Andrew Grams Leads the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in an All-Mozart Program, May 23

By -

BSO Principal Philip Munds performs Mozart’s Horn Concerto No. 2

Guest conductor Andrew Grams will lead the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in its last Casual Concert Series performance this season featuring an All-Mozart Program on Saturday, May 23, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. This program will also be performed at Frederick Community College on Wednesday, May 20, 2009 at 8:00 p.m. The program includes three of Mozart’s works, including his Horn Concerto No. 2 (performed by BSO principal Philip Munds), Symphony No. 36, “Linz” and the first movement of Symphony No. 38, “Prague.” As part of the Casual Concert Series, coffee and pastries will be on sale in the lobby at 10:00 a.m. Please see below for complete program information.

Written for friend and horn player Joseph Leutgeb, Mozart’s Horn Concerto No. 2 memorializes the horn player’s talents on the unwieldy natural horn still in use in the late 18th century. The original score of Horn Concerto No. 2 is an offering of friendship, inspired by the horn's origins as the signal instrument for aristocratic hunting parties. BSO Principal Philip Munds, a musician who has been hailed by The Baltimore Sun for his “terrific contributions” to BSO programs, will perform the concerto.

Symphony No. 36, “Linz” is now known as one of Mozart’s finest symphonic works, so inventive and beautifully crafted that its short gestation is quite impressive. After a three-month visit with his family during the summer of 1783, Mozart stopped en route to Vienna at the city of Linz. While staying with Count Thun, one of Austria's most powerful nobles, his host asked Mozart to present one of his symphonies at the court. He completed Symphony No. 36 in just five days. The product of his efforts is a symphony worthy of a noble court and associated with lofty ceremony.

Mozart’s Symphony No. 38, “Prague,” was written for the Prague Opera House after the success of Mozart’s comic opera The Marriage of Figaro. Delighted and honored by the Opera House’s commission, Mozart completed the symphony in just over a year. “Prague” has only three movements rather than the four that was customary in Mozart's symphonies at the time. The first movement of the “Prague” will be performed as part in this program.

Andrew Grams, conductor
Young American conductor Andrew Grams has served as the resident conductor of the Florida Orchestra and completed his three-year term as assistant conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra in 2007. He was appointed to that post by Franz Welser-Möst in June 2004. In 2002, Grams was appointed the assistant conductor of the Reading Symphony Orchestra in Pennsylvania and returned to conduct that orchestra again in 2005. As one of America’s most promising and talented young conductors, Mr. Grams has already made debut appearances with many of the great orchestras of the world including The Philadelphia Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, the St. Louis Symphony, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of Santa Cecilia Rome and the orchestras of Baltimore, Dallas and Houston.

A Maryland native raised in Severn, Andrew Grams began conducting at the age of 17, when he directed the World Youth Symphony Orchestra at Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan. In 1999 he received a bachelor of music degree in violin performance from the Juilliard School and in 2003 he received a conducting degree from the Curtis Institute of Music. Also an accomplished violinist, Mr. Grams was a member of the New York City Ballet Orchestra at Lincoln Center from 1998 to 2004, serving as acting associate principal second violin in 2002 and 2004. In addition, he has performed with ensembles including the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the Brooklyn Philharmonic, and the New Jersey Symphony.

Philip Munds, horn
A California native, Philip Munds attended the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, graduating in 1986 with a bachelor’s degree in music. After graduation, he remained in the Bay area and played for the San Francisco Symphony, the San Francisco Opera and Ballet orchestras, the Berkeley Symphony and the Santa Cruz Symphony Orchestra. In 1989 he moved east to play with the United States Air Force Band in Washington, D.C. While playing associate principal horn in the band, he also performed extensively with the Air Force Woodwind Quintet. In 1997, Mr. Munds left the service and filled the position of assistant principal horn with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and in 2004, was appointed principal horn under Maestro Temirkanov. He currently teaches at the Peabody Conservatory.

COMPLETE PROGRAM INFORMATION:
BSO at Frederick: All Mozart
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 at 8:00 p.m. – Frederick Community College
The Jack B. Kussmaul Theater
7932 Opossumtown Pike
Frederick, MD 21702

Casual Concert Series: All Mozart
Saturday, May 23, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. – Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall
Come early for coffee and pastries, on sale at 10:00 a.m.

Andrew Grams, conductor
Philip Munds, horn

Tickets for this concert range from $20 to $60. Tickets are available through the BSO Ticket Office, 877.BSO.1444, 410.783.8000 or BSOmusic.org.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Role of Music in Opera

By -
There are numerous books on the topic, and every composer, librettist, director, singer and audience member has their opinion as to what role the music should play in an opera. In a play without music, the words ought to support the meaning behind a character's actions. However, in the case of action movies, often times the action is what tells the story and there aren't words, just images to forward the plot. We might hear music to accompany action, build tension, but the action tells the story. Musicals tend to speak until the emotion of the moment just "has" to break out in song - unless it's something like "Mama Mia" where the dialog is the rails we travel on between songs; the songs themselves, written before the concept of the musical, are the focus of the production, while the story is secondary. Operas are a different beast. The music provides emotion to the words spoken, but it also plays the role of ambience when there is only action. In ...
Read more

Episode 210b: Joyeuse le départ

By -
Image
Podcast:  Play in new window  |  Download Subscribe:  Apple Podcasts  |  Android  |  Google Play  |  Stitcher  |  TuneIn  |  RSS Provost Cunningham has Transmigrated, but to where! What is Dr Sage going to do with his body? And how can she bring home her friends, Abigail and Erasmus, without also bring home Cunningham? What are they going to say when they find the “skeleton” she’s hiding in her closet? Cast: Eddie Louise Clark  as Dr Sage Chip Clark  as Professor Savant Justin Bremer  as the Narrator Emily Riley Piatt  as Abigail Entwhistle, Calypso & Dean Stewart Written by  Eddie Louise Theme music by  Unwoman Sound Design by  Chip Michael
Read more

Teaching Composition – What are we trying to achieve

By -
In the process of learning composition I have spent time with a number of instructors who have encouraged me to write twelve-tone, pitch-class, electro-acoustic and other forms of experimental techniques. No matter how much I might understand and appreciate the work of other composers in the genres, these are not forms of music I resonate with. They are simply not forms of music I listen to and I struggle with the idea of writing them. However, in a Master Class by Libby Larsen she made the comment, “Learn them all, because all forms of music have something to offer.” This I very much agree. There are elements of each of the above mentioned forms (and others) that I do resonate with. Berg’s Violin Concerto is a beautiful twelve-tone work, although it is possible to look at numerous sections of the music with a “tonal” analysis. Another composer friend, Gary Bachlund commented that using these techniques can narrow the choices for how to compose a piece of work. If you look at ...
Read more