Maestro Christoph Eschenbach, now music director of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, DC, will lead the Curtis Symphony Orchestra in an epic work at the Kimmel Center.
Elizabeth Fayette, Concertmaster of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra says,"The concert is kind of a big deal for our school because we're playing this immense work, The Turangalila Symphonie by Messiaen."
"The title itself, Turangalila comes from two Sanskrit words, turanga and Lila, which when roughly translated, mean hymn of love, of rhythm, of movement, of joy, of dance, so it's supposed to take these really human elements and kind of bring them to their pinnacle."
"And it uses this crazy electronic instrument called the ondes Martenot, it's used in a lot of sci fi movies so when the space shuttle is taking off or you meet the aliens, the woo, woo sound, that's the ondes Marchenot," said Fayette.
It's the first time the Curtis Symphony Orchestra has tackled the monumental and cacophonic work written for more than 100 musicians, nearly a dozen percussionists and piano solos.
Fayette says,"I love the piece, and the conductor, Maestro Christoph Eschenbach, is someone who Curtis has had a relationship with for a long time. We've always enjoyed working with him. And this music, this very French music is really his specialty."
The concert is set for April 12th at 8pm in the Kimmel Center's Verizon Hall. For tickets, go to http://curtis.edu
