Symphonies!
3 p.m., Sunday, May 1st
Ames City Auditorium, 515 Clark Avenue

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“Symphonies!” -- the final program in Central Iowa Symphony’s 18th season -- will offer a musical twist on the word symphony. In fact, the program will feature all three movements of one symphony, another piece that’s not a symphony but is called one, and an unfinished symphony.
 
The concert will begin at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 1, in Ames City Auditorium under the direction of guest conductor Matt Smith.
 
“A symphony is simply a large-scale work for a full orchestra in multiple movements, which are sometimes named by the tempo at which they are performed,” explained Smith, who also directs the Cyclone Marching Band and the Iowa State University pep band. “When I set up this program I noticed that the orchestra had not done a symphony for several years and I thought, why not?”
 
Symphony No. 2 “Romantic,” a lush composition by American composer and educator Howard Hanson was Smith’s obvious first choice. Smith said he also wanted to feature the orchestra’s strong wind section, so he added Igor Stravinsky’s “Symphonies of Wind Instruments."
 
“The Stravinsky composition is not really a symphony by the usual definition," Smith explained. "But like the Hanson piece, it's very easy music to listen to, and will make for an enjoyable program."
 
The orchestra will be performing another popular symphony, Symphony No. 8 “Unfinished,” that composer Franz Schubert set aside after writing the first two movements and a few measures of the third. Schubert never returned to it before his death six years later, and the piece was performed for the first time nearly 40 years later.
 
Rounding out the afternoon will be a performance of Beethoven’s powerful “Overture to Egmont.” The piece is about the life of Count Egmont, a Dutch nobleman and the religious and political struggles in Holland during the 16th century.
 
The 70-member Central Iowa Symphony is comprised of professional musicians, music educators, exceptional student performers, and accomplished amateurs. Tickets are $12 for adults, $11 for seniors (ages 65 and older) and $5 for students. They may be purchased in advance at Big Table Books and Rieman Music in Ames, or at the door. To place credit card orders, call Ames City Auditorium at (515) 239-5360.
 
The public is invited to join Smith for Concert Conversations, an informal discussion about the program in the City Council chambers beginning at 2:15 p.m.

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NOTE: A high-resolution photo of guest conductor Matt Smith is available by sending an e-mail to lwmiller@iastate.edu. This release also is on the CIS web site: www.cisymphony.org.
 
About the Program:

Symphonies of Wind Instruments by Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)
This Russian-American composer is considered by many to be the greatest and most versatile composers of the 20^th century. His father, an actor and singer in St. Petersburg, wanted his son to be educated in law. “Symphonies of Wind Instruments” is written only for the wind section of an orchestra – there are no strings or percussion. Stravinsky wrote it in 1910 while living in Paris, but the piece wasn’t performed until 1921 in London, with atrocious results. It has been said that he learned to conduct and began conducting his own music because of this disastrous performance. He revised the score in 1947, which remains the only published version of the work.
 
Symphony No. 8 “Unfinished” by Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
This Austrian composer was not well known during his short life although he wrote 600 songs, 15 piano sonatas, 15 pieces for string quartets, 7 masses and 9 symphonies. No. 8 was his last symphony; comprised of only two movements (instead of the normal four) with a few measures sketched out for a third movement. It wasn’t performed until 1865 in Vienna. Schubert’s work is in the classical tradition, exemplifying the height of romantic lyricism.
 
Symphony No. 2 “Romantic” by Howard Hanson (1896-1981)
Born in Wahoo, Nebraska, Hanson was a composer, conductor, musical statesman, educator and for 40 years directed the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester in New York. His friendship with the conductor of the Boston Symphony, Hanson was commissioned to write a piece celebrating the symphony’s 50^th anniversary during its 1930-31 season. Like his many other compositions, Symphony No. 2 “Romantic” is filled with lush harmonies in the romantic style. He founded the Institute of American Music and hosted annual Festivals of American Music in New York.
 
Overture to Egmont by Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Beethoven wrote this piece when he was 40 years old while living in Vienna. It follows a play by Goethe about the Count of Egmont, a Protestant Dutch nobleman, and his political and religious struggles with Spanish oppressors in Holland during the 16^th century.
 
About Guest Conductor Matt Smith:
Matthew Smith has been the Associate Director of Bands at Iowa State University since the fall of 2002. His responsibilities at ISU include directing the Cyclone Marching Band, Symphonic Band, and Men's Basketball Band, as well as teaching in the Department of Music.
 
Smith comes to Iowa State from Baylor University in Waco, Texas, where he spent the last two years. While at Baylor, he served as Associate and Assistant Director of the Golden Wave Band. He also conducted the Symphonic Band, Concert Band, and Courtside Players. In addition, he taught in the School of Music and observed student teachers in instrumental music education. Prior to his arrival at Baylor, he was the Assistant Director of Bands and Visiting Lecturer in Conducting at the University of Michigan for the 1999-2000 school year.
 
Raised in Fairfax, Virginia, Smith received his undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. After teaching in the Maryland public schools, he completed a master's degree in music education from the University of Michigan.

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