The Symphony has been preparing to play a piece by the "lesser-known Bach" that is described as individualistic and passionate. Carl Phillip Emanuel Bach was the second-oldest of Johann Sebastian Bach's 20 children. Though living up to the talents of his legendary father proved an impossible challenge, Carl Bach's work is still widely known and performed today. The DSO will perform C.P.E. Bach's "Flute Concerto in D Minor," a work written in 1747 and believed to be a gift to Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, who was a flutist himself and for whom Bach often performed during his musical career.
The performance will also feature Mahler's "Symphony No. 4 in G Major," one of the most respected works by the Bohemian composer. The symphony is his lightest piece, as well as his shortest.
Mahler's fourth symphony was written between 1899 and 1900, when he achieved fame as a conductor at the Opera House in Hamburg, Germany, but remained virtually unknown as a composer. In previous years, the symphony has performed the works of Dvorak, Brahms and Mozart, and their fall performance featured pieces by Berlioz and Sibelius, as well as a concerto by Carl Marie von Weber featuring Peter Morgenstern '06 on clarinet.
The DSO currently consists of nearly 40 student-musicians playing violin, viola, cello, bass, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horns, percussion and harpsichord.
Kenneth Fan '09, who plays violin with the DSO, said, "The Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra is a selective group of musicians that come together to rehearse for four hours each week. We all love playing music, whether it's orchestral, chamber music or solo pieces, and being able to play with other members of the Dartmouth community at a semi-professional level is exciting."
Soprano Jayne West will be lending her vocals to the orchestra's upcoming performance. A veteran of symphony performances, she has been a featured vocalist in concerts by the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Philadelphia Philharmonic, among others, and she has performed at the Edinburgh Music Festival, Tanglewood, and the Brussels National Opera.
Anthony Princiotti is the musical director and conductor of the DSO, but he also applies his talents as associate conductor of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra and the conductor of the New Hampshire Philharmonic Orchestra. Princiotti earned his Bachelor of Music degree from Juilliard and went on to receive his Master of Musical Arts at the Yale School of Music, earning his doctorate in 1999. In the 1980s, Princiotti was the first violinist with the Apple Hill Players, a chamber music ensemble for piano and strings.
Fan remarked, "[Princiotti] has a unique style of conducting the orchestra in and out of the rehearsals and I think what makes him most effective is his knowledge of the music and its history. He's a well trained musician, and he does a good job making the music come together for the concert."
Princiotti is helped in perfecting the DSO's sound by Marcia Cassidy, assistant conductor of string sectionals, who is also a lecturer in music at Dartmouth and a member of the Franciscan String Quartet. Alex Ogle, also a lecturer in music, is the assistant director of wind sectionals and a talented principal flutist who has previously taught at Amherst College and Mount Holyoke.
The performance will begin at 8 p.m. in Spaulding Auditorium, with a pre-performance discussion with Conductor Anthony Princiotti at 7 p.m. in Faulkner Recital Hall. Tickets for the performance can be purchased at the Hopkins Center box office at a price of $3 for students and $18 for others. Music lovers can look forward to the Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra's spring performance of works by Copland and Beethoven scheduled for May 27.
