Details

MASTERWORKS
BEETHOVEN AND WITCHES

INTRO
Recognized as the leading opera composer of his time, the prolific Gioachino Rossini wrote The Silken Staircase at age 20. The comedic opera, though very popular in its day, is not performed as often as is his The Barber of Seville or William Tell. However, The Silken Staircase Overture stands the test of time as a masterpiece punctuated by lively banter between the strings and the upper woodwinds.

At its 1803 premiere, Ludwig van Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto was not entirely complete, and the solo passages were played by the composer himself largely from memory. The concerto is often associated with Beethoven maneuvering away from his more Mozart-influenced earlier piano concertos to develop his own style. Indeed, it is a wonderful display of the dramatic musicality that we have come to know as quintessentially Beethoven.

In The First Walpurgis Night, Felix Mendelssohn reimagines a spooky yet comic tale with building momentum. With ghosts, witches, owls, pitchforks, and the devil this work is perfect for the Halloween holiday! Themes of conflict and oppression are woven throughout and intertwined by the music and the voices; in one moment it is serious and serene and in the next rowdy and rambunctious.

PROGRAM
GIOACHINO ROSSINI

THE SILKEN STAIRCASE: OVERTURE

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN

PIANO CONCERTO NO. 3 IN C MINOR, OP. 37

FELIX MENDELSSOHN

DIE ERSTE WALPURGISNACHT, OP. 60 (THE FIRST WALPURGIS NIGHT)

ARTISTS
Caleb Borick, Piano

Faith Sherman, Alto

Victor Cardamone, Tenor

Cory Schantz, Bass-Baritone

Charleston Symphony Orchestra Chorus

Dr. Robert Taylor, Director
College of Charleston Concert Choir

Dr. Robert Taylor, Director
Charleston Southern University Concert Singers

Dustin Ousley, Director
Ken Lam, Conductor