The Kamloops Symphony’s traditional welcome of the New Year, The Magic of Vienna, includes both Kamloops and Salmon Arm audiences this January.
Although the name has remained the same since this program was introduced in the year 2000, the music and its presentation have been varied.
For 2014, the format reflects back to a sold-out performance more than 20 years ago – Tales from the Vienna Woods.
The program was devised by the renowned broadcaster and music raconteur, Otto Lowy who, himself, added to the magic of any program he created with his inimitable, unique use of the English language.
The performance captivated the audience with its anecdotes about the people and places of the music’s origins.
With Rod Michell as our host, we have re-created the 1993 program with the same music and much of the same evocative narrative.
Born and raised in England, Michell came to Canada as a graduate student at UBC.
Two of the great passions of his life have been literature and music, and he considers it his good fortune to be able to continue his pursuit of both.
Retired after a career of almost 40 years of teaching English language and literature at Thompson Rivers University, he now presents courses in literature for the Kamloops Adult Learners and hosts Classical Connections, a two-hour classical music show on CFBX FM Radio.
This will be his third performance with the Kamloops Symphony.
The most famous of the composers brought to mind by thoughts of Viennese music are undoubtedly Johann Strauss Jr., who has been dubbed “the waltz king” and members of his family, who were responsible for creating a vast amount of popular music – waltzes, polkas, galops, quadrilles, and marches.
This was, of course, not the only music one would have heard in Vienna in the 1800s. Lanner, Schubert, Mozart and Beethoven all lived and worked in Vienna and are represented on the program.
Kamloops Symphony concertmaster Cvetozar Vutev is the featured soloist for Kreisler’s Caprice Viennoise and Rondo in C major by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Born in the city of Pleven, Bulgaria, Cvetozar Vutev started taking violin lessons at the age of six and played his first solo recital at 16. He moved to Sofia, the capital city of Bulgaria, to study at Pancho Vladigerov State Academy of Music.
In 1990 he earned a master’s degree in violin performance under Prof. Boyan Lechev. He has also worked with several world-famous violin teachers such as Ifrah Niemann (UK) and Wolfgang Marschner (Germany).
He has served as a concertmaster with the Kamloops Symphony since September 2005 and teaches violin, viola and chamber music ensembles with the Kamloops Symphony Music School. He is also a member of the Okanagan Symphony.
The Magic of Vienna plays Friday, Jan. 10 at 7:30 p.m. at SASCU Recreation Centre.
Tickets are available in advance at Kamloops Live! Box Office at 1-866-374-5483, at Wearabouts on Alexander Street or at the door.
More program and ticket information is available on the website www.kamloopssymphony.com.