03-09-01

By Marge Victor, 541-737-5592
SOURCE: OSU Music Department, 541-737-4061

CORVALLIS - The combined Oregon State University Choirs will join the Corvallis-OSU Symphony Orchestra for a gala evening of choral-orchestral masterworks featuring Mozart's Requiem, on Sunday, March 18.

The performance, directed by Steven Zielke, OSU director of choral studies, begins at 7:30 p.m. in LaSells Stewart Center.

Soloists include OSU voice faculty members Jill Soltero, soprano; Lisa Actor, mezzo-soprano; and Richard Poppino, baritone; as well as David Howell, tenor; and Mikkel Iverson, bass.

Following intermission, the choirs, orchestra, and soloists will return for a rousing set of opera choruses including "Brindizi" from Verdi's "La Traviata," "Habanera" from Bizet's "Carmen," and the famous "Triumphal Scene" from Verdi's "Aida."

The performance is OSU's second annual Choral Classics Concert. Last year's sold-out performance of Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana" was the first in what Zielke hopes will be a long tradition of choral-orchestral masterworks.

"The choral-orchestral masterworks offer choral students and audiences an opportunity to experience the finest in dramatic and powerful music," Zielke said. "For many students, last year's 'Carmina' was the highlight of their year. Mozart's Requiem is also a very powerful piece and I want to share it with them."

From almost the moment of Mozart's death, his powerful magnum opus has been shrouded in legend and mystery. The legend continued with the 1984 Academy Award-winning film, "Amadeus," which depicted composer Antonio Salieri as insanely jealous of a zany and quirky Mozart.

In that film, Salieri visited Mozart as the "gray messenger" and commissioned a requiem, or a mass for the dead. Mozart, convinced that he had been commissioned to write his own requiem, fell ill - perhaps even poisoned by Salieri - and died. Salieri, who is at Mozart's side during his passing, assists Mozart in completing the unfinished score. Salieri eventually is driven insane by his crime and later confesses to killing the great Mozart.

As entertaining as the myth may be, the film provided more fiction than fact and perhaps missed a more interesting story. Antonio Salieri did not commission the work. That honor belonged to Count von Walsegg, an enthusiastic amateur musician who had a reputation for commissioning works from well-known composers, copying scores in his own hand, and performing them in his court as his compositions.

The commission of the requiem had special significance as it was intended to commemorate the year anniversary of the passing of his wife. In addition, Salieri almost certainly did not complete the work - a task that likely fell to Mozart's protégé, Franz Süssmayr. Although he was not Mozart's most distinguished student, he was with Mozart during his final days and had worked closely with him on the composition.

Exactly how much of the requiem was completed by Mozart and how much was composed by Süssmayr may never be known.

Admission to the concert is $12 for adults, $8 for students, and free for OSU students with ID at the door. Tickets are available at the OSU Department of Music, Gracewinds Music, Grassroots Bookstore, and Sid Stevens Jewelers in Albany.

For more information, call 541-737-4061.

Note to Reporters: Photo opportunities are available on Monday, March 12, from 7 to 9:30 p.m. at the LeSells Stewart Center.

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