Mozart and More
The Asheville Symphony Orchestra will open its season on Saturday, September 20, 2014 with a concert featuring works by Mozart, Dvorak, Rossini and Holst, along with a celebration of Music Director Daniel Meyer’s 10th season with the ASO.
The season-opening program starts with Rossini’s overture to The Barber of Seville, followed by Dvorak’s Serenade, op. 44. After intermission, the orchestra will perform Holst’s St. Paul’s Suite and close the program with Mozart’s Symphony No. 39.
Meyer’s intent for programming the concert was to select colorful, vibrant music to celebrate the opening of the season, which is the ASO’s 54th.
“Rossini’s overture to The Barber of Seville is a perfect appetizer, full of flavor and interest, which leaves you wanting more,” Meyer said. “Then the strings take a back seat in a piece designed to feature the wonderful woodwind section in Dvorak’s Serenade.”
The Mozart symphony — one of the composer’s final works — will serve as a sneak preview of the ASO’s Asheville Amadeus Festival set for March 17-22, 2015. World-renowned pianist Emanuel Ax will perform two Mozart piano concertos and other works during the festival.
To help celebrate the Maestro’s 10th season, we sat down with Maestro Daniel Meyer for a few quick questions.
Rapid River Magazine: It seems a good place to start would be the «how did you get into music» question — so, how did you get into music?
Daniel Meyer: My mother introduced me to the magic of music. She is an excellent pianist, organist, and singer, and she would set me next to her at the piano when I was just about old enough to sit still. We sang and played together and that made a huge impression on me. Music was fun and energizing, it was a wonderful way to communicate and be expressive, even then. Then things started to get “serious” when I began formal piano lessons at age 6 and violin lessons at age 8.
RRM: As the conductor of the Asheville Symphony for 10 years, you have participated in over 100 performances with the orchestra. Are there performances or moments that stand out in your memory for their significance? Could you tell us what made these performances particularly special for you?
DM: I was particularly proud of the orchestra when we performed Rite of Spring by Stravinsky — it was a watershed moment for us, because after that searing performance, there was no turning back. We can now play just about anything we want to. I also fondly look back on Falla’s El Amor Brujo, for which we created a brand new production and choreography with Attack Theatre, and our performance of Shostakovich’s 11th Symphony at the end of last season. That was such a powerful performance of a work which, frankly, not many of our musicians had performed before!
I tend to remember best the concerts in which we took a particular risk and in some way exceeded our expectations — whether that expectation was for how we played the music or even more importantly, how did that music resonate with our audience?
RRM: In addition to your performing schedule, you also give frequent talks, master classes and seminars. What are some of the most important lessons you seek to pass on to your audiences?
DM: You do not have to be an expert or a trained musician to love the music we play. In fact, coming to the table with an open mind is most often an advantage and will free you to experience the raw power of great music played by a passionate group of musicians. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t invest a little research or advanced listening before you come to a concert.
Just like anything else that is worth your passion and time, great music needs commitment on the part of its performers but also its listeners. Additionally, find your own way through the classical literature. You do not have to start at Medieval chant and work your way methodically through music you may or may not like. Find connections, take detours, enjoy the wonderful breadth of what we call “classical music.”
If You Go: Asheville Symphony’s Opening Night concert takes place September 20, 2014 at 8 p.m. in the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium at the U.S. Cellular Center. Tickets start at $22 for adults and $11 for youth. For more information or to purchase tickets call (828) 254-7046 or go to www.ashevillesymphony.org.