CSO To Perform Mendelssohn's SCOTTISH Copland, and Beethoven

In this program led by guest conductor Jayce Ogren, the rustic romanticism of Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 3 ("Scottish") and the coarseness of youthful Beethoven's Symphony No. 1 are juxtaposed with a virtuosic concerto written by Aaron Copland for the legendary jazz clarinetist Benny Goodman. Copland's Clarinet Concerto will showcase the talents of CSO Principal Clarinetist David Thomas.

The Columbus Symphony presents Mendelssohn's "Scottish," Copland, and Beethoven at the Ohio Theatre (39 E. State St.) on Friday and Saturday, March 16 and 17, at 8pm. Tickets start at $10 and can be purchased at the CAPA Ticket Center (39 E. State St.), all Ticketmaster outlets, and www.ticketmaster.com. To purchase tickets by phone, please call (614) 469-0939 or (800) 745-3000. The CAPA Ticket Center will also be open two hours prior to each performance.

Prelude - Patrons are invited to join Christopher Purdy in the theatre at 7pm for a 30-minute, pre-concert discussion about the works to be performed.

With mounting success in both symphonic and operatic repertoire, Jayce Ogren is building a reputation as one of the finest young conductors to emerge from the US in recent seasons, and was recently named artistic director of Philadelphia's Orchestra 2001. In the 2017-18 season, return engagements for Ogren include the Colorado Symphony, the National Arts Centre Orchestra (Ottawa), and the Breckenridge Festival, as well as the Dallas, Indianapolis, and Edmonton Symphonies, and debuts with the Nashville, Columbus, and Asheville Symphonies and with the Louisville Orchestra. Additional debuts for Ogren this season include the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Chorus for Terence Malick's The Voyage of Time at the Melbourne Festival (Wordless Music project), and with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, leading the orchestra with film in Bernstein's West Side Story. As a composer, Ogren's works have been performed at the Royal Danish Conservatory of Music, the Brevard Music Center, the American Choral Directors Association Conference, and the World Saxophone Congress. His Symphonies of Gaia has been performed by ensembles on three continents and is the title track on a DVD featuring the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra.

Principal clarinetist of the CSO since 1989, Thomas has had an outstanding career as a soloist and orchestral player. During his previous position as principal clarinetist of the Kennedy Center Orchestra (Washington, DC), he was well-known for his numerous solo and chamber music recitals. Beyond his many appearances as soloist with the Columbus Symphony, Thomas has performed concertos with the Baltimore Symphony, the National Symphony, and the National Chamber Orchestra. At age 18, he won first prize in competitions sponsored by the International Clarinet Society and the Music Teacher National Association.

German composer and pianist Ludwig van Beethoven was a crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras of Western art music, and remains one of the most famous and influential of all composers. His Symphony No. 1 was dedicated to Baron Gottfried van Swieten, an early patron of the composer. The premiere took place in Vienna on April 2, 1800. The concert program also included his Septet and Piano Concerto No. 2, as well as a symphony by Mozart and an aria and a duet from Haydn's oratorio, The Creation. This concert effectively served to announce Beethoven's talents to Vienna.

Aaron Copland was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later conductor of his own and other American music. Referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Composers," the open, slowly changing harmonies of Copland's music are what many consider to be the sound of American music, evoking the vast American landscape and pioneer spirit. His Clarinet Concerto was written between 1947 and 1949, after being commissioned in 1947 by jazz clarinetist Benny Goodman to compose a concerto for clarinet. Goodman premiered the concerto on an NBC radio broadcast with the NBC Symphony Orchestra on November 6, 1950.

Mendelssohn was a German composer, pianist, organist, and conductor of the early Romantic period. He wrote symphonies, concertos, oratorios, piano music and chamber music, and is among the most popular composers of that era. Composed between 1829 and 1842, his Symphony No. 3 ("Scottish") was inspired by a visit to the ruins of Holyrood Chapel at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, on July 30, 1829. Holyrood Palace has served as the principal residence of the Kings and Queens of the Scots since the 16th century, and from 1561-67, the royal apartments in the northwest tower were occupied by Mary, Queen of Scots. After visiting, Mendelssohn wrote to his family, "In the deep twilight we went today to the palace were Queen Mary lived and loved...The chapel below is now roofless. Grass and ivy thrive there and at the broken altar where Mary was crowned Queen of Scotland. Everything is ruined, decayed, and the clear heavens pour in. I think I have found there the beginning of my 'Scottish' Symphony."

www.columbussymphony.com

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