“There are many different versions of the regional symphony orchestra,” writes Keith Powers in Tuesday’s (11/3) Enterprise (Brockton, Mass.) “But all of them do it for the love of music. And when one of these groups loses its leader, the very existence of the ensemble gets called into question. Such a crisis faced Newton’s New Philharmonia Orchestra, when its conductor and founding music director Ronald Knudsen passed away in March. Fortunately for the New Phil, Francisco Noya … has agreed to stay on for the current New Phil season, which opens this weekend. … Knudsen was an esteemed member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra violin section for 48 years…. The ties between the New Phil and the BSO have always been strong…. The BSO’s principal second violinist, Haldan Martinson, performs as soloist for Saturday’s opening concert [in] the Dvorák violin concerto. … In February, ‘We are performing Shostakovich’s music for Hamlet,’ Noya says. ‘It’s a suite that Ron [Knudsen] put together himself from the film score.’ The performance includes onstage realizations from the play … ‘It’s very important that we continue this tradition of good amateur groups,’ Noya says. … ‘These players are very smart, and they make a lot of things possible.’ ”
Posted November 5, 2015
