Art comes to life. The great orchestra showpiece Pictures at an Exhibition started out as an extended piano suite in 10 movements by Mussorgsky. That is until a half-century later, when Maurice Ravel had the good sense to see its true potential for a full orchestra. His orchestration has been a showstopper ever since. With a heady, cinematic feel, Korngold’s Violin Concerto pulls from his career as a staff composer for Warner Brothers, where he wrote music for 22 films and won two Oscars. Rounding out the program is Paul Hindemith’s Mathis der Maler, inspired by 16th-century artist Matthias Grünewald.

These audio program notes include music excerpts.

Masterworks 12 of the 24/25 Season
Performances April 26 & 27, 2025

Is it possible to find someone who cannot hum a bit of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons -- arguably one of the most enduring works of all time? Vivaldi presents a musical travelogueof spring, summer, autumn and winter, complete with bird songs, shimmering creeks, a thunderstorm, peasant’s dance and a freezing ice storm. It’s exuberant and captivating every time. Another masterpiece on the program is Mozart’s Symphony No. 39, one of three symphonies that he completed in just six weeks in the summer of 1788. The opening has been described as “so majestic that it so surprised even the coldest, most insensitive listener.”

These audio program notes include music excerpts.

Masterworks 11 of the 24/25 Season
Performances April 4 & 5, 2025

This program spotlights an unusual instrument for a classical program: the saxophone. For Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, the tenor saxophone makes a rare appearance in a symphony orchestra with the theme representing Juliet. Of Prokofiev’s nine ballet scores, this is his finest – even though he originally wrote a happy ending to Shakespeare’s tragedy. An “altered” version was performed, however. The saxophone is front and center for A Kind of Trane Saxophone Concerto, written as an homage to the great jazz saxophonist John Coltrane. The concert begins with John Adams’ Short Ride in a Fast Machine, a four-minute jaunt inspired by a terrifying ride in a Ferrari.

These audio program notes include music excerpts.

Masterworks 10 of the 24/25 Season
Performance Mar 30, 2025