Seattle Sleepless at the Sammamish Symphony by Janet Russell

"Slice of Vienna” on February 24th proved to be a delightful way to spend a Sunday afternoon.  The Oscars were still to come, but our own Donna Mansfield started our afternoon off with a special star quality.  Donna is a second violinist in the Sammamish Symphony Orchestra and she always invites us to come along and enjoy the wonderful music. 

When you think of famous composers of the 18th and early 19th centuries, Vienna is the city that most easily pops to mind, as well it should with its reputation as the musical center of the world.  Beethoven, Johann Strauss, Jr. and Gustav Mahler were the wonderful choices for this “Slice of Vienna” by the Sammamish
Symphony Orchestra.  Piano concertos, waltzes and symphonies provided an afternoon of music that told stories and stirred the imagination to see a ballroom full of twirling dancers in the dress of the 1800s.

The wonderful thing about music is that you may sit back with your eyes
closed and travel to another time or watch carefully as the different instruments spring to life as the conductor cues them into the piece.  I happily switch back and forth.  When the piano soloist, Yuka Sasaki, played the Strauss’s Piano Concerto #4, I listened to the wonderful sound, but was mesmerized by her hands as they glided and then sped across the keys.  My Mother played classical piano music and I happily moved myself back in time to when I was a little girl and would sneak into the living room to listen to her play.  I think she always pretended not to see me so that she could enjoy the rare moments that I actually sat still.

Since I always seem to be in search of answers to questions that pop into my head, I asked Donna at the intermission what the difference was between the violins, the violas and the other string instruments.  She explained that the viola is a bit larger than the violin and has another string that allows it to move a bit closer to the bass sound.  The cello is bigger again with more of a bass range followed by the bass as the largest string instrumenton the stage.

What fun after intermission when the Gustav Mahler Symphony provided an
excellent visual of exactly what Donna had described!  As the conductor began the funeral march, he cued a lone bass to begin the piece. The others followed with their deep tones that allowed you to actually feel the somber tone of a funeral march.  The cellos joined, followed by the violas, the second violins and finally the first violins. I had never seen such a visual demonstration of the distinct sounds of the instruments.  The sound literally moved across the stage!

Each musical experience at the Sammamish Symphony always stirs more questions.  The next puzzle for me to solve is why the instruments are arranged as they are on the stage.  I have seen other symphony orchestras that have the wind instruments in a different place.

Hmmm…that should keep me occupied until the next performance of the
Sammamish Symphony Orchestra on April 7th at the Meydenbauer Theater.  We will travel from Vienna to the New World with “From the New World” featuring Dvorak, Bellini, and Julius Rietz. The Oboe will be featured at this concert.  Come along with us and discover what treat the sound of the Oboe will bring!