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HAL FRANCE RETURNS
Saturday, March 6   8:00 PM
Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre

Hal France, conductor  •  Colleen Blagov, flute

Featuring:
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
Mozart: Concerto No. 1 for Flute in G Major, K. 313 (285c)
Dvorak: Symphony No. 7 in D minor, op. 70

In May of 2006, Hal France completed his tenure as Music Director of the Orlando Philharmonic (1999-2006). While continuing to conduct throughout the United States and abroad,  Hal has expanded his activities as a speaker, teacher and advocate of the Arts. We are thrilled to have him return to conduct the Philharmonic! Click Here to read more.

Colleen Blagov joined the Orlando Philharmonic in 2005 as second flute/piccolo and was named principal flute in January of 2008. She has been a featured soloist and chamber musician in Columbus, Savannah, Colorado, and Hilton Head and was a three-time winner of the National Flute Association’s Orchestral Competition.  Click Here to read more.

Ralph Vaughan Williams’, Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis  – Thomas Tallis flourished in the court of Queen Elizabeth from 1558-1585. He wrote for the “Great” spaces of England’s cathedrals. He wrote to glorify God and church and country. Using bowed strings, Vaughn Williams draws from Tallis’ theme and spirit a sense of divine mystery. His Fantasia evokes nobility and grandeur.

With three different string ensembles, large, medium and small, the composer uses size of ensemble to create variety and color. Combined as one large body or separate as three distinct bodies, he masterfully weaves them together in conversation and eventually into unanimous and resounding agreement.

Color is what I love about this piece, the color of the instruments, the color of the string choir, the color of beautiful tall chords expanding outwards and upwards, and the subtle color shifts between major and minor harmonies. Subtlety and beauty of sound reign supreme in this piece.

I should mention that there are several videos on YouTube which present Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia in really interesting ways.

Mozart’s Flute Concerto No.1 in G major, was written for a Dutch surgeon named Ferdinand Dejean, an amateur flautist who commissioned Mozart to write three concerti.

Flute players worldwide are glad that he did! The piece provides so many delicious opportunities to make music. I’m really looking forward to collaborating with the evening’s soloist, the Orlando Phil’s Principal Flautist Colleen Blagov.

Marked Allegro Maestoso (lively majestic) the first movement gets its main character from the rhythm of its first theme. It’s slightly military in nature, but overflowing with positive energy and good nature. The flute with one bright passage after another becomes the perfect spokesperson for this very upbeat and positive introduction to the work.

Both the second movement marked Adagio ma non troppo (slow, but not too slow) and the final Rondo in the form of a Minuet build on the first movement in different ways. The middle movement creates a beautiful feeling of peaceful and blissful repose. The minuet opens with a simple theme making a fitting launch pad for a wonderful variety of shining flute passages. This should be a lot of fun!

Dvorak’s dramatic Symphony No. 7 in D Minor will give the orchestra something of real substance to dig their teeth into. Each of the four movements of this work takes us further into a universe where everything seems to matter. Nothing is superfluous or accidental. Each new idea adds perspective to and enriches the whole work.

The first movement is volatile in nature. Things change quickly and constantly. The composer is able to introduce us to his ideas in a concentrated way that is very energizing. The first theme creates for a brief moment a somber feeling which almost immediately changes with the first crescendo in the cello. This pattern continues and grows always with new eruptions. Amidst this general feeling of instability, the composer also brings us to places of contentment and inner peace. Dvorak defines his universe in this opening movement. Each movement will relate to and build on these qualities.

The second movement contains some absolutely exquisite music. A series of themes take us deeper into something. The general feeling is entering a place that opens up and reveals larger spaces. The imagery suggests beautiful natural places where there are life memories. These are interior landscapes of great passion and sentiment and drama.

Several moments in this movement remind me of two of Dvorak’s predecessors, Berlioz and Wagner.

The third movement, scherzo is based on the Czech dance, a vigorous and furious peasant dance called the furiant. Dvorak’s exploits the cross rhythm’s of this dance, continuing to build a sense of place and memory.

A theme with a flavor of dramatic gypsy music opens the final movement. The volatility, quick changing nature of the first movement is unleashed in this robust and energetic close to the world. New themes continue to be revealed enriching and completing the symphony’s world. A work of great importance arrives at a fitting climax of what has been said. I hope we can do it justice, it’s a great symphony!

I am so much looking forward to performing this program with the musicians of the Orlando Philharmonic.  We hope to see you there!

Purchase Single Tickets(8PM-10PM)

To see and listen to many YouTube videos featuring the music of  Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia in really interesting ways – Click Here

To listen to Mozart’s Concerto No. 1 for Flute in G Major, K. 313 on YouTube  – Click Here

To listen to Dvorak’s Symphony No. 7 in D minor on YouTube – Click Here