Scottish-Themed Music to Highlight Utah Symphony Program

Scottish-Themed Music to Highlight
Utah Symphony Program

Just in time for the Scottish holiday, St. Andrew’s Day, the Utah Symphony and Music Director Thierry Fischer will explore the sounds of Scotland through French and German eyes in a concert featuring Felix Mendelssohn’s majestic Symphony No. 3.

This performance of Mendelssohn’s “Scottish” Symphony will mark the continuation of the orchestra’s season-long Mendelssohn Symphony cycle. In his U.S. orchestral debut, guest violinist Fumiaki Miura and the orchestra will also highlight traditional Scottish folk melodies as they pay tribute to Scotland’s rich heritage with Bruch’s “Scottish Fantasy,” November 30 (St. Andrew’s Day) and December 1 at 8 p.m. in Abravanel Hall. The program will also include Haydn’s Symphony No. 3 and Debussy’s “Scottish March.”

In 1829, the 20-year old Mendelssohn made his first trip to England which included a tour of Scotland. He attributed the initial idea for his “Scottish Symphony” to seeing the roofless ruins of the Holyrood Chapel in Edinburgh, behind the castle where Mary Stuart once resided. Though he did not finish his masterpiece until 1842, the stunning visual beauty of Holyrood that inspired him years before can still be heard.

Bruch’s “Scottish Fantasy” was completed in 1880 and pays homage to the vibrant and rousing Scottish tradition with variations on several traditional bagpiper folk melodies, including “Through the Wood Laddie,” “The Dusty Miller,” “I’m A’ Doun for Lack O’ Johnnie,” and “Hey Tuttie Tatie.”

St. Andrew’s Day is celebrated by Scots all over world. It is a national holiday in Scotland, dedicated to the patron saint who brought Christianity to their beloved nation.

Fischer and Corbin Johnston, Utah Symphony Associate Principal Bass, will present a free pre-concert chat each night, one hour prior to the start of the performance on the orchestra level of Abravanel Hall.

Tickets for the performances can be purchased by calling (801) 355-ARTS (2787), in person at the Abravanel Hall ticket office (123 W. South Temple) or by visiting www.utahsymphony.org.

About Fumiaki Miura
Fumiaki Miura, the First Prize Winner of the International Joseph Joachim Violin-Competition (Hannover 2009), was born in Japan in 1993, and comes from a musical family. His father is a concertmaster and his sister is studying the piano. Miura began to play the violin at the age of three. In 2008 he was admitted to the Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo as one of the most promising future talents and until recently he studied there with Tsugio Tokunaga. Since the beginning of the 2009/10 winter semester, he continues his studies at the Vienna Conservatory with Prof. Pavel Vernikov. He regularly attends master classes for example with Pavel Vernikov, Jean-Jacques Kantrow and Zakhar Bron.

He has already performed with many orchestras including the NDR Radiophilharmonie, Polish Amadeus Chamber Orchestra, Vienna Chamber Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic, Ensemble Kanazawa, Osaka Philharmonic, Sapporo Symphony Orchestra and the Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra.

In the season 2012-13 Miura will give his debut with NDR Sinfonieorchester Hamburg, at Konzerthaus Vienna with the Vienna Chamber Orchestra and also his first appearance in the US with the Utah Symphony. A particular highlight of the current season will be the Polish premiere of Penderecki’s Concerto for Viola and Violin in November 2012 with Julian Rachlin and Poznan Philharmonic.

Miura did not only win the First Prize of the Hannover Violin-Competition – he also won the Music Critics’ Prize and the Audience Prize of the 2009 competition and is therefore not only the youngest Winner in the history of the Competition, but also the one with the most prizes.

In both 2003 and 2004 – as an elementary student –Miura won Second Prizes in the All Japan Students’ Music Competition. In 2006, he was awarded the Second Prize at the Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition for Young Violinists. When participating in the Music Academy in Miyazaki he was awarded as one of the best performers in 2008 and 2009.

Program
Franz Joseph Haydn
       Symphony No. 3 in G major
              I. Allegro
              II. Andante moderato
              III. Menuet IV. [Allegro]

Max Bruch
       Scottish Fantasy for Violin and Orchestra, Opus 46
              Prelude: Grave
              I. Adagio cantabile
              II. Allegro
              III. Andante sostenuto
              IV. Finale: Allegro guerriero
                     Fumiaki Miura, Violin

Intermission

Felix Mendelssohn
       Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Opus 56. "Scottish"
              I. Andante con moto - Allegro agitato
              II. Scherzo assai vivace
              III. Adagio cantabile
              IV. Allegro guerriero - Finale maestoso

Claude Debussy
       Marche écossaise, sur un thème populaire


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