By Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk
Michael Christie Conductor | Orli Shaham Piano | Patrick Dailey Countertenor | Grand Rapids Symphony Chorus Pearl Shangkuan Director
LB/LB-two colossal multi-talented geniuses make up this entertaining program devised by Michael Christie. Anticipating Leonard Bernstein’s 100th birthday by a year, this pairing of two of his finest works with the music of a composer Bernstein performed nearly every year of his career will make for a truly satisfying evening. With the Grand Rapids Symphony Chorus front and center the concert closes with Beethoven’s ‘warm up’ to the Ninth Symphony-the Choral Fantasy with a text extolling the brotherhood of humanity. In the Chichester Psalms, Bernstein draws on his Jewish heritage to exhort humankind to goodness, drawing on some of the most beloved Psalms of the Old Testament. The theatrical Beethoven and Bernstein round out the program with Beethoven’s third and most thrilling try at an overture to his only opera and with a suite from Bernstein’s score for the iconic Marlon Brando film.
Dates:
04/21/2017, 8 p.m.
04/22/2017, 8 p.m.
Location:
DeVos Performance Hall, 303 Monroe Ave NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49503
View the program notes here.
BUY TICKETTickets start at $18 | Students $5
Unable to attend the concert? Tune in to Blue Lake Public Radio on May 28, 2017, at 1 pm for a rebroadcast of the concert.
