World-renowned violinist Tim Fain performs with the Helena Symphony.
World-renowned violinist Tim Fain joins the Helena Symphony for a performance at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 27 in the Helena Civic Center. Fain, a resident of Hamilton, was seen on screen and heard on the Grammy-nominated soundtrack to the film, “Black Swan,” can be heard on the soundtrack to “Moonlight,” and gave “voice” to the violin of the lead actor in the hit film “12 Years a Slave,” as he did with Richard Gere’s violin in the film “Bee Season.”
He’s also a resident of the Bitterroot Valley. “I’m so thankful to have a home base with my family in such a beautiful, tight-knit community,” he told the
. “Living close to my wife’s family makes it possible for me to pursue these projects while giving my children a great place to grow up.”
A winner of an Avery Fisher Career Grant and recipient of the Young Concert Artists International Award, Fain has appeared internationally as soloist with the Baltimore Symphony and Cabrillo Festival with Marin Alsop, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Pittsburgh, Hague and Buffalo Philharmonics, Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestras, and National Orchestra of Spain. He has appeared in recitals in the world’s major music capitals, and has toured with musicians from Marlboro, as a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and around the globe in a duo-recital program with Philip Glass. His multi-media solo evening, “Portals,” premiered to sold-out audiences on both coasts and continues to travel world-wide.
He has collaborated with an eclectic array of artists from Pinchas Zukerman and Mitsuko Uchida, the Mark Morris Dance Group and New York City Ballet, to Iggy Pop, Rob Thomas (Matchbox 20), and Bryce Dessner (The National). He has also performed for the Dalai Lama.
Fain’s discography includes River of Light, (Naxos), and Philip Glass: The Concerto Project IV with The Hague Philharmonic, and plays on Philip Glass (Orange Mountain Music) and First Loves (VIA).
Fain performs on a violin made by Francesco Gobetti in Venice, 1717, the “Möller”; it’s on extended loan from Clement and Karen Arrison through the generous efforts of the Stradivari Society of Chicago.
Fain makes his HSO debut performing the rustic vitality of Dvorák’s Violin Concerto. Born in a small Bohemian Czech village to an innkeeper and part-time butcher, Dvorák’s upbringing instilled in him a love for the countryside and its people, a love that inspired his music. Composed in 1879, the concerto is rooted in the nationalist music of his Czech background, syncopated dance-like rhythms, and a rustic ‘old world’ feel.
Bohemian Gypsy Music
The Bohemian Gypsy music continues with dances by Johannes Brahms and Hungarian composer Zoltán Kodály. Kodály is remembered most for promoting, collecting, and documenting the music of his country, especially folk music and gypsy songs. He firmly believed that folksongs (music passed down from generations) were the source that connected the country’s past with its future and worked tirelessly to promote the popularization of folksong into mainstream culture.
Composed in 1933, Dances of Galánta evokes a post-liberation era between two world wars, and musically captures a Hungary after centuries of catastrophes, giving a new sense of identity, dignity, and new bridge to the rest of Europe. The result is a brilliantly orchestrated and exciting foot-stamping work.
In his 20s, Johannes Brahms discovered the ethnic, peasant-like Gypsy music of Central Europe. Composing 21 dances for four-hand piano that were later orchestrated, Brahms knew the Hungarian Dances would be popular with audiences because dance-style pieces were fashionable as were the exotic sounds of the Gypsy culture. The seductive sounds of this earthy, tangy, foot-stomping, finger-snapping, hand-clapping music still intrigues, fascinates, and enamors.
Tickets can be purchased ($12-$52 plus a $5 transaction fee) online at www.helenasymphony.org, by calling the Symphony Box Office (406-442-1860), or visiting the Symphony Box Office located on the Walking Mall at the Livestock Building (2 N. Last Chance Gulch, Suite 1) between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.