Evanston Symphony Orchestra

Details about the cancellation for our ticket holders will be posted here as information becomes available.

Evanston resident Tage Larsen has been a member of the vaunted brass section of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for over 15 years and he will share his virtuosity in the most popular of trumpet concertos, that of Franz Joseph Haydn. Grieg’s Holberg Suite for strings is based on Norwegian themes, while the short Gordon Jacob piece humorously uses melodies from Rossini’s opera of the same name. The program opens with one of Verdi’s greatest overtures, while the Pines of Rome provides the ultimate in Italian symphonic excitement.

The final 12 symphonies of Franz Joseph Haydn are collectively known as his “London symphonies” and the final one of the 12, to some the greatest of all, is titled the “London” Symphony. William Walton’s Crown Imperial has been wittily referred to as the “Pomp and Circumstance March No. 6” as a worthy successor to Elgar’s five Pomp and Circumstance marches. Britten’s orchestral showpiece can also be titled “Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Henry Purcell,” and will be narrated by Henry Fogel, Dean of the Chicago College of Performing Arts of Roosevelt University.

Phenomenal virtuoso Jeffrey Biegel debuts with the ESO in the blockbuster of all piano concertos, the Third Concerto of Rachmaninoff. The 1996 film Shine was built around the struggles of pianist David Helfgott with the mental and pianist challenges posed by this epic concerto. Prokofiev’s concert suite drawn from his 1934 score for the Soviet film Lt. Kije is a long-time favorite, and the program concludes with another concert suite, prepared by composer John Williams from his blockbuster Star Wars.

Our all-Beethoven concert is devoted to works composed between 1803 and 1810, his middle or “Heroic” period. Inna Faliks, frequently heard on radio station WFMT, will take on the demanding solo role in the Third Piano Concerto. The conclusion of the Egmont Overture is titled “Victory Symphony,” which is an equally appropriate description for the complete Fifth Symphony, the most famous symphony ever composed.

Program

Go To Program Notes | Go To Videos