April 25, 2003
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Portland, Ore.… Associate Conductor Norman Leyden and the Oregon Symphony present the final concert of the Symphony Sundays series, which features a salute to Tchaikovsky on Sunday, May 25 at 3 p.m. in the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. The Symphony Sundays series is sponsored by Southpark Seafood Grill and Wine Bar.
The program opens with Tchaikovsky’s “March Slave,” Op. 31 and the Waltz from the Serenade for Strings in C major, Op. 48, which the composer described as having been inspired by “an inner impulse…I venture to hope that this work is not without artistic qualities.” Leyden and the Symphony round out the first half of the concert with a suite from Tchaikovsky’s beloved ballet “Swan Lake,” which features Associate Concertmaster Peter Frajola and Principal Cello Nancy Ives.
The second half of the program begins with the second movement “Andante cantabile” from Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 in E minor, which features a haunting and evocative French horn solo. The concert ends with the two final movements from the Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36, the “Scherzo: Allegro” and the passionate “Finale: Allegro con fuoco.” Tchaikovsky himself acknowledged an extra-musical layer of meaning inspired his fourth symphony; in a letter to a friend he described the Scherzo as a series of “disconnected pictures which come and go…vague figures which slip into the imagination when one has taken wine and is slightly intoxicated…the mood is now gay, now mournful.” Of the Finale, Tchaikovsky wrote, “If you find no pleasure in yourself, look about you. Go to the people. See how they can enjoy life and give themselves up entirely to festivity…do you still say that all the world is immersed in sorrow? There still is happiness, simple naïve happiness. Rejoice in the happiness of others—and you can still live.”
The concert is scheduled for Sunday, May 25 at 3 p.m. in the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Tickets are $22 for adults, $13 for students and seniors and may be purchased at the Oregon Symphony Ticket Office (923 S.W. Washington), Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., or charged by phone at 503-228-1353 or (800) 228-7343. Tickets also may be purchased at all Ticketmaster outlets (530-790-ARTS) or through Ticketmaster Online, via the Symphony’s Web site at www.orsymphony.org. Service fees may apply.