APO Spring Concert 2024

Please join us for our 2024 Spring Concert!!

We will be featuring: 

Nabucco Overture by Giuseppe Verdi

Flowerdale (from Hymn of the Highlands) by Philip Sparke Arr. Kitty Draper, featuring Kitty Draper on Piccolo Trumpet

Symphony No. 5 by Ludwig van Beethoven 

Program Notes

Nabucco Overture (1841): Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)

The overture starts with a stunning, four-voice, low brass choir, followed by a dramatic outburst of the entire orchestra. The theme that follows is mysterious, agitated and full of theatrical drama. The opera was wildly popular after the premiere. Nabucco is the opera that gave Verdi the credibility and reputation that he was a named composer. Verdi commented that "this is the opera with which my artistic career really begins. And though I had many difficulties to fight against, it is certain that Nabucco was born under a lucky star. The opera is popular enough that even the overture is performed separately.

Flowerdale “from Hymn of the Highlands” (2002): Philip Sparke (1951-), Arr. Kitty Draper

Kitty Draper, piccolo trumpet      

Originally from a suite called Hymn of the Highlands, Flowerdale is a solo for soprano cornet or, as in this case, piccolo trumpet, written to evoke a forest in Wester Ross, Scotland with a well-known waterfall. The melody begins delicate, gentle, and full of emotion before the soloist soars into the highest parts of the classical trumpet range. Initially written for brass band, this piece has never before been played with the accompaniment of a full orchestra. This arrangement was written by soloist Kitty Draper specifically for the Austin Philharmonic.

Symphony No. 5 (1808): Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1828)

The “Fate Symphony” as it has been known in Germany, has the famously recognizable, four-note opening. It is unarguably one of the best-known compositions in classical music and one of the most frequently played symphonies.  This symphony is widely considered one of the cornerstones of western classical music. The opening “fate knocking on the door” motive permeates not only the first movement, but the entire four-movement symphony. The symphony rapidly acquired its status as a central place in the orchestral repertoire. It was played in the inaugural concerts of the New York Philharmonic on December 7, 1842, and the National Symphony Orchestra on November 2, 1931. The first movement was even included on the Voyager Golden Record, a phonograph record that was sent into outer space aboard the Voyager probes in 1977. Please note that the fourth movement follows the third without pause.