Tag Archives: The Grand Rapids Symphony

GR Symphony, conductor Lehninger to take tour of historic Mussgorsky’s ‘Pictures’

3-bottom, Entertainment, Local Entertainment, Upcoming Events, , ,
Grand Rapids Symphony, conducted by Marcelo Lehninger, will present “Pictures at an Exhibition” next week. (Supplied/Stu Rosner)

 

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

 

Marcelo Lehninger, in his first full year as Grand Rapids Symphony’s Musical Director, has a long history with Modest Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition” — ranging from hearing it in its original piano solo form as a youth, to it being on his debut program at the famous Tanglewood Festival, to his now conducting it on both sides of the Atlantic in the span of a month.

 

But as he prepares to bring Maurice Ravel’s orchestrated version of the work to Grand Rapids’ DeVos Performance Hall on Friday and Saturday, March 3-4, he admits to having only a cursory knowledge of Emerson, Lake and Palmer’s progressive-rock, synthesizer-driven version.

 

And who is to blame him? He was raised in Brazil, surrounded by classical and Latin music — his father is German violinist Erich Lehninger and mother Brazilian pianist Sonia Goulart — and he was born in 1979, eight years after EL&P’s vinyl version debuted.

 

“I first heard the piece on its original piano solo version, and I felt in love with it,” Lehninger said in a email interview this week. “I’ve conducted many times — in fact I just conducted it in Europe (Slovenia) where I am right now. It was also on my debut program in Tanglewood with the Boston Symphony.”

 

The cover of Emerson, Lake and Palmers vinyl recording to “Pictures at an Exhibition”.

And, despite his only passing familiarity with the rock variation, he is all for even old rockers giving Ravel’s version a listen.

 

“I heard about the ELP version, but never got familiar with it,” he said. “In any case, we will rock with ‘Pictures’ next week in Grand Rapids!”

 

Ravel’s version, with its virtuoso violin work required, is the most “colorful” of all the versions, Lehninger believes, despite the fact that he studied both violin and piano early in his career.

 

“I definitely have an affinity for both violin and piano, not only because I studied these instruments, but because I grew up listening to them,” he said. “However, one instrument was never enough for me. I loved playing the violin and piano, but I needed more colors, more sounds; therefore I exchanged the 88 keys of the piano for 88 musicians in the orchestra.

 

“I believe that many composers that orchestrated the piece felt exactly how I felt playing just one instrument. This is a piece with so many sounds and colors possibilities, somehow the piano alone doesn’t achieve that. Therefore many composers orchestrated the piece. Although Ravel’s orchestration is criticized for not ‘sounding Russian enough’, it is my favorite orchestration of the piece. Ravel was a master of orchestration and with ‘Pictures’ he explores all the sound palette of the orchestra. I have to confess that I like Ravel’s version much better than the original piano solo version.”

 

In addition to “Pictures at an Exhibition”, also on the symphony’s upcoming program are Erich Korngold’s Violin Concerto in D Major with guest soloist Stefan Jackiw, as well as Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings and “John Corigliano’s Promenade Overture from 1981.

 

Violinist Stefan Jackiw. (Supplied)

Jackiw’s career has included performing at the grand opening of Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall alongside pianist Emanuel Ax, soprano Renée Fleming and conductor James Levine. He may be best known to younger audiences for his performance of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto with the YouTube Symphony Orchestra at Australia’s Sydney Opera house, seen live on YouTube by more than 30 million people worldwide.

 

For more information on Grand Rapids Symphony concerts visit GRSymphony.org

 

Boldly Go Where No Orchestra Has Gone Before

Local Business, Local Entertainment, Upcoming Events, , ,

Star Trek Live in ConcertIn 2009, acclaimed director J.J. Abrams re-envisioned and re-invigorated the Star Trek franchise with a brilliantly casted ensemble, stunning visual effects and action-packed plot. Michael Giacchino’s thrilling, Grammy-nominated musical score contributed in no small part to the film’s success

At “Star Trek: Live in Concert,” the Grand Rapids Symphony orchestra will perform Giacchino’s score as “Star Trek” (2009) is screened simultaneously in high definition. Audiences will experience the film in true surround sound as they are transported into the futuristic world of Captain Kirk, Spock and the rest of the U.S.S. Enterprise crew. This Nestlé Gerber SymphonicBoom series concert is a highly anticipated, one-night only performance on Saturday, October 17, 8:00 p.m. at DeVos Performance Hall.

Grand Rapids SymphonyThe orchestra will be led by Constantine Kitsopoulus, who has made a name for himself conducting in the worlds of opera, musical theater and symphony. Kitsopoulus is currently in his eighth year as Music Director of the Queens Symphony Orchestra and continues as General Director of Chatham Opera, which he founded in 2005.

