MUSIC

The second concert of the season is a program of great color and surprise, with a strong international flavor.

The opening French work, Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite, is a deft evocation of some of the familiar characters and situations from the tales of Mother Goose. The composer’s famous orchestral wizardry is nowhere more enchanting than in this work, which at the beginning seems miniaturized and by the end has proved itself full to overflowing.

Then on to the modern English composer Julian Anderson and his glistening, breathtaking Khorovod. Imagine a string of dances, all going at different speeds and with different instrumentation. Each one has its unique character, and they are all overlapped and juxtaposed in surprising and intriguing ways. This piece will be a real discovery for the audience!

For Copland’s beloved Clarinet Concerto we are honored to be presenting one of the most famous and respected clarinetists in America, William R. Hudgins, principal clarinet of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Renowned for the perfection of his technique and the silken beauty of his tone (much like the dedicatee of this concerto, Benny Goodman), Mr. Hudgins possesses just the right qualities for the American hymn-like strains of the concerto’s opening movement and for the tricky, jazzy riffs with which the concerto concludes. Opportunities to hear Mr. Hudgins as a soloist are rare, and you won’t want to miss this special occasion.

Haydn’s Symphony No. 90 is not the one that is nicknamed “The Surprise”, but it should be. For over two hundred years delighted audiences have been snared in its devilishly ingenious trap. Come to the concert and hear what we mean!