March 4, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Portland, Ore. … Oregon Public Broadcasting presents “Old London Town,” an Oregon Symphony Classical concert with Music Director Carlos Kalmar leading the Symphony in music of Vaughan Williams and Elgar on Friday, April 1, from 9 to 11 p.m. This broadcast is the fourth in a series of classical Oregon Symphony concerts airing on OPB Radio the first Friday of each month through October.
The concert features Vaughan Williams’ first purely orchestral symphony, “A London Symphony,” which incorporates actual sounds of London, including the chiming of Big Ben and the calls of lavender sellers, as well as the hustle and bustle of the London streets. Cellist Alban Gerhardt joins Kalmar and the Symphony to perform Elgar’s elegiac Cello Concerto in E minor, the last work Elgar completed before the death of his wife in 1919. Its haunting, introspective quality serves as Elgar’s musical commentary on the devastation and losses of World War I. The concert will open with Elgar’s arrangement of Bach’s Fantasia and Fugue in C minor, in which the composer showcases the sound of a 20th century orchestra by focusing on the brass section.
In addition to the concerts, OPB and KBPS are collaborating to bring listeners interviews with musicians and conductors during the performance intermission. The April 1 interview features Kalmar discussing the music featured in the concert. For a list of OPB Radio frequencies, log on to www.opb.org.
Oregon Public Broadcasting is a statewide network of community-supported learning resources, including OPB Television, an affiliate of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), and OPB Radio, presenting local news along with the programs of National Public Radio (NPR), Public Radio International (PRI) and American Public Radio (APM). The OPB Web site is opb.org.
For more information, please contact Carol Howard at (503) 977-7751 or carol_howard@opb.org, or visit the Symphony’s website at www.orsymphony.org.