Richmond Symphony to End Metro Series with Mendelssohn, 5/8

April 19, 2016 - Richmond, Virginia Join the Richmond Symphony and Music Director Steven Smith on Sunday, May 8 at 3pm for the final concert of the 2015-16 Metro Collection Series, Mendelssohn: Scottish Symphony. The performance features pieces by Fauré, Ravel and Mendelssohn and will be held in the Blackwell Auditorium on the campus of Randolph-Macon College.

The concert will begin with Fauré's Pelléas et Mélisande Suite, from the music composed for the London premiere of Maurice Maeterlinck's drama. The Suite depicts different moments in the play, whose plot revolves around a tragic love triangle.

Following Fauré will be Ravel's Ma Mère l'Oye (Mother Goose) Suite. Inspired by Mother Goose fairy tales, the suite is made up of five short movements, telling the stories of Sleeping Beauty, Tom Thumb, Empress of the Pagodas, Beauty and the Beast and the Enchanted Garden.

Concluding the concert will be Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 3, also known as the "Scottish" Symphony, a piece inspired by the composer's visit to Scotland in 1829. In a letter home, Mendelssohn describes a moment on his trip:

"We went to the palace of Holyrood where Queen Mary lived and loved. . . . Everything is broken and moldering and the bright sky shines in. I believe I found today in the old chapel the beginning of my Scottish Symphony."

The first movement begins with a somber introduction, but over the course of the symphony, lyric and joyous melodies all take their turn, to form one of Mendelssohn's most popular and well-loved symphonies.

A FREE pre-concert talk will be held from 2 - 2:30pm in the Dollar Tree Community Room on the second floor of Brock Commons.

Ticket prices are $20 for adults, $18 for seniors, $10 for children, and $5 at the door for college students and faculty with ID.

The concert is sponsored by Ralph Crosby.