The Philadelphia Orchestra in Concert broadcast this Sunday at 1 pm opens with a collection of “Symphonic Fragments” from Alfredo Casella’s rarely performed opera La Donna Serpente (The Snake-Woman), based on an 18th-century fable-play by Carlo Gozzi, and is followed by one of Sergei Prokofiev’s bold compositions pointing in the 20th-century directions, his Violin Concerto No. 2, dating from the transitional time just before his return to Russia, and played brilliantly by the young violinist James Ehnes.
And, after intermission, Camille Saint-Saens’ so-called “Organ” Symphony, the fifth (and last) that Saint-Saens composed and the third he published, will feature the Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ, played by Michael Stairs. The use of the organ, the “king of instruments,” is relatively limited in this work, but its overwhelming effectiveness has made it one of Saint-Saens’s most popular works. Gianandrea Noseda conducts.
A concert not to be missed, first broadcast on WRTI last May. That’s this Sunday, Sept. 14th from 1 to 3 pm on WRTI, and online at wrti.org. Gregg Whiteside is producer and host. This broadcast is underwritten by Bryn Mawr Trust Wealth Management.
PROGRAM:
Alfredo Casella: Symphonic Fragments from La Donna Serpente
Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 2
INTERMISSION
Saint-Saens: Symphony No. 3 (“Organ”)
James Ehnes, violinist
Michael Stairs, organist
Gianandrea Noseda, conductor
