‘In Paradisum’ With MSO

The effect oflocation on a composer’s works cannot often be overstated. Witness the outputof late-Renaissance composer Giovanni Gabrieli (1553-1612), who succeeded hisuncle (and fellow composer) Andrea Gabrieli as music director of Venice’s St. MarkCathedral in 1586. Therein, he purposely wrote works that best utilized itswidely separated choir lofts, achieving a distinctive sound all his own. Of hismany works are the two remarkable books of Sacrae symphoniae (SacredSymphonies), from which the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra & Chorusperform selections from Gabrieli’s first book.

French composerGabriel Fauré (1845-1924) truly took the Latin word “requiem” (rest) at facevalue when composing his Requiem, Op. 48 (1900), for it is a work ofsublimity and peace, dispensing with the typical sturm und drang of the Diesirae (Day of Wrath) section. The result is a work that carefully balancesmore darkly hued elements with moments of radiance and serenity, ending withthe rightly famous In Paradisum. The MSO Chorus, of course, is the starattraction here.

Sir Edward Elgar(1857-1934) found cause to compose his Violin Concerto in B Minor, Op. 61(1910) owing to both his own knowledge of the instrument andmoreimmediatelythe request of renowned violin virtuoso Fritz Kreisler. The resultis one of the longest, most challenging violin concertos in the repertoire. InElgar’s B Minor Concerto, the usual landmarks of the form are deliberatelyblurred, granting the piece a rather seamless, rhapsodic feel. ViolinistNikolaj Znaider joins the MSO under Edo de Waart for this work.

At Uihlein Hall onJan. 22 and 23.