lgar and Bartok Kick Off Portsmouth Symphony Season Nov. 13

PORTSMOUTH, NH — Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra (PSO) kicks off its 2016-2017 mainstage concert line up with two concertos by Elgar and Bartok at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 13, 2016, at The Music Hall in Portsmouth. The concert will feature Dorothy Braker on cello, according to a press statement. A pre-concert talk with maestro John Page will be held at 2:00pm.

The November 13 concert will include two 20th century concertos, beginning with Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto in E minor. Composed in the aftermath of World War I, this was Elgar’s last notable work, its melody hastily scribbled down after coming out of sedation from a tonsil operation. The concerto was poorly received due to a lack of rehearsal time and subsequent disastrous premier by the London Symphony Orchestra. Not until the 1960’s, when a recording by Jacqueline du Pré made the contemplative and elegiac concerto a smash hit, did the piece capture the attention of the world. PSO cellist Dorothy Braker and featured soloist will offer her interpretation of this reflective work.

The second concerto is the virtuosic Concerto for Orchestra by Béla Bartók. Though quite symphonic in form, Bartók called the piece a concerto because of the way unique combinations of instruments are used in a soloistic way. Premiered by the Boston Symphony Orchestra in December of 1944, the work was an instant success and is a cornerstone of the symphonic repertoire. The five movements explore European folk music, unconventional harmonies, artificial scales and ever-changing meters and is a textbook example of how inventive early 20th century music proved to be.

“The PSO’s kick off performance explores folk song and how it makes its way into orchestral music. Both the Elgar and Bartok delve into the folk tradition for their inspiration and use folk elements to create something new, albeit in very different ways,” said John Page, Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra’s Music Director. “As an entry point to concert and the season, our Artist-in-residence vocalist Taylor O’Donnell will “In the Gloaming,” an old English folk song. Everything ultimately stems from a single human voice so it seemed an apt way to begin the year—simple and beautiful.”

Tickets are $25 for general admission, $22 for seniors (65 and over) and $12 for student (college age and under). Subscriptions for all four concerts are now on sale and begin at $95 for general admission. Tickets and subscriptions can be purchased at portsmouthsymphony.org.

The PSO’s mainstage series is sponsored by Heinemann Publishing.

In addition to the mainstage concerts, the PSO also offers monthly chamber music performances at the Kittery Dance Hall as part of its Get Cozy with the PSO series. Performance details and tickets are available at portsmouthsymphony.org.

Submitted by Caroline Amport Piper.