The Overture Center and the Madison Symphony Orchestra hosted the world renouned, British violinist Daniel Hope on March 6. A prelude talk given by Teryl Dobbs, associate professor and music education chair at UW-Madison, opened the event.

A Q&A formatted discussion followed this an hour before the show opened. With vivacious energy and extensive knowledge, Dobbs gave a background of the three featured composers: Franz Waxman, Miklós Rózsa, and Erich Korngold.

This concert series featured composers from the ’30s and ’40s who escaped the Nazi regime and prospered in Hollywood. Although each composer significantly contributed to the soundtracks of the film noir genre of the ’40s, each composer has a different essence, style and use of techniques that set them apart from each other, that proved to be evident throughout the course of the performance.

The event began with classical compositions from each composer. Waxman’s “Sinfonietta for string Orchestra and Timpani” was exhilarating and suspenseful; it was a brilliant opening to the performance and immediately captivated the audience. Followed by Rózsa’s “Theme, Variations and Finale, Op. 13a” and Korngold’s “Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D Major, Op. 35.”

To end the evening, the orchestra performed pieces from each of the Hollywood composers most well known productions. Beginning with two selections from “Ben-Hur” by Rósza’ and his “Love Theme” from “Spellbound,” the players followed with Korngold’s “Suite from Captain Blood,” and finally, Waxman’s “The Ride of Cossacks” from “Taras Bulba.”

Conductor John DeMain’s incredible enthusiasm drove the entire performance. Hope’s passion and stage presence were impressive and enthralling. The Madison Symphony Orchestra was a magnificent opportunity to experience and learn something new.

Students can visit the Madison Symphony Orchestra websitehttp://www.madisonsymphony.org/studentrush to see availability for discounted Student Rush Tickets for upcoming Madison Symphony Orchestra events.