SFCO Home Series Concert: Rockin' Robin May 9, 2010

Rockin' Robin, the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra's final Home Series concert on their 2009-10 season, features the world premiere of SFCO Composer in Residence Gabriela Frank's new violin concerto, written for concertmaster Robin Sharp. Scored for solo violin, 10 string players, and two percussionists, Hailli Lirico was inspired by a set of prayers delivered by Inca rulers, a personal incantation with their god.

Gabriela says of the new piece:
"Inspired by the late work of Bela Bartok in which Eastern European folkloric influences are there but in a less obvious way than in earlier pieces, Hailli Lirico (Lyric Prayer, translated from Spanish and Quechua, the indigenous language of Peruvian indios) likewise plays its South American roots close to the vest. Allusions to traditional Andean motifs, for instance, proliferate but subtly so. Hailli Lirico is also more through-composed than any other work I've created, envisioned as an entreaty that spins with little pause through reverence, frenetic energy, and lyricism."

This is the first major work composed by Latin Grammy-award winner Frank for the SF Chamber Orchestra during her three year residency, which continues through the 2011-12 season.

The program will also include Mozart's delightful Serenata Notturno for strings and timpani, Steve Reich's jazz-inflected Nagoya Marimbas, and Bela Bartok's exciting musical journey through his native countryside, the popular Roumanian Folk Dances.

Mozart: Serenata Notturno
Steve Reich: Nagoya Marimbas
Gabriela Lena Frank: Hailli Lirico for violin and chamber orchestra [world premiere]
Bartok: Roumanian Folk Dances

Official Website: http://www.sfchamberorchestra.org/concerts/home-concert/