Wednesday, 3/5/97
Orchestra to play greats’ lesser-known works
New composers, rarely performed pieces comprise new season
By Stephanie Sheh
Daily Bruin Contributor
When the general public thinks of great works by great
composers, Beethoven’s Ninth and Mozart’s "Eine Kleine Nacht Musik"
come to mind. However, in its upcoming season, the L.A. Chamber
Orchestra plans to bring its audience the lesser-known works of
great composers.
At a press breakfast last Friday, new musical director Jeffrey
Kahane announced the lineup for the upcoming 1997-1998 season. In
addition to its core repertoire, the L.A. Chamber Orchestra will be
playing works by great composers such as Brahms and Mendelssohn
that are rarely performed.
"I try very hard to strike a balance in everything I do, between
maintaining a reverence for tradition and being very much rooted in
the core repertoire and also branching out," Kahane says.
"The chamber orchestra has a wonderful reputation for doing
interesting and different new things. And I think that the
programming finds a balance between the old and the new, the
familiar and the unfamiliar."
The season opens in September with a theme the L.A. Chamber
Orchestra describes as "laconic." The orchestra will play Mozart’s
Concerto for Piano No. 24 in C minor and Beethoven’s "Eroica"
Symphony in E-flat major, both of which have very terse themes.
September also marks the world premiere of new
composer-in-residence Kenneth Frazelle’s "Laconic Variations."
"I really believe that (Frazelle) is one of the truly eloquent
and imaginative and technically brilliant composers around," Kahane
says.
The second program will have a Baroque theme, featuring Allan
Vogel on the oboe in J.S. Bach’s "Concerto for Oboe d’ Amore" in A
major. This program also features Sinfonia Concertante, Op. 18 No.
1 by Bach’s son, J.C. Bach. This month the L.A. Chamber Orchestra
will also be playing Haydn’s "Le Soir" Symphony No. 8. Kahane says
that one of the things he hopes to do in the next several years is
to continue the orchestra’s tradition of exploring the Haydn
symphonies.
The next month’s program will feature yet another premiere.
However, this time it’s the West Coast premiere of Kernis’ Double
Concerto for Violin, Guitar and Chamber Orchestra. According to
Kahane, Kernis is one of the leading lights of the younger
generation of composers.
"I think that one of the wonderful things that happened in the
last decade or two is that all of a sudden people are hearing new
pieces of music and getting really excited about it," Kahane
adds.
"More and more we are finding composers who are really writing
with great integrity and writing with great intellectual
sophistication that reaches people and speaks to people. I am
really excited about bringing more and more of that to our
audience."
December welcomes the holidays with the L.A.Chamber Orchestra’s
choral Christmas concert, conducted by John Alexander. They will be
doing Corelli’s Concerto Grasso Op. 6 No. 8 in G minor, Schubert’s
Mass No. 2 in G major, and J.S. Bach’s "Magnificat." They are
honoring Schubert because it’s the bicentennial of his birth.
In January, the L.A. Chamber Orchestra’s horn player Richard
Todd will be featured with tenor James Taylor in Britten’s Serenade
for Tenor, Horn, and Strings. February introduces a young Welsh
cellist named Katherine Price. The L.A. Chamber Orchestra will also
play the Brahms serenade, which is an usual work because there are
no violins – the violas play the leading roles in the orchestra.
And in March, Iona Brown, Kahane’s predecessor, returns to conduct
Mozart’s Symphony No. 26, Schoenberg’s Verklaerte Nacht Op. 4, and
Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4.
Kahane will close the season with unfamiliar works by
Mendelssohn and Mozart, playing Mendelssohn’s "The Fair Melsine"
and Mozart’s Concerto for Piano No. 15. They will also end the
season with Schumann’s two-thirds completed Overture, Scherzo, and
Finale.
MUSIC: For more information about the L.A. Chamber Orchestra’s
remaining 1996-1997 season or the upcoming season, call (213)
622-7001 or e-mail lachamber@aol.com.Dana Ross
The L.A. Chamber Orchestra is planning to play lesser-known
works.