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Ensemble enjoys a Russian Reverie

The Galiano Ensemble of Victoria concludes its 2015-16 season tonight with a concert celebrating famous composers from Russia
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The Galiano Ensemble performs tonight (June 1) at UVic’s Phillip T. Young Recital Hall.

The Galiano Ensemble of Victoria concludes its 2015-16 season tonight with a concert celebrating famous composers from Russia.

Conducted by Yariv Aloni, the ensemble’s Russian Reverie features works composed by Tchaikovsky and two of his contemporaries, Nikolai Myaskovsky and Anton Arensky.

The music starts at 8 p.m. in the University of Victoria’s Philip T. Young Recital Hall in the MacLaurin Building.

Pyotr Tchaikovsky was a major Russian composer of the late 19th century known for soaring melodies, brilliant orchestration and his identifiable style.

Tchaikovsky’s Andante, Op. 30 (arranged by Aleksandr Glazunov) comes from the third movement of his last string quartet, where it formed the core of a work written to honour the memory of a violinist friend. The emotional depth of this movement made it highly appropriate for expansion into a work for string orchestra.

Myaskovsky, was born in Poland in 1881 but lived his life in Russia. He composed most of his music following the  influence of the Bolshevik revolution and years under Stalinist rule. Myaskovsky’s Sinfonietta for string orchestra No. 2 in A Minor, Op. 68 was completed in 1946, four years before his death.

Arensky is a little-known Russian composer who wrote most of his major works before the age of 35.

In Memory of Tchaikovsky (String Quartet, No. 2 in A minor, Op. 35a) was written two years after Tchaikovsky’s death in 1893, as a tribute to his long-time friend and mentor.

The second movement comprises variations on a theme of Tchaikovsky (from 16 Children’s Songs, Op.54) and has become his most well-known work. The final movement is decidedly Russian in its requiem and folk song-inspired themes, ending in an energetic and triumphant conclusion.

 

Advance tickets are $33, or $30 for seniors, and are available at Ivy’s Books on Oak Bay Avenue and Munro’s Books downtown on Government Street, or online at eventbrite.ca