The Quad City Symphony Orchestra launches its 2009-10 season with a concert showcasing the talent and versatility of the 95-year-old organization. This concert features the intricate and concise music of Mozart juxtaposed with the sweeping majesty of Mahler. These concerts will be performed on October 3 and 4, and are sponsored in memory of Katherine Stafford, by her family. Saturday evening's concert will be held at the Adler Theatre in Davenport at 8 PM, and followed on Sunday afternoon at 2 PM at Centennial Hall in Rock Island. Tickets for this concert can be purchased in person at the QCSO Box Office, 327 Brady Street in Davenport, by phone at 800.745.3000 or online at www.QCSymphony.com.
A gulf of 100 years lay between Mozart's final symphony and Mahler's first. In 1788, as Mozart was scoring his final and perhaps greatest symphony, the romantic period in music was yet to be born. By 1888, when Mahler was completing work on his symphonic premier, composers found themselves in a world just beginning to challenge the now established the romantic movement. In both cases, the powerful music created by these two masters merits the celestial monikers with which they have come to be associated: the primordial Titans of Greco-roman mythology and the Olympian god Jupiter who led their overthrow.
On the Thursday before the concerts, Quad Citians will get the chance to hear Music Director Mark Russell Smith give his insights into the upcoming performance at Inside the Music. Expert and novice alike will enjoy this casual musical conversation at the Figge Art Museum in Davenport from 5:00 to 6:30 PM on Thursday, October 1. This event is free to the public, with wine and cheese provided.
Mark Russell Smith will also be available at Kai Swanson's Concert Conversations, held an hour before each of the weekend's concerts. At Concert Conversations the audience members will be given a quick tour of highlights from the program they are about to experience. New this season, concert conversations will be held in the concert hall itself. This look into the background of the concert's repertoire, sponsored by Rich James of Wells Fargo Advisors, is in its tenth year and has become an audience favorite.
Also new this season, audience members are invited to reminisce about the amazing performance at the Woodfire Grill, 131 West 2nd St., Davenport, immediately following the Saturday night concert. Mingle with Mark Russell Smith, musicians from the QCSO, and sometimes even the guest artist. You never know who will be there! The evening promises free hors d'oeuvres, cash bar, and remarkable repartee.
