Evanston Symphony Orchestra

Howard Hanson titled his Second Symphony the “Romantic,” and its lush melodies have ensured its place as his most popular work (and its usage in the film score for Alien). Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto is among the most beautiful of any concerto. The great popularity of Arvo Pärt’s Fratres has led to arrangements for a variety of instrumental combinations; the ESO will perform the version for solo violin, string orchestra, and percussion.

Michelle Areyzaga returns to the ESO in Richard Strauss’ final work, his beautiful tribute to the soprano voice the Four Last Songs. Brahms’ Third Symphony is a cornerstone of the concert repertoire, with an opening theme expressing his personal motto “free but happy” and an instantly memorable folksong-like third movement. Wagner’s Overture to Tannhäuser will provide a sonorous and brassy conclusion to this program of favorites by German composers.

Program

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Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, one of the supreme virtuoso works for piano and orchestra, is paired with the Rhapsody on Moldavian Themes by the Russian/Polish Mieczyslaw Weinberg, composed just after World War II to honor his Moldavian-Jewish heritage. This will be the Midwest premiere of his vibrant work. Prokofiev meant for his Fifth Symphony to “glorify the human spirit,” and it reflects the optimism of future victory near the end of World War II.