Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra Presents Riveting Rhapsodies

CSO continues the 2020-21 Season with Riveting Rhapsodies on Jan. 23rd, 2021 with performances at 2:00 PM and 7:30 PM, at the Cheyenne Civic Center.

When: Saturday, January 23rd, 2021       Time: 2:00 PM and 7:30 PM
Where: Cheyenne Civic Center                Tickets: On sale now for $12-$47

Social distancing measures will be in place and patrons will be required to wear masks, in compliance with the Laramie County mask mandate. The concerts will be performed without intermission and last about 90 minutes. The 7:30 PM performance will also be live-streamed for those who prefer to watch from the comfort of home.

The January Masterpiece program will feature The Helios Piano Trio performing Beethoven’s rarely heard Triple Concerto for solo violin, solo cello, solo piano, and orchestra. The Helios Piano Trio is on the music faculty of UW and the cellist of The Helios Piano Trio is our CSO Principal Cello, Beth Vanderborgh. The violinist is her husband, John Fadial, who will also serve as Guest Concertmaster for this concert and Chi-Chen Wu is the pianist, who has also performed with the CSO and for our Hausmusiks on occasion. This concerto exemplifies the theme of togetherness and being connected, a theme that our world needs right now, as the three soloists play together and take turns passing off melodies. It is also a very spirited piece, and another inspiring reminder of the wonderful milestone we just crossed last month: Beethoven’s 250th birthday.

This program also includes Mary Watkins’ Soul of Remembrance and Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings. These are two very soul-searching and emotional works that can provide a much-needed catharsis after the events of the past year. Barber’s Adagio is very well-known and yet hearing it live is very special; it never fails to move us deeply. Mary Watkins is a living African American composer who has composed operas, music for symphonies, music for film, and much else. Although Soul of Remembrance may not be familiar to you, on your first hearing of this beautiful piece, you will be moved as you hear soft repeated rolls on a harp and a slow, nostalgic melody in the strings. It has a quality slightly akin to the moving “Going Home” slow movement of Dvorak’s New World Symphony.

This concert concludes with Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite. This music, so French in orchestral colors and treatment and yet so universal, has always delighted audiences around the world. Originally composed as five pieces for piano four-hands, Ravel later waved his magic wand of orchestration over them, creating exquisite and mostly delicate orchestral shade; in contrast, there is also a dark and sinister part for the contrabassoon as the “Beast” in the “Beauty and the Beast” movement. In addition to that story, you will also hear short musical portraits of these other Mother Goose fables: Sleeping Beauty, Tom Thumb, The Little Ugly Empress, and The Fairy Garden. “This last one is one of my favorite pieces for orchestra,” says Maestro William Intriligator, CSO Music Director and Conductor. “It is a beautiful and joyous crescendo of innocence, magic, faith, and optimism. I think that will be a great way for us to feel as this concert concludes.”

The Classic Conversations educational seminar that precedes each concert will be live-streamed on the CSO Facebook page on the Friday prior to the concert at noon and made available on the CSO website for on-demand viewing.

Call 778-8561 or visit cheyennesymphony.org for more information.