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Event
Dance Party! Family Concert
Community Womens Orchestra (CWO) and Music Director Dana Sadava present a Fall Concert full lively dance music that the whole family can dance along to from their seats. CWOs 34th season opening concert features the iconic piece The Beautiful Blue Danube by Johann Strauss II as well as music by Joe Hisaishi from the well-known childrens movie My Neighbor Totoro. Other repertoire on the concert includes Danse Macabre by Saint-Saens, Capriccio Espagnol by Rimsky-Korsakov, and Los Voladores by Alice Gomez, all of which feature the different talented sections of the orchestra. The performance is Sunday, November 18, 4:00 PM, at Oaklands Lake Merritt United Methodist Church.
The Beautiful Blue Danube by Johann Strauss II, one of the most famous waltzes ever written, is heard ubiquitously in movies, television programs, restaurants, shops, and is featured every year in Viennas New Years Day concert. So beloved is the piece by the Viennese people that it was named Austrias unofficial national anthem. Originally intended to be performed with a mens chorus, it was adapted into an orchestral work for the the 1867 Worlds Fair in Paris, which is the version that is most commonly heard and performed today.
Joe Hisaishis My Neighbor Totoro from the movie of the same name serves as the theme for the ending credits of the film. The story tells of two young sisters and their interactions with the forest spirit Totoro and his friends. Set in postwar rural Japan, sisters Mei and Satsuki move into an old house in the countryside with their father and eventually meet Totoro, who is only able to be seen by children. Critically acclaimed since its release in 1988, My Neighbor Totoro has gained a cult following in the United States and the titular character is still considered one of the most recognizable characters in Japan.
Danse Macabre, literally translated to mean Dance of Death, is a tone poem written by Camille Saint-Saens for orchestra and solo violin. As the French legend goes, Death will appear every year on Halloween at midnight and summon the dead from their graves so they can dance for him while he plays his fiddle, a tune which can be heard in the solo violin line played by CWO Concertmaster Amanda Mok. The skeletons continue their dance until the rooster crows at dawn, represented here by a motif played in by the oboe. They then return to their graves until Death returns again.
In Capriccio Espagnol by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, five Spanish folk melodies are brought to life by the orchestra with several featured solos by various members of the orchestra. The lively first movement is an exciting dance based on traditional Asturian music that celebrates the sunrise. The second movement, a slow and melodious theme played by the horns is repeated throughout different sections of the orchestra. The third movement is a variation on the first, and the fourth movement is inspired by Gypsy dance music and opens with five cadenzas, played by the brass section, solo violin, flute, clarinet, and harp respectively. The final movement of the piece is again a variation of the first movement, and ends with a highly energetic coda.
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LocationLake Merritt United Methodist Church (View)
1330 Lakeshore Avenue
Oakland, CA 94604
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: Yes! |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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