ASO at Home Videos
ASO Musician Videos
Welcome to ASO at Home, a place to connect with your Akron Symphony Orchestra until we are once again able to enjoy symphonic performances again. Here we provide performances by our musicians from their homes.
ASO The Four Seasons
A special gift for all of the wonderful Mothers out there! Those who bought us our first instrument, drove us to our lessons, listened to untold awful early versions of “Hot Cross Buns,” and loved and encouraged us along the way.
Even if we can’t be with you today in person, we’re here with you in spirit with a little reminder of spring, and how you helped us grow.
Happy Mother’s Day from the Akron Symphony Orchestra!
The Liberty Bell March
The Akron Symphony Bass Ensemble, featuring Brian Del Bianco, Tom Flowers, Ann Gilbert, Henry Samuels, Sue Yelanjian and Ole Latham, present Sousa’s The Liberty Bell March.
Sousa was inspired to compose the piece after seeing a painting of the Liberty Bell while in Chicago. He then received a letter from his wife detailing how their son had marched in a parade in Philadelphia honoring the Liberty Bell. That confirmed for Sousa that his new march would be titled The Liberty Bell.
Clarinet Polka
Akron Symphony Orchestra’s Heidi Aufdenkamp Peck, along with a special guest accompanist, shares a short sample of the Clarinet Polka.
Bach Cello Suite No. 1
Julie Myers King, a cellist with the Akron Symphony Orchestra, has been spending time working on a project she calls Me, Myself and Bach. Here Julie performs the Gigue from Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1, a piece notable for its beauty and warmth.
Venezuelan Cuatro
Erica Snowden-Rodriguez, Principal Cellist of the Akron Symphony Orchestra, is joined by Gomez as Erica performs on a Venezuelan cuatro. The cuatro is a family of Latin American string instruments found in Central and South America, Puerto Rico and other parts of the West Indies, derived from the Spanish guitar.
Electric Drago
Bass player Brian Del Bianco performs a short solo work by composer Domenico Dragonetti. The piece is based on Arcangelo Corelli’s Trio Sonata in D minor, and is a transcription of the bass line from the Allegro movement of Corelli’s sonata, but on electric bass.
Dragonetti was an Italian double bass virtuoso (possibly Europe’s only double bass virtuoso) and composer. In 1799, he met Beethoven in Vienna and there are some who believe Dragonetti’s influence on Beethoven can be heard in his Fifth Symphony. (Source: Classic FM) Dragonetti’s custom-made double bass, which has three strings instead of four, can be seen at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
A little closer to home, the strings on Brian’s bass guitar are made by SIT Strings in Akron.
Festival Overture
To celebrate Independence Day 1879, American composer Dudley Buck wrote the work for which he is best known today. To mark the bicentennial of Francis Scott Key’s penning of the lyrics to The Star-Spangled Banner, the Akron Symphony Orchestra and Akron Symphony Chorus performed an entire evening of music commemorating that event in a concert that began with Buck’s overture.
They were joined by members of the Gospel Meets Symphony Choir, Miller South’s ‘Rising Stars’ Choir, and community members assembled for the occasion, dubbed the ‘One City’ Choir.
The tune of The Star-Spangled Banner weaves its way in and out of this exuberant work, making a final appearance in one last grand declamation, here in a sing-along with an audience brought to their feet by this rousing music.
Festival Overture on the American National Air
Dudley S. Buck (1839–1909)
Akron Symphony Orchestra
Christopher Wilkins, conductor
Akron Symphony Chorus
Maria Sensi Sellner, Chorus Director
Members of the Gospel Meets Symphony Choir
ASO’s ‘One City’ Choir
Miller South ‘Rising Stars’ Choir
Members of the Opening Night Audience
This performance, which was recorded on September 13, 2014, at E.J. Thomas Hall.
Bach Cello Suite 3
Molly Jones, a cellist with the Akron Symphony Orchestra, performs the Gigue from Bach’s Cello Suite No. 3, a piece notable for showing off the emotional depths available on a cello.
Erlkönig
Dianna Joiner (violin) and Patrick Miller (viola) perform Schubert’s Erlkönig. Schubert composed the piece in 1815 and based it on a 1782 poem of the same name by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, which has its roots in a Scandinavian folktale.
Goethe’s poem – very appropriate for Halloween – tells the story of a boy and his father riding home on horseback. The boy is frightened when he is courted by the Erl-King, a powerful and creepy supernatural being. The father, however, cannot see or hear the creature and tells the boy that his imagination is playing tricks on him.
The boy grows increasingly terrified by what he hears from the Erl-King, but his father tells him it only the sights and sounds of nature on a dark and stormy night. When the Erl-King eventually seizes the boy, the father spurs on his horse, but when he arrives home his son is dead.
