Auburn Symphony Chamber Concert series presents Mediterranean Masterworks

The Auburn Symphony Orchestra Chamber Concert “Mediterranean Masterworks,” featuring classical guitarist Daniel Corr, will be performed at 4 p.m. Sunday at St. Matthew/San Mateo Episcopal Church, located at 123 L St. NE, Auburn.

January 18, 2011 6:11 pm
Described by the Hartford (Conn.) Courant as 'a guitarist for music lovers to catch'
Described by the Hartford (Conn.) Courant as 'a guitarist for music lovers to catch'

The Auburn Symphony Orchestra Chamber Concert “Mediterranean Masterworks,” featuring classical guitarist Daniel Corr, will be performed at 4 p.m. Sunday at St. Matthew/San Mateo Episcopal Church, located at 123 L St. NE, Auburn.

Corr, a Seattle native, returns for his only 2010/11 Northwest appearance in a delightful afternoon of works inspired by the sunny Mediteranean. Corr is a graduate of Cornish College of the Arts. He will be joined by Auburn Symphony musicians Yuriy Mikhlin (violin); Adrianna Hulscher (violin); Eileen Swanson (viola); and Brian Wharton (cello).

Niccolo Paganini was called “the devil’s fiddler” by some. A solo violinist, he amazed audiences throughout Europe playing breath-taking works with superhuman prowess that inspired wild legends of pacts with the devil. Actually, he was also a virtuoso guitarist composing over 200 works for the instrument. From the opening bars, the Terzetto in D Major for violin, cello and guitar will take audiences from innocent passages of harmonic infilling to excursions into the hair-raising.

One of the most prominent figures in the field of impressionist music (although he resisted the label) was French composer Claude Debussy. His Quartet for Strings in G minor, Op. 10 combines modernism and sensuality so successfully that its sheer beauty obscures its technical innovation.

Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco was one of the most prolific Italian composers of the first half of the twentieth century before fleeing Europe to escape Nazi persecution in 1939. Relocating to Southern California, he spent the next decade and a half composing music that appeared in over 250 films. Perhaps his most lasting contribution is to the literature for the guitar. Quintet for Guitar and Strings, Op. 143 is a dazzling and wry masterpiece rarely performed for audiences.

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On stage

• WHAT: Auburn Symphony Orchestra Chamber Concert “Mediterranean Masterworks”

• WHEN: Sunday, Jan. 23, 4 p.m.

• WHERE: St. Matthew/San Mateo Episcopal Church, 123 L St. NE, Auburn

• TICKETS: Adults $17, students $10 (festival Seating). Call 253-887-7777 or purchase on-line at www.auburnsymphony.org.