Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic Performs Final Two Concerts of the Season

The Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic Orchestra returns to the stage  June 1st and 8th for its last two performances of the 2013-2014 season. Performing complex, richly colored works by three composers, this is a demanding concert guaranteed to bring out the best of the orchestra’s musicians and soloists.  The performance program is as follows:

Bela Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra

Arthur Benjamin: Romantic Fantasy for Violin and Viola, Marc Ramirez & Olivia Hajioff, Violin and Viola

George Gershwin: Catfish Row

Bela Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra was one of his last works, composed after he fled from World War II to the United States and while he was terminally ill with leukemia.   The Concerto is a brilliantly conceived work that transforms a traditionally single solo plus orchestra art form to one that showcases the virtuosity of all the sections of the orchestra, with solos and duets aplenty sprinkled throughout   In the Concerto, Bartok exhibited his musical wizardry and mastery of his craft, creating a piece that has become an enduring favorite of orchestras and audiences throughout the world.

For its second piece, the orchestra steps back over a dozen years to Arthur Benjamin’s Romantic Fantasy for Violin and Viola.  It’s a work that you can easily imagine as a soundtrack for a stirring, panoramic movie from the Golden Age of Hollywood.     Our returning, well-known soloists, Marc Ramirez & Olivia Hajioff, are excited about the opportunity to perform this music and bring it to the attention of music lovers in the Washington area.

While both Bartok’s and Benjamin’s works have enough excitement to leave you wanting to dance when you leave, we will depart from their classical roots and top off the season with a piece firmly rooted in American jazz, George Gershwin’s Catfish Row. Originally titled Suite from Porgy and Bess, Catfish Row is an orchestral work that showcases the best parts from the famous opera he co-wrote with his brother, Ira.   Always a crowd-pleaser, Catfish Row includes orchestral versions of many of Gershwin’s most popular pieces such as “Summertime,” and “I Got Plenty of Nuttin.”

TICKETS:                         $20.00 – 18 and under free

WEBSITE:                       http://www.wmpamusic.org

CONTACT:                      wmpa@earthlink.net   703-799-8229  

Sunday June 1, 2014 at 3:00 pm

Church of the Epiphany 1317 G St., NW Washington, DC

Sunday June 8, 2014 at 3:00 pm

T C Williams High School 3330 King St. Alexandria, VA