CAMERATA PYP PROGRAM NOTES: LOUISE FARRENC: SYMPHONY NO. 3, OP. 36

Posted on May 11, 2022

LOUISE FARRENC: SYMPHONY NO. 3, OP. 36

Louise Farrenc, born Jeanne-Louise Dumont (1804-1875), studied the piano under famous teachers such as Hummel and Ignaz Moscheles and composition with Anton Reicha (teacher of Berlioz, Liszt and Franck among others). In 1842 she began a 30-year career as Professor of Piano at the Paris Conservatoire. She was the only female professor at the... Read More ›

CAMERATA PYP PROGRAM NOTES: WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART: PIANO CONCERTO IN C MINOR, KV 491

Posted on May 11, 2022

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART: PIANO CONCERTO IN C MINOR, KV 491

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) wrote only two of his many Concertos in a minor key. While the D Minor Piano Concerto is among the most performed of all, K. 491 in C Minor, which we hear today, is among the least performed of the ‘great’ Mozart concertos. It is unique among the... Read More ›

CAMERATA PYP PROGRAM NOTES: FELIX MENDELSSOHN: THE HEBRIDES, OP. 26

Posted on May 11, 2022

FELIX MENDELSSOHN: THE HEBRIDES, OP. 26

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) began writing The Hebrides at the age of 20. This remarkable work had already been preceded by multiple masterworks by one of history’s greatest musical prodigies. The Hebrides (sometimes called Fingal’s Cave) was called an Overture by Mendelssohn, although it was never meant to precede anything. It is truly an early effort at... Read More ›

SPRING CONCERT PROGRAM NOTES: CHARLES-CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS: VIOLIN CONCERTO NO. 3

Posted on May 8, 2022

CHARLES-CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS:VIOLIN CONCERTO NO. 3

Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns, (born October 9, 1835, Paris, France—died December 16, 1921), was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic era. Camille Saint-Saëns was one of the most multifaceted romantic composers, well-known for his beautiful melodies and his remarkable musical prowess. He was outstanding from a young age; at the age of thirteen, Saint-Saëns was... Read More ›

SPRING CONCERT PROGRAM NOTES: POLINA NAZAYKINSKAYA: APRIL SONG, SYMPHONY NO. 1

Posted on May 8, 2022

POLINA NAZAYKINSKAYA: APRIL SONG, SYMPHONY NO. 1

My First Symphony traces a journey of the human spirit in search of personal freedom, solace and eternal love. The trials and tribulations of doubt culminate in a struggle to find inner peace, as the illusion of happiness crumbles and a sense of direction is lost. Anticipation of a new dawn presses against the... Read More ›

WINTER CONCERT PROGRAM NOTES: PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY:SYMPHONY NO. 5

Posted on March 5, 2022

PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY: SYMPHONY NO. 5

It is amazing to think that the great composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893), today one of the most beloved and most often played composers, required patronage to survive. Tchaikovsky’s fellow composer and sometime rival Brahms became a wealthy man in his lifetime from music publishing, but this was not to be for Tchaikovsky. He and his... Read More ›