The Daytona Solisti Chamber Orchestra will open its 2023-24 season with a celebration of the music of Beethoven – including the composer’s Piano Trio No. 5 “Ghost” – performed by the Rickman-Acree-Corporon Piano Trio.
The trio will present “Beethovenfest,” an all-Beethoven concert, at 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 8, at Lighthouse Christ Presbyterian Church, 1035 W. Granada Blvd., Ormond Beach, where Solisti is in residence again this concert season. A $20 donation is requested at the door. For more information call 386-562-5423 or go online at daytonasolisti.com.
The piano trio is composed of pianist Michael Rickman, violinist and Solisti founder Susan Pitard Acree, and cellist Joseph Corporon.
The program will include Beethoven’s Sonata No. 5 in F Major for Piano and Violin, Op. 24 “Spring”; Duet No. 1 in C Major for Violin and Cello; and Piano Trio No. 5 in D Major, Op. 70, No.1 “Ghost.”
The “Ghost” trio was composed by Beethoven in 1808 as he was staying at the estate of Countess Marie von Erdody in Austria. There he wrote two trios for piano, violin and cello, even as this was around the time he composed his fifth and sixth symphonies.
The first of those trios, Op. 70, No. 1, featured an eerie-sounding second movement – so much so that composer Carl Czerny, who studied piano under Beethoven, wrote that it reminded him of the ghost of Hamlet’s father in Shakespeare’s famous play. Czerny’s nickname stuck, and the “Ghost” became one of Beethoven’s most popular piano trios.
Daytona Solisti was founded in 2005 by Acree after she moved to Daytona Beach from Atlanta. She previously played violin in the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra for 22 years, performing in New York (Carnegie Hall), London, Chicago, Paris and other cities.
Daytona Solisti presents an annual concert series featuring performances by the Daytona Solisti Chamber Orchestra, the Rickman-Acree-Corporon Piano Trio, and solo performances by Rickman, who is Solisti’s Artist-in-Residence. The ensembles are composed of professional musicians from throughout Central Florida and Northeast Florida.
Rickman has performed at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall at New York’s Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and at venues in London, Paris, Toronto, Chile, Latvia and across the United States. He retired from Stetson University in April 2017 after 34 years as professor of piano at the DeLand school, where he has been named Professor Emeritus. He also is a Steinway Artist, an honor bestowed by the prestigious piano maker.
Joseph Corporon is principal cellist and a founding member of the Daytona Solisti Chamber Orchestra. He also is a composer and an active freelance cellist in Central Florida.
Below is the remainder of Solisti’s 2023-24 season schedule. All concerts will be at 3:30 p.m. Sundays at Lighthouse Christ Presbyterian Church, 1035 W. Granada Blvd, Ormond Beach. Admission for each concert is a requested $20 donation.
Orchestral accompaniments are transcribed for string chamber orchestra. Programming is subject to change. Please check the website www.daytonasolisti.com for current updated information.
* Jan. 14, 2024 – The Rickman-Acree-Corporon Piano Trio performs “Romantic Realms – Music of Schubert.” The program is scheduled to include Schubert’s Piano Sonata No. 13 in A Major, and Piano Trio No. 1 in B-flat Major.
* Feb. 11, 2024 – The Daytona Solisti Chamber Orchestra performs its annual “Romancing the Strings” concert. The program will include Corporon’s Theme and Variations on Schmücke Dich (Johann Cruger); Haydn’s Allegro from Concerto for Violin and Harpsichord in F Major, featuring Acree on violin and Paige Dashner Long on harpsichord; and Beethoven’s Concerto for Violin in D Major, Op. 61, featuring violinist Olga Kolpakova.
* April 21, 2024 – The Daytona Solisti Chamber Orchestra performs “Mozartiana – Music of Mozart.” The program will include Grand Sestetto Concertante in E-flat Major, and Piano Concerto No. 22 in E-flat Major featuring Rickman on piano.
