BPO Music Director JoAnn Falletta Makes Her Conducting Debut at ChautauquaBy Bill Raffel, WBFO
Buffalo, NY – JoAnn Falletta makes her debut in the Chautauqua Institution's Amphitheatre. Good morning. I'm Bill Raffel with Music Notes.
JoAnn will be leading the orchestra in this work, Rachmaninoff's Second Symphony on Thursday (7/25) at 8:15. Brian Regin will be the soloist in Schumann's D?Minor Violin Concerto. JoAnn's actual debut is tomorrow night (Tuesday 7/23), when she conducts Richard Strauss's Suite from Der Rosenkavalier. The featured soloist is pianist Angela Hewitt, who specializes in works of Bach. She's play Bach's Fifth Piano Concerto along with Mozart's 14th.
Chautauqua's Vice President of Programming Marty Merkely says they're hoping JoAnn's fans in Buffalo will join her in the Amphitheatre.
Now, if you'd like to see the Chautauqua Opera sing Verdi's MacBeth in English, the final performance is at 7:30?p.m. tonight (Monday 7/22) in Norton Hall. The theatre company will continue presenting the original Shakespearean play through this Saturday. JoAnn Falletta conducts the CSO on Tuesday and Thursday, before Music Director Uriel Segal returns on Saturday (7/27) for Beethoven's Ninth and Barber's Adagio, the same works the BPO performed shortly after 9-11. All of these performances begin at 8:15?p.m. in the Amphitheatre.
After JoAnn leaves Chautauqua, she'll conduct half of the Buffalo Philharmonic in the Montante Cultural Center at Canisius College. They'll perform Copland's original version of Appalachian Spring and Dvorak's Serenade in D?minor. This performance begins Saturday (7/27) at 7:30.
And that same night at 7?p.m., Ron Spigelman takes the other half of the BPO to the Fredonia Opera House for other chamber orchestra pieces including two contemporary works for flute and orchestra, featuring BPO Flutist Betsy Reeds.
Then on Sunday at 7:30?p.m., the orchestra repeats a concert of Led Zeppelin favorites at Artpark.
You can see the BPO for free tomorrow (Tue 7/23) at 7?p.m. in the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens in South Buffalo, Thursday (7/25) at noon on One M and T Plaza downtown, and Friday (7/26) at 7?p.m. in Batavia's Centennial Park. Paul Ferington will be bringing the podium with him.
Also in South Buffalo, William Weikert leads the American Legion Band of the Tonawandas Sunday at 8?p.m. in Cazenovia Park (P.S. Congratulations to the American Legion Band of the Tonawandas, which took top honors at the 2002 American Legion state convention parade last week in Albany).
Elsewhere, the Buffalo Suzuki Strings join the Clarence Summer Symphony Sunday at 7?p.m. in Clarence Town Park. Arie Lipsky will direct the 1812 Overture with balloons popping instead of cannons firing.
The Carillon Concert series presents bells and whistles. Carilloneur Julia Watson followed by the Caledonian Bagpipe Band. That's Wednesday (7/25) at 7?p.m. along Milton Street in Williamsville.
Organist George Krejci performs on the Riviera Theatre's Mighty Wurlitzer Organ, Wednedsay (7/24) at 1:30?p.m. and again at 7:30?p.m. Both include a sing-a-long and silent movie, at 67 Webster Street in North Tonawanda.