Long Beach Symphony Performs PICTURES AT AN ART EXHIBITION

On Saturday, February 17, under the direction of Maestro Eckart Preu, Long Beach Symphony presents an evening filled with music and imagery featuring the works of American composer Florence Price, Dvořák, Mussorgsky and Ravel, and Cécilia Tsan's superb cello.  

  

A night of emotional warmth and vibrant colors opens with Concert Overture No. 2 by Florence Price, the first African American woman to be recognized as a symphonic composer and to have her works performed by a major symphony orchestra. Her compositions disappeared after her death but were discovered half a century later in 2009 in a home in Illinois.  Long Beach Symphony will proudly present Price's Concert Overture No. 2, a set of three spirituals that demonstrate the influence of ragtime, spirituals, and folk dance. This idea that celebrates American music was originally introduced by Dvořák who encouraged American composers to seek inspiration from their own roots.

 

Dvořák's own work and Cello Concerto, featuring Long Beach Symphony's Cécilia Tsan principal cellist, is beloved both for the deeply felt emotion it evokes and for the showmanship and mastery it spotlights in its soloist.

 

As a celebration of classical music and artistic inspiration, Long Beach Symphony also presents a mesmerizing performance of Modest Mussorgsky's timeless masterpiece, "Pictures at an Exhibition." This orchestral suite, originally composed in 1874, has become a staple of the classical repertoire and continues to captivate audiences with its vivid musical depictions of visual art. The composition was inspired by Mussorgsky's visit to an exhibition of works by his dear friend, the artist Viktor Hartmann. Originally composed for piano solo, the stunningly creative work was arranged for full orchestra forty years after Mussorgsky's death by Maurice Ravel to immediate and enduring high praise. From The Gnome to The Old Castle and concluding with the majesty of The Great Gate of Kiev, Mussorgsky's musical visualization of a Russian gallery of paintings always delights. The original imagery will be projected on screen to enhance the audience's listening experience.

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