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player ready...For its 69th concert season, the DuPage Symphony Orchestra will be getting “up close and personal” with a variety of composers. But perhaps most importantly, the orchestra is looking to make a connection once again to its patrons.
“Our goal with ‘up close and personal’ is to connect meaningfully with our DuPage County community after many months of social distancing and separation,” said DSO General Manager Amber Broderick. “Music has the power to bring communities together, especially after difficult and uncertain times.”
The first concert of the new season — 7:30 p.m. Oct. 15 at the Wentz Concert Hall in Naperville — will focus on German Masters, including Richard Wagner, Paul Hindemith and Johannes Brahms.
“The theme will explore German symphonic repertoire after Beethoven, the standard bearer for classical music,” Broderick said. “This concert demonstrates the two diverse musical paths composers took in the 19th century — innovators and traditionalists. We highlight both sides of the debate, with Brahms as our traditionalist and Wagner and Hindemith representing innovators.”
The concert begins with Wagner’s dramatic overture to his opera “Rienzi,” which he wrote at age 27. The opera is known for its six-hour running time, but the piece the DuPage Symphony Orchestra has chosen samples highlights of the opera in a more digestible 12-minute performance.
“It will open with a trumpet call that becomes a battle cry in Act 3, followed by the main theme from Act 5,” said Teresa Muir, secretary of the orchestra’s board of directors. “A military march from Act 3 follows, and the overture finishes with a number of other melodies interwoven between the winds and strings.”
Following the Wagner piece comes “Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber,” a composition that Hindemith began shortly after he moved to the United States from Germany in 1940. It was originally written as a ballet, Muir said, but artistic differences between Hindemith and the dance company would eventually kill the project.
“In 1943, Hindemith redid the score as an orchestral piece particularly to the style liked by American audiences,” Muir said. “It became perhaps Hindemith’s most popular work.”
The final performance of the show will be Brahms’ Symphony No. 2 in D Major, which he composed in Austria in 1877. “The opening melody develops out of three notes that become the overall scheme of the entire symphony,” Muir said.
“The second movement opens with the cellos playing one of Brahms’ most beautiful melodies. The oboe transforms the three notes into the theme from the A section of the third movement. Listen for the trombones to unite with the rest of the orchestra for a glorious conclusion of the symphony.”
Other “Up Close and Personal” performances for the orchestra this year will include a focus on Mexico and Spain Nov. 19; the annual holiday concert Dec. 18; American spirituals and jazz Feb. 11, 2023; local youth performers March 19; and symphonic songs on May 13.
“Our goals this year include introducing classical music to area students and sharing our music with newcomers to the orchestra,” Broderick said. “We are working with many senior living centers and have partnered with the Naperville Neighbors and Newcomers Club. We hope to share the gift of live music with as many DuPage County residents as possible.”
Up Close and Personal: German Masters
When: 7:30 p.m. Oct. 15
Where: Wentz Concert Hall, 171 E. Chicago Ave., Naperville
Tickets: $15-$43
Information: 630-778-1003; dupagesymphony.org
Jeff Banowetz is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
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