Madison Symphony Orchestra

press release: Single tickets are now on sale at the Overture Box Office, 201 State Street, (608) 258-4141.

Oct. 21, 22, 23, 2016

Beethoven’s Pastorale

John DeMain, Conductor

Henning Kraggerud, Violin  

EDWARD ELGAR                     In the South (Alassio)*

MAX BRUCH                            Violin Concerto No. 1

HENNING KRAGGERUD           Three Postludes from Equinox*

         No. 2 D minor (Prague); No. 9 A flat Major (Hangzhou); No. 19 A Major (New Orleans)

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN     Symphony No. 6 (Pastorale)  

·         While escaping a drab English winter, Elgar, inspired by the Italian Riviera and his realization of the human cost of war, wrote In the South – an overture that begins and ends in a stormy mood.

·         Austrian virtuoso, Joseph Joachim, cited Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 as one of the “four German violin concertos” – alongside the concertos of Beethoven, Brahms, and Mendelssohn – calling it the “richest, most seductive” of the four composers.

·         Norway’s star solo violinist Henning Kraggerud has played with some of the world’s greatest orchestras. In this concert he showcases his ability as a composer, sampling a few of his 24 Equinox postludes.

·         Pastorale, Beethoven’s tribute to country life, has been adored by millions after it was popularized during the Disney-animated classic film, Fantasia.  Formally innovative, it suggests images of a babbling brook, bird songs, and thunder among other visual and musical themes in the piece.