This concert highlights Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto performed by award-winning violin virtuoso Dylana Jenson. Samuel Barber composed his celebrated violin concerto in 1939. The first and second movements are lyrical and melodic, and to these two gorgeous movements Barber adds a finale that is played at breakneck speed, never pauses for breath, utilizes rhythmic complexities and accents that are incredibly virtuosic, with the solo violin playing in a perpetual, continual motion.
The Bohemian character of the solo violin line resonates in Dvořák’s 8th symphony. This G major Symphony is decidedly genial and upbeat; and yet, listening carefully, it is surprising how much minor-key music actually inhabits this major-key symphony. The Eighth Symphony broke new ground from the moment of its premiere. As the composer explained, it was meant to be “different from the other symphonies, with individual thoughts worked out in a new way.” This “new way” refers to Dvořák’s musical transformation of the Czech countryside he loved into a unique sonic landscape. Within the music, Dvořák included sounds from nature, particularly hunting horn calls and birdsongs played by various wind instruments. Biographer Hanz-Hubert Schönzeler observed, “When one walks in those forests surrounding Dvořák’s country home on a sunny summer’s day, with the birds singing and the leaves of trees rustling in a gentle breeze, one can virtually hear the music.”
Learn more about Dylana Jenson, featured violin soloist, here.