Music, dance and the movies come together
along with some very special guests for the next University of South Carolina
Symphony Orchestra concert. Acclaimed violinist Michael Ludwig is the soloist
for “The Red Violin” concerto by John Corigliano and dancers from the Columbia
Classical Ballet will join the orchestra as it performs the second act of “The
Nutcracker.” The concert is Tuesday, Nov. 15 at 7:30 p.m. at the Koger Center
for the Arts.
Just a few months ago Michael Ludwig gave the
Russian premiere “The Red Violin” with the St. Petersburg State Symphony
Orchestra and in October performed it with the National Philharmonic. “The Red
Violin” concerto grew out of Corigliano’s Academy Award-winning soundtrack for
the 1998 film of the same name that spans three centuries and five countries as
it tells the story of a mysterious violin and its many owners. Corigliano
completed the four-movement concerto in 2003.
Ludwig has long experience performing “The
Red Violin” and recorded it in 2009 with the Buffalo Philharmonic conducted by music
director JoAnn Falletta for the Naxos label. His performance in St. Petersburg
was made at the request of Corigliano who has called Ludwig “an extraordinary
artist who merges world-class technique with a world-class interpretive mind.”
Corigliano is one of the best-known
contemporary composers whose varied styles have garnered many honors. The
composer was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his Second Symphony in 2001, won a
2000 Grammy Award for “Mr. Tambourine Man: Seven Poems of Bob Dylan” for
soprano and orchestra, was commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera to write “The
Ghost of Versailles” in 1991, and has scored several movies including “Altered
States” and “Revolution.”
This will be the second time Ludwig,
concertmaster of the Buffalo Philharmonic, has performed with the USC Symphony
Orchestra.
“He’s a first-class performer and a heck of a
nice guy,” said Dr. Donald Portnoy, music director. “There’s warmth in his
playing and real insight into the music he is performing. There is always a
musical idea he is trying to get across to the audience and he does that.”
Corigliano will be paired with another
composer who could write music for many purposes – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Most
people know his music through “The Nutcracker” and although thousands of people
attend “The Nutcracker” ballet each year, they rarely get a chance to hear the
music played live. The USC Symphony will be in full force for this work with
nearly 70 players on stage.
“We thought it would be nice for people to be
able to hear it as Tchaikovsky intended,” said Portnoy.
For “The Nutcracker” the orchestra will be
joined by Columbia Classical Ballet dancers performing excerpts from 1892
ballet by choreographers Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov. The ballet is set at
Christmas time during a magical night. In the second act the Nutcracker, who
has been transformed into a prince, and the girl Clara journey to the Kingdom of
Sweets where sugarplum fairies dance. During the 1960s “The Nutcracker” became
a holiday dance tradition in the United States.
The second act includes the Spanish, Arabian,
Chinese and Russians dances, as well as the “Waltz of the Flowers,” the “Pas de
Deux” and “Sugar-Plum Fairy Dance,” the last of which uses the celesta, a
keyboard/percussion instrument invented in 1886. The clear bell-like tone of
the celesta is immediately recognizable. Although most strongly associated with
the Sugar Plum dance, many people also know its sound through the “Hedwig
Theme” from the “Harry Potter” movies.
Don’t miss this concert of musical
masterpieces from the 19th and 21st centuries.
Tickets are $25 for the general public, $20
for USC faculty and staff and seniors; and $8 for students. To purchase tickets
go to capitoltickets.com or call (803) 251-2222.
