RECENT PERFORMANCES
The world premier of Sahba Aminikia’s House of Circus was first aired in the final concert of the Minnesota Philharmonic Orchestra’s 2020-21 virtual season. The video, produced by Pinar Demiral, features “Circus Heroes” of the Sirkhane Social Circus School, which provides a place of empowerment, expression and play for survivors of the ongoing war in Syria.
This performance of the first movement of Dušan Bogdanović’s Jazz Sonata was first aired as part of the Minnesota Philharmonic Orchestra’s 2020-21 virtual season. An incomparable composer, performer and improvisor, Dušan was a one of my teachers at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, so I was thrilled to share his music with our audience.
ORIGINAL PROGRAM NOTES
Benjamin Britten – The Rape of Lucretia
Musical tones are always telling us something in The Rape of Lucretia . Sometimes they signify the most specific of things. Harpy mosquitos nag at
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor – Violin Concerto in G Minor
The genesis of Coleridge-Taylor’s violin concerto is a story of two pioneering artists: the composer and his commissioner, Maud Powell. Powell became one of the
Florence Price – Symphony No. 1 in E minor
“First there was a feeling of awe as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra…swung in to the beautiful, harmonious strains of a composition by a Race woman.
Franz Liszt – Les préludes
Franz Liszt was best known during his lifetime as the lean, black-haired virtuoso whose skill and daring at the piano caused audiences to faint, exclaim,
José Pablo Moncayo – Huapango
As a composer, conductor, educator, pianist, and percussionist, José Pablo Moncayo built a legacy in Mexican music at a young age. In his few decades
Franz Schubert – Symphony No. 8 in B minor, “Unfinished”
In his brief 31 years of life, Franz Schubert’s gargantuan output included operas, singspiel, cantatas, masses, requiem, part songs, choruses, lieder, symphonies, overtures, chamber music,
