New Jersey Symphony Presents Vivaldi's Violin Concert

Conductor Harry Bicket leads the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra through four brilliant Baroque works: Telemann's Water Music; Vivaldi's Violin Concerto in D, with violinist Eric Wyrick; Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 with flutists Bart Feller and Kathleen Nester, and Eric Wyrick; and Handel's Water Music Suite No. 1 from his betterknown work of the same name, Water Music.

Three exclusive New Jersey performances will take place on Friday, March 9 at 8 pm and Sunday, March 11 at 3 pm at NJPAC in Newark; and on Saturday, March 10 at 8 pm at the War Memorial in Trenton. Single tickets prices start at just $20.

Classical Conversations begin one hour before each concert in the performance venue. Join host Darryl Kubian for expert insight into the work of Telemann, Vivaldi, Bach and Handel. Classical Conversations are free to all ticket holders.

THE WORKS

George Frideric Handel wrote Water Music, a collection of three suites, in 1717 for one of King George's noblemen in London. It premiered at a summer evening celebration on the River Thames. Handel's strong emphasis on the winds, particularly horns and oboes, was essential to the concert that employed 50 musicians performing on the royal barge. It has been rumored that the king loved Water Music so much, he ordered Handel to play the suites three times throughout the voyage.

Had one mentioned Water Music in early eighteenthcentury Germany, the first name to come to mind would have been Georg Philip Telemann. More famous in his day than either Handel or Bach, Telemann was among the most prolific composers of the German Baroque. He wrote Wassermusik (Water Music) in 1723, two years after he had moved to Hamburg to become music director of the city's five largest churches. The Suite was composed for the Hamburg Admiralty's centennial celebration, hence the theme of water and the inclusion of characters like Neptune and Thetis, god and goddess of the sea.

Vivaldi's Violin Concerto in D Major, RV205, "Il grosso mogul", is unlike his most famous violin concerti, The Four Seasons. The slow movement is unusual because Vivaldi scored it for soloist, continuoharpsichord and cello, essentially making it chamber music. Still, he wrote splendidly for the solo violin, understanding fully its expressive capacity. The finale is a blockbuster, with a brilliant cadenza that taxes technique in multiple stops and rapidpassage work. The Venetian master composed more than 400 concerti, nearly 250 of which are for solo violin. He wrote Il grosso mogul-translated as The Great Mogul-likely in reference to India's Grand Mughul Akbar who had a lucrative trading relationship with Venice.

Of the six concertos Johann Sebastian Bach dedicated to Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg, the Concerto No. 4 in G Major is the best example of a true concerto grosso. Its small group, the concertante, consists of violin and two recorders (played on modern transverse flutes in these performances). A lively dialogue between soloists and orchestra serves to develop the simple motivic material in an ingenious manner. Bach's uncanny sense of variation and balance makes all three movements a delight.

THE ARTISTS

Harry Bicket is one of the most esteemed conductors of his generation. Noted for his expertise with baroque and classical repertoire, he has cultivated a following among modern audiences and is especially identified with the works of Handel. Bicket's debut at the Metropolitan Opera in December 2004, conducting a new production of Rodelinda with Renée Fleming and David Daniels, resulted in immediate reengagement. In the same year, Bicket made his first appearance at Santa Fe Opera with Agrippina. The year 2003 saw debuts with the Lyric Opera of Chicago conducting Partenope, and with the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, conducting Handel's Orlando, which received an Olivier Award nomination for Best New Opera Production. He is the music director of western Scotland's Crear studio, where he oversees a varied concert series and provides unique performance opportunities for exceptional young musicians.

Bart Feller is Principal Flute of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and the New York City Opera. He has appeared with the New York Philharmonic, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Bargemusic and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Feller has appeared as concerto soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the Jupiter Symphony. Next summer, he will return to play principal at the Santa Fe Opera, and will also perform with the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. Among the other summer festivals he has participated in are the Marlboro Music Festival, OK Mozart International Festival, Colorado College Chamber Music Festival, Napa Valley Chamber Music Festival, and the Grand Teton Music Festival. Feller teaches at Rutgers University's Mason Gross School of the Arts and the PreCollege Division of The Juilliard School.

Kathleen Nester, flute and piccolo, has been a member of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra since 1990. Nester is a member of the flute faculty at New York University's Steinhardt School of Music and Performing Arts, and performs with orchestras in and around New York City, including the Orchestra of St. Luke's, the New York Philharmonic and the Stamford Symphony Orchestra. Nester has performed concertos on both flute and piccolo with the NJSO, most recently performing the Vivaldi Piccolo Concerto as one of the "Stars of the NJSO." Nester toured Japan as soloist with the New York Symphonic Ensemble. Nester frequently plays on Broadway, and has played with such shows as Man of La Mancha, The Woman in White, Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon and Mary Poppins.

Eric Wyrick, Concertmaster of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, began studying violin at age four, and entered the Juilliard PreCollege to study with Dorothy DeLay at age six. Wyrick's first professional orchestral position was with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic at the age of 14, and his first concertmaster experience was with Christmas String Seminar with Alexander Schneider conducting. Before his tenure at the NJSO, Wyrick lead an eclectic career which included among his credits: Artistic Personnel Coordinator and frequent leader of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra; Concertmaster of the American Symphony Orchestra, the Bard Festival Orchestra, L'Opera Francais New York, and EOS Music; and Assistant Concertmaster of the New York City Opera Orchestra. He has recorded for Bridge Records, Vanguard, and has made numerous CDs for Deutsche Grammophon with Orpheus. Wyrick plays the 1737 Guarneri del Gesù ex "Goodman" violin from the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra's Golden Age Collection. -- www.njsymphony.org