Dance the year away

New Year's Eve is a time for looking back on the previous year, considering one's triumphs and mistakes, and resolving to do better next year.

But the end of the year is also a time for relaxing and cutting loose. Accordingly, the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra has prepared an entertaining New Year's concert of classical European dance music with special guest conductor Ion Marin.

The three-night concert run will feature a program of 15 pieces, ranging from Sibelius' Valse triste Op. 44 to Dvořák's Prague Waltzes. What follows  are just some of the highlights audiences can expect to hear at this seasonal performance.

Several of the evening's pieces will be familiar to listeners, as they are taken from some of the most beloved ballets and operas of the past two centuries. Tchaikovsky's dramatic Swan Lake Waltz, two of Chopin's waltzes from La Sylphide and selections from Smetana's The Bartered Bride will be no surprise to regular theatergoers, but the performance of these pieces without dramatic accompaniment will foreground the work of these spectacular composers.

As is appropriate for an evening of dance music, the program has more than its fair share of waltzes. But other dance styles are represented as well. Fučík's Virtuoso Polka for Bassoon, Starý bručoun will introduce the polka into this lively concert set predominantly in three-quarter time.

Sibelius' Valse triste Op. 44, or "sad waltz," was originally composed for the play Kuolema by Arvid Järnefelt, the conductor's brother-in-law. The play was not a success, but Sibelius' elegantly melancholic music immediately grabbed the public's attention, and he developed this waltz into a separate concert piece.

One of the more unlikely - or less commonly performed - pieces of the evening will be Maurice Jarre's Lara theme from the film version of Boris Pasternak's novel Dr. Zhivago. This wistful piece has airs of Italian opera and is taken from one of the French composer's greatest film scores.

In a juxtaposition that is sure to be rewarding, several Hungarian dance pieces will be featured on the program, from Ravel, Brahms and Dvořák. Brahms' Hungarian Dances were among the conductor's most popular and lighthearted pieces of music. The Czech Philharmonic's selections, Numbers 20 and 21, were arranged by Dvořák, who greatly admired the elder German composer.

Besides Dvořák's arrangements of Brahms, the beloved Czech composer's Prague Waltzes, a short, energetic piece of music, will also be performed.

The varied program, offering more than a few rarely heard gems, should be enough to entice crowds to the Rudolfinum, but the guest conductor, Marin, also deserves special mention.

Marin began his musical training as a composer, conductor and pianist in Bucharest before defecting from Romania in 1986 and traveling to the Salzburg Mozarteum to continue his studies. Later the conductor studied at the Accademia Chiggiana in Siena. Between 1987 and 1991, Marin was resident conductor at the Vienna Staatsoper. He has since gone on to conduct orchestras including the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and many others. Along the way, Marin has collaborated with some of the world's most renowned soloists, including Yo-Yo Ma, Gidon Kremer, Martha Argerich and Sarah Chang.

In addition to Marin's distinguished record of performances, his recordings have earned him three Grammy nominations as well as several other awards, including an Alfred Schnittke medal and the Daipason Palme d'Or.

Marin's appearance in Prague with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra playing some of the greatest dance music in the European tradition will be a rare treat and the perfect way to round off 2010 and welcome the new year.

Stephan Delbos can be reached at
sdelbos@praguepost.com