“Star Trek: Live in Concert” is being presented in collaboration with Grand Rapids Comic-Con, a comics and popular arts convention to be held at DeVos Place October 16 – 18. Fun, family- friendly activities will surround “Star Trek: Live in Concert” in DeVos Performance Hall, including a space-themed photo booth and cocktails in the Keeler Lobby. Social media posts from audience members using the #grsymphony hashtag will be shared on hall screens.

Tickets start at $32 and are available at the Symphony office, weekdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or by calling 616-454-9451. Other ways to purchase tickets as follows:

• By phone in the evenings and on Saturday by calling 616-885-1241
• At the DeVos Place Box Office, weekdays 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Through Ticketmaster at 800-982-2787
• Ticketmaster outlets: select D&W Fresh Markets, Family Fare Stores and Walmart
• Online at GRSymphony.org
• On the day of the concert at the DeVos Place Box Office beginning two hours before showtime

GR Symphony Music Director to Conduct his Last Concert

Local Entertainment,

GR symphonyby Sarah Koupal

Under the leadership of Music Director David Lockington, the Grand Rapids Symphony has achieved new heights of artistic excellence and greater acclaim: four-star ratings by The Grand Rapids Press, a Grammy-nominated performance with hip-harpist Deborah Henson Conant, the orchestra’s 2005 debut at Carnegie Hall and innovative diversity, education and inclusion initiatives. Lockington will conduct his last concerts in the role on Friday, May 8 and Saturday, May 9, 8:00 p.m. at DeVos Performance Hall as a part of the Richard and Helen DeVos Classical Series. The singular work featured in “David’s Grand Finale” will be Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, “Resurrection.”

The Grand Rapids Symphony Chorus and two guest vocalists, Kelley Nassief and Susan Platts, will join the orchestra for what is sure to be a powerful and significant performance.GRS conductor

Since the beginning of David Lockington’s tenure as GRS Music Director, the orchestra has played one major work by Mahler annually. The composer’s second symphony, “Resurrection,” was the composer’s first major work that established his lifelong meditation on the universal themes of life, death and human fate. The piece is also one of Lockington’s favorite works. The Grand Rapids Symphony has completed a full cycle of Mahler’s nine symphonies over Lockington’s tenure, making Mahler’s “Resurrection” a fitting and spectacular end to his final season.

Mahler’s second symphony is an elaborate work with a gargantuan orchestra, choir, organ, church bells, an offstage brass ensemble and a massive battery of percussion. According to Mahler’s own program notes, the first movement is intended to represent the death of the hero in his first symphony: “…it is the hero of my First Symphony that I am burying here and whose life I am gathering up in a clear mirror…At the same time is the great questions: Why have you lived? Why have you suffered? Is all this merely a great, horrible jest? We must resolve these questions somehow or other, if we are to go on living.”

To answer these questions, the second movement is a gentle, old-fashioned dance of lilting grace, representing long-forgotten pleasure, followed by a grotesque waltz for the third movement shot through with earsplitting chords to astonishing effect. The fourth movement serves as an introduction to the finale with a child’s song, wistfully longing for relief from life’s burdens.

With the colossal fifth and final movement, Mahler introduced sounds and effects never before used in symphonic music to depict the last judgment and resurrection, resulting in one of the most powerful climaxes in classical music. In Mahler’s own words, “The earth quakes, the graves burst open, the dead arise and stream on in endless procession. The trumpets of the apocalypse ring out. All is quiet and blissful. There is no judgment, no sinners, no just men, no great and no small; there is no punishment and no reward. A feeling of overwhelming love fills us with blissful knowledge and illuminates our existence.”

Upbeat, a free pre-concert multi-media presentation, will be hosted in the Recital Hall before each performance at 7:00 p.m. Upbeat is sponsored by BDO USA. “David’s Grand Finale” will be rebroadcast on Sunday, June 14 at 1:00 p.m. on Blue Lake Public Radio, FM 88.9 or FM 90.3.

“David’s Grand Finale” is sponsored by Warner Norcross & Judd. The guest artists for this concert are supported by the Edith I. Blodgett Guest Artist Fund.
Tickets start at $18 and are available at the Symphony office, weekdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., 300 Ottawa NW, Suite 100, (located across from the Calder Plaza), or by calling 616.454.9451 x 4. (Phone orders will be charged a $2 per ticket service fee, with a $12 maximum.) Tickets are available by phone in the evening and on Saturday by calling 616.885.1241. Tickets are available at the DeVos Place Box Office, weekdays 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., or on the day of the concert beginning two hours prior to the performance. Tickets may also be purchased through Ticketmaster, 800.982.2787, online at GRSymphony.org or in person at Ticketmaster outlets: select D&W Fresh Markets, Family Fare Stores and Walmart. Tickets purchased at these locations will include a Ticketmaster service fee. Full-time students of any age are able to purchase tickets for only $5 on the night of the concert by enrolling in the Symphony’s Student Passport program. This is a MySymphony360 eligible concert.