Sunday, April 25, 2021

ASO to Stream All-Brahms Program

While there are signs of a gradual return to “physical” concert opportunities, most performing arts organizations are still presenting primarily in cyberspace with either “live” streams or programs based on pre-recorded performances. Towards the end of this past week, I received word for the first time of the virtual presentation of the current Spring Concert Series of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO). The organization is offering access to concert videos on both a membership basis (with one tier for access to all concerts at $10 each and another for access to three or more concerts at $15 each) as well as admission to individual concerts for $20.

Violinist Robert McDuffie (from the event page for the concert being described)

The next offering in this Series will take place this coming Thursday with a program presenting two compositions by Johannes Brahms conducted by Robert Spano. Violinist Robert McDuffie will be the soloist in a performance of the Opus 77 violin concerto in D major. This will be preceded by a less familiar work which deserves more attention, the Opus 16 (second) serenade in A major, composed in 1859 and dedicated to Clara Schumann.

Both of Brahms’ serenades were written after the death of Robert Schumann in 1856. They constitute Brahms’ first serious efforts to compose for a full orchestra. However, Opus 16 is distinguished by the omission of violins, trumpets, trombones, and percussion but including double woodwinds. However, the final movement includes amusingly trilled passages for piccolo; and, when this serenade was performed here by the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra in March of 2012, I described those passages as sounding “a bit like a pet canary that has just escaped its cage.”

This program will be available for on-line viewing beginning at 5 p.m (Pacific time) on Thursday, April 29. Individual tickets may be purchased through the event page for $20. With those tickets the concert will be available for viewing for 24 hours after its premiere. For those with membership status, viewing will be available for up to one month.

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