Daniel Hege to conduct Sibelius’ Grand Landscapes

Feb 15, 2011

For Immediate Release

Contact: Annie Matlow 464-7071

SPOKANE— Guest Conductor Daniel Hege will lead the Spokane Symphony in an eclectic program featuring Sibelius’ Third Symphony, on Saturday, Feb. 26, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 27, at 3 p.m. at Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox.  Hege is widely recognized as one of America’s finest young conductors, earning critical acclaim form his fresh interpretations of the standard repertoire and for his commitment to creative programming. Of local interest is the fact that he has ties to Northwest Native Americans ans is an enrolled member of the Colville Tribe.

Hege has chosen a exciting variety of music that is sure to stimulate the imagination. The concert will begin with Le Tombeau de Couperin by French Impressionist composer Maurice Ravel. This musical jewel honors the memory of those who had died in “The Great War” with a tribute inspired by the Baroque dance music of François Couperin “Le Grand.” (1668-1773). Far from being mournful, Ravel begins with a Prélude that seems to bubble over with excitement, and goes on to create a musical celebration of all that was great in French culture.

Hege will next turn his attention to one of the most popular works of the symphonic world, Mozart’s Symphony No. 25, written while he was only 17. A brilliant, but typically adolescent, outpouring, it was written in the key of G minor, and for Mozart, the key of G minor was the key of extreme pathos, reserved for his most heart-wrenching music. The symphony also features rhythmic syncopation, jagged melodies and the emancipation of the wind instruments, with the violins yielding to colorful bursts from the oboe and flute. Although the “Little g minor” was rarely heard in concert halls in spite of its beauty and emotional wallop, its use in the film Amadeus, where the stormy first movement served as background music for the opening credits and Mozart’s funeral procession, brought it to public attention, where it soon enjoyed a well-deserved position of favor.

Felix Mendelssohn, another brilliant child prodigy, spent much of his youth traveling, including a visited to Britain (the first of many) at age 20. The result was The Hebrides Overture, one of the composer’s highly successful musical travelogues. While touring the Hebrides Islands located off the west coast of Scotland, Mendelsohn visited Fingal’s Cave, and was mesmerized by the murmuring sound of the waves and the echoes within the cave. He was immediately inspired with a musical idea that became the opening bars of the Overture.

The concert will conclude with Sibelius’ Symphony No. 3, an austere work, without the grander romantic scope of his previous symphony. Instead, it evokes the starkness associated with Finland’s frigid tundra and the power of nature. The music uses dark orchestration that has all instruments frequently playing at the bottom of their range, again reminding the listener of the ominous power of the Arctic wilderness. It is a fine example of the composer’s symphonic ideal: “…its style and form and the profound logic that created an inner connection between all the motives.” Characteristic of Sibelius in general and this Symphony in particular is his penchant for creating musical dialogues between the sections of the orchestra.

Hege is currently in his eleventh season as Music Director of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra. In June 2009,  Hege was appointed Music Director of the Wichita Symphony and begins his tenure with that orchestra in September 2010. Following a nationwide search, he was named Music Director of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra in April, 1999. In June 2001, he completed a five-year tenure with the Baltimore Symphony where he held the titles of Assistant, Associate and Resident Conductor. Hege has also served as Associate Conductor of the Kansas City Symphony, Assistant Conductor of the Pacific Symphony, Music Director of the Encore Chamber Orchestra in Chicago and Music Director of the Chicago Youth Symphony where he was twice honored by the American Symphony Orchestra League for innovative programming. Hege is a frequent guest conductor in the U.S. and internationally and regularly works with the Syracuse Opera. 

Hege received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1987 from Bethel College, Kansas, and Master of Music degree in orchestra conducting from the University of Utah. In May 2004, he was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from Le Moyne College in Syracuse for his contributions to the cultural life in central New York State. He is an enrolled member of the Colville Tribe.

This concert has been underwritten by Jay Franz and JC and Roberta Hodgsonon behalf of Bethel College.

Tickets for either performance are $22, $32, $40, and $44. Tickets are available in advance at the Spokane Symphony Ticket Office, located at Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox, 1001 W. Sprague, or by calling 509-624-1200. Tickets may also be purchased online at www.spokanesymphony.org Tickets are also available at all TicketsWest outlets or by calling 1-800-325-SEAT.

CALENDAR LISTING:

Sibelius’ Grand Landscape, Daniel Hege guest conducts the Spokane Symphony on Saturday, Feb. 26, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 27, at 3 p.m. at Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox. Tickets are $22, $32, $40 and $44. Tickets are available in advance at the Spokane Symphony Ticket Office, located at Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox, 1001 W. Sprague, or by calling 509-624-1200. Tickets may also be purchased online at www.spokanesymphony.org Tickets are also available at all TicketsWest outlets or by calling 1-800-325-SEAT.