register |  login
› ENGLEWOOD
Loading Ad
Visit Other Hubs:
ADVERTISEMENT
Loading Tower
RECENT STORIES

60th Year for the Denver Philharmonic Orchestra
Contributed by: Robin McNeil on 9/21/2007

This is the 60th Anniversary of the Denver Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Dr. Horst Buchholz. The orchestra will present its opening concert in its traditional home, the KPOF Hall at 1340 Sherman Street in Denver, on Friday, September 28, at 7:30 PM.

This promises to be an outstanding concert because it will feature the virtuoso guitarist from the DU School of Music Faculty, Ricardo Iznaola. One of the most attractive personalities of the guitar world, Ricardo Iznaola pursues a brilliant, multifaceted, musical career. Mr. Iznaola, an American citizen, was born in Havana, Cuba, in 1949. His activities as a performer, composer, pedagogue, lecturer, and writer have been distinguished by international critical acclaim and the admiration of colleagues and audiences alike. He has been called "one of the most seminal players, teachers and thinkers of the guitar scene today" (Soundboard Magazine) and an "expressive, full of character, persuasive and assured musician with flair as well as technique" (Los Angeles Times). He is also on the faculty of the Summer Music Festival at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine.

As performer and composer, Iznaola has been awarded top prizes in eight international competitions, including the Munich International Competition, the Francisco Tárrega Award in Spain -which he won twice-, and the Stroud International Composers' Competition in England.

Simultaneously to guitar studies under the eminent Spanish master Regino Sainz de la Maza, Mr. Iznaola pursued studies in composition at the Royal Conservatory in Madrid, Spain. Mr. Iznaola's works include the instrumental suite Musique de Salon, which he will perform at this concert.

He will also perform the Concerto, Op. 30, Nr. 1, in A Major by Mauro Giuliani. Giuliani was an Italian composer who spent the years 1808 to 1819 in Vienna, where he established a remarkable reputation as a virtuoso guitarist. He was also a consummate musician and his reputation allowed him to become friends with Beethoven, Rossini, and Hummel. He wrote several compositions for guitar and piano, guitar and string quartet, and guitar and violin. The concerto that Iznaola will perform shows the influence of Rossini - whose themes he sometimes used - because it is clear that Giuliani was writing totally within the bel canto, operatic, dramatic tradition of his time. Make no mistake, this concerto is a true virtuosic masterpiece.

The Concerto in A, Opus 30 was performed by Giuliani himself on 3 April 1808 in the Redoutensaal in Vienna, to great applause and enthusiasm. The performance was a major step in his establishment as a virtuoso there, only two years after his arrival. In a review from the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung of May 1808, the reviewer calls the concerto "the most outstanding composition that has yet been written for and performed on this instrument in Germany." This concerto is another rarely heard piece that fits the tradition of rare works performed by conductor Horst Buchholz and the Denver Philharmonic.

Included on the program will be Iberia, by Claude Debussy. This work is his orchestral Image, the other being written for piano. Divided into three movements, In the Streets and Byways, Fragrance of the Night, and Morning of a Festive Day, the first movement seems to be the favorite of concert audiences. Debussy truly abandons functional harmony and allows chords to resolve because of their common tones rather than on a scale function. He also makes use of three medieval church modes - Phrygian, Mixolydian, and Dorian. This work can easily be typified as late Debussy. In other words, there are key "areas," rather than precise modulations. It should be pointed out that this work is not heard very often in live performance unless one is willing to travel to some of the large cities in the U.S. and Europe. This performance should not be missed.

Friday's concert will open with the popular overture by Gioacchino Rossini, The Barber of Seville. Rossini's opera follows the first of the plays from the Figaro Trilogy by French playwright Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, while Mozart's opera, Le nozze di Figaro composed 30 years earlier in 1786 is based on the second part of the Beaumarchais' trilogy. The play was banned in many cities of Europe because of the political satire and criticism, and that fact that Beaumarchais concentrated on the politics of great importance to the pre-Revolutionary audience. Even in Mozart's day - remember, he wrote the Marriage of Figaro - Joseph the II considered the opera to dangerous to stage, even though one could read the book. The story is a love triangle in which the hero, Count Almaviva plots with the help of his barber, Figaro, to win the love of Rosina.

Tickets for this concert are on sale at the door which opens at 6:30 PM Friday evening. Ticket prices are $20 for adults, $15 for seniors, $8 for students with ID, and children under 12 years of age are admitted free. The Denver Philharmonic Orchestra web site is www.denverphilharmonic.org. or you may call 303-420-2919 to purchase tickets.


SUBMIT COMMENT

Rate the above story



Talk Back : submit comments to the story

*Note: you need to log-in to add a comment or rating.

CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Robin McNeil

Littleton , CO

Robin McNeil has posted 698 stories and 0 comments since joining on 9/14/2005. Robin McNeil 's average story rating is 5.
SAVE AND SHARE THIS STORY
STORY RSS FEEDS
WANT TO WRITE FOR YOURHUB.COM?
Want to see the stories you write and the photos you shoot featured in the YourHub.com Thursday print section available all over the Front Range and with home subscriptions of the Rocky Mountain News and The Denver Post? All you have to do is register, then post a story or column, start a blog or tell everyone what events are happening in town. We will print the best stories, columns, event listings, photos and blog entries in our print sections.

ADVERTISEMENT
Loading Ad

Loading Ad
ADVERTISEMENT
Loading Ad

This YourHub.com community is produced by The Denver Newspaper Agency
Web Development and Channel Analytics provided by Indigio

terms of use //  privacy policy
the staff //  advertise //  help & faq
buy photos