Long Beach Symphony to Open the 2023-2024 Season with Andreas Boyde and a Celebration of Nature and 'Home'

On Saturday, October 21, under the direction of Maestro Eckart Preu, Long Beach Symphony will launch the 2023-2024 season with a rainbow palette of 19th century musical colors.

The 89th season opener begins with Brahms' Hungarian Dances. Lushly harmonic, yet upbeat and pulsating, Hungarian Dances kicks things off with a bright and rhythmic energy. Next, renowned and electrifying pianist and Romantic era specialist, Andreas Boyde joins the orchestra to perform the singular and highly imaginative Piano Concerto by Antonín Dvořák. Written especially for an outstanding popular Czech pianist who championed the young Dvořák, the composer's only piano concerto will envelope listeners in waves of harmony and emotion. 

The celebratory season-opening concert concludes with selections from another Romantic icon-- the deeply personal “Ma Vlast” – “My Homeland” – by the Czech composer Bedrich Smetana. Three pieces of this beloved and popular work will be presented, including “The Moldau,” resounding with nostalgia and passion that will have everyone humming as if through a journey of adventures, weddings, and waterfalls. The second poem, Sárka, is the revenge story of a Bohemian heroine, followed by Bohemia's Woods & Field, a description of a Bohemian landscape.

“A lot of great music came from the Romantic era… music that was written from the heart, about emotions, about their own lives and humanity-- and I think that is why so many people respond to it so well,” says Music Director Eckart Preu.

Opening Night will be a celebration. Audiences can enjoy a relaxed, fun, yet elegant evening along the dancing fountains and firepits on the Plaza, a bar, food, and a 7pm Pre-Concert Talk that will give further context into the evening-- with the ability to “Sip & Enjoy” in the concert hall.  

Long Beach Symphony's 2023-2024 season opening will take place on Saturday, October 21, 2023, at 8 pm at the Long Beach Terrace Theater (300 E. Ocean Blvd.). Doors open at 6:30 pm for Plaza entertainment and 7pm Pre-Concert Talk. Individual concert tickets start at $32 at the link below or by calling (562) 436-3203, ext. 1. For more information, visit LongBeachSymphony.org.

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