Led by Music Director Carl St.Clair, concert also includes
Bartók’s “Concerto for Orchestra” and Glinka’s “Russlan and Ludmilla”
Gorgeous and grand, one of the repertoire’s most-loved and instantly recognizable concertos, Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, becomes the centerpiece of an orchestral showcase led by Music Director Carl St.Clair, continuing Pacific Symphony’s 35th anniversary season. Demanding virtuosity and superb technique to deliver its pounding parallel chords and rapid finger work, Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece is in the skillful hands of Korean pianist Joyce Yang, who has been hailed by the Washington Post for her “poetic and sensitive pianism… capable of hurtling thunderbolts.”
Yang returns to the Symphony after a performance two seasons’ ago of another Russian masterwork, Rachmaninoff’s Third, when she was praised by the Orange County Register for her “genuine enthusiasm” and “singing elegance.” The evening opens with Glinka’s joyous Overture to “Russlan and Ludmilla,” showing off the orchestra with loud, fast and virtuosic playing. The finale then bursts with color as each of the instruments are treated like soloists in Bartók’s “Concerto for Orchestra.”
Capturing passionate musical statements throughout, the concert takes place Thursday through Saturday, Dec. 12-14, at 8 p.m., in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. A preview talk with Alan Chapman begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are $25-$185; for more information or to purchase tickets, call (714) 755-5799 or visit www.PacificSymphony.org.
