Concert 2
Music of Ravel, Anderson and Copland
Sunday, November 6, 2011 at 3:00 PM
(Pre-Concert Conversation at 2:00 PM)
Sanders Theatre
Harvard University, 45 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA
Ravel Mother Goose Suite
Anderson Khorovod
Copland Clarinet Concerto
William R. Hudgins, clarinet
Haydn Symphony No. 90
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The second concert of the season is a program of great color and surprise, with a strong international flavor.
The opening French work, Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite, is a deft evocation of some of the familiar characters and situations from the tales of Mother Goose. The composer’s famous orchestral wizardry is nowhere more enchanting than in this work, which at the beginning seems miniaturized and by the end has proved itself full to overflowing.
Then on to the modern English composer Julian Anderson and his glistening, breathtaking Khorovod. Imagine a string of dances, all going at different speeds and with different instrumentation. Each one has its unique character, and they are all overlapped and juxtaposed in surprising and intriguing ways. This piece will be a real discovery for the audience!
For Copland’s beloved Clarinet Concerto we are honored to be presenting one of the most famous and respected clarinetists in America, William R. Hudgins, principal clarinet of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Renowned for the perfection of his technique and the silken beauty of his tone (much like the dedicatee of this concerto, Benny Goodman), Mr. Hudgins possesses just the right qualities for the American hymn-like strains of the concerto’s opening movement and for the tricky, jazzy riffs with which the concerto concludes. Opportunities to hear Mr. Hudgins as a soloist are rare, and you won’t want to miss this special occasion.
Haydn’s Symphony No. 90 is not the one that is nicknamed “The Surprise”, but it should be. For over two hundred years delighted audiences have been snared in its devilishly ingenious trap. Come to the concert and hear what we mean!
William R. Hudgins
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Stu Rosner photo |
William R. Hudgins was appointed principal clarinetist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra by Seiji Ozawa in 1994. He has been a featured soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra on numerous occasions, including performances of clarinet concertos of Mozart and Copland. As a member of the Boston Symphony Chamber Players, he can be heard on their latest CD recording “Plain Song, Fantastic Dances” in the music of Gandolfi, Foss, and Golijov, as well as on the CD “Mozart Chamber Music for Winds and Strings” in Mozart’s Quintet for Clarinet and Strings, K.581, and on a Grammy-nominated Arabesque recording of Hindemith’s Quartet for Clarinet, Violin, Cello and Piano.
Recent performances outside of the Boston Symphony Orchestra include orchestral performances and recordings with the Saito Kinen Orchestra in Matsumoto, Japan and the Mito Chamber Orchestra in Mito, Japan, both under the direction of Seiji Ozawa. Mr. Hudgins performed in the December, 2010 Susan G. Komen “Concert for the Cure” breast cancer benefit concert under the direction of Sir Simon Rattle. Appearances at the Rockport Chamber Music Festival include performances of Wagner and Copland in the inaugural concert at the Shalin Liu Performance Center in June, 2010.
