MOZART ’ S JUPITER
CHRISTIAN COLBERG
Roy ; J . S . Bach ’ s complete piano concertos with Alexandre Tharaud , both by Virgin Classics ; and Haydn ’ s piano concertos with Marc-André Hamelin as soloist , released by Hyperion in April 2013 .
The Canadian government has honored Bernard Labadie with the appointment as “ Officer of the Order of Canada ” in 2005 . His home province named him a “ Chevalier de l ’ Ordre National du Québec ” in 2006 .
Bernard Labadie makes his BSO debut .
Emily Skala
Emily Skala is principal flutist of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra . During her career , she has held three principal positions , performed as guest principal in orchestras throughout the world and has appeared at top music festivals in Aspen , Edinburgh and Brazil . As a soloist , she has worked with internationally renowned conductors including Marin Alsop , Juanjo Mena , Mario Venzago and David Zinman . After being appointed principal flutist of the BSO in 1988 , Skala became a faculty member of the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University in 1989 . She has taught masterclasses at the National Orchestral Institute , the Eastman School of Music , Oberlin Conservatory and George Mason University ; in Suanbo , South Korea ; and for the National Flute Associations ’ annual conventions .
As a soloist with the BSO , Skala has tackled the most demanding repertoire for the flute , including works by Bach , Corigliano , Rouse and Takemitsu . She has performed on numerous recordings ( including Grammy ® -nominated and Grammy ® -winning CDs ) for the Decca , Telarc , Sony and Naxos labels . During her time with the BSO , Skala released a solo CD of Brahms and Schubert with Summit Records , which received much critical acclaim .
Emily Skala last appeared with the BSO in June 2016 , performing Bach ' s Brandenburg Concerto No . 5 , Jonathan Carney , leader .
ROY COX
Sarah Fuller
Sarah Fuller has been acting as principal harpist with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra since 2007 . Additionally , she is the principal harpist with the Delaware Symphony Orchestra . Her playing has been hailed by The Baltimore Sun as both “ refined ” and an “ impressive flash ” that “ stood out ” from the orchestral texture , and The News Journal of Delaware described her solo Debussy performance as “ exquisite .”
Outside of the orchestra , Fuller leads an active musical life . As a soloist , she has performed concertos by Debussy , Ravel and Mozart with the Delaware Symphony Orchestra , and as a chamber musician she frequently performs on series such as Chamber Music by Candlelight in Baltimore . She also collaborates with notable groups such as the Philadelphia contemporary ensemble , Network for New Music ( with whom she has made several recordings , including two world premieres ) and Dolce Suono . In January 2009 , Fuller was the solo artist on an evening of harp music for the Delaware Symphony Orchestra ’ s Champagne Chamber Series , which was broadcast on Philadelphia ’ s NPR station WHYY .
A native of Philadelphia , Fuller holds a master ’ s degree in music from Indiana University . She studied at the New England Conservatory and the Royal Conservatory of Music ’ s Glenn Gould School for her bachelor ’ s degree .
Fuller has been on the faculty of the University of Maryland since 2011 and in the summers , teaches at the National Orchestral Institute .
Sarah Fuller makes her BSO solo debut .
About the Concert
EINE KLEINE NACHTMUSIK
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Born in Salzburg , Austria , January 27 , 1756 ; died in Vienna , Austria , December 5 , 1791
Eine kleine Nachtmusik ( A Little Night Music ) has always enjoyed hit status among Mozart ’ s works , to the point that overexposure may blind us to its gemlike perfection . It is one of the finest examples of the special-occasion music he composed throughout his career under various titles : serenade , divertimento , cassation or nocturne . These works , usually in many movements , were created for princely soirées or weddings of wealthy merchants ( like Mozart ’ s “ Haffner ” Serenade ) and frequently for outside and / or evening performance . They were intended to be light , festive background music to accompany social chatter and plenty of eating and drinking .
Although Mozart usually wrote such works only on commission ( they were an excellent source of quick cash for the often financially strapped composer ), we have no record of why this piece — dated August 10 , 1787 — was written or even whether it was ever performed in his lifetime . Could he have written it for his own pleasure ? The title in Mozart ’ s native German , rather than the Italian he customarily used for such works , suggests that this might well have been a personal piece . Mozart biographer Alfred Einstein came up with the ingenious suggestion that Mozart might have composed it as a corrective to his A Musical Joke , K . 522 , written shortly before . In A Musical Joke , Mozart gleefully thumbed his nose at all the hallowed rules of musical composition of his day , while in Eine kleine Nachtmusik , he followed those rules meticulously to create a work of ideal refinement and charm .
This composition originally contained another minuet movement ; it is listed in Mozart ’ s catalogue as a five-movement work , but the first minuet was inexplicably torn from the manuscript . What is left is a miniature four-movement symphony for string orchestra , with a sonata-form first movement , a slow movement in rondo form , the surviving minuet and a sonata-rondo finale . The second movement “ Romance ” introduces a few nocturnal shadows in its C-minor middle section to a work that is otherwise an ideal musical expression of the relaxed pleasures of a balmy summer evening .
Instrumentation : String orchestra .
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