Musical birthday celebrations
The Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of American conductor Jeffery Meyer, will celebrate the 150th birthday of Jean Sibelius with the “Ravel & Sibelius” concert at Mahidol University’s Prince Mahidol Hall, Salaya campus, on June 19 at 7pm and June 20 at 4pm.
The programme will feature Maurice Ravel’s Piano Concert For The Left Hand. It was the first piano work he composed in the form of concerto following the commission by Austrian pianist Paul Wittgenstein, who has lost his right arm during World War I. This piece represents the heavy influence of the jazz music style which Ravel encountered during his trip to the US in 1928.
The evening will conclude with Sibelius’s Symphony No.5 In E-Flat Major, Op 82, composed in 1914-1915 and received serious revisions in 1916 and 1919. Sibelius finished the first version just in time to premiere it for his 50th birthday celebration. Being the most critical person of his own works, Sibelius changed this symphony drastically condensing its original four-movement form into three movements.
The concert will feature a debut performance in Thailand by American pianist and music pedagogue Xak Bjerken. He is the pianist of the Los Angeles Piano Quartet and is a professor of piano at Cornell University.
Tickets cost 300 and 500 baht (100 baht for students up to bachelor’s degree) and can be purchased from Thai Ticket Major (visit www.thiaticketmajor.com or call 02-262-3456) or by calling 02-800-2525—34 ext 153/4.
There’s a shuttle bus service from BTS Bangwa. For shuttle schedule, visit www.music.mahidol.ac.th/salayalink.