Program Notes for Finland 100 Concert

  by Bradley Clem and Claudia Jensen In our celebration “Finland 100,” all roads, in a sense, lead to Sibelius. As the music critic Tom Service wrote, the rich and vibrant musical culture of Finland, “which has produced more world-class composers and performers per capita than any

Program Notes for Yamada’s Symphony in F Major (“Triumph and Peace”)

by Dr. Memmi Ochi, based on materials provided by Mr. Yoshiyasu Hisamatsu, the chief editor for Yamada’s music at Craftone Inc. in Tokyo.   Symphony in F “Triumph and Peace” Composed: June 25, 1912-November 18, 1912 (Berlin) Premier: December 6, 1914 (Teikoku Gekijo, Tokyo) U.S. Premier: January 24, 1919 (Carnegie

Program Notes for October 1 Program – “At the Japanese Garden”

by Bradley Clem and Claudia Jensen   For our opening concert this season, Director Julia Tai has given us a deceptively simple title: “At the Japanese Garden.” We may think we know what this means, but through this title, Julia is asking us to delve into the

Interview with Bonnie Whiting, xylophone

We're pleased to be welcoming Bonnie Whiting, Chair of Percussion Studies at the University of Washington, as the featured soloist on our season opening concert October 1st. We reached out to her to get some insight into her work, and she was kind enough to

Concert III – Children’s Songs Program Notes

February 26, 2017 Sergei Prokofiev (1891 – 1953): Peter and the Wolf, Op. 67 Although the two composers on our program, Sergei Prokofiev and Maurice Ravel, are worlds apart in their musical styles and experiences, both take a similar approach in their works for children. They use strong

Concert II – The Great Tradition Program Notes

November 20, 2016 Wolfgang Mozart (1756 – 1791): Don Giovanni Overture Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni has had an immense impact on Western culture—artists, philosophers, and musicians have revered the work for its complexity, its beauty, indeed, for its perfection. Don Giovanni premiered in Prague in 1787, the result

Concert I – Drumroll, Please… Program Notes

October 23, 2016 Gioachino Rossini (1792 – 1868): La gazza ladra (overture) Philharmonia Northwest begins its 41st season quite literally with a drumroll—the opening of Rossini’s overture to La gazza ladra (The Thieving Magpie). This was one of four (!) operas by Rossini that premiered in 1817, and

Auditions for the 2016-2017 Season

Come join us! We currently have the following openings in the orchestra for the upcoming 2016-2017 season: Violin Viola Cello Horn Trumpet If you are interested in scheduling an audition, please contact auditions@www.philharmonianw.org or call 206-675-9727.

Concert III Outreach

Philharmonia Northwest is proud to welcome students of the Ballard High School Chamber Orchestra to this Sunday's performance. Led by Brittany Newel and Allison Kanter, these thirteen students join Philharmonia Northwest in Dvorak’s Nocturne in B major, op. 40, as part of our Outreach Program. The

Concert III Program Notes

Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904): Nocturne in B Major, Op. 40 Antonín Dvořák’s Nocturne, Op. 40, began its life as the middle section of a single-movement string quartet written early in his career. Although Dvořák eventually discarded the quartet, he kept the haunting central section, which he had originally