ODELL — Columbia Gorge Orchestra Association presents A Slavic Fantasy, March 7 at 7 p.m. and March 9 at 2 p.m. in the Wy’east Middle School Performing Arts Center, 3000 Wy’east Rd., Odell.
Focused on 19th century composers Russia and eastern Europe, it’s heavy on melody. Tchaikovsky’s Fantasy Overture on Romeo and Juliet was drafted when the composer was only 29, but the final version appeared ten years later. Highlighting some of the incidents and characters in Shakespeare’s drama, Tchaikovsky’s portrait contains what’s probably the single most recognizable love theme in all of classical music.
“Dvorak’s 8th Symphony is by turns Romantic, dance-like, simple like a folk song and as exciting as a film score from Hollywood,” conductor Mark Steighner said.
The final selection is a suite by 20th century composer Sergei Prokofiev. His Lt. Kije Suite is a selection of music written for a 1934 film, a comic satire about Czarist Russia, with a lot of slapstick comedy and absurdity. Like the film, the music is playful and almost never serious. “I think my favorite section is the final movement,” Steighner said, “when Kije is dying and his life flashes before his eyes, represented by all the different themes sort of colliding in his head.”
Discounted tickets for SNAP card holders and free tickets for all students with student ID at www.gorgeorchestra.org.
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