According to The Times of London, Vasily Petrenko conducts with “fluid, flamboyant gestures and an ear for dynamic extremes.” This exciting young conductor from Russia makes his highly anticipated Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra debut at historic Music Hall on Friday, October 3 and Saturday, October 4 at 8 p.m.
He leads a program dubbed “Russian Rhapsody” showcasing the diversity of Russian music that includes works by Rachmaninoff, Shostakovich and Glinka. Mr. Petrenko and the CSO are joined by celebrated concert pianist Jon Kimura Parker.
“You get three different eras of Russian music in this concert program,” said CSO Music Director Paavo Jarvi. “We have a young Russian conductor who is has made quite a name for himself in Europe.”
Mr. Petrenko opens the concert with Mikhail Glinka’s Overture to Russian and Ludmilla, written in an era when Russian music was not overly influenced by Western Europe, followed by Sergei Rachmaninoff’s romantic, virtuosic Rhapsody on the Theme of Paganini featuring Mr. Parker on the piano. This work features one of classical music’s most famous melodies, used notably in the 1980 film Somewhere in Time starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour.
“Jon Kimura Parker needs no introduction,” said Mr. Jarvi. “He’s a frequent guest whose music making is always at an exceptionally high level. He’s an entertaining personality and a great pianist.
”The concert closes with Dmitri Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 8, a stirring, large-scale piece of music that evokes the difficulties of life in Soviet-era Russia and the horrors of World War II. It was premiered in November of 1943.
“Shostakovich’s symphonies are all about the human condition under Stalinist repression,” said Mr. Jarvi. “It’s always interesting to hear a Russian conductor do Shostakovich.” -- www.cincinnatisymphony.org
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