The BYU Philharmonic showcases Russian masterworks
On Tuesday, November 16, the BYU Philharmonic will be performing their fall concert playing music of “the three most celebrated Russian composers of the 20th century: Dmitri Shostakovich, Igor Stravinsky, and Sergei Prokofiev. Each one is a giant in his own right, but a program that features all three is truly monumental,” said orchestra director Kory Katseanes.
The program begins with a suite from Shostakovich’s score to the 1955 movie “The Gadfly.” Many audiences don’t know the film music of Shostakovich, though he scored more than thirty films during his lifetime. “The Gadfly” is his most well-known score, and a BYU premiere on this concert.
The second work on the program is the popular “The Firebird Suite,” taken from the first of Stravinsky’s three great ballets. Compiled by the composer in 1919, ten years after the premiere of the full ballet, this shorter version is the one most often heard on the concert stage, and demonstrates the new direction Stravinsky was taking classical music.
The program concludes with a suite from Prokofiev’s greatest ballet, “Romeo and Juliet.” The Philharmonic will perform a suite of movements assembled by Katseanes that follow the original Shakespeare story and tell this tragic tale. The music “masterfully and powerfully” depicts the characters and the story, and will leave listeners with “renewed appreciation for this timeless tale,” said Katseanes.
This eventful evening will take place on Tuesday, November 16 at 7:30 p.m in the de Jong concert hall in the Harris Fine Arts Building.
For more information, visit arts.byu.edu.