Season Opener: A Hero’s Life

Music Director Ken-David Masur opens his phenomenal final season with a festive fanfare by Andrea Tarrodi. The celebration continues as the MSO raises a ruckus with R. Strauss’s tone poem Ein Heldenleben (“A Hero’s Life”), rife with, in the composer’s words, “lots of horns, horns being quite the thing to express heroism.” Ravel was determined not to make his Piano Concerto for the Left Hand feel like a thin parlor trick; its music is robust, demanding, and full of dramatic illusion. The MSO welcomes “one of the best pianists of his generation” (Philadelphia Inquirer), Stewart Goodyear, to perform this impressive concerto.

What to Expect:

A piano concerto commissioned by a WWI veteran who lost his left arm in battle
A left-hand-only performance by pianist Stewart Goodyear
Strauss's autobiographical A Hero's Life, including movements such as “The Heroes’ Works of Peace” (which samples other recognizable music by Strauss, including Also sprach Zarathustra)
Four minutes of musical fireworks by Swedish composer Andrea Tarrodi

The MSO Steinway piano was made possible through a generous gift from Michael & Jeanne Schmitz

ABOUT THIS PERFORMANCE

Season Opener: A Hero’s Life

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conductor

piano

Andrea Tarrodi

Ravel

Strauss

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