February 11, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Portland, Ore. … Rowdy weddings and elegant aristocratic parties are captured in music as Music Director Carlos Kalmar and the Oregon Symphony perform Mozart’s “Haffner” Symphony and Peter Maxwell Davies’ “Orkney Wedding, with Sunrise” on April 16, 17 and 18 at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, with an added performance on April 19 at Salem’s Smith Auditorium. Lufthansa is the exclusive airline sponsor for the Symphony’s Classical series. Media support is provided by The Oregonian.
Mozart’s Symphony No. 35, known as the “Haffner” Symphony, was written in honor of his childhood friend Sigmund Haffner, in celebration of Haffner’s elevation to the nobility. This elegant and joyful music was described as “a masterpiece of harmony” by a member of the audience who heard it performed in 1786.
Davies’ joyfully debauched “An Orkney Wedding, with Sunrise” is a musical snapshot of a Scottish country wedding he attended and is one of his most popular orchestral works. A reviewer for The Independent described it as “ unashamed programme music [that] parodies Scottish strathspeys and reels in a hilarious picture of a boozy, rustic knees-up, the band finally collapsing into alcoholic oblivion…”
Kalmar and the Symphony will also present Mendelssohn’s “Scottish” Symphony, dedicated to Queen Victoria. Mendelssohn’s love of Scotland infuses his final symphony, which evokes the richness of Scottish history, the romantic melancholy of its weather and the vigorous strength of its people.
The concert opens with William Walton’s lively “Portsmouth Point Overture,” which is based on an etching of the rough-and-tumble docks of Portsmouth, England. Walton’s music captures the bawdy energy of the picture, which depicts drunken sailors, dockworkers unloading cargo from the ships and Portsmouth’s ladies of the evening plying their trade.
Soirée, the Symphony’s new group for young professionals will host its third event on Saturday, April 16 with a pre-concert Scottish-themed party that features Scotch whisky tasting and live Celtic music, an intermission party and a post-concert reception with Kalmar and Symphony musicians.
Oregon Symphony Classical concerts regularly include additional opportunities for listeners to learn more about the music and the orchestra. These activities include:
Concert Conversations: Carlos Kalmar and Shaun Yu of KBPS All Classical 89.9 will have a discussion one hour before the concert of the works to be performed. Media support for “Concert Conversations” is provided by Classical Millennium.
Saturday: Carlos Kalmar will speak briefly from the podium in “Saturday Interactive.” Media support for “Saturday Interactive” is provided by KINKfm102.
Performances are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, April 16 and 17 at 7:30 p.m. and Monday, April 18 at 8 p.m. at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, with an added performance on Tuesday, April 19 at Willamette University’s Smith Auditorium in Salem. Tickets range in price from $18 to $80 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 (503-790-ARTS) or through Ticketmaster Online, via the Symphony’s Web site at www.orsymphony.org. Service fees may apply.
