This preview has been provided by the North Carolina Symphony.
The North Carolina Symphony, as the state symphony, purposefully highlights works and musicians with home-state connections, taking pride in reflecting and shaping North Carolina culture. In the case of a work by composer Kristin Kuster, the North Carolina connection came as a happy surprise: After programming her jubilant MOXIE to open a fall concert program, the Symphony learned from Kuster that she was born in Raleigh and lived here for the first few years of her life before her family moved to Boulder, Colorado.
Kuster is Associate Professor of Composition at the University of Michigan and “writes commandingly for the orchestra.” (The New York Times). Her music is colorful, immediately enthralling, and deeply expressive. MOXIE was commissioned by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and composed in honor of its music director, Marin Alsop; the title refers to Alsop’s gumption and determination as the first female music director of a major American orchestra. Premiered in 2016, the work has a celebratory character and constant energy, with driving, syncopated rhythms.
MOXIE will make for a festive start to the Symphony’s program at Meymandi Concert Hall on the evenings of November 3 and 4, featuring Dvořák’s sunny Symphony No. 8 as well as Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Minor, performed by the Macedonian pianist Simon Trpčeski – who has become known not only for his impeccable technique but also for the joy, warmth, and sincerity that shines through in his performances. The Symphony will be led by guest conductor Marcelo Lehninger, Music Director of the Grand Rapids Symphony and recipient of the Helen M. Thompson Award for Emerging Music Directors.
Pianist Simon Trpčeski has won prizes in international competitions and soloed with major orchestras throughout the world, while remaining a passionate advocate of the cultural image of his native Macedonia. His playing is praised by The New York Times as both “fluent” and “muscular,” making him an ideal match for Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1; this concerto requires complete mastery of every artistic and technical resource, with rapid octave passages, abrupt changes in mood, delicate whispered themes, and giant buildups of harmonic and emotional tension.
Written early in Tchaikovsky’s career and at first rejected by his mentor, Nikolay Rubinstein (perhaps due to its larger-than-life nature), the Piano Concerto No. 1 has easily become his most popular. Its majestic introduction is immediately recognized by classical music connoisseurs and novices alike. Throughout the concerto, Tchaikovsky draws on Russian influences – a tune that he reportedly heard sung by a beggar at a fair in the first movement, a melody based on a popular Russian cabaret song in the second, and a folk tune with an altered rhythmic lilt in the third.
Czech composer Dvořák similarly drew on melodic ideas and rhythms from native folk tunes in his Symphony No. 8, the most “national” of his nine symphonies. The symphony takes listeners on an emotional journey, swinging between joyful optimism and tumultuous drama – but ultimately, a cheerful outlook prevails.
Audience members are invited to learn more about the music of Kuster, Tchaikovsky, and Dvořák at a free pre-concert talk at 7pm in the Swalin Lobby of Meymandi Concert Hall.
A one-hour program featuring the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 and selections from Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8 will be presented as part of the Symphony’s Fridays Favorites series, at noon on Friday, November 3, with a free pre-concert talk at 11am.
The North Carolina Symphony expresses its appreciation to Noon Concert Sponsor Overture Crabtree for their generous support. The November 4 concert is made possible in part by The Charles E. Potts/Fanny R. Potts Guest Pianist Fund.
North Carolina Symphony
Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1
Friday & Saturday, November 3 & 4 at 8:00 pm (pre-concert talk at 7:00 pm)
Meymandi Concert Hall
Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts (Raleigh)
PERFORMERS
North Carolina Symphony
Marcelo Lehninger, conductor
Simon Trpčeski, piano
PROGRAM
Kristin Kuster: MOXIE
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1
Dvořák: Symphony No. 8
North Carolina Symphony
Friday Favorites: Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1
Friday, November 3 at Noon (Pre-concert talk at 11am)
Meymandi Concert Hall
Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts (Raleigh)
PERFORMERS
North Carolina Symphony
Marcelo Lehninger, conductor
Simon Trpčeski, piano
PROGRAM
Dvořák: Selections from Symphony No. 8
TICKETS
Online: ncsymphony.org (TicketMaster fees apply)
By phone: 919.733.2750 ($8 processing fee applies)
In-person: NCS State Headquarters, 3700 Glenwood Ave., Suite 130, Raleigh (No processing fee)
Subscription ticket packages, with savings up to 35%, are also available.
About the North Carolina Symphony
Founded in 1932, the North Carolina Symphony (NCS) is a vital and honored component of North Carolina’s cultural life. Its 180 concerts and 120 community engagement events annually are greeted with enthusiasm by adults and schoolchildren in more than 90 North Carolina counties – in communities large and small, and in concert halls, auditoriums, gymnasiums, restaurants, clubs, and outdoor settings. The Symphony’s full-time professional musicians perform under the artistic leadership of Music Director Grant Llewellyn.
NCS’s state headquarters venue is the spectacular Meymandi Concert Hall at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Raleigh. The Symphony’s service across the state includes series in Chapel Hill, Fayetteville, New Bern, Southern Pines, and Wilmington, as well as the Summerfest series at its summer home, the outdoor Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary. NCS brings some of the world’s greatest talents to North Carolina and embraces home-state artists from classical musicians to bluegrass bands, creating live music experiences distinctive to North Carolina.
Committed to engaging students of all ages across North Carolina, NCS leads the most extensive education program of any symphony orchestra – serving nearly 70,000 students each year. In alignment with the curriculum set by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, the Symphony provides training and resources for teachers, sends small ensembles into classrooms, and presents full-orchestra Education Concerts that bring the fundamentals of music to life. Music Discovery for preschoolers combines music with storytelling, and at the middle and high school levels, students have opportunities to work directly with NCS artists and perform for NCS audiences.
NCS is dedicated to giving voice to new art, and has presented 47 U.S. or world premieres in its history. In March 2017, NCS appeared at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., as one of four orchestras chosen for the inaugural year of SHIFT: A Festival of American Orchestras – an honor that recognized the Symphony’s creative programming and innovative community partnerships.
The first state-supported symphony in the country, NCS performs under the auspices of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. To learn more, visit ncsymphony.org.
