Capriccio espagnol
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
This evening’s program opens with a Russian work that has become nearly synonymous with Spanish musical style: Capriccio espagnol by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Since its premiere in St. Petersburg in 1887, it has remained a staple of the orchestral repertoire.
As a young man, Rimsky-Korsakov showed great aptitude for math and science before music ultimately captured his heart. He would go on to become part of “The Five,” a circle of Russian composers devoted to forging a distinctly Russian musical identity. Ironically, Rimsky-Korsakov is now widely celebrated for this Spanish-flavored showpiece.
He turned to Capriccio espagnol while orchestrating his friend (and fellow member of “The Five”) Alexander Borodin’s opera Prince Igor. Inspiration also came from his naval years, when he anchored in a Spanish port during his Mediterranean travels. His goal was to capture his impressions of Spain in music. Originally conceived as a violin fantasy on Spanish themes, the work instead blossomed into a dazzling orchestral showcase.
Traces of that original plan remain in the many solo violin passages, though the finished score spreads its brilliance across the orchestra. Divided into five sections, the work is unified by the recurring “Alborada,” marked Vivo e strepitoso (“lively and noisy”). The alborada, a traditional Spanish morning song, bursts forth here as a raucous wake-up call with spirited solos for violin and clarinet. A variation movement follows, built on a noble horn melody that is passed among different instrumental combinations.
The Alborada returns in a new key, this time with the violin and clarinet exchanging their solos, before yielding to the longest section, the Scena e canto gitano (“Scene and Gypsy Song”). Introduced by a rolling snare drum and trumpet-horn fanfare, this movement highlights a parade of solo instruments—including violin, clarinet, and oboe—before plunging into the fiery Gypsy Song. From there, the violins drive directly into the concluding Fandango, capped by a brief but brilliant recall of the opening Alborada to bring the piece to a thrilling close.
Cello Concerto No. 2 in D Major
Franz Joseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn (1732–1809) composed his second cello concerto in D Major around 1783 for the celebrated cellist Anton Kraft. Kraft, who had also studied composition with Haydn, premiered the work. For a long time, scholars even suspected Kraft himself had written the concerto—until the discovery of Haydn’s signed autograph in 1951 confirmed its true authorship.
This concerto is considerably more demanding than Haydn’s earlier C Major concerto of the 1760s, likely tailored to Kraft’s formidable technique. Haydn may even have worked directly with Kraft in shaping the solo part. At the time, Haydn was primarily occupied with overseeing opera productions at the Esterházy court and writing symphonies only occasionally, so the commission of a cello concerto might have felt like something of a departure.
Nonetheless, the result was a masterpiece that has remained a cornerstone of the cello repertoire. Since the late nineteenth century, it has become a favorite virtuoso showcase, often performed with expanded orchestration to suit Romantic tastes, though its elegance and balance still reveal Haydn at his Classical best.
Pines of Rome
Ottorino Respighi
Ottorino Respighi achieved what once seemed unthinkable: becoming an Italian composer celebrated for orchestral music rather than opera. While his attempts at opera met with little success, he went on to create the first significant Italian contributions to the orchestral repertoire since the Baroque era. A student of Rimsky-Korsakov, Respighi inherited his teacher’s gift for orchestration and adapted it to his own distinctly Italian sensibility.
In the early 20th century, Respighi stood somewhat apart from his contemporaries such as Igor Stravinsky and Arnold Schoenberg, who were redefining musical modernism. His aim was not to shock or innovate at all costs, but rather, as one critic put it, “to compose music that would speak to his compatriots about all aspects of their beloved country in a musical language that was beautiful and easy to accept and enjoy.” He treated the orchestra like a painter’s canvas, layering it with rich, luminous colors.
The Pines of Rome (1924) is the second in his trilogy of Roman tone poems, following Fountains of Rome and preceding Roman Festivals. Its premiere was such a triumph that Respighi’s wife Elsa recalled how the final bars were drowned out by frenzied applause, and a repeat performance was quickly arranged just two weeks later to another sold-out audience.
