Beautiful music for everyone this week before Mother’s Day.
This year’s concert is of evocative favourites from sunny Spain, entitled Viva España. The concert includes such popular numbers as de Falla’s Ritual Fire Dance, Chabrier’s España, and Bizet’s Carmen Suite No. 2 in the first half. The Ritual Fire Dance is known for its supernatural tones that depict a young girl conjuring up the ghost of her dead husband in order to rid herself of him forever. Chabrier’s España is considered the most exuberant piece ever written based on a Spanish dance know as the jota, and if it sounds familiar the melody was used in Perry Como’s 1956 pop hit Hot Diggity Dog Ziggity. They lead us into the ever-popular Carmen Suite No. 2 which tells the tale of the downfall of Don José , a naïve solder, at the hands of the seductress Carmen; a fiery gypsy. The Suite includes the melodies of two of the most famous of all opera arias, the “Habanera” and the “Toreador Song”. The first half of the concert concludes with a short de Falla piece known as Danza from La Vida Breve.
The second half of the concert is given over to a performance of Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole which is a popular work in the repertoire for violin and orchestra. Featured on the Symphonie espagnole is renowned violinist and conductor Robert Rozek. Mr. Rozek’s career saw him graduate from the Juilliard School of Music in New York after which he has had a most distinguished career performing and conducting all over Europe, the United States and Canada. He has performed with opera singers such as Pavoratti, Careras and Bartoli, along with many artists in the field of Pop and Jazz including Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Barbra Streisand and Louis Armstrong. Mr. Rozek is currently the Director of Strings and International Relations at the B.C. Conservatory of Music.
A sample from last year’s Mother’s Day concert.
Admission is by donation to the NWSO concert. NWSO is committed to making classical music accessible for all.
