Occidental - Caltech Symphony Orchestra
Allen Robert Gross, Director | Armen Ksajikian, Cello
Saturday, November 21, 2009 - 7:30PM | Thorne Hall, Occidental College
Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92 - Ludwig van Beethoven
Beethoven, in his Seventh Symphony, continued his preoccupation with incessantly repeating rhythms that characterized his Sixth, the “Pastorale”, Symphony. The almost palpably kinetic rhythmic drive of the entire piece inspired Wagner to dub it “The Apotheosis of the Dance”. At the same time, the symphony explores a layout of keys that is first propounded in the introduction to the first movement, setting the stage for almost all subsequent modulations in all subsequent movements. The Seventh is composed of big blocks of music, which repeat with very obvious twists when they continue. Beethoven also exults in enormous buildups at the end of the first and fourth movements, “grinding out” repeated figures in the bass line over which the incessantly repeated figures gradually get louder and louder. It is true that its premiere in 1813 did have its detractors, who called the symphony “too noisy”. Maybe, but what a great and exultant noise!
To Download MP3: Right-click red links below and choose 'Save As'
Laudi, Op. 62 (1973) | William Mathias
To Download MP3: Right-click red link above and choose 'Save As'
The compositions of Welsh composer William Mathias are not well known in this country, but deserve to be so. He worked in a wide variety of idioms, including choral music, chamber music, works for organ, concertos for various instruments, even opera and oratorio. Laudi (literally “praises”) was premiered in 1973 is based on a chorale for organ written by the composer in 1966. This chorale is “revealed”, as it were, at the end of the piece. Its ritual and celebratory nature is enhanced by its instrumentation, prominently featuring bells, vibraphone, piano and celesta.
Cello Concerto in B Minor, Op. 104 - Antonin Dvorák
Dvorák's Cello Concerto dates from his years in the United States in the 1890s. It is of course considered the foremost example of the genre.
To Download MP3: Right-click red links below and choose 'Save As'
Since his arrival in the United States in 1976 from Abkhazia in the former Soviet Union, cellist Armen Ksajikian has established himself as a vital contributor to nearly every aspect of the musical life of Los Angeles. He is admired for his artistry and beloved for his generosity and wonderful sense of humor.
Ksajikian has performed as principal or soloist with the Los Angeles Chamber, Opus Chamber and Hollywood Bowl orchestras, among others. He has toured with the Los Angeles Philharmonic to New York and Europe, and with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra to Japan and Brazil. He has also played with most symphonies in the Southland, and with the orchestras of many international ballet companies as well as the LA Opera and Deutsche Oper Berlin.
On a given night in Southern California, you can catch Ksajikian playing Baroque music, jazz or new music with numerous early and late-period ensembles or on TV in an unmistakable cameo as a character in Animaniacs. As a scoring musician he has over 900 motion picture soundtracks to his credit and has performed in the Academy Awards orchestra since 2004. A shrewd casting director spotted Ksajikian on the Hollywood Bowl stage and hired him as the uzi-toting limousine driver in James Cameron's True Lies.
Ksajikian is also a member of the adventurous Armadillo String Quartet, which was voted Best String Quartet (2004) by Los Angeles Magazine.
ALLEN ROBERT GROSS is in his twenty-seventh year as Director of the Occidental-Caltech Symphony. In addition to being on the music faculties at Occidental College and Caltech, Dr. Gross is also Music Director and Conductor of the Santa Monica Symphony Orchestra and conductor of the Pasadena Summer Youth Chamber Orchestra
The OCCIDENTAL-CALTECH SYMPHONY SYMPHONY is a college-community orchestra consisting of students and staff from Occidental College, the California Institute of Technology, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and players from their surrounding communities. To join our mailing list, please email cdemesa@caltech.edu
Program Notes by Allen Robert Gross. Reprinted With Permission.