The Florence Symphony Orchestra performed at the Performing Arts Center (PAC) in downtown Florence on Oct. 9 to celebrate the beginning of its 75th season.
The performance featured guest artist Eric Shultz on the clarinet. To begin, the orchestra performed the Danse Macabre, Op. 40 by Camille Saint-Saens. The Danse Macabre, or “Dance of Death,” is one of the most common musical themes from the Middle Ages. Its origins lie with the infamous Black Plague that killed millions of Europeans during the period.
The Opera is meant to invoke deep emotions, with its instrumentals being designed to imitate several ideas such as bones cracking and even death itself. The selection was chosen to represent the spooky nature of the Halloween season.
Eric Shultz joined the orchestra to begin the Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in f minor, Op. 73, by Carl Maria von Weber. The concerto focuses heavily on clarinet and was picked for that very reason. This piece is also designed to intentionally bring out feelings of dread and horror in the audience.
The second and final performance of the evening was Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73 by Johannes Brahms. Brahms is known as a purist in the musical world, with his works focusing on the music itself rather than the symbolism. The symphony features notes of Brahm’s famous “Cradle Song” melody with horns blowing before the strings bellow to finish the concerto.
“The ending of the concerto reminded me of summer storms here in South Carolina, heavy thunder with flashes of lightning followed abruptly by bright, fragrant skies,” Ashley Kipping, resident of Florence, said. “Truly beautiful and frightful, all at once.”
The orchestra received standing ovations and roaring applause from the crowd in attendance.