This weekend the Marine Chamber Orchestra will kick off its 2025 concerts with Mozart’s 40th Symphony and Carl Maria von Weber’s second Clarinet Concerto in E-flat, Opus 74, along with works by Gioachino Rossini and Clara Schumann. Conducted by Assistant Director 1st Lt. Jose D. Toranzo, the free performance will take place at 2 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 9 at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center in Alexandria, Virginia.

Program and Notes

The program will begin with Rossini’s Overture to Semiramide, followed by von Weber’s second Clarinet Concerto, featuring soloist Master Sgt. Patrick Morgan. Referred to as “the last opera of the great Baroque tradition: the most beautiful, the most imaginative, possibly the most complete” by musicologist Rodolfo Celletti,” the broad variety of Semiramide’s overture musical timbres make it a perennial favorite. Also a favorite—especially in the clarinet world—the von Weber concerto utilizes the expressive range of the clarinet, from dark romanticism to virtuosic fireworks and explores both the rich and deep register and the piercing upper range.

Following the clarinet solo, Staff Sgt. Hannah Davis will take the stage to perform Mozart’s “Ach, ich fühl’s” from Die Zauberflöte, K. 620, and Schumann’s “Liebst du um Schönheit?,” Opus 12, No. 2. Davis first heard “Ach, ich fühl’s” in undergrad and really loved how the emotion affects the line. “There’s so much emotion in this piece,” Davis said. “I try to capture it by becoming the character and thinking about who I am singing to. The audience will love the long phrases and the high notes in this piece, because instead of them being large and big and ‘a-ha,’ they are very soft. It takes a lot more skill to hit those high notes very softly.”

Davis is also looking forward to performing Schumann’s “Liebst du um Schönheit?,” Opus 12, No. 2. She was introduced to the Opus 12 by Toranzo and is excited to perform it for the first time. It was written one year after Clara’s controversial marriage to Robert Schumann as a gift to him. Her father forbade their romance, and the couple petitioned the court for years to override his wishes. After the culmination of their successful efforts, Clara wrote three songs, Opus 12, the middle of which is this setting of poetry by Friedrich Ruckert. Though the music repeats underneath each verse, the text remains timeless. “If you love for beauty... if you love for youth...if you love for riches, oh love not me. [But] if you love for love... love me always; I shall love you forever.”

“The German language is gorgeous to sing,” Davis said. “It’s really challenging at times, but it’s going to be a beautiful journey.”

To conclude the journey on Sunday, the orchestra will play Mozart’s 40th Symphony, one of the most frequently performed works in the classical symphonic repertoire.

This performance will take place at 2 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 9 at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center in Alexandria, Va. The concert is free and open to the public.