Fond ‘Farewell’ Symphony Performing Haydn’s ‘Farewell’
The Spokane Symphony will play a “Farewell” at The Met Sunday afternoon. The orchestra actually has almost a month left in its season, but conductor Fabio Mechetti has chosen Joseph Haydn’s “Farewell” Symphony to mark the last concert in the group’s Symphony at The Met series.
The concert will be repeated Tuesday.
Still to come is the orchestra’s season finale in May in the Opera House with Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.
All the works on Sunday’s program (well … almost all) are by Haydn, a musician described as “the wittiest composer who ever lived.” In addition to “Farewell,” Mechetti has programmed Haydn’s Symphony No. 1, the first of more than 100 symphonies and one written when Haydn was still in his 20s.
The program’s puzzler is a work once thought to be by Haydn, the “Toy” Symphony. Nowadays musical scholars think it was written by Leopold Mozart (Wolfgang’s father), but no one can be quite sure. It may have been composed by Michael Haydn (Joseph’s brother).
Four of the orchestra’s first-chair players - oboist Keith Thomas, bassoonist Lynne Feller, violinist Kelly Farris and cellist John Marshall - will be featured in the program’s other major work, one definitely by Joseph Haydn, his Sinfonia Concertante for Oboe, Bassoon, Violin and Cello.
Thomas, a graduate of Yale and holder of a performer’s certificate from the Eastman School of Music, has been the orchestra’s principal oboist since 1992 and the symphony’s librarian. A former member of the Solstice Woodwind Quintet at Washington State University, Thomas was recently selected as principal oboist for the Colorado Music Festival.
Feller, a graduate of the Crane School of Music and a doctoral candidate at Juilliard, is in her second season as the symphony’s principal bassoonist. She also serves as acting principal bassoonist of the Missoula Symphony. In addition to serving as community education director of the Spokane Symphony, Feller teaches at both Eastern Washington University and Whitworth College.
Marshall, also in his second season as a Spokane Symphony principal player, is also the cellist of the Spokane String Quartet. He has been a member of the faculty at the Interlochen Arts Camp as well as performing in quartets at the Blue Lake and Madeline Island summer music camps. He currently teaches at EWU and this summer will serve on the faculty at the newly formed Coeur d’Alene Music Festival.
Farris, concertmaster of the orchestra since 1969, is also first violinist of the Spokane String Quartet and professor of music at EWU. In June Farris and Marshall will travel to Europe to perform in Vienna, Salzburg, Budapest and Innsbruck with the Spokane String Quartet. The Spokane Area Children’s Chorus will also be on that tour.
Like the symphony’s other Met concerts, spoken program notes will be provided by Mechetti.
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MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: SYMPHONY The Spokane Symphony will perform at The Met Sunday at 3 p.m. and Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $8 to $18 at the Symphony Ticket Office (624-1200) and at all regional G&B Select-a-Seat outlets (325-SEAT or (800) 325-SEAT).