The Rhode Island Philharmonic celebrates the return of two renowned favorites, rising internationally, conductor Kenosha Watanabe and pianist Olga Kern, with two separate performances this weekend.
The Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra and Music School presents an Amica Rush Hour Series concert on Friday, Nov. 11, at 6:30 p.m. and a TACO Classical Series concert on Saturday, Nov. 12, at 8 p.m. Both performances will be at the newly renovated Veterans Memorial Auditorium, 1 Avenue of the Arts in Providence.
During the two nights of performances, the audience is treated to BERLIOZ Rob Roy Overture, BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No.3, BEETHOVEN Symphony No.7 and the original composition Fate Now Conquers by Carlos Simon.
Recognized as one of the greatest pianists today, the Grammy nominated Olga Kern will play Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.3. Ms. Kern is joined by the young internationally known American based conductor Kensho Watanabe. Mr. Watanabe returns after leading the RI Philharmonic Orchestra in a wonderful November 2021 performance which included Price’s Dances in the Canebrakes and Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No.2.
Executive Director David Beauchesne says, “The Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra is excited to welcome Kensho and Olga back to our stage. Their previous performances left audience members moved by their artistry. This program also brings us the RI Philharmonic debut of Carlos Simon’s work. Carlos is an important voice in today’s classical music landscape and we are thrilled to share him with the audience. This will be a weekend not to be missed.”
Composer Carlos Simon’s "Fate Now Conquers" is based on Beethoven’s Symphony No.7 and will make its Rhode Island Philharmonic debut. A Washington, D.C. native, raised in Atlanta Georgia, Mr Simon's gospel influence as a son of a preacher is on display with "Fate Now Conquers.” Mr. Simon stated that "this piece was inspired by a journal entry from Ludwig van Beethoven’s notebook, written in 1815.” He continues, “using the beautifully fluid harmonic structure of the second movement of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony, I have composed musical gestures that are representative of the unpredictable ways of fate. Jolting stabs, coupled with an agitated groove with every persona. Frenzied arpeggios in the strings that morph into an ambiguous cloud of free-flowing running passages depict the uncertainty of life that hovers over us."
Also for the first time, "Rob Roy" by Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) is performed. Berlioz composed the overture in 1831, by which time he had premiered the work that made him famous: his Symphonie fantastique (1830). However, he was never satisfied with Rob Roy, judging it “long and diffuse.” Yet, its material persisted, and he used one of its melodies in Harold en Italie.
