 recorders (or modern transverse flutes), violin solo, and strings.
“Although it is a mostly string orchestra concert, there is a wonderful variety of styles and colors in this program,” says Maestro Gross. “The Piazzolla tangos are a real complement to the Baroque pieces. And of course, Bach and Vivaldi contrast with each other as well. Our performers love playing this music, and it should be a real treat for everyone!”
The concert begins at 2:30 p.m. at the Ann and Jerry Moss Theater on the campus of New Roads School at The Herb Alpert Educational Village, 3131 Olympic Blvd., Santa Monica.
Ticket prices remain the same as last year ($30 General Admission, $25 for seniors, $15 for college students, and $10 for K-12 students), and can be purchased on-line or at the door.
OSM’s concert dates and programs for the remainder of the season are:
April 2, 2017 2:30 pm. Moss Theater
“Unique Communities:
A Musical Exploration”
An–in-depth immersion in two emblematic twentieth-century masterpieces, each evoking a community with deep social and musical expression
Revueltas: Redes
Copland: Appalachian Spring
Excerpts from Paul Strand’s film Redes (with music by Revueltas) will be shown
May 21, 2017 2:30 pm. Moss Theater
Damian Montano, composer and bassoonist
Rossini: Overture to The Italian Girl in Algiers
Montano: Three Night Pieces, concerto for bassoon (west coast premiere)
Schubert: Symphony No. 3 in D Major, D. 200
For ticketing and pricing information, visit OSM’s website at www.orchestrasantamonica.org.
