Attend an orchestra or symphony concert at queens college or Madison square garden

French Fantastique
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French Fantastique
On Saturday, November 21, 2015, at 8.00pm, the Madison Symphony Orchestra presented an all-French program dubbed ‘French Fantastique’ in the Overture Hall. It featured three magnificent French masterpieces: Valses Nobles et Sentimentales by Maurice Ravel; Cello Concerto No. 1 by Camille Saint-Saens and Symphonie Fantastique by Hector Berlioz. The guest artist of the concert was the exceptional cellist Sara Sant’Ambrogio.
The program commenced with the lively set of Valses nobles et sentimental. Maurice Ravel initially composed the pieces for solo piano in 1911 before creating this version for the orchestra. The set pieces were to be used as a ballet score and were made of eight waltzes – as performed in this program. The first waltz began on a forceful note. The second had more impressions and involved woodwind solos. The piece then assumed a humorous tone with gentle rhythms followed by rather quiet woodwind solos and a sudden ending. The sixth waltz was the shortest and had hanging harmonies with an inconclusive end. The last waltz was more substantial with hazy harmonies with a quiet end. The whole piece took about fifteen minutes.
Cellist, Sara Sant’ Ambrogio then came in with the Cello Concerto No. 1 and Orchestra in A minor, Op.33. Saint-Saens composed this work in 1872 for the principal cellist of the Paris Conservatory Orchestra, Auguste Tolbecque. The performance of the concerto came out…