The following translation into English of Goethe’s poem is courtesy of britannica.com (https://tinyurl.com/yyxzfxjj):
Who’s riding so late, in the night and wind? It is the father with his child. He grasps the boy in his arm. He holds him securely; he keeps him warm.
My son, why do you hide your face so fearfully? “Father, don’t you see the Erl-King there? The Erl-King with his crown and train?” My son, it’s a streak of mist.
‘You delightful child, come with me! I’ll play wonderful games with you. Colourful flowers grow on the shore. My mother has many fine things.’
“My father, my father, don’t you hear What the Erl-King said to me?” Be calm, stay calm, my son; The wind is stirring the dry leaves.
‘Fine boy, will you come with me? My daughters will wait on you nicely. My daughters will lead the evening dancing And rock and dance and sing to you.’
“My father, my father, don’t you see The Erl-King’s daughters in that gloomy place?” My son, my son, I see it indeed; The old willow gleaming so gray.
‘I love you, I delight in your beautiful shape; And if you are not willing, I shall use force.’ “My father, my father, he has seized me! Erl-King is injuring me!”
The father blanched; he rode swiftly. He held the moaning child in his arms. With great trouble, he reached the courtyard. In his arms, the child was dead.
Fox 8: Pablo Sanchez-Pazos
Akron Symphony Orchestra violinst Pablo Sanchez-Pazos performs Bach’s Chaconne from Partita No. 2. The complete Chaconne is one of the longest and most challenging solo pieces ever composed for the violin. The performance was part of the Fox 8 Virtual Jukebox series.
Bach Lute Suite Prelude
Rob Kistler, Principal Percussion of the Akron Symphony Orchestra, performs the Prelude to Bach’s Lute Suite in E minor. The piece was originally written for the lute, a string instrument that was common in Bach’s day. Today, Bach’s Lute Suites have been adopted to other instruments, which Rob demonstrates from his home studio.
That's a Plenty
Akron Symphony Orchestra’s Steve Ostrow has been spending some time networking with musicians in other markets. In this short video, Steve is joined by Phil Cartwright – husband of former Kent State University President Carol Cartwright.
As Longs the Deer
Sarah Miller, a cellist with the Akron Symphony Orchestra, has been spending time recording some of her favorite hymns and shares this performance of As Longs the Deer to offer encouragement to everyone.
Fantasia No. 9
Justin Kohan, Principal Trumpet, and John Gruber, Principal Trombone, present Fantaisies pour le clavecin: 3. douzaines from Georg Philipp Telemann’s Fantasia No. 9. Telemann was a German composer of the late Baroque period, who wrote both sacred and secular music but was most admired for his church compositions. Through his public concerts, Telemann introduced to the general public music previously reserved for the aristocracy.
Impromptus
Sean McGhee, Principal Bass Trombone, performs Robert Muczynski’s Impromptus. Muczynski was an American composer whose works have been heard throughout the world with performances in the major cities of Europe, Australia and Asia. Over the years, his orchestral and chamber music has been featured at prestigious concert halls, such as Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Orchestra Hall in Chicago, and the Wigmore Hall in London, according to Naxos.
It's Peaceful Here
Violinist Kimia Ghaderi is joined by pianist Andrew Focks for a performance of Jascha Heifetz’s transcription of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s It’s Peaceful Here.
Rachmaninoff’s original song was set to this text by poet Glafira Adol’fovna Galina:
All is well here…
Look, in the distance
The river glows like a fire;
The meadows are like a colourful carpet,
And there is the whiteness of clouds.
There is nobody here.
All is quiet…
Here I am alone with God.
And the flowers, and the old pine,
And you, my dream…
Flute Sonata
Barbara O’Brien, Principal Flute, performs Poulenc’s Flute Sonata, a three-movement work composed in 1957. The sonata was commissioned by the American Library of Congress and is dedicated to the memory of Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, an American patron of chamber music.
Piano accompaniment is provided by Dr. Jiung Yoon. More information about Dr. Yoon is available on his YouTube channel, Color is the Piano, at https://tinyurl.com/yxq82ltz.
Fox 8: Molly Jones
Akron Symphony Orchestra cellist Molly Jones performs the Gigue from Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1, a piece notable for its beauty and warmth. The performance was part of the Fox 8 Virtual Jukebox series.
Fox 8: Sarah Page
Akron Symphony Orchestra violinst Sarah Page performs Fantasia No. 7 for Solo Violin: II. Allegro, by German composer Georg Phillip Telemann, one of the collection of 12 fantasias for solo violin that Telemann composed. The performance was part of the Fox 8 Virtual Jukebox series.