For Immediate Release: November 5, 2019
Corvallis-OSU Symphony performs Shostakovich’s tenth symphony Nov. 24
By Zachary C. Person
CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Corvallis-OSU Symphony under the direction of Maestro Marlan Carlson performs works by Antonín Dvořák, Zoltán Kodály and Dmitri Shostakovich at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 24 in the Austin Auditorium at The LaSells Stewart Center, 875 SW 26th St., Corvallis.
Antonín Dvořák’s “Carnival Overture” Op. 92 opens the program. The rousing nine-minute work from 1891 forms the second in Dvořák’s trilogy of concert overtures inspired by the composer’s impressions of life, love and nature which embody the human experience.
Zoltán Kodály’s "Dance of Galanta," a four-part whirlwind of folk melodies and gypsy tunes, follows. Like his contemporary Béla Bartók, Kodály spent his lifetime collecting folk music melodies in the remote areas of Hungary, Transylvania and other areas of Eastern Europe. "This passion for the unblemished and authentic musical expressions of mostly illiterate people with no formal musical education eventually manifested itself in many of their compositions," says Maestro Carlson. "And like the food of this area, the music of these composers is both exhilarating and sensorially intoxicating."
The Tenth Symphony in E minor, Op. 93 by Dmitri Shostakovich closes the program. Shostakovich began composing the four-movement symphony shortly after the death of Josef Stalin in 1953, and the symphony forms a musical portrait of both Stalin as a person and Shostakovich’s experience of living under the Stalinist regime.
The symphony was premiered in 1953 by the Leningrad Philharmonic under the direction of Yevgeny Mravinsky to huge success, though the overall pessimistic tone of the work quickly attracted public scrutiny from the Soviet Composer’s Union as being an "optimistic tragedy” and “non-realistic.” Despite the criticism, Shostakovich, who was well accustomed to politically motivated ridicule of his works - and very adept at publicly apologizing for their content - did not offer to rewrite the symphony. His Op. 93 stands today as a mid-century masterwork and an astute if somewhat less than overt political statement summing up in a mere 53 minutes Shostakovich’s experiences during decades of Stalinism.
Tickets are $22 to $32 in advance or $25 to $35 at the door. Tickets are available online at www.cosusymphony.org. Up to three K-8 students accompanied by a ticketed adult, and all high school and college students with ID, may be given free general admission tickets at the door starting one hour prior to the concert, subject to availability.
Corvallis Arts for All discounts apply with a valid SNAP card and are available one hour prior to performance. For accommodations relating to a disability please call 541-286-5580, preferably one week in advance.
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