The final day of Symphony Week has arrived - and what a ride it has been. We finished off the week with two last guests, Cecile Licad and Eckart Preu. It was a treat to have both of them in the studio, especially to hear Cecile give a preview of this weekend's season opener. Again, we've divided the day into two parts: Part 1 features Cecile, who is the solo pianist with the Spokane Symphony this weekend, playing Bartok's Piano Concerto No. 1. Part 2 closes out the week with symphony artistic director, Eckart Preu.
Cecile Licad is a Curtis Institute grad and renowned international pianist. Verne talked with her about her studies, her travels, notable performances, and this weekend's engagements. While Bartok's first piano concerto is not often programmed, Cecile thinks the audience needs to see and experience this concerto for themselves. It is very rhythmic and percussive with a hint of Bartok's famous use of folk melody. In addition to talking to us about the Bartok, she was kind enough to play for us a movement from a rarely performed piano sonata by Edward MacDowell, who is an American composer known most probably for To A Wild Rose, a movement from his Op. 51, Woodland Sketches. We cannot express what an amazing opportunity it was to have her play for us.
The Spokane Symphony's Classics concert series begins this weekend - Saturday, September 19th at 8:00pm and Sunday, September 20th at 3:00pm - with "Russian Adventures," featuring Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain, Bartok's Piano Concerto No. 1 and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 2, "Little Russian." Tickets available now online at TicketsWest or by contacting/visiting the Box Office at the Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox.
