Fantastic Contrasts:

Featured Artist

Natasha Paremski

Concert Details

Alexander Mickelthwate, conductor

• Shostakovich – First Suite for Jazz Orchestra
• Gershwin – Second Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra
• Gershwin – Rhapsody in Blue
• Shostakovich – Symphony No. 12 in D minor (The Year of 1917)

This concert features a musical study in fantastic contrasts. From Gershwin’s jazzy and virtuosic rhapsodies for piano and orchestra, featuring Natasha Paremski, composed by a man who was one of the wealthiest composers ever. Contrast this with Shostakovich’s bombastic symphonic statement, created from a Russian soul fighting for his life through music. Despite the differences in Shostakovich’s and Gershwins’ worlds, they each influenced their times through music composed for not only the concert hall, but also for film, musical theater and dance halls, creating works that spoke to their generation.

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