Conservatorium of Music
Thursday Concert Class
Thursday Concert Class
| Cello Concerto No. 1 in E Flat Major | Dmitri Shostakovich (1906 - 1975) |
| 2. Moderato | |
| Eliza Sdraulig, Cello | |
| Leigh Harrold, piano | |
| Dmitri Shostakovich composed his Cello Concerto No. 1 in E Flat Major in 1959 and it is dedicated to Mstislav Rostropovich, a celebrated cellist and life-long friend of the composer. The composition is based around a figure derived from the composer’s signature DSCH motif; however, its intervals and rhythms are constantly re-shaped and developed throughout the work, giving the composition a cyclic structure. | |
| Tableaux de Provence | Paule Maurice (1910 - 1967) |
| IV: Dis Alyscamps L'amo Souspire (A Sigh of the soul for the Alyscamps) | |
| John Lauricella, Saxophone | |
| Leigh Harrold, piano | |
| 'Tableaux de Provence' is a suite written by the female composer Paule Maurice, in which each movement describes a particular scene set in the Provence region of France. The fourth movement depicts a walk through an ancient cemetery. | |
| The Carnival of Venice | Jules Demersseman (1833 - 1866) |
| Edited by Frederick Hemke | |
| John Lauricella, Saxophone | |
| Leigh Harrold, piano | |
| Demersseman was a flautist who was famous for his high lung capacity and extremely fast fingers, and this is reflected in his compositions. His iteration of the popular folk tune 'The Carnival of Venice' is one of the earliest compositions for saxophone, having been written for a student of Adolphe Sax himself. | |
| Horn Concerto No. 1,Op.11 | Richard Strauss (1864 - 1949) |
| I. Allegro II. Andante III. Allegro | |
| Isaac Shieh, French horn | |
| Peter Baker, piano | |
| Richard Strauss' Horn Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major is one of the most demanding works for horn, utilising the full range of the horn and a mixture of lyrical and brilliant passages. It was originally written for his father, an accomplished horn player of the Munich Court Orchestra. However, due to the difficulty of the piece, his father declined to give the premiere performance of the concerto. The concerto, although contains 3 movements, are played attacca, providing a seamless transition between the emotional scopes explored in each movement. Nowadays, the piece is a standard repertoire for orchestral auditions and solo performance. | |
| Andante spianato et grande polonaise brillante in E-flat major, Op. 22 | Frederic Chopin (1810 - 1849) |
| Ling Ling Chen, Piano | |
| The Andante spianato has the character of a nocturne, and at the same time of a lullaby. It forges an oneiric mood, from which the listener is only released by the fanfares of the horns announcing the Polonaise. Spianato means evenly, without contrasts, without any great agitation or anxiety. The principal theme of the Polonaise combines soaring flight with spirit and verve, bravura with elegance – all of those features that characterise a dance in the style brillant. The end result is a work in grand style, par excellence virtuosic. | |