Bravo? Brava? It Matters!

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Bravo? Brava? It Matters!

By Linda Wright

Greetings from the land of all things noteworthy (in the truest sense of the word)! The Coastal Symphony of Georgia, under the direction of Maestro Luis Haza, is proud to offer the Golden Isles community the 2017-2018 season of orchestral masterpieces. This newest set of concert programs is especially compelling because it comes as the pièce de resistance of Maestro Haza’s valedictory season. The incomparable Musical Director and Conductor will retire after the April 2018 performance.

You may recall when we launched the previous season’s repertoire in these Elegant Island Living pages, a modest lesson in historical musical eras was included free of charge: specifically Baroque, Classical, and Romantic. So, is it time for a review quiz? Have you inserted those elegant terms in your everyday discourse for the past year? Hmm … not feeling a resounding affirmative, dear readers. Well, no worries. Let’s move on to other finer points of musical appreciation.

The October 2nd concert, “Love Stories,” features Guest Soprano Maria Valdes, an Atlanta native who finished her tenure as an Adler fellow with the San Francisco Opera in 2016. She will perform a selection from Puccini’s La Boheme, “Si, mi chiamano Mimi,” considered to be the most beautiful and beloved of the character Mimi’s arias. And how will the audience predictably respond when that glorious voice has concluded? “Brava, bravissima!” And why “brava” rather than “bravo?” Because the performer is feminine! And Italian is a highly inflected language when it comes to adjectives and other words of related ilk.

The offerings in the November 20th program, “Women, Women, Women,” provide us an opportunity to review Italian descriptors for musical style. For example, when we listen to the closing waltz in Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty Ballet Suite, we are experiencing an “adagio” (at ease, moving slowly) and “amabile” (amiable, pleasant) kind of note movement. On the other hand, when Bizet’s Carmen Suite No. 1 delights our senses, the familiar “Toreador Song” is rendered “marcatissimo” (with much note accentuation) and “alla marcia” (in the manner of a march). And “Can Can” from Offenbach’s La Gaite Pariesienne? A “gustoso” style (happy emphasis and forcefulness) reigns supreme. Audience toe tapping and clapping will be impossible to repress.

“Experience Masterful Moments” is the theme of the February 19th program. The first interval of the evening is comprised completely of concerto passages from German, Russian, Austrian, and Venetian composers. So, what exactly is a concerto? Well, consider this. The lineup includes selections from the following: a Strauss French horn concerto, a Rimsky-Korsakov trombone concerto, a Hummel trumpet concerto, a von Weber clarinet concerto, and a Marcello oboe concerto. I’m guessing by now you’ve nailed the definition: A concerto is an orchestral piece that features a solo musician performing on a specific instrument. Sometimes the soloist opens the musical score, but more often the symphony commences the piece, and the solo instrument joins in after the orchestra has established the motif. However, do not be alarmed. The concert will not last the several hours it would require to perform all of these magnificent concertos. The audience would need to camp out with overnight provisions! Instead, solo musicians will be featured in isolated instrumental movements that showcase their expertise and interpretation.

The fourth concert on April 9th, “Experience Hope and Triumph,” gives us the opportunity to review a lesson from this very article. Maestro Luis Haza will open the program with the Love Theme from Cinema Paradiso, a memorable part of the musical score from the film that won the 1989 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Haza will play this sweet, haunting solo on a 1707 Pietro Guarnerius di Mantua violin with a Jean Baptiste Vuillaume picture bow from the Napoleon collection. Grammy award-winning Haza (and globally recognized conductor) will bring his signature love and passion to this farewell performance. At its conclusion, there can be no doubt; the audience will cheer: “Bravo, bravissimo!” His virtuoso performance and years of dedicated service to The Coastal Symphony of Georgia personify “Hope and Triumph.”

In 2017-18, the Coastal Symphony of Georgia performs at Brunswick High Auditorium on Monday evenings, 8:00 p.m., October 2, November 20, February 19, and April 9. A few season tickets are still available: Adult $120 and Child $20. To be placed on a ticket waiting list for a single performance, contact the Symphony office at 912.634.2006.

The mission of the Coastal Symphony of Georgia is to engage, enrich, and inspire our community through artistically vibrant musical performances. “Experience the excitement!” Visit coastalsymphonyofgeorgia.org for more information and continuing opportunities to connect with professional orchestral music at its finest.