Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 21, 1995 TAG: 9504210068
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: SETH WILLIAMSON CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Bond will make her final appearance as music director and conductor of the RSO Tuesday night at 8 in Burruss Hall. In a telephone interview from her New York home earlier this week, Bond said musical talent from the New River Valley has been a "constant" since her tenure began.
Principle hornist Wally Easter, former principle trumpeter Allen Bachelder, concertmaster James Glazebrook, trombonist James Sochinski and many others from the music faculties of both Virginia Tech and Radford University have been crucial to the success of the symphony during the Bond era.
And not just musicians, but an audience as well: "I would like to thank the New River Valley for being such a splendid support group and bringing the RSO to Blacksburg so consistently. It was one of my fondest hopes as music director that we could do more concerts outside of Roanoke, and Blacksburg was our first and has remained our principle alternate venue," Bond said.
One thing's certain: Victoria Bond has chosen two very different works for her final New River Valley appearance.
On one hand, there's Sergei Prokofiev's flamboyant cantata "Alexander Nevsky," which Prokofiev derived from the score he wrote for the classic Soviet film of the same name.
On the other - as understated and meditative as the Prokofiev is flashy - is Johannes Brahms' late Concerto for Violin and Cello in A minor, Op. 102.
"Alexander Nevsky" will spotlight mezzo-soprano soloist Carolyn Sebron, plus a 100-voice edition of the Roanoke Valley Choral Society. The Brahms Double Concerto will be the vehicle for Roanoke natives and sisters Cenovia and Stephanie Cummins, both of whom have carved out performing and recording careers in New York City and elsewhere.
Prokofiev's "Alexander Nevsky" originally saw light as the score to Sergei Eisenstein's epic 1938 film about the legendary 13th-century prince of Novgorod.
It was Alexander Nevsky who repulsed both an invading Swedish army in 1240 and, two years later, routed the crusading army of the Teutonic Order of the Sword. For his efforts to defend Russia, the memory of Nevsky occupies a special place in Russian folklore as a patriotic warrior saint and the heroic savior of his people.
The fight against the invading Germans climaxed on the frozen surface of Lake Chud, where the heavily armed invaders cracked through the surface of the ice and drowned. The battle on the ice is the dramatic apex both of the film and the cantata.
The Prokofiev/Eisenstein collaboration was rare in film history for the unusual sympathy between director and composer. At the end of each day, Prokofiev would view the rushes, time them to the second, then go home and compose the accompanying music on piano, which would be ready by noon of the following working day. Sometimes Prokofiev would even write the music for a scene before it was filmed, whereupon Eisenstein would custom-shoot the action to match the composer's score.
Prokfiev prepared his seven-movement cantata for premiere the following spring, scoring it for mezzo-soprano soloist, mixed choir and orchestra. The work quickly became a popular showpiece and has received several major-label recordings in the last few years alone.
The mezzo soloist in "Alexander Nevsky" will be Cincinnati native Carolyn Sebron, who has debuted in the past year in Boston, Washington, Rome and Paris.
"This cantata has some of the most extraordinary orchestration - it's right up there with Stravinsky in the extremely imaginative use of the orchestra.
"One of the biggest challenges is that the text is in Russian. I am very much a believer in doing a piece in the original language. The sound and rhythm of the language is very much a part of the music itself, and when you try separating that, you lose so much," Bond said.
The soloists for the Brahms Double Concerto are hometown Roanoke classical stars Stephanie and Cenovia Cummins. Cellist Stephanie Cummins has played in Broadway shows such as "Phantom of the Opera," toured with Barbra Streisand, worked with celebrated conductors such as Leonard Bernstein and Zubin Mehta, performed with Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts and is a former member of the group Cello, which had a popular CD on the Pro Arte label.
Cenovia Cummins has worked with conductors Leonard Bernstein and James Levine, collaborated with pop singer Carly Simon and can be heard on Simon's new opera CD "Romulus Hunt," was seen in the film "Misplaced," and, like her sister, worked with Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts.
The Cummins sisters won't be in a show-off situation this time out, though, because Johannes Brahms' Concerto for Violin and Cello is almost the antithesis of the flashy solo vehicle. Instead, the late work - the last symphonic piece Brahms was to compose - is a reflective, autumnal meditation that's more intimate than it is dazzling.
Victoria Bond's final appearance in Roanoke as music director of the Roanoke Symphony is expected to be a sell-out at the RSO's concert at the Roanoke Civic Center Monday night. Tickets still remain for Bond's farewell concert Tuesday night in Burruss Hall at $12 general admission, $10 for senior citizens and $5 for students. Order tickets at 552-3779 or 343-9127.
Victoria Bond's farewell concert Tuesday night in Burruss Hall costs $12 general admission, $10 for senior citizens and $5 for students. Tickets can be ordered at 552-3779 or 343-9127.
by CNB