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Susan Bardack, Buzz Media Solutions
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The Albany Symphony’s April Concert to Feature the Beautiful Boléro by Maurice Ravel, Concerto for Hindustani Violin by Reena Esmail and Symphonie fantastique by Hector Berlioz
Soloist Includes World Renowned Violinist Kala Ramnath
ALBANY, NY – The two-time GRAMMY award-winning Albany Symphony is thrilled to present a beautiful and immersive concert on April 5th at 7:30pm at the Palace Theatre in Albany. There will be a pre-concert talk by Music Director David Alan Miller at 6:30pm. The concert will feature Boléro by Maurice Ravel, Concerto for Hindustani Violin by Reena Esmail and Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique.
“We are excited to share with you an evening filled with the gorgeous masterworks which include Boléro and Symphonie fantastique,” said Music Director David Alan Miller. “Our program also includes the beloved and returning composer Reena Esmail, whose work Concerto for Hindustani Violin will be performed by Kala Ramnath, an absolutely brilliant violin soloist. We can’t wait to share these pieces and our Albany Symphony musicians with you.”
Boléro, composed in 1928 is one of Maurice Ravel’s most famous compositions. It is also one of his last completed works before illness set in and he could no longer compose. The piece was a sensational success when premiered at the Paris Opera. Ravel predicted that most orchestras would refuse to play it. It is usually played as a purely orchestral work and is only very rarely staged as a ballet. According to a possible story from the premiere performance, a woman was heard shouting that Ravel was mad. When told about this, Ravel is said to have remarked that she had understood the piece. The New York Philharmonic performed the work in 1929, and the performance was a great success, bringing "shouts and cheers from the audience,” according to the New York Times.
Composer Reena Esmail returns to the Albany Symphony to showcase her incredible work, Concerto for Hindustani Violin. This Violin Concerto explores the ancient concept of the Five Elements (space, air, fire, water and earth), through the modern lens of climate change. Each of these elements can be so uniquely beautiful and awe-inspiring when they are in balance with one another — and yet when they are out of balance, they can cause boundless destruction. This work is a celebration of the incredible ecosystem we call home, a tough look down the road of destruction of that home, and a prayer of atonement, and hope for the restoration.
“I was incredibly honored to collaborate with Kala Ramnath on this concerto — we each brought our unique body of knowledge into creating something that reached further than either of us could have conceived alone. It was Kala who first came to me with the concept for this work, and it is her melodies, with their unique raag and taal, and lively rhythmic interplay that form the backbone of this concerto. I expanded out those melodies into orchestra, surrounding Kala and creating a work that allowed musicians from both cultures to meet one another, and step into each other’s expressive worlds,” said Esmail.
Esmail, who is an Indian American composer divides her attention between orchestral, chamber and choral work. She has written commissions for several ensembles and her music has been featured on many GRAMMY nominated albums. She holds composition degrees from The Julliard School and the Yale School of Music.
Kala Ramnath’s playing has been featured on the Grammy-nominated Miles from India project, compositions of hers have appeared on the Grammy-winning album In 27 Pieces and the Kronos Quartet’s 50 For The Future.
The UK-based Songlines magazine hailed Kala Ramnath as one of the 50 world’s best instrumentalists and selected album Kala as one of its 50 best recordings. She was the first Indian violinist ever to be featured in the violin bible, The Strad.
Also on the program, Symphonie fantastique is a piece that tells the story of a gifted artist who, in the depths of hopelessness and despair because of his unrequited love for a woman, poisoned himself with opium. The piece tells the story of the artist's drug-fueled hallucinations, beginning with a ball and a scene in a field and ending with a march to the scaffold and a satanic dream. Berlioz fell in love with the Irish actress, Harriet Smithson, who played the role of Ophelia in Hamlet. His biographer writes that he obsessively pursued her for several years. He sent her numerous unanswered love letters, and she refused to meet him. However, some years later she met him, they began a romance and eventually got married.
The 2024-2025 season runs through the American Music Festival in June. Season subscriptions are available and offer flexibility, convenience, and price savings. Through the Nielsen Associates’ Student Access Program, students can purchase discount subscriptions and enjoy the full benefits of being a subscriber. To purchase a subscription or single tickets, visit albanysymphony.com or call the Box Office at 518-694-3300.