Celebrate the beginning of our new season with Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 played by a rising star, Vijay Venkatesh. All sections of the orchestra will move you through this emotionally rich piece with sprawling chords and magnificent lines, lush orchestral textures, and moody, bittersweet melodies. After intermission, enjoy an exhilarating thrill ride in a nimble sports car. Adams’ joyfully exuberant piece, Short Ride in a Fast Machine, will showcase the orchestra running the gauntlet through a rhythmic tunnel. The concert concludes with Strauss’ most popular tone poem, Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks, a musical depiction that chronicles the misadventures and pranks of a German peasant folk hero as the music follows his hijinks throughout the countryside.

Program Notes