Mobile Symphony Opens Season w/ Rhapsody in Blue & Ravel Piano Concerto W/ Alain Lefevre

MOBILE, Ala. The South may be renowned for its less frenetic pace, but at the Mobile Symphony Orchestra (MSO) it´s no accident that the 2008 – 2009 season has been christened "The Universal Energy Series". Under Music Director Scott Speck, the orchestra has grown at an impressively prestissimo tempo – not only in the virtuosity it exhibits in the concert hall but at the box office, where the number of concerts offered and the number of patrons who attend them continues to grow. When the MSO presents its opening weekend of performances – "Big Blue-Kinetic Energy" – on Saturday, September 13 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, September 14 at 2:30 p.m. at the Saenger Theatre in Mobile, that vibrancy will once again be unmistakably on display.

On the program are The Sea Hawk by Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Ottorino Respighi´s Roman Festival and not one but two dynamic works for piano – George Gershwin´s enormously popular Rhapsody in Blue and Maurice Ravel´s jazz-infused Piano Concerto in G major – performed by internationally acclaimed Canadian pianist Alain Lefevre, described by the Toronto Star as possessing "the ten most agile fingers to have emerged from Quebec" and by London´s The Spectator as "phenomenal" and "extraordinary."

However, Scott Speck designed the program not only to showcase the MSO´s renowned guest artist but the orchestra itself – as the opening work, The Sea Hawk, written in 1940 by Korngold for the movie of the same name, proves. "It´s swashbuckling music…a composition that has no trouble standing on its own as a masterful concert opener," Speck explains. "There are plenty of rousing fanfares for the brass and a lyrical, highly Romantic theme for the strings."

The two piano compositions follow. Gershwin´s Rhapsody in Blue – originally composed in 1924 for solo piano and jazz band, then later orchestrated by composer Ferde Grofé – has become one of the most popular American compositions in the classical music repertoire. While Gershwin viewed the Rhapsody as "a musical kaleidoscope of America," Speck sees the work as much more than that.

"Rhapsody in Blue ended up changing the world," Speck says. "It ´introduced´ Tin Pan Alley to Carnegie Hall. From that point on, jazz became a frequent guest in the concert hall."

Speck also credits Rhapsody in Blue with laying the musical groundwork for Ravel´s Piano Concerto in G major. "The Concerto and Rhapsody have a lot in common," Speck continues. "The Concerto has a strong jazz feel that couldn´t have existed without Gershwin."

Ravel´s own words support Speck´s claim. "Personally I find jazz most interesting: the rhythms, the way the melodies are handled, the melodies themselves," the composer wrote. "I have heard of George Gershwin's works and I find them intriguing."

Concluding the program is Respighi´s Roman Festivals. The tone poem – described simply by Speck as "amazing" – presents musical vignettes of ancient Rome starring a ´cast´ of gladiators, Christian martyrs, and pilgrims. "There´s even a pretty violent scene at the Coliseum, complete with roaring lions and other wild animals," adds Speck.

Now considered a part of Respighi´s Roman Trilogy of symphonic poems – along with the Pines of Rome and Fountains of Rome –Roman Festivals is not only the longest and most challenging work in the trilogy but also the least-often performed.

"That´s absolutely one of the reasons we´re so looking forward to introducing Mobile to Roman Festivals," Speck says. "Of course, it´s spectacular, exhilarating music as well. Respighi delighted in creating new orchestral colors, and this piece is one of the most colorful of all. Roman Festivals ends in a blaze of glorious fanfares. It´s quite a workout for the brass…and an equally extraordinary experience for the audience."

For more information about the Mobile Symphony Orchestra, its performances and educational outreach programs, visit the orchestra´s website at www.mobilesymphony.org. Subscriptions to the 2008-2009 "Universal Energy" series are now available. To purchase tickets – which range from $15 to $55 – call 251-432-7080 or order online after August 1, 2008. The Saenger Theatre is located at 6 South Joachim Street in Mobile.

The Mobile Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1970 as the Symphony Concerts of Mobile. Its mission was to present world-class touring orchestras such as Alabama Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra for six evening concerts. In 1996, the Board of Directors decided that to serve the educational, quality of life, and economic development needs of the community, it should create its own orchestra of local professional musicians.

Today, the Mobile Symphony Orchestra, under Music Director Scott Speck, is the premier producer of live symphonic music in the Gulf Coast region. It is committed to enhancing the lives of every member of the community by achieving the highest standards in live symphonic music and music education.