Bridgeport, CT – The Greater Bridgeport Symphony (GBS) is back for its 72nd season at The Klein Memorial Auditorium – the premier acoustic space in the region, with an exciting theme:“Revolutions And Revelations.” Maestro Eric Jacobsen returns for his fourth season, joined by 22-year-old Fairfield piano virtuoso Alexander Beyer, for the season opener on Saturday, September 16, 2017, with“Music Lovers Of The World Unite.” The Russian Revolution, 100 years ago, created devastation around world for decades, but out of that tumult came great music. Without the Revolution, the world might never have known the music of Shostakovich or Rachmaninoff. GBS will perform music from before the Revolution by the “father of Russian classical music,” Mikhail Glinka and his Ruslan and Ludmilla Overture. Then the revelation: what came after the Revolution, showcasing two composers who stayed in the new Soviet Union - Arvo Pärt’s Fratres and Dmitri Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 in D Minor. No evening of Russian music would be complete without Sergei Rachmaninoff, who was forced to leave the Soviet Union. His famed Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini will be performed by internationally-acclaimed pianistAlexander Beyer.
“When we thought about the Russian Revolution, 100 years ago, we began to think about what it did to and for the arts,” says conductor Eric Jacobsen. “Revolutions have repercussions beyond politics, and create revelations in music.”
The season continues on October 28, 2017 with Arriba España, a concert focusing on the music of Spain, Puerto Rico, and South America. Donald Palma will guest conduct. Joaquín Rodrigo’s Guitar Concerto Concierto de Aranjuez, written at the end of the Spanish Civil War, anchors the program, with Benjamin Verdery on guitar. GBS will explore the rhythms of revolution in Spain with Joaquín Rodrigo, Pablo Casalsand Manuel de Falla, Puerto Rico with Roberto Sierra's Tumbao and Argentina with Alberto Ginastera, with guest conductor.
On December 16, 2017, GBS takes a break from revolutions. Eric Jacobsen conducts festive selections fromPyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite, along with his Symphony No. 5 and great holiday favorites.
On March 3, 2017, the GBS storms the Bastille with the French Revolution concert. Thrill to pianist Andrew Armstrong on Ludwig van Beethoven's Emperor Concerto -- initially composed for Napoleon. Then see how the arts flowered in France after the Revolution with the Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem and GeorgesBizet's Carmen Suite.
On April 28, 2017, the season concludes with the American Revolution concert. What is the music of the American Revolution -- since symphonic music didn't take root in America until almost the 20th century? American music was song, and so GBS is commissioning (with the Orlando Symphony) a new composition: the songs of the American Revolution and Civil War by Jeremy Kittel, who will also solo on violin. The Northeast premiere of an American anthem! Featuring the classic Appalachian Spring by Aaron Copland, the concert will also celebrate two composers who could have only sprung to life in America: Scott Joplinand George Gershwin. In a new arrangement from Joplin’s opera Treemonisha – a seldom-heard American classic – GBS will be joined by Bridgeport’s Harding High School Choir. Gershwin’s fiery, passionate Cuban Overture – seldom performed because of the enormous instrumentation, and never before performed in a GBS concert – will include the very best brass, wind and percussion students in the region. A stunning conclusion to an amazing season.
All five concerts take place on Saturday evenings at 8:00pm at The Klein Memorial Auditorium, 910 Fairfield Avenue, Bridgeport. Concerts will be preceded at 7:00pm with The Doris and Herbert Harrington Pre-Concert Talk Series, which helps guide listeners through the music. 5-concert Gold Subscriptions and 3-concert Silver Subscriptions are available at substantial discounts now. Single tickets range from $15.00 - $59.00 through www.GBS.org. Special Family Pack Deals are available for families with children under 19 and special rates for students (under 21) are available by calling GBS at (203)576-0263. Ample free lighted parking is available.