North State Symphony Offers Dance and Romance in Concert

The North State Symphony will perform its Dance Mix concert at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 16 in CSU, Chico’s Laxson Auditorium and at 2 p.m. on Feb. 17 in Redding’s Cascade Theatre.

The music for the symphony's annual concerts was selected by Music Director Kyle Wiley Pickett to capture the spirit and energy of different dance forms, from tango to ballet.

The highlight of the program is “Tangazo,” a concert tango written by Argentinean Astor Piazzolla, Pickett said. Piazzolla ADD helped launch(OMITed) the popular South American dance style from the dance hall to the concert stage.

"Tango is a fascinating blend of freedom and restraint," Pickett said. "Watching tango allows you to see how erotic the dance is, but at the same time it has a formal and theatrical element.”

Piazzolla’s jazzy interpretation of tango some traditional dancers. However it produced a musical phenomenon that spread through the U.S. and Europe.

The Dance Mix concerts conclude with an extended suite from “Swan Lake” by Peter Tchaikovsky.

"In a very different way from a tango Tchaikovsky's ballet music is also highly charged with romantic feeling,” Pickett said. “Listening to tango and ballet, you can hear that they are both about passion, which gets sublimated into ‘Swan Lake’s’ gorgeous melodies, and ‘Tangazo’s’ dominating rhythm.”

Rounding out the program will be the orchestrated folk songs “Slavonic Dances” by Czech composer Antonin Dvorak and “Hungarian Sketches” by Hungarian Bela Bartok.

In these selections the listener can hear how "powerful, ancient rhythms are affected when a trained composer arranges them for a full symphony orchestra," Pickett said. “Musical beat, the rhythm of a piece, is one of music’s most important aspects.”

Pickett gives a free spoken introduction to each North State Symphony concert, one hour before curtain. During intermission at the Chico concert strings from Chico Country Day School will perform.

For tickets to the Chico concert on Feb. 16, call the University Box Office at 898-6333. For tickets to the Redding concert on Feb. 17, call the Cascade Theatre Box Office at 243-8877. Further information is available online at northstatesymphony.org or by phone at 898-5984.

— Hillary Feeney