Very Special National Philharmonic Concert for a Big 200TH

Photo By Pia Rabea Vornholt

National Philharmonic Assistant Conductor Predrag Gosta will be making his Strathmoredebut this Saturday, November 7, 2009 at 8 PM in a concert which celebrates Mendelssohn’s birth and pays homage to Haydn’s passing 200 years ago. I had the great pleasure of asking him about this tremendous new experience and would like to share his answers.

What makes this concert special to you?

Last year I had a privilege of being appointed as the Assistant Conductor of the National Philharmonic - a post which I successfully completed this past August. I am happy to return to the Philharmonic in the capacity of a Guest Conductor. In addition, this concert will be my conducting debut in Washington DC, and the first with a major symphony orchestra in the United States. I very much look forward to it, and to everything that it may bring. I also am very happy that, at the performance of this concert, I will be surrounded by my friends, including four magnificent soloists, who will appear along the orchestra and 200-member Chorale.

Why is the concert significant in musical history?

This year we celebrate the 200th anniversary of both Haydn and Mendelssohn. Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy was born in 1709, which is the same year when Franz Joseph Haydn died. This year symbolizes in some sense the end of Classicism and the beginning of Romanticism. And we will celebrate this anniversary with two great monumental pieces by both of these composers - Haydn’s “Lord Nelson Mass”, and Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 2, “Lobgesang” (”Hymn of Praise”). These pieces are magnificent works, and everyone would enjoy hearing them in a venue such as the Music Center at Strathmore. Of special importance will be the revival of Mendelssohn’s Symphony-Cantata “Hymn of Praise,” which wasn’t performed in Washington DC area since 1980s. So, this will be its modern, 21st century premiere.

What are the highlights of the performance?

This concert will present a wonderful opportunity for anyone who likes vocal, choral or instrumental music for large ensemble, as it will feature the National Philharmonic Chorale of around 200 singers, the National Philharmonic Orchestra in its usual rendering of around 70 players, as well as four extremely talented soloists, some of them having their Stathmore debut together with me - soprano Sherri Seiden from Atlanta, Polish mezzo-soprano Magdalena Wór (who was until recently member of the National Opera’s Young Artist program under Placido Domingo), fabulous Swedish tenor Leif Aruhn-Solén, and Washington-favorite bass Kevin Deas.

A free pre-concert lecture will be offered in the Education Center at 7 PM. Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, named for the British admiral who defeated Napoleon in Egypt and Italy, “calls for dramatic soaring runs for the soprano and culminates in a jubilant finale.” Rediscovered in the 1980s, Mendelssohn’s grand choral Symphony No. 2 “was composed to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the invention of printing.”

Predrag Gosta, conductor; Sherri Seiden, soprano; Magdalena Wór, mezzo-soprano; Leif Aruhn-Solén, tenor; and Kevin Deas, bass.

Tickets can be purchased online. As you can tell, this promises to be an uplifting and special evening of music. Don’t miss it!

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