# New Century Chamber Orchestra with Daniel Hope at First United Methodist Church of Palo Alto, February 5, 2016

[NCCO](http://ncco.org/concert-tickets/2015-2016-season/program-3-hope-menuhin/) presents _Hope for Menuhin_ featuring [Daniel Hope](http://danielhope.com/) leading the [New Century Chamber Orchestra](http://ncco.org/)  
[First United Methodist Church of Palo Alto](http://www.firstpaloalto.com/)  
[625 Hamilton Ave, Palo Alto, CA](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=625+Hamilton+Ave,+Palo+Alto,+CA&hl=en)  
8:00 PM, Friday, February 5, 2016

[[2016-02-04|Back to the previous event!]] ☸ [[:#section2016|Up to the 2016 yearbox!]] ☸ [[:2016#February_events|Up to the 2016 event list!]] ☸  [[2016-02-06-1|On to the next event!]]

## Set One

[8:02 PM lights down]

### J. S. Bach: Concerto in D Minor, BWV 1043

J. S. Bach (1685-1750): Concerto in D Minor for 2 Violins, Strings and Basso Continuo, BWV 1043 (ca. 1718)

01. [8:03 PM] Vivace
02. [8:07 PM] Largo, ma non tanto
03. [8:13 PM] Allegro  
[work ends 8:17 PM]

[brief speech by Daniel Hope to introduce the next two works]

### Pärt: “Darf ich…”

01. [8:18 PM] Arvo Pärt (b. 1935): _Darf ich…_ for Solo violin, Tubular Bell (in C sharp) and Strings (1995, revised 1999)

### Glass: Echorus

01. [8:25 PM] Philip Glass (b. 1937): _Echorus_ for 2 Violins and Strings (1995)

[brief speech by Daniel Hope to introduce the last work of the set]

### Mendelssohn: Concerto in D minor for Violin and Strings

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847): Concerto in D minor for Violin and Strings, MWV O 3 (1822)

01. [8:34 PM] Allegro
02. [8:44 PM] Andante
03. [8:52 PM] Allegro  
[set ends 8:56 PM]

## Set Two

[9:16 PM lights down]

### Vivaldi: Concerto in A minor for 2 Violins, RV 522

Antonio Vivaldi: _L'Estro Armonico_, Op. 3, Concerto No. 8 in A minor for 2 Violins and strings, RV 522 (1711)

01. [9:16 PM] Allegro
02. [9:20 PM] Larghetto e spiritoso
03. [9:26 PM] Allegro  
[work ends 9:27 PM]

### El-Khoury: Unfinished Journey

01. [9:30 PM] Bechara El-Khoury (b.1957): _Unfinished Journey_ – in memorium Yehudi Menuhin, for violin and string orchestra, Op. 77 (2009)  
[work ends 9:37 PM]

### Takemitsu: Nostalghia

01. [9:37 PM] Toru Takemitsu: _Nostalghia_ - in Memory of Andrei Tarkovskij, for Solo Violin and Strings (1987)  
[work ends 9:53 PM]

### Bartók: Six Romanian Folk Dances

Béla Bartók (1881-1945): Six Romanian Folk Dances, Sz. 68, BB 76; (?arr. Willner?)

01. [9:55 PM] _Bot tánc / Jocul cu bâtă_ (Stick Dance)
02. [9:56 PM] _Brâul_ (Sash Dance)
03. [9:57 PM] _Topogó / Pe loc_ (In One Spot)
04. [9:58 PM] _Bucsumí tánc / Buciumeana_ (Dance from Bucsum)
05. [10:00 PM] _Román polka / Poarga Românească_ (Romanian Polka)
06. [10:01 PM] _Aprózó / Mărunțel_ (Fast Dance)  
[show ends 10:03 PM, all off after a minute or so]


## Performers

### New Century Chamber Orchestra

[New Century Chamber Orchestra](http://ncco.org/)

* [Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg](http://www.nadjasalernosonnenberg.com/): music director; (absent tonight)
* others vary slightly by performance, some day I'll dig out my program and add them to this page.


### Daniel Hope

* [Daniel Hope](http://danielhope.com/): violin.


## Notes

The first set tonight was awesome. Lots of super high energy stuff in the first and last pieces. Daniel Hope is truly a virtuoso -- and after hearing him tonight, I think he'd be a terrific replacement for Nadja once she leaves after next season. Of course, that's sheer speculation on my part -- and when I asked the NCCO staff if tonight's show was a try out, they just looked at me funny. Seemed like a reasonable idea to me...

Anyways, I thought the first set was super. Double plus good! Great energy during the opening and closing works, and serious melodicism throughout the Part and Glass pieces mid-set. I was buzzed and floating during set break. Wow wow wow!

Unfortunately, the second set failed to meet or exceed the standard established by the first. Not that it was bad, only not as good. The Vivaldi opener was certainly high quality stuff, delivered at breakneck speed that reminded me of watching Looney Tunes as a kid, where the heads and eyeballs of the characters go snapping outward from centrifugal force while their vehicle goes careening around steep curves. Wa-hooooo!
(Insert YouTube reference?)

Things bogged down a bit with the next two pieces. One slow work -- or two short slow pieces, perhaps -- wouldn't have killed the mood too badly, but somehow I just couldn't get into the right head-space to appreciate the Takemitsu piece. Time just dragged through that whole interminable bit. The pace and energy picked up with the Bartok closer, but being so brief -- ? Five movements in seven minutes? -- it was a case of too little, too late. Ah well. I'm sure it's tough to program shows to please everybody, and I'm happy enough about the fraction that I enjoyed.

David Bratman posted a [review](https://www.sfcv.org/reviews/New-Century-Chamber-Orchestra/NCCO-s-Celebrates-Yehudi-Menuhin-s-Centenary-with-Hope) of tonight's gig at SFCV.

If you'd like to check out alternative performances of the final work, listen Daniel's mentor, [Yehudi Menuhin](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQvTTZHugNs), recorded in 1944 with Marcel Gazelle, or [David Oistrakh](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmHRaBrE6KQ) with Inna Kollegorskaya, from 1947. Both recordings are superb!

{{tag>music New_Century_Chamber_Orchestra Daniel_Hope First_United_Methodist_Church_of_Palo_Alto }}

[[2016-02-04|Back to the previous event!]] ☸ [[:#section2016|Up to the 2016 yearbox!]] ☸ [[:2016#February_events|Up to the 2016 event list!]] ☸  [[2016-02-06-1|On to the next event!]]