'Music of the Heart' will set your mood for Valentine's Day

You’ll enjoy a romantic prelude to Valentine’s Day when we present a repertoire of impassioned pieces for our “Music of the Heart” concert Feb. 11 at Three Stages in Folsom. 

Maestro Michael Neumann will lead the orchestra through eleven of classical music’s most moving compositions, ranging from the symphonic rendition of Romeo and Juliet’s ill-fated love to the modern “Love Story” theme of commitment and joy and a light-hearted journey along a Bohemian river.  

Three soloists perform for this concert: guest pianist Natsuki Fukasawa and symphony members violinist and concertmaster Anita Felix and oboist Curtis Kidwell. The symphony also will dedicate a selection to the memory of our cellist Alexander Ashton, who died Dec. 15 at the age of 27. 

Northern California’s Fukasawa is making a return appearance for this concert. She has performed around the world as both soloist and chamber musician and in 2004 won Best Chamber Music Recording of the Year from the Danish Music Awards. She is an artist faculty member at the Schlern International Music Festival in Tyrol, Italy, coaches for the California Capital Chamber Music Workshop and teaches at her private studio. 

In the concert opener, “Romeo and Juliet,” Tchaikovsky takes listeners through the scenes of love, wars and sorrow as the story of Shakespeare’s most famous lovers is told. Listen for the flute to represent Juliet, the English horn as Romeo. You may recognize the music: It’s been featured on such TV shows as “Sesame Street,” “Sponge Bob,” “Pushing Daisies” and “Scrubs.” 

“Pavane, Op. 50” is a brief dreamy melody written by French composer Gilbert Fauré in 1887.  

Most classical music lovers know Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata,” a popular piano piece, which the composer dedicated to a young woman he loved in 1802. Pianist Fukasawa will play the full sonata without orchestral accompaniment. 

Fukasawa will solo again for the second movement of Mozart’s Concerto No. 21, popularly known as the “Elvira Madigan” theme after being used as the soundtrack for the Swedish film of that name. This film recounts a true story of an illicit, ill-fated love.

The concert continues after intermission with Mozart’s comic opera “Marriage of Figaro” (1784) and Bach’s “Air on a G String” (early 1700s). 

The symphony’s oboist Curtis Kidwell will solo for his own arrangement of Morricone’s “Gabriel’s Oboe,” the theme of the 1986 film “The Mission.” The music has been praised as “unforgettable.” 

Concertmaster Anita Felix performs as soloist for the second movement of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto No. 1 Romance. 

In “Enigma Variations” (1898-99), the composer Elgar wrote 14 variations for the theme, each one affectionately portraying a close friend. This piece is being dedicated to Alex Ashton. 

The theme for the movie “Love Story,” by Lai (1970), became so popular lyrics were added later. After it was recorded, it reached #1 on one billboard chart and the top 10 on others. 

The final piece, “Moldau” (1874), by Czech composer Smetana, follows the course of the Moldau River from its beginning as two brooks, past villages of Bohemian life and folklore, over rocks and through rapids, to the the city of Prague and eventually the Elbe. 

“Music of the Heart” will be performed Feb. 11 at 7:30 p.m. at the main Three Stages theater on the Folsom Lake College campus, 10 College Parkway, Folsom. 

For tickets, click here or call 916-608-6888. For information about the Folsom Symphony, call 916-357-6718.