Saturday, April 10, 2021 at 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 11, 2021 at 3:00 p.m.

First Presbyterian Church

Edvard Tchivzhel, conductor

Caroline Robinson, organ

 
This General Operating Support Grant program is funded in part by the Metropolitan Arts Council with grants received from the City of Greenville, the South Carolina Arts Commission whichreceives support from the National Endowment for the Arts and private donations.

 
This organization is funded in part by the
South Carolina Arts Commissionwhich receives support
from the National Endowment for the Arts.

‘The Magic of Organ’

Adagio for Strings and Organ
Tomaso Albinoni (1671-1751)
A great mystery surrounds Albinoni’s Adagio, one of the most familiar works in classical music. The question is this: Who actually wrote it?

Albinoni was a prolific Baroque composer, but he’s best known today for this piece. Albinoni’s biographer, Remo Giozotto, apparently wrote the work based on a fragment of a theme and a bass line written by Albinoni. But Giozotto never publicly revealed the fragment, and no official record of it has been found. The unmistakable conclusion is that the Adagio is mostly (or even completely) the work of Giozotto.

With its melancholy, long-lined theme, the Adagio sounds perhaps more like film music or an excerpt from Italian opera than a product of 18^th century Venice. It’s an irresistible piece that has popped up in countless films, including “Rollerball” (1975), “Gallipoli” (1981), “Flashdance” (1983) and “The Doors” (1999). Singer Lara Fabian, meanwhile, created an electrifying pop version of the piece in 1999.

Concerto for Organ in G
C.P.E. Bach (1714-1788)
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach has long been overshadowed by his famous father, Johann Sebastian Bach. But C.P.E. Bach was greatly admired by the composers of his day. Haydn, at the height of his fame, said, “Anyone who knows me well must realize that I owe a great debt to Emanuel Bach, that I studied him industriously, and understood him.” Mozart agreed: “He is the father, we are the kids.”

C.P.E. Bach is often considered a transitional composer, bridging the Baroque and classical periods in music. He turned his back on the showy extremes of the Baroque, bringing to music a new depth of feeling and spontaneous personal expression.

The Organ Concerto in G, composed in 1755, consists of the traditional three movements, fast-slow-fast. The lively outer movements surround an inner movement of extraordinary poignancy and even pathos.

The first movement is both spirited and regal. The introspective second movement, with its sweet-sad melodies, takes on aspects of a nocturne, contrasting with the sunshine of the first and third movements. The brief third movement, a jaunty affair, is an expression of joy. Throughout the concerto, numerous passages of quicksilver arpeggios and running scales challenge a virtuoso’s technique.

Symphony for Strings
Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)
Giuseppe Verdi, the great Italian opera composer, wrote very little that was not opera. The Symphony for Strings, in fact, is his only extended instrumental composition.

It owes its existence to pure chance. In the spring of 1873, Verdi had journeyed to Naples to oversee a production of his opera “Aida,” but rehearsals were postponed when the star soprano got sick. Verdi used the time to write his first and only string quartet. Later, the quartet was arranged by the conductor Arturo Toscanini as the Symphony for Strings.

In the work, Verdi mostly eschews the operatic (the third movement perhaps being the exception) in favor of grace and lightness of touch.

• Allegro. A vigorous opening theme gives way to the serene second subject. But the opening theme soon returns for an extended development. The recapitulation brings the gracious second subject back briefly, and an agitated coda concludes the movement.
• Andantino. The second movement is dominated by elegant melodies, though there’s often a hint of tension lurking underneath.
• Prestissimo. The fiercely energetic scherzo is reminiscent of Verdi’s ballet music for his opera “Macbeth.” The central section offers a serenade sung by the cello against pizzicato accompaniment.
• Scherzo Fuga. Allegro assai mosso. The heavily contrapuntal finale concludes the piece in spirited fashion.

Paul Hyde, a longtime Upstate journalist, is the public information coordinator for the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities at Clemson University. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter: @PaulHyde7.

VIOLIN
Mary Lee Taylor Kinosian, Concertmaster / Leila Cunningham Roe Endowed Chair

Xiaoli Saliny, Assistant Concertmaster / Uwe Diestel Endowed Chair

Catherine Hazan
Robin Hague Els
David Edwards
Carol Roosevelt
James R. Johnston

VIOLIN
Joanna Mulfinger, Principal

Sarah Land, Assistant Principal

Kathleen S. Robinson
Kirsten Browning
Elizabeth Fee
Catherine H. Crowe
Shr-Han Wu

VIOLA
Arthur Ross III, Principal / Erika and Chuck Riddiford Endowed Chair 

Scott Garrett, Assistant Principal

Alvoy Bryan, Jr. 
John Young Shik Concklin

CELLO
Ismail Akbar, Principal / Guild of the Greenville Symphony Endowed Chair 

Ryan Knott, Assistant Principal

David Saliny
Dusan Vukajlovic

DOUBLE BASS
Tim Easter, Principal / Anonymous Endowed Chair 

Ian Bracchitta, Assistant Principal

Maurice Belle

PRODUCTION MANAGER
Laura Auvil

PRINCIPAL LIBRARIAN
John Wickey

Concert Hall Series
Saturday performances at 7:30 pm
Sunday at 3:00 pm

Opening Night: Mozart Requiem
September 26 & 27

Beethoven’s Violin Concerto
November 21 & 22

Tchivzhel Conducts Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky
February 6 & 7

Bartók Concerto for Orchestra
March 13 & 14

Beethoven 7 + Jacqueline Tso Plays Butterfly Lovers’ Concerto
April 10 & 11

Ravel’s Boléro + Maxim Lando
May 15 & 16

Gunter Theatre Series

Mozart Among Friends
October 31 & November 1

Carmen in Concert
February 20 & 21

Rhythm Rising: A Percussion Celebration
March 20 & 21

Haydn Symphony 102 + Stravinsky’s Pulcinella
April 24 & 25

Special Concerts
How to Train Your Dragon^TM 
in Concert
November 7 at 2:00 pm & 7:00 pm

Holiday at Peace
December 4 at 7:00 pm
December 5 at 7:00 pm
December 6 at 2:00 pm

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in Concert
January 9 at 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm 
January 10 at 2:00 

Chamber Music Series

Principal Winds of the 
Greenville Symphony
September 15 at 5:00 pm, 
Poe Mill Music

September 16 at 7:00 pm, 
Cascades Verdae 

Principal Strings of the Greenville Symphony
March 16 at 5:00 pm, Centre Stage
March 17 at 7:00 pm, Hotel Hartness

Details and tickets available at greenvillesymphony.org