CONCERT PROGRAM

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 2
Johannes Brahms: Symphony No. 4

Photo: Marco Borggreve.

Our Sunday Classics series begins with Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 2. At the keyboard is returning guest artist Alexei Volodin. Having tackled the first Tchaikovsky piano concerto in our season opener, for this concert, Volodin treats us to the less famous but equally bold and brilliant second.

Did you know? The concerto’s slow movement offers a rare opportunity to hear both our Concertmaster Karl Stobbe and newly appointed Principal Cellist Elie Boissinot shine alongside the piano. Adapted in part from Tchaikovsky’s own Piano Trio, the violin, cello, and piano share a beautifully lyrical passage of unusual length and significance — a feature seldom heard in a concerto.

Also on the program is the final formal symphonic composition by Johannes Brahms — a composer who struggled with the pressures of writing a first symphony. This last work presents an assured composer writing with clear, powerful emotion that is equal parts compelling and complex.