Event

LUCO 17|18 - Concert 3

Saturday, February 24, 2018 - 7:30pm
Shorecrest Performing Arts Center

Lyadov: The Enchanted Lake
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1, with Michael Refvem, piano
Prokofiev: Romeo & Juliet, Suite No. 2

This program packs a mighty punch with three Russian masterpieces. Prokoviev composed a full-length ballet based on Romeo and Juliet with such powerful and expressive music that it takes outstanding dancers and choreography to do justice to this masterpiece. Suite No. 2 contains the best moments from the ballet and is a succession of dances of pure genius. Lyadov, with whom Prokofiev studied with at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, might be a lesser-known composer, but his music is no less impactful. The Enchanted Lake is a gentle yet colorful fantasy miniature that immerses the listener in the subtleties of a moonlit stillness.

No piano concerto is more iconic and universally praised than Tchaikovsky's First. From the grandeur of its opening horn arpeggio to the sublime intimacy of its middle movement, to the irresistible spark and drive of the finale, this is a creation that grabs its listeners (and performers) from start to finish, encompassing an immense emotional range and revealing the true virtuosity of the soloist. This will mark the first concerto collaboration between Montreal pianist Michael Refvem and LUCO.