Carnival Concert at Teatro Verdi

Saleem Abboud Ashkar

Teatro Verdi is hosting some special guests this Tuesday, February 28th. At 9 pm, the Orchestra della Toscana (ORT) will be performing their Carnival Concert with Dietrich Paredes as acting conductor and Saleem Ashkar on the piano as a soloist.

Paredes is of Venezuelan origin, and is recognized not only for his early mastery of the violin, but also for his involvement in El Sistema, which provides an opportunity for poverty-stricken children to practice music within an orchestra. He has conducted a number of orchestras for his home country alone, including the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra and the Tachira, Monagas, Merida, and Falcon Symphony orchestras.

Ashkar is an Israeli pianist popular among many leading conductors around the world. He has performed with world-renownedn orchestras, although this will be his first time playing in conjunction with ORT. Ashkar has worked continually with Riccardo Chailly, an Italian conductor, even receiving the invitation to record with him at the Mendelssohn Concerto for Decca. Currently, he is the ambassador to Music Fund, which provides support to music schools in developing countries and economically disadvantaged areas.

The pieces that will be performed begin with Mendelssohn and The Hebrides Overture, Op. 26, a concert overture that was composed in 1830. The 11-minute work is meant to portray the mood surrounding Fingal’s Cave in Scotland, which is solitude combined with a sense of awe and wonder. An additional theme of the piece is the movement of waves at sea. The orchestra will also perform Piano Concerto No.1, op.25 by Mendelssohn. It was written in 1830-31, and features three movements littered with improvisation (a favorite of Mendelssohn’s). An orchestral introduction will be provided at the beginning of the piece, with the piano coming in very soon after.

The final piece to be performed belongs to Beethoven; Symphony No. 2, op. 36 was composed in 1802, a time when his deafness was deemed incurable. The four-movement piece establishes an alternating rhythm of “loud-soft” to begin, even though as a whole, the work is considered more serene than some of his other symphonies.

Tickets are available at Teatro Verdi and the Circuito Regionale Box Office. More information is available online at www.teatroverdionline.it  (imani webb)