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from the issue of February 9, 2006
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Eklund to direct 'Requiem' concert
BY MARY JANE BRUCE, UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
Nearly 300 students will be involved in a performance of "Requiem, K626" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at the Lied Center for Performing Arts Feb. 17.
The concert includes the University Singers, Collegiate Chorus and Concert Choir along with the University Symphony Orchestra and the Lincoln Southwest High School Chamber Choir. Peter Eklund, director of choral activities at the UNL School of Music, will direct the concert.
The concert comes during the 250th anniversary celebration of Mozart's birthday, Jan. 27, 1756 in Salzburg, Austria. For more than two centuries, the circumstances surrounding the creation of Mozart's Requiem have given rise to mystery and speculation.
"'Requiem, K626' is one of the most famous pieces, composed by one of the few undisputed geniuses of music," said Eklund. "The piece is shrouded in myth and filled with discrepancies."
Mozart was working on the piece when he died in 1791, leaving much of it unfinished. He had been commissioned to write the requiem and had already received partial payment. Mozart's widow, Constanze, was anxious for the incomplete work to be finished. The task was given to at least two other composers and students of Mozart, including Franz Xaver Süssmayr, who completed the score.
Scholarly controversy continues today over which parts of the manuscript are Mozart's work and which parts were added later.
Eklund will conduct a version of Mozart's "Requiem" that is considered more historically accurate than others that have been performed over the years. It was edited by Harvard music professor Robert Levin and is a scholarly version based on research and music archeology. For example, Eklund said music historians are able to analyze the ink on manuscripts to determine when various sections of the work were added. Research has helped clear up some of the inaccuracies and confusion surrounding "Requiem."
Despite the controversy, "Requiem" is a powerful and impassioned work that Eklund said the students are excited to perform. Featured soloists are UNL graduate students and recent alumni.
"The students see the magic of the 'Requiem,'" he said. "And the audience is in for a treat."
Tickets for the 7:30 p.m. concert are $29, $24 and $19 for general reserved seating; half price for student/youth 18 and younger. For more information, call 472-4747.
GO TO: ISSUE OF FEBRUARY 9
ARTS HEADLINES FOR FEBRUARY 9
Eklund to direct 'Requiem' concert
YORUBA LECTURE
American Life in poetry
Best picture nominee 'Capote' continues to show at the Ross
'Darwin's Nightmare' movie talk is Feb. 12
'Syrian Bride' plays through Feb. 16
732351S35483X
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