Sacramento weekend concerts celebrate both the old and the new
This weekend the recent 250th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven’s birthday will be celebrated at the Harris Center in Folsom with The Great Composers Chamber Music Series. At the same time, young musicians are taking to the stage in Sacramento to introduce audiences to the next generation of classical performers.
Beethoven’s birthday party, billed as “Part 1,” is sponsored by the VITA Academy and features the musicians of TriMusica, a chamber music trio, augmented with some fellow musicians for the occasion. The program will feature the Trio for Clarinet, Cello and Piano, Op. 11, and the Septet for Violin, Viola, Cello, Bass, Clarinet, Bassoon, and Horn, Op. 20. Beethoven himself paid tribute to his predecessor Mozart by composing “Variations on a Theme” from Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” for Cello and Piano, which will be performed by Susan Lamb Cook on cello and John Cozza at the piano.
Cook founded the Great Composers Chamber Music Series six years ago with programs centered on the music of Beethoven.
“I was delighted by the overwhelmingly positive response from audience members,” she said.
The series has presented several other composers, such as last season’s exploration of Schubert, but audience surveys continued to indicate a profound devotion to the composer featured in the inaugural series.
“So what better excuse to create programs including more of his great chamber music than to dedicate each of the concerts in 2020 to the celebration of his 250th birthday anniversary?” said Cook.
The event labeled as Part 1 is scheduled for Sunday at 2 p.m. in the Harris Center’s Scott-Skillman Recital Hall, which Cook described as a perfect venue because of its intimate size and perfect acoustics. “In Beethoven’s time, many of these chamber works would have received their premiere in a small setting, perhaps in a friend’s living room,” said Cook. “It is almost as though we can transport our listeners back in time through this musical experience.”
On that same afternoon, back in Sacramento, local harpist Alaina Rose will be demonstrating her dexterity on one of music’s most dramatic and romantic instruments. Only 17 years old, Rose is already a seasoned performer who has been part of the Sacramento Youth Symphony and the San Francisco Civic Orchestra. She will be joined by 14-year-old cellist Abigail Leong, whose remarkable young career includes a Carnegie Hall debut at the age of 10. Leong is currently a student in the pre-college division of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
Rose has selected several compositions, both familiar and unfamiliar, to display her virtuosity on the harp. Her selections will include “Scheherazade” by Rimsky-Korsakov, “Clair de Lune” by Debussy, “Music of the Night” by Lloyd Webber, and “Baroque Flamenco” by Connant. For those who don’t recognize the name, Debra Henson Connant is a native Californian and harpist who bills herself as a cross-genre composer influenced by jazz, pop, folk, and other varieties of music.
Beethoven gets another nod with Leong’s choice of his Cello Sonata No. 5 in D major as one of her selections. She will also play the Cello Sonata in E major by Giuseppe Valentini and the Suite 6 Prelude by J. S. Bach.
The harp and cello event is being sponsored by the Sacramento Community Concert Association as part of the association’s 67th season. The venue will be the Riverside United Methodist Church and the performance will begin at 3 p.m.
As if Sunday will not already be too crowded with conflicting opportunities to enjoy classical music, the Camellia Symphony Orchestra will be offering a free family concert at 2 p.m. on the same afternoon. The featured young artist will be Roger Xia, another alumnus of the Sacramento Young Symphony, and a virtuoso on both piano and violin.
Under the baton of music director Christian Baldini, Xia will perform Clara Schumann’s piano concerto. Switching to the violin, Xia will present Beethoven’s Romance No. 2 (in F major), and Sarasate’s Zigeunerweisen and Introduction and Tarantella. The program also includes excerpts from Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7.
Fortunately for concert-goers overwhelmed by Sunday’s choices, the Camellia Symphony is offering an alternative on Saturday evening. Its “Cosmic Power of Sound” will feature the complete Bruckner Seventh and will also showcase Roger Xia in the Clara Schumann concerto.
The Camellia Symphony concerts will be presented in the auditorium at McClatchy High School.
IF YOU GO
The Great Composers Chamber Music Series
What: “Beethoven’s Birthday, Part 1”
When: Sunday, February 23, 2 p.m.
Where: The Harris Center at Folsom Lake College, 10 College Parkway, Folsom
Info: 916-608-6888, www.harriscenter.net
Price: $18.50 to $42.00
The Sacramento Community Concert Association Youth Concert
What: Harpist Alaina Rose & Cellist Abigail Leong
When: Sunday, February 23, 3 p.m.
Where: Riverside United Methodist Church, 803 Vallejo Way, Sacramento
Info: www.sccaconcerts.org/
Price: $5.00 (students) and $25.00 (adults)
The Camellia Symphony Orchestra
What: Cosmic Power of Sound
When: Saturday, February 22, 7:30 p.m.
Where: C.K. McClatchy High School Auditorium, 3066 Freeport Blvd., Sacramento
Info: 916-929-6655; info@camelliasymphony.org
Cost: $10.00 to $35.00
What: Free Family Concert
When: Sunday, February 23, 2 p.m.
Where: C.K. McClatchy High School Auditorium, 3066 Freeport Blvd., Sacramento
Info: 916-929-6655; info@camelliasymphony.org
Cost: Free