In anticipation of the Spokane Symphony's fourth Masterworks concert, titled "Fire and Ice," pianist Tanya Gabrielian and symphony music director James Lowe entered the KPBX studio with E.J. Iannelli to preview the program.
This Masterworks concert opens with the "Dance of the Skomorokhi" from Rimsky-Korsakov's 1882 opera The Snow Maiden. As the guest soloist, Gabrielian will then perform Edvard Grieg's Piano Concerto. It's her debut performance with the Spokane Symphony.
The concert continues with Stephen Montague's "Snowscape: St Pölten," an aleatoric piece—something Lowe describes in the interview—that has a "little surprise" for the audience.
Concluding the program is Carl Nielsen's Fourth Symphony, which Lowe describes as the "fire" of this particular concert. This is not the first Nielsen work to be performed by the symphony this season, and both Lowe and Gabrielian talked about why his music deserves more attention.
This interview begins with Gabrielian performing Mikhail Glinka’s “The Lark” live in the SPR performance studio.
There are two performances of "Fire and Ice" this weekend: one on Saturday, November 12, 2022, and the other on Sunday November 13.
The Spokane Symphony website is where you can purchase tickets and find out more.