Classically Alive presents:

Beethoven, Bax & Beyond 

Norah Clydesdale, cello Abe Minzer, piano

Saturday, April 28, 2018 6:00 PMClassically Alive - Minzer/Schreuder Residence8 Broadmoor Hills Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80906$20 includes “not so light” refreshments and drinksPLEASE RSVP EARLY- for reservations and info please contact Abe Minzer at:[email protected] or 229-2239http://ClassicallyAlive.com

Come join us for an evening filled with great music featuring Norah Clydesdale on the cello, Abe Minzer on piano. So many people comment to me, how much they love the cello. And Beethoven!, a favorite composer for so many will be featured, along with England’s best-kept secret, Sir Arnold Bax, plus a trio of wonderful “Beyond” composers.

Our program opens with a beautiful romantic musical poem, “Silent Woods” by Antonin Dvorak. This work is tender, sentimental, poignant and with touches that evoke Dvorak’s Czech heritage and landscape. Then follows a meditative work, “Two Hebraic Melodies” by Maurice Ravel, the Impressionist musical master. The first melody, “Kaddish”, is a memorial prayer, and the beautiful cello melody, in Jewish improvisatory cantorial style, has a deep, dark, soulful tone. The brief second melody, “The Eternal Enigma”, employs regular rhythms and recurring harmonic patterns, creating a hypnotic effect.

The major work of the first half is the Legend-Sonata by Sir Arnold Bax. This is a rarely heard work, that cellist and pianist here are most excited to perform for Classically Alive. Bax’s music abounds in inspired melodies with lush, sensual, romantic harmonies. His music is a fusion of styles reminiscent of Debussy, Strauss, Rachmaninoff and others, but with something that is uniquely Bax. The first movement of the Legend-Sonata has a fantasy-like quality with moods shifting between forceful, whimsical, sensual, mystical, veiled and ferocious, to name a few. The second movement is slow and romantic, with memorable melodies, and is recognized as one of Bax’s most inspired efforts. The third/final movement opens with a playful dance-like theme, and much of the movement has a fun, mischievous nature with surprises and wit throughout. Beautiful soaring melodies with harmonic ingenuity make their appearances, and brilliant, exalted writing ends the imaginative Legend-Sonata.

The Beethoven Sonata in C Major for Cello and Piano is from the composer’s late period, a time of the composer’s most sublime output. Each of the two movements of the sonata begin slow and reflective, followed by faster, energetic music. The slow music is mainly poetic, either expressive or sweet, as noted by the composer’s indications in the score. The fast music in the first movement has an enigmatic, searching intense quality, while the second movement offers a lighter, happier mood.

Closing the program is the Hungarian Rhapsody of David Popper. Popper was one of the greatest cellist of the 19th century, working Liszt, Brahms and other notables. The Popper Rhapsody borrows theme from Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsodies for piano. Popper’s heartfelt melodies evoking Eastern Europe folk and his brilliant virtuoso writing with its gypsy flair, will no doubt bring “Beethoven, Bax & Beyond” to a rousing conclusion.   

PROGRAM

Waldesruhe (Silent Woods)                                                 Antonin Dvorak (1841 -1904)

Two Hebraic Melodies (1914)                                         Maurice Ravel (1875 - 1937)           I: Kaddish          II: The Eternal Enigma

Legend - Sonata for Cello and Piano (1943)                  Arnold Bax (1883 - 1953)           I: Allegro risoluto          II: Lento espressivo         III: Allegro

INTERMISSION

Sonata No. 4 in C Major for Cello and Piano, Op. 102, No. 1                                                                                             Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827) I: Andante - Allegro vivace

II: Adagio - Tempo d’Andante - Allegro vivace

Hungarian Rhapsody, Op.                                   68 David Popper (1843 - 1913)

*FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2017 AT 7PM

The Clydesdale Music and Art Studio NEW!

315A N. Santa Fe St.

81003 Pueblo, CO

S Bach Unaccompanied Suites for Cello

Suite I and II

G.Faure Elegie

Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 1 PREMIERE!

Dr. David Volk, Music Chair

Colorado State University Pueblo

*SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 10 at 2:30pm

Christ Episcopal Church

Canon City, Colorado

JS Bach Unaccompanied Suites for Cello

Suite I and II

G.Faure Elegie

Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 1 PREMIERE

Dr. David Volk, Music Chair

Colorado State University Pueblo

*WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017 at 7PM

The Clydesdale Music and Art Studio NEW!

315A N. Santa Fe St.

81003 Pueblo, CO.

Welcoming MICHAELA PAETSCH from SWITZERLAND!!

A Program of Solo pieces for Violin - Cello

and DUOS

Reinholdt GLIERE : Huit MORCEAUX pour Violon et Violoncello

ENESCO : Serenade en Sourdine pour Violon et Violoncello

Carmen HABANERA arranged for Violin and Cello

JS BACH Suite in D Minor Unaccompanied for Cello

JS Bach Sonata in D Minor for Violin

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2017 at 7PM

Classically Alive Series

Minzer Residence

Colorado Springs, CO.

Reinholdt GLIERE : Huit MORCEAUX pour Violon et Violoncello

ENESCO : Serenade en Sourdine pour Violon et Violoncello

Carmen HABANERA arranged for Violin and Cello

JS BACH Suite in D Minor Unaccompanied for Cello

JS Bach Sonata in D Minor for Violin

David VOLK Sonata for Cello and Piano

Three performances:

*FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 at 7:00pm

Ascension Episcopal Church

Pueblo, Colorado

Prometheus Piano Trio

The Mozart Project

Mozart Trio in B-flat Major

Mozart Trio in E Major

Arvo Part's "Mozart Adagio"

*SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 at 7:00pm

United Methodist Church

Monument

The First Concert of the 2017-2018 Season

When Saturday, September 30, 2017 at 7 PM

Where Tri-Lakes United Methodist Church

20256 Hunting Downs Way, Monument, CO 80132

*****Special Reception*******

prepared by pastry chef, Guy Mendel

PURCHASE TICKETS

Prometheus Piano Trio

The Mozart Project

Mozart Trio in B-flat Major

Mozart Trio in E Major

Arvo Part's "Mozart Adagio"

LEARN MORE

*SUNDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2017 at 2:00pm

Christ Episcopal Church

Canon city, Colorado

Mozart Trio in B-flat Major

Mozart Trio in E Major

Arvo Part's "Mozart Adagio"

PROMETHEUS Piano Trio

The Mozart Project

Piano Trio in Residence at CSUP

Dr. Zahari Metchkov, Piano

Dr. Timothy HSU, Violin

Norah Joy Clydesdale, Cello

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2017 at 2:00pm

Christ Episcopal Church

Canon City, Colorado

JS Bach Unaccompanied Suites III and VI

Gabriel FAURE Sonata No 1 for Cello and Piano op 109

Sonata no. 2 for Cello and Piano PREMIERE!

La Sicilienne op 78 Gabriel Faure

Dr. David Volk, Piano

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2017 at 7pm

Performing the VIVALDI CELLO CONCERTO

in G Major RV 413

with the CSU-Pueblo Orchestra

Hoag Hall