Lyrical & Lovely / Britt Orchestra / Anne Akiko Meyers

Friday, August 7, 2009 • 8 p.m.

The Britt Orchestra will honor the memory of John Trudeau, Britt's Founder and Conductor Emeritus, at this concert. Maestro Bay will dedicate the performance of Nielsen's Symphony No. 3, "Sinfonia Espansiva," to Trudeau, who was a champion of Nielsen's music.

In honor of Felix Mendelssohn’s 250th birthday, Maestro Bay has programmed three of his overtures this season. The August 1 concert featured Fingal’s Cave and on this program, The Fair Melusina evokes the romantic tale of a mermaid-like nixie. Complete with graceful burbling themes and stormy underwater events, this concert opener is another musical description of the sea by this prodigious composer.

Considered to be one of the most elegant violinists of her generation, Anne Akiko Meyers returns to Britt to play Prokofiev’s lyrical Violin Concerto No. 1. Her talent, beauty and passion touch the heart and soul of listeners around the globe.

The orchestra will perform Danish composer Carl Nielsen’s Symphony No. 3, “Sinfonia Espansiva” in a Britt premiere. Nielsen was one of the great symphonists, and optimism, energy and a talent for enjoyment and exhilaration are powerful components of his personality. Biographer Robert Simpson writes, “espansiva means the outward growth of the mind’s scope and the expansion of life that comes from it.”

For more information about the guest artist, visit www.anneakikomeyers.com
 
Special pre-concert performance: 7:30 pm
Thirty-two gifted young artists of the Britt String Quartet Academy will be featured on the Britt stage.

Pre-concert talk at 7 p.m. by Mark Knippel, Composer and Former Britt Institute Staff.

LISTEN AND WATCH SAMPES:

Violin Concerto No. 1 (audio)
Symphony No. 3 "Sinfonia Espansiva" (audio)
Anne Akiko Meyers Performs Tchaikovsky (video)