MUSIC: CSPhil – Carmina Burana

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Colorado Springs Philharmonic Conductor: Josep Caballé Domenech Date: May 21, 2017 Zones Pierre Jalbert In the final commissioned piece of this 90th Philharmonic season, Pierre Jalbert takes the term "from sea to shining sea" quite literally with his piece, Zones. With the majority of the music conveying the depths of the ocean, it was interesting to hear the various deep-sea creatures as they passed by (most of which seemed to be quite large and dangerous). Eventually, the listener arrives near the surface of the ocean and can hear the rays of light penetrating down into the water. During the last moments of the piece, the listener emerges on dry land and quickly finds themselves in the alpine "zone" of the top of Pike's Peak. Martern Aller Arten (from The Abduction from the Seraglio) / Verdrai, carino (from Don Giovanni) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart These selected arias from Mozart's repertoire weren't that recognizable, but they certainly gave soprano Celena Shafer the chance to show off. Having been in a choir before, I know I...
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MUSIC: CSPhil – Peer Gynt

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Colorado Springs Philharmonic Conductor: Josep Caballé Domenech Date: March 18, 2017 Enchanted Landscapes: A Symphonic Poem Ofer Ben-Amots Of all the commissioned pieces for the 90th season of the Philharmonic, I thought this was one of the stronger pieces. While it didn't have any of the musical motifs of the original "America the Beautiful," it had an inspiration all its own that conveyed the power of the original. Starting and ending in a somber tone, "Enchanted Landscapes" paints an auditory picture of a cloudy day on Pike's Peak. Then, suddenly, a storm whips up! With thunder and lightning, wind and rain, the peaceful calm are broken by nature's fury. Almost at once, quiet falls on the mountain as snow starts slowly fluttering down. Finally, the storm has passed, and all is quiet on the peak once more. Nänie Johannes Brahms For a piece about death and dying, I found Brahms' interpretation of this poem to be a little more high-energy than I was expecting. Gone are the lamentations of a life...
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MUSIC: CSPhil – Beethoven and Tchaikovsky

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Colorado Springs Philharmonic Conductor: Josep Caballé Domenech Date: January 21, 2017 Halcyon Skies Daniel Kellogg Much like many of the other compositions commissioned to celebrate the anniversary of the writing of "America the Beautiful," this piece did an excellent job of capturing the size and majesty of the mountain known as Pike's Peak. It starts at sunrise, as the sun slowly illuminates the mountain in its purple pre-dawn light. As the alpenglow builds, the enormity of the mountain comes into view. The sunrise then rests on a lone hiker at the base of this prominent peak. We then follow this hiker as he climbs along the trail through the woods, occasionally taking a short break to look back on how far he's come. Continuing his climb, he arrives at the summit and is rewarded with the brilliance of the view afforded to his effort. Symphony No. 8 Ludwig van Beethoven It's interesting to me that this piece was chosen as one of the first to start off...
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MUSIC: CSPhil – Citizen Without a Country

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Colorado Springs Philharmonic Conductor: Josep Caballé Domenech Date: October 23, 2016 Symphonic Overture "America, The Beautiful" Wang Jie Another of the commissioned pieces for the 90th season of the Colorado Springs Philharmonic, this Symphonic Overture was written as a fugue to evoke the silhouetted profile of "America's mountain" - Pike's Peak. As a mountain climber myself, I could hear the rising melodies that brought the listener to the top of this iconic mountain, but I had a hard time determining if the piece ended at the apex of Pike's Peak (which it sounded like it did), or if it completed the whole profile of the silhouette. Nevertheless, it was a fitting tribute to the song it was honoring and another great first performance. Concerto in B minor for Cello and Orchestra Antonín Dvořák I'm a fan of Dvorak. One of my most favorite pieces of all time (if not the most favorite overall) is by him, so I was definitely looking forward to this piece. Seeing as the...
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