Brahms’ First Piano Concerto is vast in its scope, requiring dexterity, power, and grace from the soloist—the phenomenally versatile Garrick Ohlsson in these performances—as well as storms of expression from the orchestra. It is a concerto in which the orchestra and soloist are truly equal partners in storytelling. Two 20th Century classics, both with unusual instrumentation, open this concert. Music Director Laureate Leonard Slatkin conducts.
From the riveting street fight between the Montagues and Capulets to the ravishing love theme, Tchaikovsky’s overture is beloved by audiences for its musical depictions of scenes from Shakespeare’s tragedy. British saxophonist Jess Gillam performs the world premiere of a concerto written for her ...
Eerie strings, careening woodwinds, and foreboding brass portray a witches’ sabbath in Mussorgsky’s tone poem, expertly arranged after the composer’s death by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Grieg’s Piano Concerto opens with a famous and forceful descending motif before exploring melodic ideas influence...
