Rimsky-Korsakov’s immortal “Scheherazade” and Tchaikovsky’s glorious “Rococo Variations for Cello and Orchestra,” with Boston Symphony Orchestra cellist Owen Young, headline the Wellesley Symphony Orchestra’s program on Sunday, November 19. Celebrating the Wonderful World of Wellesley and led by Maestro Max Hobart, the 3 p.m. concert is preceded at 2:15 by a talk by Leslie Holmes.
The concert opens with “The Walk to the Paradise Garden” from “A Village Romeo and Juliet,” an opera written in 1900-1901 by the English composer Frederick Delius. The piece was added to the opera just before its debut to cover a lengthy scene change and depicts the ill-fated lovers enjoying a peaceful interlude in nature as they stroll to a pub called the Paradise Garden. Considered one of Delius’ most beautiful works, it features beautiful soloistic wind passages and reaches a climax in the sublime love theme of the opera.
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote his “Variations on a Rococo Theme” in 1877 for Wilhelm Fitzenhagen, a German cellist who taught at the Moscow Conservatory. It is the closest Tchaikovsky came to writing a cello concerto. It opens with an original theme in the classical style and includes eight virtuosic variations. The theme and variations format does not allow much rest for the soloist and the piece, while beloved, presents a monumental challenge for cellists.
Cellist Owen Young joined the BSO in August 1991. A frequent collaborator in chamber music concerts and festivals, he has also appeared as concerto soloist with numerous orchestras. He has appeared in the Tanglewood, Aspen, Banff, Davos, Sunflower, Gateway, Brevard, and St. Barth's music festivals and is a founding member of the innovative chamber ensemble Innuendo. Mr. Young's performances have been broadcast on National Public Radio, WQED in Pittsburgh, WITF in Harrisburg, and WGBH in Boston. He has performed frequently with singer/songwriter James Taylor, including the nationally televised concert "James Taylor Live at the Beacon Theatre" in New York City. Mr. Young was formerly on the faculties of the Boston Conservatory, the New England Conservatory Extension Division, and the Longy School of Music; is currently on the faculty of Berklee College of Music; and is active in Project STEP (String Training and Education Program for students of color). From 1991 to 1996, he was a Harvard-appointed resident tutor and director of concerts in Dunster House at Harvard University. His teachers included Elinor Osborn, Michael Grebanier, Anne Martindale Williams, and Aldo Parisot. Mr. Young holds both bachelor's and master's degrees from Yale University. He was a Tanglewood Music Center Fellow in 1986 and 1987. After winning an Orchestra Fellowship in 1987, he played with the Atlanta Symphony in 1988 and with the Boston Symphony in 1988-89. He was a member of the New Haven Symphony in 1986-87 and of the Pittsburgh Symphony from 1989 until he joined the BSO in 1991.
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakoff wrote his orchestral suite, “Scheherazade,” in 1888. The exotic tales from the “One Thousand and One Nights” were extremely popular in 19th century Europe and proved a perfect vehicle for his unsurpassed skill at orchestral coloration. The part of “Scheherazade” is taken by the concertmaster, who plays ever more difficult and fantastic music. Concertmaster MaeLynn Arnold will play the ravishing and virtuoso part of the sultana. Rimsky-Korsakoff wrote an introduction for use with the score: “The Sultan Schariar, convinced that all women are false and faithless, vowed to put to death each of his wives after the first nuptial night. But the Sultana Scheherazade saved her life by entertaining her lord with fascinating tales, told seriatim, for a thousand and one nights. The Sultan, consumed with curiosity, postponed from day to day the execution of his wife, and finally repudiated his bloody vow entirely.”
The concert is at MassBay Community College, 50 Oakland Street, Wellesley. Tickets for the concerts are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors and students, and free for children under 12. They may be purchased at Wellesley Books, Walgreens on Washington Street, Andrews Pharmacy on Weston Road, online, at the door, and at PO Box 81860, Wellesley Hills, MA, 02481. There is plenty of free parking at the college.
Call (781-235-0515) or visit www.wellesleysymphony.org for further information.
