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Chamber orchestra concerts draw on 'modern' theme
Two performances will showcase the Arnold Schoenberg-arranged Strauss work.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
DAYTON — The arrangements of both works on the program for this week's pair of Dayton Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra concerts were first performed in 1921 under the auspices of the Vienna-based Society for Private Music Performance.
Founded and overseen by composer Arnold Schoenberg, the relatively short-lived, though productive, society was devoted to giving modern music a sympathetic hearing in a members-only chamber-style setting.
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But the notion of "modern" was apparently open to interpretation, for Schoenberg had no qualms about presenting the society's membership with an arrangement of Johann Strauss Jr.'s (aka the Waltz King's) "The Rose of the South" waltz, originally found in Strauss' Romantic Era operetta "The Queen's Lace Handkerchief."
A chamber orchestra configuration of the Dayton Philharmonic, conducted by Music Director Neal Gittleman, will give the Schoenberg-arranged Strauss work its first Dayton hearing at the Schuster Center on Wednesday, May 21, and Thursday, May 22.
The other piece on the program will be Gustav Mahler's fourth symphony, also arranged for chamber orchestra. Erwin Stein, a student of Schoenberg's who served as director of performances in Schoenberg's Society for Private Music Performance, arranged the Mahler work for the society's hearing.
Joining the Dayton Philharmonic in its performance of the Mahler will be soprano Mary Elizabeth Southworth, an active vocalist in the area who has appeared with the Cincinnati and Dayton operas as well as the Cincinnati Symphony and Pops orchestras.
