The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra & Chorus kicks off its exciting 39th Season on September 11 at the iconic Lensic Performing Arts Center with A Thousand Nights! Under the baton of multiple Grammy® Award-winning conductor JoAnn Falletta, this spectacular concert opens with the vibrant and energetic D’un matin de printemps by notable French composer Lili Boulanger. Described by The New York Times as “vigorous and colorful,” violin virtuoso Nikki Chooi takes center stage with The Symphony for Ernest Chausson’s lush and evocative Poème for Violin and Orchestra and Maurice Ravel’s Tzigane for Violin and Orchestra. Complementing this brilliant program is and one of the most popular works in orchestral repertoire, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, based on the Middle Eastern folk tale “One Thousand and One Nights.”
The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra
JoAnn Falletta, Guest Conductor
PROGRAM
LILI BOULANGER
D’un matin de printemps (Of a Spring Morning)
ERNEST CHAUSSON
Poème for Violin and Orchestra, op. 25
Nikki Chooi, Violin
MAURICE RAVEL
Tzigane for Violin and Orchestra
Nikki Chooi, Violin
Intermission
NIKOLAI RIMSKY-KORSAKOV
Scheherazade
The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship
The Tale of Prince Kalendar
The Young Prince and the Princess
The Festival at Bagdad; The Sea; The Ship Goes to Pieces on a Rock
THE APPEARANCES OF JOANN FALLETTA AND NIKKI CHOOI ARE MADE POSSIBLE BY DR. MARYLOU WITZ THROUGH THE SYMPHONY’S REACH FOR THE STARS PROGRAM.
Of Note
Based on a story from One Thousand and One Nights, the symphonic suite Scheherazade consists of four movements, each inspired by an episode from the book. The composer wrote that he wanted the listener to “carry away the impression that it is…an oriental narrative of numerous and varied fairy-tale wonders and not merely four pieces played one after the other.”
D’un matin de printemps was one of the last pieces composed by Lili Boulanger. She originally wrote it as a duet for violin and piano, finishing the orchestral version shortly before her untimely death at age 35. Her sister, the famed composer and teacher Nadia Boulanger, made some edits and added dynamics to the final piece.
Ernest Chausson’s Poeme might have remained unknown if not for his friend, the composer Isaac Albéniz, who sent the score to a publisher without telling Chausson. The company thought it was “bizarre” and agreed to publish it only after Albéniz said he would cover the cost. It subsequently became the composer’s best-known work.
JoAnn Falletta, Guest Conductor
Multiple Grammy Award-winning conductor JoAnn Falletta serves as Music Director of the Buffalo Philharmonic, Music Director Laureate of the Virginia Symphony, Principal Guest Conductor of the Brevard Music Center, and Artistic Adviser of the Hawaii Symphony. Recently named as one of the 50 great conductors of all time by Gramophone Magazine and among the top 10 conductors today by David Hurwitz of ClassicsToday.com, she is hailed for her work as a conductor, recording artist, audience builder an
Nikki Chooi, Violin
Praised for his passionate and poetic performances, internationally acclaimed violinist Nikki Chooi has established himself as an artist of rare versatility. Described as “expressive, enchanting, and transcendent,” Nikki has received prizes at the Queen Elizabeth and Tchaikovsky Competitions, and was 1st Prize Winner of the Montreal Symphony's ManuLife Competition, the Klein International Strings Competition and the Michael Hill International Violin Competition. Nikki has received critical accla
Listen on Spotify
Spotify users who are logged into their account can hear full-length audio on this playlist. all other users will hear 30-second clips. Want more? Get Spotify.
Program Notes
The younger sister of the great teacher Nadia Boulanger, Lili Boulanger was a musician of extraordinary talent. A student of Fauré, Boulanger was the first woman to win the Prix de Rome, but that promise was cut short by perpetually poor health and by an early death: She was only 24 when she died. S…