Toccata-Tahoe Symphony Presents Violinist Alex Eisenberg and Rising Star Derek Chien at Two Carson Valley Venues
TOCCATA-Tahoe Symphony Orchestra opens its concert series at the elegant Genoa Lakes Golf Club Ballroom at 7PM Wednesday, July 31st with a special program. Stellar violinist Alex Eisenberg performs Sibelius’ phenomenal “Violin Concerto,” and gifted young pianist Derek Chien presents the first movement of Grieg’s delightful “Piano Concerto in A Minor.” The orchestra also offers Rossini’s famous “William Tell Overture,” and Tchaikovsky’s passionate “Romeo and Juliet Fantasy.” The Gardnerville performance includes Beethoven's 8th Symphony.
TOCCATA-Tahoe Symphony Orchestra welcomes back one of our favorite soloists, brilliant violinist Alex Eisenberg. Having studied at the Moscow Conservatory and in Vienna, he has won numerous prestigious awards, including First Prize in the Michelangelo Abbado Violin Competition in Sondrio, Italy, the Paolo Brociani special prize for chamber music, and the Concorso Internationale Rameu in France. As a soloist and chamber musician, Alex has performed with the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Vienna Soloists, Moscow Symphony, Odessa Philharmonic, Dubrovnik Festival Orchestra, Belgrade Radio Symphony, Kansas City Chamber Orchestra, and Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.
American critic Olin Downes described Sibelius’ “Violin Concerto” as “bardic songs heard against a background of torches or pagan fires on some wild Northern night.” Sensitive, dreamy melodies are matched by intense and impassioned passages. With fire always lurking just beneath the icy Nordic surface, the piece calls for a super-virtuoso like Alex Eisenberg, who excels at both the technical fireworks and the richest sonorities of the instrument.
Derek Chien, a 16-year-old student at the Davidson Academy for the Profoundly Gifted on the UNR campus, has already won numerous accolades for his piano playing. He received the highest rating at the Northern Nevada Music Teachers’ Association Festival 5 years in a row. He placed first in the Silver State competition many times, and has frequently won the Steinway Piano, Rotary Music Competition, and other competitions. He performed this movement of the concerto last February with the UNR Orchestra, after winning the UNR Honors Concerto Competition. Like the Sibelius concerto, Grieg’s delightful “Piano Concerto” seamlessly moves from elegant power to lustrous, warm, heart-melting melodies, to passionate virtuosity. Hear this young artist while he’s still close by!
Everyone has heard something of the “William Tell Overture,” in cartoons or the Lone Ranger. But here’s the whole story. The quiet dawn gives way to the storm, full of wind and thunder. Then comes the familiar, lilting calm, only to be broken off by the famous galloping finale, with blazing brass and busy strings and woodwinds: we’re only sorry we can’t provide hobby horses for the whole audience!
Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture” depicts the timeless story so vividly, you’ll feel as though you’re watching a movie. Sink into the solemn chorales; the contrast between family strife and the lovers’ passion; the wild street scene and fights; and the famous love theme that just keeps getting lusher and more poignant.
