Quad City Symphony Orchestra Masterworks I: “Symphonie fantastique" -- October 3 and 4.
Saturday, October 3, 7:30 p.m.
Adler Theatre, 136 East Third Street, Davenport IA
Sunday, October 4, 2 p.m.
Augustana College's Centennial Hall, 3703 Seventh Avenue, Rock Island IL
Opening the organization's astonishing 112th season of thrilling Masterworks repertoires, the musicians of the Quad City Symphony Orchestra, led by conductor Mark Russell Smith, present Symphonie fantastique at Davenport's Adler Theatre on October 3 and, in Rock Island, Augustana College's Centennial Hall on October 4.
Composer Antonin Dvořák’s vibrant Carnival Overture, op. 92 sets an exhilarating tone for the performance, the piece followed by Ludwig van Beethoven’s poetic Fourth Piano Concerto performed by guest artist and Quad Cities-native Thomas Sauer. The night then closes with Hector Berlioz’s spellbinding Symphonie fantastique op. 14, a whirlwind of obsession, dreams, and dazzling orchestral color.
Pianist Sauer, a co-founder of (and frequent performer with) Chamber Music Quad Cities, is highly sought after as soloist and chamber musician in a wide range of repertoire. Recent appearances include Carnegie Hall, St. John’s College, Oxford, and the Chamber Music Societies of Lincoln Center, Boston, and Philadelphia. With his long-time duo partner Colin Carr, Sauer has appeared at the Wigmore Hall (London), the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston), and Da Camera (Houston). He has performed with members of the Juilliard String Quartet at the Library of Congress, and has also given numerous concerts with the Brentano String Quartet.
Sauer’s varied discography includes: recordings of Beethoven and Haydn piano sonatas (MSR Classics); solo music by Thomas Adès, Stephen Hartke, and Hans Abramahsen (Azica Records); alongside Carr, the complete cello and piano works of Mendelssohn (Cello Classics) and Beethoven (MSR Classics); music of Hindemith with violist Misha Amory (Musical Heritage Society); music of Britten and Schnittke with cellist Wilhelmina Smith (Arabesque); music of Ross Lee Finney with violinist Miranda Cuckson (Centaur Records); and music of James Matheson (Yarlung Records).
In addition, Sauer has performed at many of the leading festivals in the United States and abroad, including Marlboro, Caramoor, Music@Menlo, Chamber Music Northwest, and Taos, as well as Lake District Summer Music (England), Agassiz (Canada), Festival des Consonances (France), and Esbjerg International Chamber Music Festival (Denmark). A faculty member of Mannes and Vassar Colleges, Sauer was the founder and director of the Mannes Beethoven Institute, a highly regarded summer program that ran for 15 seasons.
Masterworks I: Symphinie fantastique performances will be held at Davenport's Adler Theatre on October 3 at 7:30 p.m. and, in Rock Island, Augustana College's Centennial Hall on October 4 at 2 p.m. One hour prior to each performance, concert-goers are invited to attend informational "Concert Conversations" to learn about the works on the program, and on Saturday, "Afterglow" attendees can mingle with Maestro Mark Russell Smith, guest artists, and members of the QCSO in the lobby of the Hotel Blackhawk immediately following the performance.
Admission to the concerts is $8-70, and more information and tickets are available by contacting the Quad City Symphony Orchestra at (563)322-0931 and visiting QCSO.org.
