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December 21, 2006
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Looking ahead to 2007 With the holiday music tsunami safely over, local classical groups return to their regularly scheduled repertoires. Here's a peek at upcoming concerts in the symphony orchestra category: ? New Hampshire Symphony: Music director Kenneth Kiesler plans a balanced diet of classical and modern music for the group's next outing. On Friday, Feb. 23, the orchestra plays two oldies: Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 and then Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 2, with pianist George Lopez as soloist. A pair of 20th-century works round out the program: Respighi's Botticelli Triptych and the rhythmically powerful Variaciones Concertantes by Argentinian composer Alberto Ginastera. Concert is at 8 p.m. at the Palace Theatre, Manchester. Tickets: $20 to $49; call 668-5588 or visit nhso.org. Later on: The real fireworks for the New Hampshire Symphony will be in April, when the group tackles Gustav Mahler's sprawling Symphony No. 5. If you attend one classical concert this year, this should be the one. ? Nashua Symphony: Conductor Royston Nash's last season hits a high point on Saturday, Feb. 3, with a program of big and exciting Russian scores: Glinka's bouncy Overture to Russlan and Ludmilla, Rimsky-Korsakov's colorful Scheherazade, and Rachmaninoff's dramatic Piano Concerto No. 2 with pianist Sergey Schepkin as soloist. Among local music directors, Nash has shown a willingness to take on the big Romantic scores, often with spectacular results. The music starts at 8 p.m. in Nashua's Keefe Auditorium. Tickets $10 to $45; for info, call 595-9156 or visit nashuasymphony.org. Later on: The Nashua Symphony's busy second half continues with a "Ripple Effect??? concert of new works on Saturday, March 10, an all-Mozart program on Saturday, March 31, and Nash finishing his two-decade tenure on Saturday, April 21, with Beethoven's blockbuster Symphony No. 9 in D minor. ? Granite State Symphony: Joined by the Concord Chorale, a program of classic works is on tap for Sunday, Feb. 4. The collaboration of music directors Robert C. Babb and Ryan Turner will produce Beethoven's Creatures of Prometheus Overture, Schubert's lyrical Mass in G, and, unusually, a concerto for bassoon by Hummel featuring Fredrick Newton as soloist. It's a 3 p.m. start at Concord City Auditorium. Tickets cost $7 to $33; for info, call 226-4776 or visit gsso.org. Coming up: Saturday, March 17, will see a monster concert of big Russian works highlighted by Tchaikovsky's raise-the-roof Symphony No. 5, which comes complete with one of the grandest finales of all time. Worth penciling in. ? New Hampshire Philharmonic: Kids are the focus of the group's next gig, a performance of Peter and the Wolf in Concord on Sunday, Feb. 11. New Hampshire Public Radio's Laura Knoy is narrator for the performance, which is designed for young folks and families and includes the popular "petting zoo" afterward in which young hands and lips can try out instruments right on stage. The show starts at 2 p.m. at Concord's Capitol Center for the Arts. Tickets cost $8 for kids, $13 for adults. For more info, call 647-6476 or visit nhphilharmonic.org. Later on: The Phil's spring concert on Saturday, May 5, "Bernstein to Beethoven," is an intriguing affair featuring noted pianist Virginia Eskin as soloist in Edward MacDowell's seldom-played Piano Concerto. Pencil it in. ? Nashua Chamber Orchestra: "London Bridges" is the theme of an eclectic program set for Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 17-18. There's theater music from Brit composer William Walton, Dvorak's Serenade for Winds, Haydn's "London" Symphony No. 104, and a Bach concerto for oboe and violin featuring soloists Tim Gocklin of Manchester on oboe and Justin Ouellet on violin. A small community orchestra worth hearing. Two choices: Saturday at 8 p.m. in Collings Auditorium at D.W. College in Nashua, or Sunday at 3 p.m. in the acoustically superior Milford Town Hall. Tickets cost $14, with discounts available. For more info, call 673-4100 or visit nco-music.com. |
12/14/2006 Holiday cheer for your ears 12/07/2006 It's holiday high tide
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