Young musicians making debut in Idaho Falls Symphony competition

The following is a news release from the Idaho Falls Symphony.

IDAHO FALLS – When pursuing their dreams of a career in music performance, generations of students in Southeast Idaho have looked to the biennial Young Artists Competition of the Idaho Falls Symphony for their triumphant debut as a concert soloist. Two excellent young artists will have that life-changing opportunity on Saturday at the Frontier Center for the Performing Arts in Idaho Falls.

Music Director Thomas Heuser will lead the Idaho Falls Symphony as they welcome the two Young Artist Competition winners: cellist Emma Ballif (Junior Division Runner-up), who will perform the iconic First Movement of the Cello Concerto by Czech composer Antonín Dvořák; and violinist Michael Weir (Senior Division Winner), who will tackle the brooding First Movement of the Violin Concerto by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius.

Along with the ambitious soloists, the March 8 concert features one of the most emotionally intense works ever conceived: the Sixth Symphony by 19th century Russian composer Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Many of the most celebrated and romantic works for the orchestra are by Tchaikovsky, and his ballet music for The Nutcracker and Swan Lake are beloved around the world. But in his Sixth and final symphony, Tchaikovsky combines his trademark lyrical gifts with a searing intensity that paints a devastating, dramatic image of a composer nearing the end of his life and grappling with his own mortality.

“Tchaikovsky’s final musical statement is beyond profound,” remarks Dr. Heuser. “This will be my third time performing this masterpiece, and there are moments that bring me to tears mid-performance whether I like it or not. The subtitle Pathétique translates as emotional, or passionate, and our audiences will be absolutely mesmerized by the impact that this music has when heard live.”

Drama from the Romantic era will pervade the program from start to finish. Emma Ballif will kick things off with the Dvořák Cello Concerto, which opens with a powerful orchestral prelude that introduces a host of famous melodies. She will then navigate the huge demands of Dvořák’s cello writing, showcasing the full extent of the instrument’s range and expressive capabilities. Michael Weir will lead audiences on the epic journey that is the Sibelius Violin Concerto, which features extended solo cadenzas that seem to suggest a troubled protagonist, searching the depths of their soul. Sibelius is famous for his dark and brooding moods, and though brilliant, the Violin Concerto rarely strays into the light.

Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony is similarly emotional. From the very outset, a mystical bassoon intones a low, sighing solo that leads the listener into a series of contrasting sections that shift suddenly between the sublimely lyrical and the violently agitated. After a lilting second movement and the festive march of the
third movement, the stunning Finale pulls on the heart strings and plunges us into despair. The final moments fade away like a dying heartbeat, painting a picture of tragedy that leaves us all literally breathless. No other symphony has the same emotional arc and impact, and truly, it must be seen and heard to be believed.

We’d love for our audiences to stop by the IFS office and purchase tickets in person, or buy them at the door on concert night. The pre-concert Prologues discussion will take place in the nearby Little Theater inside the High School from the Frontier Center. It will feature a discussion between Maestro Heuser and Michael Weir.

The show gets underway at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available now and can be purchased online or by calling the Idaho Falls Symphony office at (208) 529-1080.