Allegra Lily and Friends
Tournier: Deux Preludes Romantiques Op.17
Ravel: Piece en Forme de Habanera
Faure: Sicilienne Op.78
Kesselman: Bagatelle No.1
Ravel: Piece en Forme de Habanera
Faure: Sicilienne Op.78
Kesselman: Bagatelle No.1
About the Program
|
Tournier: Deux Preludes Romantiques Op.17 Marcel Tournier was a French composer born in Paris in 1879. He grew up in a musical family of seven siblings. Tournier and his four brothers were required to play a musical instrument. Apparently, his sisters were left off the hook. Tournier chose the harp at a young age and became a successful teacher, composer, and performer. To this day, many of his harp compositions are used in performance competitions. The Deux Preludes Romantques are written for harp (or piano) and violin. They are true to their title, representing a French romanticism that was a common compositional style of the time. -Ann Fink Ravel: Piece en Forme de Habanera Maurice Ravel born in 1875, a contemporary of Marcel Tournier, was also a French composer. He was born in a Basque town, Ciboure, very near the Spanish border. His mother was Basque, although she grew up in Madrid. Ravel’s Spanish heritage was a great influence on his compositions. There contain many references to Spanish folk tunes and traditional Spanish music. Piece en Forme de Habanera is based on a folk dance that originated in Cuba and was brought to Spain by sailors. The dance was extremely popular during the 19th century and was known by all levels of Spanish society. Originally, Ravel was commissioned to compose the work for piano and low voice. It was used as an etude in a vocal class at the Paris Conservatory! Later, Ravel composed an arrangement of Piece en Forme de Habanera for cello and piano. On this program it is performed by harp and double bass. -Ann Fink |
Kesselman: Bagatelle No.1 Robin Kesselman, principal bassist of the Houston Symphony Orchestra, joins us on this program with his very own composition! The Bagatelle No. 1 is written as a double bass and harp duet and is based on a theme by Beethoven. -Ann Fink Faure: Sicilienne Op.78 Gabriel Fauré, born in 1845, was a leading French composer of his time. He was also an organist, pianist and professor. His composition, Sicilienne Op. 78, was originally commissioned in 1893 as incidental music for a play. Unfortunately, the theatre company went bankrupt before the first performance. Subsequently in 1898, Fauré rewrote the piece for piano and cello. The piece became one of Fauré’s most famous compositions. It has been arranged (not by Fauré) for an endless combination of instruments. Some of the more adventurous arrangements are written for saxophone quartet, tuba and piano, flute and guitar, and panpipes and piano! For this program you will hear a lovely arrangement of the original Sicilienne for cello and piano played on harp and double bass! -Ann Fink |
CONCERT ARTISTS
Allegra
|
Hannah
|
Robin KesselmanRobin Kesselman/Bass
Robin Kesselman was appointed Principal Bass of the Houston Symphony Orchestra by Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada in 2014. He has performed as Guest Principal Bass with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and Israel Philharmonic, travelled internationally with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Los Angeles Philharmonic, and appeared with the National, Atlanta, and Baltimore Symphonies. Kesselman frequently performs as a soloist and chamber musician and presents recital programs and masterclasses at the top universities across the country. He has already appeared twice as soloist with the Houston Symphony, in subscription performances of the Koussevitzky Concerto for Double Bass and Missy Mazzoli’s bass concerto Dark with Excessive Bright. Previous season highlights include Krzysztof Penderecki’s Duo Concertante during the composer’s Carnegie Hall residency in collaboration with the Curtis Institute and Bottesini’s Concerto No. 2 with the Houston Civic Symphony. Recent festival engagements include leading the bass sections of the Grand Teton, Mainly Mozart, and Arizona Musicfest festival orchestras. He has also serves as faculty for the National Youth Orchestra - USA, Curtis Institute’s Summerfest, the Richard Davis Bass Conference, and the summer residency of the Youth Philharmonic of Colombia. Kesselman holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Southern California and an Artist Diploma from the Curtis Institute of Music. His primary teachers have included David Allen Moore, Harold Robinson, Edgar Meyer, Paul Ellison, Chris Hanulik, and Virginia Dixon. |