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Funded in part by a grant from the Lakes Region Arts Council, young musicians from area high school orchestras spent the day learning from and playing alongside members of the Central Lakes Symphony Orchestra. The concert collaboration began with this intergenerational orchestra playing Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations, No. 9 “Nimrod.” Supposedly, Elgar (1857-1934) was daydreaming at the piano when a melody he played caught the attention of his wife, who liked it and asked him to repeat it for her. To entertain her, he began to improvise variations on this melody. He eventually expanded and orchestrated these improvisations into the Enigma Variations. The enigma lies in the original theme which is never stated and may not even be a musical theme. Much discussion has ensued to find the theme, but it hasn’t been discovered and Elgar never let on.
The popular Carmen Suite No. 1 by Georges Bizet (1838-1875) was compiled into an orchestral suite from his opera, Carmen, after the composer’s death. Published by his friend and fellow opera composer, Ernest Guiraud, Bizet’s orchestrations remain intact.
Ritual Fire Dance by Spanish composer Manuel De Falla (1876-1946) is from a ballet known for its Andalusian folk tales and music. It is about a young Andalusian gypsy girl who is haunted by the ghost of her dead husband. The gypsies form a circle around their campfire at midnight and she dances until the ghost appears. The dance becomes faster and faster and as they whirl around the fire, the ghost is drawn in, making it disappear forever.
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