Featured Artists
Santtu-Matias Rouvali
Hilary Hahn
Three great classics in one must-hear program! Superstar violinist Hilary Hahn performs the melodic Prokofiev Violin Concerto No. 2, flanked by performances of one of Tchaikovsky’s most buoyantly joyful works and Shostakovich’s powerful Sixth Symphony. A great concert to share, whether you’re a longtime classical music buff or new to the experience.
Since her debut at age 12, Hilary Hahn has earned rave reviews for her versatility and virtuosity, playing at times with “with grace and poise,” at others “wild but contained” (The Strad). This shape-shifting super talent is the perfect match for Prokofiev’s Second Violin Concerto, a study in dark and light.
When Dmitri Shostakovich wrote his Sixth Symphony in Stalin’s Soviet Union, the power of the politburo was absolute, and fear reigned. Never knowing if his music would be championed or banned and called upon to write musical screeds that hewed to the party line, Shostakovich was forced to communicate dissent in sly musical jokes, hiding clues to his feelings in musical turns that today reveal his courage and independence. His Sixth Symphony opens in melancholy and pivots to quicksilver joy, a testament to his composing prowess, but also to his integrity. This powerful work marks a milestone in The Philadelphia Orchestra’s history: Leopold Stokowski and the Orchestra gave the piece’s premiere outside the Soviet Union and made its world premiere recording, both in 1940.
The London Times says “music unmistakably flows from” Finnish conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali, who draws extraordinary sound from orchestras: “the strings were a blaze of scorching sunlight, the woodwind and brass bold and gleaming.” Experience these classics in the hands of a master!
Program
Tchaikovsky
Capriccio italien
Prokofiev
Violin Concerto No. 2
Shostakovich
Symphony No. 6