THE BERGEN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
A Magical May Season Finale
with guest soloist Ye-jin Han, violin
Woomyung Choe and the Bergen Symphony Orchestra presents A MAGICAL MAY SEASON FINALE at 7:30 pm on Saturday, June 2, 2018 in the Fort Lee High School Auditorium, 3000 Lemoine Ave., Fort Lee, NJ. The effervescent Shostakovich Festive Overture starts the evening much like an uncorked bottle of champagne spilling over. Concerto for Violin No. 3 by Saint-Saëns follows, opening with an easygoing Parisian feel according to playwright George Bernard Shaw. Guest violinist Ye-jin Han stars, and her virtuosity is evident in her pure, expressive tone and effortless playing. Rachmaninoff’s vast and glorious Symphony No. 2 rounds out the concert with all the gestures of a "victory symphony."
Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975), who lived through the vicissitudes of Soviet Russia, was at his most characteristic when expressing melancholy and sarcasm. None of these traits, however, mark his unabashedly cheerful and glitzy Festive Overture in A Major, Opus 96. It was written in great haste when the panic-stricken officials of the Bolshoi Theater found themselves without an opening work for their 1954 anniversary celebration of the 1917 Russian Revolution. This most successful and delightfully ebullient “pièce d’occasion” has been a popular favorite at important official events ever since.
Concerto for Violin No. 3 in B minor, Opus 61 is one of a trio of violin concertos by the most renowned French composer of the 19th century--Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921).
The work was dedicated to and premiered by the wildly famous Spanish violinist and composer Pablo de Sarasate. By 1880, when it was composed, Saint-Saëns had cultivated his talent for writing memorable melodies, and for tailoring his concertos to their specific soloist.
The melodic invention and impressionistic subtlety present significant interpretive challenges, which will be well met by tonight’s remarkable international prize-winning soloist Ye-jin Han, who has performed worldwide, including a New York debut at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall.
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Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) had the goods to weather the whims of critical opinion and maintain his popularity. Audiences loved Rachmaninoff’s music during his lifetime; they still do. He rarely smiled in public, but his friends--and his music--testify to his warm, generous nature. And this evening, we are fortunate to hear one of his best-loved works, Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Opus 27, a long, ambitious 1906-07 work that is so fresh and so beautiful, that at the end one is surprised how quickly the hands of the clock have moved.
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Ticket prices are $25 for general seating, $20 for seniors and students, and children up to age 17 are admitted free of charge. Tickets may be purchased at the door or in advance at Main Violin Shop, 523 Summit Ave.,, Fort Lee, NJ 07024. For information call 201-704-7584 or 413-446-6266 or go to www.bergensymphony.org / bergensympho@gmail.com
The evening's soloists
The versatile Korean violinist/violist Ye-jin Han has performed throughout the US, Canada, and Europe extensively and made her New York Recital debut in 2009 at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall. Praised for her “pure, expressive tone” and “effortless playing”, Ms. Han has been prize winner at many competitions including the Citta di Brescia International Violin Competition in Italy and Five Towns Music and Arts Foundation Young Musician Competition, Lilian Fuchs Memorial Chamber Music Competition in New York. As a recitalist and chamber musician, she has collaborated with many world renowned artists and ensembles such as the Emerson String Quartet and has appeared at the Banff Centre,Tibor Varga, Mozarteum International Academy, Carl Flesch Akadimie, Fountainebleau Schools, and Casalmaggiore festivals. She is also an active chamber music player and given concerts in greater New
York area through many venues, including Montgomery Chamber Music Series and Si-yo Music Society Foundation. Ms. Han holds a Master of Music and Professional Study degree from Manhattan School of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Stony Brook University. She is currently a violin/viola/chamber faculty at Long Island Conservatory of Music and also holding a private studio, which has produced many competition winners and musical leaders at State/local youth orchestras.