Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade
with harpist Cristina Montes Mateo
Saturday, April 12 | 7 PM & Sunday, April 13 | 3 PM
Skyview Concert Hall, 1300 NW 139th St, Vancouver, WA 98685
To open this program, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra welcomes Spanish harpist Cristina Montes Mateo. She is featured in a challenging contemporary work, the Concerto Capriccio by the 20th-century Catalan master Xavier Montsalvagte. After intermission, we have Rimsky-Korsakov’s masterpiece, Scheherazade.
Writing for harp and orchestra is a challenge, requiring both a knowledge of the technical aspects of the instrument, and a mastery of orchestral writing that will allow the solo part to balance with orchestra. Montsalvagte apparently considered his 1975 Concerto Capriccio to be one of his best works for this very reason, remarking: “perhaps it was the challenge behind the composition; I wanted to write for the harp in such a manner that it would unite with a heterogeneous orchestra. It made for interesting, and difficult, work!”
Rimsky-Korsakov, the great Russian nationalist and leading teacher at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, first conceived of a work on stories from The Thousand and One Nights in the winter of 1887. He finished Scheherazade in 1888, during his summer break from teaching duties. Rimsky-Korsakov was an acknowledged master of scoring music for orchestra (his Principles of Orchestration is still one of the standard works on the subject)—for him, “...orchestration is part of the very soul of the work.” Scheherazade may well be his masterwork in this regard—are few other works that make such effective use of orchestral color.
The 2024/25 Symphonic Series season is presented by United Grain Corporation.
ABOUT CRISTINA MONTES MATEO
Winner of the unanimously 1st Prize in the XII Edition of the “Torneo Internazionale di Musica” (Rome, 2006) and the unanimously 1st Prize in the International Harp Competition “V. Bucchi” (2009), Cristina Montes Mateo is recognized as one of the leading harpists of her generation throughout the world. She has also won top international prizes at the “Arpista Ludovico” International Harp Competition (Madrid, 2005), the “International Nippon Harp Contest” (Tokyo, 2007), and the prestigious Concours International de Harpe “Lily Laskine” (Paris, 2011); as well as numerous national harp solo competitions like the “Jeunesses Musicales” Competition (2003) or “Victor Salvi” Special Prize at the “Arpa Plus” Contest (2001).
She follows an intensive career as a soloist with a great success around the world. She usually appears with major orchestras like the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, Philharmonic Orchestra of Málaga, Francisco de Miranda Orchestra in Venezuela, Orchestra of the Theatre für Niedersachsen Hannover in Germany, or the Santiago de Chile Orchestra; under the direction of B. Haitink, Sir Colin Davis, G. Prêtre, P. Boulez, or D. Barenboim. She performs at many world leading festivals like “Les Flâneries Musicales de Reims” (France, 2010), the “7th International Harp Festival” in Rio de Janeiro (Brasil, 2012), or her most recent success at the Royal Palace of Madrid (Spain, 2015), in a concert offered for the King and the Queen of Spain and the President of the United Nations and broadcasted internationally. She has also played at the Berlin Philharmonie, Royal Albert Hall of London, Tonhalle in Zurich, Théatre du Châtelet of Paris or the Carnegie Hall of New York.
She is currently Solo Harpist at the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana in the Palau de Les Arts Reina Sofía, an orchestra created by Lorin Maazel and conducted also by Zubin Mehta, Valery Gergiev and Riccardo Chailly. She has also been Principal Harp with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.
PROGRAM:
Montsalvatge Concerto for Harp and Orchestra*
Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade
*Cristina Montes Mateo, harpist
PRE-CONCERT TALK:
An hour before each performance, 6 PM on Saturday and 2 PM on Sunday, all ticket holders will enjoy an educational pre-concert talk from a VSO Musician or VSO's Music Director and Conductor Salvador Brotons. Don’t miss this special opportunity to learn all about the history of the music that will follow!
All ticket holders will receive a secure email link in order to access the live stream performances.
Our tech support team will be on standby to assist you if you have any issues logging in during the performances.
Tickets
- Available below or by calling (360) 735-7278
- All current season ticket holders will receive a secure email link in order to access live-stream of the performances
- Single tickets to view the live-stream are on sale now. A secure individualized email link will be emailed to each single ticket buyer.
- Our tech support team will be on standby to assist you if you have any issues logging in during the performances.
How to View the Concert
Viewing the online concert is very easy.
- Purchase tickets to receive link to secure online concert page and password.
- When it is time for the concert login to the live streaming event page and view the concert from anywhere with a computer and an internet connection.
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Da Capo
Hosted by Greg Scholl and Ashley Johnson, this exciting pre-show will broadcast on the VSO concert live stream 30 minutes before the concert performance. Full of fascinating information about the repertoire and plenty of laughs, you won’t want to miss it!
Ashley Johnson
Ashley Johnson has been with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra since October of 2019. Since December of 2019 she has been the host and producer of The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra Podcast, interviewing prominent VSO figures and guests as well as sharing past VSO performances in the special series VSO Encore. Ashley graduated from Western Washington University in 2013 with a degree in English Literature, and has been active in the Vancouver arts community for over 15 years. She was formerly the music director for the Young Slocum House Players in 2011, and was on the Board of Pacific Stageworks Theater Company from 2019-2023.
Outside of saying flowery things about recordings of classical music Ashley co-hosts a film podcast, produces independent films, and spends time with her daughter Imogen and her husband Will (the superhero who keeps Skyview Concert Hall running).
Greg Scholl
Greg Scholl has played trombone in the VSO since 1993 - he became principal trombone in 1995. He is also principal trombone in the Portland Columbia Symphony and the Newport Symphony. Greg also plays locally in the Portland Brass Quintet and the Portland Festival Symphony. He has performed with the Oregon Ballet Theater, the Oregon Symphony, the Portland Opera, the Salem Chamber Orchestra, the Portland Chamber Orchestra, the Portland Symphonic Choir, the Willamette Master Chorus, and the Portland Gay Men's Chorus. He has performed with the Oregon Repertory Singers and the Portland Symphonic Choir. Greg was formerly second trombone in the Austin Lyric Opera.
Greg is the trombone and low brass instructor at Pacific University. He obtained a trombone performance degree at the University of Texas at Austin, where he studied with Donald Knaub. Prior to that he studied with Peter Kline and David Brown in San Antonio, TX. Greg plays in the Portland modern jazz duo Dos Hermanos de Hale Bopp. He also plays guitar and trombone in a variety of styles with local bands and performers such as the Rhythm Dogs, Goombahttsi, and Elvis Presley Tribute Artist Justin Shandor.
After rejecting the millions of dollars people offered him to play the trombone, Greg obtained a law degree in 1995 from Lewis & Clark Northwestern School of Law. During most business days he can be found practicing law as the director of the capital case team at the Metropolitan Public Defender. He enjoys spending time with his family and dogs, reading, camping and hiking, collecting things like Conan the Barbarian comic books, LP records, and concert recordings of the Grateful Dead, and being married to incredible principal bassoonist Margaret McShea. Their son Ben is now in college - he was practically raised at VSO rehearsals back in the day.