Grand Rapids Symphony Closes 2018-19 Season With Romantic Music By Chopin And Brahms

Grand Rapids Symphony Music Director Marcelo Lehninger grew up in Brazil in a musical family. His father, German-born violinist Erich Lehninger, was concertmaster of the Sao Paulo Symphony. His mother, Brazilian-born pianist Sonia Goulart, is a prominent piano soloist and teacher

Just weeks before Marcelo was born in October 1979, the final piece his mother performed in public was Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2.

The final concert of the Grand Rapids Symphony's 2018-19 season welcomes Goulart to DeVos Performance Hall to play Chopin's Piano Concerto in F minor.

Marcelo will be nearby, too. But this time, he'll be on the podium.

"It's a very special program for me," he said. "I'm very happy my mom is coming here as soloist."

Chopin and Brahms also features the Grand Rapids Symphony performing Johannes Brahms' sunny Symphony No. 2 for the concluding concert of the Richard and Helen DeVos Classical series.

Concerts at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 17-18, open with Maurice Ravel's "Mother Goose Suite." Concert Sponsor is Zhang Financial, and Guest Artist Sponsor is Edith I. Blodgett Guest Artist Fund.

Marcelo Lehninger, who is wrapping up his third season at the helm of the Grand Rapids Symphony, grew up playing both violin and piano. Over time, violin gave way to piano, and piano gave way to conducting.

Beginning with five years on the staff of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, including an unexpected debut in Boston Symphony Hall, followed weeks later by a concert in New York City's Carnegie Hall, Lehninger has led the orchestras of Chicago, Houston, Seattle and Toronto. This summer, he'll conduct several concerts with two orchestras in Tokyo. During the 2019-20 season, he'll conduct the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra, and he'll return for the first time since 2015 to the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Goulart, who earned her doctoral degree in music from the Staatlich Hochschule fur Musik und Theatre in Hanover, Germany, has had a storied career as well, winning more than 30 national and international prizes, including First Prize in the Frankfurt Television Competition in Germany, and the Rencontres Musicales Internationales Award in Brussels, Belgium.

"She's had a very important career, though mainly in Europe," Lehninger said.

Often compared with such artists as Spanish pianist Alicia de Larrocha and Argentinean pianist Martha Argerich, Goulart has performed in sold-out halls across the Americas and across Europe from Spain to Austria. Next season, she has concert tours in France and Belgium as well as in Brazil and Uruguay.

Polish-born pianist Frederic Chopin has gone down in history, not only as one of the greatest composers of all time, but as one of the greatest pianists who ever lived. Chopin's Piano Concerto in F minor, one of only two piano concertos he composed, was a piece he wrote for himself, at age 19, to display his ample artistry. Ever since its premiere in 1829, pianists have been doing the same with it.

The 30-minute work, which puts the piano on prominent display, is a work that Goulart most often performs with orchestra.

"It's one of her signature pieces," Lehninger said.

Ravel's Mother Goose Suite is a colorful and playful set of five pieces all inspired by fairy tales from Tales of Mother Goose.

Brahms' bucolic Symphony No. 2, the composer's personal favorite among his four symphonies, was inspired by a summer vacation spent along the shores of a beautiful lake in Austria.

• Inside the Music, a free, pre-concert, multi-media presentation sponsored by BDO USA, will be held before each performance at 7 p.m. in the DeVos Place Recital Hall.

• The complete Chopin and Brahms program will be rebroadcast on Sunday, June 2, 2019, at 1 p.m. on Blue Lake Public Radio 88.9 FM or 90.3 FM.

Tickets

Tickets for the Richard and Helen DeVos Classical series start at $18 and are available at the Grand Rapids Symphony box office, weekdays 9 am - 5 pm at 300 Ottawa Ave. NW, Suite 100, (located across the street from Calder Plaza). Call (616) 454-9451 x 4 to order by phone. (Phone orders will be charged a $2 per ticket service fee, with a $12 maximum).

Tickets are available at the DeVos Place ticket office, weekdays 10 am - 6 pm or on the day of the concert beginning two hours before the performance. Tickets also may be purchased online at GRSymphony.org.

Special Offers

Full-time students of any age can purchase tickets for $5 on the night of the concert by enrolling in the GRS Student Tickets program, sponsored by Calvin College. Discounts are available to members of MySymphony360, the Grand Rapids Symphony's organization for young professionals ages 21-35.

Students age 7-18 also are able to attend for free when accompanied by an adult. Free for Kids tickets must be purchased in advance at the GRS Ticket office. Up to two free tickets are available with the purchase of a regular-price adult ticket. Go online for more details.

Symphony Scorecard provides up to four free tickets for members of the community receiving financial assistance from the State of Michigan and for members of the U.S. Armed Forces, whether on active or reserve duty or serving in the National Guard. Go online for information to sign up with a Symphony Scorecard Partner Agency.