The Hays Symphony will be presenting a Winter Concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 19, in the Fort Hays State University Beach/Schmidt Performing Arts Center. The ensemble is under the direction of Dr. Brian Buckstead, Assistant Professor of Violin and Viola at FHSU.
The concert features Sergei Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 1, Igor Stravinsky’s Pulcinella Suite, and conductor Brian Buckstead as violin soloist on Max Richter’s The Four Seasons Recomposed.
The Symphony No. 1 in D major, Op. 25, also known as the "Classical" was Sergei Prokofiev's first numbered symphony. Prokofiev composed this work as a modern reinterpretation of the classical style of Franz Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The symphony follows the standard four-movement format but is much shorter in length than the symphonies of the classical period.
Stravinsky’s Pulcinella Suite was written for Les Ballet Russes and began a new compositional trend for the composer. The Suite is a shortened version of the ballet with the instrumental passages replacing the singing roles. Stravinsky believed that “Pulcinella was my discovery of the past, the epiphany through which the whole of my late work became possible.” In Pulcinella, Stravinsky weaves the charm of the classical style with the harmonic and rhythmic energy of twentieth century compositional techniques.
Max Richter’s The Four Seasons Reimagined will feature Dr. Brian Buckstead as the violin soloist. The musical themes of the original Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi are familiar to the general public through popular culture. Excerpts can be heard on the soundtrack of The Simpsons, the Secret Life’s of Pets, Disney’s Fantasia andMuzak. Max Richter says, “it's everywhere. For me, in this project I’m trying to reclaim the piece, to fall in love with it again." Richter takes Vivaldi’s opening theme and creates a loop to engage the listener into the current musical trend of dance music and bring classical sentiments into the 21st century.
Buckstead is Assistant Professor of Violin and Viola at Fort Hays State University, as well as director of the Hays Symphony. He enjoys a thriving career as a violinist, violist and conductor. Buckstead is passionate about the education of young musicians. In addition to adjudicating local and national music competitions, he co-developed Bring Back the Music, an initiative to bring string instrument education to two underprivileged public schools in Medicine Hat, Alberta.
The post-concert reception is sponsored by a generous donation from the Hays Convention and Visitors Bureau.
All Hays Symphony concerts are free and open to the public. Attendees are encouraged to reserve tickets in advance on the symphony’s website (hayssymphony.org). Tickets may also be picked up in advance at the Hays Convention Visitors Bureau and the Downtown Hays Development Corporation, or at the symphony table in the lobby 30 minutes before the performance.