NEWSLETTER
Amici Ensemble
Felix the Quartet gave us a splendid concert. Of particular note was their rendition
of the Haydn, and the surprising accessibility and interest of the Schnittke.
Our next concert is from our beloved Amici Ensemble. For those new to the Society,
Amici Ensemble have been playing regularly at our concerts for a number of years and
are always a highlight of each year's programme. Members are drawn primarily from
the NZSO, and are led by NZSO Associate Concertmaster, Donald Armstrong.
The membership is fluid, depending on the programme. This has enabled them to bring
to us delicious works such as Tchaikovsky's Florentine String Sextet and the Mendelssohn
Octet - works we do not generally get to hear because of the large ensemble required.
This year, Amici bring us a 'menu' of music with delicious culinary offerings from
Martin� and David Snow, along with more familiar works from Schubert and Dvor�k.
The enclosed poster gives the programme and other details. Below is some information
on the Martin� and David Snow pieces.
In the 1920s, Martin� wrote several short ballet scores and other works using elements
of jazz and the new styles of popular music that had invaded Europe from America.
On Easter of 1927 he completed a light-hearted ballet that was performed in Prague
that November with the title Pokuseni svatouska hrnce (Temptation of the Saintly Pot).
The scenario told a slender tale in which the love between Pot and Lid is threatened
by the seductive influence of the suave Twirling Stick. Dishcloth flirts with Lid,
who is challenged to a duel by Broom. All ends happily as Pot returns to Lid and
Twirling Stick goes off with Dishcloth.
The music for this charming trifle was successful in Prague as a ballet, but it proved
sensational when performed in Paris as a concert suite for a sextet consisting of violin,
cello, clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, and piano, with the title La Revue de Cuisine
(The Kitchen Revue) early in 1930.
The David Snow work is a short and light-hearted parable of the Croissants - a work for
six instruments and narrator. It is a story about a young man who sells croissants,
and gets so involved in the croissants and the people he sells them to that he forgets
to charge them any money. It is a very witty reflection on life as seen by a baker.
SUNDAY 29 MAY AT 2.30 PM WAIKANAE MEMORIAL HALL
Amici Ensemble
This year's ensemble is:
| Donald Armstrong (violin) |
Vyvyan Yendoll (NZSO Principal viola) |
| Allan Chisolm (NZSO Associate principal cello) |
Mary Scott (NZSO Sub-principal clarinet) |
| Preman Tilson (NZSO Principal bassoon) |
Michael Kirgan (NZSO Principal trumpet) |
Emma Sayers (piano, member of Stroma,
and lecturer at Massey University) |
|
STUDENT MUSICIANS CONCERT
On 11 June at 4 pm, we will be holding the first Student Musicians' Concert of the year.
It will be one week before the Wellington District Schools' Chamber Contest heats, so
we hope Kapiti's secondary school groups will take the opportunity to perform their works.
If you have a student who wants to perform in the concert, be sure to contact the convenor
Fiona Wright on 902 2305 by the beginning of June.
If you are a grandparent or other interested adult, and haven't been to one of these
concerts before, please come along. You will be supporting our up and coming artists
and audience members of the future, and will also be amazed at the how well these young
people are doing.
Entry is by donation.
