Episode 14: Rites of Spring

Spring is in the air on this episode of Heifetz On Air.  Images, incidents, and accidents of springtime will all come to bloom, including an all-time favorite from Vivaldi freshened up by violinist Rachell Ellen Wong, not to mention a Stravinsky suite and Mendelssohn in Love.  

This Episode’s Playlist

Fritz Kreisler: Caprice Viennois, Op. 2
Chad Hoopes, violin | Dina Vainshteiin, piano
Francis Auditorium, Mary Baldwin University, Staunton, VA
Heifetz Institute Recording | 07.06.2016

Antonio Vivaldi: Concerto No. 1 in E major, RV 269
“La Primavera” (Spring) from The Four Seasons
Rachell Ellen Wong, violin | Heifetz Chamber Orchestra
First Presbyterian Church, Staunton, VA
Heifetz Institute Recording | 07.11.2021

Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel: Piano Trio in D minor, Op. 11 [excerpt]
III. Lied. Allegretto
Yezu Woo, violin | Noémie Raymond-Friset, cello | Michel-Alexander Broekaert, piano
South Market Stage, Grace Christian School, Staunton, VA
Heifetz Institute Recording | 03.25.2022

Daniël François van Goens: Scherzo, Op. 12, No. 2
Malcolm Parson, cello | Lorena Tecu, piano
Anderson Hall, Brewster Academy, Wolfeboro, NH
Heifetz Institute Recording | 07.19.2006

Felix Mendelssohn: String Quartet in D Major, Op. 44, No. 1
I. Allegro molto Vivace
Rachell Ellen Wong, violin | Shuxiang Yang, violin | Stephanie Block, viola | Benjamin Fried, cello
Francis Auditorium, Mary Baldwin University, Staunton, VA
Heifetz Institute Recording | 07.26.2016

Manuel de Falla, arr. Fritz Kreisler: Danse Espagnole No. 1 fr. La Vida Breve
Ilya Kaler, violin | Allison Freeman, piano
Francis Auditorium, Mary Baldwin University, Staunton, VA
Heifetz Institute Recording | 11.06.2022

Franz Schubert: Notturno in E-flat Major, D. 897 [excerpt]
Masha Lakisova, violin | Isaiah Kim, cello | Anton Smirnoff, piano
Francis Auditorium, Mary Baldwin University, Staunton, VA
Heifetz Institute Recording | 04.16.2016
00:59

Igor Stravinsky, arr. Samuel Dushkin: Suite Italianne
I – Introduzione
II- Serenata
III – Tarantella
IV – Gavotta con due variazioni
V – Scherzino
VI – Minuetto e finale
Julian Rhee, violin | Miki Aoki, piano
Francis Auditorium, Mary Baldwin University
Heifetz Institute Recording | 07.02.2019

Go Deeper

• Born in New Orleans, raised in Atlanta, and now living in New York. cellist and composer Malcolm Parson first attended the Heifetz Institute as budding 16-year old virtuoso. It was the start of a career path that has taken him through a degree from Boston’s Berklee College of Music, memberships in both the genre-bending Carolina Chocolate Drops and Turtle Island String Quartet.  Check out Malcolm’s Spotify playlist.
• “In this first movement, we are greeted by three different birds singing from each of the principal violins. The bird calls lead us to a babbling brook in the strings , with the harpsichord portraying gusts of wind on top…”  Check out violinist and Heifetz alumna Rachell Ellen Wong’s personalized program notes on the “Spring” concerto – as well as the entirety of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons –  in words…and then witness the full performance! 
• “The premiere of Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring is perhaps the most famous scandal in the history of the performing arts. It took place on the evening of 29 May 1913, at the brand-new Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, in front of a glittering audience….What actually happened on that scandalous night will always be a mystery to some degree, because the reports contradict each other. Was it the choreography that annoyed people, or the music? Were the police really called? Were the creators booed at the end, or cheered?” Author Ian Hewitt attempts to separate fact from fiction in this engaging read about “The Riot at the Rite.”