Respighi provided these poetic descriptions for The Pines of Rome:
I. The Pines of the Villa Borghese. “Children are at play in the pine groves of Villa Borghese; they dance around in circles, they play with soldiers, marching and fighting, they are wrought up by their own cries like swallows in the evening, they come and go in swarms. Suddenly the scene changes, and ...”
II. Pine Trees Near a Catacomb. “We see the shades of the pine trees fringing the entrance to a catacomb. From the depth rises the sound of mournful psalm-singing, floating through the air like a solemn hymn, and gradually and mysteriously dispersing.”
III. The Pines of the Janiculum. “A quiver [piano] runs through the air: the pine trees of the Janiculum stand distinctly outlined in the clear light of a full moon. A nightingale is singing.”
IV. The Pine Trees of the Appian Way. “Misty dawn on the Appian Way: solitary pine trees guarding the magic landscape; the muffled, ceaseless rhythms of unending footsteps. The poet has a fantastic vision of bygone glories: trumpets sound, and, in the brilliance of the newly risen sun, a consular army bursts forth toward the Sacred Way, mounting in triumph to the Capitol.”
Cori Trenczer
Cori is a cellist, chamber musician, and teacher from the Hudson Valley region of New York. Coming from a musical family and a family of educators, Cori is both an avid performer and a teacher to a robust studio of cello students.
Cori has their Bachelor's degree in Cello Performance from the Eastman School of Music and they are pursuing a Masters Degree in Cello Performance with Professor Ezerman at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Cori is also a section cellist with the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra, as well as a substitute cellist with the Winston-Salem Symphony and the South Carolina Philharmonic. A devoted chamber musician, Cori has furthered their experience with their classmates in the Juniper Quartet, along with colleagues at summer programs such as the Castleman Quartet Program, Green Lake Chamber Music Institute, and Emerald Coast Festival of Music.
Also passionate about contemporary music, Cori has played in various new music ensembles including but not limited to: OSSIA New Music, Musica Nova, and Switch~Ensemble. They have worked with several composer colleagues during their undergraduate degree and their masters so far, and would absolutely love to explore more newly created work. Cori currently has a studio of 11 online cello students, ranging from age 10 to mid 20s. Cori is on the faculty at Moore Music Company where they teach an additional 5 students in person. Cori also teaches 2 students in person through the UNCG Community Lessons Program.
Cori is in the process of creating and editing a method book called "Smorgasbord for your Fingerboard: Volume One Songs for the Beginning Cellist". This is a method book full of works by living young composers from many underrepresented groups and will be released in January 2026.
Jungho Kim
Dr. Jungho Kim has established an outstanding reputation over the past two decades for his superb musicality and leadership on the podium. He has conducted numerous orchestras around the world including the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Canada, Savaria Symphony Orchestra and Dohnanyi Orchestra Budafok in Hungary, Northwest Iowa Symphony Orchestra, Omaha Symphony Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic, and Buffalo Philharmonic. After successfully leading the Augustana University Orchestra, Kim has served as the Director of Orchestra at the Hugh A. Glauser School of Music at Kent State University. He was recently named Music Director and Conductor of the Cleveland Women’s Orchestra as well as the Tuscarawas Philharmonic.
Following his first professional three-year position as a section violinist at Gyeonggi Philharmonic Orchestra in Korea, Kim went on to earn two master’s degrees in violin performance and orchestral conducting from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music. It was the renowned conductor Maestra Xian Zhang—Music Director of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and La Verdi Orchestra Sinfonica in Milan, Italy—who offered Kim the position as Associate Conductor of the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra.
Kim completed the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the Eastman School of Music under the guidance of Maestro Neil Varon. He served as the assistant conductor of the Rochester Philharmonic and was awarded the Walter Hagen Conducting Prize during his doctoral studies. Along with the opportunities he has had to study with world famous artists, such as Maestro Kurt Masur and Pinchas Zukerman, his most meaningful successes in life have been meeting his wife, violinist Dr. Eunho Kim, and raising their two boys, Teo and Juno, as well as their dog, Kobi.