Dear WMC friends,
A week ago today, it was a VERY special treat to be one of 25 people allowed into The Center to hear Shelby & Dan Sender present their piano/violin program "Love Letters." Don't we all yearn for the day when performances such as this can be shared with the large audiences they deserve?
It is (finally!) the end of the year, and we are preparing for WMC’s annual music Competition. This year, the best young music students in the area will submit VIDEO performances - NOT compete in-person - so we do not need volunteers to prepare lunch for judges or escort competitors to the correct room. We ARE planning to have an in-person Presentation of Winners’ event on March 7, but details must wait until closer to the time. Thank you to Michele Carragan, Dorrit Green, Rosalyn Preston, Cheryl Green, Mary Vee Connell, and Corky Sablinsky for working on the Competitions Committee.
This is also the time of year when our University Scholarship recipients at UVA, JMU, and VCU are featured performers for an annual Musical Interlude fundraising gala. This year, I hope you will enjoy hearing their performances virtually in early 2021. Tickets will not be required to view, but there will be an opportunity for you to donate so that the Wednesday Music Club can continue helping promising music students further their education.
Remember that we don't have a program in January, but I hope to see many of you (we'll see how many!) at our next program on February 3rd. I hope you find gratifying, new ways to connect with those you love during this holiday season.
Wishing you peace and good health,
---Dana Patek, President
|
|
December Program Report
Twenty-five masked, music-loving WMC members convened on Wednesday, December 2nd to hear two Charlottesville favorites – violinist Daniel Sender and pianist Shelby Sender – in a beautiful program called “Love Letters.” Dan observed, “I am delighted to be here playing a program called ‘Love Letters’ with my lovely wife.” He was spot on, and those lucky enough to be in attendance – limited because of Covid-19 restrictions – obviously agreed.
The program opened with Beethoven’s Romance in F Major, Opus 50. Dan described it as less romantic than better known romances, like Elgar’s Salut d’Amour. “Beethoven’s is very polite; we aren’t talking over one another,” he said. He rendered the violin’s arioso line and delicate ornamentation with sensitivity, ably supported by Shelby’s ‘orchestra.’
Next was Pablo de Sarasate’s Romanza Andaluza, a surprisingly lush composition from a Spanish virtuoso known for showing off in his compositions. This one featured extensive double stops, but was otherwise tender and understated.
The final two movements from César Franck’s iconic Sonata in A Major were a centerpiece. Dan explained the love connection: Franck composed the sonata as a wedding present to the Belgian violinist Eugène Ysaÿe. He described how Franck’s free recitative becomes more dramatic, and how both movements quote from material heard earlier in the sonata: “Everything relates back to what you heard before.” It was fun to watch the exchange of leading and following in the finale’s canon, and Shelby’s polish in the notorious piano part was a joy to hear.
Next up was music by another violinist-composer: Polish born Henryk Wieniawski’s Légende Op. 17, which he composed in order to persuade his fiancée’s parents that he was suitable marriage material for their daughter. (It worked; the couple married.) A bit of drama in the middle section enlivened the otherwise wistful and romantic Légende.
Dan and Shelby concluded with a virtuoso war horse, Saint-Saëns’s ever-popular Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, Op.28. “This doesn’t fit into the love letters theme; it’s just a fun piece,” Dan allowed. He added that it was written for Sarasate: a splendid fusion of Saint-Saëns’s melodic gift with a nod to Sarasate’s Spanish flair.
Members who were unable to attend can enjoy the video recording at the following links.
---Laurie Shulman, Program Chair
|
|
Our thanks to audio/video engineer Graeme Rosner |
|
Our thanks to WMC photographer Miriam Carratt |
|
|
|
WMC 2021 Virtual Competition
Save the Dates
|
Online Application Deadline
Midnight, January 11, 2021
Video Submission Deadline
January 30, 2021
|
|
|
|
WMC February Meeting
Wednesday, February 3, 2021
10 - 11:30am
The Center at Belvedere
Program
Bach, Banjos, and the Hero's Journey
John Bullard, classical banjo
|
|
Upcoming WMC Events
Mark Your Calendars!
December 14 Fermata
January 6 WMC Board Meeting
January 11 WMC Competition applications due
January 24 Fermata
January 30 WMC Competition videos due
February 3 Monthly Program
|
|
Early Music Access Project Presents |
|
Baroque Bowing for String Players |
The second in a series of three Community Baroque Gatherings is a virtual class led by WMC member David McCormick, using classic baroque-era Christmas carols as a vehicle for learning about baroque bowings.
December 13, 2020 - 4-5pm
$10 registration fee
Click here for tickets and information about the series
|
|
|
Click Here to Access The Center's Website and Calendar
|
|
MISSION
The Wednesday Music Club promotes and expands quality musical and educational opportunities for its members, for teachers, for music lovers, and for the youth of Central Virginia through regular performances, competitions, shared group experiences, and financial support.
|
|
VISION
The Wednesday Music Club will foster and sustain a vibrant music climate throughout Central Virginia, especially among young people.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
