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Daniel Hsu
The Symphony of Southeast Texas will host their second Classic Series Concert, “French Connection” on Saturday, Nov. 12, at the Julie Rogers Theatre at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $33-$57 and can be purchased online at sost.org.
Maestro Chelsea Tipton II will lead the symphony with music that draws mightily on myth and imagery of tales from long ago.
The concert will begin with Paul Dukas’ fanfare from the ballet, “La Peri,” which is one of his best-known works. Heavily scored for brass, it is no wonder that this fanfare is frequently performed. Saint-Saëns’ “Piano Concerto No. 2” is a command force piece for the concert pianist featuring harmonics, melodic line, and textures that reflect his earliest musical impressions.
San Francisco native Daniel Hsu, a recent bronze medal winner of the Cliburn International Piano Competition, will be the featured artist. One of the most rigorous of competitions, Hsu won both the commissioned work and chamber music sections of the competition in 2017. He has had series of successes which has led to concerti performances with many of the world’s major orchestras.
The concert will continue with Claude Debussy’s “Prelude to the Afternoon of a Fawn.” Debussy viewed this work, inspired by poet Stephane Mallarme, as a sensual setting in Greek and Roman mythology. He strays from the compositional forms of Brahms and Beethoven, using other compositional techniques to create images, moving the work through color imagery rather than thematic structure or sequence.
Igor Stravinsky will conclude the evening with yet another sense of mysticism and folk tale, this time from Russia. “Firebird Suite” takes the tale of Prince Ivan and his struggles to escape from the magical land dominated by Kaschei the Immortal. Ivan uses the Firebird to destroy the egg that is the source of Kaschei’s power. Stravinsky uses compelling rhythms and tonal chords to build tension, then as the egg is destroyed, thunderous brass and percussion sound, freeing the bird as promised.
The Julie Rogers Theatre is located at 765 Pearl St. in downtown Beaumont.