UPCOMING CONCERT-
June 23, 2007
7:30 PM
Surrey Mozart Players
Electric Theatre, Guildford
Beethoven- Coriolan Overture
Schumann- Cello Concerto in A minor
–Gemma Rosefield, cello
Shostakovich- Chamber Symphony op. 73
From the SMP website-
Beethoven’s overture Coriolan of 1807 was written to precede a play by his friend H J von Collin, not the tragedy by Shakespeare. The music depicts the proud Roman General Caius Marcius who performed valiantly against the Volscians, capturing the town of Corioli. Following his later banishment by the Romans he sided with the Volscians and assumed the name of the town.
With increasing episodes of dementia and auditory hallucinations, Schumann did not easily tolerate high-frequency sound and found himself drawn to the lower pitched instruments. The Cello Concerto of 1854 provided relief from his troubles, and was written in just six days, with orchestration completed in a further eight.
Shostakovich wrote his Third String Quartet in 1946, between two confrontations with Party officials. It is, for the composer, relatively light-hearted, but with underlying tensions. Because it shows such clear orchestral characteristics, Rudolf Barshai decided, with the composer’s approval, to arrange the composition for chamber orchestra by adding a few wind instruments.
Cellist Gemma Rosefield-
GEMMA ROSEFIELD, born in London in 1981, studied for a Masters Degree with Ralph Kirshbaum at the Royal Northern College of Music, supported by the Countess of Munster Musical Trust, having previously graduated with Distinction at the Royal Academy of Music. Major competition successes include First Prize in the European Music for Youth Competition in Oslo, Norway, the Royal Overseas League String Competition, the Making Music Young Concert Artists Award, the Kirckman Award, and the Prix Academie Maurice Ravel. She has taken part in Masterclasses with eminent musicians such as Yo-Yo Ma, Gary Hoffman, Johannes Goritzki, Frans Helmerson, Zara Nelsova and Bernard Greenhouse.
A committed chamber musician, Gemma has played in the USA, Russia, Japan, Europe and throughout the UK, including performances with Gyorgy Pauk,Menachem Pressler and Stephen Kovacevich. She has appeared at the major London venues, including the South Bank, the Barbican and at the Wigmore Hall, where at her debut recital in 2004, she was described by the Strad Magazine as “a mesmerising musical treasure”, and the London Evening Standard commented “Monday nights at the Wigmore Hall will never be the same again”. Her festival appearances this year include Corsham, Hampstead & Highgate, Kings Lynn, Presteigne and Edinburgh Fringe, Gstaad and the Lyon Musicades XV in France.
Praised by the London Evening Standard in 2005 as “a phenomenal talent”, Gemma’s plans include solo recitals throughout the UK, and performances of the Elgar, Schumann and both Haydn concertos. She has toured in Mexico, and Holland (in the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam) in the New Masters International Recital Series.
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