The Livermore-Amador Symphony will showcase the passionate and emotional music of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in its upcoming “Romantic Masterpieces” concert, next Saturday, April 12. The performance will feature a rare solo on a 1720 Red Mendelssohn Stradivarius violin, played by American violinist Elizabeth Pitcairn, and will highlight some of the most revered works of the Romantic era.
The concert will begin with the Tchaikovsky Polonaise from his opera Eugene Onegin, setting the stage for an evening filled with both excitement and emotional depth. The symphony will then transition into the heart of the performance with Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, to be performed by Pitcairn. The evening will close with César Franck’s Symphony in D Minor, a masterpiece of 19th-century music.
Symphony conductor Lara Webber described the Polonaise as “a piece that feels like popping the cork on a great bottle of champagne,” calling it a perfect prelude to the Violin Concerto. Webber explained, “It is an exciting invitation to focus our attention on what comes next: Tchaikovsky’s remarkable Violin Concerto.”
Pitcairn, who last performed with the Livermore-Amador Symphony a decade ago at the Bankhead Theater, will bring a fresh interpretation to this iconic piece. She will be playing her historic 1720 Stradivarius violin, an instrument Webber praised for its rich, resonant sound, saying, “It truly sings in Elizabeth’s sensitive and expert hands.”
This performance holds special significance for both Pitcairn and Webber, who will be revisiting this concerto together for the first time in 25 years. The two musicians first performed the Violin Concerto as students at the University of Southern California. Webber reflected on the experience, stating, “Pitcairn has a particularly rich and detailed interpretation of this exciting concerto, and she plays a remarkable instrument that carries much of music history in its DNA.”
The evening will conclude with Franck’s Symphony in D Minor, the only symphony composed by the Belgian-born French composer. Webber described the symphony as “deeply, personally expressive,” noting its cyclical nature where all the themes stem from the first and return in a glorious final movement. She added, “It builds into one of the most satisfying symphonic experiences you can imagine. This will be a blockbuster concert, presented with a personal touch.”
The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. with a pre-concert “Inside the Music” talk by Webber from 7:00 to 7:15 p.m. Tri-Valley middle school musicians, under the direction of Jim Hurley, will perform in the lobby during intermission. After the performance, attendees can enjoy a post-concert reception with complimentary wine and sparkling cider.
The concert will be held at the Bankhead Theater in downtown Livermore.
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