The boys are back in town! Come to play with the Chappaqua Orchestra

Edward Arron
May 21, 2010
by Michael Shapiro

Yes, the boys are back in town at 3:00 p.m. this Sunday, May 23, 2010, at the Greeley High School Auditorium in Chappaqua.  World-renowned artists, violinist Tim Fain and cellist Edward Arron, join The Chappaqua Orchestra and me in what we are calling the BIG concert.

No overtures, no symphonies, just three great works for soloists and orchestras played by two of our favorite colleagues.  The beloved Mendelssohn Violin Concerto and Brahms’ epic Double Concerto as well as the lovely Silent Woods by Dvorak are the featured works on the program.

Tim Fain was our Artist-in-Residence three years ago.  Since then he has gone on to play Einstein on the Beach at Carnegie Hall with Phillip Glass, performed with Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony and premiered many new works.  Eddie Arron, a graduate of Horace Greeley High School, is the son of once Whipporwill residents Ron Arron, former violist at the MET and the Cincinnati Symphony orchestras, and the late Judith Arron, who led Carnegie Hall for many years. Eddie has become (since he played the Elgar Cello Concerto with us six years ago) the director of chamber music at Caramoor and at the Metropolitan Museum concert series, as well as several other chamber music festivals.

Tim Fain, photo by Briana Blasko

We went to hear Tim and Eddie play with pianist Andrew Armstrong at the Kosciusko Foundation two years back, and after an incendiary concert in which they played off each other like dueling swordsmen, I couldn’t hold myself back and asked them to play the Brahms’ Double Concerto with us.  My imagination leapt to the image of the two of them blazing in this magnificent work, trading melodic lines and outdoing each other in passionate phrasing and virtuosity.  They both agreed immediately. 

Then we thought greedily: Having both of them at one concert makes this event particularly special.  But what if they could also play one other piece alone with orchestra? At once I thought of my favorite concerto for violin, which every musician knows as “The Mendelssohn.”  So I asked Tim to make a dream come true.  And he agreed!  Eddie then remarked that he loves playing the little heard Silent Woods of Dvorak, a calm and perfect contrast to the other pieces. It was only left to set a date, and we were off to the races.

Yes, I’m enthusiastic about all our events.  But stop whatever you’re doing on Sunday, May 23, 2010, and rush to the Greeley Auditorium at 3:00 pm.  I can guarantee that you will never again hear the intense beauty of these pieces in such an intimate setting and by better soloists.  No need to drive to Manhattan, pay high prices to park and eat, and sit one thousand people away from the soloists.  Your orchestra is presenting the BIG concert, and it will be unique.  I can’t wait.

Tickets for adults are $20, students 18 and under free! For additional information about the concert and tickets, go to www.chappaquaorchestra.org.

Michael Shapiro is the Music Director and Conductor of The Chappaqua Orchestra.

Tim Fain, photo by Randy Seligman

Edward Arron