The Circus Comes to the TSO
On our Musical Tour through Europe at this weekend's concerts, one of our more colorful stops is in the Czech Republic.
Dr. Luke Howard tells us a little more...
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Almost nobody today outside of the Czech Republic knows the name of the late 19th-century Bohemian composer Julius Fučík. But almost anybody who hears his 1897 grand march, “Entrance of the Gladiators,” recognizes it immediately.
The title of Fučík’s march grew from his deep interest in the Roman Empire, but today the march, especially when played as a “screamer march,” is also known as “Thunder and Blazes,” and is heard almost exclusively as the stereotypical “clown music” from the circus.
This association dates back to 1901, only four years after the work was composed, when American circus bands started to play it as a way of exciting the crowd before a grand circus parade.
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There won't be any popcorn or candied apples, but we will have some cookies afterward.
Come enjoy the Circus with us on Friday & Saturday night, 7:30pm at Timberline Middle School in Alpine.
Sincerely,
Dr. Douglas Pew, Associate Conductor