As I have posted in the past, one of the raisons d'etre of my blog is to highlight some of our favorite things. The Longmont Symphony Orchestra is one of those things. We first discovered the LSO at the annual Thornton Fourth of July fireworks celebration, at which they have been performing for over 30 years. 
Later, I was privileged to take a course in Music Appreciation from one of their musicians, Deb Corisis, who is also involved in many other musical endeavors, some of which can be seen at Ribbons and Strings Ensembles.
Later, I was privileged to take a course in Music Appreciation from one of their musicians, Deb Corisis, who is also involved in many other musical endeavors, some of which can be seen at Ribbons and Strings Ensembles. Saturday, we attended LSO's latest offering, A Night in Old Spain. We love Spain, which was our home for ten years. We love good music, and we love the Longmont Symphony Orchestra, one of the top amateur orchestras in the country. 
We started the evening at a favorite local eatery.
The menu was varied, the service excellent, the atmosphere appealing, and the food delicious.
At the concert, the music was wonderful, and the flamenco was outstanding.
Capriccio Espagnol has always been one of my favorite pieces of "Spanish music," although it was written by a Russian! The LSO did it justice. 
This is how director Robert Olson put it.
This is how director Robert Olson put it. A Night in Old Spain
Nov. 12th @ 7:30
The music of Spain is immediately recognizable, whether it be from the exciting cross rhythms inherent in its folk music, or its unique scale resources that conjure up images from Moorish Spain. Spanish music is always passionate and colorful and reeks of energy, perfect for Flamenco!
Nov. 12th @ 7:30
The music of Spain is immediately recognizable, whether it be from the exciting cross rhythms inherent in its folk music, or its unique scale resources that conjure up images from Moorish Spain. Spanish music is always passionate and colorful and reeks of energy, perfect for Flamenco!
The LSO is thrilled to present Longmont’s own Salli Gutierrez, flamenco dancer and teacher. Salli will be choreographing a work with orchestra, and her favorite flamenco guitarist, Steven Mullins. Mr. Mullins, also from Longmont, has written a work especially for this concert we will premiere.
As I was researching for this concert, I was pleasantly surprised to discover a wealth of wonderful music written by various composers celebrating Spain and its musical heritage. Oddly enough, two pieces I found particularly exciting were written by French composers, Massenet and Chabrier! The former contains a series of short dances celebrating the various regions of Spain (all quite different from each other), while the latter is simply a flashy, exciting work capturing the energy and romance of Spain.
No concert of Spanish music would be complete without the music of Spanish composer Manuel de Falla. El Amor Brujo is a ballet suite, a story of ghosts, magic and of course, love. The exotic sounds are remind us of Moorish Spain, one of the great epochs of Spanish history.
Oddly enough, we’ll end the evening with probably the most exciting “Spanish” work ever written, by a Russian! Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio Espagnol is a tour d’force for orchestra, highly colorful, exciting, and a piece “in overdrive” from start to finish.
I’m really looking forward to this concert, and I hope you are as well. See you there.
Robert Olson
Music Director
Robert Olson
Music Director
2 comments:
i had never heard of capriccio espangnol before. i'm listening to it now ... thanks you tube !
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