Australian Conductor Kynan Johns to Make Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra Debut

By: Oct. 21, 2016
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A founding resident company of The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia (COP) invites internationally acclaimed Australian conductor Kynan Johns to open the second concert of COP's 16/17 season featuring Ricardo Morales on Clarinet. Showcasing the Chamber Orchestra's hallmark grace and intimacy with dance-inspired classics, the concert opens with the whimsical Dance of the Blessed Spirits from Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice. Johns', having conducted Opera productions at the Covent Gardens and La Scala, brings a singular vision and style to Gluck's memorable work.

Having a 10 year relationship is a great start, 25 is even better, but, for the Morales brothers their entire musical lives were formed together in their native Puerto Rico and their long-time home here in Philadelphia and have blossomed into national fame - a total of 5 brothers spanning 17 years in age and each playing different instruments. The two brothers performing with the Chamber Orchestra: Ricardo and Jesús Morales, clarinet and cello respectively, are just a year apart in age and have spent much of their lives performing for family and friends. As children, the Morales brothers often performed "Paranndas," a Puerto Rican tradition of playing at the door of a friend or relative to initiate a festive evening of food, drinks, and music. Ricardo said he would often get in trouble for "standing too close to the food, and would be distracted and wind up eating." Ricardo will be performing Mozart's Clarinet Concerto in A Major, a selections he's working on since he was 14 years old. "I love the history of this work from its original conception for Basset Clarinet to how it's often heard in the present day, and how that gives us a window, and unique glimpse, into Mozart's mind."


The concert will also feature Respighi's evocative and colorful Ancient Airs and Dances. Though living over twocenturies after the Renaissance and Baroque eras, Ottorino Respighi held great interest in the earlier Italian musical forms and dances. Based on 16th and 17th century lute music, Ancient Airs and Dances reveals the composer's love and obvious penchant for early Italian musical styles. The program concludes with a rarely heard British masterpiece from the early half of the 20th century, Symphony for Strings by Oscar-winning British composer Malcolm Arnold. Written during World War II, Symphony for Strings was composed while Arnold was in the Army Band unit for the United Kingdom. The score offers a complex personal reflection spanning feelings of loss, desperation and hope endemic to one's emotional landscape during times of war.



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