CSO's ITALIAN FESTIVAL Features Respighi, Paganini, And Mendelssohn's 'Italian' Symphony

The extraordinary violinist Rachel Barton Pine returns to tackle Paganini's devilishly difficult Violin Concerto No. 1, and guest conductor Daniel Boico leads a marvelous tour of Italy with Respighi's Ancient Airs and Dances, Suite III, and Mendelssohn's "Italian" Symphony No. 4.

The Columbus Symphony presents the Italian Festival at the Southern Theatre (21 E. Main St.) on Friday and Saturday, October 26 and 27, at 8pm. Tickets start at $10 and can be purchased at the CAPA Ticket Center (39 E. State St.), all Ticketmaster outlets, and www.ticketmaster.com. To purchase tickets by phone, please call (614) 469-0939 or (800) 745-3000. The CAPA Ticket Center will also be open two hours prior to each performance.

Prelude - Patrons are invited to attend a 30-minute, pre-concert Subject Matter lecture titled "An International Melting Pot: The Roman Art Scene circa 1830" by OSU Professor of History of Art Dr. Andrew Carrington Shelton.

Postlude (Friday) - Directly following the performance, patrons are invited to meet and mingle with CSO woodwind and percussion musicians in the adjacent Thurber Bar.

Postlude (Saturday) - Directly following the performance, patrons are invited to stay in the auditorium for "Paganini's Virtuosity," a talk and demonstration by guest violinist Rachel Barton Pine.

Mozart to Matisse - Wednesday, October 24, 2pm, Columbus Museum of Art (480 E. Broad St.)

In collaboration with the Columbus Museum of Art (CMA), this event will include a lecture examining the Tuscan painters of the second half of the 19th century, who broke with convention to paint primarily outdoors to capture natural light, shade, and color. "Italian Impressionish: The Macchiaioli," will conclude with a chamber music performance by CSO musicians. Tickets are $5 for CMA members or $20 for non-members (which also includes admission to the museum) and can be purchased by calling CMA at 614.629.0359.

Described by critics as "dynamic, vigorous, exciting and imaginative - an undisputed star who combines magnetic charisma with a skilled technique," conductor Daniel Boico is the newly appointed associate guest conductor of the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra in Durban (South Africa). His innate musical sensitivity, paired with a keen ear and fine musicianship, has produced exciting performances with orchestras in the United States, Europe, Central and South America, Africa and Asia. www.Daniel-Boico.com

A leading interpreter of the great classical masterworks, violinist Rachel Barton Pine thrills audiences with her dazzling technique, lustrous tone, and emotional honesty. With an infectious joy in music-making and a passion for connecting historical research to performance, Pine transforms audiences' experiences of classical music. Pine's 2018-19 season includes concerts with the Columbus and Phoenix Symphony Orchestras, the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, the Orchestre Symphonique de Bretagne, and the Tel Aviv Soloists. Pine's past chart-topping albums include Mozart: Complete Violin Concerto, Sinfonia Concertante with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner conducting; Testament: Complete Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin by Johann Sebastian Bach; Bel Canto Paganini, and Elgar & Bruch Violin Concertos with the BBC Symphony, Maestro Andrew Litton conducting. She has appeared as soloist with many of the world's most prestigious ensembles, including the Chicago and Vienna Symphonies, Philadelphia Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic, and Camerata Salzburg. She performs on the "ex-Bazzini ex-Soldat" Joseph Guarnerius del Gesu (Cremona 1742). www.RachelBartonPine.com

Respighi was an Italian violinist, composer, and musicologist, best known for his three orchestral tone poems-Fountains of Rome (1916), Pines of Rome (1924), and Roman Festivals (1928). His musicological interest in 16th-, 17th- and 18th-century music led him to compose pieces based on the music of these periods. He also wrote several operas. Ancient Airs and Dances is a set of three orchestral suites by Respighi, freely transcribed from original pieces for lute. Suite III (1932) differs from the other two in that it is arranged for strings only and is somewhat melancholy in overall mood. It is based on lute songs by Besard, a piece for baroque guitar by Ludovico Roncalli, lute pieces by Santino Garsi da Parma, and additional anonymous composers.

Paganini was an Italian violinist, violist, guitarist, and composer. He was the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique. His 24 Caprices for Solo Violin are among the best known of his compositions and have served as an inspiration for many prominent composers. His Violin Concerto No. 1 was composed in Italy, probably between 1817 and 1818, and reveals that his advanced technique was fully developed. The concerto shows the great influence of the Italian Bel Canto ("beautiful singing" or "beautiful song") style, and especially Paganini's younger contemporary Gioachino Rossini.

A German composer, pianist, organist, and conductor of the early romantic period, Mendelssohn wrote symphonies, concertos, oratorios, piano music, and chamber music and is now among the most popular composers of the era. His Symphony No. 4, commonly known as the "Italian," had its origins in Mendelssohn's tour of Europe from 1829 to 1831, and was inspired by the color and atmosphere of Italy.

To post a comment, you must register and login.