2 minute read
Opening Weekend Celebration program
BNY MELLON GRAND CLASSICS | HEINZ HALL
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2021 AT 8:00 P.M. SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2021 AT 2:30 P.M.
Manfred Honeck, conductor Hélène Grimaud, piano Jim Cunningham, host
John Stafford Smith The Star-Spangled Banner
Mikhail Glinka
Overture to Ruslan and Ludmila
Maurice Ravel
Concerto in G major for Piano and Orchestra I. Allegramente II. Adagio assai III. Presto
Ms. Grimaud
Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Opus 36 I. Andante sostenuto — Moderato con anima II. Andantino in modo di canzona III. Scherzo: Pizzicato ostinato (Allegro) IV. Finale: Allegro con fuoco
Jessica Linnebach, Guest Concertmaster (Associate Concertmaster, National Arts Centre Orchestra)
GRAND CLASSICS TITLE SPONSOR MEDIA SPONSOR
MIKHAIL GLINKA Overture to Ruslan and Ludmila
Mikhail Glinka was born in Smolensk, Russia on June 1, 1804, and died in Berlin, Germany on February 15, 1857. His opera Ruslan and Ludmila was composed between 1837 and 1842, and it received its premiere on December 9, 1842, at the Bolshoi Theatre in Saint Petersburg. The second of his two operas, Ruslan and Ludmila is one of the composer’s most well-known works. The Pittsburgh Symphony first performed the work at the Syria Mosque in February 1931, conducted by Hans Kindler, and last performed the overture on subscription at Heinz Hall in February 1984, with conductor Andre Previn. The score calls for woodwinds in pairs, contrabassoon, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, and strings. Performance
time: 5 minutes.
MAURICE RAVEL Concerto in G major for Piano and Orchestra
Maurice Ravel was born in Ciboure, Basses- Pyrénées, France, on March 7, 1875, and died in Paris on December 28, 1937. Ravel’s Concerto in G major for Piano and Orchestra was composed between 1929 and 1931, and was premiered in Paris, France on January 14, 1932, with the Lamoureaux Orchestra. Marguerite Long performed as piano soloist with the composer conducting. The Pittsburgh Symphony first performed the concerto with Leonard Bernstein at Syria Mosque in 1945, and most recently at Heinz Hall with Gabriela Montero as soloist and James Gaffigan conducting in January 2015. The score calls for piccolo, flute, oboe, English horn, E-flat clarinet, B-flat clarinet, two bassoons, two horns, trumpet, trombone, timpani, percussion, harp, and strings.
Performance time: 23 minutes
PIOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Opus 36
Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born in Votkinsk, Russia, on May 7, 1840, and died in St. Petersburg on November 6, 1893. Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 in F minor was composed in 1877-1878, and premiered in Moscow on February 22, 1878, with the Orchestra of the Russian Music Society conducted by Nikolai Rubinstein. The Pittsburgh Symphony first performed the work in November 1900, under the baton of Victor Herbert, and last performed it in June 2019, with conductor Pietari Inkinen. The orchestra released a recording of the iconic Symphony in 2020 on the Reference Recordings label, paired with Jonathan Leshnoff’s Double Concerto for Clarinet and Bassoon. The score calls for pairs of woodwinds plus piccolo, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, and strings.
