NSPO leads a musical trip to Europe

Classical music has been said to capture the imagination, and the North Shore Philharmonic Orchestra’s Valentine’s Day concert at Swampscott High School will escort your imagination on a musical journey to old-fashioned Europe.

Music Director Robert Lehmann will lead a concert featuring three famous compositions, each inspired by their composer’s experience in Paris-(Mozart), Czech Republic-(Dvorak), and Scotland-(Mendelsohnn).

The concert begins at 3 p.m. at Swampscott High School auditorium. Tickets can be purchased online at www.nspo.org or at the door, $20, $15 seniors and students, and children under 12 are admitted free. Contact the NSPO at (781) 286-0024 or via email to [email protected].

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote his Symphony No. 31 when he was 22-years old, living in Paris, and hoping to advance his precocious career. Despite the success what became popular as the "Paris" symphony, Mozart’s time there was considered a disaster. Tragically, his mother, who had accompanied him to Paris, died within hours after the symphony’s successful debut. He wrote no other symphonies in Paris, and soon thereafter settled in Vienna where his legend became eternal.

Antonin Dvorak often called the greatest Czech nationalist composer. After a career as an orchestral violist and organist, Dvorak began to earn renown as a composer. In 1879 Dvorak completed the Czech Suite, a five-movement work in the form of an instrumental serenade of a distinctively Czech character.

Travel often inspired Felix Mendelosohnn’s music. On a journey to Scotland in 1829 he met the author Sir Walter Scott and also enjoyed a bagpipe competition. Later, on a tour to the location where Mary, Queen of Scots lived, the sights and legend of the area inspired his Third Symphony, which we know today as "The Scottish Symphony."

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