Orlando Philharmonic Presents: Russian Masters at the Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre

October 25, 12:10 PMOrlando Culture & Events ExaminerSherry Gray

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On Friday, October 30, 2009 at 8:00 PM, the Orlando Philharmonic will present an extraordinary performance by renowned American pianist William Wolfram, whose consummate technical skill perfectly complements the intricate shadings of these masterful compositions.

Each composition of this concert reflects a dramatic change of fortune for its composer. Rachmaninoff’s 2nd Piano Concerto was dedicated to Dr.Nikolai Dahl, a hypnotist who pulled him from the depths of depression to revive a flagging career and mark the beginning of the most successful period of his professional life. Refuting previous criticism that his work was pedestrian, indulgent and sentimental, the new style introduced with this composition has an emotional depth and clarity reminiscent of the work of Rachmaninoff's childhood friend Tchaikovsky.

Written in 1937 during the heyday of one of history's most repressive regimes, Shostakovich’s 5th Symphony may well have saved his life after his previous work, an opera entitled Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk was labeled vulgar and perverted, drawing the very dangerous wrath of Stalin himself. His masterful manipulation of mood tells a compelling story. Depths of sadness and despair are revealed with desolate violin melodies, building to a triumphant and controversial conclusion interpreted by authorities as a patriotic celebration of the Soviet state, by others as an ironic response to a style defined and enforced by Stalin. The result is an intense journey into the political history of a brutal regime and the complexities of being an artist within that regime, walking a fine like between artistic rebellion and acquiescence to authority, as beautiful as it is compelling.

For a comprehensive look at the history and narrative of Shostakovich's 5th Symphony there is a free lecture for ticket holders before the concert at 7 PM in the Rehearsal Hall located behind Stage Left.