Featured Artists
Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Marc-André Hamelin
Liszt’s piano concertos challenge even the most virtuosic pianists, and his passionate Second is no exception, traversing the keyboard with knuckle-cramping, breakneck passages that render the player’s hands a blur. Canadian pianist Marc-André Hamelin, a “marvelous, moving” artist (The New York Times) whose “technical finesse borders on the supernatural” (The Seattle Times), is more than equal to the challenge. Buckle up for a wild ride in this virtuoso display!
Liszt was a superstar in his time, as famous as the Beatles in theirs. A phenomenal pianist and composer, he had no qualms about creating fiendishly difficult passages for the performer, in service of lithe melodies and music of deep emotion. His Second Piano Concerto runs the gamut of moods from dreamy to stormy, enchanting audiences since its 1863 premiere.
Amy Beach was a phenomenon. Born in the 19th century, she was not just the first female American composer to gain international acclaim, she was also one of the first American composers of any gender to make a mark in the largely European world of orchestral classical music. Her “Gaelic” Symphony is a splendid example of her prodigious gifts, weaving traditional English, Scottish, and Irish songs into new melodies, blending the grandeur of the orchestra with the intimacy of an old familiar tune, evoking the joy and celebration of homecoming.
Program
Weber
Overture to Der Freischütz
Liszt
Piano Concerto No. 2
Beach
Symphony in E minor (“Gaelic”)
