Soloist Ilya Yakushev joins the Glacier Symphony
The Glacier Symphony and Music Director John Zoltek present their season finale concert “Pictures at an Exhibition” with music by Mussorgsky, Ravel, and Tchaikovsky with two concerts at the Wachholtz Center on Saturday, May 17 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday May 18 at 3 p.m.
The soloist will be the engaging and technically masterful pianist, Ilya Yakushev, a charismatic audience favorite, returning to Kalispell’s stage after “bringing the house down” with his electrifying performances there in 2023.
This May concert opens with Ravel’s La valse, composed between February 1919 and 1920 and first performed on December 12, 1920, in Paris. Originally conceived as a ballet, it is now more commonly heard as an orchestral work.
Next on the program is a work by Tchaikovsky, who is remembered for his passionate, ultra-Romantic voice. By the time he composed his First Piano Concerto at the age of 35, Tchaikovsky was confidently establishing himself as a major composer. The powerful piano chords of Tchaikovsky’s first concerto is one of the true iconic opening passages in all of the concerto repertoire.
The concert concludes with Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, orchestrated by Maurice Ravel and perhaps Tchaikovsky’s greatest and most universally popular work. Originally written for solo piano, this piece has inspired more orchestrations and arrangements than perhaps any other composition. Pictures at an Exhibition walks the audience through the auditory experience of touring The Louvre in Paris.
Don’t miss this extraordinary season finale and look for the summer concerts at Rebecca Farm on July 5 and 6, The Great Outdoors with works by Aaron Copland, Johann Strauss Jr., John Williams, and more.