Maestro Preu introduces four diverse musical characters

Mar 24, 2005

For Immediate Release

Contact: Annie Matlow 509-326-3136

Maestro Preu introduces four diverse musical characters

SPOKANE: Music Director Eckart Preu and the 70 musicians of the Spokane Symphony will take the audience on a journey of discovery Friday, April 1, at 8 pm in the Spokane Opera House.

The audience will discover the different paths of four men looking for love, honor, power and justice, in a whirlpool of styles, colors and virtuosity. Listeners will hear familiar themes throughout this quirky and mysterious evening.

In Edvard Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, the central character goes on many heroic adventures, only to find the woman who was right for him all along waiting at home. Leos Janacek's Taras Bulba is based on Gogol's tale of a soldier-turned-farmer who leads his two sons into war. Then there's Lex, from Michael Daugherty's Metropolis Symphony. Yes, it's that Lex and that Metropolis: Superman's arch enemy Lex Luthor. Finally, Richard Strauss' Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks concerns the exploits, musically portrayed, of a popular German peasant jester of the 12th century; as Strauss tells it, he was lynched for his efforts.

The popular German conductor has brought an exciting vitality to the Classics concert in his first year with the orchestra. He has committed to present new music coupled with traditional favorites and this concert is a good example of that philosophy.

The music of this concert is truly an adventure. We explore the four entirely different musical worlds: Grieg's Norwegian Romanticism with it's lush, beautiful and memorable melodies, the highly dramatic and earthy music of the check Leos Janacek, the exciting and rhythmic driven music by the son of a dance band drummer Michael Daugherty (with a huge amount of percussion instruments played by four percussionists) who has created a niche in the music world that is uniquely his own, composing concert music inspired by contemporary American popular culture to the humorous and virtuoso writing of Richard Strauss. His music is irresistible in its brilliance and joy Strauss said once: I want to create joy. I need it,'said Preu.
This concert is underwritten by Betty and Ed Kiemle.
Tickets are available for $15 to $34 in advance without service charge at the Spokane Symphony ticket office, 818 W. Riverside, Suite 100, or by calling 509-624-1200. Tickets are also available at all TicketsWest outlets or by calling 1-800-325-SEAT or at spokanesympony.org.

CALENDAR LISTING:
Spokane Symphony, Friday, April 1, at 8 p.m. at the Spokane Opera House. Tickets are $15 to $34; Call the Spokane Symphony Ticket Office at (509) 624-1200; tickets are also available, with service charges, through TicketsWest at 325-SEAT, 1-800-325-SEAT and at www.spokanesymphony.org.