Paul Huang. Photo: Marco Borggreve
By PAM HARBAUGH
When you listen to rising star Paul Huang step on stage at the King Center to play Max Bruch’s “Scottish Fantasy” with the Brevard Symphony Orchestra, you should hear something divine. The sweet sounds of not only an exciting violinist, but also those of a sweet instrument — a 1742 ex-Wieniawski Guarneri del Gesù.
As is the case with so many well acclaimed musicians, the instrument he plays is a precious one which is loaned to him by a generous foundation. For Mr. Huang, that Guarneri violin was loaned to him by its owner, the Stradivari Society of Chicago.
Paul Huang. Photo: Marco Borggreve
And really, there is nothing like that first note coaxed from a rare instrument. You’ll remember it always. It could even bring tears from its sheer beauty.
“It’s just incredible,” said my husband, John, who plays viola with the BSO. “It’s as if he’s playing on air.”
And that’s only part of the treat for Saturday’s concert, “Scottish Spring.”
Maestro Christopher Confessore, both the BSO’s conductor and its music director, has brought together a concert that celebrates the nature of springtime. Other works on the program are Robert Schumann’s Symphony No. 1 “Spring” and Peter Maxwell Davies’ “An Orkney Wedding, with Sunrise.”
Here is what the Maestro says about the concert: “We welcome spring on March 12th with a performance of Robert Schumann’s Spring Symphony, a work completed in a burst of inspiration at lightning speed – just over a month! After intermission, we’re transported to Scotland with Bruch’s rhapsodic Scottish Fantasy featuring Paul Huang, a young violinist whose star is on the rise. Peter Maxwell Davies’ An Orkney Wedding, with Sunrise brings the concert to a celebratory and unforgettable conclusion!” (Source, BrevardSymphony.com.)
Mr. Huang is recipient of the prestigious 2015 Avery Fisher Career Grant, the 2011 Young Artists International Auditions and the 2009 International Violin Competition Sion-Valais in Switzerland plus many more. Born in Taiwan, he started Juilliard’s pre-college program when he was only 14 years old. He received a fellowship to continue his studies at The Juilliard School where he graduated with a master’s degree.
The concert will be held twice, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday at the King Center for the Performing Arts, 3865 N. Wickham Road, Melbourne. Tickets begin at $39. A special price of $5 to $6 for BSO Kids Concert Club Members. Call 321-242-2219, visit KingCenter.com or BrevardSymphony.com.
