Thalia debuts Grieg symphony in Bothell
Published 5:14 pm Thursday, March 27, 2008
Only a handful of orchestras in the world have performed the Symphony in C minor by Edvard Grieg. Written in 1864, the symphony was never performed in its entirety until 1981. It’s come through Bergen, New York and El Paso but has not yet been performed in Pacific Northwest.
Now Thalia Symphony will be presenting the Northwest premiere in Bothell March 30 as part of their “Scandinavian Landscapes” concert at the Northshore Performing Arts Center.
The first half of each program will feature George Fiore playing the Grieg Piano Concerto. Always a popular work, the listeners of Seattle’s Classical KING FM went as far as to rank the piano concerto as 2007’s 11th most-favorite piece in all of classical music. The program will open with a march by Sibelius.
Grieg wrote his Symphony in C minor as a very young man, still figuring out who he was and what he would stand for. After parts of the symphony had a few performances, Grieg was dissatisfied. He took the manuscript, wrote a note that it “must never be performed,” and tied it up in a bundle for storage. When the Bergen Festival first wanted to perform the symphony, The Bergen Public Library would not release the score, out of respect for Grieg’s wishes.
The Symphony in C minor now reaches a grateful public, according to Thalia conductor Eric Hanson. “It belongs in the standard repertoire and we are proud of the small part we have played in making this happen,” he said. “The work was an instant success with audiences and critics alike and its glow has not dimmed with age.”
Hanson has led the Thalia Symphony since 1987, and has been Director of Instrumental Music at Seattle Pacific University since 1979. This year he was appointed principal conductor for the Northwest Mahler Festival (nwmahlerfestival.org). Dr. Hanson has conducted such orchestras as the Denver Symphony, the Chicago Civic Chamber Orchestra, and many European orchestras. He was awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship to Harvard and an NEH grant to study at the Beethoven Institute.
George Fiore is perhaps best known as longtime chorus master of the Seattle Opera, and leader of the Seattle Symphony Chorale. An accomplished pianist and organist, George has performed as soloist with the Seattle Symphony in Saint-Saens Third Piano Concerto. He has been heard as soloist with the Bellevue Philharmonic, Federal Way Philharmonic, Thalia Symphony, and Cascade Symphony in all five Beethoven concertos, the two Chopin concertos, and the Schumann piano concerto.
Thalia Symphony was founded in 1949 and is made up of volunteer players. The orchestra is named for the muse Thalia, who is associated with abundance, comedy, pastoral poetry and good cheer. In 1994 Thalia Symphony entered into a joint operating agreement with Seattle Pacific University to serve as their “Orchestra in Residence.” SPU students may earn college credit by playing in the orchestra.
