Brahms Symphony No. 2

Brahms Symphony No. 2 Program Notes Johannes  Brahms  was  a  child  of  Hamburg,  growing  up  near  the  great  shipping  port  of  Northern  German.    He  maintained  a  lifelong  fascination  with  shipping  schedules,  and  other  organizational  minutiae.    Following  the  path  advised  by  his  ill-fated  mentor,  Robert  Schumann,  he  wound  up  in Read more…

Bizet L’Arlésienne

Bizet L’Arlésienne Program Notes Georges Bizet’s  L’Arlésienne  was  a  short  story  by  Alphonse  Daudet,  included  in  his  1869  collection  Letters  From  My  Windmill,  which  depicts  life  in  Southern  France.  In  the  story,  Jan,  a  young  man  from  the  village,  has  fallen  in  love  with  a  woman  from  the  larger,  coastal Read more…

Berlioz Symphony Fantastique

Berlioz Symphony Fantastique Program Notes Born:  December  11,  1803,  La  Côte-Saint-André,  France.    Died:  March  8,  1869,  Paris,  France. As  a  young  composer,  virtually  unknown  outside  the  music  field,  Hector  Berlioz  fell  head-over-heels  in  love  with  the  Irish  actress  Harriet  Smithson,  who  he  had  never  met.    He  wrote  her Read more…

Bellini I Capuleti e i Montecchi

Bellini I Capuleti e i Montecchi Program Notes Bellini  is  one  of  the  greatest  composers  in  the  bel  canto  operatic  style  (literally,  beautiful  singing),  alongside  Donizetti  and  Rossini.    Bellini’s  Norma,  I  Puritani,  La  Sonnambula  and  the  present  I  Capuleti  e  i  Montecchi  remain  frequently  performed.    With  long  melodic Read more…