LASO Presents All Beethoven Concert Friday

Submitted by Bonnie J. Gordon
on March 12, 2015
- 3:00 pm

Violin soloist David Feldberg during Monday’s rehearsal of the Los Alamos Symphony Orchestra’s upcoming concert. Photo by Bonnie J. Gordon/ladailypost.com

By BONNIE J. GORDON

Los Alamos Daily Post

The Los Alamos Symphony Orchestra will present an all-Beethoven concert under the direction of Albuquerque native and guest conductor, David Chavez at 7 p.m. Friday, March 13 at Crossroads Bible Church.

Admission is free but donations are gratefully accepted. The program will include three works of Beethoven: the Egmont Overture, Symphony #5, and the Concerto for Violin with soloist, David Felberg.

There’s no more familiar piece of music in the classical repertoire than Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and no more accessible offering. This is a great concert for kids or for those who suffer from a fear of classical music

Chavez’s choice of this program reflects the connection he personally feels with Beethoven, which he thinks others share. He notices moments in the music, especially the overture and the symphony, that mirror Beethoven’s own “struggles in life and his insistence to overcome fate,” he said.

Chavez has degrees in viola performance, conducting and music and has conducted the Albuquerque Philharmonic Orchestra. His hope for the Los Alamos Symphony Orchestra is to perform technically challenging music while “executing notes with meaning — to bring everyone to a level the music deserves,” Chavez said.

In selecting a violinist for the concerto, Chavez turned to his friend David Felberg, a well-known Albuquerque violinist. The two have collaborated in their conductor/soloist roles in several other performances.

“Beethoven’s Concerto for Violin is one of the best things ever written for violin,” Felberg said. “It gives the violin a chance to sing.”

At 35 minutes long, this piece is a real workout for the violinist. This is the first time Felberg has performed the piece.

An Albuquerque native, violinist and conductor Felberg is artistic director and co-founder of Chatter Sunday, Chatter 20-21, and Chatter Cabaret. He is concertmaster of the Santa Fe Symphony and music director of the Albuquerque Philharmonic. He also teaches contemporary music at the University of New Mexico and is the associate concertmaster of the New Mexico Philharmonic.

Felberg performs throughout the southwest as concert soloist, recitalist and chamber musician. He made his New York debut in Merkin Hall in 2005. He received a Masters of Music in Conducting from the University of New Mexico. He has taken advanced string quartet studies at the University of Colorado with the Takacs Quartet and was awarded a fellowship to attend the American Academy of Conducting at the Aspen Music Festival. Felberg plays an 1829 J.B. Vuillaume violin.