Stamford Scribes

Mark your Calendar: Sunday, April 11 Mozart Requiem at St. John's Basilica Benefit Concert for Haiti

Benefit Concert for Haiti
The Choir of the Basilica of St. John and the Stamford Symphony to perform Mozart Requiem.

The City of Stamford will come together to commemorate the 3-month anniversary of the tragic earthquake in Haiti with a benefit concert performance of Mozart’s Requiem on Sunday, April 11 at 7:30 pm at the Basilica of St. John the Evangelist in Stamford. Led by musicians of the Stamford Symphony and conducted by Eckart Preu, the performance will feature the choir of the Basilica of St. John the Evangelist, its director Scott Turkington, organist, soprano Rachel Rosales and tenor David Vanderwal.

All proceeds from the concert will benefit victims of the Haiti earthquake. Members of the Haitian American Catholic Center will be collecting a suggested contribution of $25 at the door and a Donors Circle at $50 will offer reserved seating and a listing in the concert program. To contribute visit www.StJohnsStamford.com.

Everyone involved with the concert is contributing their time and talent to the project. Stamford Symphony musician Peter Weitzner commented, “The musicians, as members of the Stamford community, wanted to express their concerns and sympathies for our Haitian neighbors by doing what we do best: making music. We hope this performance of Mozart’s Requiem will bring solace to those affected by this tragedy, especially those who are longing for an opportunity to commemorate family and friends who have died.”

Season premiere of the Stamford Symphony

This weekend, the SSO opened its season with a rousing concert.

After the Overture to Mozart's Idomeneo, we heard Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64, beautifully performed by David Chan, concertmaster of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. I do like the concerto too for the fact that there is no break between the movements, the music simply flows, and as Mr. Chan said during the pre-concert talk, this is not a work written for the virtuoso, but rather for the music itself.

After intermission, we had Beethoven's Third Symphony, the Eroica, a tour de force, both in composition and today's performance, which got well deserved, sustained applause. In his pre-concert talk, "Behind the Baton,"  Eckart Preu did his best to debunk the entrenched story that the the symphony was originally dedicated to Napoleon and the dedication and title later changed, as political events changed. He sounded convincing, but I do think the jury is still out, though I have to agree that the story as told, 10 years after Beethoven's death, is a bit fishy.  As to "Eroica" itself, one sometimes has to look for the "heroic" : as in all of Beethoven's symphonies, the light alternates with the dark, Eckart said. I always enjoy "funeral marches," be it Beethoven, or Mahler, or others, they are often not what one expects.

              
Images courtesy Wikimedia Commons