Petrushka & Rach 2

Saturday 8:00 pm May 4, 2019   
Sunday 2:30 pm May 5, 2019   

Ringling Bros. wanted something for 50 elephants and 50 ballerinas -- Stravinsky obliged. A much earlier commission resulted in a piece about a puppet's love and heartbreak. Petrushka is one of Stravinsky's most popular works filled with Russian folk tunes and brilliant orchestrations. Astonishingly, pianist Jon Nakamatsu, famed for his Rachmaninoff performances, has never before played the Second Concerto for South Bay audiences. From its first chords, the concerto casts its spell. The composer believed that music's mission is to express emotion, and this vibrant concerto succeeds so well that its themes have been adopted for innumerable popular songs.

This concert is part of Subscription Series A, B, C, & D

Program length: 71 minutes.

Conductor: Tatsuya Shimono

Soloist(s): Jon Nakamatsu, Piano

• Igor Stravinsky: Circus Polka: For a Young Elephant

• Igor Stravinsky: Petrushka

• Sergei Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18