Concerts - "All or Nothing"

Every time I plan a concert season, I think of the many approaches a conductor might take when putting together a series of concerts. One I particularly like is to group together great pieces of music that have something in common with each other, or works that can be considered to share a musical connection.

The first concert of our upcoming season features four engaging works that are in three different musical keys, yet have a special connection to each other. Anyone who has played a musical instrument likely remembers the rule of the “circle of fifths,” which in simple terms states that melodies written in keys that are five notes apart from each other sound “related.” In this concert we will play four major pieces: two in the key of C minor (Beethoven’s 3rd Concerto and Mozart’s Masonic Funeral Music), another that’s five notes up to G minor (Mozart’s Symphony No. 40), and a final one that, again, is five notes up to the key of D (Rossini’s Overture to Signor Bruschino). These works form a set that, collectively, are in what musicians call “relative keys”; hence the concert is called “It’s all Relative.”

The second concert is titled “All Barber.” Just as you’d expect, we start with none other than … Rossini’s Overture to The Barber of Seville, followed by Knoxville Summer and the fabulous Concerto for Violin and Orchestra by Samuel Barber.

Our holiday concert, previously called “A Gift of Music,” is titled “All Magical” because the pieces we will be playing in December remind me of the magical feeling that, as a child, I always associated with the holidays. I hope I can convey some of this magic to you for the holiday season.

For our February 2011 concert we offer a collection of pieces that are not only musically distinctive but also feature an unusual orchestral combination. Except for the showy little Serenade for Small Orchestra by Rossini, all of these pieces could be described as extremely innovative works written in the 20th century.

In April we take the opportunity to show off our amazing cast of string players! Each piece on this program is a masterwork written to bring out the warm yet brilliant colors of the orchestral strings—including my favorite string serenade written by Antonin Dvořák. I am so looking forward to this concert.

The May concert comprises four of the most enchanting pieces I could come up with in a combination fit for our end-of-season program. The rarely performed Two Chansons by Edward Elgar open the evening , followed by the grand Double Concerto for Violin and Cello by Brahms. We close the concert and the season with Mozart’s beloved Symphony No. 25, which became famous after release of the movie Amadeus.

I hope that, with such wondrous sounds to look forward to, you are as excited as we are about this charming and energetic season.

Bahman Saless
Music Director
Boulder Chamber Orchestra