The SOSL’s first concert for the 2019, sees the orchestra presenting a program of masterpieces by Beethoven and Mendelssohn, chosen not only for their drama and evocative nature, but also for their unquestionable place among the ‘great’ works of each composer.
The concert, scheduled for 23rd February at the Ladies’ College Hall, is directed by DushyanthiPerera, and features one of Sri Lanka’s most talented and versatile musicians—Soundarie David, who will perform as piano soloist in Beethoven’s Choral Fantasia.
Beethoven’s dark and dramatic Egmont Overture will open the program. This powerful work denotes the struggle of Count Egmont (a sixteenth-century Dutch nobleman) against forces of Spanish imperial rule. Beethoven wrote the Egmont overture when the Napoleonic wars were in full swing, and in many ways this music is about heroism, defiance, and the need to make a stand against oppression—ideas which are apparent from the first arresting chord of this piece to its victorious ending.
The Choral Fantasia, also by Beethoven, is a fusion of different forms and genres and is truly an original work for its time. This beautiful and unusual piece features a choral finale, which many may recognize as having unmistakable echoes of the choral theme from the 9th symphony. The choir for this performance will be directed by Mary Anne David, and is comprised of singers from the Old Joes’ Choir, Soul Sounds, The Mary Anne David Chorale and The Menaka Singers.
Mendelssohn’s symphony No.3, the Scottish, is said to have been inspired by a visit to Scotland in 1829, and though one can hear the somber misty highlands in the haunting opening theme, the rest of the symphony has very little to do with Scotland! The music, however, is quintessentially Mendelssohn—by turns lyrical, expressive and profound, or light and bounding with energy, and at others martial and dramatic.
