The Louisville Orchestra Presents:

St. Petersburg

Treton Oak Towers Coffee Classics  • Thursday, March 17, 2011 10:30am     

Hilliard Lyons Classics • Friday, March 18, 2011 8pm

Kentucky Center, Whitney Hall

Jorge Mester, conductor • Seung-Un Ha, piano

Throughout the season, the Louisville Orchestra has focused individual concerts to musically minded cities.  Maestro Jorge Mester leads us to the next stop on the classics train, ST. PETERSBERG on Thursday, March 17 at 10:30am and Friday, March 18 at 8pm. Single tickets range from $20-$75 and are available by calling 502-584-7777 or visit LouisvilleOrchestra.org.

Program:                          
Chopin  Piano Concerto No. 1 
Shostakovich     Symphony No. 8

Musically speaking, St. Petersburg and Louisville have quite a history! Anton Rubenstein, founder of the St. Petersburg Conservatory of Music, appeared with the earliest known orchestra in Louisville in the mid-19^th century. Roughly 100 years later in 1959, Dmitri Shostakovich led a contingent of Russian composers to Louisville for an unprecedented visit coordinated by the U.S. State Department. Born in St. Petersburg, Shostakovich graduated and later taught at the Conservatory. As with so many of his works, his deeply evocative Eighth Symphony was ultimately denounced by the Communist Party. Pianist Seung-Un Ha will be featured  in Chopin’s lyrical First Concerto as a programmatic contrast to the strength and drama of the symphony. A most ravishing juxtaposition!