Detroit Symphony Orchestra Closes Season With Tchaikovsky at Orchestra Hall

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra closes out its season this weekend with musical director Leonard Slatkin conducting the romantic music of Tchaikovsky, according to The Detroit News.

Slatkin's program matches the Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, with Olga Kern as soloist, with two works that are essentially symphonic love poems, the "Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture" and "Francesca da Rimini."

"My family heritage is Russian, so much of this music was coursing through my veins at the earliest age," Slatkin tells the Detroit News. "I still find the majority of Tchaikovsky's music honest and passionate. To that end, it is easy to see why he remains popular today. Soaring melodies, pungent rhythms and unexpected harmonic twists are all hallmarks of his genius."

"'Romeo and Juliet' may be overly familiar to some, but it is a masterpiece of compositional construction," Slatkin continues. "It took the composer three different versions to settle on what he felt conveyed the essence of the drama. Tchaikovsky was able to condense the essence of the play into 20 minutes of concise orchestral writing."

Likewise, Tchaikovshy's "Francesca da Rimi,"compresses an epic tragedy into 25 minutes of vividly evocative music. Tchaikovsky based his symphonic poem on Dante's account in the "Inferno" of the beautiful noblewoman who falls in love with her husband's brother. When the husband discovers the lovers, he murders both of them.  As punishment their adultery they are condemned to be blown forever through hell, tormented by memory of the pleasures they knew together.

As for the monumental Piano Concerto, one of the most played and surely most loved works in the entire classical canon, Slatkin says there's more to it than mere surface brilliance. "We look for comfort in what we know and, in doing so, often overlook why certain works have maintained lasting value," he says.

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Leonard Slatkin, with pianist Olga Kern will perform the music of Tchaikovsky at Orchestra Hall at The Max 3711 Woodward, Detroit 7:30 Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday
Tickets: $20 Call (313) 576-5111

For more information, please visit: www.detroitsymphony.com

 

 

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