The Hays Symphony invites the community to its opening concert of the 2024-25 season on Saturday, September 28, at 7:30 p.m. in the Beach/Schmidt Performing Arts Center. Themed as “Dark Whimsy,” the concert repertoire includes delightfully stark yet dreamlike compositions from Shostakovich, Bacewicz, and Beethoven.
In “Dark Whimsy,” passion and nostalgia meld into a contemplation of things past where the idyllic and surreal cross the sinister. Cello virtuoso and FHSU music faculty member Ben Cline will feature as a soloist in Shostakovich’s brooding and off-kilter Cello Concerto No. 2.
Ben Cline himself explains more about his experience preparing for the concerto in a recent video interview. “There’s an interesting quality to this piece,” said Cline. “Shostakovich wrote it in the last decade of his life. It’s true of a lot of composers, especially composers of his stature, that they keep reinventing themselves—that they keep pushing their style forward.”
He continues to add: “But as they do that into the latter part of their career, there’s a lot of introspection. This piece has those elements in it. It is nostalgic in a way. There’s a sense of sorrow in it . . .” (The full video interview can be found on the Hays Symphony’s official Facebook and Instagram pages.)
Two additional pieces contribute to Music Director Brian Buckstead’s vision of “Dark Whimsy.” The concert opener, Grażyna Bacewicz’s Overture, offers the energy and volume of an entire symphony packed within its short six minutes. Bacewicz completed her Overture in 1943 during the German occupation of Poland. However, the Overture would not see its performance until after Poland’s liberation from the Nazis in 1945. Despite her prolific background, Bacewicz has received little attention in the United States—until recently.
The other highlight of the concert is Beethoven’s playful yet fiery Symphony No. 8. Driven by interpersonal and romantic troubles, Beethoven reflects the equally unpredictable sways of passion and human emotion in his lively and witty Eighth Symphony.
Following the concert, attendees are welcome to mingle with the musicians at the post-concert reception in the hall’s lobby. This dessert reception is sponsored by a generous donation from the Hays Area Bicyclists.
Over the summer, various players in the orchestra provided musical entertainment for the Hays Area Bicyclists’ successful “Tour Die Kapellen.” Concert-goers can learn more about this “Tour of the Chapels” and how to participate on the Hays Area Bicyclists’ website.
Attendees are encouraged to reserve tickets for future concerts in advance on the symphony’s website at https://www.hayssymphony.org where they can also make donations to sustain free classical music in the Hays community.
Comments